Chapter 221: Chapter 81: Make a Big Profit and Then Talk
The tremors lasted for only about half an hour before returning to calm again.
Yet the artifact cultivators all noticed something unusual—the metallic pillar, which the Supreme Furnace only produced once a century, had appeared nearly twenty years earlier than expected.
Most people wouldn’t detect anything amiss, but Li Mo knew that the calamity buried deep within the crater was very likely to arrive early as well. It couldn’t help but inspire dread.
"What a troublesome mess, filled with sheer wickedness at every turn."
Li Mo shook his head in resignation.
With his current strength, he could not influence the situation and could only proceed step by step cautiously.
Glancing at the newly formed Harmonization Page, Li Mo saw that even though it was now entirely complete, the page still radiated with dazzling phosphorescence.
It was akin to the Nine Nether Immortal Energy emanating from the abyss.
The function of the Harmonization Page, as the name implied, was to seamlessly fuse two different Dao Bodies together, forming a brand-new Dao Body without any drawbacks.
Li Mo hadn’t yet decided on which Dao Bodies to fuse, especially since he still had two unused Raiding Pages. For now, he chose not to delve deeper into the matter.
"I must find a way to leave the Inner Sect sooner—waiting another two hundred years is not an option."
Li Mo narrowed his eyes. Meanwhile, he planned to extract as much benefit as possible while still within the Inner Sect.
With that thought, he controlled the Taiyin Law Heaven and directed it toward the Supreme Furnace.
A calamity might be looming, but only a fool would pass up an opportunity for profit.
When the Taiyin Law Heaven entered the Supreme Furnace, disbelieving stares erupted from the surrounding artifact cultivators. They couldn’t fathom Li Mo’s presence there.
Daoist Qingtian had been to the Supreme Furnace less than a century ago—by no means long enough to qualify for a seclusion chamber assigned by the Mother Furnace. Should he not be outside seizing every moment to break through to the Nascent Crying Stage?
Why deliberately come to the Supreme Furnace?
"Daoist Qingtian!"
"Relying on your exceptional natural gift to disregard your seniors—how dare you steer your Magic Artifact into the Supreme Furnace? Do you even acknowledge the Mother Furnace?!!!"
An artifact cultivator emerged from the crowd, trying to suppress Li Mo by leveraging the collective pressure.
Others were also beginning to stir. After all, Li Mo’s reputation within the Inner Sect was too overwhelming, and they couldn’t help but wish to put him in his place.
"Get lost, you motherf***er."
Li Mo didn’t even bother to entertain them—he swung the Blood Soul.
Smack.
The intestines lashed heavily across that cultivator’s face, sending him flying hundreds of meters away in an instant.
Seeing this, the other artifact cultivators unanimously backed down. Their gazes were filled with dread; they had just realized that Li Mo had already reached the Nascent Crying Stage.
By any calculation, it had only been a century since Li Mo was born from the Mother Furnace, hadn’t it?
Now he had already achieved Perfect Core Formation. At this rate, wouldn’t he form a Nascent Soul within two hundred years? Truly unparalleled, as expected from the Innate Five Dao Body.
Who would dare to block his path? The Taiyin Law Heaven was allowed to land unhindered.
What Li Mo did next, however, left the surrounding artifact cultivators baffled.
The Taiyin Law Heaven floated above a newly emerged metallic pillar of the Supreme Furnace. Then, hundreds of human-like limbs extended from an opening.
Under puzzling stares, Li Mo began harvesting malformed artifact people lingering near death.
The newly born artifact people displayed mutations more extreme than the eighth batch. They resembled an amorphous, indescribable viscous substance, clinging to amber containers.
Through the translucent surfaces, faint glimpses of half-exposed organs—both the Five Internal Organs and Six Viscera—could be seen.
Li Mo glanced around the metallic pillar. The ninth batch of metallic pillars now not only resembled flesh and blood but also bore countless rotting marks corroded by Death Disease.
As the organs of the Mother Furnace responsible for producing artifact people, these pillars, although single-use, reflected the impending loss of control in the Mother Furnace’s condition.
The amber containers numbered nearly one hundred thousand, and the proportion of unfinished artifact people increased with each batch. The mutations and loss of control followed the same pattern.
Li Mo’s expression grew increasingly complicated as he harvested the malformed artifact people.
Within the Corpse Mountain, over five thousand new tombstones suddenly appeared. The concentration of Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy at night—already abnormal—spiked to nearly three or four times its prior levels.
Li Mo wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or troubled.
It felt as though he were profiting immensely from the Sub-Device Sect’s misfortune, but the Mother Furnace’s condition was plain to see. Its millennial cycles were unchangeable for anyone.
"Judging from the Nascent Soul Great Power’s actions at the Golden Cauldron Sect, they should already be aware of the calamity, but who knows what solutions they might have."
Li Mo doubted their odds. If it were that simple to break convention, then Zone 10 wouldn’t still have abandoned mountain gates from three thousand years ago.
After collecting the artifact people, Li Mo immediately set off to leave the Supreme Furnace.
The artifact cultivators left in the Supreme Furnace were thoroughly bewildered by Li Mo’s actions. Had Daoist Qingtian grown addicted to brewing corpse wine and come here just to collect bodies?
Li Mo had previously inquired telepathically with the Old Earth True Monarch and already confirmed the existence of a backdoor connected to the Artifact Hall’s port. Without hesitation, he rushed toward his destination.
"Hm?"
As Li Mo idly observed the Corpse Mountain, he noticed that life in the small world was thriving. In just a few decades, it had already birthed a creature at the Third Layer of Puberty.
It was a half-Deceit Beastified Mountain Lord.
Once the Mountain Lord advanced to the Weak Crown Period, it would likely transform into a full-fledged Deceit Beast. However, the essence of the Corpse Mountain small world’s Deceit Beasts might differ from those of the outside world.
Meanwhile, the grass and wood spiritual materials remained at the First Level of Puberty.
It was evident that their cultivation progressed excruciatingly slowly, likely related to the structure of their bodies.
The only silver lining was that the lifespan of grass and wood spiritual materials was measured in centuries, allowing them to cultivate gradually over time.
For now, though, the grass and wood spiritual materials were still at the bottom of the food chain, constantly evading the relentless predation of their natural enemies.
The entity Li Mo had enlightened, Zhang Guo, was still alive and appeared to be thriving.
It was already nearing the Second Layer of Puberty.
Zhang Guo had deliberately sought out a densely grave-marked area of the Chaotic Burial Mound to hide in, creating a crude cave mansion underground, flanked by over a dozen recently initiated He Shouwu plants.
Li Mo could only smirk as Zhang Guo, resembling an ancestral figure, gesticulated clumsily, seemingly teaching its kin a cultivation technique.
Deep within Zhang Guo’s cave mansion, Li Mo even spotted a crude statue carved in his likeness.
Clearly, Zhang Guo had truly deified Li Mo as the Immortal who first emerged, spontaneously offering its reverence with evident awe in its expressions.
"Now that’s devotion..."
Li Mo didn’t even know how to respond. Wasn’t the pace of this civilization’s development a little too fast?
Thud, thud, thud.
A First Level of Puberty stoat had apparently caught a whiff of medicinal aroma from the burial mound and was digging straight into the cave mansion.
Upon sensing the danger, Zhang Guo exhibited none of the panic typical of its kind. It seemed that its time observing Li Mo had broadened its horizons, leaving it composed and unflustered.
Sacrificing a handful of its roots, Zhang Guo knelt and kowtowed before Li Mo’s statue several times. Then, hoisting the statue onto its back, it prepared to flee.
Li Mo, seeing the Spiritual Wisdom that set Zhang Guo apart from other spiritual materials, couldn’t help but develop a few ideas.
"I’ll grant you another opportunity. It seems the lifeforms of the Corpse Mountain small world, despite their peculiar tendencies, do possess some measure of intelligence."
Although beasts naturally exhibited innate Spiritual Wisdom, after transforming into Deceit Beasts, they ultimately degenerated into brutal and savage demons.
With a subtle thought, Li Mo caused the statue to radiate waves of light.
The stoat, terrified, fled from the burial mound in panic, while Zhang Guo prostrated itself reverently with repeated bows.
The other He Shouwu plants, still dazed and unaware, hesitated uncertainly over whether to approach.
Li Mo chuckled softly and imparted a basic Qi Cultivation Technique for the Puberty Stage to Zhang Guo—it was up to Zhang Guo’s Comprehension whether it could grasp it.
The defining trait of Qi Cultivation Techniques was the absence of any talent requirements.
As long as Spiritual Power existed within one’s body, one could sense the power and absorb matching external Spiritual Energy without the need for a Spirit Root.
Thus, Qi Cultivation traditions relied entirely on senior cultivators bestowing a wisp of power to their juniors.
Of course, the cultivation efficiency of Qi Cultivation was abysmally low, necessitating the assistance of arrays and elixirs. This system bore some similarity to the ancient Cultivation World’s practices.
The bodies of grass and wood spiritual materials functioned as Spirit Roots themselves, making them highly suitable for Qi Cultivation.
Zhang Guo did not disappoint Li Mo. Within only half a month, it successfully entered the foundation stage of the technique, an achievement that would mark it as extraordinarily talented within the Corpse Mountain small world.
No wonder it could become the first "cultivator." Its Comprehension far surpassed that of its peers.
Li Mo, taking advantage of the momentum, manipulated Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy to nourish Zhang Guo. The latter’s aura surged instantaneously, and moments later, it broke through to the Second Layer of Puberty.
As soon as Zhang Guo advanced, a second head sprouted from its body, enhancing both its intelligence and cultivation speed.
It prostrated itself in gratitude, bowing its heads fervently.
A sudden inspiration struck Li Mo, and he could hardly restrain himself. He used the Hammer and Anvil tools to forge a low-grade Magic Artifact Catalog.
[Essence Pearl]
[A Magic Artifact Embryo refined from low-grade spiritual material He Shouwu, nurtured with Rootless Water, and tempered with Yin Attribute Spiritual Power to completion.]
Li Mo completed the Essence Pearl Magic Artifact Embryo within the span of a few breaths and sent it into the Corpse Mountain, placing it before Zhang Guo.
Curious, Zhang Guo touched the Essence Pearl, which then embedded itself into its body.
The Essence Pearl helped Zhang Guo suppress its aura and herbal fragrance. Though it appeared to be an ordinary low-grade Magic Artifact Embryo...
In reality, as Zhang Guo unintentionally nourished the artifact while using it, the Essence Pearl’s quality would gradually improve—eventually reaching Mid-Grade or even High-Grade levels over time.
Li Mo’s intention was to test whether this method of artifact nurturing through Zhang Guo could succeed.
If it worked, once the cultivation system of the Corpse Mountain small world matured, it could continually generate Magic Artifact Embryos.
In a sense, this bore striking similarities to the Sub-Device Sect’s exploitation of the Heart Beast Sect.
However, Li Mo did not aim to drain every resource like the Sub-Device Sect. He sought to maximize the value of the Corpse Mountain small world without allowing its treasures to go to waste.
Li Mo withdrew his mind as the Taiyin Law Heaven smoothly docked beside the Artifact Hall.
The Artifact Hall was the only place in Zone 10 where Spirit Stones could be exchanged for resources. Naturally, it was frequented by dozens or even hundreds of Inner Sect disciples.
Li Mo’s brazen actions drew countless stares.
He glanced at the artifact cultivators.
Those whose eyes met Li Mo’s quickly looked away—the man’s reputation was simply too intimidating.
Since some artifact cultivators had ventured to the Eleventh District, Li Mo already stood as the undisputed number one of Zone 10, even ranking among the top of the Inner Sect disciples.
The Artifact Hall contained halls dedicated to various resource exchanges.
What Li Mo encountered, however, proved to be of little use, and he soon headed toward a side hall previously mentioned by the Old Earth True Monarch. It was situated in a corner of the Artifact Hall.
The side hall appeared abandoned. Its doors and windows bore signs of disrepair.
Concealing his presence, Li Mo ensured no one else was around before stepping inside and locating an incomplete array near the wall.
The Old Earth True Monarch had specifically arranged this backdoor out of concern that Li Mo might struggle to manage the port’s shop. It was intended for teleporting corpse wine and other items.
"Heh heh heh..."
Li Mo had already learned from the Old Earth True Monarch how to complete this transmission array, though the latter would never have anticipated that Li Mo possessed a Divine Skill: Qiankun Geomancy.
As Li Mo memorized the array, he quietly activated Qiankun Geomancy.
It was just an experiment, and yet it was successful.
The completed transmission array required High-Grade Spirit Stones as the Array Eye, enabling Li Mo himself to be transported to the port through the array.
With this, Li Mo had secured an escape route.