Chapter 769: The Four Symbols Array

Elder Xun Ziyou sighed.

If this kept up, he suddenly didn't know whether he should worry about Mo Hua or about Ten Thousand Demons Valley…

The moment this thought surfaced, Elder Xun Ziyou was startled, and immediately shook his head.

Mo Hua was, after all, just a child.

Ten Thousand Demons Valley was a true den of demons, perilous beyond measure.

Who knew how many dangers awaited Mo Hua inside…

Elder Xun Ziyou, unable to grasp the valley's condition, could only repeatedly warn Mo Hua:

"The valley is perilous—be cautious in all things, keep a low profile, avoid taking risks, and if you sense danger, tell me immediately…"

Drawing power from beasts, integrating it into one's body, using the body as a array—it nearly walked the edge between orthodox and heretical arrays; one misstep, and one would fall irreversibly into the path of heretical arrays.

The powerful and versatile Four Symbols array patterns could only be "demon patterns."

This was the innate repulsion orthodox spirit cultivators felt toward demonic things.

Because the integrated array pivot was exceedingly complex, even if others obtained these pivot patterns, they'd be useless.

Something felt odd…

The residual demonic energy surged chaotically within him.

Under these conditions, where was the opportunity to forge a spirit artifact?

Mo Hua approached the demon cultivator through the array pivot channel, observed him closely, then, while he was unguarded, secretly used his spiritual sense to paint the Four Symbols array pivot on the demon cultivator's back.

His artifact-forging skill was poor, but his skill at dismantling spirit artifacts was decent.

As he lay there, Mo Hua's peripheral vision caught the black demon banner he had disassembled, scattered on the ground; suddenly, his heart jolted, and he sat up immediately.

Mo Hua frowned, thinking for a moment, and decided it wasn't a trivial detail.

The demon cultivator was weak, roughly mid-Foundation Establishment, tall and thin, with vertical pupils and a long tongue, appearing deeply sinister.

The demon cultivator cried out in terror.

It was simply impractical to learn.

He understood now—what the underlying logic of the Four Symbols array truly was…

But that was only true for others.

After being "dismantled," the demon banner lay scattered on the ground.

There were divine beasts from ancient legends;

There were peculiar, exotic beasts;

With no other option, Mo Hua rubbed his hands together and summoned a small meteor spell, instantly blasting the demon cultivator's head into nothingness.

Mo Hua scratched his head.

Unlike true heretical arrays, which required killing people to extract blood as ink, stripping skin and dismantling bones as mediums, or even borrowing the power of malevolent spirits.

Moreover, he wasn't a body cultivator—his blood qi was weak; if ferocious demonic energy entered his body, he'd likely explode on the spot.

Finally, the array pivot was completed.

If too many array masters learned the Four Symbols array, the Mo Sect could easily corrupt them, instantly "mass-producing" a host of heretical array masters…

Then, based on the Four Symbols demon patterns and the integrated array pivot within the banner, deduce the corresponding demon-form array pivots.

What he needed to do was the reverse: from the integrated pivot, deconstruct the distinct Four Symbols demon-form array pivots.

As long as he killed one demon cultivator of each type and copied the Four Symbols demon pattern from its body.

This kind of thing had to be approached with restraint.

"This is somewhat like a spirit pivot array…"

Because the pivot he had deciphered was the "wolf-form" Four Symbols array pivot, he could only test it on wolf-type demon cultivators.

Mo Hua shook his head.

Mo Hua frowned slightly.

The array pivot was hidden within the demon banner.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

With his array skill, he could completely abandon the demon banner and directly control other demon cultivators through the Four Symbols array pivot.

Then, nearly all demon cultivators within Ten Thousand Demons Valley who bore the Four Symbols demon patterns—once he painted the array upon them—would lose all control over their own lives and deaths…

Once a cultivator painted the Four Symbols demon pattern on their body, integrated beast power into themselves, the demonic energy would corrupt their flesh, assimilate their blood qi, erode their spiritual sense, gradually extinguishing their humanity until they became true "beasts."

Thus, through the integrated pivot, combined with specific demon patterns, and aided by celestial mechanism calculations, he could likely decipher the corresponding demon-form pivots.

Wasn't that just raising "demon cultivators"…

To master the Four Symbols array, one must learn not only the array patterns and pivot structures.

On the green wolf demon cultivator's arm, blood suddenly surged forth, then a crimson-green demonic energy erupted violently from his arm, surging up his shoulder and straight to his skull.

He had blasted the head instead of the chest because he wanted to preserve a relatively intact corpse, so he could copy the Four Symbols demon pattern from the demon cultivator's body and study why his attempt had failed.

Mo Hua's mind raced.

The line between orthodox and heretical was too hard to control.

But demon cultivators had thick skin and were somewhat drowsy, utterly unaware that a thin thread of blood had silently crept along his arm, coalescing into a pivot, linking all the demon patterns together, slowly corroding and fully taking control…

Through the Four Symbols array pivot, one could indeed bypass the demon banner and "usurp authority," controlling the Four Symbols demon patterns on the demon cultivator's body.

At the same time, he recalled Elder Xun's scattered teachings on the Four Symbols array, and his own prior conjectures, using them as reference to deepen his understanding…

Eagle pattern, wolf pattern, bear pattern… each demon pattern should have a corresponding pivot.

"The entire Four Symbols demon array system is extremely tight."

"But according to previous speculation, it's almost certainly that one—the 'Mr. Tu' who worships the Great Wasteland Heretical God and has countless ties to the Wild Mountains."

Problems with arrays could only be tested and verified through direct experimentation, allowing one to identify gaps and uncover further issues.

"If this is truly the case..."

Draw the Four Symbols Demon Array onto oneself?

Once demonic power enters the body, one becomes a demon cultivator.

"He split the Four Symbols Demon Array into two parts."

The surging demonic power reversed course, instantly destroying his mind sea and shattering his consciousness.

Mo Hua nodded in reply.

Several patrolling demon cultivators sensed the anomaly and rushed over.

As for how to deduce and deconstruct it...

Mo Hua continued pondering:

He stared at the Spirit Vision Array for a moment longer, selecting another "unlucky one."

That is to say, learning the array patterns alone is not enough.

The demon banner performs array pivot integration.

This is troublesome...

Mo Hua's gaze flickered with interest, "If I learned the Four Symbols Array Pivots, then in a certain sense, I could use the pivots to 'usurp authority' and indirectly control the lives and deaths of countless demon cultivators within the Ten Thousand Demons Valley!"

Divine beasts exist almost solely in legend, strange beasts are exceedingly rare, and spirit beasts lack sufficient strength and are also extremely expensive.

"All that thinking for nothing, yet I ended up uncovering the secrets of a demonic array..."

Moreover, the managing demon banner has already been "dismantled."

"And since the demon banner requires demonic power to activate, orthodox cultivators cannot use it, so it also prevents the 'control authority' from leaking out."

Mo Hua grew somewhat dejected.

Mo Hua's heart leapt with joy; he immediately felt eager to try again.

On the demon cultivator's arm was painted a wolf pattern, fused with flesh and blood.

There was nothing to be done.

Mo Hua once again fiddled with the dismantled demon banner, using Heavenly Mechanism Deception to merge with Heavenly Mechanism Deduction, further deconstructing the array, and only then discovered that the demon banner contained minor demonic patterns previously overlooked by him.

Mo Hua silently thought to himself.

"So the demon banner was forged for 'array idiots.'"

"The other portion of the array pivots is painted onto the demon banner, controlling the demon cultivators through the pivots' command over the array patterns."

The demon beast, having devoured the demon cultivator's corpse, went berserk and charged out of the prison cell, triggering another commotion.

Thus, for this entire class of demon cultivators, once I find an opportunity to paint the 'array pivot' onto them, their lives and deaths will be entirely in my control.

But indeed, as Master Xun said, this Four Symbols Array is truly extremely dangerous.

Master Tu integrated the array pivots into the demon banner, allowing him to activate a single pivot via the banner, matching it to the Four Symbols demon patterns for control.

Everything went smoothly.

He needed to choose a "lucky one," who was also an "unlucky one."

Found it!

Moreover, these array patterns didn't resemble ordinary array patterns—they seemed more like a special kind of...

"This Master Tu... is indeed formidable; I wonder what rank array master he truly is..."

There are spirit beasts nurtured from birth or kept by cultivators;

There are also ferocious and brutal demon beasts...

This is almost the method of a demonic array master.

After eating and drinking his fill, the demon cultivator, his mouth dripping blood, leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, drool trickling down—dreaming, it seemed, of devouring humans.

At that time, the reversed demonic power would also destroy the demon patterns on the demon cultivator's arm, reducing flesh and blood to a bloody mess, leaving no trace behind.

Before the commotion subsided, Mo Hua, the "originator," had already slipped away stealthily.

After spending roughly an hour, Mo Hua deciphered a set of Four Symbols "Wolf Form" array pivots.

"This array system is highly refined, and given the current scale of demon cultivators in the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, its application is extremely widespread."

He couldn't possibly learn the demon cultivators' own cultivation methods just to use the demon banner against them.

Still need to dip it in human blood?

Time slowly passed.

The structure of the array pivots must still conceal some subtle mysteries I overlooked.

Moreover, attempting to use orthodox "spirit banners" to control demonic "demon patterns" is clearly absurd.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and felt this resembled the Magnetic Array Patterns.

The Ten Thousand Demons Prison erupted once more in chaos.

Soon, Mo Hua selected a demon cultivator.

Mo Hua studied it for a few moments, frowning slightly, "... Four Symbols Array Pivots?"

But it was unknown what flesh he ate or what blood he drank.

"Control!"

After finishing, Mo Hua put away the demon cultivation secret manual, then pulled out from the very bottom of his storage pouch the black demon banner he had long coveted.

Mo Hua drew in a sharp breath, his gaze solemn.

Because high-quality "beast patterns" are rare.

The flesh-and-blood array medium and the blood-circulation system of the array eyes are especially crucial.

The demon cultivator, decapitated, died on the spot.

Mo Hua immediately tried it out.

He immediately flipped over the Four Symbols array pivot on the demon banner and meticulously studied it again; his heart stirred slightly:

Mo Hua sighed.

And if, within the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, he had deduced the corresponding Four Symbols array pivots for every type of demonic cultivator,

The array pivots within the demon banner were an integrated structural whole.

This was the effect of the demonic artifact.

Even if he learned it, he could not use it.

His pupils deepened, celestial mechanisms ebbing and flowing in his eyes; using celestial mechanisms to deduce and deconstruct the integrated array pivot within the demon banner, he matched it against the wolf pattern in his hand.

He began to study why he had failed.

Why, despite drawing the Four Symbols array pivot and even seeing it activate, had he failed to control the demonic pattern?

Was it the ink's problem?

Was spirit ink insufficient? Did he need pure demonic blood?

A faint smile curled at the corner of Mo Hua's lips, hidden in the shadows; his spiritual sense stirred.

Array techniques, in essence, were the manifestation of heaven and earth's laws.

He tried using the Four Symbols array pivot to control the demonic pattern on the demonic cultivator's body, but for some reason, it had no effect at all—and the demonic cultivator sensed it.

But he could not use the demon banner, and to draw the pivot directly onto the demonic cultivator's body meant he could not use the integrated array pivot.

"What's crawling on my back?!"

Finally, after long and bitter contemplation, Mo Hua's mind lit up—he suddenly understood.

Without another word, Mo Hua tore apart the demon banner.

After copying it, Mo Hua tampered with the chains and released one demonic beast.

After his shift ended, he would rest briefly, eat some meat, and drink some blood.

And the Four Symbols array technique, in essence, borrowed the power of heaven and earth's "ten thousand beasts"…

"But without the demon banner as a medium, how exactly would one do it?"

The problem was, he was a righteous cultivator; his body cultivated spiritual energy and could not activate the demon banner.

The demon banner had a black base with blood-red patterns, a bone shaft, and felt cold and slightly sticky in his hand, making Mo Hua uneasy.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head.

In an instant, his humanity vanished completely; demonic nature surged forth.

"Directly use the demonic cultivator's flesh and skin as the medium, drawing the pivot onto their bodies to control the Four Symbols demonic array on them?"

One array pivot matched one demonic pattern.

Yet, by now, the Ten Thousand Demons Valley was not nearly as dangerous as Elder Xun had thought.

Mo Hua gathered all the Four Symbols array techniques he had obtained, silently compared them, and carefully deduced them in conjunction with the structure of the array pivots within the demon banner.

If not beasts, then only "demons" could be used.

Do not look too deeply, lest you become obsessed, planting a hidden demonic seed that, one day, might cause you to fall into the demonic path and become a great demon lord.

This kind of "usurpation" must first pass through the demon banner.

"Four Symbols array patterns…"

Yet the two had clear distinctions.

Mo Hua had no interest in flesh-and-blood demonic abominations.

Knowing some principles of demonic cultivators was enough—to know yourself and know your enemy.

The Five Elements array technique borrowed the power of the Five Elements. The Eight Trigrams array technique borrowed the power of the Eight Trigrams.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Including the Four Symbols wolf pattern taken from the werewolf whose arm he had severed with his sword in the dense forest.

The spirit ink's blood lines crept up his arm, bringing a cool sensation.

A single demon banner could not possibly control all types of Four Symbols demonic patterns at once.

He was the prison guard; the demonic pattern was drawn on his back.

But as soon as he appeared, he was attacked by the green wolf demonic cultivator.

Cultivators use array techniques to control the power of heaven and earth.

These demonic patterns bore different beast-like forms.

"Mm-hmm."

Once this array technique is widely adopted, it may harm oneself lightly—or harm others severely.

Mo Hua took out various alchemical tools and swiftly "dismantled" the demon banner.

Previously, when he drew Four Symbols arrays on paper, he used a spirit gathering array as the focal point, powered by spiritual energy—naturally, he could never have learned it.

The demonic cultivator's body temperature was abnormal, icy as a corpse, and he was dozing—completely unaware.

"The overseer used the demon banner because he didn't know array techniques, so he could only use 'demon banners' to control demonic cultivators."

At least, this was not the fundamental problem.

Until the green wolf demonic cultivator exhausted his demonic energy and died.

Within the spirit vision array, the spectral shadow of the demonic cultivator, composed of magnetic energy, moved incessantly back and forth through the Ten Thousand Demons Prison.

But once demonic patterns were used, the Four Symbols array technique became a "demonic array."

With no Jin Dan present, the entire Ten Thousand Demons Valley had no true "dead end."

Drawn on someone else's body?

Mo Hua frowned.

The origin of this demonic array is still unclear.

But…

If you can't apply what you've learned, isn't it all wasted?

A burst of curses rose, followed by continuous roars and厮杀 among the demonic cultivators, and the sound of flesh being gnawed…

Once you understand the principle, the rest becomes easy.

Some demonic runes are painted on demonic cultivators to enhance their demonic power.

He took out the steward's storage bag, flipped through it, and found mostly demonic cultivator items.

Even after tricking the steward demonic cultivator to death and cleaning up the aftermath—"destroying the corpse and erasing traces"—not a single clue remained.

This appears to be a highly advanced method of array core fusion and array design, and the corresponding demonic artifact forging must also have special requirements.

Through the Four Symbols Array Core, "control" other demonic cultivators!

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Demonic cultivators differ; their demonic runes vary, and thus their corresponding array cores naturally differ as well.

Mo Hua silently thought, "That Mr. Tu must be an extremely skilled array master—at least an extremely skilled Four Symbols demonic array master."

The Spirit Core Array is a spiritual energy array; through core weighting, it achieves hierarchical control over puppets' movements.

The Four Symbols Array Core and the Four Symbols demonic runes must be matched.

Moreover, Master Xun had said that beasts are close to demons.

Once the array core is formed and fully controls the demonic runes.

"But there are loopholes…"

But this type of array has a very obvious problem…

Demonic blood vials, human flesh pills, demonic sword control, transformation demon scriptures, and so on…

Of course, if used to control zombies with demonic energy, it becomes a demonic array.

Absorb beast energy into one's body, use the body as an array, thereby commanding the power of ten thousand beasts, howling like the wind, strength like a thousand jūn.

He took out a sheet of paper and carefully transcribed the "array core"-type arrays from the demonic banner, then also mentally wrote down the several Four Symbols demonic runes he had acquired.

Driven by instinct, the demonic cultivators clutched their heads and roared incessantly, eyes blood-red, nearly ready to devour anyone nearby.

"Then… forge a new 'Spirit Banner'?"

Mo Hua shook his head, muttering to himself:

"No wonder, no matter how I studied these Four Symbols arrays before, I always felt something was off—I simply couldn't master them…"

With his current array expertise, he had never encountered such complex array craftsmanship.

The Magnetic Spirit Sight Array activated; every breeze and rustle nearby came under his control.

According to what Mo Hua learned from the Grand Void Sect's courses on the history of cultivation in the Nine Continents, the "beasts" of heaven and earth are incredibly diverse.

He had always been cautious and operated discreetly.

Now that he had the demonic banner in hand, the advantage was entirely his!

"The entire Ten Thousand Demons Valley uses the Four Symbols demonic array to govern and control the numerous demonic cultivators within the valley…"

That would be pure malice—definitely not acceptable.

This demonic banner is a demonic artifact, requiring demonic energy to activate.

The Four Symbols Array—or rather, the Four Symbols demonic array—is a demonic energy array that controls the flow of demonic power through array cores regulating the array runes.

Mo Hua calmly returned to his array core chamber.

Mo Hua turned his gaze toward the Spirit Sight Array.

Mo Hua sighed, feeling tired, and simply lay down on the ground to rest for a while.

Moreover, the several Four Symbols arrays he held used "demonic runes," making them strictly speaking "demonic arrays."

But Mo Hua's experiment failed…

In the darkness, a crimson spiritual ink wound through the air like a line, then slithered like a thin snake up his arm.

At the same time, he confirmed his own line of thought.

Mo Hua took out several demonic cultivator techniques and transformation demon scriptures, skimmed through them briefly to gain a general understanding of demonic cultivators, then stopped reading.

Through fixed magnetic runes and secondary lightning flows, one can deduce variable magnetic runes.

This means one must "deconstruct" the integrated array core to extract individual beast-form array cores and match them with specific beast demonic runes.

"The essence of the demonic banner is the array core."

This green wolf demonic cultivator was patrolling near the prison.

For example, an eagle-form array core matches an eagle-demon rune, a wolf-form array core matches a wolf-demon rune, a bear-form array core matches a bear-demon rune, and so on…

Just like this demonic banner, used to control demons!

In Four Symbols arrays, beast runes easily evolve into demonic runes.

This array cannot be used on oneself, cannot be used on others, but can be used on demonic cultivators.

His loud shouting made things difficult for Mo Hua.

The demonic technique scriptures, however, could be worth a look.

This structure of Four Symbols arrays is nearly identical to the methods of "demonic arrays"!

The difference lies only in that this array system is grounded in the cultivator's own flesh and blood, committing no killing, staining no demonic impurity.

If Mo Hua's guess was correct, a pure Four Symbols array should use orthodox "beast runes."

This unlucky fellow was a green wolf demonic cultivator.

The conversation ended; Mo Hua continued with his work.

Can only be matched individually.

Mo Hua sifted through the banner on both sides, searching until he found a unique set of blood-colored array patterns on its inner surface.

Mo Hua was a proper cultivator, with no demonic energy in his body—he could not activate this demonic banner, nor could he use it to "control" other demonic cultivators.

These demonic patterns included the Four Symbols Eagle Pattern copied from the initial bald罪修, "Bald Eagle."

These few types of "beast patterns" were either scarce or too weak to satisfy the large-scale application of the Four Symbols Array.

This set of patterns must use "flesh and blood" as a medium, "heart meridian" as the eye, and "blood qi" as the power source.

No wonder the Dao Court never promoted the widespread use of the Four Symbols Array.

"But I'm not an 'array idiot'..."

The logic of the Four Symbols Array gradually became clear to Mo Hua.

The more array pivots it integrated, the more corresponding beast patterns it could control.

He also understood why Master Tu was so confident—he didn't even embed any "self-destruct" mechanisms within the banner, nor did he fear others dismantling it for study.

As for whether this idea could actually work, Mo Hua thought for a moment and decided to try it.

It seemed to represent different... permissions?

Mo Hua froze, then suddenly understood.

These were completely beyond Mo Hua's understanding.

But this demonic banner was still of great use to Mo Hua.

Dismantling things wasn't hard for Mo Hua, but getting him to reassemble them was unrealistic.

Using beast blood as ink, draw the "beast patterns" onto his body, using his own flesh and blood as the array medium, his meridians as array pivots, his heart meridian as the array eye, and his surging blood qi as the driving force.

It was mainly because he had practiced so much—he became skillful through repetition.

Mo Hua couldn't help but smile slightly.

The smile was somewhat innocent, yet in the darkness, it looked dangerously so.

(End of Chapter)

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