Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 296: Chapter 295 Evil Thoughts_1

After dinner, Mo Hua practiced Formation for a while before lying in bed to rest with his eyes closed, waiting until 1 p.m. to enter the Sea of Consciousness.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the insubstantial Taoist Stele emerged.

Mo Hua scrutinized the Taoist Stele and found it perfectly normal, just as always.

Mo Hua was somewhat disappointed.

He had thought that after consuming the Little Green-faced Ghost and refining its Divine Thought, and with his Divine Sense prematurely establishing its foundation, this Taoist Stele would undergo some change, conjuring some profound transformations.

But it seemed he had expected too much.

The Taoist Stele was intangible, ancient, profound, and silent, just like the Great Dao, everlasting through the ages.

Mo Hua silently watched the Taoist Stele.

This Taoist Stele had been in the Sea of Consciousness for over a decade, originally as familiar as could be, but now it seemed unfathomable, as if hiding numerous unknown karmic relationships.

“I wonder if I will be able to uncover the secrets hidden within the stele when my realm is higher, my Divine Sense stronger, or my experience in Tao Cultivation broader?”

Mo Hua contemplated silently.

Afterward, Mo Hua put aside distracting thoughts and practiced Formation on the Taoist Stele as usual.

Cultivation emphasizes gradual progress and accumulation, and Formation requires consistent, drip by drip efforts.

Both demand night and day hard work and persistent practice. Nothing can be achieved overnight, nor can one be impatient for quick results.

Even though Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was already strong, when it came to Formation, he still needed to remain down-to-earth, repeatedly honing and consolidating his skills.

Using his finger as a brush, Mo Hua drew complex and profound Formation Patterns on the Taoist Stele.

These were profound Formation Patterns that an ordinary First-grade Formation Master could not learn, forming the most difficult First-grade Ten Pattern Reversed Spirit Formation that Mo Hua had mastered to date.

For Mo Hua at the moment, only this Formation was worth spending more time practicing.

After all, his Divine Sense had already established its foundation, and ordinary First-grade Formations could not deepen his understanding or hone his Divine Sense. Drawing them was as easy as drinking water, effortlessly and blandly without taste.

Of course, Mo Hua only thought this to himself; if he said it out loud, he would certainly attract resentment.

Mo Hua focused on practicing the Reversed Spirit Formation.

However, as he practiced, Mo Hua noticed something was amiss.

Every time he used his Divine Sense, some afterimages would occasionally emerge within the Sea of Consciousness.

Within these afterimages were Taoist temples hidden among green mountains, the Taoist Child who appeared innocent one moment and malicious the next, Taoists who sometimes exuded a celestial presence and other times displayed a greedy expression, and Cultivators of various forms harboring evil intentions…

Mo Hua’s state of mind also fluctuated frequently.

Sometimes pure, sometimes irritable, sometimes despondent, sometimes violent, and, at worst, he harbored a craving for human flesh and blood.

Mo Hua hurriedly sat in meditation to rid himself of these distracting thoughts.

A moment later, Mo Hua opened his eyes and furrowed his brows.

“Is it possible that the Divine Thought of that Little Green-faced Ghost wasn’t completely purified and so much of its evil thoughts have lingered?”

He also recalled what Mr. Zhuang had said about the Contemplation Map being unpredictable and the Divine Sense it reveals potentially belonging to some “Non-Human” entities…

If that were indeed the case, the repercussions of “consuming” the ghost might be more dangerous than he had thought.

“I’ll ask Mr. Zhuang about it tomorrow.”

Since the evil thoughts remained, it was not good to use Divine Sense to practice Formation anymore.

Otherwise, the lingering evil thoughts could subtly corrupt the Sea of Consciousness, leading one to make mistakes, or even stray into error.

Mo Hua continued to sit in meditation to reflect upon himself, combat the evil thoughts, and preserve his true nature.

At the break of dawn at 6 A.M., Mo Hua sat cross-legged, bathed in the morning sun, carrying out his daily practice.

After practicing, his Spiritual Power somewhat replenished, Mo Hua ate the breakfast prepared by his mother and, taking some wine and meat, went to visit Mr. Zhuang at Forgetful Residence.

It had been quite some time since Mo Hua had visited the gentleman.

In the mountain dwelling, the scenery was as tranquil and leisurely as ever, calming the heart and soothing the spirit at a glance.

The day was still young, and Mr. Zhuang was napping.

Mo Hua took a quick peek into the house and saw, sure enough, the gentleman was still lying leisurely on the bamboo chair, resting with his eyes closed, his spirit wandering beyond the skies, so Mo Hua decided not to disturb him.

Mo Hua, as usual, sat on the outdoor steps, picked up a Formation Book, and quietly started to read.

Above was the golden sunlight, and before him was an emerald mountain scene.

As he read the book and admired the scenery, Mo Hua felt the wicked thoughts inside him dissipate, and his mood grew much more relaxed.

While he was reading, Mo Hua suddenly noticed some movement inside the house. Turning his head, he saw that Mr. Zhuang had stood up at some point, watching Mo Hua with a serious expression.

“Who are you?”

Mr. Zhuang asked, his tone slightly chilly.

Mo Hua was startled, scratching his head, “Gentleman, it’s me, Mo Hua…”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua for a few moments, his tone easing slightly as he asked, “Where did you get your Divine Sense from?”

“I saw a Contemplation Map.”

It was the Contemplation Map…

Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, “And then?”

“There was a little ghost in the map that bounced into my Sea of Consciousness, so I ate it…”

Mo Hua spoke succinctly.

Even Mr. Zhuang, who was always composed, even in the face of catastrophes, couldn’t help but show a shocked expression, “Ate it?”

Mo Hua nodded, “I ate it.”

Mr. Zhuang tugged at the corner of his mouth, “How did you eat it?”

“It wanted to eat me. I didn’t let it, so I used a formation to injure it. It turned into wisps of green smoke, and I swallowed them into my stomach…”

Mo Hua broadly explained what had happened, only he didn’t mention the Taoist Stele.

In fact, it was the breath of the Taoist Stele that had incinerated the Little Green-faced Ghost into green smoke.

“Can your Divine Sense manifest?” Mr. Zhuang asked.

“Mhm.” Mo Hua nodded.

From the Little Green-faced Ghost’s mouth, Mo Hua learned that Divine Thoughts manifesting as one’s self in the Sea of Consciousness is called Divine Sense Manifestation.

Mo Hua’s Divine Sense had been able to manifest since he was young, and he thought this was quite ordinary. But seeing the little ghost’s reaction, he realized that not all cultivators could manifest their own Divine Sense within the Sea of Consciousness.

At that moment, Mr. Zhuang’s expression also was not surprising, which suggested that although he hadn’t asked before, he must’ve guessed that Mo Hua’s Divine Sense could manifest.

Mr. Zhuang then said, “So after you ate the little ghost and refined it, your Divine Sense surged suddenly?”

Mo Hua nodded. He thought to himself that Mr. Zhuang was indeed perceptive, deducing most of the incident from the brief details Mo Hua had given.

Mr. Zhuang stood there with a complex expression, repeatedly seeming to want to say something but holding back. Finally, he slowly confirmed, “So now, has your Divine Sense reached Foundation Establishment?”

“Yes, Gentleman!” Mo Hua shyly smiled with bright, sparkling eyes, feeling a tiny bit proud.

Mr. Zhuang sighed and sat back down slowly. His expression returned to one of relaxation, though clearly, his heart was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.

During these days, Mo Hua hadn’t come to find him, and he thought Mo Hua had gone off to play somewhere and simply forgotten the time. However, he didn’t expect that in just a few days, Mo Hua’s Divine Sense had already achieved Foundation Establishment.

“That was too fast…” Mr. Zhuang muttered to himself.

Though it’s said that if one prepares, they shall succeed, and if not, they shall fail.

But the rapid growth of Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was unforeseeable, and because of this, he had to overturn and start anew with all the preparations and plans he had made before…

Seeing Mr. Zhuang seemed a bit distracted, Mo Hua asked about his worries:

“Gentleman, I ate the little ghost from the Contemplation Map, and it seems its memories are now in my Sea of Consciousness. Occasionally, many illusions and various stray thoughts arise. Is this dangerous?”

“That…” Mr. Zhuang’s gaze deepened, “It’s hard to say.”

Mo Hua didn’t expect Mr. Zhuang, with all his experience and knowledge, to have such a vague answer, prompting him to ask:

“Why is it hard to say?”

“Because no one has ever done this before…”

Mo Hua was taken aback, “No one has eaten a little ghost before?”

“Yes.” Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with a complicated expression, “Generally, it’s the little ghosts that eat humans. You’re the first one I know of who has eaten a little ghost…”