Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1
Chapter 1 – Mo Hua
The tenth day of the ninth month, in the year 20,022 of the Taoist Calendar.
The setting was Tongxian City, specifically the outer mountain range belonging to the Tongxian Gate.
Ten-year-old Mo Hua, clad in the simple Taoist robe of an Outer Gate disciple, sat perched behind a massive boulder at the mountain's base. With a listless expression, he gripped a blade of grass and focused intensely on etching intricate designs into the dirt.
As 6 A.M. approached, disciples seeking the Sect's wisdom began their ascent. They traveled in small clusters, their voices filled with casual chatter and laughter.
A round-faced, small-eyed boy with a portly build, dressed in standard Outer Gate attire but distinguished by an expensive jade pendant, arrived with a few attendants in tow. He spotted Mo Hua, who was still absorbed in his drawing behind the rock.
After scanning the area to ensure no Sect instructors were nearby, the chubby boy called out in a hushed, timid tone:
“Mo Hua!”
Mo Hua looked up, revealing a delicate, handsome face and eyes as clear as a mountain spring.
Lowering his voice further, the chubby boy whispered, “Is it done?”
Mo Hua patted his chest with the air of a little adult. “When I handle things, you can rest assured.” He reached into the storage bag at his back and produced several Formation Diagrams. The black ink stood out sharply against the white paper as he handed them over.
“Check if there’s anything amiss.”
The chubby boy accepted them with gravity. He flipped through the pages, staring at them with a serious expression before his face twisted in pain.
“I can’t understand it…”
Mo Hua offered a patient explanation:
“The task assigned by the instructor involved the fundamental Formation Patterns of the Five Elements Formation. I’ve completed them for you, but I intentionally included six mistakes. This is to ensure the instructor doesn't suspect that someone else drew these patterns for you…”
“Six errors… isn’t that a bit too many…”
Mo Hua simply stared at him in silence.
Quickly realizing his lapse in judgment, the chubby boy reflected, “One must not be too greedy. I should be satisfied just to submit the instructor's assignment. If I do it too well, it might look suspicious. If the instructor catches on and my father finds out, he’ll give me a severe beating. That would be a loss not worth the gain…”
Mo Hua nodded in approval and offered a compliment. “Worthy of being Young Master An, you figured it out so quickly!”
The chubby boy pressed two Spirit Stones into Mo Hua’s palm. “Brother Mo, you truly understand me and recognize my wit! Here are your Spirit Stones. I’ll seek you out again the next time the instructor gives us Formation homework!”
Once the Formation Diagrams were tucked safely against his chest, he hurried up the mountain path.
Mo Hua carefully stored the two Spirit Stones and resumed his drawing on the ground with a fresh blade of grass.
Shortly after, another youth appeared, carrying a paper fan flecked with gold. He was lean with a sour expression and was draped in even more jade ornaments.
Mo Hua provided him with a set of Formation Diagrams as well. The thin young master gave the diagrams a cursory glance before gesturing to his servant. The attendant stepped forward to take the papers and handed Mo Hua two Spirit Stones.
Instead of leaving, the slender young master snapped his fan shut with an air of arrogance. “This Young Master is also highly proficient in Formations,” he declared. “I simply lack the time to waste on these basic Formations; that is the only reason I’ve employed you to ghostwrite them.”
Mo Hua didn't bother to argue, continuing his sketches in the dirt.
Annoyed by the lack of attention, the slender young master scoffed, “Word is that among the Qi-refining disciples of Tongxian Gate, your skill with Formations is the highest. I wonder how you would compare to me? We should have a competition when I have the time.”
Mo Hua thought to himself: If you’re paying me to do your homework, what does that say about your own skill level?
However, following the rule that harmony leads to profit, Mo Hua looked up and offered flattering words:
“Naturally, the young master’s expertise in Formations is far superior. The Qian Family is the premier clan in Tongxian City; your Formation heritage is beyond what other cultivators can imagine.”
The young master’s face brightened slightly. He then asked, “Tell me then, among the Qi-refining cultivators of Tongxian Gate, is there anyone whose talent for Formations exceeds mine?”
“There are indeed a few…”
The slender young master’s mood soured instantly. “Who?”
“For instance, me…” Mo Hua certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to say that out loud.
“There are quite a few; it’s difficult to count them all at once.”
The young master was visibly fuming.
“But that’s a good thing!” Mo Hua lied without hesitating.
The young master sneered, “You say there are many whose family backgrounds or Spirit Stones are inferior to mine, yet their Formation skills are better? Are you suggesting I’m an idiot who can't measure up? How is that good?”
Mo Hua answered, “No matter how talented the cultivators of Tongxian City are, or how much they learn, won't they eventually use those skills at the Qian Family’s Myriad Treasure Building? They will refine artifacts, brew pills, and draw Formations for your family…”
“Just imagine, you are only at the Qi-refining stage, yet you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. You are a First Rank Formation Master with Second Rank Formation Masters at your command—how prestigious! The more capable your subordinates are, the more it proves your own greatness!”
The slender young master blinked, struck by a sudden realization. “That actually makes a lot of sense!”
“Do you understand now?”
The young master nodded. Looking down at the crowd of cultivators below, he lifted his chin even higher.
“Exactly! Exactly! No matter how much talent or hard work they put into their cultivation, don't they all end up serving as beasts of burden for my Qian Family?”
With a smug look, Young Master Qian strutted away, chest puffed out.
Having successfully tricked Young Master Qian into leaving, Mo Hua went back to practicing his formations in the dirt with grass roots.
Before long, several other wealthy cultivators arrived to trade. They exchanged Spirit Stones for the Formation Diagrams Mo Hua had prepared. By the time he had finished selling his handwritten work, he had collected twelve Spirit Stones.
Twelve Spirit Stones was a significant sum for a loose cultivator, yet it was nowhere near enough for the path of cultivation.
Mo Hua let out a sigh, a look of helplessness crossing his young face.
For those at the bottom of the ladder, the hope of achieving the Dao was slim…
Over twenty thousand years ago, in the first year of the Taoist Calendar, the Taoist Court—the supreme power of the cultivation world—unified the Nine States. They established noble clans and sects, creating a structured class system with standardized ranks for all cultivation professions.
The “Taoist Law” was then enacted by the Taoist Court, forbidding cultivators from the practices of indiscriminate killing, pillaging, or stealing the foundations of others.
Under these laws, the world of cultivation experienced twenty thousand years of peace and unprecedented growth, leading to vast territories and a population of countless cultivators.
However, while the Taoist Court flourished and the noble clans lived in luxury, the sects held nearly all the power.
Only the unaffiliated loose cultivators at the very bottom lived in misery, with no hope of true progress in the Dao.
Throughout these twenty thousand years, mortals without spiritual roots were slowly weeded out by nature, leaving behind only those capable of Tao cultivation. But as the number of cultivators grew, so did the consumption of spiritual energy, causing the world's natural Qi to dwindle.
In the modern era, a cultivator required more than just a heritage to succeed; they needed Spirit Stones.
But the great clans controlled the spiritual mines, leaving loose cultivators at the bottom with no resources, while the great sects monopolized the heritage, leaving them with no path forward.
In Tongxian City, the majority of loose cultivators possessed neither heritage nor stones, destined to remain at the Qi-refining stage for their entire lives.
The Qi-refining realm is nothing more than a tiny ant beneath the vastness of the Heavenly Dao.
Mo Hua was simply one of those many ants.
And it was highly probable he would remain one forever.
A bitter expression touched Mo Hua’s youthful face.
The Heavenly Dao might be impartial, but the path of cultivating the Dao was anything but equal…
Mo Hua was a loose cultivator at the second level of Qi-refinement, born to parents who were also stuck in the Qi-refinement realm.
His father, Mo Shan, earned a living by hunting monster beasts, a life of constant danger that had left his body covered in scars. His mother labored in the Food Building, working over a hot stove; the heat had damaged her lungs, leaving her with a persistent, painful cough.
His parents lived frugally, saving every Spirit Stone they could find just so Mo Hua could study cultivation as an Outer Gate disciple of Tongxian Gate.
However, despite his efforts, Mo Hua’s spiritual root was mediocre. While slightly better than a commoner's, it was average at best in a world teeming with geniuses.
No matter how hard he worked, he might never move past being a Qi-refining cultivator.
Given his family’s poverty and lack of Spirit Stones, Mo Hua could only follow the path of other ordinary disciples: study until reaching the sixth level of Qi-refinement, leave the sect, and then find a trade to survive.
But Mo Hua was born with a frail body!
Livelihoods like artifact refining or monster hunting, which sustained most Qi-refinement cultivators, required the strength of body cultivators. With his weak constitution, Mo Hua might struggle to find even basic work.
If he eventually married and had children, the financial pressure would only increase, and every Spirit Stone would go toward survival.
Without the stones needed to advance, Mo Hua’s progress would stop completely, leaving him a Qi-refining cultivator for the rest of his days.
He would be just like the other poor loose cultivators in Tongxian City.
Just like the countless others at the bottom of the cultivation world.
Destined to be a Qi-refining cultivator forever.
The ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, cleared his mind, and headed to the sect for his lessons. After a full day of study and practice, he returned to the Disciple’s Residence, spent some time reading the Tao Cultivation Canons, and went to bed by 1 p.m.
The moment Mo Hua’s eyes closed, a broken stone tablet materialized within his Sea of Consciousness.
The tablet bore no writing, yet from the first moment Mo Hua laid eyes on it, he instinctively knew what it was called:
Taoist Stele!