Chapter 742 – Sword Testing
"Just practicing for fun…"
"Alright then."
Situ Jian looked at Mo Hua's eyes, gleaming with excitement, and couldn't help feeling a bit helpless.
After that, Mo Hua began practicing sword control, with Situ Jian beside him offering guidance—and also acting as his "sword retriever."
Though Situ Jian hadn't officially learned sword control himself, he came from a sword cultivator family. From a young age, he'd been immersed in sword techniques. Even if he hadn't practiced them all, he'd seen most of them before—and he knew far more than Mo Hua.
With him overseeing and offering corrections, Mo Hua was at least less likely to learn incorrectly.
And under Situ Jian's guidance, Mo Hua's sword-control progressed at lightning speed.
Because he had skipped two major steps: cultivating sword qi and merging it with his weapon. He focused purely on "Divine Sense Sword Control", which wasn't all that difficult on its own.
For Mo Hua—who specialized in divine sense—it was even relatively simple.
The more Situ Jian watched, the more shocked he became. But he also grew increasingly regretful.
"Senior Brother's sword control is insanely fast—and goes so far. But the power… is honestly tragic."
Well, not entirely powerless.
There was some force.
But it came from the raw spiritual force of divine sense—like throwing a dart barehanded. It had limited use.
Not to mention, the sword he used was a broken one.
It wasn't sharp and was rusted to boot.
Situ Jian shook his head.
Still, he dutifully spent the whole day helping Mo Hua train sword control—until Mo Hua had become quite proficient. Then they returned to the sect.
Once back, Mo Hua even treated Situ Jian to a lavish meal to thank him for the guidance.
In the sect, getting treated to a meal by Senior Brother Mo was considered an honor.
Situ Jian ate happily.
After the feast, both returned to their quarters.
Back at his residence, Mo Hua practiced array formations for a bit to help with digestion, then began planning his next steps.
First, Divine Sense Sword Control—he'd already learned it.
He'd only trained for a day, but he'd grasped the key points.
Now it was just about refining technique with more practice.
There might be more advanced sword-control methods out there, but those were far off, and he didn't need them now.
The "Sword Control Art" from the Broken Gold Sect would do just fine for now.
Next up: Forging Swords.
Just like Situ Jian had said—Mo Hua's sword control, though fast and long-ranged, was utterly wasted without sword qi.
But Mo Hua knew very well—he was unlikely to ever cultivate sword qi in his life.
So he'd have to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. He would use sword formations in place of sword qi.
When his scheduled rest period arrived, Mo Hua didn't go to Demon Refining Mountain.
Instead, he arranged to meet Master Gu at a small private parlor in the Gu Family estate.
The parlor was elegant and compact, with a sound-isolating array.
This was common practice among noble families—guest rooms with soundproofing arrays ensured privacy and protected against eavesdropping.
Mo Hua chatted casually with Master Gu there.
He clearly stated his goal.
Master Gu was taken aback.
"You want to forge spirit swords?!"
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.
"I want to try forging a few metal-type spirit swords. Simpler materials, cheaper…"
Because his sword-control style was… unique.
He would use sword arrays for burst attacks, which meant each sword was basically disposable.
If they were too expensive, he'd bankrupt himself.
"The design should be simple. Like the Five Element Source Armor, it needs to be open-source—the array can't be sealed inside. There should be external interface points…"
Mo Hua explained in detail.
Master Gu frowned and shook his head.
"To be honest, young master, the Gu family isn't a sword-cultivating clan. Our blacksmiths on Lone Mountain have never forged proper spirit swords. The occasional orders we take are just street-level junk—not worthy of the name."
"They're called 'swords,' but there's no real difference from knives, spears, or staves. Only the shape is sword-like—there's no true essence of a spirit sword."
"The biggest issue is, there's no internal sword formation…"
"Sword formation…" Mo Hua began, then suddenly froze, his heart sinking.
He had just realized a huge problem.
He couldn't let Master Gu know about the Broken Gold Sword Array.
That formation came from the Broken Gold Sect.
No sect would ever allow its core sword formations to leak—especially not one as petty and territorial as the Broken Gold Sect.
Mo Hua secretly learning it was one thing.
After all, formations were deep and obscure. Even if he told someone, they probably wouldn't understand—let alone believe it.
But if Master Gu and his smiths actually helped forge those swords…
And the Broken Gold Sect found out…
It would drag down Master Gu, a Grade-3 smith, and possibly the entire Lone Mountain Forge with him.
So they couldn't be involved.
Mo Hua's thoughts raced. After a moment, he replied:
"Yeah… sword formations are tricky. The sect doesn't teach them, and I haven't been able to get my hands on a proper inheritance either…"
"So just forget the sword formation for now. Master Gu, just help me forge some basic spirit swords—just treat them as 'array media.' Make them in the shape of swords, using the item as the array carrier…"
Master Gu didn't suspect anything. He nodded slowly:
"Alright, as the young master commands. I'll go give it a try."
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.
After half a month, Master Gu returned with several swords, just as Mo Hua had requested.
They were basic spirit swords.
As Master Gu had said—swords in shape only. No different from ordinary blades or clubs.
Internally, they had an open-source design—essentially just array conduits.
But for testing sword control power? They were more than enough.
Mo Hua took the swords and secretly carved the Broken Gold Sword Array into them.
But unlike the formation used by the Broken Gold Sect, Mo Hua's version had been modified into a self-sustaining formation system.
Typical Broken Gold Sword Arrays relied on the cultivator's own spiritual power to amplify sword qi.
Mo Hua's modified array had a new layout.
He added a Spirit Gathering Array as the formation core, which could be pre-charged to supply the sword with spiritual power.
That power was then reshaped by the sword formation into razor-sharp Broken Gold Sword Qi.
This way, by using spirit stones, he wouldn't need to rely on his own weak spiritual energy.
Mo Hua's own spiritual reserves were thin—powerful sword arts weren't really feasible.
After completing the array inscription, he sealed the swords.
Once the next rest period arrived, Mo Hua went out to Demon Refining Mountain.
He found a quiet, isolated spot, released his divine sense to ensure no one—and no beasts—were around…
And began practicing.
First, he drew a turtle on a boulder.
That turtle was the target.
Then he backed away—retreating all the way to 170 zhang—sat cross-legged, and placed a spirit sword in front of him.
He held his breath, focused, and activated the Broken Gold Sword Control Technique.
With divine sense, he seized control of the spirit sword—and locked onto the turtle far in the distance.
His divine will surged.
The sword flashed.
A streak of golden light shot out.
Moments later, a distant BOOM! echoed—the sound of shattered rock and flying debris.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up.
He jumped to his feet and ran forward.
Direct hit.
The moment the sword struck the turtle, the formation activated.
The spirit-gathering array unleashed its stored energy, powering the sword array—and transforming it into razor-sharp sword qi that tore through the stone.
The boulder now had spiderweb cracks across its surface.
The turtle had been reduced to powder.
And the sword—having withstood the formation's explosive sword qi—was now full of cracks and completely ruined.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
The power wasn't weak, but it was far from what he had imagined.
First off, the transformation of the sword formation was still very crude.
After all, his current usage of the Broken Gold Sword Array was vastly different from its original purpose—if not completely contradictory, at least a major deviation.
Turning a formation designed for amplification into one used for burst-kill wasn't something that could be done overnight.
Secondly, the compatibility between the sword formation and the spirit sword wasn't ideal.
The spirit sword couldn't fully bear the formation's flow, and the sword formation couldn't fully guide the sword's killing force.
And finally—the sword itself was just poor quality.
They were cheap spirit swords after all; he couldn't expect too much from them.
Mo Hua let out a quiet sigh.
There was killing power now, yes—but still far from enough. At the very least, it hadn't met his expectations.
The sword formation issue? That he could solve.
He could refine the array's nodes step by step, modify the runes, and slowly enhance its strength.
But forging better swords? That was a bigger headache.
Improving the quality of spirit swords and their compatibility with the sword formation couldn't be done by just any artifact craftsman. He needed someone skilled in sword forging specifically—a professional swordsmith.
Master Gu wasn't a good fit.
Even though he was a Grade-3 smith, he had no backing within the Gu family. Mo Hua couldn't share anything sensitive with him—it would only drag him down.
Besides, Master Gu had a huge responsibility. The entire Lone Mountain Forge basically relied on him to make a living.
He couldn't afford to cause him trouble.
The ideal candidate would be:
A cultivator from a noble family, with a bit of background.
Someone from the same sect—Great Void Sect—to make collaboration easier.
Someone trustworthy.
And of course… someone really good at forging swords.
This wasn't a small matter.
It would determine the power of his Divine Sense Sword Control—which was the foundation for eventually comprehending Sword Intent.
Which, in turn, was the key to comprehending the True Art of Spiritual Sword Manifestation…
After returning to the sect, Mo Hua began scouting for candidates.
But after scanning the disciples, he found no one suitable to serve as his personal "swordsmith."
After all, the Great Void Sect wasn't known for sword cultivation.
Their sword forging legacy was practically nonexistent.
There were a few disciples who dabbled in artifact forging, but very few knew how to forge actual swords.
And even among those who did—none were masters.
So this wasn't something that could be rushed.
Left with no better option, Mo Hua had to once again ask Master Gu to forge some more basic spirit swords—just something he could scrape by with.
He used those to continue practicing his sword control.
At the same time, he continued tweaking the sword array—improving its energy transformation and enhancing the Broken Gold Sword Array's killing power.
But after some time, he stumbled upon a serious problem—
Practicing sword control was burning money.
Every time he activated the sword formation and triggered a sword qi burst, the spirit sword would be completely destroyed.
Sure, these were "cheap" spirit swords, but they were still spirit swords.
Each one cost at least several hundred spirit stones to make.
Mo Hua was just a rogue cultivator. No wealthy clan backing. While his current savings were decent, if he kept this up…
He'd go bankrupt.
Even if he didn't go bankrupt, Master Gu might—since he was forging the swords and probably too polite to ask for payment every time.
Either way, it was bad news.
"No! This goes against my principles!"
Mo Hua's expression turned serious.
"I need a way to practice sword control and make some money in return…"
This was Demon Refining Mountain. And if he wanted to both train sword control and make a profit, there was only one option—
Hunting monsters.
Mo Hua searched through the mountains, but soon realized: his sword control wasn't very useful yet.
The power was still lacking. When it came to ambushing demonic beasts, array formations were still far more effective.
Using it as a finishing move? Also pointless.
Spells could finish. Punches could finish. No need to waste a sword just to get the last hit.
Breaking a sword to finish off a half-dead beast? That was just dumb.
Mo Hua wracked his brain but came up empty.
Then suddenly—he heard a shrill cry in the sky.
He looked up—startled—and saw a brilliantly colored bird demon flying across the clouds.
He blinked.
Then his eyes lit up in sudden realization—
If it's not useful for beasts on the ground… then use it for the ones in the sky!
Ground beasts were usually tough and brimming with qi and blood.
But aerial demon beasts, born to the skies with wings, were usually smaller in size and less robust in qi and blood.
Perfect for sword control training.
Also, flying monsters were notoriously harder to catch and kill.
So their materials? Far more valuable.
Mo Hua looked up—and sure enough, spotted several brown, hook-beaked, clawed bird demons soaring smugly through the sky.
He smiled faintly.
After returning to the sect, Mo Hua got to work.
He asked Master Gu to forge a new batch of spirit swords.
This time, he still engraved the Broken Gold Sword Array inside each one.
But on top of that—he added Fire Arrays for extra burn damage.
And along the blade edges? Mo Hua smeared toxic blood from demon beasts.
Once everything was ready, he returned to Demon Refining Mountain.
He found a hidden hilltop, sat cross-legged, laid out his swords before him, and expanded his divine sense—scanning the skies for flying demon beasts.
The sky was vast and blue, dotted with drifting white clouds.
Mo Hua sat calmly, eyes closed.
Poisonous birds occasionally flew overhead—but he ignored them all.
Until—
A grey-feathered hawk suddenly glided right above him.
Mo Hua's divine sense stirred. He opened his eyes—sharp light flashing within.
A Grey-Headed Hawk!
Cangtou Hawk!
A Grade-2, early-stage avian-type demon beast. Reddish feathers on its wings, blue-gray plumage on its head. Capable of flight. Its beak is hard as stone, claws sharp as iron, vicious by nature—feeds on both demons and humans.
This was the flying demon beast Mo Hua had carefully selected to test his sword on.
There were plenty of flying beasts in the skies, but not all were suitable for slaying.
Some had feathers tougher than armor—sword qi might not even pierce them.
Some traveled in flocks—kill one, get swarmed.
Some were too powerful to provoke.
And some were too cunning—sensitive to danger, hard to ambush.
By comparison, Cangtou Hawks were ideal targets.
Although their internal demon power was strong, their outer defense and awareness were just average. They didn't flock either—making them easy prey.
Mo Hua activated his Sword Control Technique, guiding the sword with divine sense while locking onto the Cangtou Hawk with his spiritual awareness.
He waited patiently as it dove to hunt, swooping within 150 zhang of the ground.
A sharp glint flashed in Mo Hua's eyes.
A streak of golden light shot through the sky.
It moved incredibly fast, slicing through the air like a golden thread, reaching the hawk almost instantly.
The Cangtou Hawk let out a desperate screech, but it was already too late.
The golden sword pierced its body—instantly triggering the embedded formations.
The Broken Gold Sword Array erupted, unleashing waves of sword qi that shredded half of the hawk's wing.
The Flame Array ignited, scorching its feathers and blasting a cloud of blood into the air.
The Cangtou Hawk plummeted from the sky like a kite with its string cut.
Mo Hua used his Flowing Water Steps, flickering through the forest, and quickly reached the crash site.
The hawk wasn't dead yet. Its savage eyes glared at Mo Hua, filled with a burning desire to gouge out his eyes and devour him.
But a hawk on the ground was no better than a chicken.
Its wings were ruined by the sword qi—it would never fly again. Its fate was sealed.
Mo Hua had to spend a bit of effort—combining formations and spells—before he finally finished it off.
Then, with some difficulty, he plucked the feathers, carved out the flesh and bones, and retrieved its demon core.
Mo Hua wasn't a body cultivator, so his strength was lacking. The whole process was clumsy and took a bit of time.
After nearly half an hour, he finally finished processing the hawk.
Yet while butchering it, he kept feeling that the hawk's aura seemed... familiar.
But that made no sense…
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
He was sure this was his first time hunting this type of hawk demon.
Why did it feel so familiar?
He pondered for a bit but couldn't figure it out. Since it was getting late, he shelved the question and headed down the mountain.
At the gate, Mo Hua sold the Cangtou Hawk.
Because of its small size and the damage done—especially with a good portion of feathers shredded by the sword formation—it didn't sell for much.
Even so, it still earned him a full 1,000 contribution points.
After subtracting the cost of the spirit sword, he still profited several hundred points.
Mo Hua was thrilled.
"If I can keep training sword control like this, not only will I not lose money—I'll be making a fortune!"
Delighted, he returned to the sect, pockets full and heart light.
After that, life settled into a smooth rhythm.
By day, he cultivated, attended classes, and studied formations.
During every ten-day break, he returned to Demon Refining Mountain to practice sword control, hunt hawks, and rack up contribution points.
His days were busy—and increasingly prosperous.
His stockpile of contribution points kept growing.
Meanwhile, the Demon Refining Mountain remained peaceful.
By now, most of the outer regions of the mountain had been claimed by the Great Void Sect disciples.
Demon Refining Mountain was dangerous, and monster hunting was full of peril.
For most disciples who had no experience in monster hunting, this was especially true.
So new disciples usually wouldn't rush into the mountain too early.
Most other sects' disciples spent the first half of the year solidifying their cultivation before cautiously entering the mountains.
But Great Void Sect was the exception.
Or more accurately, this generation of Great Void Sect disciples was the exception.
With Mo Hua leading the way, most of them had adapted to life in Demon Refining Mountain much earlier.
They got there first, took the best areas—and claimed them.
Even the Broken Gold Sect had entered early for some reason, but when they clashed with the Great Void disciples, they lost—so they had to avoid the area and find somewhere else to hunt.
A few other sects had disciples enter early as well.
But their numbers were small—just five or six, mostly there to scout the terrain.
Then they saw the Great Void Sect moving in force—one squad after another, well-organized, equipped with uniform spirit weapons, and a clearly structured hunting protocol. A military-style operation.
One glance at that, and they understood immediately—
"Yeah… Great Void disciples this year? Let's not mess with them…"
So, while other areas were full of conflict, the mountain regions occupied by Great Void Sect were peaceful.
Everyone was from the same sect.
Everyone had the same Little Senior Brother.
And everyone hunted demons in harmony.
Just like that, time passed—and the second half of the year arrived.
Gradually, more disciples began appearing in the outer regions of Demon Refining Mountain.
Many from other sects had spent the first half of the year building their foundation.
Now they were entering the mountain one after another, finally ready to test their strength.
Among them were disciples from Tai'a Sect and Chongxu Sect—fellow allies once closely tied to the Great Void Sect...
(End of Chapter)