Chapter 231: Chapter 91 Cataclysm of the Sub-Device Sect
The bull-shaped Gu worm rested in the corner of the flesh melting cave, its most distinct feature being the human eye on its back, which blinked occasionally.
Because the Gu worm was monitoring the movements in Zone Eleven, Li Mo did not rush to leave the port.
Moreover, the Sub-Device Sect’s preparations over several millennia were incredibly thorough; at least for now, there was no sign of impending calamity.
Li Mo sat cross-legged in the seclusion room, a Nearby Array covering the entire chamber.
Thanks to the perfection of Qiankun Geomancy, the array did not require a High Grade Magical Artifact at the array eye, though it did need nearly a hundred pieces of Mid-grade Spirit Stones to power it.
During his time in seclusion, Li Mo reflected on his century-long path of cultivation, during which he had almost never paused.
Even with the advantage of his Taoist Body, which forged an extraordinarily robust physique, there were still notable issues.
For instance, the hollowness of his spiritual energy, the lack of tempering in his blood and qi, and his coexistence with cancer cells...
Although these were not major problems, detecting them relied entirely on the gift of the Innate Saint, yet they could still influence his ascent to immortality.
Taking advantage of his presence at the port, Li Mo simply decided to stabilize himself properly.
Possessing Innate Essence, he could utilize Da Ai Mi Tian to make micro-adjustments to himself, optimizing the vascular structure of his internal organs.
At the same time, Li Mo also achieved a significant breakthrough in his comprehension of Blood Flesh Spirit Patterns. Mistakes during the drawing process became increasingly rare.
In another decade or so, his artifact refining skills might reach the level required to inscribe Spirit Patterns.
While his cultivation progress was smooth, his investigation into the Devil Sect had hit a bottleneck, almost turning up no useful clues.
Li Mo knew that Demon Cultivators did not have fixed Taoist Mountain Gates, yet how could they leave no traces at all?
Even Futu Hermit’s analysis of black market records related to the port revealed no major demonic incidents in the past century.
The only contact with Demon Cultivators had been the Human Demon Sect in the Heart Beast Territory from before.
If not for the Immortal Locking Body sensing the demonic aura at that time, Li Mo likely would have let the other party escape. The Devil Sect’s techniques were far too covert.
"Do I really need to cultivate the Human Demon Sect techniques?"
Li Mo shook his head with a wry smile. The Human Demon Sect turned their own bodies into books. No matter how mystical their techniques, the negatives far outweighed the positives.
That said, as long as one could ensure they didn’t fall into Deviation, the Human Demon Sect’s techniques did provide a shortcut to transform into a Demon Infant within thirty years.
Their cultivation technique was rife with sinister shortcuts alien to orthodox practices.
"Perhaps I need to reconsider my approach."
Li Mo sent a divine message to Futu Hermit, asking him to shift focus to large-scale outbreaks of disease or towns and villages experiencing unexplained deaths.
Demon Cultivators were like mice lurking in the shadows. Compared to ancient times in the Cultivation World, they seemed even harder to detect.
"Sigh..."
Li Mo sighed softly, then continued his Circulation Cycle.
As he entered a meditative state, an aura of transcendence and otherworldly grace naturally emanated from him, showcasing the lingering might of his Innate Saint nature.
As his spiritual power grew more refined, his Dual Golden Cores began stirring restlessly again.
Whether it was the seventh Artifact Pearl of the Ash Golden Core or the Corpse Dog Soul of the Mist Fog Golden Core, merging them into the Golden Cores would signify his official entry into the Perfect Core Formation Stage, reaching the Half-step Nascent Soul Stage.
Curiosity stirred within Li Mo; once the Seven Spirits were all imprinted, he wondered what kind of Taoist Body might emerge.
Patiently and meticulously, he absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, reducing the barrier to merging his Golden Core by a thin layer. Just as success seemed imminent, he abruptly interrupted his cultivation.
Li Mo opened his eyes, a stunned expression on his face as he looked toward the rock wall outside.
Rumble... Rumble... Rumble...
The Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater began shaking violently, with multiple layers collapsing in frenzy, sinking nearly two thousand meters in a short time.
A few breaths later, all motion ceased abruptly, leaving tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators in the port exchanging bewildered glances.
After about ten silent breaths, the port regained its usual bustle. However, Artifact Cultivators from various Taoist inheritances discreetly contacted their mountain gates.
The Nascent Soul Great Powers responded briefly: the Sub-Device Sect was entirely unharmed.
"What on earth... Could even the Sub-Device Sect face total annihilation?"
Futu Hermit’s face turned grim, and he immediately began covert preparations in case danger truly struck and there was chaos.
"Damn it."
Han Cai, busy in the Medical Hall, noticed the unusual events and couldn’t help but curse.
He sent a message to inquire about Li Mo’s situation and, learning that Li Mo had already left the Inner Sect, breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his work on organ modifications.
Only Daoist Qingqiu remained silent, turning and heading toward the lower levels of the port.
If the port’s order were to collapse, whoever seized more of the lower-level region would gain a significant foothold among the Loose Cultivators, turning disaster into opportunity.
Qingqiu’s plan was to establish her side as the leading force, integrating some factions to maintain control over an unending flow of resources.
She wasn’t worried about a lack of factions willing to align themselves with her.
Even though the Heart Beast Sect was but a precarious minor force within the Immortal Sect, they still possessed over twenty Core Formation Stage cultivators, backed by a resource-producing mountain gate, and held Qing Tian Daoist as their patron.
For Loose Cultivators, the Heart Beast Sect’s strength was a dream out of reach.
Clearly, Qingqiu was not the only smart one; the dark undercurrents quickly shifted into overt conflicts in the lower levels of the port.
Fortunately, order still held above the second layer of the port.
Nascent Soul Great Powers were nowhere to be found, but hundreds of Core Formation Artifact Cultivators maintained a presence, keeping the Loose Cultivators in check, wary of challenging the authority of the Sub-Device Sect.
Li Mo stood in a courtyard.
His gaze focused on the darkness outside the port, as if awaiting something.
At long last, the artificial sun rose from the depths of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, halting mid-air above the alley, its blazing light growing ever more intense.
The artificial sun typically rose once every seven days, staying for half a day. However, this time it lingered noticeably longer.
Li Mo couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but within the light of the artificial sun,
it seemed as though there was a faint hint of brilliance...
He extended his divine sense toward the Gu worm and suddenly noticed the human faces embedded on the flesh wall in Zone Eleven morphing dramatically.
They were gradually resembling Chen Tiangang, though each face bore subtle differences.
Some faces had soft, feminine contours, resembling gentle women; others had skin etched with deep lines, appearing as seventy or eighty-year-old elders; and even faces of six-year-old children, twisted with terror...
"I want to become immortal!!!"
Soon after, numerous Nascent Soul Great Powers appeared in Zone Eleven.
They began setting up formations around the flesh wall, clearly intended to suppress the phosphorescence deep within.
Many of these Nascent Soul cultivators appeared heavily deteriorated, their flesh and skin riddled with marks of the Death Disease, muttering incessantly.
Most likely, they had undergone multiple reincarnations, the repeated cycles of rebirth inflicting irreversible damage on their bodies and souls.
Old Earth True Monarch glanced at the Gu worm and gave a faint smile with a slight nod.
Among the Nascent Soul Great Powers, six stepped forward, touching the flesh wall to enter the Illusion Realm, signaling that the Sub-Device Sect’s preparations were rather adequate.
The chaos gradually subsided.
Li Mo furrowed his brows. At most, it seemed that another batch of Nascent Soul Great Powers would need to undergo reincarnation, likely without endangering the Sub-Device Sect.
Embedded in the port, however, were clear influences of the Great Mother.
And there weren’t just a few of them. It seemed the Great Mothers were affected by the Mother Furnace, their thoughts growing chaotic as they endlessly roared about attaining immortality.
Crack, crack, crack...
Bone-cracking sounds echoed from their bodies as phosphorescent light gushed from their noses and mouths.
The immense phosphorescence coalesced, rushing toward the depths of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, evidently heading for Zone Eleven’s Illusion Realm.
"Hmm."
Li Mo’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, unrelentingly observing the artificial sun.
To his surprise, the artificial sun turned out to be a Fake Magical Treasure, likely forged by the combined efforts of Nascent Soul Great Powers as a preparation for the millennial calamity.
As the light of the artificial sun dimmed, the direction of the phosphorescence shifted.
The Great Mothers screamed in agony.
They collapsed to the ground as their bodies were drained, swiftly reduced to mere piles of rotten flesh.
The deaths of nearly all the Great Mothers cast a shadow of fear over the port, with numerous Loose Cultivators watching intently to see what actions the Sub-Device Sect might take next.
The artificial sun absorbed the phosphorescence, its purpose seemingly to store it without allowing even the slightest leakage.
A glint of fervent desire flashed in Li Mo’s eyes.
Both the Harmonization Page and the Raiding Page were nurtured from phosphorescence, which meant that phosphorescence was invaluable for Taoist Body integration. Its importance to him was self-evident.
If Li Mo possessed a similar Magical Artifact, he could collect phosphorescence and carry it with him anywhere.
Unfortunately, the artificial sun was likely forged before the upheavals of Heaven and Earth. The Magical Treasure Catalog had long been lost, making replication nearly impossible.
With a speculative mindset, Li Mo activated the eyes of his Dual Golden Cores.
His Nascent Soul-grade Divine Sense unfolded, focusing on the artificial sun. The blinding light made tears stream uncontrollably down his face.
Li Mo’s face lit up with joy.
He could discern that the artificial sun was an incomplete Magical Treasure, and the Artifact Embryo within it was far from perfect, containing numerous flaws.
From the perspective of an Artifact Refiner, Li Mo noted that even a hundred refinements wouldn’t improve the artificial sun’s Artifact Embryo.
And yet, it had reached the level of a Fake Magical Treasure. This indicated one thing: its creation had involved the legendary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects.
"What a waste of divine gifts..."
Suppressing his stray thoughts, Li Mo found that the flaws in the artificial sun allowed his Divine Sense to barely penetrate the light to perceive its Spirit Pattern.
The [Firewood] Spirit Pattern, a middle-level pattern.
The Firewood Spirit Pattern consumed all things as fuel, transforming every essence into sustenance for its fire.
Li Mo noticed that the artificial sun couldn’t actually digest the phosphorescence, merely storing it inside the Fake Magical Treasure. Once it reached capacity, the artificial sun itself would likely succumb to the phosphorescence’s corrosive effects.
However, for now, the artificial sun could hold up for another three to four hundred years.
As long as they survived the millennial calamity, the Sub-Device Sect could gradually release the phosphorescence, ensuring the artificial sun’s longevity.
Li Mo concentrated intently on memorizing the Spirit Pattern. With prior understanding of Blood Flesh Spirit Patterns, he didn’t find it overwhelmingly complex, though progress was slow.
Fortunately, the presence of many Nascent Soul Great Powers in Zone Eleven stabilized the situation, preventing continued escalation of the disaster.
Li Mo fixed his gaze on the artificial sun for over a dozen days. Once his comprehension of the Firewood Spirit Pattern exceeded one-third, he immediately decided to stop.
He wiped his eyes with his palms, finding them stained with blood. Any longer, and he might have severely injured his pupils, jeopardizing his Cave God’s Eye and the balance of Extreme Yin and Yang.
After utilizing the Hammer and Anvil Artifact, Li Mo began cultivating his personalized Phosphor Container Catalog.
[Burning Radiance]
[Refine an Artifact Embryo using the top-grade spiritual material Extreme Yang Stone, assisted by the Star Fire Seed and Great Destruction Rock Powder, tempered with fire attribute spiritual power.]
[Firewood Spirit Pattern]
[Use magma as ink, toe bones as brushes, and the Heavenly Soul as medium to engrave the Firewood Spirit Pattern inside and outside a corresponding Hundred Refinement Magical Artifact.]