The Quest for Immortality

Divine Sense Sword Control—using divine sense as the force, a spirit sword as the medium, a sword array as the formation, and the laws of spiritual power reversal and spiritual power fusion to unleash devastating killing power...

Just thinking about it made Mo Hua shudder in awe.

But what a pity...

Until now, he had not formally studied the Formation Flow.

As for sword arrays, he had only learned the ”Gold-Cutting Sword Formation.” Let alone simplifying complexity, uniting the multitude into one, or delving into the Sword Dao Origin of the ”Sword Dao Formation Flow.”

That goal was still too far away.

Nonetheless, thanks to this, Mo Hua gradually formed a direction and a framework in his mind.

Combining Divine Sense Sword Control with the deadly power of formations.

Henceforth, study more formations and comprehend the laws of all things;

Practice sword control more to deepen his understanding of Sword Dao.

One day in the future, he would undoubtedly attain insight into the Great Dao, merge with sword arrays, and create a Sword Dao ”ultimate weapon”—one that uses ”Divine Sense Sword Control” as the spell point, the sword as the form, and the array as the core, bearing the power of Dao Laws!

Mo Hua was filled with anticipation.

He patted Ouyang Mu on the shoulder, filled with expectations, saying:

”You must seriously study sword casting!”

In the future, all matters of sword casting would depend on Little Wood.

Ouyang Mu was a bit confused, but being acknowledged by Mo Hua still made him somewhat happy.

Afterward, he diligently continued to delve into sword casting.

The quality of spirit swords had reached its current limit.

The power of sword control had also hit a bottleneck.

Ouyang Mu could only think from other perspectives about how to improve, starting with cost reduction.

Mo Hua’s ”unorthodox” sword control technique would ”sacrifice” a spirit sword every time it was executed.

Spirit swords had become consumables.

Using them over an extended period would incur enormous expenses.

Ouyang Mu thought that since he couldn’t enhance their power anymore, he might as well reduce costs to save Brother Mo some merit points.

Merit points were hard to earn, after all.

This he deeply understood.

Though he had earned a considerable amount of merit points by crafting swords for Brother Mo and, in turn, benefiting from the spoils, the habit of being ”frugal and resourceful” was ingrained deep in his bones.

After discussing with Mo Hua, Ouyang Mu began to experiment with ways to ”cut corners” without reducing the swords’ effectiveness, using some ”cheaper” materials to forge spirit swords.

Typically, because spirit swords were meant for long-term use, balancing power and durability, the crafting process was intricate, and refining materials were expensive. The quality of materials directly impacted the product, leaving no room for cutting corners.

But with Mo Hua’s sword control technique, a sword array would detonate with a blast, and a spirit sword would break after a single use.

So the traditional ideals of making spirit swords ”sturdy and durable,” ”structurally stable,” and ”aesthetic and elegant”... could all be ignored entirely.

In fact, the sword weapon itself could even adopt an explosive structure.

Forget sturdiness and durability; instead, prioritize flammability, volatility, and explosiveness.

This was something Mo Hua had said casually.

It was the first time Ouyang Mu realized that even sword weapons could have such bizarre ”refining methods.”

Artifact refining didn’t always have to ”follow the textbook” and rigidly adhere to conventions.

”Norms for objects are set by people, but objects are dead, and people are alive. One must adapt lifeless ’objects’ to suit living people...”

So Mo Hua said.

Ouyang Mu felt as though he’d just received a revelation and exclaimed with admiration:

”Brother Mo, you know so much!”

Though Brother Mo’s refining skills were average at best, his words were truly insightful!

”Objects are dead, people are alive; prioritize the person, break free from formality...”

Ouyang Mu nodded earnestly.

And so, this child who had been somewhat wooden, staid, earnest, and as honest as a ”block of wood” began to be ”led astray” in the art of refining by Mo Hua...

From then on, Ouyang Mu began experimenting with more artifact refining ideas.

He conducted his refining based on cultivators’ needs and real-world utility, resorting to ”any means necessary” to achieve his goals.

Mo Hua found himself much less burdened as a result.

Basically, all he had to do was state what kind of spirit artifact he needed, what effect he wanted, and what formations he planned to use. Little Wood would mull it over and, by the next day, have a refining diagram ready for Mo Hua.

Moreover, as the Tai’a Sect and Taixu Sect were geographically close, communication was convenient.

...

And so, month after month passed by.

With Mo Hua taking the lead, the Taixu Sect’s ”monster-hunting” team grew stronger and stronger.

The ”strategies” for monster hunting became increasingly comprehensive.

The hunting processes grew ever clearer, the complementary spirit artifacts became more refined, and the hunting system matured rapidly.

The number of hunted monster beasts kept growing, and the variety of harvested materials became increasingly diverse.

Anyone who followed Mo Hua and roamed Demon Hunting Mountain as part of the Taixu Sect had a substantial influx of merit points.

With such abundant monster beast materials, Ouyang Mu’s refining skills also improved rapidly.

At the same time, because he often accompanied Mo Hua and frequently repaired spirit artifacts for the Taixu Sect disciples, Ouyang Mu became well-acquainted with many of them.

In the Tai’a Sect, Ouyang Mu was rather withdrawn.

Due to his special background as a direct lineage of the Ouyang family, he was supposed to shine in the sect like his elder brother.

Yet compared to his brother, he was unexceptional, wooden, and socially awkward.

The disciples of the Tai’a Sect regarded him with odd expressions.

Jealousy, disdain, alienation, sympathy—they all mixed together.

Ouyang Mu felt very uncomfortable.

But when he was with Mo Hua and the Taixu Sect disciples, Ouyang Mu felt much more at ease.

He could freely refine artifacts and cast swords.

Everyone called him ”Little Wood.” Nobody cared whether his surname was ”Ouyang,” nor did anyone compare him to his extraordinary elder brother.

Everyone simply saw him as a fellow junior disciple, a reliable artifact refiner. He didn’t need to worry about how others viewed him anymore.

Though Ouyang Mu still had a somewhat unassuming personality, his expression became noticeably brighter, and his thin face often carried an honest smile.