Chapter 70: A Trial Run
Chapter 70: A Trial Run
Master Chen hesitated before asking, "Mo... Little brother, is there something wrong with this array?"
"What do you think is wrong?" Mo Hua asked.
"I don't understand much, but it seems like this array pattern... there might be one too many lines?" Master Chen replied.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "You noticed that?"
"Er..." Master Chen asked, "So, is this still the Melting Fire Array?"
"Of course!" Mo Hua explained, "This is the Six-Line Melting Fire Array that I recently learned from my teacher. It's still the Melting Fire Array, but with one additional line, the effect should be much stronger..."
"Have you tried drawing it before?" Master Chen inquired.
"Rest assured, I've practiced it many times on paper!" Mo Hua confidently replied.
"But have you ever drawn it on a furnace?" Master Chen's question hung in the air, but he already knew the answer—this young man had never attempted it on an actual furnace.
A chill ran down Master Chen's spine as he realized, "Oh no, this little rascal is using my furnace for practice!"
But it was too late to turn back now.
Master Chen glanced at the disassembled furnace and the erased array. He steeled himself and said, "Go ahead and draw it. I trust you, young man."
Mo Hua, oblivious to Master Chen's reluctance, was encouraged by his words. He brandished his brush and began to paint with confidence.
Master Chen watched anxiously from the side, his heart pounding every time Mo Hua paused or frowned in thought. This furnace was his entire livelihood, and any mistake could ruin it.
The agonizing wait lasted for nearly two hours until Mo Hua finished drawing the entire array. Master Chen breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could catch his breath, Mo Hua said, "It's done, but..."
Master Chen's heart leaped to his throat. "Is there... something wrong with the array?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"The array itself is fine, but the lines aren't activating, and the spiritual energy isn't conducting," Mo Hua said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Then... what should we do?" Master Chen asked, worried.
"Don't worry, Uncle Chen. Let me think," Mo Hua reassured him.
"Oh, okay." Master Chen nodded repeatedly, pacing anxiously but not daring to interrupt Mo Hua's train of thought.
"The array is exactly the same as the diagram. The array core and lines are correct, and the array eye is a spirit-gathering array. When the spirit-gathering array absorbs spiritual energy, it should activate the entire formation..." Mo Hua mumbled to himself.
Usually, after drawing an array on a spiritual artifact, one needed to infuse it with spiritual energy to illuminate the lines and verify its effectiveness.
Mo Hua placed his palm on the spirit-gathering array, and a faint spiritual energy emanated from his hand, seeping into the array. The spirit-gathering array glowed slightly, and the energy gradually spread to each line, but the entire formation remained inactive.
After waiting for a while, Master Chen couldn't contain his anxiety any longer. "Why don't I give it a try?" he suggested.
Mo Hua thought, 'If I can't activate the array myself, what difference will it make if someone else tries?' But seeing Master Chen's worried expression, he agreed to his request.
Master Chen placed his palm on the spirit-gathering array and channeled his spiritual energy. The entire formation lit up...
Mo Hua's eyes widened, and he turned to Master Chen, puzzled. "That's strange. Why couldn't I activate it, but you can?"
"Is it possible," Master Chen said as gently as he could, "that your spiritual energy is too weak?"
Mo Hua: "..."
"You're only at the third layer of Qi Refinement, right?" Master Chen added.
"If all had gone well, I would have reached the fourth layer of Qi Refinement by now!" Mo Hua explained. If he hadn't learned the 'Heavenly Dao Secret Manual,' he would indeed have been at the fourth layer by now.
Master Chen consoled him, "It's alright, don't worry. Your cultivation level is already impressive for your age. My disciples were only at the second or third layer of Qi Refinement when they were your age."
"Mmm!"
The group of apprentices nodded along, though it was unclear if they were telling the truth.
Mo Hua didn't feel like explaining further, so he simply said, "Let's put the furnace back together and see if it works."
"Yes, yes! I almost forgot about the main task. Let's put it back together quickly and test it out." Master Chen regained his enthusiasm and hurriedly instructed his disciples to reassemble the furnace. He then took out two spirit stones and embedded them at the back of the furnace.
"Excellent! This fire is superb! The flames in this furnace are almost as good as those in a large refining furnace."
Mo Hua also heaved a sigh of relief. Although he was confident, he had been worried about something going wrong and ruining Master Chen's refining furnace.
"Then, Master Chen, I'll be taking my leave."
"What about the spiritual stones for drawing the array?"
Mo Hua waved his hand dismissively. "We agreed that I would do it for free. Forget about the spiritual stones."
Master Chen still felt indebted and gave Mo Hua the remaining spiritual ink from drawing the Melting Fire Array, along with several new array brushes.
The brushes were brand new and likely meant for someone else who had requested Master Chen's help in refining. They were of better quality than the ones Mo Hua usually used. As for the spiritual ink, it was of the finest quality, and Mo Hua had been coveting such ink for a long time.
Mo Hua politely declined a few times before graciously accepting the gifts.
Master Chen added, "In the future, if you have any spiritual artifacts you need to be refined, just come to me. As long as the items aren't too large, I won't charge you any spiritual stones."
This promise was particularly valuable.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen!"
Mo Hua happily returned home, his mind occupied with thoughts of the spiritual artifacts he might need and how Master Chen could help refine them.
After Mo Hua left, Dazhu hesitantly asked his master, "Master, are we really giving him all this? If we had asked Master Jia to draw the array, it would have cost quite a few spiritual stones."
Master Chen huffed in annoyance. "I want to give him more, but where would I get the spiritual stones?"
"We still haven't fully paid for the spiritual artifacts from the Shen family. We need spiritual stones for the fire in the refining furnace, for buying refined spirit iron, and for our meals. One spiritual stone has to be split into ten parts to cover all our expenses. I can only rely on this young lad's kindness and charge him less."
Fearing that he might anger his master, Dazhu fell silent.
Master Chen stood up, paced for a moment, and then glanced at the furnace fire once more. After a brief contemplation, he grit his teeth and said, "Go and get that box of hundred-year-old water caltrop. Bring it to Mo Hua later. I heard his mother isn't in good health, and her body is plagued by excess fire energy. This medicine will come in handy."
"But that box of water caltrop was meant to be given to Master Jia as a gift. What if we give it to Mo Hua instead?"
"Forget about him," Master Chen said, sounding slightly indignant. "When we give gifts, he acts all polite, but when we ask him to draw an array, he acts high and mighty, not reducing the number of spiritual stones he charges by even one. He has such a huge appetite; I wonder if he'll choke one day."
"If we don't send gifts, he might get upset and refuse to draw arrays for us," Dazhu worriedly pointed out.
"Don't worry," Master Chen reassured him. "We have Mo Hua now."
"Are we really not going to give Mo Hua any spiritual stones when we ask him to draw arrays in the future? That doesn't seem quite right..."
Master Chen glared at Dazhu. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? Right now, I truly don't have any spiritual stones. When I do, of course, I'll give him some."
"Okay, okay," Dazhu nodded, but then he frowned again. "But I heard that Master Jia might achieve a rank in a few years. If we offend him, won't that cause trouble? He could become a first-rank array master."
Master Chen scoffed. "Achieving a rank isn't that easy. He just takes advantage of others' lack of knowledge about arrays, spouting vague nonsense. When it comes to actually drawing arrays, he's not as proficient as Mo Hua, that little brat. I doubt he'll achieve a rank before Mo Hua does."
"That's impossible," Dazhu argued. "Mo Hua is only at the third layer of Qi Refinement. Achieving a rank will take ages."
"Stop blabbering," Master Chen said. "Just go and deliver the gift. As for the rest, leave it to me."
Dazhu pondered for a moment, ultimately concluding that he would rather give gifts to Mo Hua than Master Jia.
"Then I'll go later," Dazhu said.
"What are you waiting for?" Master Chen asked, confused.
"If I go now, I can mooch a meal," Dazhu scratched his head. "Aunt Liu's cooking is delicious."
Master Chen: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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