Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 705: Demon Bone

This thought—under Mo Hua's subtle persuasion and the deepening of divine will—was seared firmly into Master She's heart.

For a moment, Master She's eyes lost focus.

It was as if… something was starting to sprout within his soul.

And Mo Hua himself hadn't even realized that, while speaking just now, he had instinctively employed a technique resembling "Seeding Demonic Thoughts into the Dao Heart."

Of course, this wasn't the true, corrupted version used by sinister cultivators to implant demonic thoughts.

Rather, it was a much subtler, more primitive version—where one's words shook another's will, subtly planting the seed of a distorted belief into their spiritual core.

A complex and obscure divine-sense technique.

The old Mo Hua wouldn't have been able to do this.

But now—after devouring vast amounts of Divine Marrow, his divine sense had undergone a qualitative transformation.

His divinity and humanity had begun to fuse within his Dao heart.

As a result, Mo Hua could now instinctively wield certain divine-sense techniques—techniques he had once seen but never formally learned.

Such as this "Seeding Without Evil"—a non-demonic form of the technique.

"I am a traitor."

Master She's eyes glazed over briefly.

Then his pupils regained focus.

But that phrase had already rooted itself in his heart—etched deep in his conviction.

"I'm already a traitor."

"I betrayed the Divine Master."

"I can't let the Divine Master find out."

"And I definitely can't mention this little devil… or the Divine Master will know I led the enemy into the temple…"

Yes. That "little devil" was right.

Whether it was intentional or not, whether he meant to or not—

he was the one who brought the tiger into the mountain.

He was the guide.

And guides?

They don't deserve to live.

The Divine Master wouldn't care about explanations, wouldn't listen to reasoning.

If the truth was discovered, Master She would suffer a punishment far worse than death.

So he figured it out all on his own:

Keeping this little devil's secret was the same as saving his own life!

"Understood?" Mo Hua asked.

Master She's face was deathly pale.

His voice hoarse but firm:

"Understood."

Mo Hua nodded, satisfied.

This Master She was at least smart enough to know what side of the blade he was on.

And besides, he might still have valuable karma tied to him—he could be useful later.

As long as he kept his mouth shut.

Mo Hua turned to leave… but then paused, as if remembering something.

He turned back and said:

"Hand over your Divine Formation diagrams."

Master She's face twitched.

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.

"They're on you, aren't they?"

All throughout the fishing village, there had been traces of divine arrays.

Whether it was opening doors, activating altars, sacrifices, or dreams—everything involved array runes.

And Master She was in control of them.

Which meant he wasn't just an Evil Formation Master.

Aside from concocting wicked pills, he likely also oversaw the maintenance and repair of divine arrays in the village.

That meant…

There was a high chance he had access to a complete diagram of a Divine Dao Formation.

Under Mo Hua's penetrating gaze, Master She didn't dare hide it.

He gave a bitter smile and said:

"I really don't have it."

Mo Hua didn't believe him.

"Then where did you learn those evil formations?"

Master She finally gave up the act and explained with a tinge of reverence:

"It was all passed to us by the Divine Master… through dreams."

"Whether we were studying or drawing them, we had to rely on the Divine Master's vast divine sense…"

"Otherwise, someone like me could never comprehend such advanced formations."

Mo Hua frowned.

Dream transmission? Borrowing divine will to draw formations?

Could these all be the workings of the Great Wilderness Evil God?

He looked at Master She.

His frightened expression seemed genuine—not a lie.

But Mo Hua still felt something didn't add up.

Divine Dao Formations were meant to restrain gods.

Why would an Evil God teach such things?

And weren't gods incapable of using formations?

So this so-called "borrowing of divine will"... how did it even work?

If that was the case, was that how Guo Jianglong managed to draw that blood-red unsealing formation in the well?

Was that… also "borrowing evil will"?

"Borrowing evil will…"

Mo Hua's thoughts tangled.

Master She looked at Mo Hua's contemplative face, unsure whether he was pondering a deeper mystery or scheming something awful.

Either way, it made his skin crawl.

Thankfully, Mo Hua didn't press him further and simply said:

"Let's go."

Master She let out a breath of relief.

They left the River God Temple and began the journey back.

On the way, they noticed changes in the fishing village.

The oppressive aura had faded.

The smell of blood and fish was dissipating.

The once-rampaging meat puppets now stood motionless—like soulless husks struggling on instinct.

Even the blood-leeches in the swamp had withered and died.

The swamp… was just a regular swamp now.

For gods, objects were their anchors.

But when a god dies, the material aspects tied to it slowly decay as well.

The entire fishing village—this entire "preaching ground" of the evil god—was beginning to collapse.

Still, Mo Hua clearly didn't plan to leave this "preaching ground" alone.

Coming here required great caution.

But now?

The nightmare was broken.

The River God's temple was destroyed.

The River God itself had been slain.

Even the Evil God's incarnation had been devoured.

There was nothing left in the village—no god, no ghost, no threat—that could stop Mo Hua.

So he grew bold—

and began to scavenge like a locust swarm.

Anything strange or suspicious was bagged.

Tiles, stone pillars, plazas, roads—if there was even a hint of array pattern, he collected it.

He even had the Gu family cultivators—and poor Master She—dig up the ground at his command, turning the whole village upside down.

Array after array was discovered and meticulously logged.

Eventually, they were pieced together into a complete formation.

In this way, Mo Hua, relying on his understanding of formations and some bold intuition, managed to reconstruct—from scratch—an entire, fully functioning Divine Dao Formation, complete with core runes, array hubs, and formation eyes.

The Gu clan cultivators were filled with admiration.

This Young Master Mo, they thought, truly was diligent and brilliant.

He never wasted an opportunity to deepen his knowledge of formations.

No wonder, at such a young age, he had already earned the favor of Young Master Changhuai and was considered a rising formation master.

Only Master She stared in utter disbelief.

He knew this should have been impossible.

Formations bestowed by a god…

How could they be reverse-engineered like this?

It wasn't just about gathering the runes.

Never before had he seen any formation master capable of this.

There must be a deeper layer of formation mastery here.

Master She was shocked to his core.

Master She was inwardly shaken.

This young lord… his mastery of formations was likely far more terrifying than he'd initially thought!

He wasn't just a divine-sense prodigy—

He was also a true formation demon…

Fear rose in Master She's heart.

He didn't dare entertain any rebellious thoughts.

His demeanor turned respectful, even carrying a hint of humble reverence.

Mo Hua was quite pleased after successfully reconstructing the array diagram.

The fishing village had also been nearly completely turned over—

the ground looked like it had been plowed clean.

There was nothing valuable left.

Mo Hua felt very satisfied.

The group continued retracing their steps, crossing the small bridge until they reached the front of the village, near the large fishery building.

Several Gu family cultivators had been stationed here to guard Guo Jianglong and a few other black-robed captives.

Because they were posted far from the River God Temple, nothing had disturbed them.

After regrouping, they didn't hesitate—

they escorted the black-robed men straight out of the fishing village.

Soon, they returned to the dry well passage, where a deep pool of water blocked the way.

Inside the pool lurked that powerful water demon.

One of the Gu family cultivators wanted to repeat their previous trick and toss in some dead spotted fish.

But Mo Hua shook his head.

"No need."

On the way here, they had been cautious, afraid to alert the demon.

As a result, they were chased across the river, and Mo Hua had even taken a fall.

He still held a bit of a grudge.

"I'll draw a formation, burn the water dry, and then we all strike together to slay this water demon!"

A gentleman never leaves a grudge overnight.

Mo Hua thought to himself and began arranging the array.

He didn't make a show of it—

simply used his divine sense to guide the ink and set up a few Earth-Fire arrays with a formation plate.

Then he personally painted several Blazing Fire Arrays onto the stones and bricks.

Once activated, the formations surged with flames—

waves of heat rolled out in all directions.

The entire pool began to boil, steam rising thickly.

Not long after, roars echoed from below the water.

The water demon thrashed in agony, submerged in boiling water.

But its hide was thick and flesh tough—the boiling didn't kill it, only made it suffer in torment.

Within half an hour, the pool had been evaporated to dryness.

The grotesque and ferocious water demon lay at the bottom of the pit,

its yellow-green eyes glaring fiercely at them.

With a wave of Mo Hua's hand—

a dozen Gu family cultivators charged forward.

They too had been chased by this demon earlier.

One of their comrades had even lost half a leg to it.

Their anger burned hot—they showed no mercy.

Without water, the demon's power had dropped sharply.

The Gu family cultivators worked together in harmony—

attacking, defending, striking with coordination.

Within the time of a single incense stick, they slew the peak second-grade water demon.

Gu An took a blade and opened its belly.

The stench was overwhelming—inside were half-digested human bones.

Clearly, this demon had long fed on people.

Who knew how many cultivators it had devoured down here?

Killing it was a real act of public service.

At Mo Hua's signal, the Gu family cultivators—despite the stink—began dismembering the water demon.

They weren't beast-hunters, so they relied on Mo Hua to guide them in how to harvest the valuable parts.

Standing nearby, Mo Hua calmly gave instructions:

Where to cut,

Where to peel the scales,

Where to extract the bones,

Where to carve the flesh—

He explained it all with perfect clarity.

The demon's flesh was peeled, bones extracted, and its core removed—clean and precise.

When the work was done, Gu An handed Mo Hua two items:

A light blue demon core,

And a long, glowing white spine.

"This is a peak second-grade water demon core," Gu An explained.

"Once refined in a pill furnace to purge the demonic energy, it can be used in alchemy—worth a good number of spirit stones."

"And this spine is excellent—rich in water-elemental energy and extremely tough. Perfect material for crafting a spirit sword."

Mo Hua paused.

"Crafting a spirit sword?"

Gu An nodded.

They weren't beast-hunters, so they lacked expertise in field-stripping monsters.

But coming from the Gu clan and working in the Dao Court Division, they were well-versed in the uses of monster materials.

"To craft a spirit sword, you need a sword embryo," Gu An explained.

"Usually made of rare metals or monster bones. Metals are common, but good monster spines are rare."

"This demon's spine—given its peak second-grade strength and unknown age—is perfect for a sword embryo."

Sword embryo…

Mo Hua's heart stirred.

He had always wanted to become a sword cultivator.

But he lacked sword-cultivation foundations, had poor sword aura, no money for spirit swords…

However, he'd now learned the Divine-Sense Sword Technique – Sword Manifestation Style.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

He might one day become a part-time sword cultivator…

And besides, the Divine-Sense Sword Technique still required a physical sword as a medium.

A good spirit sword was still essential.

He glanced at Gu An.

"You don't want this demon core or spine?"

Gu An responded with proper decorum:

"We're carrying out an official mission. The Dao Court Division pays our salary and rewards our merit. We can't take additional gains for personal use."

"Besides, everything achieved here was thanks to Young Lord Mo's sharp mind, deep knowledge of formations, and excellent command. These spoils rightfully belong to you."

Mo Hua was almost embarrassed by the praise.

But he understood clearly—

Gu An, Gu Quan, and the other Gu family cultivators were only being this respectful because of Uncle Gu.

Still, these people were merely regular sons of noble families.

The Gu brothers likely had some standing in their clan, but they probably weren't from the main bloodline.

And ordinary clan disciples…

They worked hard to earn merit.

Making spirit stones for cultivation wasn't easy.

What's more, he might need their help in the future.

After a moment's thought, Mo Hua nodded and said:

"I'll accept the spine. I might use it for forging a spirit sword later."

"As for the demon core—Brother An, take it. Sell it, divide the spirit stones among the others. Use it for cultivation or just go have a good drink."

Gu An froze, wanting to decline.

But Mo Hua cut him off firmly:

"It's settled."

Gu An blinked, then smiled faintly and bowed:

"Then… many thanks, Young Lord Mo."

The other Gu cultivators also looked delighted and bowed earnestly:

"Many thanks, Young Lord Mo!"

A peak second-grade demon core was no small thing—

selling it would earn each of them a nice pile of spirit stones.

Mo Hua had guessed right.

Noble clans might seem grand, but they had mouths to feed. Ordinary sons often struggled with daily expenses, cultivation costs, and social obligations.

Tasks from the Dao Court Division were dangerous and came with strict rules. Getting a little side income was rare.

One of the Gu family cultivators grinned and said:

"Young Lord Mo, if you ever need anything again—just say the word."

The others chimed in: "That's right! We'll give it our all!"

"Mhm!"

Mo Hua nodded with a happy squint.

...

After that, the group left the bottom of the well and returned to the fishing village.

The well below was dark and sunless, perpetually shrouded in a gray gloom—but outside, it was already daytime. Sunlight streamed down, illuminating every corner of the village.

Mo Hua released his divine sense to scan the state of the fishing village.

The divine senses of the fishermen-cultivators had already recovered from the nightmare. Their expressions were no longer dazed or blank—but most of them were still pale and spiritless.

This was a sign of divine sense exhaustion.

Since they had worshipped the evil god, their divine senses had inevitably been partially consumed. So this kind of wear was normal. With proper rest, they should recover without any major problems.

After another sweep and confirmation that there were no other hidden issues, Mo Hua finally let out a breath of relief.

Yu Dahe was holding his two children and had already brought them home. He laid them on the bed, fed them some Calm-Mind Pills and Meridian-Activating Pills, then used spiritual energy to clear their meridians.

After a while, the two children gradually woke up, murmuring weakly:

"Dad… Grandpa…"

Old Yu was overwhelmed with joy and even more tearfully grateful to Mo Hua.

Yu Dahe grabbed the two kids, preparing to kneel down and kowtow in thanks.

Mo Hua quickly stopped them.

"No need to be so formal…"

He smiled kindly—but just as he turned his head, what he saw with his divine sense made him pause, and his expression subtly grew more serious.

There was… something odd about these two children.

On the surface, they appeared the same as before—no physical wounds at all.

But on their cheeks and limbs, faint white divine sense marks had appeared—unusual and unnatural.

With each breath, those markings quivered faintly, like fish gills.

Ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to see them at all.

Mo Hua frowned slightly, recalling the scene from the nightmare—

the two children kneeling before the altar, being assimilated by those strange fish-demons, growing gills on their cheeks, their limbs turning to fins…

Even though they had been rescued from the nightmare, it seemed the children had still been affected by the River God, experiencing some unexpected mutation.

Whether this change was good or bad—Mo Hua couldn't yet say.

He sighed inwardly, pondered for a moment, then pulled out a few manuals from his storage bag.

One was the "White Wave Art", which included a set of "White Wave Movement Techniques", and another was a spell manual titled "Water-Diverting and Demon-Repelling Technique."

These were water-element inheritances Mo Hua had obtained from Guo Jianglong.

To Mo Hua, they were just ordinary techniques and arts.

But to these impoverished, waterside-born fisher cultivators—

these were basically top-tier cultivation inheritances.

They lived off the water.

Water-based techniques, movement arts, and demon-warding spells were especially precious.

"Take these manuals," Mo Hua said,

"Let the two children study them well."

Yu Dahe received the books with trembling hands.

Old Yu was so emotional that he couldn't even speak.

His eyes were red with gratitude, repeating over and over:

"Thank you, Young Lord… thank you…"

Mo Hua reminded them again:

"It's best if they study in secret. Don't reveal the techniques.

But this Water-Diverting Demon-Repelling spell—it's a kind of demon-hunting technique for warding off water beasts.

You can teach that one to the rest of the village."

"Yes, yes! We'll do exactly as you say, Young Lord!"

Old Yu and his son nodded like chickens pecking grain, offering endless thanks.

And with that, the matter of the fishing village came to a temporary close.

Master She, the black-robed men, and Guo Jianglong would all be escorted back to the Dao Court Division by Gu An's group.

Mo Hua didn't need to concern himself with that.

What he needed to do was already finished.

It was time to return to the sect and pick up his "takeout."

However, just as they were leaving the fishing village and reaching the roadside—about to part ways—Mo Hua suddenly recalled something Master She had said earlier:

"…In just half a day, the pill in the furnace will be ready.

Give it to the Young Lord, and I'll have fulfilled my task."

The finished pill… to be delivered to the "Young Lord"?

Mo Hua glanced at Master She and asked:

"The pill you were refining—who were you supposed to deliver it to?"

Master She froze, then shook his head.

"I don't know… I only know it's to be delivered to the 'Young Lord.'

But I'm only responsible for refining. I never meet the Young Lord directly."

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then swept his gaze across the others…

until it landed on Guo Jianglong.

Guo Jianglong's expression was calm, but his divine sense was clearly disturbed.

Mo Hua narrowed his eyes and asked:

"Do you know… who the 'Young Lord' is?"

Guo Jianglong didn't dare reply.

Mo Hua asked again:

"Who delivers these pills to him?"

Guo Jianglong's face twitched, his fingers trembling involuntarily.

At that moment, Mo Hua understood.

He gave Guo Jianglong a cold glance, then calmly issued the order:

"Right now—go deliver the finished pills… to your 'Young Lord.'"

Mo Hua wanted to find out…

Who exactly… was this 'Young Lord'?

(End of Chapter)