Chapter 31: The Artificer
Chapter 31: The Artificer
Master Chen, an Artificer with eight layers of Qi cultivation, was well over a hundred years old. He had a sturdy build, his hair and beard half-white, his face perpetually tanned from years of working by the forge, but his eyes sparkled with vigor and his voice boomed.
Master Chen was overseeing several disciples as they worked the iron. Perhaps they had made a mistake, as Master Chen scolded them, his eyes widened in disapproval. The tall and muscular disciples meekly accepted the reprimand, not daring to lift their heads.
After the scolding, Master Chen picked up a large hammer and demonstrated the proper technique. His sturdy frame swung the hammer with vigor, causing sparks to fly from the red-hot refined iron. Gradually, the metal began to take on the shape of a blade.
When he finished hammering, Master Chen merely wiped the sweat from his brow, his breath steady, as if he hadn't exerted much energy.
Mo Hua, with his naturally weak physique, looked on enviously. He wished he could have such strength someday...
"Watch closely, this is how you work the iron. What were you doing just now? You were lackadaisical, even a young lady embroidering would have more spirit than you lot!"
Master Chen chastised his disciples once more. Turning his head, he noticed a child with rosy lips, white teeth, and sparkling eyes looking at him with admiration.
Master Chen hesitated and asked, "Little one, do you want to learn Artifice as well?"
For rogue cultivators, making a living was difficult. Once they left their sect, they had to fend for themselves. Those who couldn't learn practical skills within their sect had to find their own paths and learn a trade.
Many cultivators in the area sent their children to Master Chen to learn Artifice, ensuring they could support themselves in the future.
Master Chen only charged a nominal fee in spirit stones, and if they didn't have any, he would accept spirit grains or similar offerings.
Mo Hua looked at the tall and burly disciples, then at his own slender arms and legs, and shook his head helplessly. He then asked directly, "Master, do you also help people refine stoves here?"
"Stoves?" Master Chen looked at Mo Hua, "Why does a child like you ask about this?"
"I'm asking for my mother," Mo Hua replied.
"I can certainly refine stoves, but it requires a lot of refined iron, which translates to a substantial amount of spirit stones," Master Chen explained.
"What about a smaller one? Would it be cheaper?" Mo Hua inquired.
"Of course," Master Chen said, "A smaller stove requires significantly less refined iron and manpower, so it's naturally less expensive. However, it's uncommon for people in Tongxian City to refine small stoves. You'd have to commission someone separately for the array design and engraving, which could also cost a considerable amount of spirit stones."
"Then, how much would it cost to refine the smallest stove?" Mo Hua asked.
Master Chen didn't treat Mo Hua any differently just because he was a child. He took out a piece of paper and carefully listed the prices of various materials, then calculated the total cost for stoves of different sizes and scales.
Handing the paper to Mo Hua, Master Chen continued, "These are just the material costs. We Artificers also charge for our labor, calculated by the day. We charge for the number of days it takes to refine the stove."
"Oh, I understand," said Mo Hua, making notes. He then bid his farewells, "I've noted everything down. I'll discuss it with my parents and come back to you once we decide on the size of the stove we want."
Master Chen nodded and waved his hand, "Go home early, and be careful on your way, little one!"
Master Chen didn't pay much attention to Mo Hua's words. Many cultivators had asked him to refine artifacts but then disappeared after hearing the price. Most of them said they would consider it and never returned.
Moreover, Mo Hua was just a child of ten or so years old, and the artifact he wanted was a time-consuming and labor-intensive spiritual tool. Master Chen didn't expect anything to come of it.
When Mo Hua returned home, he chose a stove of a suitable size and within his family's means, based on the prices Master Chen had provided. The materials alone would cost around 150 spirit stones.
There was also the artificer's labor fee to consider.
Mo Hua didn't know how long it would take Master Chen to refine such a stove.
The most crucial part now was the array.
Mo Hua spread the Molten Fire Array diagram on the table and began to study it carefully.
The diagram consisted of five fire-attribute array runes, with most of the strokes originating from the Li Fire position. Just looking at the intricate runes, one could tell that this array was far more complex than the Metal and Stone Array or the Solid Earth Array.
Mo Hua heaved a soft sigh, pushed aside all distractions, and focused on memorizing the runes and the order in which they were drawn.
He was so engrossed in his studies that he didn't notice the passing of time, and before he knew it, night had fallen.
Even during mealtimes, Mo Hua's thoughts remained on the Molten Fire Array, and he would often space out mid-chew, holding a bun in his hand as he lost himself in thought.
Liu Ruhua found this both amusing and annoying, and she pinched his cheeks gently, "Eat your food properly, and you can think about other things afterward."
Mo Hua snapped out of his reverie and let out a soft laugh before focusing on his meal. After finishing, he rushed back to his room.
Having memorized the array runes, Mo Hua spent another hour practicing with ink that contained no spiritual energy on some scrap paper. Then, at midnight, he entered his spirit sea and began practicing the array on the stele.
While the runes were intricate, the basic structural logic was no different from other arrays. Memorizing them wasn't too difficult, but the real challenge would be his spiritual sense.
Mo Hua's spiritual sense might not be sufficient to draw a complete Molten Fire Array.
Mo Hua began drawing the Molten Fire Array on the fragmented stele.
The first three runes went smoothly, but he started to struggle noticeably with the fourth, his spiritual sense slowing down and feeling increasingly strained, as if it were drying up.
Mo Hua's young brows furrowed slightly.
By the time he finished drawing the fourth rune, his spiritual sea was throbbing with pain, as if the receding tide had left cracks in its wake.
Mo Hua quickly stopped and erased the runes from the fragmented stele, and only then did the pain in his spiritual sense ease.
He slumped onto the illusory-solid ground of his spiritual sea, panting heavily.
"It's not going to work... my spiritual sense is lacking by quite a bit."
Mo Hua's spiritual sense was only enough to draw four runes, and after that, he had no strength left to draw the fifth.
It seemed like he was just one rune short, but with his spiritual sense unable to improve quickly in the short term, this single rune could hold him back for a long time.
"What should I do now?"
Mo Hua pondered his dilemma.
It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that there were no shortcuts to improving one's spiritual sense.
At least, that was the consensus among the cultivators in Tongxian City who had reached the Refining Qi Realm.
Mo Hua had consulted Instructor Yan, who confirmed that the growth of one's spiritual sense mostly depended on the improvement of one's cultivation. The higher one's cultivation realm, the stronger their spiritual sense.
Additionally, one could enhance their spiritual sense by using it frequently and improving their control over it. For example, array masters, who often drew arrays, naturally had stronger spiritual senses due to the constant exercise of their spiritual senses.
Mo Hua had also asked if there were any secret techniques specifically for cultivating spiritual sense, to which Instructor Yan bluntly replied that there weren't any.
Whether it was in ancient texts or the records of the various noble clans, there were no safe and reliable methods for cultivating spiritual sense. Some of the more dubious techniques were associated with demonic cultivation methods, and practicing them would most likely lead to losing one's way and becoming a demonic cultivator—an enemy of all righteous cultivators.
Whether these techniques truly didn't exist or were being secretly hoarded by the noble clans was a mystery.
Even if they did exist, Mo Hua knew he wouldn't be able to obtain them, and even if he did, he wouldn't dare risk practicing them for fear of falling into the path of demonic cultivation.
Currently, at the third layer of the Refining Qi Realm, Mo Hua couldn't expect to quickly break through to the fourth layer, nor could he rely on improving his cultivation to enhance his spiritual sense.
That left him with only one option:
To keep drawing arrays.
Sometimes, the lack of shortcuts is the best shortcut.
(End of Chapter)
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