Chapter 219: 218 Annual Ceremony_1

Chapter 219: Chapter 218 Annual Ceremony_1

A few days before the festival, Mo Hua paid an early visit to Mr. Zhuang, bringing some new year’s gifts, all personally prepared by Liu Ruhua.

Such things as Spirit Stones and Spiritual Artifacts, Mr. Zhuang did not need.

Liu Ruhua thought for a long time, not knowing what would be the best gift, so she could only follow the usual custom, making more delicious food to express her sentiment.

Liu Ruhua had started preparing more than ten days in advance, busily bustling around until now when she finally finished.

There were sauces made from various parts of different monster beasts like oxen, sheep, pigs, and dogs, with different flavors, as well as multicolored pastries made from various grains, and wines brewed from osmanthus, peach blossoms, and wild fruits from the mountains.

Even Mr. Zhuang, who was accustomed to such fare, couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised.

“So much! How can one finish it all?”

He then eagerly started tasting one after the other, occasionally furrowing his brows and asking, “What meat is this? I’ve never tasted it before...” and occasionally nodding in approval, “This flavor is quite good.”

Mo Hua sat by Mr. Zhuang’s side, chatting with him.

He explained to Mr. Zhuang which monster beef was used, what spices were added, and whether it was cooked with high or low heat for how many hours.

Or he would ask minor questions about the Formation, and occasionally, they chatted about amusing incidents from the city.

Many of these stories were told to him by An Xiaofu.

An Xiaofu, now the young manager of Fulu Building, dealt with customers every day, chatting idly with others, and had heard a bellyful of stories. When he was free, he would chat idlely with Mo Hua, embellishing the tales before retelling them to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua found them interesting and recounted them to Mr. Zhuang, who enjoyed listening while drinking and eating.

After chatting for a long time, Mo Hua saw the bamboo room was serene and quiet but inevitably a bit lonely and asked:

“Gentlemen, are you planning to go out during the New Year? It’s very lively outside.”

Mr. Zhuang seemed to have always stayed in this Forgetful Residence, either resting in the bamboo room, watching the water from the bridge, or sitting in the courtyard, gazing at the mountain scenery, enjoying the breeze, the morning sun, and the sunset glow.

Mo Hua had never seen Mr. Zhuang leave the residence.

Mr. Zhuang smiled, “It’s quiet here; I do not like the hustle and bustle.”

“Oh, got it,” Mo Hua nodded. “Then, does my talking to you bother you?”

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, “Too much silence can be dull. It’s quite nice to chat with you.”

Mo Hua was relieved.

A fresh breeze swept through the room, bamboo rustled outside, the plants swayed.

Mo Hua humbly asked for advice, “What should I pay attention to when breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refinement?”

He had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement, so one more step would take him to the seventh level, which was the late stage of Qi Refinement.

Though he and Da’hu were cultivating different Techniques, he could still listen to advice and take reference to have an idea in his mind.

Da’hu scratched his head, “Just keep cultivating normally. Then, you need some Spiritual Objects. The Cultivation Technique I use requires Sunset Grass and Melting Fire Stones, along with some Pills, and then you can break through.”

“Is it that simple?”

“Not every breakthrough is successful; I was just lucky this time. Otherwise, I might have to try several times,” Da’hu said.

Shuanghu on the side said, “I failed once; otherwise, I’d be in the late stage of Qi Refinement now.”

“What do you do if you fail?”

“Just continue cultivating, save up more Spirit Stones, buy Spiritual Objects and Pills again, then try to make a breakthrough.”

Shuanghu said indifferently, “As long as a Cultivator doesn’t die, they have to keep doing this kind of thing, unless they resign themselves to fate, or are too poor to afford Spirit Stones, or they have a family to support and the burdens are too great.”

Mo Hua nodded, “It sounds simple, but to persist and do it for a lifetime, that’s not easy at all.”

Xiaohu worriedly said, “The main problem is that some Spiritual Objects are too expensive, difficult for Loose Cultivators to buy, and some aren’t even available. One breakthrough consumes everything, and if you fail, you must buy another set.”

Daping and Dazhu also nodded in agreement, “Exactly! Where do Loose Cultivators get so many Spirit Stones and such wide connections to buy those Spiritual Objects.”

Everyone started to worry.

Mo Hua also worried for a bit but then remembered that his practice of Heaven Yan Jue didn’t require any Spiritual Objects and didn’t cost many Spirit Stones; he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The bottleneck of Heaven Yan Jue lay in the Sea of Consciousness and in Formation, not in Spiritual Objects.

That was precisely why he chose this Cultivation Technique.

Mo Hua silently congratulated himself on his foresight.

But then he thought again, although Heaven Yan Jue’s breakthrough didn’t need Spiritual Objects, it required solving Mystery Formations.

Mystery Formations were profound and complex, abstruse and ever-changing; solving them was no easy feat.

The Great Dao metes out fortune and misfortune—it seemed relatively fair, not letting you find any loopholes.

He just didn’t know what the Mystery Formation in his Sea of Consciousness would be like this time...

Mo Hua silently calculated in his mind:

“I’m already at the sixth level of Qi Refinement. It probably won’t take long for me to reach the peak of the sixth level. When I try to break through then, I’ll find out what kind of Mystery Formation I have to solve this time.”