The twenty-two thousand and twenty-second year of the Taoist Calendar, September tenth.
Tongxian City, Outer Mountain of Tongxian Gate.
Ten-year-old Mo Hua, wearing a simple Taoist robe of the outer sect, sat idly behind a giant stone at the foot of the mountain, holding a grass root in his hand and drawing complex patterns on the ground.
At 6 a.m., disciples seeking knowledge from the sect gradually ascended the mountain, walking in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.
A chubby kid with a round face and small eyes, dressed in an outer sect's standard Taoist robe adorned with precious jade ornaments, found Mo Hua contentedly drawing something behind the stone, accompanied by two or three followers.
The chubby kid looked left and right, finding no sight of the sect's instructors, and cautiously called out:
"Mo Hua!"
Mo Hua looked up, revealing a face as delicate as a painting, with eyes as clear as a pool of water.
The chubby kid lowered his voice, "Got it done?"
The ten-year-old Mo Hua, acting quite mature, pat his chest, "You can rest assured when I handle things," he said and took out several Formation Diagrams from his storage bag behind him, white paper and red ink, and handed them to the chubby kid.
"See if there's anything wrong."
The chubby kid took them solemnly, flipped open the copies, glanced seriously, then said bitterly:
"I can't understand it..."
Mo Hua patiently explained, "The instructor's assignment is the basic Formation Patterns of the Five Elements Formation. I've drawn them for you and deliberately made six mistakes, in case the instructor realizes these patterns weren't drawn by you…"
"Six mistakes... Isn't that a bit too much..."
Mo Hua looked at him silently.
The chubby kid immediately realized his mistake, reflecting, "One shouldn't be too greedy. It's good enough if I can hand in the instructor's assigned work. If it's done too well, it'll arouse suspicion. If the instructor finds out and lets my dad know, he'll definitely give me a hard beating. It's not worth it, not worth it..."
Mo Hua nodded, "Indeed, Young Master An, you figured it out so quickly!"
The chubby kid stuffed two Spirit Stones into Mo Hua's hand, "Brother Mo, you have good insights and know I'm smart! Here are the Spirit Stones. Next time the instructor assigns Formation work, I'll still come to you!"
He then tucked the Formation Diagrams into his bosom and dashed up the mountain.
Mo Hua carefully put away the two Spirit Stones, pulled another piece of grass root, and continued drawing on the ground.
A moment later, a lean gentleman with a paper fan glazed in gold appeared, his expression sharp, sporting even more jade pendants.
Mo Hua also handed him a Formation Diagram, the lean gentleman glanced at it, then gave a look to his servant. The servant stepped forward, handed two Spirit Stones to Mo Hua.
Despite taking the Formation Diagram, the lean gentleman didn't leave, suddenly closed the paper fan conceitedly, "This young master is also adept in Formations, just too busy for these basic ones, that's why I let you ghostwrite."
Mo Hua couldn't be bothered with him, picked up the grass root, and continued drawing.
The lean gentleman, a bit exasperated, sneered, "I heard that among the Qi Refinement early-stage cultivators at Tongxian Gate, your Formation drawings are the best. I wonder how you would compare with this young master. Could we have a match sometime?"
Mo Hua thought, you ask me to do your Formation homework, how good do you think you are?
Yet, adhering to the principle of harmony bringing wealth, Mo Hua still lifted his head and praised with choice words:
"Naturally, Young Master's Formation skills are far superior. The Qian Family is the greatest in Tongxian City, and their Formation legacy isn't something other cultivators can compare to."
The lean gentleman's expression slightly eased, "Then tell me, in Tongxian Gate's Qi Refinement early-stage cultivators, is there anyone whose Formation skills can rival mine?"
"There are, though..."
The lean gentleman was displeased, "Who are they?"
"For instance, me..." Such words Mo Hua would never foolishly say.
"Quite a few, too many to count at the moment."
The lean gentleman was clearly angered.
"This is a good thing!" Mo Hua lied through his teeth.
The lean gentleman sneered, "Not coming from a better family, without more Spirit Stones than I, yet surpassing me in Formation skills, many like this, are you implying I'm inherently dumb, less than others? Where's the good in that?"
Mo Hua said, "Cultivators of Tongxian City, no matter how talented or well-learned, in the end, don't they all enter the Qian Family's Myriad Treasure Building for artifact refining, alchemy, and drawing Formations for you?"
"Think about it, even at Qi Refining stage, you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you; even as a First Grade Array Master, you have Second Grade Masters under your command, isn't that prestigious? The stronger the cultivators under you, the greater your capabilities appear!"
The lean gentleman was stunned, then suddenly understood, "Seems like there's some sense in that!"
"You understand now?"
The lean gentleman nodded, looking at the cultivators below the mountain, lifted his chin even higher:
"Indeed! No matter how high your talent, how hard your cultivation, in the end, aren't you all just working like cattle and horses for my Qian Family?"
After saying this, the sharp-faced Young Master Qian strutted off proudly.
After fooling Young Master Qian away, Mo Hua continued practicing Formation drawing on the ground with the grass root.
Soon after, a few more wealthy cultivators came by, exchanging Spirit Stones for several Formation Diagrams from Mo Hua. Once Mo Hua's hand-copied Diagrams were all traded, he had twelve Spirit Stones in hand.
Twelve Spirit Stones were already quite a bit for a Loose Cultivator, but still far from enough for Tao Cultivation.
Mo Hua sighed, a tinge of helplessness on his young face.
For a lower-level cultivator, there was no hope in Tao Cultivation...
The Year One of the Taoist Calendar, two thousand years ago, the Taoist Court, the largest power in the Tao Cultivation World, unified the Nine State cultivation territories, canonized families and sects, establishing a unified grading system to standardize the Tao Cultivation industry rankings.
The Taoist Court also enacted the "Taoist Law," restraining cultivators, prohibiting wanton slaughter, looting, and replenishing from others.
The Cultivation World developed from this, peaceful for over two thousand years, reaching extreme prosperity, vast lands, and innumerable cultivators.
However, as the Taoist Court flourished, families enjoyed luxury, and sects occupied regions strongly.
Only the lower-level Loose Cultivators, unsupported, lived in hardship, with no hope in Tao Cultivation.
In over two thousand years of the Cultivation World evolving, mortals without Spiritual Roots gradually became naturally eliminated, leaving only those with Spiritual Roots capable of Tao Cultivation. Yet as the number of cultivators grew, the consumption of spiritual energy increased, draining the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
Nowadays, for cultivators to cultivate, they required not only inheritance but Spirit Stones.
However, great families occupied spiritual mines, leaving lower-level Loose Cultivators with a shortage of Spirit Stones, while great sects monopolized heritages, leaving ordinary Loose Cultivators with no paths for cultivation.
In Tongxian City, the vast majority of Loose Cultivators, lacking inheritance and short of Spirit Stones, could only remain as Qi Refinement Realm cultivators their entire lives.
Qi Refinement Realm was but a humble ant under the vast Heavenly Dao.
And Mo Hua was just one among these billions of ants.
And quite possibly, just that for his whole life!
A hint of bitterness was in Mo Hua's young face.
The Heavenly Dao might be equal, but Tao Cultivation certainly wasn't equal...
Mo Hua was a Qi Refining Second Layer Loose Cultivator, born into a Loose Cultivator family of the Qi Refinement Realm, with both parents in the Qi Refinement Realm.
Mo Shan, his father, made a living monster hunting, needing to fight with Monster Beasts constantly, bearing numerous scars. His mother worked in the Food Building's kitchen, suffering from the invasion of stove fire qi, often having lung pains and a dry cough.
Yet his parents lived frugally, saving all their Spirit Stones just to allow Mo Hua to enter the outer gate of Tongxian Gate for cultivation.
But no matter how much Mo Hua cultivated, with mid and lower grade Spiritual Roots, though slightly better than ordinary, was destined as only another ordinary one among the geniuses in the Cultivation World.
No matter how much he cultivated, he might only be a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator.
With a difficult family condition and lack of Spirit Stones, Mo Hua could only, like most disciples, quit the sect upon reaching the Qi Refining Sixth Layer and then find a way to learn a craft to make a living.
But Mo Hua was born physically weak!
The craftsmanship jobs that Qi Refinement cultivators relied on for living, like artifact refining and monster hunting, typically required robust Body Cultivation. Born physically weak, Mo Hua might not even manage to find a job to earn a living.
If he married and had children in the future, the burden would increase, and all Spirit Stones would be used to support the family.
Mo Hua, without Spirit Stones to cultivate, would have his cultivation stagnant forever and would be a Qi Refining cultivator all his life.
Like all the poor Loose Cultivators in Tongxian City.
Like the billions of lower-level cultivators in the Cultivation World.
A life spent just as a Qi Refinement!
The ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, collected himself, and went into the sect for classes. After a whole day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to the Disciple's Residence, read some Tao Cultivation Canon, and lay down on the bed at 1 p.m.
When Mo Hua closed his eyes, in his Sea of Consciousness, appeared a fragment of a stele.
Though there were no words on the stele, from the first glance Mo Hua had at it, he knew its name:
Taoist Stele!