Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 966: It's Mine

The four great Golden Core experts—after brutally tearing each other apart—were now either crippled or temporarily incapacitated.

Young Master Xuan took advantage of the chaos and fished the Dragon Vein right out of the pond.

And then, as casually and naturally as passing someone a steamed bun, he handed the Dragon Vein to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took it—and ran.

For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded.

Young Master Xuan looked like he was about to explode, his chest heaving so violently it seemed like he might vomit blood. He shrieked:

"You little brat! I'll kill you!!"

Mo Hua ran even faster.

"Stop!!" Young Master Xuan roared.

At this point, Mo Hua was moving so fast he was leaving afterimages.

Young Master Xuan's eyes bulged with fury as he turned into a streak of blood-red light, like a twisted, flayed human skin flying through the air, his demonic movement technique grotesque and terrifying.

Mo Hua's Shifting Water Steps specialized in dodging and weaving through tight spaces—but wasn't great for straight-line sprints.

Not to mention… he was only late-stage Foundation Establishment.

So within a few breaths, Young Master Xuan caught up.

With a gust of blood wind, he reached for Mo Hua with pale, claw-like hands. Just as he was about to grab him—a flash of waterlight—and Mo Hua vanished into mist, reappearing several zhang away.

Young Master Xuan cursed loud enough to make demons blush.

He lunged again—but just then, a gale roared behind him, and two massive hammers swung down toward his skull. He ducked—and out of the corner of his eye, saw a sword tip glinting toward his face.

With a sweep of his Blood Sword, he deflected the blade, retreated several steps, dissipating the impact, and finally steadied himself.

When he looked up, two burly figures had already blocked his path to Mo Hua—Master Gu and Fan Jin.

The two men hadn't dared to interfere earlier—against peak Golden Core cultivators, their weaker bloodline inheritances and poor-grade life-bound treasures left them outclassed.

But now, they were focused solely on protecting Mo Hua.

Mo Hua's "heist" had been so dramatic that they had actually frozen in shock for a moment.

Now, seeing Young Master Xuan aggressively pursuing him, they immediately stepped in and joined forces to push him back.

Though their heritage and strength were inferior, they were seasoned veterans of the cultivation world—not easy to deal with.

Now the two of them stood like a pair of iron gates, firmly blocking Young Master Xuan's path to Mo Hua.

In terms of raw strength, Foundation Establishment Mo Hua obviously couldn't fight Golden Core Young Master Xuan.

But now that he had two powerhouses backing him—he didn't need to run anymore.

Holding the Dragon Vein in his arms, Mo Hua looked at Young Master Xuan, eyebrows twitching with unconcealed amusement.

Young Master Xuan's lungs were on fire. He clenched his teeth.

"You didn't fall under my Heart-Demon Seed spell?!"

Mo Hua mentally shook his head.

This Young Master Xuan… too green.

Still hasn't realized—he's the one who got Heart-Demon Seeded. I never even touched his spell. He got mind-bamboozled by me.

With this level of talent, why are you even studying heart-demon sorcery?

If he ran into my senior uncle, he wouldn't even remember his own name.

But telling the truth would be too harsh.

And might provoke him into a full-blown frenzy.

So Mo Hua just gave him a confused, innocent look.

"No idea. I kinda woke up all groggy... and then you gave me the Dragon Vein."

He emphasized the word "gave".

He didn't steal it. Didn't rob it. It was a gift.

Looking at Mo Hua's pure little face full of shamelessness, Young Master Xuan nearly cracked his own molars from clenching his jaw.

"Give me the Dragon Vein."

"No," Mo Hua said, hugging it tighter. "You gave it to me. So now it's mine."

Young Master Xuan was about to go ballistic.

But with Master Gu and Fan Jin standing guard, he had no choice but to restrain himself and tried negotiating:

"That Dragon Vein is useless to you. Give it to me and—"

"Why is it useless?" Mo Hua cut in.

Young Master Xuan inhaled sharply, forcing a calm tone:

"It's a dragon—it's proud and untamable. Not just anyone can control it."

"The Dragon Vein of the Great Wilderness can only be wielded by those of royal blood.

Without the royal bloodline, you can't access its legacy. The Dragon Vein won't recognize you.

Your blood is that of an ordinary cultivator—it'll reject you."

Mo Hua frowned.

"Are you… looking down on me?"

"It's not that!" Young Master Xuan rushed to explain.

"It's just… bloodline is everything. No matter how smart or talented you are—if your bloodline's lacking, it just won't work.

That's fate. You can't change your birth. You can't choose your parents. Your bloodline is fixed."

"Oh…" Mo Hua replied thoughtfully.

Young Master Xuan softened his tone even further:

"So please, hand me the Dragon Vein. You can't—"

"Nope," Mo Hua interrupted, still shaking his head. "Even if it's useless, I'm keeping it.

It's a Dragon Vein, after all. Worst case—I keep it as a family heirloom."

"Maybe one day I'll take it home, show my parents: 'Look, your son snagged a Dragon Vein.' Wouldn't that be cool?"

And besides… you really expect me to believe it's completely useless?

You can't even cast a proper Heart-Demon Seed spell and you think you can bluff me?

Young Master Xuan was about to explode. This brat—cute on the outside, but absolutely shameless and impossible to reason with.

Since words had failed, he could only try to take it by force.

Scanning the area, Young Master Xuan turned to Elder Xiong:

"Elder Bear, help me. Once I cultivate the Dark Demon Embryo and get the Dragon Vein, I'll pass the Great Wilderness Dragon Diagram on to you."

The others were all heavily wounded.

Shen Shouxing—peak Golden Core—had lost an arm and was struggling to suppress the backlash of the Dragon Qi.

Only Elder Xiong, though missing a hand, had recovered relatively well—his demonic beast body healing quickly.

After a moment of thought, Elder Xiong stepped forward and stood beside Young Master Xuan.

He was massive and ferocious—half bear, half serpent, his demonic aura oppressive.

Master Gu and Fan Jin felt a chill run down their spines. This late-stage demon cultivator was way out of their league, but they still gripped their treasures tightly, prepared to fight.

Just then, Mo Hua coldly chuckled and looked at Elder Xiong:

"You idiot. You don't even know you're being used."

Elder Xiong was incensed at being called an idiot by a Foundation Establishment brat, but held back.

"What did you say?"

"He already said it himself," Mo Hua replied, "Dragon Veins are useless to non-royals.

So if you take it, you'd only be handing it over to him. And if he breaks his promise—you have no way to stop him."

"If he breaks his promise, I'll kill him," Elder Xiong said coldly.

"He's the direct heir of the Dark Demon Sect," Mo Hua sneered. "Backed by the Grand Elder.

You kill him? You'd spend the rest of your life being hunted by the entire sect. You sure you're ready for that?"

Elder Xiong fell silent.

Mo Hua continued:

"And another thing…"

"He admitted earlier he used blood poison to cast Heart-Demon Seeds on you all.

Which means—you can't trust anything he says."

"Because that spell alters your judgment. It'll make you believe everything he says is right.

You'll follow his orders without even realizing it."

"Ask yourself—really think. Deep down… don't you feel something is… off?"

Mo Hua's voice dropped low and persuasive—a whisper full of eerie influence.

Young Master Xuan snapped,

"You damn brat! Spewing nonsense!"

"Don't interrupt," Mo Hua said calmly. "Or it proves you're guilty."

"You—!" Young Master Xuan choked.

Elder Xiong frowned and began to reflect.

And strangely… Mo Hua's words started making a lot of sense.

If this brat had truly planted a Heart-Demon Seed in him…

Then nothing he said could be trusted.

But…

Elder Xiong glanced at Mo Hua, suspicion flashing in his eyes.

"Young Master Xuan's words can't be trusted—but you, kid, with that slick tongue of yours, I trust even less."

"Besides, you're a disciple of the Great Void Sect—same lineage as that guy Xun."

"I have a hundred lifetimes' worth of grudges with the Great Void Sect. Blood debts, deep hatred. One day, I will kill them all."

Mo Hua blinked innocently.

"You've got a grudge with the Great Void Sect. But what's that got to do with a small Foundation Establishment disciple like me?"

"I'm only Foundation Establishment. What kind of grudge or vengeance could I possibly have with you?"

Elder Xiong paused.

...That actually made sense.

It was Venerable Elder Xun who led a group of Golden Core cultivators to destroy Myriad Demon Valley.

It was that same Xun Ziyou who spearheaded the raid on Yanluo Mountain's demonic sect, cooperating with the Dao Court.

These were decisions made by the upper echelons of the Great Void Sect—carried out by the core elders at the Golden Core stage.

As for ordinary Foundation Establishment disciples like Mo Hua—they just studied in the sect every day. They were unrelated to such things. In fact, they were likely dragged into the mess themselves.

Elder Xiong nodded ever so slightly.

But how could he have known—the so-called "mastermind" behind both the Myriad Demon Valley and Yanluo Mountain incidents was none other than the very "innocent-looking" disciple standing before him. The one full of trickery behind that harmless face.

Sensing that Elder Xiong's guard was loosening, Mo Hua immediately said:

"Priorities, Elder Xiong. The grudge with the Great Void Sect can be settled later. Right now, you should focus on getting something truly useful."

Elder Xiong frowned.

"And you think you know what I want?"

Mo Hua nodded.

"You want the Four Symbols Azure Dragon Array Diagram. I can help you."

"You help me?" Elder Xiong sneered.

Mo Hua pointed at the demonic tattoos on his body:

"To enhance your demonic power, you forcibly fused two powerful demonic patterns together."

"This fusion—bear and python—granted you terrifying strength, but also made the two arrays inherently incompatible. The strain on your physical body is enormous."

"That's why you want to use Dragon Patterns to suppress the conflict between the two tattoos. Transform the python into a Jiao, then eventually a true dragon."

"But that's no simple matter. Without a formation master who understands the Four Symbols Array, forget transforming a Jiao into a Dragon—you won't even be able to resolve the conflict between the python and bear tattoos."

Elder Xiong was stunned.

"You're also well-versed in Four Symbols Arrays?"

Mo Hua modestly replied:

"I know a thing or two."

Elder Xiong pondered skeptically.

"Impossible. How could a kid like you master Four Symbols Arrays?"

He knew the origins of that system—it wasn't something outsiders could easily access.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said:

"Isn't your Dazhui Acupoint, Fengmen, and Xin Qian on your back constantly in stabbing pain?"

Elder Xiong's face darkened.

Mo Hua struck again:

"That's because you don't understand formations. You forcibly fused the python and bear array tattoos, which caused misaligned cores and clashing patterns."

Elder Xiong's eyelid twitched.

He now realized—this brat really did know his stuff. His doubts began to fade.

Young Master Xuan, who had been holding back this whole time, finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Elder Xiong, don't let this brat fool you!"

Mo Hua immediately shot back:

"You're the liar here! At least I don't go around seeding others with Heart-Demon Techniques! I always speak the truth!"

He sounded completely righteous.

Young Master Xuan was the one in the wrong and simply couldn't argue.

Elder Xiong looked between the scheming Young Master Xuan and the self-righteous Mo Hua. Weighing the pros and cons, he turned—and stepped in front of Mo Hua.

Just like that—the tide shifted once more.

Control returned to Mo Hua.

Young Master Xuan's face turned a grim shade of green.

Mo Hua quietly sized him up, wondering whether he should just kill him here and now.

This guy was dangerous—deeply calculating, unusual in his methods, and more importantly, a descendant of Elder Xuan Sanren. That karmic connection alone made him a worthy target.

Still... the Four Symbols Azure Dragon Array was more important.

And time was short.

"Hold down Shentu Ao for me. I'll copy the Dragon Pattern off him…"

Mo Hua said to Elder Xiong.

Then turned and saw Young Master Xuan eyeing him restlessly, clearly up to some new trick.

Mo Hua gave him a cold warning:

"I'm sparing you for now. But don't push your luck."

"Once I've copied the dragon pattern, we're leaving. Any grudges—settle them outside."

"Don't forget—there's still that Demonic Fetus in the tomb. That's the real threat."

The Second Elder had sacrificed his life to temporarily block the fetus's senses—but the effect would only last an hour.

Now, there was less than half an hour left.

"If you start trouble and delay us, and that thing wakes up—we're all dead."

"A peak third-rank demonic fetus… even your ancestor wouldn't survive it," Mo Hua said coldly.

Young Master Xuan scowled, but didn't move. He clearly feared the warning.

Then Elder Xiong, as instructed, stepped forward and pinned down Shentu Ao.

Shentu Ao was already heavily injured and near death—he couldn't resist.

Still, Mo Hua didn't dare take risks.

These demonic cultivators were all crafty old foxes—you never knew if they were truly dying or just faking it. Having Elder Xiong suppress him was a safety measure.

By now, Elder Xun Ziyou had also recovered a bit from meditating. He leaned on his sword and moved to stand by Mo Hua's side—to prevent anyone from ambushing him.

And Mo Hua—after a long and difficult struggle—finally came face to face with the real Dragon Diagram.

On Shentu Ao's back was a majestic and fearsome Azure Dragon Pattern, made of ancient, primitive runes.

A fusion of myriad demon forms—coalesced into a dragon.

Empowered by the Dragon Vein, it radiated dragon qi.

Because of this resonance, the demonic qi had been cleansed, and the demon pattern had been purified into the orthodox Great Wilderness Four Symbols Azure Dragon Formation.

This was the culmination of Mr. Tu's painstaking research—the legendary "Ten Thousand Demons to Raise a Dragon" method.

And now, Mo Hua had finally found his own life-bound formation diagram.

Up close, he could see it clearly—it was a Grade-2, 21-rune Absolute Array.

Great Wilderness Dragon Pattern. Royal Inheritance.

And one of the Four Symbols Absolute Arrays!

Mo Hua's eyes shone with excitement. He immediately pulled out a jade slip and began copying it meticulously.

Copying a formation diagram wasn't a trivial task—it required deep knowledge and understanding to reproduce it perfectly.

And this was an Absolute Array—the difficulty was sky-high.

Mo Hua focused his mind—his divine sense like a brush, tracing each stroke like dragons and serpents dancing.

Bit by bit, the Azure Dragon Array was etched—rune by rune—into the jade slip, without a single flaw.

But as he worked, a sense of unease slowly crept into his heart.

As if... something cold and malicious… was drawing closer.

Something…

Mo Hua's brow furrowed. His heart skipped a beat. A strong sense of danger surged through him.

He abruptly looked up, face draining of color— "Elder Xun—watch out!"

Xun Ziyou hadn't sensed anything unusual. But when he saw Mo Hua suddenly raise his head, face pale with alarm, years of combat instinct kicked in—he instinctively drew his sword and slashed upward.

The clash of blade and bone echoed through the hall.

Xun Ziyou grabbed Mo Hua and yanked him behind, retreating several zhang in a graceful flash before lifting his head to look.

And the moment he looked—his pupils shrank sharply.

Above them, on the golden beams of the great hall, something had been hanging unnoticed—a pale-limbed creature, half-human, half-demonic, its face twisted into a grotesque "human-demon" form.

The others saw it too. Their expressions all changed.

"What... is that?!"

The pale demon-man let out a raspy cackle. Its skin oozed blood, which vaporized into a blood mist and spread outward.

Mo Hua's heart trembled at the sight of the mist. It was only now he realized: the hallucinogenic blood mist that Young Master Xuan had used to implant Heart-Demon Seeds hadn't entirely come from his own power.

Part of that blood mist... had actually come from this demon-creature's blood.

This "human-demon" had been in the hall all along.

It had been silently corrupting them, sowing chaos, luring everyone to kill each other over the Dragon Vein.

"But… why didn't anyone sense it?"

Mo Hua frowned.

As the blood mist spread, the pale demon-man vanished—completely disappearing from everyone's perception. Even divine sense found nothing.

Now, not only Mo Hua, but all the Golden Core cultivators felt a heavy gloom settle in their hearts.

This pale creature wasn't just hideous—it radiated pure, spine-chilling unnaturalness.

Everyone released their divine sense, scanning the hall with full alertness—but still found nothing.

At that moment, Mo Hua's eyes flashed gold, and he caught a glimpse of a sinister, poisonous blood-shadow.

"Elder Xiong, behind you!"

Elder Xiong instantly reacted—his arm transformed into a python, swinging behind him like a whip.

The serpent struck something, but the thing was tough—its flesh and bone were too hard to bite through.

And soon, the pale demon broke free.

As it escaped, Mo Hua immediately sidestepped behind Xun Ziyou.

Not even a breath later, a pale-white arm shot out from the blood-shadow—straight at the spot Mo Hua had just stood.

But as if foreseeing it, Mo Hua had already dodged in advance.

A claw—swiping at empty air.

Xun Ziyou's sword stabbed out at once.

The blade slashed across the ghost-white arm, leaving a long bleeding gash. The monster howled in fury, leapt into the air, and disappeared once again.

Mo Hua's golden eyes glowed with power and vigilance, scanning the surroundings, hunting for traces of the fiend.

Moments later, he raised a finger—and fired a Fireball Spell toward the side of Fan Jin.

Fan Jin hastily dodged, and Xun Ziyou cooperated with a sword slash.

Boom! The fireball exploded—revealing a twisted humanoid silhouette, which was then struck by Xun Ziyou's sword qi.

The pale demon staggered back a few steps, its eyes blood-red, staring at Mo Hua with murderous hatred, its voice like tearing metal:

"Brat... what are you?"

Why could this brat sense its presence?

Why could he see through its attacks?

Mo Hua didn't answer. Instead, he silently began forming another Fireball Spell at his fingertips.

The demon's stitched-together, corpse-like face contorted further—but after a moment, its rage faded, replaced by a chilling grin.

It slowly opened its mouth—revealing a crimson tongue, which extended outward like a blood-red spear.

And then—it launched it.

Mo Hua's heart jumped instantly. He realized its target and shouted:

"Stop it!"

Elder Xiong was confused and reacted half a beat too late.

Fan Jin and Master Gu weren't strong enough—they couldn't stop it even if they tried.

Elder Xun Ziyou, however, acted on instinct. He struck immediately—but still, he was a second too slow.

His sword qi slashed through the blood spear, splitting it in two.

Half the spear was shredded by the sword light—but the other half kept flying.

It shot toward the body of the Second Elder—who was dressed in black robes and had sacrificed his life to seal off the aura of the Demonic Fetus.

The blood spear pierced the corpse.

The flesh of the Second Elder corroded instantly—his body polluted, the dragon bones in front of him tainted.

His spell of sealing was shattered.

His blood and flesh were drained dry in an instant, shriveling up like paper.

The white bone chains that held the fetus broke into powder.

The remaining time— Dropped to zero.

A wave of terrifying aura erupted—evil, chaotic, savage, and unfathomably deep—filling every corner of the divine temple.

Mo Hua's pupils trembled violently.

The peak third-rank Demonic Fetus... has awakened.

(End of this Chapter)