Chapter 297: The Visualization Diagram

Mo Hua’s mouth fell open in shock.

He hadn’t expected that in a cultivation world this vast, with countless cultivators, he would somehow become the first person bold—or foolish—enough to “eat the crab.”

But Mo Hua was troubled. He didn’t want to eat the crab. There was no precedent to follow; if he made a mistake, he might well poison himself in the process.

“What should I do then?” Mo Hua asked anxiously. “What if one day my Sea of Consciousness gets corroded by evil thoughts and I lose my true self—turning into one of those man-eating ghosts?”

Mister Zhuang cast him a sidelong glance. “You need not worry so much. The living ghosts were already eaten by you—so what harm could the leftover fragments of their will do?”

“At most…” He paused, searching for a phrase, before saying, “you’re suffering from food that won’t digest.”

“Food that won’t digest…” Mo Hua mulled the phrase over before understanding dawned.

“Ah. You mean indigestion?”

Mister Zhuang nodded. “You could put it that way.”

Relieved, Mo Hua began chattering again, curiosity unbounded.

“Sir, where do Visualization Diagrams come from exactly? You said they contain hidden dangers—is that little ghost the danger within? Is that what you meant by ‘the path of the inhuman’? Do all Visualization Diagrams have these ghosts? And if I run into another one, what should I do?”

His voice was bright and crisp, rattling off question after question.

Mister Zhuang rubbed his temples helplessly.

A clever disciple was both a blessing and a headache—quick to grasp, but endlessly inquisitive.

After some thought, Mister Zhuang decided to start from the foundation.

He asked, “All the extraordinary powers of cultivators depend on three things. Do you know what these three are?”

“Divine-Sense, spiritual power, and the physical body?” Mo Hua replied.

Mister Zhuang nodded. “Correct. A cultivator’s every ability is based on Divine-Sense, spiritual power, and the body.”

“Martial arts rely on spiritual power to stimulate the flesh. Spells rely on Divine-Sense to condense spiritual power. Formations rely on Divine-Sense to commune with Heaven’s Dao, and array patterns to conduct spiritual power. All other cultivation paths are variations upon these principles, differing only in emphasis.”

“If, in the future, you encounter anything strange, bizarre, or incomprehensible, and can’t make sense of it—consider it from the perspective of these three.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit with understanding.

“Then, that little ghost in the Visualization Diagram—it has no body, no spiritual power, only pure consciousness. So it’s purely a manifestation of Divine-Sense?”

“Indeed,” said Mister Zhuang. “In other words, what we call a Visualization Diagram is merely a vessel for Divine-Sense. What it contains are fragments of consciousness left behind by certain cultivators by chance—or the will of something not human, accidentally born within it.”

“These fragments of will or consciousness are what cultivators often call evil entities or ghosts.”

Mo Hua asked eagerly, “Can all these evil entities and ghosts be eaten?”

Mister Zhuang flicked him on the forehead. “Stop thinking about eating everything you see.”

Mo Hua scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

“These evil entities and ghosts vary in strength,” Mister Zhuang warned. “You happened to encounter a weak one—hence you could devour it. But if you meet a powerful one, it might be you who gets devoured.”

“How strong can they be?” Mo Hua asked curiously.

A deep dread flickered in Mister Zhuang’s eyes as he replied gravely,

“Strong enough to terrify even me.”

Mo Hua’s face stiffened.

Even someone as inscrutable as Mister Zhuang felt fear?

After a moment’s hesitation, Mister Zhuang decided it was better to give the boy a warning.

Although Mo Hua’s cultivation was low, his ability to find a Visualization Diagram on his own—and even devour the ghost within—meant he might encounter stranger things in the future.

Mister Zhuang was genuinely fond of his young disciple; he didn’t wish for Mo Hua to stumble blindly into damnation.

“There are dangers in this world that you cannot see,” Mister Zhuang said quietly.

“Desolate mountains, ancient temples, sealed caves, forgotten tombs—all often harbor indescribable entities. They feed on Divine-Sense and corrupt the hearts of men.”

“Cultivators with weak Divine-Sense can neither see nor touch them. They may die without ever knowing how. Either their Divine-Sense is entirely devoured, or their Sea of Consciousness becomes occupied by the evil will, their minds enslaved—living corpses, puppets without souls.”

“Some of these existences have survived for ages. Their willpower is boundless, nearly indestructible. Even the Divine-Sense of cultivators cannot perceive them. Some, out of fear, worship such entities as ‘Ghost Gods’ or ‘Evil Deities,’ offering them reverence.”

“But most of these so-called gods are wicked by nature. Their will is deceitful and malignant, and the cultivators who serve them seldom meet good ends.”

“And whether weak or strong, all of these entities must possess a vessel in this world—the medium through which they dwell. That vessel… is the Visualization Diagram.”

“That is why I told you that Visualization Diagrams conceal danger and embody paths beyond the human.”

Mo Hua was both awed and alarmed, yet also puzzled.

“They all hide inside the diagram? But the diagram’s so small—how can it contain them?”

Mister Zhuang shook his head. “The term ‘Visualization Diagram’ is merely a convention. Some take the form of paintings, murals, carvings, or even strange patterns—anything that can serve as a focus of visualization. Cultivators simply call them all ‘Visualization Diagrams.’”

Mo Hua nodded, feeling his horizons expand.

Without Mister Zhuang’s teachings, he’d never have known such truths of cultivation—and if he had encountered a powerful ghost, he might have died without understanding why.

“Sir, are these things considered part of basic cultivation knowledge?” he asked.

“No,” Mister Zhuang replied. “These are esoteric secrets—known only to ancient families proficient in Divine-Sense or to sects with deep mastery of formation arts. Ordinary cultivators are not privy to them.”

Mo Hua nodded solemnly, memorizing every word.

No one else could have told him these things.

“Do you understand now?”

“I do,” Mo Hua said, then hesitated. “But…”

Mister Zhuang sighed. “If you have a question, ask it. Don’t hold it in.”

Mo Hua grinned brightly. “Thank you, sir!”

Then he asked, “When I first saw that Visualization Diagram, the figure inside was a Dao Child—but later, it turned into a little ghost. Why? Do all diagrams have two forms?”

Mister Zhuang gave him a look of mild surprise.

Even without being told, the boy had noticed such subtlety—truly sharp and gifted.

A smile touched his lips as he said approvingly,

“All things possess both an outer form and a true form. So too with Visualization Diagrams. What you see on the surface is its outer form, but beneath it lies the manifestation of its true consciousness.”

Mo Hua followed the thought. “Then the Dao Child was its outer form, and the green-faced ghost its true form?”

Mister Zhuang nodded. “Exactly.”

“Do all Visualization Diagrams have both?”

“Yes—but not always so simply,” Mister Zhuang explained patiently.

“In some diagrams, the outer form is the true form. In others, the true form is merely a deeper layer of the outer.”

“Outer and true… true and outer…”

Mo Hua frowned, feeling dizzy. “Then how can I tell the difference?”

Mister Zhuang raised a slender finger.

“There are three ways.

First—rely on the strength of your Divine-Sense. If your Divine-Sense surpasses the will within the diagram, you can pierce through the illusion and see truth.

Second—accumulate experience. The more diagrams you encounter, the more easily your intuition will discern authenticity.

Third—attune yourself to Heaven’s Dao. The deeper your comprehension of the Dao, the clearer the reality beneath appearances.”

“These three: the first is the most direct, the second takes time, and the third… is the hardest.”

“Heaven’s Dao comprehension…” Mo Hua mused. “How does one deepen that?”

Mister Zhuang replied, “Two things matter most: temperament and tempering.”

Mo Hua furrowed his brow in thought—then his eyes suddenly brightened.

“Meditation refines temperament, and array-crafting tempers comprehension?”

Mister Zhuang smiled faintly, impressed. “Correct.”

Mo Hua reviewed everything carefully in his mind until enlightenment dawned.

“My Divine-Sense is strong—and because I meditate and practice array formations daily, my understanding of Heaven’s Dao is deeper. That’s why I unconsciously saw through the true form of the green-faced ghost. The ghost then entered my Sea of Consciousness, trying to devour my Divine-Sense…”

“But…” he frowned again. “That Third Master also had a strong Divine-Sense. Why didn’t he see through it?”

“Though his Divine-Sense was stronger,” Mister Zhuang said coolly, “his heart was corrupted by greed. His mind clouded by desire. With such a tainted heart, how could he perceive Heaven’s Dao?”

Mo Hua nodded slowly.

So—heart and temperament were crucial.

A clouded heart could never perceive the truth beneath illusions, and would inevitably stray from the Dao.

From this exchange, Mo Hua had learned much. He bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir.”

Mister Zhuang looked at him with a profound gaze. “Do you know why I’ve told you all this now?”

“Because I asked?” Mo Hua thought silently—but he knew that wasn’t the full answer.

Mister Zhuang could have answered, or not. The amount he said, and what he said, carried deliberate meaning.

As Mo Hua reviewed everything in his mind, he realized that all of Mister Zhuang’s teachings today revolved around Divine-Sense and Heaven’s Dao.

But why now? He couldn’t quite see it yet.

Seeing the boy’s furrowed brow, Mister Zhuang finally spoke with quiet weight:

“Foundation Establishment… is the establishment of one’s foundation upon the Dao itself.”

“Have you thought about what kind of Dao foundation you wish to build?”

(End of Chapter)