Chapter 1217: Becoming a Dragon

"Another perfect array!"

Mo Hua's heart trembled slightly, a touch of emotion rising within him.

Perfect arrays either elude you entirely, no matter how hard you search, or they cluster together, all appearing before you at once.

No wonder his master said that finding perfect arrays depends on fate, luck, and sometimes even destiny.

If it's meant to be, it will come; if not, no force can compel it.

But Mo Hua turned the thought over in his mind and felt it wasn't entirely about "fate" or "luck."

Perfect arrays are tied to deep cosmic principles.

The deeper your understanding of the principles, the more sensitive you become to the clues of perfect arrays.

Likewise, the stronger your spiritual sense, the deeper your array expertise, and the more refined your celestial calculations, the easier it becomes to pierce the hidden secrets of heaven and earth and locate the traces of perfect arrays.

At least this Abyssal Bone Perfect Array was pried out of this "tortoise-shell" Abyssal Bone Armor through his own principle-based deduction, spiritual sense calculations, and various methods.

Thus, if your "fate" is poor, you must constantly cultivate and strengthen your power to change your own destiny.

If your "luck" is lacking, you must constantly contemplate and deepen your comprehension of the principles, gaining eyes that see through fortune, seeking out luck and seizing it yourself.

Mo Hua nodded, feeling he had gained new insight—a truth that seemed useless but held great value.

Next, it was time to learn a new perfect array.

Mo Hua's heart stirred with anticipation, yet his face remained expressionless as he spoke to Tie Shuguo and the armored barbarian soldier:

"Enough. You may stop."

The two "tools," Tie Shuguo and the armored barbarian soldier, who had been fighting fiercely, finally ceased their attacks, eyes bloodshot and breathing ragged.

These two had done Mo Hua a great favor.

For the past few days, they had fought without pause, exhausting themselves until they paused to recover, then resumed their battle.

The armored barbarian soldier truly wished to kill Tie Shuguo, the "traitor" who had abandoned the Barbarian God and his ancestors.

"Traitor" Tie Shuguo had initially refused to strike to kill, but as the fight dragged on, anger flared and he too developed a killing intent.

He was a Jin Dan, and even with the mountain realm's restrictions, his cultivation was stronger than that of the armored barbarian soldier.

Yet the armored barbarian soldier bore the Abyssal Bone Armor, unbreakable in defense, so in true life-or-death combat, he held his own.

They struck to kill each other, and as the fighting continued, they seemed to have become mortal enemies, locked in unrelenting combat.

Precisely because of this, the Abyssal Bone Armor endured prolonged assault, its internal array continuously circulating.

This provided Mo Hua with immense convenience for calculating the array.

This kind of array calculation was extremely profound, and Mo Hua performed it with extreme secrecy; very few knew he possessed such an outrageous ability.

Mo Hua had no intention of revealing it, for otherwise he would forever be watched and guarded against.

He would no longer be able to "steal-calculate" arrays so easily.

Mo Hua glanced at the armored barbarian soldier, nodded slightly, and said solemnly:

"I admit, your Shuguo clan's ancestral Abyssal Bone Armor is truly extraordinary—even my Lord Wuzhu's blessed spear could not pierce it…"

"But don't get too confident. I shall seek the Divine Lord's divine decree. There will surely be a way to shatter your armor, crush your Barbarian God's prestige, bring shame upon your ancestors, and make you understand what true divine power truly is…"

Mo Hua used words to provoke him, to prevent him from committing suicide.

The armored barbarian soldier was a fanatically loyal barbarian warrior, superstitious and simple-minded—he was no match for Mo Hua, this monster of cunning.

A hundred of him couldn't match one of Mo Hua's tricks.

Hearing this, he indeed grew furious and sneered:

"Good. I, Adaguo, will defend the glory of the Barbarian God and the honor of my ancestors. Let this demon know the might of the Shuguo clan's armor, know the immortality of my ancestors' legacy!"

"Adaguo… is this barbarian soldier's name?"

"The name of this Shuguo clan really is strange…"

Mo Hua muttered to himself, then sneered, "Overreaching."

He then ordered Tie Shuguo to watch over this armored barbarian soldier named "Adaguo," and turned to leave.

After leaving, Mo Hua found a sealed chamber, surrounded it with arrays, and immediately pulled out the Abyssal Bone Armor array diagram he had just reconstructed, studying it intently.

A second-rank, twenty-stripe perfect array.

The array's rank was lower than Mo Hua's twenty-three-stripe Dao-Hua Spiritual Sense, so he was fully capable of learning it.

The diagram was also reconstructed by Mo Hua himself, so the external array stripes were not difficult.

The only difficulty lay in the "principles" embedded within the array.

An array combined with principle is called an array technique.

Any array technique contains certain "principles."

Perfect arrays and ordinary arrays are both fundamentally composed of "principles."

But ordinary arrays—those within standard rank limits—contain only weak principle energy, relying mostly on the external "form" of the array's operation.

One can learn ordinary arrays without comprehending principles; as long as one can draw the array stripes, it will possess some power and effect.

Of course, if one comprehends even a small amount of weak principle, it naturally enhances the array, making it superior to others'.

But perfect arrays are different.

Perfect arrays contain stronger and more unique "principle energy."

This principle energy transcends the external form of the array stripes.

To master a perfect array, one must comprehend its related principles and Dao essence.

Otherwise, merely copying the external array stripes by rote is utterly useless.

To have the form without the essence, the array without the principle, the shape without the spirit—this is to fail utterly in mastering a perfect array.

Thus, for ordinary arrays, "array" is the core—have the array, and you have the principle—even if this "principle" is extremely weak.

But for perfect arrays, "principle" is the core—understand the principle, and the array follows; without principle, there is no array.

The emphasis of arrays and laws differs, and this is the fundamental distinction between ordinary arrays and ultimate arrays.

Previously, Mo Hua had only vaguely understood this point.

Now, having entered the Great Wilderness, encountered the power of Taotie, and perceived deeper transformations of the law, he gained a clearer insight.

The same principle applies to this Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array before him.

For an array master of Mo Hua's level, the formal "array patterns" are no longer a challenge.

The real difficulty lies in the "law" embedded within the array itself.

Based on Mo Hua's preliminary deduction, this Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array, being tied to the Art Bone Main Division, to the Art Bone ancestors, and to the Infinite Abyss,

likely harbors a certain kind of "Taotie" power.

And this Taotie power very probably relates to the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array within the barbarian god's head from the Art Bone Secret Division, which he has already obtained but still cannot comprehend.

If he comprehends this twenty-pattern Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array, he might understand certain Taotie laws.

Then, using this Taotie law as a "springboard," he could turn to comprehend the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array.

Thus, progressing from shallow to deep, step by step, seeking connections among "laws" in complex arrays—even the most obscure ultimate arrays—peeling away layers, gradually comprehending, linking them, and ultimately integrating them…

Only true masters who have fully awakened to the Way of Arrays can accomplish this.

But Mo Hua never thought so deeply; he didn't know whether he counted as a master at all—he was merely driven by "curiosity" and "desire for knowledge," instinctively using every means possible to seek the truth of arrays and uncover the "Dao" behind the laws.

Because of purity, he was strong.

And Mo Hua's comprehension, honed by prolonged contemplation, had grown even stronger.

To Mo Hua's eyes, this twenty-pattern Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array didn't seem especially difficult to understand.

After pondering it dozens of times, Mo Hua soon, by intuition, caught a hint of the "law."

But Mo Hua was not pleased.

Because he suddenly realized the situation was nothing like he had imagined.

He had misjudged the "law."

The law contained in the twenty-pattern Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array differed from that in the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array.

In some sense, they were entirely two unrelated arrays.

Mo Hua sighed deeply, his emotions extraordinarily complex.

The Taotie array that spawns famine.

The twenty-pattern Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array.

The Art Bone ultimate array within the barbarian god's skull with twenty-three patterns.

The twenty-four-pattern Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Remains Array.

Four ultimate arrays altogether—four distinct laws—all different!

Of these, the famine array, the Art Bone ultimate array, and the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Remains Array—Mo Hua could at least confirm they had some connection to "Taotie."

But this Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Ultimate Array was different again.

On the surface, this Abyssal Bone array bore no relation to Taotie; its law was unique, and Mo Hua could not determine what this "Abyssal Bone" law actually was…

Mo Hua lay back on the stone chair, rubbing his brow, his head throbbing.

"This is an ultimate array…?"

"This is Taotie…?"

"This is the ancient heritage of the Great Wilderness…?"

"These things… are too hard… Who even created these arrays?"

"Can these things truly be learned? Can they ever be truly comprehended?"

Mo Hua closed his eyes, rested for a while, calmed his emotions, then sat upright again and resumed his contemplation.

The great Dao of the world requires lifelong study, endless thought, and deep contemplation to attain.

Only after expending sufficient mental effort can sudden enlightenment come.

"Difficulty" is normal.

If even he found it this hard, how much harder must it be for others?

Precisely because it is so difficult, if he could master it, if he could integrate and comprehend it, he would become stronger than others.

Continuously climbing higher, seeking deeper Dao.

This is precisely the "Dao" of an array master.

In Mo Hua's heart, a trace of relief emerged, along with renewed courage and calmness in facing difficulty.

"That its law differs from Taotie's is also good—if I learn it, it means I've gained another law to comprehend…"

Mo Hua began to focus entirely on unraveling the secrets within the Art Bone ancestors' Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor.

He didn't care whether the Elder Tie Shugu and the barbarian soldier named "A Da Gu" were fighting.

He entrusted General Lugu's offensive to Seeing Dan Zhu and Chifeng.

With Wu Feng Ridge as a barrier, the Winning Art Bone Division was unlikely to win, but temporarily holding off the Art Bone Division's assault should pose no major problem.

Chifeng, a battle-hardened veteran, needed no explanation.

Seeing Dan Zhu, this prodigy, after enduring these battles, was gradually becoming capable of standing alone.

Mo Hua devoted all his focus to studying arrays.

After all, his identity as Lord Wuzhu was fake—array master was his true profession.

Mo Hua entered seclusion, ignoring all external matters, fully concentrating on disassembling and studying the ultimate array within the Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor.

As time slowly passed,

inside the sealed, silent stone chamber, everywhere were array patterns Mo Hua had disassembled, analyzed, reconstructed, and deduced.

At a glance, they were dense, obscure, and profound—so much so that even ordinary cultivators with array foundations would struggle to understand Mo Hua's self-created, self-used, uniquely styled "dissection" method.

The array and the law are one.

The array is the bridge to the law, the vessel of cosmic principles.

In the absence of clear clues, unable to approach the "law" directly, one can only use basic methods: deduce, transform, and compare the array patterns in forward and reverse.

Perhaps this will reveal the deeper "law," allowing for contemplation.

In this process, Mo Hua's understanding of the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array deepened gradually.

After analyzing for a long time, Mo Hua suddenly felt a doubt.

The Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array is a strange, even malformed, Four Symbols array.

Its structure is filled with ancient, bizarre, even unorthodox demon patterns.

This does not seem like a true, complete, self-consistent, systematically structured "Ultimate Array" in the strict sense.

It resembles more…

Mo Hua thought for a long time before finding a fitting word:

"Patchwork."

Like an ultimate array stitched together from various fragmented array patterns.

Mo Hua's mind could not help but conjure an image.

The ancestors of Shu Gu clan wandered along the edges of the Infinite Abyss, gathering scattered, hardened demon beast bones, assembling them into a "heavy armor" named "Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor."

But armor alone is not enough—you need an array.

The Shu Gu ancestors then took fragmented "bone patterns" acquired from unknown sources, pieced them together, fused them repeatedly, and eventually formed this "Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array."

As he thought of this, Mo Hua's expression changed slightly; a sudden intuitive spark stirred within him—a strange sense of familiarity.

"Patchwork…"

"Piecing together fragmented demon patterns… isn't this just…"

"Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon?!"

Mo Hua's pupils contracted.

"Gather various Four Symbols demon patterns, extract the essence of ten thousand demon patterns, and refine them into a dragon pattern…"

"It's remarkably similar to how the Shu Gu ancestors sought out massive demon patterns and patched them together to form the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array."

"Does that mean the underlying principles of these two seemingly unrelated arrays are the same?"

Mo Hua's expression turned astonished, then his thoughts raced.

"The underlying 'rules' of the Abyssal Bone Heavy Armor Array and the Four Symbols Azure Long Zhen… are they both fundamentally 'patchwork'—piecing together demon patterns to unify them into one?"

"This contradicts common sense…"

"The root cause is… the world has accepted the concept of 'dragon' as given, so no one realizes the Four Symbols Azure 'Dragon' is itself a 'patchwork'—and the Four Symbols Azure Long Zhen is itself a 'patchwork array.'"

"Whereas the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array is clearly obvious: it was literally stitched together by the Shu Gu ancestors, scavenging like trash collectors along the edges of the Infinite Abyss, piecing together various demon patterns."

"So the underlying principles of these two ultimate arrays… are truly the same?"

Shocked, Mo Hua felt as if he had just peeled back a corner of some hidden secret of the Great Wilderness.

"And if the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array and the Four Symbols Azure Long Zhen share the same fundamental principle, then…"

"The principle behind the Shu Gu ancestors' Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array… I've actually studied it before?"

"Because I once studied 'Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon,' and kept trying to 'patchwork' a dragon into existence."

"But the problem is…"

Mo Hua's expression grew complex again.

He had never truly comprehended the principle of "becoming dragon."

He had never succeeded in his plan to extract the essence of ten thousand demon patterns and refine them into a dragon.

He had carried the Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon array with him, studying it intermittently, but never truly understood it. Later, after entering the Great Wilderness, with too many other matters, he had temporarily set it aside.

Now this problem had returned to him.

Mo Hua felt as if an unfinished "homework" had suddenly come back to demand repayment.

Mo Hua rummaged through his storage pouch and pulled out a thick stack of research notes and discarded demon pattern drafts from his earlier attempts to refine dragon patterns.

Now, the two tasks could be merged into one.

With a complex mood, Mo Hua placed the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array and the Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon array patterns side by side and began studying them in parallel.

After studying for a while, Mo Hua's brow slowly furrowed again.

It was still not that simple…

Though the two arrays seemed to mirror each other, deepening understanding, Mo Hua had indeed gained more direct insight.

But the core problem remained unchanged.

Mo Hua had no idea how this "principle" actually operated, or how it activated the ultimate array.

The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

Like the Dao, principles may bear human-given names—but these names are merely human constructs, not the true names of the principles themselves.

The principle of "becoming dragon" is no different.

Mo Hua could only roughly speculate on its form and mode of operation.

"Becoming dragon," perhaps, means reassembling fragmented demon patterns into an entirely new, more powerful "demon pattern."

But Mo Hua knew only the how, not the why.

How exactly does one "become dragon"? How are the "materials" selected? Where do they come from? How does the process evolve? How are all demon patterns fused into one? Why can demon patterns fuse into "dragon patterns"?

These are concrete, thorny questions.

Mo Hua realized he had unknowingly slipped back into a dead end.

Moreover, comparing it with the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array, Mo Hua realized his previous understanding of "Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon" was flawed.

"Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon" may not fundamentally be a simple "Gui Yan" dragon pattern.

"Gui Yan" is the Dao Court's approach, the array philosophy of the Jiuzhou lineage.

But "Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon" is Mr. Tu's tradition, the lineage of Dahuang.

The internal driving "principle" is different.

Perhaps precisely because of this, he had studied for a long time, tried many times, yet never truly Gui Yaned a "dragon."

Just what exactly is the true "transformation" of becoming a dragon?

Mo Hua furrowed his brows.

"Is the principle here… something I haven't encountered certain appearances or phenomena, so I can't comprehend it?"

"Or… have I already seen it, but failed to awaken to it?"

Mo Hua calmed his mind and recalled every detail he had experienced since arriving in Dahuang, unable to help pondering:

"Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon and the Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array share the same principle. This kind of principle differs from Taotie…"

This was his earlier judgment.

But… is it truly different?

The existence of "Taotie" is closely tied to Dahuang; the depth of Taotie's principle permeating Dahuang made Mo Hua find it inconceivable.

If Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon is truly some supreme legacy of Dahuang, could it still have some connection to "Taotie"?

Becoming a dragon… and Taotie?

Mo Hua thought for a long time but could not imagine any connection, so he shifted his approach, starting from the Shu Gu tribe's perspective.

The Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array is an array on heavy armor.

The Abyssal Bone Ultimate Array likely contains the "becoming dragon" principle.

Within the Shu Gu tribe, another Taotie array is hidden… the Twenty-Three-Pattern Taotie Array inside the Barbarian God Statue's skull.

This Taotie array… Mo Hua had not yet awakened to it; in fact, he did not even know what purpose this array served.

But this Taotie array could not possibly be unrelated.

Suddenly, Mo Hua's mind flashed back to certain scenes he had witnessed in the Shu Gu Divine Temple.

The Shu Gu Barbarian God Statue, the Taotie array within its skull, the Barbarian Armor surrounding the Barbarian God Statue, every piece of Barbarian Armor covered in incomplete demon patterns.

None of these demon patterns were complete; they looked like…

The corpse of an array?

Corpse?!

In an instant, Mo Hua's scalp prickled—he suddenly realized.

Taotie is a principle beast of ferocity; it "devours" arrays!

The leftover arrays become "residual patterns"; residual patterns are then reassembled into… entirely new array patterns!

Thus, the Taotie principle is the prerequisite principle to "becoming dragon."

First, "Taotie devours demons," disassembling demon patterns, then… "Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon"?!"

These Dahuang principles resemble a ferocious beast born of heaven and earth—naturally interconnected, utterly unified!

(End of Chapter)