The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua’s cultivation and Dao techniques weren’t anything to be feared. But his array formations were not to be underestimated. Even though, in the last Sword Debate Battle, Mo Hua had lost to Shen Linshu.

Mo Hua’s sword control couldn’t break through his defense, and Mo Hua’s arrays were all cleaved apart. In the end, Mo Hua even acted like a coward and fled without a fight.

Shen Linshu despised him for that, but he also wouldn’t go so far as to completely disregard Mo Hua, the foremost figure in the Dao of Formations.

Especially now—Mo Hua was displaying a side of himself that was stronger and more ruthless than ever before.

Controlling ink with divine sense, drawing arrays upon the earth. Layering formations to seal the mountain, slaughtering all within. This was a type of bizarre array master he had never encountered before.

If left unchecked, if Mo Hua continued inscribing formations throughout the valley— who knew what might happen? Three or five high-grade formations, he could cut them down with a single sword strike. But what about thirty? Fifty? A hundred?

Once formations stacked together, their power would multiply exponentially, reaching an immeasurable level of strength.

Even as a heaven’s chosen carrying the Qilin bloodline, one of the most elite geniuses in the Qianxue Prefecture, he could not afford to let Mo Hua continue drawing. Yet, if he were to take action against Mo Hua, Shen Linshu had concerns.

His concern was the other three among the Four Heavenly Talents of Qianxue. And even Ye Qingfeng of the Great Luo Sect.

Most people only knew that the Great Luo Sect had a sword-wielding prodigy named Ye Zhi Yuan, but few realized that Ye Qingfeng was actually even stronger.

Ye Qingfeng had always kept a low profile, deliberately using Ye Zhi Yuan’s reputation as a cover, hiding his true strength and biding his time.

In both scheming and cultivation, he was the true foremost figure of the Great Luo Sect. Moreover, his sword techniques were exceptionally refined.

If Shen Linshu didn’t use his Qilin bloodline’s abilities, he wasn’t confident he could win against Ye Qingfeng’s Great Luo Convergence Sword.

With these four as potential obstacles, Shen Linshu couldn’t act rashly. After all, his goal was to claim first place, which meant that everyone present was his enemy.

Mo Hua, who only knew arrays, might not be much of a threat, but he couldn’t afford to ignore Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and Duanmu Qing—these heaven’s chosen were all forces to be reckoned with.

If the enemy does not move, I will not move. As long as no one else took action, he naturally wouldn’t either. But if action was to be taken, then all four of them would have to strike together.

The seven great sects joining forces was one thing, even the top talents of the four great sects working together wouldn’t be too shocking. But if the Four Heavenly Talents of Qianxue, the four most elite, bloodline-blessed prodigies of the great sects, had to join forces just to deal with one person from the Taixu Sect—just to deal with Mo Hua—it would be an insult.

Even if they won, it would be humiliating. Not only would their own reputations suffer, but the four great sects—Qiandao Sect and the others—would also be looked down upon.

At this thought, Shen Linshu suddenly froze, realizing something: ”This… could this be within Mo Hua’s calculations?”

Using the mutual apprehensions between the Four Heavenly Talents to maintain a balance and stall for time?

Had Mo Hua anticipated all of this beforehand?

Shen Linshu had a vague suspicion that this was possible, but at the same time, he felt that might be overestimating Mo Hua’s cunning.

The battlefield was ever-changing—Mo Hua wasn’t a prophet. How could he possibly predict everything? Shen Linshu frowned slightly.

And it wasn’t just him—Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and the others were having similar thoughts. But given the current situation, all of them had concerns about making the first move, so they could only continue this stalemate.

Time ticked by…

Within the valley, Mo Hua ignored everything else and simply continued drawing formations. When his divine sense was exhausted, he meditated. When it recovered, he resumed drawing.

Threads of spiritual ink flowed, intricate formation patterns snaked across the ground, and one formation after another was inscribed upon the earth, wood, and stone walls—coming together to form a vast and subtly interlinked grand formation.

Seeing the formations grow in number and complexity, Shen Linshu’s heart suddenly jolted. He could not allow this to continue. Mo Hua must not be left alive! He glanced at Xiao Wuchen and the others.

They exchanged looks, tacitly understanding each other’s thoughts, but no one spoke—clearly, their opinions were not completely aligned.

At that moment, Ye Qingfeng, reading the situation, slowly spoke:

”The four of you should strike together. My Great Luo Sect will provide support. We will break the layered formations, annihilate the Taixu Sect, and kill Mo Hua.”

”If we do not kill him, unforeseen variables may arise.”

”This is the Sword Debate Assembly. The interests of the sects must come first.”

Shen Linshu looked at Ye Qingfeng, silent for a moment. Just as he was about to speak— Duanmu Qing beat him to it, nodding and saying coldly:

”Fine. Kill Mo Hua first.”

Among this group, she was the one who harbored the deepest killing intent toward Mo Hua. She had merely suppressed it thus far, maintaining a cold and restrained demeanor for the sake of the Sword Debate Assembly.

”Alright!” Ao Zhan grinned arrogantly.

Xiao Wuchen didn’t speak, but he also nodded. The four had reached an agreement. Then, the tall and imposing Ao Zhan, brimming with dragon-like vitality, was the first to stride toward the valley entrance, his blood surging, accompanied by waves of dragon roars.

”Let’s get rid of the nuisances first. Then we can settle the score and decide who’s number one.”

The surrounding prodigies from various sects, intimidated by Ao Zhan’s aura, turned pale and instinctively stepped back, making way for him.

Ao Zhan walked straight up to the valley entrance and suddenly threw a punch infused with the unmatched power of his dragon blood, striking at the earthenwood sealing formation Mo Hua had set at the mountain pass.

For a moment, the mountain trembled, and the formation’s spiritual energy rippled violently.

Several formation patterns dimmed instantly, and even the ground, which was integrated with the formation, cracked apart.

The power of a single punch—unparalleled. Ao Zhan remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was slightly surprised.

He hadn’t expected this formation to be much sturdier than he had assumed. No wonder so many people had failed to break it before. It wasn’t that they were weak—Mo Hua’s formations were simply bizarre.

Even his Dragon Cauldron Body Refining Art-infused punch had only managed to shatter a few formation patterns, failing to break the formation entirely.

Destroying this formation… would take some effort. Ao Zhan’s eyes flickered, but he had no intention of making another move. Instead, he stepped aside and waited for others to act.

He wasn’t about to waste too much of his spiritual energy breaking Mo Hua’s formation. Shen Linshu sneered, drew his longsword, and unleashed his Purple Qi Golden Scale Sword Qi toward the formation.

Then came Duanmu Qing’s spell, Xiao Wuchen’s Heavenly Sword Art, and finally, Ye Qingfeng’s Great Luo Unity Sword Art. The four top prodigies, along with the senior brother of Da Luo Sect, Ye Qingfeng, each launched an attack to break the formation in turns.

Powerful spiritual energy waves surged one after another, causing the light on the sealing formation to flicker as more formation patterns teetered on the brink of collapse, with cracks spreading further…

Inside the valley, Mo Hua remained calm, continuing to paint his formations with unwavering focus, indifferent to everything happening around him.

Outside, as the four top prodigies of Qianxue joined forces to attack, many onlookers gasped in amazement:

”To think he actually forced Shen Linshu and the others to team up to break his formation… Mo Hua can truly be proud of himself.”

”Indeed…”

”As expected of the foremost formation master in all of Qianxue Province…”

More and more people sighed in admiration.

By now, Mo Hua’s displayed formation skills had far surpassed their understanding.

They couldn’t even grasp the deeper mysteries of formations, and even if they wanted to praise him, they didn’t know how—ultimately, they could only repeat the same sentiment:

”As expected of the formation master.”

Then someone added:

”Now that the four prodigies have made their move, this Shura War is heading toward its conclusion.”

”Once Tai Xu Sect is wiped out, the four prodigies, along with Da Luo Sect’s Ye Qingfeng, can finally decide the victor.”

”I didn’t expect the final battle of the Shura War to come so soon.”

”Now, it’s just a matter of how long Tai Xu Sect can hold out…”

As the four prodigies of Qianxue continued their assault, more formation patterns dimmed, and cracks spread further through the sealing formation, weakening it bit by bit.

The sect leader, elders, and disciples of Tai Xu Sect—including Wenren Wan, Yu’er, Zhang Lan, Gu Changhuai, Murong Caiyun, Hua Qianqian, and other cultivators familiar with Mo Hua—couldn’t help but hold their breath in worry.

Mo Hua and the others had already shown incredible strength. But unfortunately, their opponents were just as formidable.

Sure enough, after one incense stick’s time, with a deafening boom, the ground split open, and the formation shattered completely.

The sealing formation was destroyed, and the passage was breached.

Ao Zhan, tall and domineering, was the first to step into the valley.

Behind him followed Shen Linshu of Qian Dao Sect, exuding noble purple-gold aura; Duanmu Qing of Wan Xiao Sect, cold and breathtakingly beautiful; Xiao Wuchen of Heavenly Sword Sect, ethereal and otherworldly; and Ye Qingfeng of Da Luo Sect, reserved and shrouded in mystery.

Behind them, over a hundred prodigies from the Four Great Sects and Seven Major Schools surged forward like a tide, surrounding Tai Xu Sect completely.

The scene mirrored the previous one.

Tai Xu Sect, standing against a hundred prodigies from Qianxue. But this time, their enemies were on an entirely different level.

Not only did they face the four most elite bloodline prodigies of Qianxue, but also the senior brother of Da Luo Sect, along with an army of true elites from the four great sects. Though the numbers were similar, their strength was now several times greater.

This was truly a gathering of the finest disciples from the top sects of Qianxue Province—a force of unparalleled prodigies. Just standing before them was enough to suffocate others.

On the opposite side, Tai Xu Sect stood alone and outnumbered.

After the grueling previous battle, even with Mo Hua’s Five Elements Source Armor and formation reinforcement, they had lost ten members.

Now, only twenty remained.

Twenty against over a hundred—especially a hundred that included the four greatest prodigies—was truly a despair-inducing situation. Yet at this moment, those hundred prodigies did not rush in recklessly. Because in front of them stood a vast array of densely packed formations.

Every single one was Mo Hua’s handiwork—all of them were high-grade second-tier formations, with some even being complex second-tier composite formations. Looking out across the valley, they nearly covered the entire area.

And Mo Hua still sat atop his large stone.

The remaining twenty disciples of Tai Xu Sect stood like a human wall, shielding him. Dense formations encircled them completely.

From the way things looked, the only way to kill Mo Hua was to first exterminate Tai Xu Sect’s disciples—stepping over their corpses to reach him. And to do that, they would have to carve a bloody path through Mo Hua’s formations.

Seeing the sheer number of formations ahead, disciples from the Four Great Sects and Seven Major Schools felt a chill down their spines.

They found it hard to believe. Just how powerful was Mo Hua’s divine sense to have drawn so many formations in such a short time…

Was he really just a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

But now, there was no room for hesitation. It was a fight to the death.

Shen Linshu merely said coldly:

”Kill.”

At his command, the prodigies of the Four Sects and Seven Schools charged toward Mo Hua’s formations, toward Tai Xu Sect, toward Mo Hua himself.

The moment they stepped into the formations, the ground’s stones surged up, forming barriers.

Earthen prisons rose, creating cages.

Quicksand swirled, turning into traps.

Plants grew wildly, forming a field of thorns.

All of these—rocks, earthen prisons, quicksand, plants—were manifestations of spiritual energy from Mo Hua’s formations. And because they were second-tier, nineteen-pattern formations, just short of the Golden Core level, they had begun to take on real, tangible form.

These formations were like an unyielding fortress, blocking the invading prodigies of Qianxue.

Caught within the dense array of defensive and entrapment formations, the Qianxue prodigies struggled to advance.

From a distance, Linghu Xiao and the others unleashed their sword qi.

Ye Qingfeng said, “Don’t scatter. Cut through along a single path.”

Mo Hua had set up too many formations; breaking them all was impossible.

Splitting up to dismantle them would be time-consuming and exhausting. Instead, gathering everyone together to break through a single path straight to Mo Hua was the better choice.

Injuring ten fingers was not as effective as cutting off one. Destroying ten formations was not as efficient as breaking one.

Ye Qingfeng led the charge, using the Great Luo Unification Sword as the core, gathering everyone’s strength and forcefully carving a passage through the weakest part of Mo Hua’s formation.

Everyone followed this newly opened path, keeping an eye on the sword energy from Linghu Xiao’s group of the Taixu Sect, breaking formation after formation, cutting their way deeper step by step…

Meanwhile, Shen Linshu and his three companions did not act rashly.

They remained on the outskirts, watching everything unfold indifferently—especially the dense array of formations before them.

They wanted to see what trick Mo Hua was playing. Was there something hidden within these formations?

Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. They might not take Mo Hua seriously, but they still had to show proper respect for his formations.

As the path through the formations was broken open, the overall structure of Mo Hua’s formation “fortress” gradually became visible.

These formations were indeed strong, but they appeared to be nothing more than ordinary second-grade high-level formations.

Moreover, they were all defensive barriers or traps meant to imprison enemies—there wasn’t a single killing formation.

Mo Hua’s goal seemed to be simple—hold out.

The longer he held, the better.

“But… is it really just that?”

Shen Linshu raised his head, looking toward the distant Mo Hua, who remained motionless despite being surrounded by over a hundred geniuses. His expression was focused, utterly indifferent to everything else, completely absorbed in drawing formations.

A deep frown gradually formed on Shen Linshu’s brow.

As Ye Qingfeng led the charge, carving a bloody path into the depths of the formation, direct clashes between disciples erupted.

With the amplification of the Five Elements Source Armor, Linghu Xiao wielded the Void-Splitting Sword Technique against Ye Qingfeng’s Great Luo Unification Sword, engaging in a frontal duel.

The five Ta’e brothers and their giant swords blocked the forces of the Dragon Cauldron Sect, including Ao Zhan and other first-class geniuses.

Meanwhile, Shen Cangfeng of the Qiandao Sect and Xiao Ruohan of the Tianjian Sect also joined the battle against the Taixu Sect disciples.

At this point, it had become a true battle of life and death. No one dared to hold back. No one showed mercy.

The Taixu Sect was outnumbered, but with the Source Armor’s augmentation and the limited space defined by Mo Hua’s formations, their direct combat effectiveness was extremely high.

At the same time, black-and-red spirit ink threads weaved through the battlefield, controlling the formations and assisting in the slaughter.

Every fighter on both sides pushed themselves to the limit, pouring all their spiritual power into the battle.

Where they clashed, it was like a giant meat grinder. Blade after blade, sword after sword, clashed and intertwined. A suffocating killing intent filled the air.

Dao Discourse Jades shattered one after another.

Cultivators fell one by one.

The battlefield was unimaginably brutal.

As the geniuses of the Four Sects and Seven Schools fell one by one, while the Taixu Sect continued to fight fiercely and grow more ferocious, Shen Linshu and his three companions could no longer remain passive.

They couldn’t let any more of their people die…

Nor could they allow Mo Hua and his people to continue their slaughter…

Though they had previously held some reservations about Mo Hua’s formations, uncertain of what tricks he was playing, by now, he had shown all his cards.

Shen Linshu and the others had scrutinized his formation-drawing process countless times. Using divine sense to control ink, drawing formations on the ground…

Defending with formations, restraining with formations, trapping with formations…

Assisting attacks with formations…

They had seen through all of his tactics. The Taixu Sect’s fate was sealed.

Xiao Wuchen was the first to step into Mo Hua’s formation “fortress.”

Next was Duanmu Qing and Ao Zhan. Last was Shen Linshu.

Shen Linshu was the final one to step into Mo Hua’s formation range. As he did, an inexplicable sense of foreboding struck him.

Then, he sneered at himself with contempt— It was just Mo Hua. How ridiculous that he would feel uneasy because of him…

With the entry of these four top-tier geniuses, the battle was completely rewritten.

Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, Duanmu Qing, and Shen Linshu—each possessed overwhelming cultivation, practiced the finest techniques, and wielded the most powerful Dao arts. Their spiritual power circulation was near perfection.

Every punch, every sword strike, every spell was infused with terrifying battle strength, requiring tremendous effort to counter. The disciples of the Taixu Sect fought desperately to resist. But the power gap was too vast.

No matter how fiercely the Taixu Sect disciples fought, no matter how formidable Mo Hua’s formations were, once they reached the point of exhaustion and spiritual depletion, they could no longer change the tide.

The Taixu Sect disciples began to fall one after another. Hao Xuan was slain by Xiao Wuchen’s Heavenly Sword Technique.

Yang Qianjun was cut down by Shen Linshu’s Purple Gold Sword Qi.

Cheng Mo fought Ao Zhan for several rounds before being blasted apart by a single punch.

Situ Jian perished under Duanmu Qing’s indiscriminate spell bombardment.

Among the five Ta’e brothers, Ouyang Lu, Ouyang Xi, and Ouyang Cai, exhausted from prolonged battle, were slaughtered by Ao Zhen, Shen Cangfeng, and the others.

In the end, only five people from the Taixu Sect remained. Including Mo Hua, only Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Xuan, Ouyang Fu, and Ouyang Shou were still alive.

Meanwhile, the Four Sects still had over fifty geniuses left. A staggering ten-to-one numerical difference.

Among these fifty, every remaining fighter was one of the most outstanding prodigies of the Four Great Sects. Aside from them, Ye Qingfeng and a few elite talents from the Great Luo Sect remained.

As well as the four supreme bloodline geniuses of Qiandao Academy.

By now, Mo Hua’s divine sense was nearly depleted. His spirit ink was almost entirely exhausted. The repeated overuse of his divine sense and the sheer number of formations he had drawn left his face pale and his breath weak.

The protective formations in front of him had dwindled to almost nothing.

His junior brothers who had fought desperately to protect him were nearly all dead or gravely injured.

Only Linghu Xiao and the others, now at the brink of exhaustion, still clenched their teeth and stood in front of him.

Opposing them, over fifty of the finest geniuses in Qianxue Continent, each like a razor-sharp divine sword, radiating immense killing intent, stared at Mo Hua with cold indifference, as if looking at a dead man.

“Taixu Sect… is finished…”

Outside the battlefield, countless spectators took deep breaths and let out long sighs.

In the past, such a statement would have been laced with schadenfreude and mockery. But now, what filled their hearts was sorrow and admiration.

To fight against the Four Great Sects and Seven Major Schools with only one sect’s strength, to battle to such an extent, to struggle to such a dire situation—so tragic, yet so magnificent. How could one not feel respect?

With such strength, the Taixu Sect was undoubtedly worthy of its title as the leader of Qianxue’s Eight Major Schools.

Some even thought—perhaps it should now be called one of the new Four Great Sects.

The disciples of the Taixu Sect, witnessing their senior brothers and fellow sect members fighting to their last breath, felt their hearts surge with emotion, their eyes brimming with unshed tears.

The elders, too, were filled with countless emotions.

Even the sect masters of the Three Mountains, who had lived for centuries, couldn’t help but feel a mix of bitterness and pride in their hearts.

They had all truly come to understand the meaning of ”defeat with honor.” These were the disciples of the Taixu Sect. These children, united as one, had fought with everything they had, battling to such an extent for their sect…

As sect masters, how could they not feel their hearts swell with emotion? How could they not take pride in this? At this moment, winning or losing no longer mattered.

Inside the Sword Viewing Pavilion, several old sect ancestors silently looked toward Elder Xun, their eyes filled with envy.

”How can one say there are no robes? We stand together, clad in the same armor.”

For a sect’s disciples to possess such strong unity, such unwavering loyalty, such unyielding will, and such a powerful bond…

This was truly an invaluable spiritual treasure. It was rare enough for one person to have an unwavering Dao heart.

For an entire sect to possess an indomitable Dao heart—that was truly priceless.

In this Dao Discourse Tournament, the Taixu Sect may have lost, but in a way…

They had also won. Elder Xun let out a slow breath, his heart filled with emotion.

It was truly the blessing of the Taixu Sect’s ancestors… Taking in Mo Hua back then had been the right decision…

And in the valley— This brutal Dao Discourse battle was finally reaching its conclusion.

Over fifty top-tier geniuses surrounded Mo Hua. It was a hopeless, inescapable death trap.

Shen Linshu’s gaze was indifferent as he raised his Golden Qilin Sword, pointed it at Mo Hua, and asked the same question once more:

”Will you take your own life, or die by my sword?”

Mo Hua’s face was pale, yet his expression remained calm.

In his mind, he silently counted each formation he had drawn, reconstructing them in his thoughts, weaving them into a complex spiritual framework, calculating the flow of spiritual power, verifying the entire formation structure…

Finally, after confirming everything, Mo Hua lifted his head, looked at Shen Linshu, and curved his lips into a faint, eerie smile.

”No one can kill me inside my own formations.”

That smile sent a chill through the heart.

A sudden sense of danger surged within Shen Linshu. His eyes widened abruptly, and without hesitation, he swung his sword at Mo Hua. He didn’t know what was about to happen, but he knew something had gone wrong.

”Kill him!”

At that moment, not only Shen Linshu but also Duanmu Qing, Xiao Wuchen, and Ao Zhan sensed a warning rising from deep within their bloodline.

Mo Hua had to die!

Duanmu Qing gathered his Ten Thousand Clouds Spell, Xiao Wuchen unleashed a sword strike, and Ao Zhan let out a tiger’s roar, his fist crashing down like a dragon toward Mo Hua.

Linghu Xiao, using the last ounce of his strength, activated the Chongxu Sword Dissolution Technique, neutralizing Shen Linshu’s Purple-Gold Qilin Sword Qi.

But he was already at his limit. The Chongxu Sword could not fully withstand the Purple-Gold Sword Qi, so he chose to use his own body as a shield, stepping in front of Mo Hua to take the full brunt of Shen Linshu’s killing strike.

Ouyang Shou charged at Ao Zhan without hesitation, using his last bit of strength to hold him down.

Ouyang Fu, nearly drained of spiritual power, also threw himself in front of Mo Hua, using his own life to block Duanmu Qing’s spell. Meanwhile, Ouyang Xuan pushed himself to the limit, intercepting Xiao Wuchen’s sword strike.

He had never liked Mo Hua. But after fighting alongside his sect members to this point, he no longer knew why—no longer knew what he was doing.

The only thought in his mind was: Mo Hua must not die.

The four of them—Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Shou, Ouyang Fu, and Ouyang Xuan—were now shielding Mo Hua with their very lives.

Yet they were already at their breaking point, and there was no way they could withstand the Four Geniuses of Qianxue.

In just one exchange, within mere breaths, they would be shattered to pieces, dying on the spot. And just as they reached the brink of death— Mo Hua’s gaze suddenly grew deep.

In a low voice, he murmured:

”Explode.”