The Quest for Immortality

When Elder Yu entered the room, his expression was stern, but upon leaving, his face noticeably brightened, and Mo Shan could even discern a faint smile on his face.

Having known Elder Yu for so long, Mo Shan remembered him as someone who was often irascible, with a severe demeanor and a temper to match. The expression he wore today was something Mo Shan had never seen before.

”Mo Shan, you have raised a fine son!” Elder Yu unexpectedly praised Mo Shan.

Mo Shan was taken aback, even a bit flattered. Despite his achievements in the Dao and his prowess in slaying demons, Elder Yu had never complimented him before; he had thought Elder Yu was too strict to praise anyone.

The sudden compliment caught him off guard, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

After speaking, Elder Yu didn’t wait for Mo Shan’s reply and, nodding at Liu Ruhua, walked out the door.

Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua respectfully escorted Elder Yu to the door.

It was late evening, the moon hung high, and the streets were sparsely populated. Yet, the houses on either side always had some warm yellow lights on, with occasional laughter, children’s shouting, and parents’ scolding heard.

After walking a few steps, Elder Yu turned back to look at Mo Hua’s house, thinking to himself, ”Among us wandering cultivators, perhaps we might actually have a true Array Master...”

In the world of cultivation, arrays are revered, essential not only for daily needs but also in battles against demonic beasts. However, arrays were not meant for low-level wandering cultivators like them, who were too poor to deserve such resources...

If Mo Hua truly excelled in arrays, and remained true to his heart, aiding other wandering cultivators—even if he remained just a Qi Refining cultivator his entire life—he would be far more useful to the wandering cultivators of Tongxian City than he, a Foundation Building cultivator but a decaying old wood...

”How wonderful it would be to have an Array Master,” Elder Yu thought wistfully.

”I wonder if I will live to see that day...”

The next day, Elder Yu had twenty sets of vine armor, twenty bottles of Gold Essence Spirit Ink, and fifty spirit stones delivered, along with two bottles of Five Elements Spirit Ink, with the promise to deliver more vine armors once they were crafted.

The fifty spirit stones were an advance payment; the rest would be paid upon completion. The Five Elements Spirit Ink was specifically sourced for Mo Hua, serving as an extra reward, and the quality was quite good, which made Mo Hua very happy.

These spirit stones and spirit inks would last Mo Hua a considerable amount of time.

Although the Hunting Festival was still three months away, Mo Hua didn’t want to wait that long; he planned to finish within a month and a half, drawing two to three arrays daily during his spare time, making sure it wouldn’t interfere with his cultivation or learning of higher-level arrays.

Mo Hua was also waiting to reach the Fifth Level of Qi Refining to learn some spells.

Half a month later, Mo Hua completed the thirty-sixth Iron Armor Array and was about to continue when he noticed something unusual about his Qi sea.

His eyes lit up as he quickly sat down to meditate and took out a spirit stone, beginning to absorb the spiritual energy.

After some time, Mo Hua felt a tremble in his Qi sea, followed by a moment of chaotic spiritual power which then stabilized and deepened slightly.

He had reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refining!

Mo Hua was quite happy, as a cultivator’s realm was their foundation.

It seemed that the Heavenly Proliferation Technique, aside from major breakthroughs that required overcoming the Riddle Array bottleneck, did not pose significant obstacles for minor advancements and did not require any rare heavenly materials.

Mo Hua felt a profound respect for the ancestors who created this technique, like the continuous and unending flow of a mighty river.

”What if I continue to cultivate like this? Could I truly become an immortal?”

Mo Hua’s thoughts began to wander.

He then thought of the substantial spirit stones required for cultivation, the complex Composite Arrays he had encountered while studying, and the mysterious and unknown Riddle Arrays.

Mo Hua reined in his fleeting thoughts.

”Cultivation should be grounded and realistic; don’t aim too high and far! Cultivation should be grounded and realistic; don’t aim too high and far!”

Mo Hua repeated this to himself twice, then began planning his cultivation at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

First and foremost, spells! A cultivator who doesn’t learn spells, can they even be called a cultivator?

Physical cultivation aside, as a cultivator destined and only capable of being a spirit cultivator, not learning some spells would make it hard to survive outside.

But whom to learn from?

Mo Hua worried slightly, as most Demon Hunters were physical cultivators, and there were few spirit cultivators.

If physical cultivation posed risks in hunting demonic beasts, then for spirit cultivators, it was essentially gambling with their lives.

The difference between spirit and physical cultivators in hunting was significant.

If a spirit cultivator was attacked by a demonic beast, compared to a physical cultivator, they might suffer minor injuries where the physical cultivator would be unharmed, serious injuries where the physical cultivator had minor injuries, and death where the physical cultivator was seriously injured. If a physical cultivator died, the spirit cultivator wouldn’t even have a complete corpse left...

That’s why there were so few spirit cultivators among Demon Hunters, not only because few chose to be spirit cultivators but also because those who did often didn’t survive.

Unless there was no other choice, like for Mo Hua.

If he had been physically strong, he would have chosen to be a physical cultivator, commissioning a crescent blade engraved with a blue dragon from Master Chen, charging into groups of demonic beasts, and slaughtering them left and right—just thinking about it was thrilling.

But the only drawback to this idea was that it was just that—an idea.

What about seeking advice from Mr. Zhuang? Mo Hua shook his head; he was content that Mr. Zhuang could teach him about arrays. To ask for spells might seem too greedy.

Moreover, Mr. Zhuang’s appearance was inscrutable; his vitality seemed weak, his spiritual power was lacking, and his spiritual awareness was unfocused, completely embodying the image of an elusive master.

If Mo Hua approached Mr. Zhuang and upset him, he might lose the opportunity to learn about arrays altogether, trading a sesame for a watermelon and suffering a great loss.

What about Aunt Xue? Aunt Xue was quite kind to Mo Hua.

Oh, right, Aunt Xue specialized in Illusion Techniques, which Mo Hua, with his modest abilities, was neither suited nor able to learn.

Thinking it over, there was only one person who could help Mo Hua...

Mo Hua found a book titled ”Qi Refining Spell Catalog,” which listed some basic spells for Qi Refining cultivators. Of course, it only had the catalog and not the specific cultivation methods.

Mo Hua even deliberately enlarged the word ”spells” on the cover to make it easily noticeable.

Early in the morning, Mo Hua sat in a restaurant, holding the ”Qi Refining Spell Catalog,” ready to fish. As the sun rose higher and the weather cleared, the fish came.

Zhang Lan appeared at the street corner, basking in the sunrise and stretching lazily, then casually strolled towards the restaurant.

Mo Hua ignored him, pretending to be engrossed in his book.

Zhang Lan entered the restaurant, sat in his usual spot, ordered a pot of wine, a plate of meat, and a plate of fruit, and began to look around out of boredom. His gaze soon fell on Mo Hua, and naturally, he noticed the book in Mo Hua’s hands and the prominent word ”spells” on its pages.

Zhang Lan carefully confirmed again that the book’s cover said ”Qi Refining Spell Catalog.”

He reconfirmed the words ”spells” and ”Qi refining” several times, feeling a sense of triumph rising within him.

The last time Mo Hua’s book, ”Introductory Solutions to Composite Arrays,” almost caused him to capsize. Now, remembering it still gave him a shiver. But as long as it wasn’t about arrays, especially not about Composite Arrays, Zhang Lan felt fearless.

Moreover, it was ”Qi refining” and ”spells”! In these categories, no one could stop him from showing off!

Zhang Lan deliberately coughed, cleared his throat, and staggered over to Mo Hua, feigning nonchalance: ”Oh? What book are you reading? Got any questions, need me to teach you?”