Chapter 240: Chapter 6 The Birth of the Sword Spirit
Li Mo adjusted to his current body size and repeatedly confirmed there were no oversights.
A moment later, his aura was already eight or nine parts similar. Seeing the sky brightening, he left Xinghua House through the window.
Wu Wei’s residence was right next to the Government Office, an elegant mansion.
Li Mo traversed under the eaves with a cold expression, not yet at his own mansion, but noticed another Loose Cultivator absorbing the newborn Spiritual Power on the rooftop.
"Wu Wei."
The speaker was Hong Tao, the oldest among the Loose Cultivators, "Avoid going out for a while, an Outer Elder should come to oversee the Village Exam."
Li Mo nodded slightly and disappeared into the mansion in the blink of an eye.
Hong Tao was used to Wu Wei’s personality. After swallowing the last bit of Spiritual Energy, he wobbled back to his mansion, separated by a street from Li Mo.
Among all the Loose Cultivators, only Hong Tao insisted on daily cultivation.
Therefore, his realm was slightly higher, reaching the Qi Cultivation Stage Fourth Layer, and he even set up the simplest Spirit Gathering Array in his courtyard.
After Li Mo returned to the mansion, he discovered Wu Wei’s house had many servants.
The Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator had clearly done something to the servants, as Li Mo felt eyes watching him secretly, making him feel extremely vigilant.
Fortunately, Wu Wei himself was insignificant, and the gaze seemed intermittent.
Li Mo felt even more at ease seeing this.
As long as no flaws were revealed at the beginning, the upcoming Village Exam would certainly be a sure success.
Taking Hong Tao’s reminder, he simply stayed in the mansion pretending to cultivate, appearing to gather Spiritual Power at the last minute.
The Examination Hall serving as the Village Exam venue was already completed, occupying a large area.
The Examination Hall was divided into southeast, northwest quadrants, enough to accommodate a hundred scholars.
Whether by coincidence or not, the Examination Hall was only a street away from the Land God Temple, and due to the temple’s higher terrain, the main hall could overlook inside the Examination Hall.
After being expanded, the Land God Temple had not only added two stories to the main hall but also four side halls.
The side halls were clearly for housing the statues of the four disciples of the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator.
Previously masquerading as a Herb Gatherer, Li Mo privately investigated the Land God Temple.
The Divine Statue of the Blessed Earth Immortal in the main hall was replaced with a more than four-meter-high gilded statue, whose half-squinting eyes seemed to come alive.
The hall second in scale to the main hall was the Da Mu Hall, featuring a statue of the Xuanling Damu Heavenly Monarch.
The remaining side halls were slightly smaller, having just been completed six months ago.
The appearance of the four side hall statues became even more bizarre, making mortals shudder at a mere glance.
The Land God Temple, using the Village Exam as an excuse, sealed all entrances and windows.
During this, Han Ya remained oblivious.
Li Mo wondered if Han Ya was truly wise and foolish, as noticing the statue’s anomaly might result in being silenced by the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator.
The Sword Cultivator arriving to oversee the Village Exam only appeared with two days remaining.
There were eight Sword Cultivators, led by an elder mentioned by Hong Tao as an Outer Elder, emanating an inexplicably sharp Sword Intent.
He had likely reached the Golden Core Stage.
The remaining Sword Cultivators were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, setting up an array upon arriving in Qing Town.
They all bore distinctive Tongue Swords, which could be identified for their spirit attribute, though the essence of the Lifebound Flying Swords was not yet discernible.
What puzzled Li Mo was that the Sword Cultivators lacked Taoist Body characteristics.
He couldn’t discern the Taoist Bodies of Han Ya and others, initially thinking it was due to low talent, but now it seemed the Outer Elder was the same.
"Could it be that the Sword Tongue Sect’s cultivation system strips away the Taoist Body?"
Li Mo remained noncommittal, and the other Loose Cultivators were sensibly not approaching them.
Han Ya persistently sought favor from the Core Formation Sword Cultivator, but the latter was indifferent.
Li Mo gleaned from their conversation that the Core Formation Sword Cultivator’s Taoist name was Han Feng, appearing to have entered the Sword Tongue Sect alongside Han Ya.
"Enter the venue."
Elder Han Feng seemed impatient, to which Han Ya promptly nodded in agreement.
Then, a Sword Sound rang from his mouth. Scholars from various parts of Qing Town gradually exited, gathering toward the Examination Hall like a procession of zombies.
Long unseen, the scholars’ appearances had become even more grotesque.
Their heads were swollen three times over, veins bulging on their foreheads, their mouths stretched to the limit, with a face appearing faintly beneath the surface.
As the Village Exam neared, their vitality was nearly depleted, as if parasites were continuously devouring their nutrients.
It was hard to imagine that the Sword Tongue Sect was recruiting disciples.
In Li Mo’s view, the scholars’ foundations were completely ruined, with forming a core or entering Tao seeming an impossibility.
"Truly treacherous."
He cursed silently, noticing Hong Tao’s appearance, and followed him to the Examination Hall.
"Greetings to Elder Han Feng."
"Hello, Elder."
...
Elder Han Feng did not respond, standing with closed eyes before the Examination Hall entrance.
Hong Tao unwillingly attempted to say more but was pulled away by Han Ya beside him, afraid of encountering misfortune.
Li Mo headed directly to the Eastern Examination Hall.
He noticed someone among the Sword Cultivators seemed to recognize Wu Wei, but with Elder Han Feng present, they dared not confirm.
Li Mo felt no concern over this, as once the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator took action, they would naturally overlook a Qi Cultivation Stage Loose Cultivator.
"The entrance Village Exam is quite intriguing."
Li Mo’s task was relatively simple — to prevent damage to the Eastern Examination Hall.
Elder Han Feng served as the invigilator, while Loose Cultivators were merely guards maintaining order.
He was responsible for thirty-five scholars in the Eastern Examination Hall, who filed in orderly, uttering vague wails.
The desks in the Examination Hall were all Low Grade Magical Artifacts and were encapsulated by an array.
Once the scholars sat down, the desks and chairs extended numerous blades that pierced into their bodies, fusing with their skeletons in an instant.
Immediately after.
The array set by the Sword Cultivators enveloped the Examination Hall, also serving to restrain.
The scholars simultaneously began to struggle, their necks emitting the sound of bones clashing, brain fluid draining from their eyes and ears, as if on the verge of exploding.
"Unleash!"
Elder Han Feng commanded harshly.
The Sword Cultivators widened their mouths, their tongues detaching and transforming into peculiar Flying Swords, pausing above the Examination Hall with Sword Qi crackling.
Hong Tao and others wielded their Magic Artifact Flying Swords, too, though only holding them in readiness against the overhead Sword Qi, which Li Mo naturally mimicked.
Loose Cultivators gathered at the eaves of the venue, bracing themselves against the leftover might of the Flying Swords.
Li Mo glanced through one Lifebound Flying Sword after another.
"Huh."
The Sword Cultivators lacked Taoist Bodies, but their Lifebound Flying Swords possessed Taoist Body characteristics.
For instance, one Flying Sword was entirely covered in thick black fur.
If Li Mo guessed correctly, it should be the Innate Tao Body [Xiao Yang Dao Body].
The Xiao Yang Dao Body covered the Cultivator in hair, enabling Spiritual Power to be emitted through the hair in the form of fine needles.
The black-furred Flying Sword indeed shot out numerous dense needle spikes, forming a peculiar Sword Qi.
The other Flying Swords, unwilling to lag behind, further thickened the Sword Qi gathering above the Examination Hall, driving the scholars inside to near madness.
Li Mo stared at the various Sword Qi for a few breaths and felt his Qiankun Geomancy benefited, suggesting their technique was likely some sort of Sword Array.
However, occasionally a Sword Qi went out of control, flashing in all directions.
With the array’s protection, the Sword Qi’s power was greatly diminished, yet Loose Cultivators still had to block it, lest it affect the venue.
The Loose Cultivators were merely at the Qi Cultivation stage and, considering the excessive Spiritual Power consumption from Sword Control, wielded their swords to slash.
Ding.
Hong Tao severed a Sword Qi resembling a swimming fish, rolling clumsily to dissipate the force.
Li Mo, still observing how Loose Cultivators dealt with Sword Qi, suddenly noticed a weak bolt of lightning heading for his head.
"Careful."
Hong Tao wished to help Li Mo but was too distant from the Eastern Examination Hall.
"Earning those ten Spirit Stones sure isn’t easy."
Li Mo, helplessly communicated with the cancer cells, awkwardly raised his sword to redirect the lightning Sword Qi to the corner, blasting out a breach in the ground.
Coldly glancing at the Loose Cultivators, Elder Han Feng paused a few more seconds on Li Mo before sneering, "How long have you left the Sect, and your sword skills are already completely forgotten?"
"Go."
With a flick of his right arm, a multitude of blood-red strips shot out from his sleeve.
The blood-red strips wove through the Examination Hall, landing on desks within the venue.
At a glance, Li Mo recognized the blood-red strips were made from the tongues of living people, sharing the same root breath with the scholars’ bodies.
The scholars convulsed frantically, and sounds of tearing ensued.
Their arms forcibly tore the skin, followed by a bloodied mess, writing on their tongues with fingernails.
Their heads continued to swell, their expressions turned extremely deranged.
As Li Mo observed the Sword Array, he refined his technique following Hong Tao and others’, his sword movements becoming simplified and efficient.
"Hm?"
Elder Han Feng displayed a peculiar look, inadvertently noticing Li Mo.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Li Mo’s swordsmanship improved at a visible rate, increasing in proficiency within moments.
Elder Han Feng suddenly found Li Mo much more pleasing to the eye.
Li Mo retracted his gaze, as the Sword Array no longer nourished his Qiankun Geomancy, he then focused on the inscriptions, hoping to glean some insight into the Sword Cultivators’ mysteries.
As the writing continued, the scholars’ blood, flesh, and bones completely withered, their writing growing more scribbled.
Crack crack crack.
The sealing of their mouths and noses was finally released.
A horrifying scene unfolded before Li Mo’s eyes.
The entities in the scholars’ mouths slowly crawled out, akin to a python shedding its skin.
They were composed of countless minute and bizarre insects, exuding a unique aura of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, sending chills down one’s spine.
Creation Book surged with memory.
[Sword Spirit]
In ancient Cultivation Worlds, Sword Cultivators who nurtured their Lifebound Flying Swords to reach a unity of heart and will had a chance of having their Lifebound Flying Sword develop Spiritual Wisdom.
Li Mo’s heart raced.
He wasn’t surprised by the bizarre way the Sword Spirit was born, but rather noticed it was entirely composed of tens of thousands of Three Souls and Seven Spirits.
Li Mo knew that the Three Souls and Seven Spirits of people had nothing to do with souls.
Thus, Beast Cultivators needed to subdue souls; Artifact Cultivators bred Artifact Pearls to replace souls.
Sword Cultivators, on the contrary, sealed their mouths and noses, using a Magic Technique to allow Three Souls and Seven Spirits to proliferate within the Mud Pill Palace.
The Sword Spirit yearned to bore into the tongues, creating a Life-bound Magical Artifact.
"Isn’t it time to act?"
Li Mo took a deep breath, realizing it was his chance to seize the Demon Sect Skills, and perhaps incidentally snatch a few Sword Spirits?