The Quest for Immortality

During the journey that followed, Mo Hua would occasionally stick his little head out the window to gaze at the scenery of heaven and earth.

He looked amidst the mountains, at the Immortal Cities, and within the ruins of broken temples, searching for any shadows of formations.

If there were any signs, he would release his Divine Sense to perceive them.

He then immersed himself in calculation.

If he deduced the trajectory of the spiritual power in the formation, he would halt the carriage and personally seek it out.

He would inquire local cultivators, visit local Formation Masters, or ascend to solitary mountain tops to gaze upon an ancient stele towering above...

In this way, with stops and starts, two months passed.

Mo Hua indeed found some special formations, even two ultimate formations.

But one was incomplete, and the other had only ten stripes, which were simple ones at that, containing rather elementary Taoist meanings.

Even without the aid of the Taoist Stele, Mo Hua learned it in a few days.

Afterward, there was no shadow of any ultimate formations to be found.

There were none with the First Rank Thirteen Stripes, not to mention formations with the First Rank Eleven or Twelve Stripes.

Mo Hua sighed.

The Taoist Stele in his Sea of Consciousness had ”gone on strike” and not yet recovered, and every day he practiced the formations far fewer times.

He could only rely on drawing the Thick Earth Formation to enhance his understanding of formations and hone his Divine Sense.

But his Divine Sense was already at twelve stripes.

The eleven-striped Thick Earth Formation was too easy for him to draw; it no longer did much to hone his Divine Sense.

These days, his Divine Sense had grown exceedingly slowly.

He was far from reaching the thirteen-striped Divine Sense.

By contrast, his cultivation progress was much faster.

It was quite possible that by the time he reached the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level, his Divine Sense would still be stuck at twelve stripes, not reaching thirteen stripes, let alone the mid-phase of Foundation Establishment Divine Sense.

Establishing the Foundation with a twelve-striped Divine Sense...

Mo Hua sighed again, this was much worse than expected.

It seemed he needed to think of a solution...

After a brief contemplation, Mo Hua went to find Mr. Zhuang and asked,

”Master, are the twelve-striped formations really that scarce?”

Mr. Zhuang leisurely sipped his tea and said,

”Every ultimate formation is rare. Whether or not you encounter one depends partly on fate and partly on insight.”

”Without the right fate, you won’t come across one; without the insight, even if you do, you won’t recognize it.”

”Your encounter with the Thick Earth Formation shows you are deeply fated. It’s not possible to find an ultimate formation in every place you visit.”

”Seeking formations requires a long time and patience.”

Mo Hua nodded, then with a furrowed brow, he sighed and said,

”But at this rate, by the time I establish my foundation, my Divine Sense will only be at twelve stripes...”

Mr. Zhuang tapped Mo Hua’s forehead with a smile and said,

”Just speak directly, don’t beat around the bush with your master.”

Mo Hua chuckled, ”I have heard of a twelve-striped formation before.”

Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, ”Let’s hear it.”

”Master, do you remember Instructor Yan?” Mo Hua said.

Mr. Zhuang’s eyes flickered, ”The Spirit Pivot Formation Chart?”

Mo Hua was surprised, ”Master, you knew about it?”

Mr. Zhuang, seeing Mo Hua’s shocked expression, revealed a hint of amusement in his eyes:

”I have met Instructor Yan once. It was because of that formation that I saw him in a different light.”

Mo Hua pondered and gradually understood.

Mr. Zhuang, profound and unfathomable, lived reclusively in the mountains, concealing his traces. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t possibly meet him.

In Tongxian City, aside from himself, no one had seen Mr. Zhuang.

Even Mo Hua’s parents, Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua, only knew Mr. Zhuang’s name but had never met him, much less knew what he looked like.

But Instructor Yan was different.

Mo Hua always thought that Instructor Yan’s mastery of formations was extraordinary.

But that was because he was once a disciple of Tongxian Gate, had received guidance in formations from Instructor Yan and felt grateful in his heart.

In truth, Instructor Yan was just a Qi Refining cultivator, not even a First Rank Formation Master.

Such mastery of formations was considered profound in a small Immortal City like Tongxian City.

But in Mr. Zhuang’s eyes, it was probably negligible.

Based solely on formation expertise, it was unlikely that Instructor Yan could have become acquainted with Mr. Zhuang.

And it was even less likely that he recommended him as a named disciple to Mr. Zhuang.

Now, it seemed Mr. Zhuang knew about the ultimate formation causality that Instructor Yan carried, which was why he regarded him differently.

And it was due to this fortunate coincidence that Mo Hua became a disciple of Mr. Zhuang.

Unable to help himself, Mo Hua asked, ”Master, is the Spiritual Pivot Formation really that powerful?”

Mr. Zhuang nodded,

”Every ultimate formation has its unique, extraordinary effects, inheriting some laws of spiritual power that are unusual and close to the Tao.”

”The Reversed Spirit Formation is like that, the Thick Earth Formation is like that, the Spiritual Pivot Formation is equally so.”

”The Reversed Spirit Formation signifies annihilation, the Thick Earth Formation signifies birth, whereas the focus of the Spiritual Pivot Formation lies in the word ’pivot’.”

”Those who understand the Spiritual Pivot are the central hub of spiritual power, involving the essential structure of spiritual power...”

Mr. Zhuang wanted to say more but suddenly stopped.

Mo Hua, still eager to hear more, promptly asked,

”Master, why have you stopped speaking?”

Mr. Zhuang smiled, ”The rest will be for you to comprehend on your own if you can obtain this Formation Diagram. If you can’t obtain it, then speaking would be in vain.”

Mo Hua grumbled inwardly, ”Master is being secretive again...”

Having finished speaking, he was startled, and upon looking up, he indeed saw Mr. Zhuang looking at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Mo Hua gave an awkward laugh.

It was over, he had grumbled about his master, and again he had found out.

Mr. Zhuang shook his head with an indulgent look but said nothing.

Mo Hua then asked, ”Master, does this Spiritual Pivot Formation Chart have a history? And what is the heritage of Instructor Yan’s sect?”

Mr. Zhuang pondered for a moment before slowly saying,

”Instructor Yan’s sect is called the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect.”

”The origins of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect lie with the Formation Sect that had declined a thousand years ago, the Great Hidden Spirit Sect.”

”A thousand years ago, the Great Hidden Spirit Sect was destroyed, and the sect disciples scattered, their teachings disseminated across the land.”

”They did not wish for the sect’s name to be lost, yet dared not arrogate the title ’Great Hidden Spirit,’ thus they changed one word, calling it the ’Minor Hidden Spirit Sect.’”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua, then added,

”Apart from the ’Minor Hidden Spirit Sect,’ other sects that appear dilapidated with ’Hidden Spirit’ in their names, like Little Hidden Spirit Mountain, Hidden Spirit Gate, Hidden Spirit Valley, and so on, could all be associated with the ’Great Hidden Spirit Sect.’”

”If by chance you encounter them, it might be worthwhile to pay a visit, to form ties, and see if there are any lingering teachings.”

Mo Hua nodded, committing the words ’Hidden Spirit’ to memory.

Mr. Zhuang sighed softly before continuing,

”The initial reason I was willing to meet Instructor Yan was actually to have a look at the Hidden Spirit Sect’s Spiritual Pivot Formation Chart.”

”Unfortunately, the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect fell into ruin, and the Formation was stolen and lost.”

”Although I did not see the Formation Chart, Instructor Yan is upright in nature, and in dissemination of teachings, he does not withhold secrets, very much in the spirit of the Formation Masters of the old Great Hidden Spirit Sect.”

”I took a liking to him, and that is why I agreed to allow him to visit should he need to...”

After Mr. Zhuang finished speaking, he silently reflected while gazing at the clear-eyed Mo Hua:

”Who knew that upon his next visit, he would bring me a disciple with astonishing talent and cleverness...”

Mo Hua, unaware of Mr. Zhuang’s thoughts, knitted his brows in thought before asking,

”Was there a specific incident that led to the downfall of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect?”

Mr. Zhuang said, ”Since you know of the Spiritual Pivot Formation Chart, you should have also heard about the destruction of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect.”

”Hmm,” Mo Hua nodded, ”It is said there was a traitor who killed his master and ancestors and stole the Formation Diagram.”

Mo Hua felt somewhat angry.

Instructor Yan was kind, diligent in his duties, earnest in teaching, responsible, a good instructor.

His master, therefore, must have also been a good Formation Master and a good master who valued the transmission of formations.

That such people were killed by a disciple with the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog.

And that disciple even stole the formation chart that protected the sect, causing a decent sect to fall apart and disperse...

Mr. Zhuang lamented, ”Human nature is greedy, forgetting righteousness at the sight of benefit. This world has many cultivators like that...”

”Don’t assume that all cultivators are like those in Tongxian City, where the customs are simple and loose cultivators help one another.”

”Among cultivators, there are good people, bad people, and those who vacillate between kindness and malice when faced with choices of interest.”

”The path of Tao cultivation is unpredictable, human hearts treacherous and inscrutable.”

”You must guard not only against wicked people, but also against good people who may turn wicked in the face of temptation...”

Mr. Zhuang patiently continued his earnest instruction.

Mo Hua nodded vigorously as he listened,

”Master, I understand. I will be good to those who are good to me; and I will not be good to those who are not good to me.”

Hearing his somewhat childish words, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but laugh, then asked,

”What if, those who are good to you are bad people, and those who are bad to you are good people?”

”As long as I don’t do bad things, then those who are bad to me are naturally bad people, and those who are good to me are naturally good people.”

Mo Hua declared with a clear voice.

Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile,

”Indeed, that’s the principle.”

Mo Hua also smiled.

Mr. Zhuang then continued, ”Since you’ve brought up this matter, do you have any leads on it?”

Mo Hua nodded, ”Before departing, I went to find Manager Mo...”

”He too is from the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect, considered a junior brother to Instructor Yan.”

”He told me, Instructor Yan has gone to the Minor Wilderness State Boundary, South Yue City, presumably to find that traitorous disciple of the sect.”

”And in the hands of that traitor supposedly lies the Hidden Spirit Sect’s secret transmission, a first-grade twelve-patterned, Spiritual Pivot Formation Chart!”