At the end of the year, during the sect assessment, Mo Hua’s performance was still stable, achieving one first-grade and six third-grades, neither surprising nor disappointing.

Among these six “third-grades,” it was because he could only achieve third-grade.

But that one “first-grade” was different.

He received “first-grade” because in the Tai Xu Sect’s array assessment, the highest possible grade was “first-grade.”

His “first-grade” had extremely high value; it was truly a case of “one excellence covering a hundred flaws,” but unfortunately, it didn’t manifest on paper.

Mo Hua was very regretful.

After the assessment ended, Mo Hua, as was his custom, wrote a letter home.

The letter was filled with chatter, mostly about how peaceful the sect was, how harmonious his fellow disciples were, how kind his master was, and how many good-hearted people there were near the Qian Xue state boundary, all words that would greatly reassure his parents.

He didn’t mention any dangerous matters, to avoid causing his parents worry.

After writing, Mo Hua sent the letter through the Tai Xu Sect’s relay station.

But he absolutely didn’t expect that upon arriving at the relay station, he would actually receive a letter as well.

It was from his parents.

In a foreign land as a stranger, a letter from home was worth ten thousand pieces of gold.

Mo Hua was overjoyed, and immediately returned to the disciple residence, opened the letter, and began to read.

This letter was elegantly written; his mother had penned it.

But Mo Hua guessed that while his mother was writing the letter, his father, Mo Shan, was definitely by her side, silently adding a sentence or two.

The content of the letter wasn’t particularly special, only saying that everything at home was peaceful and that Mo Hua shouldn’t worry.

In fact, Mo Hua wasn’t even sure which year’s reply this letter was.

However, Mo Hua was already content.

The territory of the Nine Provinces was too vast, and the distance between Li State and Qian State was also too far, with towering mountains and winding rivers stretching endlessly.

Lower-grade state boundaries were further limited by cultivation restrictions, making communication extremely slow.

A single letter, sent from the second-grade Da Hei Mountain state boundary in Li State to the Qian Xue state boundary, took several years. This was likely because he was a disciple of the Tai Xu Sect and used the sect’s communication channel.

Otherwise, it might not have arrived for several decades.

Mo Hua reread the letter carefully, treasured and valued it, stored it away properly, and then sat in his disciple residence, suddenly feeling a bit melancholy.

Memories gradually surged forth.

The bits and pieces of days in the streets and alleys of Tong Xian City during his childhood slowly floated back into his heart.

These memories were like sugar-coated hawthorn, sweet and also sour.

They seemed to have passed a very long time ago, yet also felt like just yesterday.

He could vaguely hear the voices of his childhood companions calling his name.

Calling him to go to the sect to cultivate, calling him to go see the lantern festival, calling him to go stroll the streets, calling him to go see little girls…

Among them, the voices of Da Hu and the other two were the most frequent.

After all, they had grown up together and spent the most time playing together.

“I wonder how Da Hu and the others are living in Tong Xian City now…”

Mo Hua thought silently to himself.

“Wrong…”

Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Da Hu and the other two seemed to no longer be in Tong Xian City.

He furrowed his brow, recalled for a moment, and then remembered what Da Zhu had told him.

After the fall of the Qian family and the killing of the great demon, relying on the cultivation industry, Tong Xian City had become quite stable and prosperous.

There were also more cultivators coming and going, merchants, those settling down, and those seeking refuge…

There were also some ‘big figures’ with extraordinary identities who occasionally passed through Tong Xian City.

That day, it happened that a tall and imposing sect elder was passing through Tong Xian City and unintentionally saw Da Hu and the other two. He saw that although their origins were poor, their will was firm, and their body-refining root bones were not bad. He then took all three of them as disciples and brought them to the sect to cultivate…

The name of the sect was said to be…

Da Huang Gate.

Thinking of this, Mo Hua’s gaze slightly condensed.

Matters of heavenly mechanisms seemed accidental, yet they contained cause and effect.

He wouldn’t think of these matters without a reason.

Perhaps… something had happened to Da Hu and the other two?

Mo Hua wrinkled his brow.

Moreover, Da Huang Gate…

Mo Hua was now very sensitive to the two characters “Da Huang,” always feeling that as long as they were mentioned, more or less, there was some unclear relationship with the evil god.

And Da Huang Gate was located in the south of Li State, bordering the barbaric wilderness.

Calculating it this way, it was indeed close to the old lair of the Da Huang evil god.

It was just that the mountains were high and the roads were far, and there was nothing he could do, not even inquire about information.

Mo Hua sighed, only able to first press this matter into his heart…

Afterwards, the New Year passed.

Mo Hua was very busy this year, much like usual, either practicing sword or learning arrays.

However, Elder Xun still gave him a day off, allowing him to go to the Gu family for a big meal.

In Elder Xun’s words: “The Gu family is a clear stream, rare and valuable, you can visit them often…”

So Mo Hua went to the Gu family to visit.

He ate a big meal, and also brought back many small New Year gifts that were “hard to refuse” due to their “enthusiasm,” which he “reluctantly” accepted.

The next day, he returned to the Tai Xu Sect, preparing to concentrate on learning sword and arrays.

But he didn’t expect that after the New Year, someone would actually specially send him gifts.

Moreover, the person who sent the gifts was someone he absolutely hadn’t expected.

Wang Chen from Gui Shui Gate.

Mo Hua had almost forgotten about this person.

But Wang Chen hadn’t forgotten. He was brought by Hao Xuan to Mo Hua, presented the gifts he had prepared one by one, and then thanked him profusely:

“Thank you, Little Senior Brother, for pointing out the way, otherwise I would have been ruined for life.”

Mo Hua was slightly startled, “What did I point out to you?”

Wang Chen smiled bitterly: “Just the matter of the rouge boat. If it weren’t for you, Little Senior Brother, bringing Hao Xuan and the others to beat me up and force me to report and receive merit, I wouldn’t have been able to get off this branch of the rogue ship of Gui Shui Gate…”

“That matter…” Mo Hua suddenly understood, waved his hand, “It was just a small matter, no need to take it to heart.”

Wang Chen said with a solemn expression: “It may be a small matter to you, but it’s not the same to me.”

He was a child of the Wang family. Although his bloodline was a bit distant and his status in the clan was not high, and he usually didn’t receive much attention, if he made a mistake, he would be the target of everyone’s attack.

The clan would definitely not forgive him lightly.

If he had caused the clan to lose face because of the rouge boat incident, he dared not imagine the consequences.

At the very least, his old man, who had finally gotten the position of idle elder, wouldn’t be able to sit there anymore.

He would also truly become a “father-pitting” sinner.

Therefore, he specially asked his father to prepare an extra share of New Year gifts to give to Mo Hua.

“They are not precious, but please accept them with a smile, Little Senior Brother,” Wang Chen smiled.

Mo Hua looked, and saw that they were all array books, pastries, dried meat, fruit wine, and other things, which were obviously “suggested” by Hao Xuan.

They weren’t famous, but they were all things he liked. Mo Hua didn’t stand on ceremony, nodded, and accepted them.

Afterwards, Mo Hua chatted with Wang Chen for a while longer, asking about some matters concerning Gui Shui Gate.

Wang Chen told him everything he knew.

He quietly said to Mo Hua: “The Dao Court Division, no, to be precise, it should be the Dao Court, has rectified Gui Shui Gate from top to bottom, killing those who needed to be killed, arresting those who needed to be arrested, and locking up those who needed to be locked up…”

“Now, Gui Shui Gate is no longer the original Gui Shui Gate.”

“Now, Gui Shui Gate is more like a twelfth-stream sect, it’s more like…”

Wang Chen thought for a moment and described: “It’s more like a sect directly affiliated with the Dao Court, directly connected to the Dao Court Division. If you perform well in the sect, after graduation, you can directly enter the Dao Court Division, and moreover, after entering the Dao Court Division, you are directly under the jurisdiction of the upper level, which is the Dao Court, and not too much interfered with by local families…”

Mo Hua was a little surprised.

So, Gui Shui Gate, on the contrary… had “shed its skin and changed its bones”?

In a sense, it had gone from being a last-stream twelfth-stream sect to becoming a sect “directly affiliated with the Dao Court”?

Of course, for the Qian Xue state boundary, this should also be considered a kind of “penetration” by the Dao Court.

Moreover, it was very likely that this was only the first step.

But Mo Hua was also a little doubtful, and asked:

“Basically all the people in Gui Shui Gate are from families, right? Since that’s the case, how is it not interfered with by families?”

“It’s not the same,” Wang Chen explained, “Families are also divided into many kinds, there are big families, small families, local ones, and foreign ones.”

“When others talk about families, they lump them together, but the difference between families is greater than that between people and dogs, and moreover, each has different intentions and schemes against each other. Some families are more openly hostile.”

“The Qian Xue state boundary is the same; the specific situation is very complex.”

“And the rectification of this Gui Shui Gate mainly targets ‘local families’, as well as big families above the fourth and fifth grades.”

“The elders and disciples of these families have already been ‘cleaned up’ after the rouge boat incident. The rest have either been suppressed, demoted, or persuaded to quit.”

“The people remaining in Gui Shui Gate now are basically from foreign families, or children from local small families below the third grade…”

Mo Hua suddenly understood and nodded slightly.

The Dao Court was doing this with the intention of dividing the families.

It was slicing up the concept of “family,” and using foreign big families and local small families to target the local big families in the Qian Xue state boundary.

Even if they didn’t target them, it would also weaken the influence of big families on the Dao Court Division to a certain extent.

Indeed, all things in the world have contradictions; one must learn to disintegrate the enemy from within.

Mo Hua learned something new.

Subsequently, he asked Wang Chen again, “Then your situation isn’t very bad. The Wang family is also considered a local family, right?”

Wang Chen said: “I’m still alright. Although the Wang family has great power, my status is low. I’m not a core child of the family and don’t receive much attention.”

“Moreover, on the matter of the rouge boat, I am considered to have rendered meritorious service. And because of you, Little Senior Brother, speaking up for me in front of the Dao Court Division’s *Dian Si*, even though Gui Shui Gate was rectified, it didn’t affect me much.”

“Not only that…”

Wang Chen smiled, “To be honest, Little Senior Brother, I’m doing better now than before. Because I showed my face in front of *Dian Si* Gu, when Gui Shui Gate was rectified, I helped the Dao Court Division handle many things. After going back and forth, I became familiar with them.”

“Now that the rectification is complete, I also have a bit of ‘prestige’ in the sect.”

“Those who are illegitimate or from distant branches of local families, if they still want to stay in Gui Shui Gate, will seek me out to help them speak up.”

“As for those from foreign or small families, they know that I can speak a few words on the Dao Court Division’s side, so they also show me respect.”

Mo Hua nodded.

This Wang Chen was also considered to have “turned misfortune into blessing.”

He patted Wang Chen’s shoulder and encouraged him:

“Work hard. If you enter the Dao Court Division in the future, you might be given important tasks. I’ll also speak well of you when I have free time.”

He was very familiar with Uncle Gu and *Dian Si* Xia.

Uncle Gu was from the Gu family and had rich experience in the criminal prison.

*Dian Si* Xia was a member of the Xia family from the central Dao Court.

Now that Xiao Zhen Hai was dead, Uncle Gu and *Dian Si* Xia were considered the two *Dian Si* with the greatest real power within the Qian Xue state boundary’s Dao Court Division.

While Wang Chen, who was originally from Gui Shui Gate, could do things for Uncle Gu and the others, that would also be a good thing.

Wang Chen couldn’t help but be overjoyed and repeatedly said: “Thank you, Little Senior Brother!”

The opportunity provided by this single sentence from the Little Senior Brother might be something he couldn’t achieve even if he tried his hardest.

The two chatted for a while longer.

Wang Chen then took his leave. Just before leaving, he hesitated for a moment, but still reminded him: “Little Senior Brother, do you know about something?”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate…”

Mo Hua’s gaze slightly condensed.

Wang Chen then said: “There were many disciples from Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate on the rouge boat. When this matter was investigated, the problem was too big.”

“The biggest problem is still the Debate Dao Assembly.”

“Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate seem to want to use the Dao Court Division to operate a bit, but it doesn’t seem to be going very smoothly. And if the negotiation fails, these two sects are likely to be miserable in this Debate Dao Assembly…”

Wang Chen shook his head, somewhat sighing.

“While Tai Xu Gate and Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate are connected branches, if Tai A and Chong Xu crumble, Tai Xu Gate will probably also struggle to stand alone…”

Wang Chen was a little worried, so he specially reminded Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded, “I know.”

He thought for a moment, then instructed Wang Chen: “There may be some big changes in the Qian Xue state boundary next. Fortune and misfortune are hard to predict. Whatever news you have in Gui Shui Gate, just secretly tell me.”

“Similarly, if you encounter any trouble, even if it’s a life-and-death situation, you can come find me. I might be able to point you in the right direction…”

If it were someone else saying this, Wang Chen might not have bothered.

But the person saying these words was Mo Hua.

Wang Chen’s expression was solemn, and he cupped his hands in salute, saying: “Thank you, Little Senior Brother!”

After Wang Chen left, Mo Hua returned to the disciple residence, his thoughts mixed for a time.

Gui Shui Gate…

Mentioning Gui Shui Gate reminded Mo Hua of Shui Lao Gate.

And when he thought of Shui Lao Gate, Mo Hua suddenly remembered that he still had an important item in his hand.

The Shui Lao Forbidden Box!

He closed the doors and windows tightly, sealed the array well, and then took out the Shui Lao Forbidden Box from his *Na Zi* Ring.

This forbidden box was the sect master’s forbidden object of Shui Lao Gate, sealed by the forbidden laws of Shui Lao Gate. Only Xiao Zhen Hai knew the method to open the box.

Mo Hua guessed that it should be cultivating some secret traditional cultivation method, and then warming the forbidden box with essence blood. When the fire of the cultivation method reached a certain degree and the essence blood was also sufficiently warmed, the box could be opened.

Of course, this was just a guess.

He didn’t know the specific method at all, so he could only “pluck the peach” and snatch the box before “Shui Yan Luo” opened it.

But he had thought too simply.

After getting the box into his hands, Mo Hua couldn’t open it for a while.

So he threw it into his *Na Zi* Ring, thinking he would research it when he had free time.

But later, there were many things, and Mo Hua forgot about it for a time. He only remembered it now.

Afterwards, Mo Hua specially spent half a day, not practicing arrays, but staying in the disciple residence, concentrating on researching the Shui Lao Forbidden Box.

After half a day, he finally figured out the method to open the box.

The key was still pupil technique.

But this pupil technique for opening the box was a bit special.

It seemed to have an embedded “password,” requiring the mobilization of a specific soul within the life soul, and with this visualize the Shui Lao Diagram, the forbidden box could be opened.

Originally, this wasn’t difficult.

But in Mo Hua’s life soul, a parasitic evil fetus resided, so he could only try carefully, bit by bit.

Fortunately, this was just for “unlocking,” and not actually using the pupil technique.

Mo Hua tried it shallowly, and there was no major problem.

Probably after two *xiang* of time, a golden light flashed in Mo Hua’s eyes, the red light on the forbidden box faded, and its whole body shimmered, emitting a crystal-like clear blue light.

A watermark appeared, dividing the forbidden box into two halves.

This block, the supreme treasure of the entire Shui Lao Gate, was finally opened.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but feel a little excited.

He released his divine sense to ensure there was no danger, then solemnly opened the forbidden box. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that several jade slips lay inside.

These jade slips were polished extremely thin and exquisite, like jade paper, and were stuck inside the small forbidden box.

On the jade slips, the forbidden marks of Shui Lao Gate were engraved.

This meant that they were unique to Shui Lao Gate and forbidden to be transmitted externally.

However, Shui Lao Gate was gone, and they didn’t care about external transmission anymore.

Mo Hua looked at the several jade slips one by one, and then his expression became somewhat shocked.

These jade slips indeed contained the highest inheritance of Shui Lao Gate, and each one was extremely precious.

One body technique, *Shui Ying Huan Shen*.

Looking at it roughly, this body technique had similar wonders to Shui Ying Bu, but the two were completely incomparable.

According to the “class” of Shui Lao Gate’s Dao laws, this body technique, *Shui Ying Huan Shen*, was the most core, top-level body technique.

Compared to the Shui Ying Bu that Shui Yan Luo and Xiao Zhen Hai practiced, it was more profound.

The upper limit of the ghost-like “water shadow” that could be cultivated by this body technique was also much higher.

In other words, the Shui Ying Bu learned by Shui Yan Luo and Xiao Zhen Hai was essentially a “castrated” and downgraded version of the *Shui Ying Huan Shen* body technique within this forbidden box.

Besides, there was also one cultivation method, *Shui Lao Zhen Jue*.

This was a cultivation method, and its name seemed simple.

But any Dao law, cultivation method, or sword law that bore the two characters “Zhen Jue” held an extraordinary status within the sect’s inheritance.

Mo Hua looked at it for a few moments, a bit greedy.

But he didn’t have a pure water spirit root, his spirit root grade wasn’t high, and it was even more impossible for him to give up Tian Yan Jue and re-cultivate this *Shui Lao Zhen Jue*.

Even if he actually learned it, this kind of “sect master” level cultivation method required countless spirit stones and rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, which he simply couldn’t afford to cultivate.

He just glanced at it briefly, and discovered that the cultivation method required no less than seven or eight kinds of spirit grasses and medicines that he had never heard of but were clearly extremely rare.

Forget it…

Mo Hua shook his head.

Without the “wealthy fate,” he fundamentally couldn’t cultivate this cultivation method.

Tian Yan Jue was still good.

Mo Hua put down *Shui Lao Zhen Jue* and then began to look at the next jade slip.

As his divine sense just sank into it, a name that was unexpected yet within expectation floated out:

*Shui Lao Zhi Shu*.

The superior Dao law of Shui Lao Gate, and also a rare Dao law in the cultivation world that could ignore the golden body and exert strong control over cultivators!

This Dao law classic was indeed hidden within the Shui Lao Forbidden Box.

However, there was a problem…

Xiao Zhen Hai hadn’t opened the Shui Lao Forbidden Box, so how did he learn this superior *Shui Lao Zhi Shu*?

Did he have other methods, or was the *Shui Lao Zhi Shu* he learned also a “castrated” version?

Mo Hua was a little puzzled.

It was a pity that Xiao Zhen Hai was already dead and there was no way to ask him.

Mo Hua shook his head and then turned to the next jade slip.

This was the last jade slip.

Mo Hua’s divine sense sank into the jade slip, but upon perceiving it, he discovered that the jade slip was completely blank.

“Empty?”

“Impossible… How could there be a blank jade slip inside such an important forbidden object as the Shui Lao Forbidden Box?”

Mo Hua wrinkled his brow.

“Encrypted?”

Fortunately, he was still familiar with the matter of encryption and decryption.

Mo Hua took this seemingly ordinary, “blank” jade slip, turned it over and over again and researched it for a while, then relaxed a breath.

It wasn’t Yuan Magnetic encryption…

If it were truly Yuan Magnetic encryption, with his current Yuan Magnetic array attainments, he definitely wouldn’t be able to solve it.

And with Mo Hua’s understanding of Shui Lao Gate, this was likely still an encryption in the form of a “pupil technique.”

The inheritance of Shui Lao Gate was extremely strict, divided into high and low, as well as upper and lower, respected and humble.

The Qi Hun Xue Yu Pupil Technique could almost be said to be one of the most core inheritances of Shui Lao Gate, and within the pupil technique, it contained the way of the divine soul. Using this to carry out “encryption” was naturally the safest.

But the old ancestor of Shui Lao Gate probably never imagined that Shui Lao Gate would one day be “raided” by the Dao Court.

These inheritances, once they flowed out, the rules he set were all in vain.

Therefore, his “supreme treasure” encryption, especially for Mo Hua, was also “like nothing.”

Mo Hua spent a little more time, finally seeing the text in the jade slip through the fog in his divine thought.

As he read, Mo Hua wrinkled his brow again.

This was a very strange jade slip.

The records in the jade slip seemed to be a Dao law, but this Dao law was incomplete.

It seemed that someone was constantly trying, constantly deducing, constantly improving, and constantly iterating some Dao law techniques, and then recording the results of different techniques on the jade slip…

Mo Hua’s pupils slightly shrunk, secretly shocked in his heart.

This was… a forbidden technique?

What was truly hidden inside the Shui Lao Forbidden Box was a… forbidden technique development manuscript?

Mo Hua turned to the end and saw several messy and fierce blood-colored characters at the end of the jade slip:

Forbidden Technique · Sen Luo Shui Lao.