Immortality Through Array Formations

But strictly speaking, Mo Hua doesn’t count as an “ordinary” cultivator, at least not when it comes to Divine Sense.

If his Divine Sense keeps growing like this, whether it can be locked on by someone else’s Divine Sense is hard to say…

Old Kui didn’t show it outwardly, but ripples stirred in his heart.

Mo Hua then remembered another question and asked, “Grandpa Gui, does every cultivator know how to lock on with Divine Sense?”

“Not everyone.”

Old Kui came back to his senses and replied indifferently, “Of the cultivators I have seen, seven out of ten don’t know how, more than two out of ten know but are not adept, and less than one out of ten can use it exquisitely.”

Mo Hua said with some confusion, “It doesn’t seem difficult, why don’t more than seventy percent of cultivators know how to do it?”

At least when he used it, he didn’t find it difficult.

Old Kui silently gave him a glance, feeling that Mo Hua at this moment bore some resemblance to Mr. Zhuang.

Not all cultivators have such strong Divine Sense, nor are all cultivators adept at using it.

It really is “like teacher, like student,” isn’t it? This kid Mo Hua has been led astray a bit too…

Old Kui sighed inwardly and then said:

“The reason seventy percent of cultivators can’t lock on with Divine Sense, half is due to lack of proper teachings, unable to get the method right. The other half is because even if they learn, they fail to grasp it…”

“Divine Sense is intangible, like antelope horns, leaving no trace. Therefore, it’s not easy to teach, nor easy to learn. Mere verbal instruction is hard to understand…”

“Oh,” Mo Hua nodded, not fully comprehending.

“But,” Mo Hua hesitated, then asked, “even if a spell hits, Fireball Technique isn’t very powerful, so it’s not much of a threat, right?”

Old Kui didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “How much Spiritual Power is needed to kill a cultivator?”

Mo Hua shivered inside and shook his head.

He hadn’t killed anyone before, how would he know…

Old Kui said, “Some cultivators can kill with the Spiritual Power of ten cycles, while others can’t kill even with a hundred cycles of Spiritual Power.”

Spiritual Power circulates once through the Twelve regular meridians to complete one cycle. Regardless of the cultivator’s age or physique, the variance in Spiritual Power for one cycle isn’t significant.

Hence, cultivators commonly use “Cycles” to measure the abundance of Spiritual Power.

The more Cycles there are, the greater the Spiritual Power and the stronger the Spells one can cast.

“Is it because cultivators have vital points?”

Old Kui nodded and said, “The Baihui, Shenting, Heart Meridian, Dantian, and other parts are vital points for cultivators. If hit by a spell without any protection, one would either be seriously injured or dead.”

Mo Hua said, “That means, if you hit the vital points, even if the spell itself isn’t particularly powerful, it could still cause greater damage. If it hits areas that don’t matter much, even a powerful spell might not be fatal.”

“Correct.”

Mo Hua pondered for a while, then suddenly realized and said:

“So Divine Sense locking is very important; only with a powerful Divine Sense and precise locking can spells more easily hit vital points. Is that correct, Grandpa Gui?”

Old Kui nodded.

Mo Hua was somewhat excited. With this, even if his Spiritual Power wasn’t strong, his spells could still be quite threatening.

But Old Kui poured cold water on him by saying, “That’s the theory, but it’s of no use in real combat.”

“Ah…” Mo Hua was stunned.

“Anyone with sense would protect their vital points. If you aim for them, even if it’s not blocked by armored Taoist Robes, it will be deflected by the cultivator’s arms or hands,” Old Kui explained.

Mo Hua was confused again, “Then what should I do?”

“You should know the vital points of a cultivator; occasional sneaky attacks might work, but in face-to-face combat, it’s not reliable.”

Old Kui said, “As a Spiritual Cultivator who excels in casting spells, the most important thing is to know how to use spells.”

“How should they be used?”

Old Kui nodded and continued, “Casting a spell takes time.”

Mo Hua still didn’t quite understand.

Old Kui explained, “When a cultivator casts a spell, it requires the circulation of Spiritual Power, this time varies from one breath to ten breaths…”

“The higher the grade of the spell, the more spiritual power it invokes, and the greater its power, the longer it takes to cast. Some extremely powerful spells can even take several hours to cast.”

“Conversely, although spells of lower grade invoke less spiritual power and have lesser strength, the time it takes to cast them is also shorter….”

Old Kui looked at Mo Hua and said slowly.

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up slightly.

“Therefore, when a Spiritual Cultivator faces an enemy, they either anticipate the enemy’s movements, casting spells in advance with powerful spells to strike them dead in one blow or….”

Old Kui’s gaze sharpened as he said, “they take the initiative to suppress the enemy with simple yet sharp spells, giving the enemy no chance to breathe….”

An epiphany struck Mo Hua.

Since he himself had a low-grade Spiritual Root and weak spiritual power, he couldn’t learn those high-grade spells that were powerful but also consumed a great deal of spiritual power.

He would have to forge his own path, learning spells like the Fireball Technique that were not very powerful but could be executed quickly to gain the upper hand.

However, there was still one problem.

“Can a spell with small power really suppress the enemy?” Mo Hua asked.

“Body Cultivators break their opponent’s moves, Spiritual Cultivators break their opponent’s spells, if the enemy cannot attack, they can naturally only be suppressed.”

Old Kui continued, “Body Cultivators are also human, once struck by your spell, they will naturally suffer pain. If their will isn’t strong, their attack momentum will surely be broken….”

“If you encounter someone who trades blow for blow, life for life, you can aim for their joints or vital points. In doing so, they will have to think twice before engaging with you. Once they hesitate, they dare not risk their life recklessly anymore….”

Mo Hua had never imagined that there were so many intricacies in the use of spells, and for a moment it was like receiving an enlightening blow to the head; the look he gave Old Kui was full of admiration.

Old Kui’s expression remained calm, but felt a slight sense of satisfaction in his heart, as still as an ancient well, from being looked at with such reverence.

He thought to himself that Mr. Zhuang was right, teaching a disciple when one had time could also be considered a pleasant pastime.

“Do you understand now?”

Mo Hua nodded continuously.

Old Kui gave further guidance:

“Although there are many spells in the world, the principles are largely the same. Every spell has weaknesses, but every spell also has its strengths. What a Cultivator needs to do is to play to their strengths and avoid weaknesses.”

“Conversely, while every spell has its strengths, they also inevitably have weaknesses. Your task is to identify those weaknesses and use them to break the spell.”

“There is a myriad of Taoist Skills, each with its strengths and shortcomings; the art of their use lies within the heart.”

The usually taciturn Old Kui, when talking about spells, spoke unceasingly, and his words were like pearls.

“These truths might not be of use to you now, but Tao Cultivation is a long journey, and these might come in handy one day,” said Old Kui.

Mo Hua listened attentively, committing every word to heart, and then bowed to Old Kui, saying,

“Thank you for your guidance, Grandpa Gui. I will remember everything!”

Old Kui nodded his head.

Mo Hua thought back carefully to Old Kui’s words and then considered another practical problem.

He could currently only cast one Fireball Technique.

The things that Old Kui mentioned, like “seize the initiative, suppress with spells, play to strengths, and break enemy spells,” seemed a bit beyond him.

After all, he only knew one Fireball Technique….

“So what should I do now?” Mo Hua scratched his head again.

“Practice the Fireball Technique.”

Old Kui gave a simple and unadorned answer.

“Practice until when?”

“Keep practicing, the more accurate the better, the faster the better.”

Old Kui looked at Mo Hua with profound eyes, “You only need to remember one phrase….”

“In the world of spells, only speed is unbeatable!”