Chapter 537: Source Pattern
Chapter 539: Source Pattern
The Five-Elements Little Ghost trembled violently in its mind.
This little formation master… figured it out?
He realized that it had been spying on the Five Elements Sect’s ancient inheritance?
A sharp glint flashed across the Five-Elements Little Ghost.
It had to kill him!
At any cost, it had to kill him!
It couldn’t let this leak. If the Five Elements Sect found out, its opportunity would be lost!
All talk of comprehending the Five Elements, ascending to the position of Heavenly Demon, reaching the ranks of an Evil God—utter delusions!
The Five-Elements Little Ghost unleashed its full power, activating the Five-Element Spirit Formation.
Five-colored light radiated brilliantly from its body, which was entirely formed from the overwhelming power of the Five Elements, exuding a terrifying presence.
Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed slightly.
So this is the effect of the “Five-Element Formation Flow”?
Master the Five Elements, amplify their power, use the formation flow to control the elements, enhance oneself…
The Five-Elements Little Ghost, boosted by the Five-Element Spirit Formation, transformed into a fearsome ghost, its form like a specter, and lunged at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua remained calm, executing the Flowing-Water Step, retreating while using Water Prison Technique to restrain it and Fireball Technique to attack the Five-Element Ghost.
But his spells suddenly became weak against it.
Water Prison could not hold it long.
Fireball’s power also diminished drastically.
Each fireball struck the ghost but was blocked by the formation patterns manifesting on its body, only staggering it slightly, impeding its attack but not causing significant damage.
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
The Five-Element Ghost, however, rejoiced. It understood clearly: while pressing the attack, it laughed wildly:
“The formations are subtle, containing the essence of understanding the Dao!”
“A formation manifested by divine sense is even stronger!”
“You are young, capable of manifesting spells, which is impressive, but in front of a manifested formation, you are still but a small path…”
“Today, you will die without doubt!”
The Five-Element Ghost’s face twisted with malice.
Mo Hua’s expression remained calm. He tapped his fingers rapidly, firing fireballs in succession to suppress the ghost, then withdrew, creating distance, closing his eyes to focus.
The ghost’s arms blocked the fireballs, and the manifested formation patterns absorbed the residual explosions, yet its stance was slightly awkward.
Looking up, it saw Mo Hua with eyes closed, seemingly doing something unknown.
The Five-Element Ghost snorted coldly. “Tricks and illusions!”
Then it suddenly accelerated, lunging at Mo Hua with ferocity.
The wind cut sharply!
As it neared Mo Hua, he suddenly opened his eyes, gaze cold, voice crisp:
“Lock!”
The ghost’s forward momentum was abruptly restrained by some force.
It looked down, pupils wide in shock.
The ground—there was a formation!
A golden formation locked it in place!
At that instant, as the ghost was restrained, golden and red formation lines on the ground flowed like water, winding and rotating rapidly, forming four distinct formations.
One was the Golden Lock Formation, chains of gold coalescing to imprison the ghost tightly.
The surrounding three were Earth-Fire Formations, fierce as blazing fire, deadly in force.
This was a complex formation called the “Golden Lock Triple Lotus Earth-Fire Formation”!
The Five-Element Ghost gasped.
Damn it!
Fooled by this little ghost again!
It could manifest formations too?!
This little ghost—only a dozen or so years old? How could he possibly possess such deep comprehension of formation arts?
Manifesting formations purely by divine sense inside the Sea of Consciousness—these were techniques only the old sect masters and elders would use.
How did he even learn this?
Before it could ponder further, the Golden Lock Triple Lotus Earth-Fire Formation was complete.
The formation followed the Dao, and its killing power against divine sense was maximal.
The ghost panicked: “No—”
Mo Hua decisively said: “Explode!”
The Golden Lock Triple Lotus Earth-Fire Formation erupted instantly!
The Golden Lock Formation trapped it, the Earth-Fire formations destroyed.
Three layers of Earth-Fire Formation, like three blazing lotus flowers, ignited, completely engulfing the ghost.
The ghost struggled painfully within the flames.
After the flames surged, they gradually dissipated.
Mo Hua’s expression remained tense.
Sure enough, once the smoke cleared, a “ghostly” figure remained—it was the ghost.
Its form was disheveled, but injuries were minor, its essence barely dimmed. Clearly, divine sense consumption was not significant.
The ghost, recovering its wits, was overjoyed.
It almost forgot it wasn’t just any imp.
Having comprehended the origin of the Five Elements Sect’s formations, it had strong elemental resistance. Ordinary Five-Element formations inflicted minimal damage.
This golden-fire complex formation, though powerful, was still within the Five-Element domain, so it couldn’t truly destroy it.
It could not even inflict serious injury!
The ghost laughed wildly, then glared at Mo Hua, snarling: “Little ghost, your tricks are used up. What will you do now?”
Mo Hua’s expression tightened slightly.
The ghost sneered, advancing to continue the attack.
Mo Hua sighed, continuing Flowing-Water Step, narrowly evading the ghost’s claws and talons, constantly retreating to survive.
They chased each other relentlessly.
The ghost remained calm, amused like a cat with a mouse:
“Keep running. One mistake, and you’ll fall into my hands!”
“I want you to kneel and beg for mercy!”
The ghost laughed arrogantly.
Mo Hua remained calm, gazing at the ghost, a trace of amusement appearing in his eyes.
After several dozen more exchanges, Mo Hua seized an opportunity and repeated his trick.
He began with Fireball Technique to suppress the ghost, creating a brief opening, then closed his eyes to focus and manifest a formation.
“Trying again?”
The ghost sneered.
This time, however, it felt no fear, stepping forward confidently.
Soon, the Golden Lock Formation appeared beneath its feet, chains spreading to restrain the ghost.
Expected.
But the next formation manifested was not an Earth-Fire Formation.
It was another Golden Lock Formation.
The second Golden Lock intensified the restraint.
Then a third, fourth…
Five layers of Golden Lock, firmly locking the ghost in place.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua continued focusing, manifesting something…
The ghost froze.
What does this mean?
Only restrain, not kill?
Is this little ghost insane?
Or is he restraining me to buy time to escape and bring reinforcements?
The ghost sneered, releasing its Five-Element Spirit Formation, radiating blinding light.
Its power and size increased.
It struggled violently, breaking several chains and formation lines with a roar.
The five Golden Locks shattered one by one.
The golden formation lines dimmed one after another.
Finally, with a long howl, it broke free from the fivefold Golden Lock restraint.
“Little ghost, kneel and beg for mercy! I can make your death quick!”
The ghost laughed savagely, tongue red, fangs gleaming.
Mo Hua’s calm face smiled, finger pointing, voice crisp:
“Kneel!”
The ghost froze, then laughed mockingly: “Little ghost, are you crazy, you—”
Before it could finish, its expression froze.
It realized a terrifying fact:
Its body was uncontrollably, slowly, kneeling before this little ghost?!
I can’t control myself?!
I’m kneeling?!
The ghost’s face turned pale with fear.
It looked down at its chest, noticing a mysterious blue formation had appeared at its heart vein.
The formation was profound and complex, outside the Five Elements—it had never seen it before.
More terrifying, the formation had twelve lines!
A top-rank twelve-pattern formation!
The Five-Element Ghost gasped: “Absolute Formation?!”
It looked at Mo Hua, disbelief on its face: “You know other Absolute Formations?!”
And a non-Five-Element Absolute Formation!
It had some understanding of the Five Elements to resist elemental formations, but not non-elemental ones—let alone an Absolute Formation!
The Spiritual-Pivot Absolute Formation of the Little Spirit-Withdraw Sect!
Mo Hua smiled calmly.
Earlier, he had used the fivefold Golden Lock Formation to restrain the ghost, and while it struggled, he secretly drew the Spiritual-Pivot on its chest.
Now, the threads of the Spiritual-Pivot were spreading, slowly controlling the ghost’s body, until it was completely dominated!
“No!”
The ghost screamed.
Though unaware of the Spiritual-Pivot’s full use, it could sense it was losing control.
This was a control formation.
Once fully mastered, it would become the little ghost’s plaything!
Fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of the knife!
The ghost struggled with all its might.
It could not kneel!
It could not submit!
But this was no longer in its control.
Even half-step Dao-Sin corpses knelt—let alone a mere ghost?
Gritting its teeth, the ghost resisted, but the pale blue threads pulled at it, and it slowly, tremblingly knelt before Mo Hua.
Finally, it fully knelt before him, face pale.
Mo Hua smiled faintly, tapped his finger.
The Spiritual-Pivot on the ghost’s chest exploded with countless threads, weaving through its body, turning it into a puppet, completely dominated!
The ghost trembled, voice quivering:
“You… what are you going to do?”
Mo Hua grinned slyly, commanding:
“Now, kill yourself!”
The ghost’s eyes widened in horror.
It suddenly realized:
It wasn’t the ghost—it was the cute little ghost in front of it who was the true evil spirit!
Full of malice!
Deceitful, shameless, and vicious!
It tried to resist Mo Hua’s command, but to no avail; it could not control itself.
Under the Spiritual-Pivot threads, the ghost, helpless, raised its claws against itself, clawing again and again, continuously self-harming…
Mo Hua smiled, commenting: “The Spiritual-Pivot is really useful…”
Then he lay back on the ground, legs crossed, resting and conserving energy, while watching from afar as the Five-Elements little Ghost destroyed itself…
After a long time, when the Five-Elements little Ghost was battered and bruised, its form pitiable, its Divine-Sense dim, Mo Hua finally commanded it to stop.
The ghost halted, its breathing shallow, but it still glared angrily at Mo Hua.
“Filthy brat…”
Mo Hua curled his lip. “Kneel!”
With a thud, the Five-Elements little Ghost knelt again.
“Slap yourself!”
Mo Hua ordered.
Like a giant fan, the ghost’s palms struck its own face.
Over twenty slaps later,
Mo Hua said, “Stop.”
The ghost obeyed.
Mo Hua looked at it calmly. “Being honest now?”
Angrily but obediently, the ghost nodded.
Mo Hua was satisfied, then asked the important question:
“What exactly did you steal from the inheritance Dao-field?”
The ghost’s expression shifted. “If I tell you, will you let me go?”
Mo Hua smiled brightly. “I said I would. Do you believe me?”
The ghost’s eyelid twitched.
Yeah, right!
“Death comes sooner or later, why should I tell you?” it said grimly.
Mo Hua didn’t waste words. With a flick of his finger, the spiritual threads extended, forcing the ghost to strike itself again.
Clawing yourself really hurts.
If it continued, it would die!
Terrified, the Five-Elements little Ghost blurted:
“I’ll tell you!”
Mo Hua nodded. “Speak.”
With resignation, the ghost said:
“What I stole from the Dao-field… was… a formation pattern.”
Mo Hua frowned. “A single formation pattern?”
The ghost nodded.
Mo Hua’s gaze hardened. “Are you lying again? How could it be just a single pattern?”
The ghost cursed silently.
This brat really is suspicious.
But at this point, it dared not lie.
Sighing, the ghost continued:
“This is no ordinary pattern. It’s called the ‘Source Pattern’—five colors, five elements, five brushstrokes, all condensed into this single pattern.”
“The five colors correspond to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Each stroke contains a trace of the respective elemental source flow.”
“This ‘Source Pattern’ represents the origin of the Five Elements Sect’s formations, embodying the painstaking efforts of its ancestors. It’s the culmination of the Five Elements formation legacy!”
Mo Hua was slightly surprised. After thinking for a moment, he asked the question he cared most about:
“Where is this pattern now?”
The ghost hesitated. “I… damaged it…”
“Damaged it?”
“I started by pretending to be a Transmission Elder in the skill-transmitting Dao-field, deceiving others… then by chance entered the inheritance Dao-field, and saw the pattern at its center…”
The ghost’s eyes glimmered with longing.
“That pattern, the five colors flowed brilliantly, dazzling… I didn’t understand formations, but even a single glance, just one glance, and I felt I had comprehended the vast majority of Five Elements formations in the world…”
“I knew then, this was the Five Elements Sect’s top-level inheritance.”
“A secret of the Five Elements Sect, hidden from all!”
“The current Five Elements Sect itself doesn’t even know it!”
“That pattern was so beautiful…”
“I just sat on the meditation mat, staring, staring… even though I still didn’t understand formation principles, it seemed instinctively, I could manifest all kinds of Five Elements formations…”
“Even… the Five Elements Spiritual Formations!”
“But the longer I stared, the greedier I became.”
“I felt such a treasure shouldn’t be left to dust.”
“If I took it, studied it daily, contemplated it daily, feeding on others’ spiritual energy, one day when my Divine-Sense grew, wouldn’t I be able to fully master and manifest all the Five Elements formations in the world?!”
“This pattern is mine! I’ll take it out of the Dao-field!”
“But this Source Pattern was embedded among countless other patterns, seemingly derived from them, interlinked, mutually resonant… it couldn’t be taken separately…”
“I don’t understand formations, don’t know derivative calculation, didn’t know what to do… so I forcibly destroyed the nearby patterns, breaking everything…”
“But when I did, the Source Pattern dimmed, and the elemental energies dissipated, gradually vanishing…”
The ghost was both regretful and heartbroken.
“With the Source Pattern gone, I only comprehended a small fraction of the Five Elements formations. Afraid the sect would notice, I had to leave secretly, escape from the Divine-Altar…”
“If I had the Source Pattern…”
The ghost glanced at Mo Hua secretly.
Though unsaid, its gaze was clear:
If it still had the Source Pattern, Mo Hua would have no chance against it.
Mo Hua frowned, puzzled.
He felt the ghost’s story was full of doubts, yet its expression and gaze seemed sincere.
This was strange…
Mo Hua recalled the Dao-field, and the abrupt, damaged patterns at its center—they did appear forcibly destroyed, causing the gaps…
If the ghost’s story was true, then the Five Elements Sect’s inheritance had truly been lost…
The Source Pattern…
Mo Hua stared at the ghost for a moment, then suddenly froze, shocked, and said in a low voice:
“You’re lying to me!”
The ghost panicked:
“I’m not lying!”
Mo Hua shook his head. “No, you’re not lying—it’s that you were deceived too…”
The ghost froze. “Deceived by whom?”
Mo Hua’s expression hardened. “Deceived by the pattern itself!”
“No, how is that possible?” the ghost shook its head. “What are you talking about?”
Mo Hua’s voice grew cold. “How did you even know the words ‘Source Pattern’?”
“Source Pattern…”
The ghost froze, thinking carefully, then eyes widened in terror.
Wait… how did I know that?
Who told me?
Where did I hear it?
Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened. “I’ve never heard of the words ‘Source Pattern,’ nor did my master ever mention them…”
“This must be an extremely rare, ancient inheritance.”
“Since it’s a lost, ancient inheritance of the Five Elements Sect, the present-day sect, even hundreds of years ago, almost certainly had no knowledge of it…”
“No one knew, so no one mentioned it…”
“You’re just a little ghost who doesn’t understand formations—if no one told you, how could you possibly know?”
“No one told you, unless…”
Mo Hua’s eyes brightened slightly. Slowly, he said: “The Source Pattern told you!”
The ghost’s pupils shrank.
“Or perhaps…”
Mo Hua’s tone turned grave:
“You’ve been parasitized by that Source Pattern!”
“Right now, you are already its puppet!”
The ghost froze, then laughed nervously, muttering:
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“How could I be parasitized and not even know it…”
“What is…?”
It didn’t finish speaking. Suddenly, it froze, then its whole body trembled uncontrollably, twisting irregularly.
At the Five-Elements little Ghost’s forehead, at the heavenly gate, a five-colored pattern suddenly appeared.
The pattern was ancient and profound.
It had five strokes, corresponding to the five elements, divided into five colors, brilliantly vivid, ancient and strange in shape, like the eyes of five exotic beasts.
Within those eyes lay the cruelty and indifference of the Heavenly Dao.
Mo Hua’s gaze trembled.
This was the “Five Elements Source Pattern,” calculated by the Five Elements Sect thousands of years ago, pushing their computational power to the extreme!