Chapter 19: Earth-Stabilizing Formation

The deposit for the Earth-Stabilizing Array was twenty spirit stones. Mo Hua took ten from the spirit stones he had previously earned and gave them to the Fat Manager, receiving the Earth-Stabilizing Array diagram and ten sets of paper and ink materials with a twenty-day deadline.

After leaving the merchant house, Mo Hua went to a pastry shop and spent two spirit stones to buy ten Five-Colored Cakes. Afterward, he went straight back to the sect and shared a few pieces of the pastries with Da Hu and the other two.

The food in the sect was not very good; although the three of them often had cravings, there was rarely anything delicious to eat. Mo Hua bought the pastries simply to satisfy their cravings.

A few evenings later, after finishing a day of classes, Mo Hua was in his disciple residence with the door closed, studying the Earth-Stabilizing Array. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door.

When Mo Hua opened the door, he saw Shuang Hu standing there acting suspiciously. Shuang Hu secretly handed an oil-paper package to Mo Hua and whispered

"I specially saved this for you. Don't tell anyone."

After saying this, he glanced left and right, then ran off like a thief.

The disciple residences were dormitories provided by the Tongxian Sect. Two disciples shared one room. The rooms were not large, containing two simple wooden beds and two somewhat worn wooden desks, just enough for a disciple's daily life. The Tongxian Sect also had more luxurious and comfortable residences, but those required extra spirit stones.

Mo Hua originally had a fellow disciple as a roommate, but he had dropped out this year—not because he couldn't afford the tuition, but simply because he found cultivation boring and no longer wished to study. Thus, Mo Hua was currently alone in the room.

Mo Hua closed the door and opened the still-warm oil-paper package, finding a freshly roasted chicken leg inside. The chicken leg was about the size of a fist, steaming hot and slightly charred. An enticing aroma wafted from it, especially since a faint spiritual energy floated upon its surface.

It was spirit beast meat.

"This... it couldn't have been stolen from somewhere, could it..."

Shuang Hu and the others could not afford meat imbued with spiritual energy at all. Seeing Shuang Hu's suspicious behavior, it could only have been stolen.

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment before taking a bite. It tasted a bit burnt but had a meaty fragrance; however, it wasn't cooked through and lacked seasoning, making the taste somewhat bland.

Cooking in the cultivation world was a highly specialized skill. Without specific training, it was difficult to make anything delicious. Because ingredients in the cultivation world were difficult to process—for instance, the texture of meat was often very tough, and certain meats, such as those from herbivorous demon beasts, would not soften unless subjected to long periods of steaming with a large amount of spiritual energy to drive the flames.

Spirit meat had a finer texture, but cooking it still required careful attention. Aside from meat, other vegetables and fruits also carried some spiritual energy in addition to their natural flavors. If this spiritual energy was not balanced correctly with the ingredients, the taste would become quite strange.

The chicken leg in Mo Hua's hand had merely been roasted simply. Fearing discovery, it had likely been cooked in secret and in a hurry, so it was impossible for it to be very delicious. But Mo Hua, who hadn't eaten meat for over a month, wasn't that picky; he was just glad to have something to eat.

Mo Hua struggled through the chicken leg, then lit a fire to burn the oil paper. He threw the bone into the small stream outside to completely destroy the evidence. After eating his fill, Mo Hua spent some time refining the spiritual energy contained in the chicken before burying himself back in his array research.

Sure enough, two days later, Mo Hua heard that several Qi Refining disciples had stolen a golden pheasant raised by an Elder, plucked its feathers, and roasted it to eat. The Elder was furious, caught the disciples, and punished them severely.

Two days after that, Mo Hua saw Da Hu and the other two, their faces bruised and swollen with large lumps on their heads. Since all three were on Tongxuan Peak, the Elder could easily track them down; they couldn't escape, and punishment was inevitable. However, they only looked a bit miserable; most of the injuries were superficial. An Elder wouldn't actually do anything serious to them; it was merely a small punishment intended as a warning to the other disciples.

Though Da Hu and the others looked wretched, they held their heads high with expressions of slight pride. After all, being able to steal a chicken from under an Elder's nose was not something an ordinary disciple could achieve. When they saw Mo Hua, they pretended not to see him; even Xiao Hu secretly winked at Mo Hua, signaling him to pretend he didn't know them either.

Mo Hua didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking to himself that he should buy more pastries for them during the next scheduled break.

There were still seven days until the next break, and thirteen days had passed since he received the array materials from the Fat Manager, yet Mo Hua's comprehension of the Earth-Stabilizing Array was not progressing smoothly.

The array patterns of the Earth-Stabilizing Array were ones Mo Hua had never studied before. They were much more complex than the basic earth-element patterns taught by the sect, making them difficult to grasp. Furthermore, the Earth-Stabilizing Array consisted of four patterns, which placed a high demand on his divine sense.

Memorizing the patterns wasn't too difficult for Mo Hua, but when practicing on the stone tablet, the consumption of his divine sense was significantly higher, and it was easy to make mistakes. Either the combination of patterns failed to form an array, or the patterns drawn were invalid and unable to conduct spiritual energy.

After groping in the dark for ten days, Mo Hua still had no clue. Sometimes it seemed like he understood, but the moment he put pen to paper, he would make an error. Finally having no other choice, Mo Hua decided to seek guidance from Instructor Yan.

One day, after finishing his class, Instructor Yan was tidying the books on his desk while the disciples dispersed in small groups. Mo Hua approached Instructor Yan with several basic earth-element patterns and asked respectfully

"Instructor, I do not quite understand these earth-element patterns. I would appreciate your guidance."

Instructor Yan looked at the patterns Mo Hua presented and said, "These are the earth-element patterns from the basic Five Elements arrays, and they are quite standardized, universal patterns. They shouldn't be too difficult for you. If you cannot draw them well, simply practice more."

The earth-element patterns taught by the sect were very basic and certainly not difficult for Mo Hua; what he actually wanted to ask was something else. Mo Hua brought out several earth-element patterns from the Earth-Stabilizing Array and said

"I occasionally saw these patterns and noticed they are somewhat different from the ones in the textbooks, but I cannot specifically say how they differ. Moreover, it is very easy to make mistakes when drawing them, and I do not know where the problem lies."

Looking at them, Instructor Yan said with some surprise, "These are modified Five Elements patterns, different from those formally taught by the sect. These are not standardized and are not widely used. To draw these patterns, one needs to vary the brushwork, and the sequence is also different from the standard patterns. Basically, if you change the order of these strokes..."

Instructor Yan took a piece of paper and casually drew several patterns, explaining as he went. Upon hearing this, Mo Hua had an epiphany.

The method of drawing array patterns was somewhat similar to calligraphy. In addition to standardized patterns, there were also more specialized ones where the brushwork varied slightly. These modified patterns were numerous and could not be easily categorized, so the sect normally only taught the standardized versions.

*No wonder they say array formation is profound and vast, with so many hidden pitfalls. If I hadn't asked the Instructor, I wouldn't have figured it out even with two heads...* Mo Hua complained inwardly.

"Then, to connect these patterns together to form an array—for example, an array like this..." Mo Hua finally brought out the full Earth-Stabilizing Array diagram.

Instructor Yan glanced at it, recognized it immediately, and said in surprise, "This is the Earth-Stabilizing Array." He then looked at Mo Hua and added, "It is too early for you to be studying this. This is not something you can draw yet."

"I am merely curious and wish to understand the principles behind it," Mo Hua requested earnestly.

"That... is true. It is good for you to know some things in advance."

Instructor Yan's spirits lifted. Teaching basic patterns every day was somewhat tedious, and being able to discuss proper arrays was a rare treat, which clearly increased his interest.

"Arrays are formed by the arrangement, composition, and connection of array patterns. Simple arrays contain simple patterns and fewer of them. The higher the difficulty of an array, the more patterns it contains, and the more complex and exquisite the sequential arrangement, spatial construction, and unified connection of those patterns become. The Earth-Stabilizing Array contains four patterns. The patterns must be drawn in a fixed order at specific positions. As for the remaining positions of Qian and Kun..."

Instructor Yan spoke with great enthusiasm, and Mo Hua listened intently. Even after finishing the explanation, Instructor Yan still felt somewhat unsatisfied. He then cautioned, "The Way of Arrays is profound. It is good for you to understand it beforehand, but what the sect teaches is merely the foundation of foundations—it doesn't even count as being an entry-level practitioner. To become a true Array Master, the difficulty and the effort required are beyond anything you can currently imagine..."

Instructor Yan paused, then added, "At the same time, you must never be overly ambitious and blindly attempt to draw arrays that you cannot master. It is fine to look at them, but if you actually attempt to draw them, it is very easy to exhaust your divine sense. You must remember this!"

Mo Hua bowed and said, "This disciple has learned!"