Chapter 536: “Pastry”
Chapter 538: “Pastry”
Mo Hua finally realized that his perspective had been too narrow…
The inheritance of the Five-Element Sect far exceeded anything he had imagined!
Yet his doubts did not lessen—they only grew:
What is the difference between the Five-Element Formation Flow and the Immortal-Heaven Formation Flow?
The Immortal-Heaven Formation Flow coordinates all heavenly formations and aligns with the Dao of formations. Does it then encompass the Five-Element Formation Flow?
Within the Five-Element Formation Flow, could there be formation principles that the Immortal-Heaven Formation Flow does not cover?
Or are the two entirely separate lineages?
Mo Hua felt confused.
On top of that, there was the most important question:
The Five-Element Sect built the shrine, established the Dao platform, and derived formation calculations—simplifying complexity, uniting the many into one—in order to deduce the deepest Formation Flow in the inheritance.
Had they actually succeeded?
If they had, where was this Five-Element Formation Flow?
Or rather, what exactly is this Five-Element Formation Flow, and in what form does it exist?
Mo Hua froze for a moment.
He realized that he had no real understanding of what a Formation Flow truly is.
He had never studied the Immortal-Heaven Formation Flow, nor even seen it—he only had a vague concept, a half-understood notion.
Frowning, Mo Hua wondered:
“What kind of inheritance is this so-called ‘Formation Flow’?”
“Is it a cultivation method? A Dao technique? A complete formation? A stream of thought? A personal insight? A divine consciousness?”
“Or, like the Five-Element Spirit Formation, is it merely a manifestation of some formation principle?”
He carefully scoured the Dao platform again but found nothing. The only unusual feature was the formation pattern at the center of the Dao platform.
Previously he hadn’t noticed it. Now, having learned the Five-Element Derivation Method, he tried to extrapolate and realized that many of the patterns in the center were incomplete.
It was like there was proof but no conclusion.
Only derivation, no Formation Flow.
Mo Hua sighed with some regret.
It seemed they hadn’t successfully deduced it…
But thinking further, that made sense.
If the Five-Element Sect had truly derived the Five-Element Formation Flow and made it their inheritance, their formation arts would have flourished, propelling them to the top-tier sects. Their descendants would never have declined to this extent.
Formation Flow was clearly extremely difficult to derive.
It was likely that the Five-Element Sect had poured immense manpower, resources, and the divine consciousness computation of formation masters into this single effort—and failed. They hadn’t derived the Formation Flow, which led to wasted time, depleted foundations, weakened vital energy, and gradual decline…
They had tried to gamble with fate, but lost…
A pity…
Mo Hua felt a twinge of sorrow.
He truly wished to see the real Five-Element Formation Flow, to understand its true nature.
Yet on second thought, learning the Sect’s derivation method was already a great achievement.
One must not be too greedy.
Moreover, having learned this derivation method, did it mean…
That when his divine sense was strong enough and his formation skills deep enough, he could attempt to derive a Formation Flow himself?
To derive… his own Formation Flow?
Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes shining with anticipation.
He glanced once more at the Dao platform.
This Dao platform contained the method for deriving Formation Flows—it was the true inheritance Dao platform of the Five-Element Sect.
But this was as far as he could learn.
After all, the shrine belonged to the Five-Element Sect, not to him; he couldn’t study indefinitely.
He had to find a way out.
Mo Hua surveyed the platform again and realized the key to leaving was still the meditation mat.
When he entered, he had noticed the patterned formations on the mat in the inheritance Dao platform—but these too were variant formations.
At first, he couldn’t understand them.
Now, having grasped the Five-Element Sect’s unique derivation method, he understood.
The derivation method was the key to opening the door.
He flipped the meditation mat and began derivation, summarizing the formations on the mat into a single formation pattern, which he drew at its center.
The surrounding scenery twisted and merged, flipped upside down.
Mo Hua felt dizzy. After a moment, he opened his eyes again and found that he had emerged from the inheritance Dao platform.
He was now in the Teaching Dao platform.
Around him were wooden and clay carvings of carriages, spirit beasts, vases, and flowers—decorations, not actual formation patterns.
The space was empty.
The Five-Element Little Ghost had vanished.
“Ran off, huh…”
Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed.
It had trapped him in the Dao platform and then found a way to escape?
He would remember this debt!
Mo Hua surveyed the surroundings again.
The Teaching Dao platform was now completely silent.
Two hours had passed; the incense had burned out; the shrine was sealed. No one could enter from outside, and no one could leave from inside. Outside scenes were invisible.
Mo Hua followed the outer edge of the Dao platform to the shrine’s main gate.
He had entered through this gate before.
Now it was tightly closed, the surrounding formations dense, like layers of chains, completely locking the gate and isolating the interior from the exterior.
Mo Hua, however, breathed a sigh of relief.
For him, formations were no problem.
Trapping himself with a formation? Impossible.
He frowned in thought.
“What’s the best way to open this gate?”
Break the formation?
Too laborious.
Dispel the formation?
The formations on this gate were crafted by the Five-Element Sect’s ancestors. Likely designed for inheritance, they were top-tier but used special, ancient techniques.
Disassembling each formation one by one would take too much time.
Time was limited—he needed another approach…
His eyes brightened.
Collapse the formation!
Ever since using a grand formation collapse to wipe out Feng Xi, Mo Hua hadn’t tried collapsing a formation for a long time.
His master had warned never to collapse a formation lightly, and never where others could see.
But now, in the Five-Element Sect’s shrine, there was no one—no “ghost” either. Collapsing the gate secretly should leave no trace.
Of course, it wasn’t strictly necessary.
Mostly, he was just itching to try.
Keeping the disturbance small, quietly collapsing a single gate shouldn’t have any consequences…
Plus, he wanted to see what a formation manifested by divine sense would look like when it collapsed.
Mo Hua smoothly derived the formation on the shrine gate, then, using the formation core and traces of the pattern, set up a Reverse-Spirit Formation.
He then moved far away, casting a Fireball Spell, striking the gate.
The shrine gate absorbed the impact, and the formation activated.
The shrine’s formation, manifested by divine sense, was also driven by divine sense.
Divine power flowed along the formation lines, passed through the Reverse-Spirit Formation, triggering a collapse. One by one, the formation lines dissolved, divine energy gradually reversed, broke down, and vanished into nothingness.
The collapse was moderate in scale, but after reversal, the destructive force was silent yet terrifying.
The shrine gate seemed swallowed by a void beast, leaving a pitch-black hole.
Divine sense collapsed!
Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat.
This was true “God annihilation, Dao extinguished” power.
Spiritual energy could collapse, and so could divine sense…
Spiritual energy and divine sense were different, yet seemed connected.
The Five-Element Spirit Formation required fusing divine sense with spiritual energy;
Formation collapse could use either as the medium…
Mo Hua recalled the very old elder of the Five-Element Sect who had said four words:
“Divine-Sense Transforms Dao.”
Those four words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, but with his current cultivation and understanding, he could not grasp it…
“Enough, I’ll think on it slowly later.”
The shrine gate had collapsed—he could leave.
He was going to settle the score with that little ghost.
Mo Hua licked his lips.
And he was hungry…
…
Third floor of the Array-Concealing Pavilion.
Master Zhuang, Old Kui, and the Five-Element Sect’s Great Elder were still drinking tea.
The Great Elder suddenly felt a pang of unease.
He had the sensation that something extremely precious had just vanished…
“The shrine… shouldn’t be having any problems, right…”
His heart tightened, then he secretly exhaled.
“Impossible. How could the shrine have a problem?”
“It was built by our ancestors, filled with intricate formations, each more profound than the last…”
“Besides, that thing is guarding it…”
“Impossible that anything could go wrong…”
The Great Elder gradually calmed, secretly lifting his eyes to glance at Master Zhuang and Old Kui with some displeasure.
But he dared not act rashly, only snorted in his heart:
“If you can’t learn it, you can’t learn it!”
“Absolute formations cannot be understood without years of accumulation and diligent study. Do you think a little delay will let you comprehend them?”
“You take our Five-Element Sect’s inheritance far too lightly…”
Master Zhuang and Old Kui, seated and sipping tea, remained indifferent to the Great Elder’s attitude.
Yet the tea had grown somewhat bland.
Old Kui asked casually, “How’s it going?”
He spoke plainly, without avoiding the Great Elder. But the Elder, beside him, seemed blind and deaf, seeing and hearing nothing.
Master Zhuang made a calculation with his fingers, eyes lighting up: “Not bad.”
“Learned it?”
Master Zhuang’s gaze sharpened. “What should have been learned, has been learned. What shouldn’t… is nearly learned.”
Old Kui was momentarily stunned, curiosity piqued: “The Five-Element Sect really has other inheritances? What are they?”
Master Zhuang shook his head helplessly:
“That I truly don’t know…”
His thoughts stirred, and he frowned slightly.
The true inheritance…
Perhaps back then, the ancestor of his school had, for this inheritance, taken advantage of circumstances, seeking repayment, and made the agreement with the Five-Element Sect?
Master Zhuang fell into deep thought…
Old Kui raised an eyebrow, glanced at him, and asked: “You didn’t notice back then?”
Master Zhuang faltered: “People make mistakes; it’s inevitable.”
Old Kui’s gaze carried some disdain.
Master Zhuang cleared his throat: “Besides, the Five-Element Sect’s ancestors were extremely cunning. I was young; it was understandable that I didn’t see it…”
“Mo Hua saw it,” Old Kui said lightly.
Master Zhuang faltered again, then switched his thoughts and said with righteous pride:
“Mo Hua is my personal disciple. If he noticed it, then it’s as if I noticed it too!”
Old Kui’s tone was indifferent: “Quite thick-skinned.”
Master Zhuang remained unmoved, sipping his tea with a nonchalant expression.
Yet as he drank, Old Kui’s words left him with a hint of doubt.
Mo Hua had noticed…
Was it because this child was exceptionally gifted, virtuous, and fortunate…
Or… was it fate itself, guiding him?
Master Zhuang sighed slightly, eyes dim and contemplative.
…
Meanwhile, Mo Hua, having collapsed the shrine gate, instantly returned from the shrine to his Sea of Consciousness.
As he expected, the Five-Element Little Ghost was now occupying his Sea of Consciousness.
Mo Hua did not alert it, but instead hid his presence and stealthily approached from behind to see what it was doing.
The little ghost squatted, drawing intricate patterns, its expression constantly shifting between joy and anger, muttering to itself.
“…Why haven’t he woken up yet?”
“Can’t wait until midnight… need to leave early…”
“I’ve been trapped for hundreds of years. That damn Dao platform, I’ll never want to go back in my lifetime…”
“Luckily, I’m not at a complete loss.”
“I’ll get out, eat to my fill, kill to my heart’s content… make up for the losses of these hundreds of years…”
“Someday, I will comprehend the Five Elements…”
The Five-Element Little Ghost smiled darkly, saying no more.
Mo Hua, curious, asked:
“Comprehend the Five Elements, and then?”
In the quiet, empty Sea of Consciousness, a voice appeared out of nowhere. The Little Ghost jumped in fright, frantically looking around, and demanded:
“Who?!”
Mo Hua did not hide, slowly revealing his figure.
The Little Ghost’s eyes widened. “You?! You… how did you get out?”
It shook its head and muttered to itself:
“No… impossible! The incense burned out, the shrine was sealed, and you were trapped in the Dao platform. How could you have come out?”
Mo Hua’s expression was calm. “I am a formation master. Don’t even think to trap a formation master with formations.”
The Little Ghost’s eyelids twitched, angrily shouting:
“Nonsense!”
What does a formation master have to do with this?
Even a formation master, locked in a divine shrine, trapped in a Dao platform, would be unable to escape.
Clearly, it was this little cultivator’s problem!
Having lived so long, it had never seen such an absurdly capable young formation master.
Able to solve the Dao platform’s mysteries, break the shrine’s lock, and escape from the shrine even after the incense burned out…
Could the ways of formations be so profound?
Could a first-grade formation master know so much?
The Five-Element Little Ghost sank into thought, no longer dwelling on this, and instead asked in return:
“What do you intend?”
“What do you think?”
Mo Hua smiled kindly, yet his eyes glinted with deadly intent.
The Little Ghost panicked. “Let’s talk reasonably! I won’t stay here. As long as you let me go, everything can be resolved…”
Mo Hua said nothing.
The Little Ghost pleaded:
“I had no choice either, trapped in the shrine for hundreds of years, guarding the Dao platform, bored and suffering. The feeling… it’s as miserable as you can imagine…”
“I just want to escape, to see the vast world, and maybe…”
“Maybe… ‘eat’ a few people?” Mo Hua said calmly.
The Little Ghost froze, then its expression turned cold. “You heard everything?”
Mo Hua nodded. “Stop pretending. Monsters and ghosts have no human heart. I can see exactly what you are.”
The Little Ghost retracted its cowardice, its pleading replaced by fangs and a sinister grin:
“You forced me.”
“I intended not to use this trick until I left the Five-Element Sect…”
Before it finished speaking, its aura suddenly surged.
Its body grew larger, flesh as hard as iron, veins bulging.
At the same time, formations appeared on its body!
And they were unmistakably the Five-Element Spiritual Formation!
The Five-Element Spiritual Formation amplified the Five Elements, enhanced spiritual power, and greatly increased the Little Ghost’s evil elemental force.
The Five Elements gave it claws of metal, bones of wood, blood of water, energy of fire, and flesh of earth.
The Five-Element Little Ghost, amplified by the formation, transformed into a huge, terrifying Five-Element Fierce Ghost!
It roared at Mo Hua.
But it did not realize that no matter how ferocious it was, it was still a small-scale display.
Mo Hua remained calm, unafraid.
Not only unafraid, his gaze was full of subtle amusement.
He watched the Five-Element Fierce Ghost and nodded:
“You’re not right.”
The Fierce Ghost froze.
Mo Hua pondered, then said slowly:
“You don’t understand formations.”
“But now, you’ve manifested a formation…”
“Manifesting a formation requires profound formation comprehension. You, a ghost with no formation knowledge, unfamiliar with runes and principles, how could you manifest a formation?”
“And not just any formation, but a Five-Element Absolute Formation…”
Mo Hua’s gaze darkened. “There’s a serious problem with you.”
The Fierce Ghost felt uneasy, cold sweat trickling.
Mo Hua continued:
“Not only that…”
“You’ve been trapped in the shrine for hundreds of years. You couldn’t have known nothing…”
“That Inheritance Dao platform…”
“You’ve definitely been in it!”
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have designed it to try to trick me in and trap me…”
Mo Hua frowned.
“But after you went in, how did you get out?”
“You don’t understand formations, nor derivative calculations—you couldn’t have escaped…”
“But you did… which means you took something. Only that could allow you to escape from the Inheritance platform.”
Mo Hua realized.
This Five-Element Little Ghost was a thief!
“You…”
Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened like a blade. “What did you steal from the Dao Inheritance platform?”
The Fierce Ghost panicked. “Nothing! I didn’t steal anything!”
But its defense was weak and unconvincing.
Mo Hua’s eyes were clear and piercing, locking on it.
The Fierce Ghost felt unbearably exposed under that gaze.
It felt like a demon-revealing mirror, exposing its true form, leaving no place to hide, no secret intact.
Formations are profound, and intelligence bordering on demonic.
What kind of little creature is this?
So hard to deal with…
At that moment, Mo Hua’s gaze suddenly faltered, as if recalling something, murmuring:
“No, still not right.”
“No ordinary thing could let a formation-ignorant little ghost suddenly comprehend the Five-Element Spiritual Formation…”
“Unless this thing is…”
The source of the Five-Element Formation!
Mo Hua’s heart jolted.
So that’s it…
He had underestimated not only the vision of the Five-Element Sect’s ancestors, but far more, their mastery of formations!
The Five-Element Sect had actually calculated it!
Using the power of the entire sect and the divine-sense computing power of all formation masters, they had indeed derived the source of the Five-Element Formation!
And this Five-Element Formation Flow, though its form was unknown, had very likely been stolen by this Five-Element Little Ghost from the Dao platform, and carried on its person.
And now, both this Five-Element Little Ghost and the Five-Element Formation Flow were in his Sea of Consciousness…
Mo Hua’s eyes shone like stars, growing brighter and brighter.
He looked at the Five-Element Fierce Ghost, licking his lips involuntarily.
He hadn’t expected…
What he thought was an ordinary treat…
Was actually stuffed!
With a colorful, assorted fresh-meat filling!