Chapter 57: Cultivation Method
Mo Hua couldn't help but touch his face, then looked down at his clothes, puzzled: "What are you all looking at?"
Bai Zisheng still couldn't resist and asked, "The formation you just drew… is it a Three Talents Formation?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Which kind of Three Talents Formation?"
"Are there many kinds of Three Talents Formations?"
"I mean… is it the kind that contains six Dao runes?"
"Yes, why?"
Bai Zisheng's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your cultivation… you're only at the third level of Qi-Refining, right?"
"So what?"
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi exchanged glances.
After a moment of thought, Mo Hua suddenly said:
"Being able to draw a formation containing six Dao runes at Qi-Refining third level… is that really such a big deal?"
He had thought that among great clans, geniuses were everywhere; drawing a few extra formation runes shouldn't be that difficult.
Bai Zisheng wasn't convinced. "It's not that unusual."
"When you were at the third level of Qi-Refining, could you draw a Three Talents Formation?"
Bai Zisheng hesitated, stammering after a long pause:
"Well, that… even though I couldn't draw it, that's because the clan's instructors didn't allow it. Qi-Refining cultivators have weak Divine-Sense; forcibly drawing a complex formation could overconsume Divine-Sense and damage the Sea of Consciousness, making one unfit to become a formation master in the future. One mustn't ruin the foundation out of greed for achievement."
"Oh," Mo Hua said, half convinced.
"However," Bai Zisheng continued, "some cultivators in our clan are exceptionally talented; at Qi-Refining third level they can draw seven or eight runes. That's not considered rare."
Mo Hua nodded. He knew his talent was decent, but among the geniuses of the cultivation world, it might not be remarkable.
He understood the truth: there's always someone better, and there's always a higher peak.
Bai Zisheng then patted Mo Hua's shoulder in comfort:
"Even if being able to draw six runes at Qi-Refining third level isn't rare, it's still very good. With such talent in formations, even in our clan you'd rank as average. With effort, you'll definitely achieve something in formations in the future."
Hearing this, Mo Hua felt reassured.
His goal wasn't that ambitious. Becoming a first-rank formation master and having a skill to make a living in the cultivation world—enough to make his parents happy—was sufficient for now. Everything else could wait.
Only Bai Zixi watched silently from the side.
Bai Zisheng suddenly felt a little guilty, then straightened up and pretended to cultivate seriously.
Among Mister Zhuang's three registered disciples, the Bai siblings were twins: Bai Zisheng the elder brother, Bai Zixi the younger sister. Both were two to three years older than Mo Hua, at Qi-Refining seventh level, four levels above him.
This was because noble clans valued a solid cultivation foundation, emphasizing gradual accumulation rather than rushing for progress.
They had to proceed step by step, building a deep foundation before attempting to break through. Otherwise, their cultivation would be even higher than it currently was.
In terms of formation skills, Mo Hua felt he could still catch up to the Bai siblings, but in cultivation, he might never surpass them.
So every morning, Mo Hua followed his routine: spending an hour absorbing one Spirit Stone, cultivating steadily with patience.
With his Minor Five Elements Intermediate-lower grade spiritual root, he had no choice but to progress slowly, day by day.
Mo Hua wasn't anxious, nor could he be; cultivation speed was mostly determined by spiritual root, and there was no shortcut.
That day, while cultivating, he suddenly felt a tingling fullness in his Qi Sea, realizing it was saturated. He could consider breaking through to the fourth level of Qi-Refining.
Overjoyed, Mo Hua suddenly remembered something important:
He hadn't chosen a Cultivation Method yet!
He had originally planned to save enough Spirit Stones to select a minor Five-Element attribute cultivation method from Tōngxiān Sect, economical and not demanding too many spiritual resources.
But after the sect's leader changed, Instructor Yan left, and the outer sect didn't teach formations, Mo Hua had simply abandoned it.
After being accepted as a registered disciple of Mister Zhuang, Mo Hua's focus had been entirely on learning formations, delaying the cultivation method.
His parents practiced cultivation methods, but their cultivation methods' attributes differed slightly and leaned toward physical cultivation, making them unsuitable for Mo Hua. There was also no other path outside Tōngxiān Sect to learn a proper cultivation method.
A cultivation method should ideally be studied early in Qi-Refining. Now that he was about to reach fourth level, he couldn't postpone it any longer.
...
"When did you start learning cultivation methods, Zisheng?"
During a break, Mo Hua asked Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zisheng frowned. "I'm older than you. You should call me Big Brother Bai, or Senior Brother Bai, not just my name. Otherwise, it seems disrespectful."
"When my father and the others return from demon hunting in a few days, I can show you the beasts they've captured."
"Really?" Bai Zisheng's eyes lit up.
"Really!"
Bai Zisheng immediately said, "When Zixi and I first started cultivating, we began learning cultivation methods right away. The earlier you learn, the better. Ideally, cultivation methods should be passed down within a lineage; otherwise, methods learned at different stages differ too much and can easily cause deviation or calamity."
Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng suddenly realized something, exclaiming, "You haven't learned a cultivation method yet, have you?"
Mo Hua shook his head. "No. It's not easy for a rogue cultivator to choose a cultivation method."
"Even if it's not easy, you can't be without a cultivation method…"
Mo Hua rolled his eyes. "You're speaking like someone who's never gone hungry."
"What do you mean?"
"It means saying something without any hardship yourself."
Bai Zisheng scratched his head. "Too bad the clan's cultivation methods can't be taught to outsiders. Otherwise, I'd sneak you a few rare ones."
Mo Hua asked, puzzled, "Isn't a cultivation method's quality determined by the cultivator's spiritual root? With an Intermediate or Inferior-grade root, one can only learn Intermediate or Inferior-grade cultivation methods. If it's Intermediate-grade, how could there be good or bad ones? Surely not better than Superior-grade cultivation methods."
"You don't know. Some rare cultivation methods have special effects. Some speed up cultivation, some focus on physical strength, others are suitable for alchemy…"
"Of course, cultivation method grade is most important. A cultivator's strength is mainly determined by the amount of spiritual power. Spiritual root is fixed and unchangeable, so there's no debate there."
Special rare cultivation methods…
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Even if there are rare cultivation methods, I couldn't practice them. Rare methods require rare spiritual resources. If I can never gather them all in my lifetime, then my cultivation would stagnate forever…"
"That's true. I forgot you're a rogue cultivator; you can't gather all those rare resources…" Bai Zisheng frowned. "Why not ask Mister Zhuang?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Being taught formations by Mister Zhuang is already a huge favor. How could I ask for more and request a cultivation method?"
Bai Zisheng nodded approvingly. "Good, that's the spirit! Only with such backbone could you be my Junior brother."
Mo Hua corrected him: "I'm not your Junior Brother."
Bai Zisheng said, "How not? I'm older. You should call me Senior Brother, right Zixi?"
He looked at Bai Zixi, who was focused on her book and ignored him.
"Zixi is older too. You should call her Senior Sister," Bai Zisheng continued.
Bai Zixi slightly raised her dark eyelashes, her eyes brightening.
Mo Hua snorted coldly. "Keep dreaming."
"I'm not exaggerating, there are so many people want to be my Junior brother." Bai Zisheng said proudly.
"I don't care. I won't take you to see the beasts."
"Fine," Bai Zisheng huffed. "You can't go back on your word. We agreed, didn't we?"
After some bickering, Bai Zisheng agreed Mo Hua didn't have to call him Senior Brother, and Mo Hua promised to take him to see the beasts at the end of the month. Both were satisfied.
They practiced and read until evening. At parting, Bai Zisheng asked, "What about your cultivation method?"
"Hm…" Mo Hua pondered. "I'll ask my parents. I want to be a formation master anyway. Formations rely on Divine-Sense, not much on spiritual power. Any adequate cultivation method will do."
"That won't do. We're all Mister Zhuang's disciples. If your cultivation is too weak, it'll make me look bad," Bai Zisheng said angrily. "I'll see if there's a suitable cultivation method in the clan that isn't strictly restricted. You can secretly learn it."
Then he left with Bai Zixi.
Mo Hua shook his head helplessly but felt warmth at Bai Zisheng's kindness. He packed up and went home.
At that moment, Mister Zhuang, resting in the bamboo grove, opened his eyes. His pale white, slender fingers tapped the armrest of the bamboo chair as he murmured:
"Cultivation Method…"
(End of Chapter)