Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 1136: Young Master Shi

Upon seeing the blood-colored Undying Talisman foretold within Young Master Shi's Fate Palace, Mo Hua's gaze tightened, his thoughts whirring rapidly.

The Undying Talisman of the Demonic Path—on par with the orthodox path's Lifespan Talisman—was a powerful protective talisman used to safeguard the lives of their core geniuses.

It could only be refined by a Hollow Void Realm demonic ancestor who was nearing the end of their life and had lost hope of advancing further, using their own demonic essence as the core catalyst.

So far, Mo Hua had encountered many Lifespan Talismans and had even personally shattered five of them.

But the Undying Talisman—he had only seen once.

That was years ago, outside Lì Prefecture City, when he encountered a demonic sect's holy son who bore a bloody mark on his forehead.

Mo Hua's gaze grew colder.

"This Young Master Shi… is he also a demonic holy son?"

"Even if not... for the Undying Talisman to be planted in him, it means he must have a close-blooded ancestor in the Demonic Path at the Hollow Void Realm. He's a core genius with high expectations, heir to a major demonic sect—his status is extraordinary..."

"Someone like this… might just be worth breaking my own rules for... killing."

A murderous intent once again stirred in Mo Hua's heart.

But in the next instant, he forcibly calmed himself down.

Attacking this holy son would definitely trigger the Undying Talisman, summoning the blood-colored Hollow Void Manifestation of a demonic ancestor...

Even with third-rank Heavenly Dao restrictions limiting its appearance to just an instant, the oppressive might of a Hollow Void expert in that brief moment would be enough to obliterate his physical body.

Right now, Mo Hua wasn't qualified to face someone at that level.

Especially not here in Lì Prefecture, in this Little Relay City—this wasn't Qianxue Province.

There was no fifth-rank Dao Debate Mountain Array here to shield him from a Hollow Void Manifestation's extermination strike.

Let alone killing this "holy son."

Even if he somehow succeeded, he would die as well.

Even if he miraculously survived, he would still face endless bloody revenge from the demonic sects.

Mo Hua shot a faint glance at Young Master Shi and suppressed his killing intent.

Young Master Shi's body suddenly felt a chill—but it vanished as quickly as it came. Still, in that fleeting moment under Mo Hua's gaze, he felt as if he had walked along the edge of death itself—his heart shook with both fear and fury.

No one had ever looked at him like that.

No one had ever dared to.

And no one had ever made him feel such dread.

His face turned even paler, tinged with red from the anger. He growled:

"Damn it!"

The Bronze Corpse beside him, for reasons unknown, had been intimidated and frozen. Young Master Shi gave up on controlling it with the Golden Bell technique and instead reversed the flow of corpse qi, infusing it directly into his body—undergoing Corpse Transformation, merging man and corpse into one.

His body enlarged, robes ripping apart to reveal bulging pale-white muscles. His claws turned jade-green, his eyes crimson like rubies. Long hair flowed wildly as he took on a fearsome yaksha-like form. Then, ghost-like, he charged at Mo Hua with chilling corpse qi trailing behind him.

Mo Hua calmly extended a bare hand—water shimmered, and a Water Prison instantly formed, binding the corpse-transformed Young Master Shi with precision.

With a furious roar, Young Master Shi exploded with strength, shattering the water prison in one powerful burst, and continued forward.

But after only a few meters, formation patterns lit up beneath him. Stone spikes reversed, turning into a stone cage that locked him in once more.

"Formation?"

Young Master Shi's gaze turned cold. He infused corpse qi into his muscles, triggering explosive power in his body. With a swing of his iron-like arm, he shattered the prison and broke through the formation—continuing his charge toward Mo Hua.

This time, he was faster and fiercer.

Just as he was about to breach the three-meter mark, Mo Hua flicked his fingers, unleashing three fireballs in quick succession.

Each fireball was wreathed in black-gray sinister Slaughter Qi, terrifying to behold, with deadly accuracy and incredible speed—impossible to dodge.

Young Master Shi had no choice but to cross his arms to shield himself and take the blasts head-on.

The flames exploded violently, blasting him back three steps.

But the searing fire failed to burn his flesh.

Even the chilling Slaughter Qi was neutralized by the even more venomous corpse qi on his body.

Mo Hua's eyes flickered with subtle surprise.

Young Master Shi lowered his arms and sneered:

"That's all you've got?"

Mo Hua's expression turned indifferent. He gently played with another fireball, considering whether or not to just cripple this guy...

Killing him would trigger the Undying Talisman.

But if he merely disabled his limbs—rendered him immobile for now—it shouldn't be an issue.

Mo Hua's deep gaze locked onto Young Master Shi, thoughts shifting rapidly.

Young Master Shi's gaze turned icy.

Just then, Mo Hua's expression changed slightly, as if he sensed something. Water light shimmered around him, and his figure began to fade.

Young Master Shi's eyes widened—realizing instantly what Mo Hua was doing. He growled angrily:

"Trying to run?!"

Amidst a surge of corpse qi, Young Master Shi turned into a bloody streak, pouncing at Mo Hua.

His jade-like claws, laced with corpse poison, slashed toward Mo Hua's throat.

But Mo Hua only gave him a calm glance before his figure completely vanished.

Under Young Master Shi's claws, the corpse qi lashed out in all directions, shredding nearby Hehuan Sect cultivators lost in lust, leaving behind bloody pulp—yet Mo Hua was nowhere to be seen.

Even with divine sense fully extended, there was not a single trace.

Mo Hua had simply vanished from the world, leaving behind no spiritual presence or footprint.

Young Master Shi frowned.

"Just what is this kid's background? So bizarre... Is he really only Foundation Establishment?"

While still pondering, a Golden Core aura suddenly approached from the distance.

A cultivator dressed in ornate robes, looking like a kindly, wealthy old gentleman, stepped into the room—yet he held a sinister Corpse Summoning Bell in his hand.

Before tonight, he was a "respected" Golden Core ancestor in Little Relay City, known for his charity and kindness, especially to Foundation Establishment juniors.

Only tonight did he tear off his mask—revealing his true identity as a Grand Corpse Cultivator from Yin Corpse Valley, guilty of countless atrocities.

Yet before Young Master Shi, this "wealthy elder" showed great respect.

Young Master Shi nodded in greeting:

"Elder Fu."

He didn't know Elder Fu's real name—just that before joining the demonic path, the man had been quite wealthy, always dressed in luxurious robes and acting like a rich merchant. Thus, people referred to him respectfully as "Elder Fu."

Corpse refining was a trade that devoured both resources and manpower.

Without wealth and servants, one wasn't qualified to refine corpses at all.

So—Corpse Refiners are rich, and the rich refine corpses. Makes perfect sense.

Elder Fu smiled amiably. His gaze swept the area before asking in slight surprise:

"Young Master Shi, who were you fighting just now?"

Young Master Shi's face darkened:

"Some brat of unknown origin..."

Elder Fu looked more surprised:

"Foundation Establishment?"

Young Master Shi scowled and didn't answer.

Elder Fu was even more baffled.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator in this small Little Relay City had forced Young Master Shi to use Corpse Transformation, and even managed to escape right under his nose?

And judging by the scene, he might've even made Young Master Shi suffer a bit?

How... strange.

Still, he didn't ask further.

Those eligible to compete for the title of Demonic Holy Son were all extraordinarily gifted and proud. One careless word might earn lifelong resentment.

Elder Fu said:

"I'll send people to pursue him—capture that Foundation brat and hand him over to you for... processing."

Young Master Shi coldly replied:

"No need. Locking down the city is more important. Once it's sealed, we'll kill everyone and refine them into zombies one by one. That brat won't escape."

Elder Fu nodded in approval.

Not acting on momentary anger and knowing the greater priority—such temperament could accomplish great things.

He turned to glance at the nearby bloodstained pleasure chambers and asked:

"And... these?"

Young Master Shi said plainly:

"I made an arrangement with Fairy Mei. They suck the essence; we refine the corpses. Each gets what they need."

"Good," Elder Fu nodded, then briefly reported:

"The corpse array is active. The city is sealed. Zombies are feeding. In another two or three hours, they should be nearly done."

"Then, we'll sweep up the survivors. Once everyone's dead, no one will know what happened in Little Relay City."

"After that, we'll refine the city using a Blood Corpse Array. If no one interferes, in about a month, Little Relay City will be fully transformed into a 'Corpse City'—a third-rank one at that."

"Using this city as our base, Yin Corpse Valley can take advantage of the current chaos to expand our corpse path and grow stronger..."

"And Little Relay City will become one of our most important corpse-path strongholds in all of Lì Prefecture."

"If this succeeds, Young Master, the ancestor will surely favor you even more…"

A flush of heat stirred in Young Master Shi's heart—but his face remained calm. He nodded:

"Act quickly. Don't delay. Changes happen fast."

Elder Fu smiled warmly:

"Understood."

...

And so, the corpse cultivators of Yin Corpse Valley accelerated the pace of the city-wide massacre.

The tragedy engulfing Little Relay City only worsened.

One cultivator after another fell, torn apart by zombies, then infected with corpse poison by sinister corpse cultivators—only to be awakened again with cursed bronze bells as mindless undead.

Many tried to resist—but they were merely Qi Refining or at best Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Most were from small clans or minor sects, with shallow inheritances and inferior spiritual tools and techniques. They were no match at all for the orthodox-trained corpse cultivators of Yin Corpse Valley.

Let alone the fact that seven or eight Golden Core demonic experts had been dispatched from Yin Corpse Valley—along with their tamed Grade-3 Iron Corpses and Bronze Corpses.

Even the city walls surrounding Little Relay City had been sealed tight with wicked formation arrays set by Yin Corpse Valley.

These powerful evil formations couldn't be broken at all.

Golden Core experts held the city. Corpse cultivators carried out the slaughter. Formation arrays sealed all exits.

There was no way to escape.

Blood mist spread.

The plague of corpses raged.

And despair slowly blanketed Little Relay City under the shroud of night...

Northwest corner, atop a tall building.

Mo Hua concealed himself, sitting silently on a rooftop. He watched all of this unfold with eyes full of sorrowful compassion.

After a moment, he sighed, raised a pale hand, pinched his fingers together, and quietly calculated. Then he murmured:

"Almost time…"

At the center of Little Relay City, inside a lavish grand hall.

All the cultivators inside had already been killed.

Elder Fu sat in the center, spreading out a map of Little Relay City and observing the movement patterns across the entire city marked on the map.

Beside him, several corpse-path formation masters were actively maintaining the city's sealing array.

Young Master Shi stood atop a high platform, looking down over the nightmare unfolding across the city—his expression cold and emotionless.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

The formations were functioning exactly as expected.

This set of complex formations was a long-standing method used by Yin Corpse Valley to seal cities and slaughter them. Passed down from their forebears, it rarely failed.

This operation was Yin Corpse Valley's first full-scale city massacre in years, and they had taken it very seriously—dispatching as many as seven or eight Golden Core devils.

Among them were three mid-stage Golden Core cultivators and even one late-stage Golden Core—giving the operation great weight.

With such overwhelming strength, razing a cultivator city without a single Golden Core expert was like using a butcher's blade to kill a chicken.

With such a vast gap in strength and realm, all unforeseen incidents should've been eliminated.

The city was sealed. People were dying. Corpses were being refined…

Everything was progressing smoothly, like water flowing downhill.

Until suddenly—an unusual fluctuation emerged from the core node of the Yin Corpse Blood Refining Formation.

One of the older, more experienced formation masters furrowed his brow:

"Something's not right…"

Elder Fu looked up at once, his gaze narrowing slightly.

"What's not right?"

The evil formation master's brow tightened further.

"I don't know if it's because the formation hasn't been used in years… or if something went wrong during the setup… but the energy flow at the array's core is behaving strangely. Some of the demonic power is… flowing in reverse…"

Elder Fu's kindly expression vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp look.

"Speak clearly."

The formation master hesitated, unsure whether to speak.

If he raised a false alarm, he'd surely be punished.

After all, despite his gentle appearance, Elder Fu was ruthless—he didn't treat people as people.

But if there was a real issue and he said nothing, the consequences would be worse…

He braced himself and spoke cautiously:

"It looks… like someone tampered with the formation."

Several Yin Corpse Valley Golden Core experts nearby all narrowed their eyes in shock.

Elder Fu's gaze turned ice-cold.

"Are you sure?"

The formation master didn't dare confirm outright, but replied strictly from a technical standpoint:

"Judging solely from the core structure and energy flow—yes, that's what it looks like…"

At those words, everyone present felt a jolt in their hearts.

They all understood what this meant.

If someone had tampered with the formation, it meant their plan to seal and massacre the city had already been discovered.

And whoever made those changes—clearly held hostile intent toward Yin Corpse Valley.

They had no doubt dug some unknown "pit" for them to fall into.

And the formation they were using to seal the city and refine corpses wasn't just any array—it was a second-rank, seventeen-rune compound formation, even more complex than most high-grade second-rank arrays.

To secretly tamper with a formation of this level, the perpetrator must be a master-level array cultivator.

At the very least, a high-grade second-rank formation master.

Based on the standard cultivation levels of array masters, that would place this person at early to mid-stage Golden Core—possibly even higher.

A Golden Core cultivator—one trained in formations—had stealthily modified Yin Corpse Valley's refining array…

"Who… could this person be?"

"And what exactly are they planning?"

Every Yin Corpse Valley Golden Core present grew grim.

Even Young Master Shi's eyes turned dark and deep.

Someone capable of this level of sabotage couldn't be acting alone—they had to have backing. Either a powerful family… or a cultivation sect.

If they were from an orthodox faction, they were clearly here to stop Yin Corpse Valley's massacre.

If they were from a demonic faction… then they were here to backstab Yin Corpse Valley and steal the spoils.

Either way, it spelled trouble.

And worse—this person had struck at their formation…

And in formation battles… that was striking at the heart.

"Where exactly is the formation flow reversing?" Elder Fu asked.

"The eastern gate," the elder formation master replied as he studied the core array hub.

Elder Fu nodded, then turned around and commanded:

"Elder Xu, Elder Ma—take a formation master with you and investigate the eastern gate. See if something's gone wrong with the array."

The two Golden Core cultivators from Yin Corpse Valley stood and bowed.

"Understood."

They each brought a Foundation Establishment-level second-rank evil formation master and headed straight for the western gate.

Inside the hall, the remaining Yin Corpse Valley members waited anxiously.

But after the time of one incense stick had passed, the cultivators who had gone to the eastern gate hadn't reported anything unusual—and suddenly, the flow of energy at the array hub fluctuated again.

The elderly evil formation master's expression changed:

"The formation runes at the western gate… they're reversing too?!"

Elder Fu's eyes darkened. From the depths of the night, he caught a faint whiff of something… wrong.

But now that problems had arisen, they had to be addressed.

So he called two more Yin Corpse Valley Golden Core elders and had them take another formation master to the western gate to investigate.

After they left, Elder Fu grew increasingly uneasy.

Something felt off—as if someone was playing him in the shadows.

But everything was cloaked in darkness, hidden from sight.

Another incense stick's time passed—and then things escalated.

The elder formation master's face went pale with shock.

"Elder Fu, this is bad. The energy flow within the entire formation has gone haywire. It's all reversing… and converging toward the northern gate!"

Elder Fu was now both furious and panicked. All kindness had vanished from his face. He cursed inwardly, then turned to the last two Golden Core cultivators and barked:

"You two, take another formation master and go check the northern gate!"

"Yes!"

The two cultivators were just about to depart when Elder Fu suddenly jolted and froze mid-step.

"No... something's wrong…"

A moment of silence.

Then his face twisted with realization.

"Cunning… utterly despicable."

"Forget the northern gate!" Elder Fu ordered at once. "East gate, west gate, and now the north gate—all showing signs of a problem. But sending people to each gate only scatters our forces."

"It's all misdirection—a classic feint to lure the tiger from the mountain!"

"Which means…" His eyes narrowed.

"Go to the southern gate instead!"

"That's where the real sabotage is!"

"Send a message to Elders Xu and Ma. If there's nothing wrong at the east and west gates, have them head to the southern gate directly!"

The two Golden Core demonic cultivators suddenly understood and praised:

"Elder Fu is wise!"

They took a formation master and departed for Little Relay City's southern gate, hoping to uncover the truth.

Back in the city's main hall, only Elder Fu and Young Master Shi remained.

Elder Fu's plump fingers tapped against the table as he continued to ponder—had he made the right call? Was there a flaw?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

A creeping chill rose from the depths of his heart.

His fingers began to tremble.

In that instant—he understood.

"I've still… been played…"

The east and west gates—those were meant to make him feel clever.

The north and south gates—those were to make him outsmart himself.

Now, east, west, and south were all occupied. But the north gate, which had actually shown signs of abnormality… had been completely ignored.

By now, nearly half an hour had passed.

The true energy reversal at the north gate had been going unchecked for a long time…

Just then, the elderly formation master shouted in panic:

"Elder Fu! The spiritual energy reversal at the north gate is still intensifying—it's already surpassed the critical threshold!"

Elder Fu felt like he'd fallen into an ice cavern. He whipped his head toward the north—

And in the very next moment—

BOOM!!!

A massive pillar of fire shot into the sky.

The northern sky lit up like daylight.

Accompanied by a thunderous roar and the explosive backlash of spiritual energy, Little Relay City's northern gate, along with a massive stretch of its walls, was obliterated by the exploding formation!

Without a powerful Golden Core cultivator stationed there, the gate was instantly breached.

The once sealed city now had a massive opening.

The explosion's brilliance burned like a beacon in the night sky—

Illuminating the stunned faces of Yin Corpse Valley's corpse cultivators…

And showing the desperate cultivators trapped in the city— a path to survival.

(End of this Chapter)