On the way back, Elder Yu cautioned his son,
“Don’t tell anyone else about Mo Hua’s Formation Painting for now.”
Yu Chengyi was startled, “Why?”
“He’s young and comes from a humble background, yet he’s bursting with talent. I fear it might attract jealousy, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
“Oh,” Yu Chengyi somewhat understood.
“But we can’t keep it a secret forever, can we? If the child truly has a gift for Formations, it’s bound to come out sooner or later.” Yu Chengyi added.
“At least wait until he’s older and can protect himself.”
Despite his relieved gaze, Elder Yu couldn’t help but worry.
I hope the child can grow up safely…
Having completed the Iron Armor Formation, Mo Hua earned some Spirit Stones, Bai received some Spiritual Ink, and also received gifts from Elder Yu, making him very happy.
The next day, he went to find Bai Zisheng to test the effectiveness of the Water Passing Step.
Bai Zisheng was first delighted but then suddenly remembered something, hung his head down, and became despondent.
“Aunt Xue has given me a lot of homework, and she won’t let me spar with you anymore.”
Mo Hua was also taken aback, “How about just one spar?”
Bai Zisheng felt troubled.
“If we spar in secret, Aunt Xue won’t know, right?”
Bai Zisheng sneakily glanced at his sister, Bai Zixi, who was sitting aside, and said,
“Aunt Xue had Zixi watch me, not allowing me to fight you.”
Next to him, Bai Zixi, who was elegantly and quietly reading a book, moved her beautiful eyes slightly upon hearing this. She looked at Bai Zisheng with a faint gaze and in a soft and melodious voice said,
“I won’t tell Aunt Xue, but can you finish your homework?”
Now, Bai Zisheng found himself at a loss for words.
The homework Aunt Xue assigned was copious, covering Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and theories of Tao Cultivation, and sparring with Mo Hua would undoubtedly mean he wouldn’t finish it all.
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zisheng with sympathy, “You’d better focus on your homework. I’ll bring you some treats when I have time.”
Bai Zisheng felt a bit better.
Leaving Forgetful Mountain Residence, Mo Hua sighed.
He had finally learned a movement technique, but now he found no occasion to use it, which disappointed him greatly.
“Why not use this time to learn another spell?” he thought to himself.
With this idea, Mo Hua’s spirits lifted once more.
An adept Spiritual Cultivator should advance to attack and retreat to defend.
But… who could he approach to learn a spell?
Mo Hua felt troubled again.
He hadn’t seen Zhang Lan for many days and wondered what kept him so busy, probably some affairs of the Taoist Court he couldn’t escape from.
But even if Zhang Lan was available, it would not be right for him to seek him out again.
One can’t always keep shearing wool from the same sheep.
To learn the Water Passing Step and use it discreetly was one thing, but to learn more from him would be inappropriate.
If Zhang Lan happened to teach him an ultimate technique of the sect protecting faction on a whim, the elders of the Zhang Family would probably never let him off the hook.
Even if they didn’t kill him to silence him, they would likely try to make him marry into their family.
That would be a great loss for Mo Hua.
And yet, there was no one else from whom he could learn spells…
After much thought, Mo Hua decided to boldly seek advice from Mr. Zhuang.
The next day, Mo Hua brought some beef and pastries for the siblings, Zisheng and Zixi, and some food and wine to see Mr. Zhuang.
After asking a few questions about Formations, Mo Hua hesitated several times and held back.
Mr. Zhuang looked like a sage, with an air of immortality, no detectable Blood Qi, and no sense of Spiritual Power. What if he wasn’t adept at Taoist Skills and never fought with anyone?
If Mo Hua asked him these questions and he couldn’t answer, what then?
Considering this for Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua eventually decided not to ask.
On his way out, he encountered Old Kui playing chess alone in the pavilion. Mo Hua gave him several boxes of pine nuts and then played a couple of games of Five Elements Chess with him.
As he was about to leave, Old Kui asked, “Is something troubling you?”
“How could you tell?” Mo Hua couldn’t resist asking.
“Your chess skills have regressed,” Old Kui said.
Mo Hua opened his mouth, speechless.
Five Elements Chess is so simple, you can play it blindfolded, and there’s no room for retreat even if you wanted to…
However, Old Kui’s words reminded him, and taking the opportunity, Mo Hua quietly asked:
“Grandpa Gui, do you know any spells?”
Old Kui hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have some understanding.”
Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, “Then, could you teach me a little?”
Old Kui got up and started walking away.
Mo Hua thought Old Kui was unwilling, but after walking a few steps, Old Kui turned back to look at Mo Hua and said:
“Oh oh.” Mo Hua hurriedly followed.
Old Kui led Mo Hua to another grassy area, far from the large locust tree.
This place was open and spacious, with lush green grass, surrounded by small bridges, ponds, and a bamboo forest rustling in the wind.
“In learning spells, don’t just focus on their power. The suitable ones are the best,” Old Kui said.
Mo Hua listened attentively, then asked:
“So, Grandpa Gui, what spell should I learn?”
Old Kui pondered briefly and said, “Unpredictable and mysterious spells, like Illusion Technique, Trickery Technique, Strange Skill…”
Mo Hua’s eyes shone brightly.
“…but your Spiritual Root is not good, you won’t be able to learn them.”
“Spells of great power, like the Big Five Elements type of spells…”
“…you don’t have enough Spiritual Power to use them.”
Mo Hua glanced at Old Kui somewhat resentfully.
Old Kui had a smile that was not quite a smile, “But your Divine Sense is outstanding, there’s no need to learn these complicated ones, the simplest spells will do.”
Old Kui tossed a thin book to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua opened it and saw three big characters:
Mo Hua frowned and pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help asking: “Grandpa Gui, is this Fireball Technique any different from other fireball techniques?”
Old Kui shook his head, “It’s the same.”
Mo Hua flipped through the book and realized that the Fireball Technique Old Kui gave him was not much different from those he had seen in “Basic spells at Qi Refinement Realm—Fireball Manipulation.”
He felt a smidgen of disappointment.
“Don’t want to learn it?” Old Kui asked.
Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, feeling that Old Kui had a point. Spells that were too complex, too difficult or required too much Spiritual Power indeed weren’t suitable for him.
Besides, he hadn’t planned on learning any remarkable spells to start with, starting from the basics was best, practicality was all that mattered.
Old Kui was willing to teach him, he was more than grateful, so why be picky?
Mo Hua shook his head sincerely and said:
“I want to learn, Grandpa Gui, please teach me.”
Old Kui nodded almost imperceptibly.
“The key to a spell lies in three aspects, Divine Sense, Spiritual Power, and Meridian.”
“Use Divine Sense to mobilize Spiritual Power, channel it through the meridians to specific acupoints to establish Circulation, and you can condense the spell.”
“A movement technique is also a kind of spell. Since you’ve learned a movement technique, you should understand the similar principle. Starting with the Fireball Technique now should not be difficult…”
Old Kui told Mo Hua several key points, and Mo Hua remembered each one, then channeled his Spiritual Power according to the incantation and Meridian Chart of the Fireball Technique.
The Fireball Technique was very simple, and its path of Spiritual Power circulation was also much simpler than the Water Passing Step.
After trying a few times, Mo Hua learned it.
“Give it a try,” Old Kui said.
Mo Hua took a deep breath, concentrated, mobilized his Spiritual Power, activated his meridians, formed Circulation, then pointed his fingers toward the pond not far away.
A faint red Spiritual Power gathered at Mo Hua’s fingertips, forming a gaseous red flame, which, following his Divine Sense, shot straight towards the pond.
The fireball exploded on the water surface, jolting the pond water, shredding the water plants, and startling the fish at the bottom.
The surface of the pond rippled with waves for a while, a complete mess.