Year 20,022 of the Dao Calendar, on the tenth day of the ninth month. Tongxian City, outside the Tongxian Sect's mountain gate. Ten-year-old Mo Hua wore the simple robe of an outer disciple. Bored and crouching behind a large boulder at the foot of the mountain, he idly drew complex patterns on the ground with a piece of a grass root. It was now the hour of Mao (around 5–7 a.m.), and the disciples of the sect, who were there to study, were steadily making their way up the mountain, chatting and laughing in small groups. A chubby boy with a plump face and squinty eyes, dressed in an outer sect robe adorned with precious jade ornaments, approached Mo Hua. He was flanked by two or three attendants. Looking around cautiously to ensure that no sect instructors were nearby, the chubby boy nervously called out, "Mo Hua!" Mo Hua raised his head, revealing a delicate and handsome face, his eyes as clear as a spring of water. Lowering his voice, the chubby boy asked, "Is it done?" Despite his young age, Mo Hua patted his chest with an air of assurance and replied, "You can trust me with the task." He then took out several formation diagrams from his storage pouch—white paper with red ink—and handed them over to the chubby boy. "Take a look and see if there’s anything wrong," Mo Hua said. The chubby boy took the diagrams with a serious expression, opened them up, and quickly glanced at one. His face scrunched up as he muttered, "I don’t understand any of this…" Patiently, Mo Hua explained, "The assignment from the instructor was to draw the basic formation patterns of the Five Elements Array. I’ve done them for you and even deliberately made six mistakes to avoid the instructor suspecting you didn’t draw them yourself." "Six mistakes… Isn’t that a bit too many?" the chubby boy hesitated. Mo Hua simply stared at him. Realizing his error, the chubby boy quickly reflected, "I shouldn't be too greedy. If I can just turn in the assignment, that’s enough. If it’s too perfect, it'll raise suspicion. If the instructor finds out, and my dad hears of it, he’ll beat me for sure. It’s not worth the risk." Mo Hua nodded, "As expected of Young Master An. You figured it out so quickly!" Grinning, the chubby boy stuffed two spirit stones into Mo Hua’s hand and said, "Mo-ge’er, you’ve got a good eye, knowing how smart I am! Here are the spirit stones for you. Next time there’s an array assignment, I’ll come to you again!" He then tucked the diagrams into his robe and bolted up the mountain. Mo Hua carefully stashed away the two spirit stones and plucked another piece of grass root to continue his drawings on the ground. Not long after, another figure approached. This time, it was a thin young man holding a gold-flecked paper fan, his face sharp and mean, with even more jade pendants than the chubby boy before. Mo Hua handed him a formation diagram as well. The thin young man merely glanced at it before signaling to a servant at his side. The servant stepped forward, took the diagram, and handed two spirit stones to Mo Hua. Though the thin young man had accepted the diagram, he didn’t leave immediately. Folding his fan with a snap, he arrogantly remarked, "This young master is also highly skilled in formations. I only have you doing this basic stuff because I don’t have the time for it." Mo Hua didn’t bother responding, merely continuing to draw on the ground with his grass root. Annoyed, the thin young man sneered, "It’s said that among the Qi Refining disciples of the Tongxian Sect, your formation drawings are the best. I wonder how you’d fare against me. We should have a competition sometime." Mo Hua thought to himself, You’re asking me to do your formation homework, and you’re talking about a competition? But adhering to his principle of making peace for the sake of profit, Mo Hua lifted his head and complimented, "Of course, Young Master Qian’s formation skills are far superior. The Qian family is the largest clan in Tongxian City, and its formation legacy is unmatched by other cultivators." The young man’s expression softened slightly. "Is there anyone among the Qi Refining disciples here who could match me in formation skills?" "There might be," Mo Hua replied cautiously. The thin young man frowned, "Who?" "Well, there are quite a few…" Mo Hua was not foolish enough to say "me." "Name them!" the young man demanded, displeased. Mo Hua hesitated, then said, "There are so many, I can't list them all at once." The young man’s irritation deepened. "But that’s a good thing!" Mo Hua quickly added, spouting a white lie. The thin young man sneered, "So you’re saying that despite my background, wealth, and resources, there are many whose formation skills surpass mine? You’re suggesting that I’m stupid? How is that a good thing?" Mo Hua explained, "Think about it. No matter how talented or skilled these cultivators from Tongxian City are, in the end, they all have to enter your family's Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to craft weapons, concoct pills, and draw formation diagrams for your clan." "Imagine this: even at the Qi Refining stage, you already have cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage working for you. Even as a mere Grade One Array Master, you have Grade Two Array Masters at your command. Isn’t that impressive? The more capable your subordinates are, the greater it makes you look!" The thin young man was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with realization. "That does make sense!" "Now you see it, right?" Mo Hua said with a smile. The thin young man nodded, lifting his head proudly as he gazed down at the sea of cultivators below the mountain. "Not bad, not bad! No matter how talented or hard-working they are, in the end, they’re still going to end up as my family’s slaves." With a smug expression, the young master of the Qian family strutted away. After sending off the young master, Mo Hua continued practicing formations on the ground with his grassroots. Before long, several more wealthy young cultivators arrived, exchanging spirit stones for formation diagrams drawn by Mo Hua. By the time he had finished trading all the diagrams he had prepared, Mo Hua had accumulated twelve spirit stones. Twelve spirit stones were a significant amount for a loose cultivator, but for cultivation, it was still far from enough. Mo Hua sighed, a trace of helplessness crossing his youthful face. For lower-level cultivators, there was no hope on the path of cultivation. Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the Dao Calendar, the Dao Court—the greatest power in the cultivation world—unified the Nine Provinces and conferred noble titles to clans and sects, establishing a rigid hierarchy for all cultivation disciplines. The Dao Court also issued the "Laws of the Dao," restricting cultivators from wanton killing, looting, or using forbidden techniques like harvesting others' life essence. Under these laws, the cultivation world flourished for over 20,000 years, expanding to an unprecedented scale, with countless cultivators and vast territories. However, as the Dao Court prospered, noble families grew increasingly decadent, and sects dominated their regions with absolute power. Only the lower-level loose cultivators had no support and lived in extreme hardship, with no hope of ascending the cultivation path. After over 20,000 years, ordinary mortals without spiritual roots were naturally weeded out, leaving only those with spiritual roots, capable of cultivating. But the more cultivators there were, the more spiritual energy was consumed, depleting the world's natural reserves. Nowadays, to advance in cultivation, one needs both inheritance and spirit stones. But the large clans controlled the spirit stone mines, while the major sects monopolized the knowledge. Loose cultivators were left with no resources, no inheritance, and no hope of progress. In Tongxian City, the majority of loose cultivators, lacking both lineage and wealth, would spend their entire lives as Qi Refining cultivators. The Qi Refining stage was nothing more than the level of ants in the vast expanse of the Dao. Mo Hua was one of these countless ants. And most likely, he would remain one for his entire life. His young face showed a hint of bitterness. The Dao might be fair, but cultivation was anything but. Mo Hua was a second-layer Qi Refining cultivator, born into a loose cultivator family. Both his parents were also at the Qi Refining stage. His father, Mo Shan, made a living hunting demons, constantly battling with demonic beasts and bearing scars all over his body. His mother worked as a kitchen helper in a restaurant, often coughing due to the smoke and heat from the stoves. All the spirit stones they had saved through their frugal lives were used to secure Mo Hua’s place as an outer disciple in the Tongxian Sect. But no matter how hard Mo Hua cultivated, with his mediocre spiritual roots, slightly better than those of common folk, he was destined to be just another average disciple among the many geniuses in the cultivation world. No matter how much he trained, he would likely remain a Qi Refining cultivator for life. His family’s circumstances were difficult, and without enough spirit stones, Mo Hua would have to leave the sect once he reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, just like any ordinary disciple, and find a trade to make a living. But Mo Hua was also naturally frail. Most trades for Qi Refining cultivators, such as crafting weapons or hunting demons, required a strong physique. With his weak constitution, Mo Hua might not even be able to find a job to survive. And if he were to marry and have children in the future, the burden would increase, with all his spirit stones used to support the family. Without spirit stones to cultivate, his progress would stagnate, and he would remain a Qi Refining cultivator for life. Just like all the other poor loose cultivators in Tongxian City. Just like the billions of lower-level cultivators across the cultivation world. He would remain a mere Qi Refining cultivator for life. Mo Hua sighed, tidied his thoughts, and headed into the sect for his lessons. After a full day of cultivation, he returned to his quarters, read some cultivation texts, and then lay down for the night as the hour of Zi (midnight) approached. As Mo Hua closed his eyes, a broken monument appeared in his sea of consciousness. There were no words on the monument, but from the moment he saw it, Mo Hua instinctively knew its name: The Dao Monument!