Chapter 756 – Divine Dao Composite Array
That trace of Evil God aura was extremely faint—ordinary cultivators wouldn't sense it at all.
Even that Senior Brother Ma himself might not realize he was carrying a wisp of this corrupted energy.
But it couldn't be wrong…
Mo Hua silently pondered.
He was basically an "old acquaintance" of the Evil God of the Great Wilderness—though to be fair, the Evil God likely didn't know him personally.
Then Mo Hua couldn't help but frown again.
Why… did that Senior Brother Ma carry an Evil God's aura?
Could he be one of the Evil God's pawns?
Or had he merely, unintentionally, come into contact with some Evil God statues, or perhaps offerings?
If it were the latter, that would suggest that the Evil God had already begun quietly seeping into the sect—perhaps not just the Broken Gold Sect, but even the other Twelve Streams, Eight Great Sects, and maybe even the Four Grand Sects weren't immune.
Even if there wasn't full corruption, the infiltration had clearly begun.
"So long as there's greed in the human heart… Without a strong Dao heart, no one can resist the Evil God's temptation."
"This isn't looking good…"
Mo Hua sighed.
More than that—that Senior Brother Ma seemed to be deliberately drawing close to Little Woodenhead (Ouyang Mu).
Could he be up to something?
"Should I warn Little Woodenhead?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Ouyang Mu was too straightforward. His thoughts were always written on his face. If Mo Hua warned him, he'd likely give himself away in seconds.
That Senior Brother Ma would immediately realize Ouyang Mu was suspicious of him.
Not yet. Don't alert the snake in the grass.
Mo Hua would just have to keep an eye on it himself.
And besides—it was just his suspicion. Perhaps Senior Brother Ma had only accidentally come into contact with some Evil God residue. He might not actually be affiliated.
"Let's hope so…"
Mo Hua looked up again, gazing toward the ethereal clouds and mist, the grand and ancient silhouette of the Great Void Sect—so majestic, so imposing.
"If the Tai'a Sect has already begun to be infiltrated…"
"Then what about my Great Void Sect?"
His gaze grew solemn. After a moment's thought, Mo Hua concluded: the Great Void Sect was probably still fine.
If there had been signs of Evil God infiltration, he would've sensed it by now. Corrupted disciples wouldn't be able to hide it from his eyes.
Mo Hua quietly let out a breath of relief.
"That's good…"
But then he froze.
Why?
Why had even the Tai'a Sect—an allied sect with ancestral ties to the Great Void Sect—begun showing signs of corruption… while the Great Void Sect remained untouched?
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, he felt something. He looked up, eyes scanning beyond the long mountain staircase, beyond the time-worn halls and towers, beyond the mist-veiled ridges and valleys… toward the distant and mysterious rear mountain—vast, ancient, and awe-inspiring.
A name floated into his mind:
"Great Void Divine Will Sword Incantation…"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up.
Later, at mealtime, Mo Hua called over Yu'er and they went to the dining hall for dinner.
Thanks to Mo Hua's influence, Yu'er had developed a serious love for chicken drumsticks.
After eating, Mo Hua checked over Yu'er's formation homework.
This was at the request of Wenren Wan.
She knew Mo Hua had "learned under Old Mister Xun" and had excellent formation skills. She'd sent him many gifts in exchange for helping guide Yu'er in her formation studies whenever he had free time.
Aunt Wan treated him very kindly—plus, he was teaching Yu'er—so Mo Hua had happily agreed.
These days, Mo Hua was basically Yu'er's semi-official formation master.
Outside of classes or during meal breaks, he would tutor Yu'er in the basics of formation cultivation.
Since she was still young and in the early stages of learning, the material was simple, and teaching her was easy for Mo Hua.
And because it was Mo Hua teaching, Yu'er was especially diligent and learned quickly.
Mo Hua was quite pleased.
After reviewing her homework, he sent Yu'er back to her room and returned to his own quarters to officially begin analyzing the Divine Dao formations he had copied down from the forest.
He had transcribed a total of eighteen such formation diagrams.
All of them shared the same underlying structure and had similar rune forms—clearly part of the same category of Divine Dao formations.
Yet within each array, the details of the runes varied.
Like the leaves of a single tree—appearing the same at first glance, but each with its own distinct veins.
Could it be…
"A Divine Dao Composite Array?"
That made sense.
A forest that vast—one simple array wouldn't have sufficed.
They had to be combined into a larger composite formation to effectively conceal divine sense and hide secrets.
But at most, it could only be called a composite array.
A full-blown Divine Dao Grand Formation would've been impossible.
Divine Dao formations were rare to begin with. Those who could use them were extremely few.
Who could possibly gather that many Divine Dao formation masters—and expend such an immense amount of divine will—to construct a massive Divine Dao Great Array?
Being able to build a composite array was already impressive enough.
"So what kind of Divine Dao composite array is hidden in that forest?"
Mo Hua pondered.
"Divine Dao formation" was just a general term—each specific array should have its own name.
Even the Four Symbols Arrays did.
Mo Hua had seen two types: the hawk-type Four Symbols Array on the vulture's head, and the wolf-type Four Symbols Array on the demon cultivator's arm.
Based on their features, he tentatively named them "Four Symbols Hawk Pattern Array" and "Four Symbols Wolf Pattern Array."
But what about these Divine Dao arrays?
The ones in the fishing village and the dense forest seemed to originate from the same source—but their patterns differed. They were likely two distinct Divine Dao formations.
The fishing village's formation was like a "door."
When closed, it could obscure karmic traces and spiritual auras.
Placed over one's forehead, it could even block off evil and malevolent influences.
The forest's formation was like a "fog."
A mist woven from divine will runes—blurry, obscuring, preventing spiritual perception from penetrating it.
But what were the actual names of these two arrays?
Mo Hua had no clue.
After all, these formations came from fragmented, secondhand inheritances—all scraped together from various "wool-harvesting" endeavors, and naturally lacked proper titles.
"Don't even know the names…"
Mo Hua shook his head and continued his research.
His goal: to take the eighteen copied arrays—each slightly different—and deduce them one by one, compare their differences, and identify the shared rune structures.
In the quiet, simple disciple quarters, the lamplight glowed warmly.
Mo Hua sat upright, gaze focused. Under the light, his eyes sparkled like stars.
His divine sense gradually wore down as his deductions pushed forward.
Stroke by stroke, the rune patterns began to come together under his brush.
When midnight came, Mo Hua put out the lamp and lay down, letting his divine sense enter his Sea of Consciousness, continuing the deductions at the Dao Stele.
There, the speed of deduction was several times faster.
Soon, Mo Hua had made a breakthrough.
This was a relatively simple composite structure.
It resembled the Child-Mother Compass Array, using a central mother array to control multiple child arrays, connecting them into one system and forming a divine will mist.
The difference was: in a standard Compass Array, all child arrays are identical, copied from the same template.
But in this Divine Dao Composite Array, the child arrays were of the same type, but structurally varied.
Like leaves from a single tree—similar, yet uniquely veined.
The overall formation structure also bore a resemblance to the Spiritual Hub Array.
Each sub-array had its own formation sequence, serving to distinguish different segments of the formation network.
"In the dense forest, there are countless of these unknown Divine Dao formations."
"Each one similar yet distinct."
"They share the same core structure, but different sequence patterns…"
"The composite array is structurally simple, but the runic complexity is immense…"
Mo Hua let out a long breath.
He had at least figured out the general framework of these Divine Dao arrays.
At this stage, however, he still couldn't identify the shared formation hub structure, nor the rules behind the sequence patterns.
And of course, the deeper-level principles of the formation were still out of reach.
But this was only day one. He'd only copied down eighteen arrays so far.
The forest was vast, and the runes many. If he just kept copying… and kept studying… eventually, he would grasp the true essence of this mist-like Divine Dao formation.
Mo Hua nodded confidently.
Mo Hua nodded.
After a short rest, he once again began deducing upon the Dao Stele, wanting to further familiarize himself with these Divine Dao runes—see if he'd overlooked anything, or if they could inspire new insights...
Great Void Sect, Elders' Quarters.
Elder Xun Ziyou thought for a while, then decided to report to the Old Ancestor first.
"Divine Dao Formations?"
Old Mister Xun's expression remained composed, but his heart sank.
Why would it be Divine Dao formations...?
That sect's legacy was famous for its mastery of fate and formations.
One Derivation, One Deception. Double Calculations of Fate. Immortal Formations of Heaven. Ten Thousand Arrays as One…
But he'd never heard of that sect retaining any Divine Dao formation heritage.
Even that brat surnamed Zhuang—with his exceptional talent and formidable formation mastery—had never, as far as he knew, used Divine Dao formations in his lifetime.
After all, Divine Dao formations—like the Yin-Yang Two Forms arrays—were ancient and long-lost.
Yin-Yang formations were hard to grasp due to their obscurity—the Dao is simple yet elusive.
Divine Dao formations, though, were dangerous because of their reliance on divine will, their unpredictability, and unknowable peril.
Both types of formations had all but vanished from the world.
But at least Yin-Yang arrays were still part of the broader formation system.
Divine Dao formations, however, were entirely distinct.
Nowadays, even many high-level formation masters had never heard the words "Divine Dao formation."
This child Mo Hua… where did he hear about them?
And from the looks of it—he seemed quite familiar with them?
Old Mister Xun frowned, thoughts swirling.
Was it something someone else taught him? Did he stumble upon it himself?
Or… was it a special inheritance left behind by his teacher?
That sect was unfathomably deep, its legacy ancient, its foundation terrifying. Every generation produced monstrous geniuses.
Even if that Zhuang brat didn't possess it—it didn't mean the sect didn't.
If it did…
Then perhaps, knowing his end was near, that person deliberately passed this legacy on to Mo Hua before dying.
Old Mister Xun couldn't help but feel emotional.
Even with death at his doorstep, he'd gone through such effort to pass this inheritance on—just shows how much that man valued Mo Hua.
With that proud, solitary personality of his… he'd probably never done anything so heartfelt for anyone in his life...
Old Mister Xun grew slightly melancholy.
These memories, however, were unknown to Xun Ziyou.
Seeing the shifting expression on the Old Ancestor's face—and realizing that he wasn't unfamiliar with "Divine Dao formations"—Xun Ziyou assumed it must be another case of the Old Ancestor playing favorites, secretly passing the technique down to Mo Hua.
But thinking about it now, it seemed only reasonable.
"If you don't have the talent, there's no point teaching it."
Even if the Old Ancestor gave the method to him, he probably couldn't learn it anyway.
So he had no right to be jealous.
Xun Ziyou nodded slightly.
Old Mister Xun glanced at him and said calmly:
"You just focus on Mo Hua's safety. As for formations—let him investigate, learn, and figure them out on his own. No need for you to intervene."
"Yes, understood."
Xun Ziyou cupped his fists in salute.
The next day, Mo Hua set out early to Demon-Refining Mountain.
At that moment, Elder Xun had just brewed a pot of tea.
Mo Hua drank tea with the elder, and afterward they set out together, returning to the dense forest. They followed yesterday's path, delving deeper.
As they walked, Mo Hua searched the trees, deduced formations, and transcribed runes simultaneously.
Xun Ziyou, not understanding any of it, focused on providing protection.
At least now, as his role had shifted from secret guard to open protector, he no longer had to sneak around, which made things much easier.
Just like that, time passed until sunset—the sky glowing with fiery clouds as night fell.
Mo Hua had transcribed another twenty or so Divine Dao rune sets.
These runes were raw materials. With careful deduction, they could greatly deepen his understanding of Divine Dao formations, eventually allowing him to reconstruct the original form of the arrays.
"It's getting late. Let's head back," said Xun Ziyou.
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.
They followed the mountain path and made their way down.
The setting sun dipped behind the ridges, and the forest grew quiet. Mo Hua felt at ease and casually chatted with Elder Xun as they walked.
He asked things like:
"Elder, where's your hometown?"
"How many generations removed are you from Old Mister Xun?"
"Are you married?"
"Have any kids?"
"How many spirit stones does a late-stage Golden Core elder in our Great Void Sect get per month? Any extra perks?"
…And other equally nosy questions.
Xun Ziyou sighed, helpless before Mo Hua's barrage of casual chatter. He answered the questions he could.
As for ones that were inappropriate… he just pretended not to hear them.
They hadn't gone far when suddenly—
"Mo Hua!!"
Both Mo Hua and Xun Ziyou froze and turned toward the voice.
Not far away, a pale-skinned, handsome youth dressed in a resplendent gold dao robe was glaring at them, fury blazing in his eyes.
Mo Hua recognized him immediately.
It was Song Jian, the pretty-boy disciple from the Broken Gold Sect.
The moment Song Jian saw Mo Hua, his gaze locked on, eyes burning as he shouted:
"Finally found you!"
"Mo! Hua! I've been searching for you for ages!"
"You ganged up on me, stole my spirit sword, destroyed my hard work, and lied to my face! Got some giant to duel me while you sat back watching and mocking me!"
"Each and every one of these bloody grudges—I'll never forget for as long as I live!"
"Today, I will avenge my shame and—!"
A fellow Broken Gold disciple beside him tugged on his sleeve.
Annoyed, Song Jian shrugged him off.
The disciple tugged again.
Irritated, Song Jian turned his head, asking:
"What!?"
The disciple subtly gestured with his eyes—toward Mo Hua's side.
Only then did Song Jian notice… the silent elder standing next to Mo Hua.
A Golden Core Elder of the Great Void Sect.
Song Jian's heart went cold.
He'd been scouring the mountains for Mo Hua these past days—never once finding him.
Now, finally encountering him again, rage overwhelmed him—he hadn't noticed who was standing beside Mo Hua.
And it just had to be a Golden Core Elder.
Song Jian was dumbfounded.
All his arrogant bluster instantly vanished like smoke in the wind.
No matter how bold he was, he didn't dare cause trouble for Mo Hua in front of a Great Void Golden Core Elder.
"Gre—Greetings, Elder…"
Song Jian said in a small voice.
The other Broken Gold disciples all bowed respectfully to Xun Ziyou, terrified.
"Mm." Xun Ziyou nodded faintly and said calmly,
"Disciples should be courteous and respectful. Even if you're from different sects, there should be no provocation or unruly behavior."
"Y-Yes, understood…"
"Yes..."
Song Jian muttered resentfully.
"Alright," Xun Ziyou didn't make things difficult for them. "It's getting late. Head back early."
Song Jian and his group acted as if they'd received amnesty. After bowing and mumbling things like "Farewell, Elder", they quickly fled in scattered groups.
Xun Ziyou shook his head.
Once they were far away, a Broken Gold Sect disciple whispered,
"Young Master, what do we do now?"
Song Jian gritted his teeth.
"Despicable Mo Hua! Absolutely shameless—he's actually carrying a Golden Core Elder around!"
Another disciple cautiously offered,
"Golden Core Elders… aren't something you can just carry around casually, right?"
"Especially in Demon-Refining Mountain…"
"This Mo Hua seems to have quite the status in his sect. Might not be someone we can afford to offend."
"Are we still going to make trouble for him?" someone asked hesitantly.
"Of course!" Song Jian barked. "If I don't get revenge for this, I'll never be able to swallow my pride!"
"But… how?" another disciple asked in a low voice.
Song Jian racked his brain—but couldn't think of any way to punish Mo Hua. When he looked up and saw everyone staring at him, he got flustered and snapped:
"I have a plan! Why are you asking so much!?"
"Y-Yes, of course…"
The Song Clan disciples all bowed their heads obediently.
Frustrated, Song Jian said,
"Let's return first. As for that bastard Mo Hua—we'll plan this carefully. As long as he's still wandering this mountain, sooner or later, he'll fall into my hands!"
"But what about that elder…"
"You think a Great Void Sect elder has nothing better to do than follow him around every day?"
"But what if he does follow him every day?"
Song Jian exploded,
"You trying to pick a fight with me now!?"
That disciple immediately shut up.
Song Jian gave a cold laugh,
"Even if there is an elder with him every day, there'll be a moment when they let their guard down. As long as we watch carefully, the chance to strike will come."
"Yes, Young Master is wise and brilliant!"
Song Jian ignored the half-hearted flattery.
He glanced in the direction Mo Hua had left, feeling deeply unwilling, but powerless to act. Eventually, he let out a cold grunt:
"Let's go!"
"Yes!"
Song Jian took the lead, and the group began making their way down the mountain.
But none of them noticed—while Song Jian had been glaring at Mo Hua—a pair of cold, shadowy eyes had also been watching him silently from within the forest.
Elsewhere, Mo Hua casually asked Elder Xun,
"Elder, in the Broken Gold Sect, does the Song Clan have some kind of grudge with the Jin Clan?"
"They do," Xun Ziyou nodded. "Internal power struggles, family factions—this happens in all sects, not just Broken Gold."
"Ohh…"
Mo Hua looked thoughtful.
"Right," Xun Ziyou added, "that Song brat seems to really hold a grudge against you. Be careful in the mountains."
Mo Hua waved it off,
"It's fine. Just a kid."
Xun Ziyou was stunned.
Weren't you younger than him?
They walked a little further when a crafty glint flashed in Mo Hua's eyes. He whispered,
"By the way, Elder Xun… I have a small request."
Xun Ziyou immediately grew tense.
That fox-like smile… yeah, that's not a "small" request.
He asked warily,
"Let's hear it first."
Mo Hua said seriously,
"May I request a few days off?"
"Time off?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded with solemn expression.
"There are demonic cultivators hiding in this forest with ill intentions. If we don't root them out early, it could lead to disaster."
"So, I'd like to take some time to restore the formation patterns in the forest. That way, we can capture the demonic cultivators sooner and bring peace back to Demon-Refining Mountain."
Xun Ziyou's expression grew complicated.
If he hadn't been tailing Mo Hua all this time and seen everything the kid had done… he might've believed that speech.
This kid had at least seven or eight schemes swirling in his belly.
It was definitely not that simple!
But the Old Ancestor had explicitly said:
"Let him investigate the formations himself. Let him study, let him comprehend…"
Some things, Mo Hua clearly wasn't telling the full truth. But as for studying formations—that part was indeed genuine.
Xun Ziyou hesitated a moment and finally sighed,
"Alright. I'll go speak with Elder Song."
Dealing with demonic cultivators wasn't something that could be delayed.
And if Mo Hua was trying to study formations—he had to support that.
Mo Hua beamed brightly:
"Thank you, Elder Xun!"
As expected of a Great Void Elder—so decisive! Even taking leave is simple.
Uncle Gu Changhuai was nice too, but when it came to asking for leave, he really wasn't as efficient as Elder Xun.
Mo Hua quietly made a mental comparison.
—
Sure enough, Elder Xun easily got Mo Hua the time off.
And Mo Hua was finally free to dive fully into studying the Divine Dao formations hidden deep in the forest.
As his understanding grew deeper and he continued transcribing array runes, he gradually ventured closer to the very heart of the forest.
Before long, he found traces of a demonic cultivator.
A blood-colored stream, with dried demonic blood scattered around…
And piles of beast bones and remnants surrounding it...
(End of this Chapter)