Chapter 32: The Eatery
Using the Dao Tablet in his sea of consciousness to continuously refine formations and strengthen his spiritual sense—It was a slow and clumsy method, but for now, it was Mo Hua's only option.
"Good thing I have the Dao Tablet in my sea of consciousness. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to use this 'clumsy' method."
Mo Hua felt a bit relieved. In the real world, drawing formations consumed too much spiritual sense and recovered far too slowly. Trying to train spiritual sense this way would've cost several times more time and energy.
Given that, Mo Hua fully settled into his routine, devoting himself to practicing the Melting Fire Array on the Dao Tablet.
As long as he kept practicing, there would come a day when he'd master it.
He would first draw the first four fire runes as best he could. Once his spiritual sense was nearly depleted, he'd erase them.
Rest a bit.
Then repeat.
Again and again.
Whenever he felt a little extra spiritual strength left, he'd try to draw one more stroke beyond the fourth rune.
By dawn, he had only added two extra strokes compared to the previous night, but even those two strokes proved one thing—
His spiritual sense really was growing.
The next morning, Mo Hua went to the market and bought ink needed for the Melting Fire Array.
The ink was made from the blood of fire-type demon beasts, mixed with herbs. It wasn't very expensive, so Mo Hua bought more than ten batches at once.
Since array masters were rare, there weren't many cultivators buying ink for formations. The shopkeeper was delighted to meet such a generous buyer and even gave him a few extra batches for free.
Back home, Mo Hua began practicing the Melting Fire Array with the special ink.
Because he'd spent spirit stones on it, he was especially careful. Every stroke and curve was drawn with great precision.
Of course, due to the limits of his spiritual sense, even at best he could only add two extra strokes beyond the fourth rune—still far from completing the fifth rune and forming a full array.
After each session, he had to stop and rest for an hour to recover.
Compared to practicing on the Dao Tablet, this method was far less efficient and cost him ink and spirit paper—essentially burning through spirit stones.
But Mo Hua didn't mind. The sooner he mastered the Melting Fire Array, the better.
In this manner, he practiced day and night. After half a month, he could now draw an extra ten or so strokes beyond the fourth rune—roughly half of a full rune.
At this pace, in another half month, his spiritual sense would likely be strong enough to draw the full five-rune Melting Fire Array in one go.
Mo Hua let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Since forging the cooking furnace would take time too, some preparations had to be made early.
During the day, he wandered around the streets. That night, he returned home and had dinner with his parents.
Under the flickering candlelight, the table was set with fragrant rice porridge, soft white steamed buns, two plates of fresh seasonal vegetables, and a small dish of pickled radish.
For an ordinary rogue cultivator's household, this was already a generous spread. Meat was rarely ever seen.
Liu Ruhua's cooking was excellent—simple but tasty. Mo Hua devoured the meal happily.
Though the food was made by Liu Ruhua, the fire came from Mo Shan's spiritual energy.
Liu Ruhua acted the same as usual, but in her gaze lingered subtle traces of sadness and the occasional daze.
Mo Hua finished a bun in a few bites and suddenly puffed his cheeks and asked, "Mom, have you ever thought about opening an eatery?"
Liu Ruhua, who had just taken a sip of porridge, was stunned. She smiled and asked, "Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Because your cooking is amazing. If you opened an eatery, you'd definitely earn a lot of spirit stones."
"Opening an eatery costs money, child. Rogue cultivators like us—where would we even get the spirit stones to do that?"
She chuckled and tapped his nose with a pale finger, teasing, "Once you grow up and your cultivation is higher, and you can make lots of spirit stones—then we'll open one."
Mo Hua whispered, "Then let's start small."
"Start what small?" Liu Ruhua blinked.
"Just a food stall," Mo Hua said. "I walked around town and noticed a bunch of them—selling wine, dishes, snacks, noodles… they're doing great business."
Liu Ruhua's smile faded, hesitation clouding her eyes.
Seeing this, Mo Shan gently explained, "Hua'er… your mother… she can't use spiritual energy."
Without spiritual energy, she couldn't control fire and thus couldn't cook the kind of food cultivators needed.
Even if she could, serving waves of customers every day would drain more spiritual energy than a Qi Refining cultivator could sustain.
Mo Hua raised his eyebrows proudly and said, "That's why we'll build a furnace."
"A furnace?"
Liu Ruhua and Mo Shan looked at each other in surprise.
Mo Hua pulled a large diagram from his storage pouch.
"This is the furnace blueprint. I already asked Master Chen from the Forging Guild. I know the required materials, dimensions, and estimated spirit stone cost. As for the formation, I'll handle it. Once the furnace is built, it won't need spiritual energy—it'll work just by inserting spirit stones and will continuously supply fire. It'll make cooking and food preparation much easier."
Both parents were stunned, caught off guard by how thorough Mo Hua had been.
"But forging a furnace costs a lot of spirit stones, right...?"
"We'll start with a small one," Mo Hua said. "I asked Master Chen—small ones don't cost much. A small eatery only needs a small furnace anyway."
"What about the formation?" Liu Ruhua asked.
Mo Hua tried to look calm, but a hint of pride snuck into his face. "I'll draw it. I already got the array blueprint from Manager Mo. It's not too difficult..."
Of course, after so many nights draining his spiritual sense practicing the Melting Fire Array and still failing to fully master it, Mo Hua was feeling a tiny bit guilty at the end of that sentence.
Liu Ruhua looked at him skeptically. "Not too difficult, huh?"
Mo Hua grinned sheepishly. "I haven't learned it yet, but give me a few more days and it'll be fine."
After all, a five-rune array wasn't something you picked up overnight.
Liu Ruhua nodded thoughtfully. He's still young, and hasn't studied formations long. If he can learn it at all, it must not be that difficult...
But then she shook her head. "Starting a business isn't that easy. Even a small food stall requires renting a space, hiring helpers, and managing a ton of things. It'll take a lot of spirit stones, and if we lose money, we'll be in an even tighter spot. What's most important right now is saving our spirit stones so you can cultivate properly..."
Mo Shan, who had been silent, suddenly said, "We'll open the eatery. I'll figure out the shop and the manpower. You two don't worry about that."
He then took out a storage pouch and handed it to Mo Hua. "There's over a hundred spirit stones in here. I earned them hunting demon beasts these past few months. I know you've made some money drawing formations for the guild, but use these for the furnace first."
Mo Hua was just about to refuse when Mo Shan stuffed the pouch into his hands.
Holding it, Mo Hua thought of how his father had risked his life battling beasts to earn these stones. These spirit stones felt heavier than any he'd ever held.
Now that Mo Shan had agreed, the plan to open the eatery was essentially finalized. Mo Hua finished his meal and went back to his room to continue practicing the Melting Fire Array.
Liu Ruhua still looked a bit anxious.
Mo Shan reassured her, "It's just a small business, nothing too risky. Even if it fails, we won't lose that much."
Liu Ruhua sighed. "Hua'er's smart. He'll need a lot of spirit stones for cultivation, learning techniques, Dao arts, and formations. If we use them all now, what happens if he's short on spirit stones in the future?"
Mo Shan spoke gently, "Don't underestimate our son. He can already draw formations for the guild—even if they're simple ones, it's still impressive. Maybe in ten or twenty years, after more practice, he really will become a full-fledged array master."
He smiled. "At that point, we might be the ones depending on him."
Liu Ruhua smiled too, but worry lingered in her heart.
Mo Shan took her hand. "Then let's run the eatery well. Save up spirit stones, and in the future, we'll find a good little wife for Mo Hua. Watch him marry and have kids."
Liu Ruhua imagined it for a moment and smiled softly—but she still couldn't fully relax. "But what if… just in case…"
"Even if something happens, you've still got me. No matter how hard life gets, we'll figure it out. Worst case, I'll just hunt a few more demon beasts."
Mo Shan's voice was calm and resolute.
Liu Ruhua said nothing more—she just quietly leaned into his arms.
(End of Chapter)