Sixteen days had passed since Mo Hua began studying the Meltfire Array.
On this day, Mo Hua woke up early. The morning sunlight fell gently on the table, fresh and beautiful, without the midday heat.
Mo Hua laid out the paper on the table, prepared the red ink, and began to draw the Meltfire Array.
This was something Mo Hua had been doing daily for over ten days.
But today was different. Mo Hua was about to officially draw a complete Meltfire Array.
Last night, in his sea of consciousness, Mo Hua had been able to reproduce the Meltfire Array on the stone tablet. This meant his spiritual awareness was now sufficient to support him in drawing five array patterns.
After repeated practice and repairing the Meltfire Array on the refining furnace at the forge, Mo Hua was now very familiar with it.
Mo Hua drew carefully and cautiously. After an hour, when he felt a slight pain in his spiritual awareness and sensed it was starting to deplete, he put down the final stroke of the Meltfire Array.
Mo Hua infused a bit of spiritual power. The spiritual power flowed slowly along the red array patterns, starting from the first stroke of the first array pattern and gradually connecting to the last stroke of the fifth array pattern. There were no hindrances throughout the process.
Success!
Mo Hua let out a long breath, feeling a sense of accomplishment that had accumulated over time.
"A five-array pattern array!"
At the third level of Qi refining, one could draw a five-array pattern array.
Mo Hua knew that with normal cultivation at the third level of Qi refining, one could at most draw three array patterns. Those from prominent families and sects, with better talent and inheritance, would probably have a stronger array level at the same cultivation level compared to himself.
But even if they were stronger, Mo Hua estimated it wouldn't be by much.
Mo Hua nodded.
And as long as he drew more, his spiritual awareness would inevitably become stronger, making it easier to learn array formations. Becoming a first-tier array master should only be a matter of time.
When he truly became a first-tier array master, even if he didn't pass the grade, even as an ordinary array master, he could earn a decent income in spirit stones, relieving his parents of their hardships.
Thinking this, Mo Hua couldn't help but feel happy.
Then, the fatigue from practicing array formations repeatedly over the past few days hit him. Mo Hua lay down on the bed and couldn't help but fall asleep.
Liu Ruhua entered the house with several cleaned wild fruits, saw the newly drawn array on the table, and found Mo Hua sound asleep on the bed, drooling in his dreams. Liu Ruhua smiled involuntarily, wiped the drool from Mo Hua's mouth with her sleeve, tidied up the table for him, and covered Mo Hua with a fur blanket woven from animal skins on his small belly. She then stared at Mo Hua for a while.
Seeing Mo Hua sleeping soundly, Liu Ruhua couldn't help but smile. After that she got up and left.
A few days later, Dazhu came to inform Mo Hua that the stove had been successfully forged.
Dazhu was Master Chen's senior disciple, tall and strong, with a hearty laugh.
Accompanying Dazhu, Mo Hua arrived at Chen's Forge and saw a stove placed there that stood as tall as a person, simple yet sturdy in design with three legs and a round, bellied mouth.
The lid of the stove was open, awaiting the array to be drawn inside before sealing.
"The stove has been forged. Young friend, take a look and see if you're satisfied," Dazhu said.
Mo Hua circled around the stove, inspected it from left to right, and touched it with his hand. It felt solid, clearly made from carefully selected materials, and meticulously polished.
Mo Hua nodded approvingly, "Indeed worthy of Master Chen. This is the finest spiritual tool I've seen."
Of course, he hadn't seen many spiritual tools to begin with.
Master Chen stroked his beard, "Naturally. What you requested, naturally, we made the best."
"Thank you, Master Chen!"
Mo Hua said happily, then took out a storage pouch, "Here are sixty spirit stones for your hard work."
For over twenty days of work, the fee would normally be over a hundred spirit stones. Mo Hua gave a fifty percent discount and added a little more.
Master Chen initially wanted to refuse, but considering the poor business of the workshop in recent months and the fact that disciples like Dazhu were often unable to eat their fill, he accepted. However, he said to Mo Hua, "In the future, when you need refining, come to me. I'll give you the lowest price in Tongxian."
"Okay, thank you, Master Chen!" Mo Hua replied happily.
"However," Master Chen hesitated for a moment, "this stove still needs the array to be drawn before it can be used. Whom will you find to draw the array?"
Mo Hua patted his chest, "I'll draw it myself!"
Although Master Chen felt somewhat surprised, it was not entirely unexpected.
The array on the refining furnace at the forge had been restored by Mo Hua himself. Since the processes for refining furnaces, alchemy furnaces, and stoves were similar, and their core arrays were also similar, there was no problem with Mo Hua drawing it himself.
But...
Master Chen kindly advised, "Repairing and drawing arrays are different. It's said that drawing arrays consumes more spiritual energy. Your cultivation is not high, and your spiritual energy may not be sufficient. Don't force yourself to draw the array. You might end up injuring your sea of consciousness."
"Don't worry," Mo Hua replied, "I know what I'm doing."
Master Chen stopped saying more. When it came to arrays, he wasn't more knowledgeable than the young cultivator before him.
Mo Hua was not tall, so Master Chen dismantled the stove that had been prepared and laid it out on the ground for Mo Hua to draw the array.
Dazhu and several other disciples also lent a hand, then stood aside, craning their necks curiously to watch Mo Hua draw the array. They rarely saw cultivators drawing arrays and found it fascinating, especially since it was Mo Hua, who was younger than them.
Mo Hua first dipped the brush in water, testing it on the inner wall of the stove to familiarize himself with the brush and adapt to the actual feeling of drawing arrays on a spiritual tool.
He also anticipated the problems he might encounter when actually drawing the array.
Prepare for everything in advance; lack of preparation leads to waste. With more preparation beforehand, the success rate of the array could be greatly improved.
After preparing, Mo Hua spread out the Meltfire Array diagram and placed it nearby for reference, then took out his brush and a small bottle of ink.
The ink was a bright red color, thick and dense, said to be made from the blood of fire-type tiger-like demonic beasts. Although its quality was only medium, it was the best ink Mo Hua could afford and obtain.
This small bottle of ink cost ten spirit stones, just enough to draw two Meltfire Arrays, so he had to be fully prepared to avoid failure.
If he failed, just wasting the ink would be heartbreaking for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua concentrated deeply, calming his mind, and then began to draw the array. His originally innocent and youthful face gradually became serious, his black and white eyes shining brightly as if containing starlight.
Master Chen and the disciples stood by, seeing Mo Hua's serious expression, not daring to breathe loudly, afraid to disturb him. Their expressions seemed even more nervous than Mo Hua's.
Mo Hua's delicate small hand held the brush firmly, his wrist moving with flexibility, guiding the brush tip to wander on the stove's wall, outlining vivid array patterns with a pace that was both fast and slow, methodical and orderly.
Although the onlookers couldn't understand the array or the patterns, they were mesmerized by the mysterious patterns flowing from the brush tip.
After an unknown amount of time, Mo Hua finally stopped his brush and let out a long breath.
Seeing this, the others inexplicably breathed sighs of relief as well.
Master Chen hesitated and asked softly, "Young friend, is it... successful?"
A radiant smile appeared again on Mo Hua's serious little face.
"Yes, it's successful!"
(End of the chapter)