https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-744-Little-Mu-Hua-An-extra-chapter-for-the-Alliance-Leader-s-Crazy-Night-/12543455/
Chapter 745: Join Me
Chapter 745: Join Me
"I'll give you this spine." Mo Hua offered generously.
Ouyang Mu was flattered and shook his head repeatedly, "I can't accept this..."
"Don't you want it?" Mo Hua asked, waving the spine in his hand.
Ouyang Mu was completely captivated by the spine, his gaze following it as it swayed from side to side, reluctant to look away.
However, he gritted his teeth and firmly stated, "I want it, but since I didn't hunt this demon myself, I can't take it."
"Feng ShiXiong took care of me before, and now it's my turn to take care of you. Go ahead and take it, it's fine," Mo Hua said.
Ouyang Mu shook his head again, "I can't accept it without contributing anything."
Mo Hua was a little surprised, and his gaze held a hint of appreciation.
This little Mu was a bit stubborn, but he had a good heart and principles. He didn't like to take advantage of others.
"Alright," Mo Hua nodded. "If you don't want it, then forget it."
Mo Hua made a gesture as if to put away the fire demon wolf's spine.
But as the spine, which was within reach, was about to disappear, Ouyang Mu hesitated and suddenly felt anxious.
He struggled for a long time before hurriedly saying, "Brother Mo, can I buy it with merit points?"
"Merit points?" Mo Hua pondered for a moment and nodded, "That's possible, but this spine of the fire demon wolf is worth 800 merit points according to the market price. Do you have that many?"
"Eight hundred?!" Ouyang Mu was stunned, and his face turned slightly red. "I... I don't have that many..."
"How many do you have?"
"Just... three hundred..." Ouyang Mu mumbled.
Although he was a direct descendant of the Ouyang family, he had to follow the rules of the sect after entering it. He had to rely on himself for everything.
These merit points were what he had slowly accumulated by forging swords and refining tools for others.
After using some, he now only had three hundred left.
"Then how about I sell it to you for three hundred?" Mo Hua suggested.
Ouyang Mu shook his head repeatedly, "No, I can't let Brother Mo suffer a loss. I..."
He hesitated for a moment and said softly, "Can I owe it to you and repay it later?"
Mo Hua stroked his chin, deep in thought, without saying a word.
Ouyang Mu thought that Mo Hua didn't trust him, so he quickly assured, "I will definitely repay it!"
"How are you going to repay me?" Mo Hua asked, his gaze intriguing and his tone gentle.
"I will work hard to earn merit points..." Ouyang Mu said.
Mo Hua sighed, "It's not easy to earn merit points."
Ouyang Mu's face fell at the mention of earning merit points.
Indeed, it was not easy to earn merit points.
The good tasks were always snatched up quickly.
If one missed out on those, they could only take on lower-level tasks and accumulate points slowly.
At the same time, there were many places in the sect where merit points were spent, such as various cultivation techniques, Taoist methods, refining manuals, pills, spiritual artifacts, and so on.
Merit points accumulated slowly but were spent quickly.
Most disciples had more outgoing than incoming merit points.
Usually, when they reached the middle stage of foundation establishment, the disciples could enter the Mountain of Refining Demons.
Once inside, as long as they learned quickly and gained experience in hunting demons, extracting materials, and crafting, earning merit points would not be difficult.
However, if they learned slowly and failed in their hunts, it would only make things worse, making it even harder to earn merit points.
Ouyang Mu had no confidence in his demon-hunting abilities.
And these three hundred merit points he had were accumulated over a long period...
If he bought this fire demon wolf's spine, he would be in debt for five hundred merit points.
With the tasks he usually did, it would take him a long time to accumulate five hundred merit points.
He wasn't confident about hunting demons in the mountains, and if something unexpected happened and he couldn't earn any merit points, he wouldn't be able to repay the debt, which would mean breaking his promise and causing Mo Hua to suffer a loss.
Ouyang Mu lowered his head, his expression fluctuating as he hesitated.
Seeing this, Mo Hua smiled slightly and said gently, "If you can't repay the merit points, you can help me with something else."
Ouyang Mu was taken aback by his words and said, "I... what can I do?"
After thinking for a moment, Ouyang Mu slowly said, "If Brother Mo doesn't mind, I can refine artifacts... or forge swords..."
Mo Hua's eyebrows rose, as he finally got to the point he had been waiting for. He immediately nodded and said, "Deal!"
Ouyang Mu felt a bit embarrassed, "But, my sword-forging skills are average..."
"It doesn't matter," Mo Hua encouraged, "No one is born knowing everything. You can take your time to learn and practice."
Coming from the Taihe Sect, which had a orthodox sword-forging lineage, Ouyang Mu's skills were bound to be better than his own, Master Gu's, and the other disciples of Taihe Sect.
Moreover, Mo Hua felt that although Ouyang Mu was a bit wooden, he was sincere and had a good heart.
With a good heart and insufficient skills, one could always improve through practice.
However, if one had the skills but a bad heart, there would be no need to cultivate a relationship with them.
Skills could be improved, but a bad heart was almost impossible to change.
Ouyang Mu was indeed greatly encouraged and said solemnly, "Brother Mo, rest assured, I will not let you down!"
Seeing his serious expression, Mo Hua couldn't help but laugh, "Just do your best, don't pressure yourself."
"Yes!" Ouyang Mu nodded seriously.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "You owe me five hundred merit points. How about this, forge a spiritual sword for me, and it will be equivalent to repaying a hundred merit points. I'll provide the materials."
Mo Hua was offering a fair market price.
Usually, the sect's bounty for a second-grade spiritual artifact ranged from fifty to eighty merit points due to the lengthy crafting process. There were occasional fluctuations.
Spiritual swords would be more expensive.
One hundred merit points was a reasonable price.
Of course, these were all ordinary spiritual swords.
Those with sword formations, the orthodox "sword artifacts," were much more expensive, but they were not something that an ordinary disciple could forge.
At only the middle stage of foundation establishment and still studying in the sect, Ouyang Mu definitely wouldn't know how to forge such swords.
The Taihe Sect wouldn't teach them "sword formations" at this stage either.
Mo Hua didn't need him to know, as he wasn't looking for a "legacy" spiritual sword anyway.
It would be fine as long as Ouyang Mu could forge ordinary spiritual swords.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Mu shook his head.
"Is the price too low?" Mo Hua asked.
"No, no," Ouyang Mu quickly clarified, "I usually charge forty merit points for refining artifacts and sixty for forging swords. One hundred merit points are too much. With my limited experience and rusty skills, I'm not worth that much."
Ouyang Mu glanced at Mo Hua and said shyly, "Brother Mo, I'll also charge you sixty. I can refine eight... or nine artifacts to repay the debt."
Mo Hua was stunned.
He had haggled with people countless times, but this was the first time he had encountered someone who bargained in reverse, and he was a little caught off guard.
"Then eight spiritual swords it is!" Mo Hua said with a smile.
With that, Mo Hua waved his hand and left.
Ouyang Mu stood there, holding the fresh spine that still carried the warmth of the fire demon wolf's flames, his heart warmed by the same fiery passion.
"That Brother Mo is truly a great person!" Ouyang Mu thought gratefully as he watched Mo Hua's retreating figure.
...
Time flew by, and soon another break arrived.
Mo Hua once again ventured into the Demon Refining Mountain, and as expected, Ouyang Mu was there waiting for him.
With the weight of the 500 merit points debt on his shoulders, Ouyang Mu felt a strong sense of pressure. Even more so, he didn't want to disappoint Mo Hua's kindness in giving him the fire demon wolf spine, so he was eager to do something for Mo Hua.
"Brother Mo, what kind of sword do you want to forge?" Ouyang Mu asked.
Mo Hua handed over the sword-forging diagram he had prepared earlier to Ouyang Mu.
After taking it, Ouyang Mu glanced at it once and said, "Brother Mo, this sword is quite unusual... It doesn't seem to follow the standard design of a spiritual sword..."
"Indeed, this sword is a little different," Mo Hua acknowledged, impressed that Ouyang Mu, with his Taihe Sect background, could recognize this.
As Ouyang Mu studied the diagram, he mumbled to himself, "The outer shape is the same, but the structure is different..."
"The materials used are rather cheap and not very durable."
"There's space left for a formation, but this doesn't seem to be the type of formation used for strengthening or refining a typical spiritual sword?"
Ouyang Mu gestured with his hand, tracing the diagram, and exclaimed, "...It's a sword formation!"
"The sword formation isn't sealed; instead, the sword itself is the source."
...
Ouyang Mu's expression turned glum as he muttered, "Brother Mo, I can't forge this kind of spiritual sword..."
"What's wrong?" Mo Hua asked.
"This isn't a standard spiritual sword," Ouyang Mu explained. "It doesn't use a regular formation; it's a sword formation. I haven't learned about sword formations yet. Only after entering the inner sect and signing the death pact will the sect teach me."
"What the elders and instructors teach us now is the 'Taihe Sword Forging Art,' which focuses solely on the art of sword forging without involving sword formations."
"It's fine," Mo Hua reassured him. "You don't need to worry about the sword formation. Just focus on forging the sword."
"Oh," Ouyang Mu replied, nodding.
He had no idea how Mo Hua planned to handle the sword formation. As far as he knew, the Taihe Sect didn't have a particular tradition of sword formations. Even if they did, it wouldn't be something they could teach at this time.
However, Ouyang Mu was polite and didn't ask further questions. As long as the sword formation wasn't involved, even if the design was a bit unusual, forging the sword itself wouldn't be difficult.
Ouyang Mu carefully studied the sword-forging diagram that Mo Hua had given him.
Mo Hua watched his reactions, then asked, "Little Mu, what do you think of this sword design?"
Ouyang Mu was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Mo Hua thought for a moment, "how would you rate its quality? Are there any areas that could be improved upon...?"
Ouyang Mu was about to answer when he hesitated and cautiously asked, "Brother Mo, who designed this sword?"
Mo Hua blinked and replied vaguely, "I asked a fellow sect member... a fellow junior in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment who has some knowledge of refining to design it for me..."
Relieved, Ouyang Mu began his critique, "It's a mess."
Mo Hua's heart twinged slightly. This sword diagram was something he had "carefully" designed by referencing numerous spiritual sword manuals and incorporating the sword formation. Yet, Little Mu had called it a "mess"...
Oblivious to Mo Hua's reaction, Ouyang Mu continued, "The designer must be an amateur... Well, not exactly an amateur, but a half-amateur, a half-baked one at that..."
Mo Hua's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath. "In that case, how should it be changed?"
When it came to sword forging, Ouyang Mu became completely engrossed in the topic. He immediately took out paper and a brush and started drawing as he explained to Mo Hua.
"First of all, the choice of materials for this spiritual sword is inadequate."
"Spiritual swords belong to the metal element, so using materials from metal-type demon beasts is generally a good idea. However, these specific materials have poor compatibility and don't conduct spiritual energy well."
"Additionally, the five elements have both 'restraint' and 'generation' relationships."
"For a metal-type spiritual sword, it's not always necessary to use only metal-type materials. In the five elements, earth generates metal, so using some materials from earth-type demon beasts can have a surprising effect..."
"That's about the materials. Next is the design."
"The design of this spiritual sword is conflicting."
"Typically, spiritual swords meant for close-quarters combat require sturdy materials and sharp blades that can slice through hair and cut iron..."
"If the focus is on sword energy, the sword body should be thinner and more conducive to spiritual energy transmission..."
"This sword has a heavy body, but the materials are inadequate. They lack hardness, and the spiritual energy penetration is poor..."
"As for the sword formation, although it's an open-source type, judging from the formation medium layer, this sword formation has no compatibility with this spiritual sword at all."
"The sword is a sword, and the sword formation is a sword formation. They have nothing to do with each other."
"This won't do. Only when the sword and its formation are compatible can the full power of the sword art be unleashed..."
...
Usually reserved, Ouyang Mu suddenly became a river of knowledge when it came to sword forging. Moreover, everything he said was something Mo Hua hadn't considered before.
Indeed, different fields were like different worlds. Even within the realm of refining, sword forging and other refining categories were vastly different, each with its profound intricacies.
Mo Hua looked at Ouyang Mu with admiring eyes.
This was what "professionalism" looked like! No wonder he was a direct disciple of the renowned Ouyang family of the Taihe Sect.
As Ouyang Mu spoke, he noticed Mo Hua's intense gaze and suddenly became shy again. "I... I'm just saying whatever comes to mind. If I'm wrong, Brother Mo, please don't mind."
"No, no, you're doing great," Mo Hua smiled and nodded, though inwardly, he thought, "Even if you were wrong, I wouldn't be able to tell..."
Mo Hua studied Ouyang Mu for a moment before asking, "Do you want to become a sword forger in the future?"
At this question, Ouyang Mu's expression became complicated, and he finally sighed, "My father doesn't allow it..."
Mo Hua was taken aback by this response and asked curiously, "Why doesn't your father permit it?"
"He believes that the reason the Taihe Sect hasn't gained much prominence is because it places too much emphasis on 'sword forging,'" Ouyang Mu explained. "Those who stand out are the ones who use the sword, not those who forge it."
"Those who can't cultivate sword techniques will then turn to sword forging."
"As a direct descendant of the Ouyang family, I'm watched by many and must follow in my older brother's footsteps. He cultivates sword techniques and serves as a model for the other disciples."
"If I were to focus on sword forging, my father would be displeased..."
Speaking up to this point, Ouyang Mu's expression turned somewhat dejected. "It's just... I fall far short of my brother in terms of spiritual roots, cultivation, comprehension, demeanor, and prestige within the sect, as well as social skills. I'm far inferior to my older brother in every way..."
The more Ouyang Mu spoke, the softer his voice became.
Mo Hua let out a sigh.
Having an exceptionally talented older brother, Little Mu's pressure was understandable.
The two brothers were like their names: Feng ShiXiong was like a tall, steady, conspicuous, and warm maple tree.
On the other hand, Ouyang Mu was thin and shy, like an immature "little wooden boy."
The gap between the two brothers was indeed enormous.
"So, do you want to become a sword forger in the future?" Mo Hua asked.
Ouyang Mu nodded, "I'm not good at anything else. I'm usually not good with words, my sword cultivation is average, and I'm clumsy at demon hunting. Only when I'm forging swords do I feel happy."
Mo Hua encouraged him, "Then don't worry about anything else and focus on what you want to learn."
Ouyang Mu seemed quite conflicted, "But, my father..."
Mo Hua asked, "Is your father happy that you're cultivating sword techniques now?"
Ouyang Mu shook his head, "My father is displeased because he thinks I'm not good at cultivating sword techniques."
"In that case," Mo Hua said, "Your father is unhappy that you're cultivating sword techniques, and he won't be happy even if you cultivate them. So, why bother? It's better to do something that makes you happy."
Ouyang Mu was stunned.
His little head spun with thoughts, and he suddenly realized that Mo Hua's words seemed to make a lot of sense.
Whether he chose to cultivate sword techniques or focus on sword forging, his father wouldn't be pleased either way.
So, why was he hesitating?
However, despite these words, Ouyang Mu still felt some anxiety and hesitation.
Mo Hua didn't expect him to figure it out immediately, but he consoled him, "Don't overthink it. First, let's focus on the spiritual sword you owe me."
Even though Little Mu wanted to cultivate sword techniques, he would still need to earn merit points before he could do so.
His current sword techniques weren't sufficient to help him earn those points.
Thus, he could only rely on sword forging to accumulate merit.
Mo Hua decided to gradually guide him onto the "right path" of sword forging.
Mo Hua thought to himself:
"What's so great about cultivating sword techniques..."
"In this Qian Xuezhou realm, there are plenty of disciples cultivating sword techniques, and it's not like they need Little Mu to join them."
"Moreover, Little Mu doesn't have much talent for the sword path, and his nature isn't inclined towards killing. Forcing him to cultivate sword techniques would be doing him a disservice..."
"Such a talented seed for sword forging, and the Taiaomen sect doesn't even know to cherish him..."
Mo Hua shook his head.
Ouyang Mu came back to his senses and nodded, "Okay."
Regardless, he needed to focus on forging the eight spiritual swords for Mo Hua first.
"By the way," Mo Hua pointed to the sword forging diagram in Ouyang Mu's hand, "Help me... there's a disciple in the Taihumen sect who's not very skilled at refining. Modify this sword forging diagram for him, following the changes you mentioned earlier..."
Ouyang Mu still lacked confidence and hesitated, "Is that really okay? Modifying someone else's sword diagram feels a bit inappropriate..."
Mo Hua nodded, "It's perfectly fine. Go ahead and make the changes, don't worry!"
Following Mo Hua's insistence, Ouyang Mu carefully and meticulously modified the spiritual sword diagram for him.
When Mo Hua saw the modified diagram, he was deeply impressed.
He hadn't realized how much better Ouyang Mu's version was until he compared it to his original diagram.
Mo Hua quietly crumpled up his previous sword diagram and tossed it into his storage bag.
"Forge the sword according to this design!"
Mo Hua instructed Ouyang Mu.
"Yes, Brother Mo!"
Seeing that Mo Hua, who seemed incredibly skilled and formidable, approved of his work, Ouyang Mu's confidence soared.
After returning to the Taiaomen sect, he temporarily set aside his other concerns and devoted himself entirely to forging swords for Mo Hua.
Eight days later, it was time for another break.
In the mountains of the Refining Demon Mountain, Ouyang Mu presented a golden spiritual sword to Mo Hua.
Since this was the first time he had forged this type of sword, he was unsure about its quality, so he only made one and asked Mo Hua to inspect it.
Mo Hua took the spiritual sword and felt a slight tremor in his heart.
The sword was not heavy, its luster was subdued, the internal structure was intricate, the design was sharp, and the crafting technique was exquisite.
Even without inscribing a sword formation, he could sense faint strands of sword qi emanating from it.
It was clearly of a higher caliber than the flying swords he had used before.
Mo Hua was delighted and decided to test the sword.
He quickly inscribed the Duanjin Sword Formation on the spiritual sword, and due to his speed and the unique formation pattern, Ouyang Mu couldn't quite make out what Mo Hua had drawn.
After inscribing the formation, Mo Hua went to an open area, looked up at the sky, released his spiritual sense, and searched for prey.
Soon enough, a fierce eagle falcon soared by in the clear sky.
Mo Hua sat cross-legged on the ground, placing the golden spiritual sword in front of him.
He then focused his qi, channeled the Duanjin Sword Art, and controlled the sword with his spiritual sense to seek out the enemy.
Suddenly, the golden spiritual sword erupted with dazzling light.
The brilliant flash of gold appeared and disappeared in an instant.
Then, a golden line soared into the sky, rushing towards the vicious eagle falcon.
In the blink of an eye, the dazzling golden light exploded.
Sharper than ever before, the sword qi unleashed its full power in a short span of time, resembling a golden lotus blooming and engulfing the eagle demon. Its feathers and flesh were shredded to pieces.
The eagle demon was completely annihilated by the Duanjin Sword Qi.
It didn't even have time to fall to the ground before it perished!
Mo Hua was astounded by the powerful display of sword control. He turned to the equally shocked Ouyang Mu, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a domineering smile:
"From now on, you're going to join me!"
(End of Chapter)
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