Chapter 301: Reluctance to Part
Chapter 301: Reluctance to Part
Mo Hua was a little surprised, but after some thought, he felt that it made sense.
"I'm just asking about the difference between the evil formations and the orthodox ones. It's not like I'll be able to master them just from asking."
Bai Zisheng considered this and shook his head with certainty. "It may not be true for others, but I'm sure you'll grasp it instantly!"
Both evil and demonic formations went against the principles of the Dao, relying on underhanded tactics.
Orthodox formations were notoriously difficult to learn.
To master them, one had to follow a strict and tedious process: repeatedly drawing formations, gradually strengthening one's spiritual sense, and only after years of dedication would one achieve a level of proficiency.
However, there were those cultivators who sought quick and easy gains, unwilling to put in the hard work. They resorted to unscrupulous methods that harmed the natural order, all to enhance the power of their formations.
Evil and demonic formations were easier to learn than orthodox ones, and as opposites, they were mutually contradictory. While most formation masters might not be able to comprehend them, a genius like Mo Hua would likely see through them instantly.
Despite his reluctance to admit it, in Bai Zisheng's opinion, Mo Hua was the most prodigiously talented formation master he had ever seen among cultivators of the same age group.
If he could learn orthodox formations so quickly, demonic and evil formations would be child's play for him.
Even if Mister Zhuang only gave him a few hints about their principles, Mo Hua might be able to figure out the rest on his own.
And once one ventured down the path of evil and demonic arts, there was no turning back.
Bai Zisheng glanced at Mo Hua and hastily warned him, "Don't ever ask Mister Zhuang about this. It will definitely anger him! Evil formations are unsavory topics that are best left untouched."
"Really?" Mo Hua was skeptical.
He didn't actually want to learn evil formations; he just wanted to be prepared in case he encountered them again, so he wouldn't be caught off guard and helpless.
"Yes, really!" Bai Zisheng affirmed gravely.
"Alright then," Mo Hua conceded.
It was wise to heed advice and avoid trouble.
Since both Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi advised against it, he decided to drop the matter for now and perhaps revisit it later if the opportunity arose.
"By the way, how did you get out of Hei Mountain Fortress after you went in?" Bai Zisheng asked, his curiosity piqued.
Mo Hua then recounted once more how he had boldly and unabashedly strolled out of the fortress's front gate, led by the Third Boss.
Bai Zisheng was astounded. "You're pulling my leg!"
"Believe it or not," Mo Hua shrugged.
His expression didn't seem to be feigning, and Bai Zisheng was torn. He asked, "And then?"
Mo Hua briefly described what happened next, including how he had outwitted and trapped those few evil cultivators.
Bai Zisheng's expression turned solemn as he listened. After a long silence, he finally made a decision and said resolutely, "Given your courage and accomplishments, I've changed my mind about taking you as my little brother disciple."
"Huh?" Mo Hua was taken aback.
"You can be upgraded to my junior fellow disciple!" Bai Zisheng exclaimed.
Mo Hua was less than enthusiastic, twisting his mouth in disinterest. "I'm not really interested."
Bai Zisheng was shocked again. "You're not interested in being my junior fellow disciple?"
"What's so interesting about it?" Mo Hua asked nonchalantly.
"This is my junior fellow disciple we're talking about! Most cultivators, even those from the Zhao, Li, and Shentu families' main lineages, would be honored to be my junior fellow disciple, but I wouldn't even deign to accept them." Bai Zisheng tried his best to convince Mo Hua.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment before asking, "We're both named disciples of Mister Zhuang, so we're not really considered fellow disciples from the same sect, are we?"
"A named disciple is still a disciple!" Bai Zisheng insisted.
"That's not right either," Mo Hua argued. "I entered the sect earlier, so logically, I should be the senior fellow disciple, and you would be the junior."
Bai Zisheng was stunned for a moment before jumping up in refusal. "Impossible!"
He might have given up on being a "big brother," but he could settle for being a "senior fellow disciple." Now, not only was he unable to attain that status, but he might even end up as a "junior fellow disciple"! This was unacceptable to Bai Zisheng!
"I'm older than you, so I should be the senior fellow disciple!"
"I entered the sect before you, so you should call me senior fellow disciple!"
…
Bai Zixi, sitting beside them, picked up her book again and continued reading gracefully and quietly as the two argued incessantly.
Under the big locust tree, their crisp voices created a harmonious ruckus, both noisy and peaceful.
As evening fell, they each returned to their homes, leaving the mountain residence quiet once more.
The night was serene, and the moonlight bathed the mountain scenery and the bamboo forest of the residence in a soft silver glow.
Inside the bamboo room, Mister Zhuang slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the moonlit mountains in the distance, lost in thought.
At some point, Guilai appeared without a sound, his voice as dry and raspy as ever: "Your injuries have worsened."
"They were always this severe," Mister Zhuang replied calmly, his tone devoid of any emotion.
Guilai remained silent for a moment before continuing indifferently, "With your injuries worsening, it's time to leave."
Mister Zhuang didn't respond.
"Are you reluctant to leave?" Guilai asked in a wooden tone.
Mister Zhuang stretched leisurely and smiled dismissively. "Yes, the scenery here is beautiful, and life is peaceful. There's plenty of food and drink, and it would be a shame to leave all this behind."
"Is that what you're reluctant to leave?" Guilai probed.
Mister Zhuang continued to stare at the distant mountains, shrouded in darkness, without saying a word.
"Don't get too entangled in the web of cause and effect," Guilai reminded him.
"Let's stay a bit longer," Mister Zhuang said after a moment's thought, heaving a sigh. "I want to make sure I've taught them everything I can… It wouldn't sit right with me if I left now."
Guilai frowned. "Staying in one place for too long increases the risk of having our location calculated, which could put our lives in danger."
"I know what I'm doing," Mister Zhuang assured, his demeanor still calm and unperturbed. "Besides, we still have time."
"As long as you're aware of the consequences," Guilai said flatly, leaving it at that.
After an unknown duration, Mister Zhuang spoke, "Gui Lao, how much longer can I hide for?"
The room remained quiet.
Gui Lao was nowhere to be seen, either absent or choosing not to answer. Or perhaps he heard but didn't know how to respond.
Mister Zhuang's eyes held a profound gaze, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Mo Hua returned home, had dinner, and went back to his room. He then knelt in front of his small desk and began to draw the Reverse Spirit Formation.
This formation was challenging to learn, and practicing it was no easy task.
Mo Hua could only manage to draw it with difficulty, his brushstrokes unrefined and the formation lines lacking clarity. His understanding of the formation's core was also insufficient, and his spiritual sense was barely adequate. Thus, he had much room for improvement and needed to practice repeatedly to truly master it.
Mo Hua knelt at his desk, focusing intently. His small hands gripped the brush, and he labored to draw the Reverse Spirit Formation.
By the time he finished, his spiritual sense was almost depleted, so he calmed his mind and meditated to restore it.
At the same time, heretical thoughts emerged and continued to sprout, disturbing Mo Hua's state of mind.
Following Mister Zhuang's instructions, Mo Hua used these heretical thoughts to temper his heart.
When heretical thoughts arose, he did not shy away or escape. Instead, he treated his mind as a clear mirror, reflecting on himself, suppressing these thoughts, and gradually solidifying his true heart amidst the chaos of desires.
After meditating for a while, the heretical thoughts faded, and Mo Hua's spiritual sense gradually replenished.
Mo Hua practiced drawing the Reverse Spirit Formation again and then took a break. He began contemplating his plans for building his foundation.
Previously, he had only thought about foundation building without knowing how to go about it or what preparations were needed.
After consulting with Mister Zhuang, his understanding became clearer.
In simple terms, before foundation building, one's spiritual sense needed to be as strong as possible. This way, after foundation building, the spiritual sense would multiply, laying the groundwork for achieving enlightenment through spiritual sense in the future.
The first step was to cultivate and continue until he reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Before, Mo Hua had been anxious to build his foundation, which had led to a hasty mindset. Now, as he aimed to refine his realm and solidify his spiritual sense, he felt less rushed.
Maintaining a calm mind and persevering in his cultivation every day, he would wait for things to fall into place naturally without seeking instant success.
Aside from cultivation, the most important aspect was his spiritual sense.
Currently, at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he had two minor realm breakthroughs to go. With each breakthrough, his spiritual sense should strengthen.
Learning the Reverse Spirit Formation and practicing with the Dao stele would also steadily enhance his spiritual sense.
Once he mastered the Reverse Spirit Formation, Mister Zhuang said he would teach him other things.
If Mo Hua's guess was correct, it would be how to utilize the Reverse Spirit Formation to cause a formation to collapse.
Mo Hua recalled Mister Zhuang's words:
"When a formation collapses, the spiritual power within the formation framework reverses, conflicts, and constantly generates and destroys itself, creating an extremely powerful spiritual power fluctuation with an extremely profound and unimaginable might..."
Mo Hua was astonished and curious about the power of a formation collapse, wondering how strong it could be to make even Mister Zhuang feel unimaginable.
After learning these things, Mister Zhuang would probably look for other heaven-defying formations for him to comprehend.
Mo Hua wondered if the might and effects of other heaven-defying formations were also beyond the capabilities of ordinary cultivators.
How would these heaven-defying formations compare to the Reverse Spirit Formation and other ordinary first-rate formations in terms of learning and effects?
Lastly, there was the visualization chart.
If the divine being's consciousness within the visualization chart wasn't strong, could he really enhance his spiritual sense by 'consuming the chart'? Consuming the chart to refine his spiritual sense and using heretical thoughts to temper his heart.
With the suppression of the Dao stele, the risk should be less than imagined.
However, consuming the chart could only be a backup plan. Firstly, visualization charts were rare, and Mo Hua couldn't find any or know where to look for them.
Secondly, if he couldn't see through the true form, he wouldn't know if the consciousness within the chart was heretical or evil, strong or weak, and thus wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
"Let's deal with the visualization chart later..."
Even without relying on the visualization chart, once he completed the tasks mentioned above, Mo Hua would be able to further refine his spiritual sense beyond the foundation-building stage, making it even stronger.
With a powerful spiritual sense, learning second-rate formations would be a breeze, and becoming a second-rate formation master would be just around the corner.
How powerful were second-rate formations, and what effects could they have?
If he learned second-rate formations, would he be considered the youngest second-rate formation master?
The cultivation world was vast, and there were countless geniuses. Even if he wasn't the youngest, he should at least be among the youngest batch.
Mo Hua's heart stirred with anticipation, and he felt grateful to Mister Zhuang.
Without Mister Zhuang's guidance, his formation mastery wouldn't have progressed so well or so quickly, let alone becoming a first-rate formation master or learning formations above the first-rate level.
With these thoughts, Mo Hua unconsciously furrowed his brows.
Mister Zhuang's behavior lately seemed a bit off.
He seemed sleepier than usual and more easily fatigued, as if something had gone awry with his cultivation...
Although he appeared the same on the surface, lazy yet calm and carefree, Mo Hua was perceptive and had spent a lot of time with Mister Zhuang, so he could sense that something was amiss.
"Is Mister Zhuang... alright?"
Mo Hua felt a twinge of worry.
(End of Chapter)
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