Chapter 597: You Teach

Mo Hua's spiritual sense drew closer to the fifteen-line mark.

Between the fourteen-line and sixteen-line marks, all are mid-Foundation Establishment spiritual sense; breaking through requires no major bottleneck, only a bit of time.

During this period, Mo Hua gradually settled into life at Grand Void Gate.

His life at Grand Void Gate was calm and uneventful—besides classes, he spent each day cultivating and drawing arrays.

Grand Void Gate offered many courses.

Aside from array arts, Mo Hua took his cultivation classes most seriously.

The instructor, Elder Gongsun, was a Liu Yuhua elder of Grand Void Gate's inner sect, possessing profound cultivation and vast knowledge.

He taught the path of Foundation Establishment cultivation with lofty perspective yet accessible depth.

Some foundational concepts were supplemented by Elder Gongsun's direct disciples, who currently served as inner sect instructors.

These cultivation methods were the accumulated efforts of generations of Grand Void Gate elders, crystallizing the experience and Dao insights of thousands of years past.

Thanks to this, Mo Hua gradually developed a clearer understanding of Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Yet his cultivation still ranked among the lowest.

This was because he was the only mid-low grade spiritual root disciple among all Grand Void Gate students.

And because he had forged a Dao foundation based on "spiritual sense enlightenment"—though his spiritual sense was exceptionally strong, his realm had not been polished, and his physical and spiritual power base was extremely weak.

A mid-low grade spiritual root meant a low upper limit for Zhou Tian spiritual energy, and average cultivation speed.

Especially compared to these Grand Void Gate prodigies, all of whom possessed high-grade spiritual roots and none with inferior aptitude.

Thus, among all disciples, Mo Hua had the lowest number of Zhou Tian.

Similarly, due to his weak foundation, Mo Hua's Dao base was the thinnest.

Though Mo Hua cultivated diligently, he could barely keep pace with his realm; everything else fell far behind.

Fortunately, Elder Gongsun, who taught cultivation, accepted all students without discrimination and was not harsh.

As long as you cultivated diligently and took your attitude seriously, the expectations for results were not overly strict.

Mo Hua could only rely on this—drop by drop wearing away stone—gradually grinding forward; his spiritual root was limited, so his cultivation and foundation could not advance quickly.

But this was something Mo Hua had long understood, and it was not worth discouragement.

Whether spiritual root was good or bad, foundation thick or thin.

Since one sought the Great Dao, there was only one path: undistracted, focused cultivation.

The quality of one's spiritual root was a fixed fact; better to spend no time lamenting or self-pitying, but to devote all such thoughts to cultivation.

Besides cultivation classes, Grand Void Gate also offered courses in the hundred arts of Dao.

The most important were alchemy, artifact forging, and talisman crafting.

Unsurprisingly, Mo Hua performed poorly in all of them.

He had been the same at Tongxian Sect; now at Grand Void Gate, it was even more obvious.

Alchemy herbs were too expensive, he couldn't swing a hammer for artifact forging, and talisman crafting consumed too much spiritual energy.

The ink, brush, and array paper for drawing arrays were already costly for Mo Hua.

But the essence of array arts was spiritual sense's comprehension of the Dao.

What consumed the most was spiritual sense.

Alchemy, however, required top-grade cauldrons, alchemical formulas, various medicinal catalysts, and heavenly treasures—all "unattainable" prices for Mo Hua.

The higher the grade, the more expensive.

Only aristocratic families with ample spiritual stones and heavenly materials could "burn money" to learn alchemy…

Compared to alchemy, talisman crafting was not only expensive but also drained immense spiritual energy.

Mo Hua had once heard from Chen the Artificer of Xiancheng about talismans; after entering Grand Void Gate, he learned even more.

Talismans were a completely independent Dao industry, evolved from artifact forging and array drawing.

The earliest talismans were drawn on paper, somewhat resembling arrays.

But these paper talismans, using paper as a medium, were hard to preserve and prone to "runaway fire" explosions;

Their shelf life was short and they easily "went dead" and failed;

Their stored spiritual energy was limited, and their power was not particularly strong.

As the cultivation world developed, this old-style "talisman" gradually became obsolete.

Modern talismans are jade talismans, crafted from jade as a medium, integrating sealing arrays and special artifact forging techniques.

Talisman crafters seal their spells within these jade "talisman" objects, creating talismans with limited uses.

This process consumes vast amounts of spiritual energy.

And Mo Hua, with his meager spiritual energy, had no chance at talisman crafting.

Artifact forging was even less feasible.

Mo Hua's blood qi, let alone compared to body cultivators, was among the weakest even among spiritual cultivators.

Among aristocratic disciples, most spiritual cultivators practiced some body cultivation—not for close combat, but to enhance physical defense.

Thus, they could swing a large hammer and forge spiritual artifacts without issue.

But Mo Hua was different.

He struggled to even lift the hammer.

During class, Mo Hua exerted all his strength yet still could not swing the heavy iron hammer; his face flushed with exertion, and he even considered dismantling the hammer to embed arrays inside and "modify" it properly…

The artifact forging instructor hurriedly advised:

"Forget it, forget it—don't strain the hammer…"

"It doesn't want to be swung either…"

You can't lift the hammer—it's not the hammer's fault…

Mo Hua asked, "Teacher, do I still need to learn artifact forging?"

The teacher frowned, torn between options.

He had taught at Grand Void Gate for so long, yet this was the first time he'd seen a disciple who couldn't even swing a hammer.

If you can't forge iron, you can't forge artifacts.

The teacher could only say, "Do as you please—learn as much as you can, don't force it, and above all, don't hurt yourself…"

He knew Mo Hua was excellent at arrays, much favored by Old Master Xun; if Mo Hua injured his hands while forging artifacts and couldn't draw arrays anymore, Old Master Xun would surely give him the cold shoulder.

Mo Hua sighed.

He was just as helpless.

Forging artifacts requires physical strength, forging talismans requires spiritual energy, and forging pills requires wealth as a foundation.

He lacked all of these.

Indeed, only array cultivation, which consumed spiritual awareness, suited him best.

Mo Hua once again reduced his focus on "artifact forging," "pill forging," and "talisman forging," redirecting more time toward drawing arrays.

But he still had to attend these three courses.

As always: "You don't have to know how, but you must know…"

He didn't need to master pill forging, artifact forging, or talisman forging himself, but he must understand their basic principles, common spiritual artifacts, talismans, and pills, along with their uses and precautions…

These Daoist knowledge points were essential.

To avoid being poisoned, ambushed by spiritual artifacts, or blown to bits by talismans when traveling the cultivation world…

…

Moreover, Grand Void Gate also offered Daoist technique classes.

Daoist technique classes were divided into three categories: Spirit Cultivation, Body Cultivation, and Sword Cultivation.

You could learn whatever you wanted.

Mo Hua was a Spirit Cultivator, so his first choice was Spirit Cultivation class.

But he found that Grand Void Gate's Spirit Cultivation class taught spells and their principles entirely different from his own path.

Grand Void Gate's Spirit Cultivators—or mainstream Spirit Cultivators—followed the path of overwhelming offensive spells.

Superior spiritual roots, superior cultivation methods, advanced spells, relying on deep cultivation to gather vast spiritual energy and unleash powerful spells.

Then, one decisive strike to reverse heaven and earth.

Like that Jiang Laoda—he hoarded spiritual energy, activated the Sword Control Art, condensed pure golden sword qi, then one move decided victory or defeat, one sword decided life or death.

Though he ultimately slashed at empty air and died, Mo Hua knew it wasn't his fault.

His sword strike was indeed majestic and powerful.

Someone else might have been cut down by it.

Unfortunately, his fortune ran out—he met me, and thus died in his prime.

Mo Hua felt a little pity for Jiang Laoda.

But such techniques were powerful, required long charging time, and consumed enormous spiritual energy; during preparation, they were either easily interrupted or left you standing there taking blows.

Mo Hua recalled the Jin Guang Jiang Laoda had added to his body before activating the Sword Control Art.

Because of that Jin Guang, Mo Hua's Water Prison technique had failed to interrupt his concentration.

Even the power of his Fireball technique had been reduced.

"That Jin Guang… what exactly was it?"

Mo Hua went to ask the sect teacher who taught Daoist techniques.

The teacher told Mo Hua:

"That's the Golden Body technique."

"Golden Body technique?"

Mo Hua blinked—he'd never heard of this technique before.

The teacher said:

"Golden Body technique is a special type of spell, primarily defensive, but different from protective spells like Golden Bell Cover."

"Its effect is to reinforce the body with Jin Guang, protecting the meridians, thereby reducing the damage from spells to some degree…"

"At the same time, it allows spiritual energy to flow freely within the meridians without obstruction."

"This point is crucial!"

"That means your spells won't be interrupted."

"During the duration of Golden Body technique, you can unleash spells that take long to cast but are immensely powerful, instantly deciding life or death!"

"You can even stand alone against ten, using a single superior Daoist technique to crush a horde and turn the tide!"

"This is the pursuit of Spirit Cultivators—to generate supreme power through ultimate spells…"

…

Mo Hua listened, his blood boiling.

But then he thought again—it had nothing to do with him.

He didn't know any superior Daoist techniques.

Even if he did, his spiritual root was poor, his qi sea thin—he likely lacked the spiritual energy to cast them anyway.

Even if he could cast them, it wouldn't matter…

Among peers, his physical body was weak; even with Golden Body technique, he'd probably not survive long enough to finish casting his big spell.

Mo Hua knew he couldn't take a hit.

He was already a sheet of paper; even with Golden Body technique granting slight damage reduction, he'd just be a slightly thicker sheet of paper—still useless.

But he still gained immensely.

No wonder this is Qianxue Province—it has a long and venerable heritage.

Golden Body sword control, or Golden Body spellcasting…

This was a combat logic he had never known before, utterly different from his own spell patterns.

Unfortunately, he couldn't use it…

He followed the path taught by Uncle Kui: "All spells under heaven, speed breaks all." Combined with his strong spiritual sense and rapid qi flow, the spells that truly unleashed power were, on the contrary, the low-level Fireball Spell.

"Superior spells…"

Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and asked, "Instructor, must such powerful spells be locked onto with spiritual sense?"

The instructor was surprised, "You know 'spiritual sense locking'?"

Mo Hua replied modestly, "A little."

The instructor thus regarded Mo Hua with new respect.

Though his elemental roots were mediocre, his qi weak, his spell repertoire limited, and he barely knew any superior spells, it was rare for him to possess such insight.

He actually knew about spiritual sense locking…

The instructor said with satisfaction, "Naturally. All phenomena in time are strange and varied; what you see with your eyes may not be 'real,' and what you don't see may not be 'false.' Relying solely on sight is foolish for cultivators…"

"Within spiritual sense lies the true nature of all things."

"The stronger your spiritual sense, the truer the nature you perceive."

"Therefore, whether it's the True Sword Control or deadly spell techniques, it's best to see and lock onto them with spiritual sense…"

"Only by mastering spiritual sense locking can one become an excellent spiritual cultivator…"

Mo Hua nodded, and felt reassured.

That's right.

No matter how powerful, if you can't hit, you're useless.

His spiritual sense was quite strong.

Still, even so, he must plan ahead, prepare in advance.

Think about how to deal with those prodigies—those with excellent elemental roots, superior cultivation methods, deep cultivation, and mastery of superior Dao techniques or powerful sword controls…

Don't rely too heavily on spiritual sense alone.

It's better to have multiple backups.

Thus, Mo Hua attended not only spiritual cultivation classes, but also sneaked into body cultivation and sword cultivation classes.

He wasn't trying to train his body or learn sword techniques—mainly to "know yourself and know your enemy," to observe how body cultivators and sword cultivators fought, what their attack methods were, how they defended themselves, where their vital points lay…

That way, when he faced body cultivators and sword cultivators later, he'd have a strategy.

This too was a form of "reverse learning," another kind of "applying what you learn."

And the only thing Mo Hua learned well through "direct learning" was array formation.

Aside from that, all his other skills—cultivation level, pill refining, artifact forging, talisman crafting—could not compare with those of his fellow disciples.

Thus, Mo Hua was an "oddity" among his fellow disciples.

The better his array skills, the worse his other abilities were.

After becoming more familiar, his fellow disciples gradually accepted Mo Hua—the disciple with mid-low grade elemental roots, a wandering cultivator background, diligent cultivation, but extreme specialization.

But only that much.

On the surface, Mo Hua was merely a somewhat unusual, yet unremarkable disciple.

Still, he had decent interpersonal relations.

Most disciples of Taiyi Pavilion treated him kindly.

The few who came from prominent families, wore arrogant, self-important expressions, and clearly were trouble—he kept his distance to avoid hassle.

Tai Xu Gate also had many female disciples.

Most came from good families, were fair-skinned and beautiful; despite wearing the uniform Tai Xu Dao robes, they still dazzled with ornate adornments, each possessing unique charm, with countless admirers.

But after glancing at them and silently comparing, Mo Hua ultimately decided his junior sister was the most beautiful!

Thinking of his junior sister, Mo Hua paused for a moment.

Bits and pieces from their time in Xiancheng and during their travels floated back to his heart.

"I wonder where my junior sister is now…"

Mo Hua sighed, then shook his head, quietly placing his junior sister deep in his heart, and resumed his diligent cultivation and array studies…

…

Tai Xu Gate's scenery was ancient, serene, and exquisite.

Thousands of disciples cultivated here.

Besides Taiyi Pavilion, there were many prodigies Mo Hua didn't know well, or had never even met.

Among them were prodigies from prominent families, astonishing geniuses, and breathtakingly beautiful female disciples…

These prodigy disciples gathered together, vying with one another.

Occasionally they competed for affection, stirring up waves of drama.

But all of this had nothing to do with Mo Hua.

Focus on improving your cultivation, strengthening your spiritual sense, mastering deeper array techniques!

This was what he needed to do!

He didn't care much for the rest.

Mo Hua thus cultivated silently each day, studied arrays silently.

And his spiritual sense, without his noticing, quietly broke through the fourteen-pattern barrier, reaching fifteen patterns…

Fifteen lines—that's the mental awareness only a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator can possess.

With sixteen lines of mental awareness, one can learn a second-rank middle-grade array.

Fifteen lines are just one line away from sixteen!

Mo Hua felt a surge of excitement; he thought for a moment, then ran to Mr. Xun and asked tentatively:

"Mr., can I learn… a fifteen-line array?"

Mr. Xun froze for an instant.

He had expected Mo Hua would need a long time to master a fourteen-line array, but he hadn't imagined it would truly be just "a while."

That "while" was far too short…

He even felt he had only just taught Mo Hua the fourteen-line array not long ago.

In the blink of an eye, Mo Hua was already ready to learn the fifteen-line array…

Mr. Xun fell silent for a long while, then slowly nodded. "Alright, but don't rush—first, stabilize your foundation."

"Yes!" Mo Hua nodded.

After Mo Hua took his leave, Mr. Xun's expression darkened, his gaze solemn.

He felt this child Mo Hua… had already become somewhat terrifying…

This wasn't just about learning arrays quickly or well anymore.

Such an extraordinary mental awareness, growing this rapidly, was simply inconceivable, unheard-of…

If left to develop like this, he might truly cultivate a "Little Monster" in array arts—unprecedented in history…

"But…"

Mr. Xun frowned.

Learning this fast is certainly not a good thing.

A tree that towers above the forest invites the wind's destruction.

But Mo Hua now isn't merely "a tree towering above the forest"—if he keeps growing like this, his branches will soon reach over the mountain peaks, stretching toward the sky.

Too conspicuous.

If this continues, this child will surely draw the suspicion of noble houses, the envy of fellow disciples, and the greed of demonic sects.

Should he truly fall to darkness, those mad old demons have a thousand ways to force-feed him power, turning him into a complete, mentally deranged "Little Demon Tyrant"…

There are precedents for such things…

An array master with powerful mental awareness, once corrupted, is truly terrifying…

And once corrupted, his Dao foundation will surely be destroyed.

His power may seem to grow, but his path to the Great Dao is severed—he will forever become a blood puppet of the demonic path.

As for the noble houses…

Mo Hua himself has no bloodline from any noble house.

He has only two choices: either become their dog, a hawkish tool for their profit,

or be inevitably ostracized by them.

If his nature is upright and his heart broad, and he does something contrary to the noble houses' interests, the Qianzhou noble houses may even unite to crush him.

The sect…

The sect could be his refuge.

But the sect's foundation is also people.

Mo Hua's problem is that he has only recently joined; his roots are still shallow. Even if he has some bonds with fellow disciples, they remain far too thin.

Only when the road is long do you know a horse's strength; only with time do you see a person's true heart.

True loyalty is forged through shared hardship and prolonged companionship.

With the current level of friendship, no fellow disciple would risk everything to help him in a life-or-death crisis…

If this continues, this child Mo Hua will easily become isolated, a pawn in the struggles between demonic sects and noble houses…

Mr. Xun's brow tightened further and further.

"I need to think of a solution…"

But for now, he had no good idea.

The next day, during the array class, Mr. Xun stared at Mo Hua—innocent, sweet, and earnest—and grew lost in thought.

There was regret, pity, and unbearable sorrow in his gaze.

"What should be done with this child…"

Mr. Xun's expression was complex.

Mo Hua, however, was clueless, puzzled by Mr. Xun's stare.

Only when the lesson began did Mr. Xun finally tear his gaze from Mo Hua, unfold his lecture notes, set aside his thoughts, and prepare to explain the arrays.

Suddenly, an inner sect elder knocked at the door.

Seeing Mr. Xun frown at him, the elder felt immense pressure—he knew Mr. Xun hated being interrupted during lessons.

But he had no choice but to speak.

"Mr. Xun, the back mountain says there's urgent business to discuss."

"The back mountain?"

Mr. Xun paused slightly, then nodded. "I understand."

The elder exhaled in relief, bowed, and departed.

Mr. Xun was about to pause the class, assign some self-study tasks, but then he suddenly froze, his eyes brightening—he pointed at Mo Hua and said:

"Mo Hua, you teach them!"

Mo Hua froze in shock.

The other disciples in the room also opened their mouths wide, their faces filled with the look of someone who had seen a ghost.

Thank you to the patrons who tipped: Yiqi Xiuxian, Sang Chen, pyhuang, Du Feng Shi, Tian Sheng Yu Shou Shi, Wang Shui Lun Lian, Song Zi, new_new.

I wrote a bit more, and finished the update early — sorry~

Usually I update at six p. m., but if I'm stuck or write extra, it'll be a bit later. (.)

(End of Chapter)