Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2294 Chapter 1056: Shangguan Wang (3)

Mo Hua felt content at last, gently shutting his eyes. Moments later, soft breaths echoed gently.

Within the profound gloom teeming with malevolent hopelessness, inside the Great Wilderness Prison desired by wicked spirits, Mo Hua just pulled a thin blanket over himself and dozed off deeply...

Inside a hidden chamber of the Evil God Temple.

Mr. Tu held a hushed talk with Shangguan Wang.

"I trust, Mr. Tu, you won't break our pact. When all is finished, should we obtain..." Shangguan Wang hesitated, then with forced respect continued, "the 'Divine Lord's' grace, I seek the gift of immortality...

Mr. Tu responded assuredly, "Naturally."

Shangguan Wang's countenance darkened, looking uneasy, as he double-checked:

"People pursue the Dao, enduring countless tribulations and dangers, only to have a faint possibility of ascension to immortality."

"Immortals live as long as heaven and earth, they shine as brightly as the sun and moon, and that is the way to eternal life."

"Yet I, being only in the Feather Transformation realm, am far from an Immortal—by believing in the 'Divine Lord', can I truly achieve immortality?"

Mr. Tu murmured, "Elder Wang, do you know how long I've lived?"

Shangguan Wang's face softened a bit, nodding faintly, yet another doubt surfaced, prompting him to inquire:

"By believing in the Divine Lord and achieving immortality, will I still retain my sanity?"

This weighed heaviest on his mind; he refused to forfeit his reason and turn into a savage, blood-hungry monster upon gaining eternal life.

Rather than comforting Shangguan Wang, Mr. Tu sneered, "What is the use of sanity?"

Shangguan Wang's expression shifted abruptly.

Mr. Tu laid a hand on Shangguan Wang's shoulder, stating evenly:

"Elder Wang, do you truly believe 'sanity' exists in this world?"

"People often commit acts more deranged than beasts while chasing desires; is that sanity?"

"Fueled by fame, fortune, power lust, and worldly cravings, even leading to self-ruin—are those rational deeds?"

Shangguan Wang's brow furrowed faintly.

"Humans have forever been ruled by greed and delusion, propelled by cravings and urges rather than sanity," Mr. Tu drawled on, "If so, what value does sanity hold?"

"Whether swayed by fame and fortune or the Divine Lord's will—what difference does it make?"

"Faith in fame and fortune yields dust after centuries, an inescapable doom."

"But faith in the Divine Lord allows one, amid catastrophe, to alter form, escape the flesh, and gain immortality."

"Which path would you take?"

Shangguan Wang fell quiet, yet frenzy and daring blazed ever brighter in his gaze, revealing his firm resolve.

Mr. Tu nodded subtly.

"How much longer?" Shangguan Wang pressed, "When will the Divine Lord resurrect?"

Typically calm, Mr. Tu furrowed his brow in irritation.

Every step had been flawlessly arranged.

The Large Formation, the Divine Fetus, the offerings... all positioned perfectly.

Still, disruptions from the Sword Discussion Conference forced an early activation, resulting in the Shen Family destroying a

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flawlessly maintained, centuries-nurtured fleshly corpse.

And complications arose with the offerings too.

Those sect prodigies had been confined, ready to be pitted like "Gu" insects, where the mightiest survivor, forged through fights and Dao heart trials, would serve as the Divine Lord's resurrection devotee.

But right at the pivotal juncture, that accursed Taoist Court Officer and Gu Changhuai rescued them all.

The Evil Formation Masters suffered heavy casualties as well.

This cascade of setbacks gravely hampered the rollout of his Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Formation.

It likewise pushed back the Divine Lord's revival and worldly return far into the future.

Shangguan Wang, involved in these affairs, sensed it somewhat, thus remarking coldly:

"I've long suspected these mishaps point to someone covertly thwarting us."

Mr. Tu inclined his head faintly, face impassive:

"From the moment we seized the Shangguan Family's Divine Fetus, I sensed a strange 'shadow' lurking, ever indistinctly obstructing the Divine Lord's grand resurrection scheme..."

Yet this shadow's moves across events baffled him.

Sometimes he deemed their realm lofty, for only high cultivators could join this contest; other times, he doubted their strength was great, since potent foes could resolve matters simply without such convoluted plots.

At moments, he viewed them as a shadowy puppet-master scheming afar, yet wondered if they were merely a frontline slayer, a "executioner" dispatched against demons and enemies.

He occasionally figured them an ancient fiend with centuries or millennia of cultivation.

But then suspected a novice youth... Such thoughts always muddled Mr. Tu's mind.

Not even the Divine Lord granted clearer insight.

He yearned to consume more cultivators' brains at each meal to sharpen his cognition.

The sole lead now targeted Mo Hua.

By his reckoning, Mo Hua linked intimately to this elusive, pervasive "shadow".

"Mo Hua..."

"That Mo Hua..." Shangguan Wang's eyes glinted, tone grave, "I say we eliminate him to prevent troubles."

Mr. Tu shook his head, "I need him greatly."

Shangguan Wang scowled, "For what?"

Mr. Tu preferred silence, but with Shangguan Wang's vital role, he couldn't risk disloyalty.

Mr. Tu explained, "His karma runs vast and deep, not to be tampered with lightly.

"Death snuffs a life like a lamp's flame, erasing all karma," Shangguan Wang's stare turned frigid.

"His background is unique, exalted status, deeply cherished by the Taixu Ancestor..."

"You don't grasp the Taixu Gate or its Taixu Ancestor." Shangguan Wang shook his head, "Taixu Gate's fame wasn't prominent before, but they wield Divine Thought sword transformation, champion justice, discern good from evil sharply, and refuse deals with Demon Cultivators."

"No favoritism allows exceptions."

"Indeed, if he strays to evil, Taixu Gate would first purge their own ranks mercilessly..."

As Shangguan Family Elder with ties to the Three Taixu Sects, Shangguan Wang knew Taixu Gate's principles intimately.

Mr. Tu noted, "Too many Evil Formation Masters perished, stalling the formation's finish."

Shangguan Wang frowned, "You want this youth sketching formations for you, refining the Blood Sacrifice Formation?"

Mr. Tu offered no confirmation or denial.

Shangguan Wang countered, "He's only one individual."

"Recall the Sword Discussion Conference," Mr. Tu remarked. "Solo, using Divine Sense Control Ink, he inscribed ground formations at astonishing speed, matching... nay, exceeding dozens of elite Second Grade Formation Masters." Shangguan Wang pondered briefly yet shook his head, "We retain Formation Masters. Slower progress is fine, but dodge needless perils."

Regardless, Shangguan Wang was dead set on slaying Mo Hua.

First, bad blood lingered between them, with Mo Hua nursing endless grudges.

Second, having embraced darkness and pledged to the Great Wilderness God Master, if Mr. Tu later swayed Mo Hua to the Divine Lord, his standing before the God Master could never eclipse Mo Hua's, a prodigy in Divine Sense and Formation Arts.

Even at Feather Transformation, his rank wouldn't lag.

But Mo Hua neared late Foundation Establishment, one stride from Golden Core, and the Divine Lord held myriad wicked arts to hasten his Core Formation.

Then, a Demon Path Golden Core cultivator, backed by evil formations and prodigious talent, shielded by the Great Wilderness God Master, would rampage unchecked. Even his Feather Transformation self would yield. All prior schemes would crumble. Hence, his killing intent toward Mo Hua burned without restraint.

Mr. Tu perceived this, though preserving Mo Hua's life wasn't his goal; rather, a peculiar aura around Mo Hua oddly restrained hasty action.

"I suspect... embedded in him... by some mysterious expert...

Mr. Tu halted, eyes narrowing, voice deliberate:

"A unique Eternal Life Rune..."