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Old Man Ding’s little grandson, lying on the table, took small sips of the clear, grain-free porridge, forcing himself not to look at the chicken on the table, but occasionally he couldn’t help but sneak a few glances.

This little grandson of Old Man Ding was five or six years old and was named Ding Miao’er. Taking this name probably meant hoping he, like the rice seedlings in the fields, could grow up smoothly and safely. Rice seedlings growing up meant a year of harvest. A child growing up meant peace and smoothness.

Mo Hua finished the porridge in his bowl, ate a piece of chicken, then pushed the entire plate of meat towards Miao’er. “I’m full, give it to Miao’er to eat.”

Old Man Ding quickly said, “How can this be done?”

Mo Hua said, “I’ll ask you some questions, and you tell me; then it counts as payment for drawing the array.”

Old Man Ding said, “Little sir, just ask, this old man will tell you everything without hiding, this is originally my duty, but this…”

Mo Hua didn’t allow him to refuse. “It’s decided.”

Ding Miao’er shook his head and said in a childish voice, “Big brother, eat.”

Mo Hua touched his head and gently said, “You eat.”

Ding Miao’er originally wanted to refuse. Grandpa had taught him that when guests came, he must entertain them properly. But his stomach was truly hungry, and he hadn’t tasted meat in a long time. He couldn’t resist and ate a mouthful of chicken. Then, in the aroma of the chicken, he lost himself, eating piece after piece…

Mo Hua again touched his little head. Ding Miao’er lifted his head, his mouth full of meat, his eyes bright and shiny.

Old Man Ding watched with heartache. This was his own grandson, not to mention meat, usually even rice, he couldn’t eat his fill…

Ding Miao’er, on the side, was concentrating on the plate of chicken. Mo Hua then asked Old Man Ding: “Uncle Ding, are all the arrays in these fields drawn by the Sun family?”

Old Man Ding nodded. “From the Sun family ancestors onwards, they have been repairing and modifying them, used for hundreds of years.”

“The Sun family’s ancestors?”

Old Man Ding became somewhat emotional, then spoke at length to Mo Hua: “The Sun family’s ancestors, especially the Sun family’s old ancestor, was a famous great array master in the area, and also a first-class good person.”

“He was originally a cultivator from outside, I don’t know how he drifted here, saw the cultivators of Qianjia Town in hardship, developed a kind heart, and drew arrays in the spirit fields.”

“These arrays can make the soil fertile and water abundant, spirit rice abundant, ensuring we have no worry about food and clothing.”

“The cultivators of Qianjia Town were extremely grateful to him, strongly urged him to stay, and also built a mansion for him…”

“That is now the Sun family’s mansion, but it has been renovated several times by the Sun family with a lot of money, it’s long no longer the original appearance.”

“Later?” Mo Hua asked.

“Later, ah…” Old Man Ding sighed. “Later, the Sun family’s old ancestor, I don’t know why he passed away. I heard it was from learning arrays excessively, his sea of consciousness shattered, but this is a rumor, the inside story, I’m also not clear…”

“The Sun family’s old ancestor passed away, we remembering the Sun family’s kindness, were still grateful to them, every year there was a harvest, we would send some spirit grain over.”

“Gradually, these descendants of the Sun family just took these as a matter of course. They felt we owed the Sun family and should give them ‘tribute’.”

“Some years of poor harvest, we gave less, the Sun family people would scold us, say we were ‘ungrateful’ white-eyed wolves.”

“Even more excessive is, later they had crooked thoughts, not only wanting the harvest from the fields, but also wanting the girls in the village to be their maidservants, to serve them… How could we possibly agree?”

“Thus this kindness turned into enmity…”

“Then later, we scattered cultivators and the Sun family rifted deeper. The Sun family relied on these arrays, opened a big mouth, most of our harvest one year had to be supplied to them.”

“But not giving also had no way, here near the mountains, the land is barren, without arrays, the spirit rice in the fields quickly withers…”

Old Man Ding sighed deeply.

Mo Hua listened, also somewhat emotional, and asked again: “Then these fields’ arrays? Are they also passed down from the Sun family’s old ancestor, never changed?”

Old Man Ding scratched his head, recalled a bit, and said: “Seems not…”

“According to the village’s old generation cultivators, the arrays drawn by the Sun family’s old ancestor were without trace or mark, and also didn’t need to be repaired, they could be used for many years.”

“Today’s arrays are mostly drawn by the Sun family’s descendants, often broken, and also often need to be repaired.”

But more specific, he was not clear. The matters of the Sun family’s old ancestor were somewhat distant, he also only heard them, the matters of the arrays, he was even more completely ignorant and couldn’t explain clearly.

Mo Hua frowned. This was strange. Since they were arrays, how could they possibly be without trace or mark? The Sun family’s descendants should know what kind of arrays their old ancestor drew, why redraw them? Could it be they just wanted to use arrays to threaten and exploit the cultivators who farmed? Did the Sun family people know what kind of arrays their old ancestor drew?

Mo Hua didn’t understand, and again thought of another question: “The Sun family let you sell children and daughters, yet didn’t let you sell the fields to them?”

Generally speaking, spirit fields were the most important. The Sun family unexpectedly letting such a big piece of fat meat not be eaten certainly had reasons.

“The Sun family has ancestral precepts…”

“Ancestral precepts?”

Old Man Ding nodded. “The Sun family’s old ancestor, that year set an ancestral precept: For all Sun family children, they are not allowed to invade one piece of land in Qianjia Town during their lifetime, otherwise their surname will be removed, their family genealogy erased, and they will be expelled from home!”

Mo Hua was slightly surprised and sighed, “This Sun family’s old ancestor truly was a broad-minded good array master, pity…”

Pity the descendants were not filial.

That side, Ding Miao’er finally finished eating the chicken, looking at Mo Hua, somewhat embarrassed, his face red and puffy. This chicken was originally for his grandpa to entertain Mo Hua, but he ate it all.

Mo Hua then smiled and said, “I want to go to the fields to look, can you take me?”

The full Miao’er immediately nodded his little head: “Um!”

After that, Old Man Ding and Miao’er again took Mo Hua to the spirit fields for a walk. Mo Hua asked some questions, and Old Man Ding answered them one by one. But Mo Hua still hadn’t found the clue to the absolute array.

He looked around; within the spirit fields were only the nurturing soil arrays with six array lines.

The sky was about to get dark, so Mo Hua took his leave and returned to the Sun family. He saw Mr. Zhuang, paid his respects, then Mo Hua returned to his room and exchanged intelligence with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.

Bai Zisheng said: “The Sun family head, Sun Yi, is a fool!”

“Where foolish?” Mo Hua didn’t quite understand.

Bai Zisheng looked left and right and quietly said, “He has been learning arrays for seventy or eighty years, already built foundation, but his arrays are still not even one grade, and his divine sense is also not ten lines…”

Mo Hua opened his mouth wide. “He’s a blockhead?”

Bai Zixi silently looked at Mo Hua and lightly said, “Not everyone learns arrays that fast.”

Mo Hua was slightly startled and softly said, “That’s also not this slow… What does he do every day?”

Bai Zisheng curled his lips. “Eating, drinking tea, watching women dance, and also invited me and Zixi to watch…”

“He doesn’t learn arrays?”

“He learns,” Bai Zisheng said. “Every day he just practices one array…”

Mo Hua was silent. No wonder… Everyday only practicing one array, not even reaching a fraction of a fraction of his own pace… When could he become a one-grade array master? It seemed it wasn’t poor aptitude, but indulgence in ease and laziness.

“What’s the array level of the other people in the Sun family?”

Bai Zisheng was even more disdainful. “The soldiers are cowardly one by one, the generals incompetent as a nest.” “With his family head like this, there’s even less hope for the others. His son, Sun Ze, up to now can only draw four array lines…”

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh. The Sun family’s ancestor, but there was, a two-grade great array master who could truly benefit one side’s cultivators. And this two-grade array master very likely also comprehended an absolute array. Yet he didn’t expect his descendants to act tyrannically and indulge in pleasure. Even after building foundation, they hadn’t become one-grade array masters.

“What did you find out?” Bai Zisheng asked Mo Hua.

Mo Hua told him what he had heard, including the matters of the Sun family ancestor, and monopolizing arrays for profit, the matter of spirit farmers having no rice to cook, and so on.

Bai Zisheng listened and was simply angry. “Didn’t expect him not only to be a fool, but also a bad guy.”

Mo Hua asked, “Does the Dao Court Department not manage this kind of matter in the Sun family?”

Bai Zisheng didn’t understand, so he looked towards Bai Zixi.

Bai Zixi thought for a moment and lightly said, “Generally not managed.”

“The Dao Court Department is established in Immortal City, governing the territory of Immortal City. The radiating regions outside Immortal City are managed by local families, sects, or local elders. Handing over some spirit stones as tax each year is fine.”

“In this kind of small place, the Dao Court Department has the right to manage, but its arm is long and doesn’t reach. Generally, if there are no big matters, it won’t spend effort to ask.”

Mo Hua nodded. The Dao Court was strict in hierarchy, but in some places below, it was fragmented, with intertwined interests, and managed relatively loosely. As long as it didn’t affect the stability of the Dao Court, many matters were just turned a blind eye to by those above.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but look towards Bai Zixi and praised, “Senior sister, you know so much.”

Bai Zixi nodded slightly, her expression calm, but her long eyelashes blinked, revealing a trace of pride amidst her beauty.

“Then you still haven’t found the clue to the absolute array?” Bai Zisheng asked.

Mo Hua nodded regretfully.

“What do you plan to do after that?”

“I’ll go to East Mountain Village and the spirit fields area again when I have time to look. I have deduced that there should be clues within the spirit fields.”

Those hundred mu of spirit fields, even if not now, were likely drawn with an absolute array by the Sun family old ancestor before. That was what Old Man Ding called the “without trace or mark” arrays…

After that, for several days, Mo Hua still took time to go to East Mountain Village. The Sun family people reported his movements to Sun Ze. Sun Ze then reported to his dad, Sun family head Sun Yi.

“Dad, what exactly does this little brat want to do?” Sun Ze said displeased.

Sun Yi frowned, not speaking.

“I sent people to ask, that little brat ran to the spirit fields a few days ago, repaired a nurturing soil array, then went to an old man’s house, ate a meal, and then strolled around the spirit fields a few times.”

“After that, for these several days, he goes almost every day.”

Sun Yi’s eyes flashed a light. “You say he repaired a nurturing soil array?”

Sun Ze nodded. Sun Yi was somewhat disbelieving. “Such a small little brat, can actually repair a nurturing soil array with six array lines?”

He again looked at his son, hating iron for steel, and said, “Put a little bit of your mind on proper matters. Up to now, you can only draw arrays with four array lines, simply losing face for the Sun family!”

“Dad, you’re not much better, you’ve built foundation, yet you’re still not a one-grade array master…” Sun Ze complained in his heart, but didn’t dare to say it out, even more so didn’t dare to retort, then said again, “Dad, what do you think this little brat, not showing mountains or revealing water, is trying to do?”

Sun Yi’s expression gradually became serious, suddenly his eyes lit up greatly: “Arrays… Could he be eyeing my Sun family’s arrays inheritance?”

Sun Ze was also startled, then he was startled, and then somewhat disappointed, saying, “But, Dad… What is there to inherit in our family’s arrays?” Aren’t they all just common goods? Just deceiving those who don’t understand arrays, only know farming mud legs. Saying the fields’ arrays must be repaired by our Sun family. But discerning people all know that it’s just an ordinary nurturing soil array.

“Dad, it’s okay for you to deceive others, don’t deceive yourself, ah…” Sun Ze said.

Sun Yi rebuked, “What do you understand? Our Sun family, but our ancestors had a secret inheritance that wasn’t to be leaked!”