Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 947: "The Guests"

The origins of the Celestial Heaven and Sacred Earth Diagram were far too immense.

Back during his travels, Mo Hua remembered his master speaking at length about the diagram's history. At the time, he hadn't experienced much and didn't feel much. But now, recalling those words with a more seasoned mind, he couldn't help but grow more and more alarmed.

So-called Meditative Visualization Diagrams reflected the divine consciousness of others—or of certain non-human beings.

In other words, what you visualized from the diagram… was someone else's Dao, or even the Dao of some non-human entity.

Mo Hua had attained his Dao through Spiritual Sense, and the deeper he studied divine consciousness, the more he realized how unfathomable the mysteries within these diagrams truly were.

To this day, not a single diagram he had encountered was simple.

Let alone this one—a sect treasure passed down for ten thousand years by one of Kun Prefecture's greatest sects, the Earth Sect. Who knew what terrifying thing it actually sealed within?

Even the Earth Sect themselves… might not fully know.

It could be ancient Dao resonance—or something far more terrifying and unknown.

Mo Hua remembered his master once saying:

Although the Celestial Heaven and Sacred Earth Diagram was the Earth Sect's supreme treasure, because it contained the characters "Celestial Heaven (皇天)," it offended the Dao Court's taboo.

No matter how great the Earth Sect was, it was still just a sect of Kun Prefecture. It could honor "Sacred Earth," but it had no right to call upon "Celestial Heaven."

And so the Dao Court's ancient monsters forcibly split the diagram in two—into the "Celestial Heaven Diagram" and the "Sacred Earth Diagram."

The Celestial Heaven Diagram was enshrined in the Dao Court.

The Sacred Earth Diagram was kept hidden within the Earth Sect.

Ten thousand years of accumulated Dao resonance made the diagram terrifying—but even more terrifying were those ancient monsters in the Dao Court, who had lived tens of thousands of years and reached heavens-defying cultivation...

"Could those monsters be above the Hollow Void Realm…?"

Mo Hua's heart shivered.

The waters of the cultivation world ran deep.

And its sky—far too high.

He wasn't even sure whether he could reach such heights in this lifetime.

"Will I ever even get a chance to see the Celestial Heaven and Sacred Earth Diagram?

Even if not the Dao Court's half… it'd be good to just glimpse the Earth Sect's Sacred Earth Diagram…"

As for the full, original version…

His master's half-joking, half-meaningful words echoed once again in his mind:

"If one day you could make the Earth Sect bow its head, and stand on equal footing with the Dao Court—then maybe… just maybe, you could reunite the two halves of the diagram."

Mo Hua shook his head.

Back then, he could still take that as a joke.

But after traveling through the Qian-Xue region and meeting so many powerful cultivators, widening his perspective, he now felt that such talk was… absurd. Arrogant. Even disrespectful.

His master could joke—but he definitely couldn't take it seriously.

He pulled himself out of that thought—and remembered Mister Pi.

"Could this Mister Pi be a traitor to the Earth Sect?"

After all, no proper Earth Sect disciple would stoop to grave robbing.

But why did he betray the sect?

Did he commit some misdeed and get kicked out?

Or… did he steal some inheritance, like Boss Jiang did?

Mo Hua's eyes lit up and he immediately dug through the storage pouch again—then sighed.

"Wishful thinking."

He had been hoping that Mister Pi betrayed the sect to steal the Sacred Earth Diagram… or at least a clue about it.

But now it was clear—pure fantasy.

Something like the Sacred Earth Diagram… even regular disciples probably weren't qualified to see, much less steal.

But while there was no diagram—Mo Hua did find something strange:

A tooth-shaped talisman.

It looked like a claw or a polished fang, inlaid with dark gold and pale silver.

Its tip was razor-sharp and faintly translucent, glowing softly.

The base was engraved with two characters: 摸金 (Mō Jīn).

"A Touch-Gold Talisman?"

Mo Hua's heart skipped slightly. He turned it over and examined it carefully.

Unfortunately, he wasn't an expert. He couldn't tell much—but just based on how carefully Mister Pi had hidden it at the very bottom of his pouch, it was clearly valuable.

Without hesitation, Mo Hua tucked the ancient Touch-Gold Talisman into his storage ring.

Whatever it did—well, it was his now.

As for the other items—formation diagrams, books, a bronze brush—Mo Hua thought about it, but decided not to touch them. He put them all back into Mister Pi's pouch.

There wasn't enough time to inspect everything.

Sure enough, moments later—he heard faint footsteps in the distance. Light, but mixed with many different energies. A group was approaching.

Mo Hua was a little surprised.

"These 'guests' Mister Pi mentioned… there's more than one?"

Who brings so many people to rob a tomb?

As he puzzled over it, the group came into view—Mo Hua swept his gaze across and counted seven people.

Including the three tomb robbers like "Gramps Hui," there were four "guests."

All four guests were dressed in black robes.

Two of them were huge—tall, brawny men who had to stoop under the corridor ceiling.

One was an aged elder.

And the last was a young man.

All of them were tightly wrapped in black robes, with no spiritual presence leaking out—except the young man.

He had his face exposed. Fair-skinned, handsome, with a bit of arrogance between his brows—he looked like someone raised in luxury. Probably some rich clan's pampered son.

Mo Hua had never seen him before, nor had any impression.

Even though their robes blocked divine sense, Mo Hua's instincts told him that all four guests were at Golden Core Realm.

Four full Golden Cores...

Mo Hua's heart sank slightly—but he was also puzzled.

These four "guests" were strange. He couldn't quite make out their dynamic.

Was it one young master bringing three bodyguards?

Or was it a family elder bringing a disciple out for training?

As he was still speculating, the group had already walked up.

Gramps Hui led the way, politely saying:

"Esteemed guests, rest assured, everything's prepared. As soon as Mister Pi opens the tomb gate—"

He didn't finish.

Gramps Hui froze.

The tomb gate was tightly shut. The area in front was empty—only Mo Hua, bound in shackles, and Shen Qingsheng, tied up in chains, remained.

Mister Pi was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Mister Pi?" Gramps Hui looked around and asked Mo Hua.

Mo Hua replied quietly,

"He… seems to have died."

Gramps Hui's jaw dropped. His brain stalled.

Died?

How?

Why??

Perfectly fine—and then, just like that, dead? Right when they turned their backs to fetch the guests?

He didn't even know what kind of expression to make in the face of this bizarre development.

Gramps Hui frowned and asked:

"How did he die? Where?"

Mo Hua pointed toward a side tunnel.

Everyone looked that way—and only then did they see, at the far end, deep in the shadows… a massive stone mill.

Mister Pi had already been ground into paste. The blood had nearly congealed.

"Mister Pi was unlocking the formation, when suddenly there was this strange noise from the end of the corridor. Then he acted like he was possessed—walked right toward it on his own… and triggered the mechanism. That's how he ended up like that…"

Mo Hua spoke solemnly, reciting his freshly-invented lie with an appropriately mournful tone.

Everyone was stunned.

Especially the three tomb robbers—they refused to believe it.

"Mister Pi wasn't someone who'd die that easily…"

"Go check the body. See what really killed him—there'll be some traces left behind."

"That's a tomb trap. You want to die with him?"

"I'm Golden Core!"

"So what? Things in a tomb like this… aren't that simple…"

While they argued, the tomb robber named "Rat" suddenly pointed at Mo Hua and said:

"Something's off. This brat definitely isn't telling the truth. Maybe Mister Pi was murdered by him!"

Mo Hua silently raised his shackled arms—clink clink—as if to say:

"Bruh. I'm cuffed. How would I kill someone?"

Rat's eyes narrowed slightly.

Gramps Hui also said darkly:

"We all know what Mister Pi was capable of. You're telling me some kid took him out? Not possible."

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, looking innocent.

"But..."

Second Master Hui turned his head to look at Mo Hua. He also suspected that Mo Hua wasn't telling the truth. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Shen Qingsheng, gripping him by the neck and asking in a low voice,

"You—how did Mister Pi die?"

"I..." Shen Qingsheng stammered, trembling violently.

Mo Hua cast him a subtle glance.

Immediately, Shen Qingsheng's whole body shook with fear.

"I… I don't know. I fainted! I didn't see anything!"

At this point, how could he not understand?

Everyone here in this tomb was a villain.

Mo Hua looked innocent on the surface, but his cunning and viciousness were no less than these Golden Core thugs. If he could kill Mister Pi, then he could kill him too.

In this situation, his only chance at survival was to insist he knew nothing.

Besides, he was still of use—for now, Second Master Hui wouldn't kill him.

"Damn it..."

Seeing how cowardly and evasive Shen Qingsheng was, Second Master Hui cursed in frustration.

He never imagined things would go so wrong right from the start—before they even got through the tomb gate, their most crucial man, Mister Pi, was already dead.

Rat leaned close to Second Master Hui and glanced at Mo Hua, saying:

"Second Master, I still think this brat's hiding something. Should we use a bit of torture to make him talk?"

Second Master Hui's expression shifted.

Mo Hua mentally marked down "Rat" as a future corpse.

Nosy little runt. Short and annoying.

Seeing that Second Master Hui was actually considering it, Mo Hua immediately spoke:

"You can't torture me!"

"Oh?" Second Master Hui raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Mo Hua shot back:

"Do you have any formation masters left?"

Second Master Hui frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mo Hua replied,

"Mister Pi was your only formation master, right? He's dead now. Without someone who knows formations, how are you going to open the tomb gate? What will you do once you're inside and run into more formation traps?"

Second Master Hui was stumped.

He stared at Mo Hua, then muttered,

"Mister Pi's formations weren't just any ordinary formations. Don't tell me someone your age understands them?"

"I understand a bit," Mo Hua said calmly.

"Rubbish."

Rat sneered. "That was Mister Pi's unique formation system. How could you possibly know it?"

"You said it yourself—it's a unique formation system, not an exclusive one. The world of formations is vast and intricate, with many branches and origins. Mister Pi's formation isn't something only he could use."

Mo Hua's tone was firm and logical.

The group fell silent.

They'd always left formation matters to Mister Pi. None of them knew much about it.

And Mister Pi had guarded his legacy like treasure, never revealing anything to them.

Now, the only one left who knew formations... was Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua was still an outsider—and looked so young...

Second Master Hui hesitated.

At that moment, the handsome young man among the black-robed cultivators finally spoke:

"Can you still open this tomb gate or not?"

His voice was cold and indifferent, laced with growing displeasure.

Second Master Hui's heart clenched. He could tell the "distinguished guests" were getting annoyed due to their mistakes.

This was a big deal.

And these guests? Deep pockets, powerful backgrounds—not people they could afford to offend.

Second Master Hui looked to Mo Hua.

"Can you open the tomb gate?"

Mo Hua replied with confidence:

"Of course."

"Good..." Second Master Hui had just nodded when Rat, the pointy-faced, monkey-like Golden Core cultivator, leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

Second Master Hui's expression hardened. He nodded slightly.

Rat then walked up to Mo Hua and snatched Mister Pi's storage pouch from his hands.

Right in front of Mo Hua, Rat's eyes gleamed with greed as he turned the storage pouch inside out. But he didn't find what he was looking for. His face turned sinister as he glared at Mo Hua.

"Where's the thing?"

Mo Hua blinked innocently.

"What thing?"

"The... the... Touch—"

Rat stopped himself just in time, swallowing the rest of his words.

"What?" Mo Hua asked.

Rat's eyes turned even more vicious.

"You must've taken it. Hand over your storage pouch. Let me check."

Mo Hua protested,

"Why should you search my pouch?"

Rat let out a cold laugh, then ignored his protests and snatched it anyway.

Inside Mo Hua's storage pouch were mostly formation books and diagrams.

Rat couldn't understand a single thing.

Aside from that, there were some pills, spirit stones, and a few small trinkets gifted by others.

After rummaging through everything and finding nothing of interest, Rat glanced toward Second Master Hui.

Second Master Hui frowned. He looked toward the four black-robed cultivators, his expression wary. Then he said:

"Forget it. The job is more important. We'll deal with that thing later."

Rat could only back down.

Mo Hua said:

"Give me back my pouch."

Rat sneered and returned it—but not before pocketing the spirit stones and some valuables inside.

Mo Hua pretended to be angry but powerless on the surface.

Inside, he had already engraved Rat's name on the death list.

Second Master Hui took out a jug of wine, walked over to Mister Pi's remains, and poured a libation on the ground.

He murmured solemnly:

"Fate decides life and death. Mister Pi... travel well."

His voice was low and respectful.

But people in their line of work were cold-blooded. True friendship was rare.

While alive, they drank and ate together. Dead? One less pair of hands, one fewer mouth to split the loot with.

At most, there was a brief moment of sympathy—not true sorrow.

After the simple ceremony, the matter was dismissed.

Second Master Hui turned to Mo Hua and said:

"Open the tomb gate. If you can, we'll spare your life. If not… you'll join Mister Pi."

A formation master who could help was a good formation master.

One who couldn't—was just a corpse.

And so, under everyone's watchful gaze, Mo Hua stepped in front of the tomb gate and began attempting to unravel the formation.

However, this formation was unfamiliar—it was an Earth Array.

Mo Hua stared at it for a while, but didn't make a move.

Then, he turned to Second Master Hui and held out his hand.

"Give me Mister Pi's storage pouch."

Second Master Hui's gaze sharpened. "What do you need that for?"

"I need to look at the formation diagrams."

"Look at the formation diagrams?"

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded. "There are some formations I don't know, so I have to study them."

Second Master Hui felt a vein twitch in his forehead. He exclaimed in disbelief,

"Wait—you're learning it now?!"

So all along, this brat was just bluffing!?

He didn't even know the formation on the tomb gate!

But Mo Hua remained righteously confident:

"Well, of course! Who's born knowing everything? If you don't know something, you study it!"

Second Master Hui was speechless. Finally, he pointed at Rat.

"Give him the storage pouch. Let him study."

Rat's eyes flickered with reluctance, but given the situation, he had no choice but to hand over the pouch.

Mo Hua took Mister Pi's storage pouch, pulled out a few formation scrolls and diagrams, and began flipping through them right there in front of everyone.

Second Master Hui and the others just stood there watching. No one said anything.

But Mo Hua knew perfectly well: if he could unlock the Earth Array and open the tomb gate, everything would be fine.

If not, he'd be the next corpse.

He calmed himself and began carefully studying Mister Pi's formation books.

Once he got into formation theory, Mo Hua quickly entered his focused state, eyes glued to the diagrams.

After about half an hour of careful study, he had a basic understanding of Mister Pi's Earth Array system.

The so-called Earth Array (地陣) was closely tied to the concept of the land, and it shared principles with the Earth-type formations of the Five Elements (金木水火土).

However, while Earth and Soil seemed similar, Earth Arrays were more complex.

After all, the land carried all things—not just the surface "soil."

The Earth Arrays of the Earth Sect (地宗) were on a higher level than basic Earth-element formations.

In fact, the depth of their formation logic bordered on the Kun trigram (坤) from the Eight Trigrams.

However, these Earth Arrays still fell short of truly becoming Kun Arrays.

If they were on that level, they'd be called Kun Arrays outright.

In the cosmology of the Eight Trigrams, the Qian and Kun Arrays represented the cosmic principles of Heaven and Earth.

They were rarely passed down and might even be connected to the Dao Court's legendary "Three Essence Arrays."

Learning Earth Arrays was much harder than learning basic Earth-element formations.

These kinds of arrays required resonance with the Dao of the Land. Entry-level understanding wasn't hard, but true comprehension? That was extremely difficult.

But for Mo Hua, it was the opposite.

He had studied the Grade-1 Eleven-Pattern Thick Earth Array before, had communicated with the Dao of the Land, and was well-practiced in drawing formations on the ground.

He often painted arrays directly onto earth and stone.

Thus, he had an exceptional affinity with land—far beyond that of normal cultivators.

What was considered the hardest part of Earth Arrays was, for Mo Hua, not that difficult at all.

What he lacked was inheritance and reference materials—in other words, access.

Now that he had the basics and had stepped through the door, everything else flowed smoothly. The more he learned, the faster he progressed.

That's the power of a solid foundation.

And it's the benefit of first comprehending "Absolute Arrays" and resonating with the Dao—difficult at first, but easier later.

Half an hour later, Mo Hua's eyes lit up. Emulating Mister Pi's technique, he looked at the Earth Array compass, then took out the bronze formation brush, dipped it in spiritual ink, and began inscribing on the tomb gate.

Second Master Hui and the others didn't notice anything unusual.

But the black-robed young nobleman narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, visibly surprised by what he saw.

Mo Hua carefully finished drawing the formation with the bronze brush, checked everything, then consulted the formation book again. Following the method written there, he dipped the brush again and drew a few activation runes to trigger the array.

With a flash of light, the unlocking runes lit up one after another.

The sealing glyphs cracked apart, line by line.

The tomb gate trembled.

Moments later, accompanied by a deep, ancient, rusted groan, the bronze tomb gate slowly opened a crack, from which cold yin energy seeped out.

"It really opened..."

Not just Second Master Hui's crew—even the four black-robed cultivators all turned their gazes toward Mo Hua, eyes full of astonishment.

Mo Hua, calm and methodical, packed up the formation books, diagrams, bronze brush, and compass—all into his own storage pouch.

Then, with a totally natural and rightful air, he simply claimed Mister Pi's storage pouch as his own.

Second Master Hui and the others paused for a moment but said nothing.

Even Rat, who earlier tried to rob him, didn't dare speak up.

In the world of cultivators, strength speaks loudest.

You knew formations, broke the seal, and opened the gate?

You've got the skills. That's enough.

At that moment, the elderly black-robed cultivator finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse, like wind scraping sand:

"It's late. Open the gate."

The guest had spoken—Second Master Hui didn't dare delay further.

He stepped forward, gripped the ox-head and horse-face-shaped door rings, and pulled hard to either side.

The tomb gate opened slowly.

Beyond it was nothing but darkness—empty, oppressive, pitch black. A wave of bone-chilling cold surged out, carrying a suffocating pressure.

At the same time, deep growls echoed from within.

A flood of evil, malevolent energy surged out to greet them.

(End of this Chapter)