Chapter 615: All Arts Lead to One
In the Qianxue Prefecture, one of the Twelve Great Cultivation Streams of the region, the Broken Gold Sect's supreme art:
The Broken Gold Sword Control Technique!
Mo Hua caressed the jade slip, grinning with joy, and immediately swept it with his divine sense.
Inside, the contents were extensive and complete—an authentic, fully preserved transmission of the Broken Gold Sword Technique, covering three major areas of sword cultivation:
"Sword Qi Cultivation Method"
"Sword Weapon Forging Method"
"Divine Sense Sword Control Method"
Mo Hua was a little stunned.
This was the real deal—an inner-sect, true disciple-level sword technique of the Broken Gold Sect.
No wonder it was so powerful…
He couldn't help but wonder how that Boss Jiang had managed to steal it…
Muttering to himself, Mo Hua gave the jade slip a rough scan before storing it away.
There was far too much to digest—he'd have to study it carefully when he had time.
But right now, there was still another jade slip—sealed with irregular magnetic runes. Its contents were unknown.
At first, Mo Hua had assumed the two Broken Gold jade slips were a two-part set, both containing sword techniques.
But now… something felt off.
The jade slip he just unlocked already held a complete transmission of the sword art. So what was in the other one?
"Could it be another inheritance of the Broken Gold Sect?"
Mo Hua muttered with curiosity, growing excited as he began carefully deducing how to unseal the second jade slip.
To his surprise, although the two slips looked identical in form and make, the sealing runes were vastly different.
One used traditional runes, bearing the clear style of a formal sect.
But the other… was obscure and odd. It resembled techniques from a completely different Daoist lineage—strange, even eccentric, in its use of Secondary Thunder Runes.
It didn't match any patterns from Mo Hua's personal rune library.
Left with no choice, Mo Hua pulled out a fresh jade slip and began building a new reference set—one specifically for these peculiar Secondary Thunder Runes used by obscure cultivators.
He had a hunch:
Though this was his first time encountering these kinds of runes—it definitely wouldn't be the last.
So he'd better start preparing early.
He would collect and document every one of these unusual Secondary Thunder Runes—stroke by stroke, symbol by symbol.
He didn't like fighting unprepared battles.
But because this meant starting from scratch—deducing, categorizing, decoding—the process was going to take a while.
After the sect's holiday period, Mo Hua spent another half a month on it. Finally, through persistence (and a dash of luck), he just happened to deduce the seal rune of the second jade slip.
Relieved, Mo Hua eagerly sent his divine sense inside to read the contents.
The sealing method had been so strict, and the rune style so strange, he thought:
This must contain some earth-shaking inheritance…
Some long-lost secret technique or buried treasure…
But when he looked inside, Mo Hua went completely blank:
"Third Month, Seventh Day…"
"Kidnapped someone. Sold. Made 800,000 spirit stones."
"In the spirit of brotherhood, gave them 100,000. Kept 700,000 for myself."
"To keep the peace, I lied and said we only got 120,000. I took 20,000."
"The brothers call me a great and noble big brother."
…
Mo Hua frowned.
A diary?!
What kind of proper cultivator writes a diary?
Did Boss Jiang have a few loose screws?
And he even recorded the profit splits…
He'd thought this was a precious inheritance and had been so excited about it…
Mo Hua was extremely disappointed.
But since he'd gone through all the trouble of breaking the seal—it would be a waste not to read it.
So he kept reading, now out of pure curiosity:
"Third Month, Twenty-Eighth Day…"
"Old Six got sloppy. Leaked information. Now hunted by the Dao Court."
"Can't let one person ruin it for all the brothers."
"Old Six is dead."
"I killed him. I'm heartbroken."
"But I believe he understood my pain. He won't blame me…"
"Fourth Month, First Day…"
"Old Four is suspicious of me…"
"Fourth Month, Tenth Day…"
"Old Four found out I embezzled spirit stones."
"He wants half."
"We were brothers. His greed disappoints me."
"With tears in my eyes—I killed him."
"But I honored our past. Gave his mistress and bastard child some compensation. The other brothers were moved and praised me for being loyal and righteous."
"The brothers get me. I'm comforted."
"Fifth Month, Fourth Day…"
"Lost two brothers. Recruited three new ones."
"These three seem sharp… Let's see how long they last."
"Seventh Month, Twelfth Day…"
"Lost four. Devastated."
"Sigh… building an empire is hard. Can't keep the crew together…"
"The 'business' keeps getting disrupted. Morale is low."
"The brothers are lazy. No kidnappings, no money. Golden Core feels so far away. I'm getting anxious."
Later entries were messy—smudged, incomplete. Mo Hua skimmed:
"Market's bad…"
"The Dao Court dogs are pushing too far!"
"Damn that Gu Changhuai! Damn him!"
"If I ever reach Golden Core, I'll use Gu Changhuai's blood to consecrate my Broken Gold Sword…"
"Killed another expert today. Felt amazing."
"The Broken Gold Sword Control Technique really is the pride of the Broken Gold Sect. No one's survived it yet."
"No wonder they treated it like a treasure and wouldn't pass it to me."
"The Broken Gold Sword Qi never misses. The golden blade claims lives."
"When unleashed, its brilliance floods the sky. Who could possibly survive that sword?"
"I'd really love to test it on…"
"Too bad Gu Changhuai is Golden Core. The gap is too wide. Otherwise, I'd make him taste it."
"Made 200,000 spirit stones…"
"Lost two more brothers…"
"Brothers just don't last these days…"
"Third day of the ninth month. A big job lined up…"
What followed had been heavily scratched out—entire sections rubbed away. Still, Mo Hua continued reading:
"Mr. Tu won't allow us to talk about it. I don't dare write it down…"
"Only know that if we succeed… we might even transcend…"
And then again—blotted out.
"Can't write it down… can only bury it in my heart. It's painful…"
"Forget it…"
"Tenth of the ninth month—good fortune, great prosperity."
"Mission didn't go well…"
"Something's wrong…"
"Twelfth of the ninth month—"
"Turns out it wasn't bad at all. Everything went smoothly. The other groups of cultivators all died, but we—who were the weakest and least noticeable—actually succeeded…"
"I, Jiang Jingtian, am truly blessed. Golden Core may be within reach."
"Mr. Tu's final instructions were to deliver…"
Something had been written here and later erased, replaced with just two characters:
"...deliver the 'cargo' to just outside Qingzhou City. Someone in black will receive it. They'll then pass it on to the Temple. At that point, the task will be done. No extra trouble…"
"Qingzhou outskirts, contact, Temple!"
"Must remember!"
"Fourteenth of the ninth month—"
"Passed by an abandoned temple on Withered Mountain, picked up a little 'side job.' Just a silly little kid, not worth mentioning…"
"Twentieth of the ninth month—"
"Today is the final day of the mission. Before setting out, I checked the almanac…"
"Auspicious: setting off, farewells, cremation, opening chests, meeting friends, breaking ground, interment…"
"Inauspicious: speaking misfortune, lighting fires, sword-riding…"
"Good for departure and farewell. All signs point to favorable."
"It's a good day."
And that was the final diary entry.
After that, Boss Jiang hit the road.
There were no more pages.
Mo Hua flipped through a few more, hoping to find something related to the kidnapping of Yu'er, but sadly, nothing—just a few vague mentions, barely more than what he already knew.
There were also no notes on hidden assets, secret treasures, or personal legacies.
Mo Hua sighed, genuinely disappointed in Boss Jiang.
"Not a shred of value in this diary."
He put the "diary" away and pulled out the Broken Gold Sword Control Art once more.
Before learning the sword art, there was one major issue to consider:
Avoid getting hunted down by the Broken Gold Sect.
As powerful as the sword art was, it was their inheritance.
If he secretly learned it and got found out… well, that wouldn't end well.
Even if they didn't come after him with swords blazing, the sect could still forbid him from using it. If that happened, all his effort would go to waste.
But as Mo Hua flipped through more of the sword art—reading deeper into its methods—he realized:
"Huh… maybe I was overthinking this."
Even if they let him learn it, he might not be able to.
Mo Hua had attended sword cultivation classes. He knew that sword cultivators came in several types:
1. Pure Sword Qi Cultivators
These focus solely on refining their spiritual power into Sword Qi and using it for long-range attacks—somewhat like spell cultivators.
His Uncle Zhang Lan cultivated this style, likely specializing in Water-type Sword Qi.
2. Sword-Wielding Physical Cultivators
These focus on infusing spiritual power into their physical swords, turning that into strength for close-range melee. Similar to body cultivators.
Senior Brother Ouyang Feng practiced this kind of swordsmanship.
3. Divine Sense Sword Controllers
This was a hybrid. Sword Qi and Sword Weapon were fused. You'd condense Sword Qi, channel it into the sword, then use Divine Sense to control the weapon in battle.
A harmony of Qi and Blade—this was the method described in the Broken Gold Sword Control Art.
Each style had its pros and cons.
But in terms of raw destructive power, the Broken Gold method—blending Sword Qi and weapon—was clearly superior.
Problem:
Most sword cultivators start young, learning to condense Sword Qi from the beginning.
Mo Hua? He'd never practiced sword techniques. His Sword Qi was dim, unstable, and scattered.
Plus, his spiritual power was weak. Naturally, so was his Sword Qi.
To practice the Broken Gold art properly, he'd need a specially forged Gold-Type Spirit Sword—which he couldn't afford.
Sword Qi cultivation, sword forging, and sword controlling…
Of the three, the only thing Mo Hua might actually be good at was Divine Sense Sword Control—since his divine sense was strong.
But without a powerful sword or sharp Sword Qi, just being good at sword control was like having expert archery skills but no arrows to shoot.
Mo Hua sighed.
"I'll have to take the long view…"
He'd cultivate Sword Qi slowly—accumulating bit by bit and hoping for steady progress.
He'd save up spirit stones—or sect contribution points—and try to gather enough materials to convince someone to forge him a spirit sword "at a friendly price."
If one day he did manage to learn the Broken Gold art, then he could worry about the sect possibly coming after him.
Otherwise, it'd be like fretting about how to spend money you haven't earned.
"Pity…"
"That magnificent, dazzling golden greatsword—won't be learning it anytime soon…"
Mo Hua felt a little downhearted.
But this sword art setback reminded him of another issue:
Even if he couldn't learn the sword art, his current spell repertoire was still too weak…
Especially his offensive spells.
His stealth technique was still an incomplete Tier-1 spell—only effective when combined with a concealment array.
His Water Prison was decent.
But Fireball…
In the Foundation Establishment stage—especially in a powerhouse-packed region like Qianzhou—the Fireball spell was common as weeds.
Fast? Sure. Accurate? Yes. But the power was lacking.
It could serve as a finisher, sure.
But head-to-head, its impact had already hit a ceiling.
And his future opponents… wouldn't be pushovers.
"If sword arts are out of reach for now… I'll need to find stronger spells."
That thought rooted itself in Mo Hua's mind.
After a Daoist theory class, he humbly approached the elder in charge of spell instruction.
This elder was middle-aged, slightly plump, and remembered Mo Hua well.
After all—cultivators with mid- to low-grade spiritual roots in the Great Void Sect were rare.
In fact, for the past few decades, there had been no new disciples with mid-grade roots.
Mo Hua was the only one.
And with Elder Xun's obvious favoritism toward him, none of the elders dared to look down on Mo Hua, no matter how poor his aptitude.
"Elder… is there any chance I could learn some powerful spells?" Mo Hua asked, testing the waters.
The elder studied him, hesitating for a while—unsure if he should say it.
Mo Hua offered a "resigned-to-my-fate" look and said:
"Elder, just be straight with me…"
The elder coughed lightly and spoke tactfully:
"I imagine you already understand this… the more powerful a spell is, the more demanding it becomes…"
"First of all—your spiritual root grade matters."
"Many high-tier spells require top-grade, or even supreme-grade roots, just to learn—let alone cast."
"Without high-grade roots, you can't cultivate high-tier arts. Your qi sea is too thin, your spiritual power too weak—you simply won't have the capacity to drive those big-impact spells."
The elder gave Mo Hua a look that clearly said: You know what roots you've got—I don't need to spell it out.
"Then there's elemental affinity…" he continued.
"Some spells demand specific elemental roots—like thunder, ice, wind, pure metal, ethereal wood, or heavy water—to unleash their full power."
"But yours… well…"
The elder paused awkwardly and finally said it with a wince:
"You've got a 'Mini Five Element Root'—a little of everything, but none particularly useful…"
"So the spells available to you will mostly be… well, let's say, balanced and versatile."
(He very diplomatically avoided saying: "utterly basic and unimpressive.")
"These kinds of spells… let's just say, you shouldn't expect earth-shattering might." The elder said gently.
The implication was obvious: don't get your hopes up.
Mo Hua's expression dimmed.
Seeing this, the elder felt a pang of sympathy and added:
"But still—your previous path of spellcasting did show insight."
"You didn't rely on brute force—you used speed and precision. Quick casts, accurate hits—that can indeed turn the tide in battle."
"Your Fireball spell was impressive, no doubt. It's just… Fireball is still Fireball. Its ceiling is what it is."
The elder genuinely sounded regretful.
And Mo Hua… understood completely.
Mo Hua was well aware—
His Fireball Technique was already quite powerful.
But when compared to the superior techniques passed down through generations by the prestigious cultivator clans of Qianzhou… it still fell short.
Sure, his spells were fast—he could strike first, seize initiative.
But if he ran into a situation that called for overwhelming firepower, relying on Fireball alone wouldn't cut it.
Array formations were strong, yes—but they consumed spirit stones, spirit ink, and required planning and setup. Far less convenient than a simple spell.
So Mo Hua asked sincerely:
"Elder, then which types of spells do you think I should learn in the future?"
The Spell Elder pondered a moment, then spoke slowly:
"By rights, I shouldn't be telling you this—sect rules are strict."
"Not just the Great Void Sect. Throughout all of Qianxue Prefecture, all the sects follow the same doctrine."
"They value the grade of a spell above all else. 'One force subdues ten techniques'—they believe in cultivating the most powerful techniques, driven by deep, rich spiritual power. One spell to decide life and death, to dominate all."
"Even the spell assessment exams are based on this principle."
"But you… are different."
"Since your spiritual power is weak, you should instead study multiple low-tier spells—the kind that have low spiritual consumption, fast casting speeds, and practical utility. Learn across all five elements."
"Just like elements generate and counter one another, so too do spells."
"The more spells you know, the more options you have in battle. Your fast casting speed lets you pre-empt your enemies."
"Some low-tier spells may seem unimpressive in power, but their utility is high."
"Some are stealthy. Some versatile. Some nearly impossible to defend against…"
"Five elements circulate. All spells interconnect."
"Even if you only know low-grade techniques, you can overwhelm your opponent through sheer volume—nonstop barrage, leaving them unable to counter."
"Of course… that's only after you break through the enemy's Golden Body Technique. Then your spell barrage becomes effective…"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up.
Spell Master!
Understanding the five elements. Mastering countless arts. His spiritual power flowing endlessly, spells cast without pause.
And if he stood atop his Five Elements Source Array, enhancing his elemental affinity and boosting his spell power, he'd become a walking spell turret!
Even using only low-tier spells—he could "grind his enemy to death."
Then he hesitated and asked:
"But… do I really have to learn all five element spells? What if I just focused on Fireball?"
After all, even if he learned more spells, Fireball was still the one he was best at.
The Spell Elder replied:
"It's not just about raw power. Some spells are irreplaceable in function."
"If your opponent's buffed themselves with a Golden Body Technique, using Fireball may deal little damage—but a Golden Blade spell, though not powerful, can reduce the duration of the body buff."
"Your Fireball is fast—but there are spells even faster. In a blink, you can interrupt an enemy's casting."
"Other spells can break Water Armor, snuff out Fire Shields, inflict Wood Poison, corrode flesh…"
"Every spell has its unique utility."
Mo Hua's heart stirred.
He suddenly remembered Old Kui's teachings from long ago and murmured in realization:
"A thousand Dao arts, each with its brilliance. Their mastery lies in the heart of the caster…"
The elder looked surprised, but then nodded with admiration:
"Exactly."
"You've only just reached Foundation Establishment and haven't fought many real battles. In time, as your cultivation grows and you face more foes, you'll see—"
"There's a deep art to this."
"Strong spells are great, no doubt."
"But that doesn't mean the rest of the world's spells are all useless."
"They carry truths of Heaven and Earth. The more spells you master, the deeper your understanding becomes—and so your spells become stronger too."
"You're already talented in formations. You should grasp this concept well."
Mo Hua nodded earnestly.
The elder was clearly pleased that Mo Hua understood, but still offered a word of caution:
"I'm just giving you advice."
"If you can learn superior techniques, that's still the ideal. Simple and brutal—they get results."
"But since you can't, that's why I'm suggesting this alternate route."
"Also, even if you learn these lower-tier spells to perfection, the sect's examiners still won't give you a high score. At best… you'll probably get a 'Grade C'."
"So don't blame me when that happens—"
"And don't go running to Elder Xun to accuse me of ruining a promising disciple!"
Mo Hua chuckled:
"I understand. Thank you, Elder."
The elder confirmed it once more, and only after Mo Hua promised not to complain did he feel reassured.
After returning to his quarters, Mo Hua immediately started fantasizing about becoming a universal spell master…
The Broken Gold Sword Art could wait.
But mastering spells was urgent.
Especially since he'd be joining missions soon with Senior Sister Murong and the others. The more spells he had under his belt, the better his odds.
"More skills, less death."
But spells in the Great Void Sect all had to be exchanged for sect merit points.
Mo Hua flipped through the Merit Registry and discovered that the list of Five Element spells was vast—well over a few thousand types.
But…
They weren't cheap.
The cheaper ones cost a few dozen merit points.
The pricier ones ran into the hundreds.
Some top-tier spells even demanded over a thousand.
Mo Hua sighed in relief:
"Good thing I can't even learn those—saves me a fortune…"
Still, even the cheap ones added up.
And unlike others who only studied one or two elements, he wanted to study all five—plus continue practicing array formations.
With merit points already in short supply, this would be a disaster for his wallet.
And cheap spells?
Let's face it—most were painfully bland.
If Mo Hua really wanted to become a Spell Master, he'd need to learn a ton of techniques.
Buying them all with merit points?
Huge loss.
"Is there a way to learn spells without spending merit points…?"
Mo Hua furrowed his brow, brooding over it for days with no progress.
Until one day—after a long session of formation training—he flopped onto his bed, exhausted.
He idly picked up Boss Jiang's diary to unwind.
Flip, flip…
Suddenly, Mo Hua frowned.
Something felt… off.
Between the lines of text, he faintly sensed traces of magnetic flow…
"Magnetic flow…"
"Secondary Thunder Runes?"
No…
The Secondary Thunder Runes on the jade slip's seal were meant for unsealing.
The ones inside the jade slip were used to connect the magnetic script and display text.
But these—these rune traces scattered on the text itself—where did they come from?
Mo Hua froze.
Suddenly he remembered something Senior Brother Zheng Fang had once told him—about sealing runes and secret runes.
His heart jolted.
These faint rune traces…
Were secret runes?!
"That damn Boss Jiang… even wrote a diary with encryption?!"
(End of Chapter)