The Quest for Immortality

”Instructor Yan is... drawing formations for the Corpse Walking Stronghold?”

Mo Hua’s little face became anxious.

Could Instructor Yan have gone bad?

He wanted to find out, so he released his Divine Sense to see if anyone inside the Corpse Walking Stronghold was drawing formations.

As his majestic Divine Sense unfolded, the outline of the Corpse Walking Stronghold dissolved.

Within this expanse of void, pale blue, pale white, and dark gray auras intertwined and flourished.

This was the true form of Spiritual Energy beneath the surface appearances of the world.

Or perhaps, just a deeper layer of surface appearances.

Mo Hua steadied his breath and concentrated, searching through each room, scrutinizing each cultivator.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, he finally made a discovery.

In a secluded and cramped room, a cultivator resided alone, at the Qi Refining Ninth Level, sitting at a desk, focused on drawing a formation.

From the tip of his brush, neat formation patterns emerged one after another, and the formation beneath gradually took shape.

It seemed to be a Spirit Gathering Array.

While Mo Hua was spying on him with his Divine Sense,

The cultivator felt something, paused his brush, looked around, then revealed a puzzled expression.

”Someone?”

”No, this is the Corpse Walking Stronghold. There can’t be outsiders...”

”But...”

He furrowed his brows.

He had indeed sensed a faint breath just now.

This breath was very familiar, like that of an old friend, but upon close inspection, it had vanished without a trace.

”Perhaps it’s just my imagination...”

He shook his head as if reminded of something, sighed softly, and then continued to draw the formation.

Mo Hua opened his eyes.

It was the aura of Instructor Yan!

He pondered for a moment, then hid his figure, employed his movement technique, and stealthily hopped to the roof of a building. He lay prone and poked out his little head to look inside.

The interior of the cramped room was simply furnished, equipped with only a bed, a desk, and a chair.

Apart from that were Formation Books and Formation Diagrams, as well as other miscellaneous items related to formation drawing.

Someone inside was drawing a formation, dressed plainly, with a straight posture.

He looked serious and tired, but his eyes were determined.

It was Instructor Yan, whom Mo Hua recognized so well!

Mo Hua felt a slight excitement in his heart.

Ever since Instructor Yan left Tongxian City, Mo Hua had not seen him.

Instructor Yan had enlightened Mo Hua in formations, and occasionally, Mo Hua worried about him.

He wondered how Instructor Yan was doing, whether his path in cultivation was going smoothly, whether his formation skills had improved, and whether he had found a Tao companion...

Later, upon arriving in South Yue City, when Mo Hua heard that Instructor Yan had gone missing in the mines, he had been somewhat anxious.

Now that he saw Instructor Yan safe and sound, Mo Hua was relieved.

Mo Hua thought for a while, decided not to rush out to meet Instructor Yan suddenly, but instead to observe and see what exactly Instructor Yan was up to.

As time passes, hearts can change.

Mo Hua was not sure if the current Instructor Yan was still the same person he knew before.

Whether he had really helped the Corpse Walking Stronghold do evil deeds.

Mo Hua calmed down and watched attentively with a stern little face.

Instructor Yan continued to draw the formation, with a meticulous and serious attitude, unaware that his former student was ”peeping” at him.

After finishing the formation, Instructor Yan then looked at some Formation Books, browsed through a few Formation Diagrams, and made some annotations.

Mo Hua nodded slightly; this was how Instructor Yan had taught him in the past.

To learn formations, one must be diligent.

One should read a lot, learn a lot, think a lot, and also record a lot.

After a while, Instructor Yan was interrupted by someone while reading his Formation Books.

A corpse cultivator clad in gray with a deathly pale complexion knocked on Instructor Yan’s door.

”Mr. Yan.”

Instructor Yan frowned and showed displeasure; he did not like being disturbed while studying formations, but he still got up, opened the door, and said indifferently,

”What’s the matter?”

The corpse cultivator said, ”The formation on the west side of the stronghold is broken...”

Mo Hua knew about this because he had deliberately caused the damage!

Instructor Yan furrowed his brow, ”Broken?”

The corpse cultivator bowed and said, ”Please ask Mr. Yan to have a look.”

Though the corpse cultivator said ”please,” his expression was indifferent, without the attitude of a request and seemingly not giving Instructor Yan the option to refuse.

Instructor Yan nodded, ”Wait a moment.”

Then he went back inside, picked a few brushes, chose several bottles of ink, and found a Formation Diagram, putting them all into his Storage Bag, before saying to the corpse cultivator,

”Let’s go.”

The corpse cultivator led Instructor Yan out of the room.

Before leaving, Instructor Yan locked the room and activated a formation.

It seemed that he did not want others to enter this room.

But no formation could prevent Mo Hua from entering.

After Instructor Yan left, Mo Hua quietly disabled the room’s formation and gently tiptoed down from the roof into the room.

He did not touch anything, only scanning the room to judge what formations Instructor Yan had been drawing based on the aura and types of formation patterns.

Most of the formations in the room were Five Elements Formations.

Mo Hua was very familiar with the Five Elements Formations, so he could recognize them at a glance.

They were standard and orthodox formations, not Evil Formations.

Besides, there were a few rare formations that were not difficult either.

A few Formation Diagrams were on the table, showing signs of being looked through frequently.

These Formation Diagrams were for the Melting Fire Formation, Earth Stone Formation, and other formations consistently used in the Formation Master Grading assessments.

It seemed that Instructor Yan was still working hard to become a First-Grade Formation Master.

After looking at a few Formation Diagrams drawn by Instructor Yan, Mo Hua nodded subtly, initially judging that Instructor Yan had reached the standard of a first-grade Formation Master.

Unfortunately, his exploration was not broad enough.

If the Formation used in the assessment were more obscure and tricky, the difficulty of grading would be quite high.

It would then depend on a bit of luck, or rather, fate.

Besides, there were no Ultimate Formations, nor any Evil Formations.

Mo Hua was both somewhat disappointed and very relieved.

Disappointed that there was no clue to the Ultimate Formation.

Relieved that Instructor Yan had not mastered the Ultimate Formation, nor had he become a confederate of evil by painting Evil Formations for the Corpse cultivators in the Corpse Walking Stronghold to help them with Corpse Refinement and corpse-raising.

Mo Hua guessed that Instructor Yan had probably just been kidnapped.

Because of his identity as a Formation Master, he had preserved his life; yet due to that same identity, he was coerced by the Corpse cultivators and had no choice but to join the Corpse Stronghold, painting various Formations for their camp’s construction.

After all, no matter where, Formation Masters are rare talents in the world of Tao Cultivation.

That was even more the case for someone like Instructor Yan, who had a level of competency near that of a first-grade Formation Master.

But this was just his own speculation. To know for certain, he would have to ask.

Mo Hua then found a stool, sat in a corner, concealed his presence, and quietly waited for Instructor Yan to return.

An hour later, Instructor Yan came back.

The Corpse cultivator had escorted Instructor Yan all the way to the door, watched as Instructor Yan entered the house, and then turned to leave.

After entering the house, Instructor Yan sighed and continued over to the table to read more Formation Books.

While reading, Instructor Yan muttered to himself:

”How could a Formation just break?”

Suddenly, he had a startled expression, feeling that something was amiss.

A Formation could not just break for no reason.

Then Instructor Yan was shocked, his pupils contracted slightly.

It seemed that someone had been in his room!

He immediately stood up and swept the room with his Divine Sense, but found nothing.

Though the desk, chairs, and books seemed untouched, he had a strong intuition that someone had been in there, going through something.

Who could it be?!

And for what reason?

Instructor Yan’s brows knit tightly, his expression grave.

Just then, a small hand gently patted Instructor Yan’s shoulder.

A chill ran down Instructor Yan’s spine, his scalp tingling.

Was there someone in the room?

And was that person standing right behind him at this very moment?!

While Instructor Yan was in turmoil, a crisp voice asked by his ear:

”Instructor Yan, why are you acting like a thief?”

The voice was that of a child, crisp and pleasant to hear.

Moreover, it was extremely familiar…

Instructor Yan whirled around, his mouth agape, and it took him a moment before he could speak:

”Mo… Mo Hua?!”

Mo Hua smiled brightly, ”Instructor Yan, it’s been a long time.”

Instructor Yan was completely stunned.

He blinked, looking at Mo Hua.

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Mo Hua still looked the way he remembered—delicate and cute, with clear eyes. He had just grown a few years older and a bit taller.

Beyond the sparkling eyes, there was something unfathomable, like a deep and lustrous jade stone.

Instructor Yan blinked again and looked at Mo Hua, then said with sudden realization:

”I must be dreaming…”

Old people often like to reminisce.

It seems he had recalled the events in Tongxian City, along with Mo Hua, the child…

Instructor Yan relaxed somewhat, his expression somewhat wistful.

Mo Hua was somewhat speechless, yet also somewhat helpless as he said:

”Instructor Yan, it’s me. I came to find you.”

Instructor Yan was momentarily stunned.

As far as dreams go…

That voice was strangely clear.

The expression on Mo Hua’s face was also too vivid.

He focused his gaze, as though he could see Mo Hua’s exquisite little face.

Instructor Yan looked up again, saw the dim mountains, an overall chill, but there was indeed a sun hanging high in between the cliffs.

In broad daylight, how could one have dreams?

Instructor Yan was startled and then with trembling hands, gently touched Mo Hua’s shoulder, incredulously asking:

”Is it… really Mo Hua?”

Instructor Yan’s voice was trembling slightly, and the corners of his eyes were moist.

He had not expected that in his lifetime, he would really be able to see Mo Hua, his student, once again…

Mo Hua, somewhat moved, nodded and said:

”It’s me!”

Instructor Yan suddenly became stern and he asked with concern:

”But how did you… how did you get here?”

”I came to find you.”

Instructor Yan was taken aback, ”To find me?”

Mo Hua replied, ”Not just you, I’m also looking for Zhang Quan, the Zombies, and… a Formation.”

Instructor Yan listened, confused, and then remembering something, his gaze shook:

”You’re also searching for... the Spiritual Pivot Formation?”

Mo Hua nodded, confirming his thoughts.

It appeared that the Formation on the zombie was indeed the treasured Spiritual Pivot Formation of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect, inherited from the Ultimate Formation of the Great Hidden Spirit Sect over a thousand years ago:

The Spiritual Pivot Formation!