Chapter 2 Taoist Stele_1

Since Mo Hua could remember, the Taoist Stele had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, along with some vague memories.

In those memories, Mo Hua lived a short life in another world without Spiritual Energy.

In that life, Mo Hua's family was ordinary, but he studied hard, achieved good grades, got into college, and majored in art, enjoying research in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy.

After graduating, he joined a big company as a graphic designer, worked overtime, and died of overwork in his twenties.

As a student, he studied; after graduation, he worked, living a life full of tension and anxiety.

When he regained his senses, he found that he had lived in confusion and died unexpectedly.

In the moments before his death, his life's experiences flashed before his eyes like a carousel.

In his life, he hadn't done anything truly valuable: he hadn't shown filial piety to his parents, pursued his ideals, dreamed, loved, or seen the vast world's scenery...

These memories were blurred, and sometimes Mo Hua couldn't distinguish between true and false.

Zhuang Zhou dreamed of being a butterfly, not knowing whether he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou.

Over time, Mo Hua stopped fretting about it.

The past had passed. Now, he was only ten years old, and the world he lived in was the Tao Cultivation World.

And he was a cultivator.

A cultivator who could thoroughly understand the Heavenly Dao, soar across the Nine State, with a raise of the hand pluck the sun and moon, and with the turn of the hand bury the stars!

Of course, he could also be a cultivator, who spent a lifetime in Qi Refinement, neither able to fly nor to fight, with only a few usable spells, eking out a humble living...

Without the Taoist Stele, Mo Hua reckoned he would be the humble latter.

The Taoist Stele floated in Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness.

Broad and ancient, strangely incomplete, the stele's body appeared void, yet seemed to have a vast and obscure aura fluctuating, in a trance, silent as empty serenity, nothing at all...

The void surface of the stele could be used for Formation Painting, and each time Mo Hua painted a formation, his Divine Sense would be enhanced.

Among the myriad professions in Tao Cultivation, formation was supreme!

Formation was the most difficult category to learn in all Tao Cultivation professions, and the most important aspect of learning formation was Divine Sense!

Formation was made up of Formation Patterns, which were the Heavenly Dao diagrams drawn by Ancient Cultivators after painstakingly comprehending the Heavenly Dao.

The patterns of the formation resembled ancient texts yet also seemed like minimalist paintings, containing infinite mysteries within.

And when painting formations, the Sea of Consciousness connected with the Mystery of Heavenly Dao, consuming immense Divine Sense.

If a cultivator's Divine Sense was insufficient, they couldn't paint formations; otherwise, they risked depletion of Divine Sense, or even the shattering of the Sea of Consciousness, resulting in death and the dissipation of the Dao. To become a Formation Master, one needed to continuously study various Formation Diagrams and practice different formations tirelessly.

Thus, formations were hard to learn and practice, and formation masters were prone to death due to forced drawing with insufficient Divine Sense, leading to the collapse of the Sea of Consciousness.

When Mo Hua painted formations on the Taoist Stele, it consumed his Divine Sense, but when he erased the completed formation, his Divine Sense would instantly return, making Mo Hua's Divine Sense abundant.

From being to nothingness, then from nothingness to being, like the Great Dao, it was profoundly mysterious.

And simultaneously, with each formation he painted, Mo Hua's Divine Sense increased slightly, although the increase was minuscule, it indeed was an increase.

As Mo Hua knew, in the Cultivation World, there were no cultivation techniques for practicing Divine Sense, and most enhancement of Divine Sense depended on breakthroughs in realm.

Therefore, even the slight increase in Divine Sense was extremely rare.

As long as Mo Hua kept painting formations on the Taoist Stele, he could improve his formation mastery, and as long as he kept painting formations, his Divine Sense would continue to enhance.

And with strong Divine Sense, Mo Hua could learn more, higher-rank, and more powerful formations.

One day, Mo Hua could become a powerful Formation Master by this means.

Formation Masters held esteemed status, even an ordinary Formation Master who hadn't reached First Grade could earn considerable Spirit Stones by painting formations for others.

Once he became a Formation Master, creating all kinds of mysterious formations, he would have the foundation to continue cultivation, and wouldn't spend his entire life as just a Qi Refining Cultivator.

Mo Hua silently vowed in his heart.

However, becoming a Formation Master was equally fraught with challenges.

Formations are hard to learn, and being a formation master is difficult.

In the classifications of Taoist Court, the certification for a formation master was the most stringent, even the most rigorous.

Formations were made up of Formation Patterns; basic formations only contained one Formation Pattern, and with each additional Pattern, a formation ascended a grade, its effectiveness enhanced, and the required Divine Sense greatly increased.

Being able to paint one to five Formation Patterns allowed one to be a formation apprentice.

Painting six to eight Formation Patterns qualified one to be called a Formation Master, but such a Formation Master was only ordinary and was not recognized in the grades accepted by Taoist Court.

Only by painting nine Formation Patterns and passing the Taoist Court's assessment could one become a true First Grade Formation Master.

Becoming a First Grade Formation Master, for a cultivator in the Qi Refinement Realm, was almost like a direct rise to the heavens.

First Grade Formation Masters were basically honored guests of major families and sects. Even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators did not dare to offend them lightly. Even if they did nothing, they would receive a monthly Spirit Stone stipend from the Dao Court Tian Shu Pavilion, and countless beautiful female cultivators would break down the door, vying to become their Dao companions.

Besides the extreme difficulty of the assessment, the position of First Grade Formation Master was also limited by quotas in various state boundaries. To become a First Grade Formation Master required both effort and destiny.

If luck was bad and the quota in the state boundary was limited, even with the formations expertise of a First Grade Formation Master, one might not obtain a spot and would have to wait for the next assessment.

Some formation masters spent their entire lives attempting the assessment.

Countless lower-tier cultivators exhausted their energy and diligence, persevering till their hair turned white, yet never achieved the aspiration of becoming a First Grade Formation Master.

And the so-called quota of the Taoist Court was usually just an excuse predetermined by major families and Great Sects. They needed the title of First Grade Formation Master to garnish their direct lineage or direct disciples, making them become the geniuses in the spotlight.

Those bottom-tier cultivators who dedicatedly strove to become First Grade Formation Masters were just the dust never noticed at the tip of their toes.

It was already night, and Mo Hua lay on the bed of the Disciple's Residence, while his Divine Sense immersed into the Sea of Consciousness, continually drawing formations on the Taoist Stele.

The formation Mo Hua drew was called the Twin Yuan Formation, which included two Formation Patterns, considered one of the basic formations.

However, Mo Hua had never successfully drawn this formation before.

A disciple in the Early Stage of Qi Refinement, due to insufficient Divine Sense, generally only learned formations containing one Formation Pattern. Among the Outer Gate Qi Refinement early-stage disciples of the Tongxian Gate, very few could fully learn even one Formation Pattern.

But the single Formation Pattern, Mo Hua had long been thoroughly familiar with, drawing it with ease.

Mo Hua wanted to learn more difficult formations, so every night, he practiced the Twin Yuan Formation with two Formation Patterns on the Taoist Stele.

And after dozens of nights of repeated practice and the relentless effort likened to "Water Drops Stone Wear," Mo Hua finally succeeded.

For formation masters learning formations, each Formation Pattern was a threshold, and adding one more Formation Pattern meant climbing another step.

Being able to draw two Formation Patterns meant Mo Hua's Divine Sense and formation mastery had far surpassed his peers.

Among the early-stage disciples of the Outer Gate Qi Refinement at Tongxian Gate, his formation proficiency should indeed be unparalleled.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. At the time of 6 A.M., with daylight breaking, his Divine Sense disengaged from the Sea of Consciousness, and Mo Hua opened his eyes.

Despite drawing formations throughout the night, Mo Hua's Divine Sense remained clear, and he did not feel fatigued, as if he had merely slept well.

He pushed open the window, and the morning sunlight fell upon his delicate and fair face.

Outside the window, the morning sun rose, and the sky was draped in magnificent colors.

The ten-year-old Mo Hua took a deep breath, gazing at the sky's view with resolute eyes.

As long as he continued to practice formations, kept honing his Divine Sense, one day, he would surely become a First Grade Formation Master.

At that time, as the rising sun, he would take a significant step forward in seeking Immortality and pursuing Dao.

He would never again just be in Qi Refinement all his life!