Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 968: The Innocent Child

Shen Qingsheng was utterly terrified, struggling as he cried out:

"No! Don't kill me!"

"I'm a legitimate heir of the Shen family—you can't kill me!"

"If you kill me, my father will kill you! The Shen family won't let you go..."

Mo Hua suddenly came to a halt.

Shen Qingsheng froze for a moment, then screamed,

"You're scared now? Good! Hurry up and let me go!"

Mo Hua slowly approached him, raised his hand, and placed his palm on Shen Qingsheng's forehead.

Shen Qingsheng was overwhelmed with fear, but then felt a warmth—like sunlight—flowing into him. It was an incredibly pure spiritual power that nourished his divine sense, like a "blessing from the heavens." For a moment, he felt stronger than ever before.

His heart leapt with joy, though he was confused.

"You... what are you doing?"

Mo Hua smiled gently.

"You're too skinny. Not enough for them to eat."

"I'm fattening you up a bit—make you stronger, so they can eat more, eat their fill."

Fatten him up?!

A wave of horror slammed into Shen Qingsheng. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he screamed:

"Mo Hua! You monster! Are you even human?!"

Mo Hua gave him a gentle, almost angelic smile.

"I'm being kind—letting you experience what it feels like to be eaten alive, to be bled dry, to have your bones crushed and marrow sucked out…"

That smile—so childlike, yet profound—radiated both holiness and eerie malice.

Shen Qingsheng's expression twisted in terror.

Only now did he realize—he had never truly understood who this seemingly innocent disciple of the Great Void Sect really was.

Mo Hua kept pouring his spiritual power into Shen Qingsheng, watching as he gradually became "fatter" and "stronger."

Once he felt it was enough, Mo Hua condensed a rope from his willpower, then—like flying a kite—flung Shen Qingsheng high into the air.

Just like tossing a chunk of meat into a pack of starving wolves.

It triggered a storm.

In an instant, thousands of vengeful spirits surged forward, shrieking as they pounced on Shen Qingsheng—biting into his divine sense, devouring his soul.

The Shen family had caused them to lose their homes and families, to die underground in darkness, enslaved by the demonic fetus—never to see sunlight again.

In life, they had dreamed of eating the Shen family's flesh and drinking their blood.

Now, in death, they finally got a taste of the Shen family's soul.

They tasted the sweetness of revenge.

And this was none other than Shen Shouxing's only son.

The hatred that had festered for years was finally released. The blood-soaked karma was finally resolved.

As they devoured Shen Qingsheng's divine soul, the resentment and corruption within the ghosts began to fade.

Even the evil energy in the entire divine temple weakened slightly.

These enslaved spirits had been the food of the demonic fetus.

Now that their resentment had been resolved, the pressure it exerted on Mo Hua lessened considerably.

And in the depths of the unseen world, Mo Hua felt… a faint, eerie sense of gratitude.

It was as though by helping these spirits avenge their grievances, he had accumulated a small thread of positive karma. Or perhaps… it was even a bit of merit?

Mo Hua paused, surprised.

He didn't know much about merit, and didn't really care either.

He simply acted in accordance with the Dao, stayed true to his heart, and never needed to seek merit deliberately.

Mo Hua turned and walked away.

Shen Qingsheng, now hanging like a "kite" in the air, was being shredded apart—his soul consumed, his very essence gnawed away.

He finally tasted what it was like to be drained, bled dry, to have his marrow crushed.

He finally understood the long, hopeless, agonizing pain—like being carved by a dull knife.

All that awaited him now… was death.

Watching Mo Hua walk away, Shen Qingsheng roared in fury:

"Mo Hua!"

"Mo Hua… Even if I become a ghost, I'll never forgive you!!"

Mo Hua stopped mid-step, turned around, and smiled faintly.

"Oh? I'd love that."

"If you're alive, I'm still fairly kind to you."

"But if you become a ghost... then you'll really learn… just how terrifying I can be."

As Shen Qingsheng was consumed by the spirits, the karmic debts began to dissolve.

Mo Hua turned away and continued deeper into the temple.

—

After walking for a while, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual power in the distance.

He followed it—and soon saw Master Gu and Inspector Fan Jin, one wielding a sword and the other swinging a hammer, locked in a fierce battle with a horde of evil spirits.

They were Golden Core cultivators and possessed Golden Core-level divine senses.

But they weren't formation cultivators—their spiritual senses lacked tempering, and they knew no divine-sense-based techniques. All they could do was rely on brute strength and their innate foundations to battle the ghosts.

At most, they could manifest their life-bound artifacts and swing them like weapons.

But this kind of attack was too weak. It couldn't deal fatal blows to the evil spirits.

On the contrary, the ghosts circled around them, waiting for a single mistake to lunge in and take a bite—tearing off pieces of soul.

Both Gu and Fan Jin were in deep misery. Their divine senses were weakening—and were now nearing their limits.

"Damn it… Am I really going to die here?" Fan Jin thought, filled with resentment.

"To die here… and still be nothing more than a third-rate inspector…"

He roared and smashed a wandering ghost with his hammer, only to see it warp and reform moments later.

Fan Jin's scalp tingled.

"What the hell are these ghost things…?"

Master Gu slashed a ghost in half with his sword, but watched helplessly as it reformed again.

A sliver of despair crept into his heart.

This was the first time either of them had encountered spiritual-level ghosts—creatures that attacked the soul itself.

They were eerie beyond reason—utterly alien.

And deeper inside… who knew how many worse ones lurked?

At this rate, not only would they be unable to rescue Young Master Mo—they themselves might not escape alive.

"The cultivation world is truly filled with danger at every step…"

The evil spirits continued their relentless assault.

The two men's hearts grew colder with each passing moment.

Just when they were near despair…

Suddenly, the surrounding ghosts let out a shrill scream—and scattered like frightened beasts.

Gu and Fan Jin froze, exchanging a glance of total confusion—then let out a breath of relief.

But the next second, both of them jolted in realization.

"Wait—these things love to eat soul flesh. There's no way they'd just run."

If they were fleeing… it could only mean—

Something even more terrifying had arrived.

From nearby, an obscure but overwhelming aura spread outward, mingled with a strange oppressive pressure…

"It's here."

Their hands and feet went cold. Just as they relaxed, they tensed up again.

And then—

They saw a small child smiling and waving at them.

"Master Gu, Inspector Fan—I've found you."

Gu and Fan Jin were dumbstruck, frozen in place.

After a moment, they finally snapped out of it.

"Y-Young Master Mo…?"

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.

"You… why do you look like that?" Fan Jin stammered.

Mo Hua sighed slightly.

"Long story."

Everyone kept asking the same thing when they saw him—he was getting tired of answering.

Not like he could tell the truth anyway.

What was he supposed to say? That he'd cultivated the Heavenly Evolution Manual, which mutated his divine sense, and now he'd never grow up physically again?

Thankfully, Master Gu and Inspector Fan were smart enough not to pry.

"Young Master Mo… do you know where we are?" Master Gu asked.

He was still completely in the dark about their situation.

Mo Hua answered plainly:

"This is a dream—or more precisely, a nightmare. Lone Mountain sealed away a powerful evil creature. Now that it's awakened, it's dragged us all into its nightmare."

Master Gu nodded slowly, half-understanding.

"Then what do we do now?"

"Let's find Elder Xun first," Mo Hua said.

"Alright." Both Master Gu and Inspector Fan nodded.

They had gradually grown accustomed to following Mo Hua's lead.

Outside this dream, while Mo Hua was strong, it wasn't so obvious from his appearance.

But within this dreamscape—even though he looked like a child—he radiated an inexplicable, overwhelming aura of power that left the two of them sincerely convinced and willingly obedient.

So, Mo Hua led the two deeper into the divine temple.

He could faintly sense another fluctuation inside the temple—and sure enough, after a while, they spotted Elder Xun Ziyou not far ahead.

Elder Xun's situation wasn't looking great either.

He was locked in battle with a massive, grotesquely deformed, aura-of-resentment-wrapped ghost—its limbs twisted and its appearance horrifying.

This kind of specter wasn't something an ordinary Golden Core cultivator could deal with.

Elder Xun, though, hailed from the Great Void Sect and was a sword cultivation elder. Though he hadn't learned the sect's orthodox Divine Will Sword Manifestation Technique, he wielded the sect's pure Great Void Sword Intent—enough to go toe-to-toe with this Grade Three ghost.

Still, it was clear he was on the defensive, and things were looking worse by the second.

The ghost clawed and howled more and more wildly.

Elder Xun gritted his teeth and held on, but he couldn't last much longer.

Just then, Mo Hua and the others arrived.

Elder Xun immediately spotted them, and his heart trembled. He shouted anxiously:

"Don't come closer—run!"

He was afraid that if he couldn't hold on and died here, Mo Hua and the others would be doomed as well.

Right now, all he could do was stall the ghost and give the others a chance to escape.

But before Mo Hua's group even reacted—

The terrifying ghost shuddered all over, dropped to all fours, and with its metaphorical tail between its legs, fled into the distance in panic.

Elder Xun was dumbfounded.

He had told Mo Hua's group to run.

So… why was it running?

Like it had just seen a ghost...

Mo Hua walked up calmly and asked,

"Elder Xun, are you alright?"

After the harrowing battle, Elder Xun finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"I'm fine."

Whatever the reason, the ghost was gone—and that was enough.

He had already begun to suspect he was trapped in a nightmare. And in a dream, things often made no sense.

Luckily, that thing left.

And it wasn't just any ghost—it was a Grade Three Golden Core-level wraith. If it hadn't run, the situation might've ended in tragedy.

Elder Xun finally turned to Mo Hua and stared at him—left, right, up, down—for a long while. He found him both novel and strange, and… honestly, a bit cute.

Unable to help himself, he asked:

"Why are you so small?"

Mo Hua sighed helplessly,

"That's just how things are in dreams."

"Dreams do this?" Elder Xun frowned, puzzled.

Mo Hua considered making up a random excuse… but quickly realized Elder Xun wasn't just some ordinary elder—he was a familiar senior from the Great Void Sect. If word got back that Mo Hua's divine sense had permanently stopped maturing…

He'd lose face. Big time.

So, putting on a serious face, Mo Hua replied:

"This is a form of cultivating one's mindset."

"Mindset cultivation?" Elder Xun furrowed his brow.

Mo Hua nodded seriously,

"A true cultivator never loses their innate innocence. That's why my divine sense appears like this."

"A true cultivator... never loses their... childlike heart…"

Elder Xun softly repeated the phrase. His pupils contracted, and suddenly he recalled a prophecy passed down by the Great Void Sect's ancestors. His heart surged with emotion.

He looked deeply at Mo Hua and nodded.

Mo Hua thought Elder Xun's reaction was a bit strange, but didn't dwell on it.

After all, they were still in the evil fetus's temple—not exactly a place to linger.

"So if this is a dream, how do we wake up?" Fan Jin asked.

Elder Xun pondered for a moment but had no clear answer. Though a sect elder, his focus had always been the path of the sword. He didn't know much about the strange and intricate variations of divine sense. That was more Xun Zixian's area of interest.

So he turned to Mo Hua.

He knew that when it came to matters of divine will, Mo Hua had deep understanding and insight far beyond most.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said truthfully:

"The root of this nightmare lies deep within the temple. If we don't deal with the source, we'll be trapped here forever—unable to wake up."

Elder Xun frowned deeply,

"If that's the case… then we have no choice but to head deeper into the temple. Doesn't look like there's another way."

But his brow remained deeply furrowed.

If the ghosts outside were already so terrifying, then whatever lay deeper… might be beyond imagination.

Still, they had no other choice now.

Elder Xun prepared to move, but Mo Hua shook his head:

"You all can't go. I'll go alone."

Elder Xun paused in surprise.

Master Gu and Fan Jin exchanged a glance, equally confused.

This wasn't the time for modesty, so Mo Hua spoke firmly:

"If I go, there's still a chance of survival. If you go—you'll die for sure."

A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring.

Elder Xun had always looked after him.

And Master Gu and Inspector Fan had helped him more than once.

He wouldn't let them throw their lives away in this nightmare.

If he were powerless, that'd be one thing. But since he did have the power—he couldn't let those close to him fall.

Those who deserve death must die.

Those who need saving—must not be allowed to fall.

Otherwise, what was the point of cultivating? What was the use of pursuing great, heaven-reaching power?

Mo Hua's gaze was firm. From his small body, an incredible sense of presence and determination radiated.

Elder Xun looked at him and felt a chill in his heart. After a moment of silence, he sighed and nodded.

"Alright. I'll follow your lead."

Master Gu and Fan Jin looked like they wanted to say something—but seeing that even Elder Xun had nodded in agreement, they could only swallow their words.

Mo Hua gave a small nod. Time was tight, so he didn't explain further. He turned around and walked alone toward the deepest part of the divine temple.

After only a few steps, he suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He turned back to look at Elder Xun and the others, frowning slightly.

He didn't feel comfortable leaving them here unprotected. With a thought, he condensed his divine sense and sketched out several divine path formations.

"Stay within the formation. Don't come out, no matter what."

The three looked at each other in surprise, but quietly nodded.

Only then did Mo Hua feel reassured enough to leave.

Elder Xun watched Mo Hua's departing figure. Then he looked down at the ground—at the exquisite golden array patterns beneath his feet—and couldn't help but frown slightly.

"What formation… is this?"

Even within this nightmarish dreamscape, the formation Mo Hua laid down was solid as gold and iron—so firm that even he, a Golden Core elder, felt powerless before it.

Elder Xun pondered for a moment, and then his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

That ghost from earlier…

Could it have run away just because it saw Mo Hua?

No way… he's just Foundation Establishment...

Elder Xun fell silent for a while, then sighed inwardly:

"In the end, I've underestimated that child…"

"The Patriarch truly had keen eyes and far-reaching foresight…"

He looked up again, only to see that Mo Hua's figure was already growing distant—vanishing into the depths of the divine temple.

"May the ancestors of the Great Void Sect protect him… let nothing happen to that child…"

The Deepest Depths of the Temple.

Before Mo Hua stood a towering golden gate.

Intricate and beautiful carvings were etched into its surface.

But now, those carvings had been tainted with a layer of evil—soaked in black blood, crusted with rotting flesh, exuding a bone-chilling, sinister aura.

Behind that gate… lay the Evil Fetus.

From the other side, a terrifying and oppressive energy pulsed outward.

Mo Hua's expression showed a rare hint of hesitation.

A peak Grade-Three Divine Fetus… it wasn't even on the same level as ordinary evil entities. Truthfully, Mo Hua wasn't confident he could win.

But this was the only path forward.

To break the nightmare, the Evil Fetus had to be destroyed.

Thankfully, back when he sacrificed Shen Qingsheng, he had already severed some karmic ties, resolved some grudges, and—by doing so—partially weakened the fetus's roots.

With fewer grieving souls fueling it—less pain, less despair, less karmic resentment—the fetus's strength would have diminished somewhat.

It might not be a huge drop… but it was the absolute limit of what Mo Hua could achieve beforehand.

And when facing a stronger foe, even the smallest edge could be the difference between life and death.

Mo Hua slowly inhaled, stretched out his hand, and pushed open the temple's gate.

Bit by bit, the heavy door creaked open.

Endless deathly aura, bone-piercing cold, and a wave of sinister evil surged out like a tidal wave.

Mo Hua parted the fog of baleful qi and stepped into the hall.

The scene inside entered his eyes.

A grand, resplendent—but now corrupted and decaying—temple hall.

An enormous dragon coffin, already opened, stained with filthy flesh and blood.

Kneeling before the coffin, a twisted corpse—its flesh eroded into nothingness, its body mutated and fused into the dragon bones. It was the second elder… already dead.

On the floor lay another eviscerated corpse.

It was the elder with the bear-black spirit beast.

Now, his body was in pieces—a skinned python tossed aside, and a bear claw… currently being gnawed on by a deformed, hunched figure at the center of the room.

The moment Mo Hua stepped in, the "creature" paused—then slowly turned around.

Mo Hua's pupils contracted sharply.

This was a deformed, chaotic, twisted monstrosity—formed from a grotesque fusion of various flesh and blood types. A thing born of madness and mutation.

Its body was massive, black blood oozing from tumorous growths and mutated limbs.

Its face was narrow and sinister, eyes glowing black and red—cold, cruel, and filled with pure malice.

This was… Lord Huangshan!

The true body of the Evil Fetus…

A corrupted, blackened, fallen version of Lord Huangshan—mutated through the fusion of demonic beast and fiendish flesh.

(End of this Chapter)