For the next few days, Mo Hua locked himself in his room, working on drawing the Minghuo array formations, only coming out for meals.
After five days, Mo Hua used up all ten sets of materials. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in drawing eight formations. One failed due to carelessness, and another due to a previously unnoticed error in technique.
The Minghuo array was the simplest and most basic array in the cultivation world, yet Mo Hua still occasionally made mistakes despite having drawn it multiple times. Some mistakes were even ones he had made before.
"Array formations are indeed profound and cannot be taken lightly!" Mo Hua reminded himself.
Mo Hua took some time to deliver the completed formations to the plump manager at Destiny Pavilion.
This time, the manager was somewhat satisfied, noting that Mo Hua's—his brother's—attitude was diligent and his technique had significantly improved. He was happy to continue the cooperation, giving Mo Hua six spirit stones and another ten sets of materials.
Mo Hua had now earned twelve spirit stones. At this rate, he could complete another batch before the year's end and earn at least six more spirit stones.
Mo Hua put even more effort into his drawings. He became more proficient with the Minghuo array and strengthened his spiritual sense, allowing him to complete a formation without exhausting his spiritual energy, significantly reducing the time needed.
A few days later, after finishing dinner, Mo Hua was about to return to his room when he heard a knock on the door.
Mo Hua got up to open it and found two people standing outside.
One was a young man in a clean and tidy dao robe, his cultivation level appeared high, and his manners were polite.
The other was a middle-aged cultivator with a few shallow scars on his face. His calm eyes hinted at a sharp edge, and his abundant spiritual power suggested he was at least an eighth or ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
"Is there a Mo Shan living here?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Are you looking for my dad?" Mo Hua tilted his head inquiringly.
The middle-aged man's gaze softened, "You must be Mo Hua!"
Mo Shan came out to greet them, cupping his hands, "Brother Ji!"
The middle-aged cultivator returned the gesture, "Brother Mo, sorry for the late visit! My son and I came from Heishan City, traveling through the night, and just arrived at this hour."
"Do you have a place to stay?"
"Yes, we have a place. It's a friend of my father's generation, so we can visit him and stay temporarily. I came to discuss that matter you mentioned earlier..."
"Please come in."
Mo Shan invited them in. Liu Ruhua tidied up the table and served tea. Mo Shan then introduced them to Mo Hua:
"This is your Uncle Ji, Ji Qingbai, and this is your Brother Ji, named Li."
Mo Hua politely greeted them, "Hello, Uncle Ji. Hello, Brother Ji!"
Ji Qingbai smiled and nodded. He wanted to compliment Mo Hua, but seeing the tall and sturdy Mo Shan with his sharp features, and the delicate and fair-skinned Mo Hua, he couldn't bring himself to say the usual phrase, "A tiger father begets no dog son."
Typically, if a father was strong and robust, the son would also be sturdy, making the phrase appropriate.
But as a demon hunter, Ji Qingbai usually fought beasts and didn't excel at complimenting children. He generally used "A tiger father begets no dog son," which didn't fit here, leaving him at a loss for words.
After hesitating, Ji Qingbai finally said, "This child...looks very good!"
To avoid sounding perfunctory, Ji Qingbai added, "He is handsome, much like his father, with gentle eyes resembling his mother. He seems well-mannered. I haven't seen such a good-looking child before."
Mo Shan didn't overthink it; he was pleased with any compliment about Mo Hua.
Mo Shan exchanged a few polite words, then said to Mo Hua, "Your uncle and I need to discuss some matters. You go play in your room for now."
"Okay!"
Mo Hua bowed to Ji Qingbai and went back to his room.
Ji Qingbai is also likely a demon hunter. He must have come to see Father to discuss hunting demons.
Mo Shan is well-built, has a great talent for body refining, and is at the eighth level of Qi Refining. He practices several powerful body refining martial arts like the Golden Splitting Claw and Flaming Fist, and has extensive demon hunting experience. Additionally, he is known for his loyalty and righteousness, making him quite famous among the Qi Refining stage demon hunters in Tongxian City.
"Ji Qingbai probably came to discuss hunting demons in the Inner Black Mountain after the new year..."
The Inner Mountain must be very dangerous...
Mo Hua thought for a moment and sighed. These were matters beyond his current concerns. He was only at the second level of Qi Refining, couldn't refine his body or practice martial arts, hadn't even chosen a cultivation method, and didn't know any spells. He couldn't help at all.
He decided to focus on drawing array formations.
Mo Hua took out his paper and brush, filled the inkstone with ink, and concentrated on drawing the array formation, hoping to complete a full Minghuo array before falling asleep and entering his spiritual sea.
Dipping the brush in ink, he started to draw the lines, the light red ink tracing out the array patterns with ease.
The Minghuo array was already deeply familiar to him, so he found it quite effortless to draw.
After working for a while, the flame on the lamp suddenly flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Is the lamp broken?
Mo Hua paused, examining the lamp in the dim light from the main hall. He murmured, "Has it been used for too long?"
There was still a long time until midnight, and Mo Hua wanted to draw a few more array formations.
What should he do?
Mo Hua grabbed the lamp and walked to the door. Peeking through the crack, he saw that Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai were still chatting in the main hall.
Mo Hua didn't want to disturb Mo Shan at this moment, but as he was about to pull back, Mo Shan called out, "Hua'er, is something wrong?"
Mo Hua realized he had been noticed.
Given Mo Shan's eighth-level Qi Refining cultivation and Uncle Ji's likely higher level, his peeking would not escape their spiritual senses.
Mo Hua said, "Dad, the lamp broke."
Mo Shan beckoned, "Bring it here, let me see."
Mo Hua handed the lamp over.
Mo Shan took it, twisted the base open, and after a glance, said, "It's been used for too long; the array inside has faded. I'll buy you a new one tomorrow. Go to bed early tonight."
"An array?" Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Dad, let me see."
Mo Shan was slightly surprised but handed the lamp to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua examined the lamp, recognizing that the array on the base resembled the Minghuo array but was cruder and consisted of only two lines.
It was likely a cost-saving, simplified version of the Minghuo array.
Mo Hua was very familiar with the Minghuo array.
"Dad, wait a moment."
Mo Hua ran back to his room, fetched his brush and ink, and traced over the faded array lines on the lamp base. Then, he moved to another spot and drew a few more lines.
Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai watched silently, observing intently.
After a while, Mo Hua finished, "Dad, try it now."
Mo Shan took the lamp, reassembled the base, and activated the small mechanism. The lamp lit up again, and the room became brighter.
"It worked?" Mo Shan was slightly surprised and affectionately patted Mo Hua's head. "Good job. Take it back, and remember to go to bed early. Don't stay up too late studying."
Mo Hua nodded, "Dad, Uncle Ji, you can continue your conversation. I'll go back to my room now." He grabbed the lamp and ran back to his room.
Mo Shan turned to Ji Qingbai, "Sorry for the interruption, Brother Ji. Let's continue."
Ji Qingbai, lost in thought, watched Mo Hua's retreating figure. After a moment, he hesitantly said, "Mo Hua is only at the second level of Qi Refining, right?"
(End of the Chapter)