Chapter 287: Chapter 286 Eat_1 The mere wisp of aura that spread out caused the Green-faced Devil to tremble all over, shudder in dread, feeling the great terror of being eradicated from its very source. This strand of aura seemed like a repulsion from the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao suppresses all malevolent spirits. At the same time, the Green-faced Devil felt a burning pain all over its body. It looked down to see that, unbeknownst to it, its hands, feet, and entire body seemed to be burning in a melting fire, gradually fading away. And its form was gradually shrinking, gradually revealing its true shape, reverting to that little green-faced ghost with protruding fangs. “I must escape, or I will surely die!” Frightened out of its wits, the Little Green-faced Ghost screamed shrilly, struggling desperately to escape from Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness. Naturally, Mo Hua would not let it escape. His eyes lit up, he took the opportunity to use the Water Passing Step, took three steps as if they were two, and in an instant, he arrived in front of the Little Green-faced Ghost and grabbed it. Previously, when the Little Green-faced Ghost was powerful, Mo Hua could not get close to it. But now, it had been bombed by Mo Hua’s Earth Fire Formation and burned by the aura of the Taoist Stele, revealing its true form, and the remaining Divine Sense had weakened significantly. Mo Hua easily subdued it. The Little Green-faced Ghost was still struggling, screaming, “Let me go! Let me go!” Mo Hua did not release it; instead, he asked, “What exactly are you?” The Little Green-faced Ghost didn’t answer; instead, its expression became fierce, threatening, “Let go of me quickly… otherwise, one day, I will eat you!” Mo Hua’s gaze turned stern, and his face became serious. You dare to threaten me when death is imminent? He gripped the Little Green-faced Ghost’s throat and said coldly, “Keep being arrogant, and see if I don’t eat you first?” Although Mo Hua’s words were a threat, as soon as he spoke them, the Little Green-faced Ghost suddenly showed a look of terror. “Don’t… don’t say ‘eat’…” The Little Green-faced Ghost was both shocked and scared. But it was too late; as soon as Mo Hua had finished speaking, a more majestic aura came from the Taoist Stele, burning the Little Green-faced Ghost into a shadowy figure. The shadowy figure of the Little Green-faced Ghost was screaming, writhing, struggling, shrieking, but it was all in vain. It was ground down by the aura from the Taoist Stele, quickly refined into a few green vapors. Afterward, these strands of green vapor directly drilled into Mo Hua’s mouth and were swallowed into his belly. In an instant, the Little Green-faced Ghost was “eaten” by Mo Hua. Mo Hua was stunned. He was merely speaking offhand; how did he really “eat” this little ghost? He didn’t actually want to eat it… Thinking of the ugly appearance of the little ghost with green face and sharp teeth, Mo Hua couldn’t help muttering, “I hope it doesn’t upset my stomach… no, my mind.” Before he finished speaking, Mo Hua’s expression changed. He felt as if a kaleidoscope had burst open in his mind, filled with many new images. In the depths of the mountains, a little Taoist Child followed a Taoist in learning Tao Cultivation. The Taoist was reading a strange book; the Taoist Child also looked on, and as they did, their smiles gradually turned eerie, and they both wanted to eat humans. The Taoist Child and the Taoist colluded, deceiving wandering Cultivators and began to eat people. As they ate, both of them lost their human shapes. One turned into a Red-Faced Evil Ghost with sharp fangs, and the other into a little green-faced ghost. Later, a White-Robed Sword Cultivator arrived, stepping on clouds, and with one sword strike, he slew the Red-Faced Evil Ghost that the Taoist had become. The Taoist Child that turned into the Little Green-faced Ghost, however, escaped from the slaughter and hid in a painting, sealed away in a Taoist temple. Later, many Cultivators obtained this painting. Those with shallow insight, unable to see its true form, said it was a Taoist Child under the seat of a master. Those with profound Divine Sense, who saw through its true face, called it an evil spawn. And there were those unaware who would meditate on this image, borrowing its Divine Sense. But to borrow means you must repay. It would gradually consume these people’s Divine Sense. Until an Elder of a Sect sealed it away, it saw no sunlight and starved for a long time. Later, a Sect Disciple stole it away. This Sect Disciple had a youthful face, filled with ambition. It was none other than the third Householder of Black Mountain Stronghold… All sorts of images and experiences piled up on one another, flooding Mo Hua’s mind. Mo Hua’s thoughts were in disarray; he couldn’t distinguish them carefully, and in a flash, an urge surged in his heart. He wanted to eat people! Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat. At the same time, murderous, greedy, and sinister thoughts surged. Mo Hua’s eyebrows knitted tightly as he had a sudden realization. He “ate” the Little Green-faced Ghost, so his mind was also overwhelmed by these evil thoughts. Over time, if such evil thoughts deepened, he truly feared he might end up eating people. Enduring the pain, Mo Hua quickly sat in front of the Taoist Stele to meditate, using the Meditation Technique Mr. Zhuang taught him to focus his mind and dispel stray thoughts. The evil thoughts appeared in Mo Hua’s mind and were extinguished one by one, ebbing and flowing in cycles. At the same time, Mo Hua remembered Mr. Zhuang’s words. Follow nature of the heart, without deceiving oneself. Even if evil thoughts arise, do not fear, do not be afraid, do not deceive oneself, watch oneself in contemplation, be clear-minded, free the heart from its cage, and wander boundlessly. The thoughts of the world are in themselves nothing; the heart, like a bright mirror, does not gather dust. Streams of green qi tangled with sinister thoughts dispersed from Mo Hua’s body and were thoroughly crushed by the aura of the Taoist Stele, disappearing without a trace. Mo Hua didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally opened his eyes. The numerous evil thoughts that had arisen just now had been completely cast aside, Mo Hua’s mind was clear of distractions, and his Divine Sense was penetrating. Mo Hua exhaled with relief, and just as he was about to stand up, a surge of extremely pure Divine Thought welled up within his Sea of Consciousness. This Divine Thought was the purified remnant of the Little Green-faced Ghost’s sinister thoughts, the pure power of Divine Sense. This pure Divine Sense filled Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness. The Divine Thought of the Little Green-faced Ghost was already stronger than Mo Hua’s, and after its refinement, the power of its Divine Thought became even more immense. Mo Hua didn’t know what to do. He had never encountered such a situation in the Tao Cultivation Canon or in Mr. Zhuang’s teachings. As Mo Hua hesitated, more and more of the pure Divine Thought accumulated, like a tide, suddenly flooding into Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, assaulting the walls of his mind. Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness ached, almost to the point of splitting open. “Not good!” Mo Hua was alarmed in his heart. This Divine Thought was too much; it would burst his Sea of Consciousness. Mo Hua endured the intense pain in his Sea of Consciousness and swiftly started to draw Formation Patterns on the Taoist Stele. Drawing Formation Patterns would consume a great deal of Divine Sense, and Mo Hua wanted to use the Formation to dispel this surge of Divine Thought to prevent his Sea of Consciousness from being torn apart. Using his finger as a brush, Mo Hua began to draw desperately on the Taoist Stele. All sorts of Five Elements Formations, Compass Parent-Child Compound Formations, Melting Fire Compound Formations, Concealment Formations, and so on. Mo Hua drew them without a second thought, as soon as they came to mind. His speed was extremely fast, his fingers dancing so quickly that they left afterimages, his Divine Sense pouring out, one Formation pattern layered upon another, drawn onto the Taoist Stele by Mo Hua. But no matter how fast Mo Hua drew, he couldn’t keep up with the speed of the Divine Thought’s growth. At that moment, Mo Hua thought of the Reversed Spirit Formation. A first-grade, ten-patterned Reversed Spirit Formation, which with his current level of Divine Sense, he was utterly incapable of completely drawing. But that also meant that drawing the Reversed Spirit Formation could consume a large amount of Divine Sense. Mo Hua began to recall the Formation Patterns of the Reversed Spirit Formation, and then attempted to draw the Reversed Spirit Formation on the Taoist Stele. The first attempt was a failure. The second attempt still failed. … Mo Hua disregarded everything and kept drawing, over and over again. At the same time, the speed at which he was consuming Divine Thought finally balanced with the growth of the Divine Thought. The Divine Thought no longer pressurized his Sea of Consciousness, and the pain within it gradually subsided. Mo Hua felt somewhat better, then perked up, continuing to expend Divine Thought, focusing solely on practicing the Reversed Spirit Formation. Mo Hua kept drawing it time and again. On the Taoist Stele, the Formations he drew overlapped one atop another in layers; he didn’t know how many times he did it. With each drawing, he would get a bit further, and with each further step, more Divine Thought was consumed, and his Divine Sense also grew stronger. Streams slowly converging into rivers. Finally, with the last stroke laid down by Mo Hua, the Divine Thought was exhausted, and the Reversed Spirit Formation burst into a deep glow. The Formation Patterns lit up, and the Formation came into effect. It signified that Mo Hua had completely drawn the Reversed Spirit Formation. A first-grade, ten-patterned Reversed Spirit Formation, considered an anomaly of the Heavenly Dao, a transcendence from its class! By a stroke of luck, Mo Hua, helped by the Divine Thought in the Contemplation Map, had drawn a Formation that normally a Formation Master of his level could not comprehend.