On the tenth day of the ninth month in the Dao Calendar year 20,022.

Outside the Tong Xian Gate mountain in Tong Xian City.

Ten-year-old Mo Hua, wearing the simple outer disciple Daoist robe, was idly squatting behind a large stone at the foot of the mountain. With a grass root in his hand, he was engrossed in drawing intricate patterns on the ground.

By the time of the Mao hour, the disciples who had come to the sect to study began ascending the mountain. They walked in groups of two or three, chatting and laughing.

A short, stout young man with a plump face and small eyes, dressed in the standard outer disciple Daoist robe and adorned with expensive jade ornaments, found Mo Hua drawing something with satisfaction behind the stone, accompanied by two or three followers.

The short, stout young man looked left and right, seeing no sect instructors. He then sheepishly whispered:

“Mo Hua!”

Mo Hua raised his head, revealing a small face as handsome as a painting. His eyes were as clear as if they held a pool of limpid water.

The short, stout young man lowered his voice and said: “Is it done properly?”

Ten-year-old Mo Hua, like a small adult, patted his chest. “I handle things, rest assured.” After saying this, he took out several array diagrams from his storage bag. They were red ink on white paper. He handed them to the short, stout young man.

“See if there’s anything not proper.”

The short, stout young man solemnly received them, unfolded them, and looked carefully. Then he said with a bitter face:

“I can’t understand…”

Mo Hua patiently explained:

“The homework assigned by the instructor is the basic array patterns of the five elements array. I’ve drawn them for you, and I’ve also deliberately made six mistakes to prevent the instructor from realizing that you didn’t draw these array patterns yourself…”

“Six mistakes… That’s a bit too many…”

Mo Hua looked at him silently.

The short, stout young man immediately realized his mistake and reflected, saying:

“One shouldn’t be too greedy. It’s already good enough that I can hand in the homework assigned by the instructor. Doing too well will attract suspicion. If the instructor finds out and my dad knows, I’ll definitely get a beating. It’s not worth it, not worth it…”

Mo Hua nodded and said: “As expected of Young Master An, you figured it out so quickly!”

The short, stout young man stuffed two spirit stones into Mo Hua’s hand. “Brother Mo, you really have good judgment, you know I’m smart! The spirit stones are for you. The next time the instructor assigns array homework, I’ll still come to you!”

After saying this, he tucked the array diagrams into his embrace and scurried up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully put away the two spirit stones, plucked another grass root, and continued drawing on the ground.

A moment later, a thin young man with a shaking gold-sprinkled paper fan and a mean look on his face came over. He had even more jade pendants on him.

Mo Hua also gave him an array diagram. The thin young man glanced at it, then gave a look to his subordinate. The subordinate stepped forward, took the diagram, and handed two spirit stones to Mo Hua.

The thin young man took the array diagram but didn’t leave. He suddenly folded his paper fan and said arrogantly: “This young master is also extremely skilled in arrays, I just don’t have time to do these basic arrays, that’s why I let you substitute.”

Mo Hua was too lazy to pay attention to him. He picked up the grass root on the ground and continued drawing.

The thin young man was a bit annoyed and chuckled coldly: “It is said that among the Qi Refining stage cultivators of Tong Xian Gate, you are the best at drawing arrays. I wonder how you compare to this young master? We can compare sometime?”

Mo Hua thought to himself, you already had me do your array homework for you, what do you think your own level is?

However, following the principle that harmony brings wealth, Mo Hua still raised his head and chose his words carefully to praise him:

“Naturally, Young Master’s array attainment is much higher. The Qian family is the largest clan in Tong Xian City, and their array inheritance is something other cultivators cannot compare to.”

The thin young man’s expression eased slightly. He then asked: “Then tell me, among the Qi Refining stage cultivators of Tong Xian Gate, who has an array level that can surpass mine?”

“There are indeed some…”

The thin young man was displeased. “Who are they?”

“For example, me…” Of course, Mo Hua wouldn’t be so foolish as to say such words.

“There are quite a few, I can’t count them all at once.”

The thin young man was clearly angry.

“This is a good thing!” Mo Hua opened his eyes and spouted nonsense.

The thin young man laughed coldly: “Their family backgrounds are not as good as mine, they don’t have as many spirit stones as me, and yet their array skills are higher than mine. There are still many such people. Are you trying to say I am stupid and can’t compare to others? Where is this matter good?”

Mo Hua said: “The cultivators of Tong Xian City, no matter how talented they are or how well they learn, ultimately still have to enter the Qian family’s Wan Bao Building to refine tools, refine pills, and draw arrays for your Qian family…”

“Think about it, you are only in the Qi Refining stage, yet you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. You are only a first-grade array master, yet you have second-grade array masters listening to your command. How imposing is that! The stronger the cultivators beneath you, the more capable you appear!”

The thin young man was stunned, and immediately realized, “That seems to make some sense!”

“Understood, right?”

The thin young man nodded, looking at the numerous cultivators at the foot of the mountain, his neck raised even higher:

“Not bad! Not bad! Let your talent be ever so high, and cultivate ever so hard, in the end, you still have to work like cattle and horses for my Qian family?”

The mean-faced Young Master Qian finished speaking and left with his head held high and chest puffed out.

After fooling the Qian family young master away, Mo Hua continued practicing arrays on the ground with a grass root.

Before long, several more cultivators from wealthy families came over. They exchanged money and goods, buying several array diagrams from Mo Hua with spirit stones. After Mo Hua finished selling the copied array diagrams, he already had twelve spirit stones in his hand.

Twelve spirit stones were not a small amount for rogue cultivators, but for cultivating the Dao, it was still far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed, a hint of helplessness on his young face.

Cultivators at the bottom layer, cultivation is hopeless…

In the Dao Calendar year 1, which was over twenty thousand years ago, the largest power in the cultivation world, the Dao Court, unified the nine provinces of cultivation, enfeoffed families and sects, established a unified ranking system, and standardized the classes of the cultivation industry.

The Dao Court also issued Dao laws, restraining cultivators, making it forbidden for them to kill indiscriminately, rob, or gather supplements.

The cultivation world developed through this, enjoying peace for over twenty thousand years, flourishing to the extreme, with vast territories and countless billions of cultivators.

However, the Dao Court prospered, families had their bells ringing and tripods filled, and sects dominated their regions.

Only the rogue cultivators at the bottom layer, with no way to attach themselves, lived in hardship and had no hope of cultivating the Dao.

The cultivation world had multiplied for over twenty thousand years. Ordinary people without spirit roots were gradually eliminated naturally, leaving only cultivators with spirit roots who could cultivate the Dao. But with more cultivators, more spirit energy was consumed, and the spirit energy between heaven and earth was depleted.

Now, if cultivators wanted to cultivate the Dao, they needed both inheritance and, more importantly, spirit stones.

However, large families occupied the spirit mines, spirit stones were scarce for rogue cultivators at the bottom layer, and large sects monopolized inheritances, leaving ordinary rogue cultivators with no path to cultivation.

In Tong Xian City, the majority were rogue cultivators. They had no inheritance and lacked spirit stones. Their entire lives, they could only remain as cultivators in the Qi Refining realm.

The Qi Refining realm, however, was merely a humble ant under the vast Heaven’s Dao.

And Mo Hua was just one of these countless billions of ants.

Moreover, it was very likely that he would be one for his entire life!

Mo Hua’s childish face carried a hint of bitterness.

Heaven’s Dao might be equal, but cultivation, however, was absolutely not equal…

Mo Hua was a rogue cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining, born into a family of rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining realm. Both his father and mother were in the Qi Refining realm.

His father, Mo Shan, made a living by hunting demons. He had to fight with demon beasts all day, and his body was covered in scars. His mother helped cook in the dining hall, suffering from the invasion of stove fire energy into her body, often having lung pain and a dry cough.

And his father and mother were frugal and saved all their spirit stones, only so that Mo Hua could enter the outer door of Tong Xian Gate to cultivate.

But no matter how Mo Hua cultivated, with a middle-to-lower grade spirit root, although slightly better than ordinary people, in a cultivation world with numerous geniuses, he was destined to have only ordinary qualifications.

No matter how he cultivated, it was likely he would only be a cultivator in the Qi Refining realm.

With difficult family conditions and no spirit stones, Mo Hua could only, like ordinary disciples, cultivate to the sixth layer of Qi Refining and then leave the sect, then find a way to learn a skill to make a living.

But Mo Hua was also born with a weak constitution!

Professions like refining tools and hunting demons, which Qi Refining cultivators relied on for a living, generally required body cultivators with strong physiques. The naturally weak Mo Hua might not even be able to find a job that could barely sustain him.

If he were to marry and have children in the future, the burden would become heavier, and all the spirit stones would be used to support his family.

Without spirit stones to cultivate, Mo Hua’s cultivation would forever stagnate, and he would remain a Qi Refining cultivator his entire life.

Just like all the poor rogue cultivators in Tong Xian City.

And just like the countless billions of bottom-layer cultivators in this cultivation world.

A Qi Refining cultivator for their entire life!

Ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, adjusted his mindset, and then entered the sect to attend class. After a day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to the disciple dormitory, looked at cultivation classics for a while, and waited until the Zi hour to lie down on the bed.

When Mo Hua closed his eyes, within his sea of consciousness, a damaged stele appeared.

There were no words on the damaged stele, but it seemed that from the moment Mo Hua first saw it, he knew its name:

Dao Stele!