On the mountain path, Big White pulling the carriage, unhurriedly, walked towards Mr. Zhuang’s predetermined destination.

According to Mr. Zhuang, the place he is going to is a sect with which he has old connections.

Mo Painting asked what sect it was.

Mr. Zhuang kept the suspense and didn’t say, only that he would know when they arrived.

Mo Painting also didn’t ask again.

Along the way, Mr. Zhuang also told Mo Painting to pay careful attention, using divine sense to deduce and calculate, to find traces of formations.

On the way, Mo Painting indeed perceived the aura of some formations, and used divine sense to deduce and calculate, figuring out the formation patterns, and showed them to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang mostly nodded his head.

Occasionally, he would also point out some errors and tell Mo Painting to take note.

These errors were sometimes due to Mo Painting’s insufficient experience with formations, where the core structure of the formation was deduced incorrectly;

Sometimes it was carelessness, missing a few formation patterns;

Sometimes the deduction method was incorrect, causing the spiritual power trajectory of the formation to be wrong…

Mo Painting kept these problems in mind one by one, repeatedly pondering, striving not to make the same mistakes next time.

Just like this, while hurrying on the road, while perceiving, while calculating, while verifying.

Benefiting from this, Mo Painting’s divine sense deduction became more and more proficient.

Unfortunately, the formations deduced, although some were ones Mo Painting had never seen, were mostly not rare.

The number of formation patterns was still only between seven and nine.

No second-grade formations.

In second-grade state boundaries, generally only first-grade formations are used.

Second-grade formations consume a lot of spirit stones; families and sects of second-grade and below mostly cannot afford them.

And the formation masters who can draw second-grade formations mostly do not stay in second-grade state boundaries.

Furthermore, there were even fewer of the absolute formations that Mo Painting wanted to find.

At the beginning, Mo Painting still thought he had missed something.

But Mr. Zhuang also didn’t let everyone stop, so there should be none.

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t possibly have missed them.

Mo Painting thought about it and felt it was also right.

If absolute formations were everywhere, then they would be as common as cabbages.

How can formations as common as cabbages be called “absolute formations”?

Moreover, Mo Painting had already learned the Thick Earth Formation.

The Thick Earth Formation is an eleven-pattern absolute formation.

Mo Painting’s current divine sense is also eleven patterns, just right to borrow the Thick Earth Formation to temper his divine sense.

As long as the carriage stopped to rest midway.

Mo Painting would run down the carriage, first release his divine sense, find some fresh tender grass, and pluck it to feed to Big White.

Then, while watching Big White eat grass, he would practice the Thick Earth Formation on the ground.

The Thick Earth Formation can only be practiced like this.

Mo Painting had borrowed the Dao Stele, visualized the Dao essence of the earth, overloading the Dao Stele, and it still hadn’t recovered.

Mo Painting still thought it was broken.

Fortunately, he observed it for a few days and discovered that the Dao Stele was just a bit grayish white in color, the stele surface was still empty, with no other abnormalities.

The aura of the Dao Stele was also gradually recovering; it seemed it would be fine after some time.

Mo Painting then felt relieved.

But in the short term, he couldn’t borrow the Dao Stele to practice formations.

And the Thick Earth Formation cannot be drawn on paper.

Mo Painting could only wait for rest times, find a piece of land, and squat on the ground to draw the formation.

This both practiced the formation and sensed the Dao essence, and also enhanced his divine sense.

Every time he drew a Thick Earth Formation on the ground, Mo Painting would feel his divine sense harmonize with the earth a bit, and his comprehension of the earth’s Dao essence would also deepen a bit.

With this wonderful comprehension, Mo Painting’s divine sense growth was also not slow.

Only, it was still some distance from twelve-pattern divine sense.

This day, everyone was sitting in the carriage.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were reviewing the formations that Mr. Zhuang had taught them.

Just that Mo Painting also couldn’t learn those formations.

Mo Painting was a bit curious, but he endured the curiosity and didn’t go to look.

Mr. Zhuang’s actions must have their considerations; perhaps there were some causes and effects within that he could not come into contact with.

Meanwhile, Mo Painting himself was just looking at the formation book, while practicing divine sense deduction.

Mr. Zhuang was closing his eyes to rest.

After a moment, Mr. Zhuang suddenly opened his eyes and said:

“New Year has come.”

The three disciples were all startled.

Mo Painting calculated the time; it seemed that today was indeed the thirtieth day of the year.

In the past in Tongxian City, every festive season, the streets were hung with red lanterns, the markets were filled with dazzling goods, people came and went, and every household floated with the fragrance of meals…

But now there was no village ahead, no shop behind.

Only a remote mountain road, and cliffs and roadside wild grass on either side.

Thinking of Tongxian City, Mo Painting sighed slightly in his heart.

“I wonder how everyone in Tongxian City is doing.”

“Are they also celebrating the New Year lively?”

“And Father and Mother, are they healthy and safe?”

“I also don’t know if they think of me…”

Mo Painting silently recited in his heart, a bit homesick, his expression also a bit low.

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Painting, his gaze a bit pitiful, then said:

“When traveling outside, everything is simplified. But since it is a festive season, we still need to celebrate it simply.”

Mo Painting was a bit surprised, “We also want to celebrate?”

“Um.” Mr. Zhuang gently nodded.

“But… we have nothing at all,” Mo Painting murmured.

“Whatever you want, just find Kui Lao,” Mr. Zhuang said.

Mo Painting was startled, turned his head, and looked at Kui Lao.

Kui Lao also nodded, “You can have whatever you want.”

Mo Painting immediately became happy.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi also had excited expressions.

The eyes of the three children were all bright and shiny.

As if infected by their emotions, the corners of Mr. Zhuang’s mouth also involuntarily curved into a slight smile.

Thus everyone, of course mainly Mo Painting, began to prepare.

He counted on his fingers, telling Kui Lao:

“Grandpa Kui, I want lanterns, firecrackers, fish for ‘nian nian you yu’ (year after year have surplus), cakes for ‘bu bu gao sheng’ (step by step rise)…”

Mo Painting finished counting one by one.

Kui Lao nodded and said, “You wait a moment.”

Then, in front of Mo Painting, the person just disappeared.

After half an hour, Kui Lao reappeared mysteriously, throwing several storage bags on the ground.

Mo Painting looked and saw that everything he had mentioned was indeed inside.

And many things were new, looking like they were just bought from some celebrating city.

“Thank you, Grandpa Kui!”

Mo Painting said with a squinting smile.

Kui Lao nodded, then handed over another storage bag.

Mo Painting was slightly startled, and opened it to look.

Inside were all dried fruits like pine nuts, hazelnuts, Chinese torreya, etc., but mostly raw.

“Fry some for me; the previous ones are all snacked,” Kui Lao whispered.

Kui Lao drove the carriage every day, doing nothing, just snacking on pine nuts.

So Mo Painting had previously fried some pine nuts for him, which he had finished snacking long ago.

Thinking that since it was New Year, he might as well reward himself.

He had eaten a lot of pine nuts and wanted to change his taste, so he bought a lot of miscellaneous items.

He hadn’t eaten much of these qi refining period things and didn’t know what they were, but thinking that they were sold together, they were probably all similar, so he bought them all together.

He just didn’t know if they would be crisp when he snacked on them.

Kui Lao looked at Mo Painting with some expectation.

Mo Painting smiled, nodded and said:

“Good!”

Thus, in the afternoon, everyone no longer hurried on the road.

The carriage stopped by the roadside.

Mo Painting tied big red lanterns on the carriage, pasted a few “Fortune” characters, and also hung a big red flower on Big White’s neck.

Big White was not very willing, but couldn’t resist Mo Painting.

After all, eating people’s mouth is short.

It had eaten so much grass fed by Mo Painting.

Furthermore, Mo Painting also set up the firecrackers and drew the fireworks formation, saving them for the evening to set off.

Next was preparing the big meal.

Mo Painting first fried all the pine nuts and hazelnuts for Kui Lao.

Some were original flavor, some had various spices added.

Kui Lao took out a part and placed it on the table for everyone to eat, while quietly stuffing the others into his own sleeve.

Then it was cooking.

Some of the ingredients were bought by Kui Lao, and some were sent by the spirit farmers from Qianjia Town.

Bai Zisheng watched eagerly from the side, occasionally saying:

“Mo Painting, make this to eat, this is delicious.”

“This one wants to be fried, not boiled.”

“This one needs spicy to be delicious, add more…”

Mr. Zhuang, on the contrary, didn’t mind that much, whatever could be eaten, but he still ordered a “steamed bass” to prevent Bai Zisheng from ordering all spicy dishes.

Finally, it was steaming cakes.

There were rice cakes and various other pastries.

Bai Zixi helped Mo Painting knead dough, kneading and kneading, she just pinched small pieces of dough.

Little fair hands, pinching white dough pieces, not knowing what she was pinching.

Mo Painting curiously asked:

“Little Senior Sister, what are you pinching?”

Bai Zixi held the strangely shaped small dough piece in her palm and said crisply:

“Rabbit!”

Mo Painting was stunned.

Bai Zixi frowned, “Not like?”

“Like…” Mo Painting said against his conscience.

“Just slightly… a bit fat.”

The little rabbit had become fat like a little pig.

Bai Zixi looked at the “little rabbit” in her hand again, and said puzzledly: “Not fat…?”

She felt it was still quite cute.

Mo Painting was busy all afternoon, finally finishing all the dishes.

The morning glow had faded, and night gradually deepened.

It was time to set off fireworks.

Before setting them off, Mo Painting was still a bit worried, “Won’t it scare the demon beasts in the mountains…?”

Kui Lao glanced around and said faintly: “It won’t.”

Mo Painting then felt relieved.

The fireworks formation was very simple; due to the limited time, Mo Painting didn’t draw it too complex.

Moreover, this formation was drawn directly on the ground.

This was the first time Mo Painting had drawn a formation using the “ground” as the medium, besides the Thick Earth Formation.

In the night, the fireworks were brilliant.

Then they ate the meal.

Everyone sat on the ground.

A silk cloth was spread on the soft grass, covered with dishes.

The dishes were rich, and Mo Painting’s cooking skills had also improved.

Mr. Zhuang ate the most leisurely, Bai Zisheng ate the most joyfully, Bai Zixi ate the most elegantly, and Kui Lao kept cracking pine nuts and hazelnuts, eating the most single-mindedly.

In the clear cold moonlight, in the quiet mountains, there was a lively atmosphere of fireworks, noisy and warm.

After eating and drinking to their hearts’ content, Mo Painting was no longer homesick.

He lay on the grass, counting the stars in the sky.

For Mo Painting, this was not the most lively New Year, but it was the first time he had celebrated the New Year with his master, senior brother, senior sister, and Grandpa Kui.

It could also be considered quite lively.

For Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, the festive seasons in their large families were seemingly prosperous but the human feelings were cold.

Full of worldly wisdom and rules.

On the contrary, it was not as simple and lively as it was now.

Bai Zisheng also lay on the ground, chatting idly with Mo Painting, occasionally bickering.

Bai Zixi’s expression was calm and gentle, but in her heart, she was wondering, was the one she had just pinched a rabbit?

Why did it become a little pig after steaming?

Mr. Zhuang was surrounded by his three disciples, comforted in his heart, with a moment of melancholy in his expression.

This was probably the most lively New Year in his cold life of several hundred years.

Thank you Daoist friend o, and Roadside’s Daikexiu for the reward.