The Quest for Immortality

492 Chapter 478: Daoist Name_1

In the midst of the Ten Thousand Corpses Sacrificial Altar, blood patterns covered the ground, thousands of coffins were aligned, the candlelight was dim, and the atmosphere was eerily silent.

There was not a single person.

Except for Mo Hua.

After Mo Hua had the small zombie close the gate, the mural behind him twisted and sealed off the way they had come from.

Mo Hua nodded.

This Spiritual Pivot Formation, truly worthy of being an Ultimate Formation, was much more practical than he had initially thought.

He then began to scrutinize the altar.

During the day, with Lu Chengyun and Zhang Quan around, Mo Hua hadn’t felt anything peculiar.

But now, at night, on his own, he felt the altar, despite its glittering gold, was much more sinister and odd, not to mention the coffins and zombies within them.

Mo Hua couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.

He calmed his mind and started to do things one by one as he’d planned.

First, he studied the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses.

Although Mo Hua had designed the Formation eye, it only connected with the Formation Pivot to facilitate the flow of Spiritual Power.

He was not clear about the complete picture of the whole Formation.

The Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses was the culmination of many years of Lu Chengyun’s efforts.

He hadn’t had the opportunity to look closely during the day to avoid offending Lu Chengyun’s taboos.

Moreover, according to Mo Hua’s understanding of Formation principles, this Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses was likely not just a Compound Formation, but an Evil Path Great Formation!

Mo Hua executed the Water Passing Step, gathering Spiritual Power under his feet, and walked along the walls to the ceiling, dangling his head down to get a better look.

From his elevated position, he could see the entire Formation at a glance.

Taking the Formation eye as the heart vein, the Formation Pivot as the skeleton, and the Formation Patterns as the flesh.

Everything was in correspondence, the beginning and the end interconnected.

Indeed, it was a complete, large-scale Formation.

Mo Hua memorized the overall layout of the Formation in his mind, then walked down to start examining the Formation Patterns in detail.

The surface of these Formation Patterns appeared to be Evil Patterns.

But at their core, they were still an application of Formation principles of the Five Elements such as earth and water.

Earth Series Formations integrated with the flesh of corpses;

Water Series Formations mixed with blood and water.

Further, by incorporating venomous juices of plants into the construction of Wood Series Formations, they harmonize flesh and blood to create the Patterns of the Evil Formation.

Human flesh and blood naturally resonate with Spiritual Power.

Therefore, Evil Formations often use human blood as ink and human flesh as a medium to enhance the effect of the Formation, as well as to lower the difficulty of the Formation.

While this lowers the threshold, the included understanding of the Dao Laws is much shallower.

Mo Hua shook his head.

Such shortcuts, forsaking the fundamental for the trivial, would not lead to mastery of the Dao of Formation.

Nevertheless, to know his enemy as well as himself, Mo Hua still reviewed and sorted through the Formation Patterns, from start to finish.

After sorting them out, combining them with the Formation Pivot, and the Formation eye he had constructed, he made some Calculations to clear the logic of the operation of Spiritual Power and Evil Power within the Formation.

A complete Formation Diagram of Ten Thousand Corpses now emerged in Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

Mo Hua transferred the Formation Diagram from his Sea of Consciousness onto paper and then looked down at it intently, falling silent in thought.

A moment later, he sighed,

”It truly is the embryonic form of a Large Formation...”

And it was not that simplistic kind of Large Formation just cobbled together for numbers.

It was a kind of Evil Path Great Formation that had been perfected over several generations, with complete Formation Patterns, a concise Formation Pivot, a robust power from the Formation eye, and an obvious mark of inheritance.

”Evil Path Great Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses...”

Mo Hua frowned.

”Where on earth did Lu Chengyun get this Formation Diagram from?”

”Could it be that the Lu Family, or within this Corpse Mine, there are Demon Cultivators who are well-versed in Demon Path Formations, with genuine Demon Sect heritage?”

But in his time at the Corpse Mine, he had become quite familiar with the place.

He had never seen such Cultivators, nor had he detected any trace of them.

”Could it be a chance encounter with some Demon Path rogue, who then gave it to Lu Chengyun?”

Demon Path rogues...

Mo Hua then recalled the mysterious Taoist that Mr. Zhuang had mentioned, who should not be seen, spoken of, and ideally not even thought about.

”It can’t be such a coincidence...”

Mo Hua muttered.

If that were the case...

The Taoist who passed the Evil Pill Recipe for lifespan conversion to the Patriarch of the Qian Family, and the Evil Path Great Formation Diagram of Ten Thousand Corpses to Lu Chengyun, probably also passed some spell points of forbidden Demon Path to some Cultivators with ill intentions...

What was his aim?

To create Taoist Demons?

Are such natural disasters of heaven and earth really something that can be ”mass-produced” by human means?

Or does this Taoist have some other, deeper scheme?

Mo Hua frowned in deep thought.

As he pondered, he became somewhat entranced.

All of a sudden, an extremely cold and terrifying sense of dread surged up within him.

A silhouette of a Taoist emerged in Mo Hua’s heart.

The silhouette of the Taoist was like black ink.

All around were withered black lines.

However, these lines began to coalesce and take shape.

The face of the Taoist became clearer, and a pair of eyes slowly opened, deep and hollow, inching their gaze towards Mo Hua.

Mo Hua did not know who he was, but in an instant, he knew the Taoist’s name:

”Gui Tao!”

The seeker of the Dao who was half-ghost and half-mysterious.

Mo Hua was shocked and quickly calmed his mind to meditate, dismissing all thoughts.

But the more he tried not to think about it, the more involuntarily he did, and the words ”Gui Tao” almost slipped from his lips.

Mo Hua had a feeling that once he uttered the words ”Gui Tao,” he would be immediately discovered by this Taoist.

”Don’t recite it, don’t recite it!”

Mo Hua kept admonishing himself.

But while he was strongly inhibiting his mind, his mouth suddenly moved on its own and he recited the first character ”Gui”...

The Taoist’s hollow gaze suddenly sparkled with life, silently turning his head, ready to focus his attention directly on Mo Hua.

A chill went down Mo Hua’s spine, and in his desperation, he quickly pinched his own cheek.

The fair little face was marked with two finger imprints by his own pinching.

Mo Hua winced in pain, hissing softly, and managed not to recite the full name ”Gui Tao’s people.”

Since the name wasn’t recited, Mo Hua had a moment to catch his breath.

What to do?

In a stroke of inspiration, Mo Hua quickly took out his Spiritual Ink, dipped his finger in the ink, and using his Divine Sense to connect with the Earth Dao Meaning, he began to draw the Thick Earth Formation on the ground.

Once he began Drawing Formation, his Divine Sense became focused, no longer wandering aimlessly.

He wouldn’t even think about reciting any names.

And the Earth Dao Meaning he was connecting with also occupied Mo Hua’s mind.

A hint of ancient meaning began to diffuse, gradually overshadowing the aura of Gui Tao’s people...

...

Meanwhile, in a hillside overgrown with withered trees.

The sitting ”Sun Yi” opened his eyes.

His body was filthy, clad in a dirty Taoist Robe that the deceased had worn, his eyes black and vacant, his voice hoarse and sticky:

”Who...”

”...desires to recite my name?”

”So familiar...”

He closed his eyes to sense, then suddenly opened them again, his usually empty gaze carrying a hint of confusion:

”Earth Dao Meaning?”

”Disciple of Earth Sect?”

”How could it be...”

In the Minor Wilderness State Boundary, where did a disciple of the Earth Sect come from, and why would he be reciting my name?

”Something’s not right...”

”Sun Yi” stretched out his right hand, with several fingers broken and twisted together in a strange shape as if calculating something.

Some causes and effects began to connect:

”Earth Dao Meaning...”

”Thick Earth Formation...”

”There is a cultivator...”

”A Formation Master...”

”Short in stature... No... Very young?”

And with that, the trail of cause and effect ended.

It remained unclear and undefined.

”Sun Yi’s” eyes began shedding tears of blood, his sparse hair gradually turned white, his Sea of Consciousness trembled, and his remaining Divine Sense tried its best at Calculation:

”Without the cover of Dao Meaning, within three breaths, this person would surely recite my name...”

”Then let’s remove the cover of the Dao Meaning...”

The eyes of ”Sun Yi” bled profusely, as his gray hair fell out one by one, his countenance visibly aging as if his life force was compensating for the insufficiency of his Calculation after his Divine Sense was exhausted.

He counted to himself:

”One...”

”Two...”

”Three...”

Three breaths passed, and in the future he had Calculated, indeed someone had uncontrollably recited his name:

”Gui Tao!”

The voice that recited his name was clear and pleasant.

”Sun Yi” was slightly stunned, his expression surprised, ”It’s a child?”

Why would a child recite my name?

Who exactly is it?

And what connection do I have with them?

Sun Yi listened more intently, only to find that the voice had changed.

From a child’s voice, it gradually became clearer, turning into a young man’s voice, then gradually grew deeper, turning into a middle-aged man’s voice.

Finally, it became a voice he was all too familiar with and longed for.

The voice was crisp and scholarly.

The words ”Gui Tao” turned into two:

”Senior brother.”

Sun Yi opened his eyes, and in a daze, he saw a handsome, distinguished cultivator looking at him.

His gaze was crisp, gentle, and his mouth held a smile that was elusive.

It was indeed Mr. Zhuang.

Moments later, everything faded away as if it were smoke.

”Sun Yi” could no longer remember who had recited his name.

He only remembered that one call of ”senior brother.”

He tried to calculate once more, only to find that the Sea of Consciousness of this body had cracked, his Divine Sense was utterly depleted, and not a single hair remained on his head…

There was nothing left to calculate...

”Sun Yi” sat still for a long time, his expression peculiar, mumbling to himself:

”My good junior brother... what exactly are you hiding?”

”Having fallen to such a state, what is still worth hiding?”

The mountain forest was silent, no one answered.

”Enough...”

”Sun Yi” shakily got to his feet, wrapped in the Taoist Robe of the dead, walking lopsidedly towards the edge of the woods...

”Once I find you, I will know everything...”