Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 301: Chapter 300 Unwilling to Part_1

Mo Hua was somewhat astonished, and after some thought, he felt it was not so serious:

“Just by asking about the difference in Evil Formations, one can’t possibly just learn it…”

Bai Zisheng thought for a while, yet with a firm expression, he shook his head:

“Others may not be able to, but you will surely get it as soon as you learn!”

Whether with Evil Formation or Demon Formation, they inherently deviate from the Great Dao, resorting to tricks and shortcuts.

Learning the Righteous Dao Formation is very difficult.

To learn it well, one needs to be orderly and steadfast, repeatedly Drawing Formation, gradually strengthening Divine Sense, and after years of toil, slowly achieving success in Formation.

Some Evil Cultivators, in their haste for quick success and impatience for hard work, want to improve in a short time and invent side doors and harmful methods to forcibly enhance the power of their Formation.

Evil Formation and Demon Formation are easier to learn compared to the Righteous Dao Formation.

Moreover, as one is righteous and the other wicked, one being the inverse of the other, it might be hard for Formation Masters to penetrate their mysteries, but for a talent as bright as Mo Hua, he would understand as soon as he is given hints.

Despite Bai Zisheng’s reluctance to admit it, Mo Hua was, in his eyes, among the cultivators of a similar age, the one with the most outrageous Formation talent he had ever seen.

He learned conventional Formation so fast, let alone those heretical ones.

Even if Mr. Zhuang merely provided a few hints about the principles, he would likely figure out the Evil Formation on his own.

And once one falls into evil, there is no turning back.

Bai Zisheng glanced at Mo Hua and quickly cautioned:

“You must not ask Mr. Zhuang, or you will surely anger the gentleman! Those Evil Formations aren’t presentable, better left unasked.”

“Really?” Mo Hua was somewhat skeptical.

He wasn’t exactly eager to learn any Evil Formation; he just wanted to be able to cope the next time he encountered one, to avoid being caught off guard and trapped in a predicament.

“Really!” Bai Zisheng said solemnly.

“Alright then.”

Heeding the advice of others keeps one well-fed.

Since both Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi had said so, he decided to let it be for now; he could always consider it again if an opportunity arose later.

“By the way, how did you manage to get out of Black Mountain Stronghold?” Bai Zisheng asked curiously.

So Mo Hua retold the “gallant” tale of how the third Householder led the way and he walked out the front gates of Black Mountain Stronghold with a swagger and confidence.

Bai Zisheng was astonished and blurted out, “You’re bragging!”

“If you don’t believe it, forget it.”

Mo Hua didn’t appear to be lying, and Bai Zisheng felt torn, so he asked, “What happened next?”

Mo Hua briefly recounted the subsequent events, including how he trapped and killed those Evil Cultivators.

Bai Zisheng wore a solemn expression, contemplated for a long time, and finally made up his mind, saying earnestly:

“Based on your courage and actions, I’ve decided not to take you as my underling.”

“Huh?”

“You can upgrade, becoming my junior disciple!”

Mo Hua appeared indifferent and curled his lip, “I’m not keen on it.”

Bai Zisheng was again shocked, “You don’t even care to be the junior disciple?”

“What’s there to care about?”

“This is to be my junior disciple! Disciples from ordinary cultivator families, even those from the Zhao, Li, and even the Tu families’ direct lines, I’d scorn the idea of them being my junior.”

Bai Zisheng tried hard to convince Mo Hua.

After thinking for a while, Mo Hua asked, “We’re both registered disciples of Mr. Zhuang, so we’re not really brothers within the same sect, right?”

“Registered disciples are still disciples!” insisted Bai Zisheng.

“But that’s not right, I entered the sect before you, I should be the senior brother, and you should be my junior.”

Bai Zisheng was flabbergasted, and couldn’t help but jump up, “Impossible!”

Not being able to be the “big brother” was one thing; reluctantly becoming the “senior brother” would suffice, but now not only could he not be the senior brother, but he might even become the “junior disciple”!

Bai Zisheng couldn’t accept it!

“I’m older than you; I’m the senior brother!”

“I entered the sect earlier than you; you have to call me senior brother!”

…

Bai Zixi, on the side, seeing them arguing incessantly, picked up her book again and began reading elegantly and serenely.

Beneath the old scholar tree, the crisp voices chattered, both boisterous and peaceful.

It wasn’t until dusk settled in that each of them returned home, and the mountain abode became tranquil once again.

The night was peaceful, the moonlight scattered, casting a faint silver glow over the mountain scenery and the bamboo forest of the mountain dwelling.

Mr. Zhuang in the bamboo room, slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the moonlit mountains before him, lost in thought.

Before long, Old Kui appeared silently, his voice as dry and hoarse as ever:

“Your injury has worsened.”

“It was always this severe,” said Mr. Zhuang calmly, without any hint of pain or joy.

Old Kui was silent, then said indifferently:

“If your injury has worsened, it is time to leave.”

Mr. Zhuang didn’t reply.

“Are you reluctant to leave?” Old Kui’s voice was wooden.

Mr. Zhuang stretched lazily and smiled noncommittally, “Yeah, the scenery here is nice, the days are carefree, with plenty to eat and drink. It truly would be a bit hard to leave.”

“Is it these things that you can’t part with?”

Mr. Zhuang continued to stare at the dark mountains in the distance, remaining silent.

“Don’t get too entangled in karma,” Old Kui reminded again.

“Let’s wait a bit longer,” Mr. Zhuang pondered for a moment, sighed, “once I’ve taught you everything you should know… It’s hard for me to rest easy just leaving like this.”

Old Kui frowned, “If you stay in one place for too long, once they calculate your position, your life or death is unpredictable.”

“I have a sense for these things; there’s still time,” Mr. Zhuang’s demeanor remained very calm.

“As long as you’re sure, that’s fine. After all, it’s your own life,” Old Kui stated flatly, and then said no more.

Silence fell upon the bamboo room.

The night grew deeper, and the moonlight became ever clearer and colder.

After an unknowable span of time, Mr. Zhuang spoke up,

“Old Kui, what do you think… how much longer can I hide?”

The room was still silent.

Old Kui was nowhere to be seen, whether he was not there, or couldn’t hear, therefore gave no answer; or perhaps he heard but didn’t know how to respond, so chose to remain silent.

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze was profound, and he laughed at himself with a hint of mockery.

Mo Hua returned home, had dinner, went back to his room, and sprawled over the small desk to begin drawing the Reversed Spirit Formation.

He had already mastered this formation. Now, practicing it again, he aimed to refine his Divine Sense and to increase his proficiency, so that he could better grasp the intricacies of this formation.

The First-grade ten-pattern Reversed Spirit Formation was difficult to learn and equally challenging to practice.

Mo Hua could only barely manage to draw it; his brushwork was unpolished, the Formation Patterns not sharp enough, his understanding of the Formation Pivot superficial, and his Divine Sense just adequate. Therefore, there were still many areas he needed to work on and many more repetitions required before he could claim complete mastery.

Mo Hua hunched over the desk, focused intently as he held the pen in his small, slightly strained hand, drawing the Reversed Spirit Formation.

Once he finished a complete drawing, his Divine Sense nearly depleted. He would sit quietly and meditate to replenish his Divine Sense.

At the same time, evil thoughts would emerge, proliferate, and attempt to disturb Mo Hua’s state of mind.

Following Mr. Zhuang’s advice, Mo Hua used these evil thoughts to temper his mind.

Whenever evil thoughts arose, he did not fear or flee from them but reflected on himself with a mind as clear as a mirror, counteracting the evil thoughts while also steadfastly consolidating his original intention amidst the chaos of mixed desires.

After meditating for a while, the evil thoughts gradually subsided, and Mo Hua’s Divine Sense began to refill.

Mo Hua practiced another Reversed Spirit Formation, then rested for a bit before starting to think about his plan for Foundation Establishment.

Previously, he had been focused solely on the idea of Foundation Establishment without knowing how to go about it or what preparations were necessary.

After consulting Mr. Zhuang, he had a clearer understanding.

In short, before Foundation Establishment, one must fortify one’s Divine Sense as much as possible so that after Foundation Establishment, with the multiplied Divine Sense, one can lay the grounds for proving the Dao with Divine Sense and building the Taoist Foundation.

The first thing to do was to keep practicing, all the way to the Qi Refining Ninth Level.

Mo Hua had been impatient to reach Foundation Establishment before, but now he aimed to polish his state and consolidate his Divine Sense, and he wasn’t in a rush anymore.

Maintain a normal state of mind, persist in daily Cultivation, and let things take their natural course—there’s no need to rush for quick success.

Besides Cultivation, the most important thing was Divine Sense.

Currently at the Qi Refining Seventh Level, Mo Hua was due for two minor realm breakthroughs. Each breakthrough should enhance his Divine Sense a bit more.

By studying the Reversed Spirit Formation and practicing using the Taoist Stele, his Divine Sense would continue to grow steadily.

Once he mastered the Reversed Spirit Formation, Mr. Zhuang had said he’d teach him other things as well.

If Mo Hua’s guess was correct, it should involve using the Reversed Spirit Formation to induce a Formation Collapse.

Mo Hua remembered Mr. Zhuang saying,

“Upon a Formation Collapse, Spiritual Power within the framework of the formation follows the pattern of the Formation Patterns in reverse, clashing and continuously arising and extinguishing, producing extremely strong fluctuations of Spiritual Power, possessing unimaginable might…”

Mo Hua was utterly astounded and intensely curious about the power of a Formation Collapse and just how formidable it could be, so much so that even Mr. Zhuang found it beyond comprehension.

Once he finished all of that, Mr. Zhuang should also introduce some of Heavenly Dao’s anomalies for his contemplation.

Mo Hua was very eager to know if the effects and power of the other Heavenly Dao’s anomalies were also beyond the capacities of ordinary cultivators.

How different were these formations to learn compared to the Reversed Spirit Formation and other conventional First-grade formations?

Lastly, there were the Contemplation Maps.

If the Divine Thoughts within the Contemplation Maps weren’t too sturdy, could he actually enhance his Divine Sense by “Eating Map”?

“Eating Map” to refine Divine Sense, evil thoughts to refine the mind.

With the Taoist Stele for suppression, the risks shouldn’t be as big as imagined.

However, “Eating Map” could only be an alternative. Firstly, Contemplation Maps were rare; Mo Hua didn’t know where to find them or even where to start looking.

Secondly, without seeing through their true nature, Mo Hua wouldn’t know if the Divine Thoughts in the maps were evil or ghostly, strong or weak. It wasn’t safe to act rashly.

“Let’s leave the Contemplation Maps for later…”

Even without relying on Contemplation Maps, completing the tasks above should be enough to further refine his Divine Sense upon Foundation Establishment, making it even stronger.

With a stronger Divine Sense, learning Second-Grade formations would be a breeze, and becoming a Second Rank Formation Master would be within reach in no time.

How powerful were Second-Grade formations, and what effects could they have?

If he mastered Second-Grade formations, would he be considered the youngest Second Rank Formation Master?

The Cultivation World is vast, full of geniuses. Among Second Rank Formation Masters, he might not be the youngest, but at least he should be among the youngest few, right?

Mo Hua felt a surge of aspiration and couldn’t help but feel grateful to Mr. Zhuang.

Without Mr. Zhuang’s guidance, his mastery of formations couldn’t have improved so well or so quickly, let alone learning formations above the First-grade.

Upon this reflection, Mo Hua’s brow furrowed unconsciously.

Mr. Zhuang has seemed a bit off lately.

He appeared to be more prone to sleepiness than before, and seemed more easily fatigued during cultivation… Mo Hua wondered if there was something amiss with his Cultivation.

Although he still seemed as lazy and composed as ever on the surface.

But Mo Hua, who was perceptive and had spent so much time with Mr. Zhuang, could sense that something was not quite right with him.

“Could it be that the gentleman… is unwell?”

Mo Hua was somewhat worried.