Chapter 2811: Wartime Profiteering

Mo Hua’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Why have the Fasting Pills from the Taoist Court ended up in the heart of the Great Wilderness?

Did the Bi Fang Tribe seize them?

Or were they spoils of war, taken by the Court’s Barbarian Soldiers after defeating the Taoist Court’s army during their conflict?

Are these Fasting Pills military supplies from the Taoist Court?

Mo Hua sniffed the Fasting Pills and shook his head.

A faint moldy scent of coarse grain—too inferior in quality.

He had been a Taoist Soldier for a few days and tasted the Fasting Pills distributed by the Taoist Court. These Fasting Pills before him couldn’t possibly meet the Taoist Court’s "military supply" standards.

Moreover, the Taoist Court’s military supplies had clear marks of the Taoist Court.

The Fasting Pills here were packed in plain bottles, devoid of any marks, impossible to be supplies from the Taoist soldiers Court.

"So where did these Fasting Pills come from?"

Mo Hua’s gaze deepened, sensing that this was bound to be a major event, at least the seed of great causality.

But there were too few clues to track down.

Even with calculation and causality, these entirely blank bottles couldn’t calculate much.

After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua ordered these Fasting Pills to be fully collected and stored.

For a long period afterward, his Barbarian Soldiers’ meals would rely on these Fasting Pills.

During peacetime, one pill per person per day to stave off hunger.

In combat, three pills per person per day to replenish some Blood Qi.

Of course, they were hard to eat, and after prolonged consumption, both intestines and meridians felt uncomfortable.

But as they say, in a barren year, having something to eat is already fortunate; there is no room for choice.

After settling, Mo Hua went to find Dan Zhu and others to discuss the next steps.

Should they temporarily organize at the oasis or continue the march to find the next Barbarian Cultivator settlement?

Given the current situation, Mo Hua was at a loss.

He was now in the desert, akin to being engulfed in mist, unaware of his exact location, the extent of the famine, the condition of other tribes, the overall situation of the Great Wilderness, and the status of warfare between the Great Wilderness and the Taoist Court.

He could only take one step at a time.

Yet, being the "Shaman Master," he couldn’t openly admit his uncertainty about the next step.

Thus, he gathered everyone to discuss.

Mo Hua listened, hoping someone might have a good idea or provide inspiration.

However, the current predicament was beyond human solution.

After gathering and discussing until late at night, everyone dispersed.

Upon leaving, Lugu glanced back at Mo Hua, his gaze icy and obscure, evidently still holding resentment for what Mo Hua did to his brother.

But he said nothing.

In this dire time of famine, survival was challenging, and everyone had to work together to endure.

In many matters, he relied on Mo Hua, the Shaman.

He also knew deeply that Mo Hua was a manipulative "Demon," not easy to kill.

Lugu departed.

Mo Hua understood Lugu’s thoughts and sighed inwardly.

The Great Dao is long; to persist along its path and seek the Dao, forming various vendettas and grievances is inevitable and beyond one’s control.

However, Mo Hua didn’t dwell much on it.

In this world, some love him, and many hate him.

Furthermore, he reckoned that in the future, those who hated him would only grow in number.

...

An oasis, within a lavish guest room.

This was where Mo Hua temporarily resided and rested.

Outside, the winds and sand raged; inside, it was tranquil. Mo Hua lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

Capturing the oasis and resolving supplies was merely a small step.

The next steps would determine the fate of these six thousand Barbarian Soldiers, as well as Dan Zhu and others.

A single misstep could lead to everyone’s death and reset everything.

All of his aspirations in the Great Wilderness would be void.

Suddenly, Mo Hua felt a heavy weight on his mind.

Feeling a bit down, Mo Hua decided to dive his Divine Sense into his Sea of Consciousness, practicing Formation to find some amusement and fill the emptiness and agitation within.

Yet after a while of practice, scenes of those blank bottles filled with Fasting Pills from earlier reappeared in Mo Hua’s mind.

Mo Hua always sensed something peculiar about them.

If the Great Wilderness were a chessboard, Dan Zhu and others would be the pieces.

Now Mo Hua didn’t know where to place these pieces.

And these Fasting Pills, along with the secrets they held, were likely closely tied to the next move he must make.

Mo Hua, pondering, lost interest in painting Formation. He got out of bed, lit a brazier in the room, and used Divination Skill to divine these Fasting Pills.

As flames burned, cracks appeared on Demon Bone.

Mo Hua glanced at the hexagram; unsurprisingly, the hexagram showed a mess, vague and hard to interpret.

Causality requires cause before effect.

For matters unknown, mere reliance on Causality Skill cannot reveal the roots.

Especially involving large frameworks; the fewer "causes" known, the vaguer the calculated "effects," and the outcomes are unreliable.

"Where on earth... did these Fasting Pills come from?" .

Mo Hua tossed the brazier aside, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes to ponder.

"Mass production of similar Pills demands a systematic and mature Tao Cultivation craft for assembly line refining..."

"This must be... from the large Pill Room of a Great Sect or Great Family."

"Given it’s a ’Tao Cultivation industry,’ there would be unified... industrial marks?"

Just as he had once established standardized large Refinery Shop and Alchemist’s Business in Tongxian City, marking produce like pills and Spiritual Artifacts with sequences, leaving Tongxian City’s imprint to indicate source and batch.