The Quest for Immortality

"Foundation Establishment!"

Mo Hua’s eyes shone brightly.

He had waited for this day, waited for so long!

Just the thought of being close to Foundation Establishment made Mo Hua smile with his eyes squinted, his little face showing a simple and honest expression, like a carefree cat basking in the sun.

Watching him, Bai Zixi’s gaze was gentle, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Bai Zisheng then curled his lips and said,

"How unambitious, getting so excited over mere Foundation Establishment..."

"As my junior brother, you should set your sights farther, aiming for at least the Golden Core, or even Feather Transformation..."

Mo Hua couldn’t be bothered with him.

He was in a good mood now, so he decided not to quibble with his junior brother.

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua warmly, his smile gentle, then he slowly said,

"Don’t get too excited too soon; your Foundation Establishment is not like others’, and it probably won’t be that easy..."

Mo Hua was startled and whispered,

"Is it because of the bottleneck in my Divine Sense?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly.

Mo Hua frowned and pondered deeply.

According to Mr. Zhuang’s previous explanation, his path of cultivation should start with advancing his Divine Sense to around fourteen Formation Patterns of the Qi Foundation Middle Stage.

Then he should use the breakthrough in his cultivation to double his Divine Sense, leaping a major phase in one fell swoop to drastically increase it to the realm of Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Whether it would be Seventeen Patterns, Eighteen Patterns, or Nineteen Patterns was uncertain.

However, even Seventeen Patterns would be quite astonishing.

To have Late Stage Foundation Establishment Divine Sense in the Initial Stage of Foundation Establishment.

This meant that, right upon entering the Second Grade of the Formation path, Mo Hua would have sufficient Divine Sense to study High-Grade Second Rank Formations!

And Mo Hua’s abilities relied on his Divine Sense.

With a strong Divine Sense, not only Formations but also movement techniques and spells would benefit.

But this was only Mo Hua’s speculation.

Whether this was truly the case was yet to be seen.

As Mr. Zhuang said, there are few cultivators who Prove the Dao with Divine Sense, lacking sufficient precedents to reference, making it unclear what changes and challenges lie ahead on this path.

Moreover, the bottleneck from Thirteen Stripes to Fourteen Patterns was much more difficult than Mo Hua had anticipated.

The gap from Thirteen to Fourteen Patterns seems minimal.

But it is the bottleneck from the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage to the Qi Foundation Middle Stage.

And Mo Hua was still at the stage of Qi Refinement.

Now he was practicing Formation Patterns daily, and his Divine Sense was gradually strengthening, but no matter what, it remained at the pinnacle of Thirteen Stripes.

The divide from Thirteen to Fourteen Patterns seemed as vast as the heavens.

No matter how much the Divine Sense strengthened, it seemed like a drop in the bucket.

He couldn’t break through the bottleneck to reach the realm of Fourteen Patterns.

Mo Hua wondered how long he would have to paint before he could advance to Fourteen Patterns, and even though he had learned the Ultimate Formation of Thirteen Stripes, the progress was expected to be very slow...

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhuang looked at him with a gentle smile and serenely said,

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"Don’t let the rough and distant road ahead make you waver."

"If this is the path you choose, there’s no need to hesitate. What you need to do is focus solely on taking each step, moving forward one step at a time..."

"Many things will become clear to you as you go along."

"And many opportunities and turning points can only be discovered on the journey."

Mo Hua’s eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded.

Mr. Zhuang then turned to look at Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, his voice warm as he said,

"The situation with the Bai Family is complicated, and I shouldn’t say too much, but these words apply to you both just the same."

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both bowed and said, "Yes, Master."

But while Bai Zixi seemed thoughtful, Bai Zisheng still seemed somewhat puzzled.

...

In the days that followed, Mo Hua continued Drawing Formations.

Tedious, mechanical, repetitive.

It seemed monotonous.

But with every iteration, his understanding of the Formation Patterns improved, growing more familiar and more profound.

Opportunities come naturally and shouldn’t be forced.

But practicing Formations was within his control.

Mo Hua gradually settled his mind.

All the days and nights before, he had spent painting this way.

For the long time ahead, Mo Hua would continue to paint in the same way...

He remembered Mr. Zhuang’s words.

Your journey continues on empire

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

He just needed to focus and keep walking step by step, keep painting time after time...

...

After Mo Hua left, South Yue City gradually calmed down.

The assorted cultivators from the Taoist Court who had been ordered to suppress the Corpse Mine had also gradually dispersed.

Only a group of cultivators, including a gaunt old man, a middle-aged cultivator, and Young Master Yun, remained gathered.

They were not there for the Corpse Mine in the first place.

The gaunt old man sighed and said,

"Now it can be confirmed that we did not calculate his whereabouts, but that person intentionally revealed his causality, luring us here."

"To say he lured us, it’s more like he summoned us..."

One of the cultivators said discontentedly, "Does he think we are spirit pets to be summoned at will?"

"I’m stating the truth."

"What truth? I think it’s nonsense."

"The key issue is, he summoned us and it turned out to be a wild goose chase..."

"How can you call it a wild goose chase? The Corpse King, the Taoist Demon, how great was that causality? If not resolved, how much disaster would it have brought?"

"Indeed, I see it as a good thing..."

"That’s easy for you to say, but are you really content being played like this?"

"What else can you do? What’s your plan?"

...

Amidst the noise in the hall, the venerable elder with white hair signaled for everyone to calm down, then spoke in his hoarse voice,

"Regardless, that person brought us here to suppress the Corpse Mine and resolve the chaos caused by the Taoist Demon, preventing disaster to the living beings across the state boundary, thereby following the will of heaven and practicing virtue."

"In this battle, everyone contributed."

"As for that individual, even if he appears superior and arrogant, looking down on other beings, he still seems to be a person with a sense of justice."