Chapter Summaries

Mo Hua delivered an Earth Solidification Formation to Fat Manager’s shop and unexpectedly ran into Instructor Yan, who believed Mo Hua’s elder brother had drawn it. After Mo Hua left, Instructor Yan asked Fat Manager to help find the stolen Spirit Pivot Formation Diagram so he could restore his former sect’s lost inheritance.

• Mo Hua continued drawing Earth Solidification Formations while seeking Instructor Yan’s guidance and saving Spirit Stones by skipping some classes.
• Mo Hua met Instructor Yan at Fat Manager’s shop while delivering an Earth Solidification Formation and hurried away after collecting his payment.
• Instructor Yan inspected the formation and accepted Fat Manager’s explanation that Mo Hua’s elder brother had drawn it.
• Instructor Yan asked Fat Manager to watch for clues to the missing Spirit Pivot Formation Diagram, which had been stolen from their former sect.
• Fat Manager agreed to help, but warned that finding the diagram might be futile and urged Instructor Yan to find a Dao companion.
• Instructor Yan left the shop without responding to Fat Manager’s further advice.

Instructor Yan noticed that Mo Hua's array work was unusually accomplished and investigated whether he had an older brother, only to discover Mo Hua had no other relatives. After comparing Mo Hua's homework with formations he had drawn for Fat Manager, Instructor Yan and Fat Manager were left confronting the possibility that Mo Hua had drawn the formations himself.

• Instructor Yan graded the disciples' array assignments and marked Mo Hua's exceptionally practiced array pattern as excellent.
• Instructor Yan checked the sect's records and learned that Mo Hua had no siblings or other relatives.
• Instructor Yan assigned the class an extra task to draw all the Five Elements Array Patterns they had learned, and Mo Hua helped Fatty An and other disciples with their work.
• Instructor Yan collected Mo Hua's assignments and visited Fat Manager to compare them with the Bright Fire Formation and Earth Solidification Formation Mo Hua had supplied.
• Fat Manager agreed the handwriting matched, then balked when Instructor Yan said Mo Hua had drawn the formations himself.

Instructor Yan and Fat Manager discussed Mo Hua’s exceptional Array Technique talent and the hardship of ordinary Rogue Cultivators. Instructor Yan arranged a cautious, structured way for Mo Hua to keep earning Spirit Stones and learning, then learned Mo Hua may have drawn an Array Technique at Second-Layer Qi Refining.

• Instructor Yan and Fat Manager agreed that Mo Hua’s ability to draw an Array Technique at Qi Refining Level Three was possible but extraordinary, and Instructor Yan declined to take him as a disciple.
• Instructor Yan told Fat Manager to keep Mo Hua’s talent quiet and limit his Array Technique work to protect his Sea of Consciousness.
• Fat Manager described how ordinary Rogue Cultivators struggled to support their families and survive illness or injury, prompting Instructor Yan to reconsider Mo Hua’s need to earn Spirit Stones.
• Instructor Yan marked a sequence of Array Techniques for Mo Hua to draw, limiting the work to three or four every half month while offering guidance at the sect.
• Fat Manager told Instructor Yan that Mo Hua had brought him a Bright Fire Formation while at Second-Layer Qi Refining, and Instructor Yan reacted with disbelief at the possibility that Mo Hua had drawn it then.

Mo Hua began earning Spirit Stones by drawing Metal-Stone Formation diagrams after Fate Pavilion stopped buying his previous work. After Instructor Yan questioned him about becoming an Array Master and heard his resolve to seek the Dao through formations, he invited Mo Hua to study with him after class each day.

• Fat Manager told Mo Hua that Fate Pavilion would buy five Metal-Stone Formation diagrams from him every half month for four Spirit Stones each.
• Mo Hua studied the Metal-Stone Formation and received a B on an assignment despite finding no errors in his diagram.
• Instructor Yan summoned Mo Hua after class and brought him to his residence on Clear-Connecting Peak.
• Instructor Yan asked whether Mo Hua wanted to become an Array Master, and Mo Hua said he wanted to earn a living through formations and seek the Heavenly Dao.
• Instructor Yan told Mo Hua to come to his residence after class every day and later called him a good seedling.

Mo Hua studied array theory under Instructor Yan, who taught him the foundations and assigned him introductory texts to read. As Instructor Yan explained arrays Mo Hua had drawn for the Array Pavilion, Mo Hua began to suspect that Instructor Yan and Fat Manager were connected.

• Mo Hua told the disciples that Instructor Yan had asked him to visit after class every day, then arrived at Instructor Yan's residence on Clear-Connecting Peak the next day.
• Instructor Yan gave Mo Hua Introduction to Array Theory, explained basic array principles, and warned him not to share the text with anyone.
• Mo Hua studied the text and practiced the Metal-Stone Formation on the stone stele, gaining a clearer understanding of its patterns and placement.
• Instructor Yan quizzed Mo Hua on array theory and answered his questions before explaining several arrays, including the Earth Solidification Formation and Metal-Stone Formation.
• Mo Hua noticed that several arrays Instructor Yan discussed were ones he had drawn for the Array Pavilion and wondered whether Instructor Yan knew about his work for Fat Manager.

Mo Hua steadily improved his array skills and saved Spirit Stones while receiving help from Instructor Yan and Manager Mo. Before he could reach his savings goal, he learned that his mother was seriously ill and rushed to Apricot Forest Hall, where Elder Feng reassured him that she was not in danger of dying.

• Mo Hua completed five Metal-Stone Formations for Manager Mo, earning roughly twelve Spirit Stones, and grew suspicious that Manager Mo and Instructor Yan were close friends.
• Mo Hua continued studying and practicing arrays, learning several formations and saving more than one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones toward a cultivation method.
• Instructor Yan told Mo Hua that his mother was seriously ill, so Mo Hua took leave and hurried home.
• Auntie Yang told Mo Hua that his mother was being treated by Elder Feng at Apricot Forest Hall, and Mo Hua rushed there.
• Elder Feng reassured Mo Hua that his mother's condition would not endanger her life, then helped him recover his breath after his panicked run.

Elder Feng explained that Liu Ruhua’s heart and lungs had been damaged by long hours using Lingli to fuel the Dining Hall’s kitchen fires, and Mo Hua visited her as she recovered. Liu Ruhua revealed she had been working extra hours to save for Mo Hua’s cultivation technique, while Mo Hua offered the Spirit Stones he had earned and urged her to focus on getting well.

• Elder Feng told Mo Hua that Liu Ruhua needed to stop working in the Dining Hall kitchen and avoid using Lingli while her heart and lungs healed.
• Elder Feng explained that Liu Ruhua’s shifts had increased from four hours to six, and that her Fire-Averting Hairpin had limited the damage; the Dining Hall steward agreed to pay for her pills.
• Mo Hua sat beside Liu Ruhua as she slept, noticed how much she had aged, and grew tearful.
• Liu Ruhua told Mo Hua she had taken extra shifts to save for a better cultivation technique for him.
• Mo Hua revealed that he had earned one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones drawing Array Techniques, and Liu Ruhua explained that his father had already investigated his work at the Fate Pavilion.
• Mo Hua offered to support Liu Ruhua with his earnings and told her to rest and recover.

After Liu Ruhua’s illness left her unable to use Lingli or earn Spirit Stones, Mo Hua learned that she loved cooking and promised to help her open a Dining Hall. A tough cut of Wild Mountain Ox gave him an idea about using Array Techniques to cook, and he went to Fortune and Prosperity Restaurant to seek out An Xiaofu.

• Liu Ruhua recovered enough to return home but remained unable to use Lingli, and Mo Hua learned from Mo Shan that her inability to work had left her despondent.
• Mo Shan told Mo Hua that Liu Ruhua enjoyed cooking, and Mo Hua promised to help her open a large Dining Hall someday.
• During summer break, Mo Shan brought home tough Wild Mountain Ox meat, and Liu Ruhua explained that long cooking could tenderize it but required constant Lingli or an array-powered stove.
• Mo Hua realized an Array Technique might help cook the meat and spent the night thinking about the idea.
• The next day, Mo Hua went to Fortune and Prosperity Restaurant and asked the shopkeeper to announce him to An Xiaofu.

Mo Hua visited Fatty An’s family Dining Hall to learn how its stove used Array Techniques to cook food. After studying the stove and its Molten Fire Array, he left, while the shopkeeper wondered whether Mo Hua intended to draw the Array Technique himself.

• Mo Hua asked Fatty An to help him see the Dining Hall’s stove, and Fatty An agreed to take him into the kitchen.
• The shopkeeper explained that the stove used Spirit Stones and a five-pattern Molten Fire Array to provide controlled heat for the cooking ranges.
• Mo Hua examined the stove and asked the shopkeeper about the Array Technique’s placement and design.
• Fatty An offered Mo Hua a meal, but Mo Hua declined and promised to do Fatty An’s next Array Technique homework for free.
• Fatty An made the shopkeeper promise not to tell his father that Mo Hua did his homework.
• The shopkeeper suspected Mo Hua might want to draw the stove’s Array Technique, then dismissed the idea because Mo Hua seemed too young to have sufficient divine sense.

Mo Hua planned to make a stove with a Molten Fire Array and sought the diagram and design details he needed. After studying a stove blueprint at Fate Pavilion, he went to Chen's Smithy to ask Master Chen about refining one.

• Mo Hua realized he needed a specialized Artifact Refiner to make a stove and worried about drawing the five-pattern Molten Fire Array onto iron.
• Mo Hua asked Manager Mo for a Molten Fire Array Diagram and examined a commissioned stove design, learning that its array had to be adjusted to fit the stove.
• Manager Mo lent Mo Hua the Molten Fire Array Diagram and warned him not to overdraw his divine sense.
• Mo Hua returned home and wrote down the key details of the stove design from memory.
• Mo Hua went to Chen's Smithy, where he found Master Chen leading his disciples in hammering iron.

Mo Hua sought a small stove for his mother and learned from Master Chen that its materials and labor would be costly. He began studying the Molten Array needed for it, but his Divine Consciousness could only sustain four of its five Array Patterns, leaving him to rely on continued practice to grow stronger.

• Master Chen demonstrated forging iron and gave Mo Hua a price list for stoves after Mo Hua asked about making a small one for his mother.
• Mo Hua calculated that a suitably sized stove would cost about one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones in materials, plus a substantial labor fee.
• Mo Hua studied and memorized the Molten Array Diagram, then practiced drawing it on the Broken Stele in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Mo Hua managed to draw four Array Patterns before his Divine Consciousness faltered and pain forced him to stop.
• Mo Hua considered ways to strengthen his Divine Consciousness and concluded that he could only keep drawing Array Techniques.

Mo Hua practiced the Molten Fire Array so he could design a stove that would let his mother cook without using lingli. After Mo Hua proposed opening a small eatery, Mo Shan agreed to fund the stove, and the family began planning the business despite Liu Ruhua’s worries about the cost.

• Mo Hua spent half a month practicing the Molten Fire Array on the Dao Stele and with ink, steadily increasing how much he could draw before exhausting his Divine Consciousness.
• Mo Hua suggested that Liu Ruhua open a small eatery because her cooking was delicious, but Mo Shan explained that she could not use lingli to fuel a cooking fire.
• Mo Hua showed his parents a stove blueprint designed to provide continuous fire using Spirit Stones, and said he would draw the required Array Technique.
• Liu Ruhua worried that renting premises, hiring help, and building the stove would drain the family’s savings, but Mo Shan agreed to handle the premises and manpower.
• Mo Shan gave Mo Hua more than a hundred Spirit Stones earned from hunting demon beasts to pay for the stove, while comforting Liu Ruhua about their son’s future.

Mo Hua commissioned a small stove from Master Chen and used visits to the smithy to study Artifact Refining and prepare to draw a Molten Fire Array on the stove. When the smithy’s Artifact Refining Furnace broke down, Mo Hua asked to inspect its Array Technique, and the chapter ended with him recognizing a complete Molten Fire Array inside.

• Mo Hua paid Master Chen a deposit of one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones and signed a Spirit Contract for a small stove.
• Mo Hua visited Chen's Smithy while Master Chen refined the stove, asking questions and studying its construction to prepare for drawing an Array Technique on it.
• Master Chen discovered that the Artifact Refining Furnace would not light and suspected its internal Array Technique had failed.
• Mo Hua asked Master Chen to let him inspect the furnace’s Array Technique, and Master Chen agreed to have the apprentices dismantle it.
• Mo Hua saw the complete Molten Fire Array carved inside the furnace.

Mo Hua repaired the Molten Array on Master Chen’s Artifact Refining Furnace, restoring its ability to work despite the firepower being weaker because of cheap ink. Master Chen agreed to refine Mo Hua’s stove without a fee, and Mo Hua offered Spirit Stones to compensate him and his apprentices for their labor.

• Mo Hua identified worn Array Patterns as the cause of the Artifact Refining Furnace’s failure and persuaded Master Chen to let him attempt the repair.
• Mo Hua reconnected the damaged Array Patterns using Fire-Attribute Ink, and the furnace began working after the apprentices added more Spirit Stones and heated an iron rod inside it.
• Master Chen tested the furnace by refining a blade and found its firepower weaker than before; Mo Hua realized the cheap ink was likely responsible.
• Master Chen offered to refine Mo Hua’s stove without charging a refining fee, but Mo Hua arranged to give him and his apprentices Spirit Stones as compensation for their work.
• Mo Hua left for home, and Master Chen told him to come back for future artifact refining and promised him a discount.

Mo Hua successfully drew a five-pattern Molten Fire Array and later inscribed one onto the stove forged by Master Chen. The completed stove was ready for use.

• Mo Hua drew a complete five-pattern Molten Fire Array, confirming his divine sense could support the technique.
• Liu Ruhua found Mo Hua asleep after his practice and covered him with a blanket.
• Da Zhu told Mo Hua that Master Chen had finished forging the stove, and Mo Hua paid Master Chen sixty Spirit Stones.
• Mo Hua prepared the stove and drew the Molten Fire Array onto it while Master Chen and his disciples watched.
• Mo Hua told Master Chen that he had successfully completed the Array Technique.

Mo Hua’s family prepared to open an eatery after he helped forge an affordable stove with an Array Technique. They planned to sell slowly stewed wild beef, and Mo Hua was left reflecting on how few Array Masters cared about poor Rogue Cultivators.

• Master Chen and his apprentices tested the stove Mo Hua had designed, then delivered it to his home.
• Mo Shan rented neighboring courtyards and joined them to make room for the family’s eatery.
• Mo Hua explained the stove to Liu Ruhua, who cooked dinner while his parents praised his Array Technique skills.
• Mo Hua proposed selling wild beef stewed for two days, and Liu Ruhua and Mo Shan agreed to test the idea and find more meat.
• Liu Ruhua explained that ordinary Rogue Cultivators rarely had stoves because hiring an Array Master was too expensive, leaving Mo Hua troubled.

Liu Ruhua perfected her slow-stewed wild beef and prepared other foods and drinks for the family’s new eatery. With help from neighbors and friends, the eatery opened as Liu Eatery.

• Mo Shan brought home wild beef, and Liu Ruhua marinated and stewed it until Mo Hua and Mo Shan praised its flavor.
• Mo Hua delivered portions of the beef to Elder Feng, Master Chen, and the Meng family, whose members enjoyed it and offered to help with the eatery.
• Liu Ruhua refined her beef recipe and prepared beef noodles, rice wines, pastries, fruits, and other items to sell.
• Neighbors and friends helped the family finish preparing the eatery, which opened on the first day of the month under the name Liu Eatery.

Liu Eatery’s business prospered, helping Mo Hua’s family earn more than two hundred Spirit Stones and giving Jiang Yun’s struggling family a steady source of income. After summer break, Mo Hua returned to Immortal Gate confident in his Array Technique skills, only to discover that the surprise examination required a complete technique containing six Array Patterns.

• Customers flocked to Liu Eatery for its affordable beef, and Da Hu and two others helped as business grew.
• Mo Shan hired Jiang Yun, whose husband had been badly injured, to work at the eatery for thirty Spirit Stones a month; Liu Ruhua gave her food to take home to her hungry child.
• Liu Eatery earned more than two hundred Spirit Stones before classes resumed, and Liu Ruhua gave the money to Mo Hua for his cultivation.
• Mo Hua said goodbye to Liu Ruhua and returned to Immortal Gate as the disciples gathered at Spirit-Connecting Peak.
• Instructor Yan announced a surprise Array Technique examination, and Mo Hua discovered it tested a complete technique with six Array Patterns.

Mo Hua struggled to complete the six-pattern Water-Fixing Array exam, while Instructor Yan confronted Elder Qian over the exam’s difficulty and Qian Family’s attempts to recruit him. When Instructor Yan graded Mo Hua’s paper, he discovered the boy had drawn five and a half patterns, far beyond what he had thought possible.

• Mo Hua questioned why the Qi Refining Level Three exam required the full six-pattern Water-Fixing Array, then focused on drawing it and finished just over five patterns before time ran out.
• At Mingde Building, Instructor Yan challenged Elder Qian for changing the exam from the first two patterns to the entire array technique.
• Elder Qian urged Instructor Yan to leave the Outer Sect for the Qian Family or seek an Inner Sect post, but Instructor Yan refused to teach for fame or profit.
• Instructor Zhou warned Instructor Yan that opposing the powerful Qian Family could cost him his position, while Instructor Yan insisted he would continue teaching Outer Sect disciples.
• While grading the papers, Instructor Yan found Mo Hua’s neat work showing five and a half Water-Fixing Array patterns and wondered how the boy’s divine sense had improved so quickly.

Instructor Yan decided to leave the Immortal Gate and sought a new array technique teacher for Mo Hua before departing Immortal City. Master Luo refused to take Mo Hua as an apprentice because he was a Rogue Cultivator, leaving Instructor Yan to find another way to support the boy.

• Instructor Yan gave Mo Hua an A on his array technique test, then raised the other disciples’ Bs to As before deciding he could no longer remain at the Immortal Gate.
• Mo Hua learned that Instructor Yan was leaving and that the Immortal Gate Outer Sect would stop teaching array techniques, so he went to ask Instructor Yan about it.
• Instructor Yan told Manager Mo he would leave both the Immortal Gate and Immortal City, and promised to make arrangements for Mo Hua’s future studies.
• Instructor Yan showed Master Luo the Bright Fire Formation Mo Hua had drawn at Qi Refining Level Three and asked him to teach the boy.
• Master Luo refused because Mo Hua was a Rogue Cultivator and could not meet the expectations and costs involved in becoming his apprentice.
• Master Luo told a disciple that talent without Spirit Stones, inheritance, and family backing would eventually wither, while Instructor Yan left disappointed.