Chapter 660: Cultivating the Sword (Thanks to the leader of the fellow Xiuxian enthusiasts!)
Chapter 660: Cultivating the Sword (Thanks to the leader of the fellow Xiuxian enthusiasts!)
After the "Merit" system was opened, the disciples were evidently kept busy.
Coming from prestigious families, they might not lack spiritual stones and other cultivation resources, but rare legacies, reputation within the sect, and even spots in the inner sect were all things worth competing for.
This was a form of invisible competition.
Whoever had the most merits meant that they had contributed the most to the sect and would gain more recognition from the sect elders, thus having more say among the disciples.
They were all proud and talented individuals, and even if they maintained a polite facade and emphasized their camaraderie, deep down, none of them truly acknowledged the others.
Earning merits involved not only their personal interests but also their reputation among their peers.
At their age, saving face might even be more important than "interests."
Thus, the fellow disciples were all enthusiastically taking on various "bounties" whenever they had the time, completing tasks and accumulating merits.
This left Mo Hua a little bewildered.
Usually, after lunch, he would take a walk to aid digestion and spend time with his fellow disciples, chatting and basking in the sun.
But now that the "Merit" system had been introduced, everyone had disappeared.
Cheng Mo was busy guarding the main gate.
Si Tu Jian was out sweeping the streets.
Zheng Fang was focused on completing a formation task...
The others were also finding ways to earn merits.
Only Mo Hua was left alone, feeling a bit lost.
Little Yu Er kept him company, occasionally rolling happily on the grass.
Back at the Shang Guan family, Yu Er had to maintain proper decorum in his behavior, and his movements had to be restrained and dignified, befitting a disciple of a prominent family. He felt constrained by these expectations.
But here in the sect, with no one to reprimand him, he was much more lively.
Even if he rolled on the grass, no one would scold him, and Mo Hua would smile at him, which made Yu Er incredibly happy.
Seeing Yu Er so cheerful, Mo Hua felt relieved.
It wasn't that he wasn't concerned about merits; it was just that he had outgrown these "beginner" tasks.
Of course, there were still some beginner tasks that were beyond his capabilities.
For example, tasks like guarding the gate or sweeping the streets...
Even if Mo Hua wanted to try them out, others would dismiss him as too weak to handle such work.
Currently, he had over a thousand merits.
This was the amount he had accumulated over a long period by capturing criminal cultivators and drawing formations, and it was what remained after he had spent a significant sum on purchasing formations.
Additionally, he should receive another sum of merits for the matter regarding the Fire Buddhist Monk.
However, the Dao Court was notoriously slow in their processes, and with all the paperwork involved, it was uncertain when that reward would be issued.
Nevertheless, having over a thousand merits was still considered a substantial sum.
It would likely take his fellow disciples a long time to accumulate that much through these beginner tasks.
Mo Hua suddenly felt like he had already graduated, and he looked upon his fellow disciples still scrambling to pass their exams with a sense of calmness...
But he knew that this amount of merit would not be sufficient for his future needs.
Especially if he wanted to study formations.
Rare formations could be incredibly expensive, like a bottomless pit.
Currently, he was only at the early Qi Refining stage, and by tagging along with his senior martial brothers and sisters on their tasks and earning merits through the Dao Court, he had just enough to learn intermediate second-grade formations, with some left over.
However, when it came to learning advanced second-grade formations, he might find himself in a deficit.
And what if there were ultimate formations within the Great Void Sect?
How many merits would be needed for those? Mo Hua didn't even dare to think about it.
Therefore, it was essential to plan ahead and accumulate more merits.
When it came to merits, one could never have too many.
During the break, Mo Hua went to find Murong Xianjie, intending to continue tagging along on her tasks. However, Murong Caiyun apologized with a conflicted expression.
"Junior Martial Brother, this year, we might not have time to take on external tasks..."
Mo Hua was stunned.
Murong Caiyun explained, "We, as intermediate Qi Refining stage disciples, will be entering the Monster Refining Mountain."
"Monster Refining Mountain!"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up.
He recalled that Si Tu Jian had mentioned something about it before.
Within the Qian Xue State, there was a place known as the 'Monster Refining Mountain.'
The mountain was home to numerous beasts, including some rare species specifically captured and placed there by powerful cultivators.
The purpose was to provide the sect disciples with real combat experience, temper their Daoist arts, and foster cooperation in slaying demons...
"Are there many demonic beasts inside?" Mo Hua asked, his interest piqued.
"Yes," Murong Caiyun replied. "Monster Refining Mountain is vast, with complex terrain, and it's filled with all sorts of demonic beasts. Their bodies contain many rare materials that can be used to refine spiritual artifacts."
"Does this Monster Refining Mountain belong to our Great Void Sect?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
Murong Caiyun smiled bitterly, "No, our sect's influence is not small, but we don't have the capability to control the entire Monster Refining Mountain..."
"The Monster Refining Mountain is nominally under the jurisdiction of the entire Qian Xue State realm, jointly managed by the Four Great Sects, the Eight Grand Gates, and the Twelve Flows."
"Disciples from all sects are allowed to enter the mountain to hunt demons."
"You can skin and butcher the hunted demonic beasts to obtain refining materials, or you can sell them to the sect in exchange for merits..."
"Of course, it's best if you use them yourself."
"Some special sword cultivation sects require specific materials that can only be obtained by hunting particular demonic beasts in the Monster Refining Mountain, such as bones, claws, essence blood, or even their cores."
"Some extremely rare demonic beast materials can be sold to the sect for a substantial amount of merits..."
"Thus, for most sect disciples at the intermediate Qi Refining stage, the primary source of merits is the demonic beasts in the Monster Refining Mountain..."
Mo Hua listened with sparkling eyes, captivated by the prospects.
He could feel the blood of a demon hunter coursing through his veins, stirring restlessly.
Murong Caiyun seemed to see through his thoughts and sighed.
Having spent so much time with Mo Hua, how could she not know what her little junior martial brother was thinking?
Although there were times when Mo Hua's divine sense was profound and his mind inscrutable, there were also times when his thoughts were written plainly on his face.
"You can't go," Murong Caiyun said.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "But why...?"
Murong Caiyun counted off the reasons one by one:
"First, you're only at the early Qi Refining stage, your cultivation is insufficient. Second, you've only been in the sect for two years, which isn't enough. Third, entering the Monster Refining Mountain requires a token, and you don't have the qualifications to buy one..."
Mo Hua asked in a low voice, "Can I sneak in?"
Murong Caiyun gave him a slight glare, "There's an array sealing it, how would you sneak in?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, "What rank is the array?"
Murong Caiyun shook her head, "I don't know that, but it should be at least a fifth-rank array."
"Fifth-rank..."
Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed.
A fifth-rank array was too high for him to tamper with. Otherwise, he might have been able to sneakily open a door and slip in for a look.
However, he was also curious about what a fifth-rank array looked like.
"In any case," Murong Caiyun admonished, "forget about the Monster Refining Mountain for now..."
"As for tasks, if you need any help, just let me know, and I'll definitely assist when I have the time."
Mo Hua was touched, and he nodded, "Don't worry, senior martial sister. You go ahead with your tasks, no need to worry about me!"
After parting ways with Murong Caiyun, Mo Hua headed back towards the disciples' residence by himself.
As he walked, his mind turned over his options.
"Senior Martial Sister Murong is going to the Monster Refining Mountain..."
"Then Shang Guan Yu Er, Feng, and Qian Qian will probably also be going..."
"After all, the Monster Refining Mountain is the main source of merits for those at the mid-Qi Refining stage."
With that, there would be no one left to bring him along on their adventures...
True, he had become somewhat familiar with the people at the Dao Court.
But the Dao Court was still the Dao Court, not his sect. It was a complex place, filled with political intrigue, and the merits earned there might not necessarily translate into the sect's "merits."
Even if they could be converted, the process was tedious and lengthy.
"Then... I'll just have to find more people to play with?"
But who? Cheng Mo and Si Tu Jian?
Mo Hua shook his head slightly.
Their cultivations were only at the early Qi Refining stage.
He had always tagged along with senior martial brothers and sisters at the mid-Qi Refining stage, late-Qi Refining stage officials at the Dao Court, and even the Golden Core stage, like Gu Dian, the uncle of the Dao Court.
If he didn't upgrade, that would be one thing, but how could he downgrade? But as much as he thought about it, he couldn't come up with any other options.
Mo Hua pondered for a while longer and then sighed.
"I'll figure it out later..."
For now, he needed to focus on his own affairs.
Upon returning to the disciples' residence, Mo Hua went to his room and began meditating, closing his eyes to cultivate.
Only when his qi sea was filled and his meridians slightly swollen did he open his eyes again.
"Cultivation!"
From now on, he would need to spend more time on his cultivation each day.
While cultivation was a gradual process that required perseverance and consistency, putting in extra effort each day would naturally lead to faster progress.
Mo Hua had thought it through.
The second year in the sect was bound to be dull.
His divine sense was being held back by his cultivation.
The bottleneck between sixteen and seventeen meridians was a hurdle between the mid-Qi Refining stage and the late-Qi Refining stage for divine senses.
This bottleneck was like a vast chasm.
Even though Mo Hua practiced array formations daily, honed his divine sense, occasionally protected Little Yu Er from nightmares, and took on some extra jobs on the side, his divine sense was still far beyond his current cultivation level.
It would be difficult to break through this obstacle in a short period.
With his divine sense stagnated, Mo Hua's array formation skills couldn't continue to advance.
He could only broaden his foundation by continuing to learn other second-grade arrays within the sixteen meridians...
However, these types of arrays lacked challenge, and learning too many of them became tedious.
Mo Hua sighed.
He wanted to learn higher-level arrays.
Especially the Yuan Magnetism arrays, those more profound magnetic line constructions, and the application of pseudo-thunder lines intrigued Mo Hua.
But without a breakthrough in his divine sense, he couldn't study them for now.
Mo Hua felt helpless.
...
Over the next month, with Murong Caiyun and the others in the Monster Refining Mountain, Mo Hua rarely went out to take on tasks.
By himself, he couldn't accept bounties for those at the mid-Qi Refining stage or above.
The bounties for those at the early Qi Refining stage offered too few merits.
It would be a waste of time for him to take those on alone.
He might as well draw more second-grade arrays by himself, which would earn him more merits without the hassle of running around.
Mo Hua felt even more bored.
He couldn't go out on bounties.
His cultivation was increasing slowly, but he couldn't break through to the next stage.
His divine sense was gradually strengthening, but it, too, was stuck at a bottleneck.
The structure of the Minor Meteorite Technique was now extremely stable.
He had also learned quite a few other second-grade functional arrays...
For the time being, he had no grand aspirations.
Life was calm and uneventful, without surprises or joys.
Suddenly, Mo Hua felt that he should take the initiative to find something new to learn.
After some thought, he picked up the Duan Jin Yu Jian Jue (Golden Severing Sword Manual)
again, intending to practice his sword qi.
When it came to cultivating sword qi, Mo Hua's foundation was terribly lacking.
The other disciples who cultivated swords within the sect all came from families with a longstanding tradition, and they had been immersed in sword techniques and sword qi cultivation since they were young.
With each advancement in their cultivation, their sword qi became more formidable.
In the later stages, they would achieve a unity of sword and self, their sword qi piercing through the heavens and earth.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, was a wandering cultivator before joining the sect, and he had barely touched a sword before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.
The only time he had come close to a sword was when Zhang Lan was teaching him the Flowing Water Steps, and he had asked Mo Hua to stab him with a sword to demonstrate an array formation.
But even that exquisite and heavy treasure sword was too much for Mo Hua to handle...
In the end, he could only use a tree branch as a substitute.
Therefore, if he truly wanted to cultivate the sword, Mo Hua had absolutely no foundation, let alone compete with other sword cultivators.
However, idleness bred boredom, and one needed to have some aspirations.
So, Mo Hua decided to take up sword cultivation as a way to "sharpen his mind and pass the time."
Even if he couldn't master it, understanding it would be beneficial, and he could use that knowledge to counter sword cultivators.
This sword manual belonged to the Duan Jin Gate.
Mo Hua didn't want to practice it publicly, so he found a secluded grove and bought a second-hand broken spiritual sword to practice with.
The Golden Severing Sword Manual was a gold-type sword technique.
Mo Hua had a minor five elements spirit root, which also included a portion of a gold spirit root, so he was capable of practicing it.
But after practicing for a while, Mo Hua encountered a problem.
He found it extremely difficult to condense sword qi.
The sword cultivators he had seen included Zhang Lan, his Uncle Zhang, Ouyang Feng, his senior martial brother, Shangguan Xu, his senior martial brother, and his classmate, Situ Jian.
When they wielded their swords, the sword qi they unleashed was invariably stable in form, sharp, and powerful.
But the sword qi he cultivated...
Mo Hua was at a loss for words to describe it.
The sword qi he condensed first took on an unstable form, resembling more of a "club" than a "sword," and occasionally even looking like a "branch."
The sword qi was also not sharp enough to cut through tree bark, and its power was negligible.
He could throw a fireball that was more destructive than this "sword qi."
Mo Hua fell into deep confusion.
"Is my talent for sword cultivation really this poor?"
"It can't be..."
"Or is it that everything is difficult in the beginning, and I just haven't entered the door yet?"
Mo Hua couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.
After all, he didn't have anything else to practice, so he might as well give it a try.
He would just see how it went and not pressure himself.
If he really couldn't cultivate it, he could consider it as laying the groundwork for future sword cultivators and preparing for the Tai Xu Shen Nian Hua Jian Zhen Jue (Vast Void Divine Thought Sword Transformation Manual)
.
As the name suggested, the "Divine Thought Sword Transformation Manual" was likely not the same as ordinary sword techniques.
If he couldn't cultivate ordinary sword techniques, it didn't mean he couldn't cultivate "Divine Thought Sword."
Mo Hua sighed.
This was the only way he could console himself.
From then on, whenever Mo Hua had free time after meals, he would find a small grove and casually swing his sword a few times to practice.
The sword qi filled the air, but the trees remained unmoved, with only a few leaves drifting down.
Fortunately, Mo Hua didn't lose heart.
He considered it as trimming the sect's trees.
...
Time passed, and one day, as Mo Hua was returning to the disciples' residence, he ran into a few disciples chatting along the way.
When he took a closer look, he recognized Cheng Mo, Si Tu Jian, and three other less familiar fellow disciples.
Mo Hua approached quietly and listened to their fragmented conversation:
"The day after tomorrow... on the break..."
"Outside Qingzhou City..."
"Impersonating a senior martial brother... it's a rare opportunity..."
"It's not dangerous..."
"It's fine... the five of us are enough..."
"Just capturing a person..."
"It'll be a piece of cake..."
"Ahh!"
Before Cheng Mo could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized that someone was standing behind him, and he jumped in fright, his face turning pale. But when he saw that it was Mo Hua, he relaxed.
"Mo Hua, you startled me!"
Then he complained, "Why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?"
Mo Hua was speechless. "This is a proper road, and I walked here properly, stopped properly, and listened to your conversation properly..."
"If you're careless, how can you blame me?"
Cheng Mo was left speechless, then muttered, "Who knew you walk like a cat, without a sound or even a hint of breath..."
Mo Hua looked at them suspiciously. "What mischief are you plotting?"
Cheng Mo, like a student caught doing something wrong by a teacher, immediately became nervous. "We're... we're just chatting about cultivation..."
Mo Hua didn't believe him.
Cheng Mo quickly added, "Really!"
But as soon as he said it, he realized it didn't sound right.
Mo Hua whispered, "Are you planning to secretly take on a bounty from the Dao Court?"
Cheng Mo was startled. "How did you know?"
Mo Hua gave him a sidelong glance.
They were all playing the same game, yet they were acting so mysterious...
Si Tu Jian lowered his voice and said, "Mo Hua, please don't tell anyone..."
Cheng Mo also nodded repeatedly. After thinking about it, he felt that this wasn't showing enough sincerity. In this kind of situation, they usually had to "bribe" the other party.
So Cheng Mo said, "Mo Hua, if you promise not to tell anyone, after we're done...we'll..."
Cheng Mo hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and continued, "...we'll give you some of the merits!"
Mo Hua was curious. "How much will you give me?"
Cheng Mo was conflicted.
They didn't earn many merits from doing these tasks, and even if they did, they didn't know what to do with them.
"I'll give you...I'll give you ten merits!" Cheng Mo said decisively.
"..." Mo Hua was silent.
Cheng Mo was shocked to see that Mo Hua wasn't speaking. "You don't think it's too little, do you?"
"Ten merits...that's not too much..." Mo Hua said.
Cheng Mo lamented, "You don't know the hardships of earning a living! Do you know how many days I have to guard the main gate or sweep the streets to earn those ten merits?"
"You think it's easy to earn those merits?"
"Alright, alright..." Mo Hua said helplessly, "I won't tell anyone, and I don't want your merits. But it's dangerous out there, so be careful..."
Cheng Mo froze, then immediately broke into a smile and put his arm around Mo Hua's shoulder. "You're truly my good brother! If you need anything in the future, I'll have your back!"
Si Tu Jian also looked at Mo Hua gratefully.
Seeing Cheng Mo's proud expression, one of the disciples couldn't help but say, "Don't pat yourself on the back. How could Mo Hua need you to have his back?"
"What do you know?" Cheng Mo asked.
"What don't I know?" the disciple retorted. "It takes three stakes to make a fence, and a hero needs three helpers..."
"You're a hero? You're more like a rotten stake..."
...
Mo Hua saw that they were bickering and didn't bother to pay attention. He just reminded them, "Be careful when you go out...some criminal cultivators are very cunning..."
After that, Mo Hua left.
Mo Hua wasn't too worried.
Although Cheng Mo and the others were only at the early Qi Refining stage, they came from prestigious families and had solid cultivation foundations. The techniques they practiced were also quite powerful.
With the five of them working together, even if they encountered a cultivator at the mid-Qi Refining stage, they might not win, but they could definitely escape.
Moreover, the criminal cultivator they were after was probably only at the early Qi Refining stage, so it shouldn't be a problem.
A few days later, Mo Hua saw clearly that Cheng Mo and the others had indeed taken the opportunity of the break to sneak out of the sect.
In less than two days, they returned triumphantly.
Without needing to ask, Mo Hua knew that their mission had been successfully completed.
Especially Cheng Mo, who seemed to have made a significant contribution this time, as he looked extremely proud of himself.
Currently, the Great Void Sect didn't allow their disciples to take on missions to capture criminal cultivators.
Firstly, criminal cultivators tended to be vicious.
Secondly, the sect's disciples had been raised in a sheltered environment and were proud and arrogant. If they suddenly encountered criminal cultivators, they might easily fall into a trap.
Cheng Mo and the others had good strength and good luck.
Since they had secretly taken on the task, they were the first batch of disciples within the sect, aside from Mo Hua, to successfully complete this type of bounty mission.
Naturally, they became the center of attention.
The elders might not know, or perhaps they turned a blind eye.
However, the news spread among the disciples.
Many disciples started to have the idea of going out.
After all, the entrance tasks were too slow in accumulating merits, and they were dull and boring compared to these bounties, which were fresh, exciting, and offered higher rewards.
Some disciples secretly asked Cheng Mo how to take on tasks, what to pay attention to when going out, what pills to prepare, and so on.
Cheng Mo was feeling very proud of himself.
However, he didn't forget about Mo Hua.
One day during mealtime, Cheng Mo secretly found Mo Hua and said, "Next time we do a task, I'll take you with me..."
Mo Hua was surprised. "You'll take me with you?"
"Mm!" Cheng Mo nodded. "The four of us, plus you, you don't have to do anything. Just run some errands and do some odd jobs, and we'll give you some of the merits afterward..."
Mo Hua felt touched and complicated.
But he still shook his head.
He didn't need Cheng Mo to take him along.
And he didn't care about the meager amount of merits they were offering...
Cheng Mo thought that Mo Hua didn't trust him, so he vowed, "When it comes to formations, I admit that you're the big brother! But when it comes to going out to capture criminal cultivators, your little arms and legs won't do. You have to acknowledge me as the big brother!"
Mo Hua remained expressionless. "Oh..."
(End of Chapter)
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