"Da’hu and the others..."
Recalling the bits and pieces from childhood, wandering the streets, watching plays, and chatting about Da Shan;
Recalling the three brothers stealing the Elder’s Colorful Chicken, roasting it and giving it to me to eat;
Recalling Da’hu and the others protecting me in fights with others.
Recalling these three kids shouldering the burdens of life, their first time hunting monsters on Big Black Mountain, and the blood-soaked scene of returning home afterwards...
Mo Hua felt a warmth in his heart, but also some bitterness.
Counting the years, it had been so long since he last saw Da’hu and the three brothers.
The ship captain noticed Mo Hua’s expression and asked, "Are you thinking about whether you can join the Great Wilderness Sect?"
Mo Hua’s gaze shifted slightly, he asked, "Can I?"
The ship captain shook his head, "You, young man, although you have ’Innate Divine Strength’ and a bit of talent in Body Refinement, you’ve already passed twenty, which means you’ve missed the initiation phase of Tao Cultivation, regarding cultivation age, it’s just not suitable."
"Moreover, what kind of sect is the Great Wilderness Sect? It’s a grand fourth-grade sect directly under the Taoist Court, a strong fourth-grade sect that suppresses the Desolate Royal Family."
"Without any family background, exceptional talent in spiritual root, or a smidgen of luck, how could you possibly enter the sect?"
"As for you..." The ship captain scrutinized Mo Hua, shaking his head: "Even if your talent in Body Refinement is decent, your spiritual root won’t do; it’s certain you can’t get in."
Mo Hua smiled slightly, not angry.
Back in the Qian Learning State Boundary, when trying to join a sect, he faced closed doors too many times, knowing in his heart that relying solely on his own family background and spiritual root, typically, he couldn’t pass the threshold of these Great Sects.
Thinking in this way, Taixu Gate’s "kindness" towards him, became all the more precious.
Yet suddenly, Mo Hua’s expression changed slightly as he realized a problem.
No family background, no top-grade spiritual root...
How did the three Da’hu get selected to join the Great Wilderness Sect?
Da’hu and the three, like him, came from loose cultivator backgrounds, their spiritual roots a bit better than his, but not much better, all around middle grade; such qualified disciples were abundant in the Cultivation World.
Why did the elders of the Great Wilderness Sect take them as disciples?
Mo Hua’s heart tightened slightly, feeling there was something peculiar here.
However, being unfamiliar with the situation of the Great Wilderness Sect, he didn’t have much basis for speculation at this moment.
Mo Hua turned to look at the ship captain, observing him drink cheap wine, his cheeks blackened and reddened, with an indescribably free and resilient air, Mo Hua was moved to ask:
"Aren’t you worried?"
"Worried about what?" asked the ship captain.
Mo Hua said, "Once the barbarian soldiers of the Great Wilderness attack Great Desert City, this area will instantly be caught in the flames of war, causing countless casualties."
The ship captain waved his hand, "Too far away."
"Too far? Is the war too far away?"
"No," the ship captain took a sip of wine, slowly said: "We, poor cultivators, live each day counted as it es. In this Sand Sea, who knows when we might suddenly die. Sometimes so exhausted, lying on the bed you may just inexplicably die."
"Today we breathe, but tomorrow’s sun, we may not see."
"So, whether the barbarian soldiers e or not doesn’t affect how we are going to die, that’s why I say considering this matter is too far off."
"And not to mention..."
The ship captain’s face showed a peculiar satisfaction:
"If the barbarian soldiers do e, they’ll surely treat everyone the same, kill whoever they see. They kill us poor folks too, and those young masters and ladies from rich families as well."
"We have nothing, being killed would actually be a relief."
"Those living sweet lives, indulging in riches every day, if killed, that’s true despair."
"Thinking of it this way, I don’t feel shortchanged, instead, I feel I’ve gained."
The ship captain’s weathered face showed a smile, whether it was numbness or resignation.
Mo Hua remained silent.
The wind blew across from afar, mixed with coarse gravel, scraping against the face, an inescapable painful inevitability.
Just at that moment, the sandboat shook.
The ship captain jumped up immediately, cursed: "Damn, bad luck, who knows what we hit this time..."
He turned his head, shook it toward Mo Hua, "You see, that’s life, it’s all bumpy, didn’t die at the hands of a barbarian soldier, first dead in the Sand Sea..."
The ship captain hastily ran to the front of the boat, inspecting once over, seemed like the reefs of the Sand Sea bumped against the ship bottom, only then did he feel relieved, and then busily dealt with finding people for repairs, amidst a hubbub.
Mo Hua stood on the deck, watching the swirling yellow sand fly all over the sky, and those seeking survival within this sands, sighed lightly.
The subsequent journey went smoothly.
The only mishap was a large wave of sand bandits, about twenty or thirty.
The previous scattered sand bandits were merely scouts.
Upon reaching the narrow sandy mouth, more sand bandits naturally surrounded them.
The two sides exchanged a few words, but it was impossible to reach an agreement, then battle was imminent.
To the ship captain, it was an extremely difficult, extremely dangerous battle.
It concerned the survival of the sandboat and the lives of those aboard, inciting utmost vigilance, with some trembling.
Mo Hua, however, remained calm.
Because among the sand bandits who came to plunder, the highest cultivation was merely the Foundation Building Middle Stage.
If it were before, he would’ve single-handedly wiped them out.
But now he couldn’t, he had to cultivate himself, restrain himself.
Thus Mo Hua, with bronzed skin of body cultivation, wielded a stick like the other Qi-refining Realm shipworker, engaging the sand bandits in close bat.
Fists met flesh, swift kicks, and the stick in hand swung tightly, thrashing the bandits, leaving them with bruised and swollen faces.
Mo Hua finally experienced the feeling of being a "Body Cultivator."
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