Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 875: Slaying the Divine

Patriarch Dugu frowned slightly. "To cultivate the sword, one must proceed step by step and not aim too high too fast."

Mo Hua nodded. "You're right, Patriarch. But you've also said that the sword path must have both a beginning and an end. Only then does it have direction."

"I'm currently practicing sword qi every day—that's the beginning. As for the technique where divine sense transforms into a sword, that's the end. With a beginning and an end, I know which direction to strive for."

Patriarch Dugu was momentarily stunned.

This child had a quick tongue and smooth words—one argument after another.

He was unlike any of the sword disciples he had trained before.

This child had a pure Dao heart, treated others sincerely, and had a natural grace about him. Though he respected the Patriarch, he wasn't overly cautious or bound by fear like the others.

The previous disciples—even Xuan'er—held the old patriarch in awe and dared not speak much during lessons.

Let alone someone like Mo Hua, who constantly asked bizarre questions and even made small requests now and then…

Still, what he said wasn't wrong. Although laying a solid foundation in sword cultivation is crucial, having a clear goal and direction is just as important.

One must know why they are learning.

Patriarch Dugu nodded. "Alright. I'll explain it simply."

Mo Hua's spirits lifted, and he immediately sat upright. "Thank you, Patriarch!"

He then sat attentively, ready to listen.

After a brief moment of thought, Patriarch Dugu began slowly, "From sword tools, you cultivate sword qi, then comprehend sword intent, and only then can you move on to sword techniques formed through divine sense."

"There are currently four techniques involving divine sense sword transformation—Forming the Sword, Divine Dread, Godbreaker, and Godslayer. These are not separate techniques but build upon each other, step by step…"

"Forming the Sword is the foundation and entry point. It is the process of manifesting sword intent into sword form—from the tangible to the intangible, and back again."

"This technique seems basic, but it contains profound sword Dao meaning. From this point onward, the 'intangible' sword intent begins to take on a 'tangible' sword form."

"But that 'tangible' form is, at its core, still an intangible sword intent."

"Reality and illusion intertwined—both real and unreal. You can't grasp this yet, but in the future…"

At this point, Patriarch Dugu paused. He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he taught a Foundation Establishment disciple and had unknowingly gone too far.

The principle of illusion and reality belonged more to the Void Dissolution realm—far too advanced for this child…

But when he turned his head, he saw Mo Hua's eyes sparkling, fully engrossed, listening with great interest. It was hard to tell if he truly understood or was just pretending convincingly.

"These things... you'll naturally understand when your cultivation reaches a certain level."

Then he continued:

"Forming the Sword is the foundation, the entry step. But it's far too fragile. Even if you manage to form the sword, it must be carefully nurtured. It must not be casually used—let alone used to kill."

"Therefore, if you wish to use divine sense sword techniques in actual combat, you must progress to the next level: Divine Dread."

At this point, Mo Hua blinked in surprise.

The moment he comprehended Forming the Sword, he'd rushed out to wreak havoc with it.

To this day, he'd used Forming the Sword to slay countless demons, spirits, and evil entities—even chopped up evil gods.

And now the Patriarch was telling him... Forming the Sword wasn't even meant for fighting?

It was merely a prototype that needed careful cultivation?

Mo Hua suddenly felt very conflicted.

Patriarch Dugu, unaware of his inner thoughts, continued his explanation:

"Divine Dread is when a sword cultivator infuses the refined, sharp sword intent forged over decades or even centuries into the Forming the Sword technique, and then attempts to let the divine soul 'exit the body' with it."

"The sharper and purer your sword intent, the more terrifying the pressure when it manifests outside your body."

"In fact, a cultivator who has mastered the Divine Dread Sword to perfection can, during battle, merely release a hint of sword intent—and terrify their opponent into fleeing before even striking."

"'The hidden sword restrains killing intent; the drawn sword terrifies gods and spirits.'"

…

This was the proper way to cultivate the Divine Dread Sword.

Mo Hua nodded slightly.

Though divine sense sword techniques bore the word divine, at their core, all the techniques stemmed from the sword itself—entering the Dao through the sword and using overwhelming sword intent to suppress enemies.

His own Divine Dread Sword was more of a... shortcut.

His sword Dao wasn't strong, so he borrowed techniques from the Water Prison Sect's Slaughter Refinement method, adapting it into a fear-based eye technique. When he used it, he didn't purely rely on sword intent to instill fear. He leaned heavily on Hellheart projections, illusions of torture, and agony to intimidate his enemies.

Which was better? Mo Hua couldn't say.

But his technique, no doubt, was unorthodox.

Still, he had already learned it—no sense in abandoning it now.

Besides, the orthodox Divine Dread Sword didn't conflict with his Seven Soul Sword-Eye technique.

On the contrary, if he mastered the real thing, his eye technique might grow even stronger.

With this, he had a clear idea on how to advance his Divine Dread Sword.

Since Forming the Sword and Divine Dread had been explained, Mo Hua asked again, "Patriarch, what about the Godbreaker technique?"

Patriarch Dugu's tone grew heavy. "Godbreaker and Godslayer are different from the first two. Forming the Sword is the beginning, Divine Dread opens your awareness. Once you reach Godbreaker, your divine sense sword techniques are at small success. Only with Godslayer can you be considered fully accomplished, ready to travel and vanquish demons."

"Oh!" Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Patriarch Dugu's eyes sharpened. "Godbreaker condenses sword intent to a single point. Its killing power is limited, but its penetration is unmatched."

"There are fiends and spirits in this world with innate protections—armor forged from evil thoughts and sinister energies, their outer shells hard as iron."

"Only by breaking that armor can you damage their souls."

"Otherwise, no matter how many sword strikes you land, you won't harm them at all…"

"A fully mastered Godbreaker Sword can pierce through any demonic armor."

Mo Hua blinked.

Godbreaker Sword… breaks armor?

Demons wore armor?

He thought back. Of the countless monsters he'd slain, a few did seem to have some kind of armor.

Crude iron-like plating, some that resembled hair or scales—it all looked pretty primitive.

When he crushed those monsters, the texture of that armor had felt tougher.

Still, in the divine sense path, he usually just went "one punch solves all spells."

The harder the armor, the harder he hit.

If the Patriarch hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't have even noticed there was something special about that armor.

Clearly, divine sense sword techniques had a lot more nuance than he'd realized…

At this point, Patriarch Dugu finally came to the final technique.

"Godslayer Sword…"

A glint of sharpness flashed in the Patriarch's gaze. "It is the ultimate move of the Great Void's divine sense sword arts—the most powerful technique."

Mo Hua perked up, ears nearly twitching.

Patriarch Dugu continued, "Its power is unmatched—but it's also the hardest to learn."

"To slay man, demon, devil—or ultimately, god—using the Godslayer Sword, the first thing you must slay… is yourself."

"You use sword intent to temper your life soul until the two become one."

"The sword is your life—it is your soul."

"In this way, even your divine soul will take on sword form, capable of slaying all entities tied to divine sense."

"This is the process where a sword cultivator merges his sword, his path, his life, and his soul into one."

"It is extremely painful… and must be done with the utmost caution."

"Especially during the tempering of the soul with sword intent. The damage to the soul can be immense. One wrong move, and instead of mastering Godslayer, you'll sever your own soul…"

Patriarch Dugu's expression was grim.

Clearly, in the history of the Great Void Sect, there had been no shortage of cases where cultivators tried to master this forbidden art—and ended up slaying themselves.

Mo Hua's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but ask:

"Patriarch, to temper the soul with the sword—how do you actually do that?"

Patriarch Dugu fell silent.

"This is the highest secret of divine sense sword arts. I can't tell you yet—saying it now would do you more harm than good."

Mo Hua wasn't willing to give up. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Then… will you teach me in the future?"

Patriarch Dugu pondered briefly, then slowly nodded.

Since he had already agreed to teach Mo Hua divine sense sword techniques, he would not go back on his word.

If the circumstances allowed, he would teach him.

Even though divine sense sword techniques had now been classified as forbidden arts within the Great Void Sect…

And the Godslayer Sword's "tempering the soul with the sword" was the most forbidden technique among them.

"So that means… eventually, you will teach me?" Mo Hua asked again.

Patriarch Dugu thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"Since that's the case," Mo Hua said, "you're going to teach me eventually anyway—why not just tell me now, so I can mentally prepare myself?"

Patriarch Dugu frowned. "What kind of mental preparation do you need?"

Mo Hua replied, "The kind of preparation where I'm getting ready to eventually master the Godslayer Sword! Mentally!"

Patriarch Dugu was speechless.

This kid couldn't even crawl and was already dreaming about flying.

"Your sword qi is far too weak, your foundation is poor. You're still a long way off from learning the Godslayer Sword. I can't teach it to you now," he said firmly.

Mo Hua tried everything to talk him into it, but no matter what he said, Patriarch Dugu wouldn't budge.

With a sigh, Mo Hua's shoulders drooped, visibly dejected.

Seeing the boy so downcast, Patriarch Dugu suddenly felt a little guilty.

Despite his weak aptitude in sword cultivation, Mo Hua was hardworking, curious, and eager to learn. More importantly, he was currently the only remaining disciple in the Great Void Sect still cultivating the Divine Sense Sword Transformation technique—a lone seedling, so to speak.

He couldn't crush that motivation too harshly.

His tone, without him realizing it, softened just a little:

"You're still young. It's too early to rush into this. Tempering the soul with the sword is extremely dangerous and profoundly advanced. It's not something you can handle right now."

Sensing the change in tone, Mo Hua quickly followed up, "I won't practice it. I just want to study it a bit."

"Study it?" Patriarch Dugu was caught off guard.

"Yeah," Mo Hua nodded. "My sword qi progresses too slowly. At this rate, who knows how many years it'll take me to reach the stage where I can learn real Divine Sense Sword Techniques. That's just how it is—learning swordsmanship takes time. But…"

"My sword Dao foundation is weak—but my divine sense foundation is very strong. So I figured, why not start studying it from the divine sense angle—analyzing the principles of Divine Sense Sword Transformation as it applies to spiritual consciousness?"

"That way, I can progress in sword qi and divine sense in parallel, without one holding the other back."

"And by the time my sword qi catches up, I'll already have a solid understanding of how the technique operates on the divine sense level. Then I'll learn it twice as fast."

He spoke with absolute confidence and logical flair.

Patriarch Dugu fell silent.

Mo Hua's reasoning… wasn't wrong.

And it reminded him—one of the main reasons he agreed to teach Mo Hua Divine Sense Sword Transformation, aside from karmic ties with Xuan'er, was precisely because Mo Hua had such a powerful divine sense. He was walking the path of proving the Dao through spiritual consciousness.

His sword Dao was weak—but his divine sense was strong.

In that case, perhaps the conventional approach of step-by-step training no longer applied.

Maybe letting him study the methods of divine sense swordsmanship early on wouldn't be a bad thing.

However…

Patriarch Dugu looked at Mo Hua. "Are you really just going to study it—not practice it?"

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly. "Absolutely! I'm not an idiot. Why would I try to practice it now?"

"Besides, I haven't even formed my sword intent yet. I haven't mastered the basic Forming the Sword. Even if I wanted to learn higher techniques, I wouldn't be able to…"

Mo Hua's eyes flickered just a little.

Patriarch Dugu's brow twitched.

His intuition told him something was off. The way Mo Hua said that—it felt… suspicious.

But what exactly was suspicious?

If it was a lie, it meant he had formed sword intent, and had learned Forming the Sword. And if that were the case… then he might actually be able to learn more advanced techniques?

That seemed impossible.

Still, after a long stare at Mo Hua, Patriarch Dugu slowly nodded. "Alright. If you're only looking to study it… then I'll give you the secret manual for Godbreaker."

"What about Godslayer?" Mo Hua asked immediately.

"Only Godbreaker. Not Godslayer."

It was too difficult. Too powerful. Too lethal.

Mo Hua asked softly, "Can I… have both?"

Patriarch Dugu nearly laughed out of frustration.

"What do you think this is?"

"Then I want Godslayer!" Mo Hua insisted.

The Godbreaker technique was all about surprise attacks and clever piercing strikes. But in the path of divine sense, he didn't need that.

What he needed was a sword that could slice through all.

Monsters, devils, evil gods—one sword to slay them all!

Since the old man had finally relented, he had to push his luck and see it through. He couldn't miss this opportunity—it might not come again.

He wanted the Godslayer Sword!

Patriarch Dugu saw Mo Hua clinging to the idea with such fierce determination, and in the end, he had no choice. With a long sigh, he said, "Fine… Godslayer it is."

At this point, what difference did it make? He might as well give it all. Godbreaker, Godslayer—same headache.

Mo Hua was overjoyed.

With a swipe of his finger, Patriarch Dugu tore open a rift in space and retrieved three bamboo slips. But after thinking for a moment, he tossed two of them back and only handed Mo Hua the first.

"This contains the method for tempering the soul with the sword."

Mo Hua received the bamboo slip solemnly. To his surprise, it had no text at all—only a single sword etched on it in a crude, ancient style.

He blinked. "Patriarch, what… does this mean?"

Patriarch Dugu replied, "The Path of Slaying the Divine lies within. Comprehend it yourself. If you can understand it, that means you're ready. If you can't, then you're not."

Mo Hua's scalp tingled.

This… was peak old-patriarch cryptic mode. Like saying something profound but ending up saying nothing at all.

But when he thought about it more carefully—it kind of made sense.

If he could understand it, then even without being taught, he'd grasp the essence.

If he couldn't, that just meant he wasn't ready—his insight and foundation weren't there yet—and he'd better just go back and practice basic sword qi like a good disciple.

However…

Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "Patriarch, weren't there three bamboo slips?"

He had sharp eyes earlier and clearly saw the patriarch pull out three bamboo slips from some unknown void.

Patriarch Dugu's face darkened. "There was only one."

Mo Hua stared at him.

Patriarch Dugu's face remained expressionless and stern as water.

Alright then. One it is…

No use getting greedy when you've already gotten lucky.

Just being given one of the bamboo slips was already an enormous favor. He couldn't keep pushing his luck.

"Thank you, Patriarch!" Mo Hua said gratefully.

For some reason, Patriarch Dugu quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"Remember what I told you—you can look, you can ponder, but don't practice."

Then he added, "Also, keep that bamboo slip safe. Don't let anyone else see it, and don't lose it. Once you're done with it, return it…"

Mo Hua nodded enthusiastically. "Don't worry, Patriarch—I'll remember everything!"

It was getting late, so Patriarch Dugu escorted Mo Hua back to the disciples' quarters.

Once back, Mo Hua couldn't sleep at all. Practically the moment he was alone, he pulled out the bamboo slip the patriarch had given—temporarily loaned him, technically.

The bamboo slip was rough, as if someone had casually whittled it from a bamboo stalk they picked up by the roadside.

And yet, within its simplicity, it exuded a profound sense of the Dao, a natural return to the essence.

There was a single sword carved into the slip—etched with ancient strokes, unpolished yet full of deeper meaning.

Mo Hua stared intently at the sword mark.

After a long while… he saw absolutely nothing.

Divine Sense Sword Transformation wasn't just hard to learn—even its inheritance was annoyingly cryptic.

Mo Hua shook his head.

Still, no matter how difficult it was, this was fundamentally a matter of the spiritual sense.

And as long as it involved spiritual sense—he had the confidence, and more importantly, the experience to analyze and deduce it step by step.

He practically forgot to eat or sleep and, after about two days of intense contemplation, he finally had some ideas.

This sword Dao bamboo slip… was actually similar in concept to the Yin Water Sect's Forbidden Water Prison Box.

It was a kind of quasi-visualization diagram.

Not quite a standard diagram for mental visualization, but still a transmission of knowledge via imagery—allowing the cultivator to attain understanding through deep contemplation.

"Should I try learning it?"

Mo Hua hesitated.

The Godslayer Sword was undoubtedly powerful, but it required one to temper the soul with sword intent—cutting into one's own soul—a process fraught with immense danger.

What's more, he was essentially skipping grades.

He had skipped the orthodox Shocking-God Sword, skipped over Condensing Sword Intent and the armor-piercing Godbreaker Sword, and gone straight to the final move—Godslayer Sword.

But not learning it wasn't an option either.

The evil fetus still resided in his life soul—it was like a thorn in his back, a bone stuck in his throat.

Mo Hua couldn't rest easy until it was purged.

"…Let's try it first."

At midnight, Mo Hua bathed in incense, cleared his mind through meditation, calmed his spirit, and took out the bamboo slip—preparing to temper his soul with the sword and train in the Godslayer Sword.

He focused his gaze on the bamboo slip, silently visualizing the ancient sword mark engraved upon it.

At first—nothing happened.

He didn't feel a thing.

But gradually, as his mind grew calmer and his visualization deeper, the sword mark on the slip began to change.

It seemed to be slowly… transforming into an actual sword.

A formless, intangible sword imbued with an ancient, boundless sword intent—within it, he vaguely sensed the dichotomy of yin and yang, and the turning of the Great Void itself.

Mo Hua's divine sense connected with that sword.

And the tip of that sword—pointed straight at him.

Mo Hua froze—then comprehension dawned in his eyes.

His expression turned cold, and gritting his teeth, he steeled his heart and silently chanted:

"Slash!"

In that instant, sword intent tore through the void—entering his sea of consciousness through his eyes, and striking directly at his life soul.

A wave of unbearable pain surged through him.

And from his mouth, a shrill, blood-curdling scream rang out.

The scream came from his mouth—but it wasn't his scream.

At the same time, Mo Hua's face twisted, turning pitch-black and grotesquely sinister, transforming into that of the evil infant. A sharp voice screeched:

"You ignorant little brat! What are you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

(End of Chapter)