Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 653 – Divine Seat

The altar was ancient and grand, yet laced with a sinister aura.

A jade-paved path led straight up to it.

On either side of the mountain path knelt two rows of demon statues—grotesque in form, but strangely devout in expression.

And yet, the altar itself was empty.

No candle stands.

No lamps.

No offerings.

No items of worship.

Only a single, lavishly ornate offering table.

Atop the offering table sat a pedestal—also completely bare.

It was unclear whether the altar had never been completed, and thus never had anything placed on it…

Or if Fire Buddha, knowing his plan had failed, had cleared the offerings ahead of time, destroyed the sacrificial items, and wiped away all traces.

"This Fire Buddha… is way too cautious," Mo Hua muttered under his breath.

"And way too stingy…"

He rummaged through the place, but aside from the immovable fake mountain and demon statues, there was nothing left.

Clean. Sparkling. Like a dog had licked the place spotless…

Mo Hua deflated a little.

This Fire Buddha really was a miser. He hadn't even left a single thing behind.

No spirit stones.

No magical artifacts.

No Falling Fire Technique manual.

Not even… food.

He'd broken into the place for nothing.

Mo Hua sighed deeply.

A massive altar like this, and nothing worth stealing…

"What now?" he muttered.

Going back empty-handed felt like a waste.

Mo Hua frowned in frustration.

Then he suddenly turned to look at the altar again.

There was something strangely… familiar about it.

He circled it twice, then—almost involuntarily—leapt onto the altar and calmly sat upon the offering pedestal.

In that moment, a mysterious and ancient sacred presence descended upon him.

A faint golden glow flashed in the depths of Mo Hua's eyes—so subtle no one would have noticed.

The altar shimmered with grandeur and solemnity.

Mo Hua, small and unassuming, sat upright upon it.

Before him stretched a jade path. On either side, snarling demon statues bowed in submission.

A bronze labyrinth, a wilderness mountain array…

A riddle within a riddle, a formation within a formation.

Endless divine mysteries all converged here—

As if Mo Hua himself was the honored deity being worshipped at the center of it all.

Mo Hua blinked in confusion.

His divine sense felt… different somehow.

But he couldn't quite tell how it was different.

He looked down at the altar beneath him.

It was clearly built for someone else, and yet, in this moment, it felt as if it had been built just for him.

Sitting on the pedestal, he felt unusually at ease.

His divine sense felt tranquil and content.

And oddly… he was craving sacrificial offerings.

"Offerings…?"

Mo Hua looked around again.

Nothing.

Not even the faintest crumb of an offering.

The altar was utterly empty.

He sighed once more.

He was hungry, but there was nothing to eat.

For some reason, he suddenly understood the sorrow of his old "friend," Lord Huangshan—the down-and-out mountain god, lonely in his ruined temple, no incense, no offerings, drinking rainwater dripping from the broken ceiling and eating stale buns of unknown origin…

"Next time I'll bring him some wine and meat," Mo Hua muttered.

"Poor guy. A forgotten mountain god, and no one visits him…"

He was already making plans for Huangshan's welfare, not caring whether Huangshan actually wanted to see him.

"Anyway, if there's no offerings on the altar, then that's that."

It wasn't a good idea to sit there too long, so Mo Hua stood up and jumped down from the altar.

But the moment his feet hit the ground, he froze.

"Offerings…"

Why… why was I thinking about offerings?

And more importantly—

What would my offering even be?

He looked at the rows of bowing demon statues in front of him… then turned to glance back at the empty pedestal.

A shadow of thought flashed across his face—followed by a jolt of alarm.

Mo Hua quickly shook his head and pushed the strange thoughts deep down.

Now wasn't the time for that nonsense.

The most important thing right now was—the Falling Fire Technique!

If he didn't steal it now, he might never have a chance to get his hands on this powerful forbidden spell again.

And his plan to modify and improve it? That'd go up in flames.

"Where the hell is the manual for the Falling Fire Technique…?"

Mo Hua activated his Heavenly Fate Deduction, blending in Heavenly Mechanism Insight to try and divine the secrets of the altar.

But it was like something ancient lingered here—something that shrouded fate and severed cause and effect.

He couldn't sense a thing.

"Heavenly Fate Deduction doesn't work…" Mo Hua said, disappointed—then quickly corrected himself.

No—it wasn't that the deduction technique didn't work.

It was that his level wasn't high enough.

He couldn't trace the karmic thread linked to the Falling Fire Technique.

But his intuition told him—it had to be hidden here somewhere in the altar.

"Where could it be…?"

He frowned.

Then jumped back onto the altar and began searching in earnest.

From the edges of the table to the surface of the pedestal, he inspected every corner.

But he couldn't find even the faintest trace of a formation.

Just then—BOOM!

A thunderous sound echoed from outside.

Something had clearly happened in the great hall.

Mo Hua paused.

"Was the fight decided?"

"Or did Fire Buddha set another trap?"

As he was still puzzling, the altar entrance suddenly opened—and a scorching, violent spiritual pressure surged inside.

It reeked of killing intent.

Mo Hua's expression shifted.

Fire Buddha!

He was back!

Immediately, Mo Hua activated his Five Element Stealth Technique, flipping behind the altar and climbing onto the head of a massive demon statue to conceal himself.

Moments later, Fire Buddha stumbled in—his robes tattered, face pale.

His arms were covered in wounds torn by wind blades.

His spiritual energy had clearly dropped. Even the two fire hearts in his chest were showing signs of burnout.

"Goddamn Gu Changhuai!"

"One day, I'll flay you alive, boil your blood dry, and burn your meat to ash—just to soothe my rage!"

"Bastard…"

…

Fire Buddha ranted and

Fire Buddha cursed furiously as he walked toward the altar.

With no one else around, his fury erupted unchecked. He dropped all pretense of cultivation and shed his hypocritical Buddhist mask—his words crude, his tone venomous.

But in the blink of an eye, the killing aura around him intensified.

Fire Buddha's whole body trembled, unable to suppress the violent Slaughter Qi within. His lips turned pale, his breath grew erratic, and his bloodshot eyes glinted with madness.

He was forced to halt and sit cross-legged on the spot. Pressing his palms together, he began to chant:

"Amitābha…"

"Merciful Buddha, deliver me from suffering and hardship…"

"All things in the world are but illusion; life and death cycle endlessly…"

"Even a butcher who has slain countless can find redemption by laying down his blade…"

…

Fire Buddha brainwashed himself for several rounds. Only then did he calm his mind, draw back the aura of slaughter, and restore the blank expression of neither joy nor sorrow on his face.

He slowly stood again and approached the altar.

Reaching it, he knelt reverently.

"The grand undertaking remains unfinished, brought to ruin at the final step.

I beg the Venerable One to forgive me…"

"The ignorant and heretical have shattered the Holy Temple's great cause, blind to the truth of this world…"

"They shall pay the price."

"But before that, this place shall be sealed in dust. One day, it shall return to the light of day—when the time comes, we shall offer sacrifices to the Venerable One once more."

"Please forgive my transgressions…"

He bowed again.

Mo Hua, silently listening behind him, frowned deeply.

"Venerable One…?"

Who was this "Venerable One"?

He had assumed this was a shrine to the Lord of the Great Wilderness, since that was the only evil god he knew.

Was "Venerable One" another name for the Lord of the Great Wilderness?

Or… was this yet another heavenly demon?

Just as Mo Hua puzzled over this, Fire Buddha suddenly lowered his head and began searching the ground.

After a few moments, he tapped a stone brick on the floor with his finger.

Flash.

A faint light flickered, and in Fire Buddha's hand appeared a thick, ancient book.

Mo Hua's eyes widened in shock—

The Falling Fire Spell Manual!

That ordinary-looking brick… was a storage space?

Mo Hua's heart sank.

"Damn. I let my guard down…"

He hadn't considered this at all.

He assumed Fire Buddha would seal his belongings with an array.

Never would he have thought the guy would simply hide it inside a storage brick with no formation at all.

Mo Hua was helpless.

"This is the price of being too good at formation arts," he grumbled inwardly.

He'd gotten so used to solving everything with arrays that he forgot: not everyone uses them.

Not everyone is a master like him.

"A skilled swimmer may drown; a master of formations may overlook the simplest trap."

Mo Hua made a mental note of the lesson.

Fire Buddha, unaware of being watched, opened the Falling Fire spellbook right there on the altar. Its pages were densely filled with notes on technique—plus detailed diagrams.

Mo Hua drooled just looking at it.

Unfortunately, he only caught a brief glance—far too little to make anything out clearly.

He grew anxious.

That tiny spike of emotion—

—was instantly picked up by Fire Buddha.

His heart was suspicious by nature, and steeped in Slaughter Qi. He was highly sensitive to any trace of emotional fluctuation.

"Who's there?!"

Fire Buddha shouted.

Mo Hua immediately ducked down, holding his breath.

Fire Buddha stood and unleashed his divine sense, sweeping the area around the altar.

At first, Mo Hua was nervous…

But after a few moments, he realized something strange: Fire Buddha didn't scan anywhere near him.

Not even close.

Curious, Mo Hua peeked out—only to see Fire Buddha stalking about with killing intent in his expression, scouring the area…

But never stepping within a meter of the altar.

It was as if the altar was an absolute forbidden zone.

He didn't dare step close.

Didn't dare look directly at it.

Didn't even extend his divine sense toward it.

Mo Hua whispered in his mind:

"He's that afraid?"

"It's just an altar… I sat on it and I'm fine."

He thought about it again, and came up with a theory.

Fire Buddha was a cultivator within the system—a servant bound to this "Venerable One."

Mo Hua, on the other hand, was an outsider, beyond the system. He didn't have to obey this hierarchy of reverence and submission.

After a while, Fire Buddha gave up his search.

Mo Hua had always been stealthy—and given how much of the area had already been destroyed, there wasn't much left that could reveal his presence anyway.

Fire Buddha frowned.

"Is my killing aura acting up again? Making me more paranoid…?"

"Yes… that's it…"

He mumbled to himself:

"This is the Venerable One's altar.

No outsider could possibly defile it.

No one would be allowed to blaspheme here…"

"Yes…"

He slowly calmed down.

He closed the Falling Fire manual. At first he was going to keep it in his robe—but after some thought, he placed it back into the storage brick.

"There will be bloodshed soon."

"And beneath the Venerable One's altar is still the safest place of all."

Fire Buddha then sat down, took a bright red flesh pill from his robes, and swallowed it whole.

He began slowly refining it.

His flesh squirmed and stitched itself back together bit by bit.

His aura, too, began to gradually recover and grow stronger.

Mo Hua's heart tensed slightly.

"What kind of pill is that? The recovery speed is insane!"

An evil pill?

What if Fire Buddha managed to fully recover in a short time?

What if Uncle Gu couldn't beat him?

"Uncle Gu… he's not going to actually get killed, right…?"

Most importantly:

"This guy's just squatting here like a statue—how the heck am I supposed to steal his stuff?!"

"I need a way to lure the tiger from the mountain…"

Without hesitation, Mo Hua messaged Gu Changhuai:

Mo Hua: "Uncle Gu."

Gu Changhuai: "Where are you? Fire Buddha's disappeared, and you—"

Mo Hua: "I know where he is."

Gu Changhuai's expression changed instantly.

Gu Changhuai: "Where?!"

Mo Hua: "The mural at the very back of the hall—bottom right corner. Step ten paces left from there, there's a mountain path entrance. Just push, and it opens…"

"Once you're inside, follow the mountain path. There'll be a bunch of forks. The order is: right, second right, right again, then left…"

"Follow that till the end and you'll see the altar."

"Fire Buddha is inside, recovering."

Gu Changhuai opened his mouth to speak but then paused, something dawning on him.

Gu Changhuai: "Wait… You're not inside the altar too, are you?!"

Mo Hua: "Yep! I'm literally watching Fire Buddha pop pills right now…"

Gu Changhuai felt a chill run down his scalp.

"This kid… is way too bold!"

But what really shocked him was—how the heck had Mo Hua even found such a hidden path?

Still, there was no time to ask.

Gu Changhuai: "Just stay hidden. Don't let him find you. I'm heading in now to capture Fire Buddha."

"If you get the chance—sneak out."

Mo Hua: "Mm-hmm!"

After that, Gu Changhuai stopped replying—likely already rushing over.

Mo Hua waited patiently.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a familiar, storm-like aura surged from the entrance to the altar.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Fire Buddha, in the midst of his recovery, sensed it too. For a brief moment, his face filled with shock.

Gu Changhuai?!

"How is this possible?!"

"How could he have found this place?!"

In the entire Holy Temple, among all the demon cultivators, only he himself knew about the innermost altar's location.

No—that wasn't quite true. The demon cultivators who helped construct the altar also knew.

But every last one of them had been "silenced."

Their corpses hadn't even been refined into zombies. They were dumped straight into the Rotten River, where they dissolved into sewage.

This altar was the core secret of the Holy Temple.

Absolutely confidential. Absolutely secure.

How on earth had a Dao-Tingsi inspector like Gu Changhuai found it?

Fire Buddha's pupils trembled—his thoughts racing.

A moment later, his face became unreadable. He slowly stood up.

"Doesn't matter how… Anyone who knows about this altar—must die."

"Even if I can't kill him, I can't let him approach. I can't let him desecrate it…"

Fire Buddha's eyes blazed red. His crimson robes flared. He activated his movement technique, transforming into a streak of searing flame—charging toward Gu Changhuai.

Gu Changhuai saw him too.

He didn't know where Mo Hua was, but so long as he held Fire Buddha back, Mo Hua would definitely find a way to slip away. The kid was too clever.

Besides, he wasn't just stalling. He wanted to end this here and now—kill Fire Buddha, and wipe out this threat once and for all!

The moment they clashed, no words were spoken.

Only an explosion of wild, world-shaking spells.

Arrow-like fire rains met blade-like wind feathers. The two forces collided, clashed, ripped each other apart. Spiritual energy surged. Light and shadow danced violently.

The surrounding mountains and stones were shattered into powder.

And the instant Fire Buddha rushed off to meet Gu Changhuai—

—Mo Hua, who'd been waiting eagerly, leapt down from the massive demon statue he'd been hiding atop. His little feet landed lightly on the sacred altar Fire Buddha revered like a god.

On the other side, Fire Buddha and Gu Changhuai were locked in fierce battle.

Mo Hua, relying on his memory, ran to the specific brick where Fire Buddha had hidden his items. His fair little hand tapped it three times and tugged with divine sense.

Sure enough, two books popped out.

Mo Hua didn't even bother to check them.

He stuffed them straight into his Storage Ring.

Once they were inside the Storage Ring, they were his. No one could ever retrieve them!

Mo Hua was overjoyed.

The Falling Fire manual is mine!

Mission complete!

He'd already won more than half the battle. Now all that remained was to figure out how to get Fire Buddha killed…

Mo Hua glanced toward the raging fight between Fire Buddha and Gu Changhuai, a sly gleam flashing in his eyes.

His mind brimmed with schemes—

—the floodgates of trickery had burst wide open.

(End of Chapter)