After learning the new Fireball Technique, Mo Hua devoted all his attention to Formations.
A few days later, after Mo Hua had mastered the Reversed Spirit Formation, he went to seek advice from Mr. Zhuang, who pondered for a moment before suddenly asking:
"Huar, Cultivators seek the Heavenly Dao, do you know what the Heavenly Dao is?"
After thinking it over, Mo Hua answered, "Immortality?"
"Immortality is the result, not the Heavenly Dao itself."
"Aren’t immortality and attaining the Dao the same thing?" Mo Hua asked.
Looking at Mo Hua, Mr. Zhuang spoke with heartfelt sincerity:
"Cultivators attain the Dao and achieve immortality, only by comprehending the Great Dao and practicing the Heavenly Dao can they truly attain immortality in the end."
"Without striving to comprehend the Heavenly Dao and practicing the Dao Laws, one who vainly desires immortality is abandoning the essence for the trivial and will inevitably stray onto the wrong path."
Mo Hua seemed to understand but did not fully grasp the concept, yet he still nodded, committing Mr. Zhuang’s words to memory.
"Then, do the Five Elements count as part of the Heavenly Dao?" Mo Hua thought further and asked.
"They do," said Mr. Zhuang.
"If the Five Elements count..." Mo Hua continued his line of thought, "then do the Eryi, Three Talents, Four Symbols, Seven Stars, and even the use of Divine Sense, flesh, and Spiritual Power all count as aspects of the Heavenly Dao?"
Mo Hua was a bit uncertain.
Mo Hua was startled, "In that case, isn’t the Great Dao too complex...?"
Mr. Zhuang said, "The Great Dao encompasses myriad things, embracing all under heaven. Everything in this world, a blade of grass, a tree, each flower, and each tree all accord with the Heavenly Dao."
Seeing that Mo Hua did not fully understand, Mr. Zhuang further explained:
"Ancient Cultivators gazed upon the heavens and surveyed the earth, observing all manner of things in the world, and comprehended the laws of the forces of nature. Only then did they create Cultivation Techniques and Taoist Skills, as well as diverse categories of Tao Cultivation including Formations, Pill, Artifact, Rune."
"Everything in the world follows the Heavenly Dao, and the strength of Cultivators also stems from the Heavenly Dao."
Mo Hua thought hard and then questioned:
"If everything in the world follows the Heavenly Dao, what about those who defy it? Are they abiding by it, or are they defying it?"
"Those so-called defiers of the Heavenly Dao are actually also following the Heavenly Dao," Mr. Zhuang explained. "The Great Dao includes creation and destruction. Those who follow the Heavenly Dao abide by the Dao of ’creation’, while those who defy the Heavenly Dao abide by the Dao of ’destruction’."
Mo Hua had an epiphany and began to understand a bit more.
The Heavenly Dao is divided into Eryi, conflicting yet complementing each other.
Existence and non-existence give birth to each other; life and death shape one another; good and evil are counterparts.
All things are part of the Dao; every action of man is in accordance with the "Dao". Some ’Daos’ continue to thrive unceasingly, while others lead only to self-destruction.
Mo Hua thought again, still slightly puzzled:
"If everything in the world follows the Heavenly Dao, then seeing and hearing are all part of the Dao. What then are Cultivators seeking in the Heavenly Dao?"
Mr. Zhuang replied, "The Great Dao includes everything, but the fact that it includes everything also means it is fraught with chaos and complexity; there is good and evil, truth and falsity, appearances and essences."
"Humans possess the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and the mind, while objects have color, sound, scent, flavor, tactile sensations, and characteristics. Each day’s observations, mixed with good and bad, true and false, can over time submerge one in delusions and superficiality, making it difficult to perceive the essence of the Great Dao."
Mo Hua’s eyes shone slightly brighter, and then he said:
"Is it like studying a Contemplation Map, where one must see through the appearances to glimpse the essence?"
Mr. Zhuang looked at him approvingly and nodded slightly.
Mo Hua was still a bit confused, "Then what exactly constitutes the essence of the Great Dao?"
Mr. Zhuang replied, "You have to figure this out yourself. Unless one has become an immortal, the Dao they understand is not the true Dao, and some may even be flawed or even erroneous."
Mr. Zhuang chuckled again, "I haven’t become an immortal either, so what I tell you is definitely not correct. What I think of as the essence might just be a deeper appearance, not the ultimate Great Dao."
"I’ve understood, Gentleman," Mo Hua nodded. "The principles that one comprehends on their own are truly their own; otherwise, no matter how much or how correct others speak, if I do not comprehend it myself, I cannot grasp it."
"Therefore, seeking the Heavenly Dao relies on one’s own enlightenment. Even if the initial understanding is superficial, as long as one continuously ponders and contemplates, gradually discarding the false and preserving the true, one will eventually see the true nature of the Great Dao."
Mr. Zhuang nodded, "You’ve spoken well."
Mo Hua gave a smile, then said with some uncertainty, "Gentleman, I am only at the Qi Refinement stage, and I’m already thinking about comprehending the Heavenly Dao. Isn’t it a bit early...?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head, his voice gentle, "Cultivation begins with Qi Refinement, and understanding the Dao also starts with small increments. Step by step, from low to high, from weak to strong, from shallow to deep, only then can one mold a Taoist Heart and truly comprehend the Great Dao."
"It’s like observing this world from a height. If one looks down from a high position, they will be blinded by their own status, seeing only themselves. Only by starting from the bottom and observing the common people of the world, experiencing the hardships of Cultivators, can one see the most fundamental things in this world."
Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully.
But after all, he was young with limited experience. Though he roughly understood Mr. Zhuang’s meaning, having not seen the broader Cultivation World outside Tongxian City, his understanding was not yet deep.
Mr. Zhuang let out a slight sigh, "These are the principles I didn’t want to tell you now; telling you now is still too early..."
But if I don’t say it now, there may not be an opportunity to say it later...
Mo Hua was startled, then understood Mr. Zhuang’s meaning and nodded solemnly, "Gentleman, I will remember them well!"
Mr. Zhuang gave a faint smile, then said, "Now that you understand this principle, I can teach you the usage of the Reversed Spirit Formation."
Mo Hua was somewhat taken aback, "The Reversed Spirit Formation is related to these matters?"
Mr. Zhuang said, "In the pursuit of the Heavenly Dao by a Cultivator, there are aspects related to the Taoist Heart, as well as to one’s Cultivation. To seek the Great Dao, one needs both the Taoist Heart and Cultivation. Neither can be lacking."
"What was said above relates to the Taoist Heart, and what I am going to teach you is related to Cultivation and Formation, or rather, the essence of the Heavenly Dao on the level of Spiritual Power."
Mr. Zhuang’s tone slowed, and his gaze deepened.
Mo Hua’s eyes sharpened, and he sat up straight, listening earnestly.
Mr. Zhuang gently exhaled and continued slowly, "The fundamental source of the world is Qi. At the beginning of Chaos, one Qi emerged and spawned all things."
"The initial Qi was called Chaos Qi, chaotic and powerful. Who knows after how many years, Chaos was cleansed, and it became the essence of all matter."
"Among it, the most pure and concentrated, which can be refined and used by Cultivators, is Spiritual Energy. Spiritual Energy contains the power of the Heavenly Dao; this power is called Spiritual Power."
"Regardless of their differences, such as the metals, woods, waters, fires, earths, winds, thunders, ices and so on, all sorts of spells and Taoist Skills in the world fundamentally manifest Spiritual Power."
"The spells of a Spiritual Cultivator, even the Blood Qi and Strength of a Body Cultivator, though their forms are vastly different, they too are forms manifested from Spiritual Power."
Mo Hua had an epiphany:
"So, the powers of the Five Elements, as well as spells, Blood Qi, and Strength, are all appearances. Spiritual Power is the true source of their strength?"
Mr. Zhuang nodded affirmatively, "Correct, all Taoist Skills, whether spells or Martial Arts, are all constructed from Spiritual Power."
"Is it the same for Formations?"
"It is the same for Formations."
Mo Hua thought about it and then understood.
Formations require a Formation eye to supply Spiritual Power, which then flows through the Formation Patterns, ultimately manifesting the distinct powers of the Five Elements Formation.
"Then, what is different about the Reversed Spirit Formation?" Mo Hua asked.
Mr. Zhuang paused a moment, then said slowly:
"Ordinary Formations gather and construct Spiritual Power to form the powers of the Five Elements. The Reversed Spirit Formation, on the other hand, causes Spiritual Power to inverse and disassemble, producing a purer force, closer to the essence of the Great Dao’s Power of Destruction."
"The Great Dao generates and annihilates; gathers to produce life, disintegrates into destruction!"
"The Reversed Spirit Formation contains the Tao’s Power of Annihilation! What it truly resolves is not the Formation itself, but the more essential Spiritual Power within the Formation!"