Immortality Through Array Formations

“This is not meant for intellectual amusement.”

Old Kui appeared at some point, speaking quietly. Then he glanced at Mr. Zhuang, hesitated slightly, and added:

“At least not for normal people.”

Mr. Zhuang’s eyebrows knitted slightly, “Have you seen this kind of Cultivation Technique before?”

Old Kui shook his head slightly, “I’ve seen stranger Cultivation Techniques, but none as peculiar as this…”

“I’ve seen techniques where the bottleneck lies in the Spirit Stones, Spiritual Roots, Spiritual Objects, meridians, bloodlines, or even requires killing people, Monster Beasts, Demon Cultivators, and even those needing the Blood Qi, Spiritual Power, Divine Sense of a living person as a lead, but it’s my first time seeing one where the bottleneck is in the Mystery Formation inside the Sea of Consciousness.”

Old Kui spoke faintly again: “These sorts of ancient and obscure Cultivation Techniques are indeed something only ancient sects like yours would have.”

Mr. Zhuang let out a slight sigh, “This is troublesome.”

“I’ve told you before, there’s no need to be different from others, learning some obscure Cultivation Technique nobody else practices. Mo Hua’s Spiritual Root is simply not up to par, and now having learned such an obscure technique, his cultivation will be hindered, and his progress will be much slower.” Old Kui’s tone carried a hint of rebuke.

“One should always see things through to the end, I will find a way.”

“What will you do? Don’t forget that you can’t stay in this place too long.” Old Kui’s gaze turned slightly cold.

“I must teach him to dissolve the Formation, allowing him to independently comprehend and break the Mystery Formation in his Sea of Consciousness.” Mr. Zhuang said, “With Mo Hua’s perceptiveness, it shouldn’t take too long. After that, it’ll be up to his own fate…”

“What about those two kids from the Bai Family, you’re not going to take care of them?”

“Taking them on as registered disciples was already an exception; it’s impossible to take them as Direct Disciples. My fellow apprentice sister is too calculating; she’s been scheming against me all her life, I can’t let her scheme succeed in everything.”

“That’s true, your judgment when choosing disciples has always been poor, and the same goes for choosing Cultivation Techniques.”

Mr. Zhuang wanted to retort, but as he was about to speak, he felt that Old Kui wasn’t wrong, so he swallowed his words back down.

Mo Hua couldn’t wait to start reading the Jade Slip he had gotten from Mr. Zhuang.

“Formations are derived from the principles of heaven and earth, and they depict all phenomena, possessing the power to change heaven and earth and an unfathomable might that even Ghost Gods cannot predict. By thoroughly understanding the Dao of Heaven and Earth and the principles of Formations, one can not only establish Formations but also dissolve them.”

“Formation media, Formation Patterns, Formation Pivots, and Formation eyes together construct a Formation. Damaging its Formation media, destroying its Formation eye, that is called breaking the Formation; unraveling its Formation Patterns, reversing its Formation Pivots, this is called dissolving a Formation.”

“All things have a system of mutual generation and overcoming; Formation Patterns are no different. Yin and Yang mutually overcome each other, Three Talents mutually invert, Four Symbols mutually suppress, and among the Five Elements, Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal…”

The content about dissolving Formations in the Jade Slip was extensive and detailed, quite a lot to take in.

Mo Hua seemed to understand some of it, but upon closer reflection, he didn’t quite grasp it. Frowning in deep thought, Bai Zisheng quietly peeked over: “Hey, why are you reading a book on dissolving Formations?”

“The Gentleman told me to.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know how to dissolve Formations?” Mo Hua asked.

“A bit, but I’m not particularly good at it.”

Knowing a bit was still considered knowing; at least it was better than oneself.

Mo Hua pointed to a part of the book and humbly asked, “What’s the difference between breaking a Formation and dissolving a Formation mentioned here?”

Bai Zisheng did not hide anything and explained:

“Breaking a Formation generally refers to using brute force to destroy the Formation media on which the Formation relies and the Formation eyes through which the Formation operates, forcibly removing the Formation. Without the Formation media, the Formation can hardly exist, and without the Formation eye, the Formation cannot operate, and naturally, the Formation is broken…”

“Dissolving a Formation is more troublesome; it relies on understanding the generation and overcoming within the Formation Patterns of the Formation, drawing Formation Patterns to neutralize the original Formation Patterns. Once the Formation Patterns are nullified, the Formation is naturally dissolved. Generally, only Formation Masters are capable of dissolving Formations.”

“Do you not understand how to disarm the Formation?” asked Bai Zisheng, before posing another question.

“No,” Mo Hua said with some embarrassment and a shy tone, “I don’t quite understand the difference between the Formation eye, Formation pivot, and Formation media…”

Bai Zisheng exclaimed “Wow,” “How do you not know these things?”

Mo Hua countered, “If I knew all that, would I still ask you? If I don’t ask you, how would you be able to show off your extensive knowledge?”

Bai Zisheng stroked his chin, “That seems to make sense.”

Turning his head to see his sister Bai Zixi’s lips almost imperceptibly curved in a smile, he reacted and then protested:

“Still, that’s not right, I can’t teach for nothing!”

“What if I bring you a plate of beef tomorrow?”

Bai Zisheng snorted coldly, “What kind of person do you think I am? I am a direct descendant of the Bai Family, a favored child of the heavens; do you think you can fob me off with a plate of beef?”

“Two plates?”

“…Okay.”

“So what are the differences between a Formation eye, Formation media, and Formation pivot?”

Mo Hua seized the opportunity to ask.

Having secured two plates of beef, Bai Zisheng was quite satisfied and explained:

“The Formation eye is the core of the Formation’s operation, providing Spiritual Power for the Formation’s function. Generally speaking, the Formation eye of a Single Formation is a Spirit Gathering Formation Pattern, while the Formation eye of a Compound Formation made up of multiple Single Formations is a Spirit Gathering Array. The more powerful the Formation, the more Spiritual Power the Formation eye requires. Some Family Sects and Clans’ Protective Sect Arrays, might even use an entire Spiritual mine as a source of Spiritual Power for the Formation eye…”

“The Formation pivot is the hub of a Formation, as well as its layout. The intricacies here are numerous. It generally involves the principles of heaven is round and earth is square, Eryi and Four Symbols, Bagua Positions—different attributes of Formation Patterns should be drawn in the correct positions, otherwise, the Patterns will not be activated…”

“Different schools and lineages of Formations have variations in their Formation pivots. Speakin of which is too complex, you don’t need to worry about this. With our current level of understanding of Formations, it’s impossible to disarm a Formation through the Formation pivot…”

“Formation media are the conduits for a Formation, objects like Formation Paper, steles, copper, iron, Earth and Wood that carry the Formation Patterns. Once a Formation is drawn upon them, they become the Formation media. Some Spiritual Artifacts also require Formations to be affixed to them and can thus be considered Formation media…”

Seeing Mo Hua looking only partly convinced, Bai Zisheng provided an example:

“To put it simply, the Formation eye is like the heart’s vessels, the Formation pivot is the main vein through which Qi and blood flow, and the Formation Patterns are the capillaries. Spiritual Power is supplied by the Formation eye, funneled through the Formation pivot as the hub, entering the Formation Patterns, much like Qi and blood flowing from the heart along the body’s veins to circulate throughout the body…”

Bai Zisheng rattled on for a while and then felt thirsty. Mo Hua personally poured a cup of tea for him.

“Is this… pretty much the basic knowledge of Formations?” Mo Hua asked tentatively.

“I guess so, at least in our Bai Family, these are the common knowledge when learning Formations,” Bai Zisheng said with a touch of pride.

Lucky he had asked beforehand—as using this elementary information to inquire of Mr. Zhuang would have been rather embarrassing for Mo Hua.

“I’ll bring you a jug of osmanthus wine tomorrow.”

“Mhm!” Bai Zisheng nodded enthusiastically, clearly thrilled.

Mo Hua continued to ask about various things, such as the usual methods of disarming Formations, how to breach them, and the specific schools related to Formation pivots, among other topics.

Unknowingly, the daylight began to wane. Mo Hua bid farewell to Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, gathered his things, and prepared to head home.

“Mo Hua,” Bai Zisheng suddenly called out to Mo Hua, his expression grave, “don’t forget the most important thing…”

“What?” Mo Hua looked at him, puzzled.

“The beef must be spicy!”

Bai Zisheng said with utter seriousness.