Immortality Through Array Formations

Ever since he obtained the “Thousand Formation Collection”, Mo Hua had been burying himself in the volumes non-stop, noting down points of interest one by one whenever he encountered a formation he was interested in.

He would go to Mr. Zhuang’s library to look for relevant books and then jot down any questions he had.

It was quite difficult for a Loose Cultivator to obtain even a single Formation Diagram; when copying formations for Manager Mo, besides the basic ones like the Bright Fire Formation diagrams, the more complex diagrams all required an extra fee in Spirit Stones.

But now, with nearly a thousand Formation Diagrams in his possession, if Mo Hua were to master all these formations, becoming a first-rate Formation Master would be no question at all. Just the thought of it filled him with excitement.

Mo Hua learned formations day and night like a little mouse who had fallen into a rice bin, wishing he could stuff all of the rice into his belly.

During the day, he would study Formation Books, practice Drawing Formation, and consult with Mr. Zhuang about his questions. At night, he would continue to practice on the fragmented steles in his Sea of Consciousness.

Having learned “Tianyan Jue”, according to Mr. Zhuang, studying formations was about breadth rather than depth, so Mo Hua didn’t aim for deep comprehension. As long as he could draw the formations, that was good enough. There were some formations that he had just learned to draw and had even forgotten their names right after.

For several months, Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was always cycling between being fully charged and utterly depleted before recovering and then depleting again.

Mo Hua’s cultivation hadn’t progressed an inch, but his Divine Sense had become much more profound. His theoretical knowledge of formations hadn’t increased, but his learning and engraving of formations had become more effortless. Patterns that had seemed abstruse and complex before now felt natural and familiar.

“What are you looking at?”

One day, as Mo Hua was reading, Bai Zisheng popped his head over and asked.

Mo Hua had been engrossed in studying formations for the past few days and hadn’t paid much attention to Bai Zisheng. Aunt Xue seemed to think Bai Zisheng was somewhat distracted, and her demands on him had become stricter, with a full schedule of cultivation activities, including formations, alchemy, and artifact refining.

Although Mr. Zhuang was considered the teacher of the Bai siblings, he always had a hands-off approach with them. It seemed that the siblings’ objective wasn’t so much to seek guidance in cultivation from Mr. Zhuang. To avoid irritating him, they only paid their regular respects and accepted teachings, seldom bothering him otherwise.

Therefore, the Bai siblings’ cultivation was still arranged by Aunt Xue, using the Bai Family’s orthodox method of training direct disciples.

This wasn’t too bad within the clan, as Bai Zisheng didn’t care to interact with his clan members, so when he studied and cultivated behind closed doors, he was able to calm his mind. However, when he was outside and encountered new and interesting things, along with having Mo Hua to talk to, he began to find such cultivation somewhat dry.

Mo Hua, eyes focused intently on his book, simply flipped the book’s cover up to let Bai Zisheng see it.

Bai Zisheng tilted his head and read aloud word by word, “Thousand… Formation… Collection…”

“What’s so interesting about this?”

Mo Hua asked, “Do you have one too?”

Bai Zisheng shook his head, “The Book Pavilion of the Bai Family has it. It compiles formations collected within the clan into volumes for clan disciples to study and refer to. Not only does it broaden one’s horizon in formations, but it also facilitates the search for a particular type of formation when needed to learn. Disciples who study formations all have a copy of this collection; it’s not a rare item.”

A copy for every disciple of the Noble Clans, not rare…

Mo Hua, who came from a background of Loose Cultivators, decided not to bother with someone who was out of touch with reality, and just noncommittally “oh” in response.

Seeing that Mo Hua didn’t respond, Bai Zisheng scratched his head and added, “Why not, lend it to me to have a look?”

“Didn’t you say your clan has it? Why do you need to look at it again?”

“Different clans and sects have their own unique heritages, and the formations recorded in the collections vary accordingly. I want to see what kinds of formations Mr. Zhuang has included here.”

Mo Hua hesitated a bit.

“Just a glance!” Bai Zisheng coaxed.

“Alright then.”

Mo Hua closed the thick “Thousand Formation Collection” and passed it to Bai Zisheng.

Having received the book, Bai Zisheng flipped through it roughly, and then his mouth fell open:

“There really are more than a thousand formations!”

Mo Hua rolled his eyes, “Doesn’t it say ‘Thousand Formation Collection’ on the cover?”

“You don’t understand. Those who compile these collections often like to show off and embellish. If they collect ten formations, they call it a hundred formation diagrams, and if a thousand, they name it ten thousand formation diagrams. Some people also like to give grandiose names to their cultivation techniques with words like ‘Heaven’, ‘Earth’, ‘Creation’, and ‘Divine’. They sound formidable, but in reality, it might just be a low-grade cultivation technique…”

“Do cultivators in the Tao Cultivation World also like to do this sort of thing?”

“Until you become immortal, you’re still human, and humans like to brag.”

“Oh.”

Mo Hua thought about his own cultivation technique “Tianyan Jue”, which also carried the word “Heaven”, and wasn’t very high-grade either. Was it also just for show?

But this was an ancient technique, probably created by an ancient cultivator. The people of ancient times should have been more honest, right…?

Mo Hua sincerely hoped so.

Bai Zisheng continued flipping through the collection, growing more and more astonished, and hastily waved Bai Zixi over, saying, “Zixi, Zixi, come quick and look, there are so many formations I’ve never seen before!”

Hearing this, Bai Zixi, who had been cultivating quietly, also peered over with her little head.

Mo Hua asked doubtfully, “The Bai Family should be a big clan, right? Does Mr. Zhuang’s compilation have more formations than what’s in your family?”

Bai Zisheng, not willing to admit defeat, corrected, “It’s just the formations below first rank. It’s hard to say for higher-ranked formations.”

“Although the Bai Family has a legacy of formations, it doesn’t specialize in them. So it’s normal that Mr. Zhuang’s collection has more,” Bai Zixi said calmly.

“Hmph!” Bai Zisheng snorted, but he didn’t dare lose his temper at Bai Zixi, and since he couldn’t refute her, he could only sulk.

Bai Zixi continued to peruse the collection, her eyes growing brighter and brighter, looking as if she couldn’t put it down. After a while, she raised her head, her clear, autumn-water-like bright eyes gazing at Mo Hua.

Although she didn’t say anything, Mo Hua understood the message in her eyes at a glance.

Mo Hua was conflicted for a moment, then sighed, “I can only lend it to you for an afternoon.”

Since we’re all from the same sect, Mr. Zhuang probably wouldn’t blame me if he knew.

A faint smile appeared on Bai Zixi’s immaculate face, like a hibiscus flower touched by the dawn’s rosy light, clear and bright.

Bai Zixi took out a coverless booklet from her storage bag and passed it to Mo Hua, “This is the Bai Family’s collection of formations below first rank. Take a look, and if there’s anything you want to learn, I can teach you.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, and he happily took the booklet and flipped through it.

Although the formations recorded in the booklet weren’t as numerous as those given by Mr. Zhuang, some more basic formations were much more detailed and easier to understand, obviously meant for entry-level disciples. Many sections also included handwritten notes, in elegant and beautiful handwriting that seemed to be Bai Zixi’s.

“Wouldn’t this be against the clan rules?”

Mo Hua was a bit concerned. He knew that some clans were very strict about the transmission of their formations.

“I guess so…” Bai Zisheng nodded.

“It won’t be!” Bai Zixi denied.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m giving it to you!”

Bai Zixi stated lightly yet categorically.

Although he didn’t understand why, Mo Hua felt that Bai Zixi who said this had a certain inexplicable coolness.

In the days that followed, besides studying formations on his own, Mo Hua occasionally learned from Bai Zixi. He realized that Bai Zixi’s foundation in formations was much deeper than his own by countless measures, which served as a reminder to himself that the way of formations was boundless, and he must not become complacent.

When learning formations, Bai Zixi sometimes had questions, which Mo Hua would jot down and then go to ask Mr. Zhuang. After getting clear answers, he would share them with Bai Zixi. This led to Mo Hua consulting Mr. Zhuang more frequently.

One day, after Mo Hua finished asking Mr. Zhuang and left, Mr. Zhuang furrowed his brows and said, “This isn’t good.”

“What’s not good?” Old Kui asked carelessly.

“This kid Mo Hua comes to me every day with questions, and I don’t get the chance to close my eyes and understand the Tao!”

“You mean sleep…” Old Kui bluntly revealed.

Mr. Zhuang acted as though he hadn’t heard and pondered, “What to do about this…”

“Just don’t answer, right?”

Remembering Mo Hua’s clear, inquisitive eyes sometimes filled with admiration, Mr. Zhuang shook his head, saying,

“How could I do that? When a disciple has a question, it would not befit a good teacher to know and not answer.”

“Since when did you start caring about such things?”

“Starting just now.”

Old Kui couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to him, holding a piece of wood, carving something unknown. The carving knife moved across the wood, and the shavings fell silently.

Mr. Zhuang lay leisurely in the mountain chair, eyes gazing skyward toward the overhead wooden beams of the pavilion, lost in thought for a long moment before snapping back to reality.

“I need to find an excuse to sleep in,” Mr. Zhuang thought to himself.