The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua returned home under the blazing sun, grabbed the teapot on the table, and gulped down several mouthfuls of tea to cool off before heading to his room to take out paper and ink to plan.

First on the agenda was the stove.

The stove is a type of spiritual device.

Spiritual devices used by cultivators come in a wide variety, including weapons like swords and spears for attack, armors and Taoist robes for defense, magical accessories like hairpins and jade ornaments, and everyday items like pots and stoves.

Mo Hua’s understanding of artifact crafting was limited to the basic theoretical knowledge taught in the ”Artifact Crafting General Knowledge” course at the Tongxian Sect, such as the essentials of furnace use, forging, and quenching.

However, when it came to actual crafting, he was unable to proceed.

The Tongxian Sect’s artifact crafting course also required disciples to craft by hand, but since Mo Hua was physically weak and couldn’t even swing a hammer, the instructors did not force him.

Now, to craft a stove was no ordinary task—it required a specialized artifact craftsman.

Next was the array—the Magma Array contained five array patterns, which was challenging for Mo Hua at the moment.

The arrays Mo Hua had drawn before consisted of no more than four patterns.

The difference in efficacy between arrays as they increase in complexity is substantial, and for an array master, each additional pattern represents a significant hurdle.

Mo Hua, who drew arrays daily and honed his skills on stone steles, had strengthened his spiritual sense considerably, managing four patterns with ease. However, a five-pattern array was another story.

Another difficulty was that this Magma Array needed to be inscribed on the stove.

The furnace’s walls, made of fine iron, weakly absorb ink, making drawing on iron far more challenging than on paper, and it greatly increases the consumption of spiritual energy and spiritual sense.

According to ”Basic Array Treatise” by Yan Jiaoxi, the medium that carries the array, called the array medium by array masters, is typically paper, followed by materials like ironwood and stone.

Mo Hua had always drawn on paper, but now facing the challenge of drawing on a furnace, he was unsure if it would pose any problems.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, sighed, and decided to take things step by step.

The immediate priority was to obtain a complete diagram of the Magma Array.

The next day, Mo Hua got up, had breakfast, and first went to see Manager Mo.

Manager Mo, a rather plump man who disliked the heat, was lethargically sprawled on the desk beside which stood a fan, inscribed with arrays that used spiritual power to keep it oscillating.

However, in such heat, the fan only circulated hot air.

Mo Hua said, ”Manager Mo, I see other businesses have installed ice-element arrays on their walls for cooling. Why don’t you do the same?”

Manager Mo gave Mo Hua a listless glare, ”Those arrays are expensive. Give me the spirit stones, and I’ll set it up!”

Mo Hua chuckled, then sat at a nearby table, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly drank it.

In the usually quiet Destiny’s Shop, Mo Hua was a regular and Manager Mo did not mind his presence, letting him be and then burying his head back into his work.

After finishing his tea, Mo Hua asked, ”Manager Mo, do you have a diagram of the Magma Array here?”

Manager Mo looked up, annoyed, ”This is a business specializing in arrays. What diagram don’t we have?”

Mo Hua skeptically responded, ”Even second-grade diagrams?”

Manager Mo banged the table irritably, ”Don’t be contentious like that, kid!” and then asked puzzledly, ”What do you need a Magma Array diagram for?”

”I saw such an array drawn on the stove at the Spirit Meal Tower and was curious, so I asked,” Mo Hua thought for a moment and then added, ”Manager Mo, is there anything special about drawing a Magma Array on a stove?”

Manager Mo unenthusiastically explained, ”It’s just a Magma Array, there’s nothing special about it. Some restaurants wanted to build stoves earlier this year, and they bought their diagrams from me. I have all their designs.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, ”Can I take a look?”

”No!” Manager Mo responded.

”Just a glance!” pleaded Mo Hua.

Manager Mo wanted to refuse again, but hesitated, then sighed and reluctantly pulled out a large diagram from a cabinet behind him, placing it on the desk.

”You can only look at it here. In principle, these are confidential and shouldn’t be shown to others.”

Mo Hua opened the diagram and saw a design of a stove covered in dense annotations including the materials used for the stove and the positions of

matching array patterns, and even dimensions of the array, detailing how certain strokes should be altered.

Mo Hua curiously asked, ”Are these arrays different from regular ones, requiring notation of stroke methods and dimensions?”

”Of course,” explained Manager Mo, ”The patterns of the array are standardized, but their specific applications vary. Some standard spiritual devices can be uniformly designed due to identical scales and dimensions, but custom-designed spiritual devices need to be adjusted based on their shape and structure.”

”I see…” nodded Mo Hua.

Mo Hua carefully reviewed the diagram, trying to memorize the key points for reference.

Manager Mo, seeing that Mo Hua had looked enough, took the diagram back.

Mo Hua then asked, ”Manager Mo, could I borrow a copy of the Magma Array diagram?”

Anticipating Mo Hua’s request, Manager Mo took out a Magma Array diagram and said, ”Normally, this diagram would cost ten spirit stones, but I won’t charge you. Just make sure to return it to me without any damage.”

Mo Hua exclaimed, ”Ten spirit stones? That’s expensive, isn’t it?”

”Of course, do you think it’s like those low-level arrays with only two or three patterns that are everywhere? The more patterns included, the stronger the array’s efficacy, naturally making the diagram more expensive.”

Manager Mo fanned himself and continued, ”Some diagrams with ten patterns are even secret transmissions of certain sects and families. Not only would you not be able to buy them with spirit stones, but you wouldn’t even be allowed to glance at them!”

Mo Hua was amazed. Delving into arrays to a deeper level indeed posed significant challenges. Without proper inheritance, even if one wanted to learn arrays, it was difficult to know where to start.

Mo Hua sincerely thanked Manager Mo as he took the Magma Array diagram.

Manager Mo said dismissively, ”It’s nothing, no need for thanks, don’t be so formal.” But his expression showed he was quite pleased.

Before Mo Hua left, Manager Mo advised, ”You can study it, but don’t aim too high or be stubborn. Don’t immerse yourself too much. If your spiritual sense is overused, causing damage to your sea of consciousness, it can be a serious problem for an array master.”

After pausing, Manager Mo coughed and continued, ”Pass this message to your brother as well…”

Mo Hua smiled, bowed to Manager Mo, and then left Destiny’s Shop.

After leaving, Mo Hua first went home to transcribe the stove diagram.

There was a lot of information on the stove diagram, and Mo Hua didn’t remember everything, only the key aspects, but this was enough.

He didn’t need to exactly replicate the Spirit Meal Tower’s stove design, especially since he didn’t have enough spirit stones to craft it anyway.

Mo Hua roughly memorized the diagram and then went out to a nearby artifact crafting shop.

The artifact crafting shop was modest but spacious, with various spiritual devices and household items displayed on the walls and floor, including candlesticks, teapots, pots, hairpins, bracelets, and even swords and armor, albeit somewhat disorganized.

The shop had an old sign hanging outside, ”Chen’s Artifact Crafting Shop,” stained with black ash and worn from many years of use.

This shop was recommended by Big Tiger and others as the oldest and best craftsmanship in the area.

Master Chen, the artisan of Chen’s Artifact Crafting Shop, had no children and spent his life forging and crafting artifacts. Although he never became a first-grade artisan, the spiritual devices he crafted were well-regarded, and many demon hunters sought him out for crafting armor and weapons.

As Mo Hua entered, Master Chen was busy hammering with his apprentices, the sound of ”clang, clang, clang” filling the air.