Chapter 783: Laws

"You… what are you going to do?" Sword Bone's voice trembled slightly.

"Nothing much, just asking you to do me a small favor," Mo Hua said with a beaming smile.

Sword Bone looked at Mo Hua's warm and kindly smile, and for some reason, a chill rose from the depths of its heart, wave after wave.

Then Mo Hua didn't wait for Sword Bone to refuse—of course, it had no room to refuse either—and began taking out his brush and ink, dipping them in spiritual ink, and started drawing a Divine Lock Array on the White Bone Demon Sword.

The first stroke fell.

The demonic sword's aura immediately dimmed somewhat.

Sword Bone, who had taken refuge inside the broken sword, suddenly felt the pressure double.

As if someone had used a heavy chain to firmly lock its blood pool.

Sword Bone's face changed drastically in shock.

"Little Ancestor, don't…"

Mo Hua, however, turned a deaf ear and continued drawing stroke by stroke.

Each stroke fell like a thick, heavy chain, layered upon the bone sword.

Sword Bone grew increasingly suffocated.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Mo Hua finished drawing an entire Divine Lock Array, complete and whole, upon the White Bone Demon Sword.

"Done!"

Mo Hua raised the broken White Bone Demon Sword, admired the Divine Dao Array he had just drawn upon it, and looked very pleased.

Then he said, "Sword Bone, try breaking free and see."

He wanted to see whether Sword Bone, this sword demon, could, by its own power of evil spirits, break free from the "seal" of the Divine Lock Array he had just laid down.

But after waiting a long while, there wasn't the slightest movement from within.

Mo Hua was startled. "What's going on?"

Sword Bone couldn't have been completely suppressed and had its soul scattered, could it?

Mo Hua used his finger to smudge the array patterns, lightening one stroke of the array pattern a little, and the seal loosened slightly; from within the sword came Sword Bone's faint, weak voice:

"…It's sealed…"

"I can't transmit sound…"

"Oh." Mo Hua suddenly understood.

He smudged another stroke of the array pattern lighter. "How about now?"

"A bit better…"

Sword Bone's voice was still very small, but just barely audible.

Mo Hua said again, "Try breaking free from the 'seal'."

Sword Bone hesitated somewhat.

It was afraid Mo Hua was toying with it.

What if it really broke free from the seal, and this petty Little Ancestor bore a grudge, and it ended up suffering a great misfortune instead?

Mo Hua was displeased and smacked the demon sword. "When I tell you to break free, break free—do it now!"

"Yes, yes…"

Sword Bone had no choice but to channel all its white bone sword Qi, hacking at the Divine Dao array patterns formed by divine sense all around.

After a few strikes, the array patterns didn't budge at all.

Sword Bone exclaimed in amazement, "The array patterns you've laid down are actually so sturdy—my white bone sword Qi can't do a thing against them!"

How could Mo Hua not see that this Sword Bone hadn't exerted its full strength at all? He frowned and said:

"Stop flattering me. If you dare hold back again, watch out—I'll be ruthless with you."

Sword Bone felt bitter inside.

After all, this Little Ancestor knew its full strength.

Although it was nothing before this Little Ancestor, it shouldn't be this pathetic either.

It simply couldn't hide it…

Sword Bone had no choice but, reluctantly and unwillingly, to swell its body, its bone sword jagged and rugged, transforming into its complete "Sword Demon" form, daring not to hold back even a fraction, going all out, attacking the Divine Lock Array sealing the blood pool with sword Qi.

Streak after streak of ghastly white sword Qi, entwined with demonic thoughts, hacked and slashed at the pale golden seal array patterns.

The array patterns likewise didn't budge at all.

But Mo Hua slightly furrowed his brow.

On the surface, the array patterns hadn't loosened, but he could sense that the array's "seal" power was being offset, bit by bit.

Every strike of demonic-thought sword Qi would erode a portion of the "seal's" psychic power.

Although the erosion was slight—like ants gnawing—only a thread at a time, it truly was eroding.

A thousand-li embankment destroyed by an ant hole.

If this continued, one day the seal would be completely broken.

Above the blood pool, sword Qi was ghastly and chilling.

After hacking for a while, Sword Bone was exhausted and had to shed its "demonic transformation," panting heavily as it rested nearby.

Mo Hua said, "Rest a while, then keep hacking."

Sword Bone mustered its courage, just about to protest, but the moment it met Mo Hua's deep gaze and thought of this Little Ancestor's "horror," all the courage it had mustered drained away completely.

"Yes…"

And so, after resting a while, it transformed back into its "Sword Demon" form and continued hacking at the Divine Lock array patterns.

This time, it treated those array patterns as the detestable Mo Hua.

Therefore, it hacked with exceptional motivation.

"Cut you to pieces, cut you to pieces! One day, I will flay you alive!"

The Sword Bone muttered in bitter hatred.

But it dared only bury this rebellious thought deep within its heart, not daring to reveal even a trace.

It knew better than anyone.

If it so much as let this thought slip out, it would be the one flayed alive.

Thus, it chopped for a while, rested for a while, then resumed chopping after resting.

It did not know how long it had chopped.

Suddenly, a faint "sizzle" sounded, and a crack appeared in the chain forged from divine perception.

The Sword Bone froze, then rejoiced inwardly.

But Mo Hua's brow tightened further.

With the Divine Lock Array cracked, the Sword Bone chopped even harder.

Soon, one array pattern was riddled with cracks, its sealing power vanishing completely.

And the array patterns of the Divine Lock Array were interconnected; once one gap appeared, the sealing effect of all other patterns would be greatly weakened.

"Cut you to pieces, cut you to pieces!"

The Sword Bone whispered timidly yet triumphantly in its heart.

After chopping countless more times, the Divine Lock Array forged from divine perception collapsed with a thunderous crash, its sealing power dissipating entirely.

The Sword Bone straightened its body, feeling a sudden sense of vindication.

It glanced at Mo Hua with a hint of pride, "Your array seems rather weak..."

Mo Hua regarded it coldly.

The Sword Bone instantly shuddered in fear.

Careless!

In a moment of carelessness, it had spoken those arrogant words aloud.

It immediately wiped away nonexistent sweat from its skull and forced a nervous smile.

"Your array is truly profound and unfathomable! My breaking it was pure luck, pure luck..."

But Mo Hua had already stopped looking at it, lost in frowning contemplation.

The Sword Bone silently exhaled, inwardly grumbling:

"You're the one who told me to break the array—and now that I've broken it, you're not happy."

This Xiaozu Sect brat is capricious and impossible to please.

It then thought again:

"Yet this array, though seemingly powerful and its divine perception unnervingly refined—as if not even human in origin—was too rigid, too brittle. Like a solid stone dam, it looked unyielding, but water drips through stone, and given time, it would inevitably collapse..."

Mo Hua had also realized this problem.

On the surface, his divine perception was immense and transformed, the "sealing" chains forged through the Dao of Divine Array patterns, as solid as Jin Shi.

But this divine perception was "dead," finite.

It could not withstand the long-term erosion of malevolent forces, and utterly failed to achieve lasting sealing.

He could not even contain a mere Sword Demon.

How much less could he seal a colossal evil deity?

The "Divine Lock Array" he had drawn possessed only the form of sealing, not its substance.

"Then what, exactly, is the 'substance' of sealing?"

A special Dao principle?

Like the Reverse Spirit Array's dissolution of spiritual power?

The Thick Earth Array's earth Dao essence?

The Spirit Pivot Array's manipulation of spiritual power?

Or the fusion of divine perception and spiritual power in the Five Elements Absolute Array?

What, precisely, was the principle of sealing?

Mo Hua was baffled.

No one had ever taught him this, nor offered any hint—he could not possibly figure it out in an instant.

How could he possibly attain true insight?

Mo Hua sighed, his head aching.

Arrays were indeed vast and profound; even with his own comprehension, he sometimes felt utterly lost, with no idea where to begin.

After pondering for a while, Mo Hua decided to practice on the Dao Stele, to see if it might offer further inspiration.

But the time was not yet right.

So Mo Hua took out the Grand Void Token and sent a message to Elder Xun Ziyou, relaying all the intelligence he had gathered.

Including details of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley's internal structure, and the identities of the disciples Jin Gui, Jin Yicai, and Jin Yixuan.

Of course, he did not mention Master Xian or the evil deity—too deep a karmic entanglement, too hard to explain.

And upon receiving the message, Elder Xun Ziyou's expression grew solemn.

Beside him, Shangguan Xuanjian couldn't help but sneer, "What a bold move by the Golden Break Gate!"

Elder Xun Ziyou remained silent, then sighed, "Keep this matter quiet for now."

Shangguan Xuanjian frowned slowly, "If you find one cockroach in a room, it means..."

Elder Xun Ziyou nodded slowly.

Shangguan Xuanjian's expression turned grave, "Then the trouble may be great..."

Elder Xun Ziyou sighed deeply, looked up at the sky of Qianxue Zhou Realm, recalled his ancestor's words, and suddenly a thought flashed into his mind.

"Ice three feet thick does not form in a single day."

"It's possible the trouble has been grave since long ago..."

Elder Xun Ziyou murmured silently.

After speaking with Elder Xun, Mo Hua sat cross-legged for a while, then examined several Divine Array runes one by one; when Zi Shi arrived, his spiritual sense sank into his mind sea.

Within the mind sea, the Dao Stele stood vast and ethereal, unmoving.

Mo Hua began tracing the Divine Lock Array, the Divine Mist Array, and the Divine Gate Array one after another upon the Dao Stele.

Soon, three faint golden arrays, entirely formed of spiritual intent, appeared upon the Dao Stele.

Mo Hua stared at the arrays, then shook his head slightly.

"Indeed, it won't do..."

The flow of intent within the arrays was sluggish.

There was form, but no spiritual essence.

When Mo Hua had drawn these runes upon the White Bone Demon Sword to seal the sword's bone, he had not noticed.

Now, displaying the runes upon the Dao Stele, which contained the fundamental Dao laws, the flaws were glaringly obvious.

The runes' luster was dim.

It meant the Dao Stele did not recognize them.

In other words, his understanding of the Divine Arrays was still extremely shallow—he had not grasped their true essence.

"But what are the array laws contained within the Divine Arrays?"

Mo Hua frowned, pondering deeply, yet after long thought, still had no insight; he could not help feeling disheartened.

"It seems the Master Tu was right—this Divine Array method 'steals the path of the gods with mortal understanding' to control the sealing power of the gods; it is obscure and arduous, certainly not something easily learned."

Master Tu had indeed spoken no falsehood.

Mo Hua silently apologized to Master Tu in his heart.

He had once believed his talent was extraordinary, that he could learn instantly; now it seemed he had been naive, and had underestimated the world's array masters...

Mo Hua sighed.

So what now?

He had the array diagrams, he knew the runes—but the core array principles, the array Dao laws, he understood nothing of.

And for now, he could not conceive any path forward.

The situation had stalled...

Mo Hua frowned, then suddenly recalled the words Master Tu had spoken to Jin Yixuan before vanishing:

"First, become familiar with the runes; the essence of the arrays, I will teach you later..."

Wait until Master Tu gives Jin Yixuan his lesson, then sneak-learn?

Since Master Tu could use these Divine Arrays, he must know the Dao laws they contain.

Whatever he taught Jin Yixuan, he would inevitably "teach" Mo Hua as well.

Thus, even if he could not fully comprehend these laws, he would at least know the direction, and not be utterly lost.

"But time may not be enough..."

Mo Hua felt uneasy.

He did not know how adept Jin Yixuan's array comprehension truly was.

If Jin Yixuan was a fool who needed ten days or half a month just to grasp the Divine Array runes, wouldn't the opportunity be long gone by then?

Yet at present, there was no better solution.

Mo Hua sighed again; he could only continue practicing the Divine Arrays upon the Dao Stele, hoping that repeated drawing might deepen his understanding, perhaps sparking some insight.

Upon the Dao Stele, the Divine Array runes appeared stroke after stroke.

Mo Hua calmed his mind, his spiritual sense clear, tracing these several Divine Arrays over and over.

After drawing, he erased them; after erasing, he drew again...

Time slipped away slowly.

Mo Hua did not know how many times he had drawn; the runes grew increasingly familiar, yet his deeper understanding showed no progress at all.

"So difficult..."

Exhausted from drawing, Mo Hua lay down beside the Dao Stele, emptied his mind, intending to rest a while before continuing.

He refused to believe that after drawing hundreds or thousands of times, he would gain no insight whatsoever.

Mo Hua closed his eyes, his spirit empty and serene, casting aside distractions.

The fatigue gradually faded.

After lying there for a while, Mo Hua felt refreshed again, ready to rise and resume drawing.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught a pitch-black fissure, and he froze.

It was a void fissure.

Ever since Mo Hua's spiritual sense reached the peak of the Seventeen Mark, on the verge of breaking into the Eighteen Mark, this fissure had suddenly appeared in his mind sea.

This fissure had no known origin or history, yet it was mysteriously profound, resembling the work of Dao itself—as if born to mend the "flaw" within Mo Hua.

Any growth in Mo Hua's spiritual sense was inevitably swallowed by it.

Thus, over the past year and more, all the spiritual sense he had painstakingly cultivated had been used to feed this "uninvited guest," leaving his spiritual sense realm utterly unchanged.

This fissure was the "culprit" suppressing his spiritual sense growth.

Each time Mo Hua saw this void fissure, he had felt deeply displeased.

But now, he suddenly froze.

"It suppresses the growth of my spiritual sense…"

In other words, does that mean it's equivalent to… "sealing" my spiritual sense?!

That is to say, this void crack is a heavenly Dao "seal"?!

And the void crack clearly contains a certain type of heavenly Dao principle.

Then that means this crack is, astonishingly, the most direct and clear heavenly Dao "seal" principle?!

Mo Hua found it hard to believe.

I've searched everywhere with worn-out shoes…

The core seal principle of the Spirit Dao array technique was long ago, by the heavenly Dao, stamped into my mind sea like a "patch"?!

Its purpose was to seal my spiritual sense, to repair this "flaw" of mine?!

Mo Hua opened his mouth in shock.

Then his eyes brightened, his thoughts racing:

"If I want to know how the Spirit Dao array seals a demon god, I only need to understand how this heavenly Dao principle seals me…"

This principle can seal me.

Then if I comprehend this principle and integrate it into the Spirit Dao array, I will naturally be able to seal other evil spirits—even a mighty, invincible demon god!

Mo Hua continued pondering:

How does this principle seal my mind sea?

Mo Hua almost instantly thought of one word:

Consumption!

"For this principle to persist, it must continuously 'consume' and absorb the spiritual thoughts of the sealed, to sustain its own power cycle and maintain its stability and existence."

"Similarly, the Spirit Dao array must also 'consume' the mental force of the sealed, to sustain the array's existence and ensure the 'sealing power' flows endlessly, unweakened over years and decades."

"Thus, the core rule of sealing lies in 'consumption.'"

Mo Hua suddenly understood.

Water without a source dries up.

All power in the world is conserved; all has its origin.

Spiritual energy, demonic energy, even spiritual thought energy—all are the same.

Ordinary arrays can draw spiritual energy from spirit stones.

But spiritual thought energy has no equivalent "spirit stone."

Spirit Dao array masters cannot continuously supply the array with mental force.

Therefore, for a Spirit Dao array to achieve long-term "sealing," it must "borrow power" from elsewhere—by consuming and absorbing the mental force of the sealed evil spirits, forming an internal power cycle for the array itself.

The deeper this consumption principle, the stronger the Spirit Dao array, the more unbreakable the seal.

To some extent, the Spirit Dao array and the evil spirit or demon god it seals are one.

As long as the demon god lives, the evil spirit endures, the Spirit Dao array will never perish.

Mo Hua was shaken.

The heavenly Dao principles are indeed profound.

And the elder array masters who could manifest these principles into arrays were truly brilliant, worthy of boundless admiration.

Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.

"The heavenly Dao is infinite; array Dao is vast; array masters have others above them."

"I must never grow arrogant or complacent—I must remain humble, think deeply, study diligently, so that someday I may truly exhaust array Dao and comprehend the heavenly Dao."

Mo Hua nodded silently.

Then his eyes gleamed brightly.

The heavenly Dao principle lay right before him!

He had considered studying this principle before, but his cultivation experience was limited—he didn't know what this principle truly meant.

Moreover, knowing the principle alone, without a manifested "form," was useless.

Now he fully understood.

The Spirit Dao array patterns are the form; the seal principle is the spirit.

When the two merge as one, this principle gains a manifested form.

Mo Hua held his breath, focused his mind, and began drawing Spirit Dao array patterns on the Dao stele, while gazing upward, visualizing the void-crack-like principle, sensing the flow of mental force within it.

Then he compared the two, blending them together.

He comprehended the heavenly Dao principle through the Spirit Dao array patterns, and simultaneously infused the Spirit Dao array patterns with true spirit through the heavenly Dao principle.

Thus, he practiced for an unknown length of time, until his brush paused and drew back, completing the final stroke.

And like painting the pupils on a dragon, the entire array formed naturally, complete.

Brilliant Jin Guang flashed once, and solidified mental force circulated in a loop.

"It's done!"

The true Spirit Dao array—containing the seal principle—the Shen Suo Array, Jin Guang flowing like chains binding a god—now appeared before him!

Mo Hua smiled brightly.

And at the same moment,

In a palace of jade and crystal, a sect resembling the heavenly Bai Yu Jing, an elder seated in quiet meditation suddenly opened his eyes.

A thread of terror surged through his heart.

Something of immense significance, forbidden to mortal defilement, had slipped away…

(End of chapter)

dengbidmxswqqxswyifan

shuyueepzwqqwxwxsguan

xs007zhuikereadw23zw