Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 1140: "Mo Hua"

Inside a cave sealed by layers upon layers of array formations.

Mo Hua's face had become chillingly cold and ethereal, devoid of the slightest trace of humanity—like a demonic being born from the heavens and earth itself, enough to send shivers down one's spine.

This was, without a doubt, the strongest backlash Mo Hua had ever faced.

And this time… something had gone terribly wrong.

The Slaughter Qi was devouring his memories—erasing his sense of self.

Everything from his past—everyone, every event—was gradually turning into a blur. Even Mo Hua's awareness of his own existence was starting to slip away.

"Who… am I?"

"What is my name…"

"Am I really 'me'?"

"Was my entire life just an illusion? Did I… never actually exist? Were the people I saw, the places I went, the things I experienced—all of it just a dream? A fleeting hallucination, destined to vanish in an instant?"

"If everything was fake, then what… am I?"

"What am I? Where am I now? What am I supposed to do?"

"I want to…"

Mo Hua's pitch-black eyes swirled with confusion. Then, from deep within his Dao Heart, two words surfaced:

"Ascend…?"

"I want to ascend to immortality…"

For a brief instant, Mo Hua's Dao Heart became clear—but just as quickly, it plunged back into deeper uncertainty.

"Why do I want to ascend?"

"To live as long as the heavens and earth? To become immortal?"

"But… how does one ascend? By constantly cultivating? Constantly growing stronger? No… that's not it… My path lies in… enlightenment through divine sense."

"To cultivate divine sense and attain the Dao—to bring salvation to all beings and thus achieve longevity…"

"Save all beings…"

"But why must I save them? Why? Do they need saving? Are they worth saving?"

"Why can't I… just kill them all?"

"Slaughter them… wipe out every last living being…"

"So what if I do?"

"Human hearts are greedy, selfish, despicable, ugly, vain, indulgent… Endless chaos, ceaseless war—they are the root of all calamity under heaven. If they are the source of disaster… why should they remain?"

"Wipe them out—all living beings, all humans—every last one. Leave behind only a sky of pure light, and a world of quiet, empty land."

"From then on, the world will endure eternally, the sun and moon will shine clearly, unchanging through the ages. Wouldn't that too… be a Dao?"

"Wouldn't that also be enlightenment?"

"Yes… that is a Dao too."

"Life is Dao. Death is also Dao. Enlightenment through divine sense is Dao… and so is enlightenment through slaughter."

"If all humans are killed, if all life perishes… that too is attaining the Dao…"

"That too… is becoming immortal…"

Mo Hua's pupils darkened further, and deep within his fate, a "reversal" had begun.

At that moment, he was like a true "Little Wyrd Daoist."

He was about to step onto a completely different path of cultivation—one from which there would be no return, a descent into eternal abyss.

...

Lì Prefecture, Tongxian City.

Inside a tavern.

Liu Ruhua, whose bond with her son was like thread to heart, suddenly felt a sharp, piercing pain deep in her chest.

She didn't know why, but the image of Mo Hua in her mind was beginning to blur, growing darker and dimmer… as if she were about to lose her sweet, kind son forever.

Tears welled up in her eyes without restraint.

...

In Mount Dablack.

While hunting beasts, Mo Shan also felt a sudden, inexplicable shock in his heart. He looked up toward the direction Mo Hua had gone, his brows furrowing deeply.

...

Far away, across countless tens of thousands of miles, in the region of Qianxue Prefecture.

Venerable Elder Xun also felt a sudden jolt in his heart, his expression darkening.

He had a strong premonition—the very thing he feared most… was finally happening.

The Slaughter Qi on Mo Hua's body was like a mountain of gunpowder. Any change in killing intent, any karmic tie to slaughter, could act as a spark, detonating this mountain and triggering unpredictable and terrifying transformations.

Up until now, Lì Prefecture had been stable—relatively speaking.

But now the Great Wilderness was in rebellion, and Lì Prefecture, the nearest region, would certainly be caught in the flames of war, spreading endless chaos.

And Mo Hua, this living mountain of explosives, was surrounded by sparks.

It was only a matter of time before it all exploded.

But what could Venerable Elder Xun do?

He couldn't just preemptively kill Mo Hua to eliminate the risk…

Nine years of teaching, living side by side—he had grown to truly love this child. How could he possibly bear to harm him?

Leaving Mo Hua in the Great Void Sect was even worse.

If this "gunpowder mountain" went off inside the sect, the entire sect might be destroyed.

Venerable Elder Xun's brows tightened into knots.

"The only option… is to use the Great Void Twin Polarity Lock to protect his heart and mind…"

He began chanting an incantation, using the Heaven's Mechanism Compass to forcibly trigger the Great Void Sect's sacred treasure—the Great Void Twin Polarity Lock—in an attempt to suppress Mo Hua's Slaughter Qi and awaken his mind.

If the Slaughter Qi could be suppressed, and Mo Hua's consciousness regained even a sliver of clarity, then perhaps… he could save himself.

Whether or not Mo Hua could do so—depended entirely on his own fate.

Venerable Elder Xun, too far away, could offer only limited aid.

The Heaven's Mechanism Compass began to spin. Using it as a "key," he attempted to connect to the Twin Polarity Lock bound to Mo Hua's body back in Lì Prefecture.

But after several attempts, the lock remained unmoved.

Venerable Elder Xun frowned.

"Too far away?"

That shouldn't be the case. This was the sect's most sacred treasure…

Ordinary fate artifacts couldn't cross the span of nine prefectures, true—but the ancestral Great Void Twin Polarity Lock could. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of being the sect's most revered fifth-grade treasure.

He tried a few more times—still nothing.

Then he suddenly realized something, and his face changed drastically.

"It's… sealed?"

"Who… sealed the Twin Polarity Lock?!"

In the void, a strange and eerie aura flickered faintly into existence.

Venerable Elder Xun's expression turned unspeakably grim.

...

And all the while… the Slaughter Qi was still growing thicker.

The energy surrounding Mo Hua was being steeped in Slaughter Qi, turning ever darker—even his eyes now held no trace of color, only pure blackness.

Yet the Slaughter Qi wasn't forcefully assaulting Mo Hua's divine sense.

Or rather—it didn't dare to.

It didn't even dare approach the "central palace" of Mo Hua's divine sense—the location of his Dao Stele.

Instead, it used indirect methods: eroding his memories, warping his Dao Heart, trying to lead him—willingly—to complete his transformation, to "willingly" step onto another path: a twisted, blackened road to immortality.

The Twin Polarity Lock around Mo Hua's neck trembled violently, but it could not break free from a gray, chain-like aura that held it bound.

And Mo Hua—strictly speaking—was not in a life-or-death situation.

What he faced was a choice of Dao.

Even if his memories were erased, his fate rewritten, and his Dao Heart reversed, Mo Hua himself wouldn't die.

What would die—was simply the "Mo Hua" he once was.

But to Mo Hua… if his former self died, perhaps his true self would also be dead...

Still—at this moment, there was nothing he could do.

Without his memories, he'd lost his anchor.

To forget his past was to forget himself.

In its place, his mind was now entirely ruled by thoughts of slaughter and destruction.

Even his understanding of the Dao had completely flipped—inverted.

Mo Hua's Path was on the brink of completing its reversal.

And just as Mo Hua was about to truly fall, to become a new, blackened version of "Mo Hua"—

A pure white, profoundly intricate Heaven's Mechanism Rune suddenly lit up on his forehead—right at the palace of fate—shielding his destined fate from further corruption.

That white Heaven's Mechanism Rune began to evolve and compute on its own, and started resetting Mo Hua's fate—

It began to reverse-calculate his Heaven's Mandate.

Mo Hua's heart, his memories, his karma, and his understanding of the Dao were all being recompiled—returning him to the moment just before he had been tainted by the Slaughter Qi:

"Who… am I…?"

"What is my name…?"

Mo Hua began asking himself once more.

But this time, he had déjà vu—he distinctly remembered asking this before.

Mo Hua, ever sharp-minded, instantly noticed something was wrong.

How could someone as smart as him ask such dumb questions?

Twice, even?

Clearly… something was off.

Where did it go wrong?

Mo Hua began reflecting.

"Who… am I…?"

"What is my name…?"

He paused.

"Right… what is my name again?"

He had completely forgotten.

He searched through his mind—but it was a foggy void, not a single trace remained.

So he calmed his mind and focused hard on recalling.

Blurry images began to stir—blending like watercolors, impossible to distinguish clearly. Only fragmented voices echoed faintly—many people calling the same name over and over:

Mo Hua.

Mo Hua froze.

"Mo Hua…? That's my name?"

"But… who is Mo Hua? Why can't I remember anything about him?"

"Am I really Mo Hua?"

"Is it possible this is all fake? That I'm not Mo Hua at all? Then who am I…"

"No… that's not right…" Mo Hua gradually grew certain.

"I am Mo Hua. In this world, there is only one Mo Hua.

Any other 'Mo Hua' is false—just fragments of my split thoughts…"

Mo Hua's divine sense grew clearer.

Suddenly, an eerie surge of Slaughter Qi erupted.

And in his ears, it was as if countless wailing spirits were roaring, shrieking, howling—clamoring for vengeance against him.

They cried. They cursed. They threatened. They insulted. They tried to break him down—mocking him, pressing him, tormenting him.

Mo Hua's mind grew more agitated.

The urge to kill grew stronger.

"If you don't shut up… I'll kill every last one of you…"

The moment his killing intent surged, the "Dao" that had just been reset by the Heaven's Mechanism Rune began once more to deduce itself inside Mo Hua's heart:

"Slaughter them all…"

"Kill all living beings…"

"Why shouldn't I kill them?"

"Save the world… why should I? Do they need saving? Are they even worth saving?"

"The human heart is greedy… selfish…"

Mo Hua realized his heart was turning cold again.

He immediately stopped himself—cutting off all thoughts.

"No. I can't let this happen…"

"I must reclaim my memories. Reclaim myself…"

Mo Hua began clearing his mind, trying to recall where he came from.

"If I'm Mo Hua, then I should have parents. I wasn't born from a rock, after all…"

"My parents…"

Two faces appeared in his mind—one firm and resolute, the other warm and gentle.

"They… are my parents."

"Then do I also have… a master? After all, cultivation requires a guide…"

Mo Hua's eyes glazed over.

"Master…"

A carefree figure with the aura of an immortal appeared in his mind.

Handsome and smiling, he looked at Mo Hua with warmth and expectation.

"My… Master…"

The Heaven's Mechanism Rune on Mo Hua's forehead flared with white light—dispersing a large portion of the Slaughter Qi and illuminating much of the fog covering his memories.

"The bamboo courtyard, the little pond, the big scholar tree… Master, Elder Kui, my senior brother, and…"

"Senior Sister!"

"My senior sister is…"

Mo Hua frowned, pondering hard—then suddenly, two words surfaced in his mind:

Anchor Point.

But…

"Anchor point… what is that again?"

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, as a strangely familiar feeling crept in with the returning memories.

When he was cultivating the Void Divine Sense Sword Manifestation technique in the Great Void Sect, he also practiced a related Dao method—The Supreme Heavenly Demon's Emotion Severing. That method, like muscle memory imprinted on his divine sense, surfaced almost instinctively within his heart.

The core of the Supreme Emotion Severing technique was to cut away all distractions, emotions, and worldly desires—but not to sever one's humanity entirely.

Thus, it required an "anchor point"—a grounding element that preserved one's humanity.

Right now, Mo Hua had lost his memory. His human nature was faint and nearly nonexistent—making this the perfect condition to apply the Emotion Severing Dao's counterbalance method: using an anchor point to retrace his memories and rebuild his humanity.

"Little Senior Sister…"

Mo Hua reflexively tried to recall her face in his mind.

First came the moment they met in Tongxian City—her beauty so ethereal it seemed crafted by Nuwa herself, sculpted from wind and moonlight.

Then, the peaceful elegance as they read and cultivated together under the ancient scholar tree.

Then, their shared journeys—traveling far and wide, enduring the wind and rain.

Then, their parting amidst the vast sea of clouds…

And finally, that fleeting glimpse in the mists of the clouds—a silhouette unforgettable.

Mo Hua's cold, indifferent heart slowly began to regain a hint of warmth—the warmth of being human.

He continued tracing back his past—recalling more people, more moments:

his father and mother,

his master,

Grandpa Kui,

his senior brother,

his little senior sister,

his childhood friends,

Elder Yu and Instructor Yan of Tongxian City,

Master Chen,

and all the uncles and aunties of the neighborhood…

Even those he had met during his travels—people who came and went, who touched his life even for a brief moment.

From Qianxue Prefecture:

Venerable Elder Xun, Aunt Wan, Yu'er, Uncle Gu,

sect leaders, elders, Cheng Mo, Situ, Xiaoxiao, Little Woodhead… and all the junior disciples.

As well as people from the Dao Court, various clans and sects, and the countless rogue cultivators across the land—each with their own stories.

All of them resurfaced, one by one, in Mo Hua's mind.

And in that instant, Mo Hua was struck with a sudden, soul-awakening realization—

They were "all beings."

"All beings" was not some abstract concept.

His parents. His master. His senior siblings. His friends in Tongxian City.

His mentors in Qianxue Prefecture.

The sect master, the elders, the little brothers and sisters of the Great Void Sect—

Everyone he had met along the way…

Everyone who had cared for him, helped him, or worried about him—they were 'all beings'.

How could such 'all beings' be killed?

To save all beings… and to slaughter all beings—how could those possibly be the same?

How could they ever be the same?

At that moment, Mo Hua's Heavenly Fate Runes lit up.

His Dao Heart returned to its rightful place.

The Great Dao he pursued was anchored once more.

His divine sense cleared completely.

He had finally—recovered his original heart.

From confusion, apathy, cruelty, and cold-hearted killing intent, he had reclaimed his earliest memories and his human nature.

Mo Hua had truly returned… to being Mo Hua.

And the very moment he suppressed the Slaughter Qi, safeguarded his heart, and regained clarity of mind—

He finally saw the true nature of the "Slaughter Qi" hidden in his fate.

That Qi—was not purely "Slaughter Qi."

Or rather—the Slaughter Qi was merely a vessel.

What was truly hidden inside was a sea of malicious entities—an endless swarm of terrifying, vicious evil spirits.

Each one twisted, grotesque, and dripping with blood and tears, roaring and howling at Mo Hua.

They were the resentful souls of all the demonic cultivators Mo Hua had slaughtered in that Blood Sacrifice Array.

Now, they had all turned into karmic wraiths, hidden beneath the veil of Slaughter Qi—nestled in his fate—cursing, insulting, mocking him, day and night.

Their sole purpose: to inflame his killing intent, mislead his heart, and drive him into eternal damnation.

This was the true root of Mo Hua's inner turmoil.

His pupils contracted slightly—only now did he truly understand what the "Slaughter Qi" in his fate really was.

"No wonder…"

He had always felt—there's no way mere Slaughter Qi could blend into his fate, nor corrupt his Dao Heart at the karmic level.

Because the Slaughter Qi was just the appearance.

The true essence was these vicious demonic cultivators—transformed after death into karmic ghosts, still haunting him.

But until now, the Slaughter Qi had been too dense, concealing all truth.

If not for his forced usage of the Divine Sense Sword Manifestation, If not for him slaughtering a Golden Core cultivator on the spot, triggering a massive backlash that caused these karmic spirits to manifest and seek revenge—attempting to devour his memory and erase his humanity— He would have never been able to uncover this hidden truth.

"Karma… Karmic Ghosts…"

But suddenly, Mo Hua sensed something was still off.

People didn't just randomly turn into karmic ghosts after death.

Even if someone did, it wouldn't happen in such large numbers— let alone fuse perfectly with Slaughter Qi and infiltrate his fate as a hidden karmic curse.

And as the saying goes: "Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor."

For ghosts to seek revenge, they must know who killed them in the first place.

Yet the troubling part was…

How did all those demonic cultivators know that he was the one who killed them?

Mo Hua frowned, a sense of unease creeping into his heart as he felt that something was very off.

He had always been someone who acted with principle…

If someone deserved to die, and he had the ability to kill them—then he would.

No nonsense, no hesitation. And he always made sure to act in absolute secrecy.

Many cultivators he killed never even realized how—or by whose hand—they had died.

When the Great Wilderness Blood Sacrifice Array (Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Array) suddenly collapsed, it caused the deaths of countless demonic cultivators.

Those cultivators had all died suddenly and inexplicably—the vast majority never knowing what had happened to them.

Most of them didn't even understand how they died.

Of all the demon cultivators who perished in that incident, those who actually knew they were killed by Mo Hua…

Could probably be counted on one hand.

"If they didn't even know I was the one who killed them, then why would they turn into 'vengeful spirits' and seek revenge on me?"

And more than that—

These weren't ordinary vengeful spirits.

In most cases, such entities were just residual divine sense and twisted obsessions.

But these vengeful spirits embedded in the Slaughter Qi— they were karmic-level curses.

If it were before, Mo Hua might not have understood.

But ever since he acquired the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination, and filled in the gaps in his knowledge of karma, he now understood: "Karmic transformation" is no simple matter.

To turn a person's soul after death into a karmic evil wraith— That would require the use of a highly advanced, perhaps even one-of-a-kind, karmic cultivation method.

Which meant only one thing— Mo Hua's heart turned cold.

"Someone, behind the scenes, used a karmic Dao method to take the countless resentful souls who died in the Blood Sacrifice Array,

transformed them into evil spirits, and then fused them directly into my fate?"

And then—

Mo Hua suddenly remembered, those four Nascent Soul cultivators who died inside the array.

Mr. Tu,

Shangguan Wang,

the Golden Corpse Elder from Yin Corpse Valley,

and the Sword Slave from the Demon Sword Sect.

Those four were no weaklings—not a single one of them would die easily.

And yet, all of them died effortlessly to a single wave of heavenly tribulation.

Mo Hua's brows furrowed tighter.

"What exactly happened in that Blood Sacrifice Array…?"

"Why did those four Nascent Soul cultivators die so easily?"

"Was their death somehow… tied to me?"

"Could it be that someone… was manipulating everything from the shadows—setting me up…?"

"Who… was it?"

Was it…

A tremor ran through Mo Hua's heart.

A terrifying chill spread through his whole body.

He didn't dare say it aloud.

He didn't even dare think it.

(End of this Chapter)