Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2045 Chapter 978: Solitary Mountain Formation

High atop Solitary Mountain, the massive spiritual machines of the Gu Family loomed over the landscape.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the mechanical arms of these spiritual machines—resembling the limbs of titans—carved into the mountainside. They excavated mines and leveled the debris of the shattered peak, resetting the foundation according to Mo Hua’s blueprints to serve as the base for a new Formation.

Mo Hua’s ambition was to reconstruct a magnificent Formation upon the heights of Solitary Mountain.

Naturally, this project did not quite reach the complexity of a true Large Formation.

Even with the current strength of Mo Hua’s Divine Sense, successfully crafting a Second Grade Large Formation remained an impossible goal. Furthermore, the sheer scale of manual labor, the drain on resources, the time required, and the astronomical consumption of Spirit Stones and Spiritual Ink were far beyond what Mo Hua could personally manage.

Instead, Mo Hua was building an expansive Compound Formation.

Despite being a Compound Formation, its scale was staggering, spanning more than half of Solitary Mountain. It integrated a wide variety of arrays, encompassing the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams. Because it had to harmonize so many different Formation Patterns, it served as a "prototype" of a Large Formation in many respects.

This was Mo Hua’s chosen method for "practice."

Since he was currently unable to manifest a Second Grade Large Formation, he opted for the next best thing: stacking a series of arrays into a pseudo Large Formation through a massive Compound Formation.

Even a "pseudo Large Formation" presented an immense challenge due to its size. Such a feat demanded a profound understanding of the Dao of Formations, an vast reservoir of knowledge, and the mastery of numerous Second Grade Formations.

Beyond technical skill, constructing such a vast Compound Formation required the Formation Master to possess a strategic vision. One had to manage the primary structure, the overarching Formation Pivot, and the central Formation Eye, all while ensuring everything remained compatible from a macro perspective.

Finding a Formation Master who truly possessed such capabilities or practical experience was an extremely rare occurrence.

Ever since he had departed Solitary Mountain to return to the Sect, Mo Hua had been dwelling on this plan. Whenever a spare moment arose, he would work on the blueprints for the Solitary Mountain Compound Formation Diagram.

Following a long period of careful deliberation, Mo Hua finally succeeded in drafting the full Diagram. However, feeling a lingering lack of certainty regarding his design, he sought out Elder Master Xun to ask for his professional opinion.

When Elder Master Xun laid eyes upon the massive Solitary Mountain Formation Diagram, his internal reaction was beyond words.

He instantly recognized that this was, for all intents and purposes, the "prototype" of a Large Formation. It was only due to the current constraints of skill, labor, and wealth that it had been scaled down into a secondary Compound Formation.

Nevertheless, the grand ambition within the work and the clear outline of a Large Formation were unmistakable. To a seasoned Fifth Grade Formation Master like Elder Master Xun, the advanced techniques hidden within were visible at a single glance.

Recalling the rumors he had once heard from Tongxian City, Elder Master Xun felt a surge of shock once more.

“Back then... did this child truly have the potential to act as the Principal Formation Master for a First Grade Large Formation?”

The lead architect of a First Grade Large Formation... just how young had he been at that time?

Elder Master Xun felt a bit dazed and overwhelmed by the realization. He let out a soft sigh before meticulously reviewing Mo Hua’s work. He pointed out several errors, refined specific nodes, and removed unnecessary Formation Pivots. With a final, masterful touch, he made the entire diagram far more elegant and concise.

Mo Hua gained incredible insights from studying these changes, and his respect for Elder Master Xun’s mastery of Formations grew even deeper. With the Elder Master’s "corrections" in place, Mo Hua finally felt confident enough to proceed.

He officially began the implementation of his design, using this large Compound Formation to lay the groundwork for his future goal of constructing a true Second Grade Large Formation.

Under Mo Hua’s leadership, the work on the Solitary Mountain Compound Formation officially commenced. The project had received "special authorization" from the Taoist Court itself.

A large-scale cultivation project of this nature was considered a "major achievement," and thus it was highly supported by the local Solitary Mountain Taoist Court. Master Xia even utilized his supervisory authority to allocate a portion of Spirit Stones to help fund the construction.

The Gu Family also contributed significantly, providing a large amount of materials. Most of the Second Grade spiritual machines used in the project were mobilized from their family holdings.

The Gu Family’s eagerness to assist was partly due to their small stake in the local artifact refining industry. While the industry was currently modest, it had become the "pillar" of Solitary Mountain City's economy thanks to Master Gu’s hard work. Without the Gu Family’s refinery, many people in the city would be left without a livelihood.

Given their upright reputation, the Gu Family would never stand by and do nothing. Furthermore, since Mo Hua was the head of this "Formation project," they wanted to show him favor and support the bigger picture.

Wenren Wan also gave Mo Hua her full support, providing significant help. As the legitimate daughter of the Wenren Family and a young lady of the Shangguan Family, she even paid for some of the Compound Formation’s costs out of her own pocket.

As for the labor, it was primarily provided by the Loose Cultivators of Solitary Mountain City. These cultivators were desperately poor and often struggled to find their next meal.

Mo Hua used the project as a form of "work relief," employing the construction of the Compound Formation as a way to provide them with stability. As long as they contributed—no matter how small the task—they were guaranteed food. Even the elderly, the frail, or young orphans could earn a full meal simply by helping to move a few stones.

The remaining challenge, however, was the Formation itself. The Compound Formation required an incredible number of individual arrays. While it was less than a full Large Formation, it was still far more complex than any standard project. Drawing every single one would take Mo Hua a massive amount of time—time he simply didn't have, as he couldn't stay at Solitary Mountain forever.

Hiring outside Formation Masters would be too expensive, and Mo Hua didn't fully trust them with the work. After thinking it over, Mo Hua hit upon a brilliant idea. He returned to Elder Master Xun, expressing his wish to provide his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters with a chance for practical experience in the Dao of Formations.