In the Taoist Calendar, the year 20,022, the tenth day of the ninth month.

Tongxian City, the outer mountains of Tongxian Gate.

Mo Hua, ten years old, wearing a simple Outer Gate disciple's Taoist robe, squatting behind a huge rock at the foot of the mountain, listlessly held a blade of grass in his hand and concentrated on drawing complex patterns on the ground.

By 6 A.M., disciples who were seeking knowledge from the Sect gradually made their way up the mountain, in groups of twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

A chubby little boy dressed in the standard Outer Gate Taoist robe, adorned with a pricey jade pendant, round-faced and small-eyed, accompanied by two or three attendants, found Mo Hua, who was cheerfully drawing something behind that stone.

The chubby boy looked left and right to make sure there were no instructors from the Sect around before he timidly called out:

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up, revealing his delicate and picturesque young face, his eyes clear as if holding a pool of clean water.

The chubby boy lowered his voice and asked, "Is it done?"

Mo Hua, like a little adult, patted his chest, "When I handle things, you can rest assured," and took out several Formation Diagrams from the storage bag behind him, with black ink on white paper, and handed them to the chubby boy.

"Check if there's anything amiss."

The chubby boy solemnly took them, flipped open the copied pages, glanced at them seriously, and then said with a pained expression:

"I can't understand it..."

Mo Hua patiently explained:

"The assignment the instructor gave was the basic Formation Patterns of the Five Elements Formation. I've drawn them for you, and I've deliberately made six errors to prevent the instructor from realizing that these patterns weren't drawn by you..."

"Six errors... isn't that a bit too many..."

Mo Hua silently looked at him.

The chubby boy quickly recognized his mistake and reflected aloud:

"One must not be too greedy. I should be content if I can turn in the assignment given by the instructor. Doing it too well might arouse suspicion. If the instructor discovers it and my father finds out, he'll definitely beat me severely, and that would be a loss not worth the gain..."

Mo Hua nodded and complimented, "Worthy of being Young Master An, you figured it out so quickly!"

The chubby boy stuffed two Spirit Stones into Mo Hua's hand, "Brother Mo, you really know me well, acknowledging my intelligence! Here are the Spirit Stones for you, I'll come to you again next time when the instructor assigns Formation homework!"

After tucking the Formation Diagrams into his chest, he scampered up the mountain.

Mo Hua carefully pocketed the two Spirit Stones and picked another blade of grass to resume his drawing on the ground.

A moment later, another youth arrived, wielding a gold-spattered paper fan. He had a lean figure, an unpleasant-looking face, and wore even more jade pendants.

Mo Hua also handed him a set of Formation Diagrams. The slender young master glanced at the diagrams and gave a sign to his servant. The servant came forward to take the diagrams and handed two Spirit Stones to Mo Hua.

The slender young master took the diagrams but did not leave. He suddenly closed his paper fan with an arrogant demeanor and said, "This Young Master is also extremely skilled in Formations, but I simply don't have the time to do these basic Formations; that's why I had you ghostwrite them."

Mo Hua couldn't be bothered with him, just picked up the grass and continued his drawing on the ground.

The slender young master was a bit annoyed and scoffed, "It has been said that among the Qi-refining disciples of Tongxian Gate, you draw Formations the best. I wonder, how would you fare against me? We should have a contest when we have the time."

Mo Hua thought, you've already asked me to do your Formation homework, so what does that say about your own level?

However, abiding by the principle that harmony brings wealth, Mo Hua still looked up and chose pleasing words to flatter him:

"Naturally, the young master's mastery of Formations is far superior. The Qian Family is the number one clan in Tongxian City; the Formation heritage is incomparable to other cultivators."

The slender young master's expression brightened slightly, then he asked, "So tell me, among the Qi-refining cultivators of Tongxian Gate, is there anyone whose Formation skills can surpass mine?"

"There are indeed a few..."

The slender young master was displeased, "Who are they?"

"For instance, me..." Obviously, Mo Hua wouldn't foolishly say such a thing outright.

"There are quite a few; it's hard to count them all at once."

The slender young master was visibly angry.

"That's a good thing!" Mo Hua lied through his teeth.

The slender young master sneered, "Those with a family background or Spirit Stones inferior to mine, yet their Formation skills surpass mine, there are many of them, you say. Are you implying I'm stupid and can't compare to others? What's so good about that?"

Mo Hua replied, "The cultivators of Tongxian City, no matter how talented they are or how well they learn, ultimately, once they master their skills, don't they still enter the Qian Family's Myriad Treasure Building to refine artifacts, concoct pills, and draw Formations for your family..."

"Just think, you're only in the Qi-refining stage, yet you have cultivators at the Foundation Establishment level working for you; you're a First Rank Formation Master with Second Rank Formation Masters at your beck and call—how prestigious! The stronger your subordinates' abilities, the more it reflects your own capabilities!"

The slender young master froze, then suddenly had an epiphany, "That seems quite reasonable!"

"Understand now?"

The slender young master nodded and, looking down at the numerous cultivators below, held his head even higher:

"Indeed! Indeed! No matter how talented you are or how hard you practice cultivation, in the end, don't you still have to serve as oxen and horses for my Qian Family?"

With a mean face, Young Master Qian walked away with his head held high and chest puffed out.

After fooling Young Master Qian away, Mo Hua continued practicing formations on the ground with grass roots.

Before long, a few wealthy cultivators came by, exchanging money for goods, buying several formation diagrams from Mo Hua with spirit stones. By the time Mo Hua finished trading the handwritten diagrams, he had twelve spirit stones in hand.

Twelve spirit stones weren't a small amount for loose cultivators, but for cultivation, it was still far from enough.

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

For cultivators at the bottom, there was no hope in cultivating the Dao...

In the first year of the Taoist Calendar, more than twenty thousand years ago, the largest power in the Tao Cultivation World—the Taoist Court—unified the Nine States of cultivation, ennobling noble clans and sects, and established a unified class system with standardized rankings for cultivation professions.

The Taoist Court then promulgated the "Taoist Law", restricting cultivators from indiscriminate killing, looting, or replenishing from others.

Leveraged by this, the cultivation world developed peacefully for more than twenty thousand years, thriving to the utmost, with vast territories and innumerable cultivators.

However, amidst the Taoist Court's prosperity and the noble clans' luxurious lives, sects held immense power.

Only the bottom-level loose cultivators, with no affiliations, lived in hardship and had no hope for cultivating the Dao.

After more than twenty thousand years of proliferation in the cultivation world, mortals without a spiritual root were gradually naturally eliminated, leaving only those with spiritual roots who could practice Tao cultivation. But the more cultivators there were, the more spiritual energy they consumed, depleting the heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

Now, for cultivators who wished to practice Tao cultivation, they needed not only heritage but also spirit stones.

Yet, with great clans occupying the spiritual mines, loose cultivators at the bottom lacked spirit stones, and great sects monopolized the heritage, leaving ordinary loose cultivators with no doorway to cultivation.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of loose cultivators, without heritage and lacking spirit stones, would spend their whole lives as Qi-refining cultivators.

The Qi-refining realm is nothing but a humble ant under the vast Heavenly Dao.

And Mo Hua was one of these countless ants.

And very likely, he would be one for life!

Mo Hua's tender face was slightly bitter.

Heavenly Dao might be equal, but cultivating the Dao, was absolutely not equal...

Mo Hua was a loose cultivator at the second level of Qi refinement, born into a family of cultivators from the Qi-refinement realm, both of his parents in the same cultivation stage.

His father, Mo Shan, made his living by hunting monster beasts, spending his days in life-threatening battles and accumulating scars over his body. His mother worked in the Food Building, cooking by the stove, her body constantly afflicted by the heat, often suffering from painful lungs and a dry cough.

And his parents, frugal in their expenditures, had saved all their spirit stones just so Mo Hua could practice cultivation at the Outer Gate of Tongxian Gate.

But no matter how Mo Hua cultivated, his mediocre spiritual root, although slightly better than ordinary people, was destined to be just among the average in a cultivation world full of geniuses.

No matter how much he practiced cultivation, he might remain just a Qi-refining cultivator.

With tough family conditions and no spirit stones, Mo Hua could only, like the other ordinary disciples, practice until he reached the sixth level of Qi refinement before leaving the sect, and then he would have to learn some craftsmanship to make a living.

But Mo Hua was naturally frail!

Practices like artifact refining and monster hunting, which were the livelihoods of Qi-refinement cultivators, typically required robust body cultivators. Mo Hua, with his inherently weak constitution, might not even be able to find a simple job to get by.

If one day he were to marry and have children, the burden would grow 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'd be nothing but a Qi-refining cultivator all his life.

Just like all the impoverished loose cultivators in Tongxian City.

Just like the countless bottom-level cultivators in the cultivation world.

Forever just a Qi-refining cultivator!

Ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, adjusted his mindset, and went to the sect to attend classes. After a day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to the Disciple's Residence, read some Tao Cultivation Canons for a while, and then lay down in bed when it was 1 p.m.

As soon as Mo Hua closed his eyes, a fragmented stele appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

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

Taoist Stele!