Chapter 57: Cultivation Technique
Chapter 57: Cultivation Technique
Mo Hua couldn't help but touch his face, then glanced down at his clothes before asking in confusion, "What are you looking at?"
Bai Zi Sheng couldn't contain himself any longer, "Was that... the Three Talents Array you were drawing just now?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Which type of Three Talents Array?"
"Are there many variations of the Three Talents Array?"
"What I mean is... was it the kind of Three Talents Array that incorporates the Six Paths Array Pattern?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
Bai Zi Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, "Your cultivation is only at the third layer of Qi Refining, right..."
"So?"
Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi exchanged glances.
After a moment of silence, Mo Hua suddenly realized, "So, it's quite an achievement to be able to draw an array with six paths array patterns at the third layer of Qi Refining?"
He had assumed that geniuses were commonplace in large clans, and drawing a few more array patterns shouldn't be too difficult.
Bai Zi Sheng was a little unconvinced, "It's not that uncommon."
"Then, could you draw the Three Talents Array when you were at the third layer of Qi Refining?"
Bai Zi Sheng didn't want to answer. After a long while, he stammered, "Well, I... I couldn't draw it, but that's because the teachers in our clan didn't allow it. Qi Refining cultivators have weak spiritual sense, and forcibly drawing complex arrays may damage their sea of consciousness due to excessive spiritual sense consumption, ruining their future prospects as array masters. It's not worth sacrificing your foundation for short-term gains."
"Oh," Mo Hua said, only half believing him.
"However," Bai Zi Sheng continued, "there are some gifted cultivators in our clan who can draw seven or eight array patterns at the third layer of Qi Refining. It's not that rare either."
Mo Hua nodded, knowing that while his talent was good, it might not be considered exceptional in the cultivation world where geniuses were commonplace.
He understood the concept of 'there's always someone better out there'.
Bai Zi Sheng patted Mo Hua's shoulder to comfort him, "Although it's not uncommon to be able to draw six paths array patterns at the third layer of Qi Refining, it's still impressive. With this talent for arrays, even in our clan, you would be considered above average. As long as you work hard, you will definitely achieve great things in the field of arrays in the future."
Hearing this, Mo Hua felt relieved.
His goals weren't that ambitious; he just wanted to become a first-rate array master and have a decent livelihood in the cultivation world, making his parents happy. Anything beyond that could be left for later.
Only Bai Zi Xi remained silent, watching her brother.
Bai Zi Sheng felt inexplicably guilty under her gaze, so he averted his eyes and pretended to focus on cultivating.
Among Master Zhuang's three named disciples, the Bai siblings were twins, with Bai Zi Sheng as the older brother and Bai Zi Xi as the younger sister. They were two to three years older than Mo Hua and had attained the seventh layer of Qi Refining, four layers higher than Mo Hua.
This was because disciples from prestigious families focused on building a solid foundation for cultivation, emphasizing steady progress over rapid advancement.
They had to take one step at a time, laying a deep foundation before attempting to break through to the next realm; otherwise, their cultivation levels would have been even higher.
Mo Hua felt that he might be able to catch up to the Bai siblings in terms of array mastery, but in terms of cultivation, he might never surpass them.
Therefore, Mo Hua spent about an hour every morning on his routine cultivation, absorbing a spirit stone and cultivating slowly and steadily.
With only a middling-to-low-grade spirit root, this monotonous cultivation routine was the only option for Mo Hua.
He wasn't in a rush, nor could he afford to be. There was no point in hurrying, as the pace of cultivation was largely determined by one's spirit root, and there were no shortcuts.
One day, while cultivating, Mo Hua suddenly felt a tingling, swollen sensation in his qi sea, indicating that it was full and that he could consider breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
Amidst his excitement, Mo Hua suddenly realized that he had forgotten something important: he hadn't chosen a cultivation technique yet!
Previously, he had planned to save up spirit stones and purchase a small five-elemental attributed cultivation technique from Tongxian Gate—something economical that didn't require too many heavenly treasures.
However, after the change in leadership at Tongxian Gate and Yan Jiaoxi's departure from the sect, the outer sect no longer taught array techniques, so Mo Hua had dropped out.
After being accepted as Master Zhuang's named disciple, Mo Hua had focused solely on learning arrays and neglected the matter of finding a cultivation technique.
Both his parents cultivated using techniques that were slightly incompatible with his own attributes and leaned more towards body cultivation, so they weren't suitable for him. Outside of Tongxian Gate, he didn't know where else to look for a suitable technique.
Ideally, one should start cultivating a technique in the early stages of Qi Refining, and Mo Hua was about to reach the fourth layer, so he couldn't delay any longer.
"Zi Sheng, when did you start cultivating your technique?"
"In a few days, when my father and the others return from their demon hunting trip, I can take you to see the demons they've slain," he added.
Bai Zi Sheng's eyes lit up at the offer. "Really?"
"Of course!" Mo Hua replied.
Bai Zi Sheng immediately said, "Zi Xi and I started practicing a cultivation technique as soon as we began our cultivation journey. It's always better to start learning a technique early on, and it's best if it's a technique passed down in your lineage. If you learn techniques from different lineages at different stages of your cultivation, the discrepancies can lead to a higher risk of deviation."
Mo Hua nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Bai Zi Sheng exclaimed in surprise, "You don't mean to tell me that you haven't started cultivating a technique yet, do you?"
Mo Hua shook his head. "No, it's not easy for a rogue cultivator like me to choose a suitable technique."
"No matter how difficult it is, surely you must have some technique by now..." Bai Zi Sheng argued.
Mo Hua rolled his eyes at him. "That's like asking someone who has no meat to eat why they don't just eat meat."
"What do you mean by that?" Bai Zi Sheng asked, confused.
"It means you don't understand the difficulties because you're not in my shoes," Mo Hua explained.
Bai Zi Sheng scratched his head. "It's a shame that the techniques of my family can't be passed on externally; otherwise, I would have secretly given you a few rare and excellent techniques."
Mo Hua asked, "Aren't the grades of cultivation techniques determined by a cultivator's spirit root? With a middle-to-low-grade spirit root, one can only learn middle-to-low-grade techniques. If it's already in that category, how can there be any further distinction in quality? Surely it can't be better than a high-grade technique?"
"That's where you're wrong," Bai Zi Sheng said. "Some special techniques have unique effects. Some techniques allow for faster cultivation, while others focus on body refinement or pill refinement..."
"Of course, the grade of the technique is still the most important factor," he continued. "After all, the strength of a cultivator mainly depends on the quantity of their spiritual power. But one's spirit root is predetermined and can't be changed, so there's not much to discuss there."
A rare technique with special effects...
Mo Hua pondered for a moment before shaking his head again. "Even if there are rare techniques, I wouldn't be able to cultivate them. If a technique is rare, then the spiritual objects required to cultivate it will also be rare. If I can't gather those objects in my lifetime, my cultivation will be stagnant forever..."
"That's true," Bai Zi Sheng frowned. "I forgot that you're a rogue cultivator and may not be able to gather those rare spiritual objects from the heavens and the earth..." He paused for a moment before continuing, "How about you ask Master Zhuang for advice?"
Mo Hua thought about it but eventually shook his head. "It's already a great honor for me to be taught array formations by Master Zhuang. How can I be so greedy as to ask him to teach me a cultivation technique as well?"
Bai Zi Sheng nodded approvingly. "Good, you have backbone! Only then are you worthy of being my, Bai Zi Sheng's, little brother."
Mo Hua corrected him. "I'm not your little brother."
Bai Zi Sheng insisted, "Of course, you are. I'm older than you, so you should call me Big Brother. Zi Xi, isn't that right?" He turned to look at Bai Zi Xi, who was absorbed in her book and ignored him.
"Zi Xi is also older than you, so you should call her Sister Zi Xi," Bai Zi Sheng added.
Bai Zi Xi's long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she lifted her gaze from her book, her eyes shining with a subtle light.
Mo Hua snorted coldly. "You wish."
"So many people want to be my little brother, but I'm not happy about it," Bai Zi Sheng said proudly.
"Who wants to? If you don't take me to see the demons, then forget it," Mo Hua retorted.
"Fine!" Bai Zi Sheng said angrily. "You're going back on your word. We had an agreement, and now you're changing your mind?"
The two bickered for a while before finally reaching a compromise. Bai Zi Sheng agreed to let Mo Hua address him by name, and Mo Hua promised to take him to see the demons at the end of the month.
The group spent the day cultivating and reading. As evening fell and they prepared to part ways, Bai Zi Sheng asked again, "So, what are you going to do about your cultivation technique?"
"Hmm..." Mo Hua replied thoughtfully. "I'll ask my parents about it when I get home. Anyway, I want to become an array master, and array masters rely more on spiritual sense than spiritual power, so I don't need an exceptional technique."
"Just any technique won't do," Bai Zi Sheng insisted. "We're both disciples of Master Zhuang, and if your cultivation is lacking, it will reflect poorly on me."
Bai Zi Sheng huffed indignantly. "I'll look for a technique that suits you and isn't too strictly guarded by my clan. You can secretly learn it then."
With that, he and Bai Zi Xi bid farewell and returned home.
Mo Hua shook his head helplessly, but he also felt touched by Bai Zi Sheng's kindness. He gathered his belongings and headed home as well.
At that moment, Master Zhuang, who had been resting in his bamboo room, opened his eyes. His slender, pale fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of his bamboo chair as he murmured, "A cultivation technique, hmm..."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
