Chapter 356: Core of the Demon-Slaying Formation

Before actual construction could begin, the grand formation needed a location.

Chief Zhou and Elder Yu specifically approached Mo Hua to ask for his opinion.

Since the grand formation was drawn, designed, and constructed by Mo Hua, naturally the site selection would also be decided by him.

After careful consideration, Mo Hua finally chose Black Mountain Stronghold as the location for the grand formation.

The Five-Element Demon-Slaying Formation was a trapping-and-killing type of grand formation, not a defensive protective formation, so it couldn’t be placed in Tōngxiān City—in fact, it had to be far from the city.

Otherwise, once activated, the spiritual force of the formation’s killing energy would spill over and affect Tōngxiān City.

The ideal location was deep in the mountains.

Here, the sealed boar could be directly suppressed and killed, preventing it from entering the city—a perfect choice.

Within the deep mountains, the most suitable place was naturally Black Mountain Stronghold.

Nestled between two mountain ranges, Black Mountain Stronghold was easy to defend but hard to attack. In other words, its relative isolation made it ideal for a formation designed to trap and kill.

The Qian family ancestor had built the stronghold here precisely because its location was conducive to forming a grand formation.

Although the stronghold had been partially destroyed, it still retained some foundational formation structures. Constructing the grand formation atop this foundation would save a lot of work.

Though somewhat surprised, Chief Zhou and Elder Yu both nodded in agreement.

Mo Hua then told Commander Yang, “Uncle Yang, we still need to find a way to restrain the sealed boar, to buy us some time.”

The formation’s construction would take at least two months, and if anything went wrong and delayed progress, the boar could start seeking prey before the formation was completed—which would be disastrous.

So they needed to prevent the boar from refining its blood energy and gain as much time as possible.

Commander Yang nodded. “Don’t worry. Using the Yang family’s influence, I’ve petitioned the Dao Soldiers Division and requested two more squads. In the meantime, we’ll find ways to harass the boar and slow down its blood-energy refinement.”

After that, everyone had a clear division of labor: Chief Zhou allocated spiritual stones and materials, Elder Yu managed manpower, and Mo Hua took full charge of the formation itself.

Construction of the Five-Element Demon-Slaying Formation officially began.

The overall design was drawn by Mo Hua based on the formation’s core, references from other formations, and advice from Master Ban and other craftsmen.

First, damaged structures in Black Mountain Stronghold had to be cleared, and the foundation and framework for the grand formation reconstructed. This part was handled by the craftsmen.

Meanwhile, the refining guilds in the southern city worked day and night, forging formation plates, formation locks, and formation gates—components serving as conduits for the formation.

Alchemists prepared pills to dissipate heat, detoxify, dispel miasma, and restore physical and spiritual energy for the craftsmen.

The Fu-Shan Dining Hall in the city, along with the An family’s dining hall, provided meals for everyone.

Demon hunters, led by Yu Chengyi and Mo Shan, opened a mountain path from Tōngxiān City, through the inner and outer ranges, all the way to the site of Black Mountain Stronghold.

The path wound naturally with the terrain, wide and flat, making it convenient to transport the materials needed for the grand formation.

The hunters also drove away wild beasts along the path to prevent attacks on the cultivators.

Within a few days, some wandering cultivators from Qingxuan City came to help. Cultivators from nearby immortal cities, hearing that Tōngxiān City was building a grand formation against a great demon, also came to contribute their efforts.

The number of cultivators building the formation grew steadily, and the scale of the project became more magnificent by the day.

Mo Hua stood atop a peak near Black Mountain Stronghold.

Looking down, he saw a winding mountain road stretching from the base of the stronghold, twisting along Da Hei Mountain, all the way to Tōngxiān City.

The road was crowded with cultivators, transporting construction materials and various supplies in an orderly manner.

The stronghold below had been dismantled, its foundation rebuilt, and the frameworks for basic formation conduits already erected.

Master Ban and numerous craftsmen busied themselves among the structures, and the embryonic shape of the grand formation had begun to take form.

Meanwhile, in Tōngxiān City, the refining guilds burned brightly, alchemy furnaces blazed, and smoke curled from the dining halls.

Prepared food boxes, pills, and spiritual tools were either handed directly to cultivators or sent along the mountain path to the deep mountains…

Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of cultivators worked together to build a massive cultivation formation—the Five-Element Demon-Slaying Formation.

This scene filled Mo Hua with an inexplicable awe.

“So this is a grand formation…”

A single formation alone wasn’t strong enough, so many individual formations were gathered and linked through the core to form a grand formation.

A single cultivator alone wasn’t strong enough, so many cultivators were gathered to work together for a common goal.

Human effort may have limits, but with enough people, power becomes limitless.

In a moment of clarity, Mo Hua realized:

He could draw the grand formation to kill the sealed boar and save the city.

But in truth, he wasn’t just saving others; everyone was saving themselves.

Without him, no one could draw the formation. But without all the cultivators united in purpose, even he couldn’t complete the grand formation.

Fate is never changed by one person alone. Only through the collective effort of all cultivators can the heavens truly be defied!

In that instant, Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness trembled, his Divine-Sense clear, and he felt the concept of the grand formation crystallize in his mind.

Even previously obscure core patterns were now engraved vividly in his consciousness.

A sudden enlightenment dawned, and Mo Hua felt assured:

He could truly construct and command the entire Five-Element Demon-Slaying Formation with ease!

Master Luo, following behind Mo Hua, was marveling at the complexity of the formation. Suddenly, he looked up and saw Mo Hua as if he had reached an epiphany, radiating a mysterious aura beyond comprehension.

It was as if he understood some profound principle, and the formation advanced a step further.

There was even a faint sense of a master of formations about him.

For a moment, Master Luo thought his eyes were deceiving him.

Rubbing his eyes and looking again, he found Mo Hua’s aura had returned to that of an ordinary young cultivator.

As it was noon, someone called, “Time to eat!” Mo Hua happily activated Flowing-Water Step and ran off to grab a chicken leg…

Master Luo stood dumbfounded for a long while, then sighed with a complicated expression, muttering to himself,

“Did I really see that just now…?”

…

Ten days later, the framework of the formation’s lower conduits was completed.

Thanks to everyone’s united effort, this progress was far faster than Mo Hua had anticipated.

Next came the actual drawing of the formation.

The Five-Element Demon-Slaying Formation used the formation eye as its source, the core as its control center, individual formations for layout, and formation conduits as its foundation.

The formation eye consisted of multiple first-grade spirit-gathering formations, used to refine spiritual stones, absorb spiritual energy, and concentrate the formation’s power, providing the grand formation with a source of spiritual energy.

The core of the grand formation, the formation pivot, coordinated and controlled the flow, start and stop, direction, and intensity of spiritual energy.

Only by drawing the pivot first could the rest of the formation be arranged around it.

The formation pivot was the hardest part to draw, and the most critical and secret part of the formation, so it had to be drawn personally by the chief formation master.

In other words, only one who could draw the pivot was qualified to be the chief formation master and lead the construction of the grand formation.

Mo Hua chose a high peak for the pivot.

The elevated position offered a clear view and was far enough from the central killing zone to oversee the entire formation without being affected by the energy while trapping the sealed boar.

The formation conduit for the pivot was a massive formation plate infused with refined iron, extremely sturdy and difficult to damage.

Before Mo Hua began, Master Luo had all the formation masters leave.

The pivot was the core of the grand formation and a formation master’s secret, so naturally it had to be drawn in private.

Master Luo also considered that the pivot might not be drawn by Mo Hua himself but possibly by his teacher, so he had all the other formation masters leave to avoid exposure.

Master Luo’s consideration was very “thoughtful.”

What he didn’t know was that Mo Hua was indeed drawing the pivot himself.

Drawing the pivot was difficult.

Even with his profound understanding, it still required great effort.

Using a refined-iron plate as the conduit consumed even more Divine-Sense.

Mo Hua failed twice due to insufficient Divine-Sense, then used Spirit-Dissolving Liquid to erase the patterns and redrew them.

Because the patterns were so complex, he made two errors and had to redraw again.

…

After failing five or six times in a row, Mo Hua never gave up.

Thanks to his recent enlightenment, the pivot’s pattern was clearly imprinted in his mind.

He knew he could do it; he just needed more familiarity and room for trial and error.

Five days later, after countless attempts, the pivot of the Five-Star Demon-Slaying Formation was finally drawn.

Mo Hua channeled his Divine-Sense through the pivot; every line and detail was complete, and the paths of different spiritual energies matched the records in the formation jade slip.

Still uneasy, Mo Hua checked it from start to finish several times before letting out a gentle sigh of relief.

Success!

Mo Hua gazed at the complex and profound pivot before him, joy welling in his heart.

The pivot was meticulously structured, with a complex and profound aesthetic.

The only minor flaw was that it was his first time drawing a pivot on a formation plate; his strokes were inexperienced, and the many corrections made it somewhat messy.

But as long as it worked, appearance didn’t matter!

Mo Hua valued practicality above all—utility was most important.

Once the pivot was complete, Master Luo led the other formation masters back. Seeing it, they were all deeply shaken.

“This is the pivot of a grand formation…”

The intricate patterns were intimidating; it was clearly beyond their ability to replicate…

After his initial amazement, Master Luo studied the pivot closely.

On one hand, he was stunned by the high-level mastery displayed, that someone could truly draw the pivot of a grand formation.

On the other hand, he was puzzled—this “master”’s strokes still looked a bit clumsy, like a child’s doodles, with so many corrections…