``` Mo Hua finished painting the Thick Earth Formation. Satisfied, he nodded in approval. It’s only by applying what you learn that you can truly master it. Mo Hua stood amid the vibrant Spirit Fields. The mountain breeze caressed his cheeks, and the Spirit Rice gently brushed his palms. It was as if the land itself was expressing its gratitude to him. Mo Hua felt his connection to the breath of the earth, the Earth Dao Meaning, becoming ever clearer. Although he was completely exhausted, it was all worth it. Mo Hua smiled slightly, squinting his eyes. Having completed the Formation, Mo Hua was ready to leave. He had done what he came for, and now it was time to move on to the next place, to seek out other Formations. They didn’t have many belongings, and they packed up quickly. After resting for a night and organizing their things, they were set to depart in a carriage the next day. Before leaving, the Spirit Farmers of East Mountain Village came to see Mo Hua off. They didn’t have many Spirit Stones left, so they brought some local specialties instead, which included Spirit Paddy, vegetables and fruits, and even home-raised chickens and ducks. Mo Hua couldn’t refuse and had to pack them in his Storage Bag and put them in the carriage. With these ingredients, he could try to cook some dishes on the road to offer to Mr. Zhuang. Ding Miao clung to Mo Hua’s sleeve, reluctant to part. Mo Hua then instructed him, "Cultivate diligently and don’t be lazy. And the things I gave you, make sure to study them well." "Yes!" Ding Miao nodded solemnly, "Brother, rest assured!" Then he asked, a bit downcast, "Will I be able to see Brother again?" Mo Hua encouraged him with a promise, "As long as you cultivate well, you will definitely be able to see me in the future." Ding Miao’s little face instantly filled with anticipation, his eyes sparkling. Mo Hua then waved goodbye to the villagers of East Mountain Village and got into the carriage. Old Kui drove the horses, with Big White pulling the wagon. They set out on the road leisurely. They hadn’t gone far before a group of Cultivators blocked their way. Explore more adventures at freewebnovel The leader was the Family Head of the Sun Family, Sun Yi. Behind him stood hundreds of Cultivators from the Sun Family. They spread out and surrounded the carriage, blocking the road completely. Mo Hua glanced at Mr. Zhuang. Mr. Zhuang was resting with his eyes closed, saying nothing as if he was unaware of anything. Mo Hua understood. The intent of his master was to let him handle the situation entirely. Mo Hua lifted the carriage curtain, stepped out, and stood atop the carriage, looking at Sun Yi calmly and contentedly from a distance. Even faced with the blockade of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and hundreds of Qi Refinement Cultivators, he was as confident as ever, with not a hint of panic. Sun Yi couldn’t help but praise inwardly, "Impressive composure!" At such a young age, he possessed such courage and calm, unflustered in the face of adversity. No wonder he had such prowess in Formation. Sun Yi then looked at his own son, Sun Ze. The moment Mo Hua appeared, his son had actually shaken visibly. If it weren’t for the crowd bolstering him, he would have been close to running away in shame. Probably due to the trauma from the Fireball Technique. Or maybe the Thousand Jun Stick had knocked some sense out of him. Now Sun Ze couldn’t bring himself to look Mo Hua in the eye, his gaze evasive. Sun Yi felt his eyelids twitch with frustration. Back home, Sun Ze was excited, loudly proclaiming his intention to seek revenge on this youngster, but now that they were face to face, he turned into a coward. And he was over twenty years older than this Junior Formation Master. It’s true what they say: Comparisons are odious. Sun Yi looked at Sun Ze with disappointment. However, now was not the time for that. The most important thing at the moment was the ancestral Formation of his Sun Family. After sensing the energy in the Spirit Fields the day before, he was too excited to sleep. He convened the Sun Family Disciples overnight and blocked the major and minor roads of Thousand Families Town. The purpose was to stop Mo Hua from leaving. And when he secretly visited the Spirit Fields, and felt the intense vitality of the land up close, his heart leaped with astonishment, followed by ecstasy. A Spirit Field like this could produce over fifty percent more Spirit Rice in a year. In other words, his Sun Family could gain fifty percent more Spirit Stones. A Spirit Field like this was a treasure! And what was more valuable than the Spirit Field was that Formation. It enriched the soil and made the yields abundant. Such a Formation was truly a secret treasure, which was what the Old Ancestor of Sun Family should have passed down! At first, he was somewhat hesitant. The Formation left by the Old Ancestor might be difficult for him to learn, even though he was a Sun Family member and had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. But now his thoughts had changed. If this Qi Refining Seventh Level youngster could learn it, why couldn’t he, a Foundation Building Cultivator, also learn it? Therefore, he was determined to possess this Formation! Sun Yi, accompanied by the Sun Family Cultivators, surrounded Mo Hua’s carriage. Mo Hua faced them without fear. He remembered Mr. Zhuang’s teaching: even posturing was a skill in Tao Cultivation. So Mo Hua said nothing. Because he intended to act like a high-level master. High-level masters never speak first. To do otherwise would be undignified; it’s the underlings who start talking first. As expected, Sun Yi spoke up first: "Young brother, hand over our Sun Family’s Formation." Mo Hua had anticipated this and was about to say something when he suddenly paused, looking behind him. But there was nothing behind him. Sun Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering what sort of mystery this youngster was playing at. He followed Mo Hua’s gaze, and after a short while, he too paused. Because not long afterward, behind Mo Hua, a group of Spirit Farmers appeared. Armed with knives and forks, and a few simple Spiritual Artifacts, they encircled the carriage, forming a protective ring around Mo Hua. The man leading them was Ding Dachuan. Remembering the Elder’s instructions, despite feeling slightly intimidated facing the Foundation Establishment Stage Family Head of the Sun Family, Sun Yi, he still stood, his expression resolute: "You Sun Family must not bully us too much!" "We won’t let you harm our young gentleman!" ``` "That’s right!" "Protect the young gentleman!" Other spirit farmers also raised their spiritual artifacts of various descriptions in their hands and shouted loudly. Sun Yi sneered, "Quite bold, daring to actually rebel?" He sneered calmly, but deep down he felt somewhat chilly. Things were getting a bit bad... The reason he had not stopped Mo Hua and the others in East Mountain Village was precisely to avoid this situation. What he dreaded was not the spirit farmers. Among the spirit farmers, there were no Foundation Building cultivators and possibly not many more Qi Refining Ninth-Level cultivators than the Sun Family had. If it really came to a fight, they were no match for his Sun Family. What he feared was that the Sun Family would incur the wrath of the masses. The Sun Family still counted on these spirit farmers to toil with their faces towards the soil, and their backs to the heavens, to support them. If the spirit farmers were provoked to rebel and stopped tilling the fields, the Sun Family would lose their source of spirit stones as well as their lifestyle of luxury and comfort. Surely they couldn’t expect the young of the Sun Family, exposed to wind and sun, to personally take to the fields. Moreover, once the wrath of the masses was incurred, the Taoist Court would not indulge them. The Taoist Court sought stability, and as long as there was order, the cultivators in Thousand Families Town could suffer and toil as much as they would; the officials would turn a blind eye. But should stability be threatened and large-scale unrest among cultivators occur without cause, then the Taoist Court wouldn’t mind making an example of the Sun Family to deter others. If the Taoist Court were cold-hearted and merciless, uncaring of personal sentiment, they might even directly confiscate the Sun Family’s property, earning a tidy profit while appearing generous to the spirit farmers, thereby demonstrating the Court’s fairness. This would be killing two birds with one stone. The Taoist Court was capable of doing such a thing. And the most frightening thing was the generational resentment that came with incurring mass outrage. Now, with the Sun Family in power, they could still suppress the spirit farmers. But should one day come when the fortunes of the Sun Family declined, and no Foundation Building cultivator was there to hold sway, a bursting forth of pent-up resentment could potentially lead to the spirit farmers eradicating the Sun Family in a desperate act. Such things had happened before. The spirit farmers were timid; they wouldn’t fight desperately as long as they had enough to eat. Thus, previously, even though he exploited the spirit farmers, he also left them enough to live on, not letting them starve. If the spirit farmers fell into debt, he just had them sell themselves to pay it off. This Mo child had shown kindness to the spirit farmers. He wanted to capture this Mo child but did not move against him directly in East Mountain Village. Instead, he waited until they were about to reach Thousand Families Town before stopping them. But he never expected that the usually meek spirit farmers would actually come out to protect the child. Sun Yi’s expression turned solemn, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he did not wish for swords to cross and a large-scale melee to break out. Mo Hua was also not keen on seeing this happen. Coming together as one to face the external threat can sometimes be a deterrent. It’s not always necessary to fight to the death. The spirit farmers had a hard life; even if they were to rebel, it should be for themselves, for their own homes and their families. They shouldn’t die a bloody death just because of a momentary impulse. If they were to die, a family’s mainstay might collapse. Leaving behind wives and children would make life even harder. Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said, "Sun Yi, what do you want?" Being called by his first name by a junior cultivator made Sun Yi lose face. But with Mo Hua standing amid a group of spirit farmers, who clearly also listened to him, even if his junior was young, he did have the qualification to negotiate with him. Sun Yi forced himself not to care about face and such trivial details. He said coldly, "My demand is simple, give me the Sun Family’s ancestral Formation and I will let you go, without making things difficult for anyone else." After saying this, Sun Yi waited for Mo Hua to haggle. Unexpectedly, Mo Hua responded directly, "Okay!" Sun Yi’s train of thought was interrupted. He didn’t know how to continue the negotiation. This boy, doesn’t he haggle when doing business? Why did he agree so quickly? Sun Yi was stunned for a long time before he managed to grumble out: "Don’t play any tricks." Mo Hua disdainfully said: "You’re an adult, and your thoughts can be dirty. I’m a child, and my actions are honest. I disdain to play those petty tricks." Sun Yi did not know what to say, frowning: "Are you really going to hand over the Formation to me?" "I mean what I say!" Mo Hua’s voice was clear and resolute. Sun Yi still did not believe it, "Why?" Mo Hua thought Sun Yi, being a Family Head, was nagging... but he still patiently explained with his little finger raised: "First, this Formation originally belongs to your Sun Family. I learned it, and it’s also considered a favor from the Old Ancestor of the Sun Family. Giving it back to you is merely returning the object to its rightful owner;" "Second, Formations are not meant to be hoarded jealously but are to be used for the welfare of all beings. Especially this kind of Formation that nourishes the Earth, it’s better the more people know it;" "Third, although I don’t fear trouble, I also don’t want to cause trouble. If we both give a little, leave room for later, it will be easier to meet in the future..." Mo Hua spoke eloquently and with clear logic. Upon hearing this, Sun Yi sighed and glanced at his son who couldn’t say a word beside him. Thinking to himself that indeed, nothing shows up a bad product like a good one, his son really wasn’t worth keeping. After saying this, Mo Hua asked: "How about it?" Sun Yi hesitated for a long time, still unsure of what to decide. With Mo Hua being so straightforward, he was at a loss for how to proceed, and after a while, he slowly said: "How do I know you’re not deceiving me, planning to fob me off with a fake Formation? Show me the Old Ancestor’s Formation first." Mo Hua, unconcerned, nodded and replied, "Okay." After saying this, he took out a booklet from his bosom and threw it to Sun Yi from a distance. Sun Yi was taken aback, somewhat in disbelief. He’s really giving it to me? This boy seems clever, so why is it that everything he does lacks any guile? Scanning the booklet with his Divine Sense and confirming there was nothing wrong with it, Sun Yi cautiously opened the booklet, glanced at it, and then became completely stunned. The booklet indeed recorded a Formation. The Formation Patterns were complex and intertwined, the Formation Pivot’s structure was extremely unfamiliar, the annotations for the Formation eye were dizzying, and the entire Formation included eleven Patterns, quite unfathomable... The superficial Sun Yi felt a tingling on his scalp. What is this? He couldn’t understand any of it...