Chapter 534: Dao Transformed Divine-Sense
Chapter 536: Dao Transformed Divine-Sense
Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao?!
Mo Hua’s heart tightened. “Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao—what does that mean?”
The Five Elements little ghost twitched its lips and gave a bitter smile. “How would I know that?”
Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened.
The little ghost panicked. “I really don’t know! I’m not a Dao-Passing Elder, I don’t understand formations. You’re asking me this—aren’t you basically bullying me…?”
“And anyway, that phrase—I only heard it from someone else…”
Mo Hua asked, “Who was the elder who said it?”
The little ghost shook its head. “I don’t know either. He was very old—face full of wrinkles, vitality fading nonstop, couldn’t even open his eyes. I’d never seen him before then.”
“But the old Sect Master and all the elders treated him with great respect. Clearly someone with ancient seniority.”
Ancient seniority…
Mo Hua frowned.
Someone with that rank might indeed know the secrets of the Five Elements Spirit Array.
He turned toward the Dao-Platform.
At its center, the Five Elements Spirit Array shone brilliantly.
The earlier scene resurfaced.
He had manifested the array, but the array-lines had been dim.
Then his formless, intangible Divine-Sense had flowed from the meditation cushion into the Five Elements Spirit Array above the Dao-Platform—and the array lit up…
A manifested array lighting up meant the formation was taking effect.
Just like on the Dao Monument.
On the Dao Monument, when the array-lines brightened, it meant the formation was successful.
Mo Hua held his chin, quietly thinking…
Divine-Sense flowing into the Five Elements Spirit Array, causing the array-lines to light…
This was some kind of demonstration.
Also the final step of the inheritance.
The five cushions outside the shrine taught the array-lines of the Five Elements Spirit Array.
The sixth “cushion” with only positional markings opened the way into the shrine.
And inside the shrine, this meditation cushion on the Dao-Platform—the seventh cushion—revealed the ultimate secret of the Five Elements Spirit Array.
Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao…
Conservation of spiritual power…
“One begets two, two begets three…”
Mo Hua trembled, suddenly comprehending.
Spiritual power was conserved. One full cycle of spiritual power condensed one cycle’s worth of spell force.
But Five Elements spiritual power could amplify a spell’s strength.
Spiritual power itself didn’t increase, didn’t grow—so where did the extra power for amplification come from?
Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed.
From the Divine-Sense.
That ancient elder had said Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao—meaning: infuse Divine-Sense into the Dao-Art, fuse it with spiritual power.
Only then, without increasing spiritual power, could the Five Elements force be strengthened.
But wouldn’t drawing an array already consume Divine-Sense?
What was the difference?
Mo Hua recalled the earlier scene—Divine-Sense merging into the spirit-array—and slowly understood.
Normally, when drawing formations, the consumed Divine-Sense wasn’t spent on the formation. It was more like—
Using Divine-Sense to comprehend the Dao, comprehend the abstract essence, exhausting mental energy to draw the array-lines.
This consumption was the cost of thought and insight.
But the Five Elements Spirit Array was different.
Aside from the Divine-Sense consumed when drawing the formation itself, additional Divine-Sense had to be poured into the array, to fuse with spiritual power.
In that state, Divine-Sense and spiritual power, by different paths, returned to the same source—both regarded as “power of cultivation.”
Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao.
Divine-Sense and spiritual power merging as one—that was the true Five Elements Spirit Array.
But because of this, the Divine-Sense required was far beyond normal thirteen-line formations.
The “thirteen-line requirement” was only the threshold to comprehend the array-lines.
But drawing the formation while simultaneously infusing Divine-Sense to amplify spiritual power multiplied the demand drastically.
Thus, despite appearing to be merely a thirteen-line Absolute Formation, it required far more Divine-Sense than normal.
No wonder this Absolute Formation was almost lost.
Not only was it absurdly difficult, even the inheritance method was outrageous.
And worse—an already terrifying one-grade thirteen-line requirement was understated, practically “reverse-inflated.”
Mo Hua shook his head.
At this point, there was no use fussing about it.
The real question was: how exactly did Divine-Sense merge with spiritual power?
Thinking alone wouldn’t solve anything. Mo Hua decided to follow the shrine’s demonstration and attempt it himself.
He sat on the cushion, and on the Dao-Platform’s array-disc, began drawing the Gold Spirit Array again.
While drawing, he split off a portion of Divine-Sense and infused it into the array-lines.
A few strokes in—failure.
Divine-Sense had to simultaneously comprehend the array and merge into the array-lines. Splitting attention in two—indeed difficult.
So Mo Hua tried again.
And again.
After several attempts, he gradually found the method.
He understood—this too was a Divine-Sense technique:
“One Mind, Two Uses—Divine-Sense Split-Flow.”
You had to divide your Divine-Sense while letting it merge—demanding an extremely high level of control.
Fortunately, Mo Hua cultivated the Celestial Evolution Art as his foundation, and had also grasped the Spirit-Pivot Formation. The synergy between the two gave him frightening precision with both spiritual power and Divine-Sense.
Controlling Divine-Sense wasn’t a problem.
Once he found the method and practiced a few times, it wasn’t too hard.
As he drew, Mo Hua frowned.
To learn the Five Elements Spirit Array, you needed powerful Divine-Sense, Divine-Sense Derivative Algorithm, Celestial Evolution Art, Spirit-Pivot Formation comprehension, and a clear understanding of Absolute Formations…
Coincidentally—he had all of them.
Coincidence… or his teacher’s planning?
Mo Hua grew more grateful for Mister Zhuang’s painstaking arrangements.
“Since he entrusted me with so much, I must master the Five Elements Spirit Array. I can’t disappoint him.”
He focused entirely on drawing the Gold Spirit Array.
It became increasingly difficult.
Divine-Sense consumption intensified.
But his Divine-Sense was at thirteen-line peak.
Not yet fourteen-lines, but far stronger than normal thirteen-lines.
If his estimation was correct, with his Divine-Sense he should be able to draw at least a single-element Five Elements Spirit Array…
After an unknown amount of time, just as his Divine-Sense was nearly spent, he stopped and exhaled deeply.
Before him lay a complete Gold Spirit Array.
And the array shone brightly with golden light.
His insubstantial Divine-Sense had merged with the manifested spiritual power, flowing like molten gold between the array-lines.
This was amplified metal-element spiritual power.
This was the true Five Elements Enhancement.
Mo Hua rejoiced, face bright with a clear smile.
The Five Elements little ghost stared in shock, pupils quivering.
What… what was this?
A Gold Spirit Absolute Formation?!
How did this little cultivator draw it?!
When did he suddenly gain this ability?!
He had barely known anything upon entering—then he sat on the cushion, stared at the array-disc for one tea’s time, and now had mastered an Absolute Formation?
The little ghost was stunned.
It had sat on that cushion for several centuries, stared at that array-disc for several centuries—and learned nothing.
This little cultivator sat down once—and mastered it?!
The little ghost muttered internally:
“I’ve impersonated a Dao-Passing Elder for so long, seen countless array-masters, and never met a monster with comprehension this freakish…”
“Is this kid even human?”
While the ghost reeled, its instincts suddenly shrieked danger.
It looked up to find Mo Hua staring at it with a thoughtful, distinctly unfriendly gaze…
Like he was… inspecting a colorful pastry?
The little ghost shuddered. “Y-you… what are you doing?!”
Mo Hua’s gaze cooled as he considered how to handle it.
Logically speaking, he should kill it.
These ghostly aberrations—even if they looked harmless—were twisted by nature, their hearts inevitably warped.
Because Mo Hua had strong Divine-Sense and killing power, the ghost acted meek.
If his Divine-Sense were weak, he would have been tricked or eaten already.
And his Divine-Sense still wasn’t strong enough.
These aberrant thought-spirits—better to “eat” one whenever he could…
Mo Hua stared at the little ghost like a cat staring at a mouse, his gaze growing brighter…
A shadow fell across the ghost’s heart.
It snapped, “You can’t kill me!”
“Why?”
“I helped you!”
“What did you help me with?”
“I…” The ghost’s mind raced. “I taught you the Five Elements Spirit Array!”
Mo Hua blinked. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know formations and couldn’t draw it yourself? If you can’t draw it, how did you teach me?”
The ghost choked, then blurted:
“If not for me, you wouldn’t have known about ‘Divine-Sense Transforming the Dao,’ and you couldn’t have comprehended the Absolute Formation…”
Mo Hua paused. After thinking it over, he admitted the ghost had a point.
It did indirectly help him…
He was about to speak—
When the ghost’s expression twisted into ferocity. It bared its fangs and lunged at Mo Hua’s throat.
Its speed was terrifying—instantly closing the distance, eyes gleaming with hunger as it bit down.
Life and death—no room for mercy.
It had realized Mo Hua specialized in long-range techniques. He had kept his distance during the fight, relied on manifested Divine-Sense and spells—clearly poor at close combat.
If it could just get a single bite in—just one—its Five Elements poison would kill him instantly.
The ghost’s jaws clamped down—
And pain exploded through its teeth.
It had bitten nothing.
Terror flooded it.
Mo Hua had already slipped away like a fish, landing far back, calm and serene—with a hint of regret.
“I was just thinking of giving you a few excuses and sparing you. And then you choose death yourself…”
The ghost panicked.
How?!
How did this kid escape?!
No time to think—Mo Hua raised his left hand, forming the Water Prison Technique, while his right summoned Fireball spells.
The ghost was instantly trapped by the water sphere, then pummeled by fireball after fireball…
Its body burned painfully, its heart full of despair.
Why was it so unlucky to meet this walking catastrophe?!
Its form began to fade. It quickly begged:
“Ancestor, I was wrong!”
Mo Hua ignored it and kept tossing fireballs.
Seeing it was about to perish, the ghost gritted its teeth:
“Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you a secret!”
Mo Hua paused. “A real secret or a fake one?”
“A real one!”
“Then say it first. I’ll decide after whether to spare you.”
Under the eaves, even ghosts had to bow their heads.
The ghost hesitated, then sighed.
“This secret… is something I discovered on my own over these centuries…”
It glanced around at the shrine full of wooden array-masters, array-lines everywhere, the massive array-disc—solemnly saying:
“This Dao-Platform… is fake.”
“Inside the shrine… there is another Dao-Platform. The real one.”
The real Dao-Platform?
Mo Hua clearly didn’t believe it—he lifted his hand to continue roasting the ghost.
The Five-Element Little Ghost immediately swore and vowed: “It’s true! If I’m lying, may my soul vanish and my spirit scatter, and I be destroyed completely, leaving no grave!”
Mo Hua was momentarily stunned.
Swearing such a vicious oath?
He thought for a moment and slightly nodded. “Explain in detail.”
The Five-Element Little Ghost exhaled in relief and said:
“This divine shrine looks simple, but it is a place where ‘divinity resides,’ a vessel to store Divine-Sense. The inheritance methods inside can only be created by cultivators with extremely high realms and profound Divine-Sense…”
“How could such a exquisite divine shrine simply be used to teach a first-grade absolute formation?”
The ghost lowered its voice.
“I’ve been trapped here for centuries, watching countless Five Elements Sect cultivators, hearing countless sect secrets. And while exploring the shrine, I finally discovered…”
“There are two Dao-Platforms inside this shrine…”
The Little Ghost pointed to the ground.
“The one we’re in now is the ‘Teaching Dao-Platform,’ used to pass down the Five Elements Absolute Formation.”
“And the other…”
Its voice trembled.
“…is the true ‘Inheritance Dao-Platform.’”
“The Inheritance Dao-Platform seals the Five-Element Sect’s genuine secrets, never shown to others!”
After saying this, the Little Ghost stole a glance at Mo Hua.
It had thought that after saying this, Mo Hua would be overjoyed, excited, greedy, or at least curious…
But Mo Hua’s expression remained calm as still water.
Instead he asked in return: “The Five-Element Sect’s true inheritance, what is it?”
The Little Ghost froze and shook its head.
Mo Hua asked again: “You’ve been to the true Inheritance Dao-Platform?”
The Little Ghost shook its head again.
Mo Hua continued: “You say this inheritance is never shown to ‘people’. Then how do you know of it?”
“Because you are a ‘ghost’?”
The joke was cold.
The Five-Element Little Ghost couldn’t laugh and could only shake its head.
“Good!” Mo Hua nodded, his gaze dangerous. “You make stories to survive, to stall time, and still hope to deceive me!”
The Five-Element Sect having the Five-Element Spiritual Formation was already impressive.
Beyond that, what so-called “true inheritance” could there be?
Even his master never mentioned it.
Then how could this little ghost know?
Even taking a step back, even if the inheritance existed, this little ghost who didn’t understand formations could not discern it.
It had sat on this Dao-field meditation mat for hundreds of years.
In the Five-Element Spiritual Formation, the demonstration of “Divine-Sense Becoming Dao,” it had watched countless times, yet still was blind, knowing nothing.
At this level, could it know the Five-Element Sect’s “true inheritance”?
Even if the inheritance were before its eyes, it would still be utterly clueless, like looking at a heavenly scripture, understanding nothing.
This Five-Element Little Ghost was full of lies, useless to keep around.
Killing intent appeared in Mo Hua’s eyes.
Seeing Mo Hua’s gaze, the Little Ghost panicked, and finally revealed its trump card:
“It’s true! I know the entrance!”
Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed. “The true entrance to the Inheritance Dao-Platform?”
The Little Ghost hurriedly nodded.
Mo Hua said nothing, only:
“Show me.”
After much hesitation, the Little Ghost finally said helplessly: “Fine…”
It walked into the Dao field, approached the meditation mat, sighed slightly, picked up the mat, flipped it over, and laid it back in place.
“Flip the meditation mat and sit again, and you can see the true Inheritance Dao-Platform!”
Mo Hua’s eyelid twitched.
Perhaps this Five-Element Little Ghost was not lying…
The meditation mat transmitted two Dao fields: one upright, one reversed, one surface, one inner.
One for skill transmission, one for inheritance.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary divine shrine, the same Dao field, but inside the mat, the universe was hidden.
The design was truly exquisite, ingeniously subtle…
Mo Hua glanced at the Little Ghost again, still cautious.
The Dao field might be real, but this Little Ghost—he still couldn’t let his guard down.
However, time was running out…
Although Mo Hua hadn’t calculated, he knew that it had been nearly two shichen (four hours) since he entered the shrine’s Dao field.
When the time was up, he would have to leave.
Once leaving, he might never enter the Five-Element Sect’s hidden formation chamber again.
He wanted to know if the Five-Element Sect truly had this Inheritance Dao-Platform…
“Maybe… just a quick look?”
Mo Hua stepped forward, approaching the mat, still hesitant.
At that moment, a sudden crisis erupted.
A tremendous aura suddenly burst forth around him.
Mo Hua’s heart shivered. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Five-Element Little Ghost’s expression shift, no longer timid, but cold and ferocious.
Its body radiated a surge of five-colored light.
At the same time, its sharp claws aimed straight for Mo Hua’s heart meridian.
This Five-Element Little Ghost had hidden its strength?
Mo Hua frowned, but remained calm, deploying the Flowing-Water Step. In a split second, he narrowly avoided the Little Ghost’s claw.
However, in retreat, one foot inadvertently stepped on the meditation mat.
Suddenly, the mat generated a strong suction, pulling Mo Hua.
He felt the world invert, scenery blurring and shifting, then plunged into a void…
And his figure completely vanished from the Skill-Transmitting Dao field.
The Dao field was empty.
The Five-Element Little Ghost laughed loudly:
“Good!”
“Good!”
“Not in vain did I pretend, endure silently for so long!”
It glanced at the meditation mat where Mo Hua had just disappeared, sneering:
“No matter how gifted or cunning you are, you will be trapped in this divine shrine Dao field forever, never to escape!”
Then the Little Ghost rejoiced wildly:
“After hundreds of years, I can finally escape!”
At that moment, the incense had burned out.
Two shichen were up.
The Five-Element Little Ghost no longer hesitated, transforming into a streak of light and escaping the shrine…
…
At this very moment, Mister Zhuang, sitting on the third floor drinking tea and resting, suddenly opened his eyes.
The Grand Elder rose and smiled calmly:
“The time is up. I should invite the senior’s top disciples out. I wonder how well they have learned…”
But Master Zhuang said: “No rush.”
The Great Elder’s smile gradually faded. “Senior, what do you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” Master Zhuang said calmly. “This tea is good. Stay and drink a little longer with me.”
The Great Elder’s irritation flared slightly, though he forced a smile:
“Senior, you’ve been drinking for two full hours. No matter how good the tea, isn’t that enough?”
“I’ve had enough, but I have a fellow Daoist who hasn’t,” Master Zhuang said with a faint smile.
“Fellow Daoist?”
The Great Elder paused, then subtly shifted his gaze, only to notice that on the right-hand side, a vacant spot was now occupied by an elderly man, weathered and taciturn.
This man was none other than Old Kui.
The Great Elder’s anger rose. “Zhuang—”
Before he could speak, Old Kui lifted his head and looked at him.
That single glance pierced straight into his heart, sending him into an icy chill from head to toe.
The Great Elder staggered a few steps before steadying himself, then immediately changed his tone, speaking with gentle courtesy:
“Zhuang… Senior, please go ahead. There’s no rush, no rush…”
Having said that, the Great Elder, still trembling, wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
He wanted to look at Old Kui but dared not, only feeling fear rise in his heart.
This old man… what level of cultivation does he possess…
The Great Elder’s mind was filled with dread, and he dared not say another word.
Fortunately, the incense had burned out, the shrine had closed, and no Dao could be manifested.
Those little ghosts, even if they remained inside, would learn nothing.
Staying a little longer didn’t matter…
The Great Elder exhaled and comforted himself.
On the surface, Master Zhuang remained calm, but waves of thought stirred in his heart. The fingers hidden in his sleeves formed hand seals. After a moment, his gaze shifted with slight surprise.
It seemed that his little disciple had discovered something extraordinary…
Master Zhuang pondered for a moment, his expression gradually growing solemn.
What other secrets could the ancestors of the Five-Element Sect still be hiding…