Chapter 260: Chapter 26 Not a Single Demon Cultivator in Human Form
Li Mo’s number of Dao Bodies might have decreased, but his foundation had grown even more stable, and he was highly satisfied with the Primordial Chaos Leakless New Dao Body.
Even without considering its power, the ability to integrate Immortal Bodies was already sufficient.
If the Primordial Chaos Leakless Dao Body could integrate another Immortal Body-derived Dao Body, even if it couldn’t rival an Innate Saint, the gap would hardly be significant.
Currently, Li Mo’s Dao Bodies were: Innate Saint, Mayfly Dream, Primordial Chaos Leakless, Paoxiao Swallowing Body, and Ancient Sacred Body.
Li Mo glanced around. In the crystal-filled cavern, traces of Spiritual Energy had already begun to sprout.
Among them, Ash Spirit Qi occupied seventy percent, showcasing the mystical utility of Primordial Chaos Leakless, which could create an environment conducive to his cultivation in a short time.
The enhancements brought by Dao Body Fusion offered Li Mo a glimpse of a shortcut on the Immortal Path.
"If Paoxiao Swallowing Body were to fuse with the Ancient Sacred Body, the Dao Body that would emerge..."
Li Mo suppressed his scattered thoughts. Unfortunately, Dao Body Fusion was not something that could be accomplished in one stroke, and the difficulty of fusing the remaining Dao Bodies far surpassed that of the Leakless Body.
At the very least, he needed to wait until he possessed Three Nascent Souls and saw his Divine Sense surge by four- or fivefold before considering the next steps for Dao Body Fusion.
Li Mo’s current Divine Sense was already comparable to the Corpse Infant Stage. If he attained Three Nascent Souls, it was likely he could even rival the Nascent Soul Stage.
He stretched his limbs inside the cavern, his consciousness sweeping through the temple within his body.
The temple’s structure had changed again.
The Divine Statue appeared even more lifelike, and the layers of majestic mountain illusions reflected on the surface of the Magic Robe it wore faintly hinted at the embodiment of a colossal Immortal God.
Meanwhile.
On the shoulder of the Divine Statue, a ferocious-looking Demon Infant Child had appeared.
The child was the manifestation of the Soul-devouring Demon Infant.
The Demon Infant, donned in a Daoist robe identical to the temple’s, bore an expression of reverence. Its appearance embodied a paradoxical mix of neither fully Daoist nor demonic attributes.
Li Mo estimated that if he returned to the Moon Altar, his form would likely span fifteen hundred meters.
However, with the Primordial Chaos Leakless, the dense Spiritual Energy from the Moon Altar was no longer necessary. Moreover, his next focus would be on the two Flawless Golden Cores.
The Sky Well was different. It was not the temple entering within, but his true form.
Li Mo wasn’t concerned about his safety. After all, as a member of the No-Life Sect, his access to the True Void Hometown was far more convenient than that of other Devil Sect cultivators.
Ordinary Demon Cultivators required elaborate sacrificial rituals merely to reach the Sky Well, and they had to remain inside for a century before returning to the current reality.
To ensure prudence, Li Mo secluded himself in the Taiyin Law Heaven for another half year.
Until Da Ai Mi Tian completed its transformation.
The Spirit Patterns of his Life-bound Magical Artifact were already halfway restored. If everything went as expected, once the Beast Artifacts were promoted to the Nascent Soul Stage, Da Ai Mi Tian could naturally reach the level of a Magic Treasure.
While the progress appeared slower than on Corpse Mountain, Da Ai Mi Tian embodied the principle of reaping great benefits after deep accumulation.
As Li Mo’s Body and Soul grew stronger, the growth rate of Da Ai Mi Tian would proportionally accelerate, eventually breaking free from the confines of conventional Magic Treasures.
"Cancer..."
He opened his eyes, and cancer cells once again spread through his blood, flesh, and bones.
The previously lifeless blood instantly brimmed with vitality, streaming unceasingly through his veins as the cancer cells constructed an invisible barrier.
Regrettably, the Tattooed Beast remained in slumber. However, Da Ai Mi Tian was sufficient for self-preservation.
Li Mo directed the cancer cells to carry Turbid Blood Spiritual Power into his Multiple Dantians, enveloping the Mist Fog Golden Core. The core began to sizzle and crackle.
The previously impenetrable exterior shell slowly eroded.
The Mist Fog Golden Core trembled restlessly, interspersed with the wails of infant cries.
Li Mo nodded to himself. He estimated that with the Turbid Blood Spiritual Power, it would take roughly fifty more years for the Mist Fog Golden Core to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
It was crucial to note that the quality of Nascent Soul Spiritual Power far exceeded that of Golden Core Spiritual Power, yet it still required fifty years.
If Li Mo had stubbornly avoided relying on Demon Sect Skills for assistance, the bottleneck would have likely taken five hundred years to break through. This demonstrated the unprecedented quality of Flawless Golden Cores after assimilating the Five Phase Soul.
He felt as though a long-obstructed path had finally cleared, giving him a sense of clarity. With this, he was confident of handling the outbreak of the Uncertainty Period Death Disease by relying on his three Nascent Souls.
"It’s time to head to the Sky Well."
"Without Nascent Soul Techniques, merely fumbling around isn’t enough to fully utilize the Soul-devouring Demon Infant."
Li Mo set aside any hesitation, took the Taiyin Law Heaven with him, and began contacting the True Void Hometown as he continuously chanted the name of the No-Life Mother.
His consciousness entered a space that felt paradoxically void yet tangible.
It appeared nearly identical to the Moon Altar, but one could hear the unending praises sung for the No-Life Mother, and the Spiritual Energy was even more variegated.
This was the Sky Well, the True Void Hometown used by the No-Life Sect to accommodate its believers.
"Go."
Li Mo manifested a No-Life God Statue, placing it within the underground Erosion Cave. With the supplementary Concealing Breath Array, he secured a means to return to the current world at any time.
In an instant, he vanished from the original location.
Li Mo’s Body and Soul passed through a paper-thin barrier as fragile as cicada wings.
When he regained his senses, he was already within the familiar True Void Hometown, his gaze met by thick fog. The Sky Well should be at the central position.
Similarly structured around the Mud Pill Palace, the Sky Well was unconnected to the Moon Altar.
"Is the No-Life Mother truly still alive?"
Li Mo frowned slightly. Despite multiple encounters with the No-Life Sect, he had only ever received feedback from the Creation Book of the Twelve Immortals, and there was no sign of the No-Life Mother from beginning to end.
He harbored serious doubts about whether the No-Life Mother truly existed.
Or rather.
Had she become another Ascender?
Li Mo raised his hand, releasing a Blood Sea as he rapidly approached the Sky Well’s center.
Before long, a simple Daoist Temple appeared before him.
The Daoist Temple had been magnified tenfold but was in an extremely dilapidated state, barely even comparable to shrines in some mortal villages.
The courtyard’s entrance stood three or four stories tall, overrun with weeds.
The walls of the Daoist Temple were covered in moss, its decorations weathered and sunbaked into an antiquated appearance. Above the entrance hung a wooden signboard.
[Skywell Inn]
The Daoist Temple exuded an eerie tranquility—one could even describe it as deathly still.
However, the various types of Spiritual Energy inside were remarkably abundant, especially within the temple. By comparison, it even outclassed the Inner Sect of the Sub-Device Sect.
Li Mo felt a sense of heightened vigilance.
Reflecting on the Twelve Immortals’ bizarre circumstances and the Moon Platform’s strange rules, the Sky Well was not as simple as Luo Fu Immortal had described.
Li Mo retracted the Blood Sea, cautiously approaching Skywell Inn.
"What the hell is this place? Wasn’t the Sky Well supposed to accommodate believers? How can it be just a single Daoist Temple, barely big enough for a few dozen people?"
Li Mo took a deep breath. Fortunately, the Innate Saint didn’t detect any danger.
He pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped into the Daoist Temple. The moment his feet touched the ground, he sensed that he had stepped on something, and a thick stench of blood assaulted his nostrils. A glance at the ground revealed the source.
The ground was strewn with naked believers, each no larger than a flea.
The believers busied themselves amidst the weeds, constructing insect nest-like structures. Everywhere, one could see mud sculptures of the No-Life Mother.
The moment they noticed Li Mo, they simultaneously knelt down, staring fervently at him while smashing their heads against the ground in worship.
Li Mo had accidentally crushed at least a thousand believers underfoot.
As he lifted his foot, shattered body parts fell like raindrops, and the other believers hastily buried them into the soil, from which stalks of Human Head Grass soon grew.
The Human Head Grass swayed in the wind, rapidly sprouting limbs and torsos, allowing the dead to resurrect in the blink of an eye.
"Merely this courtyard alone holds at least a million believers."
Li Mo scanned the area, realizing that the courtyard was, in essence, a microcosmic Daoist arena.
Because he hadn’t extended his Divine Sense earlier, it had indeed been challenging to perceive the oddities with his naked eyes alone.
Li Mo walked up to the Daoist Temple’s main building and peered inside.
"As expected from a hub of the Devil Sect..."
At first glance, the interior appeared devoid of life.
The decor inside was exceedingly humble—even less refined than the seclusion rooms of the Heart Beast Sect.
A beast-skin quilt covered the bed, with no chairs, tables, or stools, but there was a meditation cushion for cultivating. Against the wall stood a wooden shelf holding a few well-read books.
Incense burned in the censer, letting out thin wisps of green smoke.
The only peculiarity was the dozen or so clay jars arranged under the bed.
Yet in reality.
Li Mo’s expression became slightly solemn. The Creation Book was emanating a torrent of memories tied to various Demon Sects, each corresponding to one item in the room.
The beast-skin quilt belonged to cultivators from the Skin Painting Sect, renowned for their skill in peeling skin to craft garments. At their peak, the sect almost reached the status of a mid-sized Demon Sect but collapsed after being suppressed by the Taoist factions.
The books came from cultivators of the Human Demon Sect, whom Li Mo had encountered before and recognized at a glance.
The meditation pillow belonged to the Blood Vine sect, a small Demon Sect; the censer was linked to the mid-sized White Bone Sect; and the corner’s rats were Loose Cultivators...
Of course, the Creation Book’s memories stemmed from the Cultivation World of antiquity, and the current state of affairs was likely known only to these individuals themselves.
Some Demon Cultivators from the memories were nowhere to be found.
But one thing was certain: the majority of Demon Cultivators present had at least Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, with some even at the Nascent Soul Birthing Stage.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak."
The rats squealed before turning to scurry into holes along the temple wall.
The residual aura of the other Demon Cultivators vanished abruptly, leaving Li Mo alone inside the temple. A looming presence began converging on the Skywell Inn.
A towering figure arrived at the courtyard entrance, emanating an oppressive aura of unimaginable intensity. Their cultivation level was at least at the Divine Separation Stage.
Li Mo muttered a few curses under his breath and immediately activated the Ancient Sacred Body.
Although the Tattooed Beast was still asleep, it didn’t impede simple Tattoo Beastification. Soon, a series of sharp bone-cracking sounds echoed from Li Mo’s body.
He rapidly shrank, transforming in the blink of an eye into a gecko that scampered up the wall.
Naturally, the gecko transformation was derived from the Salamander, but Li Mo had used Da Ai Mi Tian to induce mutations, making himself resemble an ordinary gecko as much as possible.
The towering figure stepped into the Daoist Temple, their body wrapped tightly from head to toe.
One could barely make out that it was a woman, whose height exceeded twenty meters. Her body was bloated to the point of appearing ready to burst through her Daoist robe any moment.
Her face exuded a commanding and heroic aura, with pure sky-blue eyes that carried an exotic charm capable of captivating souls with every subtle motion.
When she opened the door, her exposed hand was revealed—her flesh taking on an amber-like texture. Within the flesh was an overwhelming number of corpses, resembling a mobile Chaotic Burial Mound.
Li Mo only needed one glance to identify the woman: Mou Miaoqing, known ten millennia ago as "Dan Fairy" Mou Miaoqing.
Mou Miaoqing came from Medicine King Valley, a faction under the Immortal Sect umbrella that dwarfed even the Dan Ghost Sect in power. Though it couldn’t rival the Heavenly Sword Sect, it was still a large Immortal Sect.
She seemed outwardly benevolent in her demeanor and was known to help Loose Cultivators suffering from deviation without asking for anything in return. In truth, however, she used them as living test subjects.
Even when her deeds became public knowledge, Mou Miaoqing continued to attract countless admirers.
The Creation Book contained fragmented images of the Twelve Immortals, offering limited information. Why they chose to join the No-Life Sect remained a mystery.
Li Mo’s impression was that no trace of Medicine King Valley had been recorded in later years. Most likely, they had been eighty percent destroyed.