Chapter 661: Cultivating the Sword (Thank you, Lord Patron who cultivates with us~)

After opening the "merit" access rights, the disciples clearly became busy.

They came from noble families and perhaps lacked no spiritual stones or other cultivation resources, but rare lineages, reputation within the sect, and even inner disciple slots were all worth fighting fiercely for.

This itself was a form of invisible competition.

The more merit one earned, the greater one's contribution to the sect, the more recognition one received from the sect elders, and the higher one's voice among the disciples.

They were all children of heaven; even if they appeared courteous and valued fellow-disciple bonds, none truly bowed to another in their hearts.

Earning merit involved not only personal gain but also face among fellow disciples.

At their age, face might matter more than "gain."

Thus, fellow disciples rushed about enthusiastically, taking every available "bounty" task to complete missions and earn merit.

This left Mo Hua momentarily at a loss.

Previously, after lunch, he could stroll on the grass to digest, bask in the sun with his fellow disciples, and chat awhile.

Now that merit had opened, everyone had vanished.

Cheng Mo went to guard the gate.

Sister Situ went to sweep the streets.

Zheng Fang buried himself in array tasks…

Everyone else had found ways to earn merit.

Only Mo Hua remained alone, as if nothing had changed.

Only Yu'er accompanied him in basking in the sun, occasionally rolling happily on the grass.

Back at the Shangguan family, Yu'er was required to maintain proper posture in every movement, sitting, standing, lying down—behave like a scion of a great clan, tightly constrained.

At the sect, with no one watching, he became much livelier.

Even rolling on the grass drew no reprimand; Mo Hua would even smile at him, and Yu'er was overjoyed.

Seeing Yu'er so happy, Mo Hua felt at ease.

As for merit, it wasn't that he wasn't eager.

It was that he had already outgrown these "entry-level" tasks.

Of course, some entry-level tasks still didn't want him.

Like guarding the gate, sweeping the streets…

Even if Mo Hua truly wanted to try, others would reject him, deeming him too frail.

His current merit still stood at over a thousand.

It was accumulated over time from capturing criminal cultivators and painting arrays, then remaining after purchasing many arrays.

Besides, the Huo Fotuo affair should still bring another merit payout.

But Dao Ting Si was always sluggish and bureaucratic, with red tape everywhere; no one knew when it would finally be disbursed.

Still, over a thousand merit was a "fortune."

Other disciples, relying on these entry-level tasks, might take ages to accumulate so much.

Mo Hua suddenly felt as if he had already graduated, watching his fellow disciples still retaking failed exams…

But over a thousand merit would certainly not be enough for him in the future.

Especially since he still needed to learn arrays.

Rare arrays, if truly expensive, could be bottomless pits.

He was currently only at the early Foundation Establishment stage; thanks to following his senior brothers and sisters and working with Dao Ting Si, the merit he earned barely sufficed for second-rank intermediate arrays, with a little left over.

But when he later studied second-rank advanced arrays, he might already be spending more than he earned.

What if the Grand Void Gate had ultimate arrays?

How much merit would ultimate arrays demand?

Mo Hua dared not even imagine.

So he still needed to plan ahead, prepare early, and accumulate more merit.

Merit, after all, was always better in greater quantity.

During the ten-day break, Mo Hua still went to find Elder Murong, hoping to join her on missions again, but Elder Murong looked apologetic.

"Younger brother, this year, we probably won't have time to go out on missions…"

Mo Hua froze.

Elder Murong explained: "We mid-Foundation Establishment disciples must enter the Demon Refining Mountain."

"The Demon Refining Mountain!"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

He remembered that Sister Situ had mentioned it to him before.

Within Qianxue Province, there was a "Demon Refining Mountain."

The mountain housed many demonic beasts, some of which were rare breeds deliberately captured and placed there by powerful cultivators.

The purpose was to let sect disciples gain real combat experience, hone their Dao arts, and cooperate to slay demons…

"Are there many demonic beasts inside?"

"Yes," Elder Murong said. "The Demon Refining Mountain is vast, with complex terrain and many demonic beasts. Their bodies contain many rare materials usable for refining spiritual weapons."

"Is this Demon Refining Mountain ours, the Grand Void Gate?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.

Elder Murong chuckled. "No. Though our Grand Void Gate is powerful, we lack the strength to control the entire Demon Refining Mountain…"

"Formally, the Demon Refining Mountain belongs to the entire Qianxue Province, jointly overseen by the Sida Sect, the Eight Gates, and the Twelve Streams."

"Disciples from all sects may enter to hunt demons."

"The demonic beasts you slay, you may skin and bone yourself to extract refining materials, or sell them to your sect for merit…"

"Of course, it's best if you use it yourself."

"For certain specialized schools of sword cultivators, the materials needed to forge their school's spiritual swords can only be obtained by hunting specific demons in Demon Refining Mountain—such as bones, claws, fangs, essence blood, or even golden cores..."

"Some extremely rare demon materials, when sold to the sect, can also fetch considerable merit..."

"Thus, by the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, most sect disciples' primary source of merit comes from the demons of Demon Refining Mountain..."

Mo Hua listened with eyes sparkling.

Hunting demons!

Merit!

He felt his hunter's blood stirring within him.

Elder Murong seemed to see through his thoughts and sighed.

She had spent so much time with Mo Hua—how could she not know what her little junior brother was thinking?

Sometimes, Mo Hua's spiritual sense was profound, his inner thoughts unfathomable.

But at other times, his heart was simple, his petty desires written plainly on his face.

"You can't go," Elder Murong said.

Mo Hua blinked. "Why…"

Elder Murong listed them off one by one:

"First, you're only at the early Foundation Establishment stage—your cultivation isn't sufficient. Second, you've only been in the sect for two years—you don't meet the time requirement. Third, entering Demon Refining Mountain requires a sect pass, and you're not qualified to obtain one..."

Mo Hua whispered:

"Could I sneak in?"

Elder Murong gave him a sharp look. "There are arrays sealing it—how are you going to sneak in?"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "What rank is the array?"

Elder Murong shook her head. "I don't know exactly, but it's at least a fifth-rank array."

"Fifth-rank…"

Mo Hua felt a pang of regret.

A fifth-rank array was too high-grade—he couldn't manipulate it. Otherwise, he might have been able to sneak in by opening a small gate.

Still, he was curious what a fifth-rank array looked like.

"In short," Elder Murong warned, "stop thinking about Demon Refining Mountain for now…"

"As for tasks—if you run into trouble, let me know. I'll help you whenever I'm free."

Mo Hua was touched and nodded.

"Don't worry, sister—I'll handle myself. You go ahead and take care of your own business!"

After parting with Elder Murong, Mo Hua walked alone toward the disciples' quarters.

As he walked, he pondered inwardly.

"Elder Murong is going into Demon Refining Mountain…"

"Then Senior Shanggu, Senior Feng, and Senior Qianqian must be going in too…"

"After all, Demon Refining Mountain is the main source of merit for mid-Foundation Establishment disciples."

That meant no one would be around to hang out with him…

True, he'd grown a bit more familiar with Dao Ting Si.

But Dao Ting Si was Dao Ting Si—not the sect. It was complicated, murky, and the merit earned there might not even convert into the sect's "merit."

Even if it could, the process was long and cumbersome.

"Then… should I find more people to hang out with?"

Who?

Cheng Mo and Sister Situ?

Mo Hua shook his head slightly.

Their cultivation was only early Foundation Establishment.

Until now, he'd always hung out with mid-Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters, late-Foundation Establishment Dao Ting Si officers, and Jin Dan-level Gu Diansi Uncle Gu.

If I can't level up, how can I drop down?

But after thinking it over, there didn't seem to be anyone else.

Mo Hua pondered for a long while and sighed.

"I'll figure it out later…"

First, take care of my own business.

Back in his quarters, Mo Hua sat in meditation, eyes closed, cultivating.

When his qi sea was full and his meridians slightly swollen, he opened his eyes.

"Cultivation!"

From now on, he would dedicate more time each day to cultivation.

Though cultivation was a slow, steady process—requiring unceasing effort and natural progression—putting in a little extra effort every day would naturally accelerate his advancement.

Mo Hua had considered this.

The second year in the sect was actually very dull.

His spiritual sense had stalled due to his cultivation level.

The bottleneck from sixteen lines to seventeen lines was the spiritual sense barrier between mid- and late-Foundation Establishment.

This barrier was like a chasm.

Even though Mo Hua drew arrays daily to hone his spiritual sense, and occasionally protected Xiao Yu from nightmares, earning a little extra on the side…

But his spiritual sense was far too advanced for his realm.

It would be difficult to break through this barrier in a short time.

With his spiritual sense stuck, Mo Hua's array craftsmanship could no longer rise further.

He could only broaden his foundational array knowledge and continue studying other second-rank arrays with sixteen or fewer patterns…

But these kinds of arrays offered little challenge; learning too many grew tedious…

Mo Hua sighed.

He wanted to learn higher-level arrays.

Especially magnetism-based arrays—those deeper magnetic pattern constructions and sub-thunder pattern applications had long tempted Mo Hua.

But without breaking through his spiritual sense, he couldn't learn them now.

Mo Hua felt helpless.

…

For the next month, since Elder Murong and the others had entered the Demon Refining Mountain, Mo Hua rarely went out on missions.

Alone, he couldn't take on any "bounties" above Foundation Establishment mid-stage.

The Foundation Establishment early-stage bounties offered too little merit.

Doing them alone wasted too much time.

It was better to draw more second-rank arrays himself—he wouldn't have to travel, and he'd earn more merit.

Mo Hua found it even more boring.

He couldn't go out on bounties.

His cultivation increased slowly, bit by bit, but he couldn't break through his realm.

His spiritual sense also increased slowly, bit by bit, yet still couldn't break through his realm.

Yu'er occasionally still suffered nightmares, plagued by demons, but no Sheep Bone Enforcer appeared.

As for spells, he'd learned nearly all he needed to.

The spell structure of the Small Meteor Spell was now extremely stable.

He'd also learned many other second-rank functional arrays…

In the short term, he had no further goals…

His life was as plain as water—no thrills, no joys.

Mo Hua suddenly felt he should actively seek out something new to learn…

He thought for a moment, then picked up the "Break Gold Controlling Sword Art" again, intending to practice sword qi.

To cultivate sword qi, Mo Hua's foundation was far too weak.

Other disciples in the sect who practiced sword arts had ancestral foundations; raised in that environment, they'd begun training sword techniques and sword qi since childhood.

With each realm advancement, their sword qi grew sharper.

By the later stages, they achieved unity with their swords, their sword qi piercing heaven and earth.

Mo Hua was a lone cultivator by origin; before Foundation Establishment, he'd barely touched a sword.

The only time he'd ever held a sword was when Zhang Lan demonstrated the Flowing Water Step—he had Mo Hua stab him with a sword to illustrate the array.

That noble, heavy treasure sword… Mo Hua couldn't even lift it…

In the end, he'd used a branch instead.

So truly, to practice sword arts, Mo Hua had zero foundation—let alone compete with other sword cultivators…

But idle was idle; one must have some pursuit.

Mo Hua decided to treat sword cultivation as his "intellectual pastime."

Even if he couldn't master it, understanding sword qi enough to counter sword cultivators would be beneficial.

This sword art belonged to the Break Gold Sect.

Mo Hua couldn't practice it openly, so he found a quiet little grove, bought a secondhand broken spirit sword, and practiced for fun.

The Break Gold Controlling Sword Art was a metal-element sword art.

Mo Hua had a minor Five Elements spiritual root, including some metal element.

He could practice it, at least.

But after practicing for a while, Mo Hua noticed a problem.

Sword qi—this thing—he seemed to form it with extreme difficulty.

He'd seen sword cultivators: Uncle Zhang Lan, Senior Ouyang Feng, Senior Shangguan Xu, and Simu Jian, who was in his cohort.

When they wielded swords, the sword qi they unleashed was always stable in shape, sharp in edge, and powerfully potent.

But his own cultivated sword qi…

Mo Hua found it hard to describe…

The sword qi he formed didn't even hold a sword shape—it was more like a stick, sometimes even like a branch…

It wasn't sharp at all; sometimes it couldn't even cut through tree bark…

As for power—forget it.

He could throw a fireball with more destructive force than this "sword qi."

Mo Hua fell into deep confusion.

"Is my talent for sword cultivation really this terrible?"

"It can't be that bad…"

"Or is it just that everything is hard at the beginning—I just haven't gotten started yet?"

Mo Hua couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, there's nothing else to practice, might as well give it a try…

Whatever result you get, that's just how it is—don't pressure yourself.

If you really can't cultivate it, treat it as preparing in advance, laying the foundation for sword cultivation, getting ready for the future "Divine Mind Sword Transformation True Scripture."

The "Divine Mind Sword Transformation True Scripture," as the name suggests, should not be the same path as ordinary sword techniques.

If you can't cultivate ordinary sword methods, that doesn't mean you can't cultivate "Divine Mind Sword."

Mo Hua sighed.

I can only comfort myself with that thought...

After tea and meals, whenever Mo Hua had free time, he'd find a small grove and casually swing a few swords to practice.

Sword qi scattered everywhere, the trees stood unmoved, only leaves drifted gently down.

Fortunately, Mo Hua wasn't discouraged.

He just told himself he was "pruning" the sect's trees.

……

Thus, more time passed.

One day, as Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters, he encountered several disciples whispering among themselves.

Mo Hua looked closely and realized it was Cheng Mo, Sister Situ, and three other less familiar fellow disciples.

Mo Hua slipped up silently and heard them speaking in fragments:

"The day after tomorrow… day off…"

"Outside Qingzhou City…"

"Pretending to be senior brothers… finally got assigned…"

"Not dangerous…"

"We five are enough…"

"Just capture one person…"

"Easy as pie…"

"... Ah!!"

Cheng Mo hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly sensed someone standing behind him, startled into a shiver, his face turning pale—until he recognized Mo Hua, then he exhaled in relief.

"Mo Hua, you scared me half to death…"

Then he complained: "Why are you eavesdropping on us?"

Mo Hua looked utterly unimpressed. "This is a proper path—I walked here openly, stopped openly, listened to you openly…"

"If your vigilance is this poor, how can you blame me?"

Cheng Mo was speechless, then muttered:

"Who knew you walk like a cat—no sound, no breath at all…"

Mo Hua eyed them suspiciously. "What kind of mischief are you plotting?"

Cheng Mo reacted like a student caught by an instructor, instantly tense. "We're just… talking about cultivation…"

Mo Hua didn't believe him.

Cheng Mo insisted: "Really!"

Only then did he realize it sounded wrong.

Mo Hua wasn't an elder, not even an instructor—just a junior brother who taught them arrays, someone they dared not offend. Why was he so nervous?

Cheng Mo immediately straightened his posture.

Mo Hua whispered: "You're planning to secretly take on Dao Ting Si's bounty?"

Cheng Mo gasped. "How did you know?"

Mo Hua rolled his eyes.

It's all stuff he'd already tried himself—why make it seem so mysterious…

Sister Situ lowered her voice. "Mo Hua, don't tell anyone…"

Cheng Mo nodded frantically, then thought it lacked sincerity—usually, you had to "bribe" someone in situations like this.

Cheng Mo said: "Mo Hua, promise you won't tell, and when we succeed, we'll…"

Cheng Mo hesitated, then gritted his teeth: "... give you some merit points!"

Mo Hua asked curiously: "How much?"

Cheng Mo struggled.

They'd just started these tasks and earned little merit anyway—what they earned didn't go far.

"Give…" Cheng Mo made up his mind, "ten points!"

Mo Hua: "..."

Seeing Mo Hua silent, Cheng Mo exclaimed in shock:

"You're not saying it's too little, are you?"

"Ten points… isn't that much," Mo Hua said.

Cheng Mo groaned in despair:

"You have no idea how hard-earned merit is! Do you know how many days I'd have to stand guard, how many streets I'd have to sweep for ten points?!"

"You think this merit is easy to earn?"

"Alright, alright…" Mo Hua sighed. "I won't tell anyone, and I don't want your merit—but going out is dangerous. Be careful."

Cheng Mo froze, then immediately beamed, slinging an arm around Mo Hua's shoulder:

"You're truly my good brother! Next time I've got something, I've got your back!"

Sister Situ also glanced at Mo Hua with gratitude.

But seeing Cheng Mo's smug expression, one of his disciples couldn't help saying:

"Don't flatter yourself—when has Mo Hua ever needed your protection?"

Cheng Mo said: "What do you know?"

"How don't I know?"

"A fence needs three stakes; even a hero needs three helpers…"

"You're a hero? At best you're a rotten stake…"

…

Mo Hua, seeing them bickering, couldn't be bothered to deal with them and only warned them:

"Be careful when you go out…"

"Some criminal cultivators are cunning…"

Then Mo Hua left.

Mo Hua wasn't particularly worried.

Cheng Mo and the other four, though Foundation Establishment early-stage disciples, all came from prominent families, with deep cultivation foundations and strong Dao methods.

Together, even if they couldn't defeat a typical Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, they could certainly escape.

Moreover, the criminal cultivators they were hunting this time were likely only Foundation Establishment early-stage—probably no big issue.

Several days later, Mo Hua clearly saw that Cheng Mo and the others had secretly left the sect during their ten-day break.

Less than two days later, they returned, triumphant and self-satisfied.

Mo Hua didn't need to guess—they had clearly completed their mission successfully.

Especially Cheng Mo, who seemed to have earned great merit in this mission; he was positively beaming.

The Grand Void Gate still didn't allow its disciples to take on missions like capturing criminal cultivators.

First, criminal cultivators were mostly vicious.

And sect disciples, raised in luxury since childhood, were arrogant and prideful; suddenly facing criminal cultivators, they were easily ambushed and humiliated.

Cheng Mo and his group were not only strong in ability but also lucky.

Because they had taken the mission secretly, they became, among all sect disciples except Mo Hua, the first to successfully complete such a wanted "bounty."

Naturally, this brought them the most attention.

The elders either didn't know—or chose to turn a blind eye.

But the news gradually spread among the disciples.

Many disciples began to entertain thoughts of going out.

After all, completing entry tasks earned merit too slowly, and they were dull and tedious—nowhere near as fresh, thrilling, or profitable as these wanted "bounties."

Some disciples quietly asked Cheng Mo how to take on missions, what to watch out for outside, which pills to prepare, and so on…

Cheng Mo was even more proud.

But he didn't forget Mo Hua.

One day over meals, Cheng Mo secretly found Mo Hua: "Next time I go on a mission, I'll take you along…"

Mo Hua blinked in surprise. "You'll take me?"

"Yeah!" Cheng Mo said. "The four of us plus you—you don't have to do anything, just run errands and help out. I'll split the merit with you…"

Mo Hua felt a complex mix of emotions—and a touch of warmth.

But he still shook his head.

He didn't need Cheng Mo to take him.

And that little bit of merit? He didn't care for it…

Cheng Mo, however, thought Mo Hua didn't trust him, and swore solemnly:

"In formations, I admit you're the boss! But if you're really going out to hunt criminal cultivators, your puny arms and legs won't cut it—you need to recognize me as your boss!"

Mo Hua's face remained expressionless. "Oh…"

(End of Chapter)