Chapter 248: Chapter 14 Beast Artifact Demon 3 Upgrades, The Many-Limbed
"Supreme Qingtian, just what is your background?"
Doumu Primordial Lord couldn’t hold back and stretched her head out from the thick fog atop the mountain.
She still maintained a humanoid form, her boneless waist entwined around the mountain. Her skin exuded an inexplicable, greasy sheen, constantly secreting a syrupy fluid that stirred unsettling feelings in the hearts of those who saw it.
Li Mo had a faint impression of Doumu Primordial Lord. He had once overheard loose cultivators at a port gossiping about her; many mortals would visit the Doumu Temple to pray for a child.
Of course, Doumu Primordial Lord’s renown didn’t compare to that of the Blessed Earth Immortal.
As a Land God, Blessed Earth Immortal’s mud sculptures were seen in most villages, showcasing how the No-Life Sect had spread across various regions of the Cultivation World.
Li Mo recalled carefully that the demon cultivators who had survived thousands of years in the No-Life Sect generally didn’t carry overtly negative reputations among mortals.
Dirty and exhausting tasks were handled by subordinate demon cultivators, while they ensured the propagation of their revered titles.
"Am I beautiful?"
Doumu Primordial Lord displayed a coquettish shyness that made Li Mo’s scalp tingle. Her appearance constantly shifted between male and female traits, likely pointing to a Yin-Yang dual-nature Taoist Body.
Perhaps it was Li Mo’s strong Divine Sense unaffected by her influence.
Among them, including Core Formation Demon Cultivators, all others wore intoxicated expressions. Doumu Primordial Lord clearly relished the bare, lustful gazes directed toward her, pink smoke continuously spilling from her mouth and nose.
Doumu Primordial Lord lingered for a few moments on the Magic Robe Li Mo donned.
"A leakless body—a leakless body capable of assimilating spirit patterns, truly unheard of."
Blessed Earth Immortal scrutinized closely before adding coldly, "Eight arms signify the Primordial Dao Body, signifying a signature Taoist Body of the Sub-Device Sect."
"Oh? Could it be you’re from Artifact Cultivation?"
Doumu Primordial Lord’s gaze was seductive, sweat dripping from her pores crystallizing into amber, within which were born numerous gracefully figured female Grey People.
"The Five Elements seem to point to Paoxiao Swallowing Body; the other Taoist Bodies I can’t quite discern."
Speaking aloud was the Golden Light Saint Mother, whose figure remained hidden in the fog, her voice mixed with the crackle of lightning, her incredulity unabashed.
The Core Formation Demon Cultivators were utterly bewildered.
They couldn’t see through Li Mo, yet judging by the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators’ remarks, a count of five Taoist Bodies? Just what sort of monstrous talent was this?
Moreover, all present demon cultivators faintly felt a surge of dread.
It emanated from the suppression of the Body of No Life.
No one dared question Li Mo’s power anymore. After all, when one’s talent reached a certain level, the bottleneck to the Nascent Soul Stage became a mere formality.
What they didn’t know was that Li Mo was putting on a facade with the support of three Golden Cores.
Li Mo had arrived at the True Void Hometown via the temple, where it should have been impossible for him to use external Spiritual Power. Luckily, the temple had connected him to the Innate Saint.
The True Void Hometown enabled him to unleash the potential of the Taoist Body instead.
If someone noticed the actual body deep within the ground below Li Mo, they would realize the spiritual power from his dual Golden Cores was steadily dissipating.
"Supreme Qingtian, indeed a fine Supreme Qingtian."
The eyes of the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators betrayed subtle greed.
The atmosphere sunk into a deadlock.
Even though the Taoist Body’s value ranked far lower than believers to the No-Life Sect, it was still prized by many sinister paths.
Yet, both Li Mo’s displayed power and the acknowledgment of his title by the No-Life Mother deterred them for now.
Li Mo could sense dozens of eyes fixed on him, but deep within, he felt no fear.
He wasn’t even worried about exposing his identity from the Sub-Device Sect; the rules of the No-Life Sect were simple—once departed from the True Void Hometown, no information could be disclosed.
Li Mo didn’t understand the consequences of rebelling against the No-Life Sect, but at the very least he’d never heard of any incidents arising from it.
"My fellow cultivators, are there any taboos when residing in the True Void Hometown?"
Standing outside Luo Zu, Li Mo’s imposing aura betrayed no trace of being a Core Formation Stage cultivator; the traits of his Taoist Body were in a constant flux.
He had already begun accumulating power, steadily establishing communication with the Six Paths Body via the temple.
Having entered the True Void Hometown, Li Mo had no intention of simply blending into the No-Life Sect; he fully intended to assert his authority through his strength.
No demon cultivator answered Li Mo’s query, though tremors began emanating from several Rushan peaks on the outskirts.
Crack-crack-crack.
At the peak of one Rushan surrounding Luo Zu, a Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator finally revealed himself.
His title: "Nine Heavens Burning Fire Elder."
The Burning Elder resembled a charred, withered corpse, hunched as he walked. Any large movement brought excruciating pain, causing him to incessantly wail.
"Pain, such pain, Supreme Qingtian, could you provide some excess blood to extinguish the firewood?"
Li Mo lowered his head to hide the fleeting murderous intent in his eyes, gradually stepping closer to Luo Zu.
Blessed Earth Immortal sneered coldly, seemingly prepared to join the attempt to seize Li Mo.
He knew the Burning Elder was once a subordinate god of the Stove Lord, having only recently advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage; his presence signaled Stove Lord’s covetous intentions toward Supreme Qingtian.
Blessed Earth Immortal would not let Stove Lord have his way.
More tremors vibrated across several other Rushan peaks, plunging Luo Zu into utter chaos, akin to a pack of wolves poised to divide their prey.
The Burning Elder didn’t immediately act; though under Stove Lord’s command, he held reservations toward Supreme Qingtian’s title.
He feared Li Mo might be under the No-Life Mother’s divine favor, rendering him hesitant.
"Treat me like a soft target, and you’ll be ready for your death and Dao’s end."
Li Mo locked his gaze onto the Burning Elder. In a sense, whether he could establish himself within the No-Life Sect hinged on the upcoming skirmish.
The matter had to be resolved quickly—no room for anyone to spot a single flaw.
"Kill!"
Li Mo stamped down, scattering the fog, his figure vanishing in an instant.
His speed wasn’t entirely unexpected by the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators; after all, both Paoxiao Swallowing Body and Primordial Dao Body emphasized physical form.
Doumu Primordial Lord licked her lips, covering her mouth and laughing lightly, "Heh-heh, Supreme Qingtian, you’re welcome to come discuss dual cultivation with me. Few dare trespass into Doumu Immortal Palace."
Li Mo ignored Doumu Primordial Lord, locking his Divine Sense firmly onto the Burning Elder.
In the state of memorization, the flow of time seemed to slow, exposing countless fatal flaws in the Burning Elder’s movements.
Dong-dong-dong.
The eight arms on Li Mo’s back struck the beast drum near his spine, and the Ancient Sacred Body exploded forth. Seven tattooed beasts were simultaneously fused into his flesh.
Spiritual power pouring out without restraint, blending the elements of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, Yin Blood in chaotic mixture, rendering the Ancient Sacred Body precariously unstable.
The temple began transforming into a tattooed beastification.
Li Mo’s metallic arm took on distinct tattooed beast features, leading the interior of the temple to burst apart, while Paoxiao Swallowing Body struggled to maintain stability.
Within the conception of his temple, Li Mo infused immense cancer cells.
The temple fell into Da Ai Mi Tian’s cancerous transformation, with tattooed beasts twisting out of control, their flesh spiraling into grotesque deformity.
The halo glowing behind his head morphed into a beast face, an amalgamation of countless mutated animal features.
Although Li Mo’s body swelled increasingly due to mutation, his speed didn’t decrease—he lunged heavily onto the edge of Luo Zu, charging at the Burning Elder.
Within several strides, his body expanded to 1300 meters, metallic elements covering his entire frame.
Red Fox, Ghost Tiger, Golden Toad, Mountain Demon, Salamander, Kun Whale respectively occupied each metallic arm. The surface of these arms sprouted grotesque extra beast-like limbs.
Behind his head, the arm resembling the Candle Dragon extended further, looking like a dragon head grafted onto his wrist.
Beastly roars rang one after another.
Li Mo’s techniques exceeded the imagination of all demon cultivators present, resembling the raw amalgamation of beast artifact demon cultivation.
Supreme?
Hardly anything supreme about it. But on second thought, the capacity to merge diverse cultivation systems—wasn’t this the essence of the Supreme Dao?
The Red Fox head spat flames, and Li Mo’s figure disappeared into the smoke.
The Burning Elder felt deeply suffocated; he tried moving but found his legs consumed by shadow, layers of charred skin peeling off before he could regain freedom.
"Supreme Qingtian!"
The Burning Elder gripped his upper and lower jaw, his bones cracking as a baby-like head tried to protrude from his throat. Thousands of Grey People chanted his title.
"Nascent Soul Emergence."
As an Initial Entry Nascent Soul Stage demon cultivator, the Burning Elder’s strength wasn’t overly significant—Li Mo’s only concern lay in his Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul represented a qualitative transformation, akin to the embryonic form of an Externalized Dharma Body.
The charred Nascent Soul’s pure black pupils barely emerged when Li Mo sensed an imminent threat; the Nascent Soul could undoubtedly destroy his temple in a mutual demise.
Li Mo stretched forth his massive Kun Whale arm, deploying the Mountain Demon’s powers—immediately, the Kun Whale arm began mutating uncontrollably.
"Roar."
Before the Burning Elder could react, the Kun Whale clenched his neck in a bite.
It forcibly restrained the emerging Nascent Soul.
The other Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators halted their advances upon witnessing Li Mo’s displayed strength, then noticed the dragon head behind him closing its eyes.
Luo Zu sank into boundless darkness, even the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators weren’t spared its effects.
When the Candle Dragon finally reopened its eyes...
Luo Zu was bathed in light once more; the Burning Elder lay shattered, his corpse mangled, while Li Mo had returned to the edge of the island.
The Burning Elder’s corpse twitched briefly, his traumatized Nascent Soul crawling out hesitantly.
The Nascent Soul appeared desperate to breathe, but soon contracted at a visible pace before it came to a standstill.
"My fellow cultivators, are there any taboos when residing in the True Void Hometown?"
Li Mo remained in the state of merged tattooed beasts, the grotesquely mutating flesh exuding an overwhelming, terrifying pressure.
On the surface, he seemed to have wasted little energy dealing with the Burning Elder.
None of the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators could confidently say whether they could defeat Li Mo without suffering severe injuries, which would likely undermine the temple’s foundation.
Doumu Primordial Lord laughed and replied, "Qingtian, any unowned Rushan peaks may be claimed, but you’ll need at least four subordinate gods."
Li Mo detached himself from the Ancient Sacred Body, striking the beast drum behind him once more.
Four tattooed beasts emerged forth.
Each measured seventy to eighty meters large, their corpse-like bodies seeped with marks of contamination by Turbid Blood Spiritual Power.
These tattooed beasts held cultivation levels nearing Perfect Core Formation, qualifying as subordinate gods.
"Will this suffice?"
Doumu Primordial Lord covered her mouth, nodding in approval, the desire in her eyes causing Li Mo to frown deeply.
But Li Mo understood that aligning with some demon cultivators was necessary to instill fear in others and avoid incessant disturbances.
The gazes gradually withdrew—not because interest in Li Mo waned, but because the timing wasn’t right for direct confrontation.
Doumu Primordial Lord tossed a Spirit Talisman as she twisted away.
Li Mo looked around and focused on a remote Rushan peak.
Finding footing wouldn’t be difficult.
Next, he needed to figure out the top-grade Spirit Stones of the Yin Blood Attribute and cultivate new special pages.
At the end of the Creation Book, a special page constructed from flesh started slowly completing itself.