The stone walls had turned into decaying flesh, and the formation patterns, dark red and coarse like blood vessels, were deeply rooted in the ground. With each tremor, the laws circulated, hungrily devouring the vitality of the earth, and at the same time transforming this “hunger” into the power of the Hunger Calamity, feeding it into the wild lands.

Each formation pattern contained intense laws.

Every formation pivot twisted the inherent framework of the array.

Every individual formation was an ultimate formation surpassing its grade…

Mo Hua walked through the Wu Jiu Forbidden Zone, within the Hunger Calamity Great Formation, witnessing the surrounding grand formation. His mind was immersed, profoundly shaken.

This was a “Grand Formation” of the Hunger Calamity and Ultimate Dao, entirely composed of ultimate formations imbued with the power of Taotie.

Moreover, it had almost eliminated all fixed formation forms.

Traditional formations use earth, stone, metal, and iron as mediums, spiritual fluid and beast blood as ink, fixed strokes as patterns, predetermined structures as pivots, and spirit stones to gather spiritual energy as eyes. These are objective “dead” formations.

The Ultimate Dao Great Formation before him, however, was more like a “living creature,” with a bizarre conception and exquisite creation.

It was like… Mo Hua frowned slightly.

“A formation creature formed with the formation eye as the heart, the pivots as bones, the patterns as meridians, the ink as blood, and the medium as flesh…”

At this thought, Mo Hua’s heart trembled. Some fragmented memories of formations from the past resurfaced in his mind, automatically piecing together.

Mr. Tu’s Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Great Formation used the “heart” of an ancient demonic beast as the formation eye and the bones of ancient demonic beasts as the formation pivots. The Blood Sacrifice Great Formation also used blood as ink, corrupting the formation medium into flesh.

And his own natal formation, the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Skeleton Formation, also used his own bones as the formation medium and his meridians as the formation pivots. His own flesh and blood had, to some extent, merged with the Taotie Spirit Skeleton Formation.

And… that Great Witch Priest.

If Mo Hua’s conjecture was correct, the Four Divine Beasts of the Great Desolation were “synthetic beasts” artificially created by the Great Witch Priest using some kind of formation. This was also a “life formation.”

Connecting all these together, Mo Hua suddenly realized.

This Taotie Hunger Calamity Great Formation, like a “living being,” at first glance indeed completely exceeded his understanding of formations.

But upon careful analysis and deep thought, he discovered that many of the detailed principles within this Hunger Calamity Great Formation were actually things he had seen before, and had even personally participated in the construction of similar formations. It was just that at the time, he was muddled and didn’t truly understand many things.

Mo Hua sighed inwardly. “Indeed, a formation master still needs to observe and learn more…”

No experience in formations was wasted. Any insight into formations was crucial. Even if one didn’t understand it at the time, as one learned, there would eventually be a day when all the details would piece together again. Even if one understood it then and forgot it later, it didn’t matter. As long as one continued to seek the Dao and walked the path of formations, one day those forgotten insights would resurface in the mind and integrate, merging into the ultimate Dao.

Mo Hua’s mind became clear. Looking at the Hunger Calamity Great Formation before him again, the fear of facing an unknown, monstrous formation gradually faded.

There was no need to fear any seemingly profound and obscure formation theories. A formation was a formation; as long as one calmed down, was willing to put in the effort, and learned, thought, and practiced more, one would eventually master it.

Of course, this bizarre great formation was still too advanced. Even with some ideas, Mo Hua knew that with his current formation mastery, it was almost impossible to truly comprehend this Hunger Calamity Great Formation, purely composed of ultimate formations, in a short time.

In fact, he, this “habitual offender,” didn’t even know where to begin if he wanted to “destroy” this great formation. Mo Hua was also unsure if destroying it might, in turn, destroy the entire Great Desolation.

Therefore, he could only try his best not to touch it.

At the same time, he activated his divine sense, doing his utmost to firmly engrave all the structures, patterns, and the various scenes of the Hunger Calamity Great Formation he saw—the corrupted formation medium, the formation patterns crisscrossing like blood vessels—into his mind. This was also an extremely valuable “experience.”

One day, if his formation mastery became deep enough, recalling these details might lead to unexpected insights. After all, this was his Martial Uncle’s handiwork. To personally witness his Martial Uncle’s formation work from within the Ultimate Dao Great Formation was itself an extremely rare opportunity.

Mo Hua stopped being distracted. Instead, he walked forward, concentrating fully, imprinting every detail of the formation before him—be it the brushwork, the use of ink, the structure, the blood vessels, whether dead or alive, whether useful or related to formations—into his sea of consciousness.

Mo Hua was immersed in this, unaware of how far he had walked or how much he had recorded. When he came to his senses, cold sweat broke out, and he suddenly realized: “What am I doing?”

This was his Martial Uncle’s territory. Was he stealing his Martial Uncle’s formations in his Martial Uncle’s territory? This wasn’t Tongxian City, nor Nanyue City, nor Lizhou City; this was the Great Desolation, his Martial Uncle’s home turf. How could he become so absorbed in formations, for a moment forgetting himself and ignoring his surroundings?

Mo Hua forced himself to calm down, couldn’t help but look around, and frowned.

Since he had entered this Hunger Calamity Great Formation, he hadn’t encountered a single person, not even a single evil spirit. It was as if, apart from the living formation itself, the Hunger Calamity Great Formation was completely empty.

Where was his Martial Uncle? Even if he wasn’t here, he should have left some means behind. Otherwise, how was this Hunger Calamity Ultimate Dao Great Formation built?

And… where was Mr. Tu?

In the Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice Great Formation back then, Mr. Tu should have died. If he didn’t die, in what state would he exist?

Mo Hua’s deep gaze turned towards the most eerie depths of the great formation. He hesitated, wondering whether to continue deeper. If he went in, could he really come back?

But as things stood, there seemed to be no turning back; dwelling on these matters now was meaningless. Mo Hua also really wanted to see what was at the deepest part of the Hunger Calamity Great Formation, the core formation eye of the entire array. He also had to find Mr. Tu…

After a moment of thought, Mo Hua continued to walk deeper into the great formation, and at the same time, he had an expectation in his heart. Next, there might be a fierce battle… Neither his Martial Uncle nor Mr. Tu were to be trifled with.

He continued walking for an unknown period. The surrounding scenery remained unchanged; it was still blood-flesh stone walls and Taotie formation patterns like blood vessels. However, the blood-flesh stone walls were noticeably stickier. The blood vessels were also thicker and pulsed more vigorously. The aura of Taotie was as dense as mist.

Walking inside felt like walking into the maw of a giant abyss, as if at any moment there was the danger of being “devoured.” But Mo Hua, walking within, felt somewhat “at home,” even having a faint illusion of being in his “own” house.

This feeling was very strange. Mo Hua thought for a moment before realizing that this was likely because his own body also had the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Skeleton Formation carved within it. The laws between Taotie were of the same origin; thus, he was regarded as a kin by this Taotie Great Formation, like a “young Taotie,” which was why he wasn’t attacked or cruelly devoured by the Hunger Calamity Great Formation. If others or other creatures entered, it would be hard to say what this great formation would do.

Mo Hua felt a hidden sense of relief, but at the same time, an inexplicable sense of coincidence, causing him to frown slightly. Yet, his steps did not stop.

Thus, in the repeating scenery, he continued deeper. After nearly another half an hour, Mo Hua finally saw the only special existence within the entire formation.

This was a “person” with tentacles. But rather than a person, it was more like a deformed demonic monster. It wasn’t that the monster had tentacles; rather, the formation patterns of the great array, like tentacles, were implanted into its limbs and meridians, rooted within its body.

It looked like… Mo Hua’s gaze trembled.

It was like when he himself had drawn the Twelve Meridians Spirit Skeleton Formation, using shackles and needles to connect to his own meridians and bones. He connected needles to his meridians to draw his natal Taotie formation. And this demonic monster before him, with tentacles connected to its meridians, was also for… drawing the Taotie Hunger Calamity Great Formation.

Moreover, Mo Hua recognized the appearance of this demonic monster. The white demon that blocked his way in the Gushan Mine Pit was this very appearance.

“This is the demonized… Mr. Tu?!”

Although he had anticipated it, seeing Mr. Tu alive again with his own eyes still caused a great shock in Mo Hua’s heart.

“Indeed… not dead…”

Moreover, Mr. Tu’s current state was very strange. He was alive; his heart was still beating, blood qi still flowed along his meridians, but his sea of consciousness seemed to be “locked.” With the naked eye, one might not notice anything unusual. But Mo Hua could clearly perceive that some terrifying entity seemed to be parasitic in Mr. Tu’s sea of consciousness, using Mr. Tu’s physical body as a puppet, as a vessel, to constantly calculate, construct formations, and perfect the great array…

Mo Hua was very familiar with this scene. Because he had experienced a similar encounter himself. His sea of consciousness had also been “parasitized” by some terrifying entity. This entity was… the Guidao demonic seed.

Mo Hua took a deep breath. At this moment, he could fully conclude that the mastermind behind many events, starting from the Qianxue State, was actually his Martial Uncle. His Martial Uncle’s shadow had always been there.

His Martial Uncle’s traces were found in the Shen family’s mine and the Gushan Temple. The collapse of the Blood Sacrifice Great Formation, and Mr. Tu and the other four Yu Hua dying by tribulation lightning at his hands, were also his Martial Uncle’s doing. Mr. Tu had also always been under his Martial Uncle’s manipulation.

And this Lord of Faith, Mr. Tu, who built evil god forces, constructed evil path formations, and possessed profound knowledge of formations, had always been his Martial Uncle’s target. His Martial Uncle needed someone to “work” for him. This Mr. Tu was the best candidate.

Now, Mr. Tu had truly become a puppet of Guidao, doing his Martial Uncle’s bidding. His mind had been infused with Guinian, and he was now a “plaything” in his Martial Uncle’s hands… In other words, the current Mr. Tu was actually a “clone” of the Guidao person.

A chill suddenly rose in Mo Hua’s heart. This was the first time he had directly faced his Martial Uncle since Lizhou City.

A newborn calf fears no tiger; as a child back then, he might not have been so afraid of his Martial Uncle. But that was because, back then, he truly knew nothing. Now, the more he delved into heavenly mysteries, the more he studied cause and effect, the more he cultivated divine sense, the more he could perceive his Martial Uncle’s profound terror. The more he could understand the horror of the word “Guai.”

Mo Hua immediately wanted to turn and flee, to avoid drawing his Martial Uncle’s attention, but he hesitated as he moved. He turned to look at Mr. Tu. After carefully examining him for a moment, he realized that Mr. Tu was in a “sealed” state. He was unconscious.

And his Martial Uncle’s Guinian… Mo Hua looked around the great formation and suddenly realized that his Martial Uncle’s Guinian was sustaining the operation of the great formation. Mr. Tu was the vessel, Guinian was the dominant force, working together to construct the Hunger Calamity Great Formation. Although very dangerous, they were currently in a relatively “stable” state and hadn’t noticed him. Otherwise, Mr. Tu would have attacked him long ago. And his Martial Uncle’s Guinian would certainly not let him go.

This meant that he now had a rare “safe period” to consider what to do next.

“Should I… kill Mr. Tu?” Mo Hua’s eyes were cold.

Mr. Tu had “died and resurrected,” changed his physical body, and his cultivation realm seemed to be only at the third grade. He was now parasitic by Guinian, showing no reaction. If Mo Hua carved some formations around him, set up a sundial to activate them, and then left, letting the formations collapse, even if Mr. Tu didn’t die, he would definitely be severely injured. If Mr. Tu, as the vessel, was damaged, the operation of the entire great formation would certainly be affected…

Mo Hua’s habitual thinking made him instinctively want to either destroy the formation or kill the person. But he ultimately restrained this thought. He didn’t know what unexpected changes would occur if he truly destroyed Mr. Tu. Moreover, Mr. Tu was now his Martial Uncle’s “plaything”; if he really destroyed Mr. Tu, it would be equivalent to “waking” his Martial Uncle’s Guinian.

Mo Hua also didn’t forget his main purpose for this trip: the Great Desolation Straw Dog Life Art. If Tie Shugu was correct, then this Great Desolation Straw Dog Life Art, which possessed the power of karmic transference, was very likely in Mr. Tu’s hands at this moment.

Mo Hua looked at Mr. Tu, but the demonized Mr. Tu had nothing suspicious on his body except flesh and blood. “Where… could it be?” Mo Hua frowned and began to release his divine sense to search the surroundings. But all around were the blood-stone formation mediums and blood-vessel-like formation patterns of the Hunger Calamity Great Formation; there was no other place to store treasures.

“Could it be… I was wrong?” Mo Hua’s eyes darkened slightly. “Is the Great Desolation Straw Dog Life Art not in Mr. Tu’s hands, and… Mr. Tu is now his Martial Uncle’s ‘puppet,’ so why would he seek this Great Desolation Straw Dog Life Art?”

The karma here was truly complex. Mo Hua couldn’t figure it out for a moment, but he remained unwilling to give up and began to search the surroundings inch by inch.

Suddenly, his gaze trembled. He discovered a crack on the ground. Within the crack, a faint bloody light flickered, as if something was inside. Mo Hua walked to the crack and peered inside through the gap with one eye.

Upon seeing it, Mo Hua felt his hairs stand on end; all his divine nature was filled with a cold fear. Within the crack was a colossal eye. This eye was huge, bloody, with savagery contained within its pupil, and dense Taotie patterns, like blood vessels, were engraved within the eye.

Mo Hua met the gaze of this eye and felt as if his divine soul was being sucked away. At the same time, the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Skeleton Formation on his body emitted an extremely dazzling blue light, and even a bloody color seeped out from this blue light.