Chapter 106: The Great Tree
Once Mo Hua actually started learning it, he discovered that the Flowing-Water Step wasn't as difficult as he'd imagined.
The challenge of the Flowing-Water Step lay in using one's Divine-Sense to control spiritual power, and spiritual power to move the body. The stronger one's control of Divine-Sense, the more agile the flow of spiritual power—and the more fluid the body's movement.
The Celestial Evolution Art, according to Mister Zhuang, didn't enhance spiritual power or strengthen the Five Elements. Its specialty lay in refining the control of Divine-Sense.
And Mo Hua, being a formation master who drew arrays every day, already had far greater mastery over Divine-Sense than most cultivators. After cultivating the Celestial Evolution Art, it was like adding wings to a tiger, controlling spiritual power and executing body techniques became a trivial matter.
What made it difficult before wasn't the technique itself, but his weak physique, his movements would easily lose balance, making it hard to display any real agility.
For ordinary cultivators, even if their bodies weren't strong, they were still sturdy enough for body movement training. The true difficulty lay in the delicate control of spiritual power, how to circulate it precisely through the meridians and acupoints of the four limbs.
For Mo Hua, however, the problem was the opposite: his body was weak, but channeling spiritual power through the meridians and acupoints posed no challenge at all.
In fact, his spiritual power flowed even more delicately and intricately than the diagrams of the Flowing-Water Step prescribed. In complex movement sequences, he could even improvise more elaborate variations.
In just over ten days, Mo Hua had nearly mastered all the movements of the Flowing-Water Step.
But mere mastery wasn't enough, Mo Hua believed he needed actual combat practice.
...
Next day, he went to the foothills outside Tōngxiān City and found a tall, deep-rooted tree with thick foliage.
The tree was laden with wild fruit—small, sour, and inedible—which was probably why it bore so many, nearly covering every branch.
Mo Hua kicked the tree, but it didn't budge in the slightest; instead, his own foot went numb.
Sighing, he decided to draw a simple Earth-Tremor Formation and buried it under the tree.
The Earth-Tremor Formation was a basic earth-element array with few runes and an easy design. Once infused with spiritual power, it would cause vibrations.
After channeling some spiritual power into it, the formation glowed with an earthy hue, and the ground began to shake. The great tree trembled, and the wild fruits began to rain down.
The falling fruits pelted toward Mo Hua beneath the tree.
Eyes brightening, Mo Hua activated the Flowing-Water Step and began dodging the barrage.
Out of a dozen fruits, he avoided eight or nine, but two still hit him, one on the shoulder, and one right on the head.
Mo Hua clutched his head and hissed in pain.
He had miscalculated, he hadn't expected the fruits to hurt that much.
Glaring up at the towering tree, he huffed angrily and stomped off. About an hour later, Mo Hua returned, head held high—literally—with a small helmet strapped on.
He'd gone to find Master Chen.
The little helmet had been hastily forged by Master Chen, simple and light. It wouldn't stop a cultivator's attack, but it was more than enough against falling wild fruit.
Fearless once more, Mo Hua reactivated the Earth-Tremor Formation and began dodging again beneath the fruit rain.
At first, fully focused, he was barely hit. But as time went on, fatigue set in, his limbs grew sluggish, his spiritual power waned, and the number of hits steadily increased.
As dusk fell, Mo Hua patted the tree. "I'll be back tomorrow," he said, and went home.
...
At home, Liu Ruhua gently applied medicine to his bruises, frowning. "Where on earth did you go? You're covered in bumps and bruises…"
"It's fine, Mother. Doesn't hurt," Mo Hua said.
Liu Ruhua pressed a little too hard with the ointment, and Mo Hua yelped.
"Oh? Doesn't hurt, huh?" she said, half-scolding, half-amused. Then, feeling guilty, she softened her touch.
"They're just surface wounds, nothing serious," Mo Hua reassured her.
"You didn't get into a fight, did you?"
"Don't worry, Mother. I was practicing my movement technique. That way, if there's danger later, I can run away!"
"Really?"
Mo Hua nodded. "Mm."
Liu Ruhua exhaled in relief. "That's good, then." Seeing his bruised body, she couldn't help but sigh again. "Just… be careful, alright?"
Mo Hua puffed his chest confidently. "Don't worry, Mother. Once I'm done practicing, even if it rains, not a single drop will touch the hem of my robe!"
Liu Ruhua chuckled and pinched his nose affectionately. "Such big talk!"
...
The next day, Mo Hua's "injuries" hadn't healed, his shoulders and back were still swollen, every movement a stab of pain. Although his mastery of the Flowing-Water Step improved, his performance didn't look much better than the first day.
On the third day, the pain lessened, his steps became smoother, and fewer fruits managed to hit him.
Day after day, Mo Hua practiced beneath that same tree. As the number of fruits dwindled, his Flowing-Water Step grew ever more refined.
By the time he was well-practiced, only a few green fruits remained dangling on the branches.
Before him, the towering tree stood silently, a few lonely fruits clinging to its once-lush crown.
It looked… rather pitiful.
Feeling guilty, Mo Hua drew a Water-Wood Formation and buried it at the tree's roots.
The Water-Wood Formation nurtured water qi and nourished spirit-trees, helping flora to thrive, it was his way of apologizing.
Under its gentle influence, the tree's leaves seemed to glow a little greener.
Though Mo Hua had grown skilled in the Flowing-Water Step, he still didn't know how effective it would be in actual combat.
After all, falling fruit followed predictable paths, but real battles didn't. Spells and strikes from an opponent were far less forgiving.
He'd need a real partner to spar with.
But who?
Mo Shan was off hunting beasts in the mountains, his cultivation and combat experience far exceeded Mo Hua's, so that wouldn't work. The three brothers Da Hu, Shuāng Hu, and Xiao Hu were also often out hunting in Black Mountain, sometimes for weeks at a time. Even when they returned, they were swamped with tasks.
Dazhu and the others were busy learning artifact forging from Master Chen.
Zhang Lan? Mo Hua considered it, then shook his head. Though Zhang Lan looked idle, he was still a Dao Court Division official, surely he wasn't that free. Besides, the Flowing-Water Step was his teaching, asking him to spar might be a bit… thick-skinned.
No, none of them would do.
A few days later, Mo Hua brought food and wine to Mister Zhuang, asked a few questions, and took his leave.
When he reached the great pagoda tree, he saw Bai Zixi sitting serenely beneath it, reading with gentle grace, soft white pagoda petals falling on her like snow.
Beside her, Bai Zisheng lay sprawled under the tree, a book covering his face, radiating an aura of sheer boredom and existential despair. Every now and then, he'd roll over like a lazy dog, an unsightly picture indeed.
Mo Hua sighed softly.
Hearing the sound, Bai Zisheng instantly sat up, eyes gleaming with excitement as he looked at Mo Hua.
(End of Chapter)