The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 1109 (Patreon)

Chapter 1109: Passing the Flame

Mo Hua cast him a faint glance. “Are you teaching me how to do things?”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master’s expression stalled.

If an ordinary cultivator dared be this insolent before him, he would never let it slide. Even if he didn’t kill the offender, he would at least cripple their meridians and break their limbs.

Yet under Mo Hua’s calm gaze, the Gray Wolf Sect Master felt a chill at the bottom of his heart—an instinctive kind of alarm.

He forced himself to stay even-tempered. “Brother Mo… as a disciple of a great sect, with uncommon talent, you naturally need no one meddling in how you act.”

“But facts are facts.”

“Perhaps your intentions are good—you don’t wish to forget your roots. That’s rare and commendable… but your origins, your family, not only cannot elevate you, they will become your burden. They will hinder your cultivation and keep you from seeking a higher Dao.”

“To accomplish great things, one must be ruthless—decisive enough to sever the past.”

“To be indecisive, to be soft-hearted in everything, makes it hard to amount to much…”

Mo Hua’s face remained composed; he neither agreed nor refuted.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master frowned, but he was tactful enough not to press on. He only said:

“I’ve said all I should. How you choose is up to you, Brother Mo.”

He thought a moment, then added, “I’ll stay in Immortal-Passage City for three days to take in the local sights. After that, I’ll head back to the sect.”

“If within three days you change your mind, come find me.”

Mo Hua nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master rose and cupped his hands. “I’ll wait in Immortal-Passage Inn for your good news, Brother Mo.”

With that, he clapped his hands.

Several Gray Wolf Sect disciples entered, carrying a few storage chests and some storage pouches.

“A small token, hardly worthy of mention. Please accept it with a smile, Brother Mo,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said.

Mo Hua didn’t decline. He cupped his hands. “Many thanks.”

“Farewell.”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master spoke, then led his people away.

In the private room, only Mo Hua remained, thoughtful.

…

On Immortal-Passage City’s main avenue, people flowed like a tide.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master walked the street. Seeing the bustle all around, he was rather surprised, and a wolfish sharpness flashed in his eyes.

“A fine place…”

They crossed the street to the city’s largest inn. The group booked the grandest, most luxurious suite and settled in.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master drank tea alone in his room.

After a moment, there came a knock.

“Enter.”

A cultivator in a traveling merchant’s robe stepped in. His face was ordinary, but his cultivation had reached late Foundation Establishment.

He shut the door behind him, walked in, and shrugged off the robe to reveal, beneath it, sect robes embroidered with a wolf—the garb of a Gray Wolf Sect elder.

“How is it?” the Gray Wolf Sect Master asked in a low rumble.

“I’ve inquired clearly.”

The elder presented a jade slip.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master took it, pressed it to his brow, skimmed it, and his expression remained unreadable.

“Master,” the elder asked quietly, “you’ve met the man—what do you think?”

“A bit strange,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said after thinking. “Hard to pin down…”

“Do you think,” the elder lowered his voice, “he’s truly a disciple of a fifth-grade grand sect in the Qianxue state?”

After a moment’s silence, the Gray Wolf Sect Master shook his head. “Hard to say… For a rogue cultivator from a second-grade state to enter a sect in a fifth-grade state is already something of a fairytale.”

“Even if fortune favored him and he really seized such an opportunity…”

He mused. “As a disciple of a grand sect, why would he leave the fifth-grade state of Qianxue and come back to Lizhou, this little second-grade state? It makes no sense…”

The elder frowned. “You mean… this Mo Hua couldn’t make it in a fifth-grade state? Perhaps he committed something and was expelled in disgrace, so he slunk back to his native Lizhou?”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master sipped his tea and neither confirmed nor denied.

Reasonably speaking, it wasn’t impossible.

A fifth-grade grand state is not easy to live in. How could a stray with no kin or backing hope to thrive there? And a fifth-grade grand sect—how deep its foundation, how many its prodigies.

With mediocre spiritual roots and a frail constitution, how could such a disciple be favored? How could he learn anything of substance?

If he were truly doing well, truly learning well, why leave a fifth-grade state to return to this remote backwater? Between a thriving fifth-grade grand state and a second-grade backwater little immortal city, the difference is heaven and earth.

Anyone with a scrap of sense would stay in the fifth-grade state to seek better chances and higher development—

Not come back to a place where birds don’t bother to poop and play house with a bunch of rogues.

“But…” the elder murmured, “I heard them say this Young Master Mo was personally instructed in arrays by the Void Ancestor. He… he wouldn’t dare misuse the Ancestor’s name, would he?”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master sneered. “Anything else, perhaps. That point? Absolutely impossible.”

“Do you know what kind of figure the Void Ancestor is?”

“For an ordinary cultivator, being able to glimpse him from afar is a blessing spanning three lifetimes—let alone the Ancestor personally teaching.”

The elder’s eyes darkened. “So you mean the boy surnamed Mo is lying?”

“Not necessarily,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said, shaking his head.

The elder looked puzzled.

“What does ‘personally transmitted arrays by the Ancestor’ truly mean?” the Gray Wolf Sect Master asked in return.

“If the Void Ancestor gives a grand lecture to all disciples in the sect on array theory—doesn’t that count as personal instruction?”

“Even if he’s just one of those disciples, the least conspicuous among them—doesn’t that still count as having received the Ancestor’s personal teaching?”

“Likewise, if he stood in the Inheritance Dao Field and listened with thousands of fellow disciples as the Void Ancestor admonished them—can he not call that ‘the Ancestor personally preached the Dao’?”

“When you’re abroad, you make your own face.”

The elder suddenly understood. “I see… So this Mo Hua isn’t as formidable as others boast. He just played a word game to save face, so it sounds impressive and intimidating.”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master slowly nodded—then also shook his head, frowning.

“That said, the boy still gives me a… very dangerous feeling.”

“Dangerous?” The elder blinked.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master—early Golden Core and long known for his ruthless hand—felt danger from a late Foundation junior?

“In what way dangerous?”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master fell silent and did not answer.

The elder then said, “Shall we find a way to check with the grand sect?”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master cut him a look. “And where would you check?”

Under that pressure, the elder faltered. “Naturally… the fourth- or fifth-grade…”

“Do you even understand what fourth-grade and fifth-grade mean?” the Gray Wolf Sect Master asked, his tone turning grave.

The elder looked blank.

“Don’t tell me you think that from third-grade to fourth-grade is just a difference of one grade, and from fourth to fifth is also just one grade?” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said with a cold smile.

The elder, a bit guilty, held his tongue.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master drew a long breath and spoke slowly:

“Our Gray Wolf Sect spent two hundred years and untold hardship to rise from second- to third-grade. Then, after another two hundred years of careful management, we barely stabilized our place as a third-grade sect. Even so, any misstep in management and we risk sliding down a grade.”

“From second to third was already exceedingly hard.”

“To go from third to fourth—the difficulty multiplies tenfold at once.”

“And from fourth to fifth—hundredfold harder.”

“You think it’s merely a one-grade gap?”

“Even saying tenfold or hundredfold is an optimistic estimate.”

“Slots up above are limited. If you want to rise, you have to take someone else’s place. As a newly ascendant power, how do you seize it? Who would yield to you?”

“So, don’t be fooled by our Gray Wolf Sect’s current third-grade momentum. To claw our way to fourth-grade—even with another thousand years—it might still be impossible.”

“The Dao path is walled off with high barriers. The doors above have long been shut in your face.”

“Immortal-Passage City may be ants in our eyes, but in the eyes of those above, our Gray Wolf Sect is the same—ants.”

“You tell me to investigate—where would I investigate?”

“A small third-grade sect like ours can’t even step across the threshold of a fourth-grade power, let alone a fifth-grade grand sect like Qianxue’s. Any random late-stage Golden Core core-elder they send could wipe out our Gray Wolf Sect.”

The elder went instantly mute, cold sweat beading.

Only then did he realize what weight Mo Hua’s identity as a “disciple of a fifth-grade grand sect” truly carried.

Even if he were only an ordinary disciple—even if he were a “poor performer” who couldn’t cut it in a fifth-grade state—he’s still not someone a third-grade sect like theirs could afford to offend.

“If he really joins our Gray Wolf Sect, wouldn’t we be inviting a ‘great Buddha’ back home?” the elder asked, uneasy.

“His status is lofty,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said, shaking his head, “but he’s still young, with shallow experience in the Dao. Wine, women, wealth, and ease—there’s always a soft spot.”

“We’ll cater to his tastes and add a few small measures. Sooner or later, we’ll get him tame as a lamb.”

“If he truly has ability, we’ll make him our own.”

“If not, we can still parade a tiger skin as our coat—use the banner of ‘disciple of a fifth-grade grand sect’ to get many things done…”

His gaze turned icy.

The elder felt a chill of awe. No wonder the Sect Master could be Sect Master—such a mind and such methods were far beyond him.

He asked again, “But if the boy doesn’t know what’s good for him and refuses to submit to our Gray Wolf Sect?”

“No matter,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said blandly. “If he agrees, so much the better. Even if he doesn’t now, sooner or later he’ll still come under Gray Wolf’s roof.”

“Why?” the elder asked, puzzled.

“He’s already at late Foundation. His next step is forming a core,” the Gray Wolf Sect Master said, eyes narrowing.

“Core Formation is no joke. It demands an enormous supply of cultivation resources.”

“A small second-grade place like Immortal-Passage City cannot afford a Golden Core cultivator.”

“Even if they truly squeeze one out, who knows how much blood will be drained in the process? And if he fails, everyone loses their shirt.”

“So, if he wants to form a core, he will eventually have to seek shelter with a third-grade power. Our Gray Wolf Sect may not be the best, but we are the most suitable.”

“Master is wise,” the elder praised.

…

While the Gray Wolf Sect Master and his elder were speaking, over at Fushan Restaurant—

Mo Hua was also talking with Elder Yu.

Elder Yu came in, glanced at the room full of gifts, then at Mo Hua. He hesitated, sighed.

“Elder Yu, what’s wrong?” Mo Hua asked.

After pondering a while, Elder Yu sighed softly. “If it were a proper third-grade sect, it wouldn’t be bad for you to take an elder’s seat. But Gray Wolf acts viciously; their reputation isn’t very good…”

“But aside from Gray Wolf, there really isn’t a better option nearby.”

“I’d like you to stay in Immortal-Passage City, but this is a second-grade state. You… can’t form a core here…”

“If you stay too long, it will delay you…”

Mo Hua knew Elder Yu truly had his good at heart. He smiled. “Don’t worry, Elder Yu. I have my own plans.”

Elder Yu started, then, seeing Mo Hua so calm, silently let out a breath. “In that case, I’m relieved…”

Mo Hua looked at him, suddenly thinking of something. “By the way, Elder Yu, why haven’t you been cursing people lately?”

Elder Yu froze, then chuckled awkwardly. “Before, cursing was bluster to stand up to the Qian family. Now… times have changed, and there’s no need.”

Immortal-Passage City was doing well, the family had grown, and as an Elder of the Demon-Hunting Division, he ought to show at least a little decorum.

Besides…

“Cursing… actually doesn’t help. It solves nothing…” Elder Yu sighed.

“How could cursing be useless?” Mo Hua shook his head. “I learned a bit of your cursing from you. In the Qianxue state, I was invincible—never lost once in a war of words.”

“They might beat me in cultivation, but beat me with their mouths? Not a chance.”

“And that’s me holding back. If I really let loose, I could practically scold people to death…”

Elder Yu was shocked. “I’m really that good at cursing?”

“Very,” Mo Hua said with conviction.

Then he grew serious.

“In this world, one must have a specialty. Even if it’s only cursing, you should do it to the utmost. Never give up—don’t lose your original intent.”

Elder Yu’s pupils trembled, as if doused with sudden clarity.

No wonder—though Immortal-Passage City had flourished, he himself felt more and more lost, less and less himself.

He gave Mo Hua a look, not quite certain, and asked again, “My cursing skills truly… helped you?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Helped a lot!”

Elder Yu was greatly comforted; his whole spirit lifted.

…

After that, everything proceeded as usual. Three days later, the Gray Wolf Sect Master was ready to depart.

Before leaving, he came to call on Mo Hua once more.

“Brother Mo, how have you decided?”

“I’ll be staying in Immortal-Passage City for now,” Mo Hua said.

“Brother Mo, do you not intend to form your core?”

“I’ll consider Core Formation myself,” Mo Hua answered.

The Gray Wolf Sect Master looked a bit disappointed but not surprised. He said only:

“Since your mind is set, I won’t press you. But my sincerity stands, and Gray Wolf Sect’s doors are always open to you.”

“If you ever change your mind and wish to join, just come find me.”

“Our Gray Wolf Sect will do everything in our power to help you form your core.”

“Of course, even if you don’t wish to join, no matter. We can still be friends. If you pass through Gray Wolf’s territory in the future, you’re welcome to visit. I’ll be sure to play the host.”

He phrased everything flawlessly.

Mo Hua cupped his hands. “Many thanks.”

The Gray Wolf Sect Master returned the salute. “Farewell.”

Then the Gray Wolf party set out, following Immortal-Passage City’s main road out the south gate, and on into the Great Black Mountain.

Upon reaching the mountain, the Gray Wolf Sect Master looked back, taking in the full sweep of Immortal-Passage City. A glint passed through his eyes, and he thought:

“It truly is a fine place…”

…

After the Gray Wolf Sect Master left, Mo Hua returned home and fell into contemplation.

He lay in his courtyard, just as he had in his childhood, staring up at the sky, lost in thought.

In a sense, the Gray Wolf Sect Master was not wrong.

Cultivation is like rowing upstream—if you don’t advance, you retreat.

If you would be unremitting in self-strengthening, raise your realm, refine your cultivation, and seek the Dao of longevity, then you can only follow a resolute Dao heart and keep walking forward—

Climbing ever upward, to the heights.

Only by ascending to the very peak—standing equal with the Heavenly Dao, bearing the might of an immortal—can one change everything in this cultivation world.

Without strength, no matter how firm your Dao heart, when faced with the world’s hardships, you can only have the will but not the power.

But keep climbing, keep scrambling upward—then what?

Is that truly what he wanted to do?

Unbidden, Mo Hua recalled his insights from more than ten years ago, when he decided to construct a first-grade Five Elements Demon-Slaying Grand Array to resist the grand demon Feng Xi.

In the face of calamity, with danger pressing, he had refused to “care only for himself,” and thus set his ambition:

If he could not yet lay down a Heaven-piercing, Earth-encompassing grand array that used the laws of the Heavenly Dao to balance all cultivators and let the cultivation world flourish unceasing—

Then he would start from the simplest first-grade array. He would learn it, and lay down the first first-grade array—to slay a local Dao sin and safeguard the peace of a single immortal city…

Now, things were reversed. What tested his Dao heart was not Immortal-Passage City’s peril, but his own glorious prospects.

Could he resist temptation, avoid being bound by worldly fame and profit, ignore others’ gazes?

Could he, while walking forward, refuse to despise his origins, refuse to cast off his past, refuse to forget the poor and suffering of this world—and hold to his original intent?

Twin laurels in Qianxue’s array path.

First in Qianxue’s Dao Debate.

Disciple of Qianxue’s foremost grand sect.

Little junior brother of the Great Void Sect…

A prodigy of arrays with limitless prospects…

These titles were dazzling and intoxicating, but he must not forget the most fundamental identity:

He was merely a small rogue cultivator of Immortal-Passage City.

A small array master who had vowed to seek the Great Dao…

Mo Hua’s bearing settled back into plainness. His gaze grew clear and bright as he looked at the vast sky.

As in childhood, he reached a hand toward the heavens, as if to grasp the entire firmament in his pale palm.

“An array master studies the heavens above and senses the earth below, pores over array lines to comprehend the Way of Heaven and Earth, and brings blessings to all living things.”

“That is the Dao of arrays.”

“As a disciple, traveling to Qianzhou to study is to learn the world’s cultivator inheritance, broaden one’s horizons, and lay a solid foundation of Dao.”

“That is the Dao of cultivation.”

“Now that I have attained something in the Dao, I should pass on what I’ve learned to the world, so that all cultivators can have the basics to live and to cultivate—so that they can comprehend the supreme principles of Heaven and Earth, set their Dao hearts clear and bright, and let the Great Dao continue unbroken, the flame passed from hand to hand…”

“This, perhaps, is the true path to immortal longevity…”

Thanks for reading! I loved the quiet resolve in this chapter—Mo Hua choosing purpose over prestige. If you’re enjoying the journey, please consider supporting me on Patreon; even a small pledge keeps the translations flowing and lets me focus more on this series. And if you have a moment, dropping a rating or review on NovelUpdates really helps new readers find the story—thank you!

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