Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 917: Breakthrough

Mo Hua had a good, deep sleep.

Normally, he never slept. He poured nearly every moment of his days and nights into cultivation and drawing array formations.

Especially after midnight, with the Dao Stele present, he would practice formation drawings over and over again every night.

But after enduring several brutal battles—especially the overwhelming pressure of an advanced divine sense confrontation—his soul sea and physical body were both utterly depleted. Mo Hua truly couldn't hold out anymore. So he let everything go and slept soundly.

When he woke up, dawn had already arrived.

Warm sunlight streamed into the room.

Mo Hua slowly opened his eyes, his mind blank, staring dazedly at the sunlight outside the window.

"Awake?"

A gentle voice rang out.

Mo Hua turned his head to see Elder Murong, her fair features composed and graceful, with a soft smile on her lips as she looked at him kindly.

"Good morning, Elder Murong…"

Mo Hua murmured. His voice was still a bit hoarse.

"Don't speak," Elder Murong said.

"Time for your medicine."

She stood up, took out a few pills, and brought them to Mo Hua's mouth.

Mo Hua couldn't move, so he opened his mouth and let her "feed" them to him.

After feeding him the pills, Elder Murong gently held his wrist, felt his pulse, and said softly after a moment:

"Alright. Rest properly. You'll probably be able to return to class in two or three days."

"Tha—…"

Mo Hua only managed the first syllable of "thank you" before his throat hurt again and he couldn't speak further.

Elder Murong chuckled lightly.

"Just rest well."

Then she turned and left.

Mo Hua lay alone on the bed, staring blankly at the cloud patterns on the Eight Trigrams furnace carved into the ceiling. He zoned out for a long time before suddenly snapping back to reality.

"So the physical body really is the vessel of divine sense…"

When the body is strong, the mind is clear and divine sense flows freely.

Now that his body's blood and qi were drained, his divine sense struggled to focus, and his spirit felt dazed.

Thankfully, Venerable Elder Xun saved him, and the beautiful, kind, and highly skilled Elder Murong concocted pills for him. His physical injuries weren't serious anymore.

"Still, I need to be more careful next time… more thorough in my planning."

"And if only my body were stronger…"

Mo Hua silently made a note to himself.

A wave of fatigue washed over him again. Feeling drowsy, he slowly closed his eyes once more.

And just as his divine sense weakened and he drifted off…

He remained completely unaware of the strange anomaly in his karmic fate—that an evil, pitch-black, terrifying, corrupted, infantile version of Mo Hua was now slumbering deep within his destiny…

Taixu Sect, Rear Mountain.

Venerable Elder Xun climbed the stone steps, passing through layer upon layer of seals, heading toward the Sword Tomb.

He still couldn't let go of the "Sword Intent" issue.

Logically, with Mo Hua's level of sword cultivation, he shouldn't be able to form any Sword Intent.

Yet undeniably, a high-level Sword Intent had manifested from Mo Hua—and not just any kind. One that was far beyond the Foundation Establishment stage and utterly unreasonable.

The first person Elder Xun thought of was his senior martial brother.

Only one person on Taixu Mountain possessed such an exceptional sword path—deep and profound enough to pass to a Foundation Establishment disciple.

That was none other than—

The old ancestor of Taixu Mountain, Venerable Dugu, who once reigned as the unrivaled swordsman of Qianzhou, suppressing countless geniuses, slaying fiends and demons in droves, and striking fear into the hearts of all who opposed him.

But that absolutely could not be allowed!

No matter how much he respected this senior brother, Elder Xun could not allow Mo Hua to be taught sword techniques by him.

Because Elder Xun knew all too well what the end of his senior brother's sword path was…

He knew what fate came with his sword inheritance…

And that fate was—

"Taixu Divine Thought Sword Manifestation True Art."

A forbidden sword art of the Taixu Sect.

Once one began learning this art, they stepped into the abyss—a path of no return.

Mo Hua had a much broader road ahead in array cultivation. He absolutely must not be drawn down this hellish path of monsters and terror, just out of curiosity.

With heavy thoughts weighing on him, Elder Xun stepped into the Sword Tomb.

Inside the tomb, countless broken swords stood upright like gravestones.

Venerable Dugu sat as always—motionless, silent, seemingly in eternal meditation.

"Senior Brother…" Elder Xun called softly.

But Venerable Dugu gave no reply—no movement, no breath—like a lifeless statue of white stone amidst the ruins.

"...Senior Brother?"

Elder Xun's brow furrowed slightly. Something felt wrong.

He slowed his steps. In his murky old eyes, a sharp glint flickered. He watched Venerable Dugu warily.

Venerable Dugu's skin twitched. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

His expression was calm—but his eyes were strange.

The sclera were black, and the pupils white—light and darkness reversed, flickering and unstable.

Elder Xun's face changed drastically.

"Senior Brother, you—!"

Within Venerable Dugu's sea of consciousness, it was as if a war of heavenly demons was raging.

His face grew pale, features twisting and melting. With the last shred of willpower, he forced out the words:

"Go… quickly…"

"Seal the Sword Tomb…"

"And save—"

He couldn't finish.

Or perhaps—whatever had invaded him didn't allow him to utter that final name.

Amid the endless chaos of mad, flying demons—

Venerable Dugu's features fully dissolved, turning him into a faceless man.

Elder Xun's pupils trembled violently. Without hesitation, he reached into the air, tore open a rift, and retrieved a compass.

He injected it with divine sense and spiritual power.

The compass bloomed with radiant array lines, like spiderwebs stretching in all directions.

In the Sword Tomb, the dense network of sealing formations activated in unison.

Taixu Yin-Yang energy surged.

Layer upon layer of golden sealing gates stacked over the entire tomb, forming an airtight lock.

Above the Sword Tomb now stood a Grade Five Sealing Formation.

It sealed the tomb.

Sealed everything within it.

And cut off all external aura from leaking out.

But at this moment, sword intent radiated violently from Venerable Dugu's body.

The sealing formation trembled—on the verge of collapse.

Elder Xun's heart sank.

He crushed a jade slip and shouted:

"Murong, there's trouble in the forbidden area—come help me!"

The jade slip shattered and flew through space.

Moments later, a rift opened in the void, gleaming with five colors.

"I was in seclusion! If this isn't urgent, don't you da—"

From the rift stepped a tall, elegant, white-haired but youthful-looking elder. Before he could finish, his eyes locked onto Venerable Dugu's grotesque appearance—and the crumbling formation.

His pupils shrank. He gasped.

"Senior Brother, he—!"

"No time—just move!"

"Stop talking. Act now."

The white-haired, youthful-faced Ancestor Murong immediately grew solemn. With a hand seal, he summoned the Taixu Seal, which transformed into four celestial azure dragons, stationed around the Sword Tomb, suppressing the eerie demonic aura that had begun to leak out.

Venerable Elder Xun seized the opportunity to fully activate the Sword Tomb's sealing formation—layer upon layer—then heavily reinforced it…

Chains of light formed from the seal patterns, weaving into an invisible web that locked down the entire tomb with no gaps, completely sealing Ancestor Dugu within.

This sealing formation had been left behind by the mighty predecessors of the Taixu Sect. Once fully activated, it could suppress any divine sense, spiritual power, or physical body below the fifth tier.

Only now did Venerable Elder Xun and Ancestor Murong finally let out a breath.

"What's wrong with Senior Brother?" asked Ancestor Murong.

Venerable Elder Xun's face was grim as he shook his head.

"I'm not sure. But his state was clearly abnormal… I fear that the things sealed inside him… are trying to break free."

Murong's face changed.

"Then… doesn't that mean Senior Brother—"

"His mind is still intact," Elder Xun said sternly, "but we don't know how much has been corrupted. For now, we can only seal him off…"

"Then…"

"Senior Brother's sword path reaches the heavens. He might yet find a way. Truthfully, there's not much we can do…"

Elder Xun sighed in helplessness.

Ancestor Murong looked up at the sealing formation, then at the faint, obscured silhouette of Dugu within, his expression tinged with sorrow.

"Back then, during the Heaven-Demon Cataclysm, the calamity dragged on endlessly. The death toll was massive.

In the end, it was Senior Brother who severed his own path, made his body a prison, and sealed the passage with himself… only then did the Taixu Sect earn its peace in later generations."

"He gave up peerless talent, endless prospects, and boundless glory…

He went from being the most renowned sword in Qianzhou, to a living tomb.

All these years, unknown and unsung, guarding this forbidden place.

Now he's old… half-human, half-demon… who knows if he'll ever find peace…"

A bitter melancholy hung in Murong's words.

Venerable Elder Xun also felt a stab of sorrow, but still said:

"This path… was Senior Brother's own choice. He understood what it meant better than any of us."

"I know," Murong sighed, then asked softly, "What should we do now?"

Elder Xun fell silent in thought for a moment, then replied:

"You and I must seal off the entire rear mountain. Even the void must be locked. No one—not person nor creature—is to enter or leave.

After some time… we'll assess the situation again."

Murong hesitated.

"And if… things go beyond control…"

"If that happens," Elder Xun's brow furrowed into a deep 川-shape as he sighed,

"then I'll think of something."

He didn't say what he'd do.

Murong didn't press. He only nodded.

"That's all we can do…"

After that, the two fell silent. Each was burdened with their own thoughts.

Sunlight bathed the rear mountain, but it seemed to carry a shadowy chill—heavy and somber.

Murong looked out at the entire Taixu Mountain Range, murmuring:

"Just when the three sects have finally merged, this happens…

I fear our Taixu Sect's future is uncertain…"

Elder Xun stood in thought for a moment, his eyes full of worry. Then he shook his head slowly.

"It's not just the future of Taixu Sect that's uncertain…

It's this entire world. All beings under heaven… their future is shrouded."

Murong was stunned.

"That's… a bit dramatic, isn't it?"

Elder Xun's expression was indifferent. After a moment's deliberation, he finally voiced the fear in his heart:

"The calamity of Heaven and Earth is terrifying, yes—but not the most terrifying thing."

"The most terrifying… is the decay of the human heart."

"In past catastrophes, there were still cultivators like Senior Brother.

Great strength, great resolve, great vision—willing to abandon fame, abandon pride, abandon self—to shoulder the burden of the world."

"But now?"

"Now the sects are driven by profit.

Their disciples, too, act selfishly under the guise of righteousness.

People don't cultivate the heart. Their hearts don't seek the Dao.

When the real calamity comes—what then?"

As if envisioning that dark future, Elder Xun's face turned grim, his voice filled with chilling weight:

"I have this growing feeling…

That the next great calamity, under this corruption of human hearts, may not just be a disaster—

but a death calamity… for all of the Nine Provinces."

These words were so heavy, so chilling, even Ancestor Murong shivered inwardly.

Murong spoke slowly, as if to console himself more than Elder Xun:

"But the Nine Provinces are unified…

The Dao Court is strong. Even if it's decayed somewhat, surely things won't come to that…"

Elder Xun said nothing for a moment. Then, raising his gaze to the horizon, he muttered:

"Let's hope you're right…"

The events of the rear mountain were now sealed away.

No one outside had any clue what had occurred.

Time passed quietly.

Three days later, Mo Hua was almost fully recovered.

He resumed his lessons, cultivation, and formation drawing.

More importantly—he now had a Grade-3 divine corpse, and a "legacy" left behind by an evil embryo.

With these, he could continue refining divine marrow, devouring divine sense, and deciphering mysterious formations.

Another half month passed.

At midnight, Mo Hua sat in meditation at the disciples' quarters, his divine sense diving into his soul sea as usual, working on the puzzle formations.

But tonight… was different.

Because tonight, he was about to complete the final puzzle.

Which meant…

He was going to break through the bottleneck of the late Foundation Establishment stage!

"Finally… I'm about to reach late-stage Foundation Establishment!"

Mo Hua suppressed his excitement, fingers trembling slightly as he began unraveling the final formation.

As his fingertips traced lines, golden divine runes wove through the formation, one after another unraveling the structure, causing it to slowly collapse, dissolve, and vanish…

Finally, with the last stroke complete and the final golden rune in place—

The puzzle formation—which had been the bottleneck of his Heaven Derivation Technique—shattered into golden threads and completely dispersed.

In that instant, Mo Hua's soul sea opened wide.

His qi sea was no longer suppressed.

Spiritual energy flowed naturally, circulating throughout his body, flowing into his qi sea.

Even the meridians in his limbs tingled with hunger.

Mo Hua immediately opened his eyes, pulled out the prepared spirit stones, and crushed them all—breathing in their essence, absorbing it into his body, circulating it through his meridians, and refining it into his qi sea.

He felt his spiritual power—at long last—rising again.

His soul sea gradually expanded. His divine sense slowly climbed in strength…

Time passed—how long, he couldn't tell.

At last, when his qi sea brimmed with power, soul sea sparkled with clarity, and all his meridians stabilized—

Mo Hua opened his eyes.

His gaze shone with a new brilliance, and his aura surged visibly.

Late Foundation Establishment!

At long last—he'd broken through!

The process had gone fairly smoothly in the end.

But that was only because of the immense preparation beforehand—so many plans, so many battles, from slaying the divine corpse to killing the divine fetus. All of it…

Was what made this seemingly "smooth" breakthrough possible.

"The path of cultivation… truly isn't easy."

"Cultivating the Dao really isn't easy…"

Mo Hua sighed with emotion.

Thankfully, the heavens do not forsake those who persevere. He was finally a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

At long last, he could hold his head high in front of the younger disciples!

Mo Hua turned his attention inward, checking the state of his current strength:

His physical body—a little stronger than before… though that didn't seem to make much of a difference.

His spiritual power—somewhat more refined… though compared to his fellow sectmates with high-grade or top-grade spiritual roots and techniques, the gap was still quite large.

The only thing truly exceptional—remained his divine sense, which was as overwhelming as ever.

Peak of the Nineteenth Thread—of the peak.

Thanks to devouring a Grade-3 Divine Corpse, absorbing the immense divine sense left behind by the Evil Embryo, and now breaking through to late Foundation Establishment, his divine sense had taken yet another massive leap forward.

At this moment, his divine sense was infinitely close to the Twentieth Thread.

Mo Hua could even feel that with just one more opportunity, he could break past the boundary, truly stepping into the realm of Twentieth Thread Divine Sense.

Late Foundation Establishment… Divine Sense nearing Core Formation.

Mo Hua stared blankly for a moment.

He hadn't expected that the day his divine sense would core-form would arrive so suddenly—so quietly—that it almost felt unreal.

He still remembered how, back during Qi Refining, he had toiled endlessly, drawing formation after formation every day, just to slowly build up his divine sense…

Thinking back on it, this probably had something to do with that Great Wilderness Evil God who had been parasitizing Drylearning Prefecture (乾學州).

That Evil God was too fat—and Mo Hua had been mooching off it this whole time.

Before he knew it, his divine sense was almost at Core Formation.

And that's not all.

Mo Hua's divine sense dove into his sea of consciousness, where he looked down at the avatar of his divine will.

Having refined both a Grade-3 Divine Corpse and a Grade-2 Evil Embryo, and consumed so much divine marrow, his divine will had now turned a nearly pure golden hue.

Nearly—but not quite. There were still faint traces of impurities.

Even so, it was already terrifying. At least, Mo Hua had never seen such a pure golden divine will in any other god or being.

Not even Lord Huangshan.

As for Little Silverfish, that thing was still just silver-colored. Gold wasn't even in its future.

As for what lies beyond gold—Mo Hua had only heard vague mentions from Lord Huangshan. He had no real concept of what such divine marrow even meant.

"Next step… is to refine out the impurities and turn my divine will into pure gold?"

"And then… what?"

He was completely lost.

And thinking about divine marrow again made Mo Hua recall the words spoken to him not long ago by that Grade-3 blood-colored Divine Corpse.

That corpse had told him he knew nothing about "Dao Transformation."

That his Dao was an utter mess…

Mo Hua had felt annoyed at the time.

But thinking on it now—maybe the Divine Corpse hadn't been wrong.

His understanding of "Divine Sense Dao Transformation" was indeed lacking.

His divine sense still needed refinement.

His inherited legacy also had to be explored and mastered more deeply.

That Divine Corpse… had definitely tried to kill him.

But at the same time—it had warned him.

The key question was—why?

Why had it warned him at all?

Wasn't it supposed to be a corpse of the Lord of the Great Wilderness?

Mo Hua went back over his memories, piecing together everything about that blood-colored corpse… and suddenly, something struck him:

"Blood…"

Other divine corpses had been cruel and murderous too—had devoured people and left trails of blood—but none had such an intensely bloody presence, nor had such a blood-colored core Dao.

Its innate divine ability had even been a blood-path-condensed blade: the Blood-Slaughter Blade.

"Its Dao… is tied to blood."

"That… doesn't quite match the Dao of the Great Wilderness Evil God, does it?"

Mo Hua frowned.

Things seemed to be getting more complicated…

Still, he didn't know much about Evil Gods, divine paths, or the laws of the Great Dao. His exposure had been limited.

Even if he tried to think deeper now, he wouldn't figure out anything useful.

"I'll worry about it later…"

"Anyway—I'm late Foundation Establishment now…"

Feeling quite content, Mo Hua put aside those thoughts—and had himself another good, deep sleep.

(End of this Chapter)