Chapter 534

The next day, the Great Elder opened the door and burned incense.

Above the shrine, smoke curled up.

The three of them, Mo Hua, sat on the cushions just like yesterday, calming their minds and focusing, visualizing the shrine.

Bai Bai Zisheng and Bai Bai Zixi quickly entered a meditative state, continuing to visualize the formation patterns.

Mo Hua was still the same as yesterday, unable to visualize anything.

The shrine was just a shrine.

In the training hall, formation masters gathered, all of them wooden statues and clay figures, completely lifeless.

On the formation disk, smoke swirled, and there was not even half a stroke of a formation pattern.

Mo Hua sighed, lay on the ground, and watched his little senior brother and little senior sister visualize the shrine.

Half an hour later, Bai Bai Zisheng and Bai Bai Zixi opened their eyes, looked at each other, and then turned their heads to look at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly, "How was it?"

Bai Bai Zixi said, "It's the same as yesterday. What I see is still the Wood Spirit Formation diagram. Even after learning it, what appears in the training hall is still only the Wood Spirit Formation; there are no other Five Elements formation diagrams."

Bai Bai Zisheng also nodded and said, "What I see is only the Fire Spirit Formation, but I didn't learn it fully yesterday; I only finished learning it completely today..."

Mo Hua frowned.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation contains five absolute formations: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Now that there is the Wood Spirit Formation and the Fire Spirit Formation, where are the other ones hidden?

Mo Hua looked around the fourth floor of the Formation Collection Pavilion again, and his gaze fell on the cushions on the floor.

Five cushions... Five Elements Spirit Formation...

Bai Bai Zixi also discovered this and asked, "Does it have something to do with the cushions?"

Mo Hua nodded and pondered:

"That stingy old man... the Great Elder, warned us before we came in, saying that we must not damage a single brick or piece of wood in this room, and that no furnishings were to be moved..."

"No furnishings are to be moved..."

"Is he talking about these cushions?"

"These cushions are clearly somewhat suspicious..."

Mo Hua looked at the cushions again, and his eyes gradually brightened, "The reason we learned different formations is because... we sat on different cushions..."

"Sitting on different cushions, what one visualizes is a different Five Elements Spirit Formation..."

"Five cushions, exactly corresponding to five formations!"

Bai Bai Zisheng and Bai Bai Zixi's eyes also brightened, "Let's try it!"

Bai Bai Zixi sat on the leftmost cushion, while Bai Bai Zisheng sat on the rightmost cushion.

The two continued to calm their minds, looking at the shrine, visualizing the formation diagrams.

An hour later, Bai Bai Zisheng was still visualizing.

Bai Bai Zixi had finished visualizing, exited the meditative state, turned her head, and said to Mo Hua:

"It's the Metal Spirit Formation."

Mo Hua understood instantly.

It seems his guess was correct: the Five Elements Spirit Formation corresponds to five cushions; only by sitting on different cushions can one visualize different Five Elements Spirit Formations.

However, Mo Hua was still somewhat surprised.

"Little Senior Sister, have you finished learning the Metal Spirit Formation?"

In just one hour of visualization, she had already learned it?

Bai Bai Zixi nodded and said, "One formation flows into the others; once you understand one, you understand them all."

Mo Hua suddenly realized.

This should be what Master called that supreme heritage of formations—the Immortal Heaven Formation Stream.

With the help of the Immortal Heaven Formation Stream, one can comprehend some extremely profound formations.

And Little Senior Sister's flawless natural talent, combined with the supreme Immortal Heaven Formation Stream, is even more like icing on the cake, complementing each other perfectly.

That is why she learned the Five Elements Spirit Formation so quickly.

Bai Bai Zixi said to Mo Hua again, "You move aside."

Mo Hua was stunned.

Bai Bai Zixi pointed to the cushion he was sitting on.

Mo Hua then realized that one cushion corresponds to one formation, and now only the cushion he was sitting on remained for him to learn.

Mo Hua stood up and moved aside.

Bai Bai Zixi walked in front of Mo Hua and sat down lightly and gracefully.

Little Senior Sister sat quite close, and Mo Hua could even smell a faint, lingering fragrance, a clear and elegant scent that lingered in his nose and circled in his heart.

Mo Hua's little face flushed slightly, and he suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

Bai Bai Zixi looked at Mo Hua with confused beautiful eyes, "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Mo Hua shook his head, found an excuse, and said solemnly:

"I can't learn the formation, so I'm a bit embarrassed..."

Bai Bai Zixi was silent for a moment, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind, slowly reached out, patted Mo Hua on the shoulder, and put on the air of a little senior sister:

"It's okay, I'll help you learn!"

Mo Hua felt a warmth in his heart and smiled brightly, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Bai Bai Zixi looked at Mo Hua's clear, smiling face, and strange emotions surged in the bottom of her heart. She couldn't help but make her expression slightly stern and forced herself to remain calm, saying:

"I am going to learn the formation now; do not disturb me."

"Mm-hmm."

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, then sat cross-legged behind Bai Bai Zixi, sitting upright to "guard" his little senior sister.

Bai Bai Zixi knew that Mo Hua was watching her, and she felt somewhat restless.

In a trance, she felt that Mo Hua's gaze was like the sunshine of winter, shining on her body—clear and warm—making one feel comfortable, yet making someone who had been cold for a long time feel somewhat uneasy.

She closed her eyes, and it took a long time for her to calm her mood. Then she opened her eyes, her gaze like water, and focused her mind to visualize the shrine, comprehending the last one, the Water Spirit Formation, among the Five Elements Spirit Formations.

Mo Hua just sat silently, watching his focused little senior sister, and did not feel bored at all.

The shrine was quiet, and time passed quietly...

Two hours later, the incense burned out once again.

Within the shrine, the training hall also fell silent.

The Great Elder opened the door again, looked at the three of them, and said indifferently:

"The time is up."

The three of them, Mo Hua, left the Formation Collection Pavilion again, returned to the guest room, lay on the table, and gathered together to discuss and summarize:

"I learned the Earth Spirit Formation!"

"I learned the Metal Spirit Formation, and I learned most of the Water Spirit Formation; I remembered the formation diagram, but I still have some half-understood ideas about the formation insights..."

Mo Hua nodded.

Earth Spirit Formation, Metal Spirit Formation, Water Spirit Formation...

Plus the Wood Spirit Formation and Fire Spirit Formation learned earlier.

The Five Elements Spirit Formations were basically all gathered.

"But... is it really that simple?"

Mo Hua frowned.

An absolute formation of the first grade with thirteen patterns, it shouldn't be possible to learn it so easily...

"How about we test the effect?" Bai Bai Zisheng suggested.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded.

Formations emphasize applying what one has learned.

If one draws a formation and it has an actual effect, it means that one has indeed comprehended the true formation.

If the formation is useless or fails, it means they haven't truly learned the Five Elements Spirit Formation yet.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation can strengthen Five Elements attributes and amplify Five Elements spiritual power, thereby increasing the power of Five Elements-type spirit artifacts, spirit machinery, Daoist methods, and spells.

Bai Bai Zixi took out a spirit sword embryo.

This was a blank spirit sword, forged not long ago, with no formation on it; she practiced artifact refining with it in her spare time.

Bai Bai Zixi drew the Metal Spirit Formation on the sword embryo, then used spiritual power to activate the formation, and then performed sword techniques.

A golden sword light condensed from the tip of the sword and slashed toward the ground.

The sword light reached the ground, the formation on the ground was damaged, the bricks and stones shattered, and a sword mark was left, with bright golden spiritual power remaining on the mark.

"How was it?" Mo Hua asked.

Bai Bai Zixi shook her head, "It was enhanced a little, but it was negligible."

Mo Hua was somewhat disappointed.

"Let's try others," Bai Bai Zixi said.

Mo Hua nodded.

Afterward, except for the Metal Spirit Formation, the three of them tried the Wood Spirit Formation, Fire Spirit Formation, Water Spirit Formation, and Earth Spirit Formation.

Those who knew the relevant Five Elements spells used spells to test them.

But there were also some they didn't know.

For example, the Wood Spirit Formation and the Earth Spirit Formation.

Although Bai Bai Zisheng and Bai Bai Zixi had good spiritual roots, their attributes were limited, and they didn't know the relevant spells. In this situation, Mo Hua learned two Five Elements spells on the spot: "Quicksand Technique" and "Wood Poison Technique."

He had small Five Elements spiritual roots and could learn all Five Elements spells.

It was just that because he had learned them on the spot, he wasn't proficient in using them, and their power was small, so they couldn't be used in actual combat, but they were enough to test the formations.

All three of them tried, and in the end, they were all somewhat disappointed.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation seemed to have taken effect, but the effect was optional.

Mo Hua sighed slightly.

Although disappointed, this was all within expectations.

The reason an absolute formation is an absolute formation is that, besides having many formation patterns and high requirements for spiritual sense, it also involves some changes in the essence of spiritual power or special formation heritage.

One must understand certain rules to comprehend an absolute formation.

The Reverse Spirit Formation requires derivation and calculation.

The Thick Earth Formation requires sensing the Dao essence of the earth.

The Spirit Pivot Formation requires understanding the central structure of spiritual power, turning spiritual power into threads, and thereby controlling spiritual power in a detailed and subtle way.

Then, what does the Five Elements Spirit Formation require?

How can one understand the essence of the spiritual power of the Five Elements Spirit Formation and truly master this absolute formation?

All three of them were somewhat confused.

At the hour of the Rat (midnight).

Mo Hua lay on the bed, his spiritual sense immersed in his sea of consciousness.

The Dao Stele appeared in front of Mo Hua.

Mo Hua practiced the Five Elements Spirit Formation on the Dao Stele over and over again.

Mo Hua's spiritual sense was at thirteen patterns.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation was also at the threshold of thirteen patterns.

Furthermore, although the Five Elements Spirit Formation was a Five Elements absolute formation, its root lay in the five elements. Mo Hua had drawn the Five Elements Grand Formation and had a profound understanding of Five Elements formations, so it wasn't difficult to learn.

After practicing more than ten times, Mo Hua was able to draw the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

But he could only draw it.

He had only simply drawn the formation patterns, cleared the formation pivots, and constructed the formation eyes.

He had only drawn the skeleton, not comprehended the charm.

It could not be considered truly mastered.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation must have deeper mysteries.

"Where is this mystery hidden?"

Mo Hua folded his hands, cushioned his head, lay on the empty white ground of his sea of consciousness, and began to think from beginning to end about the people and events of the Five Elements Sect...

The Great Elder who strictly guarded the heritage, the indifferent Sect Master Liao, a bunch of elders who had no presence and couldn't be distinguished from one another, and the disciples whose formation studies were in decline...

Establishing the sect through formations, engaging in large-scale construction...

The second-grade Five Elements Mountain Protection Formation...

Thinking of this, Mo Hua's thoughts became somewhat scattered.

He always felt that the Five Elements Sect had some indescribable incongruity.

But where exactly this incongruity lay, he still couldn't see through...

Mo Hua shook his head and focused his attention on the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation was the most important thing.

According to Master's words, only after learning the Five Elements Spirit Formation and having a foundation to stand on could one go to Foundation Establishment.

The Five Elements Spirit Formation was hidden in the Formation Collection Pavilion.

In the Formation Collection Pavilion, there was a shrine.

In front of the shrine, there were five cushions.

The Great Elder's purpose was to not let himself, his senior brother, his senior sister, or even his Master's lineage learn the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

He did not want the Five Elements Spirit Formation to be passed on to outsiders.

Thinking about it from the other side...

This meant that within this shrine, there was indeed the heritage of the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

If the Great Elder did not stop it, it was truly possible for someone to learn it.

Mo Hua thought about it again from the perspective of the ancestors of the Five Elements Sect:

If he were the ancestor of the Five Elements Sect...

The first priority would not be worrying about the heritage being learned by others, but finding a way to let his own disciples truly comprehend the heritage of the Five Elements Sect.

If he couldn't learn it himself, the sect would be finished sooner or later.

As long as he learned it well, even if others learned only a few scales and claws, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Having said that...

That shrine should be the work of the ancestor of the Five Elements Sect.

The heritage of the Five Elements Sect was sealed within the shrine.

Future disciples of the Five Elements Sect could comprehend the Five Elements Spirit Formation by visualizing the shrine.

If this were the case, then this heritage would include not only the formation patterns of the Five Elements Spirit Formation but also the inner, true mystery of the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

This mystery might be a kind of Dao essence, a kind of spiritual sense method, or perhaps a comprehension of certain formation rules.

The formation diagram of the Five Elements Spirit Formation was just the skeleton.

This mystery was the essence of the heritage.

And this mystery must be within the shrine.

Otherwise, even fewer people in the Five Elements Sect would be able to learn the Five Elements Spirit Formation!

—Although now, no one in the Five Elements Sect could learn it anymore...

Mo Hua pondered again and nodded.

It must be like this!

It wasn't that he was proud.

When it came to the study and comprehension of first-grade absolute formations, it was estimated that few people had more experience than him, and few first-grade formation masters had a stronger spiritual sense than him.

Now even he couldn't learn it.

Let alone the future disciples of the Five Elements Sect.

Therefore, there must be something else hidden in the shrine...

The third day.

The Great Elder was the same as usual, burning incense, paying respects, and then closing the door.

Bai Bai Zisheng and Bai Bai Zixi took turns sitting on the cushions, visualizing the shrine training hall.

This was both to consolidate the formation patterns learned earlier, checking for omissions and filling in gaps, and to see if any details had been missed.

Mo Hua was the same as usual, neither sitting in meditation nor visualizing.

Because he couldn't visualize anything.

The shrine seemed to not want him to see anything.

Mo Hua was doing other things.

He was examining the layout of the entire fourth floor of the Formation Collection Pavilion, the formations, and the specific structure and purpose of the shrine.

While examining, Mo Hua was thinking:

If he were the ancestor of the Five Elements Sect, how would he arrange the formations, how would he construct the shrine, and how would he design the form of the heritage so that his disciples could learn the orthodox heritage of the Five Elements Sect?

And at the same time, how could he prevent disciples from other sects with ill intentions—like himself—from coming to steal the heritage?

First, there were the formations.

Defensive types, sound-insulating types, and types that hinder spiritual sense were absolutely indispensable.

Mo Hua looked around.

All around were some extremely obscure, profound, and powerful formation auras; these should be the means laid down by the ancestor of the Five Elements Sect back then.

Mo Hua had little experience, but he guessed blindly that these formations were at least third-grade or higher.

Third-grade formations were not something Mo Hua could understand.

Mo Hua could only ignore them for now.

Secondly, there was the shrine.

Mo Hua stared at the shrine for a long time, and combined with yesterday's reasoning, he gradually understood some problems:

The Five Elements Sect built this shrine, and what they worshipped might not be their ancestors.

A family's shrine worships ancestors and respects bloodlines.

A sect respects master-disciple heritage, so what they worship should be the heritage.

Therefore, although there were names of ancestors and wooden statues of formation masters in this shrine.

Its core was the training hall.

The implication of the training hall was to preach the Dao.

Its purpose was to let all disciples of the Five Elements Sect look up to the shrine as if they were personally present in the training hall, listening to the ancestors preach the Dao, listening to the true interpretation of formations, and comprehending the mysteries of the Great Dao.

But how to listen?

Mo Hua looked at his little senior brother and little senior sister again.

They were sitting on the cushions, looking at the shrine, visualizing the formation diagrams appearing in the training hall.

The cushions...

Mo Hua went to study the cushions again.

This cushion was just an ordinary cushion.

Although the material was special and Mo Hua couldn't understand it, there were no formations inside, and a scan with spiritual sense showed no abnormalities, which meant that the cushion itself was not the key.

"But when visualizing, one really has to sit on the cushion..."

Mo Hua remembered the Great Elder's words again:

"No furnishings are to be moved..."

Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart.

Not to be moved meant that the cushion could not be changed in position; in other words, the most critical part of the cushion lay in the orientation...

Master had said that all things in the world have a surface and an interior, a void and a reality.

The cushion is the surface appearance, and the orientation is the essence.

The real cushion is the void;

The void orientation is the reality.

It is not that sitting on the cushion allows one to visualize the shrine and comprehend the absolute formation.

It is that sitting in the orientation of the cushion allows one to see the essence of the shrine.

Five Elements orientation...

These five orientations were used to learn the formation patterns of the Five Elements Spirit Formation.

Then, were there other orientations?

Sitting in these orientations and visualizing the shrine, could one see the true mystery of the shrine and comprehend the true Dao essence of the Five Elements Spirit Formation hidden within the formation patterns?

Mo Hua's spirit was lifted, and he began to take out paper and pen, marking out all the positions and layouts on the fourth floor of the Formation Collection Pavilion.

Including the shrine and the five cushions corresponding to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Mo Hua looked at the diagram, his gaze fixed.

The cushions correspond to the five elements.

Each cushion corresponds to a Five Elements Spirit Formation.

There seemed to be a special formation relationship between these Five Elements Spirit Formations and the shrine.

And this relationship contained formation principles, which seemed to be something that could be calculated through spiritual sense derivation...

I had things to do today, which delayed me for most of the day, so the update is late again, sorry.

I will try to write more when I have time; I can't be a salted fish anymore~

(End of chapter)