After seeing Mo Hua off, it was already past noon. Wenren Wan also wanted to take Yu’er back to the Shangguan family to celebrate the New Year and pay respects to their ancestors.

In the carriage, Yu’er looked at a book for a while, feeling a bit tired, and then rested.

Wenren Wan sat by his side, her beautiful eyes filled with a smile as she playfully teased him.

Shangguan Yi watched the two, feeling quite comforted in his heart, but also a renewed sense of owing much.

If not for his special status within the Shangguan family, with many people casting greedy eyes, it should have been just like this: a family of three, harmonious and happy, cultivating properly and living their lives.

But now, he shuttles between his family, father, wife, and children, pulled left and right, finding it very difficult.

Wenren Wan also understood his difficulties and said nothing about it.

As long as Yu’er was healthy and safe, that was enough.

As the carriage traveled, Shangguan Yi suddenly asked: “I still don’t know what Mo Hua likes…”

Wenren Wan was startled.

Shangguan Yi sighed: “This family banquet, we can say we received a great favor from him. We should always reciprocate a little.”

Wenren Wan said: “I’ve already returned the gift.”

Shangguan Yi shook his head, “The Old Ancestor’s handwriting is a gift that others beg for but cannot get. No matter what, I must still send some gifts of thanks to express a little gratitude.”

“Moreover…” Shangguan Yi looked at Yu’er, his expression very grateful.

“Yu’er’s spirit is getting better day by day, and he doesn’t have nightmares often anymore. This is also thanks to Mo Hua’s care in Tai Xu Men.”

Wenren Wan nodded.

This was indeed true.

Although she sent Yu’er into Tai Xu Men, her initial purpose was to let Mo Hua help dispel Yu’er’s nightmares.

She didn’t hope for a complete cure, but at least wished to alleviate it a little.

She didn’t want Yu’er to suffer the torment of nightmares at such a young age, night after night, daring not to sleep.

Wenren Wan had only held a sliver of hope for this matter before, but she didn’t expect her wish to actually come true.

Now Yu’er was lively and adorable, a far cry from his previous haggard and pitiful appearance. He was countless times better.

“Speaking of sending gifts…”

Wenren Wan pondered for a moment, “This child Mo Hua, though young, has a noble and pure character. If we send spirit stones, he probably won’t care for them…”

Regarding spirit stones, Wenren Wan clearly had a slight misunderstanding of Mo Hua…

She then continued:

“As for sending spirit tools, this child… although it’s not good to say this, his aptitude is indeed… a bit poor. Both his blood energy and spirit power are very weak. Some high-grade spirit tools, he might not be able to use them…”

“Good pills, he might not be able to use them yet.”

“Instead, let’s send him some array formations again.”

Wenren Wan listed them one by one.

Shangguan Yi also nodded slightly.

Sending array formations was both precious and not vulgar. It could also encourage him to cultivate and learn the Dao, which was most appropriate.

“What kind of array formation should we send?” Shangguan Yi asked.

Wenren Wan thought for a bit, “What treasured array formations does your Shangguan family have?”

Shangguan Yi muttered silently in his heart.

You are also a daughter-in-law of the Shangguan family now…

But he didn’t dare to say it out. Instead, he thought seriously for a moment and said slowly: “We do have some, but these are secret inheritances. I can’t just give them to him privately…”

“Aren’t there any less secret ones?”

“There are, but they are all too difficult. Giving them to him might make him unable to learn them and instead waste his divine sense and time.”

Wenren Wan thought for a bit and said: “That doesn’t matter. With Elder Xun guiding him, if there are unsuitable array formations to learn, Elder Xun won’t let him learn them.”

“That’s true…” Shangguan Yi nodded, “Then when I return to the clan, I’ll pick some.”

“Mm.” Wenren Wan pondered slightly, her eyes suddenly brightening. She quietly said: “You take some secret array formations of the Shangguan family, and also bring a few over…”

Shangguan Yi was startled and said somewhat awkwardly:

“This… isn’t good. If the news leaks, Mo Hua will also be in trouble.”

“You’re so stupid…”

Wenren Wan frowned, “I’m not asking you to take the unique inheritances of the Shangguan family.”

“Pick some that are secret, but that the Shangguan family has, and other families also have similar array formation inheritances.”

“Even if Mo Hua learns them, it doesn’t matter. Who knows where he learned them? Even if others ask, if he doesn’t say, others can’t verify. If we don’t say, this has nothing to do with our Shangguan family…”

Shangguan Yi nodded involuntarily, feeling it was very reasonable.

Especially when Wenren Wan said “our Shangguan family,” it made him feel very comfortable.

“Then I’ll go back and look.” Shangguan Yi said.

The cultivation of disciples from world families is strict, requiring involvement in everything: pills, arrays, talismans, and tools.

They just don’t require too much proficiency.

Although he also learned array formations, he only learned general ones.

Array formations that are too profound, too complex, or truly secret are extremely difficult to study, yielding twice the effort with half the result. Unless they are disciples who will specialize in array formations in the future, they won’t spend great effort to comprehend them.

Therefore, Shangguan Yi still needed to return to the clan and go to the Array Storage Pavilion to see exactly which secret array formations the Shangguan family had collected.

“Then, how many grades should we give?” Shangguan Yi asked Wenren Wan again.

“Give him ones he can use now…” Wenren Wan thought for a bit, “From basic Grade One, to Grade Two middle-tier… and Grade Two high-tier.”

Shangguan Yi was startled, “Grade Two high-tier? Too difficult? Can he learn them now?”

Wenren Wan glared at Shangguan Yi unhappily, “What are you thinking? He’s only in the initial stage of Foundation Establishment. How could he possibly learn Grade Two high-tier array formations?”

“This is called preparing for a rainy day!” Wenren Wan continued, “If you only give him Grade Two initial array formations, then when he reaches the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, the late stage of Foundation Establishment, do you expect him to still beg you for middle and high-tier array formations?”

“So for Grade Two, just give them all at once.”

“As for Grade Three array formations, that’s for after forming a core, which is still early.”

Shangguan Yi smiled slightly, saying warmly: “Wan’er is still the most thoughtful.”

“Then it’s decided,” Wenren Wan smiled, “You look in the Shangguan family, I will entrust people back to the Wenren family, also find a few good ones, and then as thank-you gifts, send them to Mo Hua together.”

“Mm.” Shangguan Yi agreed.

After that, the atmosphere among the family of three was harmonious.

The Shangguan family contingent, with prosperous carriages and horses, proceeded with dignity and grandeur, leaving Qingzhou City and traveling just like this to the territory of the fifth-grade Shangqian State, the Shangguan family’s mansion.

In front of the high gate of the Shangguan family, some people lined up to welcome them.

Shangguan Ce was at the front, with a crowd of elders behind him.

Shangguan Yi and Wenren Wan, holding Yu’er’s hand on either side, got off the carriage and walked into the grand and luxurious cave mansion of the Shangguan family.

Shangguan Ce’s gaze was calm, subtly sweeping over the crowd. He looked at Shangguan Yi and Wenren Wan, and also looked at Yu’er, some lost in thought.

Yu’er…

Shangguan Yu.

A handsome gentleman, like jade.

This name was carefully chosen by Shangguan Ce himself, containing his expectations.

But this name was chosen before Yu’er was born, before Yu’er was calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s old ancestor to have a destined-to-die fate.

Shangguan Ce looked at Yu’er again.

This was his own grandson.

He also didn’t know if he would be his only grandson in this lifetime…

Shangguan Ce’s heart was bitter.

On the other side, Yu’er didn’t know what he said to his mother, his small face full of joy and satisfaction.

Shangguan Ce saw this in his eyes, and the taste in his heart was even harder to describe.

“Destined to die young, a must-die fate…”

Shangguan Ce sighed slightly, his heart aching.

But his mind was deep, joy and anger not shown on his face. His face was still majestic and imposing, expressionless.

Entering the Shangguan family, Shangguan Ce returned to his study.

His study was luxurious and elegant, and in the center was placed a compass.

“If you can’t see through the heavenly secrets, you can’t see through cause and effect. Even if your realm is higher, you can only become others’ plaything.”

The older he got, the more he experienced, the stronger his cultivation, and the higher the levels he contacted, the deeper Shangguan Ce’s feeling towards this sentence became.

It was a pity that the art of heavenly secrets had already declined.

Although Shangguan Ce tried every possible means, he only obtained some superficial knowledge of the heavenly secrets technique inheritances.

Heavenly secrets calculation is an extremely profound cultivation Dao learning, impossible to achieve in one go. It requires moving from the surface to the inside, from shallow to deep, comprehending little by little.

Shangguan Ce also understood this point.

He did not seek mastery, but merely wished to know one or two things.

But perhaps because his selfish desires were too heavy, no matter how he learned about heavenly secrets matters, he couldn’t understand. No matter how he looked, it was all fog.

As if his eyes were blocked by something.

What he saw was only the appearance of his own selfish desires and floating desires, not the essence of heavenly secrets cause and effect.

But everything always requires courageous attempts.

Shangguan Ce planned to start with the simple ones first, for example…

That child named “Mo Hua.”

He had this idea when he was at the Gu family.

He had heard the name “Mo Hua” before.

He had also long heard about Yu’er’s matter.

But this time at the Gu family, it was the first time he saw Mo Hua, and at the same time, he had an… indescribable subtle feeling.

He looked innocent, but also thoughtful and clever.

He looked simple, but also had schemes in his chest.

Clearly, his external appearance and temperament were completely different, but Shangguan Ce always felt that this child had a little similarity to Gu Shouyan, the head of the Gu family, whom he had dealt with for a lifetime.

His actions always had a slightly strange persistence.

Even stranger was that this child named Mo Hua, who was clearly of loose cultivator origin and looked ordinary, could actually gain the appreciation of Elder Xun of Tai Xu Men?

Shangguan Ce was puzzled in his heart.

He wanted to calculate.

He was not qualified to calculate those in the Void Cave realm, he could not calculate those in the Feather Transformation realm, and he calculated those in the Golden Core realm with great effort. But for a mere little cultivator in the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, just calculating a little should not be a big problem.

He wouldn’t calculate too deeply, just calculating his origin would be fine…

Shangguan Ce began to fiddle with the compass.

The compass caused and effect floated and sank, qi mechanisms flowed.

But it only turned one degree when the compass suddenly seemed to stall, trembling violently.

At the same time, Shangguan Ce only felt a bloody qi rushing towards his face.

Shangguan Ce’s hair stood on end, his heart trembled, and he decisively threw away the compass, sealing his heart and locking his divine sense, not daring to peek at any cause and effect again.

After a moment, everything dissipated.

Shangguan Ce lowered his head to look, seeing many cracks already on the compass. His eyes widened slightly, his gaze already with a trace of horror.

“Heavenly secrets… is such a dangerous thing?”

He only picked the simplest child to calculate, and he could encounter this kind of danger?

Even…

He didn’t even see what this “danger” was…

His heavenly secrets calculation technique was truly too superficial, so he only brushed the edge, didn’t see the true form of the danger, and thus escaped a calamity.

Even so, Shangguan Ce’s mood was difficult to calm for a long time.

Mo Hua’s face floated in his mind again.

“Is this little ghost’s heavenly fate like this? Or is it that someone has set up means to protect his cause and effect?”

“Loose cultivator origin, it’s impossible for someone born in the heavens to have this kind of fate.”

“Then it is… Elder Xun’s means?”

Shangguan Ce frowned, “But when did Tai Xu Men have such proficient heavenly secrets means?”

“And what exactly is special about this child, making him worthy of Elder Xun’s painstaking, full support?”

Shangguan Ce pondered without a solution, finally silently looking at the compass on the table.

The compass was cracked.

This was the backlash of cause and effect.

Shangguan Ce sighed in his heart.

Perhaps everyone had underestimated this Elder Xun.

This was Elder Xun warning himself, no, or rather, warning everyone who tried to deduce that child’s cause and effect…

Don’t see what you shouldn’t see, don’t calculate what you shouldn’t calculate.

Shangguan Ce’s expression was wooden, and in the end, he helplessly shook his head.

Forget it.

His heavenly secrets calculation technique was not enough, he couldn’t forcibly deduce, otherwise he would suffer backlash.

He was lucky this time, next time Elder Xun might not be so polite.

Learn from your mistakes.

Behind this child stood a Void Cave realm cultivator, the virtuous and prestigious Elder Xun. In other words, a huge Tai Xu Men stood behind him.

Unless they truly tore off their masks, they absolutely could not offend him again.

Shangguan Ce silently noted the name “Mo Hua” in his heart, and then temporarily stopped inquiring.

And on the other side, Mo Hua had also long returned to the sect.

He had been to the Gu family, played, and eaten. This year, he simply stayed in the disciple residence honestly to practice array formations.

Although a bit lonely, it was very fulfilling.

Mo Hua’s array formation level was also improving little by little.

The two-grade array formations of mostly seventeen patterns taught by Elder Xun, he had also already mastered.

And the New Year passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the new year arrived.

This was his third year in Tai Xu Men.

Within this year, he must solve the puzzle array, break through the bottleneck, advance to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and then prepare for cultivation after the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

He also wanted to learn more seventeen-pattern array formations.

In his sea of consciousness, the loophole-like heavenly Dao law that was always deducting his “divine sense,” he also wanted to see if he could feed it full, or find ways to repair it.

Also, he wanted to see if he could improve the Gu family’s industries a little.

The Gu family’s family banquet before the New Year made Mo Hua understand that the seemingly large Gu family was also suffering from the exclusion of other families, and their days were not necessarily good.

And Uncle Gu was a member of the Gu family. The Gu family’s cultivators were all pretty good to him. He even had a Gu family secret order in his hand.

In other words, the Gu family also counted as his “backer.”

If the Gu family was prosperous, he could often go and freeload meals.

If he encountered difficulties in the future, the Gu family would have the capacity to help him.

If the Gu family truly declined and couldn’t even protect themselves, not to mention relying on the Gu family for help at a critical moment, he probably wouldn’t even be able to freeload a meal.

So the Gu family absolutely could not decline!

Mo Hua silently said in his heart.

But this kind of matter was relatively complex and still needed long-term planning and careful consideration…

After that, Mo Hua cultivated while considering the Gu family’s cultivation industries.

But before he could finish considering the matter of the cultivation industries, other matters came knocking.

This day at noon, Mo Hua was having lunch with Yu’er in the disciple residence’s dining hall.

Cheng Mo came running over, butt bouncing.

“Mo Hua.”

Mo Hua looked up at him, his expression faint.

Cheng Mo smiled: “Little senior brother.”

Mo Hua then nodded, signaling him to continue.

Cheng Mo then said: “I have something I want to ask you to help with…”

Mo Hua was a little surprised. He thought for a moment and then said: “Array formation matters?”

If Cheng Mo came to him, it must be something he didn’t understand, but that Mo Hua understood.

Mo Hua thought it over and over, and it could only be array formations.

As soon as he mentioned array formations, Cheng Mo’s head began to ache, “Sort of, but not entirely…”

Mo Hua bit off a mouthful of chicken leg.

Yu’er, who was beside him, also followed suit and bit off a mouthful of chicken leg.

Then the two of them silently looked at Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo sighed: “It’s about the rewards of the Dao Court Division.”

Mo Hua was startled and shook his head: “Elder Xun put me under house arrest and won’t let me go out. I can’t do the rewards with you.”

When Cheng Mo heard this, he also showed disappointment.

He really wanted Mo Hua to go with him.

Mo Hua was smart, knew array formations, knew how to investigate, knew spells, was experienced, and had broad connections…

Anyway, no matter what reward they did, it was always right to bring Mo Hua along.

Cheng Mo had originally thought about hugging a thigh and mixing with his “little senior brother.”

But he didn’t expect that in order to let Mo Hua concentrate on learning array formations, Elder Xun would actually directly issue a “house arrest order.”

If Mo Hua couldn’t go out, the speed at which they did rewards would slow down again.

Mo Hua saw Cheng Mo’s worried expression and then said:

“Tell me about the situation with your rewards, maybe I can give you some ideas.”

Cheng Mo pondered slightly, nodded: “Okay.”

Anyway, no matter what, he then ordered some food, sat beside Mo Hua, and chatted while eating.

But as usual, he ordered two more chicken legs, one big and one small. The big one was “filial” to his little senior brother Mo Hua, and the small one was given to Yu’er beside him.

“I took a reward to catch a flying thief. This flying thief is in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. His strength is average, but his body technique is extremely good, and he has appeared in the nearby two-grade state territories.”

“Si Tu Jian and I, and several others, found clues and have been squatting for a long time, but we haven’t caught him.”

“Either we didn’t meet; or we met, but he was alerted beforehand and escaped; or we just met and blocked him, but his body technique was too good, and we couldn’t catch him…”

Cheng Mo took a big bite of meat, “I’ve been messed up these days, can’t eat or sleep, I’ve gotten thin…”

“For these small merits, dragging on is a bit of a loss, but giving up is too humiliating. I really can’t swallow this anger.”

Cheng Mo looked at Mo Hua again, regretting: “If you were here, even if you didn’t use spells, you could set up array formations to trap that flying thief.”

Mo Hua was puzzled: “You all can also set up array formations? You’ve all learned them in the array formation class?”

Cheng Mo waved his hand, saying helplessly:

“It’s no good, too conventional. That flying thief is experienced. Where to place the array mediums, he can see at a glance.”

“And the effects of the array formations are not good, they might not even be able to trap him…”

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then suddenly started, as if he had thought of something. He looked at Cheng Mo, his expression a little strange.

Cheng Mo felt a bit uncomfortable being looked at by Mo Hua and asked: “What…”

Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked:

“Are you generous with your hands?”

Cheng Mo immediately became worried, “I have few merits.”

“Not merits,” Mo Hua asked, “Your spirit stones.”

“Spirit stones?”

“Mm, spirit stones.”

When spirit stones were mentioned, Cheng Mo immediately became rich and domineering:

“I have many spirit stones!”

Mo Hua nodded, looking thoughtfully at Cheng Mo, his eyes slightly bright, like he was looking at a very fat, very fat fat sheep.

(End of this chapter) Recently, transcoding has been serious, let’s be more motivated and update faster. Please trouble everyone to move your little hand and exit the reading mode. Thanks.