The figure of Mo Hua in the Sea of Consciousness looked the same as his external physical body and could move at will, but it wasn't made of flesh or even constructed from Spiritual Power; it was simply a phantom of Divine Sense.
Mo Hua's phantom held his breath and concentrated, using a finger as a brush to paint the Formation Patterns of the Bright Fire Formation on the Taoist Stele.
Pale blue lines moved agilely with Mo Hua's finger, gradually emerging on the jet-black Taoist Stele, connecting thread by thread from simple to complex, forming mysterious patterns.
After finishing the second Pattern, as he continued to draw, Mo Hua gradually felt an unprecedented exhaustion and even pain.
It was as if a dam in the Sea of Consciousness had been opened, and the Divine Sense within flowed out incessantly like the tide.
The more Divine Sense flowed out, the closer the Sea of Consciousness came to depletion. It felt like a riverbed drying up, slowly cracking under an unnamed pressure, causing a stinging pain and a faint numbness on the scalp.
Mo Hua also began to feel his thoughts grow sluggish, and the third Pattern he painted became slower and slower.
Suddenly, a needle-like pain transmitted from the Sea of Consciousness; Mo Hua briefly lost focus and inadvertently made an error in the Formation Pattern on the stele.
Mo Hua had to stop, holding his head, waiting for the pain to slowly subside.
It took a full length of time it takes to drink a cup of tea for Mo Hua to recover. After some contemplation, he realized:
"A Cultivator Drawing Formation requires a vast amount of Divine Sense, far more than other disciplines of Tao Cultivation consume! And much more than I initially thought."
"That's why the manual specially marked with red ink, stating 'Those with insufficient cultivation levels must be cautious in learning'. If one's cultivation level isn't high enough and the Divine Sense isn't strong, forcibly copying the Formation can lead to excessive depletion of Divine Sense, and even cause it to dry up..."
Depletion of Divine Sense brings intense pain to a Cultivator and can even cause the Sea of Consciousness to be damaged and crack. Once it cracks excessively, the Sea of Consciousness will directly shatter, and the Cultivator will die as their Dao ceases to exist.
This was mentioned by the Instructor in the Formation class, something Mo Hua didn't take too seriously at the time. Recalling it now sent a chill down his spine.
"The Bright Fire Formation requires the third level of Qi Refinement, and I'm only at the second level, indeed a bit lacking in Divine Sense..."
Mo Hua held his head in his hands and lay on the ground of the Sea of Consciousness, slowly pondering:
"Although it's just a bit lacking, it shouldn't be too far off. My Divine Sense is originally stronger than others', and I have studied Formation for so long. With more practice, I should be able to draw it."
"If one attempt fails, then try a second, a third... With each attempt, my Divine Sense grows a bit stronger, and each time I manage even one more stroke than before, eventually, I'll be able to complete the Formation..."
After his contemplation, Mo Hua stood up, erased the incomplete Formation Pattern on the stele, and then his Divine Sense began to fill up again.
It was as though he had never drawn a Formation before, but every stroke and line he had just inscribed was etched into Mo Hua's mind.
Mo Hua couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Fortunately, he had this Taoist Stele. Otherwise, with the Divine Sense nearly depleted, he wouldn't know how long it would take to rest before he could attempt a second time. By the time he learned the Bright Fire Formation, perhaps ten days to half a month would have passed, and after more than ten days, the collateral Spirit Stones would be deducted completely.
Thinking of this, Mo Hua felt a pang in his heart, and his Divine Sense grew even more focused as he started to draw the Bright Fire Formation for the second time...
In the vast expanse of the Sea of Consciousness, one could not feel the passage of time.
Mo Hua would draw for a while, rest for a while, and take a break. When he truly couldn't draw any further, he would directly erase it all and start over again.
After an unknown number of attempts, he finally managed to complete the Bright Fire Formation.
Mo Hua let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing onto the ground, feeling like a little salted fish with its Divine Sense completely drained.
After resting for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Mo Hua had the heart to stand up again, admiring the first Formation he had successfully drawn—the Bright Fire Formation.
On the pitch-black Taoist Stele, a Formation with complete pale blue lines was drawn, its Patterns precise and elegant, exuding an unknown mystique. In the alternating light and shadow of the Patterns, it seemed to contain inexplicable rules and power.
This is Formation indeed!
Mo Hua felt dazed, as if in the world there was nothing more beautiful than these law-containing patterns, even just looking at them made one unable to help but immerse oneself in their allure...
As Mo Hua watched, he suddenly noticed something wasn't quite right.
When he was painting, the Patterns were pale blue, but now they seemed to fade gradually, becoming dull and slowly turning to a light gray.
```
It was as if... the Taoist Stele was telling Mo Hua that he had drawn it wrong...
Mo Hua was stunned.
"Drawn it wrong?"
"Impossible..."
Mo Hua felt somewhat disheartened, but he still mustered his spirits and began to examine each stroke carefully. Eventually, he discovered that he indeed had drawn it wrong, not just in one place.
In some parts, an extra stroke had been added to the Formation Patterns; in others, the angle of linkage was incorrect; and in yet another, the fusion of two fire patterns was mistaken...
Because of the errors, Divine Sense was not exhausted as much, allowing him to complete the Bright Fire Formation.
Mo Hua scratched his head and could only make a mental note of the mistakes, then he diligently erased the Formation to start drawing it all over again.
...
After drawing it over and over, Mo Hua couldn't help but feel dizzy and see stars, his Sea of Consciousness aching and numb. When he looked at the Formation Patterns on the Taoist Stele, they seemed to blur and double.
Somehow, amidst his befuddlement, Mo Hua completed the last stroke.
The Taoist Stele seemed to tremble slightly, and its faint blue Formation Patterns emitted a gentle white light, within which seemed to flicker a flame, like that of a lamp illuminating the darkness of night.
Bright Fire Formation!
Mo Hua could hardly contain his excitement; the exhaustion of the entire night evaporated in an instant.
For the first time in his life, Mo Hua truly felt the abilities of a cultivator, the sense of grasping the rules of the Heavenly Dao through a Formation Painting, and mastering the might of heaven and earth through his own comprehension and creation.
It was but a tiny step, a slight might, but it was the first drop of water that would flow into the great river of the Great Dao!
Mo Hua felt proud. Even though the Bright Fire Formation was only used for illumination and was one of the most common and cheapest Formations in Tao Cultivation, it had at least illuminated the first step of his path in Tao Cultivation.
Mo Hua, still not fully sated, wished to draw it a few more times, but he knew that his fragile Divine Sense was like a flickering candle in the wind and could not withstand further strain.
If he continued to draw, his Sea of Consciousness might not dry up, but he would certainly go mad.
After all, although Divine Sense could recover, during the process of Formation Painting, the Divine Sense was constantly depleting, and this process was not comfortable.
This was Mo Hua's first time drawing a formal Formation, but it would certainly not be his last.
He planned to practice the Bright Fire Formation a few times every night. After a few days, once he was thoroughly familiar with it, he would start using materials from the Formation Pavilion to draw the Formation. Once it was well-drawn, he would exchange it for Spirit Stones, ideally even earning the Sect's maintenance fees, so his parents would not have to work so hard.
"Let's call it a night..."
The Bright Fire Formation on the Taoist Stele shone brilliantly, and Mo Hua admired it once more, involuntarily nodding in satisfaction before somewhat reluctantly wiping the Formation away.
The moment he erased it, his Divine Sense surged back and forth like the ebb and flow of tides, the waxing and waning of the moon, like a breached seawall that regained its form, and the sun that set only to rise once more. His exhausted Divine Sense instantly returned, filling up Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness!
Standing before the Taoist Stele, his Divine Sense brimming, Mo Hua felt as if it was the moment he had first entered the Sea of Consciousness hours earlier.
No matter how many times he experienced the feeling of Divine Sense ebbing and flowing, filling and depleting, it still seemed profoundly mysterious.
And this time, the experience was even deeper than any before.
Mo Hua gazed at the Taoist Stele, its surface black and profound, seemingly a void yet encompassing everything, appearing empty but seemingly revealing all.
Transforming Divine Sense into Formation Patterns, and Formation Patterns back into Divine Sense, existence and non-existence giving rise to each other and transforming mutually.
A saying from an ancient text surfaced in Mo Hua's mind:
Existence is what we use to gain benefits, non-existence is what we utilize.
```