Chapter 307: Chapter 53: One Strength Breaks 10,000 Magic
When the True Word Secret Realm had just opened.
In contrast to the various powers eager to enter the secret realm, the Five Hidden Sword Sect deliberately lagged half a step behind, attempting to track Li Mo’s movements.
As a result, Li Mo, relying on his Taoist Body to conceal his aura, stealthily slipped into the bronze giant gate.
The Five Hidden Sword Sect naturally understood that Li Mo was a variable, but the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released. Ultimately, they dispatched three Nascent Soul cultivators to the True Word Secret Realm: Elder Fen Xin, Elder Liu Huo, and Elder Shan Jin.
These three might not appear to have absolute strength, but they were, in fact, the full force that the Five Hidden Sword Sect could muster. Most of their remaining Nascent Soul Elders were in seclusion, grappling with the Death Disease.
With their sect’s foundation needing to be guarded, it gave off a faint sense of desperation.
After the three of them arrived at the secret realm, they utilized pre-prepared magical artifacts to secretly observe the spiritual shrines scattered across the secret realm town.
They repeatedly confirmed the feasibility of their schemes.
Elder Fen Xin did not dare to slack off. His Divine Sense swept over the spiritual shrines again and again. Seeing the other cultivators remaining complacent within the Bottle World, he exhaled a long breath of relief.
No one understood better than the Five Hidden Sword Sect just how crucial the next ten years in the True Word Secret Realm were for them. It was no exaggeration to say it was a matter of life and death.
Elder Fen Xin muttered, "There is no retreat; the Five Hidden Sword Sect has no retreat."
As he spoke, he pulled out a mercury-like sword blade and fiercely stabbed it into his brow. Blood mixed with brain matter seeped from the wound.
The other two followed suit, though their expressions flickered with varying degrees of fear, far less resolute than Elder Fen Xin.
This flying sword was named "Invisible."
The original body of the Invisible Flying Sword was guarded by an affiliated Sword Sect, the Heart God Sect, while the fragments held by Elder Fen Xin and the others were mere shards of the sword.
Activating a shard could still unleash Sword Qi, but at an enormous cost.
The shards buzzed, greedily absorbing the Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators’ brain matter. They could vividly feel a wriggling, mercury-like substance licking the surface of their brains, an utterly horrifying sensation.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan. We will succeed in refining the sword," Elder Fen Xin murmured, his expression twisted in a mixture of agony and assurance. His Divine Sense probed through a jade bottle to monitor the secret realm town’s situation.
Currently, the True Word Secret Realm had only just begun. Presumably, the cultivators were adjusting to the Bottle World.
Nothing major should arise.
The town was deathly still, with only the sound of the townsfolk chanting the name of the Seven Treasures Buddha.
"Brother Fen Xin, once the Invisible has finished digesting its nutrients, we will immediately destroy the Buddha Shrines and plunge the True Word Secret Realm into chaos."
Elder Liu Huo’s temples throbbed with pain; the greed of the Invisible Sword Blade made his scalp tingle as the flying sword began to eye his brain tissue.
Elder Shan Jin remained silent, his heart overwhelmed by fear of the unknown.
Elder Fen Xin ignored the other two, muttering to himself like a madman: "Kill them all to refine the sword. If ten thousand mortals aren’t enough, then a hundred thousand, or even a million..."
Time passed, and under the influence of the Invisible Flying Sword, their skulls steadily withered and warped, while pus uncontrollably oozed from their noses and mouths.
Just as their scheming proceeded as planned, Elder Fen Xin’s pupils suddenly dilated.
"Something’s not right!!!"
The secret realm town shook violently.
The three of them simultaneously looked outward, hearing the furious roar of the Supporting Head Arhat.
"I am an Arhat under the Glazed Buddha."
"The Supporting Head Arhat!"
"An Outer Heaven Demon? Such a being must be eradicated!"
Elder Fen Xin’s expression turned grim. For a True Word Sect Arhat to be provoked into such a fury, it was evident that some cultivator had escaped the mustard space within the jade bottle.
He hurriedly reassured his two junior brothers. "Don’t worry. Every time the secret realm opens, there are always a few fools who believe they..."
Before Elder Fen Xin could finish, Buddha Power erupted, expanding over a thousand meters.
The district abruptly transformed into the Luminous Buddha Domain. A shadow darted into another spiritual shrine, and the enraged Supporting Head Arhat pursued it relentlessly.
"Qing Mountain, Qing Mountain from the Four Seas Commerce!"
Elder Shan Jin screamed, and Elder Liu Huo said bitterly, "I knew it. That Qing Mountain was bound to be trouble!"
"We should have cooperated with Feihong and chopped off Qing Mountain’s head..."
"Shut up!!!"
Elder Fen Xin’s forehead veins bulged as he panted heavily, staring at the Supporting Head Arhat.
The Ghost Tiger shielded Li Mo, their disheveled appearance against the Supporting Head Arhat slightly easing Elder Fen Xin’s fear.
He understood that if anything went wrong, the Five Hidden Sword Sect would face utter ruin.
"We cannot lose. If sacrificing tens of thousands of lives—or even the sect’s foundation—is required, we cannot lose. We must complete the refinement."
Narrowing his eyes, Elder Fen Xin spoke icily, "Accelerate the nurturing of the Invisible Sword Qi. Do you hear me?!!"
"Understood, Senior Brother."
Elder Fen Xin remained fixated on the outside world. Stimulated, the Invisible Sword Blade began actively devouring brain tissue, causing immense headaches.
They were fortunate.
The disturbance caused by Li Mo seemed to be just an interlude, as he didn’t make any notable waves in the following days.
Everything seemed to progress favorably, and they eventually managed to trigger the Sword Qi.
The price, however, was the loss of a significant portion of their brains.
Under their Divine Sense’s control, the Invisible Sword Qi shuttled throughout the town, leaving inconspicuous cracks on every spiritual shrine.
A dam of a thousand miles crumbles from an ant’s nest.
Once the spiritual shrines were damaged, their destruction became only a matter of time.
Elder Fen Xin’s mania subsided significantly. Even if Qing Mountain aimed to hinder the Five Hidden Sword Sect, he couldn’t overturn the damage done to hundreds of shrines.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already begun to regard Li Mo as a phantom rival.
The three of them swallowed elixirs to restore part of their brain tissue and then proceeded to nurture a second strand of Sword Light.
"Hehehe..." Elder Fen Xin, immersed in the Invisible Sword Blade, suddenly detected an anomaly outside through the magical artifact—as well as Li Mo’s gratingly sinister laughter.
One spiritual shrine under their watch was now entirely covered in cancerous flesh and had sprouted limbs, racing wildly along the street.
"Qing Mountain!!!"
Elder Fen Xin roared, his Heart Demon causing uncontrollable mutations in his body.
The mutations, however, spurred the nurturing of Sword Qi, making the Invisible Sword Blade more active, reducing Elder Fen Xin’s head to the size of a fist.
Li Mo continued pillaging spiritual shrines, drawing more and more True Word Sect Arhats.
He was like a catfish, stirring up a long-static school of sardines. All 24 Arhats in the secret realm awakened one after another.
Unable to control himself, Elder Fen Xin’s spiritual shrine began emitting thick black smoke.
"Hmm?"
Li Mo’s expression shifted subtly.
Seeing the 24 True Word Sect Arhats, each comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators, unnerved him slightly. However, the bounty within the True Word Secret Realm was simply irresistible.
From his recent spree, the resources he’d selectively looted were sufficient to keep him occupied for two to three decades.
Li Mo glanced at the spiritual shrine where disturbances had erupted. That faint trace of molten rock spiritual power unmistakably belonged to Elder Fen Xin. It seemed the Five Hidden Sword Sect had figured out a way to utilize Nascent Souls within the True Word Secret Realm.
Without hesitation, he headed for Elder Fen Xin’s location.
Not only did Elder Fen Xin notice Li Mo’s movement, but instead of panicking, he let out a vengeful laugh.
"What a Qing Mountain. Do you truly think no one can deal with you?"
He clearly saw that Li Mo relied entirely on crafty methods to control spiritual shrines, without the slightest leak of spiritual power.
No spiritual power—did he think his meat body could contend with Nascent Soul cultivators?
"Brother Fen Xin, stay defensive. Once the Invisible Sword Qi is fully nurtured, no mere opportunist can threaten us."
Elder Liu Huo reminded Elder Fen Xin, only to be met with a cold retort: "Even if I fall into Qing Mountain’s hands, I will not squander the Sword Qi to deal with a Nascent Soul cultivator."
"We’re running out of time."
Within the Bottle World, Elder Fen Xin set up a defensive array using Illusion Techniques and summoned defensive magical artifacts to encircle himself.
Li Mo was clearly burning through his flesh and blood to compensate for the lack of spiritual power.
If the focus was on stalling, he believed it would only be a matter of time before Li Mo crumbled on his own.
Moments later, the cancerous shrine arrived at Elder Fen Xin’s position. Li Mo, wary of the methods the Five Hidden Sword Sect employed to damage spiritual shrines, didn’t hesitate. He directly dove into the Bottle World.
Upon entry, dense fog enveloped Li Mo, cutting off his Five Senses altogether.
The Bottle World wasn’t large, but under the influence of Illusion Techniques, it seemed boundless.
Elder Fen Xin initially assumed Li Mo would be preoccupied with breaking the array. Instead, the latter leisurely commanded the Ghost Tiger to merge into his body, initiating a mutated beast transformation.
Li Mo’s body swelled to over seventy meters tall, his physiology fluctuating between human and tiger traits. The blood and flesh he burned emitted constant waves of heat.
Although Elder Fen Xin was confident in dealing with Li Mo—his blood and flesh consumption rate wouldn’t allow even a Nascent Soul cultivator to last a full day—the overwhelming pressure Li Mo exuded was suffocating.
Standing in midair, Li Mo casually stretched his limbs. "Sigh, I suppose it’s normal for a Sword Cultivator’s array techniques to be somewhat lackluster."
Elder Fen Xin remained silent, believing Li Mo was testing him.
A Beast Cultivator from the Four Seas Commerce advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage was already an extraordinary feat. How could such a person possibly have the energy to delve into Array Tao...
"What?!"
Li Mo vanished in an instant, his right leg swinging like a whip.
Boom.
His strike landed on the dense fog.
The Illusion Array dissipated, and the Bottle World opened up fully.
Li Mo scrutinized Elder Fen Xin. Evidently, the True Word Secret Realm also weakened the latter. Coupled with the absence of Feihong’s support, Elder Fen Xin’s spiritual power was down to merely forty percent.
"You..."
Elder Fen Xin was staggered. Such mastery surpassed that of even Nascent Soul cultivators who specialized in Array Tao. What kind of background did this man have?
Clenching his teeth, Elder Fen Xin summoned a defensive magical artifact: a Combined Magical Artifact resembling a turtle shell.
It formed an imposing barrier, blocking Li Mo from all sides.
Elder Fen Xin’s face contorted with venomous hatred as he spat out curses.
Give him one day—no, just half a day—and Qing Mountain would be at his mercy. Not only that, but he intended to use Li Mo’s body and soul as a sword-grinding stone.
Li Mo swept his gaze over the Turtle Binding Armor, then bent slightly. A series of spines, resembling porcupine quills, sprouted from his back, sharp and glinting.
"If I recall correctly, 20 years ago the Four Seas Commerce sold a magical artifact called Turtle Binding Armor. Its quality was barely at the Hundred Refinements level."
"What?!"
Unease crept over Elder Fen Xin.
"The Turtle Binding Armor was particularly challenging to forge. I even had to incorporate hidden traps inside, wasting at least ten days of my time."
Before Elder Fen Xin could respond, Li Mo spread his arms wide. The spines shot out like a downpour, precisely penetrating the gaps in the Combined Magical Artifact.
Boom, boom, boom.
The Turtle Binding Armor’s fragments kicked up a storm of dust in the Bottle World.
The last image reflected in Elder Fen Xin’s eyes was Li Mo’s fingertip pressing against his brow, the Invisible Sword Blade piercing directly through his Mud Pill Palace.