Chapter 190: Assertion_1
The Refinery Shop has been built, and the Formation has been perfected, they can no longer cause trouble.
When the exterior walls are closed, and the Formation is activated, thinking of sneaking in would be akin to a fool’s dream.
Master Qian glanced at the Refinery Shop again and suddenly asked:
“Family Head, do you know which Formations have been used in this Refinery Shop?”
“Typical construction Formations can’t be separated from the Earth and Wood series, but as for the specific Formations, I’m not a Formation Master, so I’m not clear,” Qian Hong pondered and said.
“Family Head, you’ve encountered this set of Formations before,” Master Qian said with a composed attitude.
Qian Hong thought thoughtfully, then his eyes brightened, “Are you talking about the Formation used at the entrance of the Spiritual mines that day?”
“Exactly!” Master Qian nodded, “Among the First-grade Formation Methods, there is one called the Earth Stone Formation, which can strengthen the soil and stone and resist external enemies. If I’m not mistaken, the walls of the Refinery Shop are fortified with this First-grade Earth Stone Formation.”
Qian Hong frowned and then had a flash of understanding.
Master Qian said, “One Earth Fire Formation, one Earth Stone Formation, previously it was these two Formations, and now it’s still these two Formations. Just as I had anticipated, the Formation Master among the Monster Hunters doesn’t know many Formations, so he can only use these two over and over…”
“This is not his fault,” Master Qian sighed, “First-grade Formations are not easy to learn, and it is quite remarkable that he has mastered these two.”
Qian Hong nodded slightly, Formations are indeed difficult to learn, let alone First-grade Formations which are even more challenging.
Learning Formations is hard, and handling them is even harder.
During the previous battle with the Monster Hunter on the Nameless Peak, these two Formations gave the Qian Family a lot of trouble. If it hadn’t been for these two Formations, their Qian Family wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses.
Elder Yu, that old rascal, and those Monster Hunters would not have been able to leave with a full load of Spirit Stones and return unscathed.
Every time he thought about this, Qian Hong felt heartache as if being cut by knives.
Master Qian said, “Now that the Refinery Shop is completed, there’s no need to dwell on it any longer, Family Head. You can proceed with the plan.”
Qian Hong nodded, “Elder Yu built the Refinery Shop simply to refine Spiritual Artifacts to compete with our Qian Family business. All we need to do is to take the lead, refine more and better Spiritual Artifacts, lower the selling price, and make it impossible for them to continue their business, and naturally there will be no aftermath…”
“And the key to mass-producing Artifacts is the Refining Furnace,” Qian Hong finished speaking, then asked, “How goes your comprehension of the First-grade Melting Fire Formation used for the Refining Furnaces?”
Master Qian stroked his beard, “These days, I have been diligently studying day and night, and now I have understood most of it. It won’t be long before I can fully master it.”
Qian Hong showed delight and bowed his hands, “You have worked hard, Master!”
Master Qian returned the courtesy, “Since I am a descendant of the Qian Clan and supported by the family, it is my duty to exert all efforts for the Clan. Family Head, you’re too courteous.”
Qian Hong seemed to think of something and suddenly hesitated to speak.
“If the Family Head has something to say, please speak frankly,” Master Qian said.
Qian Hong frowned, contemplating, “The Formation Master among the Monster Hunters, he couldn’t possibly also have mastered the First-grade Melting Fire Formation, could he? Otherwise, why would Elder Yu build a Refinery Shop?”
Master Qian appeared slightly taken aback, and after some thought, he felt it made sense. Then he reconsidered and denied it:
“Impossible. The Melting Fire Formation is different from other First-grade Formations; its Formation Patterns are more tricky, and the Formation Pivot is more complex. It’s not that easy to learn. If he really knew the Melting Fire Formation, along with the Earth Fire Formation and the Earth Stone Formation, he would already have the strength of a First-grade Formation Master.”
“A First-grade Formation Master, who doesn’t hold a prestigious position and is treated as an honored guest by Clans and Sects? How could someone like that, regardless of their status, join forces with Loose Cultivators?”
Hearing this, Qian Hong also felt it made sense, but still with reservations, he said, “But what if this person really can draw the Melting Fire Formation?”
“Family Head, you can rest assured. Even if this Formation Master can draw the Melting Fire Formation, he will only be able to create ordinary Melting Fire Formations that contain five or six Patterns at most, definitely not the authentic First-grade Melting Fire Formation,” Master Qian assured.
“I have studied diligently these days and personally experienced how difficult the Melting Fire Formation is to learn. This Formation is not something one can compare with other ordinary First-grade Formations. That Formation Master could not possibly master it!” Master Qian asserted.
Mo Hua indeed could not draw the First-grade Melting Fire Formation.
Since he hadn’t needed it before, he didn’t bother to learn. Now that he wanted to try a Compound Formation that included the Melting Fire Formation, it was time to start learning.
After studying it, he realized indeed that the Melting Fire Formation was rather difficult to learn.
The Formation Patterns were indeed trickier, slightly different from the usual Fire-series Formation Patterns; the strength of Divine Sense required for the Formation Pivot was also comparatively high. Mo Hua had been practicing for a day and a half and was gradually getting the hang of it when he noticed Elder Yu with a worried frown.
“Elder, has the Qian Family come to cause trouble again?” Mo Hua asked.
Elder Yu shook his head, “We’re short of Artifact Refiners.”
“How many are we short?”
“That many?” Mo Hua was surprised, “Aren’t there quite a few Artifact Refiners in the city? Don’t they want to come?”
“Yes,” Elder Yu said somewhat helplessly, “Some already have their own Refinery Shops and don’t want to move; others don’t want to work for someone else and be constrained; or they are introverts who prefer not to live with others… In short, their reasons are varied but the result is the same: they don’t want to come.”
“Are they also worried about the Qian Family?”
Elder Yu nodded, “That’s one of their concerns. They’re afraid the Qian Family will give them trouble and also that we won’t be able to overpower the Qian Family; then they, too, would be unlucky.”
“Oh.” Mo Hua nodded, then asked, “Is Master Chen willing to come?”
“The skinny one with the dark face from Chen’s Refinery Shop, next to the small pond on South Main Street.”
“Oh.” Elder Yu remembered, “He’s not willing to come either.”
Mo Hua put down the unfinished Melting Fire Formation he was holding and said, “I’ll go have a look.”
“What are you going to look at? Will he listen to you?” Elder Yu was somewhat astounded.
“Not sure, but I’ll try. I’m on fairly good terms with Master Chen,” Mo Hua said.
Elder Yu looked at the teenage boy, half a person tall, that was Mo Hua, and then thought of Master Chen’s stern face and couldn’t fathom what kind of relationship they could have.
“Well, you try it first; I’ll look for some other Artifact Refiners,” Elder Yu said.
After speaking, Mo Hua went back home, asked his mother for some wine and meat, boxed it up, and put it in his Storage Bag. Then, he headed to Chen’s Refinery Shop and found Master Chen.
Master Chen was leading Dazhu and the rest in the iron forging, with the clanging sounds echoing and sparks flying everywhere.
Mo Hua shouted a couple of times before Master Chen heard him. Master Chen let Dazhu continue on his own, then washed his hands, wiped his sweat, and welcomed Mo Hua into the courtyard.
There were several small stools and tables in the courtyard.
Mo Hua chose a stool to sit on and took out the wine and meat from the Storage Bag.
“This is my treat for everyone!” Mo Hua said.
“How can I accept this…”
Though Master Chen verbally declined, his eyes never left the wine jug.
“Don’t be polite!” Mo Hua said.
Master Chen stopped being coy. After all, he was well-acquainted with Mo Hua, and he didn’t consider him a stranger. So he laughed and said, “Then I won’t be.”
After finishing his words, Master Chen called out to a group of disciples, “Stop what you’re doing, take a break, and come have some food.”
The group of Artifact Refiner disciples were overjoyed at hearing this, and they all put down their work and crowded around.
Ever since Mo Hua entered, and the moment he placed the food box on the table, they had already become distracted from refining.
Artifact Refining was physically demanding, and these young and strong men were also growing, so they got hungry easily.
The business at the Refinery Shop was actually not so good; it was quite an achievement for them to get enough to eat, let alone indulge in delicacies. So when they saw the meat Mo Hua had placed on the table, their eyes shone with eagerness.