Next day, after attending a cultivation class, Mo Hua’s breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage quickly spread throughout the Sect, instantly causing a small "stir".
The renowned Formation first of the Taixu Gate, the Array Leader, the Junior Brother of thousands of disciples, can finally, like his Junior Brothers, breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
This Junior Brother, who was exceptionally "bailed" to the Foundation Establishment Late Year, no longer has to worry about being "held back."
The entire Taixu Gate breathed a sigh of relief.
The Sect Elders encountered along the way all smiled and nodded at Mo Hua, congratulating him.
Some of his Junior Brothers even specifically arranged a banquet in the dining hall, inviting Mo Hua to a big meal, with each giving a small gift to express their feelings.
"Congratulations to Junior Brother for successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!"
Cheng Mo raised his cup and celebrated with the other fellow disciples.
Mo Hua was somewhat touched but also thought they were being a bit exaggerated.
It’s just Foundation Establishment Late Stage...
Mo Hua had some doubts in his heart and asked Cheng Mo, "Did you celebrate when you reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?"
Cheng Mo shook his head, "No."
Mo Hua was taken aback, "No?"
"Hmm," Cheng Mo said, "When we breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it was ordinary, not worth mentioning. But Junior Brother, you are different from us; your breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage was incredibly difficult and laborious, so it’s worth celebrating specially."
Were it not for knowing that Cheng Mo is straightforward and speaks bluntly, Mo Hua would have thought this guy was mocking him.
The people beside also nodded in agreement at this time:
"It’s not easy for Junior Brother to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it deserves celebration."
Mo Hua’s expression was subtle, finally letting out a sigh. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Originally a joyful event, but with everyone’s congratulations, Mo Hua still felt somewhat "discriminated against."
But anyway, this was all out of the Junior Brothers’ good intentions, so even with mixed feelings, he accepted it calmly.
In the following days, people familiar with Mo Hua, like Wenren Wan, Elder Gu Hong of the Gu family, Gu Changhuai, Xia Canonical Official of the Xia family, also sent gifts to Mo Hua.
Wenren Wan even specifically prepared a banquet and invited Mo Hua for a grand meal.
Not wanting to delay Mo Hua’s cultivation, it was not ostentatious, just prepared a few of Mo Hua’s favorite dishes at a restaurant in Tai Xu City.
After such a lively few days, Mo Hua’s heart began to settle down.
Having reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it’s time to consider matters for this stage.
Cultivation is , one obstacle after another, once this one is crossed, countless others await in the future.
One shouldn’t grow arrogant due to temporary achievements.
Nor should one become anxious or slack due to the distant goal.
Steadily and surely, step by step, walk the path under your feet well.
Day after day, engage in solid cultivation, and bit by bit, gather insights to ultimately achieve water droplets wearing through stone to forge the Great Dao of becoming an Immortal.
Seemingly monotonous, seemingly prolonged, but this is the true "shortcut."
Only with a Taoist Heart as firm as a rock, with great perseverance, enduring great hardships, overcoming numerous obstacles, can one finally reach the end, obtaining the Dao and becoming Immortal.
Mo Hua calmed his mind, as usual, diligently cultivating, practicing the sword, studying formations.
But a few days later, he suddenly remembered something:
"Why doesn’t Patriarch Dugu open the door to grab me for sword practice?"
Previously he exerted great effort, slaying the Divine Remains, severing the Evil Embryo.
Afterward, with physical injuries depleting him, he was unconscious and was cared for a few days by Elder Murong.
Once the injuries healed, he focused on refining the Divine Marrow, absorbing the Divine Thought, unraveling the Mystery Formation, breaking through bottlenecks, busy and preoccupied.
When he snapped back to awareness, he suddenly realized the seven days had passed, yet Patriarch Dugu still hadn’t looked for him.
"Did the Ancestor forget about this?"
The Ancestor was already very old, unknown how many years he had lived, so occasionally having a poor memory and forgetting things was also quite normal.
Mo Hua waited patiently.
But after waiting several more days, already over two "seven-day periods," there was still no movement in the Disciple’s Residence.
No rift in the void, no pair of withered hands, nothing at all.
"Ancestor...doesn’t want to teach me anymore? Or did something happen to him?" Mo Hua slightly furrowed his brows.
He extended his finger, making a few gestures in the air.
He had just established his Foundation, couldn’t tear open a rift in the void.
He also couldn’t make it to the Inner Mountain, couldn’t meet Patriarch Dugu, and had no way of asking what exactly happened.
This left Mo Hua worried.
He felt the Ancestor had bestowed upon him the grace of "imparting the Dao and teaching," and now with the Ancestor’s situation uncertain, he should do something for him.
Therefore, during the day, Mo Hua took advantage while everyone was not paying attention, and sneakily made his way to the Inner Mountain.
But since the Inner Mountain is a Forbidden Land, of course, it wouldn’t let him sneak in.
He hadn’t even reached the Inner Mountain when he was caught by an Inner Mountain Elder.
Logically, Outer Disciples sneaking into the Inner Mountain should be punished, but Mo Hua’s situation was special, who didn’t know about the "Ancestor’s own grandson" legend attached to him, not to mention his status as the Array Leader, so the Inner Mountain Elder turned a blind eye.
"The Inner Mountain can’t be intruded upon recklessly, better head back, I’ll pretend I didn’t see this, or else I can’t explain it..." The Inner Mountain Elder was quite cordial.
"Mmm, mmm, I was just lost." Mo Hua said.
Coming up with excuses was second nature to him.
After leaving the Inner Mountain Elder’s sight, Mo Hua wandered nearby again, but couldn’t find any path leading to the Inner Mountain.
No matter how familiar he is with the Taixu Gate, it is still limited to the Outer Mountain and Outer Gate.
The Inner Mountain housing the Inner Gate and the rarely visited Inner Mountain were never within his "exploration" scope.