Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 869 – Sword Tomb

Because the Fuxie Soul—one of the seven soul-spirits within his Fate Soul—had been parasitized by an evil fetus, Mo Hua dared not act too arrogantly. He only manifested various Five Element spells and several types of Eight Trigram formations to eliminate the demon horde one by one.

Wave after wave of demons fell to his hands, instantly refined by him into pure thought-force, which he then absorbed.

Outside his Sea of Consciousness, the big white dog was also having the time of its life "feasting."

The demons that slipped through Mo Hua's guarded fissure were naturally funneled through the barrier formed by the Divine Barrier Array and Divine Lock Array—right into the white dog's jaws.

The dog's eyes glared, and a majestic phantom appeared in its gaze, stunning a wave of demons into paralysis.

It then seized the moment, lunged forward, and chomped down one by one—crushing and swallowing every last one.

It looked like it was biting at air, as though it hadn't eaten any "actual flesh."

Yet the big white dog was thoroughly enjoying itself.

To it, this demonic thought-force was a rare and powerful tonic.

That two-legged beast Mo Hua hadn't lied—this really was a banquet.

And being a true beast rather than a cultivator, the white dog had no complex thoughts, and with divine beast blood in its veins, it was immune to evil pollution of the Dao heart. So it devoured the demons whole, rapidly refining even the evil residue with ease.

Night deepened. The room brimmed with sinister Yin Qi, demonic figures dancing wildly.

Wen Renwei stood outside the room. Feeling the eerie aura from within, he grew increasingly anxious and uneasy.

But he held fast to Mo Hua's instructions and remained steadfast at the door.

Inside, the fierce battle raged on.

Mo Hua stood at the forefront, using spells and formations to slaughter the enemy while replenishing his spent divine sense by fighting through it.

The big white dog bounced around excitedly, cleaning up any demons that slipped through Mo Hua's kill zone.

Who knew how long they fought—the tide of demons eventually began to recede.

At last, the Tree of Divine Authority began to shrink, the black water fetus withered, and fewer and fewer demons hatched.

These demons were numerous, but none were particularly strong.

The truly strong ones—Mo Hua didn't trigger.

And those so-called elites like the Ram-Horn Enforcers and Goat-Head Generals, once considered formidable, were now no better than small fry before Mo Hua's divine sense cultivated to the Nineteen-Rune Realm.

At this point, he could be considered an existence on par with the evil fetus of the Great Wilderness Lord.

Ordinary demons? One strike was enough. If not, two.

When the final warlord-class demon was crushed barehanded by Mo Hua and refined through formations into his body, the battle was over.

Meanwhile, in the forbidden grounds of the back mountain—

The long-bearded elder was still quietly sweeping with his divine sense.

But this time, he was overly cautious, and his search was slow.

Wary of releasing too much divine sense and sparking another incident that might attract his junior again, his perception remained vague.

Coupled with the obscuring effects of Mo Hua's Fog Array, the elder's search turned up… nothing.

Worse, he began to notice that the turbulent demonic cause-and-effect around the area was starting to dissipate.

Either the source of the demonic flood had been severed…

Or the entire demonic horde had been exterminated.

In any case, once the karmic traces faded, there would be no signs left to follow…

Patriarch Dugu frowned, his heart filled with frustration and anger.

Still unwilling to give up, he continued scanning the Great Void Mountain with his divine sense.

But scan after scan…

Still, nothing.

Back in the disciples' quarters, within the inner chamber—

As the final demon warlord fell, the ominous cold and sinister energy within the room was completely swept away.

Amid drifting mists, Yu'er still slept peacefully—at some point, she'd begun sucking her thumb, dreaming sweetly.

The air was tranquil and serene.

Mo Hua nodded, then stepped out of the chamber with the big white dog.

Outside, Wen Renwei's eyes lit up at the sight of Mo Hua.

"Young Master Mo…"

Mo Hua nodded. "It's settled. Yu'er is sleeping peacefully."

Wen Renwei cupped his fists in deep gratitude.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"No need to be so formal, Uncle Wei."

After a few more pleasantries, Mo Hua turned to leave.

But after a moment's thought, he said,

"I'll leave the big white dog here to guard the place—just in case something happens again tonight."

Wen Renwei thanked him again, deeply moved by the young man's thoughtfulness and meticulousness.

The big white dog made no objections either.

It had eaten itself into a food coma—its belly bulging—and needed time to digest.

Too lazy to move now, it simply lay down on the spot and began refining the demonic essence it had devoured.

Mo Hua returned to his own room.

All in all, the battle had gone just as planned—no surprises, no setbacks.

The demons were slain.

The evil fetus didn't stir.

Yu'er was safe.

He had devoured a lot of evil beings.

Now came the final step: refine all that evil essence, purify it, and absorb the pure thought-force—to push his divine sense to even greater heights.

Inside his quiet, minimalist room—

Mo Hua held his breath and sat in meditation.

Strands of thought-force were being refined one by one.

His divine sense gradually grew stronger, and the realm of his divine intent slowly advanced from the Nineteen-Rune stage.

His Sea of Consciousness expanded, his divine sense thickened, and his perception of all things became clearer and more profound.

At first, the increase in divine sense was rapid due to the sheer amount of energy absorbed.

But soon… he hit a bottleneck.

It was as if his divine sense had reached the absolute limit of what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could achieve.

A nearly impassable heavenly chasm stood in his way.

This chasm was the limit the Dao of Heaven imposed on Foundation Establishment.

On the other side of that divide—was Golden Core.

Despite consuming a mountain of demons, Mo Hua's divine sense enhancement was like a drop in the ocean before that rift.

His growth slowed drastically—until it finally stalled at the peak of Nineteen Runes.

Mo Hua opened his eyes and sighed.

As expected…

Just like the breakthrough from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, crossing a major realm was anything but easy. It would require time, effort, and patience.

The amount of divine sense needed had practically doubled.

It wasn't simply going from Nineteen to Twenty Runes.

Rather, it was like having to cultivate from One to Nineteen all over again.

No feast—no matter how big—could close that gap in one bite.

Though this outcome was within Mo Hua's expectations, he still felt a twinge of disappointment.

He smacked his lips.

"If only I could eat my way straight to Golden Core…"

Wishful thinking.

The difference between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was a whole different level.

No matter how he tried, he couldn't think of what he could eat to make that leap.

Eat an actual evil god?

Mo Hua shook his head.

Forget evil gods—he couldn't even digest an evil fetus.

There was literally one inside his own soul right now… and he had no way of dealing with it.

"Forget it… Peak Nineteen Runes is still decent enough. Can't become a fat cultivator with one meal anyway…"

Still—Peak Nineteen Runes…

Mo Hua paused, then suddenly realized:

This was already the absolute limit of what Foundation Establishment divine sense could reach.

From now on, among all Foundation cultivators—no one's divine sense could surpass his.

And he was only at mid-Foundation Establishment.

When calculated that way… it was actually pretty impressive.

Mo Hua couldn't help feeling a little smug.

What's more, from now on, all Grade-Two formations—except for those truly supreme ones ranked above the twenty-rune threshold—would become easy for him to learn. He would no longer feel any strain on his divine sense when studying them.

Mo Hua was feeling satisfied—maybe even a little giddy.

With such excitement… sleep was out of the question (not that he needed much to begin with).

He was itching to practice a few formations, to test whether—now that his divine sense had reached the peak of nineteen runes—his learning speed and formation strength had improved.

After thinking it through for a moment, Mo Hua took out some paper and ink.

He laid the paper flat on the floor, set the ink on the table, and began using his divine sense as a brush, controlling the ink with his will to draw formations on the ground.

This time, he wanted to see just how fast he could draw formations when going all-out with his peak-level divine sense.

So, he unleashed it without reservation.

What he didn't know was that this unrestrained divine sense just happened to brush against a certain powerful, unfathomable Void Stage divine sense, one that had been quietly circling within the Great Void Mountain…

And Mo Hua's room didn't have the Fog Array set up—there was no barrier to hide his presence.

Plus, his divine sense still carried some lingering impurities from "eating" the evil spirits.

As a result… his cover was blown.

Back in the Forbidden Grounds of the rear mountain.

The long-bearded elder's eyes suddenly snapped open, gleaming with sharp intensity.

"Finally… I've got you."

The divine sense he sensed carried a faint trace of evil aura.

Clearly, someone had used some method to strip away the outer layer of the evil entity—trying to disguise themselves as a proper cultivator and sneak by unnoticed.

But the disguise wasn't complete… and the cracks showed.

"You… won't escape now!"

The elder's shriveled hand suddenly slashed through the air and grabbed toward the void.

Meanwhile, in the disciples' quarters…

Mo Hua, still blissfully unaware, was fully immersed in drawing his formation.

Then, without warning—a sudden disturbance erupted.

A black, ragged spatial rift split open right in front of him, tearing through the void like a blade.

Mo Hua was dumbstruck—his brain briefly froze.

Before he could react, a bony, withered hand reached out from within the rift, grabbed him, and yanked him in.

The spatial rift slowly closed behind him.

Within the disciples' quarters, Mo Hua was gone.

All that remained was the half-finished formation he'd been working on…

...

In the forbidden rear mountain

With a flicker in the void, a figure appeared.

The long-bearded elder had torn open space and yanked something out—he didn't even look at what he'd grabbed, only focused on pulling it in front of him.

"I'd like to see… just what kind of evil creature you really are…"

The elder sneered coldly—only for his voice to abruptly cut off.

He froze.

Only now did he see—what he'd yanked over wasn't some foul spirit or demonic parasite…

It was a young disciple, with a refined appearance, clear eyes, and a clean aura.

And judging by his clothes… he was from the Great Void Sect?

Mo Hua blinked in confusion, dangling in the elder's grip, equally stunned.

The two—one old, one young—locked eyes. For a moment, the atmosphere was thick with silence.

After a long pause, the elder finally spoke in a raspy, low voice:

"Are you… a disciple of the Great Void Sect?"

Mo Hua snapped out of it, glanced around—and realized he had no clue where he was.

Everything was pitch-black and filled with grave mounds. The moonlight was cold and bleak, the air heavy with desolation.

The elder before him was bound by chains and formations, and while Mo Hua didn't know who he was or what his cultivation level was—he looked terrifying.

His instincts screamed: this was the kind of person who could crush him with a finger.

And by his intuition… he was even stronger than his martial uncle.

Far stronger than all the powerful cultivators Mo Hua had ever encountered—including those demonic Nascent Soul elites his uncle had killed, or even the powerful Dao Court Inspectors like Inspector Xia.

A Void Stage Patriarch?!

Mo Hua instantly turned obedient. He nodded. "Yes, I am."

The long-bearded elder frowned slightly.

"Just now… what were you doing?"

Mo Hua tensed inside.

Oh no… I've been caught red-handed?

Did this senior see what I was doing?

Does that mean… he's a patriarch of the Great Void Sect?

Was he monitoring things and noticed something strange, so he grabbed me?

Mo Hua's heart tightened… but at the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Tension—because he might've just been caught "sneaking snacks" (i.e., eating evil entities).

Relief—because if this elder was truly a Great Void Patriarch, he probably wouldn't kill him on a whim.

And if he wasn't mistaken, Venerable Elder Xun was also of patriarch seniority.

This long-bearded senior might even know Venerable Xun.

He probably wouldn't give him too much trouble.

Worst case scenario—he could name-drop Venerable Xun and hope it got him out of trouble.

Seeing the elder's displeased expression, Mo Hua respectfully said:

"To answer Senior… I have a young little brother who often has nightmares. Demons disturb his dreams and he can't sleep. So I borrowed a big white dog from the Sect Master to guard him."

"I'd just finished the night watch and returned to my room. Since it was still early, I decided to practice some formation drawing… then suddenly, I was pulled here by you, Senior…"

Mo Hua told a selectively truthful version of events.

The elder frowned and thought for a moment. Then asked, "What's your brother's name?"

"Shangguan Yu," Mo Hua answered.

"Shangguan?" The elder raised an eyebrow. "Are you from the Shangguan family?"

Mo Hua shook his head.

"No, I'm not. My surname is Mo."

The elder's gaze cooled.

"Your surname is Mo… but your brother is named Shangguan?"

Mo Hua explained,

"He's not my blood brother. We met by chance—I saved his life. Since then, he calls me big brother."

Life-saving debt?

The elder gave a slight nod. Then asked seriously: "You say your surname is Mo… which Mo Clan are you from? There's no such family in the Ganxue Region. Are you from Kun Prefecture? Or Kan Prefecture?"

Mo Hua replied: "I'm from Li Prefecture. A rogue cultivator. No family."

A rogue cultivator…?

The long-bearded elder was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected that, after all these years, the Great Void Sect would actually recruit a rogue cultivator.

That in itself was… intriguing.

Rogue cultivators had no family and no backing. Which also meant—no one could trace their origins.

"You said… you borrowed a dog from the Sect Master?" the elder asked again.

Mo Hua nodded.

"What kind of dog was it?"

"White, big, long-haired… a bit golden at the tips. Always looks down on people, really arrogant…"

Mo Hua described the big white dog in detail.

The long-bearded elder's expression shifted slightly—he seemed to understand.

"That thing…"

He was starting to piece it all together.

The boy from the Shangguan family had a physique that attracted evil spirits. This Mo-surnamed child, not wanting his little brother to suffer, had gone to borrow a strange beast to suppress the evil.

By borrowing the beast to subdue the spirits, the boy had inevitably picked up a trace of evil aura himself.

That trace had been sensed by the elder, who mistook it for some hidden demon or evil cultivator—and acted immediately.

The long-bearded elder's gaze sharpened.

There were still a few oddities in the story, but overall, it made sense.

The child's explanation had been detailed—he gave names, identities, even mentioned the Sect Master. It would be easy enough to verify later.

And with nearly a thousand years of experience judging character, the elder could tell: though the kid was a bit nervous, he wasn't lying.

The elder let out a sigh.

So… he'd grabbed the wrong person.

Just an ordinary little disciple. No relation to demons or dark forces.

But it made sense. A young disciple with only twenty years of cultivation—unless he was a reincarnated immortal or possessed by an old devil—how could he have caused such a large karmic disturbance to draw in so many evil entities?

Since the child was innocent, the elder naturally had no reason to make things difficult.

His interest gone, he simply waved his hand and said: "You may go."

Mo Hua let out a breath of relief.

Talking to this kind of mysterious and powerful elder—whose background he didn't even know—he had been on edge with every word.

But in the end… he'd gotten away with it.

Mo Hua gave a proper bow and respectfully said:

"Senior, this disciple will take his leave."

The long-bearded elder said nothing.

Mo Hua turned to leave. But after a few steps, he paused, scratched his head, and asked meekly:

"Senior… how do I get out of here?"

This place was filled with tombs and dry mounds. It was eerie, desolate, and surrounded by high-level formations he couldn't even comprehend.

He had never been here before—he didn't recognize the way.

If he got lost or accidentally triggered a trap or formation, he was just a tiny Foundation Establishment cultivator… he might not survive.

The long-bearded elder sighed, realizing he'd overlooked that.

"I'll send you back."

He reached out a hand toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua didn't dodge—of course, even if he tried, there was no way he could escape a Void Stage Patriarch's grasp.

But just before the elder's hand could grab him, Mo Hua caught sight—out of the corner of his eye—of several broken swords sticking out from the dark tomb mounds.

His heart skipped, and he quickly called out: "Senior, wait!"

The elder's hand froze. He frowned.

"What is it?"

Mo Hua asked: "Senior… is this the Sword Tomb?"

The long-bearded elder's eyes narrowed.

"It is."

So it really was!

Earlier, the night was too dark and the sudden teleportation too disorienting, so he hadn't looked around carefully. He'd just assumed he was in a desolate graveyard.

But now, by the light of the moon, he saw broken swords piercing the tombs—and remembered what Elder Xun Ziyou once said: that the forbidden grounds of the Great Void Sect's rear mountain contained a Sword Tomb.

And Mo Hua had always wanted to do one thing.

A sense of clarity filled his heart.

He respectfully asked:

"Senior, I know of a senior cultivator—also a sword cultivator—who may be buried in this Sword Tomb. I would like to return something of his… may I?"

Buried in the Sword Tomb…

The long-bearded elder was stunned.

The Sword Tomb was where the Great Void Sect laid to rest sword cultivators who had cultivated Divine Sense Sword Arts, and who had sacrificed their lives fighting evil and demonic forces—often suffering soul damage and dying prematurely.

This child… actually had a connection to one of them?

Could he be a descendant of a Divine Path Sword Cultivator?

The elder's gaze toward Mo Hua softened noticeably.

He nodded and sighed: "Very well. Go ahead."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up with joy. He cupped his hands: "Thank you, Senior!"

He then began walking toward the surrounding Sword Tombs.

What he wanted to return… was the broken sword of Senior Dugu Xuan.

According to Elder Xun Zixian, cultivating Divine Sense Sword Arts damaged not only others—but also oneself. Especially the soul. Once injured, recovery was extremely difficult.

In the Great Void Sect, cultivators who practiced this path almost never met a peaceful end—most died young or faded away from injuries.

Senior Dugu Xuan once fought to the death against the corrupted River God at the Bloodstained Fishing Village—who was, in truth, an avatar of a Great Wilderness Evil God. Though he ultimately suppressed the evil spirit, his own life-bound sword was broken in that battle.

This meant he had suffered grave, foundational injuries.

And after that, Mo Hua never found another trace of Senior Dugu Xuan.

He thus guessed that this incredibly talented sword cultivator of the Great Void Sect… had likely died young.

And those who died cultivating the Divine Sense Sword Arts… were typically buried in this very Sword Tomb.

Mo Hua had obtained that broken sword, and from it deduced many secrets. He learned both the Sword Transformation Form and the Sword of Divine Dread—he had inherited the man's legacy.

And for that… he believed he had a debt to repay.

Even a drop of kindness should be repaid like a spring. He had always hoped that one day he could come here, to the Sword Tomb, and return the broken sword to its rightful resting place.

After all, sword cultivators treated their swords as a second life.

Returning the broken sword and letting it rest with its owner would fulfill a karmic thread.

If Senior Xuan's soul was aware of it, he might find peace.

Mo Hua searched among the nearby tombs.

But there were only tombs and swords—no gravestones, no names. He had no idea which one belonged to Senior Xuan.

He thought about asking the long-bearded elder who guarded the Sword Tomb…

But that elder was terrifying, with a presence that screamed stay away. Mo Hua didn't dare bother him too much, so he kept searching on his own.

And after searching for quite a while… he still found nothing.

The long-bearded elder, clearly running out of patience, was starting to look annoyed.

Mo Hua had no choice. After some thought, he dug out a bit of dirt and made a small mound—a new grave.

Then, he quietly took out the broken sword from his Storage Ring—the one he had retrieved from the bottom of the blood pool in the Bloodstained Fishing Village—and placed it on top of the fresh mound.

Thus… a new Sword Tomb was made.

But the moment Mo Hua drew the sword, the long-bearded elder—previously bored and impatient—suddenly sensed a shockingly familiar aura.

He looked up.

And when he saw the broken sword sticking out of the fresh mound, his expression changed dramatically.

His entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"That is…"

"Xuan'er's sword?!"

(End of this Chapter)