The Quest for Immortality

This is how it ends.

Even if my divine soul enters the Demon Refining Diagram and consumes all the monster cultivator’s family wealth, it would be to no avail.

Without a physical body as a foundation, the divine soul naturally becomes a ”ghost.”

From then on, permanently severed from the Great Dao.

Therefore, the best strategy is to bypass the ”ritual,” not through sacrifice, but directly intervene in the Demon Refining Diagram with divine thought.

The ritual is someone else’s path.

Walking someone else’s path is never comfortable and not necessarily safe.

Mo Hua still wants to walk his own path.

”How to bypass the ritual?”

Mo Hua hadn’t thought of any good methods before, but lately, after experiencing some events, he gradually gained some insights.

Mo Hua walked around the enormous painting-like Demon Refining Diagram twice and then went to the corner, took out the White Bone Broken Sword, and secretly asked:

”Sword Bone, can you enter the Demon Refining Diagram?”

”I’m not going in!!” Sword Bone immediately replied.

”I’m asking if you can enter, not whether you want to enter.” Mo Hua’s tone was indifferent.

Sword Bone could clearly hear the underlying threat in Mo Hua’s calm words.

It wanted to resist but really didn’t have the strength to do so, so it could only quietly refute:

”I... could indeed go in, but it would be pointless.”

Sword Bone’s voice revealed a trace of fear, ”The Demon Refining Diagram is filled with demon wraiths, far too dangerous. Although I am a Sword Demon, inherently an evil thought entity, in front of so many demon wraiths, I’m indeed insignificant...”

”Moreover, even if I enter, I don’t have the ability to rescue those little ghosts.”

”Most likely, I’d be devoured by the many demon wraiths, alive...”

Sword Bone was somewhat timid but did not speak falsely.

Mo Hua said: ”No need for you to save.”

Sword Bone was taken aback, ”No need for me to save? Then what am I going in for?”

”Your primary role is to lead the way, to bring me in!”

Mo Hua’s eyes gleamed slightly.

He had considered it thoroughly.

Primordial Spirit emergence seems to be a high-level cultivator ability.

I can’t do it now.

So, for now, my divine thought can’t actively leave the physical body.

But, it can be passively attracted to certain ”Contemplation Maps,” ”Illusionary Realms,” or ”nightmares” by some evil spirits.

Similar to being ”soul dragging.”

Mo Hua summarized some evil spirits he had interacted with, from the Landscape Taoist Child Painting at Black Mountain Stronghold, the Zombie Ancestor Picture of the Zhang Family, to the shrine in the Taoist Field of the Five Elements Sect...

They were generally like this.

This made things easier.

The physical body is the ”cage” of the divine soul.

As long as I find an ”evil spirit” to drag my ”soul,” allowing divine thought to separate from the physical body, and then through some means, my divine thought can ”actively” enter certain illusionary realms or nightmares.

This ”soul-dragging” evil spirit serves as a ”guide.”

And for this guide, Mo Hua chose Sword Bone.

Sword Bone was given this ”grave responsibility” by Mo Hua and was instantly terrified.

Lead the way?

Guide this terrifying little ancestor?

Sword Bone immediately and tactfully declined: ”But... even if I pull you into the Blood Pool, I fear I can’t enter the Demon Refining Diagram...”

”You don’t need to worry about that,” Mo Hua said, ”I’ve thought it all through; you just need to follow my instructions.”

”I’m afraid...” Sword Bone was still stalling.

Mo Hua retorted, ”You don’t think I’m negotiating with you, do you?”

Sword Bone said bitterly: ”Right.”

If only he had made it clear earlier.

Pretending to ask so much when I can’t refuse?

Being a powerless evil spirit, what am I negotiating with this little ancestor...

Sword Bone mumbled inwardly.

”Alright, then it’s settled.”

Mo Hua unilaterally decided.

Meanwhile, Xun Ziyou and the others were somewhat baffled.

Mo Hua crouched in a corner, clutching a broken sword, muttering unknown things, with occasional eerie breaths emanating.

This commotion undoubtedly couldn’t escape their Golden Core Realm divine sense.

Yet they said nothing.

Whatever Mo Hua could concoct, it was his own skill; even if it was somewhat audacious, that would be for the Ancestor to handle, so they turned a blind eye.

Having secured Sword Bone’s ”consent,” Mo Hua was ready to act.

He walked around the Demon Refining Diagram a few more times, carefully inferring the formation aura in the diagram, attentively perceiving the flow of the internal Divine Formation.

Then he found a relatively weak spot in the formation.

No formation is uniformly distributed.

Every formation media hosting a formation has its own weak points.

The Demon Refining Diagram is no exception.

Of course, identifying such flaws still tests a Formation Master’s divine sense, insight, and formation experience.

The most crucial factor is Inference Power.

Mo Hua pinpointed the weak point in the Divine Formation of the Demon Refining Diagram, took out pen and ink, marked an X, and then said to Xun Ziyou:

”Elder Xun, help me break this spot, use Sword Qi to break it, about two inches thick.”

Xun Ziyou was puzzled but still followed Mo Hua’s instructions, drew his sword, and scraped off a shallow layer from the place Mo Hua marked on the mural.

After scraping off, exposed the formation patterns inside.

The Divine Formation patterns were sparse here, and there was still plenty of space between each pattern.

Mo Hua first wiped off one Divine Formation pattern among them, then replaced it with a pattern he drew himself.

This way, the Divine Formation pattern he drew became an ”interface.”

Mo Hua then drew another Divine Formation pattern on the White Bone Broken Sword.

These two Divine Formation patterns could interlock.

Mo Hua chose the position and inserted the White Bone Broken Sword into the Demon Refining Diagram mural, allowing the formation pattern on the broken sword to interlock with the pattern he left on the mural, connecting them to form a ”bridge.”