It looked like Mo Yu understood Formation Arrays quite well.

Chen Changsheng was also rather curious about such formations. Compared to the ‘Seal Heaven and Earth’ technique possible with Divine Decrees, a true formation array could unleash power thirty percent greater than a decree. Therefore, the abilities one learned through personal mastery and those summoned by Divine Decrees were fundamentally different.

Chen Changsheng sought out Mo Yu and questioned him about Formation Arrays.

Mo Yu asked curiously, “Why do you ask about this?”

Chen Changsheng said, “If I told you I don’t understand much about Formation Arrays, would you believe me?”

Mo Yu was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Don’t understand much?”

“You’re joking, right?”

Mo Yu thought Chen Changsheng was simply talking nonsense. He spoke up, “You hauled this sea island up into the sky! And you claim you don’t understand Formation Arrays much?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, “The techniques of Divine Decrees have an element of clever trickery. Ultimately, they can’t match a genuinely laid Formation Array.”

Mo Yu was stunned once more. “What did you say?”

He had been lying down, but then he abruptly stood up.

“It wasn’t an array? It was a Divine Decree!?”

Mo Yu opened his mouth, his eyes wide as he stared at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng looked back at him. “Is something wrong?”

Mo Yu’s lips parted slightly. “What cultivation art do you practice? What Dao have you walked? Why would Heaven and Earth treat you so kindly?”

He found it rather unbelievable.

In the era of the Demon Venerable, the art of Divine Decrees wasn’t considered particularly formidable. This was because the foundation of decrees itself was limited. The so-called ‘Words Become Reality’ was actually constrained by Heaven and Earth, as this Divine Ability existed only through dependence on Heaven and Earth.

Small, casual decrees spoken aloud could indeed be learned by anyone. But with major feats, Heaven and Earth not only wouldn’t oblige, the caster might even suffer backlash.

It was a bit like an underling asking their master for a favor. Only, the user of the decree was the servant, and the Heavenly Dao was the master.

Chen Changsheng said, “I don’t know much about those things myself. Let’s talk about Formation Arrays.”

Mo Yu snapped back to attention upon hearing this.

He gave Chen Changsheng another look but didn’t push further. Cultivators always had their secrets, and Mo Yu had no wish to pry too deeply and court disaster.

“Then I’ll explain a bit,” Mo Yu began, then changed tack, “But my attainment in the art of Formation Arrays isn’t high. I only learned a thing or two from a formation cultivator once. Don’t expect too much.”

“Understanding the basics is enough,” Chen Changsheng said with a smile.

Mo Yu nodded and began describing the principles behind how Formation Arrays work.

“In ancient times, cultivators discovered that certain special runes possessed Dao Essence, each with different effects. Ancient texts record the ‘Ancient Script Cultivators’ who cultivated using precisely these runes. But as the ages passed, for some reason, the power within these characters gradually waned. The Ancient Script Cultivators became increasingly rare until their art was lost. Yet, this doesn’t necessarily mean the runes themselves became utterly useless.”

“The surviving Ancient Script Cultivators gathered, aiming both to preserve their heritage and to find a new path. They secluded themselves for centuries and, through these runes, created two new arts.”

“One was Talismans. The other… was Formation Arrays!”

“Talismans rely on runes. Formation Arrays, well, you can think of them as large-scale, interlocking patterns formed by complex arrays of runes, creating a different kind of Divine Abilitiy…”

Mo Yu’s explanation was very detailed. He knew much more than contemporary cultivators.

He seemed quite familiar even with many little-known things.

Chen Changsheng listened very attentively, gradually understanding the structure and origins of Formation Arrays. He was most curious, however, about the ‘origins’.

Runes?

Ancient Script Cultivators? That was a fresh term.

He’d never heard of it before.

Chen Changsheng didn’t dwell on it deeply, instead continuing to learn about formations from Mo Yu.

Formation Flags, Formation Diagrams, Formation Cores, how arrays are activated… and so on, and so forth.

It was a vast field of knowledge.

Chen Changsheng found it somewhat demanding to listen to, probably because he was used to being lazy. Trying to focus this intently actually made deep thought harder.

Nevertheless, he grasped the essence of most concepts.

“Often, Formation Diagrams themselves are the rarest resource. Although the Ancient Script Cultivators started down these two paths, both Formation Arrays and Talismans still struggled to become the core capability of a cultivator. This required both exceptional innate comprehension and, due to the scarcity of diagrams and weakening runes, placed a visible ceiling on how far one could progress down these paths.”

“That’s why Formation Arrays and Talismans never became deeply rooted in the Cultivation World. From what I know, during the times of the Demon Sovereign, unconventional cultivators would occasionally establish Immortal Mountains based on formations or runes. Surviving for even one sexagenary cycle (60 years) was considered good fortune.”

Mo Yu rolled over before continuing, “Therefore, for you today, learning Formation Arrays doesn’t require extraordinarily high innate comprehension. As long as you have the Formation Diagram, you don’t necessarily need someone to explain it. You can slowly figure it out yourself and master it.”

“I’ll sketch out some common ones for you.”

Mo Yu then picked up a small branch from the ground with his mouth and began drawing on the sandy patch before him.

He drew seven or eight formations, big and small.

The first ones were simplest, needing fewer Formation Flags. But the later ones grew progressively complex.

“This is a Spirit Gathering Array – the one I used earlier.”

“This is the Thousand Heart Illusion Formation – a pretty basic illusion array.”

“This is the Ten Swords Killing Formation…”

“This is the Sealing Formation…”

“This one…”

Once Mo Yu finished drawing, Chen Changsheng examined them carefully. He committed each Formation Diagram to memory, offering thanks as well. “Thank you.”

Mo Yu replied, “No need for thanks. These aren’t rare items. Hardly anyone bothers to learn formations nowadays.”

The Tabby Cat, Lihua, trotted over to take a look.

“Lihua likes drawing too!”

It raised its paw and made several paw prints in the sand.

Chen Changsheng glanced at them. “What is Lihua drawing?”

“Clouds! Can’t you see?” Lihua blinked.

Chen Changsheng chuckled. “Aren’t those plum blossoms?”

“What kind of flower is that? Is it tasty?” the Tabby Cat inquired.

Mo Yu reached out with a paw and gently scratched at Lihua’s ear. “I pointed them out to you in the Mortal World many years ago.”

Lihua thought hard for a moment, then declared with utmost seriousness, “Lihua forgot.”

Mo Yu shook his head with a sigh. The suppression of the Spirit Cage had indeed made Lihua forget much, and its memory had become much worse than before.

“Black bugs!”

Lihua exclaimed softly, its gaze immediately captured by ants crawling on the ground.

Mo Yu looked over as well, couldn’t help shaking his head again, but smiled. “Just like a little kid.”

Chen Changsheng glanced at him. “Is being like a child a bad thing?”

“Mm…”

Mo Yu pondered before answering. “Good and bad. It’s good because I’ve always liked Lihua just like this. Bad… because I’m truly afraid there might come a day when I can no longer protect it.”

Chen Changsheng asked, “So, isn’t that also why you were willing to submit to my company?”

Mo Yu paused briefly, then nodded slightly.

Just looking like a Black Dog didn’t mean he was one. Mo Yu was an Ink Jade Qilin, a divine beast, an auspicious creature. Such beings fundamentally never bowed to cultivators.