Chapter 296: Impure Thoughts
Chapter 296: Impure Thoughts
After dinner, Mo Hua drew arrays for a while before lying down and resting his eyes, waiting for the hour of the rat to arrive so he could enter his sea of consciousness.
Within his sea of consciousness, the ethereal Monument of the Dao appeared.
Mo Hua examined the monument carefully and found that it showed no abnormalities, appearing just as it always had.
Mo Hua felt a twinge of disappointment. He had thought that after consuming the Green-Faced Imp and refining its divine consciousness, his own consciousness would have undergone some profound transformation, causing the monument to exhibit some mystical changes.
But now it seemed that he had overestimated the effects.
The Monument of the Dao was as ethereal, ancient, profound, and silent as ever—a reflection of the grand Dao, eternal and unchanging.
Mo Hua stared at the monument in silence.
This monument had accompanied him for over a decade within his sea of consciousness, and while it was once familiar, it now seemed unfathomably deep, as if it held countless unknowable karmic secrets.
"I wonder if I can unravel the mysteries hidden within this monument when my cultivation base and spiritual sense improve further, or when I gain more insight into the Dao," Mo Hua mused to himself.
Putting aside these distracting thoughts, Mo Hua resumed his usual practice of array drawing on the surface of the monument.
Cultivation required perseverance and accumulation, and the same was true for array drawing—one had to persist day after day, practicing tirelessly and consistently. Nothing could be achieved overnight, and haste would only lead to pitfalls.
Even though Mo Hua's spiritual sense was already quite strong, he approached array drawing with a grounded mindset, diligently honing and reinforcing his skills with each repetition.
Using his fingers as a brush, Mo Hua traced intricate and profound array patterns on the monument.
These were array patterns that an ordinary first-grade array master would never be able to grasp, and the array formed by these intricate patterns was the Reverse Spirit Array, a peak first-grade ten-pattern array.
This was also the most challenging array Mo Hua had learned so far.
For his current level of cultivation, this array was the only one worth his time and effort to practice and perfect.
After all, with his spiritual sense already at the Foundation Establishment stage, ordinary first-grade arrays could neither deepen his understanding nor provide any meaningful refinement to his spiritual sense. Drawing them felt as effortless as drinking water—mundane and unstimulating.
Of course, Mo Hua kept these thoughts to himself. Expressing them aloud would surely attract resentment.
Mo Hua focused his attention on practicing the Reverse Spirit Array.
However, as he continued to draw, he sensed that something was amiss.
Every time he expended his spiritual sense, faint shadows would occasionally appear in his sea of consciousness.
Within these shadows, he glimpsed a Taoist temple hidden in lush green mountains, a Taoist disciple whose innocence alternated with malevolence, Taoist priests whose demeanor shifted between otherworldly and greedy, and cultivators of various sorts harboring sinister intentions.
Mo Hua's mental state underwent frequent fluctuations as well.
At times he felt pure, then irritable, despondent, or even cruel. There were even moments when he felt a greedy lust for human flesh.
Mo Hua quickly sat down to meditate, dispelling these intrusive thoughts.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Could it be that I didn't purify all the divine consciousness of that Green-Faced Imp, and some of its impure thoughts still remain?" he wondered.
He recalled Mr. Zhuang's warning about the unpredictability of the visualization chart, and how the consciousness one connects with might belong to some "non-human" entities...
If that were the case, the aftereffects of "consuming" the imp could be even more dangerous than he had anticipated.
"I'll pay Mr. Zhuang a visit tomorrow and ask him about this," Mo Hua decided.
With impure thoughts lingering in his sea of consciousness, it was unwise to exert his spiritual sense further by practicing arrays.
Doing so might allow the residual impure thoughts to subtly corrupt his sea of consciousness, leading him astray or even onto a path of no return.
Thus, Mo Hua continued to meditate, reflecting on himself, overcoming the impure thoughts, and guarding his original heart.
As the hour of the rabbit approached and dawn broke, Mo Hua sat cross-legged, bathed in the morning sun, and began his daily cultivation routine.
After cultivating and replenishing his spiritual energy, Mo Hua enjoyed a breakfast prepared by his mother. He then brought along some wine and meat and set out to visit Mr. Zhuang at Zuowang Residence.
It had been quite some time since Mo Hua last paid his respects to his teacher.
The mountain residence was as serene and tranquil as ever, its scenery soothing to the soul.
It was still early, and Mr. Zhuang was taking a nap.
Mo Hua sneaked a glance into the house and saw that his teacher was indeed relaxing in his bamboo chair, eyes closed as his spirit wandered in the realms beyond. Not wanting to disturb him, Mo Hua decided to wait.
Mo Hua's eyes alternated between the book and the scenery, feeling his impure thoughts dissipate, his mood turning tranquil.
Suddenly, he sensed movement within the house and turned to see Mr. Zhuang standing there, his expression stern as he looked at Mo Hua.
"Who are you?" Mr. Zhuang asked, his voice carrying a hint of chill.
Mo Hua was taken aback, scratching his head in confusion. "Sir, it's me, Mo Hua..."
Mr. Zhuang studied Mo Hua for a moment, his tone softening slightly as he asked, "Where did your spiritual sense come from?"
"I came across a visualization chart," Mo Hua replied.
It was indeed a visualization chart...
Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly. "And then?"
"There was a little imp in the chart. It jumped into my sea of consciousness, so I ate it..."
Mo Hua gave a concise account.
The usually calm and unflappable Mr. Zhuang, whose countenance rarely changed even in the face of great surprises, couldn't hide his shock. "You ate it?"
Mo Hua nodded. "Yes, I ate it."
Mr. Zhuang pulled at his lips, a strange expression on his face. "How did you eat it?"
"It wanted to eat me, but I didn't let it. I injured it with an array, and it turned into wisps of green smoke that I swallowed..."
Mo Hua briefly recounted the incident, omitting the part about the Monument of the Dao.
In truth, it was the Monument's aura that had incinerated the Green-Faced Imp into green smoke.
"Can your spiritual sense manifest?" Mr. Zhuang inquired.
"Yes." Mo Hua nodded.
From the Green-Faced Imp, Mo Hua had learned that the appearance of one's manifested spirit within their sea of consciousness was called spiritual sense manifestation.
Mo Hua's spiritual sense had been able to manifest since he was young, and he had assumed it was a common ability. However, the imp's reaction made him realize that not all cultivators could manifest their spiritual sense in their sea of consciousness.
Mr. Zhuang's expression at that moment was not one of surprise, indicating that he had likely guessed that Mo Hua's spiritual sense could manifest, even though he hadn't asked about it before.
Mr. Zhuang continued, "So, by eating the little imp and refining it, your spiritual sense suddenly surged?"
Mo Hua nodded, thinking that Mr. Zhuang was indeed insightful. With just a few words from him, Mr. Zhuang had deduced most of what had happened.
Mr. Zhuang stood there, his expression complicated, as if struggling with his thoughts. Finally, he slowly asked for confirmation:
"So, your spiritual sense has reached the Foundation Establishment stage now?"
"Yes, sir!" Mo Hua replied with a shy smile, his eyes sparkling with a hint of pride.
Mr. Zhuang sighed and slowly sat back down, his expression returning to its usual relaxed state, although his heart was clearly not as calm as his face suggested.
During the days when Mo Hua hadn't visited, he had assumed that the young man was off enjoying himself somewhere, forgetting about time. But he never expected that in just a few days, Mo Hua's spiritual sense would have reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Too fast..." Mr. Zhuang thought to himself.
It was true that planning ahead was essential to success, but Mo Hua's rapid progress was beyond anticipation, and now, all the preparations and plans he had made would have to be reconsidered...
Noticing Mr. Zhuang's pensive state, Mo Hua voiced the concern that had been weighing on his mind:
"Sir, after eating the little imp from the visualization chart, I seem to have gained its memories, and occasionally, my sea of consciousness projects various illusions, giving rise to all sorts of impure thoughts. Could this be dangerous?"
"That..." Mr. Zhuang's gaze turned solemn. "It's hard to say."
Mo Hua was surprised to hear such an ambiguous answer from the usually knowledgeable Mr. Zhuang.
"Why is it hard to say?" he asked.
"Because no one has ever done this before..."
Mo Hua was taken aback. "No one has ever eaten an imp before?"
"That's right." Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua, his expression complex. "Usually, it's the imp that eats people. You're the first one to eat an imp..."
(End of Chapter)
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