The Quest for Immortality

”Practicing with the Zhang Family’s ancestor as a sparring partner?”

Mo Hua’s interest suddenly piqued, and then he asked:

”Master, how exactly does one perform Divine Thought Slaughter?”

Mr. Zhuang gave a faint smile, took a sip of the tea brewed by Mo Hua, waited for the aftertaste to mellow, then sat up straight and began to speak slowly:

”As I mentioned earlier, one’s Divine Sense is the basis, its manifestation forms the figure, and controlling objects creates the technique...”

”The so-called Divine Sense as the basis means that the strength of Divine Thought Slaughter is fundamentally dependent on the strength of the Divine Sense itself.”

”Even if a Qi Refinement Cultivator has strong abilities and numerous spell points, they would still find it difficult to surpass the Divine Thoughts of a Foundation Building Cultivator.”

”Of course, this is based on the premise of Divine Sense Manifestation.”

”Inside the Sea of Consciousness, if the Divine Sense isn’t manifested, no matter how strong, it is merely fish on the chopping block, unable to resist and can only be slaughtered at someone’s will.”

Mr. Zhuang continued to give examples:

”A first-grade demon thought of a Qi Refinement ghost, if it invades the Sea of Consciousness of a Foundation Building Cultivator, uses the Foundation Building Divine Sense as a nurturing ground, consuming it daily to strengthen itself.”

”A Foundation Building Cultivator, if unable to perform Divine Sense Manifestation and knows no other exorcising techniques, can only let the Little Green-faced Ghost devour the Divine Sense.”

”He wouldn’t even know that his Sea of Consciousness had been invaded by external evil.”

”Unknowingly, he becomes the nourishment for the ghostly being.”

”His Divine Sense is consumed bit by bit by the ghostly being.”

”As this continues, he will suffer from the draining of Divine Sense, mental fatigue, eventually harboring delusional thoughts, besieged by desires, which leads to a major change in temperament, becoming neither human nor ghost, culminating either in entering demonic insanity and dying, or perishing from depleted Divine Sense.”

”And after the ghostly being consumes his Divine Sense, strengthened by its malevolent thoughts, it can then continue to seek the next host to parasitize...”

A chill rose in Mo Hua as he listened.

If he hadn’t forced back the Little Green-faced Ghost in his Sea of Consciousness using Formation.

And suppressed it with the Taoist Stele, devouring it.

The consequences would have been unthinkable.

What if the Little Green-faced Ghost had parasitized him, turning him into something neither human nor ghost without him being aware of it, it would have harmed not only himself but also his parents and friends around him.

Mo Hua felt somewhat scared after the fact.

Divine Thought indeed harbors extraordinarily dangerous risks, and moreover, is almost impossible to guard against.

The techniques of Divine Thought Slaughter must be thoroughly learned; anyone who dares to enter one’s Sea of Consciousness without permission in the future shall be eliminated without exception!

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly and eagerly asked:

”Master, then how does one manifest Divine Sense?”

Mr. Zhuang said, ”You can manifest your own form within your Sea of Consciousness, can’t you?”

”Mhm.” Mo Hua nodded.

This was something he had been able to do naturally since birth.

Ever since he was born, there had always been a manifestation of his own Divine Sense in Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

He had previously thought all Cultivators were like this.

It was only after encountering the Little Green-faced Ghost that he realized he was an exception.

Not all Cultivators can manifest themselves in the Sea of Consciousness.

Whether it was due to a distinctive talent in his Divine Sense or the presence of the Taoist Stele in his Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua was not quite sure.

But since this belonged to innate Divine Sense Manifestation.

Thus, Mo Hua was also unclear about how exactly this kind of manifestation came about.

”Those who know themselves are wise. A Cultivator who contemplates their own form thoroughly enough can manifest it.”

Mr. Zhuang said and then glanced at Mo Hua, pondering before he continued:

”You are able to manifest your Divine Sense because it is inherently strong, and you possess a pure heart with clear thoughts, which naturally led to the manifestation of your own form within the Sea of Consciousness.”

Of course, there might be other factors too...

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze became slightly focused, but he did not delve further and instead resumed speaking:

”Divine Thought Slaughter, with manifestation of oneself, is only the foundation.”

”Since one can manifest oneself, naturally, one’s spells, Martial Arts, and Spiritual Artifacts can be manifested as well.”

”Being able to manifest spells or Martial Arts gives you the means to carry out Slaughter...”

Mo Hua, finding all this a bit mysterious, then asked:

”Master, is this manifestation somewhat like ’fantasy’ or ’delusion’? Like daydreaming, turning whatever one thinks of into reality?”

If you think you understand this Spell, then you have that Spell;

If you think you’ve mastered this Martial Art, then you’ve mastered that Martial Art;

If you think you possess a certain Spiritual Artifact, then you have that Spiritual Artifact...

So if you imagine a dragon in your Sea of Consciousness, does that mean you have a dragon?

Mr. Zhuang chuckled and shook his head:

”It’s not that whatever you think of becomes reality. If it were so, Divine Sense Manifestation would be far too simple.”

”Divine Sense Manifestation is based on ’reality’ to manifest the illusory Divine Thoughts.”

”Without an objectively real thing, you cannot manifest the illusion of it.”

”If you want to manifest a Spell, you must actually know that Spell.”

”If you want to manifest a Spiritual Artifact, you must truly possess that Spiritual Artifact...”

”And even then, it’s not as if you can manifest it just because you know it or have it.”

”You must understand the Spell thoroughly, be extremely familiar with the object, and fully comprehend its essence to manifest it within the Sea of Consciousness.”

”Things you have never seen, don’t understand, haven’t grasped, or are unfamiliar with cannot be manifested.”

”Even if you did manifest them, they would only be unfounded and fragile illusions, unable to withstand a single blow.”

”Divine Thought Manifestation, the more real it is, the more powerful it is...”

Mo Hua had a moment of enlightenment, deep in thought.

Mr. Zhuang paused for a moment before explaining further:

”If you use your Divine Sense to manifest an almost real ’fire,’ then this ’fire’ can indeed burn another’s Divine Thoughts...”

”If you manifest a sword, that sword can also injure someone’s Divine Thoughts...”

Mo Hua suddenly understood clearly.

Mr. Zhuang looked again at Mo Hua, his tone becoming slightly solemn as he said:

”What you must learn is to first manifest Spiritual Power, then manifest spells, and ultimately... manifesting Formations!”

Mo Hua’s heart gave a slight tremble.

Manifesting Formations!

But after pondering for a moment, he expressed his confusion:

”Master, it seems like... I can already draw Formations in my Sea of Consciousness. Does that count as manifestation?”

Initially, he had drawn a Formation while the little ghost was transforming, and it was this very act that deterred that Little Green-faced Ghost.

”That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Mr. Zhuang said.

Mo Hua was surprised in his heart and didn’t quite understand.

Mr. Zhuang said with profound eyes:

”Such Divine Sense Manifestation is somewhat superficial. What is manifested is merely the ethereal shadow of Formation Patterns formed by Divine Thought, not real enough, nor is its power strong enough...”

”Another problem is that it’s too slow.”

”Slow?” Mo Hua was a little taken aback.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, ”In the clash of Divine Thought, life and death are but an instant. There’s not always an opportunity to draw Formation, stroke by stroke, line by line...”

”Some malicious and brutal spirits won’t wait for you to finish drawing the Formation; they’ll likely have devoured you by then.”

Mo Hua’s heart went cold, and he frowned and said:

”If a Formation isn’t drawn stroke by stroke, then how should it be drawn?”

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze shifted, and with a stern expression, he said:

”Manifest Spiritual Power, control it with Divine Sense, and bring it into being in one thought - Drawing Ground into Formation.”

”This way, without the need for pen and ink, with a mere movement of Divine Sense, in a moment’s effort, a Formation can be constructed within the Sea of Consciousness...”

Mo Hua gaped in astonishment, came back to his senses, and then furrowed his brows again, seemingly pondering something.

Mr. Zhuang’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he gently inquired:

”What are you thinking now?”

Mo Hua spoke carefully:

”Master, have you calculated all of this?”

”Calculated what?”

Mo Hua, with furrowed brows, counted on his fingers and said:

”To learn Formation Visualization, one needs to know Heaven Yan Jue, needs to know Divine Sense Calculation, and also needs to master the Spiritual Pivot Formation...”

”Learning Heaven Yan Jue makes the Divine Sense sharp, forming a foundation for spiritual control;”

”Learning Calculation is essential to deduce the trajectory of Spiritual Power within a Formation, allowing control of Spiritual Power to construct the Formation;”

”And by learning Spiritual Pivot Formation, one can understand the structure of Spiritual Power, discern the essence of Spiritual Power, thereby manifesting Spiritual Power, which also complements Heaven Yan Jue, further strengthening the control over Spiritual Power by Divine Sense...”

The core of Spiritual Pivot Formation is control.

But control is just the surface; only by understanding the structure of Spiritual Power and breaking it down into its strands can one achieve control.

Understanding the structure of Spiritual Power makes it easier to manifest it.

Spiritual Pivot Formation manifests Spiritual Power; Heaven Yan Jue controls Spiritual Power; with Calculation constructing the Formation.

All three are indispensable.

If he lacked any one of them, he would probably be unable to do as Mr. Zhuang said - to draw a Formation with Divine Thought in the Sea of Consciousness and manifest the Formation.

Mr. Zhuang, too, was surprised.

He knew Mo Hua was clever, but he hadn’t imagined his mind to be quite so keen.

Mr. Zhuang felt reassured in his heart and smiled slightly as he said:

”It’s not that I had calculated; it’s just that you had good fortune, choosing Heaven Yan Jue as your Cultivation Technique, then you learned Calculation, and happened to encounter the Spiritual Pivot Formation. With everything in place, I simply continued to teach you accordingly...”

Mo Hua nodded his head.

His admiration for Mr. Zhuang intensified.

Tailoring teaching to the student’s capabilities and also to the opportunity.

How profound Mr. Zhuang’s knowledge in Tao Cultivation and Formation skills was, went beyond measure.

Mo Hua’s bright, admiring eyes were fixed upon him, as Mr. Zhuang felt quite pleased, though his outward appearance remained that of a detached sage.

He retrieved a small booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua accepted it, noticing the title of six characters on the brochure:

Divine Thought Manifestation Bullet Points

The booklet was compact and thin.

Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled, ”Master, is this all?”

Divine Thought Manifestation should be very difficult.

He had thought that such bullet points, if not voluminous, should at least fill a thick book.

”This is enough,” Mr. Zhuang said. ”Similar to Meditation Technique, Divine Sense Manifestation is just a means, a form, and not an essence.”

”It’s not what you manifest that’s important, it’s what you manage to manifest, how much understanding you gain, and how much ’reality’ you can achieve...”

”Divine Thought Manifestation is a tool, not the way.”

”Manifesting is like a sword, but the power of the sword does not lie in the sword itself, but in the person who wields it.”

”If you have ten units of strength, then the power of the sword is tenfold...”

”If you have a hundred units of Strength, then the power of the sword is a hundredfold!”

”How well you learn to manifest depends on your own visualization, practice, and comprehension.”

”The more you visualize, the deeper the comprehension, the truer the manifestation, the stronger the power of Divine Thought Slaughter!”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with a serious tone and expectant eyes.

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, his voice ringing clear:

”Disciple remembers, thank you for the teaching, Master!”

Mo Hua placed the thin Divine Thought Manifestation Bullet Points carefully into his Storage Bag.

Divine Thought Slaughter was crucial.

Mo Hua planned to study it well soon.

He had already made his calculations.

Once he learned to manifest, and had a modicum of success with Divine Thought Slaughter, he could attempt to practice on Zhang Quan’s old forebear~