Chapter 545: Mystery Heaven

This day, Mo Hua was cultivating as usual when his Qi Sea suddenly trembled and felt completely full. Mo Hua’s expression showed joy.

He had reached the ninth layer, his spiritual power was full and overflowing! He was touching the threshold of Foundation Establishment!

Full spiritual power condensed from the Qi Sea, circulating and gradually becoming substantial, like being covered with a layer of wet, slippery mist. This was the precursor to spiritual power turning into mercury, and also a prerequisite for Foundation Establishment. Spiritual power like mercury ascends to Foundation Establishment.

But before spiritual power could condense into mercury, a bottleneck still needed to be broken. This bottleneck varied from person to person, mainly depending on their cultivation method and spiritual roots. Mo Hua’s cultivation method was the “Heaven Derivation Art.” Thus, the Foundation Establishment bottleneck, as recorded in the “Heaven Derivation Art,” was in the Sea of Consciousness.

Indeed, after a moment, this full spiritual power transformed into hazy spiritual threads, flowing out from the Qi Sea along the meridians, gathering at Baihui, then at the Tianmen spot, penetrating inward, and entering Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

Upon entering the Sea of Consciousness, the spiritual power transformed into fine threads, beginning to weave into an array. This scene was not unfamiliar to Mo Hua. He had experienced this when breaking through from the early to middle stages of Qi Refining, and again when breaking through from the middle to late stages of Qi Refining. This time was no different.

Spiritual threads outlined patterns, drawing in puzzle arrays, covering the Sea of Consciousness. Mo Hua’s only worry was whether this puzzle array would exceed a Grade Nine pattern, condense into a Ten Pattern, or even an absolute array above a Ten Pattern that Mo Hua had never seen or learned. Breaking through the bottleneck by solving such an array would be extremely difficult. His Foundation Establishment would also be much more arduous.

Mo Hua stared at the spiritual threads somewhat uneasily, watching them weave like flowers, depicting one puzzle array after another. After a moment, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief… It was just composite arrays; everything was still relatively simple. With his current array level, cracking composite arrays was still easy to handle. He was also fortunate that Master had taught him so much profound array knowledge and allowed him to stand with arrays and prove the Dao with his divine sense. His array level far surpassed that of a general Grade One array master. Otherwise, even cracking composite arrays would be very troublesome. Now he thought that achieving smooth Foundation Establishment would likely still require many detours.

Effort always yielded rewards. Mo Hua rejoiced in his heart.

But after a while, his expression changed, becoming increasingly grave. Not right… The puzzle arrays were still generating… And there was no sign of stopping. One composite array, one composite array, slowly derived and connected together. The puzzle arrays also became more and more numerous, one by one, layer upon layer, like winter snowflakes falling together, covering the entire Sea of Consciousness.

When the puzzle arrays finished generating, Mo Hua couldn’t help but open his mouth, his eyes full of disbelief. What was this…? Spiritual power like threads, densely packed, woven into an entire array world, like a huge cocoon, completely and thoroughly covering his Sea of Consciousness. This was… puzzle arrays forming a great array?!

Mo Hua’s heart and mind were shaken. A great array like a cocoon covered his Sea of Consciousness. Either spin a cocoon to bind himself, or break the cocoon to become a butterfly? Mo Hua was silent for a long time, temporarily speechless. This was… too absurd… How could there be such a Foundation Establishment bottleneck?

Mo Hua looked carefully at this huge puzzle array again, his divine sense sweeping over it. He roughly counted, and his gaze trembled. The entire great array contained at least tens of thousands, even up to hundreds of thousands of puzzle arrays! Did he have to solve these puzzle arrays one by one? When would he finish solving them?

Mo Hua frowned and tried to solve a few puzzle arrays. The puzzle arrays weren’t too difficult and could be solved. It was just the sheer quantity! Mo Hua estimated a bit. If he solved ten arrays every day, it would probably take one to twenty years to completely solve this “spin a cocoon to bind self” like puzzle arrays.

Mo Hua solved a bit more, then looked up, involuntarily sighing deeply and feeling a sense of powerlessness. Before his eyes was a vast, boundless sea of arrays. And he had only solved a few puzzle arrays, a mere drop in the ocean. The thought of so many puzzle arrays yet to be solved made Mo Hua’s scalp tingle. This wasn't even the most troublesome part. If these puzzle arrays formed a great array, then the hardest part lay in its array hub. What kind of structure was the puzzle array’s array hub? And how was it to be solved? Mo Hua knew nothing. This was fundamentally not a problem that one person could solve. Building a great array required enormous manpower; cracking a great array would consume even more divine sense and computation power. Because solving an array was much more troublesome than drawing one…

What should he do? Mo Hua frowned. Besides solving the array, he could think of another method: "collapse dissolution." The Five Elements Demon Slaying Great Array was completely collapsed and dissolved by him using a reverse spirit array, leaving not a tile behind. But the problem was, this was in his own Sea of Consciousness. If he collapse dissolved the great array, he would probably also be completely done for.

Mo Hua sighed again. "I can only go ask Master…"

The next day, Mo Hua impatiently went to find Mr. Zhuang. Mr. Zhuang was currently drinking tea. Hearing this, he paused and slowly raised his head, "Great array?"

"Um." Mo Hua nodded, "Very many, covering my entire Sea of Consciousness. The array patterns are numerous, and the spiritual threads are dense, like a light blue cocoon…"

Mr. Zhuang’s pupils shrank, "Cocoon…"

"Um." Mo Hua nodded again, then worriedly asked: "Master, can I still achieve Foundation Establishment?"

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze condensed slightly, then he smiled lightly and said warmly: "Foundation Establishment is never easy. A bottleneck is a bottleneck precisely because there is an obstruction to the Great Dao, making it not easy to cross. Otherwise, in this world, everyone would cultivate the Dao without obstacle. Since you are a cultivator, you aspire to seek the Heavenly Dao. Whether it is difficult or not does not hinder the Dao heart. If you achieve Foundation Establishment tomorrow, you still need to cultivate and solve arrays. Even if you achieve Foundation Establishment ten years or twenty years from now, it is the same; you still need to cultivate and solve arrays… Cultivators only seek the Great Dao, they do not ask about success or failure. The things to be done are all the same. Do not become timid because of gains and losses."

Mo Hua’s heart realm suddenly enlightened, and some doubts were completely dispelled. That’s right, worrying was also useless… Suppose this bottleneck really needed one to twenty years to solve, then that was the only way. Could it be that if he didn't solve the array and break through, he would remain in Qi Refining for a lifetime? Decided matters, hesitation was meaningless. Anyway, the things to be done were always the same. He was an array master; he only needed to single-mindedly learn arrays and solve arrays. He could not let his Dao heart be disturbed by difficulty, ease, success, failure, gains, or losses.

Mo Hua’s somewhat anxious heart due to Foundation Establishment gradually calmed down, his breath gradually became peaceful, and his gaze also gradually became firm.

Mr. Zhuang was gratified in his heart, nodded slightly, and smiled: "Good, it’s good that you understand. But there’s no need to hurry. Completely solving the puzzle arrays will not take that long…"

"Okay, Master!"

After the master and disciple finished speaking, Mo Hua rose to bow and was about to take his leave to go back and think about the puzzle array matter. Mr. Zhuang suddenly stopped Mo Hua, paused slightly, and said: "Mo Hua, draw a part of the puzzle array for me to see."

Mo Hua did not understand why, but he still took out paper and pen, drawing a part of the puzzle arrays and a part of the array hubs. Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Good."

After Mo Hua left, Mr. Zhuang then looked at the part of the puzzle arrays Mo Hua drew, his expression also becoming increasingly grave. Old Kui manifested his body, looked at the puzzle arrays, and also frowned tightly.

"What is this again?"

"You don't know, do you…" Mr. Zhuang was somewhat lost in thought.

Old Kui’s gaze sank slightly and he shook his head, "Never seen it." Clearly, it was just a Grade One array, and a puzzle array at that, but in his many years of cultivation experience, he seemed to have no impression of it at all.

"Yes ah…" Mr. Zhuang murmured, "I also thought that in this lifetime, I would not see this kind of array again…"

Old Kui’s expression became serious, "What exactly is this array?"

"This array is called…" Mr. Zhuang was silent for a long time, his eyes showing a struggle, then he opened his mouth: "Puzzle Heaven Great Array!"

Old Kui’s eyes suddenly widened, "Puzzle Heaven Great Array?!"

Mr. Zhuang smiled bitterly and nodded. Old Kui’s expression changed, he wanted to speak several times but stopped, ultimately swallowing his words back, only saying in astonishment: "How could it be…"

How could it be… Old Kui’s brows locked tightly, he did not delve deeper, but asked: "What are the differences between this Puzzle Heaven Great Array and general puzzle arrays?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, "Not the same…"

"Puzzle arrays can constitute a great array, but this great array is just a simple collection of puzzle arrays. It only has the scale of a great array, without the structure of a great array. Strictly speaking, it is not considered a great array…" Mr. Zhuang looked again at the array Mo Hua had just drawn and sighed: "Puzzle Heaven Great Array is different…"

"It is a kind of extremely special great array…"

"So special that its essence is fundamentally unclear."

"Existing Puzzle Heaven Great Arrays seal some unknowable secrets…"

"Puzzle Heaven Great Array has mysteries that cover the sky…"

"The involved array principles are also bizarre and strange…"

Mr. Zhuang gazed at Old Kui, as if asking him, and also as if asking himself: "Why can puzzle arrays, which are just decryption tricks, constitute a great array?"

"And how can they constitute a great array?"

"All great arrays coordinate thousands of arrays, emphasizing the same root and same source. They all focus on killing, trapping, and defending."

"Then what arrays do puzzle arrays coordinate? What is the same root, what is the same source? What does it advocate? A 'puzzle' character?"

"And what kind of person could have the ability, the courage, and that strong divine sense derivation to build a Puzzle Heaven Great Array?"

"And what was the purpose of building a Puzzle Heaven Great Array?"

Mr. Zhuang pondered for a long time, suddenly realizing, and murmured to himself: "I was wrong, I was wrong from the beginning…"

"The “Heaven Derivation Art” cultivation method has a big problem!"

"Building this cultivation method within the Sea of Consciousness…"

"This cultivation method is very likely fundamentally not meant for ‘people’ to learn…"

"Perhaps, this is really for, literally, a certain kind of ‘monsters’ to learn cultivation method…"

"Who exactly created this cultivation method?"

"Or rather, can this really be a cultivation method that ‘people’ can create?"

"Can ‘people’ rely on cultivation methods to build out a Puzzle Heaven Great Array just in a cultivator’s Sea of Consciousness…"

Mr. Zhuang’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Ancient cultivation method… Heaven Derivation… “Great Dao fifty, Heaven Derivation forty-nine, people escape one…” He felt in the dark, as if he had glimpsed some clues, but once he thought carefully, it was still a fog, like falling into a “Puzzle Heaven Great Array.”

"Forget it…" Mr. Zhuang sighed. He didn’t have much time left to consider these problems. The problem now was Mo Hua, this child…

"Can the Puzzle Heaven Great Array be solved?" Old Kui asked.

"Although it is Puzzle Heaven, it is still puzzle arrays, and only Grade One. With Mo Hua’s array attainment, it can be solved, but…"

But, it might really take more than ten years. This was still under smooth circumstances. If the Puzzle Heaven Great Array underwent some unfathomable changes, some unknown accidents, then achieving Foundation Establishment would be truly difficult as climbing heaven… It was very possible that several decades would be wasted…

"Need to find a way…" Mr. Zhuang said silently, calculation patterns flickering in his eyes, heavenly secrets floating and sinking. After a long time, he seemed to find a trace of opportunity. This trace of opportunity was extremely obscure, extremely dangerous. But yet it was graspable.

Mr. Zhuang let out a breath, raised his head to look at the sky, and showed a bitter smile. Human calculation was not as good as heaven’s calculation. Originally, everything was calculated well, but there was still an accident… Now he had to take more detours again.

"I originally still wanted to personally watch Mo Hua, this child, achieve Foundation Establishment and fulfill a wish, but now it seems, I might not have time…" My journey ends here.

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze held a hint of wistfulness, then it became serene again. What should come will always come…

Old Kui silently watched him, his gaze obscure, gradually hiding into the darkness.

After Mo Hua returned, whenever he had time, he would sink into his Sea of Consciousness and solve the puzzle arrays one by one. Although there were many puzzle arrays, he was neither arrogant nor impatient. But as he was solving, he discovered that these puzzle arrays seemed different from the puzzle arrays he had encountered before. The previous puzzle arrays were like "dead" things, rigid, and disappeared after being solved. While this great array was "alive," its array patterns circulated. Moreover, large sections of composite arrays connected and echoed each other, coexisting. He had to target the composite arrays and solve a large section at once. Otherwise, if he solved individual arrays, new individual arrays would continue to generate.

Mo Hua could only go consult Mr. Zhuang again. Mr. Zhuang seemed prepared for a long time. He handed a thick stack of array books and array diagrams to Mo Hua and said directly: "The great array in your Sea of Consciousness is called ‘Puzzle Heaven Great Array.’ You must remember this name and not tell outsiders. These are some records about ‘Puzzle Heaven Great Array’ and insights I have summarized. Keep them carefully and study them well; they should help you in solving the arrays…"

Mo Hua was grateful in his heart, but again felt a trace of discord. It seemed that Master was busy entrusting something… "Master…" Mo Hua said softly. Mr. Zhuang shook his head, not letting him continue, only saying lightly: "Go down, study well."

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, gave a sound of "Um," and respectfully left, only on his small face hung a worry that he could not shake off. He was aware of some matters. He knew that Master was avoiding some people. He also knew that Master had said that the purpose of this journey was the Five Elements Sect. What then, after arriving at the Five Elements Sect and learning the Five Elements Spirit Arrays? Master did not say. Some matters, Mo Hua had guessed very early on, but until now, he only realized with alarm in his heart that even if he was unwilling, what should come would still come… Mo Hua’s heart was heavier with unease.

While the Five Elements Sect on the surface was still calm as usual, that was until Mo Hua saw a familiar person. This day, Mo Hua was just lying on a table studying arrays with his little senior brother and little senior sister when he suddenly heard light footsteps. He looked up and saw standing at the door a graceful female figure wearing a veil, with a cold temperament.

Mo Hua was startled, then happy, "Aunt Xue!"

Aunt Xue saw Mo Hua, smiled gladly, and her beautiful eyes sized up Mo Hua a few times, nodding: "Long time no see, you’ve grown taller." Mo Hua’s face squinted with smiles. Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi were also very delighted.

After exchanging greetings for a while, Mo Hua then puzzled asked: "Aunt Xue, how did you come?"

"Right ah." Bai Zi Sheng said, "Didn't Master not let you follow me?"

"It was Mr. Zhuang who asked me to come," Aunt Xue said.

"Master?" Mo Hua and the three people looked at each other, all a little puzzled.

Aunt Xue nodded, "Mr. Zhuang didn't let me follow, but I was worried about your safety, so I actually still followed you, just very far away."

"Mr. Zhuang knew and didn't blame me, so it can be considered tacit approval."

"These days, I was outside Li Mountain City. A few days ago, I wanted to write a letter to send to madam, then I saw the ink move without a pen, staining the paper into text, condensing into a 'come' character."

"I then knew that this was Mr. Zhuang's meaning, that he wanted me to come over…"

"But, why did Master ask you to come over?" Mo Hua was a little puzzled. Aunt Xue shook her head, she was also not clear.

"Has Mr. Zhuang rested?" Aunt Xue asked.

Mo Hua said: "Master has rested and is now drinking tea."

Aunt Xue nodded, then rose to visit Mr. Zhuang. Mo Hua and the three people also followed.

In the ancient-style room, the fragrance of tea lingered. Mr. Zhuang’s figure was elegant and straight, seriously drinking the clear tea that Mo Hua had boiled for him. He saw Aunt Xue and was not surprised.

Aunt Xue respectfully bowed to Mr. Zhuang, and Mr. Zhuang nodded in response. Aunt Xue then softly asked: "I don't know if mister called me to come for any instructions?"

Mr. Zhuang was silent for a moment, his gaze meaningful, looking at the appearances of Mo Hua and the three children, then slowly said: "Take these three children and take them all away…"

"Leave the Five Elements Sect, leave Li Mountain City, and never return…"

(End of this chapter)