Dao Stele

Ever since Mo Hua could remember, this Dao Stele had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, along with some hazy, half-present memories.

In those memories, Mo Hua had spent a brief lifetime in another world without spiritual energy.

In that life, Mo Hua had come from an ordinary family, but he had studied diligently and earned good grades. He had gotten into university, majored in fine arts, and enjoyed studying traditional painting and calligraphy.

After graduating, he had joined a large company as a graphic designer, working endless overtime until he died from overwork in his twenties.

He had studied as a student, worked after graduation, and spent his entire life amid tension and anxiety.

When he came back to himself, he realized he had lived in a muddle and died without warning.

In the instant before death, the experiences of his life had flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

There had not been a single thing of real worth in his life: he had not honored his parents, pursued his ideals, possessed dreams or love, nor had he seen the scenery of the vast world...

Those memories were indistinct, and sometimes Mo Hua could not tell whether they were real or false.

Zhuang dreamed of a butterfly—yet who knew whether Zhuang had dreamed of the butterfly, or the butterfly had dreamed of Zhuang?

As time passed, Mo Hua stopped dwelling on it.

What was past was past. Now, he was only ten years old, and the world he lived in was the cultivation world.

And he was a cultivator.

A cultivator who could thoroughly comprehend the Heavenly Dao, soar over the Nine Provinces through the Void, pluck the sun and moon with a raised hand, and bury the stars with a lowered palm!

Of course, he could also be a cultivator who spent his entire life at Qi Refining, unable to fly or fight, barely capable of using a few spells, and struggling humbly to survive...

Without the Dao Stele, Mo Hua figured he would have been the latter, humble sort.

The Dao Stele floated within Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness.

It was broad and ancient, strangely shaped and incomplete. Its body seemed Void, yet it seemed to ripple with a vast, obscure aura. In a daze, it was silent as empty darkness, with nothing at all...

Array Techniques could be drawn upon the Void surface of the stele, and each time Mo Hua drew one, his divine sense would grow stronger.

Among the hundred trades of cultivation, array techniques reigned supreme!

Array techniques were the most difficult discipline among all cultivation professions, and the most important thing in learning them was divine sense!

Array techniques were formed from Array Patterns. They were Heavenly Dao diagrams that ancient cultivators had painstakingly traced after comprehending the Heavenly Dao.

The lines of an array technique resembled both ancient writing and the simplest paintings, containing boundless mysteries.

When drawing an array technique, one's Sea of Consciousness connected with the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao, consuming an enormous amount of divine sense.

If a cultivator's divine sense was insufficient, he could not draw an array technique. Otherwise, his divine sense could wither away, or even his Sea of Consciousness could shatter, leaving him dead and his Dao extinguished. Yet to become an Array Master, one had to continuously study all manner of Array Diagrams and practice all manner of array techniques.

Thus, array techniques were difficult to learn and difficult to practice, while Array Masters could easily die from the collapse of their Sea of Consciousness after forcibly drawing array techniques with insufficient divine sense.

When Mo Hua drew array techniques on the Dao Stele, he consumed divine sense. Yet when he erased the completed array technique, that divine sense instantly returned, leaving him brimming with it once more.

From existence to nonexistence, then from nonexistence back to existence—like the Great Dao itself, wondrous beyond measure.

At the same time, each time Mo Hua drew an array technique, his divine sense increased slightly. Though the increase was tiny, it truly was growing.

As far as Mo Hua knew, there were no cultivation methods in the cultivation world for training divine sense. Most increases in divine sense depended on breakthroughs in cultivation realms.

Therefore, even a minute increase in divine sense was exceedingly rare and precious.

As long as he continuously drew array techniques on the Dao Stele, Mo Hua could improve his array technique skills. And as long as he kept drawing array techniques, his divine sense would continue to grow.

With powerful divine sense, Mo Hua would be able to learn more array techniques—higher-grade and more powerful ones.

One day, Mo Hua would be able to become a powerful Array Master through this.

Array Masters held exalted status. Even an ordinary Array Master who had not entered the First Grade could earn a considerable income in Spirit Stones by drawing array techniques for others.

Once he became an Array Master and could draw all kinds of mysterious array techniques, he would have a foundation to stand upon. He could continue cultivating and would not remain a Qi Refining cultivator for his whole life.

Mo Hua silently vowed to himself.

But becoming an Array Master was likewise fraught with difficulties.

Array techniques were hard to learn, and Array Masters were hard to become.

Among the cultivation professions established by the Dao Court, the standards for recognizing Array Masters were the strictest—indeed, harshest.

Array techniques were composed of Array Patterns. A basic array technique contained only one Array Pattern. Each additional Array Pattern raised the array technique by one grade, strengthening its effects while greatly increasing the divine sense required.

Those who could draw one to five Array Patterns could become Array Apprentices.

Those who could draw six to eight Array Patterns could be called Array Masters, but such Array Masters were merely ordinary Array Masters and did not fall within the grades recognized by the Dao Court.

Only by drawing nine Array Patterns and passing the Dao Court's grading assessment could one become a true First-Grade Array Master.

For a Qi Refining cultivator, becoming a First-Grade Array Master was practically the same as ascending to heaven in a single step.

First-Grade Array Masters were essentially honored guests of major lineages and sects. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators did not dare offend them lightly. Even if they did nothing at all, they received monthly Spirit Stone stipends from the Dao Court's Heavenly Pivot Pavilion, while countless young, beautiful female cultivators wore down their thresholds competing to become their Dao companions.

Yet aside from the extreme difficulty of the assessment, every State Boundary had limited quotas. To become a First-Grade Array Master depended not only on effort, but also on fate.

If one was unlucky and the State Boundary's quota was full, then even if one possessed the array technique mastery of a First-Grade Array Master, one would not receive a grading slot and could only wait for the next assessment.

Some Array Masters took assessment after assessment, only to squander their entire lives away.

Countless low-level cultivators racked their brains and pored over the classics until their hair turned white, yet never fulfilled their long-cherished wish of advancing to First-Grade Array Master.

And the Dao Court's so-called quota restrictions were generally nothing more than excuses for arrangements made in advance by great lineages and major sects. They needed the title of First-Grade Array Master to add flowers to the brocade for their direct descendants or personally taught disciples, turning them into geniuses admired by all.

Those low-level cultivators who poured out their heart and blood to become First-Grade Array Masters were merely dust beneath their feet, not worth a glance.

Night had already fallen. Mo Hua lay in the dormitory of the Disciple Quarters, but his divine sense had sunk into his Sea of Consciousness, where he continuously drew array techniques upon the Dao Stele.

The array technique Mo Hua drew was called the Dual Element Formation. It contained two Array Patterns and counted as one of the basic array techniques.

But Mo Hua had never successfully drawn this formation before.

Disciples in early Qi Refining generally could only learn array techniques containing one Array Pattern because their divine sense was insufficient. Among the early Qi Refining disciples of the Immortal Gate's Outer Sect, very few could even fully master a single Array Pattern.

But Mo Hua had long since committed single Array Patterns to memory, drawing them with effortless ease.

Mo Hua wanted to learn more difficult array techniques, so every night he practiced the Dual Element Formation, which contained two Array Patterns, upon the Dao Stele.

After dozens of nights of repeated practice and water dripping through stone, Mo Hua had finally succeeded.

For an Array Master learning array techniques, every Array Pattern was a threshold. Drawing one more Array Pattern meant climbing another step.

Mo Hua's ability to draw two Array Patterns meant that both his divine sense and array technique mastery had already surpassed cultivators his age by a great margin.

Among the early Qi Refining disciples of the Immortal Gate's Outer Sect, his array technique level should have been unrivaled.

Mo Hua let out a breath. When dawn arrived at Mao Hour, his divine sense left the Sea of Consciousness, and Mo Hua opened his eyes.

Despite drawing array techniques all night, Mo Hua's divine sense remained clear, and he did not feel tired in the least, as if he had merely enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep.

He pushed open the window, and the morning sunlight fell upon his delicate, fair face.

Beyond the window, the morning sun rose, rosy clouds draping ten thousand miles.

Ten-year-old Mo Hua softly exhaled as he gazed at the scenery on the horizon, his eyes resolute.

As long as he kept practicing array techniques and tempering his divine sense, one day, he would surely become a First-Grade Array Master.

Then, like the rising sun, he would take a great step forward on the path of seeking immortality and asking the Dao.

He would no longer spend his whole life as merely a Qi Refining cultivator!