Translator: 549690339
After Mo Hua returned home, he cultivated while drawing Formation Diagrams.
According to Mr. Zhuang, since Mo Hua had learned Heaven Yan Jue, his Divine Sense manipulation had strengthened, and with the learning of the Meditation Technique, his Divine Sense recovery had also become faster.
As a result, Mo Hua now could draw Formations faster during the day, his Divine Sense also recovered more quickly, and he could draw even more Formation Diagrams each day, which naturally made him feel more exhausted.
Occasionally, when he felt tired from drawing Formations, he would take out the Formation Books titled âInitial Understanding of Compound Formationâ given by Mr. Zhuang for diversion, to relieve the fatigue.
One day, Mo Hua was sprawled on the table in the courtyard of the eatery, poring over Formation Books, when a man wearing a cyan robe walked in. The man ordered a pot of wine, a plate of beef, and two dishes of fruits and vegetables, and then sat down to eat.
As it was not yet noon and it wasnât the usual mealtime, there were only a few sparse Cultivators eating in the eatery, all living in the vicinity; some were Monster Hunters, others merchants or similar, all dressed in relatively plain clothes.
The man in cyan, spotless and unstained, stood out conspicuously among these ordinary folks.
Mo Hua gave a glance and noticed that the man was handsome, likely in his thirties, but clearly well-nurtured and looking much younger. He wore a Jade Pendant, and his clothes were primarily cyan. Although not flashy, the materials seemed rather expensive, and Mo Hua could vaguely see Formation Patterns on the manâs clothes.
The fabric used for making Taoist Robes were very soft and not suitable as Formation media, and the materials that could be used were not cheap.
The man in cyan might have also sensed someone observing him, and when he looked up, he saw a plainly dressed but incredibly picturesque young boy with eyes that were clear as day and night, sizing him up.
The man offered a slight smile and gestured to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua closed his book and approached. The man said warmly, âLittle friend, what would you like to eat? Itâs my treat.â
Mo Hua shook his head, âThis is my familyâs place; I can treat you.â
The man was slightly taken aback, then glanced at the sign at the doorway and laughed, âIs your name Liu?â
Seeing no ill intent from the man, Mo Hua replied, âMy surname is Mo, my motherâs surname is Liu.â
The man nodded, then noticing the book in Mo Huaâs hands, he asked, âWhat are you reading? Is there something you donât understand? I can teach you.â
Mo Hua, suspicious, gave the man who seemed a bit idle a glance and asked, âDo you know about Formations?â
âOf course, Formation knowledge touches on all aspects of Tao Cultivation. Even if one doesnât follow the path of a Formation Master, the basics are essential. I do not claim to be very proficient, but I certainly know more than you, little friend,â the man said.
Mo Hua, feeling his boast was too big to be false, handed over âInitial Understanding of Compound Formation.â
The man in cyan received it and when he saw the words âCompound Formationâ on the cover, his eyelids involuntarily twitched.
Mo Hua, still doubtful, looked at him and asked, âDo you really understand it?â
âOf course.â
The cyan-clad man replied calmly, though his fingers trembled slightly as he pinched the book, internally he couldnât help but grumble,
âWhat in the hell, Compound Formation! Which adult is so idle that theyâd let a kid read a book on Compound Formation? Arenât they afraid of exhausting his Divine Sense?â
Of course, he couldnât lose face in front of the child, so he buckled down and flipped open âInitial Understanding of Compound Formation.â
âThis kid is probably just skimming, probably doesnât understand much, I can just bluff my way through a few answers,â the man in cyan thought to himself. Then he turned the first couple of pages and asked, âWhat donât you understand? Go ahead and ask.â
Unexpectedly, without even a glance, Mo Hua flipped a few pages further and pointed to a certain part, asking, ââGather Formation Patterns to make a Single Formation, gather Single Formations to make a Compound Formationâ, why not simply accumulate Formation Patterns to enhance the effectiveness of the Formation instead of using Single Formations to reconstitute into a Compound Formation? Wouldnât that be redundant?â
The cyan-clad manâs heart tightened, and he struggled to recall the words of the Formation Master from his clanâs lessons.
Fortunately, he had been fairly attentive at the time; those things hadnât been forgotten.
âWithin the same realm, a Cultivatorâs Divine Sense is limited, the number of Formation Patterns a Formation of the same rank can contain is also limited. Once the number of Formation Patterns in a Formation exceeds a certain amount, if the Cultivatorâs Divine Sense is insufficient, it becomes impossible to draw these Formations. One could even die from Divine Sense exhaustion by forcefully drawing Formationsâ¦â
âTo break through the limitation of Formation Patterns, one must recombine Single Formations to form a Compound Formation. This not only enhances the power of the Formation but also allows different Formations to interact, yielding a greater variety of effectsâ¦â
âOh, oh, I seeâ¦â Mo Hua couldnât help but nod in understanding.
The man in cyan wiped a metaphorical bead of sweat from his forehead.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Mo Huaâs pale hands swiftly turned a few more pages and pointed to another section, saying,
ââThe pivot of a single formation is simple, the pivot of a compound formation is complex,â would there be any difference between the pivot of a single formation and compound formation? Formation patterns are arranged according to the pivot to constitute a single formation; single formations are arranged according to the pivot to constitute a compound formation, the differences between the two kinds of pivots shouldnât be that big, right?â
âCough cough, well⦠thatâs quite a long story. Monster beasts vary from one another, cultivators differ from each other, naturally formation pivots also differ from each otherâyou canât assume theyâre all the same just because theyâre both pivotsâ¦â
As the man spoke this rather irrelevant nonsense, his sea of consciousness was working overtime, and then he said:
âThe pivot of a single formation is simple, generally only serving to connect the various formation patterns; but the pivot of a compound formation is much more troublesome, not only because it has to connect single formations but sometimes it also needs to mediate the opening and closing of spiritual power⦠as well as its strength and weakness, to smooth out the conflicts between different types of spiritual powers, and also⦠to stabilize the entire structure of the compound formationâ¦â
It took the man scratching his head to finally complete his explanation.
Books are only appreciated when needed. How true that is!
He has lived so long, yet now he was being forced by a young cultivator to relearn this!
âOh, I see.â
Mo Hua nodded, and then his little hand resumed flipping briskly through the pages.
With each page he turned, the manâs heartbeat quickened by a beat. He nearly wanted to grab Mo Huaâs hand to make him stop flipping. If Mo Hua continued, he might really be unable to answer any more questions.
Finally, Mo Huaâs hand came to a stop, his fingertip resting on a formation diagram.
The manâs heart sank.
Itâs over, a formation diagram.
He only knew some theoretical stuff; he had never actually drawn one. Besides true cultivators determined to become formation masters, who would bother drawing these things?
âAhem, this formation diagram⦠is not something you should be drawing at your ageâ¦â the man in the blue robe tactfully said.
Mo Hua replied, âI tried drawing it, but I donât know why, the compound formation always fails to activateâ¦â
The manâs vision darkened.
Tried drawing it?
What does that mean?
What cultivation level are you at, what cultivation stage have you reached, how profound is your divine sense, and how audacious are you, to dare to draw compound formations?! Who gave you the courage?!
Mo Hua took out a piece of paper from his storage bag, on which a formation was painted. It was clearly freshly drawn not long ago, and although it wasnât activated, it had all the necessary formation patterns, not a single one missing.
The man in the blue robe was speechless.
Once he calmed down a bit, he took a closer look at the formation in Mo Huaâs hand and suddenly felt a surge of happiness.
âAlthough itâs a compound formation, I recognize all the single formations within it, and theyâre all very simple, consisting only of two or three patterns, not exceeding my level in formations.â
The young man settled himself down, coughed, and cleared his throat, speaking with some composure:
âFormation theory is one thing; actually picking up the brush to draw is not so simple. The problem with this is the pivot, youâve used the pivot of a single formation for a compound formation, naturally the formation canât be activatedâ¦â
Mo Hua suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly, feeling that he had underestimated the man in the blue robe, and thenâ¦
With a stretch of his little hand, he prepared to flip further.
The manâs just regained composure dissipated like snow under hot soup, instantly crumbling.
Please stop flippingâ¦
Fortunately, Mo Hua flipped to the next page, saw that he hadnât read it either, and didnât continue. Instead, he closed the book, and with an admiring tone said, âUncle, you really know a lot.â
The man in the blue robe sighed with relief.
Mo Hua pointed with his little hand at the wine jug on the table, saying, âIâll treat you to this jug of wine.â
The man finally let go of his worries and couldnât help but drink a cup to calm his nerves.
The moment the wine entered his mouth and reached his heart, the man felt that he had never tasted such a refreshing and sweet wine in his life.