Chapter 1277: Yin and Yang

Chapter 1276: Yin and Yang

The Taotie Twelve-Meridian-Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation uses the twelve primary meridians of a cultivator’s body—Tai-Yin (Greater Yin), Jue-Yin, Shao-Yin(Lesser Yin), Tai-Yang (Greater Yang), Yang-Ming, and Shao-Yang(Lesser Yang) of the hands and feet—as its core framework.

Using the blood vessels in the primary meridians as points, the networks of veins as lines, spirit as qi, blood as essence, and the organs as tools. From the skin to the flesh, to the bones, it follows the divine craftsmanship of creation—complex, precise, and naturally perfect—linking the entire body and ultimately fusing it into one.

The flesh and blood generated by heaven and earth now seemed like a “human machine” constructed by the great Dao itself.

At this moment, Mo Hua’s personally tailored “formation apparatus” followed the procedure he had meticulously planned, driving tiny silver needles along the acupoints of his hands and feet into his flesh.

These silver needles were also connected to his twelve primary meridians.

The essence of Wood-White and the marrow of Gold-Jade—two heavenly treasures—were, under Mo Hua’s prior arrangement, channeled through the silver needles and permeated his meridians.

The first to enter was the Gold-Jade marrow.

Belonging to the Metal of the Five Elements, the Gold-Jade marrow, fluid like jade, seeped downward from flesh into Mo Hua’s bones.

His bones had already been pre-nourished to establish the foundation of Wood-White-Gold-Jade.

Now, the Gold-Jade marrow completed the final fusion, wrapping around his skeletal frame, as if “gilding” his bones.

After “gilding,” the Gold-Jade marrow would not solidify for several hours.

This stage was the only opportunity to “engrave the formation.”

At this moment, the half-clear, half-white essence of Wood-White, imbued with vitality, slowly seeped into Mo Hua’s body along the silver needles.

The Wood-White essence contained life force, instantly merging with blood, imperceptible to ordinary senses.

Being imperceptible, it could not be controlled by Divine-Sense.

Therefore, Mo Hua pre-mixed a trace of the Great Wilderness’ “blood toxin” into the Wood-White essence.

This blood toxin also integrated with the blood and caused a distinctly painful sensation.

As long as there was a discernible pain, Mo Hua could perceive it.

Once perceived, his divine-sense could “identify” it.

With divine-sense identification, Mo Hua could manipulate the Wood-White essence as “spiritual ink,” to inscribe the Taotie formation onto his bones.

The blood toxin itself had a mild corrosive property, able to erode the bones.

In this way, the toxin acted as a “engraving knife,” leaving formation traces on his bones.

This was the “toxin engraving” method Mo Hua had spent a long time devising.

Without cutting skin, dissecting limbs, or exposing bones, he could inscribe formation patterns onto intact bones within his body using divine-sense to control the ink.

The blood toxin, though corrosive, was mild and not seriously harmful.

It primarily corroded only the gilded surface of the bones.

Later, as the Wood-White essence naturally healed, it would remove the blood toxin without leaving a trace.

Every step was part of Mo Hua’s “plan,” verified and refined hundreds of times, ensuring flawless execution before he proceeded.

Silver needles pierced the twelve meridians, and the Wood-White essence mixed with blood. Because of the toxin, pain was present, making it easily perceptible to Mo Hua’s divine-sense.

Mo Hua began manipulating the Wood-White essence according to the Taotie Twelve-Meridian-Spiritual-Skeleton formation diagram. Starting from the hand Tai-Yin(Greater Yin) Lung Meridian, he guided it from blood into the meridian, then into the vessels, finally drawing the first stroke of the Taotie formation on the radial side of the corresponding thumb.

The Wood-White essence, mixed with blood, flowed as ink over the Gold-Jade-gilded bones.

The first stroke, a ferocious Taotie pattern, took shape.

The moment the stroke landed, it felt as though a vicious beast had bitten into his thumb bone, pain searing to the marrow.

Even after consuming Numbing Spirit Herb and gilding the bones with Gold-Jade marrow, the pain pierced through, imprinting itself onto Mo Hua’s divine-sense.

This pain was not from flesh or bones.

It was more like a “law-bound” pain.

It was the backlash endured by a mortal body daring to carry the Taotie’s ferocious laws in its bones.

This pain bypassed all surface defenses and acted directly on the soul.

Mo Hua felt as if rootless, nameless beasts tore into him, the agony unbearable, causing his bones, meridians, and flesh to tremble.

Fortunately, before engraving the formation, he had “pinned” his body in place.

Otherwise, any movement could have been disastrous.

Still, chains and shackles deeply dug into his flesh, leaving obvious bruises and marks on his pale hands and feet.

This was physical pain, insignificant compared to the true torment: The true pain came from bearing the Taotie laws.

And this pain was intensifying.

The Taotie’s tearing only deepened.

The first stroke’s suffering far exceeded the limit any ordinary cultivator could endure.

Even Mo Hua could hardly endure it, forcing him to invoke divine-nature to suppress his humanity.

He set aside life and death, flesh and blood, his sea of consciousness, all pain…

Using divine-sense, he observed human suffering from above, cold and detached.

Gods are merciless, treating mortals as straw dogs.

Mo Hua, too, was one of the mortals.

He treated himself as a straw dog, bearing all sorrow.

At the same time, he treated himself as a god, indifferent to the straw dog that he was.

Under this supreme, rational, and cold divine insight, Mo Hua’s “humanity” was suppressed to the utmost.

This faint humanity greatly reduced the pain felt in his divine-sense.

By detaching from his human identity, from life and death, from worldly gain, he approached divinity.

Mo Hua’s eyes almost completely turned gold.

Human emotions and mortal pain faded.

Only thus could he grit his teeth and continue inscribing the formation on his skeleton…

The Wood-White essence, mixed with blood toxin, flowed through the twelve primary meridians. Under Mo Hua’s meticulous divine-sense control, it continued to wind over the bones, forming the second stroke.

This time, the pain was significantly reduced.

He continued, Divine-Sense flowing, the “spiritual ink” of Wood-White essence moving, tracing downward…

Third stroke, fourth stroke…

After an unknown duration, the first Taotie pattern was completed.

On the radial side of Mo Hua’s thumb, a small Taotie-like pattern formed, pulsating as if alive.

The first Taotie pattern was complete.

Almost simultaneously, the pain from the Taotie’s tearing intensified.

Mo Hua had to invoke divine-nature again, suppressing the divine-sense pain with absolute rationality.

It was a agonizing process.

A torment to his soul, a test of his Dao-heart.

Mo Hua forcibly endured the excruciating pain.

Finally, after an unknowable time, as the pain slightly subsided, he resolutely drew the second Taotie pattern.

Second-rank, twenty-four strokes—the Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Formation.

He had drawn only one; twenty-three more were needed to link into the complete absolute formation.

This process was excruciating and long, seemingly endless.

In the boundless darkness of pain, Mo Hua had no sense of time or how much suffering he had endured.

Nor did he know how many times he had forcibly suppressed his humanity with divine-nature…

He proceeded with cold rationality, like a “Dao Machine,” following formation memory practiced countless times, stroke by stroke…

He focused his mind to absolute singularity, no distractions, no other thoughts.

Only thus could he continue. By the end, he felt a strange sense of certainty.

His bones were mere stone.

His flesh was mere soil.

He had no concept of “self.”

He was not inscribing the formation on himself.

He was engraving the Twelve-Meridian Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation onto heaven and earth, on natural stone and wood.

Mo Hua had erased his “ego,” transcended “pain,” approaching divinity. His eyes held only the formation, the heavens and earth, and the eternal, self-operating Dao…

…

In this supremely “divine” state, Mo Hua’s consciousness grew ever clearer.

The formation he drew seemed to have divinity itself.

He felt as if he had been born with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, breathing in unison with the laws.

In this prolonged conflict between Divinity and humanity, in the pain and dissolution of self, Mo Hua endured through Dao-heart.

Finally, when his Divine-Sense was nearly exhausted, he traced the last stroke of the Taotie pattern on his skeleton.

He completed the Great Wilderness Twelve-Meridian Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation, practiced and deduced countless times, fully inscribed onto his bones.

In that instant, the blue light shone blindingly.

Savage Taotie patterns emerged on his skin.

Ancient formation light glimmered within him, traveling along the meridians—from hand Tai-Yin Lung, hand Yang-Ming Large Intestine, foot Yang-Ming Stomach… to hand Shao-Yang Triple Burner, foot Shao-Yang Gallbladder, foot Jue-Yin Liver, finally returning to hand Tai-Yin Lung—forming a complete twelve-meridian circuit.

Across the twelve primary meridians, twenty-four Taotie patterns were linked together.

These twenty-four patterns, alternating between light and dark, continued to emerge as if alive—writhing and merging within his bones, organs, meridians, and flesh—eventually forming a seamless whole…

The Taotie formation fused with his body.

The Taotie’s laws seemed to melt into him.

On Mo Hua’s skin, the ancient, grotesque Taotie patterns pulsed with eerie blue light.

He looked like a “humanoid Taotie.”

A human body containing a Taotie, and a Taotie taking human form simultaneously.

This was the Great Wilderness Twelve-Meridian Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation, created by the mysterious Grand Shaman Priest and sealed in the Skull of an Evil God.

It was a formation capable of seizing the very fate of heaven and earth, delved into the ultimate secrets of humanity, and embodying the Ferocious Laws of a Taotie.

Mo Hua slowly opened his eyes.

As his eyes opened, it was as if an ancient “spiritual beast” awakened, seeing the world for the first time.

“Success…”

Even though Mo Hua’s divinity had reached its peak and his humanity had become extremely faint, a faint joy still arose from his heart.

It was not only the joy of humanity, born from completing his Life-Bound Formation and paving the way for the Golden Core…

But also the joy of divinity, born from the yearning for Dao and the laws.

Mo Hua could feel, as the Life-Bound Formation took shape, that the laws of the Taotie were incubating and growing within him through the formation.

Even a god could not resist the exhilaration of such ancient “laws.”

At this point, the most difficult, dangerous, and core part of his Life-Bound Formation had been successfully engraved.

Mo Hua exhaled slowly.

Next, he only needed the “Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation” to lock his blood.

Besides repairing the blood and Qi damage caused by engraving the bones, this Yin-Wood Formation also served as a safeguard to preserve life.

The Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Formation was a ferocious beast absolute formation, extremely domineering and dangerous.

If it lost control, overloaded, or became chaotic, the meridians, bones, and organs fused with the Taotie formation would be severely damaged, and very difficult to repair.

Without measures to “lock the blood” and “restore life energy,” the consequences would be disastrous.

Thus, he had to construct another “vitality” formation within his body to restore blood and Qi, and to offset the risk of future damage if the Taotie Formation went out of control.

The most suitable formation for this, after careful consideration and countless calculations, was the Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation.

It was essentially his best, and only, choice.

Fortunately, the Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation was simple, at least far simpler than the twenty-four-runed Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation.

Using the Wood-White Essence as spiritual ink, Mo Hua engraved the Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation near his twelve principal meridians, adjacent to the Taotie Formation.

He had a lot of bones to work with.

Where the main formations were drawn, the Taotie Formation covered it; the remaining blank spaces were filled with the Yin-Wood Formation.

Yet, this casual filling produced a reaction.

Whether it was due to the Wood-White essence as ink, the Wood-White-Gold-Jade bone-forging method, or the ancient laws embedded in the Taotie Formation, something “reacted.”

The Yin-Wood runes suddenly twisted, as if a “mirage” had shattered, becoming somewhat different.

Faintly, Mo Hua saw two ouroboros-like serpents, black and white, chasing and interweaving their tails…

At the same time, a vast, ancient feeling surged within him.

He felt as if standing on the boundary of the Dao, in eternal life, half-living, half-dead, illusory yet real, dreamlike.

But then, everything vanished.

Mo Hua could sense nothing.

The Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation had merged into his bones, transforming into vitality, silently repairing the damage caused by engraving his life-formation.

With each bit of his injuries healed, the Yin-Wood Formation nurtured vitality, fusing more deeply with his body…

Mo Hua furrowed his brows.

“What… is this… merging in…”

He tried to probe further, but there was nothing left to probe.

Even the Yin-Wood runes had merged into his bones, invisible to him.

The Taotie runes glowed, so he could still faintly see them.

But the Yin-Wood Formation, hidden within his twelve principal meridians, operated silently; he could not see it.

Unless he cut open his flesh and extracted the bones, he could not know what was engraved.

He would have to wait until he “died” and was dissected.

Mo Hua continuously inspected the flow of spiritual power and the operation of the formations in his body.

After ten inspections, he still found no issue.

The Wood-White-Gold-Jade bones were healing.

The Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Formation was slowly integrating.

The Yin-Wood Rejuvenation Formation quietly nurtured vitality.

Everything appeared “peaceful.”

“No problem…”

After another pause in thought, still finding no anomalies, he no longer worried.

This Life-Bound formation had never been orthodox; it was a patched-together anomaly. Some unexpected variations were normal.

As long as it functioned correctly, it was fine.

Or rather, Mo Hua could only “pray” that the formation system would not fail during operation.

Everything else was beyond his control.

Now that the formation was complete, it was set in stone, integrated with his bones, meridians, organs, and flesh. Any change was impossible.

Even if something went wrong, he could only pretend it hadn’t.

Even if he were to die, he could only wait to die.

Resolute, Mo Hua stopped worrying, re-inspected himself internally, and confirmed that the runes were correct, the formation was operating, and that no residual poisons, Wood-White essence, Gold-Jade marrow, or other lingering spiritual medicines remained in his body.

He then used his Divine-Sense to sever the connection between the outside world and the twelve meridians within his body, and, with his Divine-Sense controlling his Life-Bound Formation, activated the vitality of Yin-Wood to begin the healing of his flesh and blood.

Thus, the final closure of his Life-Bound Formation was complete.

His Life-Bound Formation system, with the Great Wilderness Twelve-Meridian Taotie Spiritual-Skeleton Absolute Formation as core, Wood-White-Gold-Jade as bones, and Yin-Wood Rejuvenation as support, was now fully established…

No further incidents occurred.

…

Meanwhile Somewhere, far away in the Dao Prefecture.

In a remote little courtyard.

The Grand Elder, who was sitting by the small riverside, eyes closed, dozing while fishing, suddenly snapped his eyes open, his face full of shock:

“My formation… where is it?”

“The one I gave him… that set of formation… where is it?”