After some tinkering, Mo Xuan quickly solved the workshop's chimney emissions problem. He made a simple dust-filtering cloth—cheap to produce, heat-resistant, highly absorbent, and easy to replace. At once, the thick black smoke pouring from the Mo family's big chimney turned into a thin white haze.
Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility, after all.
Mo Xuan shared his little invention for free through his jade tablet, earning countless likes. No immortal was short-sighted; they all took action with just a few orders. Before long, countless chimneys across the Minor Immortal Realm, once belching black smoke, were fitted with dust-filtering cloth. The air quality had already been excellent—now it rose another level.
As for air conditioning—it wasn't that Mo Xuan couldn't make it. The cost was simply too high. Every plan required spirit stones, and even an immortal like him couldn't bear to spend them. So he compromised: he made a manpower-driven giant fan, greatly improving ventilation in the workshop. The interior immediately became much cooler.
Mo Que'er, clever and meticulous, soon produced a revised blade design. The sharpness was reduced significantly, costs dropped further, and combined with the distinctive shapes Mo Xuan had sketched, the production line quickly took shape.
Mo Que'er poured real effort into making mirrors. She worked for several days straight, comparing and selecting again and again. In the end, the material she chose had top-tier ductility, reflectiveness, and low production cost.
Overjoyed, she brought the sample to Mo Xuan like a treasure offering.
Mo Xuan looked into it.
Whoa—no worse than a glass mirror back on Earth! Crystal clear!
He praised her nonstop, extremely satisfied. He patted her head, noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes, and said with concern, "Little Que'er, you have to rest. Do things one at a time—no need to rush."
Mo Que'er hummed in agreement, then asked, "So we'll produce mirrors using this plan?"
Mo Xuan laughed. "You're the expert, Little Que'er. Your call. Once the finished goods are ready, give me a batch of the best ones—I'll take them to the Academy to promote."
Mo Que'er smiled sweetly, answered brightly, and skipped away.
With nothing urgent to do at home, Mo Xuan spent time on the jade tablet network, learning and catching up. By now, he understood the meteor market well—getting fleeced by Uncle Luo Yu was officially a thing of the past.
He was also extremely satisfied with Mo Que'er as she was now. She had truly融入 the Mo family—no affectation at all. Just a lively, adorable, smart little girl, and the family's rising star.
That day, Mo Xuan chose a good moment and called Mo Que'er over for a heart-to-heart. With a sweep of his sleeve, he sealed off the surrounding space.
Mo Que'er had long prepared herself. Calm and composed, she explained her origins.
"Great-Granduncle… my original world was also an immortal realm. There were mortal kingdoms and immortal factions. But whether mortal or immortal, everyone fought endlessly—grabbing resources and territory. There was a Primordial Spirit Tree in that realm. My mother once rested on it, then built a nest there and nurtured me…"
Mo Xuan blinked.
Built a nest?
Mo Que'er pursed her lips proudly and smiled. "My mother was a pure-blood Fire Phoenix."
Mo Xuan was stunned.
A phoenix divine beast—powerful and rare. The Qingyuan Minor Immortal Realm didn't even have one. He'd heard that in an older immortal realm, a Primordial Wutong Tree had attracted a Green Phoenix, becoming that realm's guardian divine beast—worshipped like an ancestor.
Mo Que'er's expression darkened.
"Then the Devil Devouring Beast appeared. It swallowed countless suns and moons and stars. The night sky that was once full of constellations turned into vast stretches of darkness."
Even recalling it made her body tremble. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.
"My mother wanted to gather the full strength of the realm and destroy it before it matured. Several joint exterminations failed—mostly because the immortals guarded against each other, unwilling to truly risk their lives. The beast escaped every time. By then my mother was already nurturing me and couldn't split her focus. She could only watch it grow stronger… until one day, it came for our minor realm."
"At that time I had only just hatched. My mother was also weakened. When disaster arrived, the larger realm didn't take her warnings seriously—they were still busy fighting among themselves. Ridiculous."
"My mother held the beast back for three months. Exhausted, she was struck by a beam from its third vertical eye. All her energy was sealed—she could barely protect herself. The realm immediately suffered. The beast replenished itself and grew even stronger. My mother could only cover my escape… but it locked onto us, wanting to devour both mother and daughter."
"Left with no choice, we burned our life force to fight for a sliver of survival…"
Tears blurred Mo Que'er's eyes as if she had returned to that moment. She was weak; her life force burned out quickly, leaving only her soul. Her mother still had strength—she could have fled. But she refused to abandon Mo Que'er. Using everything she had, she sent Mo Que'er's soul far, far away.
Mo Que'er survived.
Her mother was devoured.
Mo Xuan sighed and gently patted her back.
That was motherly love.
He still couldn't help asking, "What happened to the Devil Devouring Beast after that?"
Mo Que'er shook her head. "I don't know. My soul drifted through the void for a very long time. I grew weaker and weaker, fell into sleep… and when I woke, I was already born into this world. My mother here once dreamed of a beautiful bird flying to her, so she named me Mo Que'er."
So that was it.
Mo Que'er bit her lip and continued, "Back then, there were still stars in the sky. But now there isn't even one. They were probably all devoured."
Mo Xuan asked, "Compared to the Qingyuan Minor Immortal Realm, how strong was your original realm overall?"
Mo Que'er answered honestly, "My original realm was much larger. But its Dao scriptures, immortal arts, and formations were inferior, and it wasn't united. Overall, Qingyuan is stronger. But… the Devil Devouring Beast has already devoured my realm, so it must have become far more powerful."
Mo Xuan gave a bitter smile. The thought of that beast hiding somewhere in the endless black void made his teeth ache. He could only hope it would never discover their realm. Otherwise… tragedy.
He rubbed Mo Que'er's head gently and comforted her. "You've suffered, losing your mother so young."
Mo Que'er pressed her lips together, then said softly, "It doesn't feel bitter anymore. Here, I also have a mother who treats me well, and a father, and Grandpa and Grandma… and you too, Great-Granduncle. You're all so good to me. I'm not lonely at all. I like it here. I like my home now."
Mo Xuan nodded, quietly pleased.
Mo Que'er's dark eyes rolled slightly. She couldn't resist asking, "Great-Granduncle… are you from Earth?"
Mo Xuan couldn't help smiling. He neither admitted nor denied—only tapped her smooth forehead with one finger.
Mo Que'er had her answer. She giggled, feeling even closer to him.
They talked more about her fallen realm—wars without end, mortal emperors replaced one after another, immortals colluding with mortals to form factions, chaos everywhere.
Mo Que'er had cultivated Phoenix bloodline arts rather than orthodox immortal cultivation, so she didn't understand immortal methods deeply. But she was born extraordinarily gifted with flame control, and she had learned to forge immortal swords from her mother.
So that's why.
Sword forging—an insanely profitable craft!
Mo Xuan's eyes practically turned into gold coins; he nearly started drooling. Once he created his own immortal garden and gathered materials, if Mo Que'er forged a few immortal swords…
He'd make a fortune.
Mo Que'er blinked and added, "Oh, right—my original realm's heavenly tribulations were terrifying. Many immortals trying to break through to immortality were struck dead. Why does Qingyuan have no heavenly tribulations?"
She truly couldn't understand it.
Mo Xuan chuckled and explained vividly:
"A heavenly tribulation is basically the projection of the world's will. Why does it happen? Because cultivators seize too much spiritual energy from the world. To the world, that's a pest. And that pest wants to become even stronger and take even more—of course the world dislikes it. Most of the time, cultivators hide or escape fast. But at the moment of ascension, they're fully exposed—and at their weakest. So the world seizes the chance to kill them."
"But Qingyuan used to have tribulations too. The difference is: once our immortals ascend, they go to the void to harvest meteors and feed the realm. They replenish the world's spiritual foundation. Over time, the world 'accepts' immortals—maybe it even welcomes them. Why would it send tribulations then? That would be like hurting itself."
Mo Que'er blinked… then blinked again.
It sounded outrageous, yet the logic was strangely solid.
In her original realm, immortals only plundered—treasures, spiritual veins, resources—never "repaying" the world. No wonder even advancing to Earth Immortal or Heaven Immortal triggered tribulations. Even forging pills could trigger them!
The ones who slaughtered and looted openly always drew catastrophically heavy tribulations—and many were indeed struck dead. The low-key ones, who kept steady and restrained, often passed and lived long.
Mo Xuan continued, swaying his head as he elaborated:
"Even if someone is so fate-hardened that tribulations can't kill them, the world will still influence them subtly. It might stir their greed and lure them into a dead end, or distort their mind until they go mad and suffer cultivation deviation. In the end, they still won't escape their doom."
Mo Que'er nodded repeatedly. That matched history perfectly.
Then Mo Xuan "borrowed" the Dao De Jing:
"'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.' It means: Heaven and Earth aren't acting out of kindness or cruelty. They create and nurture everything without asking repayment. To Heaven and Earth, humans, beasts, plants, rivers, mountains—are all 'children,' treated impartially. If you harm other children too much, it's recorded—if retribution hasn't come, it's only because the time isn't ripe."
"Immortals forcibly take spiritual energy from others. If it's not excessive, the world tolerates it. But if it's too much, the world gets angry—thus tribulations arise. If immortals harvest meteors to nourish the world and help all things flourish, the world sees them as mischievous but filial—so it protects them instead."
Mo Que'er's eyes shone.
So precise. So clear.
No wonder her mother never encountered a tribulation. And when Mo Que'er herself once did—she had been too "excessive." After that scare, she restrained herself, and things stabilized.
She finally understood.
Tribulations weren't some senseless terror. The world was fundamentally fair.
As long as you didn't anger the world—so long as you truly treated all things well—why would tribulations punish you?
Mo Que'er let out a long breath.
One conversation with Great-Granduncle was worth a hundred years of reading.