Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 647 – Assassination

The structure of the demonic lair was far more complex than it appeared from the outside.

The demon palace was divided into three sections:

Outer Hall, Middle Hall, and Inner Hall.

Mo Hua had deduced this from the layout of the array nodes.

The array core's secret chamber was located in the Middle Hall. It connected both the Outer and Inner Halls and acted as the control hub for the entire Primordial Magnetic Composite Array, managing all magnetic formations through a central node.

There were plenty of demonic cultivators and demon hounds patrolling from the Outer Hall to the Middle Hall—but none came close to the core secret chamber.

Clearly, even for the demon cultivators, the array chamber was forbidden ground.

A skilled evil array master sat at its heart. Ordinarily, that would mean the place was impenetrable.

But now, a not-so-ordinary little cultivator had come…

…leading three "bodyguards" to "stab" this evil array master.

In the Middle Hall, demonic cultivators and demon hounds patrolled in shifts. Although their guard was tight, there were always brief gaps during shift changes.

It's not the thief you fear most—

—It's the thief who's been thinking about robbing you for a long time.

Mo Hua hid in the shadows, observed for a long time, and soon mapped out their patrol rotation patterns.

Then, taking advantage of a shift change, he led Gu Changhuai and the others to sneak into the Middle Hall.

A short walk to the right brought them to the secret chamber housing the array core.

From the outside, it looked like a plain stone room.

But it radiated an austere, oppressive aura.

From outside the chamber, Mo Hua could see complex overlapping lock arrays engraved into the walls.

And he could sense the surging, orderly flow of magnetic energy within.

"This is it…"

Mo Hua whispered softly.

Gu Changhuai gave the chamber a glance and asked in a low voice,

"How do we get in?"

The door was sealed tight—and protected by an array-locked formation with hidden runes.

"I'll handle it," Mo Hua murmured.

He crouched low and tiptoed to the door.

Gu Quan stood watch at the corridor's entrance.

Gu Changhuai stood to Mo Hua's right with his dagger drawn.

Gu An stood to the left, gripping the Thousand-Jin Rod.

Both were locked in and alert.

If Mo Hua made the slightest noise and alerted the array master inside—

They would charge in immediately and take him out.

A high-grade second-rank evil array master was a dangerous threat—

Arguably more dangerous than a low-stage Core Formation demonic cultivator.

Core Formation cultivators just killed people.

But evil array masters?

They killed with formations—and the damage spread far and deep.

So no matter how things turned out—this man had to die.

Mo Hua moved delicately, unlocking the runes.

This was a second-rank, sixteen-pattern metal-type locking array—

Right at the limit of what Mo Hua's spiritual sense could handle.

Most likely, the evil array master had strong spiritual sense

—but only mastered up to 16-pattern locking arrays.

Or maybe he just thought a mid-tier second-rank lock was enough.

After all, he was right inside watching. Who would dare break in?

That overconfidence…

was exactly what gave Mo Hua his opportunity.

He didn't dare disarm the whole thing in one go—

Too fast would trigger a spiritual ripple and alert the guy inside.

So he disabled it slowly—one stroke at a time—pausing each time to check for a reaction.

Gu Changhuai and Gu An waited patiently.

Finally, after who-knew-how-long…

The runes on the door gave a soft buzz, and the glow dimmed slightly.

Mo Hua froze, holding his breath.

So did the others.

A few moments passed. No movement.

It seemed the evil array master inside hadn't noticed.

Mo Hua slowly pushed the door open just a crack—squinting to peek inside.

And saw—

The evil array master… was losing his mind.

He lay slumped in a chair, ripping at his own arms and face, digging deep enough to tear bloody gashes.

His flesh was jammed under his nails.

Through the cracked door, Mo Hua could hear his low, manic mumbling—twisted and despairing:

"I can't see it…"

"Why can't I see it…"

"My divine sense…"

Mo Hua paused.

Did he say "divine sense" (神识)… or "divine vision" (神视)?

"…I cannot see the form of the True God.

I cannot see the truth of the world.

I cannot see the eternal Dao…"

"Why?"

"I clearly already…"

"Drank the blood-soaked wine… infused with its eye…"

"So why can't my eyes become its eyes?"

"Why do I still see only filth and ugliness in this world?"

"Why can't I see…"

The evil array master had fallen into a frenzied, delusional trance.

Mo Hua frowned.

What was wrong with this guy?

Did that cursed bloodwine—infused with a demonic eyeball—contaminate his spiritual sense and scramble his mind?

He glanced back at Gu Changhuai.

Gu Changhuai was also frowning—clearly baffled.

As a Dao Court official, he'd seen many cultivators driven insane by corrupted spiritual sense.

But this kind of babbling lunatic array master?

That was new.

After his mad ramblings, the evil array master's body twitched.

Blood poured out… then gradually he stopped moving, like a corpse.

Moments later, he stirred again.

His torn flesh began to heal.

His skin turned paler.

The blood in his eyes deepened.

"Why… can I still not see…"

"Is my faith not devout enough?

Or is my Dao heart… not corrupted enough…"

Mo Hua mentally rolled his eyes.

You're about to die, and you're still thinking about being more corrupted?

Go corrupt yourself in the afterlife.

He gave Gu Changhuai a look.

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened.

Gu An braced himself.

The evil array master, still recovering from his wine-fueled madness and with semi-dazed divine sense, turned toward the magnetic core.

Then—a chill pierced his chest.

He looked down.

A dagger tip was poking out of his chest.

In that instant, a surge of wind-type spiritual energy exploded—

The Wind Blade Formation activated, shredding his heart meridians to pieces.

Cold sweat flooded his soul.

An assassination!!

He couldn't believe it.

In this sealed, forgotten sacrificial demon palace atop Mount Bì…

Inside a secret chamber known only to him—

Someone actually snuck in and assassinated him?!

Impossible!

But the stabbing pain in his chest, the aura of the powerful cultivator behind him…

All told him this was very, very real.

And the one who stabbed him—was a powerful Core Formation cultivator!

"I'm going to die—!"

The evil array master panicked.

He tried to shout.

A pale, slender hand clamped tightly over his throat.

The hand was infused with powerful spiritual energy,

cutting off both sound and air.

His eyes widened in alarm.

In a flash, he bit the tip of his tongue—trying to jolt his consciousness clear with blood.

At the same time, his eyes turned red—twisted and warped—

beginning to resemble the eye that had soaked in his wine.

A wave of crimson divine sense began to surge…

Spiritual sense sorcery!

But before it could spread—

"CLANG!!"

A metal rod slammed into his skull.

Gu An remembered Mo Hua's instructions well:

"If his spiritual sense goes weird, whack him. Hard."

That blow rattled the evil array master's skull.

Gu An cultivated body strength—his strikes were brutal.

The evil array master was no body cultivator.

His head couldn't withstand that kind of force.

Blood dripped down his face. Agony stabbed through his skull.

His divine sense flickered.

The sinister spell was cut off—before it could do anything.

But even so, the twisted spiritual energy borrowed from the bloody eye

began to slowly restore his consciousness.

With his hand hidden in his sleeve, he quietly reached for his message talisman.

He was sure the movement was subtle.

Then he heard a crisp voice:

"Hand!"

Before he could react—

CRACK!

Gu An smashed his arm with the iron rod. The talisman flew to the ground.

Not giving up, he reached for his storage pouch with the other hand—

"Still got another one!"

Before the words even finished, CRACK!

Gu An shattered his second arm too.

The evil array master was stunned and furious.

Everything he did…

was completely within their expectations.

These bastards!!

Anger roared in his chest—

Then… numbness.

His whole body froze.

The poison from Gu Changhuai's dagger had long seeped into his bloodstream—

And now it had spread through his entire body.

Poison?!

They even used poison?!

A Core Formation cultivator assassinating a Foundation Establishment cultivator—

and still needed to use poison?

What kind of despicable, shameless people exist in this world?!

"No time…"

The evil array master gritted his teeth in desperation.

He bit off his own tongue and swallowed the gushing blood.

His blood—was like some demonic brew.

As the blood wine entered his stomach, his eyes bulged grotesquely,

warped and distorted like the eye of some evil god.

At the same time, his spiritual sense surged with unnatural power.

He glared at the Primordial Magnetic Core in the center of the chamber with those horrific eyes.

He was trying to use this demonic gaze to amplify his divine sense,

instantly connect to the array core, and use the composite magnetic array

to summon every demonic cultivator in the entire palace—

to surround and kill the ones who tried to assassinate him!

"Rod!"

A crisp voice rang out.

Gu An's expression hardened. He raised his iron rod—and smashed it down again.

Blood flew from the evil array master's skull,

but even this blow couldn't stop his boosted demonic sense.

He was still reaching for the array core with his will.

His deformed, bloodshot eyes locked fiercely onto the central array disk.

Just as he was about to succeed—

A flash of fire at the edge of his vision.

Two fireballs exploded—left and right—smashing into his face

and searing his bulging eyes.

He screamed in agony.

His demonic thoughts faltered.

But though his eyes were scorched and blinded,

his spiritual sense could still reach out.

He extended his corrupted divine sense again,

straining toward the Primordial Magnetic Core…

Mo Hua, seeing this, flashed forward.

He stood directly in front of the core and unfurled a scroll he'd prepared.

On the scroll—

a deep, abyssal pattern began to stir.

The Elemental Flow Diagram!

As the scroll opened, the source pattern came alive.

It had been hungry for a long time, suppressed, ignored,

cast aside by Mo Hua due to its low decryption probability—

and now, it was finally free.

The source pattern on the diagram squirmed—like the origin of a plague.

The evil array master's spiritual sense surged toward the core—

and slammed straight into the diagram.

In that instant—

a crushing sense of oppression descended.

It was as if his divine sense had plunged into a tide of plague.

His heart went cold.

He instinctively reached out to sense what this was—

and immediately felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar.

He "saw"—

A multicolored, prismatic eye slowly open.

A deep, unfathomable pupil stared at him—cold and indifferent.

"What… is this?!"

Terror seized him.

But before he could react,

countless formation patterns swarmed in like a virus—

invading his spiritual sense.

In the blink of an eye—

his external divine sense was parasitized, corrupted, fragmented—then devoured.

Irrecoverable!

The evil array master's mind fell into despair.

This… was a carefully calculated assassination!

He had been completely played.

Every countermeasure—

shut down before it even started.

Even his spiritual sense tricks had been sealed off perfectly.

"There's some sinister, venomous, underhanded old array master behind this!"

His eyes nearly burst from rage.

"Who was it?!"

As he lay dying, he just wanted to see—

who had done this to him.

He turned his head with great effort.

He remembered hearing a strange, crisp voice earlier.

But his eyes were burned. His vision, a blur.

He couldn't see anything clearly.

Gu Changhuai activated his spiritual energy—

crushed his throat—

then used blade aura to completely shred his heart meridians.

The evil array master was dead.

Even in death,

he never saw Mo Hua's face.

Never knew who had outplayed him so thoroughly.

Everything—each twist, every clash—

had happened in just a dozen breaths.

The assassination was complete.

Silence returned to the array core chamber.

Mo Hua walked to the door and quietly called in Gu Quan,

who had been standing guard outside.

Then he closed the chamber door once more.

This way, the demon cultivators wouldn't realize—

that the high-grade second-rank evil array master watching over the Primordial Magnetic Core…

was already a corpse.

Gu Changhuai released the crushed throat in his hand

and pulled his short blade out of the array master's chest.

The corpse slumped to the floor like a pile of rotting mud.

Mo Hua put away his Elemental Flow Diagram.

Gu Changhuai frowned slightly.

"That diagram just now…"

Mo Hua didn't even blink.

"It's a special trap—only works on array masters. Uncle Gu, you're not allowed to look at it."

Gu Changhuai froze, half skeptical.

The corpse still lay on the ground.

On the table sat a wine cup—

and inside it, a strange, demonic eye soaked in blood wine.

The image of the evil array master's earlier transformation replayed in their minds.

Mo Hua tried to sneakily grab the eyeball—

but just as he reached for it,

Gu Changhuai snatched the cup away first.

"This wine's dangerous. You can't touch it."

Mo Hua could only watch helplessly

as Gu Changhuai carefully sealed the cup—eye and all—and put it in his storage pouch.

Mo Hua muttered softly,

"Uncle Gu, make sure you seal that thing properly…"

"Don't worry."

Mo Hua sighed.

Just in case, he suggested,

"Uncle Gu, maybe… give him a few more stabs?"

"Break his sea of consciousness, his qi core, and his heart meridians again. Just in case."

"This guy's too weird. He needs to be extra dead. Can't risk it."

Gu Changhuai paused—

then looked at Mo Hua with a complicated expression.

Gu An and Gu Quan, meanwhile, were beaming with admiration.

"Young Master Mo is so steady and reliable!"

Even their cold-blooded young lord never handled things this ruthlessly…

Gu Changhuai sighed… but still did it.

He stabbed the evil array master's forehead, qi sea, and heart meridians each once more.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator like this—

was now thoroughly, irreversibly dead.

Mo Hua finally felt at ease.

He glanced at the corpse, which looked utterly tragic, and thought to himself:

This array master had powerful divine sense, twisted thoughts, and terrifying methods.

Good thing he died first.

Mo Hua nodded to himself.

"The best opponent… is a dead one."

As a demon hunter, the creed was simple:

"Victory without honor is still victory."

That was the life advice his father—Mo Shan, a veteran demon hunter—had hammered into him.

Mo Hua was determined to remember it—and live it.

After a simple cleanup, Mo Hua turned his attention to the array disk in front of him.

Magnetic patterns were densely packed across its surface,

interwoven with deep, complex lines—

forming the intricate core of the Primordial Magnetic Composite Array.

Mo Hua studied it for a moment… and realized—

He couldn't understand a thing.

He'd never studied this kind of magnetic array before.

And this was above 17-pattern complexity!

He scratched his head, thought for a moment, then asked:

"Uncle Gu, where's that evil array master's storage pouch?

Check if there's an array diagram inside…"

Gu Changhuai hesitated.

Because this was an evil array master's pouch,

it would definitely contain demonic techniques or forbidden arrays.

He'd already put it away.

Someone like Mo Hua must not be exposed to it.

As a Dao Court officer, Gu Changhuai knew:

the more talented an array master,

the faster and deeper they could fall into forbidden knowledge.

Sometimes, just a glance was enough to start down the wrong path.

Mo Hua understood and added quickly:

"Just the magnetic array diagrams, that's all I want to see…"

"Just show me the ones related to Primordial Magnetism…"

Gu Changhuai thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Primordial Magnetic arrays should be safe… right?

He opened the evil array master's storage pouch, rummaged through it, and fished out a few array manuals along with a massive, complex formation diagram.

Unfortunately, Gu Changhuai couldn't distinguish magnetic array runes at all—

(This chapter isn't over yet. Click "next page" to continue!)

—but the texts clearly had the words "Primordial Magnetism" written on them, so he assumed they were safe enough.

"Primordial Magnetic Spirit-Sight Array"

"Primordial Magnetic Spirit-Sight Composite Diagram"

"Introduction to Core Layering in Primordial Magnetic Arrays"…

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

Jackpot.

These were all high-grade materials!

Way deeper than any Primordial Magnetic array knowledge he'd studied before.

This evil array master really was terrifyingly skilled—especially in magnetic-type formations.

If his mastery over Primordial Magnetic arrays was this refined,

then his knowledge of evil formations must have been profound too…

Good thing he's dead.

Otherwise, it would've been a nightmare.

"Right, we still don't even know this evil array master's name…"

Mo Hua frowned, then shrugged.

Oh well. Who cares.

He's already dead.

Without guilt, Mo Hua began flipping through the Primordial Magnetic manuals, especially the Spirit-Sight Composite Diagram.

As he read, his brows slowly furrowed.

Gu Changhuai asked, "Can you understand it?"

Mo Hua shook his head.

"This composite array has eighteen runes.

Even for an eighteen-pattern array, it's particularly tricky…"

"And the magnetic theory involved is unfamiliar too."

"The Spirit-Sight array is seventeen-rune level…"

"And the control system for core-layer sequencing—that's even higher-level…"

Even Gu Changhuai felt his head spin from hearing that.

"In that case… should we just destroy the magnetic array?"

Mo Hua shook his head.

"This Primordial Magnetic array is bi-directional. If we destroy it, it'll trigger alarms—

the Demon Palace's magnetic surveillance and internal comms will go down,

which might alert them that something's wrong…"

"So we just leave it here?"

"Unattended, it could be dangerous…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said,

"I'll try to learn it. See if I can take control."

Gu Changhuai blinked. "You're… learning it now?"

"Yeah…" Mo Hua looked a little lost.

Isn't this what you're supposed to do when you don't know something…?

Gu Changhuai had a complicated look on his face.

Then he said, "But your spiritual sense… probably not strong enough, right?"

Mo Hua nodded.

"I don't need to construct the array—just learn how to use the core."

He pointed to the control disk in front of him.

"It's already built. I just need to learn how to interface with it.

The spiritual sense requirement isn't too strict. Mine should be enough…"

"Oh…" Gu Changhuai didn't quite follow, but nodded.

"Alright then. Give it a try."

Having worked at the Dao Court for years, Gu Changhuai understood—

Let the professionals handle professional matters.

So he and the others stood guard.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua sat down, calming his thoughts—

and began digging into this higher-level composite array.

Time was limited.

He couldn't go too deep.

His spiritual sense was also limited—

he couldn't truly master the array just yet.

So for now, he focused on understanding the theory.

He began with the Primordial Magnetic Spirit-Sight Array.

The single array version was the foundation for constructing the composite array.

He read through the formation runes, the base core structure, and the diagram annotations.

Based on the fixed magnetic runes used in this formation,

he quickly deduced the array's purpose.

It was a spiritual surveillance array.

It used magnetic flow to detect and visualize traces of spiritual power in the area.

The only issue—it had a limited range,

and since it visualized "spiritual energy images,"

it was easily affected by natural ambient energies.

So the resulting image could be blurry.

Mo Hua understood immediately.

Back in the corridor earlier,

those three demon cultivators and one demon hound had turned back—

Likely because a Primordial Magnetic Spirit-Sight array had picked up traces of spiritual energy from their group.

The evil array master had sensed something—

so he sent them back to investigate.

Now that he understood the principle, it would be easier to handle.

As for actually learning how to use it—he couldn't yet.

But that could wait.

Mo Hua sneakily stuffed the array manuals into his storage pouch.

Next came the composite array diagram.

Having grasped the fundamentals of the single-array version,

he used that to dissect the larger composite formation.

And soon—he began to understand key pieces.

This Primordial Magnetic Spirit-Sight Composite Array

was part of the Demon Palace's magnetic defense system—

integrating surveillance, monitoring, and communication.

But this system didn't defend against invaders—

It defended against leaks.

Using this array, the entire palace's demonic cultivators

could be coordinated as one—

forming an impenetrable defense.

"Tight as an iron wall."

But alas—just as the array made them strong,

it also revealed their weakness.

This array was the palace's shield—

but in Mo Hua's eyes,

it was also its greatest vulnerability.

With total focus, Mo Hua continued studying the array…

Gu Changhuai quietly watched from the side.

He saw Mo Hua, hunched over,

totally immersed in the formations—

brows furrowed, then relaxed, sometimes murmuring,

sometimes drawing patterns on the ground with his finger…

As if, in that moment, nothing existed in the world but the array.

Gu Changhuai let out a silent sigh.

"To be this focused in such a dangerous environment…

No wonder his formation skills are so terrifying at his age."

Time passed.

Mo Hua's eyes suddenly lit up.

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened.

"You figured out the array core?"

"Some of it," Mo Hua replied.

He stood up—

and with lightning speed,

grabbed all the manuals and diagrams before Gu Changhuai could react,

stuffing them into his own storage pouch.

Jackpot.

Above-seventeen-rune magnetic arrays?

Composite systems?

If he had to buy them from the sect—

it'd cost a fortune in merit points.

Just thinking about it made his heart ache.

Then, pretending not to notice Gu Changhuai's glare,

Mo Hua casually walked to the central control disk of the array

and began testing how to manipulate the core.

Gu Changhuai just stared.

Watched Mo Hua shamelessly pocket everything.

But in a moment like this,

he couldn't exactly scold him—

so he just sighed and looked away.

The surface of the magnetic array core

was covered in a mist-like magnetic flow.

Mo Hua reached out with his divine sense,

trying again and again to connect.

But the composite array's core was extremely resistant.

The chaotic magnetic currents inside

put enormous pressure on his spirit.

He tried several times—no success.

In the end, his expression hardened.

Enough was enough.

Mo Hua forced his spiritual sense—now refined through sixteen-rune transformation—

straight through the swirling magnetic mist.

He took the hit,

bore the chaotic turbulence—

and broke through.

Then, using what he'd just learned,

he gained control over the Primordial Magnetic Composite Array Core.

In that instant,

his spiritual sense lit up.

The entire Demon Palace unfolded in his mind—

in the form of a precise, intricate network of array cores.

Each formation—an anchor point.

Each demon cultivator—a chess piece.

Each spirit-sight array—an eye in the sky,

presenting spiritual projections and watching over critical locations…

In that moment,

Mo Hua felt like he could see everything.

"This Demon Palace… is mine now."

(End of Chapter)