Immortality Through Array Formations

"My Five Elements Sect always keeps its word, willing to accept a loss if the bet is lost."

The Chief Elder cast a wary glance at Mo Hua, then continued, "Several young friends, you may study here, the Five Elements Sect's highest inheritance—the Five Elements Spirit Formation."

"The Five Elements Spirit Formation, with its Thirteen Stripes, is a top-notch Ultimate Formation."

"The value of this Formation need not be overstated."

"However, there are some rules to learning this Formation that must be followed…"

"First, you may only study for five days, four hours each day. If you can learn it, the Five Elements Sect has no objections, but if not, please be aware of the consequences..."

"Second, during the study period, you must not damage any bricks or wood within this room, and none of the furnishings may be moved;"

"Third, you must show respect to the Shrine and not disgrace the ancestors of the Five Elements Sect;"

"Fourth, whether you master the Formation or not, no matter how much you learn, you must not divulge it to outsiders!"

"Fifth..."

The Chief Elder then rambled on, spouting a bunch of nonsense and laying out a litany of rules.

Mo Hua found it tedious, but for the sake of the Five Elements Spirit Formation, he endured.

After finishing, the Chief Elder cast another look at Mr. Zhuang, suggesting politely,

"The third floor is prepared with the exquisite Li Mountain Mist Tea, please, Gentleman, move there to rest and sample it."

This was clearly a dismissal.

No outsiders were allowed in front of the Shrine during the study of the Formation.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, his gaze sweeping across the faces of Mo Hua and the others as he instructed, "Study well." He then flicked his sleeve and went downstairs for tea.

The Chief Elder also followed Mr. Zhuang out.

As the Chief Elder left, he lit the Incense Burner and gave Mo Hua and the others a meaningful look, then locked the door before leaving.

In front of the quiet and solemn Shrine, only Mo Hua and the others remained.

They had only five days, with four hours a day, to comprehend the Thirteen Stripes Five Elements Spirit Formation of the Five Elements Sect.

They had to make the most of their time.

In front of the Shrine, there were five cushions.

"Sit on the cushions, ponder the Shrine, and comprehend the Formation,"

That was what the Chief Elder had said.

Moreover, he also specifically mentioned that the "sitting" on the cushions was "kneeling and sitting."

But kneeling was out of the question.

The ancestors of the Five Elements Sect meant nothing to Mo Hua, and he was not about to kneel before them.

Mo Hua thus sat cross-legged on top of a cushion.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi exchanged a glance with Mo Hua and did the same, sitting cross-legged on their cushions.

Mo Hua sat in the middle, with Zixi on his left and Zisheng on his right.

The three of them began to concentrate and ponder the Shrine.

The Shrine was made of dark wood and gold lacquer, magnificent and yet simple and solemn.

It featured gilded relief sculptures depicting ancestral figures, Spirit Beasts drawing chariots, precious flowers and herbs, carved beams and painted rafters, various Magical Treasures...

Mo Hua was dazzled by the sight but did not quite understand the purpose of these engravings...

Only the center of the Shrine seemed to house a Taoist Field.

In the center of the Taoist Field, a giant Array Plate was displayed.

Around it, Formation Masters gathered, their expressions deferential.

Above the field, an elder stood, solemn, pointing to the heavens as if imparting teachings and spreading the Great Dao.

The Shrine preached the Dao.

The Taoist Field Array Plate.

This was, on the whole Shrine, the place most closely connected to the Formation.

"Could it be that the Five Elements Spirit Formation is engraved on the Array Plate in the center of the Shrine?" Mo Hua guessed and then quieted his heart and Divine Sense, focusing on the Array Plate at the center.

Indeed, after a short while, the sound of a chanting bell seemed to arise.

In front of the Shrine, the smoke from the Incense Burner twirled, floating before Mo Hua, and then, strand by strand, enveloped the front of the Shrine, condensing into Patterns that manifested on the Array Plate.

Mo Hua's spirits lifted.

"Indeed it is so!"

Just as he was about to concentrate on the Formation Patterns, an ancient voice echoed in his ear:

"I shall impart unto you the Formation..."

This sensation was all too familiar.

Previously in South Yue City, when Mo Hua had stolen the Ancestral Master Picture from Zhang Quan, these ethereal, ancient voices incessantly murmured in his ear with phrases like, "I impart unto you the Great Dao," "Help you ascend to immortality," "Long life and enduring vision"…

Instinctively, Mo Hua felt a revulsion.

Another charlatan!

His gaze sharpened, Divine Sense stirred, he cleansed his mind, discarding the illusions.

A moment later, everything vanished like smoke.

Above the Incense Burner, the smoke wafted.

But now, it was just ordinary smoke, no longer forming Patterns, no extraordinary phenomenon.

The ancient voice in his ear also disappeared.

The Shrine remained as it was.

And the Array Plate, empty.

It seemed everything, due to Mo Hua's rejection, had dissipated into nothing...

When Mo Hua looked again, the Shrine was still just a Shrine.

No Formation, nothing left...

Mo Hua was stunned.

He pondered the Shrine for a long while, but still, no changes occurred.

Mo Hua muttered to himself:

"Could it be that I outsmarted myself..."

"Was that voice indeed trying to transmit a Formation to me?"

"In the Incense Burner, the smoke swirled, and what it condensed into was indeed the sophisticated Five Elements Formation Patterns..."

"Yet by seeing through the illusion, did I offend the ancestors of the Five Elements Sect, making them unwilling to teach me?"
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"It can't be..."

Mo Hua tried several more times, but it was all in vain.

It seemed as though the Shrine truly didn't wish to teach him the Formation anymore.

The smoke was just smoke, no longer condensing into Formation Patterns...

Mo Hua sighed helplessly.

Was he to blame for having too keen a Divine Sense, too steadfast a Taoist Heart, for being too sensitive to the shifts of Divine Thought?

Mo Hua turned to look at his Junior Brother and Junior Sister.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both sat cross-legged, their postures upright, their gazes intense, fixed on pondering the Array Plate in the center of the Shrine.

In their eyes, the light of Formation Patterns flickered, seemingly engrossed in comprehension.