Chapter 389: Dao Yun

In the vast expanse of spirit fields, in a secluded plot of land.

Mo Hua sat on Tian Geng, drawing the Thick Earth Array on the empty ground before him.

Mo Hua had already mastered the Thick Earth Array's structure through the Dao Stele.

The only problem: the array had no effect once drawn.

Thick Earth means profound virtue bearing all things, nurturing all life.

This array must use the land as its medium to truly activate.

Mo Hua dipped his brush in ink and began drawing the Thick Earth Array on the ground.

After a while, a complex, ancient array with eleven array lines was completed.

Mo Hua infused spiritual energy to activate the array.

But the spiritual energy flowed into the array like water pouring through a leaky bucket, vanishing instantly.

Mo Hua wiped the array lines with his hand—they erased effortlessly.

Mo Hua sighed.

Failed again.

Mo Hua, unwilling to give up, began drawing again.

As expected, the second attempt also failed.

The third attempt also failed…

…

After exhausting his spiritual sense, Mo Hua sat in meditation until his spiritual sense replenished, then resumed drawing.

But no matter how he drew, the array lines refused to merge with the land, and spiritual energy could not circulate.

Mo Hua frowned, thinking to himself:

"It seems Master was right—this principle sounds simple, but in practice, it's entirely different…"

"No matter how I draw, the array lines won't stay on the ground; spiritual energy won't harmonize with the earth."

"And after drawing so many, there's still no progress…"

"Should I go ask Master again?"

Mo Hua hesitated, then shook his head.

Better to contemplate further.

If Master wanted to tell me, he would have already.

Since he didn't speak, it must be intentional—meant for me to contemplate.

As the saying goes: a master leads you through the door, but cultivation is up to the individual.

What one can comprehend on one's own is better learned and thought through personally—it yields deeper insight.

Mo Hua nodded, then pondered further:

"I simply haven't drawn enough."

"Draw the array a hundred times, its meaning will reveal itself."

"I'll draw it a hundred times first; if I still have no insight, then I'll ask Master."

Mo Hua nodded, steadied his breath, and continued drawing the Thick Earth Array on the land.

He drew from morning until afternoon, then from afternoon until night.

At night, Mo Hua did not sleep.

When his spiritual sense was depleted or he felt weary, he sank it into his spiritual sea.

Sitting quietly before the Dao Stele in meditation, his spiritual sense would replenish, and he would feel refreshed.

Mo Hua drew the array, forgetting meals and sleep.

Bai Zi Xi brought Miao to bring Mo Hua food.

Seeing Mo Hua utterly absorbed in drawing the array, she did not disturb him, only quietly placed the meal beside him.

When Mo Hua grew tired and rested, he would notice the food box and eat a few bites.

After eating, he resumed drawing the array.

After several days, Mo Hua had drawn the Thick Earth Array eighty to ninety times, yet the array lines still would not harmonize with the land.

Mo Hua began to doubt himself.

Was his method wrong?

Or was his comprehension insufficient?

Do I really have to draw it a hundred times…?

But at this rate, even a hundred drawings seemed unlikely to bring progress.

Mo Hua frowned, chin in hand, silently pondering.

Had he overlooked something?

The elements of an array: medium, array lines, array pivot, array eye.

He had considered all of these…

Beyond that: spiritual ink, spiritual energy, spiritual sense…

Mo Hua recited them one by one, then suddenly froze.

Spiritual sense…

Cultivators contemplating arrays must use spiritual sense.

But I am using spiritual sense to contemplate the array…

Could the thing to contemplate be more than just the array?

The formation was drawn upon the earth, bearing all things with great virtue—the Dao of Earth… Did the one who comprehended it comprehend not only the formation, but also "the Earth"?

Mo Hua, with a mindset of giving it a try, sat cross-legged, held his breath, and focused his spirit sense to communicate with the Earth.

Half an hour passed.

Nothing happened…

Mo Hua felt somewhat dejected, and somewhat puzzled.

Suddenly he slapped his forehead and remembered something.

Mr. Zhuang had just told him:

"Cultivators seeking the Dao rely solely on insight, which inevitably becomes ethereal, formalistic, and lacking substance."

"But formations are the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao, the bridge connecting cultivators with the formless Heavenly Dao."

Formations are the bridge connecting cultivators with the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Therefore, it is not about sitting in meditation and imagining empty thoughts—it should be using the formation as a bridge, drawing the formation while simultaneously comprehending the Great Dao.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he dipped his brush in ink again, beginning to draw the Thick Earth Formation on the ground.

This time, as he drew, he extended his spirit sense to communicate with the Earth.

As he made each stroke, Mo Hua faintly felt his spirit sense stir.

It seemed as if the vast, boundless Earth emitted a faint, elusive aura, gradually emerging with each stroke of the formation pattern.

With each additional stroke of the formation pattern, the Earth's aura grew heavier.

Mo Hua's spiritual perception also became clearer.

When Mo Hua finished drawing the formation, he was certain—he had truly perceived something.

It was a vast, profound, and compassionate aura.

But it was still only a perception.

After the perception faded, the Earth remained silent, not a trace of aura left.

Mo Hua looked down at the formation he had drawn.

Part of the formation patterns had begun to merge with the soil, but only superficially, and could absorb only a faint amount of spiritual energy.

Nevertheless, Mo Hua's spirits lifted.

This proved his idea was correct.

Comprehending the Thick Earth Formation was not merely about understanding the formation—it also required experiencing the Great Dao embedded within it.

Only then could the formation and the Dao be united, using "Earth" as the medium to draw this ultimate formation.

He had now sensed some subtleties, but he had drawn too little and comprehended for too short a time—the timing was not yet ripe.

All he needed to do now was keep drawing.

Mo Hua's eyes shone like starlight.

He gathered his focus and, following the method he had just comprehended, continued practicing the Thick Earth Formation.

This time, the results were clearly much better.

With each additional drawing, the formation patterns became more aligned with the land.

The Earth's aura perceived by his spirit sense also gradually grew clearer.

It was as if the boundless Earth possessed its own will—ancient, unyielding, silent, yet vast and nurturing, sustaining all life.

Mo Hua communicated with this ancient will, gradually comprehending it, his spirit sense growing harmonious with it.

His understanding of the Thick Earth Formation deepened further.

Finally, after an unknown length of time, Mo Hua successfully drew his first Thick Earth Formation upon the soil.

The formation patterns became one with the Earth.

Mo Hua activated the formation with spiritual energy.

In the deep night, the Thick Earth Formation emitted a gentle glow.

The spiritual energy within the formation underwent a special transformation.

It seemed to gain its own life, spontaneously evolving into finer, gentler spiritual energy.

This spiritual energy was like a fine spring rain, seeping into the soil, nourishing life, endlessly reproducing.

Mo Hua could even sense a rich vitality rising from the soil.

"The Earth's nature is yielding; it bears all things with great virtue—this is the Thick Earth Formation…"

Mo Hua felt a sudden insight, momentarily lost in thought.

He finally understood why ultimate formations were called "ultimate."

Because the flow of spiritual energy in ultimate formations differed fundamentally from ordinary formations, drawing closer to a deeper layer of the Dao.

Mo Hua now mastered two types of ultimate formations.

One was the Reverse Spirit Formation; the other was the Thick Earth Formation.

The Reverse Spirit Formation reversed and dissolved spiritual energy; the Thick Earth Formation generated and nurtured it.

Reverse Spirit dissolved—it was annihilation and destruction.

Thick Earth nourished—it was endless life.

Both were transformations of spiritual energy, utterly different, yet originating from the same source, evolving from the Dao.

Mo Hua suddenly experienced enlightenment; his mind became crystal clear, and his understanding of the Dao deepened further.

"Exhausting the art of formations, one draws near to the Dao…"

Mr. Zhuang's words were deeply etched into Mo Hua's spirit sea.

It was past midnight; the night sky was thick with stars.

The moonlight, like gauze, draped over the spirit fields and mountain contours.

Mo Hua felt much lighter in heart and let out a long sigh.

After spending so much time, he finally learned the Thick Earth Array.

Mo Hua wanted to rest, but felt his mind buzzing with energy, his spirit full—as if he didn't need rest at all.

Better to reinforce the Thick Earth Array once more.

So Mo Hua drew the Thick Earth Array on the ground again.

But this time, he sensed something was off.

The array's lines had merged with the earth, yet occasionally broke off, and the Qi flow was not smooth.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, and understood.

Though he perceived the earth's aura, his comprehension was still shallow.

Thus, this perception came and went, and the array remained intermittent.

This could only be called barely learned—not mastery.

At least compared to the Sun Clan's Ancestor, he was still far behind.

To learn from the Sun Clan's Ancestor and reconstruct the spirit fields using the Thick Earth Array's pattern, he was even farther away.

Mo Hua frowned.

The root of this problem lay not in the array itself.

Having drawn it so many times, Mo Hua was already proficient in the Thick Earth Array's structure—he could draw it with his eyes closed.

The problem lay in perceiving the earth's aura.

Once his spiritual sense lost contact with this aura, the array lines could not align with the earth.

Mo Hua closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense to commune with that aura.

This time, it was much clearer—but still elusive, intangible, and impossible to perceive any deeper.

No matter how hard he tried, that was as far as he could go.

Mo Hua rested his chin in his hand, furrowed his brow, and his thoughts raced.

He needed a solution…

If he could not clearly perceive this aura, and his spiritual sense could not commune with the earth, he could never draw the Thick Earth Array with perfect accuracy.

He could never construct spirit fields.

In that case, he had not truly learned the Thick Earth Array.

"My spiritual sense is limited—what if I use the Dao Stele?"

Mo Hua suddenly thought of this, his gaze flickered, and his spiritual sense sank into his mind sea.

In his mind sea, the Dao Stele emerged.

As he drew the Thick Earth Array on the Dao Stele, he used the stele to perceive the earth's aura.

Suddenly, Mo Hua felt a faint tremor in the Dao Stele.

As if the heavenly and earthly spiritual will had descended and resonated with the stele.

In an instant, Mo Hua's spirit and mind shook violently.

It felt as if his spiritual sense had perceived an ancient, eternal, vast spiritual will.

This spiritual will was compassionate and boundless, vast as the ocean.

His own spiritual sense was faint and tiny—merely a single grain in that ocean.

Moreover, the aura of this spiritual will felt faintly familiar.

In a flash of insight, Mo Hua understood.

The aura he perceived while drawing the Thick Earth Array came from this spiritual will.

But his own spiritual sense was too weak—he had sensed only the faintest traces.

Now, using the Dao Stele, he perceived Jiang Haoran's spiritual will!

This was the spiritual will of the vast earth!

This spiritual will contained no good or evil, no joy or anger, no human selfishness or petty thoughts.

Like the earth itself, it bore all things, nurtured all things, yet let all things live, die, and transform without interference.

It was less a spiritual will than the earth's own "Dao."

Mo Hua's mind lit up—he picked up his brush and drew the Thick Earth Array on the Dao Stele.

This Thick Earth Array was immensely heavy.

Every stroke seemed infused with the power of the earth.

When the Thick Earth Array was complete, it became a bridge—Mo Hua felt a faint connection between himself and this spiritual will.

His spiritual sense grew increasingly harmonious with the earth's spiritual will.

From this spiritual will, Mo Hua directly experienced the "Dao of Earth."

Though only for an instant, the insight was profound.

Heaven gives birth to all things; earth nurtures all things.

Grass and trees wither and flourish; fruits ripen and fall; life continues endlessly, generation after generation.

Scenes of all things flourishing upon the earth unfolded before him.

In a daze, Mo Hua felt something stir within him.

"Earth follows Heaven; man follows Earth."

He seemed to stand upon the boundless earth, gazing upon the "Dao" of the earth itself.

His spiritual sense aligned with the Dao of Earth.

Mo Hua faintly sensed that one day, he might truly use thought as his brush and "Earth" as his paper.

What heaven covers, what earth reaches, where spiritual sense moves, draw a circle on the ground and form a formation!

……

At the same time, Mr. Zhuang, who had been closing his eyes to rest, suddenly opened them and saw Master Kui, equally stunned.

In that instant, both felt a profound, inexplicable tremor in the depths of existence.

Mr. Zhuang muttered in disbelief:

"Who… has stirred the Dao's essence?"

Then both suddenly turned their gazes toward the southeastern spirit fields.

In those spirit fields, his young disciple had been staying to contemplate the formations.

And right now, within the spirit fields, there was a deep, mysterious, and endlessly recurring vital energy.

Mr. Zhuang's gaze grew even more incredulous…

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