The Quest for Immortality

Old Kui sighed, “I did not expect his ‘Planting Devil in Taoist Heart’ to be cultivated to this extent…”

Mr. Zhuang remained silent.

Old Kui said, “You’re in big trouble now.”

Mr. Zhuang replied, “Debts many worry not, lice plenty itch not, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Old Kui let out a cold snort, then frowned, asking curiously, “What on earth did he do?”

”How would I know?”

”He is your senior brother, how could you not know?”

”I’ve never cultivated ‘Planting Devil in Taoist Heart’…”

After thinking for a while, Old Kui said, “Tell me the principles of ‘Planting Devil in Taoist Heart’, and I’ll grant you one request.”

Mr. Zhuang was taken aback, “Really?”

Old Kui looked at him and spoke indifferently, “Didn’t you say you didn’t know?”

Mr. Zhuang said, “I might know.”

”My word is my bond,” said Old Kui.

Mr. Zhuang pondered for a moment, his gaze growing somber, and explained:

”The so-called ‘Planting Devil in Taoist Heart’ is a demon spell that utilizes Divine Sense.”

”This spell allows one to split their Divine Thought and nurture a Demon Seed, planting it atop someone else’s Sea of Consciousness, destroying their Taoist Heart, driving them into the Demon Path, or causing their Taoist Heart to collapse, turning into a Walking Corpse, to be toyed with at will…”

Old Kui frowned, “It doesn’t sound difficult.”

”Things concerning Divine Sense always sound easy, but are extremely difficult in practice. Otherwise ‘Planting Devil in Taoist Heart’ wouldn’t be one of the ten great Forbidden Techniques of the Demon Path,” Mr. Zhuang stated.

”So what’s the deal with Feng Xi? What has Gui Tao’s people done?”

Mr. Zhuang spoke lightly, “It’s quite simple. He first implanted a Demon Thought in someone, had them go to Black Mountain Stronghold to die, and after their corpse fed the pigs, this strand of Demon Thought naturally entered the body of the Pig Monster.”

”Ordinarily within the body of Monster Beasts, a human’s Demon Thought wouldn’t last long. But someone kept feeding the pigs with humans, and this strand of Demon Thought survived by devouring human Divine Senses, so while it appeared to have one face, in truth it had many, and though it seemed to have one voice, there were many speaking.”

”Once the timing was ripe, it took over and commanded the entire Big Demon.”

”Within the state boundary, the Big Demon is invincible. With his Demon Thought controlling the Big Demon, he could do almost anything he wished, and even the Taoist Court and the Great Clans could not thwart him…” ṝáN𝘖₿Εȿ

Old Kui remarked, “Your senior brother is far smarter than you.”

Mr. Zhuang faltered, then quickly thought again, “He is smarter than me, but it’s a pity that he fell into my disciple’s hands… Well, in other words, it’s as good as falling into my own hands.”

After saying this, Mr. Zhuang nodded to himself.

Lucky for him to have had the foresight to accept Mo Hua as his nominal disciple and teach him the Great Formation.

And indeed, Mo Hua actually learned and established the Great Formation himself and exhausted the Big Demon’s Blood Qi using the Five Elements Slaughter Demon Great Formation, forcing Gui Tao to reveal his Demon Thought.

Therefore, he considered this a victory for himself.

Old Kui couldn’t help but say, “Have some shame.”

Mr. Zhuang ignored the comment.

Old Kui furrowed his brow again, “The Great Formation killed the Big Demon, but now it’s alive again, shrouded in death energy, half-corpse and half-ghost. The cultivators of Tongxian City alone can’t cope with it, can they?”

Mr. Zhuang sighed, “We can only delay.”

”Waiting for the Taoist Court to take action?” Old Kui’s gaze grew sharp.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, “Within this half-dead Feng Xi’s body is the Demon Thought planted by Gui Tao’s people. The Taoist Court is bound to want to capture its Demon Thought for research, but…”

But he did not know whether Tongxian City could hold out…

Once the half-corpse, half-ghost Feng Xi entered the city, the cultivators of Tongxian City would likely still face a great calamity.

Mr. Zhuang did not spell it out, but both men knew it well.

Old Kui’s gaze also grew somber.

”So…” Mr. Zhuang’s eyebrows arched as he spoke again, “about the request I just made.”

Old Kui had a bad premonition.

”If Feng Xi enters the city, you die once and give a hand,” Mr. Zhuang said.

Talking in circles, it turned out he was scheming against himself here.

Old Kui looked conflicted, “You Formation Masters have such filthy hearts.”

Mr. Zhuang humbly said, “It’s said that water that is too clear has no fish, my heart is only slightly dirty.”

Old Kui said, “Tongxian City should have nothing to do with you, right? Why the good heart?”

Mr. Zhuang sighed, “I am, after all, a gentleman, and before leaving, I ought to do something for my disciple.”

The cultivators of a city were either Mo Hua’s kin or acquaintances.

He could accept living with regrets himself, but he did not want his younger brother to experience the same bitterness.

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze dropped, tinged with melancholy.

Old Kui nodded, “Alright.”

”Thank you!” Mr. Zhuang said lightly.

”No need to thank me, I agreed only out of consideration for Mo Hua,” Old Kui stated.

Mr. Zhuang’s expression faltered slightly, “What if it weren’t for Mo Hua’s sake?”

”I wouldn’t have agreed.”

”About the request I just made…”

”Your single sentence in exchange for my life, do you think that’s fair?”

Mr. Zhuang eyed him suspiciously, “Were you planning on breaking your word from the beginning?”

”A person is known by the company he keeps. I learned it from you. Going back on my word is simple,” Old Kui responded impassively.

Mr. Zhuang sighed, “You too, have an unclean heart.”

Old Kui paid him no attention.

Mr. Zhuang, seemingly unconcerned, let out a silent sigh of relief inside.

It was a good thing that Old Kui was willing to help. He did not want Mo Hua to be heartbroken, nor did he want his senior brother to commit more killing.

Feeling somewhat weary in heart and mind, Mr. Zhuang lay on the bamboo chair, looking up at the sky, and then furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss.

Old Kui looked at him, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze narrowed, his fingers pinched, his thoughts fluttering rapidly, frown deepening.

”There’s still uncertainty in Heavenly Dao… but that’s not right, why should there be any uncertainty?”

”Where does the uncertainty lie?”

Mr. Zhuang faintly perceived something amiss and silently gazed toward the Five Elements Slaughter Demon Great Formation deep in the mountains, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

Within the Great Formation, cultivators had already begun to evacuate.

Feng Xi had come back to life, yet he was half-dead, shrouded in a terrifying aura of death.

The Five Elements Slaughter Demon Great Formation could still exhaust him to death.

But there were no more Spirit Stones.

The collected Spirit Stones had been depleted, and the few remaining could only activate the Great Formation for a few hours, insufficient to kill the resurrected Feng Xi.

The other Foundation Building Cultivators were also exhausted, unable to continue fighting Feng Xi.

At this moment, the only option was to retreat first and regroup for a long-term plan.

Everyone’s expression was grim, subtly revealing utter despair.

They couldn’t think of any method to kill Feng Xi again.

Mo Hua stood on top of the mountain, looking at Feng Xi from a distance, her mind made up, her expression gradually firming.

Elder Yu and the others approached her, helplessly saying, “Let’s retreat for now, rest for a while, and then think of other methods.”

Mo Hua nodded, “You go first; I’ll control the Great Formation and cover our retreat.”

Zhang Lan and the others frowned and quickly said, “How can this be possible? It’s not your place to cover the retreat.”

With all these Foundation Building Cultivators present, how could they possibly let Mo Hua, a junior cultivator, cover the retreat?

Moreover, Mo Hua’s status had changed by now.

She had successfully constructed the Great Formation and had resisted Feng Xi; whether or not someone had lent a hand, she would inevitably become a famous Formation Master.

Under such circumstances, they could not afford to take any risks.

Mo Hua corrected them, “It’s the Great Formation covering the retreat, not me.”

Zhang Lan and the others wanted to say more, but Mo Hua said,

”Hurry up and call everyone to retreat. Before evacuating, place the last of the Spirit Stones on the Gathering Spirit Formation at the Formation eye.”

”I will activate the Great Formation and cover the retreat; don’t worry about what happens afterward…”

Mo Hua’s demeanor was too composed, her tone imbued with an undeniable calmness, and Zhang Lan and the others, with no reason to doubt her, nodded and did as Mo Hua instructed.

Within the Great Formation, there were still cultivators operating it, including Formation Masters and Taoist Soldiers.

They needed to maintain the formations and also transport Spirit Stones to provide Spiritual Power for the operation of the Great Formation.

Most of the Spirit Stones had been consumed in the attempt to kill Feng Xi, leaving only a small portion, which Mo Hua had meticulously saved while controlling the Great Formation.

These Spirit Stones were intentionally kept by Mo Hua.

Lighting firecrackers requires a spark.

Triggering the Great Formation’s dissolution also requires Spiritual Power as a primer.

These Spirit Stones were the “spark” for the Great Formation’s dissolution.

She intended to use these Spirit Stones as a lure, initiating the dissolution of the Great Formation, to eradicate the Big Demon completely!

If she had said she would use the Great Formation to slay the Big Demon, then she must keep her word.

She didn’t know what this Big Demon now was.

But regardless of whether the Big Demon was alive or dead, a body or a ghost, wrapped in Blood Qi or dead air, since it had entered her Great Formation, it was doomed!

It would never leave the Great Formation to consume another person.

Within the Great Formation, cultivators were gradually evacuating.

Mo Hua, who had already calculated everything in advance, began to prepare to draw on the Formation Pivot, penning the Reversed Spirit Formation that would trigger the Great Formation’s dissolution.

Before she put pen to paper, Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, feeling a profound reluctance in her heart.

This was the first Great Formation she had ever constructed… and yet it could not be preserved in the end.

Mo Hua sighed with a tinge of regret, then her small hand moved to draw, and she penned the first Reversed Spirit Formation.

Almost simultaneously, Mr. Zhuang in his mountain dwelling felt a pang in his heart, suddenly perceptive, and murmured in bewilderment,

”What is this child Mo Hua trying to do…”

…

Four hours later, the evacuation of the cultivators was complete.

Mo Hua had also finished drawing the Reversed Spirit Formation.

With a sweep of her Divine Sense, Mo Hua found that within the Great Formation, no one remained except herself, and the mountains were desolate and silent with no trace of cultivators, allowing her to feel at ease.

The resurrected Feng Xi was still trapped within the Great Formation.

Lacking Spirit Stones, Mo Hua had not activated the Killing Formation but merely used a trapping formation to confine it, preventing it from escaping the Great Formation.

However, even the trapping formation would not last much longer.

Within the Great Formation, many formations also began to fade due to the lack of Spirit Stones for sustenance.

The pressure on Feng Xi was significantly reduced and, at that moment, he sensed the only cultivator’s presence within the Great Formation.

That presence was Mo Hua’s.

Feng Xi, as large as a small mountain and wrapped in deathly aura, staggered forward, inching closer to Mo Hua with each thundering step.

Its eyes were pitch-black wells of fear.

Eventually, Feng Xi stood before Mo Hua.

Tiny Mo Hua looked down from her higher position, staring into the large, terrifyingly dark eyes of Feng Xi.

Feng Xi’s face was human, with various expressions and continued struggles and changes, finally revealing a Taoist’s face. It began to speak, but it was as if different people were talking at the same time:

”Your aura?”

”Quite courageous…”

”Formation Master?”

”Very familiar…”

All voices eventually merged into one question:

”Who are you?”

The light in Mo Hua’s eyes turned icy as she crisply replied,

”The one who will send you to heaven!”

Then Mo Hua slightly closed her eyes, with one thought of her Divine Sense, she manipulated the Formation Pivot, reversing the Spiritual Power, triggering the dissolution of the Five Elements Slaughter Demon Great Formation!