Chapter 63: The Puzzle Formation
"Formation Spirit Screen?"
Mister Zhuang's expression showed a rare trace of surprise.
Mo Hua recalled the scene within his mind and described it in detail:
"A faint blue spiritual power—like spiritual ink—interweaves into patterns resembling formation runes. These runes connect together to form a screen, as if it were an entire formation. But as the spiritual power flows, the runes shift accordingly, and each shift reveals a different formation upon the Spirit Screen."
"How interesting."
Mister Zhuang's eyes brightened slightly. He then took out brush and paper, spreading them neatly across the table before him.
"Do you still remember those runes? Draw a few for me."
"I remember some of them," Mo Hua said honestly, "but the runes kept changing…"
"No matter," Mister Zhuang replied. "Draw them just as you saw them."
Mo Hua held the brush with his small hand, dipped it in ink, and the tip began to dance lightly across the paper. Before long, several runic patterns appeared vividly upon the page.
Mister Zhuang glanced over them. "These look like ordinary runes—nothing particularly special."
Mo Hua asked curiously, "The seniors who practiced this cultivation art before… did none of them encounter such a situation?"
Mister Zhuang thought for a moment. "No. At least, I've never heard of it."
He continued, "Even with the same cultivation method, different cultivators may encounter different problems. Especially with ancient, obscure arts—few inherit them, even fewer cultivate them. When something goes wrong, it's difficult to find any useful precedent."
After a brief pause, he added, "The description of this technique mentions that the bottleneck lies in the Divine-Sense. The previous cultivators likely faced issues related to their Divine-Sense as well, but their circumstances must have differed from yours—otherwise, it would have been recorded on the jade slip. Matters concerning a sect's inheritance are never treated lightly. No elder would conceal such knowledge."
Mo Hua frowned, his small face scrunching up. "Then, sir, what should I do? It seems like I can't continue cultivating."
Mister Zhuang smiled casually. "As long as it's related to formations, it's no real problem." He then instructed, "Go home and record all the runes and formations you see on that Spirit Screen. Bring them to me tomorrow."
"Yes, sir!"
Mo Hua let out a sigh of relief—but then recalled what Mister Zhuang had just said.
"As long as it's related to formations, it's no problem"?
Just how profound was Mister Zhuang's mastery of formations?
Could he already be a Third-Rank Formation Master…?
Mo Hua couldn't help but wonder, what kind of formations could a Third-Rank Master even draw?
He grew a little dazed at the thought, then shook his head quickly.
"No, no… I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I haven't even reached First-Rank yet…"
He steadied his mind, remembered Mister Zhuang's instruction, and after returning home, sank his Divine-Sense into his Sea of Consciousness to observe the runes and formations on the Spirit Screen.
He recognized many of the runes—but most of the formations were completely unfamiliar. Some of the rarer runes he hadn't seen before and couldn't memorize in one sitting, so he practiced them one by one on his Dao Stele until he could recall them clearly. Then he withdrew his Divine-Sense and transcribed them carefully onto formation paper.
He worked like that until midnight, when a sudden wave of dizziness struck him. Knowing he had overused his Divine-Sense, he decided to rest for a bit.
The moment his mind relaxed, his stomach rumbled loudly. He realized with a start that he had been so focused on copying runes he had forgotten dinner.
"At this hour, Father and Mother must already be asleep…"
He frowned slightly. "I wonder if there's anything left to eat."
Just as he stood up to open the door, he noticed a small table set beside it. On it were several dishes covered by an upturned bowl.
Lifting the bowl, he found a small pot of white porridge, a plate of assorted pickles, two steamed buns, and a small dish of braised beef.
The pickles and meat were cold, the buns still faintly warm, but the porridge was hot.
"Mother must have worried I'd skip dinner again. She probably didn't want to disturb me while I was studying formations, so she left the food here… and before going to bed, she must have reheated the porridge, otherwise, it would've cooled by now."
A warm feeling rose in Mo Hua's chest. He smiled softly, took a sip of the porridge, and felt warmth spread through his body.
After that, he quickly devoured everything, sweeping the dishes clean. The fatigue he'd felt moments ago faded away, replaced by a steady energy.
He reentered his Sea of Consciousness and continued copying the runes from the Spirit Screen, transcribing each one onto paper as he memorized them.
By dawn, his Divine-Sense was once again exhausted. He gathered up the formation papers neatly and finally went to sleep.
...
The next morning, when Mister Zhuang examined the runes Mo Hua had copied, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"This is… a Puzzle Formation."
"Puzzle Formation?" Mo Hua tilted his head. He had never heard of such a thing.
Mister Zhuang explained patiently, "You've heard of lantern riddles, yes?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"This is similar. But instead of words, it uses formation runes as characters, and formations themselves form the riddle's surface. Such formations are called Puzzle Formations. Without the proper method, you cannot discern the truth within."
"Oh…" Mo Hua nodded slowly.
"These were once used by great sects and noble clans, little amusements meant to sharpen their disciples' minds. They're rare these days."
Mo Hua thought of the tangled runes that gave him headaches just looking at them, and his expression turned complicated.
That… was used for casual amusement?
"If I can't solve it," he asked cautiously, "does that mean I'm… not very bright?"
Mister Zhuang saw right through his thoughts, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Not necessarily. Yours is rather difficult, not everyone could solve it."
Mo Hua felt that Mister Zhuang was trying to comfort him, but his words only made things worse.
"Not everyone could solve it" meant some people could. And he clearly wasn't one of them…
No way he could accept that.
If this was meant for amusement, then he had to solve it—his pride as a formation cultivator demanded it!
"How should I go about solving this Puzzle Formation?" Mo Hua asked earnestly.
Mister Zhuang tapped the armrest of his bamboo chair thoughtfully. "Your case is different from others. For others, failing to solve it would only bruise their pride. But for you, this Puzzle Formation is directly tied to your cultivation. If you can't solve it, your progress will stagnate completely. That would be troublesome."
"There are two methods. First, you solve it yourself. Second, you copy down all the runes, and I solve it for you."
"The second method is the quickest and most direct. After all, cultivation is the foundation of all things. Without cultivation, everything else—formation mastery included—is empty talk. The first method, though slower, will greatly deepen your understanding of formations."
"How you choose is up to you."
He looked at Mo Hua with quiet amusement.
Mo Hua hesitated.
For a cultivator, stagnation of cultivation was a terrible thing. His aptitude couldn't compare to the Bai siblings or the disciples of great clans, but among the wandering rogue cultivators of Tōngxiān City, he was at least somewhat promising—well, if you looked closely enough.
If he wasted too much time on this bottleneck, he might end up at the bottom of the ranks.
After some thought, Mo Hua said firmly, "Sir, I'll choose the first method."
If a problem could be solved by himself, then it should be solved by himself.
So what if his progress slowed? His spiritual root and cultivation method were already weaker than others'; the further he went, the greater the gap would grow. Falling behind now or later made little difference.
One shouldn't chase temporary comfort.
Besides, if he needed Mister Zhuang's help just to overcome a minor bottleneck in the Qi-Refining stage, how could he face the future ones in Foundation Establishment, or beyond? Mister Zhuang wouldn't always be around, and Mo Hua was only a registered disciple. He couldn't rely on his teacher for everything.
And finally, those two words "casual amusement" really rubbed him the wrong way.
"Oh? You've made up your mind?" Mister Zhuang asked, a deep glint in his eyes.
Mo Hua nodded seriously. "Disciple has decided."
Mister Zhuang inclined his head. "Very well. I have some manuals and jade slips explaining the basics of Puzzle Formations. Take them and study first. Once you've finished, come to me—I'll teach you how to solve them."
Mo Hua accepted them respectfully. "Disciple takes his leave."
As Mo Hua walked away, the relaxed look faded from Mister Zhuang's face, replaced by a faintly grave expression.
(End of this Chapter)