The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 1118 (Patreon)

Chapter 1118: Hating Evil Like a Mortal Enemy

From the border of the second-grade Small-Realm Assembly Prefecture to the nearby largest third-grade Gray Wolf Prefecture, the mountain roads were rugged, forks were scattered, and between the cloaking forests there were quite a few dead ends.

A stranger walking this route for the first time would find it hard not to get lost.

Fortunately, Mo Hua had hired Head Escort Luo to “escort” him, and the rest of the journey became much simpler.

This was a road Head Escort Luo often traveled.

Along the way there were barren hills and treacherous waters, and many vicious cultivators. Plenty of incidents cropped up, but Head Escort Luo had run caravans for years and handled them with practiced ease.

Mo Hua watched from the bank as if the fire were on the other shore, not entangling himself in cause and effect, quite at ease.

He happened to have time, so he looked over the mountain villages and settlements along the route, taking in their local customs.

The first impression that met his eyes was still poverty—abject poverty.

It was no different from the lone cultivators he had seen in the mountain villages of the Small-Realm Assembly Prefecture before.

These cultivators had sallow faces and thin frames, half-starved more often than not.

Most of their cultivation hovered around the third to fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Mo Hua even saw several “natives” who were no longer young, born with spiritual roots yet showing no trace of cultivation at all.

That meant from birth to this day they had scarcely refined even a single spirit stone, had not drawn in the slightest wisp of spiritual energy.

They muddled through life into their thirties or forties, relying only on their physical strength to earn a mouthful of food—and many times, they did not even have that.

Mo Hua had never imagined that in a world of cultivation there would truly be cultivators so poor they could not cultivate a shred of “cultivation.” For a moment his heart was moved; his expression grew complicated.

The great clans lived in luxury, with spirit stones and spiritual materials as boundless as the sea. If even a drop spilled over, at the very least it could set hundreds or thousands of poor rogue cultivators upon the path of practice.

Even if they could not establish a foundation, reaching mid- to late-stage Qi Refining would be no problem.

But reality was not like that.

In this world, spirit stones only flow toward those who do not lack spirit stones.

That is human nature—and the reality of the cultivation world.

Everyone minded only their own path; few pitied or sympathized with the bottom rung of rogue cultivators.

Yet another jarring question followed:

Do the rogue cultivators at the bottom truly deserve sympathy?

Mo Hua frowned.

At the very least, not all of them do.

Take, for example, those mountain bandits who died under his Fireball Technique.

Those bandits were also, in fact, rogue cultivators.

They refused to suffer poverty and hunger, so they took the mountains as their stronghold and turned their blades on those weaker than themselves—plundering, seizing, killing. Their crimes piled up; death was too light a punishment.

By rights, the Dao Court’s centralization, the great clans’ exactions, the sects’ monopolies—all are the pressing, exploiting side.

But from all that Mo Hua had seen on this road—

Within the Dao Court there were people with broad ideals.

Within the great clans there were disciples of pure sincerity.

Within the sects there were also patriarchs like Elder Xun of the Great Void Sect who held “imparting the Dao and teaching” as their guiding principle.

Likewise, the bottom rungs of rogue cultivators who were bullied, stripped, and squeezed, with no path into cultivation—on the face of it, they deserve “sympathy and pity.”

Yet precisely a portion of them are least deserving of sympathy.

Some crave vanity and cling to great clans.

Some break faith and abandon their names and origins.

Others, like those mountain bandits, kill and loot; in their oppression and slaughter of even poorer rogue cultivators they are more vicious than the clans and sects.

The great clans and sects are “evil,” but not wholly evil.

The bottom-rung rogue cultivators are “pitiful,” but not all of them deserve pity.

Some scions of great clans, if they hold goodwill, can still benefit the rogue cultivators.

And some rogue cultivators, upon entering a grand clan or great sect, inflict even harsher and greedier exploitation upon the bottom rungs.

Their conduct may be viler than that of the average scion.

Mo Hua’s brows knit tight; he sighed deeply.

This cultivation world was indeed too complicated.

And the human heart, too unfathomable.

Mo Hua now realized that his earlier thoughts might have been a bit too simple.

This cultivation world is not so simple as: if everyone has a full belly and everyone learns cultivation, the world will surely improve.

Different cultivation ranks, different powers, different origins—identities differ, hearts differ…all mixed together form the cultivation world as a broad swathe of chaos.

Within the chaos, all things and the myriad cultivators intermingle; one cannot see clearly; one cannot sort it out.

If one wants to change it, one does not even know where to begin.

Mo Hua did not know what “Dao” was contained within this…

As for the so-called “upturning heaven and earth, attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal,” how exactly should things be changed, what should be exchanged, how should the Dao be sought, how does one ascend?

Mo Hua fell into thought, dazed for a moment.

Until someone at his side called to him: “Little Brother Mo, try some wild fruit.”

Mo Hua turned his head and saw a valiant woman in men’s clothing, a red scarf around her hair, features fine and pretty, handing him a handful of wild fruit.

This woman was named Ying Niang, one of the escort leaders of the security bureau, and the daughter of Chief Escort Luo. She had cultivated for thirty to forty years and was at the peak of ninth-layer Qi Refining, not far from Foundation Establishment.

Ying Niang had started riding escort when she was twenty. She was straightforward by nature and treated people well.

Mo Hua accepted the fruit and smiled. “Thank you, Sister Ying.”

Ying Niang’s eyes stayed fixed on Mo Hua’s face.

A man nearby said sourly, “Ying Niang, I want some fruit too.”

Ying Niang turned and scolded him. “Eat shit! If you want to eat, pick them yourself.”

The man shrank his head, a little embarrassed.

The others burst into laughter.

Ying Niang turned back and looked openly at Mo Hua, her bright eyes blazing; inwardly she was amazed: How can there be someone this handsome in this world…

She did not really harbor “improper thoughts” toward Mo Hua; she simply wanted to feast her eyes.

After all, running escort meant eating the wind and sleeping out in the open; it was fairly hard work. Opportunities to dine on pleasing sights were naturally to be cherished.

Mo Hua, instead, began to feel embarrassed under her gaze.

Seeing his expression, Ying Niang laughed heartily.

The rest of the journey passed without incident.

Halfway along, people began getting off the wagons one after another.

Including Mo Hua, Head Escort Luo had seven or eight people in all to escort, but none of them were heading to Gray Wolf City.

They were merely taking Head Escort Luo’s wagons as a convenient ride.

When they passed nearby immortal cities or villages, they would give notice in advance and get off when they reached their stop.

In this way, fewer and fewer people remained in the wagons. About fifteen days later, aside from Head Escort Luo and the escort men, only Mo Hua was left as a “passenger.”

With that, the mood inside the caravan eased.

More people meant more trouble and more risk.

If they were attacked by demonic beasts, bandit-cultivators, or criminal-cultivators, protecting everyone’s safety would be very difficult.

If there were deaths or injuries, their escort bureau would have to pay considerable spirit stones.

Now that only Mo Hua remained, things were much simpler. Even if something happened, they could handle it.

Head Escort Luo no longer had to ride point at the front.

The journey had been grueling and nerve-wracking. Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he needed to catch his breath.

He first checked the goods to make sure there were no problems, then went to look at Mo Hua to confirm his safety.

Mo Hua was indeed safe.

Head Escort Luo felt relieved.

This run had been fairly smooth overall.

“Father, have some tea.” Ying Niang poured a cup and handed it to Head Escort Luo.

Head Escort Luo took it, warmth rising in his heart.

His wife had passed early; he had raised his daughter alone. Now her cultivation was respectable and she could understand her father—his chest swelled with comfort.

He took a sip of tea, then glanced over at Mo Hua again.

Mo Hua was also drinking tea.

Head Escort Luo’s expression stalled; the more he looked, the less he could see through. His brows slowly furrowed.

“Little Master Mo…”

He hesitated a moment and asked softly, “Forgive my impertinence—may I ask you a question? Of course, if it’s inconvenient, you needn’t answer.”

Mo Hua nodded. “Please ask.”

Head Escort Luo asked slowly, “Young Master Mo, what is your cultivation right now…”

Mo Hua started, a little embarrassed. “I…have formed a foundation…”

Head Escort Luo jumped with fright. “You’ve established a foundation?!”

The nearby escort leaders and guards all gaped.

Ying Niang covered her mouth, incredulous.

So the “edible sight” of a little young master she had been staring at all along was actually a “Foundation Establishment senior”?

They—this group of Qi Refining cultivators—were escorting a Foundation Establishment?

Realizing he was being a bit improper, Head Escort Luo coughed and frowned, puzzled:

“You…you’re in Foundation Establishment—yet you hired us to escort you?”

Mo Hua wore a helpless look and sighed. “I…am rusty with spells and can’t protect myself…”

Head Escort Luo paused, then understood.

With his gentle, jade-like looks and air of pampered refinement, Mo Hua seemed clearly the disciple of some great clan—cultivation without calluses on his hands, not adept at killing, unwilling to brawl. So he had hired escorts.

Head Escort Luo both understood and respected that.

He turned and admonished the escort disciples:

“Look at him—at such an age he’s already at early Foundation Establishment. Imagine what he’ll be in the future. You all must work harder.”

The disciples gazed with admiration.

Ying Niang hurriedly saluted Mo Hua, a bit abashed. “I was rude earlier. Please accept my apology, Young Master.”

Mo Hua smiled. “It’s fine.”

Head Escort Luo looked back to Mo Hua. “Young Master, are you going to Gray Wolf City this time to visit relatives or friends?”

Mo Hua pondered a moment. “Yes…and no.”

Head Escort Luo was a bit stunned.

Mo Hua asked, “Do you know the Gray Wolf Sect?”

Head Escort Luo’s face shifted. The look he cast at Mo Hua took on a faint edge of dread and distance.

He carefully asked, “Are you of the Gray Wolf Sect?”

Mo Hua shook his head and said frankly:

“No. It’s just that earlier I ran into a cultivator of the Gray Wolf Sect. He invited me to go work for them, said he could offer rich terms.”

Head Escort Luo weighed Mo Hua’s complexion. Seeing the clear eyes and no hint of falsehood, he relaxed slightly.

Mo Hua sensed something amiss and asked, “Is the Gray Wolf Sect…not very good?”

Head Escort Luo’s expression grew grave. “This…I shouldn’t say much. It’s just…”

He glanced at Mo Hua and, in the end, said, “I’ll offer you one piece of advice, Young Master: try to have as little to do with the Gray Wolf Sect as you can. That sect…ai…that’s all I’ll say…”

Head Escort Luo’s brows locked tight; he let out a sigh, even a trace of fear in his eyes.

Mo Hua’s mind stirred. “I understand. I’ll be careful.”

Head Escort Luo looked at him deeply and nodded.

After that, the two avoided the topic and spoke of other things.

Mo Hua asked about matters in Gray Wolf City.

When it touched on the Gray Wolf Sect, Head Escort Luo kept things close to the chest. But on other matters, he spoke freely.

Three days later, they could faintly make out a towering immortal city ahead, its wolf’s head seeming to raise a howl to the sky.

A third-grade immortal city—Gray Wolf City.

It was also the largest immortal city in the surrounding region.

The moment he saw Gray Wolf City, Mo Hua’s left eye twitched sharply. A trace of palpitation and yearning rose in his heart.

This meant something in Gray Wolf City was “beckoning” him.

Moreover, that aura felt familiar…

Mo Hua’s eyes half-lidded.

The escort caravan continued forward.

The city gates of Gray Wolf City drew nearer, and the mighty wolf-head battlements came vaguely into view.

But after a while, Head Escort Luo saw a wolf-head banner flying high outside the north gate and his expression grew solemn.

“Stop.”

He brought the caravan to a halt, frowning in thought.

Ying Niang looked grave and whispered, “Father, should we switch to the northwest gate?”

Head Escort Luo pondered, then slowly nodded. “Go to the northwest gate.”

Mo Hua’s gaze flickered, but he said nothing.

The escort caravan turned off at a fork ahead, took a small trail, looped around, and headed for the northwest gate.

After about half an hour, the small road was rugged and empty; not a single carriage or horse appeared.

As Head Escort Luo went on, he sensed something wrong. His face changed. “Not good—turn back.”

He hadn’t finished speaking when another wolf-head banner rose by the roadside. At the same time, seven or eight cultivators stepped out of the brush.

All wore wolf-patterned Dao robes.

At their head stood a young cultivator in a variegated wolf-hide robe. His face was pale, with slightly upturned eyes; his cultivation was at early Foundation Establishment.

Behind him stood an old man, also early Foundation Establishment.

The others were all at the peak of ninth-layer Qi Refining.

Head Escort Luo’s heart went cold.

The wolf-robed Foundation Establishment youth glanced at Head Escort Luo and smiled. “Head Escort Luo, are you…avoiding me?”

Head Escort Luo cupped his hands and forced a smile. “Not at all. Elder Duan, Elder Sun—Luo pays his respects to you both.”

Mo Hua’s thoughts stirred.

That wolf-robed youth was likely a “Duan.” The old man behind him a “Sun.” The style of their wolf robes Mo Hua had seen before—they were identical to the Gray Wolf Sect Dao robes he’d seen in Immortal-Passage City.

These two were both elders of the Gray Wolf Sect.

The wolf-robed youth said, “Head Escort Luo, how did you think over the matter I spoke of with you?”

Head Escort Luo said, “Luo still needs a bit more time to consider…”

The wolf-robed youth sighed. “I don’t have much time…”

He raised his head, looked at Head Escort Luo, and said:

“In our Gray Wolf Sect, we do things swiftly, with clear rewards and punishments. In the sect, if there’s any benefit, it’s many wolves and little meat—you have to fight for it. If you can grab it, it’s yours; if not, the sect won’t value you.”

“The Sect Master assigned your Luo Family Escort Bureau to me. If I don’t put up some achievements, I really have no way to answer to the Sect Master.”

“Only…” The youth’s eyes turned cold. “I spoke kindly with you, Head Escort Luo, but you’ve put me off again and again. Do you, perhaps, look down on me?”

Head Escort Luo hastily said, “I wouldn’t dare. I always take Elder Duan’s words to heart.”

The youth said, “Then the matter I mentioned…”

Head Escort Luo still said, “Give me a bit more time.”

Impatience clouded the youth’s face; his gaze sank.

After a moment, he glanced past Head Escort Luo at Ying Niang and said blandly: “How about this—I’ll offer you a solution…I’ll take a small loss and marry your daughter. You can merge the Luo Family Escort Bureau into our Gray Wolf Sect. How about it?”

Head Escort Luo’s face changed.

Ying Niang turned pale.

The youth said, “If I marry Ying Niang, then your escort bureau will be mine sooner or later, and sooner or later it will be merged into the Gray Wolf Sect as one family. Since we’ll be one family, you needn’t worry about anything.”

Head Escort Luo fell silent.

The youth cast him a sidelong look and sneered: “What? I, a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator, deign to lower myself to marry your Qi Refining daughter—are you still not satisfied?”

Head Escort Luo frowned, bitterness rising in his heart.

If a normal Foundation Establishment man were willing to marry his daughter, he would of course consider it carefully.

But this “Elder Duan” of the Gray Wolf Sect before him…his “reputation” was notorious…

Every time the Gray Wolf Sect annexed another power, this young and important “Elder Duan” would loudly declare that he wished to marry the other side’s daughter, granddaughter, or other direct-line girl.

But he never truly married.

He feigned marriage and toyed with them.

Once the Gray Wolf Sect finished annexing its target, he would immediately find a pretext to dismiss his “wife” and then marry the next one.

Within Gray Wolf City, many forces had been cut off at the roots by him in this way.

Even if they sought redress afterward, he refused to acknowledge it.

Marriage is a private affair; often there is nowhere to argue one’s case.

And no one dared challenge the third-grade grand sect, the Gray Wolf Sect.

Head Escort Luo knew this well and would never push his daughter into a fire pit.

He could only say, “My little girl is dull, of willow-thin constitution, unworthy of Elder Duan, such a talented young hero.”

The youth sneered. “Are you mocking me?”

Head Escort Luo said only, “I wouldn’t dare…”

The youth’s pair of cruel eyes roamed over Ying Niang, sizing her from head to toe. He laughed:

“No matter. As they say, in a lover’s eyes, beauty appears.”

“You say your daughter is of willow-thin constitution, yet I find I like her. This shows we are mutually drawn, destined for one another—she is my fated wife…”

Head Escort Luo’s complexion changed. “Elder Duan, you…must not!”

The youth’s expression soured. “I said it already—I, a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator, am willing to marry your daughter. I’m giving you face. Do you truly not know what’s good for you?”

Head Escort Luo frowned.

The other escorts were likewise furious, yet constrained by the youth’s identity—they could only swallow their rage.

The youth let his gaze slide past Head Escort Luo to Ying Niang again. “Almost forgot—this kind of matter isn’t yours to decide. We should ask Ying Niang whether she is willing.”

Ying Niang gritted her teeth. “I am not!”

The youth laughed. “Hear that? Ying Niang says she is willing.”

Ying Niang fumed. “I said I am not!”

“Women have sharp tongues and soft hearts,” the youth said. “When a woman says ‘not willing,’ she means ‘willing.’ So your words mean you’re willing to marry me. I knew I hadn’t misread you…”

Ying Niang’s eyes reddened with anger. “You shameless cur!”

The youth ignored her and moved directly.

His cultivation was higher; his movement technique was good. With almost a single flash he closed in at Ying Niang’s side and reached for her face.

Ying Niang, furious, hurriedly drew her soft sword and thrust at him.

But with only a peak Qi Refining cultivation, she was no match. The youth pinched the soft sword easily between two fingers.

Seeing his daughter endangered, Head Escort Luo also struck out to block the youth.

But he dared not use lethal force.

First, he did not want truly to tear his face with this youth.

Second, he did not dare offend the Gray Wolf Sect.

In Gray Wolf City, the Gray Wolf Sect was indisputably a “colossus.”

Because he didn’t dare use lethal force, the wolf-robed youth grew ever more brazen.

The escorts, seeing Ying Niang humiliated, were filled with righteous anger and could no longer hold back. They all joined the fray, trying to rescue her.

But the Gray Wolf Sect had another Foundation Establishment Elder Sun and six more peak Qi Refining cultivators.

Elder Sun scarcely needed to act.

The six Gray Wolf disciples alone knocked the escort men sprawling.

The Gray Wolf Sect was the local grand sect and a profit-driven one at that; those who joined were elites of their regions.

Common escorts were naturally not their match.

On the other side, the wolf-robed youth still toyed with Ying Niang like a cat with a mouse.

His movements grew bolder; Ying Niang found it harder and harder to evade.

Seeing her crisis deepen, Head Escort Luo could no longer endure it. This daughter was the flesh of his heart, raised with untold hardship—how could she be so humiliated?

His heart seized. He yanked free his ring-bladed saber, urged his spiritual power, and hacked a heavy blow at the youth’s back.

This strike was meant mainly to intimidate.

The youth could have dodged or whirled to block—so long as he stopped entangling Ying Niang.

Unexpectedly, the youth neither dodged nor blocked. He stood where he was and took the blow head-on.

The ring-bladed saber bit into the youth’s back, breaking skin and slicing into flesh, bone showing white; blood dripped in scarlet streams.

Everyone froze.

Head Escort Luo stared, stunned.

The youth, wounded by the ring-bladed saber, slowly turned his head and grinned hideously at Head Escort Luo.

“You dare assassinate…an elder of the Gray Wolf Sect?”

Head Escort Luo understood. Ice engulfed him; his whole body went cold.

This Elder Duan…had calculated it all. He had deliberately entangled Ying Niang to drive Head Escort Luo into a rage and make him strike and cut him.

In this way, the youth had not struck him.

But Head Escort Luo had struck the youth.

This amounted to the Luo Family Escort Bureau “attempting to murder” an elder of the Gray Wolf Sect—challenging the majesty of a third-grade grand sect.

Moreover, the evidence was ironclad—witnesses and the weapon.

The Gray Wolf Sect now had its pretext to “move against them,” and no one could find fault.

This root-cutting Elder Duan was vicious to the extreme…

The Luo Family Escort Bureau was finished…

Head Escort Luo’s saber fell to the ground. His face turned ashen.

“Father…”

Ying Niang called out, then steeled herself and drove her sword at the youth, only to have it flicked aside.

The youth chuckled lewdly. “I’m quite magnanimous, you know. Your father tried to kill me; I can spare his life—as long as you’ll be my concubine and give me the escort bureau as dowry. Then I’ll let bygones be bygones.”

“Scum—you’re dreaming!” Ying Niang cursed.

“I like the prickly ones,” the youth said. “The meek have no flavor…”

Ying Niang saw that even with all her strength she was no match for Elder Duan of the Gray Wolf Sect. Bitterness welled in her heart.

And because of her, the escort bureau her father had poured his life into was about to be destroyed. She hardened herself, set the blade against her fair neck—

“I would rather die!”

The youth shook his head. “You still don’t understand. Whether you die or not doesn’t matter. And don’t try to scare me with death…”

He sneered. “These years, girls like you that I’ve driven to suicide—if not twenty, then eight or nine.”

“Even on the bed, those I ravished to death are a handful at least. My hands are stained with…”

A thunderous roar split the air—the piercing bellow of flames.

Black-red terror-fire focused to a point, then detonated in an instant. Vast spiritual power blossomed and then dissipated.

From start to finish it took only a heartbeat—no time to react.

The youth’s sneer still clung to his lips.

He looked down, stunned, and saw that in his chest there remained only a great, pitch-black hole.

Everyone else stared wide-eyed, aghast. Following the lingering trace of firelight, they saw Mo Hua with a pale, slender finger extended.

Under everyone’s horrified gaze, Mo Hua slowly withdrew his hand, let out a soft sigh, and said with an apologetic look:

“Forgive me. I have a tiny little flaw—I loathe evil like a mortal enemy…and I simply couldn’t hold back…”

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