Chapter 254: Chapter 20: Trapped in the Dark Secret Realm
The Luo Zu, who grew limbs and a head, became exceedingly strange and unfathomable, resembling a sleeping beauty whose expression was shaped by the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of her dreams.
However, as the death disease’s corruption deepened, Luo Zu’s expression grew increasingly anguished.
To the extent that the many Rushan (乳山) on her surface began to tremble faintly, and the spiritual energy in the True Void Hometown became chaotic, no longer suitable for cultivation.
"Uh..."
A mournful groan escaped Luo Zu’s mouth and nose, sending countless Grey People into terror while simultaneously stoking an unnamable yearning deep within their hearts—a primal desire for procreation and life’s continuance.
The mountain’s base was in complete disarray.
On the mountain peak, the demon cultivators gradually had their consciousness enter the secret realm, for the half-year period spurred them to vie for resources, even wishing to clash violently.
At this time, a Rushan near the periphery began to writhe.
A Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator slowly detached from the mountain.
His legs made up a full half of his body, covered in veins bulging through his skin. The disproportion of his physique rendered him somewhat grotesque in appearance.
The demon cultivator was titled Red Feet Master, holding a low position within the No-Life Sect. It was only because the sect’s followers were limited in number and his strength merely at the initial entry of the Nascent Soul Stage that he had managed to survive unharmed until now.
Red Feet Master had participated in numerous Life Festival ceremonies and understood the importance of resources within them.
However, compelled by the Stove Lord’s mandate, he did not rush into the secret realm and instead approached the edges of Luo Zu with an expression of reluctant helplessness.
In return, Red Feet Master had received relevant information about the current secret realm.
He cast a glance at Luo Zu’s head and couldn’t help but mutter, "The Luo Fu Secret Realm ought to be relatively easy to handle regarding resources."
Each time Luo Zu spawned a head, it differed in various ways, which led to drastic variations in the secret realm’s rules. The Luo Fu Secret Realm’s theme this time was "Dual Cultivation."
According to the Stove Lord’s narrative, regardless of the cultivators entering and exiting, the secret realm ultimately transforms into a veritable cesspool of indulgence.
All the resources within the Luo Fu Secret Realm are inevitably activated into life.
That’s correct—the resources morph into beautiful women.
Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators can extract nourishment through Yin Yang Dual Cultivation, with many seizing this chance to overcome bottlenecks in their cultivation.
Aside from the Luo Fu Secret Realm, Red Feet Master recalled from memory another type of head—where resource conversion was extremely straightforward, named the "Pure Secret Realm."
When the Pure head appears, it indicates that all the resources in the realm transform into emerald bamboo.
Each bamboo node houses resources, and by continuously cutting them down, cultivators can obtain their portion—forming the simplest Life Festival by far.
Red Feet Master swallowed hard, similarly stirred by the desire Luo Zu had ignited in his heart.
"What a pity the Life Festival only lasts six months."
Red Feet Master reasoned that delaying his entry into the secret realm for clearer rules would not be a loss; this way, he wouldn’t become a mere stepping stone for other demon cultivators in the same stage.
Thinking of this, he sped up and arrived at Green Mountain Cave Heaven.
Red Feet Master’s spiritual power surged into his legs, whose flesh decayed as facial features emerged upon their surface, sniffing the surrounding air.
"Found it."
The mouth on his foot swallowed a scoop of soil, its tongue shifting into the likeness of Li Mo.
Being tasked with guiding the lost, Red Feet Master’s temple had endowed him with a unique divine skill upon ascending to the Nascent Soul Stage, allowing him to track designated targets.
"Hmm?"
Red Feet Master showed a look of bewilderment.
The Stove Lord had hinted that Supreme Qingtian might take advantage of the Life Festival to explore the depths of Luo Zu in search of truth and illusion.
He wished for Red Feet Master to guide Li Mo’s temple into the secret realm and have him killed within, thereby damaging the foundation of Supreme Qingtian.
What caught Red Feet Master off guard, however, was that Supreme Qingtian’s aura was already present inside the secret realm.
Evidently, Supreme Qingtian had somehow entered the secret realm ahead of time.
Red Feet Master hesitated for a few moments, debating whether to report back to the Stove Lord. Naturally, he needed to confirm whether Li Mo had entered by sending his consciousness.
After pinpointing Li Mo’s location, he used his mind to connect with the No-Life God Statue within the secret realm.
In an instant, Red Feet Master was entangled by a Rushan and transported to the depths of the Luo Fu Secret Realm, only moments away from Li Mo.
He harbored disdain for Li Mo.
"Supreme Qingtian? Recognized by No-Life Mother purely due to innate talent, but his temperament is far too inadequate. He actually..."
Red Feet Master’s thoughts came to a screeching halt, his consciousness merging with the No-Life God Statue and eliciting an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.
It was as though an unimaginable danger loomed ahead.
He quickly realized that he couldn’t control the No-Life God Statue at all.
The statue’s eyes remained shut, its limbs posed in a meditative seated posture, while eerie, rustling noises came from nearby, clamping his body in place.
Red Feet Master struggled to open his eyes, his first suspicion being Supreme Qingtian’s interference.
Yet, after sensing further with his divine skills, he discerned Supreme Qingtian was at least a thousand meters away and similarly in a state of stalemate.
"Ah~"
Red Feet Master froze in dread as feminine, seductive moans pierced his ears, crawling into his mind and chilling him to his core.
"What on earth has happened to the Luo Fu Secret Realm?"
The secret realm had entirely exceeded expectations. Previous Life Festivals had merely obstructed access to resources; never had they veered from preordained outcomes.
Red Feet Master rallied his strength, gradually prying open his heavy eyelids.
He saw, within this secret realm, unending darkness—a pitch-black void where even reaching out wouldn’t reveal one’s own hand. Visibility was limited to half a meter around him, shrinking steadily.
Red Feet Master’s host vessel—the No-Life God Statue—had transformed into the shape of a candle.
A flickering flame burned atop the statue’s head, wax dripping continuously and bringing an inexplicable stinging pain with it.
Even as a Nascent Soul cultivator, Red Feet Master found himself bewildered and at a loss.
"Hehehe..."
Bone-chilling noises crept closer—a multi-legged creature progressing with peculiar moans.
Red Feet Master readied himself for battle, his gaze locked onto the emerging figure in the darkness.
The grotesque entity was a monstrous abomination, composed of countless male and female body parts grotesquely interwoven, resembling a writhing nest of tangled snakes.
Its limbs were crudely amalgamated, its lower body conjoined.
Stillborn corpses continuously squeezed forth from its tail-end.
"Hehehe."
Red Feet Master’s pupils dilated with horror as he noticed several female faces strikingly similar to Luo Fu’s, their sinister expressions brimming with primal lust.
"By No-Life Mother above..."
The rustling, unsettling noises intensified as the abomination closed in.
Some of the grotesque creatures bore spiritual material characteristics, such as possessing Meat Stone Embryos—top-grade spiritual materials—overflowing with surplus flesh.
Red Feet Master’s expression became entranced; though his consciousness tried to retreat, his instincts drowned in the desire brought by the abomination.
As his mental resistance ebbed, the surrounding light flickered faintly before dimming entirely.
The abominations swarmed him in droves.
Red Feet Master’s face erupted with exhilaration; during Yin Yang Dual Cultivation, his cultivation surged, seemingly brushing against a breakthrough.
"It’s true! Hahaha! The Great Dao is within reach—within reach!!"
Meanwhile, in Li Mo’s eyes, Red Feet Master presented a thoroughly repulsive sight, the No-Life God Statue buried within a mass of abominations.
Red Feet Master was completely lost in an illusion.
Li Mo’s expression grew subtle.
From his recollection, Luo Fu Immortal had been skilled in Bewitching Techniques during life, even using them to lure and kill numerous male cultivators of her own stage.
The aura of the abomination cluster intensified, while the No-Life God Statue hosting Red Feet Master gradually withered, his expression consumed by a fanatical fervor.
In Li Mo’s estimation, once Red Feet Master’s spiritual power depleted fully, his temple would inevitably sustain damage.
"Old Man Burning Fire’s tactics are impressive indeed—I wonder if they’ll affect the Stove Lord."
Li Mo himself was of candle-like statue form, his light dim, as his cultivation merely stood at the Core Formation Stage.
Nearby, a dozen grotesque creatures encircled him.
However, Li Mo spared no expense with his turbid blood spiritual power, combined with the innate tranquility of an Innate Saint keeping his mental realm unaffected by desires. For now, his situation seemed better compared to the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator.
Unfortunately, communication between Taoist Bodies remained impossible; regardless, Li Mo had prepared hidden means ahead of time.
"Let’s deal with this nuisance first..."
Using his dwindling spiritual power to maintain his light, Li Mo summoned a Giant Devouring Evil Void, guiding the lingering Foundation Establishment Bugs closer.
A thousand meters away, Red Feet Master’s spiritual power dried up, pulling his mind out of desire’s clutches.
The flame atop his head reignited.
The abomination horde scattered instantly, vanishing from sight, though their watchful, covetous gazes continued lingering in the shadows.
"Curse it."
Red Feet Master noticed his No-Life God Statue had withered to skin and bones.
Even his temple, far off near the Rushan, displayed signs of depletion, leaving him grim-faced as he debated exiting the secret realm.
Yet returning to the temple at this point would equate to both material and strategic loss.
As he hesitated, he heard bone-chilling snapping sounds coming from where Li Mo resided, accompanied by growths of blood and flesh.
Agonized cries emerged from the grotesque beings.
Red Feet Master felt an ominous weight pressing down on him as a humanoid figure appeared, pacing slowly toward him.
"Red Feet Master, so, who sent you to deal with me?"
When Li Mo approached within ten meters, Red Feet Master’s wide eyes brimmed with disbelief, sheer terror filling his expression.
What he saw was a figure resembling a statue, humanoid yet inhuman.
Li Mo stood over three meters tall, his flesh distorted by mutations. He had reshaped the No-Life God Statue with aberrant flesh, granting it mobility.
The Foundation Establishment Bugs contained cancer cells, and to Li Mo, just a few of those cells sufficed to transform his No-Life God Statue entirely.
"Supreme Qingtian, you..."
Li Mo frowned and glanced southeast, sensing Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators spying on him.
Evidently, Old Man Burning Fire’s methods proved effective against Red Feet Master, though higher-level cultivators like Blessed Earth Immortals wouldn’t falter easily after centuries of cultivation.
"For some reason, since the festival began, I’ve felt an unease—better end this quickly."
Li Mo struck out a punch.
Though his strike hadn’t touched Red Feet Master, the latter’s consciousness fled back to his temple in the outside world.
Li Mo immediately darted away from his spot as a horde of grotesque creatures lunged forth. However, his speed still outpaced theirs.
In the True Void Hometown.
The Kun Whale flapped its wings, silently arriving in midair above Luo Zu, locking eyes with the freshly transformed Red Feet Master, who froze in place.
"No, no..."
With his spiritual power exhausted, how could Red Feet Master hope to contend with the Kun Whale?
The Kun Whale opened its maw and swallowed him whole.
Li Mo’s actions carried a certain risk, as Luo Zu likely harbored Divine Separation Stage cultivators. Fortunately, they seemed preoccupied with cultivation.
The Kun Whale withdrew to Li Mo’s temple, shut its eyes, and suppressed the trapped Red Feet Master within its belly.