Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 2489: Chapter 16: Temptation_3

Because only one person was killed, the backlash wasn’t too severe.

Soon after, this bit of evil qi was refined by Mo Hua into the Blood Prison Pupil and the spiritual power for turning evil.

After refining, Mo Hua began to meditate calmly and contemplate the cause and effect of the evil qi, making comparisons in his mind.

Now, the source of the evil qi on him comes from two people.

One is that young man in a wolf robe, the nephew of the sect leader of the Canglang Sect.

The other is Elder Sun of the Canglang Sect.

The young man in the wolf robe was killed by Mo Hua’s own hands.

Elder Sun was executed by Luo Master with a large ring blade after Mo Hua disabled his right leg and arm.

One was killed directly, the other indirectly.

Direct killing brought a much stronger backlash of evil qi.

But indirect killing, since it doesn’t directly involve cause and effect, resulted in much lighter evil qi.

This is also one of the reasons why Mo Hua wanted Luo Master to kill Elder Sun.

He wanted to compare the cause and effect involved in direct and indirect killing and the degree of evil qi backlash.

This question is crucial.

It directly influences how he should control the killing karma, how to eliminate the hidden danger of evil qi thereafter.

Mo Hua’s killing karma is too heavy, the evil qi too deep, it really is a special case without precedent for reference.

Therefore, he can only study it himself and find a way on his own.

In the balance between killing and not killing, fortune and resentment, merit and fateful evilness, righteous Dao and evil path, he must seek a subtle equilibrium.

If he can avoid killing, he will.

But if forced to kill, he must find a way to minimize the degree of backlash.

Currently, it seems the best way is to have others kill for him.

To be a hidden hand, moving the pieces in the dark, manipulate others to fight and kill, while he tries to avoid cause and effect and refrains from personal action.

”Playing chess...”

The thought of playing chess sparked Mo Hua’s memory of the chess master grandpa he met when he left the Qian Learning State Boundary and arrived in Cloud Crossing City.

Mo Hua suspected in his heart that this grandpa must be a high-level expert.

Just how high, he didn’t know, but surely very strong.

This was evident from his chess skills.

The ability to play chess on par with Mo Hua and even surpass him in skill undoubtedly marked him as a master among masters.

Moreover, there is an elusive aura around him, even somewhat resembling ”Grandpa Gui.”

Back while playing chess, Mo Hua didn’t think much.

Later, upon reflection... though still unable to fathom it, with intuition aligned with heavenly secrets, he could almost conclude:

This grandpa is definitely connected to the blood-sacrifice calamity in the Qian Learning State Boundary.

Furthermore, this grandpa should be one of the behind-the-scenes ”pushers,” subtly influencing the cause and effect of events.

Yet this kind of character he had never heard of before, let alone met.

If not for the fortuitous encounter near departure, he probably wouldn’t have seen him.

Mo Hua pondered.

This implies the true ”masters” are hidden behind the scenes.

If they don’t grant you the chance, you may never discern their true appearance, only fall prey to their chessboard as a pawn, unknowingly fighting and killing.

”If one wants to escape the identity of a ’pawn,’ even to leap off the board and become a player, orchestrating from behind the scenes...”

”One must first learn how to retreat to the ’backstage’...”

Tasks, have others do them.

People, have others kill them.

Avoid cause and effect as much as possible.

The less cause and effect, the less likely to be schemed against, the less likely to be caught, the less likely to become a pawn, manipulated by others.

Mo Hua nodded slowly.

Evil qi is also a wake-up call, and it provides him with an opportunity.

In the Qian Learning State Boundary, there was no choice, many things had to be personally handled.

But now things are different, he is ”free.”

No longer constrained by the Qian Learning State Boundary, no longer bound by the sect, traveling alone, the world is vast.

Often, others don’t know him.

The things he can do increase, and he can completely keep a low profile, hidden behind the scenes.

This is both for ”self-preservation” and ”strategizing.”

After all, as his master once said, the protruding beam rots first. Learn to hide oneself to survive well in the perilous and unpredictable cultivation world.

Only by learning from the real ”masters,” staying high and hidden in shadows, can one better control the whole situation, strategizing, anticipating the enemy with foresight, and counteract outside of cause and effect.

In this way, one can truly become a ”master.”

Mo Hua recollected the image of the chess grandpa in his mind, resolved to take him as an example and study hard.

”Keeping a low profile, avoiding cause and effect...”

Understanding this issue, Mo Hua nodded, and then couldn’t help thinking about another problem.

Divine sense.

The divine sense issue is now very severe.

That stupid big-headed Pixiu is stingy, not giving him the chance to ”steal and eat” the evil god.

Mo Hua was quite displeased.

But after a few days of thinking, he forgave Pixiu.

After all, the nature of divine beasts is as such, since they are friends, it’s hard to trouble the silly one too much.

And after taking a bite of the evil god’s ”meat” last time, Mo Hua found that the Evil God True Embryo was really too ”skinny.”

During the blood-sacrifice battle, the true embryo was just born, and was besieged by True Man Situ and his group.

Then beaten by Mo Hua, dismembered, and swallowed into the belly, suppressed under Pixiu’s paw.

The divine beast’s majesty also suppressed it, preventing its evil thoughts from growing.

As a result, this Evil God True Embryo became a ”marrow without flesh” dried skeleton.

Though the ”marrow” is valuable, what Mo Hua needs more right now is ”flesh.”

His Divine Thought Taoism level is already high, what truly blocks him now is the ”quantity” of his divine thought.

If divine thought does not increase, there is no way to forge a Lifebound Formation, no way to form a Core, then all else is moot.

Other than that, there are very few means to increase divine sense.

In the past, Mo Hua could enhance divine sense by learning the ”Ultimate Formation.”

But now this method’s effect is already very weak.

It’s not entirely useless, but the progress is very slow.

Mo Hua estimates, with his Foundation Establishment, divine sense transformation, and Divine Thought Taoism, his divine sense is already very ”tenacious.”

At this time, the stimulus and training from Formation Painting on divine sense are very weak.

Even ultimate formations can ”sharpen” during Qi Refinement, but now in Foundation Establishment, the effect is very minimal.

Mo Hua vaguely suspects that only those extremely difficult, exerting strong pressure on divine sense, deeply torment, and heavy load special ultimate formations can train his divine thought as strong as a deity.

Only then can his divine thought be strengthened through torment.

But ultimate formations are rare and depend on opportunity.

Finding those ”divine thought burden” types of ultimate formations is like seeking a grain in the ocean, with slim hope.

”Ultimate formations are rare...”

”No chance to eat the evil god...”

”The evil spirit is nowhere to be found...”

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh.

But haste makes waste, opportunities are scarce, there’s nothing he can do now.

At night, at 1 p.m., Mo Hua practiced the Reversed Spirit Formation on the Taoist Stele overnight.

After that, he calculated himself and studied the Four Symbols Green Dragon Formation Map until dawn.

His divine sense slightly enhanced through training, but still far from the next realm.

Mo Hua suppressed his impatience, softly sighed:

”Take it slow... with diligent cultivation, someday it will reach twenty-one patterns...”

Light shone into the room.

Mo Hua faced the morning sun and conducted his daily cultivation.

While practicing, suddenly the mountains and forests trembled, and in the Canglang Sect, a fierce wolf howl rang out domineeringly.

This wolf howl echoed across the sky, resonated between the woods, enough to shake the soul.

Disciples of the Canglang Sect, upon hearing the wolf howl, were excited and bowed toward the sky.

Mo Hua was taken aback.

He stood at the window, dazed for a long time, then instinctively sniffed, his eyes brightened instantly:

”My twenty-one patterns... have arrived?!”