Chapter 75: The Man in Green
Chapter 75: The Man in Green
After Mo Hua returned, he cultivated and drew formations in his free time.
According to Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua's spiritual control had improved after learning the Tian Yan Technique, and his recovery had also sped up after picking up meditation.
As a result, Mo Hua could now draw formations faster and recover his spiritual energy quicker during the day, allowing him to draw more formations daily, but it also made him more susceptible to fatigue.
Occasionally, when he tired of drawing formations, he would take out the book, Fundamentals of Restoration Formations, that Mr. Zhuang had given him to read as a pastime and to relieve his weariness.
On this day, Mo Hua was lying on a table in the courtyard of the eatery, perusing a book on formations when a man clad in a green robe walked in. The man ordered a pot of wine, a plate of beef, and two side dishes of fruits and vegetables before sitting down to eat.
As it was not yet noon and past the usual mealtime, there were only a handful of scattered cultivators in the eatery, all of whom were making a living in the nearby area—either as demon hunters or small traders and merchants. Their attire was plain and ordinary.
The man in the green robe, however, stood out among them. His robe was immaculate and spotless, making him seem out of place in this crowd.
Mo Hua glanced at him, noticing his handsome features and an age of around thirty-odd years, although he clearly led a life of luxury and appeared much younger. The man wore a jade pendant, and his robe, though not flashy in design, was made of expensive fabric. Mo Hua could faintly discern that there was likely a formation drawn on the robe.
The fabric used for Daoist robes is usually soft and not suitable for use as a formation medium, so any fabric that can serve as a medium is bound to be costly.
The man in green may have sensed that someone was looking at him, for he lifted his head and saw a simply dressed boy with exquisite eyebrows and eyes, his clear black and white eyes examining him.
The man smiled gently and beckoned to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua closed his book and walked over to him. The man asked in a gentle voice, "Little friend, what would you like to eat? I'll treat you."
Mo Hua shook his head. "This is my family's business. I can treat you instead."
The man was slightly taken aback, but then he looked at the signboard at the entrance and laughed. "Your surname is Liu?"
Mo Hua saw that the man had no ill intentions and replied, "My surname is Mo, and my mother's surname is Liu."
The man nodded, and then, noticing the book in Mo Hua's hand, he asked, "What book are you reading? Do you have any questions about it? I can teach you if you like."
Mo Hua looked at the man, who seemed rather idle, with suspicion and asked, "Do you know about formations?"
"Of course," the man replied. "Formations are involved in all aspects of cultivation, even if one doesn't pursue the path of a formation master. It's essential to have a basic understanding, and while I wouldn't claim to be an expert, I certainly know more than a young child like yourself."
Mo Hua sensed that he wasn't lying, given his confident tone, so he handed over the Fundamentals of Restoration Formations.
The man in green accepted the book, and his eyes involuntarily twitched when he saw the characters "Restoration Formations" on the cover.
Mo Hua looked at him doubtfully once more. "Do you really know about this?"
"Of course," the man replied calmly, although his fingers trembled slightly as he held the book. In his heart, he couldn't help but curse:
"This is a restoration formation! Which idiot noble is bored enough to let their kid read a restoration formation manual? Don't they know it could drain the child's spiritual sense?"
Of course, he couldn't lose face in front of a child, so he steeled himself and opened the Fundamentals of Restoration Formations.
"This kid is probably just browsing," he thought. "He probably doesn't understand it anyway. I'll just skim through and give some casual answers, and it should be fine."
With that in mind, the man in green flipped through the first two pages and asked, "What don't you understand? Ask away."
To his surprise, Mo Hua didn't even glance at the pages he had opened and instead flipped a couple of pages forward, pointing to a passage and asking, "'Forming single formations from accumulation of formation patterns, and forming restoration formations from single formations.' Why not directly accumulate formation patterns to enhance the effect of the formation, instead of using single formations to reconstruct a restoration formation? Isn't that taking the long way around?"
The man in green's heart tightened as he struggled to recall the words of his clan's formation teacher from his lessons.
Fortunately, he had been diligent in his studies back then and hadn't forgotten these concepts.
"Within the same realm, a cultivator's spiritual sense is limited," he began. "In formations of the same rank, the number of formation patterns that can be accommodated is also finite. Once the number of formation patterns in a formation exceeds a certain limit, the cultivator's spiritual sense will be insufficient, rendering them unable to draw such formations, and they may even die from forcibly attempting to do so, causing their sea of consciousness to dry up..."
"And so, to break through the limitations of formation patterns, one must recombine and link single formations to create restoration formations.
"Ahem, well... that's a rather complicated topic," the man in green replied, stalling for time as his mind raced. "You see, just as every demon beast is unique, and every cultivator varies in skill, so too are formation keys distinct from one another. You can't assume they're the same just because they're both called formation keys..."
As he spoke, his divine sense was working furiously, and he continued, "The key to a single formation is relatively simple, mainly used to link the various formation patterns. However, the key to a restoration formation is far more intricate. It not only links the single formations but also regulates the opening and closing, as well as the intensity, of spiritual power. It mitigates conflicts between different attributes of spiritual power, and it also... stabilizes the entire structure of the restoration formation..."
The man in green racked his brains to come up with an explanation, finally finishing his response.
It's only when you need it that you realize how little you know! He thought to himself, feeling his age at that moment. He never expected to be pushed to his limits by a young cultivator like Mo Hua.
"Oh, oh," Mo Hua nodded, his little hand already flipping to the next page.
With each page turn, the man's heart raced faster, and he felt an urge to reach out and stop Mo Hua from flipping any further. He wasn't sure he could answer any more questions.
Finally, Mo Hua's hand paused, his finger landing on a formation diagram.
The man in green's heart sank.
Formation diagrams? He only knew the theory behind them; he had never actually drawn one himself. Aside from those cultivators who were wholeheartedly devoted to the path of becoming a formation master, who would bother drawing such things in their free time?
"Ahem," the man in green cleared his throat awkwardly. "This formation diagram... it's not something someone your age should be attempting..."
"I tried drawing it," Mo Hua said, "but for some reason, the restoration formation never activates..."
The man in green's vision darkened.
Tried drawing it?
What does that mean? What's your cultivation level? Your spiritual sense? Your experience? How dare you attempt to draw a restoration formation?! Who gave you that kind of courage?!
Mo Hua retrieved a piece of paper from his bag. On it was a freshly drawn formation, complete with all the necessary formation patterns, not a single stroke missing. It hadn't been activated yet, but it was clear that it was a complex formation.
The man in green was left speechless.
After a moment, he calmed himself and examined the formation in Mo Hua's hand more carefully. Suddenly, his spirits lifted.
"Although it's a restoration formation, I recognize all the single formations within it, and they're quite simple. Each only contains two or three formation patterns, which is within my ability to understand."
The young man in green finally regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Theory is one thing, but actually putting it into practice is another matter entirely. Your issue here is with the formation key. You've used the key for a single formation and tried to apply it to a restoration formation, which is why the formation doesn't work..."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up as he understood, nodding vigorously. He felt ashamed for having underestimated the man in green. Then...
His little hand reached out to flip to the next page.
The man in green's previously calm demeanor crumbled.
Please don't turn the page...
Fortunately, Mo Hua flipped to a page he hadn't seen before and, realizing it was new to him, closed the book instead. "Uncle, you sure know a lot," he said, his voice filled with admiration.
The man in green finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua pointed to the wine pot on the table with his little finger. "This pot of wine is my treat."
The man in green's heart was finally at ease, and he couldn't help but take a sip of wine to calm his nerves.
As the wine entered his mouth, it felt like it seeped into his soul, and he couldn't help but think that he had never tasted such sweet and refreshing wine in his life.
(End of Chapter)
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