Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 883 – Monster

Mount Taixu, Elder's Quarters.

Ever since the bell on Lun Dao Mountain echoed through the clouds and over the vast mountain ranges into Mount Taixu, the Taixu Sect Master had felt a strange restlessness.

Though he cultivated his mind and maintained a calm temperament, ever since the sect reform began and the Formation Discourse Conference was announced, his mood had rarely been at peace. His heart constantly rose and fell with the Taixu Sect's ranking—uneasy and on edge.

The rise or fall of the Taixu Sect hung by a thread.

No matter how composed he usually was, he couldn't possibly stay indifferent.

He especially didn't want to bear the shame of going down in history as the "sinner" responsible for the sect's decline.

Now, he finally understood—only the idle can afford to be calm.

When something truly important comes up, even immortals can't remain serene.

In the elder's quarters, Venerable Elder Xun was sipping tea.

As a Dongxu Realm Ancestor, he was tasked with guarding the mountain gate and generally didn't leave—not even for a grand event like the Formation Discourse Conference.

Right now, he drank his tea in peace, like an ancient Buddha.

The Sect Master sighed.

At a time like this, still drinking tea? How could the old ancestor possibly be in the mood for that…

Unless…

The Sect Master's heart stirred. He asked:

"Old Ancestor, did you… make some arrangements?"

Elder Xun's eyebrows lifted slightly. He said nothing.

The Sect Master thought for a moment, then frowned:

"That spot—you gave it to… that child?"

Even though Elder Xun had kept it well hidden, as the Sect Master who had approved the participant list, he had to know who the slot had gone to.

Mo Hua…

The Sect Master knew the boy wasn't ordinary. But this was the Formation Discourse Conference—a matter that concerned the future of the entire sect.

Was the ancestor really that confident?

He frowned and glanced at Elder Xun.

The old man gave no sign of emotion. He merely looked up at the sky.

"It's about time…"

Calm as ever, he raised his teacup, flicked away the tea leaves, took a light sip, and said leisurely:

"Today, I intend to open the eyes of the entire Ganxue Province."

The Sect Master's pupils contracted ever so slightly.

Lun Dao Mountain – Grand Arena.

A bearded examiner, having just finished grading, rushed into the proctor's hall and exclaimed to the formation elders, visibly moved:

"Everyone, I've just seen something incredible."

"What do you mean?"

The examiner pointed toward Mo Hua, who sat quietly in a corner of the arena.

"That child—his spiritual sense is a whole rune tier above his cultivation!"

Everyone paused.

Even the chief examiner, Master Wen, turned around.

"A whole rune tier above?"

Someone said, "You mean… his spiritual sense surpassed his realm?"

"Impossible…"

"He—"

The elders all extended their spiritual senses toward Mo Hua. One by one, their expressions grew serious.

"No way…"

"But he really did draw a seventeen-pattern array. There's no doubt. All of us saw it…"

"He actually surpassed?"

The hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone looked at each other—then one elder finally whispered in awe:

"Unbelievable…"

"Never seen anything like this…"

"Truly… an eye-opener…"

"A spiritual sense that surpasses cultivation… I thought that was just a legend from old cultivation texts."

"This world is vast and full of wonders. With enough people, it's not strange for a true prodigy to appear."

"Still… a spiritual sense that surpasses one's realm…" one elder shook his head.

Another elder sighed, "To draw a seventeen-pattern array with only mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation—this child's future is limitless…"

Everyone here was a formation elder. They all understood what powerful spiritual sense meant for a formation cultivator.

What's more, this boy had already formally entered the path.

To produce a seventeen-pattern array at such a young age clearly required painstaking effort.

As long as he progressed steadily, he was bound for great achievement.

"Well… it's just that his spiritual roots are a bit lacking."

"With spiritual sense like that, who needs perfect roots?"

"You say that, but cultivation still requires harmony. A shortcoming like that will be a real obstacle down the line."

"Even formation cultivators need cultivation as their foundation."

"True enough…"

For a time, the elders discussed back and forth.

Master Wen swept his gaze over the group and reminded them:

"Everyone, we still have a conference to complete."

The Formation Discourse Conference was still underway.

The others snapped out of their awe and nodded.

"Master Wen is right. We were momentarily distracted."

"Still, a genius of this caliber… it's incredibly rare."

"What a shame…" one examiner lamented. "His cultivation's just too low. Otherwise, this year's competition would be quite the spectacle."

"There's always next year."

"With talent like that, he'll definitely return. At that point, he may very well compete with the top prodigies of the Four Great Sects."

"Now that will be fun to watch."

"Enough fantasizing—let's finish this conference first."

"Right, right…"

The elders resumed their duties one by one.

Only Master Wen lingered a moment, eyes gleaming with a trace of unfathomable light as he looked at Mo Hua, who sat calmly in meditation at the center of the field.

The competition continued.

Defeated disciples were swept away like receding tides.

And once the tide was out—what remained were the true elites.

Before long, those spectating noticed something unusual.

"Hey, why's that Foundation mid-stage kid still there?"

"The proctors didn't kick him out?"

"Don't tell me he actually drew a seventeen-pattern formation?"

After a while, during the mid-round break, Mo Hua still sat quietly, preparing for the next stage.

That's when expressions began to shift.

"He… really drew a seventeen-pattern array?!"

"That's incredible…"

But right after the shock came realization.

"Wait, no!"

"He's mid-stage Foundation… but drew a seventeen-pattern array… that means… his spiritual sense has surpassed his realm!"

Everyone froze—then a tidal wave of whispers erupted.

Like a drop of water falling into boiling oil—"whoom!"—the entire arena was set abuzz.

"Spiritual sense surpassed!"

Disciples from the Taixu Sect were visibly thrilled.

"I knew it! Senior Brother Mo's spiritual sense is freakishly strong. I knew he was special!" said Cheng Mo smugly.

"Then why didn't you say anything before?"

"How could I just blurt something like that out?"

Cheng Mo defended himself righteously.

In truth, even he hadn't been sure—he'd only vaguely suspected Mo Hua's spiritual sense was stronger than most.

He never expected this level of strength.

Senior disciple Murong Caiyun, from a higher generation, was equally shocked—but also delighted.

She never imagined that this junior brother who once tagged along with her to earn contribution points… would actually be this gifted and capable.

If this was true—then perhaps the Taixu Sect's ranking this year… was secured.

Among the Taixu Sect elders…

Xun Ziyou shook his head and sighed:

"That child can really endure… and the old ancestor really knows how to hide. If not for the high stakes of the Formation Discourse, they probably would've kept his spiritual sense a secret even now."

Xun Zixian nodded in agreement.

"Those with peerless talent often attract envy. If they don't hide their light and protect themselves, it's easy to get sabotaged. Generally speaking, the more hidden the better."

"But given the current situation, our place in the Eight Great Sects hangs by a thread. There's no room for error. At a time like this… the sword must be drawn from its sheath. Mo Hua must step into the light."

"Exactly," sighed Xun Ziyou. "Our Taixu Sect… perhaps we're finally receiving some ancestral blessing and turning our luck around."

If Mo Hua hadn't fallen into their lap, the Formation Discourse hurdle might have been impossible to overcome.

...

Meanwhile, atop the viewing platforms reserved for the noble families...

The cultivators of the Shangguan, Wenren, and Gu clans all fell silent.

Even Wenren Wan, who looked pale while holding onto Yu'er, seemed momentarily dazed.

Spiritual sense beyond realm?

Mo Hua?

Wenren Wan found it hard to believe.

The members of the noble clans were also filled with complicated emotions.

So… the child whom the Young Madam of the Shangguan Clan had gone through so much trouble—calling in all kinds of favors—to sneak into the Taixu Sect through the back door…

Was actually a true, honest-to-goodness formation prodigy with surpassing spiritual sense?

How could something like this be real?

Shangguan Wang's face changed. He realized the situation was taking a bad turn.

Gu Shouyan furrowed his brow. He wasn't well-versed in formations and couldn't be sure, so he looked over at Gu Changhuai for confirmation.

Gu Changhuai was close to Mo Hua.

Although Gu Changhuai had already suspected Mo Hua's spiritual sense wasn't ordinary, to have it publicly and undeniably confirmed as beyond his realm—even he was inwardly shocked.

Seeing the clan head look to him, Gu Changhuai thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

That meant: It's probably true.

Gu Shouyan took in a breath and sighed.

"The younger generation… really is to be feared."

This kid, who was always visiting the Gu Clan—eating, drinking, even taking gifts—turned out to have such an inconceivably rare spiritual talent.

No wonder Venerable Elder Xun doted on him so much.

This also explained that time Mo Hua came to the Gu Clan and gifted them a handwritten piece of Dongxu calligraphy with no signature, claiming it was a gift from Venerable Xun…

It probably wasn't a bluff to help Wenren Wan out of a tight spot.

It was very likely a real, deliberate gift, sent under Venerable Xun's orders.

Even Wenren Jingxuan was stunned.

He hadn't expected things to change so drastically in such a short time.

Nor that this boy's talent would be… this outrageous.

Shangguan Ce was briefly dumbfounded too. Then his eyes flashed, and he turned to Wenren Wan with a warm voice:

"Wan'er, your seat's a bit off to the side. It's not the best for observing the proceedings. I'll have someone move you."

In noble families, the seating arrangement followed a strict hierarchy.

Once set, it was typically never changed.

But that was normally.

This situation, clearly, was not normal.

Soon, some disciples serving at the event came over and arranged for Wenren Wan and Yu'er to be seated again.

This time, it wasn't at the margins—it was closer to the high platform.

The seat was also elevated in status, above the ordinary Golden Core elders, and only slightly below those of the Feathering Realm elders.

Shangguan Ce nodded slightly.

No matter how you looked at it—a child with spiritual sense surpassing his realm had a future full of promise.

There was no way he wasn't keeping mental notes.

At the same time, among the seats of the Four Great Sects, the atmosphere had grown a little heavy.

"The Taixu Sect actually had such a hidden card?" muttered a frowning elder from the Heavenly Sword Sect.

"Spiritual sense beyond realm… the Taixu Sect really lucked out finding a seedling like that," said Elder Shen, shaking his head.

"Spiritual sense has no cultivation technique—it's either inborn, caused by some strange mutation, or comes from a great fortune. How did he achieve that level?"

"No idea…"

"The world's a big place. Strange things happen."

"What a shame… his spiritual roots are too weak. Otherwise, with that spiritual sense, he'd be more than qualified to join our Heavenly Dao Sect."

"A seedling like that should be hidden and nurtured in secret… but the Taixu Sect's already flashing it around?"

A Longding Sect elder chuckled lightly.

"They must be desperate. Probably ran out of tricks. If they don't play their final card now, they'll lose their place in the Eight Great Sects."

"Still, that's not necessarily bad for us."

"With a few more years of training, this kind of disciple really might become a threat and bite off a chunk from the Four Sects' meat."

"But now that they've exposed him early, we've got three whole years to figure out how to counter him."

"With the sect system being revised, we could tweak the formation conference next time. Maybe add cultivation or spiritual root requirements, or just extend the evaluation criteria…"

"Exactly. Knowing in advance is always better. The worst is when someone catches you completely off guard."

"This was a misstep from Taixu…"

"Alright, it's almost time. This round of the formation conference is about to reach its climax. Let's see which sect walks away with the title this year…"

The elders of the Four Great Sects glanced at one another, their words polite but their eyes sharp.

Publicly, they exchanged compliments.

Privately, it was all about competition.

"You look good. I look good. Everyone looks good."

But when it came to actual stakes—when formation rankings were on the line—who didn't want to fight for first place?

Not an inch would be given.

The four elders quietly sipped their tea, eyes turning back to the arena.

And in the arena, the buzz surrounding Mo Hua had gradually died down.

Aside from actual formation cultivators, most people had simply been shocked for a moment—then moved on.

After all, the cultivation world was full of so-called prodigies.

The Ganxue Province was a land of Dao-seekers, gathering geniuses from all over the world. Every year, strange talents would emerge—most fading away like shooting stars.

But those who truly understood knew: surpassing spiritual sense was different.

One elder from the Myriad Formations Sect, one of the Twelve Minor Sects, was now sighing in frustration.

"Spiritual sense beyond realm… These fools don't even understand what that means…"

"Why couldn't our Myriad Formations Sect have the fortune to accept such a disciple?"

"If we had him, we'd spare no effort—devote the entire sect's resources to train him into a master of formations, to bring glory to the sect, and restore our former prominence!"

"Ah… what rotten luck… for such a massive opportunity to fall into the lap of a sect that doesn't even specialize in formations like Taixu…"

The Myriad Formations elder grew increasingly envious, increasingly unwilling to accept it.

Next to him, a young instructor from the same sect nodded repeatedly—but as he looked toward Mo Hua, seated calmly in the arena, he furrowed his brow.

"That boy… seems oddly familiar…"

"Have I… seen him somewhere before?"

...

As time passed, the eighteen-pattern assessment soon began.

Compared to the seventeen-pattern formations, eighteen-pattern ones were a whole level more difficult.

A great number of disciples had already been eliminated earlier, and the number of geniuses still remaining on the field had thinned considerably.

Now, with the eighteen-pattern test, it was like a sieve being dragged back and forth across the arena.

Disciples were constantly being filtered out.

Those eliminated wore expressions ranging from pale dread to sighing disappointment, from helpless skyward gazes to heartbroken defeat, one by one exiting the field.

Mo Hua, however, remained motionless.

His face showed no sorrow or joy, his expression as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple.

The eighteen-pattern assessment was also a long and drawn-out process.

The atmosphere grew dry and anxious.

No one knew how much time had passed when a bell finally rang—signaling the end of the test.

The examiners entered the field, reviewed the formations, identified mistakes—and once again, expelled another large batch of disciples.

After this round of activity, the eighteen-pattern assessment came to an end.

And very soon, everyone realized something unbelievable:

Mo Hua was still seated.

He had not been eliminated.

That meant… he had successfully drawn the eighteen-pattern formation!

Eighteen-pattern formation!

There was a brief hush at the sidelines, followed by waves of gasping.

A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, with spiritual sense beyond realm, drawing a seventeen-pattern formation—while a little absurd—was still barely within the realm of possibility.

But to draw an eighteen-pattern formation at Foundation Establishment mid-stage… that was simply defying the heavens.

Even the disciples of the Taixu Sect were stunned.

"Little Senior Brother is really this powerful?"

"No kidding."

"No, I knew he was strong, but I didn't think he was… this strong…"

"This is the Dao Discussion Conference!"

"To reach this level at mid-Foundation Establishment, has anyone in history ever done that?"

"Hard to say… but I've certainly never heard of it."

Heads shook. Exclamations followed.

Even Cheng Mo had his mouth wide open.

No matter how much faith he had in Mo Hua, even he could now feel clearly—Mo Hua's strength was beyond imagination, even starting to feel a little… abstract.

Murong Caiyun and the other senior brothers and sisters of the Taixu Sect looked at each other, speechless.

No one had expected Mo Hua to truly reach this step.

Meanwhile, on the high platform, the entire Shangguan Clan was silent.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, with spiritual sense two tiers above.

If it were just one tier above, one might say it was "great potential."

But now that it was two tiers above, and he had drawn an eighteen-pattern formation—this was no longer just potential—it was undeniable talent and real power.

Shangguan Ce seemed deep in thought, then softened his expression and said warmly to Wenren Wan:

"Yu'er is still young and growing. He needs good food to nourish him. Today's Dragonfish Spirit Cuisine is perfect—he should have a taste."

Dragonfish Spirit Cuisine—carefully prepared by renowned chefs—was indeed a premium dish.

But that particular dish was not on Wenren Wan's table.

In noble banquets, just as the seating order observed status, so too did the dishes served at each seat.

Some spirit dishes were not served to everyone.

Dragonfish Spirit Cuisine was typically reserved for the tables of Feathering Realm elders.

Shangguan Ce's words were subtle, but everyone understood.

If you can't eat it at your current seat, then we'll change your seat.

Thus, Wenren Wan's seat was elevated once again.

This time, she was seated equal in status to the Shangguan Clan's Feathering Realm elders.

No one dared to say a word of objection—not even Elder Shangguan Wang, whose face had darkened considerably.

Wenren Wan felt as if she were dreaming.

Meanwhile, little Yu'er happily picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth, smiling brightly.

And still, the Formation Conference continued.

After the eighteen-pattern formations came the nineteen-pattern ones.

Nineteen-pattern formations were the limit for the spiritual sense of most Foundation Establishment cultivators.

And spiritual sense, the deeper you progressed, the harder it became to improve.

The difference between eighteen and nineteen was more than just one line—it was a qualitative leap.

Likewise, the difficulty of nineteen-pattern formations far exceeded that of eighteen-pattern ones.

The very first test question of the nineteen-pattern round eliminated nearly all remaining formation cultivators.

Those who could persist to the end and successfully draw a nineteen-pattern formation could be counted on one hand—as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

But then—people noticed something again.

Mo Hua was still there.

He was still drawing.

Nineteen patterns…

A vast silence fell over the arena—you could hear a pin drop.

Now, the look in people's eyes was no longer one of shock—it was one of horror.

Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and he had drawn the nineteen-pattern formation, the very limit of his cultivation realm…

In this moment, everyone realized just how serious this was.

Everyone came to understand—

This quiet, unassuming young boy sitting in a corner, tirelessly drawing formation after formation, was not merely a promising prodigy.

He was a genuine, utterly terrifying, monster of the formation path—his depth in formation arts already far beyond the norm.

(End of this Chapter)