Chapter 744

Just practicing for fun…

"Alright."

Shi Potian looked at Mo Hua's gleaming eyes and sighed helplessly.

After that, Mo Hua began practicing spirit-guided sword control, while Sister Situ guided him and also took charge of "picking up the sword" for him.

Although Sister Situ had not yet learned spirit-guided sword control, he came from a swordmaster lineage and had been immersed in sword arts since childhood; even if he hadn't practiced them, he had seen most of the sword techniques and knew far more than Mo Hua.

With him watching nearby and offering occasional guidance, Mo Hua wouldn't go off track.

Under Sister Situ's corrections, Mo Hua's spirit-guided sword control improved rapidly.

Because he skipped the crucial stages of accumulating sword qi and merging it with the blade, he simply used "spirit-guided sword control," which wasn't particularly difficult.

For Mo Hua, who had cultivated through spirit enlightenment, it was even relatively simple.

The more Sister Situ watched, the more astonished he became—and the more regretful he felt.

"Young Master's spirit-guided sword control is incredibly fast and far-reaching, but the power… is truly pitiful…"

It's not entirely without power.

There's a little bit.

But that little power comes merely from the "force" of spirit-guided object manipulation, like throwing a hidden weapon bare-handed—useless in practice.

Moreover, he's using a "broken sword."

The blade itself isn't sharp, and it's even rusted.

Sister Situ shook his head.

Still, he faithfully assisted Mo Hua in practicing "spirit-guided sword control" all day, until Mo Hua became quite proficient, before they returned to the sect.

After returning to the sect, Mo Hua specially invited Sister Situ to a lavish meal as thanks for his sword guidance.

Among fellow disciples, being invited to dinner by Young Master was quite an honor.

Sister Situ enjoyed the meal thoroughly.

After eating their fill, they each returned to the disciples' quarters.

Back in the disciples' quarters, Mo Hua practiced array diagrams for a while to aid digestion, then began pondering his next plan.

First, he had already learned the spirit-guided sword control technique.

Although he'd only practiced for a day, he understood the essential principles.

He just needed more practice to improve his proficiency.

Perhaps there were more advanced methods of "spirit-guided sword control," but those were too distant and irrelevant to his current needs.

The "Sword Control Scripture" of He Sect would suffice for now.

Next, the most important thing was forging a sword.

As Sister Situ said, his spirit-guided sword control was fast and far-reaching, but without sword qi to deliver destruction, it was truly a waste.

But Mo Hua knew well that he would never achieve any real mastery in sword qi in this lifetime.

So he could only play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses—using "sword arrays" to replace "sword qi."

……

It was another ten-day break; Mo Hua didn't go to the Demon Refining Mountains but instead met Master Gu at a small parlor in the Gu family's residence for tea.

The parlor was elegant and finely crafted, and it was inscribed with a soundproof array.

This was a customary practice among noble families.

Small reception parlors were inscribed with soundproof arrays to protect guests' privacy and prevent eavesdropping.

Mo Hua and Master Gu chatted in the small parlor.

He clearly explained his purpose to Master Gu.

Master Gu froze in surprise, "Forging a spiritual sword?!"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded. "I want to try forging some spiritual swords first—metal-element ones, with cheaper materials…"

Because his "sword control" was unusual—he relied on sword arrays for destruction—he would essentially use up one sword per attack.

If the cost were high, he'd bankrupt himself.

"…Simple in form, and like the Five Elements Source Armor, it must be open-source—the arrays cannot be sealed inside; they must have external interfaces…"

Mo Hua added each detail.

Master Gu frowned deeply and shook his head.

"To be honest, Young Master, the Gu family isn't a swordmaster lineage; our Gu Mountain forge has never forged proper spiritual swords. The occasional orders we take are all common, run-of-the-mill blades—not worthy of mention."

"These so-called 'swords' are no different in essence from knives, spears, or clubs—only shaped like swords, lacking the true substance of spiritual swords."

"Most importantly, they lack internal sword arrays…"

"Sword arrays…" Mo Hua began, then suddenly felt a chill—he immediately realized a serious problem.

He couldn't tell Master Gu about the Breakgold Sword Array.

He had obtained this array from He Sect.

No sect would ever allow its core sword array to leak, let alone He Sect, which was so narrow-minded.

He himself had secretly learned it, which was fine.

After all, array arts were profound and obscure; even if he spoke of them, others might not understand—or believe him.

But if Master Gu and his forge were involved in crafting them, the trouble would be immense.

If He Sect found out, Master Gu, a third-grade armorer, and the entire Gu Mountain forge would all be implicated.

So the sword forging couldn't be entrusted to Master Gu and his people.

Mo Hua's mind raced; after a brief pause, he said:

"Sword arrays… are indeed troublesome. The sect doesn't teach them, and I can't obtain a true sword array lineage right now…"

So I'll skip the sword array for now, Master Gu, just forge me some simple spirit swords as "array mediums"—shape them like swords, use the weapon as the medium…

Master Gu, without suspicion, slowly nodded and said:

"Alright, as the Young Master wishes, I'll go try."

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.

After returning home, Master Gu spent about half a month and, per Mo Hua's request, preliminarily forged several spirit swords.

These were all ordinary spirit swords.

As Master Gu had said, they merely looked like "swords," no different in appearance from spirit weapons like blades or staves.

Internally, their structure had been modified with array openings, making them fundamentally ordinary array mediums.

But they were sufficient for testing the power of "sword control."

Mo Hua, in his spare time, inscribed the Breakgold Sword Array inside these spirit swords.

Unlike the sword array used by the Breakgold Sect to forge swords, the Breakgold Sword Array Mo Hua inscribed within them was a self-sustaining, cyclic array system.

The conventional Breakgold Sword Array relies on the cultivator to supply Qi to amplify sword qi.

But Mo Hua's revised Breakgold Sword Array altered the array's layout, adding a separate Spirit Gathering Array as its core.

The Spirit Gathering Array would be pre-charged with Qi, supplying the spirit sword with energy; this Qi, flowing through the array, would transform into sharp Breakgold Sword Qi.

Thus, by using spirit stones to supply Qi, one no longer needed to rely on one's own internal Qi.

Mo Hua's Qi was weak, and he couldn't afford powerful sword techniques.

After inscribing the array, Mo Hua sealed the spirit swords.

On his day off, he went to Demon Refining Mountain.

Mo Hua found a secluded spot, extended his spiritual sense, confirmed no one was nearby and no beast lurked, then began practicing sword control.

He first drew a turtle on a large rock.

This turtle was the target.

Then Mo Hua retreated, stepping back one hundred and seventy zhang, sat cross-legged on the spot, took out a spirit sword, and placed it before him.

Mo Hua held his breath, focused his mind, silently activated the sword control method from the Breakgold Sword Control Scripture, used his spiritual sense to manipulate the spirit sword, and locked onto the turtle on the distant rock.

With a flick of his spiritual intent, the spirit sword flashed.

A streak of Jin Guang shot out instantly.

Then, from afar, came a boom—rock shattered, stones flew in all directions.

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly; he immediately rose and ran forward.

The spirit sword struck the turtle precisely.

At the moment of impact, the array activated: the accumulated Qi in the Spirit Gathering Array triggered the Breakgold Sword Array, transforming into razor-sharp sword qi that shredded the rock.

The large rock was now crisscrossed with spiderweb-like cracks.

The turtle had been reduced to powder.

The spirit sword, unable to withstand the sword qi unleashed by the Breakgold Sword Array, was riddled with cracks and rendered useless.

Mo Hua frowned.

The power wasn't weak, but it wasn't as strong as he'd hoped.

First, the array's transformation was still crude.

After all, his use of the Breakgold Sword Array—its purpose now—was vastly different from its original intent, if not entirely opposite.

Turning an array designed for "amplification" into one for "explosive annihilation" couldn't be done overnight.

Second, the array and the spirit sword weren't well-matched.

The spirit sword couldn't fully contain the array's flow, and the array couldn't fully guide the sword's killing aura.

Third, the spirit sword's quality was simply too low.

After all, they were cheap spirit swords; one couldn't expect too much power.

Mo Hua sighed faintly.

He now had killing power, but it was far from sufficient—not nearly meeting his expectations.

He could find a way to solve the array's issues.

Following array principles, he could gradually optimize the array core, revise the array patterns, and awaken greater power from the sword array.

But forging swords was harder to handle.

To improve the spirit sword's quality and its compatibility with the array, an ordinary alchemist wouldn't do—he needed a specialized "swordsmith" skilled in sword weapon forging.

Master Gu wasn't suitable.

Though Master Gu was a third-grade alchemist, he had no backing in the Gu family; he couldn't be told any secret matters, or he'd be dragged into trouble.

Moreover, Master Gu had a large family and business—the vast Gu Mountain Alchemy Workshop depended on him for survival.

He couldn't endanger him.

Best would be a scion of a prominent family, with some background.

Someone from the same sect as himself, so communication and sword forging would be easier.

Someone he could trust.

Someone with high-level swordsmithing skill.

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