Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 227: Chapter 226 Foundation Establishment Divine Sense (Five Updates)_1

Mo Hua was startled.

Mr. Zhuang said, “These past days, I have looked through the notes of predecessors in our sect who have cultivated the Heaven Yan Jue technique, and after some research, and considering the Mystery Formation you encountered, I discovered a problem.”

Mo Hua’s spirits lifted as he listened intently.

“The bottleneck of the Heaven Yan Jue technique varies from person to person,” Mr. Zhuang said slowly.

Mo Hua was slightly astonished. “Varies from person to person?”

“Do you still remember the small print noted in the manual of the Heaven Yan Jue technique?” Mr. Zhuang asked.

Mo Hua recalled for a moment and replied, “The bottleneck lies in the Divine Sense, not suitable for non-Formation Masters to cultivate.”

“The issue is precisely with the Divine Sense,” Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and said, “Your Divine Sense is too strong. The stronger the Divine Sense, the stronger the bottleneck will be.”

Mo Hua’s mouth gaped open as he weakly asked,

“If my Divine Sense were weaker, would cultivating the Heaven Yan Jue be much smoother…?”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with a half-smile. “If the Divine Sense is weak, the bottleneck would be weak, and naturally, the effects of the technique would also be weaker.”

Mo Hua thought for a bit. The benefit of the Heaven Yan Jue technique was to make the Divine Sense keen and control more powerful, so that Formation Patterns could be drawn faster. But since his own Divine Sense was exceptional, this effect seemed slightly weaker to him.

“Do you feel like the control of Divine Sense isn’t that important?” Mr. Zhuang saw through Mo Hua’s thoughts.

Mo Hua honestly nodded his head.

Mr. Zhuang said, “The purpose of the Heaven Yan Jue is to solve Formations through the Sea of Consciousness and to train your control over the Divine Sense. The more complex the Formation you solve, the keener the control over your Divine Sense will be after the breakthrough.”

Mr. Zhuang’s expression was wistful. “Control of the Divine Sense is extremely important for both Formation Masters and Cultivators, as it relates to the speed at which you draw Formations and the time it takes to cast spells.”

To put it simply, Formations would be drawn faster and more numerous, and spells could be used more rapidly.

Mo Hua nodded and said, “Then, this technique is quite impressive, isn’t it?”

“As I have just said, it varies from person to person,” Mr. Zhuang’s gaze grew focused as he said,

“The stronger the Divine Sense, the more this technique is like adding wings to a tiger; the weaker the Divine Sense, the more the technique seems like a useless appendage.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up.

His Divine Sense wasn’t weak at all, not only was it not weak, but it was also very strong.

It looked like he had made the right choice back then; Heaven Yan Jue was indeed the most suitable technique for him.

Mo Hua felt somewhat smug inside, but Mr. Zhuang threw cold water on his thoughts, saying,

“Although the stronger the Divine Sense, the stronger the effectiveness of the technique, but the bottleneck to overcome will also be stronger, and the Mystery Formation will be more complex as well.”

Mo Hua furrowed his brow.

Mr. Zhuang continued, “The Mystery Formation in your Sea of Consciousness at the middle phase of Qi Refinement is already a First-Grade Compound Formation. So, what level of Mystery Formation do you have to solve when you wish to break through to Foundation Establishment?”

Mo Hua was shocked as he listened, “It can’t be a Large Formation, can it…?”

“Not necessarily. Strictly speaking, although a Large Formation is within the First-Grade category, it is not considered something a First-Grade Formation Master should learn.”

“Gentleman, am I capable of learning a Large Formation now?” Mo Hua inquired.

“Not yet.”

“Oh.” Mo Hua nodded.

If Mr. Zhuang said so, he wouldn’t be overly ambitious for now.

The pressing matter was still to resolve the issue with the technique.

Mo Hua asked, “If the stronger the Divine Sense, the stronger the bottleneck, then how should I overcome the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment in the future?”

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua and responded indifferently, “It’s actually quite simple. Your Divine Sense needs to become even stronger.”

Mo Hua’s brows furrowed even tighter, as he realized a problem:

“Gentleman, if Divine Sense grows stronger and the bottleneck becomes more formidable, then no matter how strong my Divine Sense is, won’t the bottleneck also strengthen accordingly? If so, is it really possible to break through the bottleneck by simply enhancing Divine Sense?”

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze grew sharp, “Therefore, the growth of your Divine Sense must exceed its limit.”

Mo Hua’s heart chilled, “The limit for Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment?”

“Exactly,” Mr. Zhuang nodded.

“So, how much difference is there really between Divine Sense at the Qi Refinement Realm and at the Foundation Establishment Stage?” Mo Hua asked.

Mr. Zhuang spoke, “A cultivator’s Spiritual Power is quantified by the Circulation, while it’s quite difficult to uniformly quantify a cultivator’s Divine Sense.”

“One common method is to measure the strength of a cultivator’s Divine Sense by the range it can extend to.”

“Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm can usually extend their Divine Sense to a distance of about ten to twenty zhang. Those with stronger Divine Sense can extend it further, while those with weaker Divine Sense, closer.”

Mo Hua nodded; when he cast spells, he took advantage of his strong Divine Sense for a longer range, which allowed him some advantages.

“But this method is imprecise. Some cultivators naturally project their Divine Sense further, yet their Divine Sense’s strength is only average. Others may not be adept at projecting their Divine Sense, but the Sea of Consciousness is very sturdy, and their Divine Sense is profound.”

“The most accurate way to measure Divine Sense is through Drawing Formation.”

“Drawing Formation?” Mo Hua was slightly startled, “The number of Formation Patterns?”

“Precisely,” Mr. Zhuang nodded, “Just as a Formation Master uses the number of Formation Patterns to determine the standard of a Formation, using the number of Formation Patterns to measure the strength of Divine Sense is the most accurate method.”

“Generally, a Qi Refinement first level cultivator can draw a single Formation Pattern, which means the Divine Sense is at one pattern. If they draw two Formation Patterns, then the Divine Sense is at two patterns… and so on, until nine Formation Patterns represent the maximum of nine patterns for Divine Sense.”

“And nine patterns of Divine Sense are the extreme limit for a Qi Refinement cultivator.”

Mo Hua pondered silently, “So, the Divine Sense of a Foundation Building Cultivator is then ten patterns?”

Mr. Zhuang nodded.

“Only a difference of one pattern?” Mo Hua was stunned.

Mr. Zhuang’s smile held a touch of mockery, “It seems like only one pattern’s difference, yet the amount of Divine Sense is twice as much.”

Mo Hua was taken aback, “How can there be such a big difference?”

Mr. Zhuang explained, “Because breaking through from the ninth level of Qi Refinement to the Foundation Establishment Stage involves a significant qualitative change and condensation of Spiritual Power, Divine Sense will also double. Thus, a Foundation Building Cultivator drawing a Second-Grade Formation starts with twice the amount of Divine Sense as that of a ninth-level Qi Refinement.”

“Nine patterns for Qi Refinement, ten patterns for Foundation Establishment. Only when the nine-patterned Divine Sense doubles can it reach the volume of a ten-patterned Divine Sense.”

“And this doubling, this gap, is the limit of Divine Sense, and also the insurmountable chasm for cultivators!”

Mo Hua was shocked within, no wonder he always felt that since becoming a First-Grade nine-patterned Formation Master, the improvement of his Divine Sense was like a boundless sea of mist, impossible to see its edge.

It turned out that the disparity was so vast, the gorge so deep.

“Is it possible for someone at the Qi Refinement Realm to possess the ten-patterned Divine Sense of the Foundation Establishment Stage?” Mo Hua asked weakly.

“It’s possible,” Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with significant meaning in his words.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it was possible, that was enough.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, as he came to a realization:

“Could it be that I must possess Divine Sense equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage in order to unlock the Mystery Formation, break through the bottleneck, and become a Foundation Building Cultivator?”

Seeing that he’d understood, Mr. Zhuang nodded and said:

“Correct, the stronger the Divine Sense, the stronger the bottleneck, but no matter how strong the bottleneck of cultivation is, it is after all just for the Qi Refinement stage. Once your Divine Sense exceeds the limits of the Qi Refinement stage, you will naturally be able to break through the bottleneck. This also means…”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and continued slowly:

“Other cultivators must break through to Foundation Establishment to have the Divine Sense of that stage, but you are different. You must first possess the Divine Sense of the Foundation Establishment Stage in order to become a Foundation Building Cultivator!”