Asking about longevity

"Master Gu?" Mo Hua was a little surprised.

Master Gu showed a kind smile to Mo Hua, cupped his hands and said:

"Little Mr. Mo."

"Aren't you in Gushan City?" Mo Hua asked.

"I have something to do and I have to come to Qingzhou City." Master Gu said in a kind tone.

"oh."

Mo Hua nodded.

Master Gu hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Last time in Gushan City, Mr. Gu did not provide good hospitality. This meeting was also fateful. Mr. Gu wanted to treat Mr. Mo to a glass of wine. I wonder if Mr. Mo is free..."

Even though Master Gu had already behaved very cordially, his face was still a bit inconsistent as he was a Jindan cultivator and smiled apologetically at Mo Hua, a Foundation-building cultivator.

And it can be seen that Master Gu is not very good at doing this kind of flattery.

Mo Hua shook his head, "I don't drink."

Especially strong wine, it's too spicy.

Fruit wine is fine, but monks generally don't regard fruit wine as wine.

Master Gu's eyes were a little disappointed.

Mo Hua said: "You can eat."

Master Gu was startled for a moment, then he felt relieved, and a smile appeared on his determined face: "Okay."

It would be great if you can agree.

It was still early at this time, so Master Gu guessed that Mo Hua still had something to do, so he did not disturb him and only agreed:

"There is a Xianhe Tower in Qingzhou City. The spiritual fish is delicious. At noon, I will prepare a banquet in the Xianhe Tower to wait for young Master Mo."

"Just call me Mo Hua, no need to call me 'Master'." Mo Hua said.

Master Gu nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Mo."

Mo Hua doesn’t know what to say.

After saying goodbye to Master Gu, Mo Hua went to say hello to Aunt Wan again.

Wen Renwan is playing with Yu'er.

Yu'er's complexion is getting better and better day by day, and she is also more and more lively. Before, she was still weak and weak, but now she is bouncing around and is a little naughty.

Wen Renwan was very grateful to Mo Hua for this, and felt more and more that it was the right decision to send Yu'er into Taixu Gate and follow Mo Hua.

"If you encounter trouble in the sect and it cannot be solved, go to Elder Murong. Elder Murong and I are sisters..."

"For matters outside the sect, just go to Chang Huai."

Wen Renwan pointed at Gu Changhuai, who was sitting aside drinking tea.

"He is Diansi. Although he is only a third-grade golden elixir, he still has some prestige in the Daotingsi."

"You are in trouble. If Chang Huai doesn't take care of you, just come back and tell me..."

After Wen Renwan finished speaking, he looked at the ink painting again, feeling a little distressed for no reason, and sighed:

"In the entire Qianxue State, there are so many sects and so many disciples, but there is no one like you. At a young age, you study here alone. Your parents and relatives are not around, and you have no one to rely on. It hurts…”

"I'm afraid I'll be bullied in the sect, so I don't dare to speak out..."

Wen Renwan was still a little worried.

Gu Changhuai sat silently aside, expressionless and not wanting to speak.

Who would bully him?

Huo Buddha, a ferocious demon cultivator, pursued Mo Hua to no avail, and ended up having his chest blown through.

Not to mention others.

In this Ganxue state boundary, except for those sect elders and ancestors...

Among the four major sects, those direct descendants of truly great families, those born with heavenly spiritual roots, and the most prodigious among the prodigies, who could bully him?

Furthermore, these big shots, truly talented people, are all aloof and living in another world entirely. They may never interact with ink paintings in their entire lives.

How dare you go so far as to come here to bully a small Taixu Sect disciple like him?

Gu Changhuai sighed.

He had mentioned to Wen Renwan very tactfully before that the kid Mo Hua only looked innocent, but in fact he was full of bad intentions and was very cautious, so there was no need to worry about him at all.

There are countless evil cultivators who fell into his hands.

In the end, the persuasion was not successful, but Wen Renwan scolded him, saying that he was petty and shameless for speaking ill of a child behind his back.

People only want to believe what they want to believe.

Gu Changhuai was helpless, and he realized what was going on and stopped mentioning the matter.

Every time Wen Renwan cared about Mo Hua and worried that Mo Hua would be bullied, he would pretend not to hear.

Mo Hua was also a little embarrassed and said:

"Aunt Wan, the sect elders, brothers, sisters, and fellow disciples are all very kind to me. You don't have to worry."

Wen Renwan nodded happily.

Afterwards, the two of them chatted for a few more words, talking about some gossip in the sect and Yu'er's practice in Taixu Sect.

Wen Renwan was about to leave.

She will not be idle when she stays in Qingzhou City. In addition to taking care of Yu'er, she is responsible for the properties of the Shangguan family, the Wenren family and the Gu family in the dozen or so large and small fairy cities nearby.

But before leaving, Wen Renwan's eyes darkened slightly, but she still told Mo Hua:

"That Master Gu...if you have any appeal, you can ask him. If he has any intentions, you don't have to pay attention."

Mo Hua was startled.

Wen Renwan then said tactfully: "A few days ago, he asked some people to inquire about your identity from the Gu family."

Mo Hua suddenly understood and smiled:

"Thank you Aunt Wan, I understand."

Seeing that Mo Hua knew what was going on, Wen Renwan smiled gently, got up and left.

Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai were the only two people left in the living room.

Gu Changhuai sat in the corner, drinking tea with an indifferent expression.

Mo Hua quietly approached and whispered:

"Uncle Gu, why are you free today?"

Gu Changhuai didn't raise his eyelids and used the cup lid to skim the foam in the bowl, "The monks of Daotingsi are not the donkeys of the mill, so they always have some days of rest."

Gu Changhuai took a sip of tea and put down the cup, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Mo Hua was confused, "How do you know that I have something to do with you?"

Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua and said, "Guess."

Mo Hua was stunned, "Uncle Gu, how can you learn to speak like me?"

Gu Changhuai was suffocated and couldn't help but said:

"Are you going to tell me? If you don't tell me, I can leave."

"Yeah," Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, and then he didn't hide it, but said straight to the point:

"Uncle Gu, if I have clues about the guilty cultivator, can you issue a reward directly from the Daoting Division?"

"Then I accepted the reward, completed the task, and earned merit, and Daotingsi also caught the guilty cultivator, killing two birds with one stone!"

Gu Changhuai looked stunned and couldn't help but glance at Mo Hua: "You're pretty good at calculating..."

Mo Hua said modestly: "It's not bad..."

Gu Changhuai shook his head and refused: "This is against the rules."

Mo Hua curled his lips with a look of disbelief.

He compared it and found that his plan from start to finish was similar to Daotingsi's process.

There is no difference between Daotingsi getting clues and issuing a reward from elsewhere, and getting clues and issuing a mission from himself.

There was no bribery involved.

What's more, I don't have the spiritual stones to bribe Uncle Gu.

It's just that Uncle Gu doesn't want to help.

Mo Hua bargained: "Uncle Gu, if you don't help me, I won't help you in the future."

Gu Changhuai snorted, "What do I need from you?"

After saying that, he was startled and realized something was wrong.

Mo Hua smiled slyly, raised his fingers, and counted them to him one by one:

"Such as the clues of sin cultivators, the investigation of formations, the restoration of messenger orders, the cracking of seals and secret patterns..."

"And I'm only in the early stages of foundation building now, so I will definitely learn the formation better and better."

"If you don't help me now, if you come to me for help in the future, don't blame me for being unfriendly!"

Mo Hua made a small face.

Gu Changhuai felt that the fresh tea in his mouth was a little bitter.

Being blackmailed!

He, the dignified Diansi of the Taoist court, was being held hostage by a teenage kid...

This is really unreasonable.

Gu Changhuai was silent for a long time, his mind turning, but after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't do anything.

And Mo Hua is right. With his current level of formation, he might really need help with Daotingsi matters in the future...

Gu Changhuai sighed, "Even if I offer a reward, you won't be able to accept it..."

"The bounty is issued to the sect, not to you alone. If you can accept it, others can also accept it. Even if I offer it, the task may not fall on you..."

Mo Hua asked doubtfully: "Don't I need your consent?"

Gu Changhuai said: "There are requirements for the reward. If others meet the requirements, it is usually difficult for us to refuse."

"Then the requirements should be stricter?" Mo Hua said.

Gu Changhuai raised his eyebrows, "For example?"

Mo Hua thought for a while and said, "For example: in the early stage of foundation building, you know the concealment technique, the second-level formation, the water prison technique...these?"

Gu Changhuai's face was expressionless, "How about I just mark it and this bounty is only for a disciple named "Mo Hua" who is in the early stage of Taixu Sect's foundation building."

Mo Hua was a little embarrassed and said: "Isn't it... too obvious?"

Gu Changhuai said angrily: "You still know the obvious?"

Mo Hua muttered in a low voice, "It doesn't matter..."

Gu Changhuai had no choice but to think for a moment and said:

"I'll think of a way and tell you later."

Mo Hua was overjoyed, "Thank you, Uncle Gu!"

Gu Changhuai nodded slightly.

He thought about it...

Although this kind of thing is somewhat suspected of going through the back door, it is not completely "irregular". It is the principle of Daotingsi to exchange merit for merit.

Moreover, Mo Hua's formation skills are so profound...it's a bit scary.

In the future, some of Daotingsi's more difficult cases, involving tricky and complicated formations, might really be blamed on Mo Hua.

This was by no means a blackmail, but a "mutually beneficial" cooperation carried out by Dao Tingsi in order to win over "special formation talents".

Thinking of this, Gu Changhuai felt much calmer.

He picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, nodded slightly, and felt that the tea taste was not so bitter.

The goal was achieved, it was not too early, it was almost noon, and Mo Hua said goodbye to Gu Changhuai.

"Master Gu wants to treat me to dinner, so I'll leave first."

Gu Changhuai was slightly startled, "Master Gu?"

"Yeah." Mo Hua nodded.

"Which Master Gu?"

Gu Changhuai frowned. He thought of the "Master Gu" mentioned by Wen Renwan just now, and asked again: "The weapon refiner of our Gu family?"

Mo Hua nodded and said: "Master Gu from the Gu family's Gushan third-grade weapon refining shop, from the Golden Core realm!"

Gu Changhuai looked at the ink painting and felt a little confused for a moment.

In the remote Gushan City, there is a third-grade weapon refining shop. Master Gu is still in the Golden Core realm...

"Invite you to dinner?"

Gu Changhuai's expression became even more confusing.

Mo Hua sighed, "Oh, I can't help it. Master Gu's kindness is hard to refuse, and I can't shirk it either."

Gu Changhuai was speechless for a moment.

He couldn't understand.

In the Gu family, cousin Wan'er treats Mo Hua as her own son and nephew;

My aunt, Elder Hong, also often said that the child Mo Hua was well-behaved, smart, and handsome. When he grew up, he would personally find a match for this child;

Gu An took care of the two of them, and talked about "Little Master Mo" from time to time.

Now even in a remote place, a third-grade weapon refiner from the Gu family has to specially invite Mo Hua to dinner...

Gu Changhuai took a slight breath.

How long has this child been here? It has taken more than a year to get mixed up like this...

If more than ten years pass, the Gu family won't just change their surname to "Mo", right?

Seeing Gu Changhuai's melancholy expression, Mo Hua thought he was being invited to dinner but no one was inviting him, so he felt disappointed and said quietly:

"Uncle Gu, how about... you go too?"

"I heard that I went to Xianhe Tower to eat spiritual fish. It tasted delicious..."

Gu Changhuai's face suddenly turned dark.

Mo Hua wisely stopped talking and muttered in a low voice, "If you don't want to go, then I won't go. I don't know the heart of a good person..."

Gu Changhuai heard this.

Seeing that Gu Changhuai's face turned darker, Mo Hua immediately stood up and said, "Master Gu can't be kept waiting, I'm leaving first!" Then he ran away quickly.

The living room was empty, leaving only Gu Changhuai sitting there, sighing helplessly.

…

Qingzhou City, Crane Tower.

Private room on the third floor.

There are four dishes and one soup on the table that are full of color, flavor and flavor.

The dishes are different kinds of spiritual fish, and the soup is crystal clear and delicious fish soup.

Mo Hua ate the tender fish meat and sipped the delicious fish soup. He narrowed his eyes slightly and was very happy.

Master Gu was silently relieved when he saw Mo Hua eating happily.

While the two were eating, they talked nonsense like boiled water, and then Mo Hua got down to business:

"Master Gu, there is something I want to ask you for help with."

Not only did Master Gu not find it troublesome, he was very happy and said generously:

"Young Master Mo, just say that as long as it is within your power, Gu will spare no effort."

Mo Hua smiled and asked, "Master Gu, can you help me refine some formation matchmakers?"

"Media array..."

Master Gu was not surprised, nor did he ask any more questions, but said cheerfully:

"no problem!"

Then he asked: "I just don't know, what kind of matchmaker does the young master want?"

Mo Hua was already prepared. He took out a few drawings from his storage bag and handed them to Master Gu.

On the drawings, he took the time to design some array media by himself based on the array structure and his own needs.

The types of formation media are also relatively simple, most of them are some basic formation flags and formation disks.

As soon as Master Gu saw it, he felt that it was a bit rough, and it did look like something designed by a novice, but he also said nothing.

Although it is a bit rough and some refining materials will be wasted, it has complete functions and complete structure, so there is no problem in using it.

"How much do you want, young master?" Master Gu asked.

Mo Hua himself is not rich, and he doesn’t like to pretend to be “rich”, so he asked honestly:

"How many spiritual stones are there?"

Master Gu was a little surprised. He rarely met a "gongzi" with a simple and simple behavior like Mo Hua.

"Young master, you only want a few dozen items. I will give you the bento."

"If you want more, hundreds or thousands of pieces, I will only charge the cost..."

Master Gu looked at the drawing again and made a brief estimate:

"Because they are all second-grade formation matchmakers, the materials used are not expensive, and the price is not too high. The formation plate costs about fifty spiritual stones each, and the formation flag is made of special material, costing sixty-five spiritual stones each..."

Mo Hua nodded slightly.

This was cheaper than he had expected.

But he was a little confused.

Originally, he just wanted to refine a dozen pieces of medium-formation for fun, but Master Gu was a third-grade weapon refiner, so he was really embarrassed to speak up about this.

He practiced too much, but it was too much of a waste of spirit stones. He was not a member of a noble family, so he didn't have that much spirit stones to waste.

Master Gu seemed to notice Mo Hua's concerns, he thought for a moment and said:

"Let's do this. I will refine 20 pieces of each kind first, and then send them to the young master to check the quality and judge the quality. I will use it as an exchange of experience as a matchmaker..."

There is no matchmaking experience in ink painting.

His several sets of formation media drawings were all copied from the weapon refining book and modified by himself.

The only formation matchmaker he has any experience with is the "soil" on the ground.

But he also knew that Master Gu was trying to show his kindness.

"Isn't this too troublesome for you..." Mo Hua asked in a low voice.

Master Gu waved his hand, "No need to worry, just a few pieces of second-grade array matchmaking. I have nothing to do, so I'll just use it as a hot hand..."

Mo Hua stopped being pretentious and said, "Thank you so much, Master Gu."

Master Gu cupped his hands and said, "Young master, you're welcome."

After that, the waiter served two more dishes, one steamed big head fish and one deep-fried large goldfish, both of which Mo Hua had never eaten before.

"Try it, Master." Master Gu greeted.

Mo Hua tasted it and nodded in praise: "It's delicious."

Master Gu smiled.

After that, the two chatted for a while, with Mo Hua asking questions and Master Gu answering.

If Mo Hua didn't ask, Master Gu would pick up food for Mo Hua, but he wouldn't take the initiative to ask or say anything.

Mo Hua originally thought that something must be going on when Master Gu invited him to dinner.

But now it seems that he is just treating guests and has no other purpose.

After eating and drinking, Mo Hua thought of another question and took the opportunity to ask:

"Master Gu, Gushan is the boundary of the third-grade state, why does it look like..."

Mo Hua paused for a moment, then decided to tell the truth, "...so poor?"

Master Gu was startled, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"Can't you say it?" Mo Hua asked.

Master Gu shook his head, "There's nothing I can't say. Since the young master is asking, it doesn't matter if I say it..."

Master Gu sighed and said slowly:

"This matter is actually simple..."

"Hundreds of years ago, Gushan City had continuous mines and rich mineral resources. It was actually very wealthy."

"And at that time, the ore produced had a high degree of spiritual compatibility and was very suitable for refining the 'array medium'."

"As the saying goes, the mountain depends on the mountain. Gushan City relies on the mines. Most of the monks in the city make a living by refining weapons, especially the 'array matchmaker'."

"Although I can't be rich, my life is pretty good."

"What happened next?" Mo Hua took a sip of fish soup and asked curiously.

"later……"

Master Gu sighed, "Later, some big families in Qianzhou took a fancy to the mines in Gushan City and thought of buying them to refine some luxurious spiritual weapons."

Mo Hua frowned, "A luxurious spiritual weapon?"

Master Gu said: "It's just some glazed tiles, colorful lamps, magnificent masonry, gilded carriages, etc..."

"These things are expensive to make and even more expensive to sell."

Mo Hua was puzzled, "Aside from looking good, do these things have any other use?"

Master Gu sighed: "This is used to show one's identity. For some people, it is more useful than anything else."

"Do the monks from Gushan City agree?"

Master Gu frowned, "Some agreed, some disagreed, but those who disagreed were forced to agree in the end."

"In front of the behemoth big family, the monks in Gushan City, including casual cultivators, and some small families, have no room for resistance."

Master Gu looked bitter.

"Does Daotingsi not care?"

Master Gu did not dare to say it clearly, so he asked tactfully: "Where do you think the monks who serve in the Daoting Division come from?"

Mo Hua's eyes darkened slightly.

Master Gu sighed, "And on the surface, all the procedures for this matter are legal and compliant."

"The big family indeed 'bought' or 'rented' these mines from the monks of Gushan City."

"On the spiritual deed, the spiritual fingerprints are clearly visible."

"The big family 'acts according to the rules', the Daotingsi 'acts according to the rules', the monks in Gushan City have nothing to do."

"Since then, major aristocratic families have established weapon refining shops in Gushan City and mined ores day and night."

"At the beginning, the monks in Gushan City would still protest and make trouble, causing some riots."

"Later, the big family decided to mine the mines and only hire local monks, and the price they offered was not low."

"After the local monks got the spiritual stone, they gradually calmed down their dissatisfaction and settled down."

"But……"

Master Gu shook his head, "The aristocratic family, with the help of large spiritual weapons and formations, mined too hard."

"It has only been mined for less than a hundred years, and all the veins have been mined."

"Then the big family left, leaving only an abandoned mine."

"The foundation for the monks' livelihood in Gushan City was destroyed in one fell swoop, and it has gradually declined since then."

"Some small families went bankrupt. They got together and couldn't even afford food. They had to make a living separately, split up again, and became casual cultivators again."

"As for casual cultivators, they are asking for more blessings."

"Those who can leave can leave. Those who cannot leave, there is no livelihood outside, so they can only stay in Gushan City, pick up some broken ores from abandoned mines, go to the dilapidated weapon refining shop, and exchange them for one or two spiritual stones. Living hand to mouth..."

…

Mo Hua looked stunned.

He was obviously in Qianzhou, but in a daze, he returned to Lizhou, and returned to those low-quality, poor small states in Lizhou.

The way of man is not to lose enough but to be rewarded...