Chapter 402: Absolute Array

Mo Shi was already fourteen years old.

Cultivators have long lifespans; even ordinary Qi Refining cultivators live for about one or two hundred years.

A cultivator in their teens isn't very old.

Bai Zisheng told Mo Shi that in some large families, cultivators under eighteen are all considered children.

Because family cultivators generally have high cultivation and long lifespans, a decade or so is essentially nothing.

But in Tongxian City, or other lower-level immortal cities, most are rogue cultivators, and it's very possible their entire lives will stop at the Qi Refining realm.

So, being over fifteen is considered a young person.

If cultivation doesn't work out, and cultivation cannot advance, then they have to find a way to learn a craft to support themselves in the future.

Da Hu and Da Zhu are like that.

Da Hu and the other two learned to hunt demons, and Da Zhu learned to refine tools.

This is so they can eat their fill.

Mo Shi is already a first-grade array master and can support himself, but he still looks young.

One reason is that he is naturally weak and his growth is slow, so he is shorter than people his age.

The second reason is that he has never refined his body and looks thinner.

Like Da Hu and Da Zhu, they are naturally large and tall, and both have refined their bodies, so although they are only three or four years older than Mo Shi, they are quite a bit taller than him.

Mo Shi couldn't help but sigh.

He also wants to grow tall and strong.

It's a pity, he draws arrays every day, wasting spirit and effort, and eats quite a bit, but he just doesn't grow much taller...

He is now fourteen, only a little taller than when he was thirteen.

Little senior brother Bai Zisheng is a head taller than him, and little senior sister Bai Zixi has a tall and slender figure, also half a head taller than him.

Furthermore, Mo Shi has delicate features, clear eyes, and a fair, porcelain doll-like face, making him look even smaller.

"When can I grow a bit taller?"

Mo Shi thought gloomily.

He glanced at Bai Zisheng sitting on his left, then at Bai Zixi sitting on his right, and silently said in his heart:

"At least I must be a bit taller than little senior sister..."

Bai Zixi looked at him suspiciously, "What are you thinking?"

Mo Shi shook his head, "Nothing!"

Besides that, Mo Shi's realm has also reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

He is one step closer to Foundation Establishment.

The realm upgrade made Mo Shi's physical body a bit stronger.

But he is not a body cultivator, so this small upgrade is just a mosquito leg, not very significant.

Spiritual power also increased.

But his spiritual root is not good, and although his cultivation technique is strange, the strange part is in the divine sense, not in the spiritual power.

So the spiritual power cultivated is not much, it can only be said to be average.

Compared to ordinary cultivators, there isn't much difference.

But compared to his little senior brother and little senior sister, or other family and sect disciples, the difference is probably huge.

He remembers Mr. Zhuang saying that large families and sects inherit and learn according to spiritual roots, and marry for generations, thereby giving birth to descendants with excellent spiritual roots.

Among the disciples of some large clans and sects, high-grade spiritual roots are everywhere.

Mo Shi's medium-grade spiritual root, and even leaning towards low, is truly unpresentable.

But if it's unpresentable, then so be it.

Anyway, he doesn't rely on this for a living.

Mo Shi is an array master, and his foundation is in arrays.

Mr. Zhuang also pointed out a path for him, letting him "prove the Dao with divine sense."

Moreover, a cultivator's spiritual root is innate and cannot be changed, so dwelling on this is pointless.

After reaching the eighth layer of Qi Refining, Mo Shi's spells were all stronger.

First is the Concealment Technique.

Now, Foundation Establishment early stage cultivators are basically unable to see through Mo Shi's Concealment Technique.

The effect of the Water Prison Technique also increased.

It's faster to cast, more accurate in trapping people, and the binding time also increased by one breath.

Although it's only one breath, in a life-and-death battle, at a critical moment, it's enough to decide life and death.

The power of the Fireball Technique is also stronger.

Mo Shi specifically tried it several times.

The color of the fireball is deeper, a deep red with a hint of gorgeousness, and scorching spiritual power is compressed and surging within.

There is a hint of gorgeousness in the low-key, and a hint of danger in the gorgeousness.

Mo Shi couldn't help but wonder.

If he keeps cultivating the Fireball Technique like this, and cultivates the Fireball Technique to the extreme, what will the effect be? How strong can the power be?

Mo Shi tried to think about it, but he couldn't.

What the effect of spells after the Foundation Establishment realm would be, he had no clue.

He'll ask Puppet Old when he has time.

Puppet Old should know.

After all, his Fireball Technique was taught by Puppet Old, and the casting technique was also told to him by Puppet Old.

Then there's divine sense.

The Foundation Establishment twelve-pattern divine sense is indeed quite a bit stronger than before.

The divine sense is sharper, derivations are faster, and the perception of surrounding spiritual power and aura is also clearer.

Before, the eleven-pattern Thick Earth Array, although skillfully drawn, still felt a little strenuous.

Now drawing the Thick Earth Array is effortless.

Already at the Foundation Establishment twelve-pattern divine sense...

Mo Shi thought for a bit, then went to find Mr. Zhuang:

"Master, can you teach me the method of exterminating divine thoughts?"

He still remembers Mr. Zhuang saying before that he would teach him how to deal with divine sense parasitism when his divine sense was stronger.

When certain people's, or non-human's, divine sense, divine thoughts, or evil thoughts invade the sea of consciousness, how to contend with them and even exterminate them.

Now his divine sense is twelve patterns, which should be considered strong.

Mr. Zhuang pinched his fingers and calculated, saying:

"It's still early, no rush, wait until your divine sense is stronger."

"Still needs to be stronger..." Mo Shi muttered in a low voice.

"Haste makes waste," Mr. Zhuang said gently.

"Okay." Mo Shi nodded.

Then he asked again:

"Master, I'm already at twelve patterns, and I'm tired of drawing the eleven-pattern Thick Earth Array. Should I look for a twelve-pattern absolute array next?"

"Yes," Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, "Your current divine sense can't temper your divine sense at all by drawing ordinary arrays..."

The eighth layer of Qi Refining, and Foundation Establishment twelve-pattern divine sense.

Both this divine sense and the absolute array are already seriously "beyond the norm"...

They cannot be upgraded by ordinary methods.

Moreover, there are originally no techniques for cultivating divine sense in the cultivation world.

Divine sense is illusory and strange, ethereal and formless, and varies greatly from person to person.

It is originally extremely difficult to enhance divine sense.

Visualization diagrams are a shortcut, equivalent to borrowing other people's divine sense, and are also somewhat dangerous, so it's best not to use them.

Mo Shi nodded, then thought of another question:

"Master, for a high-grade array master, wouldn't learning these low-grade absolute arrays be simpler?"

He had always been curious about this.

Absolute arrays have a high threshold for divine sense.

But this threshold is for cultivators of the same grade and realm.

If it is a high-grade array master with strong enough divine sense, then learning some low-grade absolute arrays should be much simpler.

But why does it sound like Mr. Zhuang means that even first-grade absolute arrays are very rare among array masters?

Mr. Zhuang said: "It will be a little simpler, but not much simpler."

Mo Shi asked doubtfully: "Why?"

High-grade array masters should have very strong divine sense...

"Divine sense is the foundation of an array master, it is the fundamental of an array master," Mr. Zhuang said slowly, "But that doesn't mean that having divine sense means you can become an array master, or that you can definitely learn arrays."

"Having divine sense only gives you the qualification to learn arrays. To master arrays, you still need to learn, to think, to practice, to comprehend."

"This requires constant persistence, spending a large amount of time, energy, and effort."

"Not all cultivators are willing to do this and can do it."

"Even if it's just a small matter, being able to persist is very difficult."

"Not to mention the profound and obscure matter of arrays, even many high-grade array masters find it difficult to persist."

"Absolute arrays are even more so, with special brushwork, difficult to learn and difficult to draw."

"Many array masters have enough divine sense, but are not necessarily willing to practice, so naturally they cannot learn."

Mr. Zhuang sighed slightly.

"This is the first point, even if you have divine sense, if you don't practice, you naturally won't learn."

"Just like some people, even if they have talent, if they are not willing to put in effort, they will naturally achieve nothing in the end, and their talent will be wasted."

Mr. Zhuang paused for a moment, then continued:

"The second point is, even if you practice, you may not be able to learn."

"The way of arrays is based on divine sense. With divine sense, you can practice. If you are skilled enough, you can comprehend."

"For common arrays, diligent practice and learning the array patterns is enough, not much comprehension is needed."

"But absolute arrays are different. As long as it is an absolute array, it surpasses the array grade, and must have special characteristics, and must contain special array principles..."

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Shi and said gently:

"You should have some experience with this."

Mo Shi nodded.

He had learned two types of absolute arrays, one was the Reverse Spirit Array.

First-grade ten-pattern, containing the power of spiritual power reversal and resolution, requiring divine sense derivation to be effective.

The other was the Thick Earth Array.

First-grade eleven-pattern, containing the power of spiritual power derivation, requiring comprehension of the essence of the Earth Dao to truly master.

These two absolute arrays are not just about learning the array patterns.

They also require a more profound understanding of spiritual power, a more profound use of divine sense, as well as a clearer comprehension of the essence of the Dao.

Without Mr. Zhuang's guidance, or without the Dao Stele.

He might not have been able to learn and truly use them.

Mr. Zhuang continued: "So many high-grade array masters, although their divine sense is sufficient and they practice enough, because they lack this thread of comprehension, they often can't find the way, cannot break through, and ultimately still cannot learn absolute arrays."

"This thread of comprehension is the finishing touch."

"Without this thread of enlightenment, the entire array will be without spirit."

Mo Shi suddenly realized, "Just like when I draw the Thick Earth Array, if I don't comprehend the essence of the Dao and just draw blindly, it's useless no matter how many times I draw it."

Mr. Zhuang nodded and said: "Not bad."

Mo Shi was again a little doubtful, "But they're all at the high-grade realm, and they're high-grade array masters, so shouldn't they be able to comprehend?"

"These two are related, but they are actually two different things."

Mr. Zhuang explained: "Some cultivators have deep cultivation, but they only master powerful spiritual power, and their understanding of spiritual power and the great Dao is actually very shallow."

"He can condense world-destroying spells with spiritual power and kill at will, but if you let him experience the subtle changes of spiritual power and draw a first-grade absolute array, that would be forcing him."

"Cultivators cultivate, absorb spiritual qi, accumulate spiritual power, and display Dao laws, thereby manifesting external power."

"For ordinary cultivators, this is enough."

"But for array masters, not only do they need to control external power, they also need to understand the internal principles. Simply knowing how to drive spiritual power for killing is far from enough."

Control its power, understand its principles...

Mo Shi seemed to have some enlightenment and nodded seriously.

Mr. Zhuang saw that Mo Shi understood, felt slightly gratified, and continued:

"These count as issues at the level of array sense. Absolute arrays contain special array principles, so even high-grade array masters may not necessarily be able to learn low-grade absolute arrays."

"Are there other reasons?" Mo Shi couldn't help but ask.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Other reasons are more complex..."

Mr. Zhuang sighed slightly:

"First is the problem of time."

"Absolute arrays require time to comprehend, and an array master's time is very precious."

"If all your time is spent comprehending low-grade absolute arrays, how will you learn high-grade arrays?"

"Arrays are broad and profound, and no array master can take it easy and integrate the current grade arrays before learning other things."

"If there is one, that array master is certainly incompetent."

"Because the more ignorant you are, the more you feel you are omniscient. The more you know, the more you know you actually know very little."

"Arrays are the same."

"The deeper the attainment of an array master, the more they know the profundity of arrays and the infinitude of the great Dao."

"High-grade arrays are difficult, high-grade absolute arrays are naturally more difficult, and low-grade absolute arrays are not simple either..."

"They have no time to spare."

Mo Shi couldn't help but nod.

Immediately he suddenly thought, he has a lot of time.

Because he practices arrays in the Dao Stele at night, which is equivalent to not needing sleep.

Compared to other array masters, he has twice as much time.

Moreover, the divine sense in the Dao Stele can be restored, so the divine sense is always full.

So, calculating it, he actually has several times more time than other array masters to learn arrays.

Other array masters have limited time and cannot take everything into account.

But he is not like that, he doesn't need to choose, can he have everything he wants?

Mo Shi blinked his eyes, feeling a little smug, and a little embarrassed.

As if he was cheating.

Mr. Zhuang saw Mo Shi blinking his eyes and knew he was having small thoughts, and couldn't help but smile, but he didn't ask further and continued:

"Besides that, low-grade absolute arrays are relatively useless to high-grade array masters."

"Because the grade is low, the array effect will be greatly discounted."

"Spending time and effort to learn, the use is not significant."

"And the most troublesome part is that some absolute arrays are inherited according to grade, in a single lineage."

Mr. Zhuang said in a deep voice.

"Inherited in a single lineage?"

Mo Shi frowned, "If the grade is broken, you can't learn it?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded and slowly explained:

"Common arrays don't pay attention to this."

"For example, a first-grade Melting Fire Array, it doesn't matter if you can't do it, you can start learning from the second grade directly."

"These types of arrays are related to each other, but they are all relatively independent arrays, and you don't have to follow an order."

"While absolute arrays are different."

"Many absolute arrays are connected grade by grade, ring by ring."

"You must start learning from the first grade, learn the first grade, then learn the second grade, then learn the third grade, and so on, learning from shallow to deep."

"And absolute arrays themselves are very rare and hard to have complete inheritance."

"It's very possible that a whole set of absolute array inheritance is scattered in various states of the Nine Provinces, in different places and forces."

"The first grade is in Li State, the second grade is in Kun State, the third grade cannot be found, the fourth grade is in Qian State, and above the fifth grade, it's even rumored to not exist..."

"If you don't have the first grade, you can't learn the second grade. The same goes for the third and fourth grade absolute arrays later. Even if you have the array diagram, if the grade is broken, you fundamentally cannot learn them..."

Mo Shi's mouth was wide open.

No wonder they are called "absolute" arrays...

They are already hard to learn, and you also have to go step by step according to the grade, ring by ring. Once something goes wrong, the inheritance becomes "absolute"...

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Shi again and sighed:

"So you should learn more absolute arrays during the Qi Refining period, as many as you can, because most absolute arrays are based on the first-grade absolute array."

"Okay, Master!"

Mo Shi agreed, then a little worried, "What about after?"

Mr. Zhuang touched his head and said gently:

"After, you just need to find them yourself."

Mo Shi was startled, then somewhat understood.

Why Mr. Zhuang brought him out and let him find arrays himself.

It was to guide him, to let him become proficient in divine sense derivation.

So that in the future, relying on his own ability, he can also find absolute arrays sealed in various places in the Nine Provinces.

Mr. Zhuang sighed slightly, "Because of the various reasons above, there are truly very few array masters in this world who can be proficient in absolute arrays."

"But you are different, your technique is special, you must be proficient in absolute arrays, and you cannot not be proficient."

"The more absolute arrays you learn, the better, the harder, the better."

"Learn more, the deeper your understanding of arrays, the stronger your divine sense, and the further you can go on your future path..."

Mr. Zhuang said to Mo Shi, his tone solemn and his gaze full of expectation.

Mo Shi also nodded solemnly, firmly remembering what his master said.

Thank you to book friend Reading Newspaper 007 for the reward.

Only one update today, over 4,000 words.

Take a short break, organize the detailed outline a bit, and tomorrow resume two updates.