Chapter 672: Bottleneck

Within the Grand Void Gate, disciples reside.

On the second floor of the dining hall, a private room.

Cheng Mo, Sister Situ, and others were treating Mo Hua to a grand meal.

Outside the window, green mountains and clear waters were wreathed in mist.

Inside, spiritual fruits and fine wine, exquisite delicacies.

This meal cost a considerable amount of spirit stones, but Cheng Mo and the others were all scions of noble families, never lacking spirit stones, so Mo Hua ate with complete peace of mind.

Xiao Yuer also sat beside Mo Hua, joining in the feast.

Every dish on the table was something Mo Hua loved.

Even if he didn't like it, given the price, Mo Hua loved it anyway.

The plates held especially many chicken legs—various spiritual chickens: brocade chickens, pine chickens, cloud chickens…

These were specially "offered up" for their junior brother by Cheng Mo and Sister Situ.

Mo Hua held a chicken leg in each hand, eating with great delight.

Cheng Mo and his four companions offered this grand meal to express their gratitude for Mo Hua's "life-saving" deed.

They also thanked Mo Hua, who, though through some fortunate coincidence, had indeed led them to earn a large sum of merit points.

Over twenty black-robed traffickers were dead; publicly, only the black-robed leader had "escaped."

The abducted cultivators had been rescued.

These abducted cultivators were all young, mostly between ten and fifteen years old, with superior spiritual roots, and all came from family lineages.

But they were not from families in Qian Province—they hailed from smaller and medium-sized families across other provinces.

They had come ahead of time to Qian Xuezhou, seeking opportunities to join a sect.

Because they were not local Qian Province families, once abducted, investigation became extremely difficult, and most cases simply faded away.

Now, though the traffickers were dead, their faces unrecognizable, with no living witnesses left.

Still, the fact that these children were rescued was a stroke of great fortune.

Dao Ting Si had not revealed Mo Hua and the others' names, fearing they might be targeted by other traffickers, but their great merit was undeniable.

So Dao Ting Si awarded them some spirit stones as a reward.

In addition, they made an exception and granted each of them three hundred merit points.

These merit points were indeed "an exception"—Mo Hua knew this well.

Because the merit points had been credited to their accounts immediately.

But the merit points Gu Shuji had promised him—for the raid on the demon cave and the slaying of Huo Fotuo—were still "in process" at Dao Ting Si, stuck somewhere, with not even a trace yet.

Three hundred merit points!

Mo Hua was fine—he was inwardly pleased, but he was no greenhorn who had never seen merit points.

He still had over a thousand merit points sitting in his account.

Besides, having killed so many traffickers and saved many lives, three hundred merit points wasn't much.

But Dao Ting Si was always stingy—having anything at all was better than nothing.

Moreover, Dao Ting Si had additionally granted twenty thousand spirit stones, which was at least passable.

But Cheng Mo and the others were different.

These kids had never seen so many merit points before.

Guarding the gate or sweeping the streets earned them only a few points.

Going out on a Foundation Establishment-level mission, even split among them, yielded only dozens of points, sometimes as few as ten or so.

Merit points were a treasure that spirit stones could not buy.

Three hundred points in hand was undeniably a fortune.

Cheng Mo and the others' faces were split with grins—they insisted they had to treat Mo Hua to this grand meal.

During the meal, Cheng Mo handed Mo Hua chicken legs, Sister Situ poured him fruit wine, Yang Qianjun and Yi Li toasted him, and Hao Xuan bustled about serving dishes.

The group was lively and cheerful.

Mo Hua ate happily.

Xiao Yuer imitated Mo Hua, gripping a chicken leg in his small hand, munching happily.

All were fellow sect members; having survived the battle against the black-robed traffickers together, they had shared life and death—so the atmosphere at the table was warm, and everyone was thoroughly pleased.

After eating for a while, Sister Situ could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked:

"Mo Hua… what were you before?"

Why, at such a young age, were you so skilled in concealment, reconnaissance, ambush, combat, and assassination?

This didn't seem like something a minor array master would do…

Mo Hua froze.

Sister Situ added apologetically, "If it's inconvenient, you don't have to say."

Though he was indeed curious, cultivators often had secrets they didn't wish others to know.

Mo Hua thought for a moment; since they were all fellow sect members and might help each other in the future, he could reveal a little, to spare them constant curiosity.

"I'm a hunter of demonic beasts!"

Mo Hua declared confidently.

Cheng Mo and the others looked at Mo Hua's pale, plump little arms and legs, their expressions skeptical.

He didn't look at all like a demonic beast hunter…

"Really?" Yi Li asked curiously.

Mo Hua frowned, "Of course it's true!"

His father was a demon hunter, so naturally, so was he.

But his physical body was weak; when hunting demonic beasts, he couldn't charge in and fight hand-to-hand like other demon hunters.

Yet killing with physical combat is still killing, and killing with traps and arrays is still killing.

Whoever can hunt demonic beasts is a demon hunter.

Besides, even the Great Demon of the Dao has been slain by his array's collapse— if not him, then who?

Mo Hua explained to them:

"Physical combat is merely a minor path; the essence of a demon hunter is to prepare in advance, never fight unprepared…"

"Plan ahead and you succeed; act without planning and you fail."

"Whether hunting demonic beasts or fighting humans, before any magical or physical clash, you must have a plan, a strategy, patience—use traps when you can, ambush when possible."

"Act with steadiness, hide your ambushes deeply, strike with cruelty…"

"All of this was taught to me by my father…"

Mo Hua wore an expression of proud satisfaction.

"Oh…"

Cheng Mo and the others, seeing Mo Hua speak with such coherence and logic, nodded in agreement.

Yu Er, though he didn't understand, nodded along with worshipful admiration.

"Then…" Yang Qianjun was also curious, "how did you learn reconnaissance, tracking, eliminating targets—ahem, upholding the Dao and eradicating demons, without alerting the enemy?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said plainly: "My Uncle Gu taught me!"

Yang Qianjun blinked. "Uncle Gu?"

Mo Hua said: "A kind Jin Dan-level Gu Diansi from the Dao Ting Si's Gu family—he taught me!"

Mo Hua sighed, his tone grateful:

"He feared I'd be taken advantage of in the sect, and feared I'd be in danger during missions, so he told me all the Dao Ting Si's experience in tracking and capturing heretical cultivators."

"All of this was taught to me by Uncle Gu!"

Mo Hua emphasized it again, firmly.

"Dao Ting Si, Gu family, Jin Dan-level Gu Diansi…"

Yang Qianjun and the others grew solemn.

They glanced again at Yu Er, who trailed beside Mo Hua, and silently nodded.

The child trailing beside Mo Hua, named Yu Er, was a direct scion of the Shangguan family.

The Shangguan family and the Gu family were closely allied.

It was only natural that Mo Hua, close to the Shangguan family, would also have ties to the Gu family.

And the Gu family had served for generations in the Dao Ting Si, upholding Dao law—naturally, they were most familiar with tracking and capturing criminals.

For him to have learned these things from a Gu family uncle was entirely reasonable.

Though the methods were a bit… cruel.

But when dealing with heretical cultivators, if you're not cruel, they'll be cruel to you.

Yang Qianjun and the others suddenly understood.

No wonder Mo Hua, though an array master, was so skilled in tracking, ambushes, and trap-killing.

It was all because someone had taught him…

Their lingering doubts and reservations gradually vanished.

The group ate a little longer, the atmosphere growing warmer.

Mo Hua, full and satisfied, lay back to digest his meal, when he heard Cheng Mo and the others whispering, discussing how to spend their three hundred merit points.

Cheng Mo said he wanted to buy some golden-earth stone.

Sister Situ said she wanted to save more to buy a Grand Void Gate–crafted fire-spirit sword.

Yang Qianjun and Yi Li said they wanted to buy spiritual items to break through bottlenecks…

Mo Hua, puzzled, asked:

"You're all from noble families, right? Don't your clans provide you with cultivation resources? Why do you still need to exchange them at the sect?"

Sister Situ and the others froze.

Cheng Mo said: "You're also… oh right, you're not…"

He scratched his head and explained:

"Cultivation resources—no matter how much, you can never have too many. Let's set aside spiritual stones; for spiritual items needed to break through cultivation techniques, spiritual tools required for Dao arts—these are always better in greater quantity."

"For cultivation techniques, each additional spiritual item strengthens your spiritual power a little."

"For forging spiritual tools, each more expensive material raises the quality a fraction."

"The cultivation of top-tier noble scions demands vast resources to achieve perfection."

"No matter how much your family provides, it's limited—after all, your clan has many disciples; unless your spiritual roots are truly extraordinary, they won't devote all resources to just you."

"Especially for top-grade spiritual roots practicing top-grade techniques—the spiritual stones and items required are extremely costly."

"One or two are fine, but when disciples multiply, rare spiritual items simply won't be enough to go around…"

Sister Situ nodded and added:

"Generally, the clan provides disciples with only seven to eight tenths of what they need."

"These resources are enough for basic cultivation, but not for 'perfection'…"

"If you want to forge a profound foundation, push your technique to its utmost, forge superior spiritual tools, and stand out among prodigies, you must strive for the best in everything, pursue perfection…"

"All of this demands vast resources."

"Oh…" Mo Hua listened, bewildered.

Sister Situ, fearing Mo Hua wouldn't understand, gave an example:

"Ignoring specific elemental root limitations, assume maximum aptitude—you could cultivate one hundred Zhou Tian of spiritual energy."

"Typical aristocratic disciples, supported by their clans, cultivate to seven or eight tenths, gathering seventy or eighty Zhou Tian of spiritual energy, and that's sufficient."

"But if you wish to advance further—to reach ninety Zhou Tian, or even more—you will need additional resources."

"Above ninety Zhou Tian, each additional Zhou Tian of spiritual energy is extraordinarily difficult to cultivate and consumes immense resources."

"The spiritual stones and materials needed to go from ninety to ninety-one Zhou Tian may exceed what you required to go from zero to eighty Zhou Tian."

"The closer you get to the extreme, the more true this becomes."

"If you wish to stand out in the sect, you must spare no effort, refine yourself relentlessly, cultivate to the extreme, and achieve perfection."

"But these extra cultivation resources—you must find them yourself."

"If your parents, grandparents, or direct ancestral Laozu are of high realm and hold prominent status within the clan, they may help cover part of it."

"The rest, you must earn within the sect."

"This applies to cultivation techniques, Dao arts, spiritual artifacts, and more…"

"Sect merit, the 'hard currency' used to exchange for various resources and lineages, is naturally extremely scarce—no matter how much you acquire, it's never enough…"

Mo Hua opened his mouth wide, stunned.

Never before had he felt so acutely the vast gap in cultivation wealth.

The cultivation of prodigy disciples was utterly unlike that of a lone cultivator like him.

He himself had always just gotten by, muddled through.

According to this standard, his spiritual energy—let alone eighty Zhou Tian—even sixty Zhou Tian was a stretch, let alone dreaming of "perfection" at ninety or one hundred Zhou Tian…

He simply couldn't afford it.

It was far too expensive…

Even if he sold himself—no, even if he sold himself for the next one hundred and eight lifetimes, he still couldn't afford it.

Mo Hua sighed, his spirits sinking.

But then he remembered—he was a "Spiritual Consciousness Path" cultivator.

His Dao foundation lay not in flesh and blood or spiritual energy; his strength did not heavily rely on expensive spiritual artifacts—he didn't have to "compete" like them.

Otherwise, even if he twisted himself into a knot, he'd still fall far behind…

Mo Hua suddenly felt a strange sense of relief.

Yet he still had doubts, so he whispered quietly:

"Is it really worth paying such a huge cost to gain just one or two more Zhou Tian of spiritual energy?"

"How could it not be worth it?" Cheng Mo sighed. "One more Zhou Tian means you're stronger than others."

"Even a little stronger is still stronger."

"And don't underestimate that little bit—if your technique is slightly worse, your Dao art slightly weaker, your spiritual artifact slightly inferior… every small deficit adds up to a massive gap…"

"This is just Foundation Establishment—later stages will see even greater disparities…"

"Also," Hao Xuan quickly added, explaining to Mo Hua, "when the sect recruits disciples, or when Liu Yuhua or Dongxu experts take apprentices, they all pay close attention to the number of Zhou Tian."

"Elemental roots indicate potential, but potential is only potential."

"If you lack resources and cannot cultivate enough Zhou Tian, you're wasting your potential."

"Therefore, the better your elemental root, the better your technique, and the more Zhou Tian you cultivate, the brighter your future."

"All three are indispensable."

"It's the same with clan marriages."

"Even if you're a useless fool, slow-witted and only good at cultivation—if your elemental root is top-tier, your technique top-class, and you cultivate over ninety-five Zhou Tian, your clan will value you."

Mo Hua didn't understand. "If you're only good at cultivation, why would the clan value you?"

Hao Xuan blurted out, "For breeding!"

Sister Situ slapped him on the back, warning him not to speak so carelessly.

Hao Xuan winced in pain, then mumbled, "N-no, I mean… marriage alliances…"

"Marriage alliances?" Mo Hua froze.

"Yes," Hao Xuan nodded. "My mother told me in secret—the bigger the clan, the less humanity they show, the more coldly pragmatic they are."

"Even if you're a useless fool, as long as your aptitude is good and your Zhou Tian count is high, the Laozu won't care—they'll arrange a good marriage for you, just so you produce offspring with even better aptitude."

Hao Xuan sighed. "Like raising pigs—you breed the best sows with the finest boars…"

Sister Situ glared at him again.

Hao Xuan immediately clapped his hand over his mouth, thinking:

Close call—almost slipped up again…

Yi Li sighed beside him:

"So sometimes, I feel that deep-cultivation Laozu don't even regard disciples within the clan as 'people'…"

Hao Xuan frowned. "Aren't your Yi family Laozu pretty decent? I've never heard of forced marriages or anything like that…"

Yi Li muttered, "I didn't say my Laozu…"

…

Mo Hua listened nearby, frowning.

Yang Qianjun noticed and thought for a moment, then said: "Of course, this is in Qianzhou—they take these things seriously…"

He knew Mo Hua's elemental root was poor, and his spiritual energy Zhou Tian count was… pitiful. Worried Mo Hua would feel down, he comforted him:

"But in our Yang family, we care less about such things…"

"Our Yang family comes from the Dao Soldier Bureau—while we do value aptitude, we value military merit more. Whoever achieves great deeds earns the clan's respect."

On the contrary, if one has talent but dares not fight on the battlefield, one will still be looked down upon.

Yang Qianjun looked at Mo Hua and said warmly, "Mo Hua, next holiday, why not come visit my Yang family?"

Mo Hua froze.

In that instant, he felt as if Yang Jiyong and Yang Jishan had both possessed Yang Qianjun's body.

It seemed as if the Yang family's bloodline was carved with the four characters: "Recruit Others Into the Fold."

Cheng Mo frowned, "Yang Qianjun, don't talk nonsense—no family ignores spiritual root quality."

Yang Qianjun corrected him, "It's not that they ignore it—they just don't emphasize it so much…"

Cheng Mo insisted, "It's the same thing anyway—still, spiritual power matters; even one more Zhou Tian makes a difference…"

Yang Qianjun shook his head, "Even if that's true… if your ninety Zhou Tian of spiritual power can't defeat someone, will one more Zhou Tian let you win?"

"If your opponent avoids direct confrontation and ambushes you with assassins, no amount of spiritual power helps."

"When you're truly on the battlefield, blades clash, spiritual power rages like a meat grinder—what use is that extra one or two Zhou Tian?"

"When death is imminent, unless you've been implanted with a Lifespan Seal, eighty Zhou Tian dies, ninety Zhou Tian dies, even a hundred Zhou Tian of talent dies."

"In my view, Qian Xue Province has enjoyed peace too long, so it wastes vast cultivation resources on trivial matters like this."

"They've spent so much spirit stone and spirit material to gain just one or two more Zhou Tian of spiritual power—yet they never fight on the battlefield, never purge demons or defend the Dao, never resist the barbarians—just stay in Qian Province to enjoy comfort…"

Yang Qianjun, stirred by indignation, couldn't stop speaking.

Sister Situ also patted Yang Qianjun on the shoulder.

Yang Qianjun startled, then sighed helplessly:

"I spoke out of turn…"

Cheng Mo remembered the Yang family's recent campaigns in the Southern Wilds, poured him a cup of wine, and comforted him:

"Focus on your cultivation first—there's nothing we can do for the Southern Wilds yet."

Yang Qianjun took the wine, drank it, and nodded.

After that, no one spoke of other matters; the atmosphere lightened, and they only chatted about the sect, missions, and trivial observations, then finished eating and drinking and parted ways.

But Mo Hua remembered every word.

The Yang family. The Southern Wilds. Resisting the barbarians.

Could this barbarian tribe also be connected to that so-called "Lord of the Great Wilds"?

But the Southern Wilds…

Does it refer to the Great Wilds south of Li Province?

It seems extremely distant from Qian Province…

Mo Hua shook his head.

These matters still felt far removed from him—he'd set them aside for now.

Mo Hua took Yu'er for a stroll to digest, then returned to his disciple quarters.

He lay on his bed, about to rest, but then remembered Cheng Mo's words and suddenly realized a problem:

Realm breakthrough!

Cheng Mo and the others' Dao foundations—either blood qi or spiritual power—require substantial spirit materials to break through bottlenecks.

More spirit materials are always better.

So they must hoard more merit points and prepare early.

I cultivate the Great Expansion Scripture—I don't need extra spirit materials to break through bottlenecks. That's good.

But that doesn't mean my bottleneck is necessarily simple.

The bottleneck of the Great Expansion Scripture lies in spiritual awareness.

The Qi Condensation bottleneck is gradual: step by step, from shallow to deep, unraveling arrays until finally solving the Mysterious Heaven Array and breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Then what is the Foundation Establishment bottleneck?

More array unraveling?

The Mysterious Heaven Array is already solved—what else is left to unravel?

A second-rank mystery array?

Mo Hua frowned.

"It's possible…"

Generally speaking, it does seem so.

But he still felt a flicker of doubt—could the Foundation Establishment bottleneck really be this simple?

After all, my spiritual awareness is already strong.

Sixteen-stripe transformed spiritual awareness should easily unravel a second-rank mystery array for Foundation Establishment.

But what if it isn't? What other changes might there be?

Mo Hua frowned in deep thought.

"From Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment… the spiritual sea is restructured by the Mysterious Heaven Array, spiritual awareness compressed and transformed…"

"Transformed…"

Mo Hua's heart leapt.

"Could the bottleneck be… spiritual awareness 'transformation'?"

"Does it require me… to further 'transform' upon the foundation of spiritual restructure?"

How could one transform further?

Mo Hua thought—his only current method of 'transformation'… seemed to be the same as before: kill Yangjiao Enforcers, kill Yangjiao demons, obtain pale-gold 'Spirit Marrow' to further 'divinize' his spiritual awareness…

Does this mean…

Mo Hua thought for a moment.

Did he need to continuously "consume" the divine essence, causing his spiritual awareness to "divinize," further transforming its nature, in order to break through the technique's bottleneck and elevate his cultivation realm?

Mo Hua froze, then involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.

No way…

There couldn't possibly be a technique this absurd in this world…

You have to "eat" a god to break through?

(End of Chapter)