Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 867 – Corruption

The Xiao Clan's Ancestor was filled with horror.

Faint wisps of black qi were threading into the orifices of his manifested divine sense, seeping into his spirit, bit by bit corrupting, tainting, and eroding him.

He couldn't comprehend it.

How had that once-beloved great-grandson of his… provoked such a terrifying existence?

That existence—it felt just like the legendary "Evil Gods," or perhaps a "Heavenly Demon." A taboo being that even he, a cultivator at the Cave Void Realm, dreaded to his core.

And such a thing… had already begun to spread its influence in the Qianxue Province?

The Xiao Ancestor couldn't understand.

But this was no time to ponder.

Faced with a crisis of life and death, he invoked all his understanding of Heaven's Fate, and activated a secret divine sense technique.

His manifested divine sense began to peel away, like shedding skin—cracking open from the outer layer, discarding its full outer shell in order to purge the corruption and preserve the purity of his true spirit.

Divine Shedding Technique!

It was the final and most difficult secret art in the inheritance he'd once obtained through immense fortune.

Like a serpent shedding its skin, it let one abandon the corrupted divine body and preserve the soul's essence.

The process came at great cost—most of his divine sense would be lost—but it would also remove the black qi that had seeped into it, leaving behind only the purest origin.

It was a technique created specifically to deal with the unknowable and bizarre pollutions that sometimes clung to the soul during karmic divination.

The hardest art of all to cultivate.

He had thought… he'd never need it in his lifetime.

But now—thanks to that "precious" great-grandson—he had been shoved straight into a terrifying crisis, forced to face a primordial terror unprepared.

The Divine Shedding began.

His divine sense cracked inch by inch, along with most of the polluted spiritual matter and the black qi tainting it—all cast off.

From the torn shell emerged a miniature, purified version of the Xiao Ancestor, who immediately turned away—refusing to look again at the ghost-child or the root of the horror—and fled beyond karma.

The situation was dire beyond words.

Every fraction of a second mattered.

There was no room for hesitation—any delay would mean total annihilation.

His divine spirit scrambled desperately to escape the threads of karma.

That ghost-child never looked at him again. It seemed its attention had been drawn by the vast discarded divine sense left behind by a Cave Void cultivator.

The terrible existence still slept, its black qi continuing to spread.

It appeared to be on the verge of awakening—but not quite. Perhaps a ritual was missing. Perhaps it still lacked a vessel. It teetered between slumber and revival.

If it had truly awakened—just a single glance would've corrupted even a Cave Void expert.

The Xiao Ancestor silently rejoiced.

His luck was bad… but also just barely good enough.

Had he delayed even slightly, he would've been damned beyond salvation.

But now he had seen it—the true terror lurking behind Heaven's Fate.

This experience would profoundly shape his cultivation in karma and cause-effect from now on.

"First, get out alive…"

He fled with everything he had. Further and further, nearly free of karma's chains. Nearly out of this nightmare.

And then—

A sudden distortion.

He collided with something.

A wave of putrid, corpse-stench swept over him.

It felt… like a corpse.

He looked up—and saw a towering, bronze-hued corpse, blood-red eyes glaring like oceans of death.

The Xiao Ancestor tensed.

Bronze corpses weren't uncommon. A Cave Void expert like him had no reason to fear what was essentially a low-level zombie at the Foundation Establishment realm.

But this was within the realm of karma, inside a Heaven's Fate divination…

How could there be a corpse here?

He looked closer—and what he saw chilled him to the bones.

In those bronze eyes, he saw a sovereign arrogance. An ocean of blood churned behind it. Vast mountains of corpses appeared and disappeared in the mist.

"This isn't a normal bronze corpse… this is…"

"A Corpse King?"

"A Dao-Sin?!?"

It was like being doused in ice water in the depths of winter.

His limbs went cold. His face turned ashen.

Never in his life had he imagined he'd end up trapped in a nightmare like this.

A twisted evil ghost fetus, a primordial evil god, and now—a Corpse King Dao-Sin blocking the path…

The Xiao Ancestor had no idea how he managed to escape.

When his divine sense finally struggled back to his own spiritual sea, there was no relief. No joy at having survived.

Only endless dread and unease.

His soul now bore the wound of the Dao-Sin, the taint of the Evil God, and even tooth marks from the ghost-fetus.

His forehead darkened, his eyes dull, face pale as paper, red veins lacing his eyes.

He was alive—but looked like a walking corpse.

His divine sense had been shed like a husk—severely damaged.

Yet despite his spiritual weakness, his heart was now filled with insatiable desire and hunger.

Cravings. Thirsts. Unspoken urges.

Expression blank, lifeless, he sat in front of Xiao Tianquan's bloody corpse, muttering to himself:

"It's over…"

"The Xiao Clan is finished. Everything… all of it, gone…"

"I… I'm not even me anymore… What have I become…?"

Behind him, the gates of the cave remained sealed.

No one answered.

Several days later.

Aboard the Xia Family's spirit boat—

Inspector Xia was writing letters.

The first was addressed to his clan. At the top, he wrote only:

"To the esteemed Elder."

"The plan has changed."

"Xiao Tianquan died suddenly. Cause unknown. The plan to control the Xiao Clan must be revised."

"If that fails, we'll have to use the Yin Water Sect to gradually take over Dao-Ting Division. During the upcoming Dao Conference, as all sects are distracted in competition, we can proceed with our grand strategy."

"Xia Rong'er lacks foresight and is unsuitable for major tasks. Reduce her clan stipend by thirty percent."

He paused, then added:

"Suspend all marriage negotiations concerning Xia Rong'er."

Then he summarized the current Qianxue Province situation—key clan movements, notable shifts—and sealed the letter. He summoned a trusted aide and had it sent via the Xia Clan's Primordial Magnetic secret channel.

Then, he began a second letter.

There was no salutation. No name. No signature.

"Xiao Tianquan's corpse has been returned to the Xiao Clan."

"The Xiao Ancestor sealed himself in the cave. By habit, he should be divining to find the culprit, but…"

Inspector Xia's expression turned grave.

"It's been three days since the cave sealed. Still no sign of movement. More than that—he ordered no one from the Xiao Clan to approach even a step. He's remained in seclusion since. No word at all…"

"There's a high possibility… the Xiao Clan's Ancestor has already been corrupted."

As he wrote the word "corrupted," cold sweat broke across his back.

"Unexpected, yes—but one more Cave Void from the Xiao Clan is likely out of the picture…"

"And the Elders' predictions were correct. There is indeed a foul taint over Qianxue Province. Shadows are rising…"

"But the clans are insular. The sects uncooperative. For now, we can't intervene—too little intel."

"If things truly go awry… we must be ready to act early."

Inspector Xia finished writing, sealed the letter, placed it into a golden sword, and with a light flick of his finger, the sword disintegrated into nothing.

Afterward, he let out a long breath, still rattled.

"The Old Ancestor wasn't lying… 'If you don't have to divine, don't.'

I was just one step away from being the one who got corrupted…"

No—not just corrupted.

The Xiao Clan's Ancestor, with his Cave Void cultivation and deep comprehension of Heaven's Fate, ended up like that…

If it had been himself—he'd probably have been dead on the spot.

Inspector Xia sighed and frowned.

The path of cultivation was perilous. Heaven's Fate was especially terrifying.

And this Xiao Tianquan—what kind of monster had he provoked?

In the Great Void Sect—

That very "terrifying" existence… was currently in a Dao Lecture Room, teaching his junior brothers and sisters how to draw formation diagrams.

"You must memorize these formation runes—they'll definitely show up in the sect assessment…"

"And these formations—commit them to heart. You'll definitely need them when you're out doing missions…"

Mo Hua lectured in a serious tone.

He taught with dedication, and the disciples below listened with equal seriousness.

Under his guidance, this year's batch of disciples at the Great Void Sect were making rapid progress in formations.

After all, the one teaching them wasn't some elder, but a fellow disciple from the same generation—a little senior brother who was actually younger than some of them, yet stood on the platform teaching.

This naturally ignited a competitive fire in their hearts.

At first, everyone was driven by the ambition to "surpass Little Senior Brother."

Then they realized: the harder they tried, the wider the gap grew.

Eventually, they came to accept reality.

Their goals shifted from:

Surpass Little Senior Brother, to

Catch up to Little Senior Brother, to

Don't fall too far behind Little Senior Brother, and finally…

At least try to understand what Little Senior Brother is teaching… please…

Within the sect, Mo Hua's status had become somewhat elevated.

The Old Ancestor clearly favored him, the Elders indulged him, and he had built up considerable prestige among his peers.

So when he disappeared to visit the Dragon King Temple, missed class for a long time, and then returned acting like nothing happened—continuing his cultivation and teaching as usual—nobody questioned it.

Some curious disciples did try to ask where he went and what he did.

But after Mo Hua assigned a bunch of tough formation homework, their curiosity magically vanished.

And so, sect life returned to its usual rhythm.

But in Mo Hua's heart, there remained a persistent thorn:

The "Evil Embryo" of the Great Wilderness Lord, fused into his very soul.

A few days ago—for reasons unknown—it had suddenly become excited.

Almost as if it had just eaten a hearty meal from somewhere…

Mo Hua had nearly jumped out of his skin.

He thought the Evil Embryo had broken through his divine array barrier and started devouring his soul.

But after a careful inspection, he found that wasn't the case.

The Evil Embryo had indeed "eaten something"… but what, and from whom, he had no idea.

Some poor soul had ended up as its snack.

Although it hadn't consumed him, this incident was a wake-up call for Mo Hua.

Even sealed, this Evil Embryo had unknown methods, and was gradually growing stronger.

One day, if it became powerful enough to break through his divine soul formation—it could silently pollute his spirit, threatening to overtake his soul completely.

If that happened…

He wouldn't be Mo Hua anymore.

He'd become a Little Evil God.

"Troublesome…"

"As expected, Evil Gods are nothing to trifle with."

Mo Hua furrowed his brow.

But for now, he had no way to eliminate the parasite or purify the corruption.

He didn't dare tell Venerable Elder Xun, either.

What if the Elder, in a fit of righteous fury, decided to "eliminate the threat for the greater good"?

Mo Hua would have no tears left to cry.

He didn't know what would happen in the future—but for now, the Evil Embryo was still sealed, still contained.

He was still himself. Not an Evil God's vessel.

The problem was… he didn't know how long that would remain true.

He mulled it over for a long time and came up empty, so finally, he just sighed and decided:

One step at a time. The cart will find its way around the mountain.

As long as the Evil Embryo stayed sealed, he'd be fine—so long as he stayed cautious.

What did need to be handled, urgently, was the "feast" he had ordered.

He had marked a lot of demons and monsters at the Dragon King Temple altar, and soon, they'd come knocking.

A banquet was coming—and it needed preparation.

Before that, Mo Hua had consulted Elder Xun Zixian, subtly probing and confirming his understanding of the relationship between divine soul and divine sense.

He needed to be certain that devouring pure divine sense wouldn't harm his soul, wouldn't trigger mutations, and most importantly—wouldn't nourish the Evil Embryo.

Only then did he feel at ease.

But that led to another problem:

He had marked too many.

So many monsters would surely flood Yu'er's nightmares.

Mo Hua could handle himself. The monsters wouldn't be able to hurt him easily.

But if he lost control—if things got chaotic—Yu'er could be in danger.

He could set up divine formations, yes—but he didn't think that alone was safe enough.

Ideally, someone could help him from a divine sense perspective, patching flaws and keeping things stable.

Only then would he be truly reassured.

But… he couldn't just tell anyone about this.

And not all cultivators had divine sense tough enough to battle monsters like he could.

The "meal delivery day" was approaching fast.

Mo Hua was growing anxious.

After class that day, he walked while pondering this dilemma.

As he passed the waterside library pavilion on the north side of the disciple quarters, he caught sight—out of the corner of his eye—of a large white dog sprawled on the ground, bored out of its mind.

He froze.

Then his eyes lit up.

He jogged over to the big white dog.

The dog instantly became alert, ears twitching upright, posture full of majesty and caution. A low growl rumbled from its throat.

Halfway through the growl, it recognized Mo Hua.

It gave a feeble "woof," then flopped back down like it had zero will to live.

"Why do you look so dead inside?" Mo Hua muttered.

The big white dog cracked open one eyelid and gave him a resentful look.

Then it sighed and closed its eyes again, resuming its nap.

Mo Hua leaned in and whispered,

"Wanna come eat a big meal? A real feast?"

The dog's ear twitched—but it ignored him.

It was sick of chicken legs.

Honestly, it never even liked chicken legs that much—it only ate them because Mo Hua was being nice.

"Not chicken legs," Mo Hua said knowingly.

"Something much tastier…"

The dog turned its head, large eyes staring at him in confusion.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, unsure how to explain—then suddenly had an idea.

He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a bone sword.

"This thing…"

The dog froze.

Then involuntarily leaned in for a sniff.

A strange scent wafted from the sword.

The scent of monsters.

Monster!

The big white dog's eyes lit up instantly, and drool dribbled from its mouth uncontrollably.

It suddenly lunged forward with its mouth wide open, about to swallow the bone sword whole.

Luckily, Mo Hua's reflexes were sharp—he snatched the bone sword back just in time.

The bone, so close to its mouth, was suddenly gone. The big white dog glared at Mo Hua furiously.

Mo Hua glared right back.

Under Mo Hua's gaze, the dog's fire quickly fizzled out. It lay back down with a huff, though its eyes kept sneaking peeks at Mo Hua's hand.

At this moment, the poor spirit sealed inside the bone sword—Cheap Bonehead—was nearly scared out of its soul.

It was seriously worried that Mo Hua, in a moment of whimsy or boredom, would just use its precious self as a dog treat.

This little ancestor always struck without warning. It was terrifying...

Cheap Bonehead silently wiped a cold sweat.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua warned the big white dog:

"This bone's off-limits. I still need it."

The big white dog let out a low, disgruntled whimper.

Mo Hua coaxed,

"I'll take you to a real feast—way meatier than this bone. You in?"

The big white dog perked up immediately, tongue flopping out as it nodded enthusiastically at Mo Hua.

"Great!" Mo Hua beamed.

Just as he was about to take the big white dog away, he realized—it was chained to the library, bound by some kind of unknown material. It couldn't leave.

Mo Hua frowned.

That's right—this was the Sect Master's dog.

"Sect Master…"

Mo Hua rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He didn't know the Sect Master very well. Up to now, he'd only seen him a few times during the annual opening ceremonies.

And once—when he'd been "bullying" the big white dog outside the library—the Sect Master had caught him in the act.

Still, the Sect Master hadn't scolded him.

And he had that gentle, refined look—like someone easy to talk to.

"Maybe... I could borrow the dog?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and decided to give it a try.

But he had no idea where the Sect Master lived.

So, in his free time, he began hanging around the library entrance, hoping to bump into him by luck.

Two days later—luck smiled.

The slightly plump, red-cheeked, full-haired Sect Master of the Great Void Sect arrived at the library—and immediately noticed Mo Hua squatting at the door.

He paused, surprised.

"Mo Hua?"

"Yup." Mo Hua nodded.

"Something you need?" The Sect Master asked warmly.

"Sect Master," Mo Hua lowered his voice, "I have a small, tiny request. Don't know if you'd be willing to…"

The Sect Master was intrigued.

He had been in this position for years, and very few disciples ever dared approach him directly with a request.

"Go ahead," the Sect Master nodded.

Mo Hua pointed outside.

"That dog of yours… can I borrow it for two days? One day's fine too…"

Borrow the dog?

The Sect Master was stunned, momentarily speechless.

"Is… that not allowed?" Mo Hua asked softly.

"It's not that it's not allowed, just…" The Sect Master looked puzzled. "What do you want it for?"

"Guard duty!" Mo Hua replied confidently.

The Sect Master had no words.

This kid… really thinks that beast—one with remnants of divine beast blood—is just a guard dog…

"That dog is… very dangerous," the Sect Master warned.

"It's fine. We get along. I even fed it chicken legs once," Mo Hua said earnestly.

The Sect Master's expression grew… complicated.

He considered carefully… then shook his head.

That dog wasn't an ordinary beast. Its temperament was wild and untamable. In the clan, aside from a few old ancestors and the elders who fed it, it obeyed no one.

When it went wild, even powerful cultivators had a hard time handling it.

Lending it out could easily cause a disaster.

The Sect Master was about to refuse.

But then he looked at Mo Hua again—remembering Venerable Elder Xun's high regard and hopes for him—and for some reason… his mind changed.

He nodded.

"Alright."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up with joy.

Then the Sect Master personally unlocked the dog's chain and handed the leash to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua grinned ear to ear:

"Thank you, Sect Master! You're a truly kind man!"

The Sect Master chuckled, then turned to give a warning:

"This beast is wild, untamed—you must be careful…"

But before he could finish the sentence, he turned to see—

The very same "wild" and "untamable" beast was now obediently following behind Mo Hua, happily wagging its tail like a puppy.

The Sect Master silently swallowed his words, his expression… indescribably complex.

(End of chapter)