Array brushes are generally categorized from micro to small, medium, and large hairs.
The larger the array brush, the larger the pattern of array runes drawn, and the larger the scale of the array formation, but there won't be a qualitative change in the efficacy of the array.
On large refining furnaces, large-haired brushes are needed to draw the array runes, requiring more spiritual ink and consuming a bit more mental energy.
This was Mo Hua's first time drawing such a large array. At first, he felt unfamiliar with it when he began to brush, but after calming down and following the array diagram he had planned beforehand, he drew it stroke by stroke.
Gradually, Mo Hua's brushwork became more composed.
Although the medium of the arrays differed, their fundamental principles were the same.
Mo Hua had already sketched out this compound array formation many times on array paper and Dao stele.
Elder Yu watched quietly from the side, holding his breath without disturbing Mo Hua.
Master Chen, equally awe-struck, dared not even breathe loudly. He had previously doubted whether Mo Hua could truly draw a First-Grade array, but now, seeing Mo Hua personally drawing such a massive array on the refining furnace, he was not only shocked but also deeply moved.
Such a large refining furnace, with such a large array drawn on it, just how intense would its flames be...
Just thinking about it made Master Chen's heart race with excitement.
However, Mo Hua faced difficulties with the array.
He had already been able to draw the Melting Fire Spiritual Control Compound Array on the Dao stele in his sea of consciousness. Initially, he thought his mental energy was sufficient, but now, drawing the array on the refining furnace required a bit more mental energy.
Even this slight increase felt like the straw that broke the camel's back, causing Mo Hua to fail several times in his initial attempts at the array.
Mo Hua had to ask for help to wash away the failed array cores with cleansing solution and then start over.
He sat aside, meditating to restore his mental clarity to its fullest.
Mo Hua continued to draw, but still failed.
This cycle repeated throughout the day—drawing the array cores, washing them away, and repeating multiple times—yielding little progress.
Seeing that it was getting late, Elder Yu comforted Mo Hua, saying, "Rest well. Resume tomorrow; there's no need to rush."
Mo Hua had spent the entire day with no progress, feeling genuinely tired and mentally fatigued, so he nodded in agreement.
After Mo Hua left, Master Chen asked Elder Yu, "Is this array particularly difficult?"
He had never seen Mo Hua fail so many times consecutively in array drawing.
"If Mo Hua has failed so many times, it must indeed be very challenging!" Elder Yu thought for a moment, finding the reasoning sound.
Nightfall had just arrived, and it wasn't yet completely dark, allowing Master Chen to still see the intricate array patterns remaining on the refining furnace—huge, complex, and profound.
But he couldn't understand any of it.
Shaking his head, Master Chen realized he wasn't an array practitioner; merely observing for a day had left him mentally exhausted, let alone repeating the painstaking efforts like Mo Hua.
Mo Hua did feel physically tired, but more than that, he felt unwilling to give up.
He was so close...
After returning home, Mo Hua had dinner prepared by his mother, then closed his eyes in his room to rest for a while.
Once refreshed, Mo Hua replayed the process of drawing arrays in his mind, contemplating his gains and losses.
As midnight approached, Mo Hua collapsed onto his bed, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness sink into his sea of consciousness.
The Dao stele in his sea of consciousness materialized.
Mo Hua began practicing the compound array formation on the Dao stele once more.
Because it had been difficult to draw during the day, and drawing on the inner wall of the refining furnace with a large-scale array was like a "weight-bearing" exercise, practicing on the Dao stele now felt significantly easier.
The array patterns that had been somewhat stiff initially flowed much more smoothly this time.
Mo Hua practiced array formations on the Dao stele throughout the night.
Besides making the structure of the array core and the style of the array runes more familiar, it also strengthened Mo Hua's consciousness a bit.
Just that little bit was enough for Mo Hua to step over the critical threshold and successfully draw the Melting Fire Compound Array.
Early the next morning, Mo Hua woke up promptly, enjoyed a delicious breakfast made by Liu Ruhua, and then set off for the refining workshop.
Elder Yu and Master Chen had also spent a sleepless night.
Elder Yu was concerned about the workshop, while Master Chen worried about the refining furnace. Both were also worried about Mo Hua.
After all, Mo Hua was still a child. He had spent the whole day yesterday drawing arrays, erasing them, and had made no progress throughout the day. His mindset might have been somewhat discouraged.
Seeing Mo Hua stride confidently with his storage bag slung over his shoulder, Elder Yu and Master Chen felt their worries might have been unnecessary.
With renewed vigor and determination, Mo Hua took out his brushes and ink without a word and resumed drawing the array.
This time, Mo Hua found it much easier to draw.
However, there were still some small errors, and he still hadn't completed the array core.
On the third day, Mo Hua finally finished drawing the array core.
The array core was the central structure of the compound array, and overcoming it in his consciousness was akin to success in a significant portion. The subsequent steps would be much simpler.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is it done?" Elder Yu asked quietly, noticing the progress.
"Not yet, but the array core is done. The rest will be quicker now," Mo Hua wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiling.
His face was smeared with red and black spiritual ink, making him look somewhat dirty.
Elder Yu helped him wipe his face with his sleeve and offered some words of encouragement.
Master Chen also praised, "You've done very well!"
Although he didn't quite understand what was good about it.
Mo Hua ate something, meditated to restore his consciousness, took a stroll to relax his mind, and then continued drawing the array.
With the completion of the array core, the structure of the compound array was laid out.
Next up was the Melting Fire Array of the First Grade.
While slightly more challenging than the compound array of the First Grade, it was nothing compared to the complexity Mo Hua had already overcome.
Mo Hua didn't take long to finish drawing the First Grade Melting Fire Array.
Now, he couldn't temporarily draw any further arrays. The next step was to use the First Grade Melting Fire Array to test whether the array core could be effective.
If it couldn't, Mo Hua would have to erase and redraw it.
Thinking this way, Mo Hua had drawn, erased, and redrawn many spiritual inks, feeling heartbroken.
Truly, drawing arrays directly on Dao stele without using brushes and ink would be the best!
Drawing arrays on Dao stele meant no worries about wasting ink.
Mo Hua sighed and began to verify whether the array core was effective.
"Oh, right, there's also a Spiritual Gathering Array."
Mo Hua suddenly remembered—the Spiritual Gathering Array was the array eye of the compound array, which needed to absorb spiritual stones to provide spiritual power and activate the array.
The arrays Mo Hua had drawn before were not particularly powerful in effect and mostly disposable. Even if reusable, their uses were limited, so there was no need to draw a separate Spiritual Gathering Array.
These arrays only needed to have a Spiritual Gathering Array pattern or utilize the effect of the array pattern itself to absorb spiritual power.
But now was different.
Large refining furnaces required extremely powerful firepower, which also meant consuming a large number of spiritual stones to supply vast spiritual power. Only through Compound Arrays could this spiritual power be converted into firepower.
Simultaneously, the refining furnace had to be durable, able to repeat operations multiple times efficiently and stably supply heat.
This also meant that the arrays on the refining furnace must include stable spiritual power supply cycles such as array eyes, array cores, array patterns, and array media.
The array eye provided spiritual power, the array core controlled spiritual power, the array pattern converted spiritual power, and the array mediums carried spiritual power.
This was the true array circulation system, the most essential spiritual power circulation structure contained in arrays.
Only by constructing and applying this set of spiritual power circulation in compound arrays could one truly grasp the logical basics of array operation and truly make significant progress in the path of arrays!
(End of the Chapter)