Chapter 391: Drawing the Land

The alignment with the earth’s Divine-Sense lasted only an instant.

Then it completely severed.

In his mind’s eye, the vast land disappeared, the cycles of all things—the flourishing and withering, the blooming and falling of flowers—vanished.

That comprehension of the “Dao” of the earth was only fleeting.

Mo Hua had benefited greatly himself, but when he looked back, he noticed the “Dao Monument” had turned gray.

Mo Hua was startled.

Had he overused it?

He frowned, pondering.

He had borrowed the Dao Monument to envision the earth’s Divine-Sense.

It was the Dao Monument that directly bore the ancient, vast Divine-Sense of the earth.

Although the Dao Monument was extraordinary, it shouldn’t have been able to communicate with the earth’s Divine-Sense; it should have remained unscathed.

Of course, another possibility was that Mo Hua’s own Divine-Sense was too weak.

Thus, the Dao Monument, as the medium for communication, had to bear tremendous pressure.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to successfully communicate with the Dao of the earth and achieve alignment.

“Perhaps the load was too heavy, so it ‘went on strike’…”

Mo Hua felt a pang of sympathy.

He reached out to the Dao Monument, worried: “You’d better be okay…”

The Dao Monument remained silent, showing no reaction, its surface merely gray.

Mo Hua tried drawing a formation pattern on the monument.

The pattern flickered, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

The Dao Monument was still functional; it was just that the Divine-Sense had been overloaded, causing temporary “poor contact” and needing time to recover.

Mo Hua sighed again, taking it as a lesson.

His cultivation level was too low; matters like communicating with Divine-Sense or envisioning the Dao were risky if done without confidence.

Even if he didn’t harm himself, damaging the Dao Monument was undesirable.

Mo Hua felt a bit guilty, patting the monument:

“Thank you for your hard work. Take a good rest first.”

The Dao Monument still didn’t respond, seemingly uninterested in him.

…

After exiting his Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua felt invigorated and began drawing the Profound-Earth Formation.

This time, the process felt completely different.

He had communicated with the earth’s Divine-Sense and envisioned the Dao of the earth; now his perception of the land’s energy was extraordinarily clear.

Although he couldn’t further comprehend it without the monument, this clarity allowed him to easily draw the Profound-Earth Formation on the land.

Moreover, he worked with remarkable ease and confidence.

Previously, even when he could communicate with the land’s energy through Divine-Sense, drawing the formation felt like painting in mud.

The patterns didn’t align properly; the flow of spiritual energy was sluggish.

Now, Mo Hua could truly treat the “earth” as “paper.” The patterns he drew were clear, stable, and integrated with the land.

Where his brush touched, the earth existed, the pattern existed, and the formation existed.

This was the benefit of envisioning the Dao.

But the consequence was that the Dao Monument “went on strike.”

For a while, he couldn’t use the monument to practice formations again.

“There’s nothing I can do…”

Mo Hua felt helpless.

For now, he could openly afford to slack off a little.

The next day, Mo Hua went to see Mister Zhuang again.

He had already mastered the Profound-Earth Formation and wanted to confirm with his teacher if there were any problems in his drawing.

But as soon as he entered the courtyard, he noticed Mister Zhuang staring at him.

Not just Mister Zhuang—Old Kui was staring too.

They looked at him as if he were some rare object, their gazes sharp and intense.

Mo Hua was a little confused and quietly asked:

“Master, what are you looking at?”

“You…” Mister Zhuang hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Did you sense something last night?”

Mo Hua was surprised.

As expected of Mister Zhuang—nothing could be hidden from him.

He briefly recounted last night’s events, again omitting the Dao Monument, only saying that while learning the Profound-Earth Formation, he had realized he needed to communicate with the land’s energy through Divine-Sense to draw formations.

But during the communication, in a fleeting moment, he sensed an ancient, vast Divine-Sense.

After that, he couldn’t perceive it anymore.

Mister Zhuang’s eyes twitched.

Communicating with the land’s energy and sensing the earth’s Divine-Sense were worlds apart.

It was like climbing a mountain: one person at the base takes a few steps but can’t see the full view; another has nearly reached the mid-mountain and glimpses the peak.

The two experiences were incomparably different.

Though they might sound similar, a massive chasm separated them.

That chasm was Divine-Sense, and the great divide was the Dao.

Even Old Kui’s expression, normally impassive, betrayed clear shock.

Seeing their reactions, Mo Hua grew uneasy. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

Mister Zhuang sighed. “It’s good, but it could also be a disaster.”

“A disaster?”

Mister Zhuang gave a half-smile:

“You’re so young and can envision the Dao. If others knew, they’d try to capture you, dissect your Sea of Consciousness, and see what’s inside…”

Mo Hua jumped, instinctively covering his head.

“So remember this,” Mister Zhuang said patiently, “you only mention it here. Don’t tell anyone else!”

“Yes, yes!”

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.

Mister Zhuang sighed inwardly.

His little apprentice seemed to be accumulating more and more unspeakable secrets.

Mo Hua, curious, asked:

“Master, that Divine-Sense I sensed—what exactly was it? Was it the earth’s Divine-Sense? Why does the earth have a Divine-Sense? Is it alive?”

Mister Zhuang’s gaze shifted as he explained:

“All things in heaven and earth have thought; thought implies consciousness.”

“Humans have Divine-Sense, demons have demon-sense, and all other beings—birds, beasts, insects, fish, flowers, and trees—have similar ‘consciousness.’”

“This ‘thought’ is primitive and simple, not as complex as human Divine-Sense.”

“But when such thought becomes vast, focused, and long-standing, returning to its essence, it can be closer to the Dao than a cultivator’s self-serving Divine-Sense.”

“The earth’s thought is like this.”

“We usually call this vast thought within heaven and earth, containing the Dao, the ‘Dao Essence.’”

Mister Zhuang’s expression was full of reverence.

“Dao Essence…”

Mo Hua was profoundly shaken.

The Divine-Sense he perceived with the help of the Dao Monument, the Dao he envisioned—it was the earth’s Dao Essence!

Mister Zhuang silently observed Mo Hua. “Remember what I just said.”

Mo Hua nodded quickly. “Don’t worry, Master. I won’t tell anyone!”

Mister Zhuang finally nodded.

Mo Hua asked quietly, “Master, does this mean that having comprehended the Dao Essence of the earth allows one to draw the Profound-Earth Formation?”

Mister Zhuang shook his head.

Mo Hua was stunned. “It doesn’t?”

“No.”

Mister Zhuang explained, “You only need to sense the earth’s energy slightly to draw the Profound-Earth Formation.”

“If full comprehension of the earth’s Dao Essence were necessary, almost no one could draw this formation.”

Mo Hua stroked his chin, pondering:

“So my insight was… somewhat wasted?”

Mister Zhuang lightly tapped his head.

“Don’t get something for free and act clever.”

“Oh.”

Mo Hua rubbed his head, embarrassed, smiling.

Mister Zhuang smiled faintly, a trace of helplessness on his lips:

“Having comprehended the Dao Essence isn’t just for drawing the Profound-Earth Formation. It allows you to draw any formation on the earth.”

“As long as the land exists, the formation exists.”

“This is an extremely advanced formation technique.”

Mo Hua was astonished, then slowly understood.

“The land belongs to the Dao Essence. Initially, it wouldn’t let cultivators draw formations.”

“Because it didn’t know me, the Dao Essence showed no favor.”

“Now I’ve ‘met’ it, greeted it, become familiar; it’s convenient, and the Dao Essence allows me to draw formations on its territory.”

“Master, is that what it means?”

Mister Zhuang was momentarily confused by Mo Hua’s explanation, but finally said:

“You can understand it that way… fine.”

Mo Hua’s heart leapt.

He could draw any formation on the land!

Anywhere there is soil, a formation medium exists.

The entire world is essentially Profound-Earth.

More importantly, from now on, drawing formations saves paper money!

In other words, a lot of spirit stones can be saved!

Mo Hua thought silently:

“The Dao Monument taking a little damage was worth it…”

He quietly asked Mister Zhuang, “Master, the Profound-Earth Formation must have a significant origin, right?”

Being an absolute formation, communicating with the earth’s energy, even allowing one to envision the Dao Essence of the land…

Although envisioning the Dao Essence was mainly thanks to the Dao Monument, the Profound-Earth Formation itself, as a medium between cultivators and Dao Essence, was no ordinary technique.

Mister Zhuang whispered:

“It’s a supreme skill of the Earth Sect. Don’t tell anyone.”

Mo Hua whispered:

“What if someone finds out?”

“Learn it secretly, don’t worry about its origin.”

“Is that okay?”

…

Old Kui looked at the two quietly whispering, a big and small pair, and shook his head…

Mister Zhuang continued:

“You stumbled upon it here, learned it accidentally, didn’t steal it—what can they do to you? Even if they shouted to the heavens, you’d still be right.”

“Besides…” Mister Zhuang said again, “if you don’t say, they might not even know you drew the Profound-Earth Formation.”

“How could they not know?” Mo Hua was startled.

“Because even their own formation masters might not be able to learn it.”

Mo Hua was surprised: “They can’t learn their own techniques?”

Mister Zhuang corrected him: “It’s not really their own. It’s just passed down from ancestors, and they only enjoy the remnants of ancestral favor.”

“Moreover, this is an absolute formation—a supreme formation technique. Even if it’s first-grade, containing Dao principles, ordinary formation masters cannot comprehend it.”

“You say it’s yours. Can you draw one for me?”

“If you can’t draw it, how can you claim it’s yours?”

“Although the Earth Sect started with formations, most cultivators in the sect cannot master absolute formations.”

“If they can’t, what grounds do they have to blame you?”

Mo Hua timidly said: “Does this mean… I need to be a bit bolder?”

“No problem. Sometimes, being bold solves problems.”

Mister Zhuang’s expression was calm as mountains crumble or as millions criticize, yet he was unmoved.

Mo Hua admired him and touched his own face: “I guess I need to toughen my skin a little more…”

Old Kui sighed.

A good child, and now about to be led astray…