The Quest for Immortality

After returning home, Mo Hua began learning to decipher arrays following Mr. Zhuang’s instructions.

He leaned over his small desk, first skimming through ”Essays on Deciphering Arrays” before cross-referencing it with his previous studies to fill in the gaps.

He skipped what he already knew, noting down the unfamiliar, confusing array concepts to review and contemplate later.

After spending an hour getting a general impression, Mo Hua put away ”Essays on Deciphering Arrays.”

He felt that he had grasped the framework, and he could consult the book again when encountering specific problems in deciphering arrays.

Mo Hua then carefully unfolded an ancient array diagram to study the Reverse Spirit Array.

The Reverse Spirit Array wasn’t part of the Five Elements Array category but a special type of array Mo Hua had never studied before.

The patterns, hubs, and brush techniques of the Reverse Spirit Array all had their unique intricacies, making it feel entirely different from other arrays.

Mo Hua felt both nervous and excited.

He was nervous because the Reverse Spirit Array was considerably more difficult, and he wasn’t sure if he could master it.

He was excited because the Reverse Spirit Array, while still an array, was fundamentally different from the common First Grade arrays he was used to.

First Grade arrays typically had ten patterns, and the anomalies in the Dao of Heaven meant they weren’t confined by rank, which challenged Mo Hua’s established understanding of arrays.

At the same time, Mo Hua felt a sense of anticipation.

There were many array categories he had yet to learn about, and many super-grade arrays deemed ”Heavenly anomalies.”

These arrays were collected by families, sects, Dao courts, or some unknown forces.

They could also be remnants in ancient gates, cave ruins, ancient cultivator tombs, wild lands, boundless seas, or some unremarkable corners of the vast Nine Regions.

He wondered if he would travel across the Nine Regions in the future, seeking ancient arrays.

If he could master all these arrays, would he truly gain the divine abilities to change the heavens and the earth?

Mo Hua fantasized for a moment, then calmed himself, reminding himself twice not to aim too high.

Then he began to diligently study the Reverse Spirit Array.

Mo Hua first memorized the array patterns and, after midnight, closed his eyes to rest.

His consciousness sank into the sea of awareness to practice the array on the Dao Stele.

Mr. Zhuang’s Reverse Spirit Array had nine and a half patterns.

Mo Hua only managed to draw a bit more than nine patterns before his spiritual sense was exhausted, unable to draw further.

He erased the patterns, reflected on his spiritual sense, and frowned in thought.

Although the Reverse Spirit Array had nine and a half patterns, it consumed far more spiritual sense than a typical nine-pattern array.

Nine patterns was the limit, and above that limit was an immeasurable gap in spiritual sense.

Mo Hua sighed.

But this was within his expectations. As Mr. Zhuang had said, with his current spiritual sense, he wouldn’t be able to draw the Reverse Spirit Array.

Mo Hua’s goal was to use the practice of the Reverse Spirit Array to temper his sea of awareness and strengthen his spiritual sense.

Whether he could master the array was secondary.

As long as his spiritual sense was strong enough, he would have the foundation to break through to the Foundation Building stage. With strong spiritual sense and enough practice, no array would be beyond his grasp.

If he couldn’t master it, he would practice dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of times until he did.

Mo Hua practiced throughout the night, becoming familiar with the Reverse Spirit Array and slightly enhancing his spiritual sense. Although the improvement was modest, Mo Hua was satisfied.

He found ordinary First Grade arrays no longer challenging, providing minimal spiritual sense training.

Composite arrays required strong spiritual sense but included many lower-level patterns, making them time-consuming and inefficient for deep understanding of patterns.

In comparison, the Reverse Spirit Array offered robust spiritual sense training.

One night of practicing the Reverse Spirit Array enhanced his spiritual sense more than two nights of previous training.

After practicing arrays all night, Mo Hua’s spiritual sense was still full, but he felt mentally tired.

He cleared his mind and rested until the hour of the hare.

As the morning sun rose, a new day began.

The early bird catches the worm. Mo Hua followed his usual practice routine. Watching the rising sun and the glowing sky outside the window lifted his spirits.

As long as he continued to understand the Reverse Spirit Array, practiced composite arrays, and deciphered arrays, his spiritual sense would gradually grow along with his spiritual power, eventually reaching the Foundation Building stage.

Condensing spiritual power and doubling spiritual sense would lay the foundation for the great Dao.

Achieving the Foundation Building stage would be a significant step on the path of cultivation.

To reach the Foundation Building stage, Mo Hua began to temper his spiritual sense, but it wouldn’t happen overnight.

Besides this, Mo Hua had another task: to enter the inner mountains.

He was very familiar with the outer mountains. He had mapped them, collected herbs, minerals, and spices, and killed demonic beasts—albeit with the help of arrays.

Going back to the outer mountains had lost its appeal.

At the same time, Mo Hua desired demonic blood from late-stage First Grade demonic beasts.

Most demonic beasts in the outer mountains were mid-stage First Grade, whose demonic blood diluted the effectiveness of First Grade arrays.

The inner mountains were different. The demonic beasts there were mainly late-stage First Grade, with rich blood and better-quality demonic blood, producing stronger arrays.

The quality of spiritual ink significantly impacted the effectiveness of arrays.

Although Mo Hua was not yet ranked, he was already a First Grade array master. His array skills were close to the peak of First Grade array masters.

In the short term, Mo Hua’s array skills wouldn’t improve significantly, so he could only enhance the power and effectiveness of arrays by improving the quality of spiritual ink.

Mo Hua sought out Mo Shan, expressing his desire to enter the inner mountains.

At Qi Refining stage seven, Mo Hua had reached the late stage of Qi Refining and was preliminarily qualified to enter the inner mountains.

Naturally, Mo Shan disagreed.

The inner mountains were more dangerous, with more ferocious demonic beasts, and besides demonic beasts, there were other cultivators of unknown identities and intentions.

The treacherous terrain and ferocious beasts were dangerous, but the most dangerous aspect was human nature.

”Father, my movement technique has improved. I can protect myself,” Mo Hua said.

Since his breakthrough, with increased spiritual sense and power, the effects of the Heavenly Proliferation Technique had also strengthened.

Utilizing spiritual sense to control spiritual power, and spiritual power to move the body, his Passing Water Step had naturally reached a higher level.

Mo Shan was slightly taken aback, thought for a moment, and said, ”Then let’s spar again. I’ll try to catch you. If you can evade, I’ll allow you to enter the inner mountains.”

Mo Hua nodded. ”Alright!”

In the afternoon, father and son sparred in the small courtyard for an hour.

Mo Shan, at Qi Refining stage nine, had recently approached perfection due to abundant spirit stones and diligent cultivation.

His movement technique, honed from years of demon hunting and life-and-death battles, was simple, practical, and swift.

Despite this, Mo Shan found it increasingly difficult to catch Mo Hua or even sense his position.

Mo Hua’s spiritual sense was too strong. The stronger the spiritual sense, the more concealed and harder to detect.

Using his eyes to track Mo Hua’s fluid, elusive form was easily deceived by the Passing Water Step.

Mo Shan’s only strategy was to outlast Mo Hua until his spiritual power was exhausted and sluggish, then use his familiarity with Mo Hua’s aura to catch him by feel.

This was Mo Shan’s only chance to find a flaw in Mo Hua’s movements.

It was less a strategy and more a ”bloodline suppression”...

After an hour of maneuvering, Mo Shan managed to catch Mo Hua twice using this method; otherwise, he couldn’t even touch his clothes.

Mo Shan concluded that unless a Foundation Building cultivator intervened, an ordinary Qi Refining stage nine cultivator couldn’t handle Mo Hua.

Unless Mo Hua exhausted his spiritual power and couldn’t use his movement technique.

But his son was clever. If his spiritual power ran low, sensing danger, he would retreat early.

An invincible movement technique below the Foundation Building stage...

Mo Shan, both shocked and gratified, sighed and agreed to let Mo Hua enter the inner mountains.