Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 375: Wandering

South of Tongxian City, on the mountain path outside Shangtai City, a carriage rolled leisurely along the road.

Thirteen-year-old Mo Hua sat inside that carriage.

Besides Mo Hua, inside were Mister Zhuang, Old Puppet, and his two senior disciples—Senior Brother Bai Zisheng and Senior Sister Bai Zixi.

Aunt Xue wasn't allowed to follow, as Mister Zhuang didn't give permission.

The carriage belonged to the Bai Family.

On the outside, it looked plain, but it was exceptionally sturdy. The interior wasn't luxurious, but it was comfortable and quite spacious—enough to fit five or six people.

Since Mo Hua and the others were still young and didn't take up much room, the space inside felt even more open.

However, there was only enough room to sit cross-legged, not lie down.

Old Puppet was driving up front, Mister Zhuang sipped tea inside, and the three juniors were hunched over a small desk, working on the homework that Mister Zhuang had assigned them.

The assignments were mostly centered around array formations, with some touching on cultivation secrets.

Occasionally, when they'd traveled for long, they'd stop to rest.

During these breaks, Mo Hua would hop off the carriage and climb nearby hills to gather grass for the horse.

The horse also belonged to the Bai Family and was actually a spirit beast. Gentle in temperament, it didn't spook even when encountering wild beasts.

According to Bai Zisheng, though the horse looked ordinary and its coat wasn't especially white, it had a unique bloodline—and an extremely flamboyant name, something like Cloud-this, Dragon-that, Celestial-steed-whatever…

Mo Hua found it too hard to say and simply renamed it "Big White."

Bai Zisheng didn't like the name, saying it lacked power and grandeur.

But the horse seemed to love it. Every time Mo Hua called "Big White," it would affectionately nuzzle him with its head.

Mo Hua grew more and more fond of this big white horse. Every time they stopped, he'd look for good grass to feed it, extending his divine sense to search far and wide.

Big White wasn't picky—it ate whatever Mo Hua offered.

Around midday, Old Puppet stopped the carriage to rest.

Mo Hua fed Big White, turned around to look at the overlapping mountains in the distance, and sighed softly. The sky was vast, the road long—they were already far from Tongxian City.

It had been more than half a month since they'd left.

Mo Hua had gradually gotten used to the life of wandering cultivation.

It was nothing like what he had imagined—graceful and immortal-like, traveling through scenic lands. Instead, it was eating in the wind, sleeping under the stars, and constant exhausting travel.

Fortunately, they had Big White pulling the carriage. Otherwise, the journey would've been even more tiring.

Cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm couldn't fly, so wandering ten thousand miles meant walking on two feet.

Mo Hua had never even seen a cultivator who could fly.

Likely because the region he lived in was only a Second-Grade Province, where the highest realm was only Foundation Establishment.

Flying was probably something only Golden Core cultivators—or higher—could do.

If someone at that level flew into a second-grade province and used their cultivation openly, they might be instantly struck down by heavenly tribulation lightning. They wouldn't just fly—they'd ascend straight to heaven… literally.

Flying…

Mo Hua murmured inwardly, filled with longing. Would there ever come a day when he reached the Golden Core realm, able to soar through the sky and tunnel through the earth?

Sadly, the Golden Core was still far away. He hadn't even built his Foundation yet.

Mo Hua sighed at the thought.

Then his stomach rumbled.

But when he thought about what they'd be eating for lunch, he instantly lost interest.

On this journey, they mostly ate Fasting Pills.

Fasting Pills were simple and convenient—great for staving off hunger—but after eating them for a long time, they became bland and left the body's qi and blood sluggish.

Still, since this was a wandering trip, they couldn't be picky.

This bit of hardship, Mo Hua could endure.

He actually had other food too.

Before he left, Liu Ruhua had made him plenty of dried meat, sealed in his storage ring, and told him to take it along.

But Mo Hua couldn't bear to eat it.

Only when he was absolutely sick of Fasting Pills—or when he missed home—would he allow himself to take a bite.

It was made by his mother's own hands. Now that he was wandering far from home, every bite he ate was one less piece left. When it was gone, it was gone for good…

Mo Hua sighed again.

No villages ahead, no shops behind.

So once again, everyone had Fasting Pills for lunch.

Bai Zisheng wore a face full of sorrow.

It's hard to go from luxury to simplicity. After getting used to spicy, flavorful beef, eating Fasting Pills every day was unbearable.

Bai Zixi didn't show much expression, but she clearly wasn't thrilled either.

Mister Zhuang furrowed his brows and suddenly asked:

"Haven't any of you thought about cooking something yourselves?"

The three of them were stunned. Then they all looked at Old Puppet.

Mister Zhuang also glanced at him.

Logically speaking, it felt like Old Puppet should be the one doing the cooking.

Old Puppet said flatly,

"I don't mind. As long as you don't mind."

Mo Hua, Bai Zisheng, and Bai Zixi exchanged confused glances—they didn't understand what they were supposed to mind.

They understood the next day at lunch…

When Old Puppet served up a pot of meat.

Just looking at it… was enough to make one "mind."

Out of politeness, they each took one bite—and could eat no more.

Even Mister Zhuang sighed,

"So this… is what I used to eat…"

Old Puppet gave him a glare,

"Your taste has just gotten picky. What's that got to do with me? It's always tasted like this. Eat it or don't."

Naturally, Mister Zhuang couldn't eat it. He thought for a moment, then turned to look at Mo Hua.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi's eyes lit up—they also looked at Mo Hua.

Even Old Puppet was looking at him.

Mo Hua blinked.

"...I don't really know how to cook either…"

Mister Zhuang stroked his chin,

"Well, logically speaking, cooking skills should be hereditary. Your mother's cooking was amazing—yours can't be that bad either."

Mister Zhuang gave an encouraging word.

Seeing everyone's hopeful eyes, Mo Hua could only grit his teeth and nod.

Afterward, he tried recalling his mother's cooking techniques and attempted to make a bowl of meat stew.

Mister Zhuang took a bite and nodded slightly.

Bai Zixi also tasted it and gently nodded.

Bai Zisheng, on the other hand, devoured it with gusto, then shook his head and said,

"Still not as good as Aunt Liu's."

"Then why did you clean your bowl so thoroughly?"

Bai Zisheng replied honestly,

"I was hungry…"

Though it wasn't exactly gourmet cuisine, among them, Mo Hua's food was clearly the best. So, by unspoken consensus, the responsibility of cooking naturally fell to the junior disciple, Mo Hua.

Maybe he really had inherited Liu Ruhua's cooking skills—Mo Hua learned fast.

After a few days, his meals started to look and taste decent.

But—different people, different tastes—problems soon arose:

Mister Zhuang, with weak vitality, preferred light food.

Old Puppet liked crunchy things that made noise while chewing.

Bai Zisheng wanted spicy food, preferably meat.

Bai Zixi wanted sweets, especially pastries...

Mo Hua scratched his head in frustration.

Finally, he came up with an idea: build a custom multi-burner stove.

He drew four array diagrams and split the stove into four cooking stations:

One for steaming,

One for stir-frying,

One for boiling,

One for steaming desserts.

Mo Hua drafted the design, laid out the array formations, and during a stop in a small cultivation city, spent a few days and a good bit of spirit stones hiring an artifact craftsman to forge the stove.

When it was finished, the craftsman said doubtfully:

"Little brother, I can build this stove, no problem. But these formations—no one's going to draw them for you."

Mo Hua replied casually,

"It's fine, I'll draw them myself."

Then, right there in front of him, Mo Hua drew the array formations onto the stove.

The craftsman was completely stunned.

Even when Mo Hua finished paying and walked off with the stove, the man was still in a daze…

The stove's formations were drawn by Mo Hua, but the spirit stones to forge it were fronted by Mo Hua, and ultimately paid by Bai Zisheng.

With the new stove ready, Mo Hua began his four-style cooking:

He made a dish of steamed spirit-beast fish.

(Regular fish couldn't be steamed—it wouldn't cook through.)

He stir-fried a pan of pine nuts.

(These were for Old Puppet—he liked cracking them while listening to the sound. He could skip meals, but never pine nuts.)

He slow-cooked a pot of beef.

(The beef was from a demon beast—cheap, but required long simmering with lots of spices and turned out very spicy.)

He also steamed a pot of soft, glutinous sweet cakes.

Not only were Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi stunned—even Mister Zhuang and Old Puppet were blown away.

Mister Zhuang even started wondering if his teaching of array formations was holding Mo Hua back from his true destiny—as a chef…

Bai Zisheng, of course, devoured everything once more and then said,

"Still can't beat Aunt Liu."

Mo Hua no longer humored him. He snorted and said:

"Then you cook."

Bai Zisheng boasted:

"Fine, I will!"

After all, he'd never cooked, but he'd eaten a lot, and he'd seen Mo Hua cook plenty of times. He figured with his intelligence, how hard could it be?

So Bai Zisheng tried cooking a pot of meat.

The result: dry, stringy, flavorless, and full of gamey odor.

He took one bite and instantly scrunched his face into a miserable knot.

Bai Zixi was curious and tried kneading a dough ball—but it ended up undercooked, limp, and resembled a white blob of sticky mud…

So the two of them could only pathetically look to Mo Hua again.

Mo Hua sighed, and once again, cooked for them.

After tasting Mo Hua's dishes again, Bai Zisheng was so moved he nearly wept—especially after comparing them to his own abomination.

Bai Zixi nibbled on a pastry, eyes bright and sparkling.

And so, the carriage continued on its slow journey, and another half a month passed before they knew it.

During the day, they traveled and studied formations from Mister Zhuang in the carriage.

At mealtimes, Mo Hua cooked.

At night, if they didn't come across a cultivation city, a small town, or a mountain shrine or tiny sect, they camped out in the mountains.

Naturally, the carriage was for Mister Zhuang.

He was their master. Respecting one's teacher was only proper.

Besides, after leaving Tongxian City, though his complexion had improved somewhat, his vitality still seemed a bit weak.

Mo Hua also hoped he could rest well.

As for Mo Hua, Bai Zisheng, and Bai Zixi—they slept outdoors.

Before bedding down, Mo Hua would set up stone formations and alarm arrays around the area to guard against wild beasts or bandits.

Then, the three of them would each wrap themselves in a blanket and sleep on the ground.

These blankets were also from the Bai family, but Mo Hua had redrawn them with array formations.

They could generate warmth, allow for airflow, and were soft and fluffy without being stifling—very comfortable.

Under the deep night sky and the cold mountain moon, the three of them curled up in blankets like three little caterpillars, sleeping quietly under the moonlight.

(End of Chapter)