"In all spells, speed is the key to not being broken!" Mo Hua silently remembered in his heart.
"So, Elder Kui, what other spells should I learn in the future?" Mo Hua asked Elder Kui again.
He couldn't possibly use Fireball Technique for his entire life...
"Whatever."
Elder Kui replied casually.
"Does that mean as long as I understand the principles of spells, it doesn't matter what I learn..." Mo Hua could only interpret it this way.
Elder Kui reverted to his usual taciturn self, and Mo Hua didn't want to ask further. He could only go back to practicing the Fireball Technique.
From then on, whenever Mo Hua had free time, he would practice the Fireball Technique.
He remembered Elder Kui's advice: the more accurate and faster, the better!
Currently, he used the Shifting Water Step for defense and the Fireball Technique for offense, barely achieving a balance of "offense and defense," giving him some self-preservation ability.
As for learning more spells later, Mo Hua wasn't in a hurry anymore—at least not now. Learning them might not be immediately useful.
Mo Hua then focused on formation arrays.
At the fifth level of Qi Refinement, Mo Hua could now draw eight formation patterns. However, it was estimated that within the fifth level of Qi Refinement, he wouldn't be able to draw nine formation patterns.
As Mr. Zhuang said, spiritual awareness had its limits.
Every night, Mo Hua would practice formation arrays on the Dao Stele to strengthen his spiritual awareness. But he clearly felt that his spiritual awareness was growing only minimally, as if it had gradually reached a bottleneck, and his Sea of Consciousness was already overflowing.
If that was the case, he would have to wait for a breakthrough in realm to attempt drawing the nine formation patterns.
Nine formation patterns...
Mo Hua frowned and suddenly felt a shock.
Nine formation patterns meant becoming a First-rank Array Master!
Without realizing it, was he already on the verge of becoming a First-rank Array Master?!
Mo Hua was slightly astonished.
Although he still needed to pass the Court's assessment and there needed to be an extra First-rank Array Master slot available, being able to draw nine pattern formations meant he was stepping into the threshold of a First-rank Array Master!
Mo Hua thought to himself, "Mr. Zhuang was right after all. As long as I focus single-mindedly and keep drawing formations, sooner or later I can become a First-rank Array Master."
The dumbest method was also the simplest and most direct way!
Mo Hua wanted to boast a little, but recalling Mr. Zhuang's teachings of "not being arrogant or impetuous" and "remaining humble and low-profile," he calmed his mind and refocused.
Cultivation was a long journey, and temporary achievements meant nothing.
Without arrogance or dejection, one could aspire to the path of immortality.
Even if he wanted to boast, he should wait until he could draw the nine formation patterns and become a First-rank Array Master!
Mo Hua nodded.
However, Mo Hua's Spirit Ink became another issue...
To learn the formation array with nine patterns, to become a First-rank Array Master, he needed to practice not only on the Dao Stele but also on formation paper and various other formation media.
It wasn't just about learning; he had to learn to apply it in order to comprehend the formation array more deeply.
In addition, Mo Hua practiced the Tian Yan Jue technique. The bottleneck of the Tian Yan Jue technique was the Puzzle Formation. Without unraveling the Puzzle Formation, he couldn't break through the bottleneck and advance in realm.
Unraveling the Puzzle Formation depended on experience with formation arrays. To unravel it, he needed to study and practice formation arrays extensively.
Whether becoming a First-rank Array Master or unraveling the Puzzle Formation, Mo Hua needed to study and practice a wide variety of formation arrays.
This also meant he needed a large amount of Spirit Ink...
Chapter 117: Spirit Ink (Sixth Update)
A normal Array Master wouldn't need this much Spirit Ink because their learning and trading were limited by their spiritual awareness. They couldn't draw many arrays in a day.
But Mo Hua was different.
Mo Hua's spiritual awareness was significantly higher than other cultivators at the same level, and with the Dao Stele, his spiritual awareness was gradually strengthening.
Moreover, thanks to the Heavenly Manifestation Technique, he could draw arrays much faster than others. Combined with Mr. Zhuang's secret technique—Meditation Technique—which accelerated his spiritual awareness recovery, Mo Hua could draw nearly ten arrays tirelessly from morning till night.
That was several times more than Array Masters at the same level.
This also meant that Mo Hua's consumption of Spirit Ink was like water flowing.
Elder Yu occasionally had someone bring Mo Hua some Spirit Ink.
According to Elder Yu's thoughts, Mo Hua was young and his spiritual awareness wasn't stable enough, so this amount of Spirit Ink should suffice for Mo Hua.
But in reality, it was far from enough for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua was somewhat troubled, but he didn't have a good solution. This made him think of a question:
"How exactly is Spirit Ink prepared?"
Mo Hua wanted to consult Mr. Zhuang about it, but this question wasn't too profound to disturb Mr. Zhuang's quiet cultivation. So Mo Hua went to find Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zisheng sat under a big locust tree, looking pained as he studied.
Mo Hua glanced at the book he was reading, "Control of Alchemy Fire and Characteristics of Dan Production."
Mo Hua didn't quite understand...
He wasn't very adept at alchemy, but he did understand the formation arrays inside alchemy furnaces. After all, he had once helped Mr. Feng repair the Water-Wood Controlling Spirit Array in an alchemy furnace.
Bai Zisheng closed the book and lay down on the ground like a salted fish, stiff and motionless.
"Zisheng, I have a question for you."
Bai Zisheng weakly replied, "This book gives me a headache. You should ask Zixi and let me rest for a while."
"Oh." Mo Hua turned to look at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi happened to be closing his book as well, his eyes like autumn water watching Mo Hua.
"Do you have time?" Mo Hua asked quietly.
Bai Zixi nodded slightly.
Mo Hua cautiously asked, "How is Spirit Ink for arrays prepared?"
"Using demon blood, spirit fluid, spirit herbs, or spirit minerals."
Bai Zixi was succinct, his voice clear and melodious.
But Mo Hua didn't quite understand. "Could you be more specific?"
He knew these materials, but Mo Hua wasn't clear on how to mix them...
"Wait a moment." Bai Zixi opened a nearby storage bag, white with gorgeous pale golden phoenix patterns, and pulled out a book from inside.
Mo Hua looked curiously at Bai Zixi's elegant and exquisite storage bag.
What couldn't be packed in such a storage bag? It seemed to contain every book.
With delicate and fair hands, Bai Zixi held the book and handed it to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua took it and flipped through it.
The cover of the book read "Record of First-Rank Spirit Ink," detailing commonly used Spirit Ink for First-Rank and lower-level arrays, including types of Spirit Ink, recipes, and specific preparation methods.
There was also a line on the cover that said: "White Family's ancestral collection, not for external circulation."
Mo Hua couldn't help but glance at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi calmly said, "It's alright. It's not highly classified."
Mo Hua relaxed and continued reading.
The preparation method for First-Rank Spirit Ink was relatively simple, mainly using demon blood as the primary ingredient, mixing it with spirit stone powder in certain proportions to create spirit fluid, or using the juice of some spirit herbs to neutralize the aggressiveness of demon blood, stimulate its efficacy, and harmonize the spiritual power of the ink.
Since spirit fluid and spirit herbs were used sparingly, it wasn't too troublesome. Ironically, the most difficult part was obtaining demon blood.
Demon blood used for Spirit Ink preparation had to be extracted from a demonic beast while it was still alive, or within the time of a tea session after its death. If too much time passed after the death of a demonic beast, the blood would either cool and lose its efficacy, or solidify completely, becoming unusable for Spirit Ink.
Furthermore, extracting demon blood required a special technique to carefully guide the blood from the demonic beast's blood vessels, placing it into a dedicated jade bottle for preservation to prevent it from solidifying.
This special technique for extracting demon blood was called Blood Extraction Technique.
(End of the Chapter)