Chapter 116

In all magic under heaven, speed alone breaks all defenses!

Mo Hua silently memorized it.

"Then, Grandpa Kui, what magic should I learn next?" Mo Hua asked Kui Lao again.

He couldn't use Fireball Spell his whole life…

"Whatever."

Kui Lao answered just as casually.

"So it means as long as I understand the principles, it doesn't matter what I learn…?"

Mo Hua could only understand it that way.

Kui Lao reverted to his usual dull and silent self; Mo Hua didn't press further and went to practice Fireball Spell.

After that, Mo Hua practiced Fireball Spell whenever he had free time.

He remembered Kui Lao's words: practice until it's as precise as possible, as fast as possible!

He now relied on Flowing Step for survival and Fireball Spell for offense—barely enough to be called "both offensive and defensive," giving him some means of self-preservation.

For future spells, Mo Hua wasn't in a hurry; at least not yet—learning them might not even be useful.

Mo Hua turned his attention back to arrays.

At Qi Condensation Fifth Layer, Mo Hua could now draw eight array lines, but he suspected he couldn't draw nine lines until beyond Fifth Layer.

As Mr. Zhu had said, spiritual sense has its limits.

Every night, Mo Hua still practiced arrays on the Dao Stele to strengthen his spiritual sense, but he clearly felt its growth was minuscule—as if he were gradually hitting a bottleneck, his spiritual sea already overflowing.

If so, he could only wait until he broke through his realm to attempt drawing a nine-line array.

Nine array lines…

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly startled.

Nine array lines—that's a First-Grade Array Master!

Had he, without realizing it, nearly become a First-Grade Array Master?!

A small shock stirred in Mo Hua's heart.

Though he still needed the Dao Court's assessment for grading and a spare First-Grade Array Master slot, being able to draw a nine-line array meant he'd already stepped one foot through the threshold of a First-Grade Array Master!

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, "Mr. Zhu was right: as long as I focus without distraction, keep drawing arrays, keep drawing, keep drawing—I'll eventually become a First-Grade Array Master."

The dumbest method is the simplest and most direct one!

Mo Hua wanted to boast a little, but remembering Mr. Zhu's teachings—"Stay humble, remain calm"—he suppressed his thoughts and settled his mind.

The Dao is long; fleeting achievements mean nothing.

Only by neither arrogance nor discouragement can one reach the path of eternal life.

Even if he wanted to boast, he'd wait until he could draw nine array lines and become a First-Grade Array Master!

Mo Hua nodded.

Yet Mo Hua's Spirit Ink had become a problem again…

To master a nine-line array and become a First-Grade Array Master, he needed not only to practice on the Dao Stele, but also to draw arrays on array paper and other array mediums.

He needed not just to learn, but to apply what he learned to deeply comprehend arrays.

Moreover, Mo Hua's cultivation technique was the Great Expansion Scripture, whose bottleneck was the Puzzle Array; without solving the Puzzle Array, he could not break through the bottleneck and advance his realm.

Solving the Puzzle Array relied on array experience; to solve it, he needed to study and practice more arrays.

Whether to become a First-Grade Array Master or to solve the Puzzle Array, Mo Hua needed to learn and practice many arrays.

Which meant he needed vast quantities of Spirit Ink…

Normal Array Masters wouldn't need so much, because their spiritual sense limited them—they could draw only a few arrays per day, whether studying or trading.

But Mo Hua was different.

Mo Hua's spiritual sense was far higher than peers of the same realm, and with the Dao Stele, it was gradually growing stronger.

Moreover, because of the Great Expansion Scripture, he drew arrays much faster than others, and with Mr. Zhu's secret technique—the Meditation Art—he recovered his spiritual sense quickly too.

So Mo Hua drew nonstop from morning till night, managing nearly ten arrays per day.

Several times more than an Array Master of equal level.

As a result, Mo Hua's Spirit Ink vanished like flowing water.

Elder Yu occasionally had someone bring Mo Hua some Spirit Ink.

In Elder Yu's view, Mo Hua was young and his spiritual sense still unstable; this much Spirit Ink was more than enough.

But for Mo Hua, it was far from sufficient.

Mo Hua was troubled, yet had no good solution, so he wondered:

"How is Spirit Ink actually mixed?"

Mo Hua wanted to ask Mr. Zhu, but the question wasn't profound enough to disturb his cultivation, so he went to Bai Zisheng instead.

Bai Zisheng sat under a large locust tree, grimacing as he did his homework.

Mo Hua glanced—it was "On Fire Control and Pill Quality in Alchemy."

Mo Hua didn't understand…

He wasn't skilled at alchemy, but he knew the arrays inside alchemy furnaces fairly well.

After all, he'd once repaired the Water-Wood Spirit Control Array inside Old Feng's alchemy furnace.

Bai Zisheng slammed the book shut, collapsed onto the ground, and lay there like a salted fish, stiff and motionless.

"Zisheng, I have a question for you."

Bai Zisheng weakly said, "This book gives me a headache—ask Zixi. Let me rest a bit."

"Oh." Mo Hua turned to look at Bai Zi Xi.

Bai Zi Xi also closed his book, his eyes like autumn water fixed on Mo Hua.

"Free for a moment?" Mo Hua asked softly.

Bai Zi Xi gave a slight nod.

Mo Hua hesitated before asking, "How is the spiritual ink for arrays prepared?"

"With demon blood, spiritual fluid, spiritual herbs, or spiritual minerals."

Bai Zi Xi spoke concisely, his voice clear and melodious.

But Mo Hua didn't understand. "Can you be more specific?"

Knowing these materials wasn't enough—he still had no idea how to mix them…

"Wait." Bai Zi Xi opened a snow-white storage pouch adorned with elegant pale golden phoenix patterns, pulling out a book from inside.

Mo Hua stared at Bai Zi Xi's modest yet exquisite storage pouch, curious inside.

What could be inside this pouch? How did it hold so many books?

Bai Zi Xi's pale, slender fingers held the book and offered it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took it and flipped through a few pages.

The book's cover bore the title *Record of First-Rank Spiritual Ink*, detailing the spiritual inks commonly used in first-rank and lower arrays—including types, formulas, and precise mixing methods.

Beneath the cover was a line of text: *White Clan Ancestral Collection—Do Not Transmit Outside*.

Mo Hua couldn't help glancing at Bai Zi Xi.

Bai Zi Xi said calmly, "It's fine—it's not top secret."

Mo Hua relaxed and continued flipping through the pages.

The preparation of first-rank spiritual ink was relatively simple: most recipes used demon blood as the base, mixed in specific proportions with spiritual stone powder suspended in spiritual fluid, or with juice from certain spiritual herbs, to neutralize the demon blood's aggression, activate its potency, and harmonize its spiritual energy.

Spiritual fluid and herbs were used sparingly, so they weren't hard to obtain; the real difficulty lay in acquiring demon blood.

The demon blood used for spiritual ink must be drawn from the demon beast while it was still alive, or within one cup of tea's time after death.

Once the demon beast died, if too much time passed, the blood would either cool and dim, losing most of its power, or harden completely, becoming unusable as spiritual ink.

Moreover, extracting demon blood required a special secret technique to slowly guide the blood from the beast's veins into a dedicated jade vial, preventing it from solidifying.

This special method of drawing demon blood is called the Blood-Draining Art.