Chapter 223: Chapter 83 Innate Taoist Body【Heavenly Person 5 Declines】
Li Mo paid no attention to it, as the Three Mountains continued to repeat endlessly.
"Brother Qing Tian, why won’t you wake up?"
The voice grew increasingly hysterical, filled with deep despair. The tone of the Three Mountains bordered on outright pleading.
Li Mo realized that the Three Mountains had already turned into the Great Mother. Perhaps even back in the Collection Hall, the one who had interacted with him hadn’t been the real Three Mountains.
"Could it be that even the Great Mother isn’t aware of whether they are non-human or not?"
Upon closer thought, though the Three Mountains’ talent was not bad, it was almost impossible for them to advance to the Nascent Crying Stage before Mu Daoist.
Li Mo silently extended his Divine Sense, attempting to locate the source of the Three Mountains’ voice, but discovered it emanated from within the flesh walls covered in human faces.
He chose not to delve into the meaning behind the Three Mountains’ words and instead signaled for the Ghost Tiger to envelop him.
Next, the Da Luo Heavenly Taoist Robe covered his skin. Coupled with the flawless execution of the Leakless Body, not a single trace of his aura leaked out.
Instantly, the whispers surrounding his ears came to an abrupt halt.
The numerous human faces ceased chanting the Armament Covering Spell, gradually returning to silence. The bottomless erosion cave plunged into an indescribable deathly stillness.
Li Mo’s expression did not ease in the slightest; instead, it became even more grave.
"What exactly is going on in the Eleventh District?"
The Tenth District still managed to maintain a facade of order, but the Eleventh District was utterly incomprehensible, leaving Li Mo with an unsettling sense of dread.
The only consolation was that the Nearby Array wasn’t affected by the phosphorescence.
If he wanted to leave the Inner Sect, Li Mo could use the Nearby Array to reach the port at any time and wasn’t bound by the Mother Furnace, given that he was merely a fake Child Device Sect disciple.
After hesitating for a long while, Li Mo once again sent a mental message to Mu Daoist, who was also in the Eleventh District.
Mu Daoist didn’t respond immediately.
About half a day later, Mu Daoist finally transmitted a mental message, his tone utterly exhausted, "Qing Tian, under no circumstances should you expose yourself, under no circumstances..."
Li Mo couldn’t make any sense of it, as Mu Daoist also seemed to be deep within the flesh walls, as though he had already become part of the Mother Furnace.
"The Great Mother..."
Suppose the Mother Furnace was transformed from Chen Tiangang, a composite mass of countless Taoist Bodies forcibly held together by the effects of the phosphorescence.
The Great Mother, saturated with phosphorescence, should also be part of the Mother Furnace.
Ever since Li Mo had first arrived at the Chaotic Burial Furnace, the phosphorescence had been attempting to convert him into the Great Mother. It was probably the Mother Furnace coveting his Five Dao Body.
It was clear the Mother Furnace had never given up its obsession with Taoist Bodies.
However, the impression the Mother Furnace left on Li Mo was one of chaotic consciousness, driven perhaps by instinct.
Li Mo continued deeper into the Eleventh District. From start to finish, he hardly saw a single figure—just the countless human faces embedded in the surface of the flesh walls.
After walking several miles, the flesh walls began to show signs of being ravaged by Death Disease—large areas of nauseating, rotting flesh oozing an unbearable stench of foul pus.
By Li Mo’s estimation, the number of human faces had exceeded five thousand.
It was evident that Chen Tiangang, in his quest to ascend to immortality and find Taoist Bodies, had wreaked havoc on countless mortals. His actions were no different from those of the Devil Sect.
By sheer chance, Li Mo stumbled upon two excellent Superior Taoist Bodies, namely [Cutting All Three Corpses] and [Body of No Life].
Both Taoist Bodies were indeed superior, but they were Acquired Taoist Bodies. Fortunately, Li Mo could use the Spell Pages to transform these Acquired Bodies into Innate ones.
[Cutting All Three Corpses] allowed cultivators to nurture three corpse worms.
The Upper Corpse Worm, named Peng Hou, parasitized the brain and specialized in Soul Hooking and Soul Stealing techniques, invading others’ Mud Pill Palaces and cultivating by devouring their Three Souls and Seven Spirits.
The Middle Corpse Worm, named Peng Zhi, parasitized the heart and excelled in Erosion of Flesh and Bones techniques, cultivating by absorbing the foundational structure of others’ bodies.
The Lower Corpse Worm, named Peng Jiao, parasitized the Lower Dantian and was skilled in Yin and Yang Dual Cultivation techniques, cultivating through desires between men and women.
Li Mo was slightly tempted—after all, if he used the Creation Book to brand these Three Corpse Worms, it meant he could awaken yet another Innate Taoist Body.
But drawbacks also existed.
Even though the Three Corpse Worms would never rebel, the stray thoughts they generated would inevitably affect his mental realm.
[Body of No Life], on the other hand, transformed the cultivator’s own flesh and blood into "Wuwei Root Bone." When living beings consumed Wuwei Root Bone, they would fall into boundless illusions.
If they couldn’t withstand the Heart Demon illusions, they would inexplicably revere the Body of No Life.
They would worship it as the "No-Life Mother."
Of course, these believers would still retain their greedy appetite for the No-Life Mother and would go to any lengths to devour the flesh and blood of the Body of No Life.
Li Mo chuckled bitterly and shook his head. In truth, the No-Life Mother was quite well-suited to him.
Even cancer cells counted as flesh and blood, and the Body of No Life could allow the Da Ai Mi Tian to undergo transformation, creating vast swathes of believers with a mere gesture.
The Body of No Life could use these believers for cultivation, extracting their spirit to strengthen itself, provided that it didn’t compromise the purity of his foundation.
However, Li Mo felt the Body of No Life was too dangerous.
One must know, Taoist Bodies weren’t unique.
Even the Ancient Sacred Body wasn’t exempt. If someone discovered the connection between the Life-Gathering Beast Body and the Hundred Beasts Blood Body, merging the two through surgery, there was an exceedingly small chance of birthing the Ancient Sacred Body.
The Body of No Life was even less unique.
If an Eighth or Ninth Realm Land Immortal, who was also a Body of No Life, had already become the "No-Life Mother" in the eyes of billions of living beings...
Then what would Li Mo, this newly born "No-Life Mother," amount to? He would likely become a thorn in the side of such a rival Taoist Body.
A shiver ran through Li Mo’s spine, and he ultimately chose to abandon it.
However, he considered collecting the corpse of the Body of No Life, soaking it in a specific type of Corpse Wine to preserve its vitality, and saving it as a future option once his cultivation level was sufficient.
Li Mo released a few cancer cells and continued exploring the Eleventh District.
While shuttling through the erosion caves as a shadow was somewhat undignified, he enjoyed the peace it brought. The ceaseless chanting of the Armament Covering Spell had been maddening.
Yet it seemed his luck had run out, as he didn’t encounter any more Superior Taoist Bodies. The hodgepodge of mediocre ones couldn’t catch his attention.
Just as Li Mo was about to choose from the known Superior Taoist Bodies, he suddenly remembered the Harmonization Page born at the Bone Wall.
He opened the Creation Book and, as if driven by an unseen force, infused his Divine Sense into the Harmonization Page.
Li Mo’s research on the Harmonization Page had been limited to Taoist Body fusion. Never had he imagined it could sense external Taoist Bodies connected to himself.
As his Divine Sense spread out within a hundred-meter radius, a flood of information about various Taoist Bodies surged into his mind.
Until now, Li Mo had relied entirely on feedback from the Creation Book to pick Taoist Bodies in the Eleventh District. While it could reveal whether a body was Superior or not, centuries of change made its accuracy less than absolute.
But the information he gleaned through the Harmonization Page, though it only reflected compatibility levels, made his eyes light up.
For instance, merging the Immortal Body Mortal and the Paoxiao Swallowing Body could cause the resulting mortal form to exhibit Tattoo Beastification. Or fusing the Primordial Dao Body and the Ash Dao Body would significantly increase the corrosiveness of Spiritual Power.
"Choosing not just a Superior Taoist Body, but also considering future Taoist Body fusion..."
Even without the Harmonization Page, Li Mo would one day attempt such fusions once his cultivation level allowed, pursuing the Supreme Immortal Body to achieve Immortality and the Dao.
He tirelessly continued his screening process while darting quickly through the Eleventh District.
Meeting all criteria was no small feat, but now that he had a clear direction, Li Mo was no longer so hesitant.
Immersing himself in the world of Taoist Bodies, he only paused to recover when his Divine Sense was overly depleted.
Li Mo wasn’t sure how many Taoist Bodies he had scanned, but he had essentially narrowed it down to Six Qi Devouring and Immortal Body Mortal, each with its pros and cons.
Though Six Qi Devouring would grow grotesque mouths, it was highly compatible with the Primordial Dao Body and also related to the Five Senses Divine Eyes, Extreme Yin and Yang.
"Eh?!!"
A sense of unease welled up in Li Mo’s heart.
The Ghost Tiger sped up its flow, arriving within moments at a secluded corner.
Li Mo examined a youthful face embedded in the flesh wall, appearing only around fifteen or sixteen, with remnants of fear still lingering in its eyes.
"Heavenly Person Five Decays..."
[Heavenly Person Five Decays] was a Superior Taoist Body, and its corpse was an Innate Taoist Body. The most crucial aspect was its perfect compatibility with the Heavenly Man.
Li Mo even had a hunch that Heavenly Person Five Decays and the Heavenly Man might originate from the same source.
More precisely, Heavenly Person Five Decays was likely tied to the Heavenly Human Seven Apertures. Could some kind of complete Immortal Body involve this so-called Heavenly Person?
The function of Heavenly Person Five Decays was to condense the "Five Phase Soul," which caused others to decay and decline.
Li Mo knew very little about Heavenly Person Five Decays, and the information from the Creation Book was vague. He only knew the Five Phase Soul was beneficial for the quality of a Nascent Soul.
But just this point alone was enough to justify choosing Heavenly Person Five Decays.
Li Mo was already a Flawless Golden Core. With the enhancement of Heavenly Person Five Decays, the Externalized Dharma Body he would solidify during the Divine Separation Stage would be unimaginable.
The other Superior Taoist Bodies he encountered weren’t to be wasted either—he planned to store them in Corpse Mountain for the time being.
Li Mo attempted to interact with the Heavenly Person Five Decays.
Just as he was about to brand it, he encountered a significant problem: the various corpses were severely damaged.
Directly branding it with the Raiding Page would work, but separating the other Taoist Bodies would require gathering all the scattered corpse fragments.
Violently ripping open the flesh walls would undoubtedly trigger the Mother Furnace’s attention.
Li Mo sighed in mild exasperation. He had initially planned to brand one Raiding Page while leaving the other blank, capturing the valuable Taoist Bodies into Corpse Mountain.
Now, it seemed he had no choice but to simultaneously brand both Raiding Pages.
"Forget it, let’s start with branding Heavenly Person Five Decays."
Li Mo opened the Raiding Page, then placed his hand on the youthful face of the Heavenly Person Five Decays. The page revealed the virtual shadow of its Taoist Body.
A flicker of relief passed through the youth’s eyes, his lips moving as if attempting to express gratitude.
At the moment Li Mo finalized the branding, scenes of the youth’s past flashed through his mind, and his face gradually dissipated into ash.
The youth’s name was "Ashen," and he had been a natural-born calamity star.
At the age of five, he had brought about the deaths of his parents.
Their bloated corpses looked pregnant, their insides ruptured by the gasses that had built up in their intestines.
Ashen then lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. But within two years, the two inexplicably died in the village well, crying "thirsty" in their final moments.
Out of fear, the villagers cast Ashen out of the village soon after.
A plague swept through the area not long after.
Ashen wandered aimlessly through the world. Hearing that the Child Device Sect was recruiting disciples, he clung to the hope that Immortals could save him and overcame countless hardships to reach their Mountain Gate.
Surprisingly, he was effortlessly accepted as a servant disciple of the Child Device Sect.
Though Ashen lacked a Spirit Root and couldn’t cultivate, he was content with a simple life, hoping to grow old in the service of the sect. But fate seemed to play tricks, as he appeared to be "coincidentally" recognized by Chen Tiangang.
The final scene of his memory...
Ashen hung upside down like a piece of jerky, suspended in a dimly lit room.