The group wandered around for a while, and Xiaohu suddenly asked, "Where should we go next?"
Mo Hua patted the storage bag on his waist, "Let's head to North Street first!"
They arrived at the entrance of Fated Gathering on North Street. Mo Hua stepped onto the front steps but turned to see his three friends standing motionless in place. He couldn't help but ask, "You're not coming in?"
The three friends shook their heads in unison:
"Looking at formations makes my head spin..."
"Mine too..."
"I guess formations and I are fated to never cross paths, I'm not going in either..."
Mo Hua could only say, "Alright then, wait here for a bit; I'll be back shortly."
The three friends nodded in unison.
Mo Hua entered the door, and the bell hanging under the eaves jingled. Hearing the sound, the shopkeeper looked toward the doorway and saw Mo Hua walking in, chest puffed up and carrying his storage bag. He couldn't help but chuckle, "You again, huh? What, has your brother finished drawing all the formations?"
Mo Hua nodded and said, "Yes, he has."
The shopkeeper perked up a bit. "Oh? It's only been five days, hasn't it? Pretty quick," he said, then gestured for Mo Hua to come forward, "Hand them over so I can take a look."
Mo Hua took out the formations from his storage bag and stood on tiptoes to place them on the counter.
The shopkeeper picked up the formations and examined them, his brows furrowing.
*Mo Hua felt a bit nervous.* "Are the drawings incorrect?"
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment before saying, "Well, they're correct, but the skill level doesn't seem quite seasoned. Some are decent, but these ones..."
He flipped through a few and set them aside. Mo Hua glanced at them; they were the ones he had drawn at the very beginning.
"These ones are far worse. The strokes are rather clumsy—interrupted, like they were pieced together bit by bit. Is your brother really learning formations from a Formation Master? His skills are quite lacking..."
*Mo Hua felt slightly embarrassed. It was his first time drawing formations, and he had already done his best to make them halfway decent.*
"So are these formations usable?"
The shopkeeper tapped his finger on the wooden counter, carefully scanning them before saying, "Though the strokes are rough, the formations themselves don't have any functional issues. They're usable, still usable... just a bit sloppy."
Mo Hua let out a sigh of relief. "That's fine then," he said, and quickly added, "Maybe my brother was unfamiliar since it's his first time drawing this formation. That's why the early ones look rough. You see, the later ones are much better, aren't they?"
The shopkeeper scrutinized the later drawings and nodded slowly. "That's true, the later ones are indeed somewhat better—at least passable."
"See?" Mo Hua assured him. "Don't worry; my... brother's later works will definitely get better and better!"
The shopkeeper was amused by Mo Hua and laughed. "You really trust your brother, huh? Alright, fine. For your sake, I'll accept this batch, but next time the formations must meet the standard of those later pieces—don't bring practice sketches to make up the numbers."
Mo Hua nodded vigorously.
The shopkeeper collected the formation diagrams and counted out a few Spirit Stones, placing them on the counter.
"Eight successful diagrams, two failed ones—you'll lose the deposit for those two. The payout is six Spirit Stones."
"If your brother wants to continue drawing, the deposit remains at ten Spirit Stones. He already has the Bright Fire Formation diagram, so I'll prepare ten sets of ink and paper materials for him."
The shopkeeper then handed over a storage bag filled with the ink and paper materials to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua carefully stored the materials and pocketed the six Spirit Stones, unable to contain his joy.
Six Spirit Stones earned in five days—that's already comparable to the wages of most mid- to late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.
His mother, Liu Ruhua, worked as a kitchen helper at the Food Building and only earned one Spirit Stone per day. His father, Mo Shan, made more through monster hunting, but it wasn't stable; sometimes he'd earn more, but when he couldn't catch valuable monster beasts, his income was even lower.
Mo Hua thanked the shopkeeper and left Fated Gathering. His three friends stood at the door, eagerly staring at him.
Mo Hua patted his storage bag and waved his small hand. "Let's go! I'm treating you all to some snacks!"
Da'hu and the others let out a joyous "Wow!" and surrounded Mo Hua as they headed to the street's pastry shop.
There were many bakeries in Tongxian City, and the expensive pastries used rare ingredients that they naturally couldn't afford. They picked a street-side shop called "Wang's Pastry," run by a regular Qi Refinement cultivator. The shop wasn't fancy, and though its ingredients weren't premium, the goods were affordable.
During the holidays, ordinary cultivators often bought pastries here to treat their children.
Wang's Pastry was famous for its Five-color Cake, made from five types of Spirit Paddy steamed together. Fragrant, soft, and sweet, a single Five-color Cake only cost two fragments of a Spirit Stone.
Loose cultivators at the lower rungs of society had meager income; many couldn't earn even one Spirit Stone daily, so they broke Spirit Stones into fragments for trading. One Spirit Stone is divided into ten parts, and ten Spirit Stone fragments equal one Spirit Stone.
Fragmented Spirit Stones were not recognized by the Taoist Court or sect families but circulated among poor cultivators, especially those in the Qi Refinement stage.
Mo Hua spent two Spirit Stones and bought ten Five-color Cakes. Seeing his bulk purchase and noticing he was just a child, the shopkeeper kindly threw in two extra pieces.
Mo Hua divided two pieces for each of them, saving the remaining four for his parents.
The four kids each held a warm, fragrant, steaming cake and ate as they walked. Xiaohu, burning his tongue, still couldn't stop exclaiming, "This cake is delicious! When I earn Spirit Stones, I'll eat it every day!"
Shuanghu said, "Then why don't you marry a woman who can make pastries as your Dao Companion? That way, you can eat them every day."
Xiaohu suddenly had a lightbulb moment, "Yeah, why didn't I think of that!" But then he hesitated. *"But I already have someone I admire. A man shouldn't be fickle..."*
Shuanghu widened his eyes. "Who do you admire?"
Xiaohu said, "The girl who sells tofu west of the street. I'm telling you now, I admire her, so don't compete with me!"
Shuanghu scoffed and waved, "Relax; she has a bad temper. I wouldn't compete with you even if you paid me."
While Shuanghu and Xiaohu chatted, Da'hu concentrated on his pastry, devouring both of his pieces in no time and licking his fingers afterward.
Mo Hua gave him one of his untouched pieces.
Da'hu grinned sheepishly, but he couldn't resist taking it and eating it right away.
Suddenly, Shuanghu asked, "Mo Hua, did you really help that shop draw formations?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Xiaohu's mouth dropped wide open. "You can already draw formations for others?"
Shuanghu rolled his eyes at him. "What else did you think? Where did you think the Spirit Stones to buy these pastries came from?"
Xiaohu froze, clutching his pastry. "So these pastries were bought with Spirit Stones from your formation drawings? Amazing, Mo Hua—you might actually become a First Grade Formation Master someday!"
Mo Hua said, "It's too early to talk about that. Being a Formation Master isn't that easy. Just keep this between us; don't let anyone else know. When I earn more Spirit Stones, I'll treat you to pastries again."
Upon hearing the word "pastries," the three nodded quickly. Xiaohu even pledged, "If I spill the secret, I'll never eat sweets for the rest of my life!"
Mo Hua and his friends strolled down the streets, checking out curious and peculiar items. When evening fell, they each returned to their homes.
Mo Hua handed the leftover pastries to Liu Ruhua, who steamed them in a pot and placed them in Mo Hua's bowl. Mo Hua stubbornly refused to eat them. After some back-and-forth, he ultimately ate two, while Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua each had one.
The steamed pastries were warm and fragrant. Mo Hua found them even tastier than the ones he ate earlier in the day and couldn't help asking, "Mom, do you know how to make pastries?"
Liu Ruhua smiled, "That's not hard. No matter how complex, I can cook it. The challenge is that many meals require stoves specially crafted by Artifact Refiners paired with unique formations. Our family doesn't have the resources for that."
"Are stoves expensive?"
"Stoves need to be forged by Artifact Refiners, so of course, they aren't cheap. But formations are even more costly. Hiring Formation Masters to draw formations isn't easy—especially for something as large as a stove. Unless someone plans to open a restaurant, no one would spend such a hefty sum."
Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully. It seemed formations were even more widely applied in the Tao Cultivation World than he had imagined. He wondered what kind of formation was used for stoves.
*Mo Hua quietly made a mental note, planning to study the subject when he had free time.*