Chapter 386: Profound Mysteries

Sun Ze looked flustered. “Yes…”

Sun Yi seemed lost in thought. After a long while, he murmured,

“I misjudged him…”

He had originally thought that the small, inconspicuous junior cultivator was merely a little disciple who served tea, fetched water, and attended to the master.

But he hadn’t expected that this boy could not only handle formations, but his spells were also so formidable.

Moreover, he was sharp-minded, able to face many opponents at once, and his experience in magical dueling was remarkably seasoned.

Sun Ze spoke with hatred, “Father, we must avenge this!”

Sun Yi didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he coldly gazed at his son. “Did you tell him everything about the Sun family?”

“No! Father, you have to trust me!” Sun Ze declared emphatically.

Sun Yi snorted.

He trusted this son too much—surely, everything that should be said, and shouldn’t, had been revealed.

After a flicker of thought, Sun Yi said slowly,

“We’ll hold our position for now.”

“But Father, I can’t bear this!”

Sun Ze spoke with seething anger.

He had consulted the alchemist, who said both of his arms had been scorched by the flames, making him unable to use spiritual power for the time being. Other parts of his body were also injured to varying degrees.

Most importantly, his face was disfigured.

The fireball spell had scorched him despite his hands shielding his face, leaving several burn marks.

Sun Ze could not swallow his anger.

Sun Yi snorted coldly. “Even if you can’t bear it, you still must endure.”

Sun Ze’s anger hadn’t dissipated. He frowned slightly.

This didn’t seem like his father’s usual way of acting.

In Qianjia Town, the Sun family always exacted vengeance without hesitation—how could they possibly endure?

“Father, do you have some other plan?” Sun Ze asked.

Sun Yi stroked his chin and countered,

“Tell me, could this little brat really find our Sun family’s ancestral formation?”

Sun Ze immediately scoffed. “Impossible!”

Sun Yi shot him a cold glance.

Sun Ze thought it over carefully this time, and his heart skipped a beat:

“Maybe… it really is possible.”

He pondered further:

“This brat’s identity is unusual, his spells are exceptional, and his formation skills seem extraordinary as well.”

“I destroyed all the formations he drew, didn’t pay much attention at the time, but now thinking back… those formations were drawn excellently, both quickly and skillfully, even better than Father…”

Sun Ze stopped midway, not daring to finish the sentence.

Sun Yi snorted. “Speak.”

“Better than Father… at drawing formations…”

Sun Yi didn’t get angry; instead, his heart skipped a beat. Indeed, it was as he thought.

This seemingly innocent little brat was, in fact, a rare genius in formations.

Among this group, perhaps this little brat was the real key figure.

And the key point—he was so young.

“There’s always someone better, someone stronger…” Sun Yi sighed.

“Father… should we just let it go?” Sun Ze cautiously asked.

“Why would we let it go?”

“A formation genius… provoking him might not be wise…”

“Being a formation genius, so what?” Sun Yi sneered. “The cultivation world is vast, with billions of cultivators. Talents are everywhere. Even if someone is gifted, if they don’t grow properly, they’re no better than mediocrities.”

Sun Ze felt confused. “Father, what exactly do you intend to do?”

Sun Yi’s gaze sharpened. “We wait.”

“Wait?”

“Wait for that little brat to find our Sun family’s ancestral formation, then we’ll wipe them out in one stroke and reap the benefits.”

Sun Yi sneered, “By then, the Sun family’s formation will return to its rightful owner, and the little brat who can craft formations will serve the Sun family.”

Sun Ze hesitated. “But what if there’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator among them?”

Sun Yi said, “I’ve planned for this. Even if there’s a Foundation Establishment, there’ll be at most only one…”

“And in the Sun family, there’s me at Foundation Establishment, plus hundreds of Qi-Refining disciples.”

“When the time comes, I’ll hold back that Foundation Establishment cultivator. Hundreds of Sun family disciples can easily deal with the remaining Qi-Refining cultivators.”

Sun Yi snorted again. “No matter how strong that little brat’s spells are, if he can only defeat eight or nine at most, dozens or even hundreds of cultivators will eventually drain his spiritual power.”

“When his spiritual power is exhausted, he won’t escape even if he had wings.”

Sun Ze still had doubts. “Even if we catch him, will he obey the Sun family?”

Sun Yi smiled, then continued,

“We’ll capture them all. Using his master, or his senior and junior disciples as leverage, there’s no worry about him disobeying.”

“When he’s older, we’ll choose a woman from the Sun family and forcibly marry him. Once they have children, he’ll be bound to the Sun family.”

“His children will carry Sun family blood, making him half Sun family. Naturally, he’ll devote himself to serving us…”

Sun Ze was shocked. “Father… you’re truly… cunning… and brilliant.”

Sun Yi smiled with self-satisfaction. He turned to gaze at the distant spirit fields, eyes full of anticipation:

“Search well, and find this lost formation for the Sun family…”

…

Mo Hua was indeed searching for the formation, but after half a day, he still had no clue.

He went to ask Master Zhuang:

“Master, is the formation inside the spirit fields?”

Since the Sun family couldn’t stay, Master Zhuang was temporarily lodging at Old Ding’s house.

Although Old Ding’s family was poor, their yard was quite large.

Master Zhuang would sit leisurely on a bamboo chair in the yard, enjoying the green hills, clear waters, and blue sky.

When Mo Hua asked him, Master Zhuang smiled mysteriously, “What do you think?”

Mo Hua nodded. “I think it is.”

“Since you have a guess, keep searching patiently.”

Master Zhuang spoke calmly, with no urgency.

Mo Hua frowned.

He had been searching for days with no leads.

In the spirit fields, there were only the Six-Path Earth-Nurturing Formation and some other water-and-soil-related formations.

Not a single top-tier nine-pattern formation could be found, let alone a supreme formation with more than nine patterns.

Seeing Mo Hua’s troubled expression, Master Zhuang offered guidance:

“What are the key elements of a formation?”

“Formation medium, formation pattern, formation pivot, formation eye.”

This was basic formation knowledge; Mo Hua answered smoothly.

“Then think from these angles, but don’t limit yourself to existing formation knowledge.”

Master Zhuang then gazed at the distant world, expression profound:

“Formations are vast and mysterious. What you see and learn is only the tip of the iceberg. Many unknown subtleties remain.”

“You must learn to use known knowledge to reason, but not be constrained by it.”

Mo Hua nodded slowly, understanding.

In the following days, he continued going to the spirit fields daily.

Little Seedling ran after him everywhere.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, having nothing else to do, followed Mo Hua to help search for formations.

Bai Zisheng sometimes wandered nearby to see if the Sun family would cause trouble.

Aunt Xue strictly controlled him, generally forbidding him from fighting.

Otherwise, back in Tongxian City, he would have joined Mo Hua in the Great Black Mountain to hunt demons and show his skills.

Now, with Aunt Xue absent, Master Zhuang neither indulged nor restrained him. Bai Zisheng, as senior brother, could fight to protect his junior naturally; Master Zhuang wouldn’t scold him.

So Bai Zisheng eagerly roamed the spirit fields, occasionally looking up to see if any discerning Sun family cultivators would appear, ready for a small test.

Unfortunately, the Sun family didn’t show up.

With no one to interfere, Mo Hua could search in peace.

After several days with no progress, he sat cross-legged by the field, chin in hand, deep in thought.

Formation medium, pattern, pivot, eye…

If a supreme formation existed here, the field ridges would likely serve as the formation medium.

Stones on the ridges were hard, suitable for inscribing formations.

Formation patterns should also exist atop the ridges.

Yet Mo Hua had searched nearly every inch of the spirit fields without finding a trace of a supreme formation.

Next was the formation pivot.

A supreme formation’s pivot should differ significantly from an ordinary formation’s.

Mo Hua found no sign of any special pivot in these fields.

Most crucially, there was no formation eye.

A formation requires a formation eye to supply spiritual power, but no such eye existed in these spirit fields.

Mo Hua scratched his head, utterly perplexed.

By the basic formation framework, no other formation should exist in these fields.

Yet judging by Master Zhuang’s attitude, Mo Hua was convinced a supreme formation was hidden here…

His thoughts became tangled.

A gentle breeze blew, and waves of rice swayed.

The wind carried a hint of sweet fragrance from the seedlings.

Mo Hua calmed his mind, found a stick, and began drawing on the ground.

He drew every formation involved in the spirit fields, including the Earth-Nurturing Formation, Water-Storing Formation, Pest-Repelling Formation, and more, trying to find connections.

But no matter how he examined them, they seemed ordinary, with nothing special.

Sighing, he looked up and saw Little Seedling sitting on the ground, gripping a stick, imitating Mo Hua, drawing something.

Yet what Seedling drew was both like a formation and not like one.

Mo Hua, puzzled, asked:

“Seedling, what are you drawing?”

Seedling pointed forward. “The spirit fields.”

Seeing Mo Hua draw formations, he followed along.

But the formations were too complex; Seedling couldn’t replicate them, so he drew whatever came to mind—cows, chickens… now the spirit fields.

He drew the fields in Mo Hua’s style, making them both similar to and different from formations.

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then suddenly froze.

Formation… spirit fields…

He furrowed his brow, a thought stirring.

At that moment, a mountain breeze blew, rippling the rice into green waves, layer upon layer, connecting all the fields into one, spreading toward the distance.

All the spirit fields seemed as one, resonating with each other.

Mo Hua leapt to his feet, a storm of realization surging in his mind.