Chapter 67: Collected Works

Ever since obtaining the *Qian Zhen Ji*, Mo Hua held the volume, flipping through it tirelessly. When he encountered array methods that piqued his interest, he would refer to Mr. Zhuang's book collection and meticulously record his points of doubt.

Every morning and evening, he would go to ask Mr. Zhuang for guidance.

For loose cultivators, acquiring a complete set of array diagrams is quite difficult. When Mo Hua copied array methods from Manager Mo, except for basic ones like the Bright Fire Array diagrams, other slightly more complex array diagrams required extra spirit stones. However, Mo Hua now had nearly a thousand sets of array diagrams. If he were to learn all thousand array methods, becoming a first-grade array master would be a certainty. Just thinking about it, Mo Hua was endlessly excited.

Mo Hua studied array methods day and night, like a little mouse that had fallen into a rice storehouse, wishing he could stuff all the rice in the storehouse into his belly. During the day, he would look at array books, draw array methods, ask Mr. Zhuang questions, and in the evening, he would practice repeatedly on the remnant stele in his sea of consciousness.

Mo Hua practiced the *Tian Yan Jue*. According to Mr. Zhuang, when learning array methods, it is important to be broad and not necessarily specialized and refined. Therefore, he did not pursue deep understanding. As long as he could draw the array methods, it was sufficient. Some array methods, once he had finished drawing them, he would even forget their names.

Over the past few months, Mo Hua's divine sense was constantly in a state of being full, depleted, and then continuing to restore to full and be used to depletion. Mo Hua's cultivation had not advanced, but his divine sense had become more profound. His theoretical understanding of array methods had not increased, but when learning and engraving array methods, he was more composed. Array patterns that previously felt obscure and complex now felt natural and intimate.

"What are you looking at?"

One day, as Mo Hua was reading, Bai Zi Sheng poked his head over and asked again.

These past few days, Mo Hua had been immersed in studying array methods and hadn't paid much attention to Bai Zi Sheng. Aunt Xue seemed to feel that Bai Zi Sheng was somewhat unfocused, so she became stricter with him. Besides cultivation, various lessons like array methods, pill refining, and tool refining were fully scheduled.

Although Mr. Zhuang was said to be the teacher of the Bai family siblings, he always allowed them to be independent. The Bai family siblings' goal didn't seem to be to have Mr. Zhuang guide their cultivation. Also, to avoid displeasing Mr. Zhuang, except for timely visits for greetings and guidance, they usually didn't often disturb him. Therefore, the Bai family siblings' cultivation was still arranged by Aunt Xue, upholding the cultivation path inherited by the direct descendants of the Bai family.

It was fine within the family; Bai Zi Sheng didn't want to deal with clan members, so when he cultivated behind closed doors, he could still calm his heart. However, now that he was outside, seeing new and interesting things, and having Mo Hua to talk to, he felt this kind of cultivation was a bit boring.

Mo Hua's eyes were focused on the book. He simply lifted the cover so that Bai Zi Sheng could see.

Bai Zi Sheng tilted his head and read word by word, "*Qian Zhen... Ji... Lu...*"

"What's so good about this?"

Mo Hua asked, "Do you have it too?"

Bai Zi Sheng shook his head, "It's in the Bai family's book collection. It's just a compilation of some array methods collected within the clan for the disciples to learn and refer to. It broadens their understanding of array methods and is convenient for searching when they need to learn a specific type of array method. Disciples who learn array methods all have a copy of this kind of collection; it's not considered a very rare item."

Disciples of prominent families each having a copy, not considered rare...

Mo Hua, who came from a background of loose cultivators, didn't plan to argue with someone who spoke without understanding the difficulties. He only gave a perfunctory "oh."

Seeing that Mo Hua didn't respond, Bai Zi Sheng scratched his head and said again, "Or, can you lend it to me to look at?"

"Didn't you say your family has it? Why are you still looking?"

"The inheritances of different families and sects are not the same, and the array methods recorded in the collections also differ. I want to see what kind of array methods Mr. Zhuang has collected here."

Mo Hua hesitated slightly.

"Just one glance!" Bai Zi Sheng said nicely.

"Alright then."

Mo Hua closed the thick *Qian Zhen Ji* and handed it to Bai Zi Sheng.

Bai Zi Sheng took it, flipped through it roughly, and then his mouth dropped open:

"There are actually over a thousand array methods!"

Mo Hua rolled his eyes, "Doesn't it say *Qian Zhen Ji* on the cover?"

"You don't understand. The people who compile these collections often like to save face and embellish. If they collect ten array methods, they'll call it the Hundred Arrays Diagram. If they collect a thousand array methods, they'll call it the Ten Thousand Arrays Diagram. Some people also often use words like 'Open Heaven,' 'Split Earth,' 'Create Fortune,' 'Divine Merit,' and so on for their cultivation methods. They sound impressive, but in reality, they are just low-grade cultivation methods..."

"Cultivators in the cultivation world also like to do this kind of thing?"

"If you haven't cultivated into an immortal, you're still a person. And if you're a person, you like to brag."

"Oh."

Mo Hua thought to himself about the cultivation method he was practicing, the *Tian Yan Jue*. It also had the word "Heaven" in it, and its grade wasn't very high. Was it also used to bluff people? But this was an ancient cultivation method, presumably created by ancient cultivators. Ancient people should be more honest, right?

Mo Hua sincerely hoped so.

Bai Zi Sheng continued to flip through the collection. The more he looked, the more surprised he became. He quickly waved to Bai Zi Xi, "Zi Xi, Zi Xi, come quickly and look. There are so many array methods I've never seen!"

Bai Zi Xi, who was cultivating quietly at the side, heard his words and also poked her little head over.

Mo Hua asked doubtfully, "The Bai family should be a large family, right? Does Mr. Zhuang's collection of array methods surpass your family's?"

Bai Zi Sheng was unconvinced and corrected, "Only for array methods below the first grade. It's hard to say for high-grade array methods."

"Although the Bai family has array method inheritance, it's not actually known for array methods. It's quite normal for the collected array methods not to be as numerous as Mr. Zhuang's," Bai Zi Xi said calmly.

"Hmph!" Bai Zi Sheng huffed but didn't dare to lose his temper at Bai Zi Xi. Since he couldn't retort, he could only stew in his frustration.

Bai Zi Xi continued to flip through the collection. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became, looking like she loved it and couldn't put it down. After a moment, she looked up, her bright eyes, like a pool of autumn water, looking at Mo Hua.

Although she said nothing, Mo Hua understood the meaning in her eyes at a glance.

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "You can only look at it for one afternoon, okay?"

They were all fellow disciples. Mr. Zhuang knew, so he shouldn't blame him, right?

A trace of a shallow smile floated across Bai Zi Xi's flawless face, like a lotus flower that had just emerged from the water, dyed with the morning glow, clear and bright.

Bai Zi Xi took out an unbound book from her storage bag and handed it to Mo Hua, "This is the Bai family's collection of array methods below the first grade. Take it and look. If there's anything you want to learn, I can teach you."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. He happily took the book and flipped through it.

Although the array methods recorded in the book were not as numerous as those Mr. Zhuang had given him, some of the more basic array methods were recorded in much greater detail and were easier to understand. They were likely specifically for入门 (rùmén, entry-level) disciples. And in many places, there were handwritten notes, the handwriting elegant and beautiful, looking like Bai Zi Xi had written them.

"Won't this violate the clan rules?"

Mo Hua was a bit worried. He knew that some families were very strict about the inheritance of array methods.

"Probably..." Bai Zi Sheng nodded.

"It won't!" Bai Zi Xi denied.

"Why?"

"Because I gave it to you!" Bai Zi Xi said lightly and decisively.

Although he didn't know why, Mo Hua felt that Bai Zi Xi was inexplicably cool when she said those words.

From then on, besides studying array methods himself, Mo Hua would occasionally learn from Bai Zi Xi. Only then did he discover that Bai Zi Xi's foundation in array methods was immeasurably deeper than his own. Therefore, he also warned himself even more that the path of arrays is without bounds and he should not be complacent.

When learning array methods, Bai Zi Xi occasionally had some doubts. Mo Hua would record them together and then go to Mr. Zhuang to ask for clarification. After getting clear answers, he would go and tell Bai Zi Xi. This also led to Mo Hua asking Mr. Zhuang for guidance more and more often.

One day, after Mo Hua finished asking Mr. Zhuang questions and left, Mr. Zhuang frowned and said, "This is not good."

"What's not good?" Puppet Lao casually responded at the side.

"This child, Mo Hua, comes to ask me things every day. I have no leisure to close my eyes and comprehend the Dao!"

"You mean sleep, right?" Puppet Lao ruthlessly exposed him.

Mr. Zhuang pretended not to hear and pondered, "How should I handle this..."

"Just don't answer?"

Mr. Zhuang thought of Mo Hua's clear eyes, full of desire for knowledge, and sometimes full of admiration, and shook his head: "How can I do that? When a disciple has questions, knowing the answer but not teaching is not the sign of a good teacher."

"Since when did you start caring about this kind of thing?"

"Starting from just now."

Puppet Lao was too lazy to argue with him. He held a piece of wood in his hand, not knowing what he was carving. The carving knife moved over the wood, and wood shavings fell one after another without making a sound.

Mr. Zhuang lay leisurely on his chair, his eyes looking at the sky. He stared at the wooden beam above the pavilion for half a day, his mind wandering, before finally coming back to himself.

"I need to find an excuse to be lazy and sleep," Mr. Zhuang thought to himself.