Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 603 – Suppression and Execution

I've been… divine sense locked?!

There's a high-level cultivator nearby?!

How is this possible?!

When divine sense locks onto you, what follows is always a spell.

Vulture's heart flared with alarm.

What spell is coming?!

In less than a breath's time, that familiar, nauseating, suffocating sensation—like drowning—rushed over him again.

Chains snapped into place. The Water Prison locked down.

Vulture's pupils shrank in disbelief.

Water Prison Technique?!

"That little brat?!"

In that split second of lightning-fast thought, Vulture suddenly realized—

He'd been fooled!

He'd been tricked by that brat!

That brat had clearly been holding back.

He could divine sense lock him. His Water Prison spell could hit every time.

But Mo Hua deliberately failed earlier, again and again, just to lull him into underestimating the threat—just to make him think…

That kid's divine sense was weaker.

That kid's spell couldn't target him.

Then, at the most critical moment—when a single breath decided life or death…

He struck for real.

Using powerful divine sense, he locked him down.

Using swift, deadly precision, he trapped him with Water Prison.

Sealing him inside, right in the path of the raging, radiant Five Elemental Light.

Like a poisonous snake lying in wait—

Low-key. Patient. Hidden.

Then suddenly—revealing its venomous fangs without warning.

The bite didn't seem serious…

But it could take your life.

Despicable!

Shameless!

Vulture was so furious he nearly coughed up blood—but even deeper was his shock.

How could that brat's divine sense be so strong?!

He'd roamed Qianzhou for so many years, but this was the first time he'd been outwitted—spiritually ambushed—by some snot-nosed brat.

And this might not just be the first time…

It could be the last.

Staring up at the sky filled with blinding elemental radiance, Vulture's expression turned grim.

He didn't know why the spell was suddenly this powerful, but he did know:

If he couldn't escape, and was caught within that light…

He was dead.

Without hesitation, the formation lines etched across his scalp lit up—glowing with a piercing, ominous green.

He was forcibly pushing the Four Symbols Formation on his body to full power. The strain caused cracks to rip open across his scalp, bleeding profusely and drenching his face.

Vulture, face soaked in blood, looked utterly savage and deranged.

He was going to make a final, desperate gamble.

With all his strength, he fused his demonic power with his flesh, twisting his body into something that was neither human nor beast.

His demonic energy raged out of control.

With a howl, the Water Prison shattered—his spiritual power tearing it apart and reducing it to harmless mist.

He broke free and sneered—ready to flee.

But at that moment—

Mo Hua's eyes still glimmered with swirling black mist, eerie and relentless.

Within those pupils, overlapping shadows emerged.

Demonic Divination, pushed to the extreme.

Divine sense, operating at full power.

Mo Hua's divine sense locked onto Vulture once more.

In less than a breath's time, his spiritual energy surged again—another Water Prison, precise as before, snapped Vulture in place again.

Vulture's face turned deathly pale, his eyes full of horror.

This time—he felt it clearly.

This divine sense…

It carried a cold, innocent, and pure killing intent.

Though the brat's cultivation hadn't even passed sixteen formation patterns, this power crushed him like a mountain.

It transcended realms—locking him down with absolute force. He couldn't even struggle.

It was bizarrely powerful, unimaginably sharp, yet had the depth of a void and a thousand shifting forms…

This… this doesn't even feel human!

Vulture's pupils trembled violently.

That brat… is he human? Or… a ghost?

Or… a wicked god?

Could it be that, like the Divine Master, this brat was also the vessel of some Outer Dao God?

Was he not truly human, but just a shell hosting a god beyond the Dao?

Vulture painfully turned his head, but saw nothing—no Mo Hua in sight.

Had he not sensed that divine sense lock, he wouldn't even have known who killed him or how he died.

The elemental light descended—

Blades of gold spiritual power sliced into his flesh.

His right arm was already dissolved—only white bone remained.

Even that bone was disintegrating.

Vulture's face twisted in despair—then shifted into a strange calm, almost devout.

He rasped, voice dry and cracked, murmuring:

"Eternal across all tribulations… the Wild God shall not die…"

"The straw dogs of all beings… souls shall return to…"

He never finished.

He was swallowed by the Five Elemental Radiance.

Golden light surged.

The spiritual power sliced his flesh into ribbons.

Blood flowed—but was instantly evaporated.

Vulture died instantly—collapsed to the ground in a twisted mess.

A horrific, unrecognizable corpse.

The multicolored light fell upon the mountains—shredding trees into dust, grinding rocks into powder, even dispersing the fog and miasma.

Golden spiritual energy lingered in the air like scattered sunlight—beautiful, yet hiding a blade.

Ouyang Feng and the others were stunned.

"He… he's really dead?!"

That spell… had such terrifying power?

A single strike truly executed the Vulture, whose body had been enhanced by that demonic formation?

As everyone stood in disbelief—

Suddenly, a Fireball Technique lazily flew past them, arced through the air, and—

Boom!

—exploded directly on Vulture's already-dead corpse.

With a loud thud, Vulture's mangled corpse was blown into the air, rolled a few times, and finally stopped.

It was… obviously dead-dead.

Everyone stared blankly, unable to speak.

Then, in unison, they turned their heads—to look at Mo Hua, who'd just whipped the corpse with a fireball.

Mo Hua blinked innocently and said, totally reasonably:

"That guy was awful. I just threw in an extra blast—to make sure he's really dead."

Though Mo Hua was already sure the Vulture was dead—his divine sense couldn't detect a trace of life, and the remaining spiritual energy was chaotic and fading…

Still—better safe than sorry.

A couple more fireballs couldn't hurt.

After all—you never know.

This Vulture was full of tricks. Thick-skinned and tough to kill.

Mo Hua's fingers even twitched a bit—itching to toss a few more fireballs.

But everyone was just silently staring at him.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he coughed lightly and said:

"Uhh… if you guys wanna throw a few more, go ahead. I already did my part…"

...

Injured Shangguan Xu looked at Mo Hua and sighed silently.

This junior brother Mo… compared to how Auntie had described him, wasn't just a little different—it was a completely different species.

He still remembered before joining the sect, how Auntie had given him countless reminders, stressing how little Mo was pure-hearted, obedient, kind, and totally harmless…

"His cultivation's not high, his body's weak, he only knows a bit of formation stuff. He's bound to suffer in a fight, so keep an eye out for him, would you?"

And Shangguan Xu… had almost believed it.

But now? This junior brother was so cunning—

No—so clever—that even in a chaotic brawl between mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he'd managed to stay cool and come out on top.

Even a vicious, slippery, and experienced old bastard like Vulture got played like a fiddle—fooled by his stealth, mocked by his Water Prison, and finally corpse-whipped with Fireballs.

Shangguan Xu let out a long sigh.

Those fresh disciples from noble families who just joined the Great Void Sect were as naive as baby lambs.

And now, he really couldn't believe any of them had the guts—or the luck—to bully this junior brother.

If anything… it'd probably be the other way around.

Ouyang Feng and the others were also giving Mo Hua increasingly odd looks.

Especially Murong Caiyun, who was clearly shocked.

He'd never imagined the guy he randomly pulled in to fill a team spot… turned out to be this kind of monster.

A master of stealth. An expert in formations. Keenly perceptive. Possessed that absurd "draw-on-the-ground-and-it's-a-deadly-array" skill.

Not to mention that ultra-rare Five Element Amplifying Formation…

Aside from being slightly weak in direct combat, every other aspect was terrifyingly overpowered.

And then there was that Water Prison—so fast, so precise.

Vulture may have technically died under Murong Caiyun's Five Element Radiance Technique, but truthfully, he died because of Mo Hua's two consecutive, power-less but absolutely vicious Water Prisons.

Mo Hua noticed everyone staring at him and felt slightly awkward, so he coughed and said:

"Senior brothers, senior sister… it's getting late. Let's gather the storage bags, loot the goodies, and head back, yeah?"

The others blinked, pulled from their daze.

Murong Caiyun stared at Mo Hua, his expression growing even stranger.

"Junior Brother… do you… do this kind of thing often?"

Killing someone and immediately looting their storage bags—why did he look so familiar with the process?

Mo Hua nodded reflexively, but halfway through, his brain caught up and he quickly shook his head instead:

"No no no, not at all! This kind of dangerous thing—this is my first time, really…"

Murong Caiyun could only sigh in helpless resignation.

The rest gave wry smiles as well.

But it was indeed getting late.

After this hard-fought battle, everyone's spiritual energy was mostly drained, and some were wounded—so they really did need to clean up and get ready to leave.

But before leaving, it was looting time—ahem, battlefield cleanup and spoils collection.

To avoid missing anything, everyone joined in. The mood was relaxed, but most were tired.

Only Mo Hua was full of energy.

Storage bag looting?

His favorite hobby!

Though, priority still went to formation study.

He first dismantled all the nearby formations, confiscating the spirit stones powering the formation cores.

Then he checked the formation hubs and lines to see if there were any formation techniques or array logic he hadn't seen before. If there were—he took notes seriously.

Even the smartest strategist can make a mistake. There are too many formation masters in this world—someone's bound to know something I don't.

One must always learn from others' strengths and combine collective wisdom.

Besides, Vulture's formation skill was clearly solid—though focused too narrowly on a few types.

Once the arrays were dismantled, Mo Hua went into the cave to inspect.

Clearly, this was a temporary resting spot for these criminal cultivators. There were some signs of daily life, a few simple cooking furnace arrays—but nothing fancy.

He also found a few demonic beast bones.

They were small, likely not from large animals—more like the radius and ulna of hawk or eagle-type beasts.

Some brown feathers were scattered on the nearby rocks.

Demonic beasts… eagles…

Mo Hua frowned.

He remembered that eagle-like array tattooed on Vulture's bald scalp.

"The Four Symbols Formation… it's related to demonic beasts…"

"But what exactly is that connection?"

"How is the Four Symbols Formation constructed? How are demonic beasts used to create it?"

"If it's drawing on demonic energy to enhance the flesh… wouldn't that turn you into some human-demon hybrid?"

Just like what happened to Vulture in his final moments—

Overdrawing on the formation, devouring demonic power, twisting his body until his very flesh was corrupted—losing all humanity and becoming a half-human, half-beast abomination.

If he ever learned this formation… would he end up like that too?

Mo Hua shuddered at the thought.

He quite liked his current form…

He definitely didn't want to become a "little freak."

How would he ever face his parents again? Or his beloved little senior sister?

He had to be cautious.

Mo Hua looked around the cave again but found nothing else—no trace of other formations, books, jade slips, or array carvings.

Even scanning with divine sense and calculating with deduction revealed nothing.

"Looks like I'll have to dig something up from Vulture's body later…"

Soon, everyone finished their search and piled the storage bags together.

Ouyang Feng and the other noble-born cultivators were selective—they only took obvious valuables and ignored the rest.

Mo Hua, on the other hand, was painstakingly thorough.

Anything remotely suspicious got looted and neatly stacked into a small mountain.

The area around the cave was now picked clean, like a locust swarm had swept through.

Shangguan Xu hesitated and said:

"Junior Brother… most of this is probably useless, right?"

"Better safe than sorry," Mo Hua replied. "If any of it's got formation lines or scripts, we might find a clue we missed."

"Fair enough…"

They were starting to realize—this junior brother had a real obsession with formations. He wasn't letting go of even the tiniest lead…

Then they moved on to processing the spoils.

Mo Hua actually did manage to extract a few fragmented array patterns from the pile of junk.

No idea what they were, but he recorded every one of them carefully.

Unfortunately, that was it.

The rest was just the usual: spirit stones, spirit tools, pills—common stuff for cultivators.

Some books and jade slips, nothing special.

Murong Caiyun handled those.

The spirit stones were split evenly.

These criminal cultivators had done enough evil to amass quite a stash—nothing to sneeze at.

Well, not much for most of them.

Murong Caiyun and the others were from noble houses—they didn't care much.

Only Mo Hua's eyes lit up with joy.

23,000 spirit stones!

Enough to last him a very, very long time.

As expected of Qianzhou—spirit stones are spent fast here… but earned fast too!

Mo Hua happily stashed them away.

The rest of the loot couldn't be split evenly.

Most of it was illegal goods anyway—not easy to handle.

As per standard procedure, it all had to be submitted to the Dao Court Office, registered, and converted to merit points, which would then be distributed accordingly.

For sect disciples, merit was far more valuable than spirit stones.

The rest was sorted quickly.

But Mo Hua was a bit disappointed.

No matter how much they searched, they found only fragmented array patterns—no complete Four Symbols formation diagrams.

Especially that one tattooed on Vulture's bald head…

The sky was getting darker. Mountain winds were turning chill.

As everyone got up to leave, Mo Hua hesitated—then finally voiced his request:

"Senior Sister Murong… could I… take a look at the array on Vulture's head?"

Vulture's corpse had been sealed inside a simple coffin—ready to be handed to the Dao Court for bounty processing and merit exchange.

Mo Hua hadn't had a chance to properly inspect the formation on his head yet.

Murong Caiyun furrowed her brows, thinking carefully.

"You… already know what that formation is, don't you?"

Mo Hua nodded. "It should be a Four Symbols Formation."

Murong Caiyun sighed. "This one... probably isn't an ordinary—or rather, a normal—Four Symbols Formation."

"Even when standard Four Symbols Formations use beast patterns, they're not this eerie or bloodthirsty…"

"Otherwise, the entire class of Four Symbols Formations would be labeled as 'evil formations' or 'demonic formations' and banned completely by the Dao Court."

"This Vulture's formation draws on demonic beast energy and fuses it into his flesh—he likely used some crooked, unorthodox method…"

"Junior Brother, you'd best not learn it…"

Mo Hua nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, of course. I'm not learning it. I'm just… studying it. Critiquing it."

Critiquing…?

This little junior brother really had a way with words.

Murong Caiyun still hesitated.

So Mo Hua added quickly, "I mostly want to bring it back… for Elder Xun to look at."

He brought out the trump card—Elder Xun—again.

And sure enough, it worked like a charm.

Murong Caiyun's expression shifted slightly, then she relaxed and gave a slow nod. "If that's the case, go ahead and take a look…"

So, once again, everyone helped open Vulture's sealed coffin—just for Mo Hua.

Vulture had overdosed on his Four Symbols Formation, bloated with beast energy, twisted his flesh, and then got annihilated by the Great Void Sect's high-tier Five Element Radiance Technique. Mo Hua even added a post-mortem Fireball just for good measure.

So his body… was barely even human anymore.

Yet the array etched on his body was completely intact—as if…

Mo Hua's heart stirred.

As if the formation itself had a life of its own?

Life…

A chill ran down his spine, and he began carefully studying the formation.

This Four Symbols Formation didn't look like it had been drawn on—it looked like it had latched on… parasitically.

Its structure was incredibly stable. Even after being overused and blasted with powerful spells, the array patterns and core nodes remained untouched.

Mo Hua pulled out his brush and paper, began deducing internally, and copied while observing closely.

It took him nearly half an hour to fully transcribe the formation on Vulture's scalp—every line, every rune.

Murong Caiyun and the others waited patiently at the side.

Once Mo Hua was done and had safely stored the drawing, they all got up and traveled through the night, arriving at Dian Cang City.

This chapter isn't over yet—click to read the next page!

To avoid any complications, their first stop was the Dao Court Office. There, they turned over Vulture's corpse and gave a brief report of the events.

Of course, how exactly Vulture was killed, along with any formation or spell techniques involved, was only summarized.

Since it involved personal cultivation and inherited techniques, the Dao Court wouldn't press too hard.

From there on, it was Dao Court business:

How to tally the loot, how to calculate merit points, how to officially declare Vulture guilty and display his corpse publicly.

Also, while Vulture was dead and his body handed over, he'd had several fellow criminal cultivators under him—each with a rap sheet at the Dao Court.

These criminals had died in Dian Cang Mountain as well.

So Dao Court officials would need to collect the bodies, match them to the wanted list, close the cases, and award any additional merits.

All of this was the Dao Court's job now.

As for Mo Hua and the others—their mission was officially complete.

After wrapping things up, the group stayed at an inn in Dian Cang City for the night. They'd return to the Great Void Sect early the next morning.

Even after a full day of travel, Mo Hua still spent the night at the Dao Tablet, practicing formations.

He focused on basic arrays, mainly to strengthen his spiritual sense.

As for the Four Symbols Formation, Mo Hua planned to hold off and wait until he was safely back in the sect to study it in-depth.

Just in case something went wrong, Elder Xun could cover for him.

The next morning, everyone woke up in high spirits and decided to spend half a day relaxing.

Mo Hua figured it was a rare opportunity, so he tagged along, mooching some food and drinks, wandering around Dian Cang City, and buying a few fun trinkets.

In the afternoon, they were set to head back to the sect.

Before leaving, Murong Caiyun and Ouyang Feng stopped by the Dao Court Office again to wrap up some last-minute paperwork and add a few more details to their report—formally closing out the case.

When they returned, Murong Caiyun brought back a storage bag stamped with the Dao Court's seal.

She opened it and said, "This is what the Dao Court returned to us…"

"These are items found on Vulture and the other criminals. But since they couldn't be converted into merit points, they gave them back."

"Take a look. If there's anything you want, help yourself…"

Murong Caiyun began pulling items out one by one—some common pills, damaged spirit tools, a few calligraphy scrolls…

Nothing particularly valuable.

But Mo Hua's sharp eyes spotted a command token.

He immediately asked, "Senior Sister Murong, what's this token?"

Murong Caiyun took a look, then said hesitantly:

"Looks like… a Message Token."

"Message Token?"

Murong Caiyun nodded. "It's a type of token used to send messages between cultivators. Similar to our sect tokens, but much simpler in function."

Mo Hua frowned. "This came from Vulture's group? Why didn't I find it when we searched?"

Murong Caiyun chuckled. "When it comes to searching, the Dao Court is way more experienced. They've got techniques we don't—it's normal we missed it."

Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully. "So… is there any important info inside this Message Token?"

Murong Caiyun scanned it briefly with her divine sense, then shook her head.

"Seems like an ordinary one—nothing special. The contents have all been wiped clean."

Mo Hua was startled. "Wiped clean?"

She nodded. "It's blank now—completely empty."

"We don't know if Vulture erased it before he died… or if the Dao Court scrubbed it."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up with anticipation.

"Senior Sister… can I play with it a bit?"

Don't worry—I'm not ending the chapter early…

I just ran out of writing energy. This is where it stops… for now.

(End of Chapter)