Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 669 – God-Eater

The black-robed leader's chest had been blasted open, and he slowly collapsed to his knees.

Mo Hua casually tossed two more fireballs onto his body—just to double-check the kill.

Once he confirmed the man wasn't moving, Mo Hua extended his divine sense to inspect the lingering Qi. He found the corpse's spiritual energy was sluggish, the breath completely severed—truly dead. Only then did he let out a long breath.

"So much damn trouble..."

Mo Hua sighed deeply.

Killing a mid-Foundation Stage demonic cultivator, all by himself, was exhausting beyond belief.

He had to scheme.

He had to ambush.

He had to lie.

He had to backstab.

He used formations, forbidden arts, the whole toolbox.

Only then could he barely take the guy down.

And throughout the whole thing, he'd walked on thin ice—one misstep, and with his small frame, if that black-clothed bastard had caught a single opening, Mo Hua would've been finished.

"Way too hard…"

But at least, he finally took the guy out.

Mo Hua exhaled once more.

This valley was remote, sealed off from the outside, desolate and uninhabited.

He had picked this as the black-robed leader's grave on purpose. Remote. Secret. Untraceable.

Now that the man was dead, Mo Hua moved to search the body for clues—or maybe some treasures.

But as his eyes locked onto the corpse, he suddenly froze. His expression shifted slightly.

The black-robed leader, despite being dead, hadn't rotted or melted into black sludge like the other human traffickers corrupted by demonic Qi.

His body was still intact.

Something was wrong.

Mo Hua cautiously backed away two steps.

In that instant—

A bloody wind howled into being.

Mo Hua felt something close in on him—yet… nothing was visibly there.

His brow furrowed, gaze sharpening. Patterns shimmered across his eyes as he activated Heavenly Pattern Deduction, probing the truth hidden in the void.

And then, his pupils shrank.

Right before him—

At some unknown moment—

A twisted, malevolent eyeball had appeared.

It hovered just inches from his face.

Mo Hua could clearly see the bulging veins in its sclera, the blood-drenched eyelid, the pale red tentacles writhing from its edges, and within the eye's golden pupil—violence, cruelty, and a host of inhuman emotions.

Mo Hua was startled stiff by the disgusting thing.

He panicked and tried to retreat.

But the demonic eye was faster.

In a blink, its tentacle-like appendages spread out like cursed threads, latching onto Mo Hua's body, clinging tightly to him.

At the same time, the mutated eye lunged toward his smooth forehead.

It had no choice.

Its previous host was dead. Lifeless. It needed new flesh to parasite into.

And in this sealed-off valley, the only living person left—

Was Mo Hua.

There was no other option.

Even if it felt confusion, doubt, resentment, or even… an unexplainable fear toward Mo Hua—

In the face of annihilation, it had no choice but to take Mo Hua as its next vessel of flesh and blood.

Mo Hua seemed paralyzed by the tentacles. He didn't resist as the blood-red will of the demonic eye began to seep into him.

Its plan was succeeding.

The blood-flesh tentacles bound his body tightly.

And atop the demonic eye, the bloody outer skin began to peel away—revealing a pale golden, awe-inspiring eye beneath.

Bit by bit, the golden eye bored into Mo Hua's forehead, pierced his sea of consciousness, and entered his divine mind.

Mo Hua's consciousness sea turned out to be unexpectedly resilient.

Penetrating it took longer than expected.

Once inside, the golden eye began to distort and reform, regathering its flesh.

Scarlet blood spiraled and condensed upon the eye, reconstructing grotesque, malformed tissue.

Soon, the blood and gore formed into a huge, deformed, flesh-born demon.

It had twisted horns upon its head.

And a pale golden eye embedded in its forehead.

When the golden eye flashed, the entire grotesque body trembled—then opened its two crimson demon eyes, gazing condescendingly down at Mo Hua's sea of consciousness.

Despite having parasitized countless "hosts," devoured innumerable "offerings," and surviving for eons with unparalleled prestige—

This demon was still shocked by the sight before it.

What a pure divine sense!

So rich. So dense. So… perfect.

Using such a consciousness as a simple offering would be a waste. If not for the boy's weak bloodline, this body could even serve as a "divine vessel."

And yet…

The horned demon's gaze darkened.

"Why do I feel dread?"

"Why… am I afraid?"

"Why do I feel the killing intent one feels in the face of a life-or-death enemy?"

"He's just a human. A worthless mutt beneath the feet of gods."

"So why… am I afraid?"

"What in the world am I scared of?"

Its bloody eyes scanned the surroundings.

Nothing suspicious.

Its golden eye glowed with an oppressive light.

Still—nothing abnormal.

This made no sense…

Then again, maybe it did.

No matter how powerful or respected they were, cultivators were still human.

Strip away the status, the appearances, and inside… their divine minds were often crude, filthy, or shallow.

Gold on the outside. Rotten within.

Great cultivation. Weak will.

This kind of trash was everywhere.

Let alone this brat, who had just stepped into the Foundation Realm.

He probably only had such pure divine sense because of his young age—untainted by worldly desires.

What else could you expect?

The horned demon's eyes gleamed with greed. Its lips curled into a sinister grin.

"I'll eat him."

No matter what tricks or dangers might lie hidden…

Just devour him, and all will be resolved.

Humans were born to be devoured by the Dao.

Mongrels meant to be preyed upon by gods.

Their only value was to be consumed.

To devour this divine mind—

To make this sea of consciousness its nest—

This brat was a hundred times more useful than those brain-dead loyal fools.

The demon opened its gaping maw and began to suck in the divine sense flooding Mo Hua's sea.

The moment it tasted the first mouthful—

Its eyes widened.

This stuff was delicious.

Too delicious.

Unbelievably delicious.

It didn't taste like something that belonged to a human at all.

The horned demon was stunned—then intoxicated. It greedily gulped more.

So sweet. So nourishing.

Its crimson eyes narrowed with pleasure. The golden eye above its brow gleamed lazily, almost blissful.

And in that moment of indulgence—

The demon didn't notice a figure sneaking up on it.

That hidden figure suddenly leapt onto the demon's massive head.

A small, pale hand flashed into view—

And lunged for the golden eye on its forehead!

He was trying to rip it out.

The demon reacted in a panic, slamming its third eye shut.

But it was too late.

The small hand still scratched across the golden eye, leaving several gashes. Golden liquid—like blood—leaked out.

But the hand was still too small. Too slow. It didn't manage to rip the eye out entirely.

At the same time, the demon's massive claw, brimming with demonic wind, lashed out toward its own forehead.

Mo Hua had no choice but to jump back, retreating several steps and revealing himself.

His brows were delicate, lips rosy, teeth pearly white—a porcelain doll.

Due to the transformation of his divine sense, his manifested form looked even younger than his physical body.

The horned demon got a good look at him and was stunned.

"A divine sense avatar?"

"A little brat?!"

The golden eye on its forehead still throbbed with pain from the scratch.

Thinking back to what just happened, it felt a mix of lingering fear and boiling rage.

What a despicable little brat!

What the hell was he planning?!

Mo Hua's small hand still had golden "blood" on it.

He brought his finger to his lips—licked it—

His eyes lit up.

That was the taste!

The flavor of golden divine marrow!

This scene sent the horned demon into shock and fury—its voice trembling with rage and fear:

"How dare you!"

"You… you actually… actually dared to devour divine marrow?!"

"Divine marrow?" Mo Hua blinked, then couldn't help but put his finger back in his mouth for another suck. He nodded approvingly, smiling like a little foodie:

"Tastes pretty good!"

The horned demon's eyes immediately turned blood-red.

It felt its dignity had been trampled, its divinity profaned.

A mortal who should've been reduced to an offering, consumed by a god, had the gall to drink divine marrow, to taste the blood of divinity?!

Arrogant!

Ignorant!

Unforgivable!

The horned demon was absolutely livid—but when it looked up again, the little brat's figure had vanished.

"Stealth?"

Its pupils shrank.

Why couldn't it see through it?

Outside the mind-sea, it could see through tricks like this. So why not here?

Could it be… that what it saw before was Mo Hua's fleshly form, but here in the consciousness sea, it couldn't perceive his spiritual form?

"Impossible..."

The horned demon panicked.

But there was no time to overthink. It knew full well—once that little brat vanished…

The next attack wouldn't be far behind.

Sure enough, moments later—

A flicker of divine sense to the right—Mo Hua's tiny figure leapt out and punched it straight in the face.

The horned demon reacted instantly, spinning to meet him with a strike of its own.

A small pale fist collided with a giant bloody claw.

Boom!

Divine sense rippled outward in a shockwave.

Mo Hua's little fist remained pristine.

But the demon's claw?

Now bleeding.

"What the hell is this brat?"

"How can a human's divine-sense body be stronger than a demon born of corrupted will?!"

Meanwhile, Mo Hua's eyes lit up—finally able to go full "melee-cultivator mode"—he gleefully punched again!

The horned demon fought back with all its might, grotesque flesh twisting and heaving, but still fell into disadvantage.

"Something's wrong."

Its eyes flashed sharply—this time, it struck first, swiping at Mo Hua with its crimson claws.

Mo Hua dodged lightly using his Fleeting Water Step.

The demon seized this opening—its golden demonic eye snapped open again.

A golden beam of light burst forth, shining down on Mo Hua.

In that moment—

On Mo Hua's body, faint golden threads shimmered—like marrow—lightly pulsing beneath his skin.

The horned demon's expression twisted in shock. Its voice shrieked with disbelief:

"You're… not human!"

Mo Hua froze.

The horned demon's gaze trembled, and it murmured—

"Divine marrow infused into a spiritual body… forming a divine embryo… You… what godly lineage do you come from?!"

Mo Hua blanked.

But the demon suddenly furrowed its brows again, confusion creeping in:

"No, still wrong…"

"You've already established a foundation for divine transformation… yet your divine marrow is so faint?"

"Why are there no signs of worship or offerings?"

"Why is your humanity overflowing, but divinity so minimal?"

"This… doesn't make sense…"

Its gaze sharpened, piercing into Mo Hua:

"Where did you obtain your divine status?"

"Who offered you incense? Who placed their faith in you?"

"Where is your godly authority?"

"And what 'Dao' do you serve?"

Mo Hua: ❓❓

He was completely lost.

Divine embryo?

Dao-transformation?

Divine marrow?

Worship rites?

Divine thrones and incense and authority?

What the heck was this goat-horned freak even talking about?

Was this… god-cultivation knowledge?

Should I admit I don't know? Or fake it?

Mo Hua blinked, then made a decision—

He straightened up, narrowed his eyes coldly, and assumed a haughty, lofty posture:

"You're not qualified to know these things."

The horned demon's face darkened—but it didn't dare argue.

If this brat was really a divine embryo—hatching some unknown godly being within his soul—then it, a fragment of a demonic eye, was utterly unworthy of opposing him.

If he's a divine embryo… then that explains the fear I felt earlier… That dread came from sensing a complete god-form.

Its eyes dimmed thoughtfully.

Even though it couldn't sense what throne or domain this godling held… the aura on Mo Hua's divine sense was vaguely familiar.

"Could he be from the Great Wilderness… like me?"

That would mean they shared some ancient origin.

But still—where did this divine authority come from?

Mo Hua noticed the demon seemed hesitant, as if it had been successfully bluffed, and his heart surged with joy.

He kept a stern face and barked:

"You've violated my taboo."

The horned demon froze, its expression turning solemn.

Mo Hua continued coldly:

"Tell me your origin. I may choose to pardon you."

The demon straightened its back, voice full of pride:

"I am the Lord of the Great Wilderness!"

Mo Hua frowned. "Nonsense! The Lord of the Great Wilderness would never be this weak."

He was trying to fish for more info.

But the moment he said that, the demon's face twisted into something sinister.

"You're not a god."

Mo Hua's heart sank.

The demon's gaze turned sharp:

"A true god would never ask such shallow questions. You're a fraud. You know nothing!"

Mo Hua: 🙃 Welp.

This is what happens when you don't study up on "god-cultivation" lore.

Try to fake it—and the moment a professional shows up? You're exposed in two lines.

"I just woke up… forgot some stuff…"

Mo Hua tried to bluff his way out.

But the horned demon sneered coldly:

"You can't forget what's etched into your divine origin."

Mo Hua's cover was blown—and now he was angry and embarrassed.

This ugly goat freak wanted to die?

Fine.

No more playing god.

Let's throw hands.

Without another word, Mo Hua vanished—and reappeared right in front of the horned demon—

BAM!

One punch. Straight to the face.

The demon crossed its arms just in time to block.

But cracks appeared on its arms, and it stumbled backward involuntarily—shocked to the core.

"How is this kid's divine-sense avatar this powerful?"

"Is he… a god or not?!"

No time to think.

Mo Hua charged again—no technique, just another clean, honest punch.

The horned demon blocked again.

Again.

And again.

A dozen blows later, it had taken quite the beating—and was furious.

"Outrageous!"

It had lived for countless years, towering over all creation—and now it was being used as a punching bag by a brat?!

Its golden demonic eye flew open.

Divine marrow within—pale gold like blood—flowed through its entire form.

Its flesh bulged, its skin turning from blood-red to shimmering gold.

Its body expanded, and an overwhelming aura of power surged from it.

The entire body radiated an astonishing aura.

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, but holding onto a "worth a shot" mindset, he still launched another punch.

The faint-golden-hued horned demon let out a disdainful laugh. With a casual backhand, it slapped Mo Hua flying.

Mo Hua crashed to the ground, sliding across the floor before finally coming to a stop and slowly getting back up.

His divine-sense body was extremely resilient—he wasn't visibly hurt.

But in pure brute force, it was obvious he wasn't the horned demon's match.

The demon stared at him coldly.

"You insolent brat… Do you really think I can't kill you?"

Mo Hua sighed, a bit helpless.

Being a melee cultivator was fun… but exhausting. And when you ran into tricky opponents like this, it wasn't easy to win.

The horned demon saw Mo Hua's expression and suddenly had a bad feeling.

This brat… still has more tricks?

What could he possibly have left?

Then he saw Mo Hua point a finger at him from afar.

The demon's pupils contracted—moments later, faint blue water-elemental chains wrapped around its body, locking down its demonic flesh.

"A divine-sense technique?"

The horned demon frowned, but a flash of golden light erupted from its body, breaking the Water Prison Technique.

It lunged again—only to realize, somehow, red runes had appeared beneath its feet, glowing with firelight.

"An array?!"

Its eyes widened—it turned to Mo Hua, voice dark and heavy:

"You really aren't a god."

Mo Hua blinked, confused.

What's that supposed to mean?

Using arrays means he's not a god?

What, gods can't use formations now?

Despite his inner doubts, Mo Hua didn't sit idle—he immediately activated the Fiery Burial Array.

Boom!

Flames swallowed the horned demon whole.

Moments later, the fire receded—the demon emerged, body cracked and damaged, pale golden flesh showing signs of collapse.

Yet the demon's expression was unusually calm.

In fact, its lips curled into a faint smile.

"Manifesting arrays… inside the mind-sea…"

"In all my years, after 'eating' so many cultivators, the number who could project arrays within their divine sense… I could count on one hand."

"Never thought… such a young brat could pull it off."

"But… this level of formation? Still not enough."

Its forehead began to split open.

The golden demonic eye pushed outward, tendrils unraveling into the air, radiating a vast, irresistible pressure—an aura that originated from gods themselves.

"As long as you're human… that makes things easy."

"Fear of gods is etched into the soul of mankind…"

"Now I'll show you… true divine majesty, straight from the source."

The golden demonic eye began to tremble—its gaze shone brighter and brighter.

An overwhelming Dao aura, laced with unknown divine laws, surged out in all directions.

Mo Hua was bathed in golden light—his expression changed drastically.

He struggled with all his might, but the divine light seemed to suppress him completely—he couldn't move.

Soon, his expression dulled, his will slipping… resistance fading.

The horned demon sneered.

"A mere human… and you dared resist divinity?"

The golden eye trembled, as if hungry, impatient.

It would savor this rare, god-embryo-tier offering.

Fleshy tendrils stretched out from the eye, coiling around Mo Hua like a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), binding him tight.

Then it began reeling him in—dragging him toward its gaping, bloody maw.

Its teeth were jagged and long—its mouth, an abyss.

Saliva drooled from its lips in anticipation.

But just as Mo Hua was about to be stuffed into that monstrous mouth—

The "dazed" Mo Hua suddenly blinked… and gave a sly smile.

The horned demon froze.

Then it instantly realized—something was wrong.

More tendrils shot toward Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua's eyes gleamed, and he whispered:

"Open."

A massive formation lit up on the ground.

Lishan Fire Burial Composite Array!

Intricate formations wove together, locking into place.

Stone ridges erupted, creating a prison that trapped the demon's flesh.

Countless firebursts ignited, searing its tendrils one by one.

Mo Hua broke free, shot into the air—and landed right on the demon's forehead.

He looked at the bulging golden eye… and gave a childlike, innocent smile.

The golden eye trembled in terror.

It unleashed its full divine might—Mo Hua was unaffected.

The eye tried to retract—Mo Hua wasn't having it.

He grabbed it with both hands, gripping it like a prized treasure, then clenched his teeth and pulled with all his strength.

A piercing, agonized scream tore through the air—

The golden eye was ripped from the horned demon's flesh-and-blood body.

Mo Hua leapt away.

Behind him, the Fire Burial Composite Array fully detonated, obliterating every last scrap of demonic flesh and tendril.

The golden demonic eye trembled violently in Mo Hua's hands.

"No mortal soul can withstand divine majesty…"

It shrieked:

"You're not human!"

"You're not a god either!"

"You… what in the world are you?!"

Mo Hua stared at the golden eye in his hand—then licked his lips and grinned:

"I'm the one… who eats gods."

(End of Chapter)