Chapter 717 – Simple Calculations
After seeing Mo Hua off, it was past noon when Wenren Wan also prepared to return to the Shangguan Clan with Yu'er to honor their ancestors for the new year.
Inside the carriage, Yu'er read for a while before feeling tired and lying down to rest.
Wenren Wan sat nearby, her beautiful eyes smiling as she playfully teased him.
Shangguan Yi watched the mother and son with a mixture of comfort and guilt in his heart.
If not for his special status within the Shangguan Clan, constantly watched and schemed against, they could have lived just like this—peaceful days, a happy family of three, cultivating and living in harmony.
But now, he was stuck in a delicate balance—torn between the clan, his father, and his wife and son. It was exhausting.
Wenren Wan understood the difficulty of his position and never complained.
As long as Yu'er was safe and healthy, that was enough.
The carriage rattled along until Shangguan Yi suddenly asked, "I wonder what kind of things Mo Hua likes…"
Wenren Wan was caught off guard.
Shangguan Yi sighed. "At that family banquet, we owed him a great favor. We really should repay it."
Wenren Wan replied, "I already sent a return gift."
Shangguan Yi shook his head. "The handwriting of an ancestor is a priceless treasure—many beg and still never receive such a gift. No matter what, I should send something in return to show our gratitude."
He glanced at Yu'er with a warm expression. "Yu'er's condition has been improving day by day—he barely has nightmares now. That's largely thanks to Mo Hua's care at the Great Void Sect."
Wenren Wan nodded in agreement.
Indeed, when she first sent Yu'er to the sect, her intention was to have Mo Hua help dispel his nightmares.
She hadn't hoped for a complete cure, just some relief. At the very least, she didn't want Yu'er to be tormented nightly and afraid to sleep.
Back then, it was a faint hope—but unexpectedly, it worked.
Now Yu'er was cheerful and lively. Compared to his pale, distressed former self, he had changed dramatically.
"If we're going to send a gift…" Wenren Wan considered aloud, "Mo Hua may be young, but his character is upright. I don't think he'd care much for spirit stones…"
(A minor misjudgment on her part—Mo Hua certainly wouldn't mind a few spirit stones.)
She continued, "As for spiritual tools… I hate to say it, but his aptitude is rather lacking. His blood and spiritual energy are weak—he probably can't even use higher-grade tools properly."
"Good pills likely aren't useful for him right now either."
"So why not gift him formation techniques instead?"
She began listing possibilities.
Shangguan Yi nodded in agreement.
Formation techniques were valuable without being vulgar, and they could encourage Mo Hua's cultivation and learning—an ideal gift.
"What kind of formations should we give?" he asked.
Wenren Wan pondered. "Does your Shangguan Clan have any rare formation manuals in storage?"
Shangguan Yi muttered to himself, You're technically part of the Shangguan Clan too now…
But he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he thought seriously before answering, "We do, but the truly rare ones are highly classified. I can't give those out privately."
"What about ones that aren't that secret?"
"There are a few, but they're quite advanced. I'm not sure he could learn them—it might just waste his time and drain his spiritual sense."
Wenren Wan replied, "That's fine. Elder Xun is guiding him. If a formation's unsuitable, Elder Xun won't let him learn it."
Shangguan Yi nodded. "Alright, I'll go pick out a few when I return to the clan."
"Mhm." Wenren Wan nodded. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she whispered, "Also… sneak in a few of the Shangguan Clan's top-secret formations."
Shangguan Yi froze. "That might not be a good idea. If word got out, Mo Hua could get in trouble."
"You're so silly," Wenren Wan frowned. "I'm not asking you to give him the Shangguan Clan's exclusive core secrets."
"Just pick a few that may be classified, but are also possessed by other clans. Even if Mo Hua learns them, who's going to know where he got them from?"
"If anyone asks, and he doesn't say anything, no one can prove anything. As long as we don't speak of it, it won't implicate the Shangguan Clan."
Shangguan Yi couldn't help but nod—her logic was flawless.
Especially when she said "our Shangguan Clan," the words warmed his heart.
"I'll look into it when I get back," Shangguan Yi agreed.
For noble clans, disciples were expected to study everything: pills, formations, talismans, artifacts. Not in depth, but at least the basics.
Shangguan Yi had learned formation techniques too, but only general ones.
The more advanced or classified formations were far harder to comprehend—twice the effort for half the result. Only those intending to specialize in formations would invest the effort to master them.
So even he wasn't sure what secret manuals the Shangguan Clan held. He'd have to check the Formation Vault when he returned.
"What grade should we give?" he asked.
"Whatever he can use now…" Wenren Wan thought for a moment. "Start with basic first-grade, up to mid- and high-tier second-grade."
Shangguan Yi blinked. "High-tier second grade? Isn't that too difficult? He can learn that already?"
Wenren Wan rolled her eyes. "What are you thinking? He's only at early Foundation Establishment—how could he possibly handle high-tier second-grade formations right now?"
"This is called planning ahead!" she continued. "If you only give him beginner-level second-grade, then what—he has to come beg you later when he breaks through again?"
"So just give them all at once."
"As for third-grade formations, those are for after Core Formation. That's still far off."
Shangguan Yi smiled warmly. "You really think things through."
"Then it's settled," Wenren Wan said with a bright smile. "You look for some in the Shangguan Clan, and I'll have someone search the Wenren Clan's vault too. We'll find the best ones and gift them to Mo Hua together."
"Alright," Shangguan Yi agreed.
The family of three continued in harmony.
The Shangguan Clan's group traveled in grand procession—fine carriages, dignified ceremony—and left Qingzhou City, heading toward their residence in the prestigious Upper Qian Prefecture, a fifth-grade prefecture.
At the grand gates of the Shangguan estate, attendants were already lined up to greet them.
Shangguan Ce stood at the front, with a group of elders behind him.
Shangguan Yi and Wenren Wan held Yu'er's hands, one on each side, as they stepped down from the carriage and walked into the magnificent Shangguan Clan residence.
Shangguan Ce's gaze was calm as he scanned the crowd. His eyes passed over Shangguan Yi and Wenren Wan, then settled briefly on Yu'er, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Yu'er…
Shangguan Yu.
Elegant as jade, pure as a gem.
That name—Shangguan Ce had chosen it personally, with great care and hope.
But he had chosen it before Yu'er was born, before the fate-reading elder from the Astral Observatory had declared his inescapable death.
Shangguan Ce looked again at Yu'er.
This was his grandson.
And perhaps… the only grandson he would ever have.
Bitterness filled his heart.
On the other side, Yu'er said something to his mother, and his little face lit up with joy and contentment.
Shangguan Ce took it all in, his heart aching all the more.
"Doomed to die young… a cursed fate…"
He sighed softly. The pain in his chest was real.
But his thoughts never showed on his face. A man of deep scheming and iron control, he kept his expression dignified and unreadable.
...
After entering the Shangguan Clan estate, Shangguan Ce returned to his study.
His study was luxuriously elegant, and in its center stood a divination compass.
"If one cannot comprehend the Heavenly Secrets, if one cannot pierce through karmic entanglements—no matter how high their cultivation, they are nothing more than someone else's plaything."
The older he got, the more he saw, the stronger his cultivation became, the more he engaged with the higher layers of the cultivation world—the more deeply Shangguan Ce resonated with that saying.
Unfortunately, the art of Heavenly Secrets had long since declined.
Despite his efforts, all Shangguan Ce had obtained was a shallow understanding of the Heavenly Secrets arts.
Heavenly Divination was a profoundly deep discipline. It couldn't be mastered overnight. One had to start from the surface, progress step by step, from shallow to deep, slowly attaining insight.
That much, Shangguan Ce understood.
He didn't hope to master it—just to grasp a little.
But perhaps because his heart was too selfish, the more he studied Heavenly Secrets, the less he understood. No matter how he looked at it, it remained a fog of confusion.
It was as if something had veiled his eyes.
Everything he saw was but the illusion of his own desire and ego—not the truth of karma and fate.
Still, one must be brave enough to try.
Shangguan Ce decided to start with something simple—for instance…
That child named Mo Hua.
This idea had already taken root back when he was at the Gu family estate.
The name "Mo Hua" wasn't new to him.
He'd heard about Yu'er's situation long ago.
But this was the first time he had ever seen Mo Hua in person—and in that moment, he had felt something... subtle and strange.
On the surface, the boy looked innocent—yet sharp-witted.
Seemed pure—but carried a hidden depth.
By all appearances, he and Gu Shouyan, the Gu Clan Patriarch whom Shangguan Ce had dealt with all his life, were nothing alike.
Yet strangely… Shangguan Ce felt there was a certain resemblance in temperament.
Both had peculiar stubbornness in their actions.
And even more peculiar—this boy Mo Hua was supposedly a rogue cultivator with no background, no roots, and clearly unremarkable on the surface—yet he'd somehow earned the favor of the Great Void Sect's Elder Xun?
Shangguan Ce couldn't understand it.
So, he wanted to divine it.
He couldn't divine Void Rebirth cultivators. He couldn't reach those in the Nascent Soul realm. Even Golden Core cultivators gave him trouble.
But a mere early Foundation Establishment brat?
A basic reading shouldn't be difficult.
He didn't plan to look too deeply—just to check the boy's origins.
Shangguan Ce began turning the compass.
The karmic threads on the compass fluctuated, energy flowed.
But after moving just one tick—
The compass suddenly jerked violently, like it had short-circuited.
At that same moment, a wave of bloodthirst rushed at him.
Shangguan Ce's hair stood on end. His heart trembled. He immediately tossed the compass away, locking his mind and spirit—no longer daring to peer into the karmic web.
Moments later, everything dissipated.
When he looked down again, the compass was already covered in spidery cracks. His eyes widened slightly—shocked.
"Are the Heavenly Secrets… really this dangerous?"
He'd only tried to read the simplest child—and was nearly caught in a deadly backlash?
And even worse…
He didn't even see what the danger was.
His skills in Heavenly Divination were simply too shallow. He had only grazed the edge—hadn't seen the truth of the danger—and thus, ironically, had narrowly escaped disaster.
Even so, Shangguan Ce's heart was unsettled for a long time.
Mo Hua's face kept surfacing in his mind.
"Is this boy truly born with such a fate?
Or has someone interfered—shielding his karma?"
"A rogue cultivator couldn't possibly be born with such a destiny."
"So then… is this the doing of Elder Xun?"
Shangguan Ce frowned.
"But when did the Great Void Sect develop such mastery over Heavenly Secrets?"
"And what is it about this boy that makes Elder Xun go to such lengths to protect him?"
He pondered and pondered—but found no answers.
Finally, he looked silently at the cracked compass on his desk.
It had shattered.
A backlash from fate.
Shangguan Ce sighed inwardly.
Perhaps they had all underestimated Elder Xun.
This was a warning from Elder Xun—or perhaps a warning meant for anyone who tried to peer into that child's karma.
Some things should not be looked at.
Some fates should not be calculated.
Shangguan Ce's face was numb, but in the end, he could only shake his head in helpless resignation.
"Enough."
His skill in Heavenly Secrets was lacking—if he insisted on forcing a divination, he would only bring harm upon himself.
This time he was lucky.
Next time, Elder Xun might not be so polite.
A lesson learned the hard way.
Behind that boy stood Elder Xun—Void Rebirth cultivation, revered and powerful.
In other words, the entire Great Void Sect.
Unless he was ready for open conflict… he could never afford to provoke them.
Shangguan Ce silently engraved the name "Mo Hua" into his mind, but for now—he would stop probing.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mo Hua had long since returned to the sect.
After visiting the Gu family—eating well, playing well—he wasn't planning on going anywhere else for the New Year. He obediently stayed in the disciples' quarters, diligently practicing formation techniques.
It was a bit quiet, yes, but also quite fulfilling.
His array formation skills were steadily improving.
The majority of the second-grade, seventeen-rune formations that Elder Xun had taught him—he now had them down pat, practically at his fingertips.
The New Year's holiday passed quickly.
Before long, a new year had begun.
This marked Mo Hua's third year in the Great Void Sect.
Within this year, he had to solve the puzzle formation, break through his bottleneck, advance to mid-Foundation Establishment, and start preparing for the cultivation that would follow.
He also needed to learn more of the seventeen-rune formations.
And as for that loophole-like flaw in his Sea of Consciousness—the Heavenly Dao law that kept draining his divine sense—he had to find a way to either feed it fully or patch it.
Then there was the matter of the Gu family's spiritual industry—could he help improve it?
That family banquet before the New Year had shown Mo Hua that, for all their prestige, the Gu family was under pressure from other clans—they weren't living as comfortably as they seemed.
And Gu Shushu (Uncle Gu) was one of them. The Gu family cultivators had all treated him well. He even had one of their secret command tokens in his possession.
In other words, the Gu family was basically his backer.
If they prospered, he'd have free meals to mooch for days.
If he ran into trouble, they might even have the power to help him out.
But if the Gu family fell into decline, struggling to survive—not to mention helping him in a crisis—they wouldn't even have a table left for him to crash for dinner.
The Gu family must not fall!
Mo Hua silently vowed to himself.
Still, such matters were complicated. He would have to plan slowly and carefully...
In the days that followed, Mo Hua cultivated diligently, gradually breaking through his bottleneck while also mulling over ways to help develop the Gu family's cultivation industries.
But before he could come up with a good plan, something else came knocking.
One afternoon, while Mo Hua was eating lunch with Yu'er in the disciples' dining hall—
Cheng Mo came running over, grinning like a fool.
"Mo Hua."
Mo Hua glanced up at him, face calm and indifferent.
"Senior Brother Mo~" Cheng Mo said with a cheeky grin.
Only then did Mo Hua give a slight nod, signaling for him to speak.
"I need a favor…" Cheng Mo said cautiously.
Mo Hua was a bit surprised. He thought for a second and said,
"Something about array formations?"
If Cheng Mo was coming to him, it must be because it was something he didn't understand, but Mo Hua did.
And really, that only left formations.
At the mention of formations, Cheng Mo's head started to hurt.
"Sort of… but not exactly."
Mo Hua took a bite of chicken.
Yu'er followed suit and also chomped down on her chicken leg.
Then both of them stared silently at Cheng Mo.
"It's about a Dao Court bounty," Cheng Mo finally sighed.
Mo Hua blinked, then shook his head.
"Elder Xun grounded me. I'm not allowed to leave the sect. I can't help with bounties."
At that, Cheng Mo looked visibly disappointed.
He really had hoped Mo Hua could come.
After all, Mo Hua was smart, knew formations, could scout and cast spells, had experience, and was well-connected...
Basically, no matter what kind of bounty they were doing, bringing Mo Hua along was always a good idea.
Cheng Mo had been ready to cling to this "Senior Brother" for the long haul.
But Elder Xun, in order to keep Mo Hua focused on studying formations, had slapped him with a "grounding order."
Without Mo Hua, their bounty-hunting efficiency dropped again.
Seeing Cheng Mo's crestfallen face, Mo Hua said:
"Tell me what the bounty is. Maybe I can give you some advice."
Cheng Mo paused to think, then nodded.
"Alright."
Since there was nothing to lose, he ordered some food, sat next to Mo Hua, and started chatting over lunch.
As was his custom, he ordered two extra chicken legs—a big one as an offering to his senior brother, and a small one for Yu'er.
"I took a bounty to catch a flying thief. He's a mid-Foundation cultivator, average strength, but he's incredibly fast—keeps popping up around the nearby second-grade province."
"I've been staking out with Situ Jian and a few others. We've found some leads and have been watching the area for a while, but still haven't caught him."
"Either we don't run into him, or he spots us first and escapes. And even when we manage to corner him, his footwork is too damn good—we just can't catch him…"
Cheng Mo chomped a big bite of meat, grumbling:
"This whole thing has been driving me nuts. I've lost weight, can't eat or sleep…"
"It's not even that much merit—we've sunk too much time into it, so continuing feels like a waste, but quitting would be embarrassing. I just can't swallow that."
He looked at Mo Hua again and sighed regretfully:
"If only you were with us—even without spells, you could set up a formation to trap that thief!"
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
"Don't you guys know formations too? Didn't you all take the formation class?"
Cheng Mo waved a hand helplessly.
"No good. Too basic. That thief is experienced—he can spot formation markers and positioning in a glance."
"And our formations aren't strong enough to hold him anyway."
Mo Hua gave a small nod, then suddenly paused—something seemed to click in his mind. He looked at Cheng Mo with a strange expression.
Cheng Mo felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze.
"What? What is it…"
Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked:
"Are you financially comfortable right now?"
Cheng Mo instantly made a face of woe.
"I don't have much merit…"
"Not merit," Mo Hua said. "I mean spirit stones."
"Spirit stones?"
"Yeah. Spirit stones."
At the mention of spirit stones, Cheng Mo instantly puffed up with bravado.
"Oh, I've got plenty of those!"
Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully, eyes lighting up slightly— Like he was staring at a particularly plump and juicy sheep.
(End of Chapter)