Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 310: Chapter 309: Fireball Secret Manual_1

Does Black Mountain Stronghold really have a hidden mastermind behind it?

In the following days, whenever Mo Hua had time, he would ponder over this question, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with any leads. Even if he tried to investigate, he lacked clues and didn’t know where to start.

All Mo Hua could do was to focus on his own matters, strengthen his Divine Sense, master more Formations, and learn new things.

Just in case something unexpected happened in the future, he wanted to be prepared and confident in his actions.

As for Formations, Mo Hua practiced the Reversed Spirit Formation daily without fail.

Besides that, what else could he learn?

Mo Hua thought about it and suddenly remembered that he still had a secret manual for the Fireball Technique.

This secret manual was obtained from the hands of the pale-faced evil cultivator who was on night watch at Black Mountain Stronghold.

The pale-faced evil cultivator practiced Evil Skills that absorbed spiritual essence, and his Spells were actually quite ordinary, relying solely on this secret manual to make his Fireball Technique significantly powerful.

Mo Hua’s strategy of pitting one against another had led to the death of the pale-faced man, and afterwards, he picked up the spoils, obtaining this secret manual for the Fireball Technique.

It was just that later on, Mo Hua had so many things to handle that he temporarily forgot about it.

Mo Hua leaned over his small desk, took out his Storage Bag, and found the secret manual for the Fireball Technique.

The manual was titled “Understanding of Fireball Technique,” written by hand, with rough edges and many creased traces.

It seemed not to be an orthodox Spell legacy but rather the personal cultivation insights of a Cultivator.

Mo Hua opened the pages and skimmed through them, quickly grasping the general idea.

The “Understanding of Fireball Technique” was not originally that of the pale-faced man. It was probably also obtained by killing and robbing others.

The original owner of the manual was a Cultivator with the surname Yang, just an ordinary Spiritual Cultivator.

His talent wasn’t high, his Spiritual Root was poor, and the Cultivation Technique he practiced was naturally not great either, so the only Spell he could learn was this Fireball Technique.

But he didn’t become discouraged and kept practicing and researching relentlessly. He even sought advice and discussed with various Cultivators skilled in the Fireball Technique. After spending most of his life, he finally figured out a special spell point for using the Fireball Technique.

This spell point could enhance the power of the Fireball Technique, making this commonplace, unimpressive Spell, which was looked down upon by most Cultivators, quite lethal.

The mystery of the spell point lay in the pathways of circulating Qi.

All Spells, ultimately, rely on the Divine Sense to drive the Spiritual Power within the Qi Sea, moving it through specific pathways and then condensing into different Spells.

Even for the same Spell, with identical effects, the inherited diagrams of pathways always have variations.

Some differ in the main meridians, while others have slight deviations in the minor collaterals.

The original owner of the manual spent countless hours and effort collecting various Fireball Technique diagrams. Eventually, he categorized and compared them one by one, and subsequently drew his own conclusions, forming the most complex yet most powerful Fireball Technique pathway diagram.

Additionally, he recorded all his insights and experiences regarding the use of the Fireball Technique within this diagram.

But for some unknown reason, this manual of insights ended up in the hands of the white-faced evil cultivator.

Mo Hua read the manual in one go and couldn’t help but feel moved.

This thin volume of insights… how much effort must have been put in to write it…

The Cultivator who wrote these insights, his perseverance, meticulous thoughts, and focused dedication made Mo Hua feel somewhat ashamed.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but think that there must be many Cultivators in this world with similar perseverance and talent.

Yet, confined by their own origins, Spiritual Roots, and legacies, they could only waste or bury their talents.

Mo Hua felt it was a great pity.

The original owner of this manual should have also been a person of outstanding brilliance. However, his name was now unknown to history; even his death had gone unnoticed.

Only a simple sentence was written at the end of the insights:

“The Way has no size, Spells have no strength or weakness, even a tiny spark can start a great blaze.”

Mo Hua’s spirits were lifted after reading it.

This manual of insights, when in the hands of the white-faced evil cultivator, was indeed a pearl cast before swine, a terrible waste of its potential.

Mo Hua made a silent vow to study the Fireball Technique thoroughly and to master it to the extreme.

In the future, he would let all Cultivators in the Cultivation World know the might of the Fireball Technique!

Mo Hua began to learn the more powerful version of the Fireball Technique, according to the pathway diagram in the insights.

The pathway diagram for this Fireball Technique was very complex, and Mo Hua originally thought it would be difficult to learn.

However, he managed to learn it in just half a day…

This time was much less than he had anticipated.

Moreover, the Fireball Technique he produced was strange; its color was deeper, showing a dark red hue, and the fireball itself was noticeably smaller in size.

It looked somewhat odd…

For a moment, Mo Hua didn’t know if he had truly learned it or not, or if he had learned it incorrectly…

As for its power, Mo Hua didn’t dare to try.

He feared something might go wrong, and besides, his home was not the place to test Spells.

After thinking, Mo Hua went again to Mr. Zhuang’s mountain residence, passed through the small bamboo forest, and arrived at the pond’s edge, ready to practice on the fish in the pond as usual.

The foolish fish in the pond were leisurely swimming, totally unaware of what was about to happen.

Mo Hua focused his mind, channeled his Spiritual Power, and moments later, the deep red but small Fireball Technique took shape.

Following that, Mo Hua pointed, and the peculiar fireball moved with his intent, swiftly plunging into the pond.

A low explosion sounded.

In an instant, the pond water evaporated, the aquatic plants charred, and only scorched fishbones remained of the fish in the pond.

Mo Hua was stunned, his mouth gradually dropping open.

The power of this Fireball Technique was so great…

This level of power was completely beyond his expectations.

He then suddenly wondered, “The pond has been blown to this state, I wonder if Mr. Zhuang will be angry…”

As Mo Hua was at a loss for what to do, he turned and saw Old Kui silently standing behind him, looking at the pond with an unexpectedly calm expression.

“Grandpa Gui… this…”

Old Kui said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter.”

Then, with a wave of Old Kui’s sleeve, the scenery in front of them flickered like ripples receding, and everything was restored to its original state.

The pond was still clear, the aquatic plants remained lush, and the fish continued to swim slowly as if nothing had happened.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

“Where did you learn this Fireball Technique from?” Old Kui asked.

Mo Hua took out the Understanding of Fireball Technique from his Storage Bag and handed it to Old Kui, “I got it from the hands of evil cultivators.”

Old Kui took it, glanced at it once, and then nodded, “Not bad.”

Mo Hua was delighted—Old Kui thought it was not bad, so the Fireball Technique must indeed be quite good.

Mo Hua then asked, “But the fireball technique I cultivated seems somewhat unconventional…”

“Unconventional?”

Old Kui was slightly surprised and said, “Show it to me again.”

Mo Hua looked at the spotlessly clear pond before him, hesitating to start.

Old Kui said, “You need not worry.”

Mo Hua was then reassured and cast the Fireball Technique once more toward the pond.

A deep red fireball formed at Mo Hua’s fingertips, and with a whoosh, it shot towards the pond.

This time, however, there was no explosion.

The fireball cast by Mo Hua flew into the pond, and the entire space around the pond began to distort, eventually dissolving the fireball as if nothing had happened.

Mo Hua was shocked.

What level of spell could have such an effect?

Seeing Mo Hua’s astonished expression, a hint of a smile that was not easy to detect appeared in Old Kui’s eyes, and then he said to Mo Hua:

“It’s unorthodox, but it’s still a Fireball Technique.”

Mo Hua then asked, “Will there be any problems with using it?”

Old Kui shook his head, “No problems.”

Mo Hua was relieved, but then felt puzzled again, “Why did the color darken and the fireball shrink?”

This question was beyond Mo Hua’s own understanding, and even if he had figured it out, it might not be correct, so he might as well ask Old Kui directly.

Old Kui, with his profound knowledge of spells, surely knew the secret behind it.

Without a second thought, Old Kui replied:

“It’s because you condensed the spell with your Divine Sense.”

“Divine Sense condensing?”

Old Kui nodded, “The meridian map you saw is the method for condensing spells with Divine Sense. The more complex the meridians, the greater the consumption of Divine Sense, and the stronger the condensed spell.”

“It’s similar to a Formation…” Mo Hua remarked.

“The ways of the Heavenly Dao are different but lead to the same destination,” Old Kui said lightly.

“But when I saw that pale-faced evil cultivator casting the Fireball Technique, it was just more powerful. The color wasn’t as dark, and the fireball wasn’t as small…”

“Your Divine Senses are different,” Old Kui stated succinctly.

After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua said, “Is it because my Divine Sense is too strong?”

Old Kui nodded, “A Divine Sense that has achieved Foundation Establishment will naturally condense spells that are different.”

This completely reassured Mo Hua.

Once he practiced the Fireball Technique to a higher proficiency, with the Concealment Technique for hiding, the Water Passing Step for self-defense, the Water Prison Technique for trapping enemies, and the Fireball Technique for attacking, his capabilities would be greatly enhanced.

“Thank you for the guidance, Grandpa Gui,” Mo Hua said with gratitude.

Old Kui’s expression remained stoic, “I haven’t provided much guidance.”

Mo Hua just smiled and kept Old Kui’s kindness in his heart.

As Old Kui turned to leave, he suddenly asked, “Would you like to play a game of chess?”

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised. Unless there was idle time, Old Kui rarely took the initiative to invite him for a game of chess.

Mo Hua nodded and replied, “Sure!”

Beneath the gentle breeze of the bamboo forest by the compact chessboard,

Mo Hua and Old Kui played a match that was again hard to break away from; yet after such a long time, neither’s chess skills had improved at all.

As the sunset dipped below the horizon and dusk approached, Mo Hua had to return home, and it was only then that he stood up to bid farewell to Old Kui.

At the moment of parting, a rare hint of reluctance appeared on Old Kui’s usually impassive face.

Not just Old Kui; these days, Mr. Zhuang occasionally also showed moments of melancholy and distraction.

A guess formed in Mo Hua’s heart.

Mr. Zhuang… might be leaving Tongxian City soon…

Perhaps Mo Hua would no longer be able to ask the gentleman for his wisdom.