Chapter 101: Qi Refinement, Fifth Level (Five Updates)_1

Translator: 549690339

Elder Yu’s expression was severe when he entered, but as he left, his face had visibly lightened, and Mo Shan could even make out a faint hint of a smile on his face.

Having known Elder Yu for so long, Mo Shan recalled that the Elder was always somewhat irritable, with a stern demeanor and not the best temper. He had never seen him with an expression like today’s.

“Mo Shan, you’ve raised a good son!”

Elder Yu broke precedent and praised Mo Shan for the first time.

Mo Shan was startled, even somewhat flattered. No matter how well he had previously mastered the Taoist skills or how many monster beasts he had slain, Elder Yu had never complimented him, and Mo Shan had thought the Elder was strict and never praised anyone.

Now, this sudden praise caught him off guard, and for a moment, he didn’t quite know what to say.

After finishing his remark, Elder Yu didn’t wait for Mo Shan’s response. He nodded to Liu Ruhua and walked out the door on his own.

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

The sky was already dark, with a bright moon hanging high. The streets were sparsely populated, but inside the houses on both sides, there were always warm yellow lights. Occasionally, one could hear laughter, children’s shouts, and parents’ admonishments.

Elder Yu took a few steps, looked back at Mo Hua’s doorway, and silently thought, “Among us loose cultivators, perhaps there will finally emerge a Formation Master…”

In the world of cultivation, formations are the most revered; cultivators cannot go without them, whether in daily living or in fighting to the death with monster beasts. But formations were never meant for bottom-rung loose cultivators like them—they were poor and deemed unworthy…

If Mo Hua really made an advancement in formations and continued to stay true to himself, supporting other loose cultivators, even if he remained a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator for life, he would be much more useful to the loose cultivators of Tongxian City than an old, half-dead tree like himself who was in the Foundation Establishment Stage…

Being a Formation Master is wonderful. Elder Yu’s eyes filled with hope for a moment.

“I wonder if I’ll live to see that day…”

The next day, Elder Yu had someone deliver twenty sets of rattan armor, twenty bottles of golden Spiritual Ink, and fifty spirit stones, plus two bottles of each of the Five Elements Spiritual Ink, with the rest of the rattan armor to be delivered after being refined.

The fifty spirit stones were a deposit, the rest would be paid after completion. The Five Elements Spiritual Ink was specifically sought out by Elder Yu as an additional reward for Mo Hua, who was very happy with the high quality of these items.

The spirit stones and Spiritual Ink should last Mo Hua for quite some time.

Although the Monster Hunting Festival was three months away, Mo Hua didn’t want to wait that long. He planned to finish within a month and a half, painting two to three sets a day during his spare time, careful not to neglect his cultivation and studying of more advanced formations.

Mo Hua was also looking forward to reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement so that he could choose a spell to study.

Half a month later, as Mo Hua finished painting the thirty-sixth Iron Armor Formation and was planning to continue, he suddenly noticed something unusual about his Qi Sea.

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, and he quickly sat down to meditate and regulate his breath. He took out a spirit stone and began to absorb the spiritual energy.

After an unknown period, Mo Hua’s Qi Sea trembled, his spiritual power stirred chaotically before gradually stabilizing and becoming slightly more profound.

He had reached the fifth layer of Qi Refinement!

Mo Hua was somewhat delighted, as the realm is the foundation of a cultivator.

It seems that, with the Heaven Yan Jue cultivation technique, except for the bottle neck of the Mystery Formation at the intermediary and major realm breakthroughs, there were no significant obstacles to small realm advancements and no need for Heaven and Earth spiritual items.

For a moment, Mo Hua felt an endless stream of admiration for the cultivator who had created this technique!

“If I keep cultivating like this, is it possible… can I really become an Immortal?”

Mo Hua’s thoughts began to wander.

Then he considered the enormous amount of spirit stones needed for cultivation, the complexity of the Compound Formation that gave him a headache when he read the Formation Books, and the unknown mysteries of the Mystery Formation.

Mo Hua reined in his fanciful thoughts.

“One must be down-to-earth in cultivation, not ambitious beyond one’s grasp! One must be down-to-earth in cultivation, not ambitious beyond one’s grasp!”

Mo Hua repeated the mantra twice in his heart, then started to plan out his Qi Refinement fifth layer.

First and foremost, it’s the spells!

Can one be called a cultivator if they don’t learn spells?

It’s fine for body cultivators, but as a cultivator who aspires to and can only be a spiritual cultivator, how can you get by without learning a few spells?

But who to learn them from?

Mo Hua was a bit worried, as most monster hunters were body cultivators and there were very few spiritual cultivators.

If we say that it’s somewhat dangerous for body cultivators, who focus on body refinement, to hunt monster beasts, then for spiritual cultivators, who specialize in spells, going into the mountains to hunt monsters is basically betting that they’re not tough enough.

There is a big difference between spiritual cultivators and body cultivators in the business of monster hunting.

If a spiritual cultivator happens to be attacked by a monster beast, compared to a body cultivator, what would be a minor injury for a body cultivator could be a serious injury for them, and what would be a serious injury for a body cultivator could mean death for them. If a body cultivator dies, the spiritual cultivator would hardly have a whole corpse left…

Thus, there are very few spiritual cultivators among monster hunters, not only because few choose to become spiritual cultivators but also because few spiritual cultivators survive.

Unless one really has no choice, like Mo Hua.

If he were strong and robust, he would become a body cultivator, have Master Chen custom-make him a scimitar engraved with a green dragon and charge into the hoard of monsters, slaughtering all around—the very thought of it is exhilarating.

But the only flaw in this idea is that it’s just a thought.

What about seeking Mr. Zhuang’s guidance?

Mo Hua shook his head. He would be content if Mr. Zhuang could teach him formation techniques; asking him for spells would be a bit presumptuous.

Moreover, it’s hard to tell what Mr. Zhuang practices. His vital energy doesn’t seem strong, his spiritual power invisible, and his divine sense appears flimsy—altogether a mysterious and elusive master.

If he were to ask Mr. Zhuang and somehow displease him, losing even the formation knowledge, it would be like losing a watermelon in pursuit of a sesame seed—a huge loss.

What about seeking Aunt Xue’s help? She’s always been quite kind to Mo Hua.

Ah right, Aunt Xue probably practices illusion techniques, which Mo Hua, with his aptitude, is neither qualified nor capable of learning.

After much consideration, there seemed to be only one person who could help Mo Hua…

Mo Hua picked up a copy of “Qi Refining Spell Record,” which details some basic spells for the Qi Refinement realm—of course, only the index, without any specifics on how to cultivate them.

Mo Hua even took the liberty to enlarge the characters for “spell” on the cover, making it easily noticeable to anyone at a glance.

Early in the morning, Mo Hua sat in a restaurant with the “Qi Refining Spell Record” in hand, ready to go fishing. As the sun rose higher and the weather grew fair, the fish arrived.

Zhang Lan appeared on the street, basking in the sun, stretched lazily, and then sauntered toward the restaurant.

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

Zhang Lan entered the restaurant, sat in his usual spot, ordered a pot of wine, a dish of meat, a dish of fruit, and then began to look around out of boredom. During his survey, he noticed Mo Hua and naturally the book in his hands, as well as the prominently displayed “spell” on the pages.

Zhang Lan carefully checked and saw that the cover of the book read “Qi Refining Spell Record.”

He reiterated the words “spell” and “Qi Refining” in his mind a few times, suddenly feeling a surge of vindication.

Mo Hua’s previous book, “Initial Understanding of Compound Formation,” had almost caused him to capsize in the gutter, and the mere thought of it still sent shivers down his spine. But as long as it’s not about formations, or even just not about compound formations, Zhang Lan feared nothing.

What’s more, it was “Qi Refining,” “spells”!

In these two categories, nobody could stop him from showing off!

Zhang Lan deliberately coughed to clear his throat, swaying over to Mo Hua, and casually said, “Oh? What’s that you’re reading? Anything you don’t understand, want me to teach you?”