Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 926: God-Slaying Astral Projection

"The God-Slaying Sword… leaving the mind…"

Mo Hua stared in a daze for a moment, then looked down at his own palm and lightly clenched it.

Just the thought that he might now wield the power to break through realms and slay a Golden Core made his heart stir and his eyes grow brighter.

As long as the God-Slaying Sword could leave the mind and manifest in the real world, his path of "proving the Dao through divine sense" would undergo a true and essential transformation.

Not only could he slay within the sea of consciousness—he would be able to turn illusion into reality, channeling his most powerful divine sense into a lethal killing move.

A divine sense that could truly kill in the real world.

"I have to test it…"

The next day, in the northern disciples' quarters of the Great Void Sect.

On a quiet hillside.

Lush with trees and vibrant grass, mist lingering faintly between forest and mountain—it was tranquil and serene.

Mo Hua sat cross-legged in the grass, eyes closed in meditation.

There was no one else around, only a large white dog, lazily napping under a tree.

Sunlight streamed through the trees, painting the green mountains with gold, casting its warmth onto Mo Hua's body.

Wisps of mist drifted around him.

Mo Hua calmed his breath, steadied his mind, and sat like an unmoving stone.

No one knew how long had passed when he suddenly opened his eyes.

Black, white, and gold swirled within them.

His aura shifted.

He raised two fingers and touched his forehead, drawing forth sword intent from between his brows.

Then his gaze sharpened, and he thrust his fingers forward.

In the air before him, it seemed something invisible had torn forward—rushing toward a towering tree across from him.

The wind picked up on the mountain. The tree's leaves rustled, trembling faintly.

For a moment… time seemed frozen.

But moments later, the wind stilled.

Nothing had happened.

No divine sense emerged from his body. No sword appeared. The tree stood tall and undisturbed.

Mo Hua stood firm, fingers still extended, maintaining his sword-pointing stance with resolute expression—

But… nothing happened.

Not far away, the big white dog yawned, bored out of its mind.

Clearly, it had seen this scene too many times.

Mo Hua lowered his fingers with a helpless sigh.

From morning till now, he'd attempted at least seven or eight times. The Divine Dread Sword could leave his mind, yes—but the more advanced God-Slaying Sword, though visible in his sea of consciousness, simply could not exit.

Without externalization, there could be no actual killing.

The white dog lazily wagged its tail, licked its fur, and flopped back down into a nap.

Mo Hua sat back down cross-legged, lost in thought.

"Where's the problem? Is my method wrong, or is my divine sense cultivation still lacking?"

He remembered Elder Xun Zixian once explaining the normal progression of divine sense for cultivators:

"Qi Refining cultivators can project divine sense to sense external objects;

Foundation Establishment can use divine sense to control objects;

At Golden Core, control reaches mastery—sword flight and tool manipulation grow far stronger.

Only upon reaching Golden Core can one begin dabbling in divine soul projection.

True control over soul separation comes at the stage of Ascension (Feather Transformation)…"

Few cultivators specialized in divine sense. Elder Xun wasn't one either, but as an array master, he had studied it quite deeply out of curiosity.

Mo Hua trusted his words.

"Only at Golden Core does divine soul projection begin…"

Mo Hua muttered to himself.

"But… that applies to ordinary cultivators. When I use the Divine Dread Sword, isn't that already a form of soul projection?"

"So… is my method for projecting the God-Slaying Sword flawed?"

He continued to analyze.

The God-Slaying Sword was far more complex than Divine Dread.

Divine Dread required inscribing a mark of sword intent or killing aura into the soul—then simply focusing through the eyes to project it outward.

God-Slaying was different. The technique was more profound and difficult.

One had to first calm the mind, accumulate divine sense, then form the God-Slaying Sword within the sea of consciousness—and slash.

Only afterward could it be projected outward through the eyes.

First the sword, then the projection.

It sounded like a small difference—but it made the process several times harder.

The ideal scenario was:

Sword follows the mind, mind follows the eyes.

Divine sense stirs, the God-Slaying Sword forms, the eyes open, and the sword slashes forth.

Swift to initiate. Swift to act.

A killing glance in the truest sense—"I look at you… and you die."

But Mo Hua was still far from this level. He could only take it one step at a time.

"One step at a time…"

He closed his eyes again, withdrawing all external distractions and focusing entirely on his sea of consciousness.

In that vast inner world, Mo Hua's divine sense avatar opened its eyes and raised its hands above his head.

His dense, pure divine sense flowed like golden rivers, gathering between his palms to form a brilliant, radiant giant sword.

Dozens of sword intents flowed into it—

Metal-cutting, mountain-cleaving, Yin Water, Departing Fire—

each formation style merged into the blade.

The ancient Great Void Sword Intent emerged.

Emotionless. Selfless. Cutting all attachments—the Tao of Supreme Emotion Severing also merged within.

Mo Hua stood with the sword, a dazzling figure, divine and demonic.

If he were slaying mental demons, divine remnants, or even evil fetuses—this sword would end them.

But leaving the mind? That was different.

He had tried many times, always failing. The sword remained confined to the sea of consciousness, unable to pierce the boundary between illusion and reality.

"My method of projection is wrong…"

"Or rather—the direction of my slash is wrong…"

In previous attempts, Mo Hua always tried slashing "outward"—but divine sense doesn't have a fixed 'inside' or 'outside.'"

He aimed outward, but the sword never left. It remained stuck in his mind.

Formless gives rise to form; difficulty gives rise to ease.

Inside and outside are relative.

If he couldn't slash outward—then what if he slashed inward?

Was he going to slash his own divine soul?

…No. Not to simply cut, but to use the divine soul as a conduit—a gateway to the real world?

The eyes are windows of the soul.

So by slashing toward the divine soul, he could channel that power into his eyes, allowing the sword to manifest through the gaze?

Mo Hua pondered this.

He wasn't fully sure—but after hesitating, he decided to try.

Failure is the mother of success.

Every cultivation method comes with failures.

Only through repeated trial and error can the correct path be found.

Besides… "slashing himself" was nothing new to him.

The Great Void Sword Intent required cutting the ego.

The Supreme Emotion Severing path required cutting off desire.

So slashing himself again?

Meh. Been there.

Mo Hua focused. His expression turned stern—and he reversed the sword's direction toward himself.

At that moment, with the edge pointed inward, the torrential sword intent aimed at him— Mo Hua instantly felt a brush with death.

It felt like if this sword struck—he would die.

He almost dispersed the God-Slaying Sword then and there—but in the next instant, he forcefully stopped himself.

"Fear… is just an unnecessary emotion."

"The Supreme Path of Emotion Severing—should cut fear, too."

"The God-Slaying Sword is born of my soul.

It is my comprehension of the Dao.

It is my divine sword.

My sword—cannot kill me."

Mo Hua solidified his thoughts. His heart turned to iron. Even as the blade that had slain demonic fetuses hovered above him, he did not flinch.

"Slash!"

He whispered coldly.

The massive God-Slaying Sword came crashing down like a collapsing heavenly river—

Slashing straight toward Mo Hua himself.

But Mo Hua's eyes remained steady. His will was iron.

And—just as expected— The sword did not cut him.

Instead, the moment it touched him, it slashed directly into his divine soul.

In that instant— Divine sense twisted. Illusion and reality intertwined.

Mo Hua felt as if he had touched a barrier—the threshold between real and unreal—and caught a glimpse of the gap between the two.

The boundary between illusion and reality was too profound; he couldn't see through it, nor could he break it.

But at the fusion point between the real and the unreal—there was himself, his sea of consciousness.

He could act as the medium, using his eyes as the aperture, to transmit his "illusory" divine sense into the "real" material world.

Mo Hua touched his fingers to his brow, channeling the sword intent within his sea of consciousness.

A moment later—he abruptly opened his eyes.

Within them, sword light blazed dazzlingly, as if a river of stars flowed through his gaze.

Sword intents of Metal-Cutting, Mountain-Cleaving, Yin Water, and Departing Fire—a spectrum of brilliance—swirled in his pupils.

The Great Void Sword Intent faintly surged.

The Supreme Emotion Severing Dao, cold and devoid of self, flickered through his soul.

Mo Hua's expression turned icy, and the surrounding qi began to shift and distort.

The nearby big white dog, who had been dozing peacefully, suddenly jolted upright, eyes wide in shock as it stared at Mo Hua in disbelief.

The moment had arrived—insight struck.

Mo Hua pressed his fingers to his brow. The divine sense sword moved to his eyes. Then—sword light burst forth from his gaze. He thrust his fingers forward—and the God-Slaying Sword Intent shot out from his eyes, tearing through the air, straight toward his target.

The big white dog was so startled, its fur stood on end. Even its tail went rigid.

And then…

A surge of divine sense fluctuation—

Still, nothing happened.

Despite the awe-inspiring aura.

Despite the profound technique.

Despite the immense power and razor-sharp sword intent—

Nothing.

Or rather—he had failed to fully activate it.

The grass was still grass—not a single blade had fallen.

The tree was still a tree—without a single scratch.

The flowers and plants all around remained lush, vibrant, and untouched.

The big white dog stared wide-eyed for a long moment, realizing it had panicked for nothing.

Its raised tail drooped again.

With a fluff of resignation, it lay back down and resumed its nap.

Mo Hua collapsed into the grass, a little dispirited.

"Still not working…"

"I've already grasped the technique to leave the body—why can't I unleash this sword?"

He wasn't ready to give up yet. He wanted to try again—but as soon as he stood, a wave of dizziness hit him, and he fell back to the ground.

His sea of consciousness throbbed with pain. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen.

"Practiced too much… now it's rebounding."

The God-Slaying Sword was simply too powerful.

Its divine sense too dense.

Forcing it out through his eyes was an enormous burden.

"Can't keep forcing it… I need to rest…"

He quickly sat up, meditated to restore his divine sense, and swallowed a few pills to nourish his blood and calm his mind.

After some time, once his divine sense had stabilized and his eyes cleared, Mo Hua opened them once more.

"Still not working,"

He muttered. But he couldn't afford to train again so soon.

Also—it was nearly mealtime. Priorities.

"Guess I'll head back for now."

He packed up his things, called out, "Big White Dog, we're going," and began to walk off. After a few steps, he glanced back—the dog was still lying there.

"Big White Dog?"

The dog lazily glanced at him, then deliberately turned its head away and went back to pretending to nap—obviously sulking.

Mo Hua sighed, knowing exactly why.

"How many times have I told you—I didn't mean to eat it without you."

"It's not that I don't want to share good food with you…"

"It's just—those things, you can't digest…"

"They're divine remnants—unclean. If you eat them, it'll mess you up."

"Next time, I promise—I'll bring you something tasty."

The big white dog glanced at Mo Hua's storage ring.

"That bone isn't for eating! I'm keeping it for something important…"

"Really—I'm not lying."

"Next time I have something good, I'll save you some. Cross my heart."

…

Mo Hua coaxed and explained until the big white dog finally cooled off. With a tsundere little nod, it begrudgingly accepted the apology.

"Next time I run into an evil spirit or something," Mo Hua promised, "I'll bring back a few for you. For now—come with me to the dining hall. You can eat whatever you want. Call it a peace offering."

At that, the big white dog's tail wagged happily again, and it trotted after him.

One man and one dog, side by side, strolled down the mountain path.

But behind them, on the ancient tree that had been "cut" by Mo Hua's divine sense sword—something had changed.

Unnoticed by either of them—a sword mark had appeared.

Though, to call it a sword mark was strange.

There were no signs of physical cutting—no slash, no blade damage.

Rather, it was as if the will for that part of the tree to grow had been erased.

The wound would never grow back. Never heal.

Its vitality was gone.

This was a wound on the level of divine sense.

Left behind by a stray sliver of God-Slaying Sword Intent—a spiritual sword wound.

And in the long years to come, that scar remained on the ancient tree of the Great Void Sect, untouched by time or storm, never fading.

Great Void Sect – Disciples' Dining Hall

Starving, Mo Hua was sitting at a table, gnawing on a chicken leg.

Next to him, the big white dog had both paws on the table, happily chewing on a massive pork knuckle.

The surrounding disciples didn't even bat an eye.

Normally, spirit beasts weren't allowed in the dining hall.

But this one? It belonged to the Sect Master.

And the person bringing it in was Mo Hua.

So… no one dared to say a word.

Of course, they didn't know—the big white dog wasn't a spirit beast.

In fact… it wasn't even a dog.

After feasting to its heart's content, the big white dog let go of its final grudge, finally making peace with Mo Hua.

Mo Hua brought it over to the scripture pavilion. Before he left, the big white dog gave a firm "woof" at him.

Mo Hua nodded seriously, replying,

"Alright, alright—I won't forget. Next time I'll definitely treat you to something good."

The big white dog finally nodded in satisfaction.

After sending the dog off, Mo Hua returned to his room, lit some calming incense, brewed a pot of Cloud Mist Tea, and sat cross-legged on his meditation mat, focusing his mind.

"Why… can't I still unleash it?"

"I've already grasped the divine sense technique. The God-Slaying Sword Intent has reached my eyes. But I still can't send it out. Could it be… because I haven't formed a Divine Sense Core yet?"

Could it be that only after forming a Divine Sense Core could the God-Slaying Sword be released?

Mo Hua wasn't sure. He wanted to find time to train more, but using his eyes as the aperture placed a massive burden on them. With his current physical strength, he simply couldn't afford too many attempts.

If he overtrained and blinded himself, that would be… slightly problematic.

Mo Hua murmured:

"Forget it… I'll focus on forming the Divine Sense Core first."

Once he formed a core, he wouldn't just be able to unleash the God-Slaying Sword—he'd also be able to study the Reverse Spirit Array.

His strength would finally undergo a true transformation.

But that was still in the future.

The immediate problem was pressing: in two days, they would begin the operation to encircle and suppress the Demon Sect.

If he couldn't master the Reverse Spirit Array, and couldn't unleash the God-Slaying Sword, then all his offensive methods were out the window.

He would have to settle for survival tactics.

If something unexpected happened, and he got targeted by a Golden Core demon cultivator, he at least needed an escape option.

As for stealth techniques—whether they could truly fool a Golden Core cultivator was unclear.

But movement techniques? That, he had just recently learned something new.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then headed to the Dao Arts Hall to find Elder Yi.

"You want to spar?"

Elder Yi blinked at him.

"With me?"

"Yep!" Mo Hua nodded seriously.

Elder Yi didn't know what to say.

You're just a Foundation Establishment disciple… and you want to spar with me, a Golden Core elder?

If it were anyone else, he'd have brushed them off immediately. But this was Mo Hua, and Elder Yi couldn't say no.

Actually, in a way, Mo Hua asking him to spar was a sign of respect.

"Fine, I'll just treat it as babysitting the sect's little treasure," Elder Yi thought.

"How do you want to spar?"

"I run. You try to catch me," Mo Hua replied. "Let's see if you can."

Elder Yi understood.

Ah—so he wants to test his movement technique.

He nodded. "Alright."

Elder Yi brought him to a spacious Dao Arts chamber.

"We'll do it here," he said. "Plenty of room for you to run."

Mo Hua looked around and nodded. "Okay."

And so, the sparring began.

Of course, calling it a "spar" was generous. It was more like a training session, and the atmosphere wasn't particularly intense.

The two stood ten zhang apart. Elder Yi said:

"Let's begin."

"Okay!" Mo Hua responded.

Before the words even left Mo Hua's mouth—Elder Yi vanished.

Mo Hua's expression froze. Before he could react, he felt his body lift off the ground—Elder Yi had already grabbed him.

"Got you," the elder said, casually hoisting him up.

Mo Hua stood there, dazed.

"That fast…"

A Golden Core late-stage cultivator's movement was just on a different level. Elder Yi, a spiritual cultivator especially versed in movement techniques, had moved faster than Mo Hua could process. One flicker—and he was caught.

The Great Void Sect's core elders… really weren't to be underestimated.

Elder Yi always seemed friendly and low-key. Who knew his true strength was so overwhelming?

No wonder he was qualified to teach Dao Arts among the Eight Major Halls.

But there was another reason, too.

Mo Hua looked up and asked:

"Elder… you're late-stage Golden Core, right? Your cultivation's too high."

Elder Yi paused. "It's not my fault I'm strong…"

"Could you lower it a bit? Early-stage Golden Core is fine."

Late-stage was just too much. He couldn't learn anything if he was completely crushed.

Elder Yi sighed.

What could he do?

As the designated training partner, whatever this little ancestor said… went.

"Alright, I'll suppress it to early-stage Golden Core."

"Great." Mo Hua nodded.

Elder Yi set him down, and the two returned to their positions.

"Begin."

Elder Yi's figure vanished again.

But this time—Mo Hua caught the trace.

At late-stage, he couldn't react. But early-stage was more manageable.

Through his divine sense, Mo Hua tracked Elder Yi's steps—a mysterious and refined footwork. Each step shrunk space, leaping several zhang at a time.

The elder always moved through the blind spots just behind Mo Hua's vision.

It was a cunning, calculated technique—precise in timing and position.

Soon, from one of those blind spots, a hand reached out—just like before.

But this time, Mo Hua was prepared.

Just as the hand was about to grab him, he slipped back several steps, dodging with ease.

"Oh?" Elder Yi raised a brow.

"You've got some skills…"

He continued the chase. His movement was like drifting wind—refined and seamless.

His steps subtly followed the logic of Yi numerology, fast yet elusive, hard to detect.

Yet, in the next few rounds—Mo Hua dodged every time, narrowly evading Elder Yi's grasp.

Elder Yi nodded inwardly.

"Impressive…" No wonder he had the confidence to challenge him in footwork.

Not only was his divine sense sharp, his movement technique was also refined. His agile dodging showed clear signs of hard training and discipline.

And the more they sparred, the clearer Elder Yi's movements became in Mo Hua's divine sense.

His attacks were increasingly easy to predict, and Mo Hua evaded them with growing ease.

Watching Mo Hua zip through the chamber like a fish in water, Elder Yi narrowed his eyes.

Within his gaze, the Eight Trigrams began to emerge—and his movement changed subtly.

But it was only by a hair's breadth.

Mo Hua didn't have time to adjust. He tried to dodge as before—but this time, he noticed something was off.

"Wait… something's wrong!"

He instantly realized the issue—but it was too late.

Elder Yi had come from a completely different blind spot.

He hadn't used stealth—but he may as well have. His presence was practically invisible.

A pair of large hands grabbed Mo Hua by the shoulders.

Elder Yi smiled— But the smile froze.

The "Mo Hua" in his hands flickered—and dissolved into mist. Right in front of his eyes—he vanished like vapor.

(End of this Chapter)