Chapter 1284

Why, suddenly I can't perceive the cause and effect...

The Elder's aged fingers couldn't help but twist together, then slowly loosen, then twist together again, and then force himself to loosen.

He really wanted to calculate it.

But he has already "retired" now, and fundamentally does not want to get involved in this muddy water of the Great Desolation that is filled with black Qi.

To start calculating is equivalent to reaching into muddy water to fish out cause and effect to look at.

It is easy to dirty one's hands, and also easy to be detected by others.

But not calculating is also impossible.

In the Elder's heart, he was both secretly feeling cold, not knowing what had happened.

And it was as if a thousand ants were crawling, unable to stop the itching, wanting to know exactly what had happened.

"This array is an ancient Yin-Yang array, the origin is too great, which is why I had to move a few small hands and feet to cover up the cause and effect. Giving it to him was for him to learn, for him to comprehend..."

"This kid, what exactly did he use it for..."

"In the final analysis, he is just a Foundation Establishment kid, what can he do with this kind of array? He couldn't possibly..."

The Elder's heart suddenly shuddered.

What can Foundation Establishment do with this array?!

What kind of thing is it that only Foundation Establishment can do?!

The Elder, who had long been as calm as an ancient well, had a feeling after a long time that his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

"He... not... wouldn't... he shouldn't be..."

The Elder finally couldn't hold back.

He couldn't care about his hands being dirty, and his three fingertips twisted together. Just for a split second, the Heavenly Secret mental method was activated, and cause and effect turned in his heart.

The Elder's heart died completely.

That ancient array that had passed through his hands and been tampered with, had actually really... been refined into a natal array?!

How was this done?

The Elder's expression was solemn, and his brows gradually furrowed.

The cultivation world is vast, with countless geniuses; it's not that no one has ever cultivated natal array-type magic treasures, and there are quite a few inheritances passed down.

But refining an array into a natal magic treasure is not as simple as just saying it; it's not something that can be done.

It requires an understanding of the essence of arrays, proficiency in the application of arrays, as well as a profound dissection of the human body structure, and experience in a large amount of "modification" of the human body.

The methods involved are numerous, and the means are complex.

Under different categories such as Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, as well as others like Three Talents, Four Symbols, Six Lines, Seven Stars, etc., for every specific array, if one wants to refine it into a natal array, the inheritance and means required are all different.

Five Elements and Eight Trigrams type "natal arrays" are already this complex.

The Elder couldn't imagine for a moment what kind of cultivation creation it would take to refine an "Yin-Yang" type ancient array into a natal array.

This Yin-Yang Rebirth Array is something sealed by the Tianquange, ancient, obscure, and extremely profound; even he, as an Elder, hasn't pondered it very deeply.

Even if this kid is gifted and has high comprehension, he is ultimately just Foundation Establishment, and his vision and experience are limited; at most, he could have some comprehension, and it is absolutely impossible for him to "master" this kind of ancient Yin-Yang array.

"Could it be that this kid... is another species?"

"He is actually not a 'human'?"

"But even if he were a god of heaven and earth born of the Dao, he shouldn't be this outrageous..."

And...

The Elder soon realized a problem.

This probably isn't just as simple as refining an "Yin-Yang natal array."

Based on Mo Hua's style of doing things in the Ganxue Prefecture, and his understanding of Mo Hua's character from their one meeting.

This is a kid who is upright in character, but happens not to follow the "rules."

This is a kid who seems reckless, but is as careful as a hair.

Many times, his actions are very bold, bold enough to make people's scalps tingle.

But while he is bold, everything he does is actually "carefully considered," has profound thinking, and has extremely meticulous plans.

He has this attitude toward other things, and even more so toward his own "natal array."

The Elder can almost conclude that it is impossible for Mo Hua, this kid, to know the true mysteries of the Yi Wood Rejuvenation Array right now.

Because this is a method he personally laid down.

At most, he would just be suspicious—after all, it's a reward from the Sword Discussion Assembly, so it can't be truly ordinary.

If he usually uses this array to save people and do things like "saving the dying and healing the wounded," he should be able to comprehend some things from the operation of the array, and then gradually think about its internal laws.

This will be of great benefit to his future cultivation.

As for what he can comprehend, it depends on Mo Hua's own creation.

This is also the Elder's prediction of Mo Hua's progress in comprehension after obtaining the array.

Mo Hua cannot "see through" this array in a short time, let alone comprehend it.

For things he "can't see through," with Mo Hua's "cautious" personality, it's fine to take it for research.

But it is absolutely impossible to really take it as a "natal array" for life-long cultivation.

This is to say, the "natal array" Mo Hua set for himself actually has something else.

This ancient Yin-Yang array is very likely something Mo Hua "incidentally" added inside, out of some consideration.

It was "incidental"!

He incidentally refined this ancient Yin-Yang Rebirth Array, which shocks heaven and makes ghosts cry, into his own natal array...

The Elder's mood was complex beyond words.

At the same time, he felt it was even more unbelievable.

This kid, how exactly is his brain grown?

What kind of inheritance, what motivation, what train of thought, what method did he use to refine his own natal array?

And what exactly... did he create?

In the Elder's heart, it's as if ten thousand ants are crawling.

He really wanted to use the "cause and effect line" of the "Yi Wood Rejuvenation Array" he gave to follow the vine and find the melon, to strip away the entire foundation of Mo Hua's natal array and all the underlying laws of its construction, so he could see it clearly.

The Elder's fingers couldn't help but twist together again.

But he ultimately restrained himself with great difficulty.

Peering into someone's natal foundation is a great taboo in cultivation.

Of course, for figures like the Elder, this doesn't really count as a "great taboo."

They have lived too long, their cultivation is too high, their divine sense is too strong, their experience is too deep, they perceive heavenly secrets, and they participate in cause and effect.

Many times, when others walk in front of them, they only need to take a glance to see this person's "Dao" clearly.

What their character is like, what their foundation is like, what their inheritance is like, what Dao they cultivate, what path they walk... clearly and plainly.

But Mo Hua is not an ordinary person.

His Dao heart is clear, he is sincere to others, just like a piece of unpolished jade. But once you delve into it, it's as if it's an abyss; the cause and effect inside are too big, and the heavenly secrets are too deep...

The Elder thought about it and ultimately decided to forget it.

"I'm retired, I'm retired, I'm retired..."

The Elder recited it three times before he dispelled the curiosity and obsession in his heart.

But the fluctuations in his heart were still difficult to calm down for a long time.

The Elder sat by the pond, his gaze deep, looking at the rippling water surface, looking at the fish swimming in the water, and slowly replayed all the causes and consequences in his heart.

But the more he replayed, the brighter the Elder's heart became...

The situation in the Ganxue Prefecture was originally a "dead end."

Originally, more people would have died, countless forces would have been implicated, and many noble families and sects would have been destroyed because of this.

Most people have no concept of the two words "disaster."

And they fundamentally don't know what the two words "disaster" actually mean.

They don't know the terror of the Evil God.

They don't know that the Ganxue Prefecture was once truly as precarious as a pile of eggs.

They don't know that their lives and deaths were once truly hanging by a thread.

And now, the Ganxue Prefecture seems to have "eased" again; noble families continue to fight for power, sects continue to seize profit, and under the piling up of fame and fortune, it looks like "flowers are blooming and brocade is flourishing."

People's memories of that great disaster are also starting to become thin.

Forgetting the pain after the scar has healed is human nature.

But the Elder is the one manipulating the game, so he understands better than anyone.

If no one had broken the situation, if no one had been secretly taking responsibility for all of this, pushing these things to develop, and if no one had risked their life to destroy the Great Desolation Evil God's plot, then the "Ganxue Catastrophe" of several years ago would have already been the end of the Ganxue Prefecture.

But divine matters are profound and mysterious, dangerous and unpredictable.

Even the Elder didn't have a very good "chess piece" at the beginning to break this situation, to try every possible way to minimize the casualties of the common people in the many prefectures during the Evil God's disaster.

Fortunately, there was Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua only wanted to be a "salted fish" at the beginning and didn't want to get involved too much.

Therefore, the Elder spared no cost, even risking great defiance, violating the taboos of the Dao Court, and using the "Yin-Yang Rebirth Array" as bait to fish out this "little golden dragon fish" named Mo Hua, letting him stir up the water surface, break the situation in Ganxue, and ultimately allow the Ganxue Prefecture to survive.

This kind of thing carries great danger and great risk.

But for the sake of the overall situation, as an Elder, he naturally had no regrets.

It's just that the cause and effect of the Yin-Yang Rebirth Array is truly too great; if it were really found out, he, this Elder, would truly be unable to shirk responsibility.

Therefore, he directly "resigned" and ran away first.

Of course, doing so wasn't just about the problem of this "golden dragon fish."

He had been an Elder for so many years, peering into heavenly secrets, planning strategies, and carrying unknown amounts of great cause and effect.

There was an even more terrifying cause and effect waiting for him below.

To seek the safety of his life from the Dao of Heaven, and also to withdraw from the game and see this chess game clearly as a bystander, "withdrawing bravely from the rapids" was the best choice.

But now, the Elder combed through the cause and effect of this matter and realized a quite serious problem.

This quite serious problem originated from this "golden dragon fish."

In the Ganxue Prefecture, this golden dragon fish bit the "bait" he threw over, followed his line, and broke the situation in Ganxue.

This was within his expectations.

And this "bait" was too big, too hard, and too old; this little golden dragon fish definitely couldn't swallow it.

As long as the "bait" was there, the line connected to this "bait" would also still be there.

This was also the "dark line" of cause and effect left by the Elder to be prepared for a rainy day.

In the future, if those old things from the Dao Court really came to "check the accounts" with him, he could follow the line and get the "bait" back.

But now, something is wrong...

This golden dragon fish swam out of the Ganxue Prefecture, swam far away to the Great Desolation, and without knowing what it had done, it suddenly "ate" the bait, swallowed it into its stomach, and was preparing to digest it.

This bait became the key for this "golden dragon fish" to shape its natal array.

In other words, his own behavior was helping this golden dragon fish "form a core" and transform into a dragon.

This cause and effect... had pierced the sky and become huge.

The Elder combed through the cause and effect of this matter, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.

To the extent that he had a feeling of fishing on the shore, only to be swallowed by the fish, and being dragged into the water by the line.

And he couldn't even argue his case.

After all, the Yin-Yang Rebirth Array was truly "sent out" by him, this Elder.

Now this Yin-Yang Rebirth Array had been fused by that kid as a natal array...

This kind of outrageous thing...

He, this "calculating" Elder, if he said he really wasn't doing it on purpose... he didn't know if anyone would believe him.

Anyway, making those suspicious old things from the Dao Court believe it would probably be a bit difficult...

The Elder didn't even believe it himself.

He didn't believe that there was a fish that could actually eat this ancient "bait."

And he didn't believe that he had fished for a lifetime, only to be dragged into the vortex of cause and effect by a little fish.

The Elder's brows, which hadn't been relaxed for long, furrowed deeply again:

"Trouble... is huge..."

"If it explodes in the future, I won't have a moment of peace for the rest of my life..."

The Elder pondered for a moment, then lightly twisted his fingers again, calculating a little bit more.

He calculated what Mo Hua had actually done in the Great Desolation, and calculated whether he could extract himself from this segment of cause and effect...

But with this calculation, the Elder's expression changed instantly, and his pupils trembled violently:

"This kid, he really can cause trouble..."

"He is... in the Great Desolation... what kind of heaven-defying rebellion is he staging?!"

Even... not just rebelling against humans, but also rebelling against "gods"?

The Elder gasped, unable to help but feel a little palpitation.

The situation in the Great Desolation is too chaotic, heavenly secrets are turbid, schemes are intertwined, and many experts are laying out plans, covering up and deceiving each other, making it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood.

If the Elder hadn't met Mo Hua in person before, played chess with Mo Hua, and held this "Yi Wood Rejuvenation" cause and effect line in his hand, he might not have perceived what Mo Hua was actually doing.

Or rather, he wouldn't have perceived that the person doing these things... was Mo Hua.

After all, who could have imagined that he, a little disciple of the Taixu Sect, could run to the Great Desolation to rebel against the Great Desolation, rebel against the Dao Court, and even rebel against the gods of the Great Desolation.

This kid really can "create"...

The Elder held his breath in his chest, unable to say a word.

After a long time, the Elder's gaze gradually became solemn, he slowly let out a sigh, and said softly:

"Doing this kind of thing... don't you know how many people... want you dead..."

"The gods want to kill you, the Great Desolation wants to kill you, the Barbarians want to kill you, the Dao Court wants to kill you, the noble families want to kill you... even your own divinity... will kill you..."

Even for a moment, the Elder himself couldn't help but think that he should just let this kid "die" in the Great Desolation.

Dying in the Great Desolation would "cut off" all cause and effect.

And no one would know what he, this Elder, had done.

It would both destroy the evidence and erase the "account."

Lest he, a dignified Elder, become an "accomplice" to this "terrorist" who rebels against "gods," rebels against the Dao Court, rebels against the Great Desolation... and who knows what else he will rebel against in the future.

Thousands of years of fame, destroyed in a single moment.

The Elder was silent.

The thought of "letting him die" floated in his heart like a little demon, over and over again.

But at the same time, that handsome and amiable smiling face, those clear-as-water eyes, that jade-like Dao heart temperament.

And the bits and pieces of their short but evenly matched chess games, where they cherished each other, also echoed in the Elder's heart.

Finally, the Elder let out a deep sigh.

"A lifetime of toil, unable to endure even a moment of leisure..."

The Elder slowly sat up and looked at the chess game beside him.

This chess game, black and white are distinct, with golden light appearing, looking evenly matched, but it is already close to the "end game" where victory, defeat, life, and death are determined...

Third-grade, Green You Mountain Realm.

Inside a hidden mountain cave.

Mo Hua opened his eyes.

In his eyes, golden light flashed by, but this wisp of golden light lacked the previous clarity and agility, and was instead deep and indifferent.

It was like a god opening his eyes, looking at this world.

At the same time, Mo Hua's whole body suddenly flashed with deep blue light, and Taotie patterns, like "array creatures" under the skin, lit up from Mo Hua's skeleton, circulating a heavenly cycle along the twelve regular meridians.

And within the blue light, there was a faint glimmer of gold and jade.

This is the Wood-White Gold-Jade bone.

And within this gold-jade light, there was also a trace of Yi Wood Qi mixed in.

This is the Yi Wood Rejuvenation Array.

At this very moment, Mo Hua's natal system was finally completely finalized.

His aura also suddenly rose by a small margin.

Foundation Establishment Peak.

Forging a natal magic treasure and entering the stage of nourishing the magic treasure embryo within the body means that the cultivator has truly stepped into the realm of Foundation Establishment Peak.

Once the magic treasure is nourished and the foundation is stable, he can truly attempt to charge toward the Golden Core realm.

Once entering Golden Core, the Great Dao transforms, and one is reborn.

In Mo Hua's gaze, there was majesty, and his aura already had the signs of an initial "transformation."

But just as he was about to get up, he was suddenly stunned.

Because he discovered that while he was looking inward with his divine sense and focusing on forging his natal array, some "strange" things had appeared beside his physical body without him knowing.

These things were sharp-mouthed and fanged, with small eyes and long tails, and pupils like copper coins, emitting an impure golden light, like evil spirits, and also like demons, secretly gnawing on his Dao body...

This is...

Mo Hua's pupils narrowed slightly.

"Money Rats?"