Chapter 178

"The limit of spiritual awareness…"

This was not the first time Mo Hua had heard this claim, but he still did not understand what the limit of spiritual awareness was, or how to break through it.

Mo Hua asked outright, whispering: "How do you break through the limit of spiritual awareness?"

Mr. Zhuang gazed at him in silence.

Mo Hua snapped back to reality, scratched his head, and smiled apologetically: "Mr. Zhuang, I've been reaching too far again."

Mr. Zhuang raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly: "It's good to know something, but don't waste too much thought on this. Your priority is still to learn more compound arrays—you're already at Foundation Establishment sixth level."

So what if he was at Foundation Establishment sixth level?

Mo Hua frowned, then suddenly remembered—he was already at Foundation Establishment sixth level; the next breakthrough would be seventh level.

From Foundation Establishment sixth to seventh level was a transition from mid to late Foundation Establishment—a mid-realm breakthrough, meaning there would be a bottleneck in his cultivation technique!

The technique he cultivated was the Great Expansion Scripture, and its bottleneck was the Puzzle Array.

If he couldn't solve these Puzzle Arrays, he could not break through to the next realm; after that, nothing else mattered—he'd be stuck as a Foundation Establishment sixth level cultivator for life.

Mo Hua's heart tightened.

Right, the urgent task was to study more arrays, practice more arrays, use more arrays, and find a way to solve the Great Expansion Scripture's Puzzle Array—otherwise, no advancement in cultivation meant all talk was empty.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua began planning his array study schedule.

First, he would use the building arrays of the Alchemy Workshop to expand his understanding of array applications and solidify some basic compound arrays, such as the Grade One Earth-Wood Compound Array.

Then, he would use the smelting furnace and the pill furnace to learn and apply more complex compound arrays, such as those incorporating the Grade One Melt-Fire Array.

The array cores of these arrays no longer merely linked individual arrays—they also controlled and suppressed spiritual energy within the array.

Mo Hua spent two days studying the array diagrams provided by Mr. Zhuang, using the Alchemy Workshop's architectural blueprint as a base, and finalized the building array diagram.

Mo Hua brought the building array diagram to Elder Yu.

Elder Yu glanced at it and his scalp prickled.

The dense, overlapping arrays were too complex—he couldn't understand a single line, his head spun. He didn't know arrays; it looked like celestial script. He waved his hand and said:

"Do whatever you think is right. It's fine."

Seeing Elder Yu's approval, Mo Hua nodded.

Elder Yu secretly studied Mo Hua, glancing left and right, unable to suppress his inner muttering:

"I wonder how that little brain of Mo Hua's is built—how did he memorize such complex arrays, and how did he even draw them…?"

Elder Yu shook his head.

Several days later, Elder Yu invited Dao Ting Si's Zhou Zhangsi out for drinks several times and negotiated with several Gu Diansi, spending a large amount of spiritual stones to purchase a vast stretch of wasteland on the southern edge of Xiancheng, along with several abandoned, uninhabited houses nearby.

This wasteland was the designated site for the Alchemy Workshop and the Pill Workshop—the location agreed upon by Elder Yu and the others as the most suitable and cheapest option.

With the site chosen, construction could begin.

Building structures in the cultivation world required master craftsmen—skilled in earth and wood construction, a branch of alchemy that gradually separated from the alchemy trade as the cultivation world developed.

There were few master craftsmen in Xiancheng, so Elder Yu could only hire a group of artisans from neighboring Xiancheng.

The leader among these craftsmen was Master Ban, an old acquaintance of Elder Yu, whose skill was renowned across several nearby Xiancheng.

Elder Yu went to an inn in Xiancheng and handed the building array diagram to an old man of similar age, with dark skin and a slightly hunched posture.

"Master Ban, the array diagram is ready. You can begin construction."

Master Ban took the diagram, glanced at it, and frowned tightly: "Such a complex array—how many array masters are you planning to hire to draw it?"

Elder Yu said: "You'll find out when the time comes."

Master Ban remained uneasy: "This array is too difficult, with too many array lines. If you can't finish drawing it, or if you have too few people, it'll slow progress drastically."

Elder Yu knew what he worried about and said: "Don't worry—it won't delay progress, and you'll get your final payment on time."

With Elder Yu's promise, Master Ban sighed in relief, though he still felt uneasy inside.

So many arrays, so complex—where on earth would he find array masters to draw them?

Most array masters in Xiancheng were close to the Qian family, and the Qian family held a grudge against him—they wouldn't draw arrays for a beast-hunter.

Hire from outside? That would cost a fortune. Even though Elder Yu recently gained a large sum of spiritual stones, he couldn't afford to waste them like this…

Master Ban frowned, racked his brain, then suddenly paused, thinking:

"Why should I care so much? As long as he pays me the final payment on time, that's all that matters."

After all, in this day and age, for craftsmen to get paid on time without being owed spiritual stones was already a blessing—he had a whole crew of artisans to feed.

Thinking of this, he grew envious of Elder Yu.

He'd heard Elder Yu, with the beast-hunters of Hukou, had snatched a spiritual mine right out of the Qian family's jaws.

The Qian family always took meat from others' mouths—this was the first time someone had taken meat from theirs, and not just a bite, but an entire spiritual mine. Truly astonishing.

Master Ban clicked his tongue in amazement.

He and Elder Yu had been friends for years; this time, Elder Yu was eating meat, and letting his crew taste a bit too, entrusting them with such a massive construction project.

If they completed both phases—the Alchemy Workshop and the Pill Workshop—they wouldn't have to worry about livelihood for two years; after that, even small jobs would be enough to support their families.

No more frantic scrambling for projects, as they had before.

Master Ban felt lighter, and hurried his apprentices to begin work, instructing them to do their tasks carefully and thoroughly.

Elder Yu had given them this chance—they must show their true skill, complete the work meticulously, and not betray Elder Yu's trust or let others look down on them.

Construction of the Alchemy Workshop began in earnest.

Elder Yu had already purchased the building materials and shipped them in batches to the wasteland in Chengnan.

The master craftsmen began leveling the ground, laying foundations, and pre-processing all earth, wood, brick, and stone materials.

Master Ban was swamped—he had to oversee every detail from start to finish, inspecting every corner, cursing that he couldn't split himself.

Besides the craftsmen, some beast-hunters also came to help. Though they had no construction skills, they were all body cultivators—strong, sturdy, and full of strength; they could haul bricks, carry rosewood beams, and dig foundations.

More hands meant faster progress.

Foreman Ban felt gratified, yet also grew wary.

With so many hands, it was easy for things to get messy and for trouble to arise, and it was also easy for unrelated people to slip in.

Having been an artisan master for so many years, he had seen all of this before. Some people slipped in just for the novelty, to watch the excitement; some slipped in to steal things; and some slipped in with nothing but ill intentions.

Elder Yu and the Qian family were at odds, so it was entirely possible the Qian family had sent someone to slip in with ill intentions.

Foreman Ban roused himself to full alertness, watching the cultivators coming and going across the site, checking for any unfamiliar faces.

Then, by the freshly laid foundation, he spotted a little cultivator crouched on the ground, poking out a small head, curiously examining something.