Chapter 718 – Custom-Made
"I may not be able to leave the sect and go with you," Mo Hua said, "but I can draw formation arrays for you."
Cheng Mo's eyes lit up with joy, then dimmed again as he hesitated.
"But… if you draw the arrays and we use them, isn't that the same as just buying formation diagrams and using them ourselves?"
"We've tried laying down arrays before, and still haven't caught that flying thief…"
Mo Hua replied, "Don't worry, I'll draw something different."
"If standard array mediums are too easily noticed by them, then we just use non-standard array mediums."
"If array mediums aren't effective, we can use custom-made spiritual tools instead."
"Custom-made spiritual tools?" Cheng Mo was stunned. "Those things are complicated to make… where would we even order them from?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Mo Hua waved it off confidently. "I'll find a way."
Cheng Mo was filled with admiration and couldn't help praising,
"Senior Brother, you've got so many connections!"
That made Mo Hua curious, so he asked:
"Do you guys normally use custom spiritual tools?"
He was reminded of those black-robed traffickers.
"Also, using them consumes a lot of spiritual energy. Without deep cultivation, it's hard to fully draw out the power of an inherited spiritual tool."
Cheng Mo shook his head. "Very rarely."
"Standard spiritual tools are mass-produced, cheap to make, and if they break, it's no big loss. Plus, they're more versatile and come in all kinds of types."
"They're pretty much everywhere."
"As for inherited spiritual tools, their designs are fixed and their internal formations can't be altered. They're powerful, sure, but limited in function—hard to adapt to different situations."
Mo Hua silently thought to himself:
"Using standard tools to commit crimes..."
"Situ! Over here!"
"So, in my view, inherited spiritual tools are a must-have, but relying on them too much becomes a burden."
"He just swings that axe wildly. Half the time, I don't even think he knows which axe he's using…"
Situ Jian continued, "Besides the inherited ones, cultivators usually keep a few standard tools on hand."
"If your family heirloom gets countered by the enemy and you have no backup options, you're in a tight spot."
"After all, the cultivation world is vast. Cultivators vary widely in their techniques, paths, and spiritual tools."
Cheng Mo tried to explain more, but he was bad with words.
"These inherited tools use precious materials, special crafting methods, and are tailored to the clan's unique cultivation techniques. When activated at full power, they're extremely potent."
Mo Hua gave a slight nod. "Mm-hmm."
Still, he didn't fully understand.
Cheng Mo was struggling when he spotted Situ Jian in the distance, who had just finished his assignments and walked into the dining hall.
Situ Jian looked confused as he approached.
Unlike Cheng Mo the blockhead, Situ Jian was sharp, studied more deeply, and thought things through thoroughly.
The pair of axes he carried were heirlooms—very valuable and naturally very powerful.
"Inherited spiritual tools are extremely valuable. Even minor damage hurts, and repairs are troublesome."
"If your cultivation's too low, forcing their activation will drain your spiritual energy rapidly."
Sure enough, Situ Jian was much more reliable. After thinking for a moment, he explained:
Cheng Mo immediately stood and waved him over.
He then proudly pointed to Situ Jian and told Mo Hua:
"Senior Brother, you should ask Situ! He's a sword cultivator, and sword cultivators are sharp-minded—I mean, meticulous. He really knows his weapons and understands artifact crafting. You won't go wrong asking him."
"In a way, these inherited spiritual tools are also a symbol of noble heritage."
Otherwise, if someone used their clan's spiritual tool for criminal acts, the moment they struck, a knowledgeable person could immediately trace their background and expose everything.
Cheng Mo nodded repeatedly at that—yeah, no loose ends.
Even the issue of custom tools being a niche field of artifact crafting—Mo Hua himself hadn't thought too deeply about it until now.
"Also, custom tools are less likely to expose one's identity when doing shady stuff…"
Situ Jian sighed, "But custom tools aren't always easy to use either."
"Hao Xuan's sword is inherited too, but he doesn't like swords anymore—he prefers to use a staff…"
"In a life-or-death fight, that kind of mismatch can be fatal."
Mo Hua blinked, silently taking note.
Situ Jian clearly didn't have Mo Hua's scheming mind—he explained in a straightforward, serious manner:
"Standard tools are fine, but the issue is, they're too rough."
"From materials to design, to craftsmanship and embedded formations—they're cheap and poorly made."
"Some high-quality standard tools are expensive because of high production costs and limited output, so they don't sell well either."
"Oh…" Mo Hua nodded. Then asked, "What about custom spiritual tools?"
Situ Jian replied, "The biggest issue with custom tools is—they're a huge hassle."
"Crafting one requires a formation master who's highly experienced, deeply knowledgeable, skilled in formation-drawing, and specialized in practical formations."
"Finding someone like that is very difficult."
"Some formation masters only know theory—they're clumsy and awkward when it comes to drawing actual formations."
"Some are great at drawing and have good technique, but take forever to finish—also no good."
"Others are too rigid—they only know how to follow templates and can't adapt or innovate."
"There aren't many formation masters to begin with, and with these added requirements, the qualified ones are even fewer."
"You need someone who's good at formation theory, knowledgeable, adaptable, practical, fast, and accurate…"
Situ Jian sighed,
"That kind of formation master is like a phoenix feather—rare beyond words—and hard to hire."
"Mm-hmm!" Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.
Cheng Mo also nodded… until halfway through, he suddenly realized something was off. He narrowed his eyes at Situ Jian.
"Why do I feel like you're just roundabout flattering Mo Hua?"
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
"So, you big-browed, upright Situ Jian—turns out you're one of those guys too!"
Situ Jian glanced sideways at Cheng Mo.
"I'm just speaking the truth. Not everyone sucks up like you do."
Cheng Mo proudly retorted,
"I never suck up subtly. I go full frontal!"
Mo Hua sighed helplessly, then asked Situ Jian,
"And then?"
Situ Jian was momentarily distracted by Cheng Mo's interruption. After refocusing, he continued:
"Besides the formation master, you also need a skilled artifact crafter."
"They need superb craftsmanship, extensive experience, flexibility in thinking—but not too unorthodox. They still need to follow proper conventions."
"Custom spiritual tools don't follow fixed templates, but they do require certain principles."
"Plus, you have to deal with issues across the entire cultivation industry—like furnaces, crafting materials, crafting procedures, etc."
"Basically, it's a huge pain…"
Situ Jian let out a sigh and said:
"Our Situ Clan once hired a few formation masters. We wanted them to collaborate with our clan's artifact refiners to craft a batch of specialized armor-piercing spirit swords."
"But the formation masters looked down on the refiners as crude, and the refiners saw the formation masters as arrogant. Neither respected the other."
"When they actually began crafting, the refiners complained that the formation diagrams were flawed—this part was wrong, that part didn't match—and said they didn't work with the spirit tools at all."
"Meanwhile, the formation masters insisted: 'The heavens may be vast, but nothing outranks a formation diagram.' The diagrams were sacred and could not be altered. If anything didn't match the formation, that was the spirit tool's fault—the refiners should figure it out."
"They kept arguing back and forth, changing steps repeatedly, wasting god knows how much refining material and formation ink."
Situ Jian smiled bitterly.
"In the end, we spent a fortune to produce that batch of spirit swords… but more than half turned out defective. Only a few were actually usable."
Mo Hua was stunned when he heard that.
He knew it would be troublesome—but not this troublesome...
Situ Jian noticed his look and asked,
"Senior Brother, are you planning to make custom spiritual tools?"
Mo Hua didn't hide it. He nodded.
"Yeah, I want to give it a try—start with some simple ones."
"So the refiner, the furnace, the workshop...?"
"I've got connections."
Situ Jian was surprised. Just like Cheng Mo, he was beginning to realize this "little senior brother" of theirs had not only an extensive network but also… some impressively wild contacts.
"But there's one issue," Mo Hua said. "Making these tools will take time. You guys might not be able to use them for the current mission to catch that thief."
In two days, it would be their ten-day break.
Cheng Mo's group would definitely head out to hunt the thief then.
There simply wouldn't be enough time.
Now Situ Jian understood why Mo Hua had suddenly asked about custom spiritual tools.
And yes, it was a problem.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said:
"How about this—this break, you still go ahead and try to catch him. If you succeed, great. If not, let him go for now. Next break, I'll have some custom array mediums and tools ready for you to use."
"Alright," Cheng Mo nodded, then slapped his chest and declared,
"As long as we can catch that damned thief, I'll pay double for the arrays and spiritual tools!"
Then he added sheepishly:
"Limited to spirit stones though…"
"Deal!"
Mo Hua squinted and smiled.
After that, Mo Hua wrote a letter and had someone deliver it to Lone Mountain City, briefly explaining the situation to Master Gu ahead of time.
When the ten-day break began, Mo Hua made a trip to the Gu family.
Master Gu was already waiting at the family estate.
Compared to usual, his demeanor was still calm and steady, but his eyes held a hint of anticipation.
The two found a teahouse in the city.
Mo Hua handed Master Gu several special formation diagrams.
These diagrams included not only the layouts of the formations, but also the schematics for tool crafting—a kind of diagram combining formation and forging, specifically for artifact refinement.
"Master Gu, I'd like to ask your help in refining a few items…"
"These are two simple spiritual tools—one is a stone needle, the other a silver needle. And then there are two types of specialized formation plates…"
Mo Hua spread the diagrams out and explained each one in detail.
Once he finished, Master Gu accepted the diagrams and studied them thoroughly, asking some careful questions.
For example—what materials to use? What size should they be?
Some designs fit the formation well, but required tedious steps in forging, raising production costs.
Mo Hua answered every question one by one.
For a few issues where the forging steps conflicted with formation structure, Mo Hua only paused briefly to think, then adjusted the diagrams on the spot.
After spending over an hour, the initial set of refining diagrams was finalized.
Though it was just a draft, the tools and mediums involved weren't overly complex, so it was basically ready to go.
Back at the workshop, they could use the refining furnace to produce a batch for testing.
After the discussion, Mo Hua said:
"Master Gu, once you're back, please calculate the total cost—materials, labor, all of it."
Master Gu hesitated slightly, then smiled.
"Although these are custom-made, they're all small, low-cost items. The processes are simple too. They won't cost many spirit stones. Young Master doesn't need to be so formal."
Mo Hua shook his head.
"They're not for me."
Master Gu blinked in surprise.
Mo Hua smiled.
"They're for my fellow disciples. They've got plenty of spirit stones. No need to save money on their behalf."
Master Gu's gaze shifted slightly. He slowly understood, then smiled and nodded.
"Alright."
Mo Hua smiled back.
Refiners in Lone Mountain City already lived tough lives.
Even though Master Gu was a Golden Core cultivator, overseeing a large refining workshop with many disciples under him, he wasn't exactly wealthy.
So Mo Hua had decided to start with custom tools.
This way, he could help Cheng Mo and his peers capture evil cultivators and earn merit—and at the same time, improve business for the Gu family's refining house.
At the same time, it would help Mo Hua solidify his knowledge of formations through practice. The deeper his understanding and application, the more he could eventually share and spread formation knowledge widely.
Of course, that goal was still a long way off.
For now, he had to start small and take it one step at a time.
Once they finished discussing the custom tool plans, Mo Hua took his leave.
Master Gu personally saw him to the gate and watched his carriage depart into the distance, a long-held burden in his heart finally lifting.
"This young lord really is a benefactor…"
Perhaps soon, the scattered cultivators of Lone Mountain City might finally see some better days…
Master Gu glanced down at the refining diagrams in his hand, his gaze reverent.
On the surface, it was just a few simple spiritual tools.
But this… was the beginning of something far more important.
...
Before the ten-day break ended, Mo Hua had already returned to the sect, waiting for news from Cheng Mo and the others about catching the flying bandit.
If they failed, then the custom spiritual tools he had asked Master Gu to refine would be put to good use during the next break.
And if Cheng Mo's group had already caught the bandit—well, that was fine too.
Successfully apprehending a rogue cultivator was a good thing either way.
Those spiritual tools would definitely come in handy later. No rush.
By evening, Cheng Mo and the others returned, heads drooping in frustration.
Mo Hua didn't even need to ask. Just one look at their faces told him they had failed.
"That bastard!"
"We tailed him for a whole day and night, almost had him! But he practices a wind-based movement technique—way too fast! Slipped right through a crowd and vanished!"
"We gave chase, but he was gone without a trace…"
Cheng Mo slumped beside Mo Hua, munching spirit food while ranting, eyes pitifully locked onto him.
According to protocol, they should let it go now.
Continuing like this would only waste time—and they'd earn no merit points for it.
But the more Cheng Mo thought about it, the angrier he got. Especially when he remembered that bandit's smug, mocking look as he fled—it was unbearable.
Mo Hua nodded.
"I already asked Master Gu to help forge the tools. They should be ready before the next break."
Cheng Mo was overjoyed.
Seven days later, Master Gu sent a storage pouch into the Great Void Sect for Mo Hua.
Inside were two kinds of spiritual tools, and two types of formation plates.
Mo Hua took some time to draw the formations on them, then handed them over to Cheng Mo's group, explaining:
"That bandit's clearly experienced. He's escaped from many formation traps before. So ordinary formation flags or obvious formations won't cut it. We need something more covert…"
"There are two types of tools here—stone needles and silver needles."
"Both have micro-inscribed formations."
"The stone needles are for detection. They're inscribed with the Miniature Primordial Magnetic Array, can be stuck in the ground, hidden among rocks, or embedded into stone—they're hard to detect."
"The silver needles are for tracking. They carry the Divining Compass Parent-Child Formation. If you stab one into the bandit—flesh, clothing, hair, whatever—you can then track him using a compass. Once it's in, there's no escape."
"Next, there are two types of formation plates."
"These are used for large-scale Flowing Sand Arrays and Wood Binding Arrays. You can't use those without formation plates."
"But these are specially forged with materials attuned to soil—less durable, yes, but far more concealable when buried underground."
Afterward, Mo Hua also taught them how monster hunters typically bury formations and set traps.
"Got it?"
Cheng Mo nodded… then shook his head.
This wasn't his kind of thing. He was more of a "swing-an-axe-and-scream" type.
On the other hand, Hao Xuan looked incredibly serious, memorizing everything clearly.
Mo Hua added a few more precautions.
A few days later, Cheng Mo's squad set off again for the next ten-day break.
Mo Hua stayed behind, continuing to cultivate and draw formation diagrams, waiting for their report.
Two days later, they returned.
Everyone looked relaxed. Cheng Mo in particular walked tall and proud, eyes gleaming with triumph.
"We planted stone needles inscribed with the Miniature Primordial Magnetic Array all over the mountains. Any rustle of wind or grass—we knew right away."
"That bandit wasn't an exception."
"As soon as he showed up, we moved in."
"He was fast, sure, but Yang Qianjun's spear was faster—pierced his back. Situ Jian followed up lightning quick and jammed a silver needle straight into the wound."
"With that silver needle in him, it was like he swallowed a hook. No matter how he ran, he dragged the line behind him."
"We chased him through the mountains like a cat playing with a mouse."
"Then, when he was exhausted, we sprang a formation trap in advance and finally nabbed that damn thief."
"When we caught him, he looked completely stunned. Kept muttering, 'How… how did you even catch me?'"
"I didn't even answer—just gave him a good beating."
Cheng Mo's storytelling was vivid and animated. He looked extremely satisfied.
When he finished, he offered Mo Hua a big drumstick as tribute and praised,
"As expected of our Little Senior Brother!"
Mo Hua took the drumstick, bit into it, and nodded in approval.
After this incident, whenever Cheng Mo took on bounty missions, he would come to Mo Hua for advice.
He also frequently bought detection, tracking, or ambush tools—stone needles, spirit needles, formation plates—from Mo Hua.
With these specialized spiritual tools and formation mediums, capturing rogue cultivators became far more efficient.
One day, Mo Hua was eating in the dining hall.
The towering Cheng Mo came over, leading a junior disciple to stand before Mo Hua.
Cheng Mo said to the disciple:
"Call him 'Little Senior Brother!'"
The disciple bowed respectfully and called out,
"Little Senior Brother!"
Mo Hua blinked in surprise.
For a moment, he felt like a gang boss in a secret society—and this kid had just come to join his crew.
(End of Chapter)