Mo Hua returned home that night, lying in bed unable to sleep.
Firstly, he was worried about Da Hu and the others, and secondly, he realized that as a cultivator, he didn't seem to have any means of attack or self-defense.
The cultivators in Tong Xian City were simple and honest, and he hadn't encountered any danger growing up. But just because he hadn't encountered danger didn't mean he wouldn't in the future.
When faced with real danger, there had to be some means of self-defense; he couldn't just sit idly by.
Mo Hua wasn't a physical cultivator and had weak blood vigor, so he couldn't learn martial arts. His only option was to learn spells. However, Mo Hua's spiritual power wasn't particularly strong, and at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, his cultivation was relatively low. Learning spells might be premature...
After much consideration, the only thing he could use was formations...
"Are there any offensive formations?"
Mo Hua rolled out of bed and took out the "Collection of Thousand Formations" that Master Zhuang had given him to search through:
"The Ice Cone Array, seven formations, but I haven't learned ice-type formations, and the ink used for drawing formations is very rare..."
"The Thunderfire Array, should be quite powerful... nine formations, but maybe not..."
"The Wooden Binding Array, not for attacking..."
"The Fire Quenching Array, three formations, a bit weak..."
...
Mo Hua flipped through until he finally settled on the "Earth Fire Array."
Seven formations, uses inexpensive ink, simple to set up, and he was somewhat familiar with fire-type formations. The array would detonate after activation, and its power shouldn't be weak.
Mo Hua was satisfied. After midnight, he began practicing the "Earth Fire Array" on the stone stele in his Sea of Consciousness.
The formation wasn't difficult. Mo Hua spent the whole night practicing it several times and became familiar with it. The next morning, he tried drawing it on paper and succeeded after a few attempts.
Just as Mo Hua was about to activate the formation, he suddenly thought of something:
Once he injected spiritual power into it, would the Earth Fire Array activate and explode immediately? If so, his house would be destroyed, and he, with his small frame, would probably be injured or worse...
Mo Hua broke out in a cold sweat.
He flipped through the annotations on the "Earth Fire Array" in the "Collection of Thousand Formations." It stated: Inject spiritual power into the formation, and it will explode after three breaths, causing fire-type spiritual injuries.
"Meaning, inject spiritual power first, wait for about three breaths... hmm, roughly three seconds, and then the array will explode, similar to the power of a fire-type spell from a fire cultivator."
This was like stepping on a landmine...
Mo Hua silently complained.
Regardless, he couldn't try this formation at home.
Taking advantage of the morning's quiet, Mo Hua drew a few more Earth Fire Arrays. In the afternoon, he left home and went to a secluded grove on the outskirts of the city. He placed the formation under a tree and tried injecting a little spiritual power into it.
The formation lit up but didn't explode.
Mo Hua squatted on the ground, chin in hand, "It lights up, which means the formation is fine. It didn't explode, so maybe the injected spiritual power wasn't enough?"
What if I inject enough spiritual power and the formation explodes?
Mo Hua felt a bit apprehensive. He wasn't a physical cultivator and probably couldn't withstand the explosive force of the Earth Fire Array.
Mo Hua took out the "Collection of Thousand Formations" again and read it word by word, confirming that it would explode three breaths after spiritual power was injected. Only then did he feel reassured, "Formation masters don't deceive formation masters, and this book was given by Master Zhuang. There shouldn't be any problem."
Mo Hua activated his Qi Sea and directly injected a large amount of spiritual power. The formations of the Earth Fire Array suddenly emitted a dazzling red light.
Mo Hua covered his head and ran. Afterwards, he jumped into a pit several yards away and hid his whole body inside.
Mo Hua had chosen this location precisely because of this pit. He had even rehearsed several times in advance, ensuring that with his small arms and legs, he could successfully hide in the pit within three breaths.
The Earth Fire Array exploded, living up to Mo Hua's expectations. He was very satisfied.
However, although it exploded, it only blew a gap in the big tree, leaving it with some scorched marks. The effect was minimal, and Mo Hua wasn't quite satisfied.
Looking at it this way, activating this Earth Fire Array was more like setting off a firecracker than stepping on a landmine.
"The array contains seven formations, so its power should be stronger..."
Mo Hua felt that the problem shouldn't lie with the formation but rather with himself: "Could it be because my cultivation is low again, so the spiritual power injected wasn't enough?"
If the spiritual power wasn't enough, then he could only use spiritual stones.
Mo Hua took out another Earth Fire Array and placed it under another tree. Then, with a pang of reluctance, he crushed a spiritual stone, infused its spiritual power into the Earth Fire Array.
This time, the formations on the Earth Fire Array lit up even more dazzlingly.
Mo Hua hurriedly ran back to the pit. There was a loud "bang," which made Mo Hua's ears ache a bit. Following that came the thunderous sound of the tree collapsing, its branches and leaves snapping and cracking.
When Mo Hua ran over to look, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide.
The tree had endured the detonation of the Earth Fire Array, its trunk blasted into a large gap and toppled to the ground. There were clear traces of charred ash around the gap, as if it had been burned by intense fire.
"Could a single spiritual stone have such power? Or is my spiritual power really that weak..."
Mo Hua felt a bit uneasy.
However, the power displayed by the Earth Fire Array activated with a single spiritual stone left Mo Hua quite satisfied. He would draw a few more just in case of future needs.
After ensuring that there were no signs of fire from the trees blown up by the Earth Fire Array, Mo Hua happily returned home.
Only the blasted tree remained lonely in its original place.
The next day, Elder Yu from the Demon Hunting Team passed by and saw the traces of the tree being blown up, angrily saying:
"Go back and find out which idiot from the Demon Hunting Team did this. Instead of hunting demons, they're here blowing up trees. Do they think their cultivation is impressive and have nowhere else to show off?"
The big men from the Demon Hunting Team nearby all shrank back, not daring to say a word.
Elder Yu had a bad temper and was always decisive; they didn't dare to object.
After participating in the Demon Hunting Festival, Da Hu and his friends became busy. They either practiced martial arts and Daoist techniques at home or followed senior demon hunters into the mountains to learn from their experience.
On the second night of the Demon Hunting Festival, Mo Hua could only wander alone. Without his buddies around, even though it was lively, he still felt somewhat dull.
Little did he know, on the third day, after visiting Master Zhuang and getting advice, he was dragged firmly by Bai Zisheng.
"Take me with you!!"
Bai Zisheng's handsome eyes stared straight at Mo Hua.
"What..."
"The Demon Hunting Festival!" Bai Zisheng said, "I've asked around. The Demon Hunting Festival lasts for three days, and today is the last day. If we don't go now, we'll miss it."
"Once a year."
"Who knows what will happen next year? What if Zixi and I have to go somewhere else? Then we might never see it again... No, you have to take me!"
"But... even if I want to take you, it won't work. Aunt Xue won't agree," Mo Hua said.
"I've thought it through," Bai Zisheng's eyes lit up, "we'll sneak out without letting Aunt Xue know. Even if we get punished when we return, as a man, it's worth it even if we get a beating!"
"How do you think you can hide it from Aunt Xue then?"
Bai Zisheng thought for a moment, slumped down in despair, "Yeah, I can't hide it. From childhood to now, I haven't been able to hide anything from her."
Mo Hua felt a bit sympathetic seeing him so disheartened and said, "Then talk to Aunt Xue. Finish your homework during the day and go out for a walk at night?"
"That's the only way..." Bai Zisheng nodded.
"Then hurry up and do your homework now. If you don't finish, you won't even have the qualifications to ask Aunt Xue," Mo Hua said.
Bai Zisheng immediately perked up, opened the books on the table, glanced at them, and asked Mo Hua, "But if Aunt Xue agrees, how will I find you?"
"At the hour of the Rooster today, I'll wait for you under the big tree on the street. If Aunt Xue agrees, I'll take you around. If she doesn't, I'll go alone."
"One word is settled!" Bai Zisheng became happy.
"Yeah, one word is settled."
(End of Chapter)