Chapter 639 – Restoration
"How does one restore a message token?"
After several days of exploration—poring over piles of array manuals and combining it with his own insights into the Blazing Magnetic Array—Mo Hua finally had some general clues.
Restoring a message token relied on the principles of Magnetic Transmission Arrays.
Ordinary jade slips used simple, single-layer magnetic arrays.
Message tokens, however, utilized compound magnetic arrays.
These compound arrays required an array core to control the sensory interaction between various magnetic layers and facilitate the transfer of messages.
From his own token, Mo Hua discovered the process went like this:
When he wanted to send a message to Uncle Gu, he had to use his spiritual sense to manipulate the magnetic ink to form characters.
As the characters formed, the magnetic ink changed—triggering a shift in the unstable magnetic patterns.
These unstable patterns were then subtly transmitted via Secondary Thunder Runes to the Fixed Magnetic Patterns.
Mo Hua also noticed something else:
Each message token had a different set of fixed magnetic patterns.
He started deducing, observing and recording the faint traces of magnetic flow and secondary thunder marks left behind in the process.
He hadn't realized this before.
Now, he understood:
To restore the characters from the magnetic pattern, the biggest obstacle was the fixed magnetic pattern.
Luckily, Mo Hua had already mastered the sixteen-pattern second-grade version used in the Blazing Magnetic Array, and was intimately familiar with it.
Whenever a message token was used, magnetic currents were generated—leaving behind traces of secondary thunder runes.
The connection between these two—thunder traces and fixed patterns—formed a complex and complete cycle of a magnetic compound array.
Mo Hua only understood all this after disassembling the message token Uncle Gu had given him…
These magnetic currents, or secondary thunder streams, were hidden—residual thunder runes embedded in the magnetic flow—and they were also fixed.
Mo Hua stared at the jade token in his hand.
It had been pried open, split in two, revealing its underlying fixed formation pattern. But the method was… a little too "rough," leaving cracks on the token. Now it was a "battle-damaged" message token.
He sighed.
Luckily, with the aid of the Heavenly Pattern Fusion Method, his spiritual sense had been strengthened, allowing him to detect these subtle secondary thunder rune traces.
Within the fixed pattern, the array core regulated and relayed the changes in magnetic patterns to another token within the same compound array system—in this case, the bottom-layer pattern in Uncle Gu's message token.
So, in the end, he had no choice but to disassemble the one Uncle Gu had given him.
The other token—Uncle Gu's—was out of reach.
From its own internal fixed magnetic structure, the process continued outward—through secondary thunder runes, then unstable magnetic patterns, magnetic ink, and finally into visible characters.
The fixed magnetic pattern was unchanging.
As for the token that belonged to the Vulture... yeah, better not mess with that one.
With his current level of spiritual sense, he couldn't study this kind of compound magnetic array yet.
Uncle Gu's message token, on the other hand, could receive transmissions through its fixed formation core.
But taking it apart? He had neither access nor ability.
Even erasing the visible message would only remove the magnetic ink layer and alter the unstable magnetic pattern. The rest of the structure stayed intact.
So for now, the only true hurdle was the fixed magnetic pattern.
If he could reconstruct the fixed pattern from the token…
Then he could reverse-engineer the entire message flow.
Because once the message was sent, the flow was fixed.
And through the process of learn-by-disassembling, Mo Hua had gradually grasped the array's deeper logic.
He nodded to himself.
This whole reasoning chain was something he had worked out alone. It might have some flaws, but overall, the logic seemed solid.
He had three tokens in his possession, each involving magnetic transmission principles.
The Great Void Token from his sect was not one he could afford to crack open.
For one, he couldn't even understand the fixed pattern in it…
By combining the fixed pattern with the secondary thunder runes, it was theoretically possible to reconstruct the unstable magnetic pattern.
The entire process worked like this:
From surface to core—characters transformed into magnetic ink, unstable magnetic flow, secondary thunder runes, fixed magnetic patterns, and array core transmission—until the message appeared in the other token.
A post-Foundation Establishment cultivator with at least 17-pattern spiritual sense was needed for this.
In the name of research, Mo Hua had "painfully" sacrificed the token Uncle Gu gave him…
Not like he could have learned anything else from it anyway.
And if there were secrets inside, well, he might've destroyed them. Oops.
Worst case? Just apologize and bow to Uncle Gu. No big loss.
So long as he could reconstruct the message from secondary runes, unstable patterns, and magnetic ink—he could "restore" the original characters.
Thankfully, restoring the message didn't require mastering the entire compound array. He only needed to extract the final segment of the magnetic flow sequence.
These secondary thunder runes were faint and subtle. Most cultivators couldn't even perceive them.
And even as Mo Hua stared at the fixed formation etched into the token—he was completely stumped.
The formation's structure was similar to other patterns, but the details varied wildly.
You could tell it belonged to a particular family of runes, but what each symbol meant was a total mystery.
This was nothing like the Five Elements or Eight Trigrams arrays.
In those systems, even with variations, you could easily identify elemental attributes—like fire patterns symbolizing fire.
But these magnetic patterns? They were abstract—closer to ideograms or associative glyphs.
What they symbolized was anybody's guess.
And the functionality of jade slips, message tokens, and even the Great Void Token was all governed by these fixed magnetic patterns.
Without understanding their meaning, Mo Hua would never truly grasp magnetic arrays.
He'd only be copying diagrams without comprehending their essence.
Knowing the form, but not the meaning.
Mo Hua sighed.
He'd thought that mastering the Blazing Magnetic Array meant he'd at least crossed the threshold. Now he realized—he'd only learned the surface, mimicking the examples.
The deeper he studied, the more complex and mysterious it became.
"The meaning… of the fixed magnetic patterns…"
He pulled out his Great Void Token and flipped through his Merit Register, searching for any mention of such patterns.
He searched for a long time—no diagrams, no manuals, no explanations.
"The Great Void Sect doesn't have any?"
"That… can't be right."
So he made a trip to the Elders' Residence after class, and found Elder Xun.
"Fixed magnetic patterns?"
Elder Xun blinked, surprised.
Mo Hua nodded:
"Sir, I want to understand what these fixed magnetic patterns mean."
Elder Xun looked troubled.
This was definitely outside the expected curriculum…
And the further Mo Hua went, the more detailed his questions became.
If the boy asked about material within their established transmission, Elder Xun could answer without hesitation.
But this child… kept asking things way beyond the norm.
If he didn't tell him, the kid might start blindly experimenting and end up with misunderstood knowledge—which was bad.
But telling him was also problematic.
This content wasn't meant for someone of Mo Hua's age or cultivation.
Learning too much too early—without structure—could warp his path entirely…
Elder Xun frowned deeply.
"Sir?"
Mo Hua asked cautiously.
"Is it too confidential? You're not allowed to teach it?"
The elder snapped back to awareness and nodded slightly:
"Normally… this isn't something we teach."
Most sect array masters would never need to touch it.
But seeing Mo Hua's burning curiosity…
Elder Xun hesitated, sighed, then made a decision:
He would teach him.
This child was different. His progress in arrays was already extraordinary. His fundamentals were solid. There was no point in holding him back.
If he didn't teach him, the boy might stop seeking his advice entirely.
Mo Hua was smart—he'd eventually figure something out on his own.
But what he figured out might not be correct.
If he went astray, walking the wrong path in arrays… there'd be no saving him.
Better to guide him directly—ensure his path stayed correct.
Plus, it would prevent the boy from wasting his time and talent chasing meaningless dead ends.
But this had to be secret.
He didn't want others accusing him of favoritism.
So Elder Xun whispered:
"I'll teach you—in secret. You learn in secret. Don't tell anyone…"
Learning in secret?
Mo Hua nodded rapidly:
"Sir, don't worry!"
Oh, I've done this kind of thing before.
He knew this routine well!
Elder Xun then began to explain gently:
"Fixed magnetic patterns are a rather unique kind of array rune. They're different from the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, or even the Yin-Yang and Three Talents arrays…"
"Other arrays draw from Heaven and Earth, and imitate the natural order."
"But fixed magnetic patterns are a product of the evolution of array theory. They carry much heavier traces of human design…"
"This means—if you don't understand the intended meanings behind these man-made patterns, then just analyzing them from a rune structure standpoint makes them extremely difficult to comprehend."
Mo Hua was stunned.
No wonder…
He had been trying to interpret these patterns using traditional array-thinking, which was why it always felt so off.
Elder Xun continued,
"You can think of fixed magnetic patterns as a special type of writing system."
Mo Hua blinked.
"Writing?"
"Exactly," Elder Xun nodded. "These fixed magnetic patterns are derived from foundational trigram symbols, then customized artificially to describe specific functions within magnetic arrays."
"They incorporate all sorts of variations and layered meanings."
"That's why I say—they're more like a symbolic script."
Elder Xun picked up a brush and drew several runes on a corner of an array diagram draft, then asked:
"Do you know what these mean?"
Mo Hua studied them carefully, then shook his head.
He could tell they were magnetic-type runes—but he had no clue what they meant.
Elder Xun then annotated them one by one with accompanying text:
Mo Hua
Fifteen years old
Outer disciple of the Great Void Sect
Native of Lìzhou, second-grade Black Mountain Prefecture, Tongxian City
Access level: Basic outer disciple
Title: Second-grade novice Array Master
…
"This is…?" Mo Hua's heart trembled. "The fixed magnetic patterns in the Great Void Token?"
Elder Xun nodded,
"Correct. The bottom-most formation patterns in your sect token are composed of these very fixed magnetic patterns."
"It's just that the token is tightly sealed, so you can't see them."
"And even if you could see them, you wouldn't understand them."
"Because you don't yet grasp what these patterns mean—or put more plainly, you can't read this unique form of text that's been compiled from magnetic patterns…"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up as realization struck. He immediately asked:
"Then, sir—how do I learn these fixed magnetic patterns?"
Elder Xun's expression turned subtle.
"You want to learn them?"
Mo Hua nodded honestly.
Elder Xun didn't look thrilled,
"It's overly complex and time-consuming. With that effort, you'd be better off practicing the Eight Trigrams a few more times…"
But Mo Hua's gaze was clear, full of innocent curiosity.
"Just a little bit, please…"
Faced with that pair of sparkling, eager eyes, Elder Xun couldn't bring himself to say no.
He hesitated, sighed, and finally relented.
"Fine—but only a little."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Elder Xun thought for a moment, then asked,
"Suppose you were learning a foreign language. What would you need?"
Mo Hua thought briefly and replied,
"A dictionary?"
Elder Xun nodded.
"Exactly. You'd need a dictionary."
"Fixed magnetic patterns follow the same principle."
"You can treat them like a form of encoded array 'text.' To learn them, you need an 'array dictionary' to cross-reference—so you can understand which patterns convey what meanings."
"If you want to express something, you'd know which pattern to draw…"
"That way, in the future…"
Right as he said that, Elder Xun felt his heart skip a beat—he realized he might've just said something dangerous again…
He frowned, suddenly annoyed.
Every time he taught Mo Hua something, this kind of omen would appear.
Sometimes, even when he hadn't taught anything new—it would still show up…
Ugh, to hell with it!
Elder Xun's expression grew firm. His temper flared.
After all, he'd run a few calculations using his not-quite-masterful but serviceable Heavenly Pattern Deduction.
And this omen? It likely wouldn't harm the Great Void Sect.
If it didn't hurt the sect, then whatever happened outside the sect wasn't his concern.
The sect's duty is to cultivate disciples, spread teachings, resolve doubts.
He couldn't just stop teaching a prodigy over some vague premonition, right?
That thought cleared his mind like wind sweeping the fog.
He felt calm and decisive.
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a thin booklet.
"This contains partial annotations on unstable magnetic patterns."
"You can look it over in your free time—but I'll say it again: don't waste too much time on this. It has very limited practical use. Don't get lost down a rabbit hole and end up wasting your potential on side paths."
"Mhm, mhm!" Mo Hua nodded eagerly. "Thank you, sir!"
He accepted the booklet reverently—Annotations on Unstable Magnetic Patterns.
It was thin. He flipped through a few pages and saw there wasn't much inside. He asked softly:
"Sir, is there more?"
This "dictionary" felt… a bit too short.
Elder Xun shook his head,
"Nope. If you can learn just this much, you're already doing well."
"What if I finish learning it…?"
Elder Xun cut him off immediately:
"Even then, there's no more."
Mo Hua didn't quite believe him,
"Not even in your archives?"
Elder Xun glanced at him and sighed.
"Array theory is vast and diverse. Even the most gifted array master couldn't master everything in a lifetime."
"To be honest," Elder Xun said frankly, "I've only dabbled in this area myself. My research isn't deep. That booklet is all I have on the subject."
Mo Hua suspected he was bluffing… but had no proof.
Besides, Elder Xun was a highly respected figure. There was no real reason to lie to him…
So Mo Hua asked,
"Then where can I find more?"
"The Dao Court Bureau," Elder Xun replied.
Mo Hua blinked,
"The Dao Court Bureau?"
Elder Xun nodded.
"They handle classified transmissions. Naturally, they have the most complete annotations on these magnetic scripts. But unless you're one of their own, you won't be able to access it."
One of their own…
Mo Hua didn't show it, but he looked a little disappointed.
"I see…"
"Work within your means," Elder Xun advised again. "Don't get greedy."
Mo Hua nodded obediently. His questions were done, so he stood and bowed respectfully before taking his leave.
Elder Xun watched him go, thinking nothing more of it.
...
Back in his quarters,
After returning, Mo Hua immediately began studying the booklet titled Annotations on Fixed Magnetic Patterns.
Right now, his spiritual sense had hit a bottleneck, and his array skills were also stuck at the Sixteen-Rune Tier—unable to reach a higher level for the time being.
Even at night, when he practiced arrays on the Dao Stele, his main focus was refining his divine sense and reinforcing his foundation.
So what kind of array he studied didn't make much of a difference at this stage.
From that point on, Mo Hua dedicated all his spare time to learning from the Annotations on Fixed Magnetic Patterns.
Mastering this kind of "foreign language" in array theory was actually quite important.
And it wasn't as difficult as he had originally imagined.
It just required a huge amount of time—memorization, practice, and integration.
But for someone who had the Dao Stele, this wasn't a big deal.
Just like that, after half a month of tireless studying day and night, Mo Hua had basically grasped the fixed magnetic patterns.
He could now roughly use them to express his own intentions in array design.
Despite being thin, the annotation booklet from Elder Xun covered a wide range of practical content.
After mastering it, Mo Hua could finally begin to "read" the expressive meanings embedded in the fixed magnetic patterns found in the Messaging Token.
As for the more complete, deeper, more advanced "dictionary" of fixed magnetic patterns…
That could wait for another day—maybe he could find a way to siphon it from the Dao Court Bureau later.
But for now—it was time to try restoring the Messaging Token!
Mo Hua perked up with excitement. After thinking it through, he decided to start with the one Uncle Gu had given him to practice.
That way, if he messed it up, he could still repair it.
And it would let him verify whether the "restored" message text was accurate.
So Mo Hua sent a few casual messages like "Uncle Gu, you there?"—just fluff.
Once Gu Changhuai replied, Mo Hua erased the responses.
Then, using another array disc, he began simulating and testing the reconstruction of the magnetic script.
First, he copied an identical set of fixed magnetic patterns from the Messaging Token.
Thanks to the annotation booklet, these runes now no longer looked like mysterious array symbols—
Instead, they appeared as clear, straightforward words in a foreign script.
It was like decrypting a coded message. The fog lifted, and the true meanings emerged:
All the transmission sequences, message routing logic, signal pathways, formatting conventions—
Mo Hua could now see and understand them all clearly.
After replicating the base-level fixed patterns, Mo Hua also recorded the traces of the Secondary Thunder Runes that had appeared during the recent message transmission.
Then, he began simulating the operation of the Primordial Magnetic Array on the array disc.
And just as he'd suspected:
The predefined fixed patterns, combined with the recorded Secondary Thunder Runes, through a series of magnetic interactions—
gave rise to a unique set of Unstable Magnetic Patterns.
And those patterns, rendered in magnetic ink on the array disc, revealed the following text:
"If you've got something to say, then say it. Stop asking 'Are you there?'!"
"Didn't I tell you already? Don't message me for small talk."
"What is it?"
"Why aren't you replying now?"
…
It was exactly what Uncle Gu had sent him earlier, before Mo Hua erased it!
Mo Hua was thrilled.
Seeing that Uncle Gu was still waiting for a reply, Mo Hua answered:
"Any updates on the Fire Buddha lead?"
After being holed up in the sect for half a month studying, Mo Hua hadn't heard a peep about the Fire Buddha.
There was a pause—then a reply came, hesitant, cautious:
"Come to the Gu Estate the day after tomorrow, on rest day. I'll tell you in person…"
Mo Hua froze.
Did something go wrong?
Or was it something taboo that couldn't be said over the Messaging Token?
Unable to figure it out, he simply replied:
"Alright."
After that, Gu Changhuai sent no further messages.
Mo Hua shook his head and stopped overthinking.
Whatever it was, he'd ask in person at the Gu Estate in two days.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder—where exactly was that Fire Buddha hiding?
They had committed wholesale slaughter, burned the bodies, caused such a major commotion…
And yet—afterward, they vanished without a trace.
Something about this just didn't sit right.
There was still one more day until the official rest day, and Mo Hua was feeling restless and distracted.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
The Vulture's Messaging Token.
Now that he could reconstruct magnetic script—shouldn't he be able to restore the content of that token as well?
What was hidden in the Vulture's Messaging Token?
It might not be related to the Fire Buddha—but Mo Hua's curiosity was piqued.
And since he still had time before going to see Uncle Gu…
Might as well "restore" the Vulture's token first!
Mo Hua's spirits lifted.
No time like the present.
He followed the same process: dismantled the Vulture's token, copied the base magnetic patterns, recorded the trace of its Secondary Thunder Runes—
Then began reconstructing it on a second array disc.
After working nearly the whole day, lines of text began appearing in magnetic ink on the array disc:
"June 10th – Yuncang City – Sows: 6"
"June 12th – Suburbs of Qingyun City – Ducks: 3"
"July – Jincheng – Chicks: 8"
"20th – Baihua – Acquired one Immortal Crane, gifted to Young Master"
"October – Liusan City – Cattle and horses: 20 total"
Mo Hua stared blankly at the messages.
"What the hell…"
Was this Vulture guy… in the business of selling spiritual livestock?
He squinted at the strange entries for a few more moments—then a chilling realization slowly crept into his mind.
"These spirit beasts… could they be—"
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. His expression turned grim.
(End of Chapter)