Chapter 345 - Decision

Chapter 345: Chapter 344 Decision

“Where should I go?”

Mo Hua was indecisive, so he sat in the eatery, watching the cultivators come and go, observing the entirety of Tongxian City.

Tongxian City was no longer bustling, but rather, it had a melancholic pre-storm silence.

There were fewer cultivators on the streets.

Those who could find a way out did so. The loose cultivators who couldn’t find a way out had only one path:

To follow the vast troop of loose cultivators migrating, moving to a destitute land in the wilds, to reclaim it, to build a place to settle anew.

With the appearance of the Big Demon, even some of the Tao cultivation forces with great influence had no power to resist, let alone the loose cultivators.

They had no choice.

They lacked status, background, connections; nobody was willing to take them in. If they wanted to live, they could only seek new paths for survival, relying on their own strenuous efforts to endure, one step at a time.

Mo Hua sighed.

Perhaps the world had always been this way.

In any disaster, the upper echelon cultivators always have a way out.

In the end, it is always these lower-tier cultivators who face all the hardships and bear all the pain.

Even if this disaster was an undeserved calamity.

Mo Hua went to see Elder Yu again.

Elder Yu was going to migrate with the loose cultivators.

He was a Foundation Building Cultivator, so in theory, he could have escaped it all.

But precisely because he was a Foundation Building Cultivator, the only one among the loose cultivators, he had to protect them as they migrated south.

Otherwise, without a Foundation Establishment powerhouse to provide protection, countless cultivators would perish or be injured along the way.

“You shouldn’t go,” said Elder Yu, who had been working day and night and looked somewhat weary upon seeing Mo Hua, speaking bluntly.

Before Mo Hua could speak, Elder Yu added:

“We’re migrating, not establishing a new city. Even once we arrive there, all is barren land, and we won’t be needing your Formation Painting for a while.”

Mo Hua knew what Elder Yu meant and was at a loss for words momentarily.

Elder Yu looked at Mo Hua, speaking in a gentle voice:

“You should have a brighter future, learn more formations, do more in the future. There’s no need to accompany us and suffer this hardship.”

Mo Hua said in a low voice, “The journey will be very dangerous, won’t it…”

“Doing anything has its dangers, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it if it’s dangerous. This concerns the lives of a city’s worth of loose cultivators,” Elder Yu sighed.

“Maybe…I should go too,” Mo Hua said.

Elder Yu glared at him irritably, “What fuss are you joining? Even if you go, you won’t change anything. The most important thing for you is to learn the formations well, not to join us in enduring these hardships.”

Knowing he couldn’t win the argument with the stubborn Elder Yu, Mo Hua turned away and took another look at the massive Refinery Shop and Alchemist’s Business, saying with some dejection:

“Will these all be wasted too?”

Elder Yu sighed helplessly and nodded, “We can’t take such large Refinery Shops and Alchemist’s Businesses with us…”

“Should they be sold off?”

Elder Yu nodded, “I’ve already reached out to Court Leader Zhou. The Artifact Furnaces and Alchemy Furnaces here are inscribed with your formations, they’re valuable goods. The Taoist Court officials will convert them into Spirit Stones as compensation for us. After all, we’ll need them for migrating and reclaiming the land. Spirit Stones are the real currency.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Elder Yu remembered something and handed a jade token to Mo Hua:

“This is the identity jade talisman for the storage. It contains more than ten thousand Spirit Stones; they’re all for you. Go collect them when you have the time.”

Mo Hua was stunned, “Over ten thousand… All for me?”

Elder Yu nodded, “They are for your Foundation Establishment.”

Looking at Mo Hua, Elder Yu had a touch of apology in his expression:

“We should have given you more. Without your formations, the loose cultivators in Tongxian City would not have fared well, and Black Mountain Stronghold wouldn’t have been dealt with, but migrating consumes a lot of Spirit Stones. We can only give you this much…”

Mo Hua shook his head, “It’s already a lot.”

Taking the jade token, he felt its weight, and just as he was about to say something, Elder Yu cut him off:

“Don’t give me some insincere speech about not wanting it. Anyone who gives you Spirit Stones, you take them. Anyone who doesn’t take Spirit Stones when they can is a fool.”

Mo Hua held the jade token, feeling inexplicably guilty.

Elder Yu patted his shoulder, “Whatever choice you make, just stand tall and do it with integrity. You don’t owe anyone anything!”

Mo Hua nodded slightly and walked away full of thoughts.

Watching Mo Hua’s departing figure, Elder Yu was somewhat reluctant to let him go but could only sigh helplessly.

Mo Hua had already helped them a lot. They could not drag this boy down further.

He should seek a broader world, learn more profound formations, and strive for a more distant path of the Heavenly Dao.

Not to mingle with these struggling loose cultivators. There was no future in that.

The matter with the Big Demon was precisely an opportunity.

Elder Yu turned his head and glanced at the empty Refinery Shop and the Alchemist’s Business, feeling a sudden sense of unreality.

All of it, like a dream.

Taking over the Spiritual mines, building the Refinery Shops and Alchemist’s Business, enriching the lives of the Loose Cultivators, it all seemed like a dream.

The eradication of Black Mountain Stronghold, the threat of the evil cultivators, and even digging out the roots to extract the Patriarch of the Qian Family to completely eliminate a major concern, was yet another dream.

Everything had been moving in a positive direction, and their days could have gotten better and better…

But now, it all turned into nothing more than a dream.

It was like waking up from a dream.

Once awakened, they would have to leave their hometown, and Tongxian City might no longer exist.

Elder Yu sighed deeply, his expression filled with bitterness.

The life of a loose cultivator is tough…

Those loose cultivators didn’t even dare to hope for longevity, they just wanted to live a good life, peacefully for a hundred or two hundred years. Why was that so difficult to achieve?

Mo Hua took another walk around, saw a circle of acquaintances, and after returning home, sat in the courtyard in silence.

Everyone was about to leave.

Elder Yu, his uncles Yu Chengyi and Yu Chengwu, as well as other familiar monster hunter uncles and uncles;

Uncle Ji’s family, Uncle Meng’s family, Uncle Chu’s family;

Master Chen from the Refinery Shop, who had no children, would also move with them,

Old Mr. Feng, advanced in years and highly respected, who had saved people with his alchemy for years, had many people thankful for his kindness and naturally had other options;

But he was concerned that the loose cultivators would face hazards like poison and injuries without a pill master to care for them on their relocation, so he decided to go with them as well. No one could persuade him otherwise, nor did anyone dare to try;

Da’hu, who had grown up with Mo Hua, and Dazhu, who had fought alongside Mo Hua, and Daping, who he knew well, were also leaving with their parents…

His parents would probably accompany him, but the others, the people Mo Hua was familiar with;

Those who grew up with Mo Hua or watched him grow up;

Those who Mo Hua had helped and who had also protected him.

They would all leave Tongxian City and embark on an unknown path, moving to a strange place, beginning anew amidst hardships.

Perhaps they would face the elements, suffer from cold and hunger, or face oppression from unknown clans, sects, or even the Taoist Court.

And he would most likely not join them.

He would be on a completely different path.

Mo Hua pondered silently.

Without any bottlenecks in divine sense and with plenty of spirit stones, he would be able to start the Foundation Establishment soon.

He could choose to join a clan or a sect, or even the Taoist Court or the Taoist soldiers Court, and cultivate steadily until he reached Foundation Establishment. Then he could look forward to achieving Golden Core, step by step learning higher formation techniques and seeking even loftier realms…

The road ahead for a loose cultivator was full of thorns, yet his own path was paved with flowers.

But was this truly what he wanted?

Mo Hua couldn’t help but question himself again.

Why did he learn formation techniques in the first place?

He changed some things, but in the end, it seemed as though nothing had changed.

In the face of disaster, he could save himself this time, but what about the next time?

Each time he faced difficulties, would he continue to only save himself?

“If this continues, will I become numb and indifferent?”

“Will I forget my original intention, lose my true self, obliterate my Taoist heart, and become entirely selfish and self-serving?”

Could such a person truly achieve immortality? Could he really seek the Tao?

Could he truly understand the essence of formations and comprehend the ultimate Great Dao?

If he lost his Taoist heart, even if he achieved success and fame, could he attain true immortality?

Mo Hua couldn’t make sense of it so he lay in the courtyard, looking up at the sky.

“What is my Taoist heart?”

“What is the Tao I seek?”

“What should I do?”

The sky was vast and the horizon boundless, as if it contained infinite vitality and reason.

If there is a Tao, the sky is its manifestation.

If there is a Large Formation, then the Heavenly Dao Formation is the ultimate Large Formation.

And this is what a Formation Master should pursue!

Mo Hua’s eyes gradually brightened.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

“I may not be able to lay down such a heaven-reaching, earth-penetrating Large Formation, using the Heavenly Dao Laws to balance the cultivators of the world, allowing the cultivation world to flourish endlessly.”

“So, I will start with the simplest first-grade Large Formation, figure out how to learn it, and lay down the first first-grade Large Formation. I will eliminate a local Taoist demon and protect the peace of an Immortal City!”

Mo Hua suddenly felt enlightened, his expression grew resolute, and his gaze shone like the stars.

He lay in the courtyard, reaching towards the sky.

His small palm seemed to grasp the entire firmament itself.