Chapter 629: Injuries

Not long after, another elder arrived — wearing a Grand Void Daoist robe, but with a pill furnace embroidered on the lapel, a Pill Refining Elder. Seeing the scorched ground and the array patterns covering the wall, he couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Then, he saw Mo Hua lying on the ground.

"Stop standing there in a daze, save him first."

The two hurried forward to check Mo Hua's injuries, then both let out a sigh of relief.

Mo Hua looked miserable, his injuries were not light, but there was nothing seriously wrong.

The Pill Refining Elder took out a bottle of spiritual liquid, sprinkled it on Mo Hua's wounds to dissolve the residual fire poison, wash away the scorched blood, and at the same time stop the bleeding.

Then he took out a pill and had Mo Hua swallow it.

He then placed his hand on Mo Hua's chest, continuously channeling qi, using his deep and pure wood-attribute spiritual power to nourish Mo Hua's meridians and treat his injuries…

After a while, color gradually returned to Mo Hua's pale face, and his breathing steadied.

It was just that his physical body was too weak, so the wounds healed slowly, and he couldn't wake up for the time being.

Unless…

The Pill Refining Elder looked at Mo Hua again, his heart shaken.

The Daoist Arts Elder tasted bitterness in his mouth, "I really didn't teach…"

The Daoist Arts Elder's scalp went numb.

The Pill Refining Elder pointed to the place where the spell puppet had originally been set up:

After the Pill Refining Elder finished speaking, he cast a sympathetic glance at the Daoist Arts Elder. "Be careful, Old Master Xun will definitely make trouble for you."

Besides, even if there were such a spell, with Mo Hua's spiritual root grade and the spiritual power circulation in his qi sea, he simply couldn't learn it, nor bring it to bear…

"But how could it be that simple? If he really could practice it, I would have had him practice it long ago…"

The Pill Refining Elder looked at the unconscious Mo Hua, feeling a bit of heartache, and turned his head to reproach the Daoist Arts Elder:

The Pill Refining Elder asked, "What did you see?"

"Isn't that obvious? If it's not a spell, could it be a formation? The question is, what spell?"

The Daoist Arts Elder pondered, "From the look of it, it seems to be… Fireball Art…"

The Pill Refining Elder's face was expressionless. "How impressive… what Fireball Art, why don't you teach me, let me broaden my horizons."

"Then I'll refine a few batches of pills to nourish his blood and qi…"

And this child was nothing more than a disciple who had joined less than a year ago, at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

The Daoist Arts Elder sensed the lingering scorching qi around him, as well as the mutated spiritual power, his expression growing ever more grave.

"You say you did nothing, so why did you teach this child a superior spell?" The Pill Refining Elder was puzzled.

The Daoist Arts Elder frowned and said, "This isn't purely the power of a spell, it seems more like…"

The Daoist Arts Elder couldn't speak.

"It's a spell…"

Though its usefulness might not be that great, it was still better than nothing.

"Do you think I believe that?"

"This puppet, though it's an early Foundation Establishment puppet, was originally crafted to withstand spell bombardment, so its spell defense is extremely high. Even ordinary mid Foundation Establishment disciples might not be able to break it, let alone now…"

"Fortunately, he was only affected by a small amount of spell spiritual power…"

The Pill Refining Elder felt somewhat relieved, then shook his head:

"It's just that his constitution is really too poor…"

"Delicate and frail, he gets hurt at the slightest bump, and once hurt, it's hard to recover…"

The Pill Refining Elder was startled. Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he looked around, his expression shifting slightly. "Then this is…"

"His foundation is poor to begin with. If he practices too much, his flesh will wither, his blood and qi will surge backward, and he'll hurt himself…"

The Pill Refining Elder shook his head upon hearing this and said helplessly:

The Daoist Arts Elder was also muttering doubts in his heart.

The Pill Refining Elder looked relieved. "That's about it…"

The Daoist Arts Elder gave a bitter smile. "How could I not know that?"

"You're the Daoist Arts Elder, at least teach him some body tempering when you have nothing to do. Not expecting any great achievement, but at least it would strengthen his body, and if he gets hurt, he'd recover faster…"

"Like what?"

"Learning that superficial bit is useless in real combat."

The Pill Refining Elder's eyelid twitched. "Blown to flying ash…"

"Besides, body tempering techniques are vigorous and fierce — how could they be that easy to learn."

"Still, he gets hurt at the slightest bump, dies at the slightest slash. Better to spend more time learning movement techniques well, and not get hurt at all…"

"Rest for half a month to recuperate, and there won't be any major problem. However, his hand is injured and his meridians are damaged, so during this period he can't use spiritual power…"

He also didn't remember teaching Mo Hua any powerful spells.

"I didn't teach…"

The Daoist Arts Elder shook his head without saying it aloud, but thinking of Mo Hua's young age and cultivation, he found it hard to believe, and murmured:

"It shouldn't… be possible…"

……

When Mo Hua woke up, he felt dizzy, his hand ached terribly, and his meridians felt somewhat sluggish.

He looked around and found himself lying on a clean, soft bed. The surroundings were plain and pure, with Calming Incense burning, and a faint, bitter smell of pills drifting in the air.

Beside him was a woman in a Grand Void elder's Daoist robe, her figure graceful, her features dignified yet with a touch of allure, silently watching him.

Mo Hua was a little surprised. "Elder Murong…?"

His voice was somewhat hoarse and weak, as if the lingering fire spiritual power had wounded him, making it difficult to speak.

Elder Murong nodded slightly, "Old Master Xun feared your injuries would worsen, so he sent you to me."

Mo Hua blinked in surprise, finally realizing that Elder Murong was a Pill Master.

Elder Murong leaned closer to Mo Hua; his fingers were pale and slender, gently brushing Mo Hua's forehead, his voice as soft as evening wind:

"There's no serious harm…"

"But the burn on your left hand damaged your meridians—you must not use spiritual power for half a month. Your right hand has only flesh wounds—you must not hold a brush for seven days…"

"I'll give you a few vials of pills. Take one each morning and evening."

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded with difficulty, "Thank you, Elder Murong…"

Elder Murong smiled faintly.

Afterward, other cultivators gradually came to visit Mo Hua.

First came Yu'er.

Seeing Mo Hua injured, he stayed by his side, his small brows knitted, eyes glistening, refusing to leave no matter how many times he was shooed away.

Elder Murong had no choice but to prepare a small bed and a tiny blanket for him to sleep nearby.

Yu'er remained quiet and still, never making a sound; when he woke, the first thing he did was glance at Mo Hua.

When Mo Hua woke, Yu'er's eyes sparkled with joy.

But since Mo Hua needed rest, Yu'er would sit for a while, then return to the disciples' quarters to do his assignments.

Murong Caiyun also came once, bringing some pills and nourishing tonics.

Seeing Mo Hua was fine, she relaxed, but warned him: when practicing cultivation techniques, he must be careful and not injure himself again.

Mo Hua nodded obediently.

He also learned one thing:

He heard Murong Jie call Elder Murong "Little Aunt," so he realized they were indeed related.

Shangguan Xu came to visit too, bringing not only healing pills but also many delicious foods.

"These are from your auntie—she asked me to bring them to you…"

"She can't easily enter the Grand Void Gate, but she wants you to visit the Gu family once you've recovered. She'll ask a Shangguan family Pill Master to help you recover fully, so no lingering damage remains…"

Mo Hua nodded gratefully:

"Thank you, Brother Xu. Please also thank Miss Xu Wanyi for me."

In addition, some fellow disciples came to see their "Little Senior Brother."

Seeing Mo Hua's color was good and he wasn't seriously hurt, they relaxed, gathering around him chattering:

"Mo Hua, I heard you blew yourself up practicing a technique?"

"Is that true?"

"What technique were you even practicing?"

"Was it Fireball Technique…?"

"How could it be?"

"Why not…?"

"Mo Hua only knows Fireball Technique…"

"Mo Hua, once we leave the Grand Void Gate, we'll pretend we don't know you…"

"Don't you dare tell anyone you're our 'Little Senior Brother'…"

"Who's ever heard of a Little Senior Brother getting blown up by Fireball Technique…?"

Mo Hua gave them a disdainful look and said irritably:

"What's wrong with Fireball Technique? Wait till I master it—I'll make you cry with just one fireball!"

"I don't believe you!"

"Even your bragging needs a draft…"

"Just Fireball Technique…"

…

Mo Hua bickered and joked with them, and the atmosphere grew livelier.

Elder Murong said coolly: "This is the Pill Chamber—you need quiet rest. Go to class, all of you."

"Yes… Elder."

The disciples who had planned to skip class bowed respectfully, heads drooping, and left dejectedly.

Only Cheng Mo looked reluctant, gripping Mo Hua's hand and urging:

"Mo Hua, heal quickly and come back to teach us the formation arrays…"

Old Master Xun was too strict—his lessons were too advanced, his assignments too heavy—he simply couldn't handle it…

Mo Hua, this "Little Senior Brother," was much better.

…

Old Master Xun also came to see Mo Hua.

He wore a stern expression, said little, only warned Mo Hua to rest well—but as he left, he couldn't help whispering:

"Techniques involving combat and violence—if you're not suited for them, just give up…"

"Your foundation is weak; you don't need to force yourself to learn these violent cultivation methods like others…"

"Mastering formations alone is enough to secure your place in the cultivation world—no one will dare bully you."

"If you face trouble or someone harasses you, speak up—your sect will stand by you."

"Don't force yourself to learn these techniques…"

"And above all, don't hurt yourself…"

……

Mo Hua felt moved and quickly nodded: "I understand, thank you, Mr. Lao!"

Mr. Xun did not know whether Mo Hua had truly listened, but he nodded and left.

……

As evening approached, the Dao Law Elder quietly came to visit Mo Hua.

He was the Elder responsible for teaching Dao Law; though the student's injury was not his fault, as an Elder he still bore some responsibility.

Seeing Mo Hua seated on the bed, his left hand wrapped in bandages, his small face pale but his eyes bright and his breath steady, the Dao Law Elder finally relaxed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Dao Law Elder hesitated a moment, then asked softly:

"Mo Hua, what technique did you use inside the Dao Law Chamber…?"

He taught techniques and studied them, so he was deeply curious about unknown ones.

He wanted to know what kind of technique Mo Hua had used to generate such immense power—to completely obliterate a perfectly intact Dao Law puppet…

Mo Hua froze, his eyes flickering with interest.

Since waking, he had been pondering "technique fusion."

But no matter how hard he thought, he could not understand why two Fireball Techniques, forcibly merged by his spiritual sense, had become so powerful.

If he had not, at the last moment, forcibly reversed the technique's direction with his spiritual sense, and had instead allowed its spiritual energy to spiral out of control…

His hands might not have been the only thing injured—he might have lost his life…

Mo Hua did not understand.

Two simple Fireball Techniques fused together could never produce such immense power.

Even the shockwave alone had inflicted such severe injuries on him…

This defied logic.

So when the Dao Law Elder asked him, Mo Hua had many questions of his own he wished to ask the Elder.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then replied:

"I thought a single Fireball Technique wasn't powerful enough, so I tried to 'fuse' two together to boost the power—and then it exploded…"

The Dao Law Elder frowned. "Nonsense. How can you 'fuse' like that?"

Mo Hua replied humbly: "Then how should one fuse?"

"You misunderstand," the Dao Law Elder shook his head. "What is called 'fusion'—technique fusion—is not about mixing two techniques like dough…"

"Technique fusion is fundamentally the fusion of spell patterns."

"And it's not done after casting—it's already a fused pattern before casting begins, though it merely appears to be fusion…"

Mo Hua suddenly understood.

He remembered: when Grandpa Puppet had demonstrated the Fireball Technique, he first shaped threads of fire, then wove them into a technique.

Fundamentally, it was not the fusion of multiple Fireball Techniques.

It was a single, complete, standalone technique from the start.

He had practiced following Grandpa Puppet's method, but because he had trained in isolation, he had somehow learned it wrong…

Yet even though he learned it wrong, the power seemed very strong…

So strong, even beyond his own expectations…

Why was that?

Mo Hua blinked, glancing at the Dao Law Elder.

The Dao Law Elder felt uneasy under Mo Hua's gaze—he wondered what scheme this child was concocting now…

"Elder…" Mo Hua whispered, "Suppose there were a possibility…"

"Two 'twin' cultivators, with identical spiritual sense, identical elemental affinities, and casting identical techniques…"

"There are no such 'twin' cultivators," said the Dao Law Elder.

"I mean, suppose there were…"

Mo Hua said seriously: "If there were, what would happen if their techniques collided? Would they fuse?"

Mo Hua looked genuinely curious.

The Dao Law Elder felt a headache coming—he dreaded students with wild ideas and strange questions.

Their questions sometimes made sense.

But answering them drained spiritual sense.

The Dao Law Elder rubbed his forehead, following Mo Hua's line of thought, then slowly said:

"Even if their spiritual sense and elemental affinities are identical, the two techniques are not necessarily identical—because there is a temporal sequence…"

"For cultivators, time is also a law."

"The casting time of a technique, like its spiritual energy structure, is an inherent trait—though most cultivators completely ignore this."

"Then suppose the casting time is also identical…" Mo Hua said.

"In that case…" the Dao Law Elder muttered, "the two techniques would be nearly identical, sharing the same origin—when they contact each other…"

"There are two possibilities…"

The Dao Law Elder deduced from technique principles:

"Either they instantly 'fuse' into one giant fireball…"

"Or they enter a state of mutual attraction and repulsion—close enough to interact, but unable to fuse."

"Like Tai Xu's Yin-Yang—coexisting yet mutually repelling…"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up with admiration.

No wonder he was the Dao Law Elder of Grand Void Gate—just from theoretical principles, he could deduce the truth.

"What if those two fireballs are 'mutually generating and repelling,' but don't fuse?" Mo Hua asked again.

"Then…" the Dao Law Elder had just opened his mouth when he suddenly froze. "How do you know that?"

Because I tried it!

And blew myself up!

Mo Hua silently thought to himself.

But he couldn't openly admit it, so he evaded: "I guessed…"

Before the Dao Law Elder could recover, Mo Hua quickly pressed on: "If that's the case, why do they repel each other?"

The Dao Law Elder, as expected, followed Mo Hua's line of thought and continued pondering…

"Because the fundamental spell structures are still different."

"Spell structure is the spiritual force structure of a spell—it is the spell's essence."

"Spell structures inherently repel each other."

"Even the same cultivator casting the same spell twice produces spell structures that are similar, yet each structure exists independently and is distinct."

"It's like forging standardized spiritual weapons: all weapons follow the same 'mold,' and after forging, they look identical—but each weapon is, in truth, a unique entity…"

"The same applies to these 'twin' fireballs: though everything else is identical, their fundamental 'spell structures' are mutually independent…"

Mo Hua nodded.

No wonder he's the Dao Law Elder—he thought exactly as I did!

I also suspected the fireballs repelled due to an internal issue with their spell structure.

Mo Hua asked again: "Could these two 'twin' fireballs fuse into a different spell?"

The Dao Law Elder shook his head. "No. If spell structures repel, they cannot fuse…"

"Is there a way to make them fuse?"

The Dao Law Elder genuinely thought about it for a moment, then still shook his head.

Mo Hua blinked. "What if…"

"You use brute force, control the fireballs with powerful spiritual sense, and slam them together rapidly—would that cause fusion…?"

"Slam them together?" The Dao Law Elder shook his head. "Still, they wouldn't fuse…"

"At best, it would be 'aggregation,' but such aggregation carries great risk—it would destabilize the spell's structure…"

"If you forcibly compress them with instantaneous spiritual pressure, the fireballs will generate immense repulsive force, causing their internal spell structures to collapse, their spiritual energy to lose containment, undergo transformation, release their inner power, and thus…"

As the Dao Law Elder spoke, his voice grew quieter. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes filled with horror.

He stared at Mo Hua, speechless with shock. "You don't mean…"

You don't really mean you destroyed the spell puppet by colliding the fireballs, causing their spell structures to collapse and unleash devastating force, do you?

Then he frowned in confusion. "How did you…"

How did you do it?

Twin fireballs of the same origin…

Controlling them with spiritual sense, forcing them to aggregate…

Is that even possible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Mo Hua whispered: "I was just thinking randomly, asking out of curiosity…"

The Dao Law Elder silently watched Mo Hua, thinking: I'd believe you if pigs could fly.

At the same time, he felt a deep sense of admiration.

No wonder Master Xun values him.

What an eye for talent!

The disciple he values isn't just gifted in arrays.

He also approaches spells with original insight, conducting such penetrating research…

But… since he's a disciple valued by Master Xun, I shouldn't pry too deeply into his background.

The Dao Law Elder thought for a moment, his gaze darkening slightly as if making a decision, then revealed to Mo Hua the "Spell Theory" he was never supposed to teach:

"Spiritual energy forms spells when projected outward—spells are the outer garment of spiritual energy."

"But the intrinsic nature of spiritual energy itself, its fundamental transformations, also contain immense power…"

"Ordinary spells use spiritual energy to form spell structures, thereby creating spells with offensive power…"

"But conversely…"

The Dao Law Elder's gaze sharpened, his voice lowering:

"By manipulating the spell to induce changes in its spell structure, thereby triggering spiritual energy transformation and releasing massive unstable spiritual energy, you can also generate extreme destructive power…"

Mo Hua's eyes widened.

Isn't this exactly…

Array collapse!

Though the methods differ—one is an array, one is a spell; the spiritual energy transformations differ—one is collapse, one is fusion—

Their fundamental principles are identical!

The Dao Law Elder, seeing how quickly Mo Hua grasped it, was momentarily stunned.

This child… didn't he do something like this before…?

Why does he seem to understand everything at a single hint?

The Dao Law Elder felt he couldn't say more. He cleared his throat and stood. "It's getting late—I should go."

Mo Hua bowed politely. "Elder, please take care on your way."

But one thing still troubled him—he thought and thought, yet couldn't hold back.

"By the way, Elder..."

Mo Hua asked softly: "... May I ask your surname?"

The Dao Law Elder, upon hearing this, was stunned as if struck by lightning.

He felt angry, yet disbelieving, and said sadly: "After all this time, you still don't even know my surname?!"

Mo Hua felt embarrassed.

There was no help for it—the sect had too many elders, some were substitute teachers, and they kept changing; some elders he only recognized by face but couldn't recall their names.

Mo Hua gave an awkward smile.

The Dao Law Elder sighed: "My surname is Yi..."