Chapter 454: Manifestation

"Use Zhang family's Laozu as practice?"

Mo Hua suddenly grew eager, then asked:

"Master, how exactly does one perform divine intent manifestation for combat?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly, sipped the tea Mo Hua had brewed, waited for its aftertaste to sweeten, then sat upright and spoke slowly:

"As I just said, divine awareness is the root, manifestation is the form, control of objects is the method…"

"By 'divine awareness as the root,' it means that the combat power of divine intent rests fundamentally on the strength of the divine awareness itself."

"A Qi Condensation cultivator's divine awareness, no matter how strong their techniques or how many methods they know, struggles to overcome a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine intent."

"Of course, this assumes divine awareness has been manifested."

"If divine awareness within the mind sea is not manifested, no matter how strong it is, it becomes fish on the chopping block—unable to resist, helpless to escape."

Mr. Zhuang gave another example:

"A Level One Qi Condensation ghostly thought, if it invades a Foundation Establishment cultivator's mind sea, will use the Foundation Establishment's divine awareness as a breeding ground, consuming it daily to grow stronger."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator who cannot manifest divine awareness, and knows no other methods to expel evil, can only let the little ghost devour their divine awareness."

"Even the cultivator himself may not realize his mind sea has been invaded by external evil."

"Unknowingly, he becomes nourishment for the ghost."

"His divine awareness is slowly, bit by bit, devoured by the ghost."

"Over time, his divine awareness is depleted, his spirit weakens, delusions arise, desires cling to him, his nature transforms drastically—he becomes neither human nor ghost, until finally he either dies from qi deviation or his divine awareness withers to nothing."

"And this ghost, after consuming his divine awareness, grows stronger and seeks out another host to parasitize…"

Mo Hua felt a chill run through him.

If not for his own array forcing back the blue-faced little ghost in his mind sea,

and if not for the Dao Stele suppressing and swallowing it,

the consequences would have been unthinkable.

If he had been parasitized by the little ghost, unknowingly becoming neither human nor ghost, he would not only have ruined himself but also endangered his parents and friends around him.

Mo Hua felt a pang of dread.

Divine intent is indeed terrifyingly dangerous—and impossible to guard against.

One must study divine intent combat techniques thoroughly; from now on, anyone who dares enter his mind sea without permission shall be slaughtered outright!

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly and hurriedly asked:

"Master, how does one manifest divine awareness?"

Mr. Zhuang said: "You can manifest yourself within your mind sea, correct?"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded.

It was something he had always known how to do.

Since birth, Mo Hua's mind sea had contained a manifested form of his own divine awareness.

He had previously assumed all cultivators could do this.

Only after encountering the blue-faced little ghost did he realize he was an exception.

Not all cultivators can manifest themselves within their mind sea.

He wasn't sure whether this was due to his innate divine awareness talent, or because the Dao Stele existed within his mind sea.

But since this was innate divine awareness manifestation,

Mo Hua didn't understand how this manifestation came to be.

"He who knows himself is enlightened. A cultivator who contemplates himself thoroughly enough can manifest his own form."

Mr. Zhuang said, then glanced at Mo Hua and pondered:

"Your ability to manifest divine awareness likely stems from your naturally strong divine awareness, your pure childlike heart, and your clear, unobstructed mind—thus, your self-form naturally manifested within your mind sea."

Of course, other factors cannot be ruled out…

Mr. Zhuang's gaze sharpened slightly, but he did not press further, continuing instead:

"Manifesting oneself is merely the foundation of divine intent combat."

"If you can manifest yourself, then your techniques, martial arts, and spiritual artifacts can naturally be manifested as well."

"Being able to manifest techniques or martial arts gives you means of combat…"

Mo Hua found this somewhat mystical and asked:

"Master, is this manifestation a bit like 'fantasy' or 'delusion'—like daydreaming, where whatever you imagine becomes real?"

If you imagine you know a certain technique, then you have the technique;

If you imagine you know a certain martial art, then you know the martial art;

If you imagine you possess a certain spiritual artifact, then you have the artifact…

If you imagine a dragon in your mind sea, would a dragon appear?

Mr. Zhuang laughed, shaking his head:

"It's not that whatever you imagine becomes real. If it were, divine awareness manifestation would be far too simple."

"Divine awareness manifestation is rooted in 'reality,' manifesting illusory thoughts."

"Without an objective, real object, illusory thoughts cannot be manifested."

"If you wish to manifest a technique, you must already know that technique."

"If you wish to manifest a spiritual artifact, you must already possess that artifact…"

"And even that is not enough—you merely knowing or possessing it does not guarantee manifestation."

"You must be thoroughly proficient in the technique, intimately familiar with the object, and deeply comprehend its essence to manifest it within your mind sea."

"Things you have never seen, never understood, never realized, or are unfamiliar with cannot be manifested."

"Even if manifested, it is merely a delusional phantom, fragile and easily shattered."

"The more real the manifestation of spiritual insight, the stronger it becomes..."

Mo Hua suddenly understood, lost in thought.

Mr. Zhuang paused, then explained further:

"If you use your spiritual insight to manifest a 'fire' nearly indistinguishable from reality, that 'fire' can truly burn another's spiritual insight..."

"If you manifest blades and swords, those blades and swords can also injure the spiritual insight..."

Mo Hua suddenly grasped it fully.

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua again, his tone becoming slightly solemn:

"What you must learn is first to manifest spiritual energy, then to manifest spells, and ultimately... to manifest arrays!"

Mo Hua's heart trembled slightly.

Manifesting arrays!

But after pondering for a moment, he asked doubtfully:

"Master, I think... I've already been able to draw arrays within my mind's sea. Is that considered manifestation?"

Earlier, he had drawn an array during the little ghost's transformation, which had frightened off that green-faced spirit.

"That's only skin-deep," said Mr. Zhuang.

Mo Hua was startled, not understanding.

Mr. Zhuang's gaze grew deep:

"This kind of spiritual insight manifestation is crude; what you manifest is merely a phantom outline of array patterns formed from spiritual insight—not real enough, and far too weak..."

"There's another problem: it's too slow."

"Slow?" Mo Hua blinked in surprise.

Mr. Zhuang nodded. "In spiritual insight clashes, life and death hang by a thread—there isn't always time for you to painstakingly draw an array stroke by stroke..."

"Some malevolent illusions are violent and cruel—they'll swallow you whole before you finish drawing the array."

Mo Hua's heart turned icy; he frowned and asked:

"If you can't draw an array stroke by stroke, then how do you draw it?"

Mr. Zhuang's gaze shifted, his expression stern:

"Manifest spiritual energy, control it with spiritual insight, and complete the array in a single thought."

"Thus, no brush or ink is needed—once your spiritual insight moves, in an instant, you can form an array within your mind's sea..."

Mo Hua opened his mouth wide, then snapped back to awareness, frowning as he pondered something.

Mr. Zhuang raised an eyebrow gently and asked:

"What are you thinking about?"

Mo Hua weighed his words before speaking:

"Master, have you already figured all this out?"

"Figured out what?"

Mo Hua frowned, counting on his fingers:

"To learn array manifestation, you must master the Great Expansion Scripture, learn spiritual insight calculation, and master the Spirit Pivot Array..."

"To master the Great Expansion Scripture, your spiritual insight must be sharp enough to form the foundation for spiritual control of energy;"

"To master calculation, you must deduce the energy trajectories of arrays, so you can construct arrays by controlling energy;"

"And to master the Spirit Pivot Array, you must understand the structure of energy, comprehend its essence, thereby manifesting energy—and it also complements the Great Expansion Scripture, further enhancing spiritual insight's control over energy..."

The core of the Spirit Pivot Array is control.

But control is merely an appearance; only by understanding the structure of energy and dividing it into fine threads can true control be achieved.

Understanding the structure of energy makes it easier to manifest energy.

The Spirit Pivot Array manifests energy, the Great Expansion Scripture controls energy, and calculation constructs arrays.

All three are indispensable.

If I'm missing even one, I won't be able to draw arrays with spiritual insight in my mind's sea as Master said.

Mr. Zhuang's expression turned surprised.

He knew Mo Hua was intelligent, but hadn't expected his mind to be this sharp.

Mr. Zhuang felt a quiet satisfaction and smiled slightly:

"It's not that I planned it all out—your fortune simply favored you: you chose the Great Expansion Scripture as your cultivation method, learned calculation, and happened upon the Spirit Pivot Array—all conditions aligned, so I simply guided you forward..."

Mo Hua nodded.

His gaze toward Mr. Zhuang grew even more reverent.

Teaching according to talent—and even teaching according to fortune.

Mr. Zhuang's cultivation knowledge and array expertise were immeasurably profound.

As Mo Hua gazed at him with bright, adoring eyes, Mr. Zhuang's spirits lifted—but outwardly, he still maintained the detached, lofty demeanor of a master.

From his sleeve, he withdrew a small booklet and handed it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took it and saw six characters on the title page:

"Essentials of Spiritual Insight Manifestation"

The booklet was small, and Mu Baobao-thin.

Mo Hua frowned in confusion. "Master, is that all?"

Spiritual insight manifestation should be extremely difficult.

He had expected such essentials to be voluminous, if not a thick tome.

"This is enough," Mr. Zhuang said. "Like meditation, spiritual awareness manifestation is merely a method, a form, not the essence."

"What matters is not the manifestation itself, but what you can manifest, how much insight you gain, and how much 'truth' you achieve..."

"Spiritual awareness manifestation is a tool, not the Dao."

"Manifestation is like a sword or dagger, but the power of this sword or dagger lies not in the weapon itself, but in the one who wields it."

"If you have ten units of strength, the power of this sword or dagger will be ten..."

"If you have a hundred units of strength, the power of this sword or dagger will be a hundred!"

"How well you master manifestation depends entirely on your own visualization, practice, and insight."

"The more you visualize, the deeper your insight, the more real your manifestation becomes—the greater your spiritual awareness's killing power will be!"

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua, his tone solemn, his face filled with expectation.

Mo Hua listened, nodding repeatedly, his voice crisp:

"Disciple remembers. Thank you, Master, for your teachings!"

Mo Hua carefully placed the thin book, *Essentials of Spiritual Awareness Manifestation*, into his storage pouch.

Spiritual awareness killing power is of utmost importance.

Mo Hua planned to study it thoroughly soon.

He had already made his plans.

Once he mastered manifestation and made slight progress in spiritual awareness killing power, he could try using Zhang Quan's Laozu as his first target~

(End of Chapter)