Chapter 69 Six Paths_1
Translator: 549690339
Chen’s Refinery Shop.
Master Chen, along with a group of apprentices, swung hammers heatedly, pounding the just-forged blanks before placing them into the Artifact Furnace for quenching. After heating them until they glowed red-hot, they continued to take them out for further hammering.
Master Chen, who always insisted that his apprentices should concentrate when refining artifacts, was somewhat distracted now because little Mo Hua was watching them intently from the side.
Early in the morning, Mo Hua had sauntered in, saying he wanted to observe the process of artifact refining.
Master Chen found it hard to refuse because he had previously owed Mo Hua a favor and had done quite a substantial business deal with him, so he had agreed.
Mo Hua had been eyeing them for a long time, mostly focusing on the Artifact Furnace, with an eagerness in his eyes as if he wanted to dismantle the furnace and see what was inside.
What’s in an Artifact Furnace? Of course, there were formations.
Master Chen couldn’t figure out what Mo Hua was scheming inside his little head and felt somewhat uneasy. During the break, he finally couldn’t help asking:
“Ahem, Mo Hua, is there something you need?”
Mo Hua whispered, “Master Chen, don’t you think that the fire in this Artifact Furnace is a bit small?”
Master Chen glanced at the Artifact Furnace, “This... It is indeed a little smaller than before...”
“Do you know why?”
“It might... be because of the formation...”
“Ah, as expected of Master Chen, such a keen insight!” Mo Hua praised without any real compliment, then whispered again, “Don’t you want the fire to be larger?”
“Larger?”
“Yes, larger!”
Master Chen’s eyebrows twitched, “You’re not thinking of dismantling my furnace and drawing the formation all over again, are you!”
Mo Hua gave a thumbs-up, “As expected of Master Chen, right on the mark!”
Master Chen shook his head like a rattle-drum, “No good, no good, this is the tool that feeds us, it can’t just be dismantled whenever, and if it’s dismantled and not drawn properly, all my apprentices will be left cold and hungry.”
Mo Hua took out the Spiritual Dissipation Liquid, instructing Master Chen’s apprentices to wipe the refining furnace with it, which would erase the previously drawn formation.
The power of the Melting Fire Formation was small for two reasons: first, this type of formation only included five formation patterns and thus had limited power; second, Mo Hua had copied the formation diagram hastily using inferior quality spiritual ink, which conducted spiritual power poorly.
Spiritual Dissipation Liquid could remove spiritual ink and was a formula Mo Hua learned from Bai Zixi. In the world of Tao cultivation, when drawing formations, either brand new or repairs of old ones were required, and opportunities to erase and redraw them were rare, so the liquid wasn’t frequently used.
It was available for sale in Tongxian City, but it was expensive. Mo Hua was reluctant to buy it and instead asked Bai Zixi for the formula for the spiritual liquid. The Bai Family was a noble clan with profound familial knowledge; there were dozens of different formulas for the Spiritual Dissipation Liquid, ranging from first-grade to fifth-grade.
Bai Zixi chose a formula for Mo Hua that was suitable for first-grade formations and below, and it had cheap ingredients, some of which could even be found in the mountains. Mo Hua was grateful and rewarded him with hawthorn cakes made by his mother.
The formation inside the refining furnace began to fade away as it was wiped with the Spiritual Dissipation Liquid.
It was the first time Master Chen had seen something that could so cleanly erase a formation. He felt that Mo Hua, being a student of formation, was very professional, which somewhat relieved him.
Soon after, Dazhu returned, holding several bottles of spiritual ink.
“It’s not diluted, is it?” Master Chen asked.
“Rest assured, Master, I kept watch; I didn’t give him the chance to add water. Old Sun looked so pained, as if what I was asking for wasn’t ink but his blood,” Dazhu chuckled.
“His blood might not actually be more expensive than this spiritual ink,” Master Chen handed the spiritual ink to Mo Hua, looking somewhat unwilling to part with it. “Little brother, do you think this spiritual ink is suitable?”
Mo Hua held it in his hand and gave it a shake. The spiritual ink flowed smoothly and had the right consistency. Upon opening the bottle, a faint scent of pine wafted out and the fishy smell of monster blood was very faint, while the ink gleamed with a lustrous red.
This was the first time Mo Hua had seen such good quality spiritual ink. When drawing formations himself, to save money, he usually made do with whatever was available. Now, looking at the sparkling ink in the bottle, he couldn’t help but think that you get what you pay for.
Of course, not to lose face as a named disciple of Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua still acted as if he were accustomed to such quality, saying with a casual and composed tone, “It’s fine, usable.”
Master Chen was astounded, thinking, “Is this the level of discernment for those studying formations nowadays, where even such high-quality spiritual ink is just ‘fine’...”
Mo Hua spread the Formation Diagram on the ground, and a group of apprentices gathered around to watch.
Master Chen didn’t understand much, but he still joined in curiously to take a peek.
As he watched, he realized something was amiss. Although he didn’t understand formations, he could still count.
One, two, three, four, five... six!
Six formation patterns!
He remembered that the furnace’s Melting Fire Formation had five formation patterns, so why was there now an extra one?