Chapter 117: Spirit Ink (Part 5)
Chapter 117: Spirit Ink (Part 5)
In the world of magic, speed is the key to invincibility!
Mo Hua quietly remembered this in his heart.
"Then, Grandpa Gui, what kind of magic should I learn next?" Mo Hua asked Gui Lao again.
He couldn't rely on Fireball Spell for his entire life...
"Whatever you like."
Gui Lao's response was equally casual.
"So, as long as I understand the principles, it doesn't matter what I learn..."
Mo Hua could only interpret it this way.
Gui Lao reverted to his taciturn self, and Mo Hua didn't press further. He could only continue practicing the Fireball Spell.
From then on, whenever Mo Hua had free time, he would practice the Fireball Spell. He kept Gui Lao's words in mind, aiming to make his spells faster and more precise!
Currently, he relied on the Shui Step to escape danger and the Fireball Spell for offense, barely achieving a balance between attack and defense, and gaining some self-preservation capabilities.
Mo Hua didn't rush to learn new spells. For now, there was no urgency, and even if he learned more, he might not be able to use them effectively.
Instead, he turned his attention back to formations.
Having reached the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, Mo Hua could now draw eight formation patterns, but he estimated that it would be impossible to draw nine patterns without breaking through to the sixth layer.
Just as Mr. Zhuang had said, one's spiritual sense was limited.
Every night, Mo Hua continued to practice formations on the Dao Monument, strengthening his spiritual sense. However, the improvement was minuscule, as if he had reached a bottleneck, and his sea of consciousness was already overflowing.
Given this, he could only wait for a breakthrough in his cultivation realm before attempting to draw a nine-pattern formation.
Nine pattern formations...
Mo Hua frowned in thought, then suddenly realized something startling.
A formation master who could draw nine patterns was a first-rate formation master! Unknowingly, he had almost reached this level?! Mo Hua was deeply shaken by this realization.
Although he would still need to undergo an assessment and there had to be a vacancy for a first-rate formation master, being able to draw a nine-pattern formation meant that he had already crossed the threshold. Mo Hua was filled with emotion as he thought, "Mr. Zhuang was right after all. As long as I focus solely on drawing formations, drawing them again and again, I will eventually become a first-rate formation master."
The simplest method is often the most effective!
Mo Hua wanted to boast a little, but remembering Mr. Zhuang's teachings about humility and modesty, he restrained himself and calmed his mind.
The path of cultivation was long, and momentary achievements meant little.
Only by remaining humble and steadfast could one aspire to the Great Dao of longevity.
Even if he wanted to boast, he should wait until he could draw nine pattern formations and officially become a first-rate formation master! Mo Hua nodded to himself.
However, Mo Hua's supply of spirit ink had once again become a problem...
If he wanted to learn nine-pattern formations and become a first-rate formation master, he needed to practice on the Dao Monument and other media like formation papers.
He had to learn and apply his knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of formations.
Moreover, Mo Hua's cultivation technique was the Tian Yan Jue, and the key to advancing in this technique was to unravel the mystery formation. Without solving the mystery formation, he would be unable to break through the bottleneck and progress to the next cultivation realm.
Unraveling the mystery formation required extensive experience with formations, so to solve it, he would need to study and practice formations diligently.
Whether it was for becoming a first-rate formation master or unraveling the mystery formation, Mo Hua needed to learn and practice a vast number of formations, which in turn meant he would need a large quantity of spirit ink...
Ordinarily, formation masters wouldn't require such a substantial amount of spirit ink because their limited spiritual sense meant they couldn't draw too many formations in a day, even if they wanted to study or trade them.
But Mo Hua was different.
His spiritual sense was significantly stronger than that of cultivators at the same level, and with the help of the Dao Monument, it was still gradually improving.
Additionally, due to the Tian Yan Jue, he could draw formations much faster than others, and with the meditation technique taught by Mr. Zhuang, his spiritual sense recovered quickly as well.
Consequently, his supply of spirit ink flowed out like water.
Elder Yu would occasionally send someone to provide Mo Hua with more spirit ink.
In Elder Yu's opinion, Mo Hua's young age meant his spiritual sense wasn't yet stable, and this amount of spirit ink should be sufficient for his needs.
However, in reality, it was far from enough for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua felt somewhat troubled but couldn't think of a solution. Suddenly, a question popped into his mind:
"I wonder how spirit ink is concocted?"
Mo Hua considered asking Mr. Zhuang, but since this question wasn't particularly profound, he decided against disturbing Mr. Zhuang's secluded cultivation. Instead, he sought out Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zisheng sat under the large elm tree, looking pained as he did his homework.
Mo Hua glanced at the book and saw that it was The Canon of Dan Pill Tempering Control and Quality.
Mo Hua couldn't understand it...
While he wasn't skilled in pill refining, he did know about the formations within pill refining cauldrons.
After all, he had once helped Old Man Feng repair the Water and Wood Spirit Control Formation inside a pill refining cauldron.
Bai Zisheng closed the book and lay down on the ground, stiff as a plank, like a beached fish.
"Zisheng, I have a question for you," Mo Hua said.
Bai Zisheng replied wearily, "This book is giving me a headache. Why don't you ask Zixi? Let me rest for a bit."
"Oh," Mo Hua said, turning to look at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi had also just closed her book, her eyes, like autumn pools, fixed on Mo Hua.
"Are you free?" Mo Hua asked softly.
Bai Zixi nodded slightly.
Mo Hua hesitated before asking, "How is the spirit ink for formations made?"
"It's made using demon beast blood, spirit liquid, spirit herbs, or spirit ores," Bai Zixi replied concisely, her voice as crisp and pleasant as ever.
But Mo Hua still didn't quite understand. "Is there a more specific method?"
Knowing only the ingredients wasn't helpful if he didn't know the ratios and process for concocting the spirit ink...
"Wait a moment," Bai Zixi said, opening a snow-white storage bag adorned with exquisite pale golden phoenix patterns. She flipped through it and pulled out a book.
Mo Hua eyed Bai Zixi's elegant yet intricate storage bag, curious about its contents. It seemed to hold all sorts of books.
Bai Zixi's slender, fair hand held the book out to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua took it and began to flip through the pages.
The title of the book was The First-Rate Spirit Ink Record, and it recorded the types of spirit ink commonly used for first-rate and lower-level formations, including the ingredients, formulas, and specific methods of concoction.
There was also a line on the cover that read: "White Family Clan's Secret Collection. Not to Be Circulated Externally."
Mo Hua glanced at Bai Zixi.
Bai Zixi said indifferently, "It's fine. It's not top-secret information."
Reassured, Mo Hua continued browsing through the book.
The method for concocting first-rate spirit ink was relatively simple. Most formulas used demon beast blood as the primary ingredient, mixed with spirit stone powder and spirit liquid at specific ratios, or with the juice of certain spirit herbs to neutralize the fierce nature of the demon beast blood, enhance its effectiveness, and harmonize the spiritual energy within the ink.
The amounts of spirit liquid and spirit herbs used were not large, so they weren't a problem. The most challenging ingredient to obtain was the demon beast blood.
The blood used for concocting spirit ink had to be drawn from a living demon beast or one that had died less than an hour ago.
Once a demon beast died, the blood would either cool and lose its potency over time or solidify entirely, rendering it useless for making spirit ink.
Moreover, extracting the blood required a special secret art called the Qi Blood Technique, which slowly guided the blood out of the demon beast's veins and into a specialized jade bottle for preservation to prevent coagulation.
(End of Chapter)
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