Immortality Through Array Formations

The very next day, Elder Yu notified Mo Hua that the Refining Furnace had been delivered.

A massive Refining Furnace, several dozens of feet high, stood towering in the courtyard.

It had an ancient design, standing on three legs with a top cover resembling eaves, a large belly like a bowl, and its entire body was engraved with cloud patterns, crafted from fine iron and exuding a deep black-grey luster.

Mo Hua looked up at the Refining Furnace and couldn’t help but open his mouth wide in amazement.

At just over ten years old, Mo Hua seemed even smaller standing in front of the Refining Furnace.

It wasn’t just Mo Hua who was shocked; Master Chen standing beside him was also inwardly stunned.

He walked around the Refining Furnace, looking at it from the left and then the right, wanting to reach out and touch it, but he dared not, as if the Refining Furnace was merely an illusion he had conjured up, one that would disappear the moment he touched it.

He had never seen such a large Refining Furnace in his life.

When he was young and learning, he always rented someone else’s Refining Furnace—small and shabby, with weak firepower, it took half a day to heat a piece of iron. It was time-consuming and strenuous, and he couldn’t refine high-quality Spiritual Artifacts.

Later, when he became a helper at an Artifact Refinery Shop, he worked day and night crafting artifacts, saved up Spirit Stones for a long time, and only then was he able to purchase his own Refining Furnace. With the Refining Furnace, he was qualified to start his own Refinery Shop.

His Refining Furnace wasn’t large, and his Refinery Shop was rather small, but he was already quite content with it.

So many Artifact Refiners might struggle their entire lives without ever owning a Refining Furnace of their own, let alone starting a Refinery Shop.

He had also studied in other larger Refinery Shops and had seen real first-grade Refining Furnaces; the massive size of the Refining Furnace and the blazing flames inside filled him with envy.

But those were all belongings of others, irrelevant to him; he could only look at them, and it was likely he might never use a first-grade Refining Furnace in his lifetime, let alone craft a Spiritual Artifact with one.

However, now, a brand-new and intact Refining Furnace was right in front of him.

This was a truly first-grade Refining Furnace, and it was even larger than any he had seen before.

Moreover, he could use this Refining Furnace to craft Spiritual Artifacts!

Master Chen, just by thinking about it, felt as if he were dreaming, still unable to believe it to this day.

Elder Yu seemed a bit smug, “Well, how about that, this Refining Furnace is big enough, isn’t it?”

Mo Hua nodded, then slowly said, “This one is too big, isn’t it?”

“Didn’t you ask me to get a Refining Furnace, the bigger the better?” Elder Yu inquired.

“I did say that, but this seems a bit too big…” Mo Hua’s tongue was tied, and then he asked,

“Are all first-grade Refining Furnaces this big?”

“Not usually, this one is particularly large, which is why it couldn’t be sold,” Elder Yu replied.

Mo Hua was taken aback, “Couldn’t be sold?”

“That’s right, it’s big but useless, couldn’t be sold,” Elder Yu observed the Refining Furnace in front of him and continued, “Small Refinery Shops generally use smaller Refining Furnaces, even medium to large ones. Even if they use a first-grade Refining Furnace, there’s no need for one this large.”

“The larger the Refining Furnace, the more difficult it is to draw the Formations inside it, and the more material it requires, the costlier it becomes to produce, and thus more expensive to sell. If it weren’t for the fact that we’ve mined a Spiritual mine and had the financial strength, we wouldn’t be able to afford it either.”

“If it couldn’t be sold, why would they make such a large Refining Furnace?” Mo Hua asked, puzzled.

“How would they know it couldn’t be sold if they didn’t make it?” Elder Yu patted the Refining Furnace, “Besides, now it has been sold, hasn’t it? We bought it!”

Mo Hua found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Elder Yu laughed again, “We even got it cheaply. This Refining Furnace had been lying around for years with no takers, and that gave me an excuse to really drive the price down.”

Mo Hua was inwardly shocked, thinking if Elder Yu considered it “really,” then how harshly must he have haggled the price…

“Alright, I’ve also got the Refining Furnace, so now it’s up to you,” Elder Yu patted Mo Hua’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry!”

Mo Hua had someone disassemble the Refining Furnace first, then measured the dimensions and specifications, jotting them all down on paper before starting to consider the Formation designs.

This large Refining Furnace was perfect for Mo Hua to try his hand at the First-grade Melting Fire Compound Formation.

However, there are many kinds of Compound Formations that include the First-grade Melting Fire Formation, and Refining Furnaces come in various shapes and sizes, so which specific Formation Method to use, how to construct the Compound Formation, and how to paint the Formation onto the Refining Furnace required careful consideration from Mo Hua.

After making a selection, Mo Hua finally chose a Formation Method named “First-grade Melting Fire and Controlling Spirit Compound Formation” to apply to this large First-grade Refining Furnace.

The First-grade Melting Fire and Controlling Spirit Compound Formation is composed of a basic Five Elements Pivot structure, sustaining two sets of First-grade Melting Fire Formations, one Spirit Gathering Array, one Cold Air Formation, and one Gold Stone Formation.

There is a single Pivot, and five sets of Formations, including even two sets of First-grade Formations!

This is the most complex set of Formation Methods Mo Hua has ever attempted, with an enormous consumption of Divine Sense and a staggering demand for the strength of Divine Sense.

Mo Hua decided that if he could learn it, he would paint the Compound Formation; if not, he would cut corners by omitting one First-grade Melting Fire Formation, which would greatly reduce the complexity of the entire Compound Formation.

However, this was a compromise, a safety measure.

If possible, Mo Hua still wanted to paint the full set of the Compound Formation.

After all, once this chance was gone, there wouldn’t be another shop like this, and there might not be anyone who would spend a lot of money again to buy such a large First-grade Refining Furnace for Mo Hua to practice painting Formations.

Mo Hua cherished the opportunity to apply his learning and practice creating Formations.

Mo Hua spent some time to preliminarily design the Formation Diagram according to the specifications and dimensions of the Refining Furnace, its interior layout, and the basic Formation Method required by the First-grade Melting Fire and Controlling Spirit Compound Formation.

After checking the diagram, Mo Hua felt there were no oversights, and that he had considered everything that needed to be considered—or rather, everything that he could think to consider.

Then Mo Hua presented this Formation Diagram to Mr. Zhuang for review.

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows as he thought that the questions his disciple came to ask became more outrageous each time.

He’s only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, yet he’s already consulting on a Compound Formation with two First-grade Formation Methods, and this is also something he’s adjusted according to the Refining Furnace.

Though not perfect, he had considered all the basic elements, and it was barely usable.

Mr. Zhuang glanced at the diagram and casually pointed out a few places, “Think about these areas again. If you paint it like this, the flow of Spiritual Power will be obstructed, and more Spirit Stones will be consumed during Artifact Refining.

Mo Hua nodded quickly.

Spirit stones were hard to come by and must not be wasted!

“Also, the role of the Pivot here is not just to connect Single Formations into a Compound Formation, but to act as a controller, using the Pivot to adjust the flow of Spiritual Power and thus regulate the temperature of the Refining Furnace. Pay close attention to this when you’re painting,” Mr. Zhuang advised further.

“Understood, Gentleman,” Mo Hua responded.

Mo Hua then asked a few more questions, which Mr. Zhuang answered one by one.

After Mo Hua had asked all his questions and was rising to take his leave, he suddenly thought of another question and humbly asked, “Gentleman, do I now have the capability of a First-grade Formation Master?”

Mr. Zhuang silently looked at him, “You do.”

If you’re starting to create Compound Formations with double First-grade Formation Methods, and you still wouldn’t be considered a First-grade, then there wouldn’t be many cultivators in the Tao Cultivation World who could be called First-grade Formation Masters, Mr. Zhuang silently thought.

Mo Hua then asked, “Should I go for the Taoist Court’s assessment?”

Mr. Zhuang fell silent, pondering for a long while before saying, “Don’t rush. Early fame is not necessarily a good thing; you still have much to learn. Take some time to consolidate your knowledge first.”