Arrays of Immortality

Chapter 10: Drawing the Array

The next morning, after finishing his breakfast, Mo Hua immediately returned to his room. He took out the paper and brush for his sketching and, taking advantage of his relatively clear memory of the Bright Flame Array, began to copy it stroke by stroke.

He used the cheapest ink and paper for the copying, which lacked any spiritual energy. The drawn array only contained patterns and had no actual effect, so it consumed almost no spiritual consciousness, and he didn't need to worry about wasting spirit stones if he made a mistake.

Relying on his memory, Mo Hua quickly copied the array without pause, as it consumed very little spiritual consciousness.

Afterward, he took out the diagram of the Bright Flame Array and carefully checked it against the array he had drawn, discovering three errors.

He set the paper aside, took a new sheet, and continued to draw. After repeating this process three times, he finally managed to copy a complete Bright Flame Array diagram without any errors.

Letting out a long sigh, he stretched and glanced at the small sundial on the table. It was already noon, and only then did he feel hungry.

Liu Ruhua had already prepared the meal—rice made from spiritual rice, some stir-fried vegetables, and the only meat dish was eggs from a demonic chicken. The quality of the spiritual rice was low-grade, but it was enough to fill the stomach.

The meal was simple yet tasty, and Mo Hua ate heartily. Afterward, he quickly returned to his room to continue practicing copying the Bright Flame Array.

Liu Ruhua looked at his figure with concern, saying, "This child, Mo Hua, is working too hard. He seems to have lost even more weight."

Mo Shan nodded. "Working hard is a good thing, but I'm afraid he'll wear out his body. He's always been weak by nature, and with his foundations not solid, he really shouldn't overwork himself."

Liu Ruhua sighed. "It's a pity he didn't inherit your talent for body refining. He's just as frail as me, always sickly."

Mo Shan gently wrapped his arm around Liu Ruhua's thin shoulder. "How can you blame yourself for that? When Mo Hua was born, he was weak and frail. We consulted Old Master Feng from the Apricot Grove Hall, and he said that a child's spiritual consciousness and physical body are supposed to be balanced at birth. Mo Hua's spiritual consciousness was stronger when he was born, so his body was weaker. But look at him now, even though he's physically weak, which child in the neighborhood is as smart as him? He's so intelligent and good-looking—this is all your doing."

Liu Ruhua couldn't help but smile. "You're good at saying things."

Seeing his wife's expression soften, Mo Shan said, "This morning, I talked to Old Zhou from the demon hunter team. I heard that a few days ago, they killed a Fire Chick. This chicken isn't a demonic beast, but its meat has a bit of spiritual energy. I'll buy some and bring it back for Mo Hua to try. It will also be good for you to improve your health."

Liu Ruhua asked, "Do we have enough spirit stones at home?"

"No need," Mo Shan replied. "We're all brothers who've hunted demonic beasts together. We have good relations, so I'll just buy it on credit and pay it back after the new year."

Liu Ruhua handed him her storage bag. "Take as much as you need, and we'll pay the rest after the new year. With the year-end approaching, we still need to earn some spirit stones to prepare for the new year."

Mo Shan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

While the couple chatted, Mo Hua remained completely focused, continuing to draw the Bright Flame Array until evening, when he had become quite proficient at it.

During dinner, Mo Hua quickly finished eating, then hurried back to his room. After a brief rest, he entered his sea of consciousness on time.

The ancient stone tablet stood in the midst of a vast, white sea of consciousness.

Mo Hua held his finger like a brush and began to draw the array on the stone tablet. The array gradually took shape, and Mo Hua's spiritual consciousness poured out.

When his spiritual consciousness began to wane, and he felt that he was about to collapse, he finally completed the Bright Flame Array.

He paused, and the array on the stone tablet emitted a soft white glow.

The Bright Flame Array was a formation that only Qi Refining Stage Three cultivators could draw, but Mo Hua was only at Qi Refining Stage Two. Though it was a struggle, he had managed to draw a complete array.

This meant that even when compared to a Qi Refining Stage Three cultivator, Mo Hua's spiritual consciousness was not inferior.

Mo Hua couldn't help but feel a little proud. After erasing the array, his spiritual consciousness quickly recovered.

He continued to practice the Bright Flame Array. He had to use tonight to completely master the array, so he could begin drawing it for real tomorrow.

In the white, silent sea of consciousness, Mo Hua drew the Bright Flame Array repeatedly, reflecting on and resolving any issues he encountered.

Unknowingly, dawn broke, and Mo Hua had to exit his sea of consciousness.

Feeling no fatigue, Mo Hua immediately sat up and meditated for a while. After eating breakfast, he carefully washed his hands and took out the array materials given to him by the chubby manager.

The materials included ten sheets of array paper and ten small bottles of light red ink. The array paper was made from demonic beast hide and some spiritual herbs, while the ink was mixed from the blood and spiritual liquid of fire-type demonic beasts. Unlike the ink and paper Mo Hua had used for copying, these contained spiritual energy, which made them much more expensive.

The chubby manager also provided a new brush, though it was poorly made. It was no better than the one Mo Hua usually used, so he didn't bother opening it and stuck with his own brush.

Mo Hua spread the array paper on the table, carefully poured the ink into the ink stone, which could preserve the ink's spiritual power longer.

He mentally reviewed the Bright Flame Array's patterns and then began to draw the array officially.

The process of drawing the array went smoother than Mo Hua had expected. Aside from using the real ink and paper, everything felt exactly the same as drawing the array on the stone tablet in his sea of consciousness, even the rate at which his spiritual consciousness was consumed.

However, because he was a little nervous, some of the strokes were slightly crooked. Although this didn't affect the array's function, it made the drawing look a little ugly.

After exhausting his spiritual consciousness, Mo Hua finally completed the Bright Flame Array, but unfortunately, he made one mistake.

His first attempt had failed, and he had lost a spirit stone...

Mo Hua was heartbroken.

Since his spiritual consciousness was exhausted, he couldn't continue drawing and had to close his eyes to rest.

"I wonder if there's a faster way to recover my spiritual consciousness…" Mo Hua thought, missing the stone tablet in his sea of consciousness. Unfortunately, it wasn't available in the real world.

After resting for a while, and without fully recovering his spiritual consciousness, it was already noon, and Liu Ruhua called Mo Hua for lunch.

At lunch, Mo Hua ate quickly and then ran back to his room, where he spread out another sheet of array paper.

Staring at the blank paper, Mo Hua calmed his emotions, reflected on his experience, and silently repeated to himself, "Failure is the mother of success," before beginning to draw the second Bright Flame Array.

This time, Mo Hua was more focused and careful. He took time to think through each stroke before starting and preemptively visualized the following patterns. When his spiritual consciousness ran out, he closed his eyes to rest while mentally reviewing the diagram.

Mo Hua worked slowly, but time passed quickly. By evening, although he had made some interruptions, he finally succeeded in drawing the Bright Flame Array.

Mo Hua couldn't hide his excitement. As he felt the exhaustion of his depleted spiritual consciousness, he happily collapsed onto the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, it was already dark, and he felt incredibly hungry. The delicious smell of food drifted to him, and as he followed the scent into the main hall, he was surprised to find a large bowl of meat on the table!

(End of Chapter)