Chapter 346

Mo Hua returned home and immediately began reading the jade slip of the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array.

But he kept reading until nightfall and still hadn't finished a single jade slip.

The complete set of jade slips for this array totaled ten.

Mo Hua couldn't help sighing—the array truly was a "great" array; its techniques were immensely complex, and even the jade slips recording only its construction method were this numerous.

Time was urgent, yet Mo Hua could not afford to rush.

The array was of critical importance; not a single error could be allowed.

He had to be patient, study with utmost care, and leave no room for carelessness.

If he slipped up even slightly, it might trigger a chain reaction and cause the entire array to collapse.

But studying this way would take far too long…

After some thought, Mo Hua decided to prioritize, grasp the essentials, and begin with the most critical parts.

Even when eating, his hands would unconsciously sketch something in the air.

At this thought, Mo Hua's eyes suddenly lit up.

While waiting, he took out paper and ink and practiced the array pivot of the Seven-Line Demon-Slaying Minor Array.

The minor array's pivot was not a single stroke, but several fine strokes linked together, merging into one unified pattern to form the pivot.

The pivot was the trunk of the entire minor array, the hub through which spiritual energy flowed.

"Pivot."

Yet the minor array's pivot was much simpler.

Mo Hua drew the pivot once, exhausted his spiritual sense, then erased it and drew again.

After practicing twice, Mo Hua discovered something astonishing:

The pivot's origin required leaving interfaces to accommodate single arrays with different functions.

The spiritual sense requirement for this was absurdly excessive…

Sometimes, while eating, he would stare blankly, lost in thought, unaware of what he was thinking, until the food on his plate grew cold.

The major array's pivot, since it coordinated the entire array and connected numerous single arrays, had to be robust, resilient, stable, and capable of embracing all things.

But after Mo Hua "consumed" the Green-Faced Great Ghost and assimilated the contemplation diagram's spiritual essence, he had instantly achieved Foundation Establishment of spiritual sense, breaking past the Ten纹 limit.

After understanding this pivot's principle, Mo Hua found it hard to believe.

When Mo Hua exhausted his spiritual sense and paused to rest, he suddenly noticed two pairs of bright little eyes staring fixedly at him.

Inside the pivot, numerous spiritual energy pathways needed to be accommodated, controlling their opening and closing, forward and reverse, initiation and cessation, flow and transformation.

The difficulty of this pivot had reached the peak of first-rank arrays.

The single array's pivot was extremely refined, consisting of only a few strokes.

It looked like casual ink strokes, yet perfectly orderly—as if drawing an array, yet he had never seen such an array before.

It was like weaving a rope from fine hemp threads.

Mo Hua forced himself to calm his mind.

Mo Hua first memorized part of the minor array's pivot, then at night sank his spiritual sense into his dantian and began practicing on the Dao Stele.

"Bai Zixi…"

"Not good—my spiritual sense has been overtaxed…"

In other words, Mo Hua's current spiritual sense limit was the Foundation Establishment limit.

Yet the minor array was difficult enough, and the spiritual sense consumption was high enough, so naturally, spiritual sense grew slowly.

But he couldn't help his curiosity, so he just watched Mo Hua draw.

The more he realized his own ignorance, the more he felt compelled to learn.

Mr. Zhuang had said spiritual sense had no limit.

My spiritual sense was still far from enough!

At this rate, spiritual sense would keep growing, but I truly might not master the Seven-Line Demon-Slaying Minor Array before the city relocation!

This unified pattern, on the surface, appeared as a single stroke thicker than a compound array's pivot, but in reality, it was composed of countless fine strokes, filled in with specific lengths, shapes, and trajectories.

This subtle resonance, though hard to describe clearly, made his heart calmer, his mind more focused, and deepened his understanding of the pivot.

The major array's pivot was harder than the compound array's pivot Mo Hua had studied, by more than a notch.

Mo Hua had understood these principles before, but only now, as he actually began studying them, did he gain deeper insight.

That's why the pivot was so simple, and why spiritual sense consumption was so immense.

That's why, even through practicing array techniques, my spiritual sense still grew remarkably!

If one time isn't enough, draw ten times; if ten times aren't enough, draw a hundred times…

That's why, after this, Mo Hua's spiritual sense grew remarkably fast, purely through practicing arrays to refine it.

For the past several days, Mo Hua had forgotten meals and sleep, training day and night on the minor array's pivot.

A pair of sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, a pair of clear eyes like water.

After some time, Mo Hua seemed to sense a faint, elusive Daoic resonance from the Dao Stele.

He had only memorized part of the minor array's pivot; even so, he exhausted his spiritual sense without finishing drawing those pivots.

Mo Hua is our flesh and blood; no matter what choices he makes, what he does, or what his future holds, we want to stay by his side.

Bai Zisheng, beside him, also looked puzzled, stepped heavily, and quietly walked to Mo Hua's side, glancing at the array Mo Hua was drawing.

The compound array's pivot was harder, used heavier strokes, and consumed more spiritual sense.

Don't worry about how difficult the minor array is, don't worry whether you'll ever master it—just start learning bit by bit, practice again and again.

The closer he got to his limit, the harder spiritual sense grew.

Rather than complain here, better to practice a few more times.

Even if I ultimately still cannot learn it, at least I will not feel guilty inside.

Mo Hua was momentarily incredulous.

Mo Hua felt a sigh of admiration.

But we also fear it is not Mo Hua.

Even longer array pivots require brushwork to outline; relying solely on the array's inherent structure cannot make it a pivot.

If learning it myself is already this difficult, then the array master who created such a grand array must truly have an understanding of the Dao and comprehension of arrays that is beyond imagination.

Beneath the Dao Stele, existence continuously cycles from nothing to something, and from something back to nothing, repeating over and over.

One day, Mo Hua was practicing arrays atop the large locust tree; Bai Zi Xi saw this, felt a hint of curiosity, set down his book, leaned over to take a look, and immediately frowned.

I wanted to ask for clarification, but seeing Mo Hua absorbed in drawing the array, I hesitated to disturb him.

The limit of Qi Condensation stage spiritual sense lies in a Grade One, Ten-Stripe Foundation Establishment.

He first spent some time skimming through all ten jade slips from beginning to end.

What is Mo Hua drawing?!

"What is that?"

As he watched, Mei Youxin covered his forehead, feeling dizzy and disoriented, silently thinking to himself:

With hope now present, he trained even more obsessively, forgetting meals and sleep.

The reason, ultimately, was that his spiritual sense was growing again—and growing noticeably.

In a grand array, individual arrays are like meridians; thus the pivot is the channel. Individual arrays are like flesh and blood; thus the pivot is the bones.

Mo Hua began by studying the pivot.

Several days ago, Mo Hua's understanding of the pivot had made clear progress.

When encountering difficulties, he would go ask Mr. Zhuang.

Mo Hua replied, but did not lift his head or stop his hand, still fully focused on drawing.

The unified lines are the path of the pivot; the fine strokes forming those lines are the specific trajectories of spiritual energy flow.

In a daze, I felt that the array Mo Hua was drawing was no longer the same thing as the arrays I understood…

Mei Youxin looked utterly incredulous.

I quickly averted my gaze, rested for a while, then regained composure, looking at Mo Hua with a trace of shock.

But upon reflection, if it weren't truly that difficult, this grand array wouldn't be called an ultimate array, wouldn't be revered as the strongest array, and wouldn't be regarded by heavenly array masters as a lifelong pursuit.

Mei Youxin had no choice but to explain it to him once again.

Mo Shan and the other two had originally planned to relocate the city; their fellow hunters and neighbors would all move together.

Yet every thin hemp thread, in its weaving, had strict norms for shape, angle, and connection.

If so, then no matter how difficult, it is entirely reasonable.

Then extract the main pivot and array eye portions; the remaining elements—array line arrangement, individual array compatibility, array medium construction—can be considered later.

Bai Zi Xi was about to speak, but Bai Zisheng shook his head at him, signaling not to disturb Mo Hua's array drawing.

Bai Zisheng's eyebrows slightly furrowed; as she watched, she suddenly had a suspicion, and her expression froze for an instant.

The pivot of a grand array shares the same origin and lineage as compound and individual arrays, yet is fundamentally different.

"You only looked for a moment—how did your spiritual sense get completely drained?"

How could anyone possibly conceive of such an arraying concept?

Or rather, could this even be something a human could conceive?

Arrays demand perseverance; as long as one persists without slackening, there will inevitably come a time when water drips through stone.

Bai Zi Xi was stunned.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then understood.

Mo Shan merely watched his son in silence, not disturbing him.

The limit of Foundation Establishment is still far from Mo Hua.

Pivot?

Mo Hua hesitated, then resolved to discard distractions and focus entirely on studying the pivot.

Afterwards, Mo Hua realized that it was because the arrays he studied were not difficult enough, his spiritual sense was not depleted enough, so the training intensity was insufficient, and his spiritual sense grew too slowly.

When Mr. Zhuang rested, he would wait at the bamboo room's entrance or atop the large locust tree.

Arrays, indeed, are such that the more you learn, the more you realize your own shallowness; the more you learn, the more you feel your own ignorance.

What kind of pivot is that simple?

Is this truly a Grade One, Ten-Stripe grand array?

Dense and intricate, it looked simple.

Thank you for your sponsorship as Alliance Master, Mingmingming!

The first Alliance Master of this novel (*^_^*)

Thank you so much!

The first volume's plot is concluding, written slowly, with no reserve chapters—I can only owe you for now and make up for it later!