Bai Qingcheng was taken aback at Mo Hua's words, then frowned slightly. "You won't stay in Houtu City? Where do you want to go?"
"I want to go to the Great Spiritual Field Realm," Mo Hua said.
Bai Qingcheng shook her head slightly. "The Great Spiritual Field Realm is a poor, bitter land. What would you do there?"
Mo Hua merely said, "I have some things to take care of."
Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua, her gaze complicated, her tone firm.
"No! That kind of remote and barren place has nothing but spirit fields and spirit farmers. Cultivation resources are scarce, heavenly treasures are lacking, and there are even fewer spirit stones. What future can you have there? Listen to me. Stay in Houtu City. I will find you a good match within a great clan. Your future path will be smooth from then on. Whether you cultivate or study formations, you won't have to worry about anything."
But Mo Hua shook his head. "Martial Aunt, I am not the same kind of person as those great clans."
"I and Zixi are also members of a great clan," Bai Qingcheng said coolly.
Mo Hua fell silent.
Bai Qingcheng looked at his somewhat stubborn appearance and felt irritated. But in the end, he was the youngest disciple Senior Brother Zhuang had cherished most during his lifetime, and her own junior nephew.
Her tone softened slightly. "I know that people from great clans are used to high positions, and most of them are somewhat arrogant. These past days, you've been wronged a little, and you're uncomfortable. But who in life can avoid being wronged? If you can gain benefits, what does it matter to bear a little difficulty?"
"Cultivation requires a great deal of resources. You are only at Golden Core now; afterward there is still Feather Transformation. Though it is very hard and the chance is only one in ten thousand, if you ever gain that one chance, do you want to strive for the opportunities of Feather Transformation? Every step upward, every small level, requires vast financial and material support."
"Not to mention, you also need to study formations. All the precious formation inheritances in this world are kept in great clans and large families. Without the backing of a great clan as support, just going to compete with others for these resources will consume a great deal of time and waste away most of your lifespan. Cultivation is like rowing a boat upstream; if you fall a step behind, you fall behind at every step. Other prodigies from great clans, with full support, focus entirely on cultivation. You would still be earning spirit stones and risking your life seeking rare cultivation materials. How could you possibly surpass them?"
Mo Hua's gaze sank slightly. He knew what his martial aunt said was all true. Children of great clans only needed to cultivate with peace of mind. But children of poor families had no clan to support them; even spirit stones had to be earned for themselves.
Every opportunity had to be fought over with a crowd, risking life and death. From ancient times, the upper class has no poor families, and the lower class has no great clans.
Bai Qingcheng saw Mo Hua like this and sighed. "If you endure a little now, marry well, and step over the threshold of a great clan, you will have plenty of resources for cultivation in the future."
"Later, when your cultivation is high and your standing is firm, you can decide what to do. But not now. I met you in Houtu City, which might be your opportunity. With me restraining those great clans, I can ensure you gain the greatest benefits. I can also fight for many conditions for you. This can be considered... the debt I owe Senior Brother Zhuang; I will compensate it all to you. The gates of a true fifth-rank or higher great clan are not so easy to step through. If you miss this chance, it may never come again in this lifetime. I am not one to meddle in marriages. If it were anyone else, even my own Bai clan nephew, I might not care, let alone spend this much thought." Her tone was cold.
Mo Hua felt grateful. He knew that with Bai Qingcheng's status and temperament, willing to lower herself to say so much to persuade him was already giving him a great deal of face. In these days, she had taken him around seeking opportunities and a future. This truly was an unprecedented act of "kindness."
But-
Mo Hua sighed inwardly, his gaze deep, and said softly, "Martial Aunt, I will remember your kindness. But I truly have my own matters to attend to, my own path to walk."
Bai Qingcheng paled slightly, growing annoyed. This child, why so stubborn? A Golden Core cultivator, what matters could you have, what path do you need to walk? You don't want a bright future, thinking yourself clever, for what?
She stared at Mo Hua impatiently, about to scold him further, but when her gaze caught his eyes, she suddenly froze.
These were not the stubborn eyes of a child.
Mo Hua's gaze was clear, calm, and firm. At the very depths of his eyes was an unutterable profundity, with a faint cold glint, very much like Senior Brother Zhuang from the old days...
Bai Qingcheng was stunned for a moment.
When she had studied under their master, Senior Brother Zhuang had a resolute nature. Once he made a decision, no one could persuade him, not even their master.
But this Mo Hua, though his appearance and temperament were different from Senior Brother Zhuang back then, that pair of eyes, that kind of calm yet determined firmness, and that sharpness which would never bend, were exactly the same.
The old Senior Brother Zhuang had been like a peerless immortal sword of his generation; the moment one saw him, one felt a chill.
Mo Hua's spirit root was poor, his temperament gentle and soft, naturally not as radiant and stunning as Senior Brother Zhuang's.
Yet when Bai Qingcheng looked again, she found that under Mo Hua's gentle exterior, he too seemed to be a sword.
Unlike Senior Brother Zhuang, Mo Hua was more like... an invisible sword. All of his sharpness was concealed beneath his gentle facade, rarely revealed.
She suddenly realized that she had never truly understood this "orphaned" little nephew.
She was also from a great clan, arrogant at heart, and instinctively had never felt that a child of humble origins with a mid-to-low grade spirit root could cultivate any great skill or have any real insight.
But now, looking into Mo Hua's eyes, Bai Qingcheng suddenly understood that she had been wrong.
She actually did not understand Mo Hua.
Just as she had never truly understood Senior Brother Zhuang...
Bai Qingcheng felt an inexplicable bitterness in her heart. All the words she had been about to say faded in her chest.
She sighed and looked at Mo Hua helplessly. "You... have you truly made up your mind?"
Mo Hua nodded. "Mm."
Bai Qingcheng said with a complicated expression, "If you stay in Houtu City, I will give you a bright future. If you leave Houtu City, everything will be up to you. Whether it is fortune or disaster, you must bear it yourself. I won't be able to manage that much."
Mo Hua nodded seriously. "Martial Aunt, I understand."
Bai Qingcheng sighed. "Fine, as long as you have your own plans."
But there was a hint of resentment in her words, because she had been running around for nothing for so long.
Mo Hua felt guilty. "Martial Aunt, I'm sorry."
Bai Qingcheng glanced at him with the corner of her eye, but could not find any way to manage him. What else could she do with such a nephew?
"Then..." Bai Qingcheng thought for a moment and sighed. "Go and tell Zixi. After all, she is your senior sister."
Mo Hua was silent for a moment. "Mm."
In the familiar little courtyard, Bai Zixi was still reading formation books as always.
It was just that the formerly lively small courtyard was now much quieter.
Mo Hua walked in slowly, gazing at her figure, which looked like pale moonlight, and his heart ached for no reason. He said softly, "Senior Sister."
Bai Zixi looked up at Mo Hua. Her gaze was calm and indifferent, but underneath it lied countless complicated thoughts.
Mo Hua said, "Senior Sister, I'm leaving."
Bai Zixi said "Mm." It was only after a long time that she seemed to react. She said absently, "You... are leaving?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Where to?" Bai Zixi asked.
Mo Hua said, "For now... I'm going to the Great Spiritual Field Realm."
Bai Zixi asked, "And after that?"
"I don't know," Mo Hua said softly.
"...Will you come back?" Bai Zixi's voice was light, almost inaudible.
Mo Hua looked deeply into Bai Zixi's eyes. After a long time, he shook his head slightly. "I don't know..."
Bai Zixi felt an inexplicable pain in her heart, and her gaze grew more and more distant. But she said nothing.
Sooner or later, this day would have come.
She only nodded. "Mm. Take care of yourself."
Mo Hua also nodded.
Afterward, neither of them spoke anymore. They waited in silence for a moment, not even daring to look at each other's eyes, and then parted ways.
After saying farewell to his little senior sister, Mo Hua returned to his guest room and began to pack.
He had never owned many things; all the important items were kept in his storage ring. His daily life was also very simple.
In less than half an hour, he had finished packing.
Turning to look at the familiar but empty room, Mo Hua felt a bit emotional.
The days at Little Luan Mountain had been almost the most peaceful and leisurely time since he had left Tongxian City.
There were not too many disturbances, and there was no earth-shattering enemy like the Earth Sect pressing down on his head.
He had cultivated in peace, studied formations, teased Little Orange, and accompanied his little senior sister.
But good times were always short.
Most days in life are inevitably spent in rushing, toil, weariness, confusion, hardship, and even bloodshed.
Mo Hua sighed softly.
Since he had decided to go, there was no need to delay. Mo Hua planned to set out the next day.
Houtu City was not Tongxian City, nor was it the Taixu Sect; there were not so many people he needed to say goodbye to.
But before leaving, Mo Hua still went to see Immortal Rong.
After all, Immortal Rong was the master of Little Luan Mountain. In the beginning, half of his life had been saved by Immortal Rong.
During these days, he had also relied on Immortal Rong's protection.
When Immortal Rong learned that Mo Hua was leaving, she was a little surprised, but after thinking it over, it was not so surprising.
After all, a person like Mo Hua could do anything.
Immortal Rong only said, "Just decide for yourself, go when you want. I have many matters to attend to, so I won't see you off."
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded, then handed a thin handwritten booklet to Immortal Rong.
"These days, I have been under your care. This is a small parting gift."
Immortal Rong was slightly stunned. She took the booklet and saw the words "Causal Calculation Basics" and "Demon-Bone Divination" on the cover, and her confusion turned into even deeper shock.
"You... are giving this to me?"
Mo Hua nodded. "Mm."
He had seen Immortal Rong deducing causality every day laboriously, so he wrote down some basic principles of causal arts for her to study and reference.
Immortal Rong now already knew whose disciple Mo Hua was, so she became even more shocked.
"You... passing on causal arts outside, is that okay?"
In any sect, causal inheritances were top secrets and could not be easily passed on.
Especially Mo Hua's sect, which was even more astonishing.
But Mo Hua said firmly, "It's fine."
He had no actual concept of his true sect and knew nothing of its rules.
Moreover, these causal arts were not so much "inherited" as they were collected and worked out by himself; they were originally his own things.
Naturally, he could give them to whomever he wanted.
Mo Hua said, "If not for Immortal Rong's protection, I might have been sliced into pieces by the Earth Sect long ago. This little gift is nothing."
When he finished speaking, he cupped his hands and said, "I won't disturb you in your cultivation. I'll take my leave."
Immortal Rong watched Mo Hua turn and walk away. Seeing his figure about to disappear through the door, she finally drew a breath and said, "If you can't make it outside, come back. At least within Little Luan Mountain, no one will dare touch you."
Mo Hua paused, turned to look at Immortal Rong, and smiled gently. "Thank you, Immortal. Mo Hua will remember."
Then Mo Hua no longer hesitated. He turned and left the study, vanishing from Immortal Rong's sight.
Looking at Mo Hua's departing back, Immortal Rong felt a sudden emptiness.
Although this child was a constant troublemaker, and even had long wished this big trouble would disappear, now that he had had truly left, it was a bit difficult to get used to.
Immortal Rong shook her head, looking at the thin causal booklet in her hand with a complicated expression.
Early the next morning, Mo Hua packed himself ready, and without the slightest hesitation, he set out.
Bai Qingcheng, Bai Zixi, and Little Orange all came to see him off.
At the gate of Little Luan Mountain, morning light spilled across the road.
At the moment of parting, Little Orange's eyes were red and full of tears.
Usually, when they were together, she had thought that Mo Hua was not such a big deal.
But now that her "little friend" Mo Hua was suddenly leaving, Little Orange felt an inexplicable sadness. She asked, "The orange tree is about to bear fruit. Aren't you going to stay and eat the oranges?"
Mo Hua smiled tenderly. "You should eat them. Eat as much as you like."
Little Orange said, "Then will you come back?"
Mo Hua shook his head, but seeing Little Orange's look as if she was about to cry, he said, "When I have free time, I'll come back."
Little Orange replied teary eyed, "Then you must find free time..."
Mo Hua sighed inwardly, smiled, and nodded. "I will."
After comforting Little Orange, Mo Hua turned to look at his little senior sister.
Since the martial aunt was still nearby, Mo Hua could not say much. He could only take a deep look at his little senior sister's face, etch her features firmly in his heart, and then say, "Senior Sister, take care."
Bai Zixi's expression was calm, and her gaze was as cool as ever.
But in her heart, it seemed as though a piece of flesh had been cut away, making it hard to breathe.
Still, she controlled herself as much as she could, not showing any difference. She just looked at Mo Hua one last time, as if she too wanted to engrave her little junior brother's appearance in her heart.
After an unknown length of time, she finally spoke, "You take care too."
Once heart-bound, the two exchanged another glance. In their clear and moving eyes were countless emotions, yet they could only be hidden deep in their hearts, unable to show a trace.
On the surface, they were merely senior and junior siblings, proper and distant.
Bai Qingcheng watched them and could not help sighing inwardly.
Mo Hua finally turned to Bai Qingcheng and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your care these days, Martial Aunt. I am of low realm and have nothing to repay you. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay your kindness."
Bai Qingcheng was an immortal of a sixth-rank great clan; she likely lacked no heavenly treasures or inheritance methods. Mo Hua himself was a poor ghost with low cultivation, so he truly did not know how to thank her.
"This child..." Bai Qingcheng sighed. "Take care of yourself."
Mo Hua nodded, looked at Little Orange and his little senior sister, then with a dim gaze, said, "Martial Aunt, I will take my leave."
"Mm." Bai Qingcheng nodded.
He turned and passed through the gate of Little Luan Mountain. Facing the morning sun, he stepped onto another path, gradually moving farther and farther away from the small blessed land.
Now that Mo Hua had left, Bai Zixi's gaze could no longer be restrained. She looked after Mo Hua's figure.
She kept watchin, watching her little junior brother's figure pass by in her life, then gradually recede into the distance.
Bai Zixi's icy eyes became veiled with a layer of mist.
Bai Qingcheng also wore a wistful expression, watching Mo Hua go away.
As Mo Hua went farther and farther, his figure became smaller and smaller, and finally slowly vanished at the end of the road.
The moment Mo Hua's back disappeared, the morning sun flashed, casting a dim shadow.
Bai Qingcheng's expression changed.
In that final moment of Mo Hua's disappearing figure, a tiny black afterimage remained.
It was as if Bai Qingcheng saw the shadow of another person in Mo Hua.
But it was only for that instant. That illusory afterimage vanished in a flash. When she looked again, Mo Hua had already disappeared.
Truly disappeared.
Even Bai Qingcheng's Feather Transformation divine sense could not catch Mo Hua's trail for a while.
Bai Qingcheng's eyelids twitched.
It was then she suddenly realized that Mo Hua's front, especially his temperament and that look in his eyes, was very similar to Senior Brother Zhuang.
But Mo Hua's back, the shadow cast after the sunlight, resembled another, even more fearful person.
Could it be... my delusion?
Bai Qingcheng's pupils contracted, and her mind could not calm down for a long time.
Not long after, on another prosperous street in Houtu City.
Mo Hua's figure gradually appeared. At this moment, he was wearing a cloak, his appearance changed, and his fate was obscured.
He walked step by step out of Houtu City.
Behind him was the bustling prosperity of flowing brilliance and jade.
Before him was poverty and conflict, blood and chaos: the vast, boundless Great Spiritual Field Realm.
No one knew of Mo Hua's departure.
Or rather, a few experts in Houtu City who were proficient in heavenly secrets knew, but they did not care.
The vast and prosperous Houtu City saw countless people come and go every day.
Among them were innumerable immortals, experts, and ordinary people.
To the Earth Sect and the great clans, Mo Hua was only a Golden Core cultivator, somewhat talented, but unable to affect the overall situation, not worth much attention.
But what no one knew was that the true heavenly secrets had already begun to churn violently...
Today's Houtu City had lost an insignificant "Young Master Mo."
But the Great Spiritual Field Realm was about to welcome a "Mortal Deity" walking the world;
A living Divine governing yin and yang, an unrivaled lord of both life and death.