Chapter 296: Evil Thought
After dinner, Mo Hua practiced drawing formations for a while, then lay down on his bed to rest his mind. When midnight arrived, he entered his Sea of Consciousness.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the ethereal Dao Monument appeared.
Mo Hua carefully examined it and found nothing unusual—the Dao Monument looked exactly as it always had.
He felt a little disappointed.
He had thought that after devouring the Green-Faced Little Ghost and refining its Spiritual-Consciousness, causing his Divine-Sense to reach Foundation Establishment ahead of time, the Dao Monument might undergo some mysterious transformation.
But apparently, he had overthought it.
The Dao Monument remained illusory, ancient, and profound—silent and eternal, like the Dao itself, existing beyond all ages.
Mo Hua quietly gazed upon it.
That Dao Monument had accompanied him for more than ten years within his Sea of Consciousness. He knew it better than anyone, yet now, it seemed unfathomable, as though it concealed countless hidden karmic secrets.
“I wonder… when my cultivation deepens, when my Divine-Sense grows stronger, or when my Dao comprehension broadens—will I finally uncover what lies within you?”
Mo Hua pondered silently.
Then he cleared his thoughts and began practicing formation patterns on the Dao Monument as usual.
Cultivation required patience and accumulation; formations required perseverance and repetition.
Nothing could be achieved overnight. One could not seek quick success or instant gain.
Even though Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense was now immensely strong, he still had to train methodically—grinding, stabilizing, and refining each detail.
He used his finger as a brush, tracing complex and profound runes across the Dao Monument.
These were runes no ordinary first-grade Array Master could comprehend. The formation they created was the Spirit-Reversal Array—a first-grade, ten-pattern formation, and the most difficult one Mo Hua had yet mastered.
At his current level, it was the only formation worth his time.
After all, with his Divine-Sense already at Foundation Establishment, ordinary first-grade formations could no longer deepen his insight—they were as effortless and tasteless as drinking plain water.
Of course, that was just his inner thought. Saying it aloud would only earn him resentment.
Mo Hua focused on practicing the Spirit-Reversal Array.
But soon, something felt wrong.
Whenever he exhausted his Divine-Sense, faint phantom images appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.
Within those phantoms were Daoist temples hidden in green mountains… childlike Daoists whose expressions shifted between innocence and malice… Daoists with immortal bearing one moment and greed-filled eyes the next… and cultivators of all kinds, scheming and deceitful.
Mo Hua’s own state of mind began to fluctuate wildly.
At times he felt pure; at times irritable. Sometimes despondent, sometimes violent—and even moments of horrifying hunger for human flesh and blood.
He quickly sat cross-legged, meditating to calm his heart.
After a while, he opened his eyes and frowned deeply.
“Could it be… the Green-Faced Little Ghost’s Spiritual-Consciousness wasn’t completely purified? So much evil thought still lingers?”
He recalled Mister Zhuang’s warning—that visualization diagrams were perilous and unpredictable. What one visualized could sometimes be a “non-human” entity.
If that were true, then the aftereffects of “devouring” the little ghost might be far more dangerous than he had assumed.
“I’ll ask Mister Zhuang tomorrow.”
Since the evil thoughts had not yet dissipated, it was best not to use his Divine-Sense to practice formations again tonight.
Otherwise, those remnants could subtly corrupt his Sea of Consciousness—leading him astray, perhaps even down a path of no return.
So Mo Hua continued to meditate, reflecting inwardly, suppressing wicked thoughts, and guarding his true heart.
When dawn came and the eastern sky brightened, Mo Hua sat cross-legged beneath the morning sun, performing his daily cultivation.
Afterward, with his spiritual power replenished, he ate breakfast prepared by his mother, packed some wine and meat, and went to visit Mister Zhuang at the Forgetful Meditation Abode.
It had been several days since his last visit.
The mountain abode remained as serene as ever—quiet, clean, and tranquil—its mere presence soothing the heart.
It was still early. Mister Zhuang was napping.
Peeking through the doorway, Mo Hua saw the old man lying leisurely on his bamboo chair, eyes closed, mind adrift. Not wanting to disturb him, Mo Hua simply sat quietly on the stone steps outside.
He opened a formation manual, placed it on his knees, and read in silence beneath the golden sunlight, surrounded by emerald mountain scenery.
As he read, his heart grew peaceful. The evil thoughts within him faded completely.
But then, a faint sound came from inside the house.
Turning his head, Mo Hua saw Mister Zhuang standing there, watching him with an unusually serious expression.
“Who are you?”
Mister Zhuang’s tone was cold.
Mo Hua froze. “Sir, it’s me—Mo Hua.”
Mister Zhuang studied him for a few moments, his tone softening slightly.
“Where did your Divine-Sense come from?”
“I encountered a visualization diagram.”
“A visualization diagram…”
Mister Zhuang nodded faintly. “And then?”
“There was a little ghost in the diagram. It jumped into my Sea of Consciousness, so… I ate it.”
Mo Hua summarized it matter-of-factly.
For once, the always-unperturbed Mister Zhuang looked genuinely shocked.
“Ate it?”
“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded earnestly. “I ate it.”
“How… exactly?”
“It tried to eat me. I wouldn’t let it. So I wounded it with a formation—it turned into wisps of green smoke, and I swallowed them.”
Mo Hua described it briefly, omitting mention of the Dao Monument.
In truth, it was the Dao Monument’s aura that had burned the little ghost into smoke.
“Your Divine-Sense can manifest?” Mister Zhuang asked.
“Yes.”
He had learned from the little ghost that this was called Divine-Sense Manifestation—when one’s consciousness took form within the Sea of Consciousness.
Mo Hua had always been able to do this since childhood, thinking it normal. Only from the ghost’s reaction did he realize not all cultivators possessed such an ability.
Judging by Mister Zhuang’s expression, this revelation came as no surprise—he had likely suspected it long ago.
“So you devoured the little ghost and refined it—causing your Divine-Sense to suddenly surge?” Mister Zhuang continued.
Mo Hua nodded, quietly admiring how quickly the master had deduced the truth from so few words.
Mister Zhuang stood there, eyes thoughtful, hesitating several times before confirming slowly:
“Then… your Divine-Sense has already reached Foundation Establishment?”
“Yes, sir!” Mo Hua smiled shyly, eyes shining with a hint of pride.
Mister Zhuang sighed and sank back into his chair, appearing calm again—but his heart was anything but calm.
These past few days, Mo Hua hadn’t visited, and Mister Zhuang had assumed he was simply distracted elsewhere. Never would he have guessed that, in just a few short days, the boy’s Divine-Sense had already reached Foundation Establishment.
“Too fast…” Mister Zhuang thought silently.
Indeed, even the most meticulous plans could not have prepared for this.
All the arrangements he had made for Mo Hua’s gradual progress were now obsolete.
Seeing Mister Zhuang momentarily lost in thought, Mo Hua voiced his concern:
“Sir, ever since I devoured the little ghost, I sometimes see strange visions and feel impure thoughts in my Sea of Consciousness. Is that dangerous?”
Mister Zhuang’s eyes darkened.
“Hard to say.”
Mo Hua was surprised—the ever-knowledgeable Mister Zhuang giving such an uncertain answer?
“Why… hard to say?”
“Because no one has ever done it before.”
“No one’s ever eaten a little ghost?”
“No,” Mister Zhuang sighed, gazing at him with a complicated expression.
“Usually, it’s the ghost that eats the cultivator.
You’re the first one… to eat the ghost.”
(End of Chapter)