Immortality Through Array Formations - Chapter 288
Chapter 288: Chapter 287: Divine Sense Foundation Establishment _1
Mo Hua completely collapsed on the ground.
Too tired.
That Little Green-faced Ghost must have consumed the Divine Sense of countless people, forming such colossal Divine Thoughts.
Mo Hua had no idea how many Formations he had drawn before that mass of Divine Thoughts was finally depleted.
On the Taoist Stele before him, most of it was covered with Formations drawn by Mo Hua, layers upon layers, densely packed, and looking extremely complex.
Mo Hua thought about erasing these Formations, but suddenly he hesitated.
If he erased these Formations, would the Divine Sense that was consumed to draw them return and re-fill his Sea of Consciousness?
Uncertain, Mo Hua decided to erase one and see what would happen.
Mo Hua reached out and erased a First-grade Five Elements Single Formation.
The Divine Sense did not return.
Mo Hua stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then understood.
The Divine Thoughts he had used to draw these Formations were those of the Little Green-faced Ghost, not his own Divine Sense.
So after the Formations were drawn, erasing them would not revert the Divine Sense.
Because that Divine Sense Power was never his to begin with.
Mo Hua felt relieved and then proceeded to erase the rest of the Formations.
The face of the Taoist Stele returned to a state of emptiness, leaving behind only a Reversed Spirit Formation with ten patterns.
The complete Reversed Spirit Formation, with its ancient and abstruse Formation Patterns, had a kind of simple beauty, and the light flowing over it was dazzling yet profound.
Mo Hua couldn’t help but become mesmerized by it.
This was the Formation Pattern containing anomalies of the Heavenly Dao, transcending the rules of the first-grade formations, and it was drawn by his own hand.
It’s a pity that it was drawn using the Divine Thoughts from the Contemplation Map.
Mo Hua felt a bit regretful but was also moved by the experience.
Indeed, Formation art is vast and profound; it seems there is still much for him to learn.
After admiring it for a while longer, Mo Hua reluctantly reached out to erase the Reversed Spirit Formation.
Mo Hua had erased only one stroke when he suddenly felt a startle in his heart and his eyes widened.
He felt his Divine Sense, astonishingly, reverting back!
Mo Hua was utterly shocked.
Could this mean that this Formation was drawn using his own Divine Sense?
Mo Hua’s heart pounded rapidly.
With a focused gaze, he completely erased the Reversed Spirit Formation.
At the same time, a vast and boundless Divine Sense returned to his Sea of Consciousness!
This Divine Sense was extremely strong, much denser and more powerful than Mo Hua’s previous one.
This was… a Foundation Building Divine Sense!
Mo Hua was in disbelief.
“My Divine Sense, it’s already comparable to Foundation Building?”
Mo Hua was overcome by fluctuating emotions for a moment before he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and began redrawing the Reversed Spirit Formation on the Taoist Stele.
Stroke by stroke, Mo Hua drew with extreme earnestness.
By the time he had drawn nine-and-a-half Formation Patterns, there was still quite a bit of his Divine Sense remaining.
Containing his excitement, Mo Hua continued drawing.
When the Reversed Spirit Formation was fully complete, Mo Hua’s Divine Sense had also been nearly exhausted.
The Taoist Stele bore once again a complete Reversed Spirit Formation.
This also meant that Mo Hua could indeed draw the Reversed Spirit Formation using his own Divine Sense!
He, still in the Qi Refinement stage, already possessed a Divine Sense powerful enough to match that of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
The bottleneck of Heaven Yan Jue lies in the Divine Sense.
Now, this bottleneck no longer existed.
This also meant that the doors to Foundation Establishment had been opened; with further cultivation and reaching the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, Mo Hua could truly become a Foundation Building Cultivator.
Or rather, one of his feet had already stepped through the door of Foundation Building.
Mo Hua let out a long sigh of relief and couldn’t help but reveal a smile.
To become a Foundation Builder was to take the first step toward the quest for eternal life, establishing the foundation of the Great Dao!
This threshold had stymied countless Qi Cultivation Loose Practitioners.
Now, he was just one step away from crossing this threshold.
Next, all he had to do was to cultivate in a regulated manner, and once he reached the perfection of the Ninth Level of Qi Refinement, he could attempt Foundation Establishment.
Mo Hua was overjoyed.
After a while, Mo Hua suddenly slapped his head.
“Almost forgot, I’m still in Black Mountain Stronghold, now’s not the time to be happy. I need to figure out a way to escape first.”
Mo Hua wiped away the Reversed Spirit Formation, and as his Divine Sense retraced its way and filled his Sea of Consciousness, he withdrew from it.
Mo Hua, emerging from his Sea of Consciousness, opened his eyes and looked around, only to suddenly freeze.
He discovered that someone was quietly observing him.
And that person was none other than the Householder of Black Mountain Stronghold…
The very Evil Formation Master with the Contemplation Map!
Mo Hua kept a composed demeanor, although his heart was pounding wildly.
It was all over!
When had this Householder come in, and how long had he been watching?
Engrossed in his entanglement with the Little Green-faced Ghost in the Contemplation Map and consumed by the depletion of his Divine Thought while Drawing Formations, Mo Hua had taken too long, so he estimated that the Householder might already have gone out, completed his business, and returned.
What to do?
Mo Hua kept his composure, his thoughts racing as he sought a way to extricate himself.
At this moment, he couldn’t afford to panic or show weakness. If the enemy did not move, neither would he. He couldn’t let the Householder discern anything about him.
Mo Hua’s expression remained unchanged, motionless, as he calmly watched the Householder.
The Householder, too, silently observed Mo Hua, expressionless, yet his heart was filled with doubts and suspicions.
Where had this brat popped out from?
He had merely stepped out for a brief moment, even sealing the Blood Formation and locking the Beast Gate before he left. Yet upon return, he saw an unfamiliar boy meditating on his cushion.
The Householder found it hard to believe.
What kind of place was Black Mountain Stronghold? He knew better than anyone else.
How could there suddenly be a kid here?
And how could he have entered undetected into the deepest part of the Pill Room?!
Where there’s something abnormal, there must be a demon at work.
Unable to fathom the boy’s background, he also dared not make any rash moves.
Thus, Mo Hua and the Householder found themselves staring at each other, both feigning indifference but inwardly wary.
After what felt like an eternity, it was the Householder who could no longer contain himself.
He had previously only scanned briefly with his Divine Sense and failed to discern Mo Hua’s background, daring not to probe too deeply.
But this standoff was going nowhere, and he didn’t have so much time to waste.
Biting his lip, the Householder decided to release his Divine Sense fully, attempting to ascertain Mo Hua’s true identity.
But as soon as his Divine Sense touched Mo Hua, it was like plunging into a murky abyss, immeasurably deep.
The Householder was startled.
Such profound Divine Sense, comparable to a Foundation Establishment practitioner!
How was it possible for this kid, who appeared to be at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, to possess Divine Sense of the Foundation Establishment Stage?
No, it might not be just Foundation Establishment Divine Sense.
This kid’s Divine Sense was vague and indistinct, difficult to perceive clearly, and it might even be beyond Foundation Establishment, though he could not tell for sure.
Cold sweat broke out on the Householder’s back.
One term suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Divine Soul Snatching!
The Forbidden Technique in the Demon Path for defying the heavens and extending one’s life!
The Heavenly Dao operates routinely, and cultivators’ lives and deaths are predestined.
Every cultivator, unless they enter the Immortal Path, cannot achieve an eternal life and, once their destined end approaches, even those with sky-reaching Cultivation cannot escape death.
Thus, mighty cultivators unable to ascend to immortality crafted numerous Forbidden Techniques to deceive the Heavenly Dao and prolong their lives.
These techniques allowed one to exist as though alive even in the face of death, continuing to linger in the world despite the arrival of their fated end.
Divine Soul Snatching was among the most profound of these Forbidden Techniques, strictly prohibited by the Taoist Court and a top secret inheritance of the Demon Path, usually only performed by Demon Path ancestors who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years.
The Householder felt a chill to his bones.
The Forbidden Art in the Demon Path, Divine Soul Snatching!
Was this kid an old demon who’d undergone Soul Snatching?
He looked at Mo Hua again, and Mo Hua calmly met his gaze, neither flustered nor frightened, with no hint of emotion.
A normal child could never remain so composed in his presence!
More and more convinced, the Householder hesitated for a long while before finally plucking up the courage to say,
“Esteemed… senior, may I inquire as to what brings you here?”
Mo Hua, initially uncertain of the Householder’s thoughts and struggling to remain composed, suddenly felt a flash of inspiration upon hearing his question and let out a weird chuckle.
The chuckle was pure yet playful, innocent yet wicked, strange yet eerie, like a little demon masquerading in human skin.
“I’m hungry. I want to eat a human,” Mo Hua said.
