Chapter 10: Painting Arrays
Chapter 10: Painting Arrays
The morning after, Mo Hua finished his breakfast and put down his chopsticks before returning to his room. He took out his brush and paper, intending to copy the Bright Fire Array while the memory was still fresh in his mind.
He used the cheapest and most ordinary ink and paper, devoid of any spiritual energy. The arrays he painted had only patterns and held no power, so the spiritual energy they consumed was negligible, and he didn't have to worry about wasting spirit stones if he made a mistake.
Relying solely on his memory, Mo Hua flawlessly recreated the array in one go, and because he didn't expend much spiritual energy, he barely paused.
Mo Hua retrieved the diagram for the Bright Fire Array and carefully compared it to the array he had just painted, finding three mistakes.
He set the paper aside and took out a new sheet, determined to get it right. He painted three sheets in a row, and finally, he successfully copied the Bright Fire Array perfectly.
Mo Hua sighed in relief and stretched his lazy bones. He glanced at the small sundial on the table and realized it was already noon. Only then did he notice his stomach grumbling.
Liu Ru Hua had prepared a simple yet tasty meal of spirit rice, a few stir-fried vegetarian dishes, and, as the only meat dish, an egg from a yao chicken. Although the quality of the spirit rice was inferior, it was sufficient to fill their bellies.
The food was delicious, and Mo Hua ate heartily. After finishing his meal, he rushed back to his room to continue practicing his copying of the Bright Fire Array.
Liu Ru Hua watched Mo Hua's retreating figure with concern. "Our child is working too hard. He seems to have lost even more weight."
Mo Shan nodded. "It's good that he's diligent, but I worry about his health. He has a frail body and a weak foundation, so we must ensure he doesn't overexert himself."
Liu Ru Hua sighed. "It's a pity he didn't inherit your talent for body refinement. Instead, he takes after me, frail and sickly..."
Mo Shan gently embraced Liu Ru Hua's slender shoulders. "How can you blame yourself? When Hua'er was born, his vital energy was weak, so we asked Old Mr. Feng from Xinglin Hall to examine him. He said that at birth, spiritual consciousness and the physical body are balanced. Hua'er was born with strong spiritual consciousness, so his body is weaker. But look at him now. Despite his frailty, he's the smartest child in the neighborhood. His intelligence and good looks are all thanks to you."
Liu Ru Hua couldn't help but smile. "You sure know how to sweet-talk me."
Seeing his wife's relaxed expression, Mo Shan continued, "I spoke with Old Zhou from the Demon Hunting Team this morning, and I heard that they recently came across a Fire Juvenile Chicken. It's not a demonic beast, but its meat carries a bit of spiritual energy. I'll buy some for Mo Hua to try, and it will also help nourish your body."
"Do we have enough spirit stones?" Liu Ru Hua asked.
"Don't worry," Mo Shan reassured her. "They're my fellow demon hunters, friends I've hunted with. I can get it on credit, and pay them back after the new year."
Liu Ru Hua took off her storage bag and placed it in Mo Shan's hand. "Take what we can afford. If it's not enough, we can pay the rest later. The new year is approaching, and we should earn some spirit stones for the festivities."
Mo Shan thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright."
As Mo Hua's parents chatted, Mo Hua himself remained focused on painting the Bright Fire Array. He continued until late into the night, by which time he had become quite proficient.
At dinnertime, Mo Hua ate quickly and then rushed back to his room. He took a moment to calm his breath and gather his spirit before falling asleep right on schedule and entering his sea of consciousness.
In his consciousness, an ancient stele stood amidst a void of white.
Mo Hua used his fingers as a brush to paint the array on the stele. The array patterns gradually came together, and his spiritual consciousness flowed out.
As his spiritual energy gradually depleted and he struggled to maintain his focus, he finally completed the Bright Fire Array.
Mo Hua stopped painting, and the array on the stele emitted a gentle white light.
Without further ado, Mo Hua continued to practice drawing the array, determined to master it completely by the end of the night and then proceed to formally draw the formation the next day.
In his serene and empty sea of consciousness, Mo Hua repeatedly drew the Bright Fire Array, summarizing and reflecting on the various issues he encountered.
Before he knew it, dawn had broken, and Mo Hua found himself exiting his sea of consciousness involuntarily.
Feeling no fatigue, Mo Hua immediately got up, meditated and cultivated on his bed for a while, and then, after finishing his breakfast, he deliberately washed his hands and solemnly took out the formation materials given to him by the plump manager.
Among the materials were ten sheets of formation paper and ten small bottles of light red ink. The formation paper was made from demon beast hides and some spirit herb residue, while the ink was a mixture of fire-attribute demon beast blood and spirit liquid. Unlike the paper and ink Mo Hua usually used for copying, these were imbued with spiritual energy and, naturally, were much more expensive.
The plump manager had also included a new but crudely made brush as a gift, which was only slightly better than Mo Hua's regular one. Mo Hua didn't bother unwrapping it, opting to stick with the brush he was more accustomed to using.
Mo Hua spread the formation paper on the table and carefully poured the ink into an inkstone, which would help preserve the spiritual energy of the ink for a longer period.
After reviewing the array patterns of the Bright Fire Array in his mind one more time, Mo Hua began to formally draw the formation.
The process of drawing the formation went more smoothly than Mo Hua had anticipated. Aside from using genuine ink, paper, and brush, everything else felt exactly the same as drawing on the stele in his sea of consciousness, even the rate at which his spiritual consciousness was consumed.
However, due to some nervousness, his brushstrokes were slightly off, resulting in a formation that was a tad bit ugly, even though it wouldn't affect the effectiveness of the formation itself.
Expending all his spiritual consciousness, Mo Hua finally completed the Bright Fire Array, only to find that he had made one mistake.
Failure before success, and now he had to compensate with a spirit stone...
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel the pain of the loss.
With his spiritual consciousness depleted, Mo Hua could only close his eyes and rest, unable to continue drawing the formation.
"I wonder if there's a way to quickly restore spiritual consciousness..." Mo Hua thought to himself, longing for the times when he could practice formations on the Dao stele. Unfortunately, such an opportunity didn't exist in reality.
As Mo Hua rested, the morning turned to afternoon, and Liu Ru Hua called him for lunch.
During lunch, Mo Hua ate sparingly before rushing back to his room and spreading out a new sheet of formation paper.
Staring at the blank formation paper, Mo Hua steadied his emotions, summarized his experiences, and muttered to himself, "Failure is the mother of success." With renewed determination, he began to draw the Bright Fire Array for the second time.
This time, Mo Hua was more focused and cautious. He thought through each stroke before putting brush to paper and pre-visualized the upcoming array patterns. When his spiritual consciousness was depleted, he closed his eyes to rest, his mind still replaying the image of the Bright Fire Array.
Mo Hua drew slowly, but time flew by, and by dusk, he had finally succeeded in drawing the Bright Fire Array, albeit with some interruptions along the way.
Mo Hua couldn't conceal his excitement, and as the thrill of success wore off, the exhaustion from expending his spiritual consciousness caught up to him. Satisfied, he fell onto his bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.
When Mo Hua woke up, night had fallen, and his stomach was rumbling. Suddenly, a delicious aroma reached his nose, and following it, he walked into the main hall to find a large bowl of meat on the table!
(End of Chapter)
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