When Elder Yu entered, his expression was stern, but when he left, his face looked noticeably better, and Mo Shan could even see a faint smile on his face.
Mo Shan had known Elder Yu for a long time and had always found him to be somewhat irritable, with a severe demeanor and a bad temper. It was the first time he had seen him in such a mood.
"Mo Shan, you have raised a good son!"
For the first time, Elder Yu praised Mo Shan.
Mo Shan was taken aback, even a bit flattered. No matter how well he practiced his Daoist arts or how many demon beasts he killed, Elder Yu had never praised him before. Mo Shan had thought Elder Yu was strict and never praised anyone.
This sudden compliment caught him off guard, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
After speaking, Elder Yu ignored Mo Shan, nodded to Liu Ruhua, and then walked out.
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua respectfully escorted Elder Yu to the door.
It was late, the bright moon hung high, and there were few people on the street, but the warm yellow lights in the houses on both sides flickered. Occasionally, there were sounds of laughter, children shouting, and parents scolding.
Elder Yu walked a few steps, turned back to look at Mo Hua's house, and thought silently to himself, "Among us rogue cultivators, perhaps a true formation master will emerge…"
In the myriad professions of cultivation, formations are paramount. Cultivators, whether in their daily lives or in battles with demon beasts, cannot do without formations. But formations were never meant for rogue cultivators at the bottom; they were poor and not worthy...
If Mo Hua truly achieved something in formations and remained true to his heart, helping fellow rogue cultivators, even if he remained in the Qi Refining stage all his life, he would be more useful to the rogue cultivators of Tongxian City than Elder Yu himself, who, despite being in the Foundation Establishment stage, was already half a foot in the grave...
A formation master would be invaluable, and for a moment, Elder Yu was filled with hope.
"I wonder if I'll live to see that day…"
The next day, Elder Yu sent over twenty sets of vine armor, twenty bottles of Golden Spirit Ink, fifty spirit stones, and two bottles each of Five Element Spirit Ink. The rest of the vine armor would be delivered after being refined.
The fifty spirit stones were a down payment, with the rest to be paid upon completion of the formations. The Five Element Spirit Ink was something Elder Yu had specially obtained for Mo Hua, as an additional reward, and the quality was quite good, making Mo Hua very happy.
These spirit stones and spirit ink would last Mo Hua for quite some time.
Although the Demon Hunting Festival is still three months away, Mo Hua doesn't want to wait that long. He plans to finish the drawings in a month and a half, drawing two to three pieces a day in his spare time, without delaying his cultivation and study of higher-level formations.
Mo Hua is eager to reach the fifth level of Qi Refining and learn some spells.
Half a month later, Mo Hua completed his thirty-sixth Iron Armor Formation. Just as he was about to continue drawing, he suddenly felt something unusual in his Qi Sea.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he quickly sat down to meditate, taking out a spirit stone to absorb its spiritual energy.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but his Qi Sea trembled, the spiritual energy became chaotic before gradually stabilizing and becoming slightly denser.
He had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining!
Mo Hua was quite happy because a cultivator's foundation lies in their cultivation level.
It seemed that apart from the bottleneck at mid and major levels, the Celestial Expansion Technique didn't pose much difficulty for minor level breakthroughs, nor did it require any rare natural treasures.
Mo Hua felt an unending stream of admiration for the senior cultivators who created this technique!
"If I keep cultivating like this, is it possible that I could really become an immortal?"
Mo Hua's thoughts began to wander.
Then he remembered the vast amount of spirit stones needed for cultivation, the complex formations he had seen in the formation books, and the mysterious, unknown formation puzzles.
Mo Hua quickly collected his thoughts.
"Cultivation requires being down-to-earth, not aiming too high! Cultivation requires being down-to-earth, not aiming too high!"
He silently repeated this mantra twice and then began planning his training for the fifth level of Qi Refining.
First and foremost, it had to be spells!
How could a cultivator who doesn't learn spells be called a cultivator?
Physical cultivators were one thing, but as a spiritual cultivator who aspires to and can only be a spiritual cultivator, how could he get by without learning some spells?
But who could teach him?
Mo Hua was a bit troubled, as most demon hunters were physical cultivators, with few spiritual cultivators among them.
If it was dangerous for physical cultivators to hunt demons, then for spiritual cultivators who primarily practiced spells, going into the mountains to hunt demons was almost a gamble with their lives.
There was a big difference between spiritual and physical cultivators in the demon hunting profession.
If a spiritual cultivator was attacked by a demon beast, compared to a physical cultivator, the outcomes could be: the physical cultivator being unscathed, while the spiritual cultivator is lightly injured; the physical cultivator lightly injured, while the spiritual cultivator is seriously injured; the physical cultivator seriously injured, while the spiritual cultivator is dead; and if the physical cultivator dies, then the spiritual cultivator is unlikely to have a complete body left…
Hence, there were very few spiritual cultivators among demon hunters. It wasn't just because fewer people chose to be spiritual cultivators, but also because those who did, had a lower survival rate.
Unless they had no other choice, like Mo Hua.
If he were strong and sturdy, he would also choose to be a physical cultivator, get a custom-made Guandao (Glaive) engraved with a green dragon from Master Chen, and charge into the demon hordes, killing left and right, just thinking about it made his blood boil.
But the only flaw with this idea was that it could only remain an idea.
Then should he ask Mr. Zhuang for help?
Mo Hua shook his head. He was already grateful that Mr. Zhuang taught him formations. Asking for help with spells would be pushing it.
Besides, he wasn't sure what kind of cultivation Mr. Zhuang practiced. His qi and blood didn't seem strong, he didn't appear to have much spiritual power, and his spiritual sense was elusive, presenting the image of an inscrutable expert.
If he annoyed Mr. Zhuang, he might stop teaching formations, which would be a significant loss.
Then should he ask Aunt Xue? Aunt Xue was kind to Mo Hua as well.
Oh right, Aunt Xue practiced illusions, something Mo Hua wasn't qualified to learn with his current abilities and probably wouldn't be able to grasp.
After much consideration, there was only one person who could help Mo Hua…
Mo Hua found a book titled "Qi Refining Spells Record," which listed some basic spells for the Qi Refining stage. Of course, it only had the directory and not the specific cultivation methods.
Mo Hua specifically enlarged the characters for "Spells" on the cover to make it easier to see at a glance.
Early in the morning, Mo Hua sat in a restaurant, holding the "Qi Refining Spells Record," preparing to fish. As the sun rose higher and the weather became pleasant, the fish would come.
Zhang Lan appeared on the street, basking in the sunlight, stretched lazily, and then leisurely walked towards the restaurant.
Mo Hua ignored him, pretending to be engrossed in the book.
Zhang Lan entered the restaurant, sat in his usual spot, ordered a pot of wine, a plate of meat, and a plate of fruit, then began to idly look around. When he saw Mo Hua, he naturally noticed the book in Mo Hua's hands and the large characters for "Spells" on the page.
Zhang Lan carefully confirmed that the book's cover read "Qi Refining Spells Record."
He repeatedly confirmed the words "Spells" and "Qi Refining" several times, and immediately felt elated.
The last time, Mo Hua's "Introduction to Compound Formations" almost caused him serious trouble, and he still felt a lingering fear. But as long as it wasn't formations, especially not compound formations, Zhang Lan had nothing to fear.
And this was "Qi Refining" and "Spells"!
In these two fields, no one could stop him from showing off!
Zhang Lan deliberately coughed, cleared his throat, swayed over to Mo Hua, and casually said, "Oh? What book are you reading? Is there anything you don't understand? Do you want me to teach you?"
(End of the Chapter)