Chapter 235: Chapter 1: The Fader, Worship of the Evil Spirit
The mountain was sealed in heavy snow, with the flora, rocks, and landscape cloaked in a layer of shimmering silver.
The temperature had already plunged to freezing, and the once-murmuring streams had gone silent, rendering the desolate mountain wilderness like a scene from a painting.
"Clack."
The crisp call of a deer echoed as a robust Mountain Horned Deer lowered its head while moving forward, seemingly searching for moss buried under the snow to replenish its energy.
The most distinctive feature of Mountain Horned Deer was that, regardless of gender, both males and females bore exaggerated antlers and often deliberately sharpened them against the rock walls.
Equipped with such sharp tools, Mountain Horned Deer did not fear predatory beasts.
However, the Mountain Horned Deer that appeared in the snow was slightly different. Along its spine were several organ-like human eyes that blinked occasionally.
Moreover, it wasn’t chewing moss but rather a corpse deeply buried in the snow.
To mortal eyes, a mutated beast like this was akin to a demon, but to a cultivator, it signified a beast on the verge of transforming into a deceitful object.
"Clack."
The Mountain Horned Deer raised its head sharply, its gaze wary as it scanned the surroundings nervously, but all it saw was an unbroken expanse of white snow—and...
A divine statue?
The divine statue stood within a Land God Temple, having seemingly appeared out of thin air at an unknown time.
Detecting an unseen danger, the Mountain Horned Deer prepared to leave.
A sharp whistling broke the silence.
The divine statue suddenly trembled. Its base was supported by twenty or thirty emaciated figures, their withered arms fully fused with the statue.
The figures were lifeless dead, their bodies dried up and pale, reduced to skin and bones.
Their consciousness was long gone, though one could vaguely tell they were likely hunters from the mountains during their lifetime—now fused inseparably with the statue for reasons unknown.
The statue moved toward the Mountain Horned Deer, and the deer instinctively countered with its massive antlers.
Though it impaled several figures, the Mountain Horned Deer became stuck and couldn’t move, forced to watch helplessly as the dead began biting its flesh with their teeth.
A tragic cry pierced the air.
The Mountain Horned Deer’s flesh turned pale as its vitality drained away in a blink.
A gust of wind swept through, and cracks spread across the deer’s body before it crumbled into ash in mere breaths, leaving no trace behind.
Then, the dead retreated under the snow, leaving only the statue above ground.
Any living being passing through would trigger an attack from these dead hunters carrying the statue. Their reaction was particularly fierce when facing mutated deceitful objects.
Approaching footsteps echoed from afar, drawing closer.
A man arrived before the statue as though nothing were unusual, and the latter showed no response, as if entirely unaware of his presence.
"This must be a Devil Sect technique..."
"But it’s truly bizarre—there’s no trace of spellwork at all."
Li Mo nodded slightly, boldly sizing up the statue.
With his Leakless Body and the suppression of his qi and blood by Da Ai Mi Tian, the dead likely regarded him as no different from the nearby pine trees.
The statue depicted an eerie and surreal Taoist figure dressed in traditional Daoist robes, exuding an intimidating aura that set it apart from mortals.
However, its face bore only a fist-sized, singular eye, and the back of its head was sunken in, deliberately crafted to suggest that it lacked a brain.
"A singular eye, resembling the trait of a One-Eyed Daoist Body."
Upon closer inspection, the statue was entirely composed of hand bones grown from the dead, devoid of any trace of refining, appearing utterly bizarre.
The dead bodies’ flesh resembled honeycomb, as if all nutrients within had been drained, rendering their forms lifeless and pallid.
"Fading color? Lack of brain? What kind of Devil Sect evolution is this?"
Li Mo had yet to receive any feedback from the Creation Book, nor did his Divine Sense detect anything unusual. He only noticed the plaque atop the statue, which bore its name.
"Xuanling Damu Heavenly Monarch—its divine name indeed carries a hint of Taoist flavor."
Li Mo’s expression grew serious; the statue was likely tied to Demon Cultivators. After all, throughout the Cultivation World, aside from the Buddhist Sect, only the Devil Sect delighted in creating strange and sinister objects of worship.
Unfortunately, the statue appeared to be a casually laid trap by a Demon Cultivator, used to target mortals or beings newly beginning their mutation into deceitful objects.
The snow bore the tracks of the dead, hinting they had come from the south.
Regardless, signs of Demon Cultivators had surfaced, meaning he no longer needed to linger outside for extended periods, which only delayed his cultivation progress.
Li Mo’s right arm detached, transforming into a Black-Striped Mountain Lord.
The statue seemed to sense something amiss.
But before the dead could even react, faint rustling noises arose, and the statue began expanding uncontrollably.
Crack, crack, crack...
The cancer-transformed flesh burst through the statue, and within mere breaths, it crumbled into fragments scattered across the ground.
Without the statue to anchor them, the dead exhibited symptoms resembling the Mountain Horned Deer; their flesh and bones disintegrated, fading into gray ash within moments.
Li Mo gathered the fragments and tossed them into his Melting Furnace, activating the End-of-the-World Dao Seed.
Regrettably, no Magic Technique could be deciphered.
"Huff."
The Ghost Tiger cast a disdainful glance at the remnants before dissolving into a shadow that enveloped Li Mo.
Once inside the Ghost Tiger, Li Mo’s form burrowed into the Corpse Mountain Mini World, while the magic artifact outside began to generate large quantities of flesh and blood.
The Ghost Tiger sprinted southward, its limbs propelling it through the forest.
From appearances, it seemed to be an ordinary Mountain Lord, though its body concealed the magic artifact "Corpse Mountain," shrouded by Da Ai Mi Tian.
Unactivated, the Corpse Mountain exuded no aura of a magic artifact, its essence entirely contained thanks to Da Ai Mi Tian’s protection.
Li Mo could rest assured within the Corpse Mountain Mini World, which had resources sufficient to sustain him for over a century while the Ghost Tiger tracked the Devil Sect’s traces along the route.
Unknowingly, more than a decade had passed since he left the Sub-Device Sect.
Years after the Immortal Ascension Conference concluded, the sect had finally returned to a semblance of calm.
The Taoist inheritance they had lost was gradually replenished through the Mother Furnace, though it would take at least five to six more years to restore cultivators at the Nascent Soul Stage.
During this power vacuum, no foreign threats emerged against the Sub-Device Sect.
A testament to the Mother Furnace’s deterrent force.
Among loose cultivators, the Immortal Ascension Conference felt like a massacre directed at the Sub-Device Sect, where many of their most talented Daoists went missing.
Most notably, the absence of the brilliant Daoist Qingtian elicited sighs of regret.
Li Mo paid little attention to the sect’s affairs; he only noted that despite the chaotic events, the Heart Beast Sect retained their port shops at the Chaotic Burial Mound without interference.
Clearly, the Sub-Device Sect had chosen to turn a blind eye.
He no longer needed to conceal his methods in the outer world; the sect was highly unlikely to dispatch Nascent Soul cultivators to hunt him down.
Li Mo sat cross-legged atop the main peak of the Corpse Mountain.
"Who says you can’t have both the fish and the bear paw?"
He had much to ponder, and with the Ghost Tiger’s aid, he saved significant energy. The only downside was the tiger’s limited speed while traveling.
A group of He Shouwu sprouted around Li Mo, bowing incessantly toward him, mimicking Zhang Guo.
Most of the He Shouwu plants were at the First Level of Puberty, while Zhang Guo had advanced to the Third Layer of Puberty and refined an Essence Pearl.
Zhang Guo regarded himself as an Immortal Disciple and held considerable influence within the Corpse Mountain Mini World, occasionally lecturing on Tao to spiritual materials at the Chaotic Burial Mound.
He carried himself like a figure of Hong Jun.
In his cultivation downtime, Li Mo observed the operation of the Mini World. Even Zhang Guo’s slow Spiritual Wisdom occasionally bore useful insights.
At ease, he absorbed Spiritual Energy while simultaneously focusing his Divine Split to refine Blood Flesh Spirit Patterns.
Only the Ghost Tiger tirelessly pressed onward, carefully disguised as an ordinary beast to avoid drawing trouble toward Li Mo.
The Ghost Tiger was utterly aggrieved.
Out of seven Tattooed Beasts, it was always stuck with the dirty and exhausting jobs.
Li Mo had little choice, given the Ghost Tiger’s shadow transformation ability, which allowed it to conceal its aura nearly to eighty percent Leakless Body levels.
At night, the Ghost Tiger’s stealth capabilities even exceeded Li Mo’s own.
"I’ll allocate an extra share of Innate Essence to you."
Li Mo comforted the Ghost Tiger through his consciousness. Upon hearing it would receive the medicinal power of the Nourishing Yuan Fruit, its grievances were immediately swept away.
He settled into closed cultivation, streams of Spiritual Energy flowing into his Dual Golden Core.
As he approached the Perfect Core Formation Stage, the Dual Golden Core grew increasingly resistant to absorbing more energy. Nevertheless, Li Mo persisted until completely full before ceasing.
A smile appeared on his lips as the Melting Furnace began to condense the seventh Artifact Pearl, while the remaining Corpse Dog Soul made its way toward the Multiple Dantians.
"The Seven Spirits are complete."
Li Mo felt a surge of emotion. Though unclear on the awakened Dao Body’s nature, he was certain it would be well-suited for cultivation and enlightenment of the Dao.
When the Corpse Dog Soul reached the Multiple Dantians, the last blank page gave off a faint silhouette.
The Corpse Dog Soul’s appearance resembled a skinned mastiff head, grotesque and terrifying, though the fusion with the Mist Fog Golden Core proceeded smoothly.
To be precise, the Corpse Dog Soul dared not resist the overwhelming might of the Mist Fog Golden Core.
The Creation Book flipped continuously as the blank pages of the Seven Spirits and Dao Seed coalesced into a new page, while a Spell Page began forming alongside it.
Li Mo’s aura grew stronger, summoning clouds and mist within the Corpse Mountain and igniting relentless wildfires, driving away wild beasts in droves.
He silently thanked the protective environment of the Mini World.
Had he been outside, the ash-like Spiritual Power’s corrosive effects would have ravaged multiple mountain ranges. Within the Mini World, however, not even a ripple appeared.
Though the Corpse Mountain was Li Mo’s creation, it was a magic artifact at the Divine Separation Stage—it was already beyond his ability to control fully.
The sound of chewing emanated from within his Dual Golden Core as the fetus within devoured the Artifact Pearl and the Corpse Dog Soul in mere bites.
The Core expanded further in size.
Li Mo shifted his full attention to the Creation Book, where the Divine Skill of the Corpse Dog Soul was revealed.
Its name was [Dan Book Talisman].
Evidently, the Corpse Dog Soul’s techniques involved "talismans."
However, due to the Sub-Device Sect’s influence, the artifact cultivation environment had nurtured abundant spiritual materials, leaving loose cultivators with little need to rely on Spirit Talismans.
Li Mo, accustomed to Magic Artifacts, had limited knowledge of talismans, confined to ordinary Spirit Talismans.
Without nourishment from related Magic Techniques, the Dan Book Talisman fell into dormancy, ranking just above Feeding Ghost among his Seven Soul Divine Abilities.
The difference was that Feeding Ghost had no accessible recorded texts for purchase, whereas talismans simply lacked his interest.
The Dan Book Talisman had the lowest priority among his Seven Soul Divine Abilities, to be explored later when he could seek out Futu Hermit for relevant texts.
Li Mo quietly stabilized his cultivation. Shortly after, his Dao Body began to show signs of gestation.
The Mud Pill Palace churned with activity.
Li Mo refrained from accelerating the Dao Body’s development. Instead, he suppressed it, using his Divine Sense to observe the subtle changes in his Mud Pill Palace.
He anticipated the future challenges of Dao Body Fusion, whose difficulty was unimaginable.
Having spent a decade unable to achieve entry, it was evident his understanding of the Dao Body remained insufficient. Naturally, he didn’t want to miss witnessing its formation process now.
The Seven Spirits Dao Body brought upheaval to the Mud Pill Palace, expanding the space within severalfold.
The remaining Five Phase Soul and Three Souls were suppressed into the corners as a whirlwind formed at the center of the Mud Pill Palace, as if something was about to be born.