Anomalies

In the Qi Refining realm, it is divided into three stages and nine layers. The initial stage ranges from the first to the third layer, and beyond the third layer marks the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Having cultivated to the complete third layer of Qi Refining, Mo Hua was on the verge of breaking through to the mid-stage.

After practicing "Celestial Expansion Scripture" for just half a month, Mo Hua felt his Qi Sea filled to the brim, unable to refine any more spiritual energy.

This meant Mo Hua was about to break through.

Typically, breakthroughs in ordinary techniques require special natural spirit materials to stimulate the meridians and Qi Sea, aiming to advance realms.

"Celestial Expansion Scripture" did not require special spirit materials for practice, so Mo Hua only needed to continue cultivating.

Most of Mo Hua's time was spent drawing formations, with an hour set aside daily for meditation and cultivation.

Several days later, while engraving formations on the monument in his sea of consciousness, Mo Hua suddenly felt a surge of fortune, causing his Qi Sea to churn.

Quickly withdrawing from his sea of consciousness, he crossed his legs on the bed and then took out two spirit stones, silently absorbing spiritual energy.

In just a short while, Mo Hua felt all his acupoints open up, absorbing spiritual energy several times faster than usual. Soon, the spiritual energy from the two spirit stones was completely absorbed.

Mo Hua felt a pang of regret and yet a hint of joy.

He regretted the consumption of spirit stones but rejoiced in his imminent breakthrough to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Mo Hua then took out several more spirit stones to continue absorbing.

In his storage bag, Mo Hua had accumulated dozens of spirit stones on his own, plus nearly a hundred more given by his parents, anticipating his breakthrough but uncertain of its timing, hence advising him to carry spares.

These hundred spirit stones represented almost half a month's earnings from their restaurant.

Mo Hua calmed his mind, maintaining a composed demeanor, and continued to breathe deeply.

The spirit stones glowed with a crystalline blue light in his hand, gradually dimming until the spiritual energy was completely exhausted, turning them into a dull gray.

One by one, after consuming nearly fifty spirit stones, Mo Hua's Qi Sea finally ceased churning. The absorbed spiritual energy circulated through his meridians, gradually thickening and stabilizing his overall spiritual power.

Just as Mo Hua believed he was about to successfully break through, strands of spiritual energy began to seep uncontrollably from his meridians, converging towards the Baihui acupoint at the top of his head.

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.

What was happening?

He had never heard of well-refined spiritual energy uncontrollably leaking out, let alone converging towards the Baihui acupoint!

Rather than pooling at Baihui, the spiritual energy wove into a delicate thread-like structure that gradually solidified, infiltrating inward—it was heading straight for Mo Hua's sea of consciousness!

Suppressing his rising anxiety, Mo Hua plunged his consciousness into his sea of consciousness, where he discovered faint, intricate threads of light blue spiritual energy.

These threads were intermittent and disorderly, resembling a gentle spring rain or tangled strands of hair, weaving into a complex, faint blue spiritual curtain.

Mo Hua was utterly stunned.

With his limited experience in cultivation, he had no idea what was happening.

Attempting to manipulate his spiritual power, Mo Hua found it responsive.

Clutching the spirit stones, he attempted to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, only for the absorbed energy to be automatically cut off at the Tianmen acupoint in his sea of consciousness, failing to circulate into his meridians and Qi Sea for refinement and accumulation, thus impeding his advancement in cultivation.

This means that from now on, Mo Hua cannot cultivate anymore, nor can he advance in realms.

Mo Hua took a deep breath, murmuring to himself, "What should I do..."

He lay down on the bed, his mind in turmoil for a moment. After a while, he sat up and forced himself to calm down:

"There's a Dao Stele in my Sea of Consciousness, but I didn't touch it during cultivation, so it shouldn't be the problem of the Dao Stele."

"If it's not the problem of the Dao Stele, it must be the problem of the cultivation technique."

"There were no issues during the cultivation of the technique, only during the breakthrough."

"During the breakthrough, spiritual power overflowed into the meridians, finally connecting to the Sea of Consciousness, forming a spiritual curtain."

"The spiritual curtain blocks the circulation of spiritual power, so I can't continue cultivation. If I solve the problem of the spiritual curtain, remove the obstacle, spiritual power can circulate freely and won't hinder cultivation."

"So the fundamental problem is solving the spiritual curtain in the Sea of Consciousness..."

Mo Hua grasped the key point, abandoning other factors and focusing only on the spiritual curtain in his Sea of Consciousness. He immersed his consciousness in the Sea of Consciousness, carefully examining the chaotic spiritual curtain.

The spiritual curtain was composed of faint blue strands of spiritual energy, which seemed to have a life of their own, freely and disorderly drifting, occasionally intersecting or separating, appearing tangled and obscure.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mo Hua collapsed on the bed again.

He inwardly complained, "What in the world is this spiritual curtain? I can't understand it at all..."

Mo Hua once again deeply felt the lack of his own knowledge in cultivation.

There's a saying that goes, "Knowledge is the ladder for cultivators' progress." Mo Hua didn't know where he heard it, but at this moment, he felt it made sense.

Mo Hua began to recall all the cultivation-related knowledge he had encountered in his mind, looking for anything similar. But everything appeared chaotic, making his head spin and ache more as he thought about it, ultimately leaving him confused.

In a flash of inspiration, he suddenly remembered a phrase from the Celestial Expansion Scripture:

"Unsuitable for those not skilled in formations."

Mo Hua abruptly sat up.

Unsuitable for those not skilled in formations... If this technique is related to formations, then could this spiritual curtain be... a formation?

He then recalled the earlier phrase, "The bottleneck lies in the consciousness."

"The bottleneck lies in consciousness because the spiritual curtain itself is the bottleneck, existing within the Sea of Consciousness. Unsuitable for those not skilled in formations means that this spiritual curtain itself is a formation, one that those not skilled in formations simply cannot comprehend!"

Mo Hua once again immersed his consciousness in the Sea of Consciousness, carefully observing the spiritual curtain within it. He discovered that although the strands of spiritual power on the curtain appeared disorderly, they were interconnected and intertwined, faintly forming a series of formations.

As the spiritual threads continued to flow, the formations also changed constantly, ultimately condensing into a living, ever-changing formation that Mo Hua simply couldn't understand.

It made his scalp tingle just to look at it.

"Is this the ancient formation practiced by ancient cultivators?"

"Is this what they call strange and obscure ancient techniques?"

Mo Hua couldn't help but feel awe in his heart. The wisdom of ancient cultivators was truly extraordinary. A mere Foundation Building stage technique could create such daunting challenges.

At the same time, he silently mourned for himself. Although he knew this technique was "strange and obscure," he never expected it to be this incomprehensible.

Mo Hua silently stared at the spiritual curtain for a long time, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, still without any clue. Finally, he came to a clear realization:

On his own, there was simply no way he could deal with this formation curtain.

Realizing his own powerlessness was also a form of self-awareness.

Mo Hua sighed, "I'll consult Master Zhuang tomorrow."

Feeling relieved, Mo Hua pulled the blanket over himself and fell asleep.

(End of the chapter)