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Chapter 167: Earth and Stone Array (Part Five)
Chapter 167: Earth and Stone Array (Part Five)
The next day, Qian Hong met with Elder Yu.
Mo Hua poked his head out of the mine and secretly observed, immediately recognizing Qian Hong.
Qian Hong was Qian Xing's father, and Mo Hua had seen Qian Xing's appearance before when he blasted him with the Earth and Fire Array. Knowing their father-son resemblance, it was easy to identify Qian Hong.
Even without the facial similarities, Mo Hua could easily distinguish him as one of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Qian Family.
Qian Zhongxuan stood by Qian Hong's side, and although they were both at the same cultivation level, Qian Hong's bearing was clearly a notch above.
Qian Zhongxuan, with his deep frown and stern expression, couldn't hold a candle to the dignified aura exuded by the head of the prestigious Qian Family, Qian Hong.
Mo Hua asked curiously, "Elder, why do you call Qian Hong an 'old turtle'?"
At the very least, on the surface, Qian Hong exuded an air of arrogance and handsomeness, an extraordinary figure.
Elder Yu replied, "Do you want to know?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Alright, you'll see soon enough."
"See what?" Mo Hua was a bit perplexed.
Soon after, the two sides faced off. Elder Yu stood at the cave entrance, halfway up the mountain, his horse positioned sideways, and he began to hurl insults at Qian Hong and Qian Zhongxuan.
He berated them from head to toe.
Qian Zhongxuan trembled with rage, but Qian Hong's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard a word.
When Elder Yu grew tired of cursing, he took a break and said to Mo Hua, "Now do you understand?"
Mo Hua nodded and exclaimed, "He truly is an 'old turtle'! He sure can take it!"
Despite being insulted so harshly, Qian Hong's expression remained unmoved, not uttering a single word, his eyebrows not even twitching.
"To put it nicely, he's deep and calculating. To put it bluntly, he's shameless," Elder Yu said.
Mo Hua asked, "Elder, won't provoking him like this be a problem?"
Elder Yu scoffed, "Whether I provoke him or not makes no difference. As long as there's something to gain, he'll abandon all else, even his own family. Don't think that by not provoking him, he'll suddenly develop a conscience."
Mo Hua nodded and then asked, "Are we going to fight them now?"
Elder Yu sighed, "It's best if we don't. We've been fighting for too long, and our prolonged battle has left us exhausted. They, on the other hand, keep sending wave after wave of fresh cultivators. If we engage in another head-on battle, it won't bode well for us. Moreover, our food supply and healing pills are running low."
"Are we going to run?"
"Yes."
"How? With so many Qian Family cultivators around, it won't be easy to escape, will it?" Mo Hua furrowed his brows.
"Initially, I thought we could simply defeat the Qian Family and transport the spirit minerals out in broad daylight. But now, with the Qian Family swarming like locusts and Qian Hong, the old turtle, personally getting involved, that plan won't work."
Elder Yu said, "Our only option is to dig another tunnel and sneak away."
Mo Hua paused, "A tunnel? Is there enough time to dig one now?"
Elder Yu sighed, "It's hard to say. We need to hold our ground at the cave entrance and buy as much time as possible."
Mo Hua nodded, but he didn't feel optimistic about their chances of holding the entrance.
Indeed, the mine was not an easy place to defend.
From then on, the Qian Family launched unpredictable attacks daily, neither greedy for merit nor obsessed with fighting, their sole purpose being to wear down the hunters' morale.
At the same time, they kept the hunters occupied, not allowing them to make any other moves.
Elder Yu had to assign people to defend the cave entrance, extract the spirit minerals, and dig an escape tunnel, spreading their forces thin.
For a time, they were in a state of chaos and desperation.
Mo Hua, too, was worried, but he couldn't think of a better solution.
One day, Elder Yu suddenly found Mo Hua and asked helplessly, "Mo Hua, is there an array that can seal this mine?"
Since they couldn't defend it, it was better to seal it entirely, preventing the Qian Family from entering. That way, they could dig their escape tunnel and get out.
"Seal it entirely?"
"Just leave one or two entrances."
Mo Hua thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up as an idea came to him. "I know one! It can reinforce the soil and stone, sealing the cave entrance. I saw it in one of Mr. Zhuang's array books."
Elder Yu sighed, "Then I'll have everyone hold on a little longer while you learn it first. There's no need to rush..."
In truth, Elder Yu was feeling anxious.
While they could hold out for a short while, a prolonged stalemate with the Qian Family would be torturous. The Qian Family had reinforcements and ample supplies, while they did not.
However, Elder Yu did not want to pressure Mo Hua, who had already been of great help.
He understood that learning formations was no easy task, and it was common for formation masters to spend ten days to half a month studying a formation. Otherwise, formation masters wouldn't be so rare.
Elder Yu hesitated, unsure how long it would take Mo Hua to learn this formation. If it took him ten days or more, they might not be able to hold out, and they would have to come up with another plan.
Elder Yu stood up as if to leave, but he couldn't help but ask softly, "Mo Hua, I'm not rushing you, but I'm just curious, how long will it take for you to learn this formation?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment before replying, "If I'm quick, by tomorrow morning. If I'm slow, the morning after that."
This formation wasn't an exotic first-grade formation, and Mo Hua was learning formations at a fast pace these days. He could memorize the formation patterns during the day and practice them on the Dao stele at night. One or two nights should be sufficient.
Elder Yu's mouth hung open.
He felt that all his previous worries were unnecessary, and the rollercoaster of emotions left him with a complex expression. "You formation masters, do you all learn formations this quickly...?"
Mo Hua chuckled, "Maybe not all of us."
"Then it's just that this young fellow, Mo Hua, is a fast learner..." Elder Yu thought to himself as he glanced at Mo Hua.
Regardless, having a day or two was more than enough time.
Elder Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then take your time learning it, and I won't disturb you further." With that, he left with a relaxed expression.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, opened the Thousand Formation Records and flipped through it to find a particular formation. This formation consisted of nine earthen formation patterns and was called the First-Grade Earth and Stone Array.
The Earth and Stone Array was a type of first-grade earthen formation that could fuse soil and stone together, making them harder.
The formation patterns weren't complicated, and Mo Hua had a general grasp of them after a few reviews. Moreover, it was still early in the day, and several hours remained until midnight.
Only at midnight could Mo Hua enter his sea of consciousness and practice the formation on the Dao stele.
"What should I do now?"
Mo Hua propped his chin in his hand, deep in thought.
He had already memorized the formation patterns, and reviewing them a few more times wouldn't make much difference.
Mo Hua decided to take out some paper and a brush to practice drawing the First-Grade Earth and Stone Array on paper.
Usually, when learning formations, he would first practice on the Dao stele until he had mastered it before drawing it on paper to conserve resources.
But at this point, conserving paper and ink didn't seem like a priority.
Mo Hua began drawing the First-Grade Earth and Stone Array on paper.
As expected, his first attempt failed.
Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed but not too upset, as he still had over a thousand bottles of demon blood, ensuring he had plenty of spiritual ink.
He started on the second attempt, but it failed again.
The third attempt also ended in failure.
Mo Hua took a moment to reflect and calm himself before continuing. As he drew, he suddenly found that he had effortlessly succeeded...
Mo Hua tried infusing some spiritual energy, and the formation patterns lit up, emitting a faint gray glow.
Was that it? Mo Hua felt happy but also a bit... underwhelmed.
He had originally planned to spend the entire night practicing the Earth and Stone Array, but now he had mastered it before nightfall.
"So, what should I learn tonight?"
Mo Hua scratched his head and flipped through the messy pile of formation books beside him. His eyes landed on a particular formation: the First-Grade Wood and Earth Restoration Array.
(End of Chapter)
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