Chapter 539: “Pastries

Mo Hua only then realized his perspective had been too narrow…

The Wuxing Sect's legacy far exceeded his expectations!

But his doubts didn't lessen—they grew stronger:

What's the difference between the Wuxing Array Flow and the Xiantian Array Flow?

The Xiantian Array Flow governs all array methods, aligning with the Dao of arrays—does it include the Wuxing Array Flow?

Does the Wuxing Array Flow contain array principles the Xiantian Array Flow never touched?

Or are they completely separate lineages?

Mo Hua was confused.

Beyond that, there was one most crucial question:

The Wuxing Sect built altars, established Dao halls, calculated arrays, simplified complexity, unified multiplicity, seeking to deduce the most profound array flow within array transmission.

Did they succeed in calculating it?

If they did, where is this Wuxing Array Flow?

Or rather, what exactly is the Wuxing Array Flow, and in what form does it exist?

Mo Hua froze again.

He only then realized he didn't even know what an "array flow" truly was.

He had never studied or even seen the Xiantian Array Flow—only a vague, half-understood concept.

Mo Hua frowned, his mind full of doubt:

"What exactly is this 'array flow'?"

"A cultivation technique? A Dao method? A single array? A stream of thought? A personal insight? A divine consciousness?"

"Or is it, like the Five Element Spirit Array, merely a manifestation of some array principle?"

Mo Hua searched the Dao hall again, meticulously—still found nothing. The only anomaly was the array patterns at the center.

He hadn't noticed before, but now that he understood the Wuxing Sect's special calculation method, he re-examined and saw many array patterns in the hall were incomplete.

Like arguments without conclusions.

Like calculations without array flows.

Mo Hua sighed, feeling regretful.

It seems they never succeeded…

But then again, that made sense.

If the Wuxing Sect had truly deduced the Wuxing Array Flow and made it their legacy, their array arts would have flourished, propelling them to the top tier of array sects—their descendants could never have declined to this state.

Array flows, it seemed, were still exceedingly difficult to deduce.

Probably the Wuxing Sect tried to achieve everything in one stroke, exhausting immense manpower, material resources, and array masters' divine consciousness—only to fail, leaving their sect wasting time, depleted of foundation, severely wounded, and gradually declining…

Tried to gamble on fate—and lost.

What a pity…

Mo Hua felt a pang of melancholy.

He truly wanted to witness what the true Wuxing Array Flow was like.

But then he thought again—he had already learned the Wuxing Sect's calculation method, which was more than enough.

One shouldn't be too greedy.

Moreover, having learned this calculation method—did it mean…

That one day, when his divine consciousness grew strong enough and his array knowledge deep enough, he could attempt to deduce an array flow himself?

Deduce my own array flow?

Mo Hua's heart leapt, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation.

Mo Hua glanced once more at the Dao hall.

This Dao hall recorded the method of array flow deduction—it was the Wuxing Sect's true transmission hall.

But he could only learn up to this point.

After all, the altar belonged to the Wuxing Sect, not to him—he couldn't keep studying forever.

He needed to find a way to leave.

Mo Hua circled again and found the key to departure lay in the meditation cushion.

He had noticed upon entering—the meditation cushion bore array patterns, but these were variant array patterns.

He hadn't understood them at first.

Now that he grasped the Wuxing Sect's unique calculation method, he understood.

The calculation method was the key to opening the door.

He flipped the cushion and began calculating, synthesizing, reducing the cushion's array into a single pattern, then drawing that pattern at the cushion's center.

The surroundings fused and twisted, upside-down and reversed.

Mo Hua felt dizzy and nauseous; moments later, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself outside the transmission Dao hall.

He was now in the transmission hall.

Around him were wooden carvings, clay statues, carriages, horses, spirit beasts, treasure vases, and floral decorations—no longer the true array-patterned form of the Dao hall.

The area was empty.

The little Wuxing spirit was gone.

"Ran off…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.

It trapped me in the Dao hall—then tried to escape itself?

I've logged this debt myself!

Mo Hua glanced around once more.

The current transmission hall was utterly silent.

Two hours had passed; the incense had burned out, the shrine's altar was sealed, nothing could enter from outside, nothing could exit from within, and no view of the outside could be seen.

Mo Hua walked along the outer edge of the hall until he reached the shrine's gate.

He had entered through this very gate before.

Now the gate was tightly shut, surrounded by dense arrays like layers of chains, completely locking it shut and severing all connection between inside and outside the shrine.

But Mo Hua exhaled in relief.

For him, the problem of arrays was no problem at all.

It was impossible to trap him with arrays.

Mo Hua frowned in thought.

"What's the best way to open it?"

Break the array?

A bit too much effort.

Disassemble the array?

The array on this gate was crafted by ancestors of the Wuxing Sect; likely meant for transmission, so it's only first-rank, but its methods are peculiar and ancient.

Solving each array one by one would take too long.

Time is short—then I'll try another approach…

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Array Collapse!

Since using Great Array Collapse to erase Fengxi, Mo Hua hadn't tried collapsing an array in a long time.

His master had warned him: don't use Collapse lightly, and never let anyone find out.

But now he was inside the Wuxing Sect's shrine, with no one else—even no "ghosts"—so sneaking a collapse shouldn't be noticed.

Of course, it wasn't strictly necessary.

Mainly, he was just itching to do it.

If I keep the commotion small, sneak a collapse on just one gate, it shouldn't matter much…

Besides, Mo Hua wanted to see what the collapsed array would look like when manifested by spiritual sense.

Mo Hua, with practiced ease, calculated the entire array on the shrine gate, then, based on the array's pivot and spiritual traces, set up the Reverse Spirit Array.

Immediately after, he retreated far away and cast Fireball Technique, striking the gate.

The shrine gate, struck by the Fireball Technique, activated its array automatically.

The array on the shrine was manifested and driven by spiritual sense.

Spiritual sense flowed along the array lines, passed through the Reverse Spirit Array, triggering Collapse; then, one by one, the array lines dissolved, tiny fragments of spiritual sense gradually reversed, collapsed, and vanished into nothingness.

The scale of Collapse was small, but after reversal, its power vanished silently, chilling the heart.

The shrine gate looked as if swallowed by a void beast, leaving behind a pitch-black hole.

Spiritual Sense Collapse!

Mo Hua's heart jolted.

This was true "Spirit Extinguished, Dao Vanished" power.

Spiritual energy could be collapsed; spiritual sense could too…

Spiritual energy and spiritual sense were different, yet seemed to share something in common.

The Five Elements Spirit Array required spiritual sense to merge with spiritual energy;

In Array Collapse, both spiritual energy and spiritual sense could serve as collapse mediums…

Mo Hua recalled again the four words spoken by the Wuxing Sect's very old elder:

Spiritual Sense Becomes Dao.

These four words seemed to hold deeper meaning, but with his current cultivation and insight, he still couldn't comprehend them…

"Forget it—I'll think about it slowly later."

The shrine gate had been collapsed open; he could leave now.

He was going to settle the score with that little ghost.

Mo Hua licked his lips.

And he was hungry too…

…

The Array Storage Tower, third floor.

Mr. Zhuang, the Puppet Elder, and the Wuxing Sect's Grand Elder were still drinking tea.

The Wuxing Sect's Grand Elder suddenly felt a pang of unease.

He had a feeling that something extremely precious had just vanished…

"Could the shrine… have a problem…?"

The Grand Elder's heart tightened, then he quietly relaxed.

"Impossible—how could the shrine have a problem?"

"That was built by Laozu; its array lines are dense, its mysteries layered…"

"Besides, there's that thing guarding it inside…"

"It can't possibly have a problem…"

The Grand Elder gradually calmed himself, sneaking a glance at Mr. Zhuang, then at Gui Lao, his expression filled with dissatisfaction.

But he dared not act out, only sneering inwardly:

"If you can't learn it, you just can't learn it!"

"Something as profound as the Absolute Array cannot be mastered without years of accumulation and deep, painstaking study—how could you possibly grasp it by merely delaying a little while?"

"You have no respect at all for the Wuxing Sect's heritage…"

Mr. Zhuang and Gui Lao sat calmly, sipping tea, utterly unmoved by the Grand Elder's attitude.

But this tea was becoming dull.

Gui Lao asked, "How's it going?"

He asked openly, without avoiding the Grand Elder's presence, yet the Grand Elder beside him sat like an idiot, hearing nothing and seeing nothing.

Mr. Zhuang pinched his fingers in calculation, his eyes flickering with faint light. "Good."

"Learned it?"

Mr. Zhuang's gaze sharpened slightly. "What should be learned has been learned; what shouldn't be learned… is nearly learned too…"

Gui Lao froze, curious. "Does the Wuxing Sect truly have other transmissions? What are they?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, helplessly.

"I really don't know…"

Mr. Zhuang's thoughts stirred, and suddenly he frowned.

The true transmission…

Could it be that, back then, our ancestor deliberately took advantage of their vulnerability, leveraged his favor, and struck this agreement with the Wuxing Sect for the sake of this very transmission?

Mr. Zhuang sank into thought…

Gui Lao raised an eyebrow, glancing at Mr. Zhuang. "You didn't notice it back then?"

Mr. Zhuang hesitated. "This… even the best make mistakes—it's only natural."

Gui Lao's gaze held a hint of disdain.

Mr. Zhuang cleared his throat. "Besides, the ancestors of the Wuxing Sect were too cunning. I was young then—I simply couldn't see through them. It's understandable."

"Mo Hua saw through it," Gui Lao said coolly.

Mr. Zhuang hesitated again, then shifted his thoughts and declared firmly:

"Mo Hua is my direct disciple—him seeing it is the same as me seeing it!"

Gui Lao spoke calmly. "Your face is thick as a wall."

Mr. Zhuang remained unmoved, sipping his tea with a look of utter indifference.

Yet as he drank, Gui Lao's words planted a seed of doubt in him.

Mo Hua saw through it…

Was it because this child was naturally gifted, virtuous, and blessed with fortune…

Or was it… fate itself, working in mysterious ways?

Mr. Zhuang sighed faintly, his gaze dimming.

…

Meanwhile, Mo Hua shattered the shrine's door, blinked once, and returned to his own mindsea.

As he expected, the Wuxing brat now occupied his mindsea.

Mo Hua did not alert it; instead, he concealed his form and crept silently behind it to see what it was doing.

The Wuxing brat crouched on the ground, drawing intricate patterns, its face shifting between joy and rage, muttering incessantly.

Sometimes complaining, sometimes cursing, sometimes calculating…

"Why hasn't it woken yet?"

"Can't wait until Zi Shi—I must escape sooner…"

"I've been trapped for centuries—that godforsaken shrine, I'd never set foot in again in my life…"

"Still, I'm not entirely worse off."

"When I get out, I'll feast, I'll slaughter—I'll make up for all these centuries of loss…"

"One day, I'll master the Five Elements…"

The Wuxing brat sneered darkly, then fell silent.

Mo Hua, however, was deeply curious, and spoke up:

"Master the Five Elements—and then what?"

In the empty, silent mindsea, a voice suddenly appeared—the Wuxing brat leapt up in terror, frantically scanning all directions, shouting:

"Who?!"

Mo Hua made no effort to hide—he slowly revealed himself.

The Wuxing brat widened its eyes. "You?! How… how did you get out?!"

It shook its head, muttering to itself:

"No, impossible! The incense burned out, the shrine sealed— you were still trapped in the shrine! How could you possibly escape?!"

Mo Hua remained calm. "I am an Array Master. Don't try to trap an Array Master with arrays."

The Wuxing brat's eyelids twitched violently, snarling:

"Nonsense!"

What does this have to do with Array Masters?

Even if you were an Array Master, locked inside a shrine, trapped in a Dao Field—you'd have zero chance of escape.

It's clearly you, this lowly cultivator, who's the problem!

It had lived so long, yet had never seen such an outrageous little array master.

To think he could solve the dao field's puzzle, break the shrine's door lock, and escape from the shrine with the incense burned out…

Can the ways of array formations really run this deep?

But he's only a first-rank array master—how can he know so much?

Hei Yichen's heart sank. He stopped dwelling on these things and retorted:

"What do you want?"

"What do you think?"

Mo Hua smiled amiably, but a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

Hei Yichen was greatly alarmed and hurriedly said, "Let's talk this over nicely. I won't linger here. As long as you let me go, everything can be discussed…"

Mo Hua neither agreed nor disagreed.

Hei Yichen begged for mercy:

"I was forced into it too. Trapped in the shrine for hundreds of years, guarding the dao field, bored and miserable—that taste is as awful as it gets…"

"I just wanted to get out, to see this vast world, and while I was at it…"

"While at it, 'eat' a few people?" Mo Hua said flatly.

Hei Yichen froze, then his expression gradually cooled. "You heard everything?"

Mo Hua nodded. "Stop putting on an act. You monsters and ghosts—how could you have a human heart? I can see at a glance what you really are."

Hei Yichen dropped his cowardly, pleading look, bared his fangs, and smiled grimly:

"You forced me into this."

"I had planned not to use this move until I left the Wuxing Sect…"

Before the words faded, Hei Yichen's aura surged abruptly.

His body grew larger and larger, his flesh hard as iron, veins bulging and knotted.

At the same time, array formations actually appeared on his body!

And they were unmistakably the Five Elements Spirit Array!

The Five Elements Spirit Array reinforced the five elements, amplified spiritual power, and at the same time vastly amplified the five-elements evil power within Hei Yichen's body.

The five elements transformed and gave rise to life; the evil spirit grew mighty.

Metal for claws, wood for bones, water for blood, fire for breath, earth for flesh.

Borrowing the amplification of the Five Elements Spirit Array, Hei Yichen transformed into a Five Elements Vengeful Ghost—a massive, terrifyingly evil being!

Hei Yichen roared at Mo Hua.

But he didn't know that no matter how ferocious he was, it was only a small scene.

Mo Hua's expression was as usual, not afraid in the slightest.

Not only unafraid, Mo Hua's gaze even held a hint of something intriguing.

He looked at the Five Elements Vengeful Ghost Hei Yichen had become and nodded:

"Something's off about you!"

The Five Elements Vengeful Ghost froze.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said slowly:

"You don't know array formations!"

"But right now, you've manifested array formations…"

"Manifesting array formations requires an extremely profound comprehension of arrays. You're an ignorant ghost—unfamiliar with array patterns, clueless about array principles. On what grounds can you manifest array formations?"

"And not just any array formation, but the Absolute Five Elements Array…"

Mo Hua's gaze darkened, and he declared:

"There's a big problem with you!"

The Five Elements Vengeful Ghost felt a twinge of guilt, cold sweat beading on him.

Mo Hua thought some more, then continued: "Not only that…"

"You were trapped in the shrine for hundreds of years—it's impossible you learned nothing…"

"That inheritance dao field…"

"You must have gone inside!"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have schemed to lure me in and trap me there…"

Mo Hua frowned.

"But after you went in, how did you get out?"

"You don't know array formations, let alone derivation calculations—there's no way you could have gotten out…"

"But you did get out… so you must have taken something, and only then escaped from the inheritance dao field."

Mo Hua suddenly understood.

This Hei Yichen was a thief!

"You…"

Mo Hua's gaze was like a sword. "What did you steal from the dao field?"

The Five Elements Vengeful Ghost turned pale with fright and hurriedly said:

"No, I didn't!"

But his denials were pale and feeble.

Mo Hua's gaze was clear and piercing as he watched it.

The Five Elements Vengeful Ghost felt utterly uncomfortable under Mo Hua's stare.

It felt that this gaze was bright and clear, like a mirror that exposed demons, laying bare its true form with nowhere to hide, leaving not a single secret intact.

The array knowledge is profound, wisdom bordering on the demonic.

What kind of little monster is this?

Why is it so stubborn?

At that moment, Mo Hua's gaze suddenly stalled, as if remembering something, he murmured to himself:

"No, still not right."

"Nothing can allow a little brat who doesn't understand arrays to suddenly comprehend the Wuxing Spirit Array…"

"Unless this thing is…"

The Source of the Wuxing Array!

Mo Hua's heart trembled.

So that's how it is…

He had not only underestimated the vision of the Wuxing Sect's ancestors, but far underestimated their array craftsmanship!

The Wuxing Sect had actually calculated it!

With the entire sect's resources and the collective mental calculation power of all its array masters, they had indeed deduced the Source of the Wuxing Array!

And though the form of this Wuxing Array Source remains unknown, it is very likely that this little Wuxing brat stole it from the cultivation ground and carried it on his person.

And now, this little Wuxing brat and this Wuxing Array Source are both inside my mind…

Mo Hua's eyes, like stars, grew brighter and brighter.

He looked at the Wuxing Spirit Demon and couldn't help but lick his lips again.

Unexpectedly…

He had originally thought this was just an ordinary pastry.

But he hadn't expected this pastry to be filled!

Filled with five-colored mixed meat filling!

(End of Chapter)