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Chapter 94: Limitations (Seven More Chapters)
Chapter 94: Limitations (Seven More Chapters)
Zhang Lan noticed Mo Hua's cautious thoughts and hummed, "I may not know illusion techniques, but my magic skills are nothing to scoff at."
"Wow, Uncle Zhang, you're so amazing," Mo Hua responded perfunctorily.
Zhang Lan didn't hold his comment against him and returned to the topic at hand. "Do you know who the illusionist is?"
"How would I know?" Mo Hua shook his head, but as he spoke, an image of Snow Aunt, veiled and vague, flashed through his mind.
Mo Hua had only interacted with a handful of high-level cultivators, and Snow Aunt was the most likely candidate among them. The use of illusions also fit with the impression she had left on him.
"You've guessed it, haven't you?" Zhang Lan raised an eyebrow, noticing Mo Hua's expression.
As expected of someone from the Dao Court, Zhang Lan's observation skills were sharp despite his lethargic demeanor.
Mo Hua thought for a moment before asking, "What will the Dao Court do about this?"
"Not much." Zhang Lan took a casual sip of his wine. "A cultivator skilled in illusions is no small matter. The Qian family dares not make a fuss or investigate. If the Qian family keeps quiet, the Dao Court is happy to leave things be and not get involved."
"Will the Qian family really let this go?" Mo Hua found this hard to believe.
"The Qian family has a Core Formation cultivator backing them, yet someone still managed to enter their home unnoticed and cast an illusion on their young master without leaving a trace," Zhang Lan explained, sounding a bit gleeful at their misfortune. "Just this fact alone is enough to strike fear into their hearts... The person who drove Qian Xing insane with illusions could easily use other magic to kill him. The reason for using illusions is to send a clear message and deter them from causing further trouble. If the Qian family can't figure that out, they wouldn't have become the top family in Tongxian City."
"In the end, the Qian family is just a first-rank family and the lowest among those of their rank. They can't compare to the truly influential aristocratic clans," Zhang Lan added.
Mo Hua finally understood. So families were also ranked and graded. No wonder Zhang Lan, coming from a prestigious family himself, knew so much about these intricacies.
"Well, consider this matter settled," Zhang Lan continued. "Even if Qian Xing recovers, he won't dare to cause trouble after all that's happened. You can focus on your cultivation and studying array formations without worry." Zhang Lan's tone had also lightened.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang," Mo Hua expressed his gratitude.
Given Zhang Lan's laid-back personality, his visits to chat with Mo Hua when he was bored were not only to relieve his own boredom but also showed his concern for the young man. Mo Hua could see that.
Zhang Lan glanced at Mo Hua and thought to himself that the boy had quite a good relationship with others.
Aside from the demon hunter, there was that brave young man named Dazhu who had stood up against Qian Xing. Even the neighboring cultivators were friendly and amiable towards Mo Hua.
As for the illusionist, it was unlikely that they had no connection to Mo Hua at all.
Who would bother to scare a young man from an unrelated family just for fun?
Zhang Lan shook his head, bid Mo Hua farewell, and left.
"Take care, Uncle Zhang!" Mo Hua waved as he saw him out.
After Zhang Lan's departure, Mo Hua sat on the table and rummaged through his storage bag, flipping through the thick stack of array formations within. He felt a twinge of disappointment.
It was a shame that Qian Xing wouldn't be causing any more trouble; these arrays would remain unused.
And that illusion... He wondered if Snow Aunt was the one who had cast it.
Mo Hua's thoughts lingered on the mystery.
The next day, after seeking guidance from Mr. Zhuang on array formations, Mo Hua paid a visit to the Bai siblings.
Bai Zisheng was dozing off, while Bai Zixi was reading a book.
Mo Hua quietly stared at Bai Zixi, trying to discern if she knew anything. However, aside from her good looks, her face revealed nothing.
Bai Zixi noticed Mo Hua's gaze and turned her head, looking at him curiously.
Their eyes met, and Mo Hua asked in a soft voice, "Was Snow Aunt home three nights ago?"
After a while, he asked softly, "Do you want to try some of our osmanthus cake at home?"
Bai Zixi nodded, and Mo Hua smiled, his eyes narrowing happily. Then, the two of them focused on their books and didn't say anything more.
With the matter of Qian Xing resolved, Mo Hua could now focus on his cultivation with a peaceful mind.
He wanted to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refinement as soon as possible so that he could start learning spells.
Mo Hua was quite eager to learn spells, but as illusion techniques were beyond even Zhang Lan's capabilities, he didn't dwell on that. However, he thought that simple spells like creating fire or shooting electricity should be within his reach.
The thought made Mo Hua a little excited.
Nevertheless, cultivation was a gradual process. The amount of spiritual energy he could absorb and refine each day was limited, so he could only make steady progress. As long as he cultivated diligently, he would eventually reach his goal, even if he couldn't speed up or slow down the process significantly.
At his current pace, it seemed like it would still take some time to reach the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.
In terms of formations, Mo Hua could now draw formations with seven talisman patterns, but eight was still beyond his capability.
It seemed that his spiritual sense wasn't sufficient, so he was straining himself to learn, only able to attempt formations with simpler structures. Nonetheless, eight talisman patterns were already the limit for ordinary formation masters, and those who hadn't achieved any rank could usually only create formations of this level.
Being able to draw seven talisman patterns already made Mo Hua a genuine, if somewhat inexperienced, formation master.
A hint of pride crept into Mo Hua's heart.
After eight patterns came nine, and with nine talisman patterns, one could attain the rank of First-Rank! Once he could draw nine patterns, he would be able to take the assessment to become a First-Rank formation master.
Mo Hua had heard that the formation master assessments were the strictest, most demanding, and most challenging among all the cultivation paths.
"I wonder what formations they'll test us on," Mo Hua mused, feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
Becoming a First-Rank formation master would mean a stable income of spirit stones every month, even if he didn't do anything else. Even if he encountered some trouble in the future and couldn't cultivate anymore, he would still be able to receive a basic allowance and wouldn't have to worry about starving.
The thought made Mo Hua envious.
However, in all of Tongxian City, including all the families and sects, only a minuscule number of cultivators had passed the ranking assessment to become First-Rank formation masters. The number was even smaller if one only counted those from humble backgrounds who cultivated on their own, like Mo Hua. It was clear that achieving a rank as a formation master was incredibly difficult.
Mo Hua could draw eight talisman patterns, and while he was just a step away from nine, that step seemed impossibly distant.
Previously, when Mo Hua had practiced formations day and night, he could feel his spiritual sense growing steadily. But now, even though he was practicing more complex formations and putting in even more effort, he didn't feel like his spiritual sense was improving noticeably.
At this rate, he wondered how long it would take to reach nine talisman patterns.
Mo Hua had consulted Mr. Zhuang about this issue, and the man's expression had become somewhat complicated—it was the first time Mo Hua had seen such an expression on his teacher's face.
"Haven't you realized that your cultivation realm is too low?" Mr. Zhuang had said, his gaze fixed on Mo Hua. "No matter how strong your spiritual sense is, it will always be limited by your realm. The foundation of your spiritual sense's strength is your cultivation realm."
Mo Hua had an epiphany, feeling a bit foolish for not realizing it sooner.
A cultivator's physical body and spiritual power were also limited by their realm. If one didn't break through to a higher realm, their spiritual power and physical body wouldn't strengthen further, even with diligent cultivation.
Mo Hua had simply forgotten about this since cultivators focused more on improving their spiritual power and physical bodies, often neglecting their spiritual sense.
"Thank you for the guidance, Mr. Zhuang," Mo Hua said, feeling a bit embarrassed. After asking a few more questions, he took his leave.
"Spiritual sense is limited..." Mr. Zhuang watched as Mo Hua's small figure disappeared around a corner, and he stood there in a daze for a while before shaking his head and chuckling. "I've taught so many cultivators, but I think this is the first time I've ever said that..."
After a moment, Mr. Zhuang's gaze shifted to where Mo Hua was drawing formations under the big elm tree, and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Is spiritual sense... truly limited by one's realm...?"
(End of Chapter)
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