Chapter 426: Chapter 51 Sword Infant Breakthrough to Perfection
"Unending deceit! Unending deceit!!"
The Three-Life Skull hung in the center of the tavern’s main hall, issuing chilling cries.
Li Mo and his companion were in the adjacent inner room and kitchen, long accustomed to the Three-Life Skull’s occasional outbursts, focusing individually on their cultivation.
Since taking residence by Beili Riverbank, they hadn’t encountered any misfortune.
But looking across the entire Fire Spirit Hall, instances of violent Sword Ghosts occurred frequently, though the streets nearby remained as calm as still water.
Li Mo naturally seized the time for cultivation, as his Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant was on the brink of promotion to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Swish.
A piercing sound echoed from the window.
"It’s certainly lively."
Li Mo opened his eyes; the source of the disturbance seemed to be over in the southern city, near Hexing Road and the Wanli Escort Agency, where Taishan Yan was overseeing things.
Moments later, the sinister stench in his nostrils sharply dissipated.
"It seems they didn’t seal the Sword Ghost but instead drove it back into the depths of the Copper Mirror."
Li Mo appeared slightly disappointed.
The rules of Fire Spirit Hall were clear—he could only act against the disturbances within his own district. Unless chaos erupted at the Wanli Escort Agency, he had no reason to cross the boundary to steal kills.
However, Li Mo harbored doubts; the Great Sun Sword Tomb’s exploration of the Copper Mirror hadn’t reached its lowest depths, and sooner or later, the Sword Ghosts would riot en masse.
"Never mind. I’ll use this downtime to complete the perfection of the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant’s Nascent Soul Stage."
For other Sword Cultivators, the mixed environment of Water and Fire Spiritual Energy often reduced their cultivation efficiency, but the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant was unaffected.
It could absorb any Spiritual Energy into its Sword Pouch, making progress swift and dramatic.
Crack, crack, crack.
Strange noises emanated from Li Mo’s body as the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant expanded rapidly in size, its surface scales growing tighter and closer together.
The Corpse Mountain remained within the Sword Pouch, releasing an immense flood of Spiritual Energy.
A school of koi fish bathed in the various types of Spiritual Energy, their patterns growing more intricate, with some already replicating Mid-Level Sword Intent.
What was once merely a "Dragon Fish" soon encircled the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant. With a gentle flick of its tail, the blade elongated, and elaborate dragon patterns spread across its scales.
Thus, a "Hui Dragon" was born.
Of course, not all Lifebound Flying Swords survived the Transformation; some perished, their corpses serving as nourishment for their kind.
"In a certain sense, the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Scripture matures even faster than Demon Cultivation Taoist Inheritances."
The Sword Pouch functioned like a pond; Li Mo didn’t worry about its water clarity—once the level reached a certain threshold, breakthroughs were inevitable.
However, the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Scripture was far from flawless; it was an extreme cultivation technique.
Li Mo’s price for it was the inability to use the Spiritual Power inside the Sword Pouch, and all his Lifebound Flying Swords carried fatal taboos.
"The Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Scripture is suitable for dual cultivation; for primary cultivation, it sacrifices Spiritual Power, rendering Magic Artifacts and Spirit Talismans unusable."
Li Mo’s Sword Dao was the purest form of Sword Dao.
The passage of time was unclear.
The hunger of the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant grew exponentially, with its thirst for Spiritual Energy intensifying, leading to its rapid expansion and the simultaneous enlargement of the Sword Pouch.
Twenty to thirty types of Sword Intent erupted, causing the Lifebound Flying Swords to surge with unparalleled activity.
Just a wall away, Ye Zhuo Daoist faintly perceived the Sword Intent and silently broke into a cold sweat, his forehead studded with beads of nervous perspiration.
"Why does Senior Brother Taiyi’s Sword Intent keep increasing? Damn it, Senior Brother, you absolutely must cultivate steadily."
Ye Zhuo Daoist couldn’t begin to imagine the terror that would ensue if Li Mo lost control.
"What kind of Sword Cultivator bears dozens of Sword Intents simultaneously? Could he truly be impervious to Mutated Corruption?"
If he became a Sword Ghost, the calamity he would trigger would dwarf anything caused by the Fire Spirit Hall, likely reducing the Great Sun Sword Tomb to ruins in an instant.
Once Li Mo’s aura subsided, Ye Zhuo Daoist exhaled deeply.
He suddenly felt as though the lurking Sword Ghost upstairs was no longer a dire threat. In terms of lethality, who could compare to the Thirteen Immortals?
......
Li Mo glanced toward the kitchen.
"Even Mountain River hasn’t stirred. Why is Ye Zhuo so frightened?"
Seeing Ye Zhuo Daoist’s Mental Realm stabilize, Li Mo shifted his attention back to the Sword Pouch, where the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant had quietly advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage.
"Interesting."
The promotion of the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant had spontaneously derived four Lower Sword Intents.
Poison Attribute Sword Intent: [Gu Poison]
Water Attribute Sword Intent: [Stream]
Yang Attribute Sword Intent: [Dark Light]
Yin Attribute Sword Intent: [Yin Wet]
Clearly, Li Mo need not personally comprehend Sword Intent; the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant could continuously deduce root-like Lower Sword Intents by evolving from Mid-Level Sword Intent.
The true name of the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant also changed, becoming the "Ten Thousand Transformation Taoist."
The next step required only patience and effort to push the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant toward perfection. It was time to consider the Divine Separation Stage.
"The Beast Embryo Technique requires the advance preparation of beast herds. It shouldn’t be overly troublesome; resources are abundant."
[Beast Embryo Technique]
[Using the blood of the Taasu Beast Infant as the main ingredient, with Blood Dissolving Grass refined into Elixir Pills, feed them to newborn beasts until mature, extract their blood upon adulthood, and advance to the Divine Separation Stage.]
The breakthrough method for the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Scripture to reach the Divine Separation Stage differed, known as the Dragon Corpse Technique.
[Dragon Corpse Technique]
[Using the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant as the core, refining Dragon corpses into Flying Swords, and releasing them to the Sword Infant until breaking through the limits of bloodlines to advance to the Divine Separation Stage.]
Dragons had already gone extinct, with only Hui Dragons barely qualifying as Dragon-kind.
Fortunately, modern Lifebound Flying Swords were not purely Magic Artifacts but more like bizarre hybrids of living beings and organs, allowing Dragon-like Flying Swords conceived by the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant to be used for the Dragon Corpse Technique.
"Wait..."
Li Mo’s expression became peculiar as he realized that the promotions of Dual Nascent Souls could be synchronized.
"The Beast Embryo Technique requires blood from grown beasts, but there’s no need to choose ordinary wildlife; Lifebound Flying Swords are perfectly suitable."
"After all, the Dragon Corpse Technique only demands corpses. A lack of blood slightly affects the progress, but Beast Infants can facilitate the Flying Swords’ transformation."
By combining the Beast Embryo Technique with the Dragon Corpse Technique, Li Mo felt confident that the fusion of Dual Nascent Souls could be achieved the moment they both advanced to the Divine Separation Stage.
"Let’s give it a try."
Li Mo moved his thoughts slightly; within the Sword Pouch, a Hui Dragon Flying Sword began thrashing violently as traces of metallic dragon blood were extracted.
The weakened Hui Dragon Flying Sword quietly retreated into a corner to recover.
Li Mo controlled the dragon blood to flow into his Multiple Dantians, where the Taasu Beast Infant immediately rose, impatiently mutating an elephant trunk to gulp it down.
The Taasu Beast Infant trembled all over; despite its cultivation being near perfection, the dragon blood still imparted subtle enhancements to its Spiritual Power.
Li Mo nodded to himself; if dragon blood worked, it indeed validated their complementarity.
"Heh heh heh..."
"Everything is prepared, awaiting merely the east wind."
Li Mo’s expression turned eager, longing to venture outside and battle Sword Ghosts.
Unfortunately, circumstances refused to comply.
Other districts had seen disturbances to varying degrees, but Beili Riverbank remained eerily silent.
Perhaps Mountain River’s presence in the fourth floor of the Copper Mirror had something to do with it, suppressing nearby Sword Ghost riots—a mixed blessing.
Li Mo had no intent to instigate, as even lacking Foundation Spiritual Objects, he could still begin preparing resources to facilitate the growth of dragon-kind.
Unexpectedly, the Corpse Wine Technique reached completion faster than anticipated.
Li Mo activated his Divine Skills.
[Fish Jumping Dragon Gate Wine]
[Using four ounces of Divine Separation Stage flesh as a Medicine lead, adding eight drops of dragon blood, parasitize within a living body for three hundred seventy-five years to form Wine Lees Heart. Its effects refine dragon-kind bloodlines.]
Li Mo’s eyes lit up; upon reaching the Divine Separation Stage, the Corpse Wine Technique underwent qualitative changes.
He immediately started brewing, relying on Xu Guang for the Divine Separation Stage flesh, drawing dragon blood from the Sword Pouch. With the primary ingredients ready, he chose the remaining Deceit Beasts within the Corpse Mountain Mini World as the host.
The flesh absorbed the dragon blood, transforming into a twisted lump of rotted meat, which burrowed into the Deceit Beast’s mouth and nose.
The Deceit Beast grew visibly terrified, fleeing for a hundred miles before coming to a halt.
Li Mo couldn’t yet discern the embryonic form of the Wine Lees Heart. To ensure brewing efficiency, he decided to accelerate its development using Innate Essence.
After consuming nearly a century’s worth of Innate Essence, the Deceit Beast’s back developed a bulging lump.
Inside its body, a unique, pulsating heart began forming, pumping thick, pungent lees-like fluid.
"What the hell? Could the Corpse Wine Technique actually give the tenants of the Corpse Mountain a chance to return from death to life?"
Li Mo extracted the Wine Lees Heart, leaving the Deceit Beast collapsing weakly, relying on its resilience as a Deceitful Object to cling to life.
He instructed He Guo to reserve twenty or thirty Deceit Beasts specifically for brewing, as ordinary beasts couldn’t endure parasitization by a Wine Lees Heart.
Li Mo casually chose one corpse tenant from the Corpse Mountain with its organs nearly rotted away, except for a stomach kept fresh by wine nourishment.
Placing the Wine Lees Heart into the corpse tenant’s body, its heart began beating again.
Soon, a web of intricate blood vessels reformed, constantly delivering lees into the stomach, where wine quickly began fermenting.
"Talk about resourcefulness."
Li Mo’s expression twitched as he observed how the Wine Lees Heart caused the Corpse Mountain tenant’s amputated limbs to regenerate like mushrooms after rain.
The corpse tenant gradually approached the Divine Separation Stage.
"Does this mean we’ll never run short of Divine Separation Stage bones again?"
"If I created forty thousand Wine Lees Hearts, the Four Seas Commerce might be able to sell Divine Separation Stage bones by weight—what nonsense."
However, the Wine Lees Heart was costly, and the growth of bones required seven to eight centuries.
Li Mo poured the newly-brewed ten pounds of Fish Jumping Dragon Gate Wine into the Sword Pouch, where all Lifebound Flying Swords scrambled to get their share.
Even those Flying Swords still classified as "Fish Dragons," which hadn’t yet replicated Mid-Level Sword Intent, developed faint Hui Dragon traits after consuming the Corpse Wine—proof that Fish Jumping Dragon Gate Wine indeed enhanced Flying Sword bloodlines.
"Ten pounds of Corpse Wine are better than nothing; it’s all about quantity."
Li Mo’s consumption of Corpse Wine usually operated on the scale of lakes, exhausting another 400 years of Innate Essence to create four more Wine Lees Hearts.
Next, he began nurturing new wine formulas beneficial for Residual Body Stage cultivation.
[Body and Soul Rejuvenation Wine]
[Using six ounces of Divine Separation Stage flesh as Medicine lead, adding thirteen drops of Jade Liquid Water, parasitize within a living body for four hundred years to form a Wine Lees Heart. Its effects repair cracks within an Externalized Dharma Body.]
Body and Soul Rejuvenation Wine also required five Wine Lees Hearts, consuming a millennium of essence in mere moments.
Every Deceit Beast within the Corpse Mountain Mini World without exception became hosts for Wine Lees Hearts, as Plant and Tree Cultivators gathered them in a mountain valley.
With Body and Soul Rejuvenation Wine available, Li Mo’s Buddha Demon Body cultivation accelerated sharply.
The Externalized Dharma Body’s surface cracks gradually sealed, further completing the Buddha Demon Techniques, propelling cultivation into overdrive.
Li Mo had barely settled into closed-door practice for a few years...
"The seventh month’s half, opens the ghost gate, the ghost gate opens, ghosts emerge."
"Ghosts suffer, selling tofu, tofu rots."
"There are deceitful events, deceitful events indeed!"