Mo Hua’s heart was shaken by this vast system of laws, and it was a long time before he could calm down.

The Taotie law is the prerequisite law for transformation into a dragon.

First, the Taotie “swallows” demons, then myriad demons “transform” into dragons.

First, the Taotie swallows the patterns of myriad demons, then there is the Azure Dragon Array Map of the Four Symbols. But why?

Mo Hua frowned, feeling that there were still too many perplexing lawful patterns within this.

Taotie—eating array formations?

Is this really correct?

Taotie is a ferocious beast; how could it eat array formations?

“Is it because Taotie is a law-ferocious beast, capable of devouring everything in heaven and earth, and naturally also capable of devouring ‘laws’? And the manifestation of laws is array formations, so, devouring array formations is essentially devouring laws?”

“Or perhaps, Taotie is not merely ‘eating’ laws.”

“It is merely following its instinct to devour flesh and blood. But all things in heaven and earth, including various beings like humans, are born with the will of heaven and earth, and inherently carry a certain amount of laws. After being devoured by Taotie, the flesh and blood are refined, and the laws will naturally be ‘digested,’ which is equivalent to devouring laws?”

But no matter the internal principle, at least devouring laws and devouring array formations, in Mo Hua’s understanding, could most likely be explained.

Devouring array formations, and after digestion, producing “residual patterns”—

How should this “residual pattern” be understood?

It couldn’t possibly be—Taotie’s “feces,” could it?

Mo Hua looked disgusted, but after thinking about it, he felt that was wrong.

For divine beasts, or ferocious beasts of heaven and earth, does such a thing as “feces” truly exist?

If Taotie devours array patterns containing laws, even if what it excretes is indeed “feces,” it would still be the feces of “Dao” and “laws.”

This would be far more precious than most gold and silver treasures in this world.

The only question is, why are these “residual patterns” excreted by Taotie?

Is it because these residual patterns are the “residue” of laws, “defective products”?

Or is it just because, on the level of “Dao,” they are incompatible with Taotie, and thus expelled from Taotie’s body?

It might even be the complete opposite: after being digested by Taotie, they are completely “assimilated” and thus can no longer be absorbed by Taotie, which is why they are expelled.

Or perhaps, this “excretion” of laws is entirely random? Purely a matter of fate?

These hypotheses all have a certain possibility.

Mo Hua could not determine which possibility was correct.

After all, he was human, not Taotie; he had never “eaten” laws, nor had he “excreted” laws, nor had he even personally witnessed Taotie devouring laws.

Without personal observation and experience, naturally, it would be impossible to understand.

Mo Hua temporarily skipped this part and continued to ponder.

Taotie devours laws, eats array formations, digests them, and then excretes “residual patterns”—

These “residual patterns” adhere to white bones or ancient remains, collected by ancient barbarian cultivators, and then reassembled and merged into certain “deformed” yet incredibly powerful Four Symbols beast pattern array formations.

And these array formations are the sacred pattern inheritance system of the barbarian ancestors?

Is the Yuangu Chongjia of the Shugu Department also like this?

Does Mister Tu’s attempt at myriad demons transforming into dragons also follow this type of law inheritance?

Broadly speaking, this is the law of “transformation into a dragon” in the Great Wilderness?

The ancient array masters of the Great Wilderness even used these “residual patterns” to piece together a “dragon”?

Mo Hua was secretly astonished, but there was still one point he didn’t quite understand:

Why must they first be devoured by Taotie, then broken down into “residual patterns,” before they can be pieced together into a dragon, or various other strange and wonderful totemic beast patterns of the Great Wilderness?

Can it not be eaten by Taotie?

Mo Hua thought for a moment and felt that it should not be possible.

All myriad demons, beasts, and things are born of heaven and earth, yet each possesses its own unique individuality and is distinctly different.

Different species cannot mate and reproduce.

Then the Dao and laws between different species are naturally also distinct.

The same applies to various demons and beasts.

If they are not eaten by Taotie once, their flesh and blood, laws, and the “array patterns” formed by those laws, would likely be unable to assimilate and merge into one.

“But why can they merge after being eaten by Taotie once?”

Another doubt arose in Mo Hua’s mind.

He calmed himself, continued to deduce based on his knowledge and understanding of laws, and then speculated:

Various demonic beasts, living beings, array patterns, and heavenly laws, etc., are all devoured by Taotie indiscriminately. They undergo a cycle within Taotie’s belly, then are digested and broken down.

This is actually a process of “assimilation.”

After being devoured and digested by Taotie, the remaining “demonic patterns” naturally acquire a certain characteristic of Taotie, possessing a certain “sameness.”

With this sameness, these demonic patterns, condensed from the laws of different demonic beasts, then have the possibility of merging into one.

In other words, they have the possibility of “transforming into a dragon.”

Mo Hua couldn’t help but think that the reason his previous attempts at myriad demons transforming into dragons had consistently failed might also be due to this.

He lacked a “prerequisite law.”

Without being devoured and digested by Taotie, the different demonic patterns were not endowed with sameness in terms of laws.

Therefore, these opposing demonic patterns could not merge into one and evolve into true “dragon patterns.”

Taotie eats demons, digests, decomposes, assimilates, and leaves residual patterns, and only then can scattered parts become a whole, and demons transform into dragons.

Mo Hua felt an unspeakable tremor in his heart.

He was shaken by the laws of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and their intricate, grand, yet naturally formed array logic. His emotions surged, and it was a long time before he could calm down.

Mo Hua deeply felt the obscurity of laws and the profundity of the Great Dao.

But precisely because of this, there was an unspeakable “beauty of natural order.”

And this beauty of natural order was hidden within array formations.

Without exhausting one’s energy, without deep contemplation, without spending countless days and nights immersed in array formations, one simply could not glimpse this grandeur and splendor of the Great Dao and laws.

Mo Hua remained in shock for a long time.

But after the profound shock, Mo Hua suddenly fell into a brief confusion.

He had comprehended the great principles.

He had gained an initial glimpse into the grand logic of laws.

But then what?

What should he do? How exactly should he comprehend and apply them?

His master had said, learn to apply what you know.

If he comprehended the Dao and understood the laws, but did not apply them, wouldn’t it be a waste of comprehension and learning?

But these “Taotie”-related laws were truly too ancient and vast; the various lawful connections, the interdependence of arrays and laws, and the numerous transformations were too complex.

Mo Hua’s mind was a bit muddled. After thinking for a while, he took out paper and pen to organize his thoughts.

He started from the level of arrays.

He reorganized some array formations from scratch.

He also renamed the array formations according to the “law” logic.

Second Grade, Twenty Patterns: Yuangu “Transforming Dragon” Array.

Second Grade, Twenty-One Patterns: Four Symbols Azure Dragon Array.

Second Grade, Twenty-Three Patterns: Taotie “Devouring and Transforming” Array.

Second Grade, Twenty-Four Patterns: Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Skeleton Array.

Without exception, all of these were ultimate arrays.

Among them, the Yuangu “Transforming Dragon” Array and the Taotie “Devouring and Transforming” Array were both found by Mo Hua himself.

Mo Hua did not know their original names in the Great Wilderness’s inheritance.

But this was not important.

Mo Hua, according to his own understanding, comprehended the laws, organized the system, and constructed his own array formation framework.

All myriad laws under heaven, and the myriad array Daos, were for his use.

It didn’t matter what names these Great Wilderness array formations had in their original inheritance.

Anyway, whatever he called them now, that’s what they were.

And currently, Mo Hua had not comprehended the intrinsic laws of these four ultimate arrays, without exception.

Therefore, he couldn’t master any of these four ultimate arrays yet.

If he were to learn them—

Mo Hua attempted to start with the first, seemingly most “simple,” Second Grade, Twenty Patterns Yuangu Transforming Dragon Array.

To learn this ultimate array, carved within the ancestral heavy armor of the Shugu Department, he would have to comprehend the “Transforming Dragon” law.

But the problem was that Mo Hua could not comprehend the “Transforming Dragon” law.

Because transformation into a dragon had a prerequisite law.

He must first comprehend Taotie’s “Devouring and Transforming” law before he could use the “Transforming Dragon” law to fuse the residual patterns that Taotie had “devoured” and “assimilated” into array patterns.

And what contained Taotie’s “Devouring and Transforming” law was the Second Grade, Twenty-Three Patterns Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array, obtained from the Shugu barbarian god’s head.

In other words, starting with the Second Grade, Twenty Patterns Yuangu Array was impossible to learn.

He must first learn the Second Grade, Twenty-Three Patterns Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array, understand Taotie’s “devouring and transforming,” before he could return to learn the Second Grade, Twenty Patterns Yuangu Array.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Using the law of twenty-three patterns to block the comprehension of a twenty-pattern array.

Unable to learn the twenty-three-pattern array, unable to comprehend the twenty-pattern ultimate array.

This accursed place, the Great Wilderness, had such a muddled penetration of various laws that it was truly outrageous—outrageous beyond belief! There was no other way; Mo Hua could only temporarily abandon the Yuangu ultimate array and look at the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array.

First, learn the difficult one, then return to learn the simpler one.

This sounded quite absurd, but for now, it was the only way—

“But how should one comprehend the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array?”

Mo Hua frowned, falling into deep thought.

He had largely figured out the big logical issues regarding laws.

But this comprehension of laws was “abstract” and “empty.”

The current problem was on the “concrete” level, a matter of “practical application”—how to integrate “law” and “array.”

Only then could he actually use Taotie’s “Devouring and Transforming” “method” through the “array.”

Only then could he make Taotie “devour” array formations, assimilate and digest them, and extract “residual patterns” with sameness to serve as material for transforming into a dragon.

But how could he make Taotie eat array formations?

Directly feed other Four Symbols demonic pattern array formations to the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array?

Would this really work?

Mo Hua frowned, unsure, and decided to try it himself.

Reality was the manifestation of laws.

Whether it would work or not, he would know by trying it.

Mo Hua then drew a Four Symbols demonic pattern on the spot, but as soon as he finished drawing, Mo Hua paused again.

The Taotie array was not a true “ferocious beast”; it would not actively eat things, let alone array formations.

How could he feed array formations to it?

Or, even if he did, would it “eat” it?

Moreover, he had not comprehended the Taotie law, nor could he truly activate the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array.

Even if he fed it “demonic patterns,” what then?

An inactive array formation was merely a dead array—

Mo Hua sighed deeply.

In the span of these few thoughts, problems arose one after another.

Ultimate arrays were truly not something a human could learn—

Mo Hua could only patiently try to solve each problem. Comprehending array formations was itself a process of continuously discovering and resolving difficulties.

Once all difficulties were resolved, the array formation could be comprehended.

Therefore, encountering “difficulties” precisely indicated that he was already on the path of “comprehension.”

Mo Hua’s attitude became much more positive.

He thought for a long time and gradually came up with a method:

“The Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array I drew, having only form but no law, is indeed dead.”

“But the one in the Shugu barbarian god’s head should be ‘alive’; it must have ‘living’ Taotie Devouring and Transforming laws flowing within it.”

Mo Hua then recalled his previous method of using the interplay of life and death laws to suppress the hunger disaster and study the Taotie power contained within it.

This method could also be applied here:

“Use Four Symbols demonic arrays to form a complex array, deriving the law of demonic power, to attack the Taotie law.”

“Taotie’s law, out of its own instinct, will definitely ‘devour and transform’ other laws—”

“This way, once the law begins to operate, I will be able to observe, analyze, and comprehend the changes in this law through Tianji Yansuan and Dao-transformed divine sense.”

“As long as I observe more, analyze deeper, and comprehend deeper, naturally, I will be able to comprehend Taotie’s ‘Devouring and Transforming’ law.”

These complex procedures gradually became clear in Mo Hua’s mind.

He had the foresight to keep the Shugu Secret Department’s barbarian god head.

At this moment, he instructed someone to bring it over and place it in the room.

He then selected some obviously more “plump” demonic patterns from his Four Symbols demonic pattern arrays to form a complex array.

Then he drew these complex demonic pattern arrays on the barbarian god head.

He used these demonic patterns to “attack” the Taotie array.

It was like “hitting a dog with a meat bun.”

The Taotie array, as expected, began to devour these demonic power-containing array patterns out of instinct, slowly consuming and digesting them.

This change in laws was not visible to the naked eye.

In the real world, ordinary cultivators could not see it at all, and their divine sense would find it difficult to detect.

But in Mo Hua’s nearly “god-like” divine sense, the traces of these laws were clearly visible.

And all the various changes in these laws were being profoundly deduced and analyzed by Mo Hua’s Tianji Yansuan. The twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array was “passively” devouring.

Therefore, this lawful power was not strongly displayed.

But for Mo Hua, it was already enough.

Just give him a hint of lawful traces, and he could unravel them, bit by bit comprehend, continuously deepen, verify his lawful logic, and construct his array formation system. This was another period of research and comprehension, oblivious to day and night, forgetting food and sleep.

When Mo Hua’s divine sense was exhausted for the umpteenth time,

He finally simulated the complete process in his mind: the Taotie law devouring demonic power, digesting demonic power, assimilating demonic power, and extracting residual patterns.

He had understood this law.

At that moment, Mo Hua only felt a terrifying roar shake his mind.

This was the shriek of Taotie.

It was a sign of the Taotie law’s initial fusion with his spirit.

At the same time, a deep sense of hunger surged in Mo Hua’s heart.

But this time, the “hunger” was different from before.

This was not hunger for food, for flesh and blood.

It was “hunger” for the Great Dao, for laws.

Mo Hua developed an extremely strong, heartfelt “hunger” for the Great Dao, for the laws of all things in heaven and earth.

He desperately wanted to seek the Great Dao, to explore the laws of heaven and earth.

He even wished he could “eat” all the laws in this world—

This was an intense thirst for the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, for the laws of all things—a “Heart of Taotie.”

Without gaining the Great Dao, without knowing the natural order, without comprehending myriad laws, it would never be enough.

In fact, Mo Hua now felt an extreme emptiness and intense thirst within him.

He desperately wanted to approach certain laws.

He even unconsciously began to stuff array diagrams into his mouth, wanting to alleviate his thirst for “laws” by “eating array formations.”

Fortunately, Mo Hua came back to his senses and forcefully stopped this rather “un-human” behavior.

At the same time, Mo Hua, through meditation and self-restraint, managed to suppress the “hunger” in his heart.

After his emotions calmed, Mo Hua let out a long breath, and his brows slowly furrowed.

He could feel that he had indeed comprehended the “Taotie” law.

This was a good thing.

But the accompanying problem was that the “Taotie” law was simply too ferocious and too powerful.

To the extent that his own spirit and disposition were, to some extent, also “assimilated” a little.

Previously, seeing the unusual phenomenon of Taotie, he felt a hunger for flesh and blood.

Now, it was a deep longing for the Dao and laws.

Cultivators cultivating the Dao needed a strong heart for seeking the Dao, which was originally a good thing.

But now this heart was too strong, and the “hunger” in his heart also made Mo Hua very uncomfortable.

Wanting to eat laws, wanting to eat array formations, these things also carried a hint of the bizarre and sinister—

Mo Hua looked at the array formations spread all around him, barely managing to suppress the urge to put them into his mouth. “In any case, the Taotie Devouring and Transforming law has been comprehended.”

“The twenty-three-pattern Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array can also be considered learned.”

“Next, I can start from difficult to simple, and in reverse, ‘eat’ the Yuangu Transforming Dragon Array, and comprehend the mysteries of this ancestral array formation of the Shugu Department…”

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then took out paper and, as a small test, drew a Second Grade, Twenty-Three Patterns Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array.

Previously, when he drew these array patterns, they were like “walking corpses,” with form but no spirit.

Now, when he drew them, the Taotie patterns seemed to come alive, exuding a fierce aura. Each array pattern opened its giant maw, as if wanting to devour something.

Mo Hua himself was somewhat startled by what he saw.

Afterward, next to the Taotie Devouring and Transforming Ultimate Array, he drew a Yuangu Transforming Dragon Ultimate Array, which was passed down from the ancestors of the Shugu Department and renamed by Mo Hua.

As soon as this ultimate array was drawn, a bizarre scene appeared.

The Taotie Devouring and Transforming Array actually seemed like a truly “living” Taotie; its body squirmed and expanded, spreading outward.

Finally, the Taotie pattern opened its “giant maw” and forcibly “swallowed” the entire Yuangu Transforming Dragon Array—

Despite having anticipated it, Mo Hua still could not hide his astonishment upon witnessing this scene with his own eyes.

The array formation was actually “eating” array formations!