The Quest for Immortality

”So, whether it’s Sword Controlling True Jue or spell killing moves, it’s best to use Divine Consciousness to see and lock onto the target...”

”Learning to lock onto a target with Divine Consciousness is what makes an excellent Spiritual Cultivator...”

Mo Hua nodded and felt relieved.

That’s right.

No matter how powerful it is, if it doesn’t hit, it’s useless.

My own Divine Consciousness is quite strong.

Nevertheless, even so, one must think ahead and be prepared for the future.

Think about how to deal with those with good Spiritual Roots, superior Cultivation Techniques, profound Cultivation, who have learned Superior Daoist Skills, or those Proud Sons of Heaven with powerful Sword Controlling spells...

You can’t rely too heavily on strong Divine Consciousness.

It’s good to prepare several contingency plans.

Therefore, Mo Hua not only attended classes for Spiritual Cultivators but also sat in on Body Cultivation and Sword Cultivation classes.

He wasn’t really interested in Body Refinement or Sword Cultivation, but mainly wanted to ”know thyself and thy enemy,” to see what the routines and attack methods of Body Cultivators and Sword Cultivators were, how they protected themselves, and what their vital points were...

In this way, he would have a method to deal with Body Cultivators and Sword Cultivators in the future.

This was also a kind of ”reverse learning,” another form of ”learning for practical application.”

And the only thing Mo Hua ”learned properly” in a ”positive” way was Formations.

Aside from this, including Cultivation, Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Refining Runes, Mo Hua could not compare with fellow sect disciples.

Therefore, in the eyes of his fellow sect disciples, Mo Hua was an ”oddball.”

The better he was at Formations, the worse he was in other areas.

After mingling for a while, the other sect disciples gradually accepted Mo Hua as a disciple with ”mediocre” Spiritual Root, a background as a Loose Cultivator, earnest in Cultivation, yet with an extreme bias in his skills.

But that was about it.

On the surface, Mo Hua seemed like a somewhat special but not extraordinary disciple.

However, people liked him.

Most of the disciples in Taiyi Residence treated him quite amiably.

There were a few with prestigious backgrounds, full of arrogance and self-pride, looking troublesome at first glance, from whom Mo Hua stayed far away from, to avoid trouble.

Taixu Gate also had many female disciples.

And most of them were from good backgrounds, fair and beautiful. Even though they all wore the unified Taixu Daoist Robes, each was bright and colorful, each with her own charm, pursued by many admirers.

However, after Mo Hua took a few looks and silently compared them, he ultimately felt that his Junior Sister was the most beautiful!

Thinking of his Junior Sister, Mo Hua was momentarily lost in thought.

The bits and pieces of his time in Tongxian City and his wanderings resurfaced in his mind.

”I wonder where Junior Sister is now...”

Mo Hua sighed, but eventually, he shook his head, quietly buried the thoughts of his Junior Sister in his heart, and then continued to diligently practice Cultivation, to diligently study Formations...

...

The scenery of Taixu Gate was ancient and beautiful.

Thousands of disciples practice their Cultivation here.

Besides those in Taiyi Residence, there were many Proud Sons of Heaven; Mo Hua wasn’t familiar with them, he hadn’t even met some of them.

Amongst them were those with prestigious backgrounds, those who attracted attention with their talent, as well as stunningly beautiful female disciples...

These Proud Son of Heaven disciples, gathered together, competing against each other.

Occasionally, they would become jealous and create storms of conflict.

But all this had nothing to do with Mo Hua.

Striving to improve his Cultivation, to enhance his Divine Consciousness, learning higher and more profound Formations!

This was what he needed to do!

He didn’t care much about the rest.

Mo Hua continued his day-to-day practice of Cultivation and study of Formations in silence.

And his Divine Consciousness, unknown to him, had quietly broken through the shackles of fourteen Patterns, reaching fifteen...

Fifteen Patterns, a level of Divine Consciousness only attainable by Cultivators in the Qi Foundation Middle Stage, a small accomplishment in Cultivation.

And with Sixteen-Pattern Divine Consciousness, one could learn Second Grade Middle Stage Formations.

From fifteen to sixteen Patterns, it was only one step away!

Mo Hua felt a bit excited, he thought for a moment, then went to Elder Master Xun and tentatively asked,

”Elder Master, can I study... formations for fifteen Patterns?”

Elder Master Xun had a moment of stupor.

He had previously anticipated that the formations of fourteen Patterns would be enough for Mo Hua to study for a while, but he didn’t expect it to be merely ”a while.”

This ”while” was far too short...

He even felt that it was not long ago that he had just taught Mo Hua the formations of fourteen Patterns.

Before he knew it, Mo Hua was already about to learn the sixteen-pattern formations...

Elder Master Xun fell silent for a long time before slowly nodding, ”Alright, but don’t rush it. First, stabilize your foundation.”

”Mhm!” Mo Hua nodded.

After Mo Hua took his leave, Elder Master Xun’s expression turned grave, his gaze heavy with contemplation.

He felt that this child, Mo Hua... had become somewhat terrifying...

This was no longer about whether one can learn formations quickly or well.

Such super rank Divine Consciousness, growing at such an alarming rate, was simply inconceivable, unheard of...

If he continued learning in this unrestrained manner, he truly feared the cultivation of formations would produce an unprecedented ”Little Evil Monster”...

”But...”

Elder Master Xun frowned.

Learning too quickly was definitely not a good thing.

The tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

But now, Mo Hua was probably no longer just ”standing out in the forest”. If he continued to grow at this insane rate, his branches would soon surpass the mountain peak, reaching for the skies.

Too conspicuous.

Going on like this, the child would surely become an object of jealousy among noble clans, envy among his peers, and coveted by the Demon Gate.

If he truly turned to the Demon Path, those deranged old demons had ten thousand ways to spur hisuncontrolled growth and turn him into a thoroughly crazy ”Little Demon King”...

There were precedents for such things...

A Formation Master with powerful Divine Consciousness who turned to the Demon Path was truly terrifying...

And once he turned to the Demon Path, his Taoist Foundation would surely be destroyed.

He might seem to grow stronger, but he would be cutting himself off from the Great Dao, doomed to become a flesh puppet of the Demon Path for life.

As for the noble clans...

Mo Hua himself had no bloodline of any noble clan.

He only had two choices: either become a lackey for a noble clan, turning into their hawk dog for profits,

Or, he would undoubtedly face ostracization by the noble clans.

If he had a virtuous nature and a broad mind and acted against the interests of the noble clans, he could even be jointly suppressed and killed by the noble clans of Qian State.

The Sect...

The Sect could be his shelter.

But the foundation of the Sect was also people.

The problem for Mo Hua was that he had not been in the sect for long, his foundations were shallow, and even if there was some comradery among fellow sect members, it was ultimately too superficial.

Time reveals a person’s heart; adversity shows their true nature.

Only through a long association and shared difficulties can genuine bonds be formed.

With the current level of fellowship, no sect disciple would truly risk their life in a crisis to help him...

Continuing this way, Mo Hua could easily end up isolated and become a pawn in the struggles of the Demon Gate or even the noble clans...

Elder Master Xun’s brows furrowed ever tighter.

”I need to think of a solution...”

But at that moment, he had no good ideas.

During the next formation lesson, Elder Master Xun was somewhat distracted, looking at Mo Hua who was innocent and lively, obedient yet earnest.

He felt regret, heartache, and could hardly bear it.

”What should be done with this child...”

Elder Master Xun looked troubled.

However, Mo Hua was confused, not understanding why Elder Master Xun was looking at him in such a way.

It wasn’t until the lesson had begun that Elder Master Xun shifted his gaze away from Mo Hua, spread out the lecture notes, put aside his worries, and prepared to explain the formations.

Suddenly, an Inner Sect Elder knocked on the door from outside.

Seeing Elder Master Xun frown at him, the elder felt immense pressure; he knew how much Elder Master Xun hated to be disturbed during his lectures.

But he had to speak.

”Elder Master Xun, there is an urgent matter for discussion in the back mountains.”

”The back mountains?”

Elder Master Xun was momentarily stunned, then nodded, ”I understand.”

The Inner Sect Elder, relieved, bowed and left.

Elder Master Xun was about to pause the class and assign some work for the disciples to study on their own, but as he was about to speak, he suddenly paused, a spark of inspiration in his eyes, then pointed to Mo Hua and said:

”Mo Hua, you teach them!”

Mo Hua was stunned.

The other disciples present also opened their mouths wide, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost.