https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-660-Cultivating-the-Sword-Thanks-to-the-leader-of-the-fellow-Xiuxian-enthusiasts-/12542862/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-662-Refining-Equipment-on-Solitary-Mountain/12542864/
Chapter 661: The Array Medium
Chapter 661: The Array Medium
(Thank you, Xuanchou, for your contribution as the Alliance Leader!)
"You don't trust me?" Cheng Mo pouted, looking unhappy.
Mo Hua ate the bun in his hand with great attention to manners, casually replying, "I believe you..."
However, his expression clearly showed that he didn't.
"Let me tell you, you may not understand the treacherous nature of the cultivation world. When it comes to real battles, it's a matter of life and death..." Cheng Mo said.
"Hmm," Mo Hua replied nonchalantly.
Cheng Mo sighed, "Why can't you understand?"
He snatched a bun from Mo Hua's hand, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it in a few bites. Then he continued, "You're an array master. While array masters are powerful, that's only because they are within their sects or in places governed by the Dao Court, where everyone gets along peacefully and values identity and face..."
Mo Hua frowned slightly, looking unhappy that his bun had been taken.
Cheng Mo quickly offered the "chicken leg" from his bowl to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua took the chicken leg and took a couple of bites, nodding in satisfaction.
Cheng Mo's eyes lit up, and he seized the opportunity while Mo Hua was in a good mood. "Let me take you with me..."
"Array masters need to set up their techniques in advance. Otherwise, they will be at a disadvantage if they are caught off guard and unprepared," he explained.
"If you're not careful, your life could be at stake..."
"Therefore, when it comes to battles between cultivators, even array masters need to find a strong backer!"
"Oh..." Mo Hua blinked as he gnawed on the chicken leg. "Then who is this backer?"
Cheng Mo immediately patted his chest. "Me!"
"Let me tell you, this pair of battle axes is a heirloom of the Cheng family. They are capable of slaying gods and buddhas alike. Follow me, and I'll show you how formidable I am!"
"You can also earn merit..."
Mo Hua looked at him suspiciously. "Cheng Big Guy, do you have some ulterior motive?"
Why would he take him along on missions and share the merit without any reason? Could it be that he was a fool?
Cheng Mo smiled awkwardly. "Not really... it's just..."
Cheng Mo looked around and lowered his voice. "Let's make a deal. I'll take you on missions, and you call me 'Senior Brother'."
Mo Hua was speechless. "That's it?"
Cheng Mo frowned. "What do you mean by that? Do you understand the weight of the words 'Senior Brother'?"
Mo Hua shook his head.
Cheng Mo gritted his teeth in frustration.
Some people just didn't know a good thing when they had it.
"It's normal to call senior disciples from the year above 'Senior Brother' or 'Senior Sister'. It's a matter of politeness," Cheng Mo explained.
"For disciples of the same year to be addressed as 'Senior Brother' or 'Senior Sister', that's a matter of face and prestige!"
"So..."
Cheng Mo whispered, "I'll take you on missions, and you call me Senior Brother. From now on, we'll consider each other as seniors. You call me Senior Brother, and I'll call you Senior Brother as well..."
"But then you won't gain any advantage, will you?" Mo Hua asked, confused.
Cheng Mo put on a generous smile. "It doesn't matter. As long as I don't lose out, I'm fine with it!"
Mo Hua nodded, but then he felt something was amiss. He shook his head. "No... that's not right..."
"You won't get any advantage from me..."
"...but it's different when it comes to Situ Jian and the others."
"If they call me 'Little Senior Brother', and I call you 'Senior Brother', then you'll also be their senior brother!"
Cheng Mo's face turned red.
He hadn't expected that the little scheme he had come up with would be seen through by Mo Hua in the time it took him to eat a chicken leg.
Mo Hua hummed lightly, "Don't even think about it. I'm the 'Little Senior Brother'. I need to uphold the face of those who call me that, and I can't let them lose face by having a lower status than you in front of others!"
Cheng Mo's expression froze.
Mo Hua quickly finished the chicken leg and, feeling full, prepared to leave.
Cheng Mo continued his attempts to persuade him. "Mo Hua!"
"Little Senior Brother!"
"It's really hard for array masters to get by..."
"Don't you want to go outside the sect and experience the thrill of pursuing and capturing rogue cultivators, slaying demons, and upholding justice?"
"Don't you want to feel the blood rush of slaying demonic cultivators?"
"I can beat them half to death, and you can deliver the finishing blow with your spells!"
Mo Hua remained unmoved.
Cheng Mo added, "Moreover, if you stay in the sect all the time, you won't be able to earn much merit, will you?"
Mo Hua stopped and turned, tiptoeing to pat Cheng Mo's shoulder. "I draw second-grade arrays, and the merit I earn is actually much more than what you get from all your fighting and killing."
Cheng Mo stood there dumbfounded, his emotions a tangled mess.
...
Mo Hua's life continued as usual.
Cultivation, classes, and drawing arrays.
Occasionally, he practiced the sword qi of the Golden Severance Sword Manual when he had free time.
Cheng Mo still went out on missions, but from time to time, he would try his best to persuade Mo Hua to join him and call him "Senior Brother", even resorting to bribing him with delicious food.
However, Mo Hua remained steadfast in his principles and did not give in.
Cheng Mo had no idea what else to do.
As time passed, more and more disciples followed Cheng Mo's lead and started going out on missions.
The disciples of Tai Xu Gate were all geniuses. In groups of five, they went on "bounty" missions targeting rogue cultivators at the early Qi Refining stage. Even if they didn't win, they wouldn't lose.
Through mutual cooperation, they would complete their missions by dealing with the rogue cultivators.
To them, this was also a necessary part of their training.
Gradually, Mo Hua and the other disciples from influential families began to grow and improve.
Even if they couldn't handle extremely vicious evil cultivators, capturing ordinary rogue cultivators was no longer a difficult task.
This was within Mo Hua's expectations.
Disciples from influential families had excellent talent and strength.
Even if they were sheltered within their families and lacked adventure experience, after going on a few missions and encountering some setbacks and obstacles, they would gradually adapt.
This was also how Senior Sister Murong and the others had progressed.
Most likely, Tai Xu Gate had always taught its disciples in this manner.
Through missions of increasing difficulty, they slowly honed their disciples until they could stand on their own.
Mo Hua then thought of something else.
Cheng Mo's previous words had reminded him of something.
"Array masters' techniques require prior setup. Otherwise, if they're caught off guard and unprepared, they'll be at a severe disadvantage."
"If you're not careful, your life could be at stake..."
Array masters' techniques needed to be set up in advance...
This realization led Mo Hua to ponder a question:
"In a typical array master's battle, how exactly do they utilize their arrays?"
Back in Tongxian City, he had used arrays as traps.
When killing the powerful demon, Feng Wei, he had constructed the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Grand Array, which was essentially a trap to confine and slaughter his target, much like trapping and butchering a pig.
Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage and mastering spiritual sense to control his ink, it became much simpler.
He could just draw and use arrays on the spot...
However, Mo Hua had never really contemplated how other Foundation Establishment array masters employed their arrays in actual combat.
He thought about it for a moment, feeling a bit lost, and heaved a sigh.
Perhaps this was the trouble with being too proficient in arrays.
One tended to overlook the most fundamental aspects without careful attention.
"Array practical applications..."
Mo Hua decided to take this opportunity to thoroughly research the topic.
He initially considered asking Elder Xun, but then dismissed the idea.
Such a question wasn't particularly advanced in the realm of arrays, and asking Elder Xun might be overkill.
Moreover, it might arouse the elder's suspicion, especially with the mention of "practical applications," which implied a restlessness and eagerness to venture beyond the confines of the sect.
It didn't seem like a question that a novice cultivator, who had yet to venture outside the sect and spent most of his time engrossed in array research, would ask.
Thus, Mo Hua sought out Zheng Fang.
The Zheng family was renowned for their expertise in arrays, specializing in rare and closely guarded thunder-attributed arrays that were rarely passed down, even within the main branch of the family.
However, aside from this, their foundational knowledge and applications of arrays were exceptionally comprehensive.
Zheng Fang often discussed arrays with Mo Hua, and his earnest and meticulous nature resembled that of a "bookworm."
Regardless of the array-related topic, he always approached it with utmost seriousness.
Whenever Mo Hua inquired, Zheng Fang would eagerly share his knowledge, except for those arrays that were forbidden from being passed on.
"The key to the practical application of arrays lies in the 'array medium.' While the foundation is the array itself, the application involves the use of a medium, and the most crucial aspect is the choice of this medium."
"Array medium?"
"Yes," Zheng Fang nodded. "My uncle once said that the grand dao of heaven and earth manifests as 'arrays,' and all things in heaven and earth can serve as 'array media.'
"However, not all things are equally suitable as array media. Some objects naturally lend themselves to this purpose due to their ability to absorb spiritual ink and harmonize with array patterns..."
"While others may be too amorphous, fluid, or chaotic, making them unsuitable for this task."
Zheng Fang paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully:
"It's challenging to use them as array media..."
"There are exceptions, but they are rare..."
"Only exceptionally gifted array masters with an extraordinary understanding of the rules of heaven and earth can, through their profound insight, utilize objects that are conventionally considered non-array media and inscribe array patterns upon them."
Mo Hua couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Zheng Fang continued, "Thus, while the array medium is merely a 'tool' in the study of arrays, it becomes the 'foundation' when it comes to their practical application."
"Even the most advanced arrays require a compatible array medium as their base."
"And the history of array media is equally long and profound..."
Zheng Fang seemed poised to launch into a lengthy explanation.
"Initially, array masters had to find and prepare their own array media..."
"But as the cultivation industry evolved and specialized, array masters had their hands full just learning various types of arrays, let alone spending significant time crafting array media..."
"So, the task of crafting array media fell to..."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Artificers?"
Zheng Fang nodded. "Yes."
He then retrieved a booklet from his storage bag and showed Mo Hua several simple spiritual tool models illustrated within.
"There's no need to mention array paper, which is the most basic and inexpensive array medium..."
"Other array media include array flags, array plates, array tokens, array stones, array bases, and so on..."
"These are all crafted by artificers."
Mo Hua furrowed his brows in confusion. "But we haven't been taught about crafting these array media in the sect."
Zheng Fang nodded again. "Things that the sect doesn't teach..."
"Just like arrays, there are numerous categories. Take, for example, the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams, the Two Polarities and the Three Powers, the Four Symbols and the Seven Stars..."
"Within the smaller categories, there's the Yuan-Magnetic Array..."
"And within each of these categories, there are significant differences..."
"Similarly, artificing also has many specializations, such as array medium crafting, robe crafting, armor crafting, weapon crafting, accessory crafting, and so on..."
"There are also spiritual tools for daily use, such as lamps, incense burners, screens, and pill furnaces..."
"Generally, artificers will choose one or two specializations and strive for excellence in those fields."
"The sect doesn't teach everything. They only cover the most crucial, extensive, and widely applicable branches of artificing..."
"Array media spiritual tools, with their narrow applications, are not among those taught."
"So that's how it is..."
Mo Hua's eyes widened as he finally understood, his heart filled with newfound appreciation for the complexities of the cultivation world.
Indeed, the knowledge within the cultivation world was profound and diverse. If one didn't ask questions and seek to learn diligently, there would be many things that would remain unknown to them.
Mo Hua praised, "You know so much!"
Zheng Fang's face lit up with happiness, but he maintained his composure and humbly replied,
"Not at all..."
...
After that, Mo Hua gained a basic understanding of the topic.
Mo Hua nodded to himself, adjusting his mindset. He decided that he should also learn how to enhance his array applications by leveraging the power of 'array media.'
The foundation of array applications lies in the array medium.
"Array media..." Mo Hua inquired within the sect, but to his disappointment, while there were disciples skilled in artifact crafting, none specialized in crafting array media.
A handful of them could craft the most basic forms of array paper and array plates, which were readily available for purchase. Moreover, the combination of arrays and media they utilized was rather elementary, offering little value for in-depth study.
"Ideally, I should look for something more unique in terms of array media..." Mo Hua contemplated posting a bounty within the Tai Xu Order, but he hesitated, feeling reluctant to part with his hard-earned merit.
After all, merit had a high value, and he knew very little about the crafting of array media artifacts. Even if he posted a bounty, he wouldn't know precisely what kind of artifact he wanted to be crafted.
"If not within the sect, then perhaps outside?" Mo Hua pondered silently.
Soon after, during the Xun Xiu break, Mo Hua set out for the Gu family, a prominent clan.
While their influence might not match that of the Shangguan family, they were undoubtedly more powerful than the Qian and Lu families he had encountered before.
Being a significant family, they would undoubtedly have diverse businesses and industries.
Among these ventures, there had to be artifact crafting. After all, artifact crafting was one of the four major industries in the cultivation world.
Even if they didn't specialize in crafting array media artifacts, the artificers within their ranks would undoubtedly possess some knowledge about it.
Here in the Qian Xue Province, those who could make a living from artifact crafting were undoubtedly skilled.
Gu Changhai was busy with matters related to the Dao Court, so he hadn't returned. Mo Hua didn't plan to seek him out either.
Given Gu Changhai's position as the head of the Dao Court, he might not be closely involved in the family's businesses.
Thus, Mo Hua sought out Wen Renwan.
"Array media artifacts..." Wen Renwan mused. "The Gu family used to be in that business, I think. They sold either array paper or array plates, but the venture wasn't profitable, so they shut it down..."
"Is it no longer operational?" Mo Hua asked, his tone tinged with disappointment.
"The artifact crafting branch was closed, but the artificers are still around. They've just shifted their focus to crafting other artifacts," Wen Renwan explained.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Can I pay them a visit?"
Wen Renwan nodded. "Of course. However, the businesses that the Gu and Shangguan families jointly operate are spread across the Qian Xue Province and its surrounding cities..."
"There are quite a few artifact crafting branches, and I'm not sure which one those artificers were transferred to. Let me find out for you."
"Thank you, Aunt Wen," Mo Hua said with a smile.
An hour later, Wen Renwan had gathered the necessary information.
"It's in Gu Shan City, quite a distance away. It will probably take a day and a night to get there and back. Are you still planning to go?"
Mo Hua paused, taken aback by the distance. "A day and a night... Hmm."
"Why don't I ask them to send the artificer here instead?" Wen Renwan suggested, a hint of hesitation in her voice.
Mo Hua thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I'll go there myself."
After all, he was the one seeking their help, and it wouldn't be right to inconvenience them by making them travel such a long distance.
Artificers were usually busy with their crafting, and Mo Hua was well aware of this from his time in Tongxian City.
"Alright, then," Wen Renwan said with a nod. "Be careful on your journey."
Wen Renwan looked at Mo Hua, her expression conveying her concern for his safety.
Mo Hua smiled sheepishly and whispered, "I also want to enjoy the scenery along the way..."
Wen Renwan paused, realizing that despite his maturity, he was still a child at heart, eager for new experiences.
"Be careful," she warned. "It can be dangerous out there."
"Don't worry," Mo Hua reassured her. "I have the transmission token from Uncle Gu, and I also have the Dao Court's waist token. If I encounter any danger, I can always escape..."
Wen Renwan sighed. She knew that Mo Hua had a mind of his own and wouldn't be easily dissuaded.
"Just be careful," she said, her tone softening.
"I will," Mo Hua nodded.
Soon after, Mo Hua set out alone, riding a horse carriage provided by the Gu family, leaving Qingzhou City and heading towards the distant Gu Shan City.
Mo Hua had a plan in mind. First, he would visit the Gu family's artificer in Gu Shan City and seek their guidance on crafting array media artifacts. He wanted to learn about the differences between various types of array media, such as array flags, array plates, and array bases.
He also wanted to understand which types of array media were suitable for different arrays. Afterward, depending on the situation, he would consider how to better combine arrays and array media to expand his array application capabilities.
On his return journey, he planned to take a detour to the dilapidated temple on Ku Mountain.
He would bring along some wine, meat, pastries, and spirit fruits to visit his old "friend," the destitute mountain god, Huang Shanjun.
It had been a long time since they last met, and Mo Hua genuinely missed the mountain god. He wondered how Huang Shanjun had been doing all this time.
Seeing him, Huang Shanjun would surely be delighted.
...
(End of Chapter)
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