Chapter 749: The Boy

Using spiritual sense to control swords, using spiritual sense as the controller, spiritual swords as the medium, sword arrays as the structure, and the principles of spiritual force inversion and spiritual force fusion to generate terrifying destructive power…

Just imagining it, Mo Hua found it terrifying.

But it's a pity…

He still hadn't formally studied array techniques.

As for sword arrays, he had only learned one: the "Break Gold Sword Array," let alone the "Sword Dao Array Technique," which involves simplifying complexity, unifying multiplicity, and touching the very origin of Sword Dao.

That goal was still too far away.

Yet thanks to this, Mo Hua gradually developed ideas and direction.

Combining spiritual sense sword control with array-based destruction.

Learn more arrays, comprehend the laws of all things;

Practice sword control more, deepen understanding of Sword Dao.

One day in the future, he would spiritually awaken the Great Dao, merge with sword arrays, and create a supreme Sword Dao "weapon" using "spiritual sense sword control" as its method, swords as its form, arrays as its core, and carrying the power of Great Dao's laws!

Mo Hua's heart brimmed with anticipation.

He patted Ouyang Mu's shoulder and said with great expectation:

"You must study sword forging well!"

From now on, sword forging will rely entirely on Little Wood.

Ouyang Mu was somewhat confused, but he was still pleased to be acknowledged by Mo Hua.

Afterward, he continued to diligently study sword forging.

The quality of spiritual swords had reached its limit.

The power of sword control had hit a bottleneck.

Ouyang Mu could only think of improvement from other angles—first, reducing costs.

Mo Hua's "unorthodox" sword control method sacrificed one spiritual sword every time it was used.

Spiritual swords had become consumables.

Prolonged use would be a massive expenditure.

Ouyang Mu thought: since power couldn't be increased further, he might as well cut costs to save Mo Senior Brother some merit.

Merit was hard to earn.

He knew this well.

Although now, forging swords for Mo Senior Brother had earned him a substantial amount of merit, his habit of frugality and thrift was etched into his bones.

Ouyang Mu talked with Mo Hua and began experimenting with how to "cut corners" without reducing power—using cheaper materials to forge spiritual swords.

Ordinary spiritual swords, designed for long-term use and balancing power with durability, required complex forging processes and expensive materials—each unit of material delivered its due value, leaving no room for cutting corners.

But Mo Hua's sword control method: once the array exploded, each sword was used once and destroyed.

So all traditional forging concepts—requiring swords to be "sturdy and durable," "structurally stable," "aesthetically elegant"—could be discarded.

Even the sword's very structure could be designed to "explode."

Not sturdy, not durable, not stable—but flammable, explosive, prone to shattering.

This was something Mo Hua had said offhand.

Ouyang Mu had never imagined swords could be forged in such a bizarre way.

Alchemy wasn't always rigidly following manuals and rules.

"The rules of objects are made by people; objects are dead, people are alive. You must adapt the rigid 'objects' according to living people…"

Mo Hua said thus.

Ouyang Mu felt as if enlightened by a sudden revelation, and respectfully said:

"Mo Senior Brother, you know so much!"

Although Mo Senior Brother's alchemy skill wasn't great, his words were truly insightful!

"Objects are dead, people are alive; put people first, don't be bound by form…"

Ouyang Mu nodded seriously.

Thus, Ouyang Mu—the originally shy, reserved, earnest, "Little Wood"-like boy—gradually became "corrupted" by Mo Hua in alchemy…

Thereafter, Ouyang Mu began experimenting with more alchemical ideas.

Guided by the needs and practical functions of cultivators, he pursued his goals "by any means necessary."

Mo Hua was also much less burdened.

He merely needed to say what kind of spiritual instrument he wanted, what effect he needed, and which array to use—and Little Wood would go back, think it over, and by the next day present Mo Hua with a complete alchemy design.

Also, the Tai'e Sect and the Grand Void Sect were relatively close, making communication easy.

…

Thus, without realizing it, several months passed.

Under Mo Hua's leadership, the Grand Void Sect's demon-hunting teams kept growing.

Demon-hunting "strategies" multiplied.

The demon-hunting process became clearer, supporting spiritual instruments more refined, and the hunting system increasingly mature.

More demons were slain, and the harvested materials grew increasingly diverse.

Any Grand Void Sect disciple who hunted with Mo Hua in the Demon Hunting Mountains earned a fortune in merit.

With such abundant demon materials, Ouyang Mu's alchemy skill rose rapidly.

Meanwhile, because he often followed Mo Hua and repaired spiritual instruments for Grand Void Sect disciples, Ouyang Mu grew familiar with many of them.

In the Tai'e Sect, Ouyang Mu was rather reclusive.

Because of his unusual background—he was a direct scion of the Ouyang family, and should have become a prodigy of the sect like his elder brother.

But compared to his elder brother, he was ordinary, quiet, and poor at socializing.

Disciples of Tai'e Gate looked at him with strange eyes.

Envy, contempt, distance, and pity—all were mixed together.

Ouyang Mu felt deeply uncomfortable.

But when he mingled with Mo Hua and the disciples of Tai Xu Gate, Ouyang Mu became much more at ease.

He could forge and cast swords however he pleased.

Everyone called him "Little Wood," no one cared whether he bore the surname "Ouyang," and no one compared him to his extraordinary elder brother.

They simply saw him as a junior brother, a reliable forger—he didn't need to care about others' glances.

Though Ouyang Mu's temperament remained somewhat dull, his expression had grown much brighter; his thin face often wore a simple smile.

Sometimes, he himself didn't quite understand.

He was a disciple of Tai'e Gate, his own sectmates didn't get along with him—how, out of nowhere, had he become close with the disciples of Tai Xu Gate…

……

Another month passed; it was clear that in just over two months, the New Year would arrive.

Mo Hua's fourth year at Tai Xu Gate, busy as ever, was drawing to a close.

This day was also a ten-day rest day; Mo Hua entered the mountains as usual, and along the way, a crowd of Tai Xu Gate disciples greeted him.

"Senior Brother Xiao!"

Mo Hua smiled warmly and waved back to each one.

Walking through the mountains like this, he eventually reached a secluded spot, chose a large rock, sat cross-legged, and placed a spirit sword before him.

It was a spirit sword that looked plain, even slightly "cheap."

At the same time, it was the latest "Shatter-Type" spirit sword forged by Little Wood according to Mo Hua's instructions.

Since the sword he controlled would inevitably be damaged, better to let it shatter completely.

At the moment the sword array exploded, the spirit sword would "burst apart."

This had two advantages.

First, when the spirit sword shattered, its tiny fragments scattered like a storm of Ji Anqi, propelled by sword qi—enhancing the power of sword control to some degree.

Second, it could "destroy the evidence."

After using the sword, the spirit sword was instantly destroyed in its shattering form—no intact weapon remained, making it harder for others to discern the true nature of this sword control technique.

Moreover, this model of spirit sword was inexpensive to produce.

Little Wood had studied for a long time and tried many times before finally refining this Shatter-Type spirit sword.

Now Mo Hua came again to test it.

"A second-rank low-tier flying beast isn't strong enough…."

Mo Hua thought silently.

Flying beasts naturally had weaker blood qi and poorer flesh defenses; they were only troublesome because they could soar through the skies and move at incredible speed.

But none of these advantages could escape Mo Hua's "sword control."

After Little Wood improved the spirit sword, Mo Hua had already been able to kill a single hawk demon with one "sword control."

Now, after several iterations, this spirit sword had grown even stronger; Mo Hua wanted to test it on a more powerful beast.

"Second-rank mid-tier Wood Hawk."

This was the target Mo Hua had deliberately chosen.

The Wood Hawk was among the weaker second-rank mid-tier beasts, but still significantly stronger than second-rank low-tier ones.

Mo Hua calmed his mind, extended his spiritual sense, and sat still, waiting like a hunter by a tree stump.

Waiting for the beast to fly overhead so he could strike it with a single sword thrust.

But after waiting a long time, only second-rank low-tier bird demons flew past.

Mo Hua sighed faintly.

It truly took luck to encounter a second-rank mid-tier beast in the Outer Mountains.

Of course, it was mainly because the several mountain peaks of Tai Xu Gate had been hunted too ruthlessly.

Though the Demon Beast Mountain had too many beasts for these disciples to ever finish killing, the beasts themselves knew which peaks were dangerous and which monks were ruthless—they migrated accordingly.

With fewer second-rank low-tier beasts, the mid-tier ones had become even scarcer.

Mo Hua sighed helplessly.

"Try another place?"

Outside these Tai Xu Gate peaks, he might find one.

After all, they were all in the Outer Mountains; he'd already scouted the terrain and wouldn't face great danger.

Mo Hua sheathed his sword, stood up, gazed into the distance, then chose a direction he thought might hold a beast and walked straight toward it.

Once beyond the Tai Xu Gate peaks, the surrounding terrain looked noticeably unfamiliar.

After walking a while, he spotted several disciples from other sects.

Some wore their sect's Dao robes; others did not.

Those who wore their sect's Dao robes did so because their fellow disciples were numerous and needed mutual support.

Those who didn't wear Dao robes were small groups of three or five, keeping low to avoid revealing their identities.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, silently removed his Tai Xu Gate Dao robe, and changed into a light gray casual outfit.

Alone, it was better to stay discreet.

Walking like this for a while, Mo Hua finally spotted traces of a second-rank mid-tier Wood Hawk.

He extended his spiritual sense, followed the trail, and reached a mountain forest—sure enough, there hovered the hawk demon, its gaze fierce and cruel, occasionally letting out piercing screeches.

The eagle demon's body was massive, its latent aura startling.

Whether in blood qi or demonic power, it surpassed ordinary second-rank low-tier demonic beasts by a full tier.

Mo Hua glanced back, first selecting an escape route for himself.

If this sword strike failed to severely wound the eagle demon, he must act decisively and flee at once.

Otherwise, if the eagle demon fixated on him, it would be troublesome.

After Mo Hua had chosen his route and ensured absolute safety, he sat cross-legged on the ground, drew his spirit sword, locked onto the enemy with his spiritual sense, and controlled the sword with his spiritual intent.

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

A brilliant Jin Guang suddenly flashed, slicing through the sky like a sharp golden line, accompanied by a faint sword hum, striking the hovering Wood Eagle Demon with lightning speed.

At the moment the spirit sword struck, golden sword qi erupted.

The sword qi, formed into an array, resembled a miniature hurricane, shredding the Wood Eagle Demon's divine body.

Meanwhile, the spirit sword itself was destroyed, shattered into pieces.

The blade fragmented into countless tiny shards, mixing with the sword qi and exploding like golden fireworks in broad daylight.

The shattered blade and sword qi tore together.

Even a second-rank mid-tier Wood Eagle Demon could not withstand it in sudden surprise.

Its feathers were shredded by the sword qi, while the broken fragments of the spirit sword cut into its flesh and skin.

This shattering-style sword control was, in another sense, a fusion of sword qi and sword weapon.

With a piercing shriek, the Wood Eagle Demon plummeted from the sky.

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