Chapter 628: Injuries
Chapter 628: Injuries
Moments later, another elder clad in the Taoist robe of Tai Xu arrived. This elder, whose robe was embroidered with a pill cauldron, took in the sight of the charred floor and the intricate array patterns on the walls, and couldn't help but gasp.
Then he noticed Mo Hua lying on the ground.
"Don't just stand there; help him!"
The two elders hurried over to examine Mo Hua's injuries and subsequently breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Mo Hua looked miserable and his injuries were not minor, they were not life-threatening.
The Pill Elder took out a bottle of spiritual liquid and sprinkled it on Mo Hua's wounds, neutralizing the remaining fire poison, washing away the charred bloodstains, and simultaneously stopping the bleeding.
He then took out a pill and fed it to Mo Hua.
Next, he placed his hand on Mo Hua's chest and continuously channeled his robust and pure Wood-based spiritual energy to nourish Mo Hua's meridians and treat his injuries...
After a while, color gradually returned to Mo Hua's pale face, and his breathing became steady.
However, his physical body was too weak, so his wounds were healing slowly, and he remained unconscious.
The Pill Elder heaved a sigh of relief. "He's almost recovered..."
"Fortunately, he was only affected by a small amount of magical spiritual power..."
"After nursing his injuries for half a month and giving him some adjustments, he should be fine. However, his hand is injured, and his meridians are damaged, so he won't be able to use spiritual power during this time..."
The Pill Elder felt relieved yet shook his head at the same time.
"Indeed, his physique is really poor..."
"So delicate and fragile; even a minor bump results in an injury, and it takes forever to recover..."
The Pill Elder looked at the unconscious Mo Hua with a hint of heartache and turned to complain to the Taoist Elder:
"You're the Taoist Elder, after all. When you have nothing better to do, teach him some body-refining techniques. I'm not expecting him to achieve anything significant, but at least he'll become stronger and recover faster from injuries..."
The Taoist Elder gave a bitter smile. "How can I not know that?"
"But it's not that simple. If he could practice, I would have taught him long ago..."
"Learning those basic skills is useless in actual combat."
"It's better to spend more time mastering body techniques to avoid getting injured in the first place..."
"Moreover, the body-refining techniques are intense and vigorous, not something easily learned."
"His foundation is weak. If he practices too much, his physical body might wither, and his blood energy might surge uncontrollably, causing self-inflicted injuries..."
Hearing this, the Pill Elder shook his head helplessly and said, "Then I'll refine a few pills to help nourish his blood energy..."
Although the effect might not be significant, it was better than nothing.
After speaking, the Pill Elder looked at the Taoist Elder sympathetically and added, "Be careful. Elder Xun will definitely trouble you about this."
The Taoist Elder's scalp tingled.
"You said there's no problem, so why did you teach this child such advanced magic techniques?" The Pill Elder asked, puzzled.
"I didn't teach him..."
"Do you think I'll believe that?"
The Taoist Elder's mouth felt bitter. "I really didn't teach him..."
The Pill Elder was taken aback, noticing that he didn't seem to be lying. He looked around and his expression changed slightly as he asked, "Then what is this...?"
"It's magic..."
"Are you stating the obvious? Of course, it's not an array; it's magic. But what kind of magic is it?"
The Taoist Elder pondered for a moment. "It seems to be... the Fireball Technique..."
The Pill Elder remained expressionless. "Impressive... What kind of Fireball Technique is this? Teach it to me so I can broaden my horizons."
The Taoist Elder was left speechless.
The Pill Elder pointed to the place where the magic puppet had originally been placed.
"This puppet, although it's only at the early Qi Refining stage, was crafted with the purpose of withstanding magical attacks. Thus, its magical defense is extremely high, and even a typical disciple at the middle Qi Refining stage might not be able to destroy it, let alone now..."
The Pill Elder's eyelids twitched. "...It was blown to ashes."
And yet, this child was merely a disciple at the early Qi Refining stage who had been cultivating for less than a year.
The Pill Elder looked at Mo Hua once more, astonished.
The Taoist Elder's heart was filled with doubt.
He couldn't remember teaching Mo Hua any powerful magic either.
Furthermore, even if there was such magic, given Mo Hua's spiritual root grade and the level of spiritual energy circulation in his dantian, he wouldn't have been able to learn or use it...
Unless...
The Taoist Elder sensed the lingering scorching aura and the abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations in the surroundings, his expression growing increasingly grave.
The Pill Elder asked, "Have you figured something out?"
The Taoist Elder frowned. "It's not just about the power of the magic. It seems more like..."
"What does it seem like?"
The Taoist Elder shook his head without answering, but his thoughts turned to Mo Hua's age and cultivation level, and he found it hard to believe. He murmured, "It shouldn't be... right...?"
...
When Mo Hua woke up, his head felt dizzy, his hand hurt, and his meridians felt sluggish.
He looked around and realized he was lying on a soft, white bed in a plain and serene room. Incense for calming the mind was burning, and the air was filled with a faint, bitter scent of medicinal pills.
By his side was a woman clad in the Taoist robe of Tai Xu. She had a graceful figure, a dignified face, and a hint of allure. She was silently watching him.
Mo Hua was a little surprised. "Elder Murong?"
His voice was hoarse and weak, as if his injury from the fire-attributed spiritual power was still affecting his speech.
Elder Murong nodded slightly. "Elder Xun was afraid that your condition might worsen, so he asked me to take care of you here."
Mo Hua was a little dazed, realizing only then that Elder Murong was a pill master.
Elder Murong approached Mo Hua, her fingers slender and fair as she gently touched his forehead. Her voice was as gentle as the evening breeze.
"You're mostly fine now..."
"However, your left hand is burned, and the meridians are damaged. You won't be able to use spiritual power for half a month, and your right hand has flesh wounds, so you shouldn't hold a pen for seven days..."
"I'll give you a few bottles of pills. Take one pill every morning and evening."
"Okay." Mo Hua nodded with some difficulty. "Thank you, Elder Murong..."
Elder Murong smiled gently.
After that, other cultivators came to visit Mo Hua one after another.
First was Yu'er.
After seeing Mo Hua's injuries, he stayed by his side, his small brows furrowed, and his eyes glistening with unshed tears. No matter how much he was urged to leave, he refused to go.
Elder Murong had no choice but to prepare a small bed and a blanket for him so he could sleep nearby.
Yu'er was quiet and well-behaved, neither causing trouble nor crying. When he woke up, the first thing he did was look at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua was awake, and Yu'er's eyes sparkled with joy.
However, since Mo Hua needed to rest, Yu'er only stayed for a while before returning to the disciples' residence to do his homework.
Murong Caiyun also came to visit, bringing some pills and supplements.
Seeing that Mo Hua was fine, she felt relieved and only reminded him to be more careful when practicing magic in the future to avoid hurting himself again.
Mo Hua nodded obediently.
Even Shangguan Xu came to see him, bringing not only medicinal pills for his recovery but also a variety of delicious treats.
"These are from your aunt; she asked me to give them to you..."
"It's not convenient for her to come here into the Tai Xu Sect, but once you're healed, go pay a visit to the Gu family, and she'll have the Shangguan family's Pills Master take a look at you to ensure there are no lingering issues..."
Ink Painting nodded gratefully:
"Thank you, Brother Xu, and please thank Aunt Wan for me as well."
In addition, some of his fellow disciples also came to see their "Little Shixiong."
Seeing that Ink Painting looked all right, with no serious injuries, they felt relieved and gathered around him, chattering away:
"Ink Painting, I heard you injured yourself while practicing sorcery?"
"Is that true?"
"What kind of sorcery were you practicing?"
"Could it be the Fireball Technique...?"
"How is that possible?"
"Why not?"
"Ink Painting knows the Fireball Technique..."
"Ink Painting, once we're out of Tai Xu Sect, let's pretend we don't know each other..."
"You're our 'Little Shixiong,' so don't tell anyone about it..."
"There's no way a 'Little Shixiong' could be injured by a fireball technique..."
Ink Painting glared at them disdainfully and said with displeasure,
"What's wrong with the Fireball Technique? Just wait until I've finished cultivating it, and I'll show you. A single fireball will be enough to make you all cry!"
"I don't believe you!"
"You're just bragging..."
"A mere fireball technique..."
...
Ink Painting bickered with them, and the atmosphere became livelier.
However, Elder Murong spoke up calmly, "This is the pill room; it's supposed to be quiet. All of you, go to your classes."
"Yes... Elder."
The disciples, who had been planning to skip class, obediently bowed and left with dejected expressions.
Only Cheng Mo remained, reluctant to leave. He grabbed Ink Painting's hand and instructed,
"Ink Painting, heal your injuries quickly and come back to teach us about array formations..."
Master Xun was too strict, his lectures too advanced, and the assignments too much for him to handle...
It was much better to have Ink Painting as their "Little Shixiong."
...
Master Xun also came to check on Ink Painting.
He had a solemn expression on his face and didn't say much, only reminding Ink Painting to take care of his injuries. But as he was leaving, he couldn't help but whisper some words of comfort:
"You don't need to force yourself to learn these aggressive and violent types of sorcery if you're not good at them..."
"With your foundation, there's no need to follow others in cultivating these ruthless paths..."
"Just focus on mastering array formations, and that will be enough for you to establish yourself in the cultivation world. No one will dare to bully you."
"If you encounter any difficulties or if someone troubles you, just speak up, and the sect will support you."
"There's no need to force yourself to learn these sorcery techniques..."
"And don't hurt yourself in the process..."
...
Ink Painting was touched by his words and nodded vigorously, "I understand, thank you, Master Xun!"
Master Xun didn't know if Ink Painting had truly taken his words to heart, but he nodded and left.
...
As evening approached, the Elder in charge of teaching Taoist techniques also came to visit Ink Painting quietly.
As the Elder responsible for instructing disciples in Taoist techniques, he felt somewhat responsible for the injury of one of his disciples, even though it hadn't been caused by his teaching.
Seeing Ink Painting sitting on the bed with his left hand bandaged and a pale face but alert eyes and steady breath, the Elder finally felt relieved that there didn't seem to be any serious issues.
After some small talk, the Elder hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice,
"Ink Painting, what kind of sorcery did you use in the Taoist technique room..."
As someone who taught and researched sorcery, he was naturally curious about unknown techniques.
He wanted to know what kind of sorcery Ink Painting had used to create such a powerful effect, completely obliterating a perfectly crafted sorcery puppet...
Ink Painting was taken aback, his eyes widening slightly.
After he had woken up, he had been pondering the concept of "sorcery fusion" in his free time.
But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't understand why the fusion of two fireballs under the intense pressure of his spiritual sense had resulted in such a powerful explosion.
If he hadn't forcibly reversed the direction of the sorcery with his spiritual sense at the last moment, letting the spiritual power run rampant...
He might have lost more than just his hands; his life could have been in danger...
Ink Painting couldn't make sense of it.
Simply fusing two fireball techniques shouldn't have resulted in such a powerful explosion.
Even a mere aftershock had caused him such severe injuries...
It defied logic.
That was why he had questions of his own when the Elder asked about the sorcery, and he wanted to seek guidance from the Elder.
Ink Painting thought for a moment before answering,
"I felt that a single fireball technique didn't have enough power, so I wanted to 'fuse' two fireballs together to enhance their might, but then it exploded..."
The Elder frowned, "Nonsense, there's no such 'fusion' like that."
Ink Painting humbly asked, "Then how should I fuse them?"
"You misunderstood," the Elder shook his head, "The so-called 'fusion of sorcery' doesn't mean physically mixing two techniques like dough..."
"The fusion of sorcery is essentially the fusion of incantations."
"Moreover, it's not about fusing the techniques after casting them but about having a 'fused' incantation from the start, even though it may appear as if they are being fused during the casting process..."
Ink Painting finally understood.
He recalled how Grandpuppet had demonstrated the "Fireball Technique" to him, first condensing the fireball threads and then weaving them together to form the sorcery.
In essence, it wasn't about fusing multiple fireball techniques.
Instead, it was a complete and independent sorcery in itself.
He had tried to follow Grandpuppet's method, but due to his lack of guidance and confusion, he seemed to have deviated a little in his practice...
Even though he had deviated, the power of the technique seemed to be incredibly strong...
So strong that it even exceeded his expectations...
But why was that? Ink Painting blinked and glanced at the Elder.
The Elder felt a little uneasy under Ink Painting's gaze, wondering what this child was thinking...
"Elder..." Ink Painting said softly, "What if there was a possibility..."
"What if there were 'twin' cultivators with identical spiritual senses and identical spiritual roots, and they cast the same sorcery..."
"There are no such 'twin' cultivators..." the Elder replied.
"I'm just saying hypothetically..."
Ink Painting continued earnestly, "...if there were, what would happen if their sorcery collided? Would it fuse?"
Ink Painting's face was filled with curiosity.
The Elder felt a headache coming on; he dreaded dealing with disciples whose ideas were so outlandish and whose questions were so peculiar.
Elder Dao rubbed his forehead and, following Mo Hua's train of thought, pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "If their spiritual senses and spiritual roots are identical, then the two spells may not be exactly the same due to the time difference..."
"For cultivators, time is also a law."
"The duration of a spell's casting and the composition of its spiritual power are both inherent characteristics, but most cultivators tend to overlook this aspect..."
"...so if the casting times are exactly the same," Mo Hua added.
"In that case..." Elder Dao murmured, "those two spells would be almost identical, sharing the same origin. When they come into contact..."
"There are two possibilities..."
Elder Dao speculated based on the principles of spellcasting:
"Either they will instantly 'merge', becoming a single massive fireball..."
"...or they will be in a state where they can get close without exploding, but cannot merge, a state of 'mutual attraction and repulsion'."
"Just like the Tai Xu Two Extremes, they coexist yet repel each other..."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he felt admiration for the elder.
As expected of the Tai Xu Sect's Elder Dao, he was able to deduce the facts solely based on spell principles.
"Then, if these two 'twin' fireballs are 'mutually attracting and repelling' without merging, what would happen?" Mo Hua asked further.
"In that case..." Elder Dao had just started to answer when he suddenly paused, "How do you know that?"
Because I tried it!
And I ended up injuring myself!
Mo Hua thought to himself.
However, he couldn't very well say that out loud, so he evaded the question with, "I'm just guessing..."
Before Elder Dao could recover from his surprise, Mo Hua quickly asked another question, "If that's the case, why would they repel each other?"
As expected, Elder Dao followed Mo Hua's line of thought and continued to ponder.
"Because their fundamental spell structures are different."
"Spell structures refer to the composition of a spell's spiritual power, which is the essence of the spell."
"Spell structures will inherently repel each other."
"For most spells, even if the same cultivator casts the same spell, the spell structures will be similar but still independent and distinct."
"It's like refining standardized spiritual artifacts. All artifacts are created using the same 'mold', but each artifact that comes out of the mold is unique..."
"These 'twin' fireballs you mentioned are similar in every other way, but their fundamental 'spell structures' are independent of each other..."
Mo Hua nodded in agreement.
Indeed, Elder Dao had seen through it just as he had. He had also guessed that the repulsion between the fireballs was due to a difference in their spell structures.
Mo Hua asked further, "Can these two 'twin' fireballs form a 'fusion' of different spells?"
Elder Dao shook his head, "No, their spell structures repel each other, so they can't merge..."
"Is there a way to make them merge?"
Elder Dao actually gave it some serious thought before shaking his head again.
Mo Hua blinked and asked, "What if...?"
"...using brute force, with a powerful spiritual sense, one could control the fireballs and make them collide rapidly. Would that create a fusion?"
"Collide?" Elder Dao shook his head again, "They still probably wouldn't be able to fuse..."
"At most, they would 'aggregate', but this aggregation is very risky and could affect the stability of the spell structure..."
"By forcibly compressing the fireballs with a powerful spiritual sense, you would generate a strong repulsive force, causing the spell structures of the two fireballs to collapse, the spiritual power to lose its constraints, undergo a transformation, and release a large amount of unstable spiritual energy, thus..."
As Elder Dao spoke, his voice gradually softened, and he suddenly paused, his eyes widening in horror.
He stared at Mo Hua, too shocked to speak, "You didn't..."
"...use the collision of the fireballs to cause a collapse in the spell structures, resulting in an immense destructive force that killed the magic puppet, did you?"
He then asked in confusion, "But how did you..."
"...achieve that with 'twin' fireballs of the same origin?"
"How could you control them with your spiritual sense and force them to aggregate?"
"Isn't that something impossible for someone at the early Qi Refining stage?"
Mo Hua whispered, "I was just thinking out loud and asking randomly..."
Elder Dao silently gazed at Mo Hua, thinking, I don't believe you for a second.
At the same time, he felt a sense of admiration.
As expected of Master Xun's chosen disciple.
A true talent!
Not only is he gifted in array formations, but he also has such profound insights into spellcasting, exploring uncharted territories...
However... since he is Master Xun's favored disciple, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to pry further into his background.
Elder Dao thought for a moment, his expression turning solemn as if he had made a decision. He proceeded to impart knowledge about spell principles that he shouldn't have shared: "Spiritual power forms spells, and spells are the outer shell of spiritual power."
"But the inherent nature of spiritual power itself also contains immense power..."
"Typically, spells are formed by shaping spiritual power into spell structures, thus gaining destructive capabilities..."
"But conversely..."
Elder Dao's eyes narrowed, and his voice deepened, "By manipulating a spell, one can alter its spell structure, which in turn affects the spiritual power, causing it to undergo a transformation and release a large amount of unstable spiritual energy, resulting in..."
Mo Hua's eyes widened in realization.
So that's...
Array collapse!
Although the methods differ—one is an array, the other a spell, and the nature of the spiritual power transformation is different, one collapsing and the other aggregating—their fundamental principles are the same!
Elder Dao saw the comprehension in Mo Hua's eyes and was slightly taken aback by how quickly he had grasped the concept.
This child... could it be that he has done something like this before...?
He seems to understand it instantly.
Elder Dao felt he shouldn't continue, so he coughed and stood up, "It's getting late. I should be going now..."
Mo Hua politely said, "Elder, please take care."
However, there was one more thing he was curious about and couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Elder..."
Mo Hua asked softly, "...what is your surname?"
Upon hearing this, Elder Dao was stunned as if he had been struck by lightning.
He was a little angry, a little incredulous, and a little sad as he said, "After all this time, you don't even know my surname?"
Mo Hua felt a bit embarrassed.
It couldn't be helped; there were too many elders in the sect, and some of them only taught occasionally or were substitutes, so he only recognized some of them by face and didn't know all their names.
Mo Hua smiled awkwardly.
Elder Dao sighed, "My surname is Yi..."
Although we are only celebrating the Minor New Year here, I still wish everyone a happy Minor New Year!
(End of Chapter)
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