Chapter 177: Establishment
Everything was ready, it really seemed like they could establish their own Artifact Refining Hall and Pill Refining Hall.
Elder Yu was somewhat hesitant.
Mo Hua looked at him and continued, "Elder Yu, these spirit stones will only last everyone for about ten years. What happens after that?"
Elder Yu frowned deeply.
He had indeed thought about this matter before, but after much consideration, he had found no satisfactory solution.
Life for Demon Hunters was already harsh enough. If they could have ten peaceful years, free from hunger and danger, able to cultivate in peace, Elder Yu would already count that a blessing.
That was all he believed himself capable of providing.
Yet Mo Hua's words stirred something in him.
Perhaps… their good days could indeed last longer?
Elder Yu sorted through his thoughts once more and increasingly felt that Mo Hua's suggestion was feasible.
Previously, they had neither enough spirit stones nor any formation master capable of inscribing arrays. Naturally, they had never dared to think along such lines.
Now, they had both spirit stones and a brilliant young formation master. What reason was there to hesitate?
Elder Yu suddenly felt his blood surge with excitement.
This was heaven's gift to those poor, wandering cultivators!
If they failed to seize this fleeting opportunity, they would surely regret it for the rest of their lives.
"Mo Hua," Elder Yu said solemnly, "you are right. But this is a major matter. I must discuss it with the others before making a final decision."
Mo Hua nodded.
He was merely offering a suggestion; the decision on whether and how to proceed rested with Elder Yu.
Still, Elder Yu's word carried great weight among the Demon Hunters. If he agreed, the matter was nearly decided already, the so-called meeting would likely be a mere formality.
"There's another matter," Elder Yu continued thoughtfully. "If we are to build an Artifact Refining Hall and a Pill Refining Hall, we must craft large refining furnaces and cauldrons. As for the formations required for those…"
Mo Hua patted his chest confidently. "Leave that to me!"
For him, this was a perfect opportunity to practice formation arts for free, and on large-scale spiritual instruments no less. He was eager for it.
Large spiritual instruments required tremendous resources; ordinary cultivators could not afford to make them.
If he could inscribe formations upon such large-scale artifacts, his comprehension of formation arts would reach new heights.
Though he lacked the Dao Court's official certification, Mo Hua's current mastery already placed him at the level of a First-Rank Formation Master.
Yet to him, First Rank was not the end, it was merely the beginning. He aspired to climb higher, to comprehend even greater and more powerful formations, and through them, to command heaven and earth.
As he thought of this, the light in his eyes shone as bright as the stars.
Elder Yu gazed at the boy before him, realizing that, for their Demon Hunters, this child was more precious than all the glittering spirit stones in the warehouse.
Elder Yu then convened the group to discuss the proposal. After explaining the plan to establish both halls, he concluded bluntly:
"I have already agreed to it."
Everyone fell silent in mutual understanding.
If the Elder had already decided, was there truly anything left to discuss? Who would dare oppose it?
Elder Yu wasted no time and said, "Then let us discuss the specifics."
The group began exchanging ideas and debating details.
After half a day of discussion, they finally established a general framework.
Elder Yu reviewed the plan once more and found no major problems, only minor details remained to refine, nothing that would affect the greater scheme.
Once resolved, Elder Yu moved swiftly. He immediately began assigning personnel and duties, detailing every task and timeline.
Finally, he declared gravely, "This matter concerns every independent rogue cultivator in Tōngxiān City. It is of utmost importance. Each step must be done carefully and thoroughly, no mistakes are permitted."
Everyone straightened, saluting in unison, "Yes!"
...
From that day forward, the Demon Hunters of Tōngxiān City grew increasingly busy.
Elder Yu's vision was to establish the largest Artifact Refining Hall and Pill Refining Hall in the city.
The Demon Hunters would hunt beasts and gather materials; the unaffiliated artifact refiners would refine artifacts, while the alchemists would refine pills. Some of the spiritual tools and elixirs produced would be kept for the Demon Hunters' own use, while the rest could be sold for profit.
Such large enterprises would require many refiners, alchemists, and apprentices, providing ample opportunities for livelihood among the city's cultivators.
Some rogue cultivators, unsuited for hunting and fighting, could learn the crafts of artifact refinement or alchemy instead, making an honest living. Once skilled, they could even establish their own names and bring prosperity to others.
The preparatory process was complex and laborious. Elder Yu and the senior Demon Hunters managed most of it; Mo Hua had no need to interfere, nor could he.
His only task was to design the formations.
The formations required for these two grand halls fell into two main categories: architectural formations for the buildings themselves, and refining formations for the furnaces and cauldrons.
The first priority was the architectural formations.
According to Elder Yu's plan, construction would proceed in two phases: the first to build the Artifact Refining Hall, and the second to build the Pill Refining Hall.
There were more artifact refiners than alchemists among rogue cultivators, and the demand for artifacts was greater, ensuring steady business. Thus, they would focus their manpower and resources on the Artifact Refining Hall first.
Once that was completed, the Pill Refining Hall would follow the same framework, but with greater efficiency thanks to prior experience.
Mo Hua's immediate task was to design the architectural formations for the Artifact Refining Hall.
The hall would cover a vast area, comprising numerous structures, walls, gates, warehouses, refining chambers, living quarters, and storage rooms.
While Elder Yu continued negotiating the site with the Dao Court Division, the architectural blueprints had to be prepared in advance.
He provided Mo Hua with design diagrams from several other halls for reference.
However, most of these examples were small-scale and employed only a few simple arrays, basic ones such as the Earth-Stabilizing Array and the Golden-Stone Array, which Mo Hua had long since mastered.
With his current insight, these were beneath his notice.
Some designs contained more arrays but lacked systematic structure and coherence, rendering them of little reference value.
Others were deliberately incomplete, concealing their core formations to prevent theft, making them nearly useless.
Mo Hua had expected to uncover profound knowledge in these examples, but found instead that most designs were rudimentary. Compared to them, even the An family's flawed architectural formations were relatively sophisticated.
After a brief review, he had a clear understanding and began his own design.
Since the local formation standards were so crude, he felt no pressure at all.
At his current level, even casually drawn formations would surpass the usual architectural arrays in both function and precision.
(End of Chapter)