Chapter 19: Earth-Stabilizing Array
The deposit for the Earth-Stabilizing Array was twenty spirit stones. Mo Hua took out ten from his previous earnings and handed them to Fatty Manager, receiving the array diagram and ten sets of paper and ink materials. He was given a twenty-day deadline.
After leaving the shop, Mo Hua stopped by a pastry store and spent two more spirit stones to buy ten pieces of five-colored cakes. He then returned straight to the sect and shared some of the pastries with Da Hu and the others.
The sect's meals weren't great. The three were always craving something tasty, but rarely got to eat anything decent.
So Mo Hua's pastries were a small treat for them to satisfy their cravings.
A few days later in the evening, after finishing his classes, Mo Hua was behind closed doors in his dorm, studying the Earth-Stabilizing Array, when someone knocked.
Opening the door, he found Shuang Hu standing there suspiciously.
Shuang Hu furtively handed Mo Hua an oiled paper bundle and whispered,
"Saved this just for you. Don't tell anyone."
Then he glanced left and right, and slipped away like a thief.
The disciple dormitories were provided by Tongxian Sect—simple two-person rooms with two wooden beds and two old desks, just enough to live in.
There were more luxurious dorms, but they required additional spirit stones.
Mo Hua used to have a roommate, but the boy had dropped out earlier that year—not because of tuition problems, but because he found cultivation boring and simply gave up. Now Mo Hua had the room to himself.
He shut the door and unwrapped the still-warm bundle.
Inside was a freshly roasted chicken leg.
It was about the size of a fist, still steaming, slightly charred, and exuding an appetizing aroma. A faint spiritual aura hovered over the meat.
Spirit beast meat.
Mo Hua frowned.
"Don't tell me… they stole this?"
Beast meat infused with spiritual energy wasn't something Shuang Hu and the others could afford. And from his sneaky behavior, it was obvious it wasn't exactly… acquired through proper channels.
Mo Hua hesitated, then took a bite. It was a little burnt, had a hint of smokiness and a meaty aroma, but it was undercooked, unseasoned, and rather bland.
In the cultivation world, cooking was an art of its own.
Without proper training, even the best ingredients turned out mediocre.
Meat, especially, was hard to prepare—spirit beast flesh was notoriously tough, and herbivorous beast meat had to be slow-cooked with spirit flames to become tender.
While spirit beast meat had finer texture, it still needed skill to bring out its flavor.
Even vegetables and fruits often contained spiritual energy, and if poorly handled, the mix of aura and taste became… strange.
The chicken leg Mo Hua held had clearly been hastily cooked over a secret fire, probably to avoid being caught. It was decent at best.
But Mo Hua hadn't eaten meat in over a month—he wasn't picky.
He chewed through it with some effort, then burned the oiled paper and tossed the bone into a stream behind the dorm.
All evidence—gone.
Afterward, he spent some time refining the spiritual energy from the meat and went right back to studying the array.
As expected, a few days later, Mo Hua heard the news:
Several Qi Refining disciples had stolen one of the elder's ornamental spirit chickens, plucked it bald, and roasted it.
The elder was furious and punished them severely.
Not long after, Mo Hua saw Da Hu and the others—with bruised faces and two giant lumps on Da Hu's head.
Since all three were based on Tongxuan Peak, the elder had easily traced the theft back to them. Punishment was inevitable.
Still, they mostly suffered superficial wounds. The elder wasn't going to truly cripple them—it was a warning, nothing more.
The trio looked miserable, but they stood tall, even a bit proud—after all, not every disciple could swipe a chicken from under an elder's nose.
When they saw Mo Hua, they pretended not to, and even Xiao Hu subtly gave Mo Hua a wink—clearly asking him to play dumb too.
Mo Hua could only laugh bitterly.
"Next time we get time off, I'll buy them more pastries."
There were seven days left until the next rest break, and thirteen days had passed since Mo Hua took on the Earth-Stabilizing Array.
But his progress… wasn't great.
The array's runes were unlike anything Mo Hua had previously studied. They were far more complex than the basic earth-element runes taught by the sect and harder to grasp.
The Earth-Stabilizing Array had four distinct runes, and it demanded high levels of spiritual awareness to master.
Mo Hua didn't struggle to memorize them—but during actual practice on the stone tablets, he found they drained far more of his mental energy than expected and were extremely easy to get wrong.
Sometimes the runes wouldn't form a working array, and other times, they wouldn't even channel spiritual energy properly.
Ten days of trial and error left him frustrated. Every time he thought he understood, he'd mess up the moment he started drawing.
Eventually, with no better option, Mo Hua decided to seek help from Instructor Yan.
One day after class, while Instructor Yan was tidying up his desk and the other disciples were leaving in groups, Mo Hua approached with a respectful tone and a few rune diagrams in hand.
"Instructor, I'm struggling to understand these earth-element runes. May I ask for your guidance?"
Instructor Yan looked over the diagrams and said:
"These are foundational earth-element runes from the basic Five Elements set—fairly standard, widely used. They shouldn't be difficult for you. Just practice more."
Of course, Mo Hua knew these weren't the issue.
He then produced several modified earth-element runes from the Earth-Stabilizing Array and added,
"I came across these runes and noticed they're a bit different from the standard ones in the books. I can't quite explain what's off, but I keep making mistakes when drawing them. I'm not sure where the problem lies."
Instructor Yan glanced over and looked surprised.
"Ah… these are variant five-element runes. They differ from the formal sect-taught versions. They're not standard, nor widely used. Drawing them requires a different brush technique and stroke order."
He took out a blank paper and began casually demonstrating while explaining as he drew.
Mo Hua watched and suddenly—realization dawned.
"So that's it!"
Array rune drawing was a bit like calligraphy—beyond the official, standardized forms, there were many personalized or specialized variants, and the techniques varied.
Because these non-standard runes came in so many forms and couldn't be easily classified, the sect only taught the formal basics.
"No wonder they say the path of arrays is vast and deep. So many traps… if I hadn't asked, I could have stared at those runes for two lifetimes and still not figured them out."
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
Then he asked again, "So if I want to link these runes into a complete array—like this one—how would I go about it?"
He took out the full Earth-Stabilizing Array diagram.
Instructor Yan glanced at it and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"That's the Earth-Stabilizing Array, huh? This is a bit advanced… You shouldn't be looking at this level yet."
"I'm just curious and hoping to understand the structure," Mo Hua replied earnestly.
"Well… fair enough. It's good to be prepared."
Instructor Yan's mood clearly brightened.
He usually only taught the dull basics, so he was eager to discuss something more advanced for once.
"Arrays are formed by combining and interlinking runes in specific patterns. Simple arrays use basic runes in low quantity. As complexity increases, the number of runes rises, along with the spatial layout and order of strokes—it becomes far more intricate."
"The Earth-Stabilizing Array uses four runes. They must be drawn in a fixed orientation and specific sequence. The remaining two positions—Qian and Kun…"
Instructor Yan launched into an energetic explanation, while Mo Hua listened with rapt attention.
By the time he finished, Instructor Yan was still reluctant to stop.
He then warned seriously:
"The path of arrays is incredibly deep. What the sect teaches is only the absolute basics—not even enough to count as entry-level. To become a true array master… the effort and dedication required are beyond what you can currently imagine."
He paused, then added solemnly:
"And don't get too ambitious. Trying to draw an array beyond your skill level can drain your spiritual sense dry. It's okay to study—but don't act rashly. Always remember that."
Mo Hua bowed deeply. "Thank you, Instructor, for your guidance!"
(End of Chapter)