Chapter Summaries

Elder Yu praised Mo Hua and supplied him with materials and payment to draw Iron Armor Formations, while reflecting on the hope Mo Hua could bring to Rogue Cultivators. Mo Hua advanced to the fifth level of Qi Refining and set out to find someone to teach him spells, leaving Zhang Lan ready to offer his help.

• Elder Yu praised Mo Shan for raising Mo Hua and left hoping Mo Hua would become an Array Master who supported Rogue Cultivators.
• Elder Yu sent Mo Hua Vine Armor, Gold Spirit Ink, Spirit Stones, and Five Elements Spirit Ink as materials and compensation for drawing arrays.
• After completing thirty-six Iron Armor Formations, Mo Hua cultivated to the fifth level of Qi Refining.
• Mo Hua considered where to learn spells and decided to approach Zhang Lan by reading a spell book where he could see it.
• Zhang Lan noticed Mo Hua's Record of Qi Refining Spells and offered to teach him.

Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan which spells he should learn, and Zhang Lan advised him to choose movement techniques to make up for his weak spiritual power and physique. Zhang Lan marked several options in the spellbook, then realized the common techniques would do little to distinguish his instruction.

• Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan whether he could teach spells and compared his abilities with Aunt Xue’s.
• Mo Hua showed Zhang Lan several offensive spells he had marked in Collection of Qi Refining Spells.
• Zhang Lan explained that Mo Hua’s weak spiritual power made Golden Bell Shield a poor choice for him.
• Zhang Lan recommended movement techniques so Mo Hua could dodge attacks or escape, despite their risks.
• Mo Hua decided to learn movement techniques, and Zhang Lan marked several common options before reconsidering how to stand out.

Zhang Lan decided to teach Mo Hua his Zhang Family’s secret movement technique, Flowing Water Step, and demonstrated its ability to evade attacks and create afterimages. Mo Hua agreed to learn after worrying that the secret technique might get Zhang Lan in trouble, then wondered whether the Zhang Family would silence him.

• Zhang Lan rejected Mo Hua’s request to learn a common movement spell and declared that he would teach him Flowing Water Step.
• Zhang Lan carried Mo Hua outside Immortal City and told him to try stabbing him with a sword, then a branch when the sword proved too heavy.
• Zhang Lan used Flowing Water Step to evade Mo Hua’s branch and create afterimages that confused Mo Hua’s sight and divine sense.
• Zhang Lan explained that Flowing Water Step was a Zhang Family secret art for dodging attacks, and Mo Hua worried that teaching him could bring trouble to Zhang Lan.
• Zhang Lan reassured Mo Hua that the clan could not stop him, and knocked Mo Hua on the forehead when he asked whether the family might kill him to protect the secret.

Zhang Lan secretly taught Mo Hua the Flowing Water Step and explained how its Lingli circulation and body exercises worked. After struggling through repeated falls, Mo Hua practiced on his own, improved his coordination, and began attempting the technique’s more difficult moves.

• Zhang Lan taught Mo Hua the Flowing Water Step and gave him a meridian diagram with a simple Body Refining technique, warning him to keep the lesson secret.
• Mo Hua tried the technique under Zhang Lan’s supervision but repeatedly lost his balance and fell.
• Zhang Lan sent Mo Hua back to the eatery, accepted his wine and meat, and reminded him not to reveal who taught him.
• Mo Hua practiced basic movements in the courtyard until he could guide his body smoothly with Lingli, though he still fell while trying harder maneuvers.
• Mo Hua practiced the Body Refining movements for several days, improved his suppleness and coordination, and began formally training in the Flowing Water Step’s difficult moves.

Mo Hua practiced the Flowing Water Step by dodging fruit shaken from a tree, gradually becoming more proficient despite bruising himself. After deciding he needed a sparring partner to test the technique in combat, he encountered Bai Zixi and Bai Zisheng at the Big Locust Tree.

• Mo Hua used an Earth Tremor Array to shake fruit from a tree and practiced dodging it with the Flowing Water Step, then returned wearing a helmet made by Master Chen.
• Mo Hua kept practicing beneath the tree, endured bruises that Liu Ruhua treated, and improved as fewer fruits remained to fall.
• Mo Hua used a Water-Wood Array to nourish the nearly bare tree after his training had exhausted its fruit.
• Mo Hua considered potential sparring partners but could not find anyone suitable, then visited Mr. Zhuang with wine and food.
• Mo Hua reached the Big Locust Tree and found Bai Zixi reading while Bai Zisheng lay beneath the tree; Bai Zisheng sat up when he heard Mo Hua.

Mo Hua visited Mr. Zhuang and sparred with Bai Zisheng using Flowing Water Step, gaining practice while testing himself against Bai Zisheng. After they agreed to spar again the next day, Old Kui watched Mo Hua leave and wondered whether the movement technique was the Zhang Family's Flowing Water Step.

• Mo Hua challenged Bai Zisheng to snatch a jade pendant from him, and Bai Zisheng won their first spar before Mo Hua could change techniques.
• Bai Zisheng offered to suppress his cultivation, and Mo Hua learned that he intended to become a body cultivator.
• With Bai Zisheng at the fifth level of Qi Refining, the two traded wins and losses over repeated rounds as Mo Hua practiced Flowing Water Step.
• Bai Zixi reminded Bai Zisheng to finish his coursework, and Mo Hua promised to bring food and wine when he returned the next day.
• Old Kui watched Mo Hua depart and wondered if his Flowing Water Step came from the Zhang Family.

Mo Hua improved his Flowing Water Step while sparring with Bai Zisheng and began considering how to practice against demon beasts. After hearing that Uncle Chu had caught a young demonic beast, Mo Hua became interested in seeing it.

• Mo Hua's Flowing Water Step became practiced enough that Bai Zisheng struggled to take the jade pendant from him, and the two extended their spars from twenty exchanges to forty.
• Bai Zisheng suggested that Mo Hua should practice dodging demon beasts as well as cultivators, prompting Mo Hua to consider how dangerous Great Black Mountain's beasts could be.
• Aunt Xue learned about the sparring and assigned Bai Zisheng extra lessons, while Zhang Lan also stopped visiting the eatery for a time.
• Jiang Yun told Mo Hua that the Wood Binding Formation he had given Uncle Chu helped him trap demonic beasts without damaging their pelts.
• Jiang Yun revealed that Uncle Chu had caught a young demonic beast that remained alive after being trapped for days, and Mo Hua eagerly asked about it.

Mo Hua obtained a young Cat Monster so he could practice his movement techniques against it, despite Mo Shan’s warnings about its danger. After it wounded Mo Hua, Mo Shan agreed to let him keep it for one month under strict precautions.

• Aunt Jiang offered Mo Hua a young Cat Monster, and he accepted it without paying Spirit Stones.
• Jiang Yun brought the caged Cat Monster to Mo Hua’s home, where Mo Shan identified it as possibly a Night Cat or Fluorescent Cat.
• Mo Hua explained that he wanted to use the Cat Monster to practice his movement techniques, and Mo Shan agreed to watch over the practice.
• When Mo Hua opened the cage, the Cat Monster attacked swiftly, and one of its claws cut his sleeve and arm.
• Mo Shan nearly killed the Cat Monster after it tasted Mo Hua’s blood, but Mo Hua persuaded him to let it stay for one month.
• Mo Shan warned Mo Hua to wear Vine Armor and kill the Cat Monster if it showed signs of craving human blood or losing control.

Mo Hua practiced Flowing Water Step by sparring with the Cat Monster, using dried fish to lure it into attacking without harming him. After a month, he released it near Great Black Mountain, where the Cat Monster secretly watched him leave and revealed a king-shaped marking on its forehead.

• Mo Hua starved the Cat Monster briefly, then used dried little fish to make it chase him and practice Flowing Water Step.
• Mo Hua learned to anticipate the Cat Monster’s attacks and see through its brief blurring ability with his divine sense.
• After a month, Mo Hua decided the Cat Monster had grown too large to keep and carried it in a covered iron cage to Great Black Mountain.
• Mo Hua released the Cat Monster, warned it not to eat people, and returned home after it darted into the forest.
• The Cat Monster secretly watched Mo Hua leave, then traveled to a mountain stream, washed itself, and revealed a distinct king-shaped marking on its forehead.

Mo Hua hurried to finish the one hundred Iron Armor Formations he had promised Elder Yu and delivered the completed Vine Armor through his father, Mo Shan. Elder Yu was delighted by the work and learned that Mo Hua had completed every set, leaving him astonished by the boy’s speed and skill.

• After realizing he had neglected Elder Yu’s order while practicing the Flowing Water Step, Mo Hua spent five days drawing the remaining Iron Armor Formations.
• Mo Hua gave the finished Vine Armor to Mo Shan, who delivered the Storage Bag to Yu Chengyi when Elder Yu was busy.
• Elder Yu opened the Storage Bag and was pleased to find Vine Armor bearing the Iron Armor Formation for monster hunters, especially the younger recruits.
• Yu Chengyi asked who had drawn the formations and how much Elder Yu had paid Mo Hua, prompting Elder Yu to admit he had paid only three Spirit Stones per set.
• Elder Yu counted the Vine Armor and discovered that Mo Hua had completed all one hundred sets, far more than he had expected.

After Mo Hua completed one hundred sets of Iron Armor Formations, Elder Yu visited the Mo family and gave him nourishing pills and spiritual supplies. Elder Yu left impressed by Mo Hua’s talent, while Mo Shan was stunned that the famously stingy elder had given his son a gift.

• Elder Yu and Yu Chengyi counted the one hundred formations Mo Hua had drawn and realized he had completed them himself in just over a month and a half.
• Elder Yu gathered nourishing pills and spiritual items, then brought Yu Chengyi to visit the Mo family and meet Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua explained that he had drawn two or three sets a day and finished the formations the day before.
• Elder Yu gave Mo Hua the supplies and introduced Yu Chengyi as someone he could turn to for help.
• Mo Hua handed the gift to Mo Shan, who was astonished that Elder Yu had given anything away.

Mo Hua sought someone to teach him a spell and asked Old Kui, who taught him the Fireball Technique. Mo Hua quickly learned it and successfully blasted the pond, giving him a new way to attack.

• Elder Yu warned Yu Chengyi not to tell anyone that Mo Hua could draw formations, fearing his talent might attract jealousy.
• Mo Hua visited Bai Zisheng to test the Flowing Water Step, but Bai Zisheng had to finish homework assigned by Aunt Xue and was forbidden to spar with him.
• Mo Hua decided to seek instruction in spells, but hesitated to ask Mr. Zhuang and instead asked Old Kui, who agreed to teach him.
• Old Kui explained how spells used divine sense, spiritual power, and meridians, then gave Mo Hua a booklet on the Fireball Technique.
• Mo Hua followed Old Kui's instructions, learned the Fireball Technique, and launched a fireball that exploded on the pond's surface.

Mo Hua practiced Fireball Technique by Mr. Zhuang’s pond and gradually improved his control and power. After he completed a hundred casts, Old Kui said he would officially begin teaching him.

• Old Kui told Mo Hua to practice Fireball Technique a hundred times, and restored the pond after Mo Hua worried about damaging it.
• Mo Hua practiced at the pond over several days, while Old Kui repaired the damage after each session.
• Bai Zisheng watched Mo Hua cast Fireball Technique, then explained how precise spiritual power circulation could increase a spell’s power.
• A paper ball from Zi Xi reminded Bai Zisheng to leave and return to his homework.
• Mo Hua practiced the spell a hundred times and told Old Kui he had finished; Old Kui replied that he had not taught him anything yet.

Old Kui taught Mo Hua how divine sense could guide spells and introduced spiritual sense lock-on. Mo Hua quickly learned to lock onto a moving target with his Fireball Technique, while Old Kui noticed his unusually strong divine sense.

• Old Kui explained that a spell had to hit its target and that divine sense let a cultivator perceive and guide it.
• Mo Hua used his Fireball Technique to hit a stationary bamboo leaf, then missed when Old Kui let another leaf drift through the air.
• Old Kui demonstrated spiritual sense lock-on by pursuing flying bamboo leaves with a spark and explained how it made spells track targets.
• Mo Hua followed Old Kui's instructions, locked onto a dancing bamboo leaf, and struck it with his Fireball Technique.
• Old Kui advised Mo Hua to flee from opponents whose divine sense he could not match and explained how stronger divine sense made a cultivator harder to lock onto.
• Old Kui saw how quickly Mo Hua learned and wondered whether his divine sense was unusually strong.

Mo Hua learned from Old Kui how divine sense locking, vital points, and casting speed shaped spell combat. Old Kui left him with the principle that speed was the key, and Mo Hua resolved to keep practicing the Fireball Technique.

• Mo Hua asked Old Kui about divine sense locking, and Old Kui explained that most cultivators could not use it proficiently.
• Old Kui explained how strikes to vital points could be deadly, but warned Mo Hua that opponents would protect those areas in a direct fight.
• Old Kui taught Mo Hua to use quick spells to seize the initiative and suppress enemies, while exploiting the strengths and weaknesses of spells.
• Mo Hua thanked Old Kui and asked what he should do with only the Fireball Technique to practice.
• Old Kui told Mo Hua to practice the Fireball Technique until it was more accurate and faster, and said that speed was unbreakable.

Mo Hua realized his progress toward becoming a First-Grade Array Master and recognized that his rapid practice required far more Spirit Ink than Elder Yu supplied. He asked Bai Zixi how Spirit Ink was prepared, and she lent him a booklet explaining First-Grade formulas and the Blood Extraction Technique.

• Mo Hua continued practicing the Fireball Technique and concluded that he would wait until his cultivation advanced before attempting formations with nine array patterns.
• Mo Hua realized that becoming a First-Grade Array Master and solving the Riddle Array would require many more formations and a large supply of Spirit Ink.
• Mo Hua asked Bai Zisheng how Spirit Ink was made, but Bai Zisheng told him to ask Bai Zixi instead.
• Bai Zixi lent Mo Hua the Bai Family's Record of First-Grade Spirit Ink, which described common ingredients, preparation methods, and the need for Monster Blood drawn using the Blood Extraction Technique.

Mo Hua learned the Blood Extraction Technique and realized he needed fresh demon blood to make Spirit Ink. With no demon beasts nearby, he decided to enter Great Black Mountain and hunt them.

• Bai Zixi gave Mo Hua a booklet on the Blood Extraction Technique, and Bai Zisheng explained how Foundation Establishment cultivators controlled objects with divine sense.
• Mo Hua shared food with Bai Zixi and Bai Zisheng, then teased Bai Zisheng over his claims about sword control.
• Mo Hua studied the Blood Extraction Technique and practiced guiding water through a piece of Wild Ox Monster hide and fur.
• Mo Hua concluded that he needed to hunt demon beasts in Great Black Mountain to obtain fresh demon blood for Spirit Ink.

Mo Hua prepared to enter Great Black Mountain by asking Chu Guangshan to teach him how to set traps. He also agreed to teach Chu Guangshan’s son Zhou'er Array Techniques when the boy was older.

• Mo Hua accompanied Jiang Yun home with groceries and gave her young son a cloth Little Tiger.
• Mo Hua asked Chu Guangshan how to use traps, and Chu Guangshan agreed to teach him despite his doubts about the value of the skill.
• Chu Guangshan explained how to choose trap locations, hide traces and scents, and guard against demon beasts pretending to be dead.
• Chu Guangshan asked Mo Hua to teach Zhou'er Array Techniques when he was older so the boy could earn a living.
• Mo Hua agreed to teach Zhou'er, and Chu Guangshan saw him back toward Liu Eatery.

Mo Hua prepared to enter Great Black Mountain and persuaded Da Hu and the other two to help him test a plan to hunt demonic beasts using formations. After Mr. Zhuang allowed him to teach arrays to others, Mo Hua set out with the three brothers toward the mountain.

• Mo Hua asked Mr. Zhuang for permission to teach arrays, and Mr. Zhuang agreed while urging him not to forget his original heart.
• Mr. Zhuang reflected bitterly on his empty hand after Mo Hua left.
• Mo Hua prepared traps and formations and learned about the rules and hunting methods of Great Black Mountain's outer mountain.
• Mo Hua told Da Hu and the other two that he wanted to hunt demonic beasts with formations, and they reluctantly agreed to take him once.
• Two days later, Mo Hua met Da Hu and the other two outside Immortal City, and they set off for Great Black Mountain.

Mo Hua led Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and Xiao Hu to hunt a Split-Claw Wolf Demon at the edge of Great Black Mountain. His trap and Earth Fire Arrays badly wounded the beast, leaving the three fighters to finish it off as Mo Hua prepared to extract its blood.

• Mo Hua chose to hunt only at the edge of Great Black Mountain’s outer mountain and planned a trap for a middle-stage first-grade demon beast.
• Mo Hua used tracks and other signs to find the beast’s route, then concealed a Wood Binding Formation and five Earth Fire Arrays beneath bait.
• A Split-Claw Wolf Demon entered the trap, and Mo Hua shattered a Spirit Stone with a Fireball Technique to trigger the Earth Fire Arrays.
• Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and Xiao Hu surrounded the badly wounded Split-Claw and killed it after several dozen exchanges.
• Mo Hua ran toward the dead demon beast with a jade bottle to use the Blood Extraction Technique.