Chapter 188: Chapter 188 Concerns_1 Elder Yu took the spirit stones, allocating a portion for public use, to construct the Refinery Shop, and with the remainder, he arranged for a vast amount of wine and meat, inviting the craftsmen and Monster Hunters to have a hearty feast. The wine was indeed fine, but the meat was not spiritual meat. Feeding so many cultivators with spiritual meat was beyond Elder Yu’s means. He sought out Mo Shan and spent spirit stones to have Liu Ruhua assist in cooking some Monster Beasts’ flesh. There was beef, mutton, chicken, and others, stewed with pungent spices, the mix of aromas was very enticing, and there was plenty prepared, enough to eat to one’s content. Everyone ate their fill with great gusto, and Mo Hua was no exception, finding great delight in the meal, and the atmosphere at the Refinery Shop was lively and cheerful. Only Master Ban ate without any taste. Originally, he was worried that with just Mo Hua drawing the formations, they would be short-handed and unable to meet the schedule. But now, with the Qian Family repeatedly causing trouble, injuring the craftsmen and damaging some of the constructions, some formations needed to be redrawn, which made catching up with the progress even more unlikely. Master Ban sighed, the wine in his mouth tasting both sour and bitter, an indescribable flavor. Mo Hua, who was gnawing on a large chicken leg, noticed Master Ban’s expression and asked, “Master Ban, are you troubled by something?” Master Ban sighed again, full of worries yet unsure how to express them. He surely couldn’t hurry Mo Hua, asking her to quicken her formation drawing. Moreover, ever since he learned that Mo Hua was a Formation Master, and one capable of drawing First-grade Formations at that, Master Ban felt a certain reverence towards her, making him more cautious with his words and less at ease than before. Seeing that Master Ban was troubled, Mo Hua said, “If you have something to say, just speak up.” With Mo Hua coaxing him, Master Ban could only firm up his resolve and say, “Mo… Mo Hua, this formation, how much longer will it take to complete…?” Mo Hua estimated and replied, “It depends on whether the Qian Family will continue to make trouble. If they keep it up, it’ll likely drag out longer, but if they’re scared off and learn their lesson, then the end will come quicker. However, due to the Qian Family’s disturbances, some formations need to be redrawn, so it’ll definitely take longer than initially anticipated.” Master Ban nodded, “Then I’ll leave it in your capable hands.” Despite saying so, he still felt anxious. Having been a craftsman for many years, he had heard countless promises and projections, but the number of commitments that were fulfilled, or schedules that were met on time, were few and far between. Mo Hua, seeing that Master Ban was still apprehensive, then asked, “Would a delay in the construction period be very serious?” “Not serious per se, but if the construction period is delayed, we craftsmen can’t settle our accounts, and the workers underneath us won’t receive their share of spirit stones.” Master Ban’s demeanor grew somber, “Craftsmen usually come from poor families. They need to earn spirit stones to support their family, provide for their children’s cultivation, working day and night just to make a modest earning. Once the construction period is held up, without spirit stones in hand, their household expenses might go unmet…” Mo Hua nodded in understanding, deeply empathizing, as his own family had also lived through tough times. Most of the loose cultivators in Tongxian City were Monster Hunters, relying on hunting monster beasts to make a living; there were not many who were craftsmen, and even fewer were able to become master craftsmen. These master craftsmen, mostly cultivators from other regions, often had to travel wherever their services were needed—wherever there was a need to build caves, houses, Refinery Shops, Alchemist’s Businesses, and other constructions, they would go there. The construction of a Tao Cultivation building could take from several months to a year or even longer to complete, and during this time, they rarely went home, often separated from their loved ones. Yet, even with such hard work, the spirit stones they earned were barely enough to scrape by. It seems that the livelihood of loose cultivators in this world, no matter what they did for a living, was never easy. Mo Hua sighed and asked, “Do people also default on spirit stone payments?” Master Ban’s expression became helpless, “This happens often. After the cave dwelling is built, others don’t want to pay the spirit stones, or they make excuses, saying they can’t free up the spirit stones and just keep delaying payment without ever paying. We really have no way to deal with it.” “About eighty or ninety years ago, when I was not yet a craftsman, just an ordinary worker, I followed my master to build a small cave dwelling for a cultivator. After we finished the building, the cultivator said he had run out of spirit stones and told us to wait…” “We waited and waited, for three months, and still hadn’t received a single spirit stone. Our family was so poor that we couldn’t even scrape a meal together, so we had no choice but to go ask him for payment again. Once we found him, he was in the Food Building, enjoying delicious food and drink, lavishing spirit stones on singing girls. When we asked him for the spirit stones, he arrogantly said he had plenty of spirit stones but simply wouldn’t give them to us…” Listening to this, Mo Hua became angry, “Didn’t you beat him up?” “We did!” Master Ban nodded, “We couldn’t take it anymore, so we tied him up and beat him up, leaving him seriously injured.” “What happened then?” “Then he went to the Taoist Court Officials. They arrested us and locked us up for half a month. In the end, my master took responsibility for the crime, was convicted by the Taoist Court Officials, and was sent to jail for ten years. We were beaten with dozens of sticks and then released.” Thinking of his former master, Master Ban felt sad for a moment. “Taoist Court Officials are really no good!” Mo Hua said angrily. Then he remembered that Zhang Lan was also a cultivator of the Taoist Court and was quite a nice person. He had unintentionally seemed to have wronged him… “You can’t say it like that,” Master Ban calmly advised Mo Hua. “Are there exceptions?” Master Ban nodded, “The Cultivation World is so vast, with Taoist Courts everywhere. Some of them are dutiful and loyal, while others are greedy and corrupt; it’s not right to generalize… In several cities nearby where I’ve dealt with the Taoist Courts, the Taoist Court of Tongxian City is relatively rule-abiding. Even if they occasionally take some kickbacks, it’s human nature. In other places, there are good and bad. Some Taoist Courts even collude with local clans to seize property, covet cultivation techniques and inheritances, causing others to lose both their family and their lives…” As Master Ban spoke, he was visibly shaken. Mo Hua was also shocked to hear this. The Tao Cultivation World was indeed more complex than he had imagined. He took all these matters to heart, to be prepared in case he encountered such situations in the future. “Master Ban, don’t worry. Although Elder Yu is stingy, he will give the spirit stones that are due and won’t default on the payment!” Mo Hua assured him with conviction. Then, after thinking about it, he added, “Regarding the formations, I will paint even faster to avoid too much delay.” After all, it was not easy for craftsmen to earn spirit stones, and waiting on them to get by was not an enjoyable experience. But Master Ban was taken aback, “Paint even faster?” He was already painting fast enough; how could he possibly paint any faster? After all, Mo Hua was just one person, and a child of eleven or twelve at that. Master Ban felt a bit guilty and worriedly said, “You don’t need to rush; just proceed in an orderly fashion. There’s no need to overdo it. If you overexert your divine sense, and it damages your sea of consciousness, it will be troublesome. I’ve heard that if a Formation Master’s sea of consciousness is injured, they won’t be able to paint formations for the rest of their life…” “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Mo Hua replied. Before, because it was his first time painting formations on such a large Tao Cultivation building, and it was also the first time he was designing and planning so many formations, he started painting carefully and cautiously, which meant a slower pace to avoid mistakes. Now, having painted for so many days, his technique had become much more proficient. Although there were many formations, they were not complex; most of them didn’t even reach the grade of a first-grade formation method and were not difficult to paint, just somewhat monotonous. Mo Hua also needed to finish painting as soon as possible so that he could find a way to learn and apply higher-level compound formations. Compound formations should be much more interesting.