Chapter 10 – Drawing Formation_1
The next morning, Mo Hua finished breakfast, set down his chopsticks, and went back to his room. He took out the paper and brush for copying and, with the memory of the Bright Fire Formation still clear in his mind, started to meticulously copy it stroke by stroke.
The copy was created with the cheapest ink and paper, which possessed no spiritual energy. The Formation painted was merely a pattern with no effect at all, consuming only a minuscule amount of Divine Sense, so he wasn’t worried about wasting Spirit Stones if he failed.
Mo Hua copied the Formation in one go based on his memory. Since it didn’t use much Divine Sense, he hardly paused at all.
Mo Hua took out the Formation Diagram of the Bright Fire Formation and compared it meticulously against his copy. He discovered three mistakes.
Setting the Formation Paper aside, Mo Hua took out a new sheet and continued drawing. After drawing three sheets in succession, he finally managed to copy a complete Bright Fire Formation Diagram without a single mistake.
Mo Hua let out a long sigh of relief, stretched lazily, and glanced at the small sundial on his table to find that it was already noon. Only then did he feel hungry.
Liu Ruhua had already prepared a meal consisting of Spirit Rice, several stir-fried vegetable dishes, and the only meat dish was an egg from a demon chicken. The quality of the Spirit Rice was low-grade, but it was enough to fill his stomach.
The simple and tasty meal was devoured eagerly by Mo Hua. After finishing, he ran back to his room to continue practicing copying the Bright Fire Formation.
Watching Mo Hua’s retreating figure, Liu Ruhua expressed her concerns,
“Huar is working too hard; he’s gotten much thinner.”
Mo Shan nodded and said, “Hard work is good, but I’m afraid it will wear him out. Huar was born weak, and his foundation isn’t strong; indeed, he shouldn’t overexert himself.”
Liu Ruhua sighed, “It’s a pity he didn’t inherit your talent for Body Refinement and instead took after my frailty…”
Mo Shan gently embraced Liu Ruhua’s slender shoulders, “How can we blame you for that? When Huar was born, his Blood Qi was weak, so we went to Old Mr. Feng of Apricot Forest Hall. He told us that one’s Divine Sense and physical body are balanced at birth. Huar was born with a strong Divine Sense, hence the weaker body. Look at him now; despite being physically weak, which of the neighborhood children is as smart as he is? That Huar is so clever and handsome is all thanks to you.”
Liu Ruhua couldn’t help but smile, “You always know what to say.”
Seeing his wife’s expression soften, Mo Shan continued, “This morning, I chatted with Old Zhou from the Monster Hunting Team. I heard that a few days ago, they happened to kill a Fire Chick. This bird might not be a Monster Beast, but its flesh contains some spiritual energy. I bought some to let Mo Hua try it; it will be good for you to nourish your body, too.”
Liu Ruhua asked, “Do we have enough Spirit Stones at home?”
“No need,” Mo Shan said, “We’re brothers who’ve hunted Monster Beasts together. We have a good relationship, so it’s the same if I pay after the New Year.”
Liu Ruhua placed her Storage Bag in Mo Shan’s hand, “Give however much you can; if it’s not enough, we can repay it after the New Year. With the holiday approaching, everyone needs to earn some Spirit Stones for the festivities.”
Mo Shan thought for a moment and then nodded, “That sounds good.”
While Mo Shan and his wife chatted, Mo Hua focused intently on drawing the Bright Fire Formation until the evening, by which time he had become quite skilled at it.
At dinner, Mo Hua ate quickly and then rushed back to his room, where he rested quietly for a moment before going to sleep on schedule and entering his Sea of Consciousness.
The ancient Stele stood tall in the empty white expanse of his Sea of Consciousness.
Using his finger as a brush, Mo Hua began formally Drawing Formation on the Stele. As the Formation Patterns on the Stele slowly took shape, his Divine Sense poured out.
When his Divine Sense was nearly depleted, and Mo Hua was almost unable to maintain it, he finally completed the Bright Fire Formation.
Mo Hua stopped, and the Formation on the Stele emitted a gentle white glow.
The Bright Fire Formation was a Formation that a Cultivator at the third level of Qi Refinement could draw. Mo Hua, at only the second level, was struggling, but he could now complete a full Bright Fire Formation Diagram.
This also meant that, even compared with a Qi Refinement third-level Cultivator, Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was in no way inferior.
Mo Hua felt a small surge of pride within him, then he erased the Bright Fire Formation he had drawn, and his Divine Sense immediately replenished itself.
Mo Hua continued to practice drawing the Bright Fire Formation, for he had to use the evening to fully master the Formation Diagram of the Bright Fire Formation, and then start on officially Drawing Formation the next day.
In the empty white and silent Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua repeatedly drew the Bright Fire Formation, summarizing and reflecting on various issues encountered.
Unconsciously, daylight broke, and Mo Hua found himself involuntarily exiting the Sea of Consciousness.
Feeling no fatigue, Mo Hua immediately got up, sat on the bed to practice meditation for a while, and after finishing breakfast, he washed his hands, and with great care, took out the Formation materials given by Fatty Steward.
The materials included ten sheets of Formation Paper and ten small bottles of pale red ink. The Formation Paper was made from the skin of Monster Beasts and some shredded Spirit Grass, while the ink was a mixture of the blood of Fire-Attribute Demon Beasts and Spiritual Liquid, different from the paper and ink Mo Hua used for copying; these contained Spiritual Energy and naturally, they were much more expensive.
Fatty Steward had also included a pen that was new but crudely made, hardly any better than Mo Hua’s own, which Mo Hua did not open, preferring his own pen which he was more accustomed to.
Mo Hua spread out a sheet of Formation Paper on the table and carefully poured the ink into the inkstone. The inkstone helped preserve the Spiritual Power of the ink a bit longer, preventing it from dissipating too quickly.
Mo Hua reviewed the Formation Patterns of the Bright Fire Formation in his mind once more, before he started to officially draw the Formation.
The process of Drawing Formation went smoother than Mo Hua had expected; except for using real paper and ink, everything else felt the same as when he was drawing on the stone Stele in the Sea of Consciousness, even the speed at which Divine Sense was consumed.
However, due to some nervousness, a few strokes were slightly skewed – although it didn’t affect the effectiveness of the Formation, it made the drawn Formation look somewhat ugly.
After exhausting his Divine Sense, Mo Hua finally completed drawing the Bright Fire Formation, but unfortunately, there was still one mistake.
Before becoming proficient, he had already lost a Spirit Stone…
Mo Hua felt the loss acutely.
Moreover, with his Divine Sense depleted, Mo Hua couldn’t continue Drawing Formation and could only close his eyes to recuperate.
“I wonder if there’s any method to quickly restore Divine Sense…”
Mo Hua thought to himself, now greatly missing the time he practiced on the Taoist Stele; alas, in reality, the Stele couldn’t be used.
As Mo Hua rested, not waiting for his Divine Sense to fully recover, the morning had already passed, and Liu Ruhua was already calling Mo Hua for lunch.
At lunch, Mo Hua hastily gobbled a few bites of food, then ran back to his room and spread out another sheet of Formation Paper.
Staring at the blank Formation Paper in front of him, Mo Hua steadied his emotions and summarized his experiences, silently repeating the phrase “Failure is the mother of success,” and began to draw the second Bright Fire Formation.
This time, Mo Hua was more focused and careful, pondering thoroughly before each stroke, and pre-visualizing the following Patterns. When his Divine Sense was exhausted and he closed his eyes to rest, he continuously recalled the Formation Diagram of the Bright Fire Formation in his mind.
Mo Hua drew slowly, yet time flew by quickly. When dusk arrived, although his progress was intermittent, he finally succeeded in Drawing Formation the Bright Fire Formation.
Mo Hua could hardly hide his excitement. Amidst the excitement, the fatigue from exhausting his mental faculties set in, and he fell onto the bed, satisfied, and soon was fast asleep, snoring away.
When Mo Hua awoke, the sky was already dark, and he felt incredibly hungry. Suddenly, he smelled a delicious fragrance and followed it into the hall, only to discover a large bowl of meat on the table!