The Quest for Immortality

But the master certainly wouldn’t give any pointers to himself.

Mo Hua then asked something else:

"Master, were these methods laid down by the ancestors of the Five Elements Sect?"

Mr. Zhuang was somewhat emotional, "Suppose so..."

"Why go to such lengths?"

Mr. Zhuang said with interest, "To guard against thieves."

"Guard against thieves?" Mo Hua was taken aback before saying, "To guard against me…"

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly, "Yes, you count as well."

"But… even to guard against thieves, isn’t this too troublesome, isn’t it making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, "No, what they are guarding against is the disciples of our Sect from generations past, not making a mountain out of a molehill! Our… the cultivators of this Sect, from ancient times to the present, all have exceptional spiritual roots and are brilliant talents…"

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and paused for a moment.

Mo Hua had quite a bit of self-awareness, "Master, apart from me… all have exceptional spiritual roots and are brilliant talents..."

Mr. Zhuang was silent for a moment before saying tactfully:

"Your spiritual root is a bit inferior, but in formations, you are still… a brilliant talent..."

"Mhm, mhm," Mo Hua nodded, "Master, please continue."

Mr. Zhuang recalled where he had stopped and then continued:

"The ancestors of the Five Elements Sect, if they didn’t set the threshold high enough, didn’t make the puzzles hard enough, it would be too easy to see through..."

"It’s actually reasonable that they use it to guard against us..."

"However, as a result, the later generations of the Five Elements Sect suffer."

"Once the Sect declines, if the later generation of disciples are not outstanding, hardly any of them can unravel the mystery barriers and learn the inheritance."

"These formations could only be lost..."

At this point, Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and said earnestly:

"In the Cultivation World, Sects and Noble Clans that rely on formations as their foundation, they all hide their inheritances very deeply."

"The way the Five Elements Sect hides formations is quite unique."

"It seems simple but is yet obscure."

"Although obscure, all of them conform to the principles of formations."

"You should pay more attention and learn more. After breaking through, you will be enlightened by analogy. When you encounter similar formation inheritances in the future, with the reference of the Five Elements Sect, you can decipher and comprehend them on your own."

Mr. Zhuang’s tone became slightly solemn, "In the Cultivation World for tens of thousands of years, Noble Clans have risen and fallen, Sects have fluctuated..."

"Some powers may seem insignificant, but their ancestors’ inheritances should not be underestimated."

"These inheritances are often hidden in inconspicuous things."

"Tao Cultivation values opportunity. For some people, opportunity comes from luck."

"And for others, opportunity comes from insight..."

"Luck is innate and unpredictable, but insight is acquired and can be learned, observed, and pondered upon..."

"The Great Dao favors the persistent. In the future, you must be more observant..."

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze, implicit and restrained, was filled with profound emotion.

"Mhm!" Mo Hua nodded solemnly.

He understood that his master was teaching him a method through the inheritance of the Five Elements Sect.

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching a man to fish.

The master hoped that he could find his own opportunities in the future through his own horizons, knowledge, and insight, to seek out formations, to explore the Great Dao…

Mo Hua looked at the frail Mr. Zhuang, feeling a mix of melancholy and complexity.

...

That night, Mo Hua still went on calculating Formation Patterns and deciphering the Five Elements Mystery Formation without rest.

Thanks to the Taoist Stele, Mo Hua’s calculations were getting faster and faster...

And at this moment, in the Formation Pavilion,

The Chief Elder once again lit three sticks of incense before the Shrine.

One stick of incense burned one-third, another a quarter, the one in the middle didn’t catch fire, remaining motionless.

The Chief Elder felt reassured but also somewhat surprised.

Reassured because the inheritance of the Five Elements Sect had been preserved!

Only one day, four hours left.

They could never comprehend the Sect Protecting Ultimate Formation of the Five Elements Sect—the Five Elements Spirit Formation!

The surprise was that the Junior Formation Master had indeed not gleaned even the slightest hint of the Five Elements Spirit Formation’s methods from the Shrine...

The Chief Elder sneered scornfully.

Youth may be impressive, but greatness does not always follow.

For all the brilliance in his youth, what else is there to talk about when one’s potential is exhausted?

"That Junior Formation Master, I guess I overestimated him..."

The Chief Elder turned and left.

He didn’t notice that the wooden elder in the Shrine Taoist Field also smirked enigmatically...

...

The Mystery Formation on the great doors, although complex, shared the same principle with the Five Elements convergence Formation Patterns before the Shrine; one was converging, the other was diverging.

Mo Hua, familiar with the path, spent the night deriving the Spirit path of the formation.

On the fifth day, the last day allocated by the Five Elements Sect to comprehend the Five Elements Spirit Formation, Mo Hua entered the fourth floor of the Formation Pavilion somewhat nervously, along with his Junior Brother and Sister as always.

The Chief Elder lit incense and closed the door before going to the third floor to drink tea with Mr. Zhuang.

It was quiet in front of the Shrine.

Mo Hua reconfirmed the direction, and then started to Ponder the Shrine.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were guarding on his left and right.

The instant Mo Hua Pondered the Shrine, the door drenched in Formation Patterns reappeared.

Mo Hua, with his Divine Sense, activated the formation according to the Spirit path diagram he had derived the day before, bit by bit restoring the Formation Patterns to their original state, redistributing the converging Spirit paths back to their rightful positions.

Before long, the elaborate Formation Diagrams on the Shrine door became clear and understandable.

These were distinctly five sets of Five Elements Formation Diagrams.

In the center of the Formation Diagrams, there was a Tai Chi-shaped lock.

Mo Hua’s Divine Thought stirred, and the Tai Chi slowly rotated, the Shrine door turned accordingly, the Five Elements circulated, forming a vortex.