Chapter 542: Heritage

The Grand Elder had already risen hastily, looking solemn, and hurried toward the fourth floor.

Mr. Zhuang's gaze darkened slightly; within his pupils, calculation lines emerged, profound and unfathomable, while his fingers formed a Dao seal and he gave a sweep of his sleeve, as if erasing something into thin air…

The thread of heavenly secrets was severed, cause and effect wiped clean.

The various sect masters and elders of the Wuxing Sect suddenly froze.

The Grand Elder also stopped his steps abruptly, staring blankly in a daze; after a moment, bewildered and uncomprehending, he muttered:

"What's going on?"

"I just now seem to have… forgotten something?"

"What did I forget…"

The Grand Elder's mind was a blank; he frowned and racked his brains, yet could not figure it out no matter how he tried.

It was as though something had happened just now that had shocked him greatly.

But then again… was it all just an illusion?

Like a nap in the afternoon, waking suddenly at midnight—everything, everything, was merely the lingering dream of waking.

Rain passes and leaves no trace; hazy and blurred, without a single mark.

The Grand Elder glanced at Mr. Zhuang with suspicion.

Mr. Zhuang was still drinking tea, his posture leisurely, composed and elegant, every inch an immortal sage, as if nothing had happened at all.

Sensing the Grand Elder's gaze, Mr. Zhuang raised his eyes and asked back as if nothing were the matter:

"What is it?"

The Grand Elder was taken aback and began to doubt himself.

Had the surnamed Zhuang played some trick?

But looking at him, it didn't seem like it…

What trick could he have played?

The Grand Elder looked around again—every sight, furnishing, table and chairs, teacups, screens, the array tower—were exactly as in his memory, without the slightest change.

There was not a single trace of any external influence.

The Grand Elder shook his head slightly.

"Must be an illusion…"

These past few days, plotting with a tiger for its skin, guarding against this surnamed Zhuang, watching out for that wood-like old man, and still worrying that the Wuxing Sect's inheritance might be stolen and learned by others.

Too much worry, so an illusion arose.

The inheritance being learned by others…

At this thought, the Grand Elder's heart gave a tremor.

He wanted to go look before the shrine, but the moment he took a step, he forcibly stopped himself.

The Grand Elder turned his head, glanced at Mr. Zhuang, and said rather unhappily: "Mr. Zhuang, it's already past the deadline by more than a shichen; that should be about enough, shouldn't it…"

Mr. Zhuang feigned difficulty.

The Grand Elder cast a wary glance at Elder Kui, but only dared one glance before withdrawing his gaze, fixing it again on Mr. Zhuang, and insisted:

"More than a shichen—my Wuxing Sect has already made concessions. I must ask you, sir, to know where to stop…"

Mr. Zhuang deliberated briefly and sighed:

"So be it. Whether they learn it or not, it is all those children's own fate; it cannot be forced."

The Grand Elder cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Zhuang is truly understanding of the greater principle…" Then he extended his hand in a "please" gesture:

"Please, Mr. Zhuang, come with me to take a look."

Mr. Zhuang nodded. "Very well."

The Grand Elder led the way in front, escorting Mr. Zhuang to the fourth floor of the Array Pavilion; with some unease he opened the great door and looked inside.

The cushion had not moved, and at first glance the shrine showed no abnormality either.

The incense in the incense burner had long since burned out, leaving only cold ash.

The three little cultivators, Mo Hua, were all inside.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were still all right, but Mo Hua was clutching his little head, his brows knit, his expression somewhat pained, as if…

His divine sense had been overtaxed?

"He didn't learn it?"

The Grand Elder felt a flicker of anticipation.

Mo Hua looked up, saw Mr. Zhuang, and hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Mr. Zhuang immediately sighed:

"Enough. If he didn't learn it, then he didn't learn it…"

Mo Hua was taken aback, then his expression turned "crestfallen," his head drooping. "Master, I… I've disappointed you…"

Mr. Zhuang's look was one of regret; he said nothing.

Seeing Mr. Zhuang's expression, the Grand Elder was startled, then let out a long breath of relief.

After that he suddenly felt elated, his old face blooming like a chrysanthemum, with a smile he could not suppress.

The Grand Elder chuckled twice and offered pretended consolation:

"The Five-Element Spirit Array is the founding array of my Wuxing Sect—one grade, thirteen patterns, a work of creation itself. To comprehend it is harder than ascending to heaven…"

"Although your esteemed disciples are exceptionally gifted and highly perceptive, they are still young after all, and what they study is the profound array method of my Wuxing Sect. It is only normal that they cannot comprehend it; you need not take it too much to heart."

"The Dao is long; the road ahead still stretches far…"

"Suffering some setbacks will only temper the heart and nature all the more."

The Grand Elder stroked his beard.

Mo Hua imitated Mr. Zhuang, sighed, and bowed his hands. "The Elder's words are most correct."

The Elder raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mo Hua.

This prodigy, once arrogant, who had crushed the array masters of the Wuxing Sect—not to mention the entire Dali Shan Zhou realm—now faced a blow before their ancestral legacy, his face filled with disappointment.

In the Elder's heart, it felt as sweet as honey.

He had rarely felt such satisfaction in his entire life.

The Elder even said:

"If Mr. Zhuang does not mind, you may stay longer in our Wuxing Sect, allowing us to better fulfill our duty as hosts…"

Mr. Zhuang seemed listless. "We'll see."

He waved his sleeve and departed.

Mo Hua and the other two bowed slightly, saluted the Elder, and followed Mr. Zhuang away.

Watching their retreating figures, the Elder's smile faded. He snorted, muttering coldly:

"Tasted bitterness, didn't you?"

"Can anyone truly learn our Wuxing Sect's legacy?"

…

On the way back, no Wuxing Sect members were around.

Mo Hua shed his gloom and broke into a broad grin.

Laughing, he frowned again, rubbing the back of his head. "Strange…"

"Why does my head hurt?"

Bai Zi Xi froze, cheeks slightly flushed. "I hit you…"

"Ah…"

Mo Hua was stunned.

Bai Zi Xi, apologetic, whispered: "You woke up, but you seemed off, so I knocked you out…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and understood.

Earlier, trapped in the Divine Shrine's realm, the Five Elemental Spirits had fled into his mind-sea, taken over, and tried to escape.

Fortunately, his junior sister was clever and knocked him out…

Mo Hua nodded. "It's fine."

Yet he couldn't help rubbing his head, muttering inwardly:

"Junior sister hits hard…"

"Does she practice body refinement along with her spellcraft…?"

Seeing Mo Hua keep rubbing the back of his head, Bai Zi Xi realized she might have hit too hard. She felt a pang of concern. "Still painful?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "Not so much anymore…"

Bai Zi Xi thought for a moment, softly: "Let me rub it for you."

Mo Hua's face flushed slightly. "No need…"

But before he finished speaking, he felt his junior sister's fingers gently rubbing his forehead—cool, soft, and soothing—instantly easing the pain.

Mo Hua's heart trembled, and his face grew even redder.

Moments later, he felt another hand on his head. He turned and saw Bai Zisheng also rubbing.

Mo Hua blinked. "What are you doing?"

Bai Zisheng said: "I'm helping you too."

Mo Hua refused: "No need!"

Bai Zisheng was clumsy and rough—he messed up Mo Hua's hair completely.

Bai Zisheng frowned. "This is elder brotherly care!"

Bai Zisheng was brash and careless, ruffling his hair without any sense of propriety.

"Don't know your luck! You're complaining?"

"..."

The two bickered noisily.

Mr. Zhuang walked behind them, watching his three disciples with gentle eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

A breeze blew. Mr. Zhuang lifted his head slightly, gazing at the Wuxing Sect's protective mountain array. His smile slowly faded.

Moments later, his gaze softened again.

But this gentleness now held both regret and sorrow.

A moment later, his gaze softened once again.

After returning to their guest quarters and resting briefly, Mr. Zhuang asked Mo Hua:

"Have you learned the Five Elemental Array?"

After the group returned to the guest room and rested briefly, Mr. Zhuang asked Mo Hua:

With the Elder gone, Mo Hua no longer hid it. He nodded with a smile.

"Not just that—I saw other things inside the Divine Shrine…"

Mo Hua recounted everything he had seen and heard in the Divine Shrine, in full detail, to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang was also surprised:

Mo Hua told Mr. Zhuang everything he had seen and heard in the shrine, leaving out no detail.

Mr. Zhuang was also quite surprised:

"Source Pattern?"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded, then asked:

"Master, this source pattern — is it the Wuxing Array Stream? Do all array streams have a 'source pattern'?"

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua, gave a slight sigh, and said:

"Strictly speaking, I shouldn't be telling you about array streams right now…"

"But since you've already seen one, and learned the method of derivation, I'll briefly explain…"

Mo Hua sat up straight and listened attentively.

Mr. Zhuang said, "What is called an array stream — its full name is 'Array Dao Source Stream.' What it seeks is the commonality and essence of a certain category of array formations."

"The forms of array streams are many and varied."

"Some are a set of general-purpose array templates — these templates are like a framework. Once you've learned them, drawing similar array formations will yield twice the result with half the effort;"

"Some are a kind of Dao resonance. Once you grasp this resonance, you can draw inferences about all similar array formations;"

"Others use physical objects as their vessels: swords, paintings, sculptures, even mountains, rivers, and streams…"

"And of course, there are also ones like what you mentioned — a single array pattern."

"Reducing the complex to the simple, the many to the one, condensing myriad array formations into a single 'source pattern.'"

"This kind of array stream inheritance is harder and more complex, and the divine sense consumed in derivation is also the greatest."

Speaking to this point, Mr. Zhuang shook his head, his expression filled with feeling:

"I never expected that the ancestors of the Wuxing Sect would have such boldness — pouring the strength of an entire sect into deriving a 'source pattern,' founding an array stream, hoping to make the Wuxing Sect's array formations flourish and become a giant of the Array Dao…"

Mo Hua couldn't help but ask:

"Master, what's the difference between the Wuxing Array Stream and the Xiantian Array Stream?"

"Does our sect's Xiantian Array Stream include the Wuxing Array Stream?"

Mr. Zhuang pondered for a moment, then slowly began to explain:

"Array stream means the source stream of array formations."

"But the so-called 'source stream' is not necessarily the true 'source stream.'"

Mo Hua was startled, frowned slightly, then suddenly his eyes lit up:

"The source stream is comprehended by people. Even if it approaches the Great Dao, it may not truly be the Great Dao?"

Mr. Zhuang's gaze was gratified, and he nodded:

"Yes. So the so-called Array Dao Source Stream is not necessarily the true source stream — it should be the array master's comprehension and summary of the array stream's 'source stream.'"

"The Xiantian Array Stream is like this, and the Wuxing Array Stream follows the same principle."

"In other words, the array stream formed by the Wuxing Sect's derivation of Wuxing array formations is called the 'Wuxing Array Stream.'"

"Other sects that comprehend the essence of Wuxing array formations can also call theirs the 'Wuxing Array Stream.'"

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua again, and said meaningfully:

"One day, if you yourself comprehend the essence of Wuxing and create your own array stream, you can likewise call it the 'Wuxing Array Stream.'"

Mo Hua suddenly understood:

"So the Xiantian Array Stream encompasses the source streams of all array formations under heaven. Even if these source streams include Wuxing array formations, they may differ from the Wuxing Sect's Wuxing Array Stream — or even be entirely different?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded:

"Array streams each have their strengths and weaknesses, but they also have their drawbacks."

"The Xiantian Array Stream contains extremely profound comprehension of array formations — profound enough to be taken as a canon by ordinary array masters."

"But no matter how profound, it is still only the words of one school."

"Blind faith is worse than disbelief."

"That's why I told you not to rush into learning array streams. Take it step by step — comprehend and study the array formations of the world yourself, apply what you learn, and integrate it all. In the future, form your own array stream, and through it, seek the true Great Dao."

Mr. Zhuang said meaningfully:

"Borrow the method to attain the Dao."

"All dharmas are but rafts."

"The array stream is the 'method,' the 'raft' — not the 'Dao.'"

Mo Hua felt he understood some of it, but not completely. He carefully committed Mr. Zhuang's words to memory, intending to verify them when he had future insights, and to slowly comprehend them.

But after hearing Mr. Zhuang's explanation, Mo Hua had a general understanding of "array streams."

An array stream is a summary and comprehension of the source stream of array formations.

All array streams under heaven — including the Xiantian Array Stream and the Wuxing Array Stream — touch upon the essence of array formations. On one hand they are extremely profound and subtle; on the other, each may have its own strengths, and it is hard to tell truth from falsehood.

One must learn and apply them oneself.

Unite knowledge and action, apply what one learns, discern each through practice, and make it one's own.

Blindly worshipping an "array stream" will make one a "puppet" of that array stream — mistaking the "raft" for the "Dao," becoming closed-minded, with no hope of attaining the Dao.

Mo Hua's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but nod.

Having figured some things out, Mo Hua suddenly frowned and asked about another matter:

"Master, can a 'source pattern' have its own will?"

Mr. Zhuang's gaze sharpened, his tone slightly heavy. "Its own will?"

"Mm." Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said, "It derives on its own, spreads on its own, can parasitize, can dominate. It can't speak, but the array pattern is like an eye — it has emotions like a person…"

Mr. Zhuang's expression turned solemn. "You're talking about that 'Wuxing Source Pattern'?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Mr. Zhuang's face was dark as still water. His fingers tapped the table as his thoughts churned. After a long while, he finally spoke:

"Ordinary source patterns don't have one…"

"Inheritance is inheritance—it is the practitioner's cognition and insight, a method, devoid of will."

"The one who controls the inheritance possesses the will."

"The Source Pattern is abnormal..."

Mr. Zhuang frowned, pondering:

"Back then, did the Wuxing Sect make some mistake in their calculations, causing the Source Pattern to mutate?"

"Or did they suffer a calamity, with malevolent forces invading?"

"Or perhaps someone schemed against them, nurturing something..."

"Could the Wuxing Sect's decline have been due to this Source Pattern..."

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.

He thought the same.

He was no doubt his master's disciple—he had thought exactly as his master did!

Mr. Zhuang's gaze darkened and asked Mo Hua: "Where is that Source Pattern?"

"I hid it in my painting."

"A painting?"

Mo Hua pulled out the contemplation map.

Previously, this contemplation map had been the Zhang family's zombie ancestral portrait; now, without the zombie, it bore the Source Pattern, inscribed with the array inheritance, becoming the "Wuxing Array Flow Map."

Mr. Zhuang took out several copper coins, arranged them on the table into an array formation Mo Hua could not comprehend, then placed the map within the formation and slowly unrolled it.

On the map was a five-colored array pattern.

The pattern was sealed, its luster restrained, yet its aura ancient and solemn.

"Master, be careful—it will open its eyes."

Mo Hua whispered a warning.

Open its eyes?

Mr. Zhuang paused slightly, glanced at the Wuxing Array Flow Map, and found the pattern utterly motionless—no sign of "opening its eyes," perfectly still, even...

... honest?

Mr. Zhuang frowned: "What's wrong with it?"

"Probably moved from its shrine and damaged its primordial energy, so it dares not show itself."

How it damaged its primordial energy involved the Dao Stele—Mo Hua did not elaborate.

Mr. Zhuang roughly understood and did not press further, but he silently glanced at Mo Hua, thinking: though this young disciple appeared harmless, when it came to bullying "people," he never held back...

That reassured him.

Mr. Zhuang studied the "Wuxing Array Flow Map" again, his thoughts shifting, performing a slight calculation—each step deeper filled him with astonishment, and he could hardly believe it:

"This is truly... the Wuxing Sect's ancestral legacy..."

"Ancestral legacy?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.

Mr. Zhuang's expression was complex as he looked at Mo Hua and sighed:

"Thousands of years of accumulated foundation—what else could it be but 'ancestral legacy'?"

Mo Hua opened his mouth, incredulous.

Thousands of years of accumulated foundation...

He pointed at the Wuxing Source Pattern, struggling to comprehend:

"This... thing?"

The Wuxing Source Pattern trembled in outrage but ultimately dared not "open its eyes."

Mr. Zhuang nodded. "By unifying the many into one, calculating the Source Pattern—the Wuxing Sect compiled all their array techniques into this single Source Pattern..."

"In other words, this Source Pattern contains every array inheritance the Wuxing Sect developed over thousands of years..."

Mo Hua was stunned.

He had known this Source Pattern was an evolution of the Array Flow and should be extraordinary—but he never imagined it could be extraordinary to this degree!

"But..." Mo Hua hesitated, "how do you use this 'Source Pattern'?"

He knew nothing about Array Flow.

He also did not understand what purpose this Source Pattern served.

It couldn't be used as a "pathogen" to infect others' mind seas...

Mr. Zhuang said: "There are two scenarios..."

"First, if you cannot suppress the Source Pattern's will, do not look at it, do not learn from it—otherwise, once the Source Pattern parasitizes you, your mind sea will be usurped, with catastrophic consequences..."

"Second..."

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua. "If you have a way to suppress this 'Source Pattern,' you may attempt reverse calculation, dismantling the Source Pattern..."

"Reverse calculation... dismantling the Source Pattern?"

Mo Hua froze.

Mr. Zhuang nodded and continued:

"You have learned the Wuxing Sect's calculation methods—you can synthesize array patterns, simplifying complexity. Conversely, you can also expand simplicity into complexity, reconstructing the synthesized array patterns..."

Mr. Zhuang sighed:

"Within this Source Pattern lies every Wuxing Sect's Five Elements array formation inheritance—once you dismantle it, you will obtain their array diagrams..."

The Wuxing Sect... all array inheritances...

Mo Hua nodded, then suddenly remembered something, his heart jolted—"Then that means..."

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly and nodded.

"Correct, this includes... the inheritance of the Wuxing Spirit Array!"

"And not just any inheritance..."

Mr. Zhuang's tone could not hide his awe:

"It is very likely an entire, priceless, nearly lost ancient set of supreme arrays — spanning from first grade to second grade, even to third grade, and beyond!"

"This is the true foundation of the Wuxing Sect over thousands of years!"

(End of Chapter)