Chapter Summaries

After Qian Xing demanded that Mo Hua summon Bai Zixi for him, Mo Hua refused and insulted him, prompting Qian Xing to order his followers to kill Mo Hua. Da Zhu stopped the first attacker and stood protectively behind Mo Hua, leaving Qian Xing’s group facing him.

• Zhang Lan tried to introduce himself to Aunt Xue, but she ignored him and left with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi; Mo Hua teased and comforted Zhang Lan afterward.
• Mo Hua gave Liu Ruhua a Fire-Averting Hairpin and Mo Shan a jade pendant, each fitted with an array he had drawn himself.
• Qian Xing stopped Mo Hua in the street and asked him to summon Bai Zixi so he could meet her, offering Spirit Stones or a spiritual weapon in return.
• Mo Hua refused Qian Xing’s demand and insulted him, so Qian Xing flew into a rage and ordered his followers to kill Mo Hua.
• A Qian Family follower attacked Mo Hua, but Da Zhu caught his fist, knocked him unconscious, and stood behind Mo Hua.

Da Zhu and the artifact-refining youths protected Mo Hua when Qian Xing’s followers tried to attack him. After one Qian Family disciple attempted a surprise knife strike, the two groups broke into a street fight.

• Da Zhu blocked a Qian Family disciple’s punch and stood between Mo Hua and Qian Xing’s group.
• Mo Hua taunted Qian Xing and exposed how poorly he treated his own followers, while Da Zhu’s fellow artifact-refining youths arrived with hammers and clubs.
• Qian Xing offered his followers Spirit Stones and a direct-line family position for killing Mo Hua, and one disciple pretended to approach Da Zhu peacefully before slashing at Mo Hua.
• An artifact-refining disciple pulled Mo Hua out of the blade’s path, and Da Zhu smashed the attacker with his hammer.
• The artifact-refining youths charged the Qian Family disciples, and the two groups fought in the street.

Mo Hua was captured by Qian Xing during the fight between the artifact-refining disciples and the Qian Family, but he escaped by using fire-attribute spiritual ink and detonating an array. Qian Xing was left charred and gravely injured as cultivators rushed to the scene.

• The artifact-refining disciples and the Qian Family disciples fought until Qian Xing seized Mo Hua and threatened to kill him unless Da Zhu and the others surrendered.
• Qian Xing tightened his grip on Mo Hua, but Mo Hua splashed fire-attribute spiritual ink into Qian Xing’s eye and broke free.
• Mo Hua kicked Qian Xing, was knocked back, and hid on the ground while Qian Xing approached him.
• Qian Xing discovered an array paper hidden in his robes, and the seven-pattern formation exploded, burning him and blasting nearby Qian Family disciples.
• More cultivators rushed over after hearing the explosion, while Da Zhu and the others stared at the aftermath.

Mo Hua’s Earth Fire Array left Qian Xing gravely injured, but a burly Rogue Cultivator shielded Mo Hua from Qian Zhongli’s demands until Zhang Lan took control of the dispute. Afterward, Zhang Lan found clues pointing to a formation and began to suspect Mo Hua had used it.

• Mo Hua recovered from the blast with minor injuries while Qian Xing lay charred and badly wounded.
• Qian Zhongli demanded that the culprit be handed over, but the burly man defended the Rogue Cultivators and claimed Qian Xing had injured himself with a failed spell.
• Qian Zhongli and the burly man prepared to fight until Zhang Lan arrived and ordered the Dao Court Office to handle the matter.
• Mo Hua led the injured Da Zhu and the others to Master Feng for treatment, while Qian Zhongli took Qian Xing away.
• Zhang Lan examined the spiritual ink and burned formation paper, then suspected Mo Hua had used a formation.

Mo Hua helped Da Zhu and the others get their injuries treated after they fought Qian Xing’s group, then offered to draw Array Techniques for the Artifact Refining Guild to repay their help. The chapter ended with Master Chen confronting Da Zhu and the others over their fight.

• Zhang Lan erased the traces of the Array Technique and suspected Mo Hua had used it to injure Qian Xing.
• Elder Feng treated Da Zhu and the others after Mo Hua explained that they had been hurt helping him, then checked Mo Hua’s superficial injuries.
• Mo Hua offered to draw Array Techniques for the Artifact Refining Guild so Da Zhu and the others would not have to bear the cost of his trouble.
• Mo Hua returned home without telling Liu Ruhua about the fight, while Mo Shan promised to find out what had happened.
• Master Chen punished Da Zhu and the others for fighting and demanded to know why they had not told him.

Master Chen learned that Da Zhu and the other apprentices had fought Qian Xing’s group after they tried to kill Mo Hua, and he replaced his planned beating with a symbolic punishment. When he heard Mo Hua had offered to draw Array Techniques for the Artifact Refining Guild, Master Chen sent the apprentices home and resolved to help Mo Hua’s family if they ever needed it.

• Master Chen scolded Da Zhu and the apprentices for fighting, then learned they had intervened when Qian Xing’s group attacked Mo Hua.
• Da Zhu explained that someone had been about to strike Mo Hua in the glabella, and Master Chen grew furious at Qian Xing.
• Master Chen decided not to beat the apprentices, but ordered them to kneel for an hour and reflect on avoiding needless casualties.
• Da Zhu told Master Chen that Mo Hua had offered to draw Array Techniques for the apprentices, and Master Chen realized the Guild could save a great deal of Spirit Stones.
• Master Chen told the apprentices to help Mo Hua’s family if they ever needed it, then dismissed them and went to drink after deciding the Qian Family was unlikely to have suffered serious harm.

Zhang Lan questioned Mo Hua about Qian Xing’s injury, but Mo Hua denied using an array, and Zhang Lan agreed to treat the attacker as an unknown ambusher. Zhang Lan learned that Qian Xing had threatened Mo Hua’s life, while Mo Hua was left wondering whether Qian Xing had killed before.

• Mo Hua spent the night practicing arrays on the stone stele, and Zhang Lan met him the next day to ask about Qian Xing.
• Zhang Lan explained how array use could be identified from traces, then accepted Mo Hua’s denial and said an unknown cultivator must have ambushed Qian Xing.
• Mo Hua told Zhang Lan that Qian Xing had threatened to kill him and leave him in the mountains for monsters to eat.
• Zhang Lan grew furious and broke the eatery’s table, then told Mo Hua the Dao Court Office needed reports and conclusive evidence to prosecute crimes.
• Mo Hua asked whether Qian Xing had killed people before, and Zhang Lan admitted it was possible.

Mo Hua and Zhang Lan discussed Qian Xing’s injuries and the danger of retaliation, while Mo Hua hinted he could use multiple Earth Fire Arrays to defeat him. Zhang Lan learned Mo Hua had a secluded teacher, then left wondering whether Mo Hua’s ability to draw seven Array Patterns at the fourth level of Qi Refining was really ordinary.

• Mo Hua and Zhang Lan agreed that Qian Xing’s injuries were severe, and Mo Hua reasoned that Qian Xing might conceal who had attacked him to avoid humiliation.
• Mo Hua said he could ambush Qian Xing again if necessary, suggesting that two Earth Fire Arrays could kill him; Zhang Lan denied having encouraged the plan.
• Zhang Lan considered that the Qian Family might avoid pursuing the matter because Qian Xing had been in the wrong and further scrutiny could expose his misconduct.
• Zhang Lan asked about Mo Hua’s array teacher, and Mo Hua explained that he was only the teacher’s nominal disciple and did not know the teacher’s name.
• After leaving the eatery, Zhang Lan questioned whether Mo Hua’s ability to draw seven Array Patterns at the fourth level of Qi Refining was truly ordinary and decided to ask his clan about the usual standard.

Elder Feng went to treat Qian Xing, who had been gravely injured, but learned that Qian Xing had bullied a child surnamed Mo and refused to save him. He left the Qian Family despite their pleas, and a family elder admitted he could not stop the man who had once saved his father.

• Qian Family cultivators brought Elder Feng to treat Qian Xing, whose injuries had left him near death.
• Elder Feng heard the alchemists argue over treatment and guided them toward a plan to clear the fire poison without using violent Heavenly Origin Water.
• Elder Feng learned that Qian Xing had bullied a child surnamed Mo and had been injured during the resulting fight.
• Elder Feng refused to treat Qian Xing and left the Qian Family after its Foundation Establishment elder stepped aside.
• The Qian Family elder told a disciple that Elder Feng had once saved his father's life, so he had not dared to stop him.

Mo Hua considered how to protect himself in a dangerous cultivation world and decided he would eventually need to learn spells, though for now he relied on arrays. At home, Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua discussed the Qian Xing incident, learned how Mo Hua had injured him, and agreed to thank the Monster Hunters who had helped.

• Mo Hua reviewed arrays for emergencies and concluded that he would need to learn spells once he reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.
• Mo Shan told Liu Ruhua that Qian Xing had provoked Mo Hua and tried to harm him, while Monster Hunters had intervened.
• Mo Shan explained that the elders would not retaliate against the Qian Family without a proper excuse, though they would protect Mo Hua as one of their own.
• Mo Shan revealed that Mo Hua had injured Qian Xing by splashing spirit ink in his eyes and triggering an array hidden in a paper talisman.
• Liu Ruhua and Mo Shan agreed to prepare gifts for Master Chen and the other Monster Hunters who had helped Mo Hua.

Mo Hua learned that Qian Xing had recovered and was likely to blame him for his injuries, while Zhang Lan warned him to stay alert. When Qian Xing confronted Mo Hua but backed down before nearby monster hunters, Bai Zixi asked Aunt Xue to investigate what had happened.

• Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua brought gifts to Master Chen and the Artifact Refining Guild, including cured Wild Ox Monster meat and wine.
• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that Qian Xing had recovered after the Qian Family hired outside alchemists and warned that Qian Xing might seek revenge.
• Mo Hua noticed cultivators watching him and realized that friendly neighbors and monster hunters were also keeping an eye on him.
• Qian Xing confronted Mo Hua at the foot of the mountain, threatened him, and left with Qian Family disciples when nearby monster hunters turned their attention to him.
• Bai Zixi watched Mo Hua leave and asked Aunt Xue to investigate what had happened.

Mo Hua prepared defensive and offensive formations to protect himself from Qian Xing, who had threatened him. Zhang Lan later told Mo Hua that Qian Xing had been driven mad by a frightening illusion, leaving Mo Hua curious about illusion arts but unable to learn them.

• Aunt Xue told Bai Zixi how Qian Xing had threatened Mo Hua again after being healed, and Bai Zixi said they did not want their studies with Mr. Zhuang disturbed.
• Mo Hua visited the Bai siblings with food, discussed formation problems, and noticed Bai Zixi watching his neck injury.
• Mo Hua learned the Wood Binding Formation and Fireworks Formation, added an Iron Armor Formation to his Vine Armor, and prepared other formations against Qian Xing.
• Two days later, Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that someone had drenched Qian Xing in demon blood and entrails and used an illusion art that made him believe a demon beast had eaten him, driving him mad.
• Mo Hua asked whether he could learn illusion arts, but Zhang Lan explained that they required rare abilities and family inheritance, and admitted he could not learn them either.

Zhang Lan explained that the Qian Family would stop pursuing the incident after an illusion-art user frightened Qian Xing, leaving Mo Hua free to focus on cultivation and Array Techniques. Mo Hua learned that his low cultivation realm limited his Divine Consciousness, while Mr. Zhuang privately questioned whether that limit was absolute.

• Zhang Lan told Mo Hua that the Dao Court Office would not intervene and that the Qian Family would likely leave the matter alone after the warning against Qian Xing.
• Mo Hua wondered whether Aunt Xue had used the illusion art, then confirmed with Bai Zixi that she had not been home three nights earlier.
• Mo Hua resumed cultivating and practicing Array Techniques, aiming to reach the fifth Qi Refining layer and eventually draw nine Array Patterns to qualify as a First-Grade Array Master.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that Mo Hua's low realm limited the strength of his Divine Consciousness, and Mo Hua thanked him for the guidance.
• After watching Mo Hua practice beneath the Big Locust Tree, Mr. Zhuang wondered aloud whether Divine Consciousness truly had limits.

Mo Hua devoted himself to learning Array Techniques but spent all his Spirit Stones on Spirit Ink and could not find a way to earn more without burdening his family or neighbors. When Liu Ruhua sent him to check on Xiao Hu, he found his friend badly wounded after a monster hunt.

• Mo Hua practiced and drew increasingly complex arrays, helping local cultivators and receiving gifts in return for modest payment.
• Mo Hua realized that his growing practice had exhausted his Spirit Ink and Spirit Stones, and he rejected asking his parents for money, charging neighbors more, or mixing ink himself.
• Liu Ruhua told Mo Hua that Xiao Hu had been seriously injured while hunting monsters and sent him to visit the Meng Family.
• Mo Hua found Da Hu and Shuang Hu tending to Xiao Hu, who lay pale with a bleeding claw wound across his back.
• Shuang Hu said Elder Feng had treated the wound with herbs and given Xiao Hu a pill, and Mo Hua asked what had happened.

After Xiao Hu was badly wounded by a Split-Claw Wolf Demon, Mo Hua comforted his family and found a way to help the brothers prepare for future hunts. He gave Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and Xiao Hu reinforced Vine Armor, hoping it would keep them safer.

• Shuang Hu and Da Hu told Mo Hua how Split-Claw wounded Xiao Hu, while Mo Hua saw that Elder Feng's medicine was helping the wound heal.
• Mo Hua delivered Liu Ruhua's food and medicine to Aunt Meng and secretly left her more than a dozen Spirit Stones.
• Mo Hua decided to help the brothers by improving their armor, then got three sets of Vine Armor from Master Chen.
• Mo Hua drew Iron Armor Formations on the three sets of Vine Armor.
• A few days later, Mo Hua gave the reinforced armor to Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and the recovering Xiao Hu, and Aunt Meng accepted it gratefully.

Da Hu survived a near-fatal demon-beast attack because Mo Hua’s Iron Armor Formation protected him, then recovered and returned to the mountains with his brothers. Meanwhile, Mo Hua conserved his Spirit Ink until Mo Shan told him that monster hunters had formally asked him to draw Array Techniques, making Mo Shan wonder whether his son had already become an Array Master.

• Da Hu was gravely injured in the mountains, and Mo Hua learned that the Vine Armor he had drawn had helped keep Da Hu alive.
• Elder Feng explained that Da Hu had shielded Shuang Hu and Xiao Hu from a Long-Tailed Demon Beast, whose tail pierced his chest without reaching his heart meridian.
• Aunt Meng thanked Elder Feng and Mo Hua, and Da Hu later recovered enough to set out with his brothers to repay their parents’ borrowed Spirit Stones.
• Mo Hua carefully rationed his Spirit Ink while continuing to study Array Techniques.
• Mo Shan told Mo Hua that monster hunters had formally asked him to draw several Array Techniques, prompting Mo Shan to wonder whether Mo Hua was already an Array Master.

Mo Shan learned that Zhou Cheng wanted Mo Hua to draw a protective Array Technique on his younger son’s Vine Armor. Mo Hua agreed to help for five Spirit Stones, and Mo Shan arranged for Zhou Cheng to bring the armor and Spirit Ink the next day.

• Zhou Cheng asked Mo Shan to have Mo Hua draw an Array Technique on his younger son’s Vine Armor to protect him while monster hunting.
• Mo Shan agreed to ask Mo Hua, explaining that the younger boy’s safety worried Zhou Cheng.
• Mo Hua confirmed he could draw the Iron Armor Formation and said it would take about half a day.
• Mo Shan urged Mo Hua to charge Zhou Cheng as little as he could because his family had few Spirit Stones.
• Mo Hua requested a bottle of gold-attribute Spirit Ink and set the fee at five Spirit Stones, saying the work would also let him practice and help a fellow Rogue Cultivator.
• Mo Shan agreed to have Zhou Cheng bring the materials the next day and felt proud of Mo Hua.

Mo Hua painted an Iron Armor Formation on Zhou Cheng’s son’s vine armor for five spirit stones, and Zhou Cheng later brought gifts to thank him. Zhou Cheng’s praise spread among the Monster Hunters, leaving Mo Shan surrounded by requests for more protective armor.

• Zhou Cheng offered Mo Hua five more spirit stones, but Mo Hua’s father told him to spend them on good spirit ink instead.
• Mo Hua painted the Iron Armor Formation on Zhou Daping’s vine armor and decided not to advertise that he was a formation master.
• Zhou Cheng brought Mo Hua and Mo Shan gifts to thank them after seeing the formation’s quality and testing the armor’s protection.
• Zhou Daping wore the armor while hunting monsters, and it helped keep several injuries from becoming serious.
• Zhou Cheng praised Mo Hua’s formation work to other Monster Hunters, who began asking Mo Shan to have Mo Hua paint armor for their sons.

Mo Hua agreed to draw a hundred Iron Armor Formations on Vine Armor for Elder Yu before the Monster Hunting Festival. Elder Yu offered eight Spirit Stones per formation, but Mo Hua frowned at the price, leaving their agreement uncertain.

• Mo Hua regularly drew Iron Armor Formations for Monster Hunters and saved some Spirit Stones and metal-and-stone spirit ink.
• Elder Yu, a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator and Monster Hunting Hall elder, visited Mo Hua and asked whether he could draw Iron Armor Formations.
• Elder Yu explained that he wanted a hundred sets to protect young Monster Hunters at the upcoming Monster Hunting Ceremony.
• Mo Hua agreed to complete the formations within three months.
• Elder Yu offered Mo Hua eight Spirit Stones per formation, and Mo Hua frowned at the proposed payment.

Mo Hua negotiated with Elder Yu to draw Iron Armor Formations for three Spirit Stones and five-element spirit ink, earning the Elder’s gratitude and affection. Elder Yu arranged to deliver the Vine Armor and ink, then asked Mo Hua to draw formations for his two grandsons as well.

• Elder Yu assumed Mo Hua would demand a high price, but Mo Hua asked for three Spirit Stones and spirit ink with all five elemental attributes.
• Elder Yu agreed to the deal and promised to deliver the Vine Armor and spirit ink the next day.
• Mo Hua said Rogue Cultivators should look out for one another, moving Elder Yu with his words.
• Elder Yu offered Mo Hua future help and asked him to draw formations for his two grandsons when he had time.
• Elder Yu reminded Mo Hua not to tire himself out as he returned to his room.