Chapter 425: Chapter 50 Dragon Ball? Foundation Spiritual Objects
Mountain River perished by the Beili Riverbank, only to transform into a Sword Ghost trapped in eternal torment for thousands of years. In the Heavenly Sword Sect, such lost, wandering spirits number in the millions.
Li Mo surveyed the tavern.
As expected, the tavern was originally the Sword Platform used to seal Mountain River. Twisted by the taboos of the Night Patrol Deities, it had eventually morphed into a building.
Ye Zhuo Daoist swallowed nervously and asked, "The Sword Ghost inside... it won’t escape the Copper Mirror, will it?"
Cold sweat trickled down his back as his gaze darted to the furniture around him, fearing the Sword Ghost might be lurking in some hidden corner.
"For now, it shouldn’t be a problem. The Sword Ghost’s condition remains stable. Still, we must be prepared for an attack at any moment."
Although Ye Zhuo Daoist didn’t know how Li Mo had discerned the state of the Sword Ghost, Li Mo’s assurance that Rust Grease was effective put his mind at ease.
Li Mo chuckled coldly, casually pulling a wooden chair to sit down.
"As long as the Sword Ghost doesn’t act up, we shouldn’t be dragged into the Copper Mirror. But to prevent any accidents, I’m laying down three rules."
"First, don’t go to the third or fourth floors of the tavern."
"Second, don’t use the tavern’s stairs; enter and exit only through doors or windows."
"Third, if you see a rope hanging from the beams of the tavern, leave immediately."
Ye Zhuo Daoist etched Li Mo’s words into his memory with a grave expression.
He briefly thought of staying elsewhere, but San Sheng had tasked the two of them with keeping watch by the Beili Riverbank. Besides, other structures likely housed Sword Ghosts as well.
Since Li Mo had uncovered the taboos, the tavern seemed relatively safer by comparison.
The two of them coated the walls with Rust Grease and reinforced the tavern’s core structure.
Li Mo once again activated the Cave God’s Eye, even at the cost of depleting the Rattle, carefully inspecting the first and second floors of the tavern. Only after confirming everything was in order did he exhale in relief.
During this time, disturbances ignited elsewhere in the Fire Spirit Hall.
A commotion had broken out to the north of the city but subsided within half a day.
Li Mo gazed northward, watching as dozens of Sword Cultivators rushed to investigate the source. Most likely, a Sword Ghost had escaped the Copper Mirror—judging by their urgency, it seemed to be merely a Little Night Wander.
Meanwhile, survivors steadily trickled into the Fire Spirit Hall.
"A long and arduous road ahead."
Li Mo sighed softly. The calamity of the Great Sun Sword Tomb was expected to persist for decades, and whether even greater catastrophes awaited was up in the air.
Ye Zhuo Daoist realized they’d need to remain at the Fire Spirit Hall for an extended period. With a helpless shrug, he asked, "Senior Brother, what about resources? We can’t spend an entire century just sealing Sword Ghosts, can we?"
"I..."
Li Mo was about to respond, considering offering Ye Zhuo Daoist a share of his own resources. After all, he had an excess of Corpse Wine from the Corpse Mountain Mini World that he couldn’t possibly finish.
Just then, San Sheng’s Skull abruptly opened its eyes and shrieked: "Yang Niu! Yang Niu!!"
Chilling Cold Qi flooded the hall. As Li Mo and Ye Zhuo Daoist stared in astonishment, a ghastly pale ghostly hand emerged from the ground.
Li Mo gripped the Illusion Fish Sword. Ye Zhuo Daoist quickly remarked, "Yang Niu seems to be Elder Lu Yuan of Yu Xin Palace’s Lifebound Flying Sword."
The ghostly hand began to grow flesh and blood, transforming in moments into a skeletal bull’s head.
Moo—
The bull’s head opened its gory mouth, its tongue riddled with rotting pustules.
San Sheng’s Skull cackled maniacally, "Yang Niu appears once every hundred days, capable of producing any spiritual material! But the greedy shall meet a grim death!!"
Ye Zhuo Daoist clicked his tongue, marveling at the bull’s head while muttering, "Elder Lu Yuan is the oldest Void Refining Stage cultivator of the Great Sun Sword Tomb—at least six thousand years old. The resources he’s accumulated over the centuries must be unimaginable."
"Few disciples of Yu Xin Palace have ever laid eyes on Yang Niu, but it’s said that its stomach houses Elder Lu Yuan’s most prized collections—treasures that only enter but never leave."
While relaying this, Ye Zhuo Daoist boldly shoved his entire right hand into the bull’s mouth.
"Typically, one must offer resources to feed Yang Niu and receive objects of equivalent value. But now, it seems we can take directly."
Ye Zhuo Daoist visualized several elixirs beneficial to those in the Divine Separation Stage before withdrawing his hand.
His arm was coated with saliva, and in his palm were two Jade Bottles containing elixirs, their crystalline clarity trapping tiny Agar Jade Worms within.
Li Mo nodded and remarked, "The Great Sun Sword Tomb’s abundance of resources isn’t stingy, which will hopefully prevent Sword Cultivators from killing each other over scraps."
Ye Zhuo Daoist’s eyes glimmered, and he reached back into the bull’s mouth.
"Aaaaargh..."
A bloodcurdling scream rang out as Yang Niu clamped down on his arm. Its yellowed teeth dug deep into the flesh, and bone creaked under the pressure.
Moments later, Ye Zhuo Daoist pulled back his mangled right arm, blood and flesh torn to shreds.
"Damn it, just for being greedy it won’t let go? The bastard really doesn’t play fair!"
San Sheng’s Skull chattered incessantly, "The greedy shall meet a grim death!!"
Li Mo ignored Ye Zhuo Daoist’s plight, summoning a Salamander to treat his injuries while turning his attention entirely to Yang Niu.
He then activated the White Bone Treasure Body, growing elongated arms from his ribs.
Li Mo was unwilling to risk his main arm in this endeavor. Even if it could eventually be re-implanted, the painstaking effort of body refinement would be irretrievably wasted.
As his skeletal arm reached into Yang Niu’s stomach, he felt as if he had touched a small world.
An infinite, boundless small world.
Li Mo even suspected that Lu Yuan must have entered the Heavenly Sword Sect after the cataclysmic upheaval, likely inheriting resources from the ancient sect.
Summoning an eye on his palm, Li Mo attempted to survey the contents of Yang Niu’s stomach. But as he did, Yang Niu’s jaws began to close.
Li Mo understood this as a warning from Elder Lu Yuan and ceased his probing.
"Truthfully, I lack for nothing except a few Foundation Spiritual Objects," Li Mo admitted.
He mentally conveyed his intention to Yang Niu and suddenly noticed an array of items gathering near his hand.
Carefully examining them, he found many common Foundation Spiritual Objects.
Among them was a Mountain-breaking Stone, a spiritual material imbued with a trace of Superior Sword Intent. It could promote Nascent Souls of the same spirit attribute to the Divine Separation Stage.
Then there was Sword Marrow, a rare substance naturally formed from shattered Lifebound Flying Swords, commonly used as the foundation for disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Another item was Sun Mountain, a refined peak made from an exhausted Yang Attribute Spirit Stone Vein. It still carried traces of Yang Qi and was considered top-quality.
...
For a regular Sword Cultivator, such Foundation Spiritual Objects would suffice, as they wouldn’t usually pursue flawless Dao foundations.
But Li Mo was different. None of the provided Foundation Spiritual Objects met his lofty standards.
"Forget it. I’ll find a way myself," he muttered, shaking his head. "Even if it takes consuming Innate Essence and drowning the process in Corpse Wine, it’s better than barely eking past a bottleneck."
Disheartened, Li Mo prepared to withdraw his arm when Yang Niu snorted, its eyes fixed firmly on him.
"I didn’t mean any disrespect to Senior Yang Niu. I simply haven’t decided yet," Li Mo said cautiously.
But Yang Niu remained unmoving, jaws tense.
"Does Senior Yang Niu possess any dragon-related Foundation Spiritual Objects? Even Flood Dragon materials would suffice."
The surrounding Foundation Spiritual Objects scattered, leaving four distinct spiritual materials to gather before him.
Li Mo raised an eyebrow.
His Sword Infant and Beast Infant growled simultaneously, clearly agitated by something among the items.
Li Mo examined them closely.
The first was a half-meter-wide dragon’s eye, harvested from the pure-blooded offspring of a juvenile Flood Dragon. In ancient times, such dragons had the potential to transcend tribulation and become True Dragons.
"Impressive. Elder Lu Yuan certainly had treasures of this caliber," Li Mo muttered.
The second item was half a Dragon Tendon. While its origins were unclear, its depleted aura rendered it unsuitable for foundational use.
As for the third—
"Oh? A Dragon Ball?"
Li Mo picked up a fist-sized orb, examining it curiously.
It claimed to be a Dragon Ball but was far too small.
A Dragon Ball, a unique organ of dragons, enabled True Dragons to summon wind and rain. In some respects, it functioned like a Lifebound Magical Treasure.
From ancient records, Li Mo knew that True Dragons over a thousand years old had a slim chance of producing a Dragon Ball.
But typical Dragon Balls measured two to three meters in diameter.
The last Foundation Spiritual Object was a fractured piece of scale armor, likely a True Dragon’s reversed scale—now utterly devoid of vitality.
Closing his eyes, Li Mo communed with his Sword Infant and Beast Infant.
The Dual Nascent Souls both expressed an overwhelming desire to devour the peculiar Dragon Ball.
"Hmm..."
Li Mo’s expression turned subtle. He realized the Dual Nascent Souls had different reasons for their interest. The Beast Infant sought the Dragon Ball’s essence, whereas the Sword Infant seemed aware of something hidden within.
"Is there a parasite inside this Dragon Ball? No wonder its size is barely half a foot."
By extracting the parasite intact, the Dual Nascent Souls would not only advance to the Divine Separation Stage but also forge a tighter bond.
The Dragon Ball’s inferior quality was a lesser issue—Li Mo had Innate Essence and was confident that, even if it took millennia, he could refine a supreme Dragon Ball.
Instinctively grasping the Dragon Ball, he braced as Yang Niu’s jaws snapped shut.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Ye Zhuo Daoist, initially eager to mock Li Mo, now watched in astonishment as his arm exuded the brilliance of the Seven Treasures, holding firm against Yang Niu’s crushing bite.
Yang Niu’s head began to swell, and its fury grew palpable.
Realizing Li Mo’s physical strength was formidable enough to overpower even a Little Night Wander, Ye Zhuo Daoist hurriedly exclaimed, "Damn it, Senior Brother, put in more effort!"
"Get lost! I’m not reckless like you!"
Li Mo quickly gave up. Using his main arm might have forced Yang Niu into submission, but it wasn’t worth the inevitable retribution from the Void Refining Stage Elder backing the creature.
Instead, he laid out several resources sourced from the Corpse Mountain Mini World before Yang Niu.
"Senior Yang Niu, would you accept these for exchange?"
Yang Niu shook its head, its jaws twitching with anticipation.
"How about this?"
Li Mo revealed a Rattle. Yang Niu nodded, then shook its head again, indicating that Mystical Artifacts could be exchanged, but the damaged Rattle fell short of sufficient value.
"Understood. Thank you, Senior Yang Niu."
Li Mo withdrew his arm, solemnly placing ten jars of aged Sword Washing Wine before the creature. Opening one jar, he allowed the aroma to waft through the room.
Yang Niu’s eyes widened as it slurped up the wine in a single gulp.
Moo—
Gone was the beast’s anger. It eagerly guzzled down the remaining jars, though it still showed no intention of parting with the Dragon Ball.
Li Mo had no choice but to postpone his claim, likely needing to seal a few more Sword Ghosts before making another attempt.
"I’ll take my leave for now, Senior Yang Niu. Once I’ve gathered enough Mystical Artifacts, I’ll return for the Dragon Ball."
Under the watchful gazes of Li Mo and Ye Zhuo Daoist, Yang Niu burrowed back into the ground, vanishing from sight.
"Senior Brother, why didn’t you take more resources?" Ye Zhuo Daoist asked.
"Do I look like someone lacking resources?"
From the start, Yang Niu hadn’t allowed Li Mo to access the dragon-related Foundation Spiritual Objects. Without offering something in return, there was always the risk it could go back on its earlier terms.
What’s more, Li Mo had no real use for ordinary elixirs.
After leaving a few jars of Corpse Wine to expedite the absorption of Spiritual Energy, Li Mo turned and entered the inner room.
"Until San Sheng’s Skull speaks up again, avoid leaving the tavern."
Ye Zhuo Daoist picked up one of the jars of Corpse Wine. Inhaling its intoxicating fragrance, he found himself lost in reverie.
"Is this medicinal wine also brewed by Senior Brother Taiyi? Is there anything he isn’t a master of? Damn it, does having great talent make someone so insufferable..."