Immortality Through Array Formations

A few days later, Mo Hua became quite proficient in the Meditation Method. After entering Mental Concentration, his Divine Sense recovered twice as fast as before, and whereas previously after completing a Formation Painting, he needed to rest for an hour, he now only required the time it took to drink two or three cups of tea to recover.

However, continuing to comprehend the Meditation Method, he barely felt any improvement.

This was probably what Mr. Zhuang meant when he said that entering Mental Concentration required a certain disposition, and without any significant changes in disposition over a period of time, the effects of meditation would not increase. The effects would only gradually improve after persisting year after year.

This kind of effort was like grinding water, not something one could be anxious for in a short amount of time.

Thanks to the Meditation Method, Mo Hua was able to paint more Formations daily, and the speed of his Divine Sense growth also increased.

For nearly a month following that, Mo Hua spent most of his time learning Formations from Mr. Zhuang.

Sometimes, when Mr. Zhuang felt lazy, he would give Mo Hua a few days off.

Mo Hua took the opportunity to visit the Fated Gathering, where he found Manager Mo and told him that he would be following his mentor to study Formations and would no longer have the time to help Fated Gathering with Formation Painting.

Manager Mo was not surprised and merely glanced at Mo Hua, “Weren’t the Formations painted by your elder brother?”

Mo Hua scratched his head and chuckled.

Sighing, Manager Mo looked at Mo Hua and said,

“I’ve never seen a child with as much talent as you. No matter what, study hard.”

“Of course, Manager Mo!”

Manager Mo paused for a bit, seeming a bit embarrassed, but still whispered,

“Later, if ever, cough… I mean, if ever there’s something I need to ask of you, if it’s convenient for you, you’ll have to help me, okay…”

“Don’t worry, Manager, given our relationship, these are easy to handle,” Mo Hua patted his chest confidently.

Manager Mo laughed, saying “You don’t lack confidence,” but his expression was clearly much happier.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and then asked, “Do you know where Instructor Yan has gone, Manager Mo?”

Manager Mo fell silent before he sighed, “It’s his private affair, related to the Sect, and it’s not appropriate for me to tell you. When you’re older and still want to know, I’ll tell you then.”

Mo Hua silently nodded his head.

After Da’hu and his two friends left the Sect, they had more time on their hands.

When they had nothing to do, they would come and play with Mo Hua. Sometimes, when the eatery was too busy, they would help out and then enjoy a bowl of hot beef noodles. Liu Ruhua would also let them take some other food home.

Occasionally, when Mo Shan was home, he would give them some pointers in Martial Dao.

The Dao of Cultivators is divided into Spells and Martial Arts.

Spiritual Cultivators practice Spells, while Body Cultivators practice Martial Arts.

Martial Dao uses Spiritual Power to activate the potential of the physical body, causing it to burst forth with great strength, as well as the attributes inherent to the Spiritual Power itself, engaging in close combat with the enemy.

For instance, Mo Shan’s favored boxing method, Fiery Flaming Fist, was incredibly powerful with its swift and forceful punches, which were wrapped in red Fire Elemental Spiritual Power.

Following Mo Shan’s Body Refinement, Da’hu and the others practiced their punches vigorously, making Mo Hua look on with envy.

Unfortunately, Mo Hua had no talent for Body Refinement, and he could not learn any of these Martial Dao techniques. Even if he wanted to learn some offensive skills in the future, he would likely have to follow the path of a Spiritual Cultivator, learning some Spells.

Spells are condensed by controlling Spiritual Power with Divine Sense for long-range attacks, without the need for close combat.

Da’hu and his friends were very serious about their learning; all of them were almost at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, and once they reached the sixth level, they would enter Big Black Mountain and become Monster Hunters.

Big Black Mountain was treacherous, and the monster beasts were ferocious; if one’s skills were not refined enough, venturing into the mountain for monster hunting could mean a slim chance of survival. Thus, they dared not slack off in the slightest.

The business at Fated Gathering was better with each passing day. With time and good reputation, even some of the more affluent cultivators from the northern part of Big Street would make a point of traveling from north to south, through the entire Immortal City, just for a plate of beef and a pot of fermented rice wine.

Within all of Immortal City, this was the only place where one could enjoy meat for just two spirit stones.

And within the entire Big Black Mountain State boundary, this was the only eatery where one could taste such delicious monster beast beef.

With the business flourishing, Liu Ruhua was too busy to manage alone, so she hired two aunties to help. Both women came from impoverished families with husbands who had been disabled from monster hunting and were unable to make a living.

Lower echelon cultivators were diligent workers. The two aunties and Jiang Yun managed the eatery in an orderly manner.

Jiang Yun worked diligently at the eatery, and life gradually became more comfortable. Her husband’s health was also improving; he was now able to do some simple physical work, and she was no longer as shy and constrained as before.

In order to thank Mo Shan’s couple, Jiang Yun spent time making various kinds of pastries as thank-you gifts, supposedly having learned them from her mother.

Her family used to run a pastry shop when she was younger, but due to a twist of fate, they lost their properties and could no longer keep the shop open, although the culinary skills were passed down to her.

Jiang Yun’s pastries were made with simple ingredients but were tasty to eat, so Liu Ruhua let her make more for sale at the eatery, allowing her to earn some extra spirit stones to support the household.

In her free time, Liu Ruhua also learned to make pastries from Jiang Yun; some of the pastries that Mo Hua brought to Old Kui were learned from her.

Beyond that, Jiang Yun knew how to stir-fry pine nuts.

There were all kinds of pine trees in the mountains outside Tongxian City, and pine nuts were plentiful but not filling, so no one wanted them.

When Jiang Yun occasionally went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables, she would bring back some pine nuts. Roasted in a pan, the resulting pine nuts were fragrant and crisp. Placed in the eatery, customers either used them to accompany their drinks or as a snack with tea, and they were quite enjoyable.

As it turned out, the person who liked the pine nuts the most was actually Old Kui.

Mo Hua once brought some pastries for Old Kui to eat and also grabbed a handful of pine nuts for him.

Old Kui was cracking pine nuts while playing a game of Five Elements Chess with Mo Hua. Listening to the crisp sound of the pine nuts being cracked, smelling the unique aroma, Old Kui seemed very relaxed.

After a short while, the game of chess was not finished, but Old Kui’s pine nuts were all gone.

Old Kui’s already mediocre chess skill had obviously deteriorated. Despite his expressionless face, Mo Hua could somewhat feel a sense of loss from his countenance.

As Mo Hua was leaving, he said to Old Kui, “Grandpa Gui, I’ll bring you some more pine nuts next time I come.”

Old Kui nodded in agreement.

As Mo Hua was leaving, the typically reticent Old Kui also cautioned, “Be careful on the road.”

It was uncertain whether he was worried about Mo Hua or the pine nuts.

Afterward, Mo Hua’s life gradually stabilized like this.

Among the thousands of lights in Immortal City, with all the joys and sorrows, sweetness and bitterness mingled, the cultivators all strove to live on. Mo Hua was also one of these lights, diligently practicing cultivation and drawing formation diagrams.

Time went by like this for more than a month.

Mo Hua continued to learn formation arrays from Mr. Zhuang as usual, studying formation diagrams daily, practicing drawing formations, and restoring divine sense through meditation, his days as calm as still water, without a ripple.

However, Mo Hua’s divine sense and the foundation of his formation skills were gradually becoming solid. His understanding of the principles of formations deepened. He could grasp the formations within the six formation patterns after studying them several times and practicing a few more.

On this bright and sunny morning, with a crisp mountain breeze, Mo Hua, like always, went to Mr. Zhuang to study formations, but at the door, he encountered several unfamiliar cultivators whom he had never seen before.