Chapter 573: Drawing a Circle as an Array

Mo Hua knew well that he possessed only a mid-low grade Five Elements spiritual root; though he held a Ru Sect permit for his journey to Qianxue Zhou, it would by no means be smooth sailing—he would inevitably face hardships and obstacles.

Yet despite this, he must go to Qianzhou.

The Dao path could never be free of trials.

When soldiers come, meet them with generals; when water rises, block it with earth. Do not fear setbacks, press forward unyielding—if you hesitate and shrink back, you will lose your Dao heart and find it impossible to advance further.

And since he must go to Qianxue Zhou, he must prepare thoroughly.

Qianxue Zhou was a land where sects stood thick and prodigies gathered in droves.

Mo Hua was a lone cultivator, with no lineage, no background, and a poor spiritual root; if he truly went to Qianzhou to join a sect, he would surely face cold glances, disdain, and exclusion.

Born weak, unable to cultivate the body, with a mid-low spiritual root and meager spiritual energy, direct confrontation would put him at a severe disadvantage.

If that was the case, he must forge another path…

Mo Hua recalled his master's advice:

"Across the Nine Provinces of the cultivation world, prodigies emerge endlessly…"

"You specialize in killing and destruction—you are competing directly with these prodigies, you are their enemy; they will not give you a good face."

"But if you assist in killing and destruction, you help them compete against other prodigies—they will instead have to look to your favor."

"The stronger your ability to assist in killing and destruction, the less they dare offend you."

"Thus, though you have no noble family, any noble family can become your ally…"

"Though you have no sect, any sect can become your backing."

"In the utilitarian, fickle forces of cultivation, among the many prodigies with superior spiritual roots, techniques, and Dao methods, you too will have your place—and none will dare look down on you!"

Mo Hua stroked his small chin:

"Assisting in killing and destruction… means spiritual energy enhancement—that is, the Five Elements Spiritual Array."

The Five Elements Ultimate Array he obtained from Ziwuxing Sect would be the very foundation of his standing among the prodigy-filled cultivation sects of Qianzhou…

He did not need to compete with prodigies for supremacy.

His spiritual root's aptitude did not permit him to seek such glory.

As long as he could establish himself in Qianzhou's scholarly circles, avoid being bullied, cultivate properly, learn arrays diligently, and make up for his weaknesses—to lay the groundwork for forming a Jin Dan, and eventually Liu Yuhua—that would be enough.

Five Elements Spiritual Array!

Spiritual energy enhancement, assisting in killing and destruction!

As long as he mastered the Five Elements Ultimate Array and gained the ability to assist in killing and destruction, even if he was not a prodigy, all those other prodigies would have to look to his favor.

Mo Hua nodded.

Yet the Five Elements Spiritual Array…

Needed a new name.

This was also what his master had instructed him.

Qianxue Zhou had deep roots and was a fifth-rank province; naturally, it housed many high-rank, seasoned, and well-traveled great cultivators.

If he called it the Five Elements Spiritual Array, they would immediately recognize its origin.

Then his inheritance from the Wuxing Sect would surely not remain hidden from them.

And the place where his master was ultimately trapped was the Wuxing Sect—those with intent might trace the vine and uncover his connection to his master.

That would be troublesome.

So the name must be changed.

After much thought, Mo Hua finally decided to rename the Five Elements Spiritual Array as the Five Elements "Yuan" Array.

If anyone asked its origin, he would say he found it.

If anyone asked how he learned it, he would say he learned it by accident.

If they still disbelieved and pressed further, he would have no choice but to reluctantly admit he was a once-in-a-century array prodigy…

After all, Qianzhou was surely a place that did not lack prodigies…

Mo Hua mused to himself.

Five Elements Yuan Array.

Derived from Five Elements Yuan Patterns, involving the Five Elements' origin, enhancing Five Elements spiritual energy.

After mastering the second-grade array, he had compared them himself: all first-grade ultimate arrays remained effective for Foundation Establishment cultivators, with no reduction in effect, and their power was not vastly inferior to second-grade arrays.

The first-grade Five Elements Yuan Array was no exception.

Mo Hua pondered and guessed the reason might lie in the number of array patterns.

Though the Ultimate Array was a first-grade array, its pattern count fell within the range of second-grade arrays.

Thus, the Ultimate Array remained applicable at the Foundation Establishment realm.

But this raised another problem.

Second-grade array patterns are formed by combining and evolving two first-grade array patterns, and their spiritual sense consumption is twice that of a first-grade pattern.

If so, then for the same number of patterns, a first-grade ultimate array should consume only half the spiritual sense of a second-grade array.

Because the first-grade ultimate array uses first-grade patterns.

While the second-grade array uses second-grade patterns.

Yet when Mo Hua actually drew it, he found the spiritual sense consumed by the first-grade ultimate array was no less than that of a second-grade array with the same pattern count.

Mo Hua was puzzled.

Why?

Where did the extra spiritual sense consumed by the Ultimate Array go to waste?

Mr. Zhuang was absent; when Mo Hua encountered problems, he could only rely on his own thoughts.

Mo Hua pondered for a long time again, and finally began to grasp some clues.

If his guess was correct, the extra double amount of spiritual sense consumed by the Absolute Array was used to comprehend, visualize, or communicate with some kind of Great Dao principle, or powerful Dao essence.

Half of the spiritual sense consumed to draw an Absolute Array goes into the array patterns, half into the principles.

That's why the Absolute Array is special, why it's so difficult…

That's why a First-Rank Absolute Array can nearly rival a Second-Rank array, and its effect does not diminish…

"The Great Dao is indeed relatively fair—the Absolute Array is hard, but it has value in its difficulty…"

Mo Hua thought silently.

Mo Hua had also tried using the Five Elements Source Array to amplify spell power.

The only attack spell Mo Hua currently knew was the Fireball Spell.

The Fireball Spell is a Five Elements fire spell, requiring a Fire Source Array to amplify it.

With the spiritual energy amplification of a Second-Rank Fire Source Array, the Fireball Spell's power increased by nearly two-tenths.

Increasing a spell's power is difficult, and the methods are stringent.

A two-tenths amplification was already terrifying.

It was roughly equivalent to raising the Fireball Spell's tier by one level, giving a Low-Class spell power approaching that of a Mid-Class spell.

"No wonder it's called the Thirteen-Stroke Absolute Array, no wonder it's the very array the Wuxing Sect has relied on for thousands of years…"

For a cultivator fighting alone, this kind of amplification was already formidable.

The more cultivators involved, the more pronounced this amplification became.

In Daoist warfare, during troop clashes, if the Five Elements Source Array was empowered...

What was once a disadvantage would become an equal footing.

What was once an equal footing would become an advantage, even a complete, overwhelming victory…

No wonder the Wuxing Sect's status back then was extraordinary.

Under these circumstances, even though Mo Hua had just entered Foundation Establishment and his Second-Rank Fireball Spell was not yet proficient, with the Fire Source Array's amplification, its power was still considerable.

Mo Hua had tested it on a late-stage First-Rank beast from Great Heishan.

Generally, a single Fire Source Array-amplified Fireball Spell could kill a late-stage First-Rank beast; even for those with thick hides, if it didn't kill outright, it would severely wound them, leaving them critically injured and near death.

As for Second-Rank beasts…

Mo Hua's movement skills were still lacking, so he dared not face a Second-Rank beast alone.

The problem of the Five Elements Source Array had been resolved.

Next came the problem of ink, brush, and paper.

Mo Hua had no ink, no brush, no paper; even if he practiced diligently on the Dao Stele until he knew the Second-Rank arrays by heart, if he couldn't actually draw them and put his learning into practice, it was meaningless.

Prepare for trouble before it comes.

Waiting until he reached Qianxue Province to consider this issue was already too late.

Moreover, Qianxue Province was a Fifth-Rank region—prices would surely be higher, and Mo Hua certainly couldn't afford the cost of ink, brush, and paper there.

"Ink is indispensable…"

"If so, I need to consider a method of drawing arrays without brush or paper, one that saves a great deal of spiritual stones…"

Mo Hua mused.

"Like in the spiritual sea…"

"No brush? Use spiritual sense as the brush. No paper? Use the earth as the medium…"

This was the method of drawing arrays Mo Hua had long been contemplating.

He had now entered Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment cultivators' spiritual sense doubles; their spiritual awareness is sufficient to manipulate objects.

Although Mo Hua's spiritual sense hadn't doubled, his Fourteen-Stroke, mid-Foundation Establishment spiritual sense was already strong enough.

Moreover, thanks to the Tianyan Manual, which had reconstructed his spiritual awareness through the Mi Tian Great Array, his spiritual sense had undergone a qualitative transformation.

Thus, "spiritual sense manipulation of objects" was no difficulty for Mo Hua.

But what Mo Hua now needed to do was not merely "spiritual sense manipulation of objects," but further: "spiritual sense manipulation of ink."

Foundation Establishment cultivators, when using spiritual sense to manipulate objects, typically choose hard, sharp items for movement and combat.

For example, sword manipulation.

Qi Condensation stage sword cultivators were generally weak.

But Foundation Establishment sword cultivators, using spiritual sense to control swords, saw a qualitative leap in combat power.

Even without swords, manipulating items like flying daggers or flying needles yielded considerable power.

But swords were expensive too, and Mo Hua wasn't considering them for now.

What he needed to do now was use spiritual sense to replace the array brush, directly controlling spiritual ink to form arrays.

Spiritual ink was like water—fluid, shapeless, endlessly variable.

Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators could use spiritual sense to manipulate swords or knives, but could not manipulate water, let alone ink.

But Mo Hua was different.

His spiritual sense was powerful, his spiritual awareness transformed, capable of precise, intricate control over infinite variations.

Mo Hua's spiritual sense could indeed manipulate spiritual ink, fluid and formless as water.

But it was still difficult.

And in actual manipulation, his spiritual sense felt stiff and sluggish—he needed much practice.

Furthermore, there was the matter of using the earth as the medium.

Mo Hua had studied the Thick Earth Array, which was drawn upon the ground to commune with the earth's Dao essence.

Mo Hua had practiced the Thick Earth Array every day before.

His perception of the Earth's Dao essence became increasingly clear, and his alignment with the Dao essence grew ever deeper.

Now, he could also draw other Five Elements-type arrays on the ground.

Yet, this method still required extensive practice.

Use thought as the brush, the earth as the paper.

What heaven covers, the earth reaches.

Command the spirit sense to wield ink, draw arrays upon the earth!

After Foundation Establishment, Mo Hua could finally begin attempting the idea he'd conceived after learning the Thick Earth Array—drawing arrays unbound by external tools.

Though the idea was good, action was still required.

Next, he needed massive practice…

Practicing "spirit sense wielding ink, drawing arrays upon the earth" certainly couldn't be done at home, nor was it suitable within Xiancheng.

The best place would be a quiet, uninhabited spot.

Mo Hua went to the deep reaches of Great Heishan, "bribed" the Great Tiger with several bags of dried fish, and found a clear patch of ground beside its cave to practice arrays.

Great Heishan was quiet; the deep mountains were especially serene.

The Great Tiger was a second-grade beast, immensely powerful; no other beasts or cultivators lurked nearby, making it an ideal place to test arrays.

First, spirit sense wielding ink.

Mo Hua had no second-grade spirit ink, so he practiced with an ordinary first-grade spirit ink.

At first, it didn't go well.

Controlling the ink with spirit sense was like manipulating formless, unsupported, unanchored fluid—it easily slipped out of control, spilling spirit ink onto the ground.

Mo Hua tried several times, but the results were poor.

He thought for a moment, then, like "spirit manifestation," imagined his spirit sense as a brush.

The tip of his spirit sense thinned into fine bristles, fusing and adhering to the spirit ink, guiding and controlling it to flow through the air according to his will.

Though still clumsy and occasionally failing, it improved with each attempt.

He had studied the Great Expansion Scripture and comprehended the Spirit Pivot Array.

This kind of meticulous control, Mo Hua had deep insight into.

After his spirit sense underwent transformation, this fine control also underwent a qualitative shift.

After practicing for a day or two, Mo Hua gradually grasped the method, then repeated the exercise again and again until his spirit sense and spirit ink became increasingly aligned.

Spirit sense transformed into a brush, merging with the spirit ink, then controlling it.

The spirit ink seemed to become an extension of Mo Hua's spirit sense, able to float in the air at his will, forming drifting lines and intricate patterns.

After practicing several more days and mastering "spirit sense wielding ink," Mo Hua began "drawing arrays upon the earth."

His pale, slender fingers pointed toward the ground.

The spirit ink, drawn by his spirit sense, coalesced into fine threads, automatically gliding out of the vial, following the tip of Mo Hua's fingers as they slowly seeped into the earth.

Then, as his fingers moved, the ink gradually twisted, flowed, glided, and solidified into array patterns, finally forming the complete array according to its central structure!

Without brush or paper, a complete array appeared drawn upon the ground.

A faint glow flashed—the array activated!

Mo Hua's eyes lit up with delight.

Success!

He then suppressed his joy, maintaining a calm, unarrogant mindset.

"It's still just a simple an ordinary first-grade Melt-Fire Array…"

He still needed to practice more…

He must begin with ordinary first-grade arrays, progressing gradually from shallow to deep, from simple to complex, step by step, array by array—using spirit sense to wield ink, using the earth as medium, drawing first-grade ultimate arrays, then moving on to second-grade arrays!

This way, without brushes or paper, he'd save himself a fortune in spirit stones in the future!

And it wasn't just that.

This method of drawing arrays had fewer limitations.

Faster, more convenient, more concealed.

Even in combat, whenever there was a moment's respite, he could silently and stealthily set up arrays—using thought as brush, earth as paper!

Of course, Mo Hua's current abilities were still far from sufficient.

He still needed more practice, to reach the realm where ink obeyed his will effortlessly.

With time, he could one day draw arrays at will, pointing to the ground and summoning them into being!

Mo Hua imagined himself one day, like his spirit avatar within his sea of consciousness, effortlessly pointing a finger and summoning an array—his heart swelled with joy.

Mo Hua's face beamed, then he gathered his thoughts and focused entirely, continuing his practice.

He wanted to master this technique as soon as possible, to perfect it to the point of effortless mastery!

Mo Hua squatted on the ground, drawing arrays.

Beside him, the Great Tiger leisurely chewed dried fish, occasionally stealing glances at Mo Hua; seeing him utterly absorbed in some strange activity, the tiger grew curious and crept its head closer to see what Mo Hua was doing.

On the ground, array patterns twisted and curled, the array complex.

The Great Tiger stared for a while, couldn't understand, its big eyes filled with confusion, then it lay back down, shaking its head as it gnawed the fish…

In the quiet deep mountains, one man and one tiger coexisted peacefully and harmoniously.

…

After more than half a month of relentless practice, Mo Hua's spirit sense wielding ink had become highly refined, and drawing arrays upon the earth was now effortless.

Among the arrays he could now draw upon the earth, it wasn't only first-grade arrays—he had also mastered the Thirteen-Line Five-Element Source Array.

This was, to date, the most advanced array Mo Hua had ever mastered.

However, using spiritual sense to command ink and draw the Five Elements Source Array consumes a great deal of spiritual sense.

Moreover, the speed of drawing the array is quite slow.

It falls far short of Mo Hua's expected results.

The heavy spiritual sense consumption isn't too bad—Mo Hua's spiritual sense is inherently deep and powerful; he doesn't mind spending a bit more.

But the slow speed is troublesome.

At least in actual combat, there's no time to draw it out.

Unless one is sufficiently concealed and has ample preparation time.

"How can I draw it faster?"

Mo Hua's thoughts stirred slightly, and he began pondering again.

After thinking for a long while, the only solution he could think of was "Heavenly Mechanism Deceptive Calculation."

But exactly how to achieve it—to change his spiritual perception like his uncle had, using the Deceptive Dao's methods of spiritual perception—Mo Hua was still completely baffled.

After all, he had merely stolen the knowledge, copying mechanically.

He had no transmission of its inner principles; relying solely on his own exploration was extremely difficult.

After thinking for a long while with no breakthrough, Mo Hua temporarily set the problem aside.

After all, he already knew the foundation of Heavenly Mechanism Deceptive Calculation; the subsequent variations could be worked out gradually—he would figure it out someday.

The duck in his own pot would eventually cook; it couldn't fly away!

Next, the most troublesome matter was the second-rank arrays.

He needed to find several more second-rank arrays, study them thoroughly, and keep them as backups.

In Xiancheng, second-rank array diagrams were virtually nonexistent.

The only second-rank arrays Mo Hua currently controlled were the ten-line second-rank Bright Fire Array and the eleven-line second-rank Thorn Array.

He had drawn these two arrays so many times they were worn out.

It would be best to obtain a more difficult second-rank array; after mastering it, he could try to acquire some second-rank spiritual ink and test it using the "spiritual sense commanding ink, drawing array upon ground" technique.

To see just how far his current limits extended.

To find out what rank of array he could draw using this spiritual sense commanding ink method…

The only way Mo Hua could currently obtain second-rank arrays was through the "Five Elements Source Line" in the Five Elements Array Flow Diagram…

Mo Hua had broken down this source line whenever he had free time, but the best array he had derived so far was the eleven-line second-rank Five Elements Array.

His spiritual sense was "transcendent," at fourteen lines.

In other words, his upper limit should be fourteen lines!

Mo Hua was dissatisfied.

No matter how bad his luck, how dark his fate, after all this time, shouldn't he have reverse-derived at least one decent second-rank array by now…

Not much—just a twelve-line one would do…

Mo Hua decided to try again.

Before breaking down the source line, Mo Hua burned incense and washed his hands, silently chanting in his heart:

"Second-rank array, second-rank array, second-rank array…"

"Twelve lines, twelve lines, twelve lines…"

After finishing his chant, Mo Hua began the derivation.

Mysterious changes appeared upon the source line.

Array lines were deciphered one by one; array patterns were reverse-derived one after another…

After an unknown length of time, finally, a flash of light appeared before Mo Hua's eyes!

A clearly distinct array diagram, glowing with red light and shining more brilliantly, emerged from the source line.

Mo Hua held his breath, staring closely.

It was an array he knew intimately, yet was mysteriously complex and somewhat unfamiliar.

"Earth Fire Array…"

Second-rank… thirteen lines!

(End of Chapter)