Mr. Zhuang handed the jade slip of the "Heavenly Evolution Formula" to Mo Hua
"The jade slips for ancient cultivation techniques are somewhat special. Only when your cultivation reaches a certain realm can you use your divine sense to explore the subsequent cultivation methods. There are no restrictions on Qi Refining stage techniques, but for Foundation Establishment stage techniques, only cultivators who have practiced the 'Heavenly Evolution Formula' and reached the Foundation Establishment stage can see them."
"Most ancient techniques consist of one technique per slip. If a jade slip is lost, the technique is essentially lost as well. Even if some techniques were inscribed on multiple slips, you might not necessarily find them. The cultivation world is vast; searching for a niche, ancient technique slip is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, I have only seen this one jade slip of the 'Heavenly Evolution Formula' in my entire life."
"Therefore, you must keep this jade slip safe. You must never lose it!"
Mo Hua accepted the jade slip with solemnity, feeling as though it had grown heavier in his hands, yet he could not help the joy swelling in his heart.
This was a true cultivation technique. By learning it, he had truly stepped into the ranks of cultivators. He had officially taken his first step onto the vast, boundless path of cultivation.
Mo Hua told his parents about Mr. Zhuang teaching him the technique.
Mo Shan was very happy. Although the spiritual power produced by this technique was not much, the phrase "unsuitable for anyone except an Array Master" clearly indicated it was extraordinary. Among the rogue cultivators in the entire Immortal Ascension City, very few true Array Masters had ever emerged.
Furthermore, this technique was given by the profound and mysterious Mr. Zhuang and was said to be an ancient technique, making it naturally precious. It was at least much better than the techniques passed down among rogue cultivators.
Mo Shan knew that Mr. Zhuang did not place much importance on worldly things like spirit stones. He also thought about how Mr. Zhuang had finished all the wine and meat Mo Hua delivered each time, suggesting it likely suited the gentleman's palate.
Before dawn the next day, Mo Shan climbed the mountain in the dark. He hunted several demon beasts and descended the mountain three days later, carrying a large bundle. Inside were several types of meat from bovine and ovine demon beasts—all the tenderest cuts from the loin. To ensure freshness, he hadn't even placed them in a storage bag.
Liu Ruhua washed the meat and prepared it in various styles—smoked, fried, or braised—creating a variety of savory, numbing, and spicy flavors. She garnished them with bright green herbs and arranged them neatly in food boxes.
She also took several jars of the fragrant fruit wine brewed at home, along with a few boxes of freshly roasted, aromatic pine nuts, for Mo Hua to bring up the mountain. She also instructed Mo Hua to convey words of gratitude, such as "to express our thanks without disturbing your quiet cultivation."
Mr. Zhuang said nothing upon receiving the food boxes, but his expression was very pleasant. Sitting in the bamboo pavilion, accompanied by the cool breeze and the mountain scenery, he took a bite of meat and a sip of clear wine.
Old Puppet was also very satisfied with the pine nuts. As soon as the boxes were handed to him, they vanished right under Mo Hua's nose; it was unknown where Old Puppet had stowed them, but he didn't leave a single box for Mr. Zhuang.
Mo Hua also brought some things for the Bai siblings as a token of thanks.
After eating two slices of meat and drinking a bit more of the sweet osmanthus wine, Bai Zixi's cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were bright, twinkling like the stars in the sky.
Bai Zisheng was not so polite. He loved spicy food and ate in large gulps, sweating profusely from the heat, yet still eating with great relish.
Seeing his manner of eating, Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "You don't lack meat in your daily life, do you?"
"You don't understand," Bai Zisheng said. "Usually, we eat meat from spiritual beasts. The texture is fine, but it lacks chewiness, and because the spiritual energy is too abundant, you can't actually taste much flavor."
Mo Hua felt that his words were somewhat provocative. He himself hadn't eaten much spiritual beast meat; aside from what his mother made, his deepest impression was the pheasant stolen from an Immortal Ascension Sect elder by Da Hu and the others, which had even been burnt.
After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Zisheng asked Mo Hua about the cultivation technique.
Mo Hua told him about Mr. Zhuang teaching him the technique.
Bai Zisheng felt a bit envious. "The gentleman is truly good to you. It's just that the spiritual power produced by this technique is too low."
"There's nothing to be done about that. Things rarely go as one wishes; there are always trade-offs."
Bai Zisheng curled his lip. "You're not even old, yet you talk like a little old man."
"Does low spiritual power really have a big impact?" Mo Hua suddenly became a bit concerned.
"Of course," Bai Zisheng said. "A cultivator, a practitioner of the Dao—what they cultivate is naturally spiritual power. With low spiritual power, you'll be inferior to others everywhere."
Bai Zisheng gave an example: "For instance, if you were to fight someone, and they had one hundred cycles of spiritual power while you only had fifty, in a head-on clash, by the time they still had fifty cycles left, your spiritual power would already be exhausted. Naturally, you'd be at their mercy."
"Cultivators use spiritual power for everything. Not just for sparring and combat, but for crafting tools, for alchemy, and even for carrying storage boxes at the Spirit Luck Pier."
"If you refine one spiritual tool, someone else can refine two. If you refine one batch of pills, someone else can refine two. If you carry ten boxes in half a day, someone else can carry twenty, earning twice the spirit stones you do. How can you compete with them?"
"Then, if I become an Array Master, it shouldn't matter if my spiritual power is a bit low, right?" Mo Hua asked, somewhat lacking confidence.
"Hmm... that's true." Bai Zisheng nodded. "The most troublesome thing for an Array Master is the excessive consumption of divine sense, not spiritual power. When drawing arrays, usually your divine sense is exhausted before your spiritual power is used up. Having low spiritual power won't affect your ability to be an Array Master."
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Zisheng patted Mo Hua on the shoulder. "But you don't need to worry. Even if your spiritual power is low, mine is high! Call me 'Big Brother' and I'll protect you. Anyone who bullies you in the future, I'll beat them up for you."
"Forget it."
Bai Zisheng settled for a second best. "Then give me beef to eat every day, and I'll protect you in the future."
"You can buy it yourself."
"Auntie Xue won't let me eat whatever I want, and she also tells me to eat less of things without spiritual energy."
"Oh."
"What do you mean 'oh'? I'm doing this to save face for you..." Bai Zisheng said.
Mo Hua ignored him. As Bai Zisheng clamored, Bai Zixi watched them and took another small sip of the sweet wine.
In the following days, Mo Hua abandoned the Breathing Technique and officially began practicing according to the meridian map and breathing method in the "Heavenly Evolution Formula."
After a few sessions of cultivation, Mo Hua clearly felt a difference.
The speed of refinement was faster, the refined spiritual energy was purer, and the meridians throughout his body felt smoother.
The only problem was that the spiritual power after cultivation was nothing special.
Mo Hua had asked Da Hu; Da Hu practiced the fire-attribute "Fierce Tiger Formula," and after cultivation, his spiritual power had a slight burning sensation, and his future fire-attribute spells or physical techniques would be more powerful.
Shuang Hu practiced the "Foundation Strengthening Technique," which harmonized spiritual energy and blood qi, strengthening the physical body when circulating spiritual power. Mo Hua had forgotten the technique Third Hu practiced, but there were also special changes in his spiritual power after cultivation.
Only Mo Hua's spiritual power seemed to have no fundamental change after cultivation compared to before.
The number of cycles of spiritual energy refined by the "Heavenly Evolution Formula" was merely mediocre.
Naturally, he couldn't compare to disciples from families like the Bai siblings, but compared to ordinary Qi Refining rogue cultivators, he was in the upper-middle tier—not excellent, but acceptable.
Additionally, the only special thing about this technique was perhaps that it consumed a bit more divine sense during cultivation, several times more than the basic Breathing Technique.
However, the divine sense consumed during the Breathing Technique, or general cultivation, was already quite low. Even if it were several times more, it wasn't much; it wasn't even enough to draw a single array.
But Mo Hua hadn't expected this technique to have anything special.
To Mo Hua, a technique that could save spirit stones was the best technique.