Chapter 154: Spirit Ore

Elder Yu had assumed the Golden Armor Array would be slightly stronger than the Iron Armor Array, but he never expected it to be this much stronger—it was directly first grade…

When he previously asked Mo Hua to draw array patterns, wasn't it just six array lines?

How could he already draw a first-grade array in such a short time?!

Elder Yu hesitated for a long while before asking a pointless question:

"Is this really a first-grade array…?"

Mo Hua thought Elder Yu seemed strange, so he pulled out a freshly drawn Golden Armor Array and counted it out for Elder Yu:

"One, two, three… nine, right? Nine array lines in total."

Elder Yu had never examined the Golden Armor Array closely before; now he didn't dare blink, counting each line one by one again.

Indeed, nine array lines—nine lines means entered first grade!

Elder Yu's hand trembled slightly as he held the vine armor, his heart refusing to believe it.

"Then aren't you… a first-grade array master?"

A first-grade array master!

How many years had passed without any of these cultivators, these impoverished demon hunters, even having a single ordinary array master?

And now, one had appeared—a first-grade array master!

Mo Hua felt a little embarrassed and humbly said, "I can just draw a first-grade array—I'm not officially one yet. I must pass the court's grading to become a first-grade array master."

Elder Yu exhaled in relief, "So that's it—you can just draw a first-grade array…"

Elder Yu pondered again: "Just able to draw a first-grade array… that's all?"

Could drawing a first-grade array really be called "just"?

Elder Yu's expression grew complex.

How young is Mo Hua, and he can already draw a first-grade array—what about in the future?

Second grade? Or… third grade?

Elder Yu took a long time to calm himself, then feigned composure, praised Mo Hua a few times, and urged him to keep drawing arrays. Afterwards, he gathered Yu Chengyi, Mo Shan, and several other Qi Condensation ninth-layer demon hunters together.

"This child, Mo Hua, cannot suffer the slightest mishap!"

The men exchanged glances; Yu Chengyi said, "Father, we understand—we'll watch over him."

"No, you don't understand."

Elder Yu shook his head and said, "The arrays Mo Hua is drawing now are already first-grade!"

Yu Chengyi and Mo Shan were stunned.

Yu Chengyi glanced at Mo Shan and couldn't help saying:

"It's fine that we're shocked, but how come you, his father, look just as surprised?"

Mo Shan sighed, "I just found out myself…"

Yu Chengyi didn't know what to say.

"I only knew he drew an array for me…" Mo Shan said.

"Didn't you ask?"

"He gave it to me—I was so happy I forgot to ask."

Elder Yu said, "This matter must not reach the Qian family. Tell all the other demon hunters to keep the array secret."

All nodded, yet their hearts remained turbulent, unable to settle.

Mo Hua, fully absorbed in drawing arrays, suddenly felt people were quietly watching him lately.

Mo Hua frowned, extended his spiritual sense, then called through the wall:

"Uncle Yu."

Yu Chengyi immediately popped his head out from behind the wall, "What is it?"

Mo Hua couldn't help saying, "Uncle Yu, why are you watching me?"

Yu Chengyi froze, "How did you know?"

He'd hidden perfectly behind the wall, suppressing his aura.

"I sensed it with my spiritual sense…"

Yu Chengyi was astonished, "You can detect that?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Yu Chengyi's eyebrow twitched inwardly: Your spiritual sense is insane…

But then he remembered Mo Hua could draw first-grade arrays—strong spiritual sense was only natural.

"I'm worried you might be in danger, so I'm keeping an eye," Yu Chengyi said.

Mo Hua looked around, puzzled, "What danger could there be here?"

This was a mine tunnel, surrounded by familiar demon hunters.

Yu Chengyi coughed, "Just in case."

Mo Hua said, "Uncle Yu, you should go about your business—aren't you supposed to deal with the Qian family? There must be plenty to do."

If you've nothing else, go mine a few spirit ores—why stare at me like this…

Yu Chengyi silently thought: Nothing matters more than you. Lose a few spirit ores, my father might grumble for ten years. Lose you, he'd probably kill me.

"No need, draw your arrays—pretend I'm not here."

How could a living person be pretended not to exist…

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, "Uncle Yu, if you're free, take me to see the spirit ore deposits inside."

He'd entered the mine and immediately started drawing arrays—he'd never seen what spirit ore actually looked like.

"Aren't you going to draw arrays anymore?"

"Take a break and draw later."

Yu Chengyi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll take you to see it."

Mo Hua's spirits lifted instantly.

Yu Chengyi led Mo Hua deeper into the mine tunnel.

The deeper they went, the damper it became, the stronger the metallic and stony odor, and the more dense the Qi became—some nearly solid, faintly blue in hue.

The mine echoed with a constant, rising and falling "ding-dong, ding-dong."

That was the sound of pickaxes mining Spirit Ore.

Spirit stones grew fused with the mountain rock; to extract them, Body Cultivators had to use pickaxes to chip away bit by bit.

The mined ore was raw—irregular in shape, often mixed with mountain rock and other impurities, unsuitable for direct use, and unprocessable by cultivators.

These raw ores could be traded with Dao Ting Si, exchanged at a fixed ratio for purified, standardized Spirit Stones.

These standardized Spirit Stones were what cultivators used daily for cultivation and trade.

The raw ores were uniformly processed and refined by Dao Ting.

Refining Spirit Ore into Spirit Stones was a specialized branch of Artifact Crafting—complex, labor-intensive, and strictly regulated by Dao Law: only Dao Ting had the authority to refine Spirit Stones.

Any other clan, sect, or individual cultivator was forbidden from refining them without authorization.

Violators would be pursued by Dao Ting Si; those severely guilty would be deemed traitors, crushed, and even exterminated by Dao Ting!

As they walked, Yu Chengyi explained to Mo Hua the cultivation knowledge related to Spirit Ore.

Mo Hua listened and suddenly understood—Dao Ting's control over Spirit Stones was extremely strict.

For Spirit Mines controlled by Shijiahe Sect, Dao Ting could not interfere directly; instead, it monitored and balanced the major powers by controlling the final refining process of Spirit Stones.

Spirit Stones were the lifeline of cultivators; controlling Spirit Stones meant controlling the entire cultivation world.

Mo Hua asked again: "The Qi here is so dense—can we cultivate directly?"

"No," said Yu Chengyi. "The Qi here looks dense, but it's impure—mixed with moisture, stench, and years of accumulated miscellaneous and filthy Qi. Cultivating directly here would cause problems."

Mo Hua didn't quite understand. "What exactly are moisture, stench, miscellaneous Qi, and filthy Qi?"

Yu Chengyi was stumped. He thought to himself: This kid asks too many questions—and they're all so sharp…

He could only try to recall and explain according to his own understanding:

"Qi is akin to a fundamental force of cultivation. Spirit Qi is the purest form near the source—safe and harmless for cultivators to absorb. A cultivator's Spiritual Power comes from refining Spirit Qi."

"Beyond that, the cultivation world contains many other kinds of Qi—generally impure, sinister, or filthy. If a cultivator refines them or allows them into the body, their blood Qi, Qi Sea, or meridians will suffer all sorts of problems."

"I don't know the specifics beyond that, but you must be careful—never absorb any Qi except Spirit Qi, or you'll run into trouble."

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, silently committing it to memory.

Thank you for the tip, Yao Yuan~