Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 902: Returning to the Source

In a private room at a teahouse in Taixu City...

Elder Zheng sipped his tea as he continued explaining the frameworks of Primordial Magnetism and Thunder-Magnetism to Mo Hua.

"Primordial Magnetism and Thunder-Magnetism are not the same."

"What we call Primordial Magnetism centers on the character 'Magnetism (磁)'. The world is filled with primordial magnetic fields, and these magnetic fields naturally respond to one another."

"Cultivators use these responses to transmit messages. The foundation of a Primordial Magnetic Array lies in this magnetic force, built upon two types of magnetic runes—fixed magnetic runes, and variable magnetic runes."

"The variable magnetic runes are the outer layer—they display text, images, or other forms of magnetic projections."

"The fixed magnetic runes lie underneath—they define the structure and basic functionality of the Primordial Magnetic Array itself."

"Primordial Magnetic Array Masters study array diagrams, learn fixed magnetic runes, and construct magnetic systems to transmit messages, receive magnetic signals, or manifest information between arrays…"

——

Mo Hua listened intently, fully focused.

Elder Zheng looked at him, and continued:

"The whole framework of Primordial Magnetism is fixed—it's an established system. Every Primordial Magnetic Array Master learns, builds, and maintains various arrays—simple to complex—based on that fixed framework, eventually leading to the grand Primordial Magnetic Arrays."

"But therein lies a problem…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment.

"Is it because the framework is rigid?"

"Exactly." Elder Zheng nodded, pleased.

"It's a fixed system. But that also means—you're bound by someone else's rules. You can only use what's already defined. You construct arrays using other people's specifications."

"Even the base magnetic runes you use were created by others."

"You have user rights, but no modification rights."

"Almost all Primordial Magnetic Masters are like this. They operate under pre-established rules—drawing arrays someone else has already defined."

Mo Hua went silent for a moment, then softly asked:

"Then… what if someone doesn't want to follow those rules?"

Elder Zheng replied,

"Then that's a whole different framework."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

"Thunder-Magnetism?"

Elder Zheng nodded,

"Using thunder to change magnetism."

"Magnetism is rigid—it's standardized. Within that rule-set, cultivators can't change the existing framework just using spiritual sense or magnetic runes."

"But Thunder-Magnetism has resonance. To alter magnetic runes, one must use the flow of thunder."

"This is the deepest layer of such arrays."

"If we just look at magnetism—fixed runes are the inner layer, and variable runes are the outer."

"But on a higher level—both fixed and variable runes are still just surface layers. The true foundation… is Thunder-Magnetism."

"Magnetism is the surface. Thunder is the core. You use thunder currents to induce changes in magnetism. This is the true principle behind Thunder-Magnetism Arrays."

Elder Zheng's tone turned solemn as he declared it.

"Surface: magnetism. Core: thunder. Use thunder to change magnetism…"

Mo Hua repeated to himself, gradually grasping the concept.

Until now, he had been fumbling his way through magnetic studies on his own—developing some rough understanding.

But it was all a patchwork of incomplete methods—he knew what worked, but not why.

Now, with Elder Zheng's guidance, he finally understood the fundamental difference between Primordial and Thunder Magnetism, and the frameworks of the array systems.

"Then… how exactly does one 'use thunder to change magnetism'?" Mo Hua asked.

Elder Zheng replied,

"You're familiar with Transmission Tokens, yes?"

Mo Hua nodded.

He had taken apart more transmission tokens than he could count—many of them fully restored or reverse-engineered.

He had studied many magnetic runes and their annotations—especially those within the second-grade range. At that level, he could be considered a "Primordial Magnetism expert."

"Let me use the transmission token as an example," Elder Zheng began.

"It uses two thunder-magnetic transfers."

"One is external."

"When you write text using magnetic ink inside the token, you activate magnetic runes—this naturally creates a thunder-magnetic resonance."

"That resonance spreads outward into the world."

"Another compatible transmission token, upon sensing that thunder-magnetic resonance, will manifest the corresponding text based on its fixed magnetic runes."

"That's the basic mechanism of Primordial Magnetic message transfer."

He pointed outward.

"All around us is filled with Thunder-Magnetism. But it's so subtle, our spiritual senses can't detect it."

"Even now, someone nearby may be sending a message. The thunder-magnetic flow containing their message may be drifting right past us—but we'd never know…"

Mo Hua found this utterly mysterious—and fascinating.

But then he asked:

"Can't those thunder-magnetic flows be intercepted?"

Elder Zheng shook his head.

"Intercepting them requires very specific arrays and precise array mediums. Even if you do intercept them, without knowing the corresponding magnetic runes, you still can't decode the thunder-magnetic flow into readable information."

"So even though thunder-magnetism is vast and filled with data, it's also traceless. Even Thunder-Magnetic Masters rarely try to study that part of it."

"Instead, they focus their research inside the transmission token."

"And that's something you've studied already…"

He glanced at Mo Hua meaningfully.

Mo Hua blinked, then suddenly realized,

"You mean… Secondary Thunder Runes?"

Elder Zheng nodded slightly.

"The thunder-magnetism in the world is omnipresent, but imperceptible."

"But the thunder-magnetic flow within a transmission token's array is visible and controllable."

"That's where Secondary Thunder Flow comes in—it acts like a 'contract' between the fixed and variable runes, maintaining their resonance."

"The traces left behind by this thunder flow are what we call Secondary Thunder Runes."

"To use thunder to change magnetism, you manipulate these Secondary Thunder Runes to generate Secondary Thunder Flow. That, in turn, influences the existing magnetic structure—rewriting the rules of the magnetic array itself."

Mo Hua suddenly saw the light.

He thought for a bit, then slowly said:

"Normally, a Primordial Magnetic Master follows the framework—builds, uses, and maintains arrays."

"But that's all surface-level."

"If you want to change the rules, you have to start from the 'thunder' layer—generate Secondary Thunder Flow using Secondary Thunder Runes, and then use thunder-magnetic resonance to affect the base magnetic structure."

Elder Zheng nodded approvingly.

"That's the general idea."

"Then how does one learn Secondary Thunder Runes?" Mo Hua asked.

Elder Zheng shook his head.

Mo Hua was startled.

"It can't be learned?"

"Not that," Elder Zheng said,

"It's just… you can't learn them yet. Secondary Thunder Runes are a manifestation of Thunder Dao Laws. They're slightly more visible than thunder-magnetism, but still incredibly subtle. With your current spiritual sense—you likely can't even perceive them yet."

Mo Hua lowered his voice,

"But what if… I can perceive them?"

Elder Zheng froze, his heart skipped a beat.

He can perceive them?

Even Secondary Thunder Runes?

Elder Zheng stared at Mo Hua, stunned.

After a pause, he slowly said:

"If, and I stress if you really can sense them…"

"Then you can start studying actual Thunder-Magnetic Arrays—or even Secondary Thunder Arrays. Be sure they contain Thunder, not just Primordial Magnetism."

"Practice them. Study them. Meditate on them. The deeper your understanding of Secondary Thunder Flow, the sooner you can use arrays to manipulate magnetic structures with those runes…"

After Elder Zheng finished, Mo Hua looked at him eagerly.

Elder Zheng sighed, realizing what he was asking.

"I do happen to have some Thunder-Magnetic Arrays—but…"

"You can't pass them on?" Mo Hua guessed.

"That's not the problem." Elder Zheng shook his head.

"The issue is—they're all third-grade or higher. Even if I gave them to you, you wouldn't be able to learn them yet."

"You don't have any second-grade ones?"

"No second-grade ones?"

"None," Elder Zheng said. "Primordial Magnetic Arrays are manageable, but Thunder-Magnetic Arrays are too profound and obscure. The structure of a second-grade array simply can't contain such complex laws—unless…"

He trailed off.

"Unless… it's an Absolute Array?" Mo Hua guessed.

Elder Zheng looked surprised.

"You even know about Absolute Arrays?"

Mo Hua nodded.

"A little."

Elder Zheng sighed.

"This kid's experience with formations is truly vast—he even knows about Absolute Arrays…"

After a moment of thought, Elder Zheng continued:

"A second-grade Thunder-Magnetic Absolute Array might indeed include the principles of Secondary Thunder—but even such an array starts at twenty runes minimum. That means you'd need to be at the Golden Core stage."

Mo Hua froze for a moment.

"That's true…"

His spiritual sense was at nineteen-rune peak, only half a step away from twenty.

But that "half step" felt like a chasm—so close, yet so far. Who knew how long it would take to cross it?

Once again, he was stuck.

Without reaching Golden Core, and achieving twenty-rune spiritual sense, he simply couldn't learn Thunder-Magnetic Arrays that contain deep laws.

And if he couldn't learn those arrays, he couldn't manipulate Secondary Thunder Runes, which meant he couldn't alter the rules of Primordial Magnetic Arrays.

In other words, he couldn't analyze the internal Thunder-Magnetic structure of the sect token.

Mo Hua sighed softly, a little disheartened.

Seeing this, Elder Zheng tried to reassure him.

"As I said earlier, this is just for you to familiarize yourself with first. Once you reach Golden Core, you can take your time learning it. You're still young, and your talent is remarkable—there's no need to rush."

"Understood, Elder Zheng."

Mo Hua nodded seriously.

The two chatted for a while longer. Mo Hua asked a few more questions. By then, the sky was growing dark, and Elder Zheng needed to return.

But just before leaving, Elder Zheng paused, his expression growing solemn. He reminded Mo Hua once again—emphatically:

"If one day, you truly do learn Thunder-Magnetic Arrays, there's one thing you must never forget—"

"Always claim to be a Primordial Magnetic Array Master. Never say you are a Thunder-Magnetic Array Master."

"That one-word difference is a world apart."

"If the listener is ignorant, it's fine—they won't know the difference. Thunder or Primordial, it's all the same to them."

"But if a clever person hears it… they'll see right through your foundation. It may even bring catastrophe."

"To carry jade is a crime—not just jade as treasure, but also jade as knowledge."

"There's a lot of hidden rivalry among array masters. Everyone smiles on the surface, but inwardly they're full of jealousy, scheming, fighting for fame and profit."

"Be cautious. Don't flaunt your wealth. Don't reveal your Dao."

Elder Zheng spoke earnestly.

Mo Hua nodded with equal seriousness.

"Senior, I'll remember it all."

"Good." Elder Zheng looked pleased.

——

Back at the Great Void Sect, Mo Hua took out a jade slip and carefully recorded everything Elder Zheng had taught him about Primordial and Thunder-Magnetic arrays.

A good memory is no match for a bad pen.

Being taught by Elder Zheng was a rare opportunity.

Especially since Primordial Magnetism was such an obscure field—miss this chance, and he might never get to ask again.

He had to write it all down and constantly reflect on it.

Once recorded, Mo Hua frowned slightly.

While his understanding of Primordial and Thunder-Magnetic arrays had deepened, the core issue remained unresolved:

His spiritual sense wasn't strong enough—so he still couldn't learn Thunder-Magnetic Arrays.

And without learning them, he couldn't break through the rules of Primordial Magnetism set by others. Couldn't change the system. Couldn't dissect the core structure of the sect command token.

Which meant, the "Demonic Sect Token" he held now… was basically useless.

Well—not useless. Just beyond his current ability.

"Another dead end…"

Mo Hua sighed, then reached into his Storage Ring and pulled out a formation he had long treasured:

"Secondary Thunder Flow Array"

This had been a gift from Aunt Wan—a genuine, second-grade, twenty-rune Thunder-Magnetic Absolute Array.

She likely had no idea what this array really represented.

Even Mo Hua himself hadn't realized how secretive Thunder-Magnetic Arrays were until his conversation with Elder Zheng.

This formation… was an incredibly rare Dao scripture.

He opened the array diagram and studied it for a while, then shook his head.

Still couldn't understand it…

His nineteen-rune peak spiritual sense allowed him to copy a few runes like tracing from a model.

But Absolute Arrays contain deeper Dao principles.

Without understanding the law behind the array, you could only grasp its shape, not its substance. Memorizing runes alone was just treating the symptoms, not the root.

"So what is the Dao principle of a Thunder-Magnetic Array…?"

"Could it be… Secondary Thunder Runes?"

If what Elder Zheng said was true—Secondary Thunder Runes were manifestations of Thunder-Magnetic law—then the key to mastering these arrays must lie in them.

Start with Secondary Thunder Runes?

But normally, cultivators only learn them after mastering Thunder-Magnetic Arrays.

Mo Hua didn't have the spiritual sense to study third-grade arrays. And even this twenty-rune second-grade Absolute Array was beyond his understanding.

So how could he grasp the Secondary Thunder Runes?

"Wait…"

Suddenly, Mo Hua remembered—he had studied them before.

Back when he was restoring and decoding transmission tokens, he had simulated Secondary Thunder Runes constantly—testing their derivations every day—and had even recorded them all in a jade slip, building up a massive library of Secondary Thunder Runes.

These runes… were like a collection of keys.

Whenever he needed to decrypt something, he would try them out one by one—like brute-forcing a lock through enumeration-style decryption.

Similar to an "enumeration-style" decryption of magnetic runes.

But these so-called "Secondary Thunder Runes" were, at best, just tools.

All Mo Hua had done was record them mechanically—he couldn't call it true understanding, much less "mastery."

And he had no idea how to use Secondary Thunder Runes to break the rules, to "rewrite" Primordial Magnetic Runes.

"Still, Elder Zheng already told me the principles… Formations obey logic—they won't lie."

Mo Hua pondered silently.

From a theoretical standpoint…

"Secondary Thunder Runes are, in essence, a kind of connection between magnetic runes."

"So their very existence can be seen as a constructive relation—and naturally, that means it can also be seen as a way to rewrite."

"Secondary Thunder Runes are irregular and subtle, infinitely varied in form."

"And every form of Secondary Thunder Rune corresponds to a certain change in magnetic runes."

"If I were to group a large number of similar Secondary Thunder Runes together… wouldn't that be like assembling a whole category of magnetic transformations?"

"It would be like… forging a master key out of a bunch of smaller keys."

"And a master key… can open many locks."

"Likewise, a 'universal' Secondary Thunder Rune could trigger many magnetic transformations."

"If I can summarize and collect all those diverse Secondary Thunder Runes together, wouldn't that be…"

Mo Hua froze for a moment. Then his heart skipped a beat.

Guiyuan?!

The "Guiyuan Algorithm" from the Five Element Sect?

"Guiyuan" means Return to Origin—to reduce complexity into simplicity, to merge the many into one.

The seniors of the Five Element Sect had compiled all Five Element formations into a single source rune—a Five Element Origin Rune.

Then by that logic… if he gathered all the Secondary Thunder Runes he'd accumulated over time and "returned them to origin," wouldn't that form a…

Secondary Thunder Origin Rune?

And that Origin Rune… would essentially be… a Formation Flow?!

The more Mo Hua thought, the more shocked he became.

"So this is the essence of the Five Element Sect's Guiyuan algorithm?"

"And the method they used to create Formation Flows?"

Secondary Thunder Runes.

Guiyuan Algorithm.

Self-created Formation Flow…

Mo Hua's heart pounded furiously.

He felt, vaguely, that he had once again stumbled upon something extraordinary.

But then a shadow of concern crossed his mind.

The "Origin Rune" derived from the Five Element Sect's Guiyuan method was like a plague—it could parasitize, spread on its own… the fall of the Five Element Sect itself might have been tied to that very rune.

So what would his version of the "Origin Rune" become, if he derived it using the same method on Secondary Thunder Runes?

Would it also be… a harbinger of disaster?

Mo Hua frowned deeply.

But then he thought it through—and realized he probably didn't need to fear it.

The Five Element Origin Rune was beyond him because it was created by countless powerful cultivators from the sect across generations—it operated on a level that eclipsed his current state.

But his own Origin Rune, derived by him, should remain within the scope of his spiritual sense.

And besides—the path of formation lies right before him. Not trying would drive him mad.

Especially since it was directly tied to understanding Thunder-Magnetic formation laws.

"Let's give it a try first…"

Mo Hua pulled out a huge stack of jade slips from his Storage Ring.

These slips recorded the massive library of Secondary Thunder Runes he had simulated, deduced, sensed, and documented over the years.

All in all, well over a thousand types.

He began attempting to apply the Guiyuan Algorithm he had learned from the Five Element Sect—to consolidate the chaotic and complex Secondary Thunder Runes.

Just like the Five Element Sect had done with elemental formations.

Fortunately, although Secondary Thunder Runes were unusual, their structure was relatively simple. The difficulty of applying the Guiyuan method wasn't too high—perfect for Mo Hua to practice with.

He started with the basics—combining two similar runes into one.

Then he took two of those and combined them again.

Then again.

And again.

One step at a time, from fewer to more, from shallow to deep—repeating the Guiyuan process endlessly.

At first, things went smoothly.

But the further he got, the harder it became.

It drained more and more spiritual sense—the computational power needed became overwhelming.

Mo Hua had no choice but to use everything he had: Heavenly Deduction, Heavenly Deception, every trick and technique available.

And thanks to:

The solid foundation he'd built under the guidance of Venerable Elder Xun

His profound insight into formations

His vast and robust Foundation Establishment peak spiritual sense

His unique blend of deductive and deceptive spiritual logic

The Dao-transformation insights from devouring divine essence

And Elder Zheng's enlightening guidance on Thunder-Magnetic principles

Plus the time and effort he'd invested earlier into his extensive Secondary Thunder Rune library

…the entire "Return to Origin" process—though dry, tedious, and complex—was remarkably smooth.

This was the power of true preparation—deep roots, quiet blooming.

And so, day and night, nonstop, he continued the process for over a month…

—within the disciple's quarters—

Mo Hua sat, staring blankly at the "thing" floating before him.

It was the result of all his painstaking effort—his endless simulation, tireless deduction, and ceaseless calculations.

A proto-form of an array flow, born from the Return to Origin of Secondary Thunder Runes.

But it was…

…a very strange thing.

Inside the jade slip, composed entirely of Secondary Thunder Runes, was a tiny, matchstick-like… thing.

It looked like a little thunder stick figure, and it was…

…it was looking up at him, as if it were alive.

(End of this Chapter)