Chapter 203: Chapter 203 Identity_1 Elder Yu laughed halfway with satisfaction, then snapped back to reality and glared at Mo Hua: “How can this be considered risky? This is being as cunning as a rabbit with three burrows! You should learn from this, always be more thoughtful in everything.” Mo Hua quickly nodded, “I will definitely learn more!” Being more thoughtful in everything is always a good thing, otherwise you’re bound to suffer losses in the future. “But things can’t possibly go that smoothly, right…” Mo Hua frowned and said. “Of course not,” Elder Yu said, “Plans are just plans, real situations are ever-changing, and you have to adapt accordingly. These are lessons I’ve learned over the years from dealing with the Qian Family, often at a loss.” Mo Hua couldn’t help but ask, “With such schemes, do you still suffer losses?” Elder Yu sighed, “What’s the use of being clever in planning if you don’t have any cards in your hand? It’s like trying to make a meal without any rice.” There weren’t many spirit stones, and he was the only Foundation Building Cultivator; being able to contend with the Qian Family was already quite an accomplishment. But now things were different. Elder Yu looked at Mo Hua. Now that they had Mo Hua, who could paint formation diagrams, he had more cards in his hand, and he naturally wouldn’t let everyone suffer losses at the hands of the Qian Family any longer! Upon this thought, Elder Yu couldn’t help but pat Mo Hua on the shoulder and said with emotion: “We owe you a big thanks.” Mo Hua didn’t know why Elder Yu was praising him out of the blue, but he still smiled happily. As things turned out, just as Elder Yu had said, planning was just planning, and there would inevitably be changes. Things went according to Elder Yu’s plans, but there were still slight differences. Some artifact refiners left the Qian Family to join Elder Yu, while others were retained by the Qian Family with higher offers. Most monster hunter’s materials were indeed not sold to the Qian Family, but some market towns continued to secretly do business with them. Although things didn’t turn out perfectly, they did indeed cause the Qian Family a lot of trouble. Qian Hong was occupied with these trivial matters every day, and by the time he realized something was amiss, it was already too late. They were underbidding, and Yu Changlin was also underbidding against them. They had been undercutting prices to this point, and most of the previously made spiritual artifacts were depleted, but Yu Changlin was still in a pricing war with them. Moreover, it seemed that Yu Changlin still had quite a few spiritual artifacts in hand… Why was that? The Monster Hunter’s refinery shop had only recently opened; how could it possibly have produced so many spiritual artifacts? Qian Hong was puzzled. He sent cultivators from the Qian Family to secretly investigate, but Elder Yu kept the refining furnace’s secret very well hidden, so they found out nothing. And when he saw the spiritual artifacts produced by the opposition, an absurd idea came to mind. Could it be that these monster hunters’ refining furnaces were not inferior to those of the Qian Family? Or perhaps, were they even better than those of the Qian Family? Qian Hong went to ask Master Qian, and after examining the spiritual artifacts and looking serious for a long while, Master Qian finally sighed and said: “Only a refining furnace with a first-grade Melting Fire Formation can produce spiritual artifacts of such quality.” Qian Hong’s eyelids twitched, “Does that mean the Formation Master among the Monster Hunters…” Master Qian heaved a sigh and slowly said, “Is a genuine first-grade Formation Master!” Qian Hong felt a chill in his heart, and then he said absentmindedly: “Just how much did Yu Changlin have to pay to be able to hire a first-grade Formation Master?” Master Qian shook his head too. He couldn’t understand it either. To be a First-grade Formation Master was an esteemed status, one that even within their Qian Clan would be received with the highest honors. So why would such a person help those Monster Hunters? And what could be in it for him? Master Qian frowned and said, “Next, we must locate this Formation Master and ascertain his identity, otherwise we’re bound to suffer more losses in the dark.” Qian Hong’s gaze hardened, “I must find him…” Master Qian glanced at Qian Hong and reminded, “It’s enough to find out who he is, but make sure not to offend him.” Qian Hong frowned, “He has repeatedly crossed our Qian Clan, do we still need to be polite to him?” “This Formation Master is extraordinary. If he were willing to help our Qian Clan, we would be as powerful as a tiger with wings. Ascending to the skies in one step and stepping into the ranks of a Second Grade family would be just around the corner.” “I’m afraid he may not be willing.” “Then we shouldn’t offend him in the meantime. It’s best if we can win him over, or at least, let him remain neutral. Having him on neither side is the second-worst scenario, with the worst being an irreconcilable conflict,” said Master Qian. Qian Hong was puzzled, “Is this Formation Master really that important?” Master Qian said, “This Formation Master is known to be capable of using First-grade Earth Fire Formation, First-grade Earth Stone Formation, and First-grade Melting Fire Formation.” “Even if he knows these three First-grade Formation Methods, what of it?” Master Qian sighed, “Having three First-grade Formation Methods is rare, but not unheard of. The issue is, what if he knows far more than just these three? What if he knows some Formation Methods that we haven’t even heard of?” Qian Hong’s expression grew grave. “It’s best not to offend him rashly before he makes his stance clear,” Master Qian said solemnly, “The way of the Formation methods is vast and profound. Some Formation Masters know methods which are incredibly powerful, beyond your imagination…” Qian Hong’s pupils contracted slightly, betraying a wary respect. Meanwhile, the very Formation Master that Qian Hong feared was perched on top of a wall, nonchalantly nibbling on a chicken leg and swinging his legs, casually chatting with Master Ban. The Refinery Shop had been built and was operational, while the construction of the Alchemist’s Business was still ongoing. The first installment of Spirit Stones had already been paid to Master Ban by Elder Yu. With Spirit Stones in hand, Master Ban felt at ease and worked with even more vigor. The overall layout of the Alchemist’s Business was consistent with that of the Refinery Shop, also starting with the construction of the basic buildings. Mo Hua would then paint the Formation, followed by craftsmen doing the finishing touches. The basic buildings weren’t even finished yet, but Mo Hua came to confirm the layout and inspect the Formation Diagrams. But since the layout had already been surveyed once during the construction of the Refinery Shop, and the two were structurally identical, it didn’t take much time to inspect the Alchemist’s Business Formation Diagrams. After looking it over a few times, Mo Hua had a clear understanding. With no pressing matters, he climbed onto the wall, eating his chicken leg and chatting with Master Ban. Master Ban felt grateful to Mo Hua. Mo Hua’s quick work on the Formation Painting had enabled the Refinery Shop to be completed more or less on schedule, and they could only receive their Spirit Stone payment on completion of the work. Moreover, for someone so young, Mo Hua had a profound understanding of Formation methods, something that was a rare thing to come by in Master Ban’s life. He was happy to chat with Little Mo. Whatever Mo asked, he answered. From architecture to the lifetime of a Tao cultivator, from family members to the customs of Cultivators. Where else had good food, fun places, strange customs, bad people, and the kinds of bad deeds they committed—there was hardly anything they didn’t talk about. Mo Hua’s curiosity was satisfied, and his horizons were broadened. The life of each Cultivator was like a painting scroll. Even if mundane, there were always some colors that others had not seen. These stories—Mo would likely never know them if he didn’t chat with them. Someday in the future, could he travel through the Nine State, meet more people, hear more stories, and see more ordinary scrolls filled with not-so-ordinary colors? Mo dreamed about it.