Immortality Through Array Formations

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Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi listened to Mo Hua's words and witnessed the arduous life of Mining Cultivators, both frowning in silence.

The atmosphere became somewhat somber for a while.

After some thought, Mo Hua suddenly pointed to the north and said,

"Let's first take a trip to the forest over there."

Bai Zisheng, puzzled, asked, "What are we doing in the forest?"

Mo Hua replied, "You wanted to eat wild boar, didn't you? There's one there; we'll catch it and I'll cook it for you."

Bai Zisheng was momentarily taken aback, then overjoyed, and couldn't help but pat Mo Hua on the shoulder,

"You truly are a good junior brother of mine!"

Bai Zixi also smiled faintly.

The three of them went into the forest and captured a wild boar.

A Late First Grade wild boar stood no chance against the three of them.

After capturing the boar, Mo Hua brought it back, and using the cooking method his mother had taught him, he removed the gamey taste, cleansed the bloodstains, added spicy seasoning, and began to stew it in the pot.

The pork was tough and chewy, and it took a long time to stew.

It took a full day for the aroma to finally waft through the air.

After Mo Hua sliced it, he plated it and brought it as food to accompany the drinks for Instructor Yan and Mr. Zhuang.

Instructor Yan was temporarily living in the cave dwelling as well.

Whenever he had time, he would visit Mr. Zhuang.

The two sat in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze, drinking wine, eating meat, and chatting about the past of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect as well as the rise and fall of the Great Hidden Spirit Sect.

Instructor Yan couldn't stop praising the wild boar meat.

He never would have expected that Mo Hua, a student so proficient in formations, could also prepare meals that were quite up to standard.

After Mr. Zhuang took a bite, he nodded slightly.

Although the taste was somewhat inferior to what he had eaten in Tongxian City, eating it made his heart feel much warmer.

After all, it was made by his own junior disciple.

Under the courtyard's large tree, Mo Hua and the two others sat side by side.

Bai Zisheng relished the meal, wishing he could eat up the entire pig.

Bai Zixi, on the other hand, ate gracefully, her demeanor refined and her gestures delicate and elegant.

After eating a few bites, Mo Hua also nodded in satisfaction.

The weather was hot, but the shade under the tree was cool.

A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, casting mottled shadows.

Suddenly, Mo Hua felt that such days were quite nice...

There was his master, senior brother, and senior sister.

And old acquaintances like Instructor Yan would pay visits.

He just didn't know how long such days could last...

...

After eating their fill, Mo Hua started to focus on the serious matters at hand.

He needed to deduce the Spirit Pivot Formation Patterns, comprehend the Spiritual Pivot Formation, and use the First Grade Twelve Stripes formation to temper his Divine Sense, so as to advance it further and step into the realm of the Thirteen Stripes.

The Thirteen Stripes represented the limit of a Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Cultivator's Divine Sense.

Mo Hua would also be taking a crucial step towards Foundation Establishment.

The Spiritual Pivot Formation required deduction.

The first thing to research was Zhang Quan's Corpse Controlling Bell.

The Corpse Controlling Bell was an Evil Artifact of the Demon Path, unassuming on the outside with the formation hidden inside.

Mo Hua not being very knowledgeable about Artifact Refining, had no idea where to start or how to dismantle it.

Eventually, it was Bai Zixi who, after consulting a number of Tao Cultivation Canons, figured out the method of disassembly.

Dismantling the Corpse Controlling Bell was a troublesome process that required profound knowledge in Artifact Refining and some special refining methods.

Bai Zixi patiently explained to Mo Hua who, however, was utterly confused.

Apart from formations, Mo Hua was not very skilled in other Tao Cultivation arts, surely not as accomplished as Bai Zixi.

Therefore, dismantling the Corpse Controlling Bell could only be done by Bai Zixi.

Bai Zixi retrieved a small and exquisitely styled Artifact Furnace from nowhere, crafted from expensive materials, with the furnace fire as concentrated as mercury.

She then took out a series of Artifact Refining tools from her storage bag.

There were golden scissors, silver tweezers, jade needles, and so on.

Mo Hua had never seen these Artifact Refining tools before.

He had only seen a big hammer...

It was the large iron hammer that Master Chen swung when refining artifacts.

Bai Zixi explained to Mo Hua,

"Different grades of Spiritual Artifacts require different refining tools. Swords and halberds are usually forged with hammers; rings, bells, and pendants require more delicate tools."

"Mhm, mhm."

Mo Hua looked on admiringly, nodding his head repeatedly.

Then Bai Zixi began to demonstrate to Mo Hua how to dismantle the Corpse Controlling Bell.

She first placed the bell in the furnace to heat it up to a certain point before taking it down, and with her fair hands, she alternated between golden scissors, silver tweezers, and jade needles, gradually separating the inner and outer layers of the bell.

Bai Zixi worked with ease.

Mo Hua watched, still somewhat puzzled.

As he raised his head, about to ask a question, he saw Bai Zixi with her eyes as clear as autumn waters, focused intently, occasionally blinking, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.

Mo Hua found himself mesmerized, forgetting what he was about to say.

After a while, Bai Zixi managed to dismantle the Corpse Controlling Bell and looked up at Mo Hua, asking in a melodious voice,

"Did you understand it clearly?"

Feeling a bit guilty, Mo Hua averted his gaze,

"I understood..."

Bai Zixi nodded in satisfaction.

The Corpse Controlling Bell was dismantled by Bai Zixi.

Mo Hua then composed himself, focused, and began studying the formation on the bell.

But soon, Mo Hua furrowed his brow.

The formation on the Corpse Controlling Bell was not an Ultimate Formation...

It was based on the Five Elements Water Series Formation, transforming water into blood, and was a formation created from human blood that used a Blood Formation to control and manipulate an Iron Corpse.

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But it was not the Soul Pivot Ultimate Formation that emphasized the control of Spiritual Power, as Mo Hua had previously speculated.

Mo Hua was very disappointed.

"Is it wrong?" Bai Zixi asked.

"Hmm." Mo Hua nodded.

Bai Zixi suggested, "Do you want to look at the other formations in the Corpse Walking Stronghold?"

"Sure."

Thus, Bai Zixi opened the Storage Bag and, with Bai Zisheng's help, laid out all the formation-related items of various sizes that they had previously scavenged from the Corpse Walking Stronghold in the courtyard.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had prepared a strategy in advance.

If the complete Spiritual Pivot Ultimate Formation was not in the Corpse Controlling Bell, then it must be within the Corpse Walking Stronghold.

Now that he had brought all the formation secrets of the Corpse Walking Stronghold to himself, he refused to believe that he could not find it.

So, Mo Hua started searching one by one.

Formation Patterns that were obvious at a glance, he simply discarded back into the Storage Bag.

For obscure formations, Mo Hua took note of the formation patterns.

Some items had formations deeply hidden and abstruse, so he marked them separately to dismantle and study in detail later.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi also helped.

They lacked enough Divine Sense to learn the Ultimate Formation, but they could still discern.

Like this, they kept searching all day.

Still, they found nothing.

Mo Hua obtained some rare and obscure formations, but these were not the Ultimate Formation.

"Very strange..."

Mo Hua frowned.

"Could this formation not be in the Corpse Walking Stronghold?" Bai Zisheng asked.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head, "It's unlikely..."

Formations are always needed.

The Spiritual Pivot Formation on the corpses was fragmentary; it was not possible that there were formations on the corpses corresponding to the corpse control methods without being augmented by the same formations.

"Did we miss something?"

Mo Hua muttered.

"Everything even slightly related to formations in the Corpse Walking Stronghold has been taken by you, hasn't it?" Bai Zisheng said doubtfully, "What could have been missed?"

What could have been missed?

Mo Hua replayed the encounter with Zhang Quan in his mind again.

Hundred Flower Tower, Earth Escape Techniques, Corpse Blood Pill, Corpse Raising Coffin, Walking Corpse, Iron Corpse, Corpse Controlling Bell, Corpse Walking Stronghold, Ancestral Master of the Zhang Family...

After thinking several times, Mo Hua suddenly realized:

"The Iron Corpse!"

Bai Zisheng asked, puzzled, "Iron Corpse?"

"Hmm." Mo Hua nodded and quickly said:

"If there is a Spiritual Pivot Formation on the walking corpses, then naturally, there should be one on the Iron Corpse as well..."

"I previously thought the walking corpses and the Iron Corpse were both controlled by the Corpse Controlling Bell."

"Then their body patterns should be the same, with perhaps only a bit of difference in the strength of the formations."

"But now, since there's no Spiritual Pivot Formation on top of the Corpse Controlling Bell, then the formation controlling the corpses is very likely inscribed on the Iron Corpse!"

"Zhang Quan controls the Iron Corpse with the Corpse Controlling Bell, and then through the Spiritual Pivot Formation on the Iron Corpse's body, he radiates control over more walking corpses!"

Bai Zixi's eyes showed surprise.

Bai Zisheng's mouth fell open in shock, "How did you think of that?"

Mo Hua said, "The principle of formations is interconnected; once you learn many, it's natural to make such deductions."

Bai Zisheng pondered and said, "It's very possible."

"Where is the Iron Corpse?" Mo Hua asked.

"At the Taoist Court," Bai Zisheng replied.

Mo Hua immediately got up and said, "There's no time to delay, let's go to Sister Situ and ask for an Iron Corpse."

The three of them went to find Situ Fang.

Situ Fang was surprised, "What do you need an Iron Corpse for?"

Mo Hua said, "To study it."

Situ Fang was a bit bewildered.

Was this something that could be studied...

What was there to research?

It's not as if they planned to study Corpse Refinement.

Mo Hua promptly said, "It's related to formations."

Situ Fang was slightly shocked, her mind cleared up a bit, but she still frowned and said, "It's very dangerous."

"It's alright," Mo Hua assured, "I am a Formation Master, just draw a few more formations, and ensure that even if it loses control, it won't cause a stir."

After speaking, Mo Hua added, "Once the study is done, I'll return it."

Situ Fang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Alright, but you guys need to keep a low profile, don't let anyone find out."

Mo Hua smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Situ!"

His smile was clear and sincere.

Situ Fang couldn't help but shake her head, she really had no way to deal with Mo Hua.

There were a total of five Iron Corpses in the Corpse Walking Stronghold.

Situ Fang gave Mo Hua one.

The Iron Corpse was hidden in a coffin, which needed a horse-drawn carriage to transport.

Mo Hua spent a long time sweet-talking Big White before they were able to secretly pull the coffin containing the Iron Corpse out from the Taoist Court and send it back to their dwelling.

It was still in the same chamber.

Mo Hua reinforced the formations once again.

Because they had to imprison an Iron Corpse, Mo Hua was even more cautious, using at least first-grade Compound Formations this time.

The formations, like spiderwebs, spread to every corner of the room.

Once ready, Mo Hua moved to open the coffin.