Chapter 61: Spiritual Energy

Mr. Zhuang handed Mo Hua the jade slip containing the Heavenly Expansion Art.

"Ancient cultivation techniques transmitted via jade slips have special restrictions—only when your cultivation reaches a certain realm can you use your spiritual sense to view the later cultivation methods. The Qi Refining stage techniques have no restrictions, but the Foundation Establishment stage techniques can only be seen by those who have practiced the Heavenly Expansion Art and reached the Foundation Establishment realm."

"Most ancient techniques are recorded on a single jade slip; if the slip is lost, the technique is essentially gone. Even if some techniques were carved onto multiple slips, you still might not find them. The cultivation world is vast—searching for a rare ancient technique slip is like looking for a needle in a sea. Besides, I've only ever seen one jade slip of the Heavenly Expansion Art in my lifetime."

"So you must keep this jade slip safe—absolutely cannot lose it!"

Mo Hua solemnly accepted the jade slip, feeling its weight heavier than usual, yet his heart swelled with joy.

This was a true cultivation technique; by learning it, he had truly entered the ranks of cultivators. The boundless path of Dao had finally begun for him.

Mo Hua told his parents about Mr. Zhuang teaching him the technique.

Mo Shan was delighted. Though the technique produced little spiritual energy, the phrase "Not suitable for non-Array Masters" clearly marked it as extraordinary. In all of Xiancheng, there had never been more than a handful of true Array Masters.

Besides, this array technique came from Mr. Zhuang, who was deeply mysterious, and it was said to be an ancient technique—naturally priceless. At least it was far superior to the techniques passed among common cultivators.

Mo Shan knew Mr. Zhuang didn't care much for mundane things like spirit stones, and he recalled that every time Mo Hua delivered wine and meat, Mr. Zhuang finished it all—suggesting it suited his taste.

Before dawn the next day, Mo Shan climbed the mountain in darkness, hunted several demonic beasts, and three days later descended carrying a huge bundle filled with tenderest cuts of beef and lamb-like demonic beast meat, kept fresh by not storing them in a storage bag at all.

Liu Ruhua cleaned the meat, smoking, frying, and braising it into various spicy, fragrant flavors, garnished with fresh green herbs, neatly arranged in food boxes.

She also took several bottles of the family's fragrant fruit wines and a few boxes of freshly roasted, aromatic pine nuts, instructing Mo Hua to bring them up the mountain, along with words of gratitude: "Not meant to disturb your cultivation, merely a small token of thanks."

Mr. Zhuang accepted the food box without comment, but his expression was clearly pleased. Sitting in the bamboo pavilion, he ate meat and sipped clear wine, accompanied by the breeze and mountain scenery.

The Puppet Elder also approved of the pine nuts—no sooner had the boxes been handed to him than they vanished before Mo Hua's eyes, nowhere to be seen where the Puppet Elder had stored them; not a single box was left for Mr. Zhuang.

Mo Hua also brought some to the Bai siblings as a token of thanks.

Bai Zi Xi ate two slices of meat and drank a bit more of the sweet osmanthus wine, his cheeks flushed, his eyes bright as stars, twinkling.

Bai Zisheng was less restrained—he loved spicy food, devouring it in large bites, sweat pouring down his forehead, yet still eating with great delight.

Watching his eating, Mo Hua couldn't help asking: "You don't lack meat to eat normally, do you?"

"You wouldn't understand," Bai Zisheng said. "The meat I usually eat is from spirit beasts—tender, but chewless. And the spiritual energy is too abundant; it dulls the flavor."

Mo Hua thought this remark was somewhat deserving of a punch—he'd never eaten much spirit beast meat himself, except what his mother cooked; his clearest memory was the roasted pheasant stolen from a Xiancheng Sect elder by Brother Da Hu and the others, charred and all.

After eating his fill, Bai Zisheng asked Mo Hua about the technique.

Mo Hua told him about Mr. Zhuang teaching him the technique.

Bai Zisheng felt a tinge of envy. "Mr. Zhuang is really good to you. But this technique produces too little spiritual energy."

"There's nothing to be done. Life rarely goes as we wish—there must always be trade-offs."

Bai Zisheng snorted. "You're not even old, yet you talk like an old man."

"Does low spiritual energy really matter that much?"

Mo Hua suddenly became concerned again.

"Of course it does," Bai Zisheng said. "A cultivator is one who cultivates Dao—what they cultivate is spiritual energy. Low spiritual energy means you're always outmatched everywhere."

Bai Zisheng gave an example: "Say you fight someone. They have a hundred Zhou Tian of spiritual energy; you have only fifty. When you've exhausted yours, they still have fifty left—you're at their mercy."

"Cultivators need spiritual energy for everything—not just duels, but also forging artifacts, refining pills, even carrying storage bags at the Spirit Transport Pier."

"You forge one spirit artifact, they forge two. You refine one pill batch, they refine two. You carry ten bags in half a day, they carry twenty. They earn twice your spirit stones—how can you compete?"

"Then if I become an Array Master, low spiritual energy won't matter, right?" Mo Hua asked, uncertain.

"Hmm… that's true," Bai Zisheng nodded. "Array Masters suffer most from exhausting spiritual sense, not spiritual energy. When drawing arrays, you usually deplete your spiritual sense before your spiritual energy runs out. Low spiritual energy won't hinder you from being an Array Master."

Mo Hua exhaled in relief.

Bai Zisheng patted Mo Hua's shoulder. "But don't worry—you may have low spiritual energy, but I have plenty. Call me big brother, and I'll protect you. Whoever bullies you, I'll beat them up for you."

"Forget it."

Bai Zisheng compromised: "Then give me beef every day, and I'll protect you."

"You can buy it yourself."

"Xue Yi won't let me eat just anything, and she says I should eat less of things without spiritual energy."

"Oh."

"Oh what? I'm doing you a favor…" Bai Zisheng said.

Mo Hua ignored him. Bai Zisheng kept complaining, while Bai Zi Xi watched them and took another small sip of the sweet wine.

In the following days, Mo Hua abandoned the Breathing Technique and began practicing according to the meridian chart and breathing method in the Heavenly Expansion Art.

After several sessions, Mo Hua clearly felt the difference.

The refinement speed increased, the refined spiritual energy became purer, and his meridians felt more open.

The only issue was that the spiritual energy produced had no special qualities.

Mo Hua asked Brother Da Hu, who practiced the Fire-based Tiger's Fury Art—after cultivation, his spiritual energy carried a faint burning sensation, and later, fire-based spells and body techniques grew stronger.

The Twin Tigers practiced the Foundation Strengthening Art—after cultivation, their spiritual energy harmonized with their blood qi, enhancing their physical bodies. Mo Hua forgot the technique the Third Tiger used, but it also produced unique changes in spiritual energy.

Only Mo Hua's spiritual energy after cultivation seemed fundamentally unchanged from before.

The number of Zhou Tian of spiritual energy produced by the Heavenly Expansion Art was average.

Naturally inferior to family disciples like the Bai siblings, but above average among common Qi Refining cultivators—not excellent, but acceptable.

Besides, the only special thing about this technique was that it consumed more spiritual sense during cultivation—several times more than the basic Breathing Technique.

But the Breathing Technique—or any ordinary technique—consumes little spiritual sense to begin with; even multiplied several times, it still wasn't enough to draw a single array.

Still, Mo Hua never expected this technique to be anything special.

For Mo Hua, the best technique was the one that saved spirit stones.