Chapter 228: Chapter 88 Core Formation Stage [Difficult Birth Realm]
The dual golden cores became restless, clearly wanting to devour the Five Phase Soul.
Li Mo observed and began to ponder.
"Beast cultivators use their bodies to nurture spirit beasts; perhaps the ’Body Decline Soul’ is more suitable."
"As for artifact cultivation, its specialty lies in the corrosive nature of spiritual power; perhaps the ’Spirit Decline Soul’ is more apt."
After Li Mo confirmed the decaying soul to merge, he immediately guided the Five Phase Soul from the Mud Pill Palace into the dantian with his consciousness, and the two golden cores began to devour the corresponding decaying souls.
The Five Phase Soul smoothly integrated into the dual golden cores, and he could sense the undeveloped Nascent Soul within the golden cores growing robustly.
Especially the Ash Golden Core.
After all, in the cultivation system of artifact refinement, using artifact pearls to replace souls has certain deficiencies; now, the Five Phase Soul greatly complements the shortcomings of the Ash Golden Core.
"Wah wah wah..."
An infant’s cry echoed within Li Mo.
A metallic clang sounded with each cry, as brutal as a beast.
Although he had yet to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage, Li Mo’s golden cores already exerted pressure.
If any Nascent Soul Great Power were present, they would find it incredible because Li Mo’s dual golden cores likely surpassed the flawless quality.
Li Mo’s consciousness remained fixed on the transforming golden cores.
He noticed that the Mist Fog Golden Core, originally shaped like a meteor, under the effect of the Body Decline Soul, started to show a trend of becoming flesh, with bloodshot eyes forming on its surface.
Similarly, the structure of the Ash Golden Core, resembling volcanic formations, began to look like barnacles, with visible tentacles constantly retracting.
The dual golden cores were exceptionally active, even causing Li Mo to vaguely develop a thirst for spiritual energy.
Understanding the rarity of the opportunity, he hurriedly retrieved all the collected canned spiritual energy.
With the Supreme Law Heaven sealing the spiritual energy, Li Mo simply opened the Liu Li jar, and at once, two types of spiritual energy surged out overwhelmingly.
He opened his mouth and swallowed like a whale.
Inside the cave, it turned into a tornado-like phenomenon.
Once immersed in the cultivation state, Li Mo received the blessing of the Innate Saint, allowing him to perceive the external spiritual energy with exceptional clarity.
The dual golden cores greedily absorbed the spiritual energy, gradually advancing in the Nascent Crying Stage.
Li Mo originally only intended to stay in Zone 10 for a maximum of half a year, but due to the sudden changes in the golden cores, he couldn’t exit seclusion in the short term.
As he delved deeper into cultivation, he gradually became aware of the benefits of being an Innate Saint.
Seclusion is extremely monotonous and dull; even the most steadfast cultivator has to intermittently pause and spend ten days or more to suppress the emerging signs of heart demons.
Li Mo had experienced a similar sensation before.
Once cultivation exceeded half a year, his mental realm would become unbalanced, generally requiring painting to alleviate the inexplicable restlessness, otherwise it would inevitably affect efficiency.
But after attaining the status of an Innate Saint, Li Mo’s cultivation became incredibly transparent, with not a single impurity seen in his mental realm, showcasing the marvelously profound nature of the Taoist Body.
The efficiency also greatly increased.
Li Mo estimated it would take him five years to complete the fusion of the Five Phase Soul; however, in only two years, the dual golden cores had already digested the decaying souls.
The infant’s cries abruptly ceased.
Upon regaining clarity, Li Mo’s expression became unusually strange after scanning his body.
Although he had anticipated the role of the Five Phase Soul, he still couldn’t help but repeatedly commend it.
The most significant change was in his divine sense.
The divine sense pupil of the Mist Fog Golden Core gained a mysterious character resembling ’Body,’ while the Ash Golden Core added ’Spirit.’
Under normal circumstances, divine sense that only manifests in the Nascent Soul Stage, Li Mo not only possessed during the Core Formation Stage but also increased its volume by a third during the Nascent Crying Stage, surpassing the cultivators at the initial entry of the Nascent Soul Stage.
Additionally, the golden cores had expanded their volume more than doubled.
Giving Li Mo the illusion of needing to deliver at any moment, as if a Nascent Soul was about to break out from the golden cores.
"What is this?"
A complex look flashed in Li Mo’s eyes; the nature of the two spiritual powers, whether in terms of purity or total amount, had already exceeded the Nascent Crying Stage.
"How should I put it, it seems to have broken through the Nascent Crying Stage..."
"It’s like being between the Core Formation Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage, akin to a Fake Core Stage."
Li Mo was puzzled, but at least one thing was certain: the two golden cores had become increasingly solid, their quality indescribable in words.
He couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose with a bitter smile.
The difficulty for him to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage was far greater than usual, undoubtedly requiring meticulous grinding to gradually wear it down with spiritual power, making him somewhat anxious about whether he could complete the advancement before the Uncertainty Period Death Disease.
"No, I must find a way to dual cultivate another cultivation technique, preferably one with a power system different from artifact beasts and easy to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage."
"Ha, isn’t that the Demon Path."
Li Mo suppressed his distractions, deciding to wait until he left the Sub-Device Sect; it was indeed necessary to take a shortcut to achieve a Nascent Soul first.
However, the Human Demon Sect was out of the question since transforming into a book was too peculiar.
Li Mo conducted a few circulation cycles, and once his cultivation completely stabilized, he chose to emerge from seclusion.
Standing at the entrance of the Taiyin Law Heaven, he squinted his eyes toward the deep pit leading to the Eleventh District, controlling the magic artifact to slowly approach.
The two years of seclusion felt neither long nor short.
According to the tenfold time flow of the Illusion Realm, at least twenty years had passed inside, and the so-called Ascension Conference likely had already taken shape.
Li Mo communicated with the Giant Devouring Evil Void Divine Skills, noting that the Gu Worms within the Illusion Realm were unharmed, and even none of the Big Hornets had suffered any loss.
The cancer cells left in the Medicine Garden were also intact.
No matter what, even if he didn’t acquire a top-quality Dao Body, Li Mo still wanted to take a look at the Ascension Conference, as it involved the dramatic changes of heaven and earth.
Very soon, Taishang Law Heaven plunged into the pit.
There was almost no change in the Eleventh District; it was still a cavern of flesh.
But Li Mo couldn’t tell whether it was an illusion, for at first glance at the surface of the flesh wall, there appeared to be a few unfamiliar human faces; could it be that another artifact cultivator had blended into the flesh wall?
He intentionally circled around the Eleventh District and indeed found traces of artifact cultivation.
Could it be that an artifact cultivator from Zone 10 accidentally entered?
After confirming unmistakably, Li Mo touched the flesh wall with his left hand.
An overdue sense of trance surged within him.
Upon recovery, Li Mo found himself in the Illusion Realm, though limited in vision due to the Giant Stomach Worm within the beam crevice.
When the Giant Stomach Worm crawled out from under the eaves, Li Mo, observing through the perspective of the Gu Worm, found his expression turning incredulous.
The Outer Disciple remained unchanged, with all its structures orderly aligned, and Taoists repeating their daily cultivation, audible with the chanting of the Armament Covering Spell.
However, the Inner Sect was completely different.
In various locations of the Inner Sect, piles of white bones could be seen, and even some buildings had been transformed into the material of white bone.
In the center, the Ascension Platform was being carved with numerous patterns by hundreds of Taoists.
"Bai Gu Qianzu..."
Li Mo couldn’t help but mutter aloud; the state of the Inner Sect resembled the Taoist inheritance of Bai Gu Qianzu, with an inexplicable aura pervading.
The number of Great Mothers in the Inner Sect surged, numbering at least three to four hundred.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the Great Mothers all originated from the Big Deer Thousand Feet, likely the group that was transformed in the Falling Abyss.
What shocked Li Mo was that the Great Mothers showed none of their usual madness.
They were mixed throughout the Inner Sect, observing the Ascension Conference coldly without intervening or assisting the Taoist activities.
Li Mo quickly spotted the clue.
Due to the influence of Bai Gu Qianzu, the heads of the Great Mothers displayed not a trace of phosphorescence, allowing them to retain their reasoning.
The Three Mountains, including Mu Daoist and other Great Mothers, had also regained clarity.
Except for Luo Chen Daoist, who seemed too deeply affected and remained in the Medicine Garden of Dan Ding Pavilion in the Outer Disciple, laughing and crying like a lunatic.
At that moment, Li Mo realized that the white bone arm he previously saw in the Illusion Realm was very likely the Big Deer Thousand Feet.
"Has Big Deer Thousand Feet transformed into a Great Mother?"
"Wait, could it be that the millennia calamity involves the Ascension Conference in the Illusion Realm, and Big Deer Thousand Feet chose to risk himself to prevent the calamity?"
Though astonished, Li Mo realized the actual situation was close to being true.
At the Golden Cauldron Sect back then, the Nascent Soul Great Power seemingly intended for the Core Formation Artifact Refiners of various taoist inheritances to participate, resulting in Bai Gu Qianzu’s entire sect transforming into Great Mothers, with no surprise shown by Big Deer Thousand Feet.
It’s likely the Nascent Soul Great Power had planned it long beforehand.
Li Mo couldn’t help but take a deep breath, evident that the Sub-Device Sect didn’t wait helplessly and the plans surrounding the millennia calamity would only continue to escalate.
For him, it wasn’t necessarily a beneficial thing.
The calamity recurrent every millennia hadn’t really inflicted severe damage to the Sub-Device Sect, much less affected him as a pseudo-artifact cultivator.
But if seeking change, it’s not certain...
Li Mo’s focus fell on the Ascension Platform, whose sides were already covered with twisted patterns, being continuously completed by the Taoists.
At his level of expertise in Array Tao, he perceived the Ascension Platform’s patterns as extraordinary.
Staring at the patterns for a while, the Primordial Tao Seed not only didn’t benefit but instead his head nearly fainted from the throbbing pain.
Indicating the array had exceeded its understanding.
The Taoists carving the patterns were expressionless; despite their hands becoming mangled from using iron chisels, they showed no hesitation.
They were clearly under the control of the Mother Furnace.
With the continuation of the carving, there were occasional Outer Disciple who joined the line.
The Outer Disciple were filled with longing for access to the Inner Sect, not realizing that their fellows had already become puppets, entirely manipulated by the Mother Furnace.
Li Mo showed a hint of dread; the Mother Furnace’s spiritual wisdom had begun to awaken; otherwise, it wouldn’t have gradually led the Ascension Conference.
Yet if his assumptions were correct, obtaining the top-quality Dao Body should be straightforward.
He hesitated for a moment before sending a mental message to the Old Earth True Monarch.
"Senior Old Earth, I’m in the Illusion Realm of the Eleventh District, what’s the situation with the Sub-Device Sect?"
"Qingtian, you brat..."
Before the Old Earth True Monarch could finish, a wave emerged from the depths of the Inner Sect, revealing the true figure of Big Deer Thousand Feet in mid-air.
Big Deer Thousand Feet had already turned into a Great Mother, yet his condition was better than usual Great Mothers.
His upper body remained unchanged, but his lower body comprised of a multitude of endlessly growing arms, seemingly to consume the phosphorescence.
Big Deer Thousand Feet’s face didn’t look good, and he continuously cursed.
"Huh?"
Glancing around, he uncovered a concealed Big Hornet from the dark in his hand, smirking: "Well played, Daoist Qingtian, your tactics rival mine back in the day."
For safety’s sake, Li Mo didn’t reveal himself hurriedly; instead, he attached his consciousness to the Big Hornet and then activated Da Ai Mi Tian.
Under Big Deer Thousand Feet’s intrigued gaze, the Big Hornet began to mutate, with a mouth emerging from its body.
"Big Deer Senior, this junior is feeling a bit unwell, so I won’t come out."
"Hahaha."
"It’s okay."