Immortality Through Array Formations

Hearing Mo Shan say it would only take five Spirit Stones, Zhou Cheng couldn’t help but open his mouth wide before he earnestly said,

“Brother Mo, this isn’t right… How about I give you another five?”

He thought about giving more, but he really had no more Spirit Stones.

He had quietly inquired in Tongxian City; to have a single Iron Armor Formation drawn, those Formation Masters would generally charge fifty Spirit Stones, and only the newer, less confident Formation Masters would ask for thirty Spirit Stones—the absolute lowest price.

After returning home last night, he fretted for a long time, unsure of how much Mo Shan would charge. Today, however, when he came to ask, Mo Shan only requested five Spirit Stones from him, leaving him feeling quite remorseful.

Mo Shan patted his shoulder and said, “Use the extra Spirit Stones to buy some good-quality Spiritual Ink. We’re both doing this for the child, so please don’t refuse.”

Zhou Cheng felt grateful inwardly and said no more.

That afternoon, he found time to purchase some Gold Rock Spiritual Ink, and together with the Rattan Armor, personally delivered it to Mo Hua’s home. In less than two hours, Mo Hua completed drawing the Iron Armor Formation, and then handed over the Rattan Armor to Mo Shan.

In return, he earned five Spirit Stones and half a bottle of unused Gold Rock Spiritual Ink.

Mo Hua thought this deal was quite all right.

“Should I tell others that I am a Formation Master now, and let them come to me for Formation Paintings?”

After pondering, Mo Hua still shook his head.

He was still young, and doing such would be too conspicuous. He remembered the words of Mr. Zhuang, who had said that a Cultivator should keep a low profile; a protruding beam is likely to rot, and a fattened pig is easily slaughtered. The Tao Cultivation World was fraught with danger; with his current cultivation and experience, Mo Hua was not equipped to defend himself against it all.

Moreover, his proficiency in formations was far from sufficient, and there were many more nuances in formations that he had to learn. He shouldn’t be greedy for short-term profit and lose the heart of seeking the Tao.

With that, the matter was considered settled. The next day, however, the Monster Hunter who had asked Mo Hua to draw the formation suddenly came to visit, followed by a simple and honest-looking young man.

“Daping, quickly thank Uncle Mo and Brother Mo,” he said.

The young man did not hesitate and bowed, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Mo, thank you, Brother Mo!”

Mo Shan then introduced him to Mo Hua, “This is your Uncle Zhou, with a single name of Cheng, and this is his youngest son, Zhou Daping. That Formation was entrusted to you by your Uncle Zhou Cheng to draw.”

“Hello, Uncle Zhou, hello Brother Daping!”

“Alright, alright,” Zhou Cheng said repeatedly with a smile, “No need to be so formal, just call him Daping.”

Zhou Daping scratched his head, “Yeah, just call me Daping.”

Zhou Cheng handed over a pile of items, including some wine, food, vegetables, and fruits; these were fine, but the most valuable was a bottle of Spiritual Ink.

Mo Hua had only charged five Spirit Stones to draw the formation for him. Zhou Cheng had already felt uncomfortable about that, and upon receiving the Rattan Armor and seeing the exacting Formation Patterns and the beautiful strokes shining with a faint golden color,

he marveled at the Formation’s craftsmanship. Without significant effort, such a formation could not have been drawn.

Zhou Cheng had initially thought that, given Mo Hua’s young age, if the formation he drew was barely usable, it would suffice. Now that he saw it, even compared to the Formation Masters in Tongxian City, who had been Drawing Formations for twenty or thirty years, Mo Hua was no less capable.

Zhou Cheng then tested the Rattan Armor’s effectiveness, which was much better than he had imagined. In a critical situation, it might indeed save his son’s life.

Now he felt even more indebted, so he cobbled together some more Spirit Stones and specifically bought some gifts to personally thank them.

Mo Shan resolutely refused to accept them, “Keep these things for yourself; earning Spirit Stones is not easy.”

But no matter what Mo Shan said, Zhou Cheng was determined to give the gifts.

Thus, the two of them stood stubbornly deadlocked, and it seemed they would come to no resolution even by nightfall.

Mo Hua could only say, “Dad, Uncle Zhou is being kind, you should just accept it. If we ever need to draw any formations in the future, just come to us.”

Zhou Cheng said joyfully, “Mo’er is right, just accept it without further ado.”

Left with no choice, Mo Shan reluctantly accepted.

Afterward, when Zhou Daping went to the mountains for monster hunting, he wore the rattan armor that Mo Hua had painted with formations. He was injured a few times, but the sturdy armor meant no significant harm was done.

Having learned of this, Zhou Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that all his efforts hadn’t been in vain. Just the cost savings in healing from the spirit stones alone was significant, let alone the fact that in a real emergency, the formations on the rattan armor could save a life.

For loose cultivators like them, who lived in hardship and had struggled to raise their son, it would be devastating to lose a life while hunting monsters.

As a monster hunter for many years, Zhou Cheng knew that every year there were young cultivators who lost their lives to monster hunting.

Even these experienced hunters could become prey to monster beasts if they were not careful, let alone those young men fresh in the field?

Every time he thought about it, Zhou Cheng felt extremely grateful to Mo Hua, but being poor, he could only offer kind words to express his gratitude.

After that, he would praise Mo Hua to anyone who would listen, claiming that despite his young age, Mo Hua’s formation painting was excellent. Having the formations applied to the rattan armor made it impervious to blades and spears. With it, his son could go into the mountains to hunt monsters without fear.

His claims were somewhat exaggerated and a bit fabricated, but people who loved gossip enjoyed listening to them.

A junior formation master in his teens—some people didn’t believe it, but of course, others did.

Every now and then, someone would invite Mo Shan over for a meal or a drink, then hint around to see if his son could really paint formations. They were curious whether a rattan armor with formations painted on it was indeed impervious to blades and spears.

With no choice but to clear things up, Mo Shan explained, “My son can paint formations, it’s true, but even with formations, the rattan armor can’t possibly be impervious to weapons, it’s just a bit tougher than before.”

“I thought so. If it were truly impervious to weapons, that would be something, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ve seen that rattan armor. Once it’s painted with formations, it really does get a lot harder, but it still falls short. It’s fine for use in the Qi Refinement Middle Phase, but it won’t do for later phases. It can’t withstand a claw strike from a higher-grade monster beast.”

“It’s useful for the Middle Phase?” someone asked.

“It is, and the effects are quite good. It can at least protect the vital parts.”

“Then I should get one for my son. Every time he goes into the mountains, I’m scared out of my wits. When I was young and went up the mountain, I was never this nervous. I, well, I’m thick-skinned and tough; I’m not afraid of monster beasts biting me. But I’m scared for my son. If something goes wrong, I might end up burning paper offerings for him before he can even hold my funeral rites…” a burly man said with a wry smile.

“In the end, it’s still just for the Qi Refinement Middle Phase, so it’s not that great…” someone commented dismissively.

“Of course, it’s no big deal for you since you don’t have a son. It’s different for me—I have three sons! Mo Shan, after all these years of friendship between us, you’ve got to have your son paint a few sets for me. Just paint three… no, six sets. I want to have some spare…”

“Hey, and don’t forget me.”

“I want a set too…”

“You don’t even have a son, what do you need it for?”

The man retorted, “I don’t have one now; does that mean I can’t have one in the future?”

“That’s not a certainty.”

“Cut the nonsense; if he wants it, let him have it. For all you know, he might have a few illegitimate kids out there.”

“You bastard, what are you saying!”

After having too much to drink, they began to scuffle with each other.

Mo Shan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.