Chapter 532: Astral Projection
Chapter 534: Astral Projection
But this kind of derivative calculation involved an Absolute Formation. It wasn’t exactly difficult, but it was very time-consuming.
Even after two hours had passed, Mo Hua still hadn’t figured out any clue.
The three of them left the shrine and returned to the guest rooms of the Five Elements Sect.
Mo Hua sat briefly in meditation, resting for a moment. Once his Divine-Sense was replenished, he resumed calculating the relationship between the Five-Element Spirit Formations and the shrine.
On the shrine diagram, Mo Hua drew five sets of Five-Element Spirit Formations according to the directions.
Then, based on the results of his derivative calculations, he began sketching lines connecting the formations.
Line after line intertwined, linked, and crossed over…
Although Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi knew the Immortal-Heavens Formation Flow, they couldn’t perform derivative calculations, so all they could do was watch Mo Hua calculate and draw at the same time.
Mister Zhuang silently watched as well, offering no hints, saying nothing.
It was clear he wanted Mo Hua to rely solely on his own ability to solve problems, unravel mysteries, and comprehend the formations.
Because he knew in his heart he couldn’t help Mo Hua forever.
Perhaps not even for much longer…
Mo Hua threw himself into the calculations day and night, his Divine-Sense sinking into his Sea of Consciousness to continue calculating on the Dao Monument.
Within the Dao Monument, Divine-Sense could trace back, increasing the efficiency of his calculations.
Finally, by the next morning, Mo Hua had derived the formation relationships within the shrine’s Five-Element diagram.
In the shrine’s structural diagram, the shrine formed the core, with the Five-Element Spirit Formations radiating outward. The formation patterns were precise, and the spiritual energy paths interwove to form a complex and profound map of spiritual routes.
There were six convergence points among these spiritual energy paths.
Five of them corresponded to the positions of the meditation cushions, while the sixth was a hidden location.
This location, on the fourth floor of the Formation Storage Pavilion, was concealed—there was no cushion or any other mark.
Mo Hua even suspected that the Grand Elders of the Five Elements Sect might not know this position…
Because it was far too complex to calculate.
And the precision required was extreme; not a fraction could be off.
For previous generations of the Five Elements Sect, using Divine-Sense to calculate Absolute Formation spiritual routes might not have been a big deal.
But times had changed. For the current Five Elements Sect, it was practically a “heavenly book.”
Mo Hua exhaled lightly.
At least calculating this position brought him one step closer to understanding the essence of the Five-Element Spirit Formations…
…
The fourth day.
After the Grand Elder finished burning incense and left, Mo Hua, pretending to meditate, immediately rose, took out the derivative shrine Five-Element diagram, and began using it to locate the correct position based on the calculated spiritual routes.
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were helping him search as well.
The floor of the fourth floor of the Formation Storage Pavilion was covered with a single, smooth stone slab.
It had no patterns, no reference points—confirming the position took some time.
After a cup of tea, Mo Hua placed a drop of ink on a seemingly ordinary spot.
This drop marked the convergence point of the Five-Element spiritual routes—essentially the sixth, invisible meditation cushion of the shrine.
Mo Hua sighed. “The ancestors of the Five Elements Sect really were cunning.”
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi glanced at him silently but muttered in their hearts:
“No matter how cunning, they still don’t outdo you…”
Even with all the precautions and hidden secrets left by the sect’s ancestors, you’ve still unearthed them…
“Visualize it,” Bai Zixi urged.
Time was short. This was already the fourth day, and the fifth day—the final day to comprehend the Five-Element Spirit Formation—was near. Not a moment could be wasted.
“Alright.”
Mo Hua nodded, then sat cross-legged on the convergence point, the “sixth invisible cushion,” and visualized the shrine.
Now, what he saw was no longer a dojo.
It was a great door.
The shrine’s massive door!
It was solemn and ancient, carved with five types of intricate patterns.
Mo Hua recognized them instantly—they were the formation patterns of the first-grade thirteen-pattern Five-Element Spirit Formation.
But… the door was tightly closed…
Mo Hua sighed.
Finally, he understood why the Five-Element Spirit Formation had been lost.
This door protected against both villains and the righteous.
Both outsiders and insiders were barred…
The patterns were clear and precise; anyone could see they formed a mystery formation.
The formation’s spiritual routes had been tampered with, like an encryption.
It could only be solved through derivative calculation, then the door could be opened.
How could an ordinary formation master possibly figure this out?
Was this Five-Element Spirit Formation really intended for first-grade formation masters?
The ancestors of the Five Elements Sect… they must have had some issues…
They wrapped their own legacy up like a tightly bound dumpling.
Mo Hua felt speechless.
But now was obviously not the time for complaining.
He immediately spread out paper and ink and meticulously copied the complete Five-Element mystery formation on the door, stroke by stroke.
After finishing, almost two hours had passed.
Mo Hua erased the ink mark he had made.
Sure enough, the Grand Elder arrived not long after.
“Time’s up. Please return.”
The Grand Elder’s tone was polite, but his eyes held a faint sneer.
The three of them had no choice but to leave.
Mo Hua could calculate and solve the shrine’s Five-Element mystery formation himself, but it would take time.
Before that, he asked Mister Zhuang a few questions.
He showed him the copied diagram.
Mister Zhuang was surprised but not shocked.
Mo Hua realized:
“My master must have seen this mystery formation before. Perhaps he even solved it personally and entered the shrine.”
But the master definitely wouldn’t give him any hints.
So Mo Hua asked something else:
“Master, were these measures set up by the ancestors of the Five Elements Sect?”
Mister Zhuang sighed, “You could say so…”
“Why make it so complicated?”
Mister Zhuang said with mild amusement, “To prevent theft.”
“To prevent theft?” Mo Hua paused, then asked, “From me…?”
Mister Zhuang smiled faintly. “Yes, you count as well.”
“But… even so, isn’t it a bit much? Overdoing it?”
Mister Zhuang shook his head. “No. They were guarding against disciples of our own sect through the generations. Not overdoing it! Our sect’s cultivators, historically, all had exceptional talent and rare genius…”
He glanced at Mo Hua, pausing slightly.
Mo Hua self-awarely said, “Master, besides me… all the rest had exceptional talent and rare genius…”
Mister Zhuang was silent for a moment, then gently said:
“Your innate talent is a little lacking, but in formations… you’re still… exceptionally gifted…”
“Mm-hmm,” Mo Hua nodded, “Please continue, Master.”
Mister Zhuang recalled where he had left off and continued:
“The ancestors of the Five Elements Sect set high thresholds and difficult puzzles because otherwise they would be too easily seen through…”
“It’s actually reasonable as a defense against us…”
“But in doing so, the younger disciples of the sect suffered.”
“When the sect declines, if the disciples don’t have exceptional talent, almost none can solve the barriers and inherit the legacy.”
“These formations then become lost…”
Mister Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and earnestly advised:
“In the cultivation world, sects and families that rely on formations often hide their legacies very deeply.”
“The methods the Five Elements Sect used to hide formations are quite unique.”
“They appear simple but are obscure.”
“Though obscure, they follow the principles of formation.”
“Pay close attention, study carefully. Once you solve it, you can understand similar formations in the future using this as a reference.”
Mister Zhuang’s tone darkened slightly:
“Over tens of thousands of years, families rise and fall, sects wax and wane…”
“Some seemingly minor powers have ancestral legacies not to be underestimated.”
“These legacies are often hidden in inconspicuous things.”
“In cultivation, opportunity is everything. Some people rely on luck, others on insight…”
“Luck is innate and unpredictable. Insight is acquired—you can learn, observe, and think for yourself…”
“The Dao favors those with intent. In the future, you must always pay attention…”
Mister Zhuang’s gaze was subtle and restrained, carrying deep emotion.
“Mm!” Mo Hua nodded solemnly.
He understood: his master was using the Five Elements Sect’s legacy to teach him a method.
Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish.
His master wanted him to rely on his own vision, understanding, and insight to find opportunities, seek formations, and explore the Dao…
Mo Hua watched the faintly breathing Mister Zhuang, feeling a mix of melancholy and complexity.
…
That night, Mo Hua continued tirelessly calculating the formation patterns, deciphering the Five-Element mystery formation.
Thanks to the Dao Monument, his derivative calculations grew increasingly fast…
Meanwhile, in the Formation Storage Pavilion, the Grand Elder again lit three sticks of incense before the shrine.
One stick burned a third, another a quarter, and the middle stick didn’t burn at all, remaining motionless.
The Grand Elder felt both relieved and surprised.
Relieved that the Five Elements Sect’s legacy was preserved.
Only one day and two hours left.
No one could possibly comprehend the sect’s ultimate formation—the Five-Element Spirit Formation!
Surprisingly, that little formation master truly hadn’t discerned even the slightest clue of the Five-Element Spirit Formation from the shrine…
The Grand Elder sneered.
“Gifted in youth doesn’t guarantee greatness.”
Even with brilliance in youth, once potential is exhausted, what future remains?
“That little formation master overestimated himself…”
He turned and left.
He didn’t notice the wooden elder within the shrine’s dojo giving a strange, subtle smile…
…
The mystery formation on the door, though complex, corresponded to the convergence formation in front of the shrine—one gathered, the other dispersed.
Mo Hua, familiar with the patterns, spent one night calculating the spiritual routes of the formation.
On the fifth day—the final day permitted by the Five Elements Sect to comprehend the formation—Mo Hua felt somewhat anxious, yet as usual, he and his little senior brother and sister entered the fourth floor of the Formation Storage Pavilion.
The Grand Elder burned incense and closed the door, then went to the third floor to have tea with Mister Zhuang.
The area in front of the shrine was silent.
Mo Hua reconfirmed the position and began visualizing the shrine.
Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi flanked him, guarding.
The moment Mo Hua visualized the shrine, the densely patterned door reappeared.
Using his Divine-Sense, he activated the formation, gradually restoring the patterns according to the spiritual route map he calculated the day before, dispersing the converged spiritual paths back to their original positions.
Soon, the complex formation diagram on the shrine door became clear.
It was distinctly composed of five separate Five-Element formation diagrams.
At the center of the diagram was a Tai Chi-shaped door lock.
Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense shifted, and the Tai Chi slowly rotated. The shrine door rotated with it, the Five Elements flowing, forming a vortex.
The inside of the vortex was pitch black.
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart.
Before he could think further, a pull arose in the void, tugging at his Sea of Consciousness, as if trying to draw his Divine-Sense out of his body.
Mo Hua immediately calmed his mind, manifesting himself.
The instant he did, his Divine-Sense body was pulled by the door, separated from his Sea of Consciousness, and drawn into the shrine.
The moment his Divine-Sense left his body, Mo Hua’s eyes dimmed, slowly closing, and his body went limp.
Bai Zixi reacted instantly, pulling Mo Hua into her arms. She frowned, checked the breath at his nose, and her brows furrowed even tighter.
Bai Zisheng was startled, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Bai Zixi’s gaze sharpened slightly. “It looks like… his Divine-Sense has projected?”
Bai Zisheng panicked. “He’s only at Qi-Refining… A Divine-Sense Astral Projection can get him killed!”
Bai Zixi immediately said, “Soul-Calming Pill and Qi-Stabilizing Pill!”
“Oh—oh!” Bai Zisheng scrambled through his Storage Ring, rummaging in a panic. Moments later, he produced two bottles of pills, picked out one from each, and handed them to Bai Zixi.
Her pale fingers pinched the pills and fed them into Mo Hua’s mouth.
Mo Hua’s face, which had been growing steadily paler, slowly regained its color.
His breath, too, gradually became steady and calm.
Only then did Bai Zixi let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Bai Zisheng wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and muttered, “How did his Divine-Sense project out…”
He glanced at Bai Zixi again and asked:
“What do we do now?”
Bai Zixi gave the shrine a look and said softly:
“We wait…”
Bai Zisheng had no alternatives either. He sighed. “That’s all we can do…”
Bai Zixi carefully laid Mo Hua flat on the ground, pulled out a soft blanket, and placed it under the back of his head. Then she sat down beside him, hugging her knees, silently watching over him.
…
Mo Hua felt a stab of pain in his Sea of Consciousness, followed by a sudden lightness.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a vast plaza.
Surrounding him were the elders of bygone generations—yet all of them were carved from wood, shaped like statues.
Beyond that, spirit beasts contended in splendor, a hundred flowers bloomed in brilliance, carriages flowed like water, and palace litters drifted like clouds.
There were treasure vases, rare blossoms, painted beams, and carved pillars.
Every step revealed a new scene—magnificent beyond words.
These sights were all things Mo Hua had seen on the shrine.
And this plaza was the dojo within the shrine.
But from the outside, each pavilion, each figure, every object—was merely bas-relief woodwork.
Now, however, they were vivid and lifelike, nearly indistinguishable from reality.
Mo Hua spread out his Divine-Sense and looked around—then suddenly frowned.
No… something was wrong!
Everything here was fake—except one thing.
His gaze lifted toward the air above the dojo.
Floating above the dojo was an old man.
The elder was carved from wood, his features stiff, his robe wooden, his hair and beard all etched in grain.
Yet the moment Mo Hua looked at him, his appearance changed.
The wooden robe gained color, the rigid face came alive, the carved beard turned white, and the wooden eyes deepened, falling from the dojo above to meet Mo Hua’s gaze.
A moment later, a raspy voice echoed from the dojo:
“So there is still someone… who can enter…”
Mo Hua didn’t know who he was, but seeing that the man was elderly and venerable, he bowed respectfully.
“Junior Mo Hua greets Senior. May I ask how to address you?”
The elder slowly stood. His expression grew even more animated, his Daoist robe shifting into five colors—like a Five-Elements Daoist robe.
His voice was solemn and heavy, every word like a ringing bell:
“I… am the Twenty-Third Generation… Dao-Transmitting Grand Elder of the Five Elements Sect!”