Arrays of Immortality

Afterward, Mo Hua continued to practice drawing the Solid Earth Formation for two months.

When encountering difficulties with formations, he sought out Instructor Yan. Although Instructor Yan was a strict and demanding teacher, he always explained questions from his disciples with patience and clarity, never withholding knowledge.

Instructor Yan believed that Mo Hua was tackling advanced formations prematurely without a solid foundation. Still, whenever Mo Hua asked, he tirelessly provided explanations, which left Mo Hua very grateful.

Sometimes, when Mo Hua skipped classes to secretly earn spirit stones by drawing formations, Instructor Yan didn't harshly reprimand him but simply advised:

"While cultivators may specialize, they should not become too narrow in their knowledge. Some methods you may not master, but you must at least understand them. Otherwise, after graduating from the sect, you may face trouble in the cultivation world due to blind spots in your knowledge."

Mo Hua humbly accepted the advice and benefited greatly. However, since he still lacked the spirit stones to study cultivation techniques, he had no choice but to continue skipping classes to earn more spirit stones through formations.

Each Solid Earth Formation consisted of four formation patterns and earned him two spirit stones. Thanks to this, Mo Hua's savings grew faster than before.

Two months later, one day Mo Hua delivered another order to Manager Pang. When he entered Youyuan Zhai as usual, he noticed someone unexpected—a middle-aged man in a green robe sitting and drinking tea.

The man's back looked familiar, and when he turned around, Mo Hua froze.

The man in the green robe was none other than Instructor Yan…

Mo Hua suddenly felt as though he'd been caught skipping class.

"Mo Hua?"

Instructor Yan looked at him with some surprise.

Manager Pang, who was pouring tea for Instructor Yan, glanced up and asked in surprise, "You two know each other?"

Instructor Yan nodded. "He's my disciple at Tongxian Sect."

Mo Hua bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Instructor!"

Instructor Yan acknowledged him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Before Mo Hua could answer, Manager Pang interjected, "He's running errands for his brother. His brother draws formations for our formation pavilion, and he delivers them when they're complete."

Instructor Yan nodded and didn't pursue the matter further.

Relieved, Mo Hua handed over the formations, collected his spirit stones, and quickly said, "Instructor, I'll take my leave now so as not to disturb you."

Instructor Yan clearly had business with Manager Pang, and seeing Mo Hua being so polite, he nodded approvingly. "Return to the sect early and be careful on the road."

Mo Hua respectfully agreed, bowed again, and left the formation pavilion.

Manager Pang watched Mo Hua leave and commented to Instructor Yan:

"That boy is very polite and clever. You're lucky to have such a good disciple."

Instructor Yan gave a faint "hmm" and asked, "You said his brother drew these formations?"

Manager Pang showed him the Solid Earth Formations Mo Hua had just delivered and replied, "Yes, and they're pretty well done."

Seeing it was indeed the Solid Earth Formation, Instructor Yan hesitated. "His brother drew this?"

"What else?" Manager Pang scoffed. "Do you think the boy drew it? At his age, even if he exhausted his Divine Sense, he couldn't complete a single formation."

Instructor Yan recalled how Mo Hua had previously come to him with questions about the Solid Earth Formation. He assumed Mo Hua must have seen his brother drawing formations, developed questions, and sought answers.

"Curiosity about formations is a good sign," Instructor Yan thought. "If he maintains this mindset, he might achieve something in formations in the future."

With that thought, Instructor Yan stopped probing further and turned his attention back to Manager Pang. Looking around the quiet shop, he asked, "Do you really intend to live like this forever?"

Manager Pang replied, "We're both cultivators from the same sect. You know me—I'm not like you. You're now an instructor at Tongxian Sect, highly skilled in formations, and just a step away from becoming a first-grade formation master. Once you cross that threshold, you'll have all the connections, status, and wealth you need. The sect will even give you a position as an elder."

"But as for me…" Manager Pang took a sip of tea. "I've always been someone who prefers an easy life. I've dabbled a bit in formations, but I can't endure the loneliness of cultivation. I'm content with my peaceful days. Don't look down on me—compared to the scattered cultivators outside, struggling for survival, this life of mine is something they can only dream of."

Instructor Yan remained silent.

Manager Pang sighed helplessly. "So, what do you need me to do this time?"

Instructor Yan replied solemnly, "Help me find the Spirit Core Formation Diagram."

Manager Pang rubbed his temples. "After all these years, you still haven't given up? Listen to me—you're not young anymore. It's time to find a Dao companion and settle down."

"Personal matters are trivial. The inheritance of formation arts is far more important."

"Even if you find it, what then? Our grandmaster couldn't master it, and neither could our master. What makes you think you can? A twelve-pattern first-grade formation is utterly absurd! First-grade formation masters only need to master nine patterns. You haven't even reached that level yet, so what's the point? You could spend your whole life chasing it and still never succeed."

Instructor Yan didn't respond.

Manager Pang continued to advise him: "Brother, just let it go. Besides, you'll never find it. That traitor stole the formation diagram and vanished decades ago. Even the Dao Court couldn't track him down. You're just a formation master, not skilled in Daoist arts. What can you possibly do?"

Unmoved, Instructor Yan replied bitterly, "Master was like a father to me. Everything I know about formations, I owe to him. Now that he's gone and the sect is broken, the art of formations is at risk of being lost. I can't rest easy until I recover that diagram and fulfill his last wish."

Seeing his resolve, Manager Pang relented with a sigh. "Fine, I'll help you. If I hear anything about the Spirit Core Formation Diagram, I'll let you know. But I'm warning you: you might end up empty-handed, with nothing to show for it."

Manager Pang, feeling the burden of trouble approaching, couldn't resist adding:

"And seriously, find a Dao companion. Have a kid or two. If you can't find it, at least your children can continue the search. Don't end up old and alone, wasting your life chasing this fool's dream."

"The tea has gone cold. I'm leaving."

Instructor Yan stood up, swept his sleeves, and left without another word, ignoring Manager Pang's grumbling behind him.

(End of Chapter)