Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 986: Third Grade

After entering the Beast-Taming Mountain, Mo Hua passed through the mountain gate and began walking up the mountain path. He hadn't gone far before he suddenly stopped and called out toward the nearby forest:

"Elder Xun."

A moment later, Elder Xun slowly stepped out from the lush greenery.

Mo Hua thought, Just as I expected, and gave a polite bow, smiling as he said:

"Elder Xun, I'm just heading up the mountain to cultivate a small technique. It's nothing major, so there's no need for you to accompany me."

God-Slaying Astral Projection was considered a high-level application of the Divine Thought Sword Manifestation technique.

And the True Technique of Taixu Divine Thought Sword Manifestation was a forbidden sword art of the Great Void Sect.

When Ancestor Dugu passed it on to Mo Hua, he had made it clear—Mo Hua wasn't to reveal it to anyone.

So Mo Hua wasn't in a position to let Elder Xun Ziyou witness it either.

Xun Ziyou thought it over for a moment and immediately understood—Mo Hua must be cultivating some confidential legacy.

It could be an array technique, a Dao art, or even a body technique...

These inheritances were surely handed down by the ancestor.

And with how much the ancestor favored Mo Hua—and Mo Hua's abnormal talent—these techniques were certainly no trivial matter. It wouldn't be proper for him to spy on them.

Elder Xun's guess was right.

What he didn't expect, though, was that while it was an ancestor who taught Mo Hua, it wasn't his imagined ancestor.

He confirmed again, "You're sure everything's alright?"

Mo Hua nodded. "Mm, rest assured."

Xun Ziyou thought that was reasonable—if Mo Hua could handle himself so skillfully inside the sealed tombs of the Lone Mountain, surrounded by so many late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivators, then he'd be even more at ease here in the open daylight of the Beast-Taming Mountain.

"Alright," Xun Ziyou nodded. "I'll be at the mountain gate drinking tea. If anything comes up, just use the Great Void Token to call me."

"Thank you, Elder Xun," Mo Hua cupped his hands.

Xun Ziyou waved a hand. "Go on then, I won't disturb your cultivation."

Since Mo Hua didn't want him tagging along, he was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Anyway, he would be nearby. If anything happened, he could rush over immediately.

He turned and headed back down the path.

But after walking a while, he suddenly paused, a question surfacing in his mind:

How did Mo Hua know I was hiding in that patch of woods?

A guess?

If it was a guess, it made sense—Mo Hua was practically born with seven-aperture exquisite insight, almost too clever for his own good. And since he often followed him, Mo Hua might've just figured it out.

But to guess so accurately—right down to his exact hiding spot?

Could it be… he actually sensed him?

Xun Ziyou's heart skipped a beat.

He was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, and after a few mishaps in the past, had grown far more cautious and experienced in "tailing" Mo Hua. His aura had been completely restrained...

And he still got sensed?

That's... uncanny.

Xun Ziyou frowned deeply.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua had already entered the depths of the Beast-Taming Mountain.

He was here to choose a beast—for "sword testing."

Beasts had incredibly strong physiques, dense demonic power, and were vicious and bloodthirsty. Their combat strength was often a full minor realm above that of a human cultivator.

So ideally, the beast should be mid-tier second grade.

Late second grade would be a bit difficult, but still manageable.

As for third grade...

Mo Hua wasn't even considering it.

Third-grade beasts were at the Golden Core level—terrifyingly thick with blood energy and nearly tangible demonic power. He was no match for them.

In fact, Mo Hua didn't even have the slightest interest in tangling with a third-grade beast.

Because it'd be completely pointless.

Even the slightest mistake—getting swatted lightly by such a beast—and he'd probably lose his life on the spot.

Moreover, he wasn't even sure whether God-Slaying Astral Projection could hurt a third-grade beast.

If he were at full power, using a complete, undiluted God-Slaying Sword, infused with the Five Element Sword Arrays, Taixu Sword Intent, and Supreme Emotion Severing—unleashing it with zero loss—then maybe he'd have confidence in severing the beast's demonic consciousness.

But right now, he was relying on his eyes as the aperture, spiritual power as the guide, piercing the veil between reality and mind to externalize the divine sword—and its power was only one-tenth of its full might.

That… did not inspire confidence.

What could he expect from just 10% output?

So, finding a mid-second-grade beast to test the sword was best. Even if he couldn't kill it, he'd at least be able to retreat safely, no pressure.

Having made up his mind, Mo Hua began wandering the mountain.

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he last came hunting here. The terrain felt both familiar and slightly foreign.

But the longer he walked, the more he realized something was off.

There seemed to be far fewer beasts than usual.

The whole mountain was noticeably quieter.

He'd already walked several li, and hadn't seen so much as a beast's shadow.

Mo Hua frowned. "Where are the beasts?"

"Were they all killed?"

"By who?"

He thought for a moment… and slowly realized—

Probably by his junior brothers from the Great Void Sect…

They were likely still using his "Beast-Hunting Guide," his custom hunting arrays, his beast-hunting armor designs, and even the custom spiritual tools he had commissioned from Craftsman Gu.

Their coordination as a team was tight. With that "military-style" approach to hunting, efficiency skyrocketed—they would've cleared out monsters rapidly.

But it shouldn't have been this fast.

The reason they cleared them so fast was probably because the Three Sect Merger had happened.

The Great Void Sect, Tai'a Sect, and Chongxu Sect had merged. The disciple population had more than tripled.

Which meant Mo Hua's junior brothers had also multiplied.

The three sects had become one, branches of the same tree.

The disciples of Tai'a and Chongxu were also calling Mo Hua "Senior Brother Mo," and following his exact hunting procedures.

It was like going from one elite hunting unit… to three.

No wonder the beast-killing speed shot up.

And it didn't stop there…

Mo Hua was now in his eighth year at the Great Void Sect—a senior among Foundation Establishment disciples.

Since then, two more cohorts had joined the sect.

Those newer disciples were all copying the example, following the beast-hunting system laid down by "Senior Brother Mo."

Which meant… even more people.

Mo Hua could feel his scalp going numb.

The Beast-Taming Mountain was large, and there were still plenty of beasts—but at least the part claimed by the Great Void Sect could no longer support this many beast-hunting juniors.

And beasts weren't dumb.

Once they sensed "military-style" hunting taking shape, they'd naturally flee to other mountains.

Which meant the Great Void Sect's territory now had even fewer beasts left.

"…Couldn't even leave me one, huh?"

Mo Hua looked at the empty mountain, sighing.

And he realized—this couldn't go on.

They were slaughtering too aggressively. One day, they really might clear the entire Beast-Taming Mountain.

"I'll need to come up with some rules," he thought, "to ensure sustainable beast population management…"

Before he came, the Beast-Taming Mountain had been perfectly fine.

After he arrived, it had been absolutely ruthlessly emptied.

Wouldn't that make him look like some kind of calamity-bringing disaster star?

No no no… this won't do.

Mo Hua shook his head repeatedly.

After that, he continued searching for a suitable beast.

But after wandering nearby for a while, he couldn't find a good target. The few he did see were too weak—there was simply no need to even draw his sword.

Helpless, Mo Hua had no choice but to venture deeper into the Beast-Taming Mountain.

The deeper areas ought to have more beasts.

Leaving the region controlled by the Great Void Sect, he proceeded farther into the mountain. The terrain became steeper, the forests denser, mists and noxious gases clinging thick in the air—just as expected, the number of beasts increased.

Before long, Mo Hua encountered a Yellow Weasel Demon.

Mid-Second Rank. Its fur was a deep yellow, and it stirred up fierce gusts of wind as it darted around. Though a rodent-type demon, it stood as tall as a man.

Upon catching the scent of fresh human flesh, the weasel demon pounced immediately without a word.

Demonic beasts never show courtesy when eating people.

Mo Hua responded with a Fireball Spell and engaged in close combat with the yellow weasel.

Human and beast clashed, yellow winds roaring and fireballs bursting through the air. After dozens of exchanges, Mo Hua's brows gradually furrowed.

During the fight with the weasel demon, he realized a crucial issue.

The real world is not like the sea of consciousness.

In the sea of consciousness, battles are direct clashes of divine sense—each technique directly harms the spirit and soul.

But in the real world, a person's divine sense resides within their sea of consciousness.

Likewise, a demon's "demonic sense" resides within its cranial sea.

That creates both a limitation and a form of protection.

Mo Hua's divine sense wasn't yet powerful enough to directly pierce flesh and wound the soul of a cultivator or demon.

At least—not yet.

The only viable entry point… was through the eyes.

His God-Slaying Sword, manifested from divine sense, had to exit through his eyes and pierce through the eyes of the target to reach their internal sense-sea.

He had to look into the demon's eyes.

And the demon had to look into his.

Only then could the God-Slaying Astral Projection be effective.

This was something Mo Hua only realized during actual combat.

But the problem was, this yellow weasel demon, though large-bodied, had very small eyes.

Blood-red, narrow slits—like cat's eyes—set on the sides of its head.

Mo Hua found it extremely difficult to make direct eye contact.

To make things worse, the demon moved rapidly, zigzagging through the forest, stirring up thick clouds of yellow wind and dust. His line of sight was constantly blocked—he could hardly even see its eyes.

Without visual contact, the God-Slaying Sword could not penetrate its soul.

Which meant he couldn't use this weasel demon to test his sword.

They fought dozens more rounds, but the yellow weasel still didn't give him even the tiniest opening.

Frustrated, Mo Hua had no choice but to give up.

He could have killed this mid-Second Rank demon with some effort, of course. But that wasn't the point.

He came here to test the sword, not to hunt beasts.

Besides, this was Beast-Taming Mountain. If he dragged out a prolonged battle and made too much noise, he might draw other powerful beasts—trouble he didn't need.

With a final glance at the weasel demon, Mo Hua's figure blurred and dissolved into mist—vanishing instantly.

The yellow weasel demon had no idea… it was its tiny eyes that saved its life today.

Seeing the human dissolve into mist, the weasel paused for a moment in shock, then let out an angry howl.

It lowered its snout to the ground and sniffed for a while, eventually catching another whiff of delicious scent.

Greed flashed in its eyes—but it hesitated.

Its intelligence may have been low, but instinct kept it wary. After nearly a hundred exchanges, it had sensed something deeply unnatural about that human youth.

He looked like nothing special—just some fireball spammer—but there was a chilling aura hidden deep inside him.

Grimacing and baring its fangs, the weasel demon ultimately didn't dare pursue. It hunched down and burrowed into the earth, scurrying off in the opposite direction.

—

In another part of the forest, Mo Hua was still searching for the right beast.

He ran into several others—wolf demons, dog demons, snake demons, bear demons—ranging from mid- to late-Second Rank.

But none of them allowed him to properly test the sword.

Demonic beasts weren't like humans. Their forms varied wildly, and their eyes even more so.

Some were cross-eyed, some slanted, some always squinting, some had tiny pupils, others only one eye… no way to make proper eye contact.

There was even one blind beast, which nearly made Mo Hua cough blood in frustration.

To make it worse, these beasts were all agile and cunning.

After all this, Mo Hua still hadn't managed to unleash a single sword strike.

And to top it off, because he had provoked so many beasts, he had stirred up a full-blown ruckus.

Many of the monsters started fighting each other just to eat him.

But since Mo Hua was too slippery for them to catch, they turned on each other in frustration—resulting in an all-out beast brawl.

With their low intelligence and high aggression, once blood was drawn, the violence couldn't be stopped. The entire grove turned into a brutal free-for-all.

Demonic energy rampaged, beastly roars echoed through the mountain, and the disturbance spread fast.

Even Venerable Elder Xun, who was drinking tea at the mountain gate, could hear the growing howls.

At first, Elder Xun didn't think much of it.

This was Beast-Taming Mountain, after all. Between roving monsters and beast-hunting disciples, howls were to be expected.

He was used to the noise.

But after a while, his heart gave a sudden jolt.

Because he remembered something crucial:

Mo Hua went up the mountain today.

And when things get strange… there's always a reason.

And Mo Hua is usually the reason.

Elder Xun was Mo Hua's unofficial bodyguard—he had plenty of experience with this.

The forest still echoed with chaotic beast roars.

Elder Xun's heart climbed into his throat. Even his good tea suddenly tasted like ash.

The disturbance didn't seem that serious, but anything involving Mo Hua… was never simple.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally set his teacup down. "Nope. I'm going."

He couldn't drink in peace anyway.

Even if it turned out to be nothing, he'd feel better seeing it with his own eyes.

With a flick of his sleeve, Elder Xun rose. His figure flashed into a streak of sword light, darting across treetops as he rushed toward the upper mountain.

Midway there, he hid his presence, activated a concealment treasure, and slipped silently through the trees—quietly approaching the area of beastly chaos.

Once he arrived— He saw a massive pack of wolves, bugs, tigers, and leopards, a dark and writhing mass locked in a frenzy of bloodshed.

The forest floor… was drenched in blood.

When Elder Xun arrived at the mountain slope and looked down, sure enough, he saw a mass of wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards—a black, writhing horde locked in savage battle. Blood stained the entire forest floor.

Elder Xun's gaze narrowed slightly as he scanned the area—he finally spotted Mo Hua sitting in the fork of a large tree nearby.

At the moment, Mo Hua was perched calmly on a thick branch, watching the chaos like an audience member at a play.

Below, the beasts were locked in a brutal and bloody melee. But up above, Mo Hua looked completely at ease.

Elder Xun exhaled in relief—then couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.

He just knew it… this whole mess was definitely Mo Hua's fault.

Now the beasts were bashing each other's brains out, and Mo Hua? He was literally watching a show about it.

Elder Xun shook his head.

But since he was already here, it would be awkward to just leave.

So Elder Xun didn't make a sound or reveal his presence. He silently took up position nearby to keep watch.

After a moment's thought, though, he felt that his current distance might be too close. Mo Hua might sense him—so he quietly moved a little farther away.

—

Up in the tree, Mo Hua stared down at the chaotic mess of battling beasts, feeling utterly helpless.

He hadn't intended to cause such a huge ruckus… but the fault wasn't his. These beasts just refused to cooperate.

If even one of them had been born with a nice big pair of eyes and agreed to a little eye contact, he could've finished testing his sword already. There would've been no need for all this chaos.

"Guess I'll just wait it out. Once one of them is injured, I'll bind it with an array… and force it to look into my eyes…"

That was the only option he could think of for now.

So, he just sat up in the tree like a patient old hunter, watching the beasts tear each other apart, planning to swoop in after things settled down and pick off the leftovers.

But just as he was waiting, a sudden, fiercer wave of demonic energy came sweeping in from afar.

Mo Hua's expression instantly changed.

Even Elder Xun, far in the distance, narrowed his eyes.

"Third-rank… demonic beast?!"

Before either of them could react, a violent storm of black sand came roaring through, flinging rocks and soil, the stench of blood chokingly thick.

The ground and trees around them were torn upward in the blast.

From within the rolling black smoke, the vague shape of a mountain-sized creature began to emerge.

A pointed snout, jagged fangs. Eyes like lanterns. Pupils like bronze bells. Skin jet-black and as hard as iron, covered in bristle-like spikes.

Its blood essence surged like a raging river, and its immense demonic power churned violently within its body.

This was none other than a Third-Rank Golden Core realm Black Boar Demon!

Among all the mountain ranges surrounding Beast-Taming Mountain, this kind of third-rank black boar was near the top of the food chain.

Especially boars with such thick bloodlines—flesh like iron, bodies like mountains—they could practically devour any mid-to-late second-rank beast with ease.

And in that moment, as the black mist rolled in and the massive boar stepped onto the field, the previously chaotic forest fell silent in an instant.

The second-rank beasts that had been tearing each other apart just seconds ago began shaking in terror, and scattered in panic.

The slower ones… didn't even have a chance to scream before the boar trampled them flat, or bit them in half with a single snap of its jaws.

A second-rank bear demon, thinking its large size could put up a fight, tried to resist—only to be instantly gored through the chest by the boar's tusks and smashed to the ground.

Then with a downward slash, the tusks disemboweled the bear, splitting it wide open.

Several other beasts couldn't escape in time and were snatched up one by one, their bones shattered and flesh ripped apart under the black boar's savage teeth.

Within just a few breaths, the once-chaotic forest was plunged into dead silence.

Most of the beasts had become bloody corpses.

Only the sound of the black boar chewing bones and its bloody breathing echoed through the woods like a nightmare.

Up in the tree, Mo Hua didn't dare make a single sound.

This was his first time ever seeing a third-rank Golden Core realm demon beast up close—and such a massive one at that. Just looking at it made him feel crushed under invisible pressure, to say nothing of the thick, putrid aura of blood and the overwhelming killing intent it exuded.

His back began to sweat cold.

"What do I do?"

"Run?"

After weighing his options, that was the only choice. There was no way he was going to risk it and tangle with this walking mountain of a demon boar.

Way too dangerous.

Resolved, Mo Hua slowly began to rise—

But the moment he moved, the black boar below him, still munching on corpses, froze mid-bite. Its eyes flickered red.

Mo Hua's heart clenched in alarm.

"Crap!"

Without hesitation, he launched himself off the tree.

A split second later, the tree he'd just been sitting on was cleaved clean in half.

The black boar had charged with casual ease—but the force of it split the thick tree right down the middle. Wood chips flew, and the tree collapsed thunderously.

This third-rank black boar was freakishly alert. Its sense of smell for humans was ridiculously sharp.

And its craving for human flesh was… disturbingly intense.

Seeing Mo Hua dodge, the boar let out an enraged roar and lunged again. Its mountain-like body thundered forward like a landslide.

Every tree in its path shattered like twigs.

Mo Hua gritted his teeth and pushed his movement technique to the limit, fleeing into the distance.

Behind him, the boar's copper bell eyes gleamed with murderous light, demonic wind howling around it, black mist churning violently as it gave relentless chase…

(End of this Chapter)