Immortality Through Array Formations

“Divine Sense has its limits.”

Mr. Zhuang’s words, for some reason, seemed to Mo Hua to make perfect sense.

Given that, Mo Hua decided not to dwell on it any longer; anyway, as the realm improved, the Divine Sense would naturally enhance as well—it was a matter of course. Focusing on cultivation was the key and rushing wouldn’t make any difference.

What mattered most now was to learn more about Formation.

The bottleneck of the Tianyan Jue cultivation technique was the Mystery Formation. To solve the Mystery Formation, one needed to master an extensive array of Formations. Mr. Zhuang had given him the Thousand Formation Catalog, but Mo Hua had only learned a small part of it. His current experience with Formations was still far from sufficient.

If the Mystery Formation couldn’t be solved, he would not break through the bottleneck. Without breaking through the bottleneck, his realm would stagnate. Once the realm stagnated, his path of Tao Cultivation would come to an end.

Thus, apart from routine cultivation, Mo Hua devoted all his thoughts to studying Formations.

At night, when he slept, he practiced Formation on the incomplete steles in his Sea of Consciousness; upon waking in the day, he would start Drawing Formations on paper; occasionally, when someone’s Formation ceased to function, they would request Mo Hua’s help.

Whenever Master Chen’s Refinery Shop needed help, such as repairs to Artifact Furnaces or adding Formations to Spiritual Artifacts, he would invite Mo Hua to take a look. Occasionally, Old Mr. Feng would also introduce some Cultivators for Mo Hua to Draw Formations for.

Some gave Mo Hua Spirit Stones as remuneration, while others, whose families were really poor, could only offer fruits and vegetables grown at home, or sugar figures and toys they sold in the Market Town, apologetically.

Mo Hua knew that life was not easy for Loose Cultivators, so he only symbolically accepted a few Spirit Stones, and if he occasionally received some food, drinks, and toys, he was quite happy.

Mo Hua’s initial intent was to apply what he learned, practicing Formation, so he didn’t pay too much attention to these rewards.

This led to a situation where, whenever Mo Hua went shopping, those uncles and aunts, old men and old ladies he had helped in the past, would push things into his hands: wild fruits picked from the mountains, steamed rice cakes made at home, grasshoppers woven from bamboo, Scent Pouches for calming the mind, and even rouge and handkerchiefs for female Practitioners…

Whenever Mo Hua tried to give them Spirit Stones, they adamantly refused to accept them, and they’d become quite unhappy if he didn’t take their gifts.

So, without spending a single Spirit Stone, Mo Hua could walk from one end of the street to the other end, his Storage Bag stuffed so full that he seemed like a little rich boy who just ate, drank, and took things for free, which left him somewhat bemused.

After some time, Mo Hua encountered a serious problem:

He had run out of Spirit Stones to buy Spiritual Ink!

Since Liu Ruhua had opened a restaurant, Mo Hua’s family’s situation had improved significantly.

The Spirit Stones that Mo Hua used daily for cultivation were provided by his parents. Mo Hua initially did not want to take them, but Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua insisted. They said that Mo Hua was still young, and it wasn’t yet time for him to be self-sufficient.

Mo Hua earned some Spirit Stones himself by Drawing Formations, and he would use them to buy brushes and ink for practicing Formations. Occasionally, he would spend a Spirit Stone or two on some tasty treats.

Overall, Mo Hua’s income and expenditure of Spirit Stones were relatively balanced, with a slight surplus occasionally.

Even though the surplus wasn’t much…

But since Mo Hua’s cultivation improved, his Divine Sense gradually strengthened, leading to more complex Formations, and due to the effects of Tianyan Jue, his control over Divine Sense improved, making his Drawing of Formations even faster.

The faster he Drew Formations, the more he would draw each day; the more he drew, the stronger his Divine Sense became; the stronger the Divine Sense, the more complex the Formations he drew. Despite the complexity, Mo Hua still drew faster and faster, resulting in an ever-increasing number of Formations…

Taoist Stele, Tianyan Jue, Meditation Technique…

This originally virtuous cycle led to a vicious outcome:

Mo Hua used Spiritual Ink like water, and naturally, his expenditure of Spirit Stones flowed like water too.

It wasn’t until one day that Mo Hua realized the gravity of the situation when he found his Spiritual Ink had run out, and he had spent all his Spirit Stones.

Mo Hua, now penniless, was a bit troubled, “What to do?”

Ask mom and dad for more?

Mo Hua shook his head. He wanted his parents to spend more Spirit Stones on their own cultivation so that they could increase their cultivation and extend their lifespan. If he asked, they would certainly give all their Spirit Stones to him.

Charge more Spirit Stones when Drawing Formations?

Mo Hua also felt this was wrong. The neighbors were all Loose Cultivators, already strapped for resources, and didn’t have many Spirit Stones to begin with. Besides, he had been the beneficiary of his community’s kindness, so overcharging for Spirit Stones was out of the question.

What about making his own Spiritual Ink?

Mo Hua didn’t know the formula or technique to make Spiritual Ink, and even if he did, he would still need raw materials, which he had no way of obtaining.

Mo Hua pondered over this problem for two days without coming up with a good solution.

That afternoon, he heard Liu Ruhua furrowing her brows and saying, “Xiaohu was injured while hunting monsters on the mountain. I heard it’s quite serious. Take these things over for me and see how Xiaohu is doing.”

With a leap in his heart, Mo Hua quickly replied, “Okay, mom, I’ll go right away!”

When Mo Hua arrived at the Meng Family’s place, Da’hu and Shuanghu were taking care of Xiaohu.

Xiaohu lay in bed with his eyes closed, his face pale and a bloody claw mark on his back from which blood continued to seep.

Upon seeing Mo Hua, Da’hu and Shuanghu’s eyes brightened, but then their expressions fell again.

This was Mo Hua’s first reunion with Da’hu and the others in two months.

Being a Monster Hunter was not an easy profession. Monster Beasts of the same realm were much stronger than Cultivators, for their innate physical talents and strong Blood Qi made them both agile and keenly responsive. Moreover, the demonic power in Monster Beasts contained either the power of the Five Elements or natural deadly toxins, which made them difficult to handle.

To become a Monster Hunter meant enduring relentless toil, day and night, and skirting the fine line between life and death.

Many formidable Monster Hunters, through just a moment of carelessness, have been devoured by Monster Beasts. Even the strongest of Monster Hunters had to pair up and look out for each other in the face of these creatures, allowing no room for oversight.

Da’hu and the others were still novices, just beginning their Monster Hunting endeavors, and they had much to learn, hence faced greater danger.

Despite being outstanding among their peers of Loose Cultivators both in Cultivation and Taoist Skills, Da’hu and the others learned rapidly, but when it came to actually hunting Monster Beasts, it was impossible for them to adjust quickly.

Over the past two months, they stayed in the mountains, getting familiar with the terrain, identifying Monster Beasts, and attempting to fight them. In these battles, full concentration was required; any lapse could result in injury, or worse, death.

A seventeen-year-old Cultivator who had gone into the mountains with them panicked when facing a Monster Beast and was bitten on the neck. He bled out and died.

These were the stories that Da’hu had shared with Mo Hua, and from them, Mo Hua had profoundly understood the weight carried by the title “Monster Hunter.” Now, Xiaohu, who had grown up playing with Mo Hua, was lying there with a bloodied back.

“Has Old Mr. Feng come to have a look?”

Seeing Xiaohu’s pallid face, Mo Hua felt a surge of sadness.

“Old Mr. Feng has been here. He prepared some medicinal herbs and applied them to the wound, and Xiaohu has also taken the Pills he provided,” Shuanghu said, his eyes red.

“What happened?” Mo Hua couldn’t help asking.