Chapter 47: The Origin

A few days later, Mo Hua had become quite proficient with his meditation technique. After entering a state of meditative absorption, the speed at which his divine sense recovered was more than double what it had been before. Previously, it would take him half an hour of rest after finishing a single formation; now, it only required the time it took to drink two or three cups of tea.

However, as he continued to comprehend the meditation technique, he could feel almost no further progress.

This was likely what Mr. Zhuang had meant when he said that meditation requires temperament. If one's temperament does not undergo significant changes within a certain period, the effects of meditation will not increase. It requires years of persistent practice for the effects to gradually improve.

This was a slow, steady process; one could not rush it in the short term.

Thanks to the meditation technique, Mo Hua was able to draw more formations every day, and the growth rate of his divine sense also quickened slightly.

For the next month, Mo Hua spent most of his time learning formations with Mr. Zhuang.

Sometimes, when Mr. Zhuang felt lazy, he would give Mo Hua a few days off.

Mo Hua took some time to visit Youyuan Pavilion to find Manager Mo. He explained that he was studying formations with his teacher and would no longer have time to help the pavilion draw formations.

Manager Mo was not surprised; he merely glanced at Mo Hua. "Wasn't it your elder brother who drew those formations?"

Mo Hua scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.

Manager Mo sighed and looked at Mo Hua.

"In all my years, I have never seen a child with such talent. No matter what, study hard."

"Yes, Manager Mo!"

Manager Mo paused, looking a bit embarrassed, but he still whispered

"In the future, if, by any chance—cough, I mean *if*—there is something you can help me with, please do so if it is convenient for you..."

"Don't worry, Manager. Given our friendship, that's easy to arrange," Mo Hua said, patting his chest.

Manager Mo laughed, muttering, "Quite the big talk," but his expression was visibly much happier.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you know where Instructor Yan went, Manager Mo?"

Manager Mo fell silent, then sighed. "That is his private business. Since it concerns the sect, it is not convenient for me to tell you. When you are older, if you still want to know, I will tell you."

Mo Hua nodded silently.

After Dahu and the other two left the sect, they had more free time.

When they had nothing to do, they would come to find Mo Hua to play. Occasionally, when the eatery was too busy, they would help out, and then they would eat a steaming bowl of beef noodles. Liu Ruhua would even have them bring some other snacks home.

Occasionally, when Mo Shan was home, he would give them some pointers on martial arts and Daoist techniques.

A cultivator's Daoist techniques are divided into two major categories: spells and martial arts.

Spirit cultivators practice spells, while body cultivators practice martial arts.

Martial arts techniques use spiritual power to activate the potential of the physical body, allowing the body to burst with powerful force and attaching the attributes of the spiritual power itself to engage in close-quarters combat with enemies.

For example, the Blazing Flame Fist technique that Mo Shan excelled at. When he struck, his momentum was fierce, and his fists were wreathed in red fire-attribute spiritual power, making its power quite formidable.

Dahu and the other two followed Mo Shan in body tempering, their fists whistling through the air with vigor. Mo Hua watched them with great envy.

Unfortunately, Mo Hua lacked the talent for body tempering. He could not learn a single one of these martial arts techniques. Even if he wanted to learn offensive Daoist techniques in the future, he would likely follow the path of a spirit cultivator and learn spells.

Spells involve using divine sense to manipulate spiritual power to condense magic, allowing for long-range attacks without the need for close combat.

Dahu and the others studied very diligently. They were almost at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, and at the sixth level, they would have to enter the Great Black Mountain to become demon hunters.

The Great Black Mountain was treacherous and the demon beasts were ferocious. If one's skills were insufficient, entering the mountain to hunt could mean a one-in-ten chance of survival. Therefore, they did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

The eatery's business grew better day by day. As it stayed open longer, it gained a reputation. Some wealthy cultivators from the North Street would even travel specifically from the north to the south, crossing the entire Tongxian City, just to eat a plate of beef and drink a pot of fermented wine.

In the entire Tongxian City, this was the only place where one could eat meat for just two spirit stones.

And in the entire Great Black Mountain Prefecture, this was the only eatery where one could eat such delicious demon beast beef.

As business boomed, Liu Ruhua became too busy to handle it alone, so she hired two aunts to help. Both came from poor backgrounds, and their husbands had been disabled by demon hunting and were unable to make a living.

Low-level cultivators were very hardworking; the two aunts and Jiang Yun managed the eatery in an orderly fashion.

Jiang Yun worked diligently in the eatery, and her life gradually became more comfortable. Her husband's health also improved day by day, and he was now able to perform some simple physical labor, so she was no longer as shy and restrained as before.

To thank Mo Shan and his wife, Jiang Yun spent time making various kinds of pastries as a gift of gratitude; she had reportedly learned them from her mother.

Her family had once owned a pastry shop when she was a child, but after a series of misfortunes, they lost their assets and the shop could no longer be maintained. However, the craft had been passed down.

The ingredients Jiang Yun used for her pastries were simple, but they tasted delicious. Liu Ruhua had her make more to sell in the eatery so she could earn more spirit stones to support her family.

In her spare time, Liu Ruhua also learned how to make pastries from her. Some of the pastries Mo Hua gave to Old Man Puppet were ones Liu Ruhua had learned from Jiang Yun.

In addition, Jiang Yun also roasted pine nuts.

There were various types of pine trees in the mountains outside Tongxian City, and there were plenty of pine nuts, but since they couldn't fill one's stomach, no one wanted them.

Occasionally, when Jiang Yun went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables, she would bring back some pine nuts to roast in a pan. The roasted pine nuts were fragrant and crispy. When placed in the eatery, customers would either use them to accompany their wine or as a snack with tea, both of which were quite good.

Surprisingly, the one who liked the pine nuts most was Old Man Puppet.

Once, Mo Hua brought some pastries for Old Man Puppet to eat and also grabbed a handful of pine nuts for him.

While cracking the pine nuts, Old Man Puppet played Five Elements Chess with Mo Hua. Listening to the crisp sound of the cracking nuts and smelling their unique fragrance, Old Man Puppet appeared very relaxed.

Before long, the game wasn't finished, but Old Man Puppet had finished all the pine nuts.

His already mediocre chess skills had clearly declined further. Although he remained expressionless, Mo Hua could sense a certain amount of disappointment from his face.

As Mo Hua was leaving, he said to Old Man Puppet, "Grandpa Puppet, next time I come, I'll bring more pine nuts for you."

Old Man Puppet nodded.

When Mo Hua was leaving, the usually taciturn Old Man Puppet even instructed, "Be careful on the road."

It was hard to tell if he was concerned about Mo Hua or the pine nuts.

After that, Mo Hua's life gradually stabilized.

Amidst the thousands of lights in Tongxian City, there were joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, and all sorts of bitter and sweet experiences; the cultivators were all striving to live. Mo Hua was also a single point among those thousands of lights, working hard at his cultivation and drawing formations.

Time passed like this for over a month.

Mo Hua continued to study formations with Mr. Zhuang as usual, researching formation diagrams every day, practicing drawing formations, and meditating to recover his divine sense. His days were as calm as still water, without a ripple.

However, Mo Hua's divine sense and his foundation in formations were gradually becoming more stable, and his understanding of formation principles was deepening. For the formations within the Six Paths of Array Lines, after looking at them a few times and practicing a few more times, he could basically master them.

One bright morning, with clear mountain breezes, Mo Hua went to Mr. Zhuang's place to seek guidance on formations as usual, only to find several unfamiliar cultivators standing before the door.