Bamboo Rice

"Doesn't this show how powerful this spell is?"

"It's not that powerful," Bai Zisheng raised an eyebrow, confidently stating, "It can only trap me for about two breaths. Once I activate my spiritual power, I can break free in no time."

Mo Hua said, "In a life-and-death battle, where victory hangs by a thread, these two breaths are enough to determine the outcome and to decide life and death."

Bai Zisheng frowned at the words, pondered for a moment, and had to admit, "You're right."

If one is momentarily unaware and falls victim to a plot, these one or two breaths are indeed enough to decide life and death.

Mo Hua reminded, "Be careful in the future, don't get tricked by these obscure spells."

Bai Zisheng nodded solemnly.

Then he thought, there are probably not many cultivators in this world like Mo Hua, with extremely strong spiritual consciousness, extremely fast reactions, and extremely niche spells.

Bai Zisheng felt inexplicably relieved.

Opportunities like this are rare. Not all cultivators practice such obscure spells. Bai Zisheng wanted to spar with Mo Hua a bit longer, but if they continued, he wouldn't finish his homework.

Bai Zisheng could only reluctantly return to continue his studies.

After Mo Hua finished practicing the Water Prison Technique and was about to leave, Bai Zixi suddenly stopped him.

Mo Hua turned around and saw Bai Zixi's fair hand pull out a book from the storage bag embroidered with exquisite pale golden phoenix patterns, then handed it to him.

"What book is this?"

"A recipe book."

Mo Hua took it and looked carefully. Indeed, it was a recipe book, containing some delicacies and cooking techniques from the cultivation world.

The names of the dishes were dazzling, such as Golden Hall Full of Jewels, Begonia Jade Crisps, Plum Blossoms Reflecting Snow, Dewy Lotus Flowers, and Only Envious Mandarins, Immortal Dew Pearls, and so on.

Mo Hua was stunned, "Is this for me?"

Bai Zixi glanced at him indifferently, "For Aunt Liu."

"Oh."

Mo Hua nodded, thinking it made sense. He wasn't a chef, so having this recipe book wasn't very useful.

"As a thank-you for before," Bai Zixi said crisply.

Mo Hua smiled, "Thank you, my mother will definitely be happy to receive it."

Bai Zixi also smiled lightly, her eyebrows like new moons, her eyes like morning glories, clear and stunning.

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, 'Why be so beautiful?'

Mo Hua went back, flipping through the recipe book on the way, seeing what delicious dishes there were. As he read, his stomach growled.

When he got home, Mo Hua handed the recipe book to Liu Ruhua, "Mother, this is from Zixi."

Liu Ruhua took it, looked at it, her face showing joy, "Thank Zixi for me."

"Okay." Mo Hua nodded, then pointed to a dish called "Emerald Bamboo Rice" on it and smiled, "Mother, I want to eat this."

Emerald Bamboo Rice is made by cutting a piece of emerald bamboo tube, filling it with fragrant rice, adding some green plums, fruits, and sweet spring water, and then roasting it over a fire.

When it's cooked, the green color of the bamboo fades away, and the rice is done.

Splitting open the bamboo tube, the fragrance of bamboo, the slight sourness of green plums, and the fragrance and stickiness of the rice blend together, fragrant and sticky, with color, fragrance, and taste all present.

The method is not difficult, and the ingredients are simple, not particularly rare, and there are alternatives for a few slightly rare ingredients.

Mo Hua took a long time to choose this one.

Liu Ruhua affectionately rubbed Mo Hua's head, "Okay, Mother will make it for you."

The next day, Liu Ruhua prepared the ingredients and tried to make it several times, and the Emerald Bamboo Rice was successful.

Mo Hua took a bite, the texture was soft and sticky, leaving a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth. He couldn't help but squint his eyes and say, "Mother, it's really delicious!"

Seeing Mo Hua enjoying the food, Liu Ruhua's eyes were also full of smiles.

In the following two days, Liu Ruhua made more, and Mo Hua sent them to Mr. Zhuang and the Bai siblings.

Mr. Zhuang quite liked the fragrant taste and nodded in satisfaction.

Although Bai Zisheng liked it, he preferred to eat spicy demon meat.

The one who liked it the most was Bai Zixi. Sitting under the big locust tree, she ate bite by bite, with graceful and elegant movements, chewing slowly, but never stopping. She quickly ate three or four sections.

"Is it really that delicious?" Mo Hua was a little puzzled.

Bai Zixi raised her head at his words and handed him a section.

As Mo Hua ate it, he felt that it was indeed a bit tastier than what he had eaten that day. After finishing a section, he wanted to eat more.

Under the big locust tree, the two of them ate the bamboo like two little pandas, one section at a time.

The matter with the sin cultivators came to an end, making it more convenient for Mo Hua to act within the Inner Sect, drawing blood from the demonic beasts.

With the remaining time, apart from cultivation, Mo Hua continued to draw formations, learn how to decipher them, and reverse spiritual formations.

Starting with the One-Rank Compound Formation, after mastering it, he drew it on paper and then deciphered the formation himself.

Mo Hua continued to draw and decipher the formations by himself. If he got tired of it, he practiced the reverse spiritual formation of the Nine-and-a-Half-Rank Formation.

The progress in deciphering the formations went smoothly. Every time he deciphered a compound formation, Mo Hua's deciphering ability improved.

But the progress in the reverse spiritual formations was slow.

A complete reverse spiritual formation consists of ten patterns, with each pattern's spiritual consciousness comparable to Foundation Establishment. Mo Hua's spiritual consciousness intensity was still far from enough to draw a complete reverse spiritual formation.

Even for the incomplete Nine-and-a-Half-Rank Formation, Mo Hua found it increasingly difficult to draw.

For the tenth pattern above the nine patterns, each stroke consumed almost as much spiritual consciousness as drawing an entire pattern before.

Mo Hua also had some doubts.

At this rate, could he really possess Foundation Establishment-level spiritual consciousness before reaching Foundation Establishment?

Even if he did have such spiritual consciousness before Foundation Establishment, how many years of practicing formations would he need?

It wouldn't take decades, would it?

Mo Hua felt somewhat worried, then thought:

"I wonder if there's any other way to enhance spiritual consciousness..."

Mo Hua pondered for a moment but then felt it was unlikely. Among the cultivators around him, his spiritual consciousness growth was already the fastest.

Even Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, although they had better spiritual roots and higher cultivation than him, their spiritual consciousness was inferior to his.

The Bai family was a prominent clan, and Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were also outstanding among their family. This indicated that Mo Hua's spiritual consciousness was not only unique but also rare even among large clans or sects.

It seemed there were no better alternatives now.

Mo Hua sighed and calmed his mind, no longer pondering.

Since he could only rely on formations for now, he would persist in drawing them.

One day, as long as his spiritual consciousness continued to grow, there would inevitably come a time when he would have spiritual consciousness comparable to Foundation Establishment. It was just a matter of time.

After about ten days, Mo Hua met Yu Chengyi and noticed his solemn expression. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Uncle Yu, what happened?"

Yu Chengyi, who was deep in thought, raised his head upon hearing Mo Hua's voice. He figured Mo Hua would eventually find out what he needed to know, so he didn't hide anything and said:

"Something happened. Those sin cultivators have struck again."

"The bald one?"

Yu Chengyi nodded, "Exactly."

Mo Hua was surprised, "Did he kill and loot again?"

"This time, he raided a merchant caravan, comprising over twenty cultivators. They all disappeared without a trace, and there were only some bloodstains at the scene."

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, feeling a bit sorry, then puzzled, "There should have been caravans raided before. What's different this time?"

Yu Chengyi's expression was very solemn, which was rare in usual circumstances.

"It's different." Yu Chengyi sighed and continued, "Firstly, there were more cultivators raided this time, and it seems none of them survived. Secondly, among the members of this caravan, there was a cultivator with a special status."

"Is he a prominent figure?" Mo Hua was curious.

"Not exactly," Yu Chengyi said, asking Mo Hua, "Do you remember the Kong Family?"

"The Kong Family from Qingxuan City?"

"Yes."

Mo Hua naturally remembered. They drove Uncle Ji and his son to flee, destroyed the Fu Lan's family, and even colluded with the Qingxuan City's Daoist Court, oppressing the rogue cultivators.

"In this caravan, there was the young master of the Kong Family, Kong Sheng."

(End of the Chapter)