Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1990 Chapter 959: Demon Seed

"Consequently, this Taoist Field serves as a Holy Land for the departed—a zone strictly forbidden to the living."

With a grim expression, Young Master Xuan questioned, "In what manner do we dismantle this formation?"

The black-robed Elder responded with a subtle shake of his head.

Young Master Xuan inquired with curiosity, "Is this not part of your Great Wilderness inheritance? It ought to be a creation of the Great Wilderness clan; is even the Second Elder ignorant of its workings?"

A slight tremor passed through the Elder's clouded eyes before they suddenly flared with murderous intent. "The architect of this layout is a traitor to the Great Wilderness. He... he plundered the Great Wilderness inheritance. Such a man deserves a thousand deaths..."

Standing nearby, Mo Hua felt a jolt of surprise at these words.

A traitor of the Great Wilderness?

To whom could he be referring?

Young Master Xuan paid little mind to the history of traitors; his sole concern was reaching the Divine Temple.

"Is there truly no other path?"

After a moment of reflection, the Elder spoke, "I possess a relic of the Great Wilderness lineage known as the 'Divine Mist Lamp.' It has the power to cloak the traces of Divine Sense and bypass those malevolent ghosts."

"However..."

The Elder peered into the distance. "This Taoist Field is far too expansive, teeming with evil entities as thick as clouds, and the journey is long. Relying on the 'Divine Mist Lamp' alone might prove insufficient to see us through."

Young Master Xuan suggested, "Perhaps, then, you should also ignite a person to serve as a lamp?"

The Elder weighed the option for a second and nodded. "It appears we are left with no alternative."

Young Master Xuan signaled Mr. Hui to produce his gold hoop.

The Elder performed a few gestures, surging a frigid, wicked power into Shen Qingsheng’s Meridians to rouse him, before securing the gold hoop around Shen Qingsheng’s brow.

As the terrifyingly familiar sensation returned, Shen Qingsheng’s face drained of color. "No, I will die..." he stammered in horror.

Using blood-colored spiritual power, the Elder sealed Shen Qingsheng’s mouth and nose to stifle his cries.

Immediately after, he began chanting cryptic, ancient incantations from the Barbaric Wilderness, causing the Divine Mist Lamp to flicker to life.

A flame caught, and a thick mist began to spread, wrapping around the group and masking their aura.

Mo Hua observed the encroaching fog and realized its nature after a brief thought.

Contained within the Divine Mist Lamp was a Divine Mist Formation. Once triggered, it could manifest as a vapor that scrambled the perception of Divine Thought.

Since the sinister ghosts were essentially manifestations of "divine thought," they would naturally be misled by the Divine Mist Lamp.

Mo Hua felt a sense of quiet admiration.

The way this Divine Mist Lamp integrated with the Divine Mist Formation was truly masterful, likely utilizing the ancient artifact refining techniques unique to the Great Wilderness lineage.

The legacy of the Great Wilderness was indeed formidable.

Shielded by the Divine Mist Lamp, the party began their trek through the Taoist Field.

They were flanked by bronze figures and shadowed by ominous spirits overhead, yet for a time, they progressed without incident.

However, as they delved deeper, several significantly more powerful ghostly beings sensed an anomaly and began to probe the vapors of the Divine Mist Lamp.

The Elder shot a meaningful look at Young Master Xuan.

Understanding the signal, Young Master Xuan followed Mr. Hui’s previous example and ignited the "human lamp" atop Shen Qingsheng’s head.

Once more, Shen Qingsheng’s Sea of Consciousness began to incinerate piece by piece.

His divine sense turned into a plume of smoke that drifted upward, luring the ghostly entities away toward the side.

Young Master Xuan and his companions felt a brief moment of relief.

Thus, protected by the Divine Mist Lamp and the lure of the human lamp, they pressed forward.

Shen Qingsheng served as a "candle," burning steadily as they walked.

But Shen Qingsheng’s divine sense was far from robust; having been ignited once before, it was now nearly depleted.

It felt as though a thousand needles were being driven into his skull.

Before long, his eyes rolled back and he slumped into unconsciousness.

Young Master Xuan checked his breathing and lifted his eyelids, shaking his head. "He is almost spent. If we continue to burn him, he will perish."

Because Shen Qingsheng still held value, the Elder was not yet willing to let him die.

As the human lamp died out, the oppressive, sinister aura intensified.

With the bait gone, more formidable ghosts began to investigate their mist once again.

The Elder commanded, "Change the person."

Young Master Xuan gave a nod of agreement.

Consequently, the gold hoop lamp was transferred to Mr. Hui’s head.

Throughout his life, Mr. Hui had exploited others as "lamps." He never imagined the day would come when his own head would be used as the fuel.

The human lamp flared up again, releasing wisps of divine sense smoke.

As a Golden Core Cultivator, Mr. Hui’s divine sense was more potent than Shen Qingsheng’s.

Strangely, however, the smoke from his divine sense was even more polluted than Shen Qingsheng’s, likely a result of his advanced age, fractured thoughts, and boundless avarice.

Furthermore, having been wounded by corpse spirits, his divine thought was already tainted by impurities.

As a result, the scent of his burning divine thought did not appeal to all the ghosts, which made the effect noticeably weaker.

Despite being less effective, his status as a Golden Core meant he was more "durable" and could endure the burning longer.

They covered a significant distance before he, too, began to show signs of divine sense exhaustion.

"Switch again," the Elder ordered.

This time, the one chosen to be the human lamp was Shi Tou.

Shi Tou’s divine thought was of a much higher quality than Mr. Hui’s; his mind was simpler, and his greed was far less pronounced.

However, as a Body Cultivator, he was somewhat slow-witted and not given to deep reflection.

Because of this, the smoke produced by his divine thought had a rather neutral, bland aroma.

Yet, under the protection of the Divine Mist Lamp, the specific quality of the human lamp mattered less; as long as it stayed lit, it was enough.

In this manner, they continued their trek across the golden Taoist Field.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the massive Divine Temple came into view, and the emperor’s tomb of the Great Wilderness appeared to be just ahead.

At that critical juncture, however, Shi Tou’s divine sense neared its limit, and the human lamp began to flicker out.

A final stretch of the Taoist Field still lay before them.

Shen Qingsheng, Mr. Hui, and Shi Tou had all been exhausted as lamps; only Mo Hua remained.

Naturally, these demon cultivators had no intention of using their own divine thought for the lamp.

But regarding Mo Hua...

Young Master Xuan felt a flicker of hesitation; he saw great potential in Mo Hua and was loath to actually use him as fuel.

If the boy’s mind was incinerated, he would lose a top-tier servant.

The Elder also wavered.

But as they watched the human lamp die, it became clear there was no other way.

"Light it," the Elder commanded.

"Very well."

After a moment's thought, Young Master Xuan nodded and removed the gold hoop from Shi Tou’s head, adjusting it to fit Mo Hua.

Mo Hua considered resisting but remained still.

He was currently playing the role of a "puppet" under the influence of the Planting Devil in Taoist Heart; he could not afford to show independent will.

Furthermore, he was surrounded by Golden Core Demon Cultivators, each one more powerful than the last.

"If they want to light the human lamp, then let them..."

At worst, it would just sap some of his divine sense, which shouldn't be too dire.

After all, he was well-acquainted with divine sense exhaustion and damage; he had survived such states many times before.

Mo Hua stood perfectly still, allowing Young Master Xuan to settle the hoop of the human lamp upon his brow.

Young Master Xuan then attempted to ignite the lamp.

The human lamp glowed for a moment, but nothing happened.

"What is the meaning of this?" Young Master Xuan asked, startled.

The Elder’s brow furrowed in a frown.

Mo Hua was briefly confused himself, so he turned his Divine Sense inward to investigate. He soon grasped the situation.

His divine thought was so perfectly refined—almost as if it were in total union with the Dao—that it was as solid as cast copper. The human lamp simply couldn't gain a foothold to draw from it.

Since it couldn't tap into his divine thought, the lamp wouldn't light.

Feeling the intense gaze of the Elder and Young Master Xuan, he realized he had to "relax" his mental defenses.

He consciously released a portion of his divine sense, offering it up to the human lamp to be consumed.

Slowly, the lamp began to catch fire.

"It is working..."

Young Master Xuan nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief.

But in the very next heartbeat, he was struck dumb with shock.

The light from the human lamp suddenly exploded with brilliance, becoming incredibly radiant.

A plume of pure, shimmering gold smoke spiraled into the heavens.

In that instant, everyone felt as though the sky itself had erupted with a thunderous boom; the clouds swirled violently, and the previously lurking sinister aura rose up like a gargantuan, unstoppable tsunami.