Chapter 1525: Martial Aunt

Chapter 1525: Martial Aunt

Hearing that unfamiliar yet long-missed address of Martial Aunt, which also confirmed her suspicions, Bai Qingcheng felt even more shocked.

She had never imagined that it really would be Mo Hua...

According to the rumors from the Grand Matriarch, the wild man Zixi had taken in was actually Mo Hua.

The killing intent radiating from Bai Qingcheng gradually receded.

She took another careful look at the young man's features before her and sighed inwardly.

It truly was that child Mo Hua... Though many years had passed, he already looked somewhat different from the image she remembered.

He had grown taller, his figure more slender, and his face had matured somewhat.

From the fair-skinned, red-lipped Junior Formation Master of childhood, he had blossomed into someone with brows as clear as the moon and a bearing as pure as an immortal.

He had grown ever more striking.

But precisely because of that, things were all the more troublesome...

Bai Qingcheng's brows furrowed slightly, and her heart sank.

Mo Hua and Zixi, those two children had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, cultivating and adventuring as fellow disciples, with tender feelings gradually budding between them.

But at the time, they were still young, innocent and ignorant, and would exercise some restraint.

Now that they had grown up—one so handsome, the other so beautiful—and were living day and night together in a picturesque minor blessed land, the old affections were likely like wildfire, ready to blaze up at the slightest spring breeze...

Matters of love and romance were all too easy to go wrong.

These two children were truly a source of worry.

As Bai Qingcheng's thoughts churned, her brows knitted ever tighter.

Mo Hua, sensing that this True-Person was Little Senior Sister's mother and also his own Martial Aunt, likewise became ‘well-behaved,’ keeping his head low and eyes downcast.

He took the opportunity to conceal the killing intent in his eyes that had been transforming into sword intent.

Bai Qingcheng, for reasons unknown, felt a sudden wariness in her heart, and her brow twitched again.

She took another careful look at the seemingly well-behaved Mo Hua, and as she studied him, she suddenly said with some surprise:

“You... have reached Golden Core?”

Mo Hua nodded. “In answer to Martial Aunt, yes, I have reached Golden Core.”

“Cultivating so quickly...”

Bai Qingcheng frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Others might not know, but as Mo Hua's Martial Aunt, how could she not know his origins?

This child came from a Rogue Cultivator background, and his Spiritual roots were not even considered good.

By the normal pace of cultivation, he might spend his entire life without even touching the threshold of Golden Core.

What's more, the last time she had seen Mo Hua, he had only been at Qi Refining Ninth Layer, not even reaching Foundation Establishment.

Now, after twenty years or so without seeing him, he had actually cultivated to Golden Core, even the direct descendants of great clans and major sects would be no more than this...

Great clans and major sects.

Bai Qingcheng thought for a moment, her heart trembling, and then asked: “Did Senior Brother Zhuang... leave you a path for cultivation back then?”

Mo Hua's gaze was complicated as he nodded and said softly:

“Yes. Master... left me a Sect Entry Token, telling me to go to Qian Province to pursue my studies.”

A Sect Entry Token.

Bai Qingcheng was somewhat enlightened and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Senior Brother Zhuang... truly cared for this youngest disciple of his with the utmost attention.

Compared to his previous disciples, it could even be called dotage.

However, Bai Qingcheng knew nothing about Mo Hua's studies.

She was a Feathered Ascension Realm True-Person of the Bai Clan, lofty and exalted, with greater matters at higher levels to attend to, occasionally entering seclusion, and ordinarily having no leisure time at all.

Even her own children, she often had no time to manage, let alone Mo Hua.

As for matters of some unrelated Qianxue Prefecture realm, Foundation Establishment Stage disciples entering sects, sword debates, and the like, she could hardly be expected to care.

Bai Qingcheng then asked: “Which sect did you enter?”

Mo Hua said: “Great Void Sect.”

Bai Qingcheng was taken aback. “Not the Heavenly Dao Sect?”

Mo Hua was also somewhat surprised that Martial Aunt Bai seemed to know about the Heavenly Dao Sect as well.

Mo Hua answered honestly: “The Heavenly Dao Sect would not accept me.”

Bai Qingcheng's expression shifted slightly, and after pondering for a moment, she gradually understood.

It must be that the higher-ups of the Heavenly Dao Sect, seeing that Mo Hua had poor Spiritual roots, lacked aptitude, and had no one to back him, had found some excuse to turn him away at the door.

At this thought, Bai Qingcheng's expression turned cold, and she cursed:

“Those rats of the Heavenly Dao Sect, judging by appearances, daring to violate their ancestral precepts, no wonder they've been declining...”

Mo Hua nodded, feeling that Martial Aunt's words made a great deal of sense.

“But...” Bai Qingcheng frowned again. “How did you end up at Great Void Sect?”

How could it be, of all places, Great Void Sect?

And with Mo Hua's Spiritual roots and aptitude, he wouldn't even qualify for Great Void Sect...

Mo Hua then explained truthfully: “By a stroke of fortune, I saved a child of the Shangguan Clan, became acquainted with the child's mother, and then... by calling in that favor, pulling some strings, and going through the back door, I managed to enter Great Void Sect...”

Bai Qingcheng's expression was somewhat subtle, unsure for the moment whether Mo Hua had good character or extraordinary luck.

Everything that happened to this child seemed to carry an air of the miraculous.

Bai Qingcheng stared at Mo Hua again, and suddenly her gaze shifted once more, her face darkening as she asked:

“Your Golden Core... is it inferior grade?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Yes.”

This wasn't anything shameful to admit, since everyone already knew about it.

Unexpectedly, Bai Qingcheng frowned and said, “Aren't your spiritual roots Intermediate-lower grade? How could your Golden Core condense into inferior grade?”

Mo Hua sighed helplessly. “That's a long story...”

Bai Qingcheng asked, “Did Great Void Sect mistreat you?”

Mo Hua replied, “No”

Bai Qingcheng sneered coldly. “Great Void Sect, a proper major sect of Qianxue, with a long history, how could they possibly fail to teach their disciples the proper method of Core Formation...”

“Even if other superior-grade spiritual root disciples dropped a grade, that's one thing.”

“But this child only has Intermediate-lower grade roots to begin with. Dropping straight to inferior grade… how is that acceptable?”

“It must be that Great Void Sect, seeing your poor aptitude, neglected you and didn't teach you properly...”

Seeing his martial aunt defend him so fiercely, Mo Hua felt somewhat moved, but the truth really wasn't like that:

“Martial Aunt, it really isn't...”

Bai Qingcheng didn't believe him and asked further, “Then what is your Life-Bound Magical Treasure?”

“Magical Treasure...”

Mo Hua hesitated, not quite able to bring himself to mention that heretical Second-Grade, twenty-four rune-pattern forbidden ‘Twelve-Meridian Taotie Spiritual Skeleton Absolute Formation’ he had obtained from the Great Wilderness Great Shaman.

Seeing Mo Hua's hesitant expression, Bai Qingcheng understood instantly.

His Magical Treasure was too poor, too shameful to speak of.

It must be that Great Void Sect hadn't prepared a proper Magical Treasure embryo for him, hadn't let him nurture it well. They just let him muddle through and condense his Golden Core in a slipshod manner.

That was why Mo Hua's cultivation had advanced so quickly.

Because there was no sufficient foundation, no solid nurturing—it was all forcing growth by pulling up seedlings.

Bai Qingcheng's gaze turned icy. “What a fine Great Void Sect. Taking you as a disciple, yet not teaching you properly.”

Doing this kind of forced-growth cultivation education, producing an inferior-grade Golden Core, wasting her little martial nephew like this...

Mo Hua felt helpless and quickly said, “Martial Aunt, it really isn't like that. The Ancestor of Great Void Sect, the Sect Master, the elders, and the disciples all treat me very well.”

Hearing Mo Hua say this, Bai Qingcheng was momentarily stunned, then her heart softened a bit.

This child Mo Hua—whatever else could be said—was simply too kind-hearted, never growing up...

After all these years, still the same.

Great Void Sect was so malicious in their schemes, yet he still spoke well of them.

He couldn't even lie properly.

As an ordinary disciple, how could the Ancestor and Sect Master possibly treat him well?

The disparity in status was like heaven and earth.

Bai Qingcheng shook her head. “You child... don't always think the best of people. This world is full of those with scheming hearts and black bellies full of bad intentions. You might run into one any day...”

“This...” Mo Hua didn't know how to respond.

Bai Qingcheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt another doubt arise, and asked:

“Since you're a disciple of Great Void Sect, why didn't you stay in Qianxue to cultivate? Why did you suddenly come running to Kun Province?”

And moreover, he had run into Zixi again... that was the most troublesome part.

Mo Hua's heart tightened slightly. After a moment's deliberation, he said, “I left the Qianxue Prefecture realm earlier to cultivate in the Great Wilderness, seeking an opportunity for Core Formation.”

“The Great Wilderness...”

Bai Qingcheng was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, her expression instantly changing.

That terrifying black figure surfaced in her mind, and she asked, “You...”

She wanted to ask whether he had encountered that Daoist in the Great Wilderness. After all, the Great Wilderness was Eldest Senior Brother's territory.

But the words reached her lips, and with all the dangerous cause and effect involved, she dared not ask. She only said:

“In the Great Wilderness... were you alright?”

Mo Hua thought briefly, then shook his head. “I was fine... I only went to the Great Wilderness for training. I wanted to join the Dao Soldier Division, pacify the wars in the Great Wilderness, earn some military merit, and then seek Core Formation. But then...”

Mo Hua sighed. “The campaign went poorly. I was also wounded and fell unconscious. Later, in a muddle, I was sent to Houtu City by some senior experts...”

What he said was all technically true.

But the real truth, he hadn't spoken a single word of.

This kind of verbal technique—using words as a medium, Dao Heart Seeding Demon—Mo Hua had already mastered to perfection.

Bai Qingcheng frowned, feeling that Mo Hua's words were somewhat strange, but she couldn't immediately pinpoint where the problem lay.

In the Great Wilderness, her only concern was the terrifying “Eldest Senior Brother.”

If Mo Hua encountered Eldest Senior Brother again, with old grudges and new debts settled together, who knew how he would be toyed with, death might even be a luxury.

But Mo Hua hadn't died. He was alive and well.

Back in Li Province (Lizhou) City, the one who had kidnapped Mo Hua, killed Senior Brother Zhuang, and slaughtered many righteous and demonic Feathered Ascension cultivators had only been Eldest Senior Brother's Strange Dao ‘avatar clone.’

But the Great Wilderness was completely different.

What dwelled in the Great Wilderness was Eldest Senior Brother's true body, the true Strange Daoist, where the heaven-reaching Strange Dao Demonic Statue resided.

Even the Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors of the Dao Court, once trapped deep within, had met with unknown fate—alive or dead.

If Mo Hua truly fell into the Eldest Senior Brother's hands, even if he had three heads and six arms, or even underwent Feathered Ascension on the spot and sprouted nine wings, there would still be absolutely no way for him to escape alive.

Bai Qingcheng shook her head.

But even so, she still felt somewhat uneasy. She looked Mo Hua over once more, especially carefully examining his eyes.

Only when she saw that Mo Hua's gaze was clear and bright, carrying a hint of uprightness, and that he did not seem to be infected by Strange Thoughts, did she finally feel at ease and slowly let out a breath.

Seeing that Martial Aunt Bai's attitude had softened somewhat and that she no longer seemed intent on killing him, Mo Hua also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had to admit, being in front of his Martial Aunt was quite stressful.

Then Mo Hua felt a bit puzzled and asked in a low voice:

“Martial Aunt... why did you suddenly come to Houtu City?”

Bai Qingcheng shot Mo Hua a glance and silently thought to herself:

I came to catch you, you ‘wild man.’

But she couldn't say those words out loud.

If it were any other ‘wild man’ who looked like Mo Hua, she would have already slapped him to death by now.

But Mo Hua was different, after all. He was... Senior Brother Zhuang's most beloved little disciple, and by extension, her own junior martial nephew.

How could Bai Qingcheng possibly bring herself to do it?

Bai Qingcheng sighed. “I have some matters to attend to in Kun Province...”

“Mm,” Mo Hua nodded, not asking what exactly those matters were.

But there was one thing Mo Hua was extremely concerned about.

He held back again and again, but in the end, he couldn't restrain himself. He looked up at Bai Qingcheng, lowered his gaze, and asked in a quiet voice:

“Martial Aunt... how is... my master?”

Bai Qingcheng's gaze trembled at the question. She turned to look at Mo Hua, and seeing his dejected expression, those clear eyes containing extremely complex emotions, as if countless worries had merged into a deep pool, showing just how deep his obsession ran… Bai Qingcheng felt an inexplicable ache in her heart.

Mo Hua was Senior Brother Zhuang's most beloved disciple.

And Senior Brother Zhuang was, likewise, the master Mo Hua respected and loved most...

Bai Qingcheng let out a deep sigh, her tone softening. “Your master... he is still alright...”

Mo Hua remained silent.

Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua with a hint of pity in her eyes.

After thinking for a moment, she waved her hand, using her Feathered Ascension Spiritual Power to form a barrier that enveloped the room, temporarily sealing off sound and cause and effect. Only then did she speak with a light sigh:

“Back then, you were still young, so there were some things I never told you...”

“Your master... was struck by that Daoist, who split open his chest and took his Dao Bone. His Qi Sea dried up, his Sea of Consciousness shattered, no medicine can heal it, no mortal power can save him...”

“It was the Grand Elder of Mystic Secrets Valley, True-Person Situ, who used the valley's supreme treasure, the Heaven-and-Earth Pure Light Lamp, as the Formation Eye, and set up the Mystic Fire Everlasting Formation to lock down his cause and effect.”

“All life and death in this world are cause and effect. Birth is the cause; death is the effect.”

“Senior Brother Zhuang's allotted lifespan has already run out. Therefore, the only option was to forcibly use the Everlasting Formation to lock down life and death, preventing cause and effect from turning.”

“The cause of 'life' no longer continues to flow, so the effect of 'death' will not arrive for the time being...”

“Senior Brother Zhuang is currently in this state...”

Mo Hua's chest ached with bitterness.

This was the first time in all these years that he had clearly learned the truth about his master's life, death, and cause-and-effect from back then.

It was also the first time he had confirmed his master's condition.

But...

Mo Hua's voice was somewhat hoarse. “The Heaven-and-Earth Pure Light Lamp... will eventually go out, won't it? How much longer can the Mystic Fire Everlasting Formation hold?”

Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua and sighed deeply. “Although the Heaven-and-Earth Pure Light Lamp is a treasure of Mystic Secrets Valley, it was never meant to prolong life.”

“Forcibly using it to extend life means the treasure will gradually wear down, until it is ultimately completely ruined...”

“And since the Mystic Fire Everlasting Formation uses the Pure Light Lamp as its Formation Eye, once the Formation Eye is ruined, the life-extending formation will... have nothing left to sustain it.”

Bai Qingcheng sighed, her expression sorrowful.

Over the years, she had been running herself ragged over this matter.

First, she needed to find a precious Heavenly Secret Supreme Treasure to replace the Heaven-and-Earth Pure Light Lamp and return it to Grand Elder Situ of Mystic Secrets Valley, to repay the favor he had shown back then.

Second, she needed to find other cause-and-effect treasures or ancient techniques to keep the Mystic Fire Everlasting Formation going.

Otherwise, once the Pure Light Lamp went out and the Everlasting Formation ceased, the locked cause and effect would return to its proper place—even if only for an instant—and Senior Brother Zhuang would... never be able to turn things around again.

Just thinking about it made Bai Qingcheng's heart ache with bitterness.

Mo Hua's eyes were also slightly reddened, and he couldn't help asking:

“Martial Aunt, is there anything... I can help with?”

Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua, her gaze growing even softer, but she still shook her head.

“You can't help...”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said: “Martial Aunt, I've been studying Heavenly Secrets too. My skill with cause-and-effect is also quite impressive...”

Bai Qingcheng was stunned for a moment, then gave a helpless, bitter smile.

This child, talking about Heavenly Secrets and cause and effect like others do... This is hardly something someone at your level can learn.

Even many Feathered Ascension cultivators, or even Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors, can't fully understand it. With the slightest carelessness, they might even invite disaster upon themselves.

The Golden Core Realm has its limits; what one can see there doesn't even count as a scratch on the surface...

Bai Qingcheng couldn't bear to discourage Mo Hua, so she said tactfully, “Cultivate well for now.”

Mo Hua persisted, “Martial Aunt, I...”

Bai Qingcheng shook her head again, this time with much more firmness, and her gaze even turned somewhat cold:

“You don't understand how immense the cause-and-effect behind this matter is, and... it's too dangerous...”

Mo Hua said, “I know it's dangerous.”

“No,” Bai Qingcheng shook her head, her gaze profound, “Your cultivation level isn't high enough, so you can't see how deep the pit behind this matter truly is...”

(End of Chapter)