Chapter 19 Solid Earth Formation_1

The deposit for the Solid Earth Formation was twenty spirit stones. Mo Hua took ten spirit stones from what he had earned earlier and handed them to the Fatty Steward, receiving the Solid Earth Formation Diagram and ten sets of paper and ink materials. The rental period was twenty days.

After leaving the trading hall, Mo Hua went to a pastry shop and spent two spirit stones to buy ten Five-color Cakes, then headed straight back to the sect, dividing the pastries among Da'hu and the other two.

The sect's meals were not very good, and the three were usually craving snacks, although there was rarely anything tasty to eat.

Mo Hua bought some pastries to satisfy their cravings.

A few days later, in the evening, after finishing his day of classes, Mo Hua was in his residence studying the formation diagrams of the Solid Earth Formation behind closed doors when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.

As soon as Mo Hua opened the door, he saw Shuanghu standing there sneakily.

Shuanghu secretly handed Mo Hua an oil-paper package and lowered his voice, saying,

"This is especially for you—don't tell anyone else."

After speaking, he darted his eyes around, then ran off like a thief.

The Disciple's Residence was a dormitory provided by Tongxian Gate for its disciples, with two people per room. The rooms were small, with two simple wooden beds and two slightly worn-out wooden desks, just enough for the disciples' daily lives.

There were some more luxurious and comfortable residences within Tongxian Gate, but staying there required extra spirit stones.

Mo Hua previously had a fellow sect member as a roommate, but that person had dropped out this year—not because he couldn't afford the tuition, but simply because he found cultivation dull and didn't want to continue. As a result, Mo Hua was now the only one in the room.

Mo Hua closed the door, opened the still-warm oil-paper, and found inside a freshly roasted chicken leg.

The chicken leg was about the size of a fist, steaming hot, with a slightly burned appearance. It emitted an enticing aroma, and there was even a faint spiritual energy emanating from it.

It was spirit beast meat.

"This... wouldn't have been stolen from somewhere, would it..."

*Spirit beast meat infused with spiritual energy was something Shuanghu and the others couldn't possibly afford. Judging by Shuanghu's sneaky demeanor, it must have been stolen.*

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment before taking a bite. The taste was slightly burned but also carried the savory flavor of meat—though it wasn't fully cooked and lacked seasoning, remaining somewhat bland.

*In the Tao Cultivation World, cooking spiritual food required considerable skill. Without specialized training, it was hard to make anything truly palatable.*

*This was because spiritual ingredients were tricky to prepare—for example, the texture of most types of meat was very tough. Certain kinds of meat, such as that from herbivorous monster beasts, required large amounts of spiritual power to fuel flames and hours of steaming or boiling; otherwise, the meat remained impossible to cook properly.*

The texture of spirit beast meat tended to be finer, but its preparation still required careful thought.

*Apart from meat, fruits and vegetables also contained a trace of spiritual energy alongside their natural flavors. If the balance wasn't handled well, the resulting dish often tasted odd.*

The chicken leg Mo Hua had was only hastily roasted, likely in secret to avoid detection. It was cooked quickly and inadequately, so it wasn't particularly delicious.

But Mo Hua, who hadn't eaten meat for more than a month, wasn't choosy. Having something to eat was good enough.

Mo Hua gnawed on the chicken leg with some difficulty, finished it, then lit a fire to burn away the oil-paper and threw the bones into the stream behind his residence, thoroughly eliminating the evidence.

After eating, Mo Hua spent a bit of time refining the spiritual energy contained in the chicken meat, then immersed himself once again in his study of formations.

Soon after, Mo Hua heard news about a few disciples in the Qi Refinement Realm who had stolen one of the colorful chickens raised by a sect elder, plucked all its feathers, and roasted it for food.

Enraged, the elder caught the culprits and punished them harshly.

A couple of days later, Mo Hua saw Da'hu and his gang with bruised faces and two large lumps on their heads.

Since all three of them lived on Tongxuan Peak, the elder had easily traced the incident back to them. They couldn't escape punishment.

Though pitiful-looking, their injuries were mostly superficial. The elder wasn't going to go too far or seriously harm them.

The punishment was merely a light reprimand to serve as a warning to other disciples.

Despite their pathetic appearance, Da'hu and his companions still walked with their heads held high, looking slightly proud. After all, successfully stealing a chicken from under the watchful eyes of an elder wasn't something an ordinary disciple could pull off.

When they saw Mo Hua, they acted as if they hadn't seen him. Xiaohu even secretly gave Mo Hua a look, hinting for him to pretend not to recognize them.

Mo Hua couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking he should buy more pastries for them next break day.

There were still seven days until the next break day. It had already been thirteen days since Mo Hua received the formation materials from the Fatty Steward, but his comprehension of the Solid Earth Formation had been slow.

The formation's patterns were unfamiliar to Mo Hua and far more complex than the basic earth-based formation patterns taught in the sect, making them harder to grasp.

The Solid Earth Formation consisted of four formation patterns and required a higher level of divine sense.

Remembering the patterns wasn't too difficult for Mo Hua, but practicing them on the stele consumed significant amounts of divine sense and often resulted in errors.

Either the drawn patterns failed to form a functional formation, or they couldn't conduct spiritual power at all.

After ten days of fumbling around, Mo Hua still felt completely clueless—sometimes he thought he understood the principles, but as soon as he put pen to paper, he would make mistakes.

Having hit a dead-end, Mo Hua decided to seek guidance from Instructor Yan.

One day, after Instructor Yan finished teaching and was tidying up the books on his desk, the disciples left in small groups.

Mo Hua approached, holding several basic earth element formation patterns, and humbly asked,

"Instructor, I don't quite understand these earth element formation patterns. Could you please guide me?"

Instructor Yan glanced at the patterns Mo Hua had presented and said,

"These are the earth-based patterns from the basic Five Elements Formation, and they're relatively standardized and widely applicable. They shouldn't be too difficult for you. If you can't draw them correctly, you just need to practice more."

While the sect's earth element patterns were basic and simple for Mo Hua, his real question was about something else entirely.

Mo Hua brought out a few earth element patterns from the Solid Earth Formation and said,

"I happened to come across these patterns and noticed they're slightly different from the ones in the textbook. I can't articulate the differences, but they're much harder to draw, and I keep making mistakes. Could you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

Instructor Yan looked at them, slightly surprised, and said,

"These are variant Five Elements patterns—not standardized and not widely applicable. To draw these, you need to adjust your pen strokes, as the order differs from the standard patterns. For these particular strokes, the sequence should be changed to…"

Instructor Yan grabbed a piece of paper and casually sketched a few strokes while explaining.

As Mo Hua listened, understanding dawned upon him.

*The technique for drawing formation patterns was somewhat similar to calligraphy. Beyond standardized patterns, there were distinctive ones that deviated in minor but meaningful ways.*

*These variant patterns were numerous and couldn't be strictly classified, so the sect generally taught only the standardized versions.*

"No wonder they say the study of formations is vast and intricate. The sheer number of tricks and pitfalls is overwhelming. If I hadn't asked the instructor, I'd never figure it out, even if I had two brains…" Mo Hua secretly grumbled to himself.

"And to combine these patterns into a cohesive formation, like this one—how would one go about it?"

Mo Hua finally brought out the Solid Earth Formation Diagram.

Instructor Yan glanced at it and immediately recognized it, exclaiming in surprise, "This is the Solid Earth Formation," then looked at Mo Hua and said, "It's too early for you to study this. This isn't something you can draw yet."

"I'm merely curious and wish to understand its principles," Mo Hua earnestly replied.

"Well… there's merit in gaining some early knowledge," Instructor Yan conceded.

His interest visibly piqued—after all, teaching basic patterns day in and day out was monotonous. A chance to discuss a more advanced formation was a rare occasion, and his mood brightened.

"Formations are constructed by the arrangement, combination, and linkage of patterns. Simple formations involve fewer patterns and straightforward arrangements; advanced formations include a greater number of intricate and interconnected patterns. The Solid Earth Formation contains four patterns that must be drawn in fixed positions, in a specific sequence, while the remaining positions for Qian and Kun…"

Instructor Yan became increasingly animated as he explained, and Mo Hua listened attentively. By the time the lesson ended, the instructor still seemed reluctant to stop. He eventually cautioned,

"The Dao of formations is vast and profound. It's good to have a preliminary understanding, but remember that the teachings of the sect are merely the basics—the foundation of the foundation and not even an introduction yet. Becoming a true Formation Master involves challenges and dedication beyond your current imagination…"

After pausing briefly, he added, "Also, never overestimate yourself or recklessly attempt formations beyond your grasp. It's fine to study them, but if you actually try to draw them, you'll quickly deplete your divine sense. Be sure to remember this!"

Mo Hua bowed respectfully and said, "I have learned, Instructor!"