Chapter 1060: Monster
"You're not going to draw it?" Mr. Tu's gaze was cold and sinister.
Mo Hua answered firmly, "I won't."
"Why not?"
Mo Hua declared righteously, "I am a disciple of the Taixu Sect, head of the Eight Great Sects. I am the top array cultivator in Qianxue, a righteous cultivator. How could I possibly stoop to working with you, drawing such evil and demonic formations?"
Mr. Tu replied, "Don't worry. I won't ask you to draw any evil formations."
Mo Hua sneered, "A blood sacrifice formation isn't evil?"
"You don't need to worry about that. The formations I'll have you draw won't involve human bones, skin, blood, or ink... nor will they contain demonic patterns. They'll be proper Five Elements and Eight Trigrams formations. What do you say?" Mr. Tu asked patiently.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then still shook his head. "I said, I am a righteous cultivator. I won't aid you in painting your formations."
Seeing Mo Hua's stubborn expression, Mr. Tu's gaze narrowed. He paced in front of the prison door twice before asking in a deep tone:
"Have you studied grand formations?"
"I…" Mo Hua faltered, then snorted coldly. "Of course I have."
Mr. Tu's cold, penetrating eyes clearly saw through Mo Hua's hesitation. He sneered:
"Have you really studied them?"
Mo Hua had no response.
Mr. Tu's voice took on a coaxing tone as he asked, "Do you want to learn?"
Mo Hua pressed his lips tightly together, his expression wavering.
Mr. Tu spoke in a low voice: "This is the first opportunity in your life to personally participate in constructing a grand formation. Such chances are once in a lifetime, rare and not easily come by. Even if you stayed in the Taixu Sect and studied formations your whole life, you might never get another opportunity like this."
Grand formations require enormous manpower and resources.
Unless a major upheaval occurs, or a powerful enemy must be resisted...
Or if a new sect or clan rises and needs to establish a mountain gate and guardian formation...
Otherwise, it's impossible to launch a grand formation project.
Although Qianxue is a fifth-grade major province—powerful and prosperous—it has been peaceful for a long time. The hierarchical structure of clans and sects has been fixed for thousands of years, and no grand formation has been built in that time.
Even if a force wanted to construct a grand formation, with so many sects and factions in Qianxue and deep-rooted lineage pride among array master schools, it's highly unlikely they would invite a disciple of the Taixu Sect like Mo Hua to participate.
Mo Hua understood all of this very clearly in his heart, and his face showed visible conflict.
Mr. Tu saw that hesitation in Mo Hua's expression.
He didn't press him but sighed softly. His hoarse voice carried a trace of regret:
"I saw your talent and wanted to give you this chance to reach the next level. Since you don't treasure it, so be it…"
With that, Mr. Tu turned to leave.
Seeing him leave, Mo Hua grew anxious and blurted, "Mr… Tu…"
Mr. Tu turned his head, his gaze indifferent as he looked at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua gritted his teeth and asked, "The Grand Wilderness Blood Sacrifice Formation… is it a demonic formation?"
Mr. Tu replied, "Since you're the top array cultivator in Qianxue with extraordinary talent, you should know—righteous or demonic is only the outer form of a formation. The inner principles are the same."
"A righteous formation, if learned by someone with ill intentions, can become a demonic formation."
"But a truly upright array master with a steadfast heart, even when looking at a demonic formation, can comprehend its core truths."
"Those with true talent and exceptional insight see righteousness as righteousness and evil as evil. Both are merely two sides of the Dao. Neither can shake their Dao heart."
These words, half true and half false, with subtle flattery, made Mo Hua feel like he was exactly the kind of person Mr. Tu described—brilliantly gifted, steadfast in his heart, able to see through appearances and remain true to his path.
A hint of pride emerged on Mo Hua's face, as if he believed himself to be exactly such a peerless genius.
"Fine. I'll draw your formation!" Mo Hua said.
Mr. Tu nodded slightly.
The more talented someone is, the more they tend to think themselves exceptional.
The more talented, the easier it is to tempt them.
Especially when it comes to grand formations—no array master with true ambition could resist the allure of one.
And so-called genius array masters? Even less so.
"Follow me," Mr. Tu said calmly.
The prison was opened. Mo Hua followed Mr. Tu out of the Great Wilderness Prison, down a long, dark, and twisting tunnel to the other side of the Evil God Temple, descending deep underground until they reached a vast foundation.
Blood surged like rivers below, spraying red mist into the air.
Bone-piercing cold and the stench of blood filled the space.
Three towering cliffs rose up, forming a triad.
Countless floating platforms were suspended from the cliff walls, and upon them stood numerous array masters in blood robes, holding bone brushes dipped in blood ink, drawing demonic formations.
This was an immense and horrific construction of a demonic grand formation.
Even more spectacular than the scene when Mo Hua had overseen the construction of the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Grand Formation.
Mr. Tu brought Mo Hua to one particular cliff face.
This cliff differed from the other two—it had demonic formations painted around the edges, but the central portion was still blank.
The bone-based array medium had been removed and replaced with proper jade materials.
The blood ink had been swapped for standard Five Elements spiritual ink.
As a former chief array master of a top-grade grand formation, Mo Hua needed only a glance to grasp the situation fully.
Mr. Tu's blood sacrifice formation had stalled.
Possibly due to the schemes of the Void Ascension Patriarch, suppression from various Qianxue powers, pursuit by the Dao Court Division, or a shortage of demonic array masters... the project had run into serious delays.
So Mr. Tu had to change strategies and take a new approach.
His new plan was to downgrade the formation's tier and mix righteous and demonic elements.
With insufficient personnel, they had to downgrade the formation tier—using second-grade formations to fill the framework of a quasi-third-grade one.
Likewise, at this point, the blood sacrifice formation likely lacked the required "resources."
The Grand Wilderness Blood Sacrifice Formation required mass slaughter.
Only with mass slaughter could they acquire the human skin, bones, flesh, and blood needed as demonic materials.
But now, the evil god's followers were being suppressed by Qianxue's major powers and could no longer massacre cultivators.
Which meant they had no way to obtain more materials for the demonic formation.
Even the best cook can't work without ingredients.
With demonic resources in short supply, Mr. Tu had no choice but to use righteous formations as a temporary bridge for the formation's core flow.
Downgrading and combining systems made the structure unstable. Mixing righteous and demonic formations meant spiritual and demonic energy would conflict.
But at least this approach would ensure the Grand Wilderness Blood Sacrifice Formation could be completed.
Complete first, refine later.
Without completion, all talk of perfection was meaningless.
Mr. Tu, an ancient array master with vast experience, had chosen a practical and correct path.
Mo Hua nodded slightly.
If it were him, he might have come to the same conclusion.
Of course, outwardly he still feigned confusion and asked Mr. Tu several "naive" questions:
"Isn't this a third-grade formation? Would a second-grade formation even help?"
"Can righteous and demonic formations even be compatible? What if they're not?"
"With a foundation this large, why are there so few array masters drawing formations? Where are the others? Were they killed?"
These questions hinted at basic principles of grand formation design...
This included some foundational questions about large formation principles.
It was natural that Mo Hua didn't understand them—Mr. Tu explained them all one by one.
Some of the explanations also included rather "heart-piercing" words, but Mr. Tu pretended not to hear them.
After he finished, Mr. Tu handed Mo Hua a jade slip.
Inside the jade slip was the foundational layout for most of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation. A large portion of the demonic formations had been erased by Mr. Tu and replaced with formations of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams—these were specifically reserved for Mo Hua to draw.
"Draw these formations on the cliff in front of you. That is your task," Mr. Tu instructed.
Mo Hua glanced at it, and his expression immediately turned dissatisfied. He asked Mr. Tu:
"Didn't you say you wanted me to help build the grand formation? Drawing these basic formations—isn't that just making me do grunt work?"
*I'm the rightful leader of the Qianxue School's formation path, and you want me to do grunt work?*
Mo Hua looked completely displeased.
Mr. Tu said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A great river is made from countless small streams. A grand formation is built from these fundamental formations. To learn grand formations, you must start with the basics. You cannot be overly ambitious and neglect the foundation."
Mo Hua reluctantly nodded, thinking that made some sense.
But just as he was about to begin, something seemed to occur to him. He became alert and said:
"No, wait—if I draw these formations, isn't that the same as colluding with demonic cultivators?
If the elders of the sect or the old master found out, I'd definitely be expelled from the sect—I wouldn't be able to remain a disciple of the Taixu Sect…"
Mr. Tu replied, "You're not drawing demonic formations, these are righteous-path formations. How could you be expelled for that?"
Mo Hua insisted, "But *you* are demonic cultivators, and I'm drawing formations *for* you. Isn't that aiding the enemy?"
Mr. Tu slowly corrected him, "You're not drawing formations *for* us—you're being *forced* by us. To preserve your life, you had no choice but to draw a few formations."
"You're being *coerced*. This is not your fault."
Mr. Tu emphasized again.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Really?"
Mr. Tu nodded. "Really."
Only then did Mo Hua feel somewhat reassured. But just as he was about to begin, he still felt something wasn't right. He looked at Mr. Tu suspiciously:
"If I finish the formations, you're not going to kill me once I've outlived my usefulness, are you?"
Mr. Tu felt a surge of irritation and secretly cursed this overly cautious kid.
But at this point, he had no choice but to persuade him with kind words:
"Don't worry. Your identity is special—you're of great value to the Divine Lord. I won't kill you. If you can draw the formations well, it will be a great contribution. The Divine Lord will recognize your merit and won't treat you poorly…"
And so, after much persuasion, Mr. Tu finally managed to coax Mo Hua into agreeing to draw the formations.
Mo Hua finally picked up the brush—but after just two strokes, he stopped again and shook his head.
"Still not right."
This time, Mr. Tu couldn't take it anymore. He asked angrily, "What is it now?"
Mo Hua pointed to the bone ring on his head, looking a little aggrieved and helpless. "You've sealed my divine sense. I can't draw the formations…"
Mr. Tu paused, finally remembering that this kid's sea of consciousness had been sealed by the sacred artifact of the Great Wilderness.
With his sea of consciousness sealed, he couldn't connect with the divine, and his spiritual sense was restricted—naturally, he couldn't draw formations.
But… unsealing him…
Mr. Tu felt uneasy at heart.
Still, after a moment of hesitation, he prioritized the formation and the bigger picture. He reached out with a pale finger, tapped Mo Hua's forehead, and let threads of blood seep into the bone glyph, lifting the seal.
In that instant, Mo Hua felt his mind clear. A sharp gleam flashed through his clear eyes but was quickly concealed, returning to nothingness.
Mr. Tu's heart tensed slightly, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't detect anything amiss from Mo Hua, so he asked:
"Is that better now?"
Mo Hua nodded. "No problem."
"Then draw the formations."
"Alright."
Mo Hua picked up the brush, dipped it in spiritual ink, and began meticulously copying the formation diagrams from the jade slip onto the cliff face.
With his formation expertise, he could grasp seventy to eighty percent of the structure with just a glance—there was no need for Mr. Tu to say anything more.
Mr. Tu wasn't surprised. This was the skill expected from the formation path's foremost genius.
Mo Hua also drew quickly.
All the formation diagrams were etched deeply in his memory. His strokes flowed like clouds, his movements like running water. The formation lines he drew were not only precise, but also radiated a refined and masterful essence.
However, Mr. Tu still frowned.
He knew that Mo Hua could go even faster.
The kid was still holding back—not giving it his all. Clearly, he was deliberately stalling, not sincerely helping with the formations…
Mr. Tu narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
And so, Mo Hua continued drawing for the better part of a day. By nightfall, his spiritual sense was exhausted, and only then did Mr. Tu allow him to rest.
He was still locked inside the Great Wilderness Prison, and Mr. Tu resealed his sea of consciousness using the bone artifact—just in case Mo Hua, left alone, tried to stir up trouble by tapping into divine powers.
Mo Hua still acted dutiful.
After resting in the prison for a night, the next day, Mr. Tu brought him back to the blood sacrifice foundation to continue drawing the foundational formations.
Mo Hua again used brush and ink, drawing steadily and carefully, maintaining the same pace as the day before.
After another full day of drawing, he was sealed again and locked back in the prison.
On the third day, the process repeated.
But this time, Mr. Tu couldn't hold back anymore.
Though Mo Hua's drawing was quick and the number of formations he produced wasn't small, compared to the grand scale of the full formation, it was like a drop in the bucket. Far from what Mr. Tu had "expected" of him.
Mr. Tu's expression turned cold. He asked Mo Hua, "This isn't your actual drawing speed, is it?"
Mo Hua looked serious. "That's always been my speed when drawing formations. I'm already doing my best…"
That blatant lie made Mr. Tu's eyelid twitch.
"No need to lie to me," Mr. Tu sneered. "I was present at the Sword Conference that day. I personally saw you draw an array."
Seeing his "lie" exposed, Mo Hua's face turned pale. He simply pursed his lips and stayed silent.
Mr. Tu's gaze narrowed slightly. He thought to himself, This kid really is cautious and thick-skinned. Trying to coax him into drawing arrays isn't easy at all.
Dealing with this kind of genius, rather than threats, it's better to tempt him with rewards…
After pondering for a moment, Mr. Tu said, "If you can finish drawing all the array formations on this wall, I promise to personally teach you the core node of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array."
"The core node?!"
Mo Hua was stunned. Then his eyes lit up as he asked, "You'll really teach me?"
Mr. Tu nodded. "I never go back on my word. As long as you finish the arrays on this wall, I'll teach you."
Mo Hua bit his lip, inner conflict clear on his face. But his desire for arrays ultimately overwhelmed his rationality. He nodded and said:
"Alright, it's a deal!"
Mr. Tu nodded slightly, his eyes cold but inwardly pleased.
Under Mr. Tu's carefully planned "enticement," Mo Hua had finally taken the bait.
And with the "core node" as bait, Mo Hua no longer held back. He began giving it his all and got serious.
He tossed away the pen in his hand and placed all the spirit ink on the ground. Then, sitting cross-legged, his expression turned solemn, and his entire presence suddenly became profound.
A vast and powerful divine sense rippled out from around Mo Hua.
The spirit ink in the bottles, influenced by Mo Hua's divine sense, began to tremble and boil. It fused with his powerful divine sense and, like silken threads, began to float up, dancing in the air.
A sharp gleam appeared in Mo Hua's eyes as he pointed forward with two fingers.
The chaotic threads of spirit ink, under his command, seemed to gain life. Like spiritual serpents, they instantly shot forward, weaving through the air with winding, twisting movements. With astonishing speed and almost magical structure, they steadily formed arrays on the stone wall in an orderly fashion.
Mo Hua's divine sense surged forth like a great river.
Yet his speed in drawing arrays was more than ten times faster than before.
Mr. Tu watched from the side.
He had seen a similar scene once before—through Fang Tian's painted illusion. Although it had shocked him at the time, the illusion was unclear and not quite real.
But now, seeing it firsthand, the impact and shock he felt were truly beyond words.
Could someone in this world truly draw arrays like this?
Mr. Tu's pupils quivered.
He, too, knew how to control ink with divine sense, but he couldn't even come close to Mo Hua's level of precision, intricacy, and seamless flow—like moving clouds and flowing water, without the slightest resistance.
What's more, Mo Hua was drawing advanced second-grade arrays of the same realm.
That was even more unbelievable.
Arrays of the same grade are already difficult to learn and draw. Even with an array pen to aid them, most array masters struggle. Let alone drawing them purely with divine sense, guiding spirit ink directly into formations.
Drawing formations straight onto the ground? That wasn't even worth mentioning now.
Such a feat required a rare opportunity and an innate understanding of the Dao essence of the earth.
Comprehension is a mysterious thing.
If you grasp it, you understand it. If you don't, no matter how much you study, train, or practice, you never will.
Even if Mo Hua had been blessed by a deity, relying on divine power for his absurd attainments in array arts, his natural talent and comprehension alone were already extraordinarily terrifying.
A monster like this—if he could be recruited, turned toward the demonic path, and walk the road of a demonic array master—then blessed by the Lord of the Great Wilderness...
Just how powerful would his arrays become?
It was simply unimaginable…
Mr. Tu's gaze trembled.
Mo Hua remained focused, like some sort of "demon," controlling the tentacle-like spirit ink with all his strength to draw arrays.
With a clear goal, he became even more motivated, drawing faster than before.
When tired, he would rest a while, recover his divine sense, then resume drawing.
And so, he drew until nightfall.
Within the grand array, the blood and gloom made it hard to tell day from night—but as a cultivator, one could still sense the presence of sun and moon.
By nightfall, Mo Hua was supposed to return to the prison.
But Mo Hua seemed reluctant. He asked Mr. Tu, "Why don't I just stay here and keep working on the arrays?"
Mr. Tu's brows twitched slightly. "You… don't need rest?"
Mo Hua nodded. "I want to work harder and finish the arrays sooner."
Since Mo Hua said that, Mr. Tu couldn't find a reason to refuse.
So Mo Hua stayed behind, continuing to throw himself into the construction of the Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Grand Array, working day and night…
Mr. Tu watched Mo Hua with a deep gaze, growing more astonished the longer he looked.
With incredible talent, high comprehension, divine favor, unwavering obsession with arrays—and on top of that, such dedication, working tirelessly day and night…
He not only had far greater talent than others, but also far more determination and effort.
No wonder his array skills had reached such heights.
He truly was an utterly unreasonable "array arts monster"…
(End of this Chapter)