Chapter 264: Chapter 263 Concealment Formation_1 Mo Hua thought about it, feeling that multiple identities could be beneficial. In the vast expanses of the Nine State in the Cultivation World, boundless and unending, if he ever ventured out and encountered difficulties, having more identities could open up additional paths. “Thank you, Uncle Zhang!” Mo Hua sincerely said. “You should also thank the Court Leader. If he hadn’t given his approval, you wouldn’t have this token,” said Zhang Lan. “Then please thank the Court Leader on my behalf, and if there’s anything I can help with in the future, just let me know.” With the prospect of benefiting from others’ generosity, Mo Hua’s enthusiasm greatly increased. Zhang Lan laughed and said, “Alright, I’ll tell the Court Leader when I return.” Soon, Jiang Yun brought up their dishes, five or six plates in total, a mix of meat and vegetables, accompanied by fine wine. Zhang Lan raised an eyebrow, “Not bad, quite generous now.” Mo Hua hehe-ed and said, “Just eat up, it’s all on me.” Over a thousand Spirit Stones, Mo Hua could treat Zhang Lan for a month without any issue. “Alright then, I won’t stand on ceremony.” Having been busily dealing with the issues concerning Bald Tuo and Kong Sheng for some time, eating and sleeping outdoors, and dealing with the blandness in his mouth, Zhang Lan truly wanted to treat himself. As Zhang Lan ate, Mo Hua also picked up a small bowl, choosing his favorites to enjoy. The two chatted as they ate, and once they were full and had their fill of wine, Zhang Lan left. Mo Hua pondered the matter of the Map for a while but still had no clues, so he set it aside for the time being. He would wait to see if Zhang Lan could glean anything from Cyclops. For the time being, Mo Hua decided to focus on the Concealment Technique. He was very eager to learn the Concealment Technique. The Concealment Technique could hide, scout, protect, and sneak up on people. At face value, concealment might not seem useful, but when applied skillfully, it’s a spell incorporating both offense and defense. One could advance to attack or retreat to defend. Advance to catch the enemy off guard, retreat to escape a thousand miles. Even if the Concealment Technique was seen through, he still had the Water Passing Step as a backup, keeping him from falling into a desperate situation like Diao Laosi, caught between a rock and a hard place. Even if he encountered a melee among cultivators, he would be able to handle it with ease. Mo Hua still remembered Old Kui’s teaching, “There are myriad spells, each with its own strengths, the wonder of their use lies within the heart.” The Concealment Technique certainly fitted the description given by Old Kui. However, Mo Hua’s Spiritual Root was not quite suitable, which is why the Concealment Technique he cultivated was deficient. Mo Hua frowned in thought. The Spiritual Roots of cultivators differ, granting varied abilities; where there are strengths, there are also weaknesses. Given that there were flaws with the Concealment Technique, was there some other way to compensate? After much thought, the only solution Mo Hua could come up with was Formation. And that was his area of expertise. He took the Thousand Formation Catalog, given to him by Mr. Zhuang, out of his Storage Bag, flipped through it for a while until his eyes blurred, but he found no Formation related to concealment. Scratching his head, Mo Hua went to ask Bai Zisheng. “Concealment Formation?” Bai Zisheng was somewhat surprised, looked around, and spoke in a lowered voice, “Are you planning to become a thief?” Mo Hua gave him a look, emphasizing, “I am a Serious Cultivator!” “Then what do you want this Formation for?” “Of course, for self-protection,” said Mo Hua. And for deceiving others… Naturally, Mo didn’t voice this reason, as it didn’t sound very upstanding. Bai Zisheng was somewhat straightforward and took him at his word, nodding, “Indeed, the Concealment Technique is well suited for self-protection.” “Do you know the Formation Diagram for the Concealment Formation?” Bai Zisheng shook his head, then turned to ask Bai Zixi, “Zixi, do you know?” Bai Zixi also shook her head, “It’s a rare Formation. The Bai Family’s Scripture Pavilion should have it, but I didn’t bring it with me.” Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed and realized he had to bother Mr. Zhuang again. He then grew curious, “Why is the Concealment Formation considered rare? Is it because the Concealment Technique is rare?” “Right,” Bai Zixi’s voice was clear as she nodded her head. Seeing that Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled, Bai Zixi patiently explained to him: “With unique Spiritual Roots and scarce inheritance, such spells are hard to learn, and as such, any Formation capable of achieving the same effect is even rarer.” Mo Hua understood. The inheritance of the Concealment Technique is rare, and the requirements for the Spiritual Root are stringent; only a pure Water Spirit Root is suitable for learning it. If other elemental Spiritual Roots were mixed in, it would turn out like Mo Hua—achieving only a bastardized version of concealment, able to take on a watery form but not be fully invisible. Therefore, cultivators who knew the Concealment Technique were scarce, and thus the Concealment Formations that could be concealed were likewise quite precious. Mo Hua nodded and, feeling grateful, asked Bai Zixi, “Is there anything in particular you want to eat?” Bai Zixi hesitated, then took out a recipe book from his storage bag, flipped to a dog-eared page, and pointed to a confection named “Perfect Blossom Full Moon” saying: “This.” Mo Hua glanced at it, noting that the “Perfect Blossom Full Moon” looked a bit like a mooncake filled with flowers. Sweet osmanthus, peach blossoms, locust flowers, crabapple flowers, and more were all included. They were full of floral fragrance, although it was uncertain whether mixing so many flowers together would result in a strange taste. Mo Hua took the recipe book and put it into his storage bag, “Alright, I will have my mother give it a try.” “Mhm.” Bai Zixi’s gaze was clear and shone brightly. Mo Hua prepared to find Mr. Zhuang but upon turning around, saw Bai Zisheng looking at him eagerly, he said somewhat helplessly: “What do you want to eat now?” Bai Zisheng blurted out, “Rabbit meat!” “It’s quite troublesome.” “No rush, just remember to bring me some if there’s any,” Bai Zisheng said. “Alright then.” Bai Zisheng also expressed his gratitude, “I’ll help you fight in the future.” “Okay,” Mo Hua nodded, “I’ll definitely call you for fights.” However, Aunt Xue might not allow you to fight. Proper descendants of noble clans put more emphasis on Tao Cultivation and had more rules to follow, resulting in less freedom. For someone like Qian Xing and Kong Sheng, although they were free, they could not act lawlessly. Mo Hua sighed inwardly and then went to meet Mr. Zhuang to inquire about the Concealment Formation. Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang said, “You can’t learn it yet.” Mo Hua timidly asked, “Is it very difficult to learn?” “It is somewhat difficult,” Mr. Zhuang replied, then looked at Mo Hua and added, “However, it shouldn’t be hard for you.” After all, you’ve been drawing such challenging Compound Formations with form and accuracy… Mr. Zhuang thought inwardly. “Is it because of Divine Sense?” Mo Hua speculated. “Correct,” Mr. Zhuang nodded in agreement. Mo Hua exclaimed in surprise, “This Concealment Formation, it doesn’t have ten Formation Patterns too, does it…?” “Not every Formation can have ten Formation Patterns; formations with ten patterns are not so cheap.” Mr. Zhuang chuckled, shaking his head before adding: “The Concealment Formation only has nine Formation Patterns, but they are special; drawing them is more draining on the Divine Sense, and the Divine Sense required is also greater than that of ordinary first-rank formations with nine patterns.” “Its requirement for Divine Sense is above nine patterns but less than ten.” Mo Hua then inquired, “So, how much exactly might it be?” It’s above nine patterns but less than ten. Though it’s only a single pattern short, the difference in Divine Sense needed is twice as much. As Mr. Zhuang had said before, nine patterns for Qi Refinement, ten patterns for Foundation Establishment; the leap in Divine Sense from nine to ten patterns involves crossing the chasm from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, and there is a significant disparity. Mr. Zhuang smiled, “Didn’t I give you the Nine-and-a-half Reversed Spirit Formation before?” Mo Hua nodded. “Once you learn that, your Divine Sense will be sufficient to learn the Concealment Formation,” Mr. Zhuang said. “So, the Divine Sense needed for the Concealment Formation is roughly nine-and-a-half patterns?” “Nine-and-a-half, plus a little bit more,” Mr. Zhuang stated with precision. “Disciple understands, thank you, Gentleman,” Mo Hua said. Now that a goal was set, things became simpler, and for Mo Hua, Divine Sense of nine-and-a-half patterns wasn’t so unattainable. After saying farewell to Mr. Zhuang, he pondered with a furrowed brow, apparently deep in thought. Within the bamboo room, the figure of Old Kui slowly became visible. Mr. Zhuang then said to Old Kui, “You were right; it is indeed difficult for someone in the Qi-refining Realm to possess the Divine Sense of the Foundation Establishment level.” “The child Mo Hua’s Divine Sense is growing quite fast, isn’t it?” Old Kui observed casually. Mr. Zhuang’s gaze deepened, “It is fast, but not fast enough.” Old Kui’s expressionless gaze shifted toward him. Mr. Zhuang continued, “Among all the cultivators I’ve seen, his Divine Sense growth is indeed the fastest. However, to break through the limit of Qi-refining Realm’s Divine Sense, it’s still far from enough.” “How long will it take?” “Hard to say,” Mr. Zhuang shook his head, “At the current pace, it could be as short as five years or as long as ten years. Moreover, Divine Sense growth slows down the further one progresses, and if anything goes awry, it could take decades to reach Foundation Establishment.” Old Kui furrowed his brow, and for a moment, silence filled the room. “Is there a way to expedite the process?” Old Kui asked. Mr. Zhuang tapped his fingertips on the armrest of the bamboo chair, his eyes shifting uncertainly before he sighed after a long time, “Let me think about it.”