Immortality Through Array Formations

Mo Hua sighed, “I originally thought that Qian Xing, despite being arrogant and overbearing, was at most a spoilt brat who just bullied others a bit; I never expected him to be capable of doing such bad things behind the scenes…”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lan’s gaze slightly hardened, and he spoke earnestly, “Mo Hua, you often hear the phrase ‘the human heart is treacherous,’ right?”

Mo Hua nodded.

“The treachery of the human heart is sometimes invisible. Bad people won’t have the word ‘bad’ written on their faces. Many despicable people seem just like ordinary folks on the surface, and may even appear more like good people than the average person.”

“People tend to show only the parts of themselves that can stand the light. What dark secrets are hidden in the dark, one will never know…”

Mo Hua was shocked to hear such words coming from Zhang Lan, who usually idled about.

“That means, for someone like Qian Xing, the things he shows in the light are already not good, not to mention what he might do in the dark, nothing bad would be surprising.”

Zhang Lan looked at Mo Hua in surprise, “Not bad, you catch on pretty fast.”

“It’s a pity…”

Seeing a look of regret on Mo Hua’s face, Zhang Lan asked, “A pity about what?”

“The power of the Formation was a bit too weak…”

It didn’t kill Qian Xing.

Zhang Lan nodded, he was thinking the same thing.

“Although it didn’t kill him, he was seriously injured. The Qian Family is currently seeking Pill Masters of at least first-tier to heal him; there’s no telling if he can be saved. If you ask me, they shouldn’t bother healing him—it’s purely a waste of Pills.”

Zhang Lan said this, then suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, “If Qian Xing survives, does he know it’s you who made the move?”

“I splashed Spiritual Ink in his eyes; he shouldn’t be able to see.”

“Oh?” Zhang Lan thought to himself, aren’t you just admitting it?

Mo Hua looked up at the sky, pretending he had said nothing.

“But what if he really does find out?”

After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua said, “If he finds out, given his pride, he certainly wouldn’t tell his Clan. Getting injured by a Cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refinement is an embarrassing matter.”

“What if he seeks revenge on you in private?” Zhang Lan couldn’t help but ask.

“Then I’m even less afraid. If he could be ambushed once, why couldn’t he be ambushed a second time? He was lucky the first time; he might not be so lucky the next…” Mo Hua said with a sneer.

Though he wasn’t one to start trouble, he also wasn’t afraid of it. He had been caught off guard before and suffered for it, but if he was prepared, he wouldn’t be afraid of Qian Xing anymore.

Zhang Lan was taken aback, “How can you be sure his luck won’t hold the second time?”

Mo Hua pretended not to hear.

Zhang Lan then whispered, “Even if you used the Earth Fire Formation, it only left him with serious injuries; it still couldn’t kill him. At the fourth level of Qi Refinement, you don’t have any other methods, do you…”

At the fourth level of Qi Refinement, and not knowing any Spells; even if one knew Spells, their power wouldn’t be high.

Mo Hua was not suited for Body Refinement, so getting up close and personal in a fight would be suicidal.

As for Formations, being able to draw an Earth Fire Formation containing seven Formation Patterns at the fourth level of Qi Refinement was probably his limit; even if there were Formations with greater power, they wouldn’t be much stronger.

Even if such Formations existed, they would be secret Formations closely guarded by the big Clans and not casually shared with outsiders.

Zhang Lan couldn’t think of any other means Mo Hua might have.

“You’re not thinking of gathering those Refinery Apprentices to gang up and beat Qian Xing to death, are you…” Zhang Lan suddenly said.

Mo Hua gave Zhang Lan a slightly disdainful look and said softly, “One Earth Fire Formation can inflict injury; wouldn’t two Earth Fire Formations… kill him?”

Zhang Lan:

He was accustomed to thinking from the professional perspective of a Cultivator and didn’t expect such a straightforward solution.

Mo Hua leaned close to Zhang Lan and lowered his voice, “I’ve thought it all through. We’ll do just as you said: after exploding, use water to wash away the ashes, mold a Spirit Stone on the spot to confuse the Spiritual Power, and then they won’t know I used a Formation…”

Zhang Lan nodded, then suddenly realized something was wrong. “Wait a minute, when you say ‘do as I said,’ what do you mean ‘as I said’?”

Mo Hua smiled apologetically, “I owe it all to your guidance just now.”

Zhang Lan blurted out, “I did not guide you!”

“Alright, let’s say I didn’t receive any guidance.”

“What do you mean ‘let’s say’? No guidance means no guidance!”

Then Mo Hua comforted him, “I was just speaking offhand. How could I, a Qi Refinement Fourth Level cultivator, possibly do something so dangerous.”

“Let’s drop it, forget about this topic.”

Zhang Lan waved his hand, fearing that if the conversation continued, he might end up being seen as the mastermind.

He had been somewhat worried about Mo Hua, but now he realized he should probably worry more about that Qian Xing kid.

The Qian Family might not want to make a big fuss about this matter, after all, they were at fault first, failing in their bullying and ending up blown to bits. If word got out, they would be the ones losing face.

If the dirt came out when digging up the radish, bringing to light Qian Xing’s shady deeds, the Taoist Court would have enough to give them a hard time.

As long as the Qian Family didn’t take action, even if Qian Xing sought private revenge, Mo Hua should be alright as long as he stayed cautious.

Mo Hua was only worried about the Qian Family. As for Qian Xing, though he verbally chastised him as useless, in his heart he had always regarded him as such. Unless caught off guard and ambushed, with preparation, dealing with Qian Xing wouldn’t be difficult.

“By the way, since you study Formation, you must have a master, right?” Zhang Lan had always wanted to ask this question.

In the Tao Cultivation World, Formation is the hardest to learn, and the assessments and rankings for Formation Masters are also the strictest.

Most cultivators who study Formation have a traditional apprenticeship. The notion of being self-taught simply doesn’t exist.

Even the most talented Formation Masters need someone else’s guidance; without it, not to mention the vast sea of Formation knowledge, even the basic Formation Patterns would take a lot of time to learn and understand.

Mo Hua was a Loose Cultivator, not trained in a Sect, but his skill in Formation was not low. Aside from his own hard work and diligent study, Zhang Lan guessed he must also have had instruction from a master.

“Not a master, just a gentleman, I am merely registered as his disciple,” Mo Hua did not hide this fact.

“Does this gentleman have a name?” Zhang Lan inquired.

Mo Hua shook his head, “The gentleman lives in seclusion, enjoys solitude, and doesn’t wish to reveal his name.”

Zhang Lan nodded in understanding, there were quite a few cultivators in the Tao Cultivation World like that—eccentric, disliking social interactions, finding a secluded place to do what they enjoy.

It was Mo Hua’s fate to have encountered such a person.

He did not ask further; there are proper bounds to everything, and to inquire further would be prying. Some masters particularly dislike being investigated.

“However… this gentleman never officially took you as a disciple?”

Zhang Lan couldn’t help but ask, finding Mo Hua to be quite a good kid; diligent, hardworking, and with high comprehension, even though sometimes his words could be exasperating. Zhang Lan wasn’t skilled in Formation himself; otherwise, he would have considered taking Mo Hua as a disciple.

Mo Hua said, “My talent is quite ordinary. I’m already very happy that the gentleman is willing to teach me Formation.”

Zhang Lan nodded and said no more. After they finished eating meat and drinking wine, he gave Mo Hua a few more words of advice before leaving the eatery.

Once outside the eatery, walking on the road with the breeze on his face, the slight tipsiness from the wine was swept away, and he felt much more sober.

Then, Zhang Lan suddenly thought of a question, “Qi Refinement Fourth Level, Drawing seven Formation Patterns, Earth Fire Formation… is this what you call quite ordinary talent?”

“What can I draw at Qi Refinement Fourth Level? Four Patterns? No, at least five or six, surely. Mo Hua can draw seven…”

“He aims to be a Formation Master, so drawing seven is normal. I’m not aiming to become one, just learning casually. Drawing five or six shouldn’t be too much…” Zhang Lan nodded to himself.

“But, how many Formation Patterns can an average Qi Refinement Fourth Level Formation Master draw? Is it four?”

After thinking for a while and still clueless, Zhang Lan shook his head. He had hated Drawing Formations back in the clan school, as it quickly depleted one’s Divine Sense and caused headaches, so he never paid much attention to it.

“I’ll write a letter when I have time to ask the clan how many Formation Patterns a Qi Refinement Fourth Level disciple can draw…” Zhang Lan thought silently to himself.