Chapter 592: Elder Xun

That being said, he was still just an ordinary disciple of Taixu Gate, quietly cultivating diligently.

However, this was for the best.

His master taught him that people fear fame, just as pigs fear getting fat. The nail that sticks out is the first to rot. Quietly making a fortune, cultivating in a low-key manner, and improving oneself was the best choice.

The next day, Mo Hua spent the whole night practicing array formations on Mount Dao Bei. He got up early, full of energy, and went to class. According to the Taixu Gate schedule, his first class was the cultivation class.

The cultivation class was taught by an inner sect elder, who wore a magnificent Dao robe and was highly respected. However, since it was only the first class, he didn't say too much, just briefly explaining the content of the cultivation class.

"Cultivation is the foundation of a cultivator."

"All Dao laws are based on cultivation. Array formations, alchemy, talismans, and artifact refining also rely on cultivation as their fixed grade basis."

"Only when your cultivation breaks through and your realm elevates can you cross the grade categories of cultivating the Dao and advance grade by grade."

"Therefore, cultivation is the ladder to seek immortality and the Dao."

"For children of secular families, Qi Refining is just enlightenment, and Foundation Establishment is just the beginning. Only with a solid Foundation Establishment and abundant spiritual power can one attempt to form a high-grade Golden Core..."

"Having a high-grade Golden Core allows one to ascend to a higher level of the Great Dao..."

"Step by step, the more solid the foundation, the further one can walk in the future..."

"The matter of forming a Core is still early for all of you. Knowing a little is good. You are all currently in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. The urgent matter now is to solidify your foundation and walk the path of Foundation Establishment well..."

"Ten thousand Great Daos, different paths lead to the same destination. Most of you are children of secular families with various origins and different cultivation methods, but some common methods still need to be learned wholeheartedly."

"How to purify spiritual power, how to complete the circulation of the Heavenly Cycle, how to stabilize the Dao foundation..."

"How to avoid mistakes during Foundation Establishment cultivation, how to prevent injuring meridians, how to prevent damaging the Sea of Qi..."

"How to elevate cultivation steadily and quickly..."

"How to abandon some bad cultivation habits, how to guard against pride and impatience, how to calm the Dao heart, and what to do if there are signs of going mad or having a cultivation deviation?"

"These are all incomparably precious insights and experiences accumulated by countless predecessors of our Taixu Gate over thousands of years, researched with great effort and even sacrifice."

"In the subsequent courses, I will teach all of you little by little..."

"Regardless of your previous origins or what kind of inheritance you have, after learning the cultivation courses, your cultivation vision will be broadened, allowing you to have a clearer understanding of the future path of cultivating the Dao..."

"Next, I will briefly explain how Foundation Establishment should be cultivated..."

"For Qi Refining cultivators, spiritual power is in a gaseous state. Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment realm, the quality of spiritual power changes and condenses like mercury..."

"Mercurial spiritual power needs to be further refined, purified, and condensed, finally forming a crystalline shape, and eventually transforming into a life-bound Golden Core..."

"This cannot be achieved in one step. It requires long-term cultivation and persistent effort..."

"Besides, Foundation Establishment spiritual power also needs to cleanse blood and Qi, solidify meridians, and expand the Sea of Qi..."

"In the past, this was called 'washing muscles and cutting marrow', but with the iteration of cultivation methods and step-by-step evolution, this effect is no longer so obvious..."

"Current cultivation methods have been improved generation by generation, placing more emphasis on gentle nurturing and gradual progress, which also reduces the probability of cultivation mistakes and going mad or having a cultivation deviation..."

The inner sect elder was knowledgeable and spoke slowly and calmly. Mo Hua listened attentively and benefited greatly.

Since reaching Foundation Establishment, he had been cultivating by himself according to the Tian Yan Jue. Anyway, as long as he absorbed spirit stones, his spiritual power would grow, which was fine. He hadn't considered that there were so many details to pay attention to in cultivation. To form a Core, and even for higher realms in the future, one needed to have a "high perspective and long-term view," build step by step, and cultivate with a plan...

Although this elder didn't say much, Mo Hua was still very shocked after listening. This was the inheritance of a major sect! This was the crystallization of the experiences of countless generations of senior cultivators of Taixu Gate over thousands of years!

However, Mo Hua also had some difficulties. This elder seemed to be talking about cultivators whose Dao foundation was built on "spiritual power" and "blood and Qi," how to purify blood and Qi, refine spiritual power, perfect the Dao foundation, and the path forward.

And he had attained the Dao through divine consciousness... The elder hadn't mentioned anything about divine consciousness...

And his spiritual power was weak, his blood and Qi were weak, he hadn't gone through the realms of refinement and polishing, nor had he consolidated his foundation. He had just advanced in a muddled way... The way of cultivation described by the elder was very far from his situation.

Mo Hua sighed silently in his heart. It seemed he could only learn first and then carefully research it later. Anyway, he had just entered the sect, and he still had plenty of time.

In the following days, Mo Hua cultivated, drew array formations, and attended classes... But after a few days, Mo Hua suddenly realized a problem: he was still very unfamiliar with Taixu Gate and didn't understand much about it. This wasn't good...

In the next few years, or even decades, he would be staying in Taixu Gate, so he must become familiar with the environment. This was a basic requirement for a monster hunter. Upon arriving at a strange place, one must first become familiar with the environment.

Initially, when he first entered Great Black Mountain, his father, Mo Shan, took him to walk all over the outer and inner mountains, and he became familiar with the terrain, the traces of monster beasts, and the locations of herbs and minerals... That's how he was able to thrive in Great Black Mountain.

Although Taixu Gate was not Great Black Mountain, and the elders taught knowledge, not about monster beasts, the underlying principle was the same. Sharpening the knife does not delay the woodcutting. Mo Hua decided to study and explore, first to understand Taixu Gate clearly. This way, it would be easier to "get along" later...

Since he had just entered the sect, there weren't many classes, and he had plenty of free time. Mo Hua then started carrying his small hand and wandered around Taixu Gate... Then he inquired a bit with Shangguan Xu and some other senior brothers and sisters. Because he looked clever and adorable, and spoke nicely, and the questions he asked were things that newly entered disciples wouldn't know and would indeed be curious about, he could generally get answers to whatever he asked.

After a month, Mo Hua also had a rough understanding of Taixu Gate.

First, the environment. Taixu Gate is located on the ancient and majestic Mount Taixu. In the middle are long, long jade stone steps connecting the inner and outer mountains. In front is the outer mountain, and behind is the inner mountain.

The outer mountain of Taixu Gate is for outer sect disciples, hired teachers, and guest elders to live and cultivate. Besides this, there is a very large Dao field in the middle. On the right side of the Dao field are the disciples' residences. On the left side are the lecture hall for disciples to attend classes, and various buildings used by disciples for cultivating Dao laws and various hundred industries of cultivation, such as the artifact refining pavilion, alchemy pavilion, talisman pavilion, Dao law pavilion, etc.

And the library pavilion, which Mo Hua coveted but was not allowed to enter temporarily, which collected cultivation classics, especially various array formation collections.

Behind the outer mountain is the inner mountain. The inner mountain has the sect master's residence, the elders' residences, the inner sect disciples' residences, and some lecture halls. And behind the inner mountain, there is still the back mountain.

The back mountain is a forbidden area, and it is unknown what is hidden inside. Mo Hua is an outer sect disciple, and cannot even go to the inner mountain, let alone the back mountain. He guessed there weren't old monsters inside, but rather old ancestors, so he didn't inquire too much.

And Taixu Gate also has a famous grand formation, named: "Taixu Hunyuan Mountain Protecting Grand Formation"! This grand formation exceeded Mo Hua's expectations; it was a fifth-grade grand formation! Forming a fifth-grade grand formation in the fifth-grade realm... Mo Hua, who had personally formed grand formations, felt extremely shocked, even somewhat unbelievable. What kind of grand formation master could have such a feat...

He wanted to inquire further, but then he heard that this sect's grand formation hadn't been activated for over ten thousand years, and it was unknown if it could be used, or if it was truly a fifth-grade formation. So, most disciples had almost forgotten about it... Some even said that the fifth-grade grand formation of Taixu Gate was fake, a result of misinformation passed down, and was actually only third or fourth grade...

Mo Hua didn't believe it. He wanted to verify it himself, but he himself was at the edge of the sect digging a wall. Unfortunately, he couldn't dig it, and even with divine consciousness deduction, he couldn't deduce any traces...

This level of grand formation, from the base materials to the array pattern construction, had completely exceeded Mo Hua's cultivation and knowledge of array formations. He couldn't pry it open, nor could he calculate anything.

But Mo Hua wasn't discouraged. "When my cultivation is high later, I will definitely return to the sect to pry the wall and see if there is really a fifth-grade grand formation!" Mo Hua nodded and silently set down a "grand wish" in his heart.

Besides this, there was also the matter of inner and outer sects. Initially, in Tongxian City, Tongxian Gate also had inner and outer sects, but the division there was different from the Taixu Gate, a fifth-grade sect in Qian Xue Province. It was also different from Mo Hua's previous understanding.

He was now an outer sect disciple. And all newly entered disciples in the early stage of Foundation Establishment were considered outer sect disciples. One could graduate after cultivating to the Golden Core realm. After graduating, one could choose to leave the sect and return to their families, or go to other forces to seek a living and a more long-term Dao path. One could also choose to stay in the sect and enter the inner sect through examination.

The outer sect is open to accepting disciples and earning tuition fees. The inner sect is for staying in the sect as appointed teachers, managing the sect, and teaching Dao and skills. Inner sect disciples mostly need to be appointed as "teachers."

The "teacher" of Taixu Gate is a position, referring to the cultivator responsible for teaching and lecturing. This can be a Golden Core stage inner sect disciple, an elder, or even the sect master. And teachers are also divided into two categories.

One category is externally hired, living in the outer sect. These are teachers or guest elders hired from outside who are above the Golden Core stage, or even in the Soul Transformation stage. These people do not belong to the inner sect and are only hired to teach.

The other category is disciples who have joined the inner sect and received inner sect inheritance, and elders who have been promoted from disciples. Inner sect disciples and elders are again divided into ordinary and true lineage.

Inner sect ordinary disciples worship ordinary elders and learn the sect's important inheritance. Inner sect true lineage disciples worship true lineage elders and are only granted permission to learn the truly core, sect-guarding inheritance.

This is also a two-way promotion path. Ordinary disciples, as their cultivation improves, are promoted to ordinary elders. True lineage disciples, when their cultivation breaks through to Soul Transformation, are promoted to true lineage elders. And the core positions of the sect, including the vice sect master and sect master, are all selected only from true lineage elders. Ordinary disciples, ordinary elders; true lineage disciples, true lineage elders, and even vice sect master and sect master. This is a clear and divided promotion path, although it looks similar.

Mo Hua's small head spun for a long time before he could clearly distinguish between inner and outer sects, externally hired teachers and inner sect teachers, guest elders and inner sect elders, inner sect ordinary disciples and true lineage disciples, and inner sect ordinary elders and true lineage elders...

"Even a sect is divided into layers and is complex..." Mo Hua sighed.

After understanding these things, Mo Hua finally understood the identity of the senior cultivators appointed as "teachers" who taught him in class. Some important courses, such as cultivation class, were crucial and important, and were all personally taught by inner sect true lineage elders in the Soul Transformation realm.

The cultivation class teacher for Mo Hua was surnamed Gong Sun, who was a Soul Transformation realm, inner sect true lineage elder of Taixu Gate! Occasionally, a Golden Core teacher would be responsible for substituting a class. This Golden Core stage teacher was a direct disciple of Elder Gong Sun, and also an inner sect true lineage disciple.

But other courses, which focused on cultivation skills, were not so strict. For example, the talisman crafting teacher was an externally hired Golden Core teacher; the alchemy teacher was a Soul Transformation realm guest elder; the artifact refining teacher was an inner sect ordinary elder; there were also teachers of cultivation world miscellaneous knowledge, history books and classics, and even some externally hired teachers who were not highly cultivated but had traveled extensively throughout the years, had seen much and knew much, and although advanced in age, were only in the Golden Core stage.

Without understanding these things, one would not know who was standing in the lecture hall teaching them. Even if they understood, sometimes they wouldn't be able to recognize them clearly.

And what Mo Hua found most difficult to understand was the "old elder" mentioned by Senior Brother Shangguan Xu. "The array formation teacher is very, very old, has a strange temper, is extremely strict, doesn't tolerate even a bit of sand in his eyes, and certainly doesn't tolerate disciples being a little careless..."

This old elder was respectfully called "Old Mister Xun" by the disciples. Old Mister Xun wore a Taixu Gate Dao robe that was extremely simple, without engraved sword patterns, and the style was also very old, unknown how many years ago or how many generations of Dao robes it was. He was old and his blood was declining, his breath was weak, and he didn't seem highly cultivated. The only impression was truly "old." His face was full of wrinkles, slightly hunched back, hair and beard were all white, only his gaze was sharp, revealing stubbornness and strictness. He was even stricter than strict teachers.

Old Mister Xun taught Mo Hua array formations. Mo Hua attended Old Mister Xun's class, initially extremely serious, sitting upright. But after a few times, he became a bit slack. Because he discovered that the introductory array formation class for the early stage of Foundation Establishment at Taixu Gate only taught first-grade array formations... It was considered standard for the early stage of Foundation Establishment to learn first-grade array formations. Moreover, some disciples were not good at array formations, and teaching them first-grade array formations was even considered a bit "beyond the syllabus." They also found it very difficult to learn.

But Mo Hua found it very boring to learn... He was already thoroughly familiar with these things.

Old Mister Xun's voice was hoarse and serious, emphasizing the foundation of array formations: "Array formations emphasize the foundation. If the foundation is not solid, rashly learning more difficult array formations is like a rootless vine climbing, without one's own foundation." "Every basic array style needs to be firmly remembered, drawn hundreds or thousands of times, tempered through thousands of hammers and hundreds of refinements to improve array formation attainments..."

Mo Hua felt that this was very correct, but he had already practiced these things... At first, Old Mister Xun's class still had some new things. His understanding of first-grade array formations was also extremely profound, and Mo Hua could still listen. But it was only first-grade after all, and the examples used were also common five-element array formations. Mo Hua listened one or two times and then understood eighty-ninety percent. After that, it was just pure boring repetition.

Mo Hua became a bit slack. He had no choice; there was nothing else to do. During class time, he could only learn his own things. On the surface, he was listening to the class, but in reality, he was deducing in his heart, and copying and drawing second-grade array formations, occasionally previewing more difficult array formation courses to see if there was any array formation knowledge he hadn't learned.

But deduction consumes a lot of divine consciousness. On this day, when Mo Hua was attending class, he deduced and deduced, and without paying attention, he consumed eighty-ninety percent of his divine consciousness. Because he was in class, he couldn't sit in meditation to recover his divine consciousness, so he felt his divine consciousness was a bit tired, and his eyelids couldn't stop fighting. Mo Hua could only endure forcefully.

But at this time, Old Mister Xun's boring and rigid voice echoed in his ears again, like hypnosis. "Array formations emphasize the foundation, if the foundation is not solid..." Mo Hua unknowingly, quietly lowered his head and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, he found the room was very quiet. It was even a little terrifyingly quiet. Mo Hua raised his head and found that indeed, Old Mister Xun was standing in front of him with a face as dark as water, obviously suppressing his anger. Mo Hua felt a bit guilty.

Old Mister Xun didn't blame him first. He only said according to his habit: "Come up and draw the array formation I just mentioned." This was considered giving him a chance. If he could draw it, it would be good. If he couldn't, he would be out of luck... Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. Drawing array formations was easy...

In front of the array formation room, there was a large array plate. Old Mister Xun would draw array formations on the array plate while explaining the principles. Mo Hua respectfully walked to the front of the array plate, picked up a brush, raised his head and was suddenly stunned. He was a bit nervous just now and forgot to look. At this time, when he raised his head, he found that there were four array formations on the array plate.

"Draw the array formation I just mentioned..." Which array formation did Old Mister Xun just mention? Mo Hua had been asleep, so how could he know... Mo Hua held the brush, a little hesitant and undecided, just standing there awkwardly. The disciples below also worried for him and whispered: "It's over..." "He dared to fall asleep in Old Mister Xun's class..." "He can't draw it, can he? This is bad..." "I can't bear it. I'm all nervous..." "Oh no, I was also distracted just now. Will Old Mister Xun notice? Will he call on me next? Protect me, Ancestor Cheng, don't call me up, I can't do it either..."

Mo Hua was still hesitant. Then, at this time, he suddenly felt a chill on his back. This was... Old Mister Xun's divine sense? Mo Hua was stunned, his heart pounding. It was over, Old Mister Xun was really angry...

"Forget it, let's guess one..." Mo Hua closed his eyes, picked the most difficult one, and with a movement of his small hand, the brush moved like a dragon and snake. In a few strokes, he finished drawing... After drawing, the lecture hall instantly became quiet... The chill on Mo Hua's back also faded a bit. "I guessed correctly..." Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, low whispers rose again. The disciples whispered again: "Just now..." "His small hand moved so fast, I couldn't even see clearly..." "He drew it so fast!" "How is he so skilled..." "...But, he drew the wrong one, didn't he? It's not that one..."

Mo Hua's divine consciousness was sensitive, and he heard clearly. He complained in his heart: "If it's not this one, then tell me which one it is!" Mo Hua was helpless. He looked at the other three array formations again, felt the chill on his back grow heavier, and knew that Old Mister Xun was angry again. If one doesn't work, then do two!

Mo Hua casually guessed another one, and in a few strokes, finished drawing it again. The lecture hall was even quieter. You could hear a pin drop. Before Mo Hua could breathe a sigh of relief, disciples whispered: "Even faster..." "Is this the hand speed a Foundation Establishment cultivator can have?" "Did he grow up eating array diagrams?" "Which family cultivator is he? He draws array formations so fast and well, the Ming family? Or the Zheng family?..." "Envious, if I could borrow this pair of hands to draw array formations, that would be great..." "But, Old Mister Xun said, it's not this one either..."

Mo Hua silently took a breath. Still not?! He was helpless in his heart and started to get a little angry. Still not!! Then I won't guess, I'll draw them all! If I draw all four, it shouldn't be wrong, right!

Mo Hua waved his small hand, his wrist creating shadows, his brushwork outlining like the wind, moving like clouds, flowing like water. In an instant, the other two array formations were also drawn by him...

This time, the lecture hall was even quieter, like a tomb. The disciples below opened their mouths wide, unable to speak, looking at Mo Hua as if they were looking at an "array formation little monster" in human skin...

After drawing the four array formations, Mo Hua put the brush aside, lowered his head, and stood obediently by the side. Old Mister Xun's eyes were cloudy, he looked at Mo Hua, silent for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking, finally his voice was strict, but with a hint of trembling: "Even if you have some talent, you cannot be proud and complacent, let alone complacent and slack..." "Next time, do not set such an example!"

Although the tone was strict, he said "next time, do not set such an example." Mo Hua knew he had escaped a disaster, breathed a long sigh of relief, and respectfully said: "Old Mister's teaching, this disciple will bear in mind!"

Old Mister Xun nodded slightly, "Today's class ends here, you all may leave." The other disciples also felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty, stood up one after another, bowed respectfully and said: "This disciple takes leave!" Then they left the lecture hall lightly and quietly. Mo Hua also mixed in with the crowd and secretly slipped away.

Old Mister Xun didn't say anything. Not until all the disciples had left did he look at the four array formations that Mo Hua had drawn quickly on the array plate, with brushstrokes like a dragon and snake, with strict rules and not a single hair's difference, these first-grade array formations. Old Mister Xun's cloudy pupils slightly widened, and a ray of light bloomed.

(This chapter is complete)