The Little Silver Fish was very self-aware, and then it said, "Most of my memories of the Divine Way were lost in the Blood River God Temple. I donât know the exact origin of this thing, but this Divine Statue, made from dragon bones, is absolutely extraordinary and might be even more important than you think, benefactor."
"Benefactor, you must keep it well."
"I will keep it..."
Mo Hua felt a bit helpless.
The key is, he doesnât know what use it is to keep it.
If he could put it in his storage bag or storage ring, heâd manage to keep it, but it canât be put in at all.
Holding it so blatantly, who knows one day he might encounter a "knowledgeable" cultivator or some greedy deity and cause trouble.
Moreover, since he took this thing out of the Dragon King Temple, as time passed, the traces of "divinity" within it were gradually losing.
Mo Hua didnât know much about it, but he guessed that this lifebound divine statue probably needed nurturing.
Nurturing the divine statue should naturally be the task of a "deity."
After thinking for a while, he found the Little Silver Fish to be the most suitable.
Lord Yellow Mountain lived too far away, and it had many statues, mud and gold ones alike, went as far as crawling into a statue of a dogâit surely didnât lack this one.
Moreover, Lord Yellow Mountain has lived long, with many thoughts and always speaks with partial truths.
Mo Hua found it difficult to fully trust it.
Unlike the Little Silver Fish, pure and adorable, calling him "benefactor" every day, always thinking of helping him when things arise.
But the Little Silver Fish dared not take it...
Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then said, "Then letâs say I âlendâ it to you. You help me keep it well, nurture it with divinity, and return it to me someday when I need this divine statue."
The Little Silver Fish was still somewhat hesitant.
"You should just take it as basking in my favor..."
"But my power is meager..."
"Itâs alright," Mo Hua said, "this divine statue cannot be seen by ordinary cultivators or even demon monsters and evil gods."
Otherwise, it wouldnât be covered in dust in the corner of the Dragon King Hall.
"Besides, Iâll set up some formations for you, covering this divine statue so it will hardly ever be discovered."
Seeing the Little Silver Fish still somewhat anxious.
Mo Hua thought for a while, then changed his approach, speaking very solemnly:
"Iâm entrusting this to you, keep the divine statue well for me, and at the same time, you can use it to nurture your divine soul and strengthen your divine body."
"Donât let me down..."
Saying this, the Little Silver Fish indeed became full of spirit, nodding, "Rest assured, benefactor, I will never fail your trust!"
Mo Hua nodded satisfactorily.
Then he headed to a secluded and secretive desolate mountain near the Little Immortal statue and placed the Dragon Bone Divine Statue inside a deep cave.
Afterward, he began laying out divine Tao arrays around.
Ordinary formations wouldnât work, even concealment formations are like covering oneâs ears in front of higher-rank formation masters, revealing their flaws.
But Divine Tao arrays are different.
Divine Tao arrays are derivative of the divine thought, even some high-grade formation masters wouldnât venture into it.
More importantly, they donât have this inheritance.
Mo Hua referenced the array layout of the Great Wilderness Evil God, setting up a complete set of Divine Tao arrays, including the Divine Mist Array, Divine Barrier Array, and Divine Lock Array, around the cave.
Divine Barrier Array, locks the doors.
Divine Mist Array, obscures divine sense.
Divine Lock Array, seals the divine statue, and can also ward off external evil.
This way, everything is ready.
Even if the formation was broken, the Dragon Bone Divine Statue itself had sufficient concealment capabilities.
Mo Hua thought for a while and took out a piece of paper, drew a turtle, and placed it deep inside the cave.
In this way, if someone broke through his Divine Tao arrays with great difficulty, ventured deep into the cave, and found the divine array secluding just a turtle drawing, theyâd certainly get furious.
In a fit of rage, they would be even less likely to discover the inherently obscure Divine Statue.
Mo Hua nodded satisfactorily.
Then he took his leave.
The Little Silver Fish was grateful and reluctant, keeping Mo Hua company till the village entrance, watching Mo Huaâs back disappear at the fork, before feeling lost and returning to the shrine, silently vowing in its heart:
"I must protect the divine statue for the benefactor!"
...
After leaving the small fishing village, Mo Hua did not delay and returned to Taixu Gate.
Afterwards, he stayed inside almost all the time, spending his days in the sect, learning formations from Elder Master Xun and swordsmanship from Patriarch Dugu.
His formations were steadily improving.
Even his swordsmanship also gradually became enlightened.
And two months later, it reached the year-end, marking the fifth yearâs end for Mo Hua at Taixu Gate.