Chapter 412: Chapter 37 Rain, Erase?
The raindrops came without any warning.
One moment, the sun was shining bright; the next, dark clouds blanketed the sky.
"Taboo... a colossal taboo... could it be a Night Patrol Deity gone rogue?"
Daoist Bai Shuo’s pupils contracted slightly.
In the Great Sun Sword Tomb for five hundred years, he had never witnessed such a change in climate—it had always been a parched and blazing heat.
Rainfall?
Unless one ventured to the [Water Source] area of the Twenty-Eight Sword Tombs, rain was unheard of.
For a moment, Daoist Bai Shuo was lost in thought.
When the water droplets struck the ground, they should logically have been vaporized by the high heat emanating from the cracks between the floor tiles. But the reality was different.
Bang.
A muffled thud echoed, leaving a shallow indentation on the tiles’ surface.
The raindrops showed no signs of dissipating. Instead, they flowed like liquid mercury and emitted a nauseating stench of corpses.
Another drop.
Daoist Bai Shuo reacted too late—the raindrop landed directly on his raised right arm.
The Taiyi Sword Body, among all Taoist inheritances in the Great Sun Sword Tomb, was versatile and provided a certain level of enhancement to physical strength.
Daoist Bai Shuo had assumed the raindrops, unable to shatter floor tiles, posed no threat to his body, and thus didn’t withdraw his hand.
But then came a sizzling sound.
The flesh and bones of Daoist Bai Shuo seemed fragile as paper, pierced instantly the moment the raindrop touched him, as if a hot knife slicing through butter.
The strange part was he didn’t seem to perceive anything unusual himself.
Daoist Bai Shuo instinctively raised his head.
The rain intensified.
"The Inner Sect of the Heavenly Sword Sect can experience a taboo spanning entire regions? Is this a joke? Void Refining Stage cultivators slacking off or what?"
Li Mo strode forward, traversing the courtyard in an instant, pulling Daoist Bai Shuo into the main hall before his dazed expression returned to awareness.
The corpse stench emitted by the raindrops clearly had a bewildering effect on one’s mind.
Soon, as if resembling a mortal Jiangnan town, a gentle drizzle began to wash over the Purple Sun Palace.
The Daoist Temple, formed by the Great Sun Sword Tomb’s blood vessel network, was as sturdy as a fake magical treasure—the raindrops could not harm its structures.
But what troubled Li Mo was the rainwater accumulating rapidly in the courtyard.
"Damn it."
Li Mo muttered under his breath.
Though the accumulated water was blocked by the building, its flow was unmistakably directed northwest, as if guided by some unseen force.
"The northwest again? It’s probably the area near the Purple Sun Palace."
Li Mo scanned his surroundings—the corpse stench already overwhelming.
Due to the light drizzle, the water collection hadn’t yet formed streams, most of it winding down streets and alleys towards the northwest.
Still, some rainwater pooled into ponds in the courtyard.
"Bai Shuo, are you alright?"
"I..."
Li Mo inspected Daoist Bai Shuo’s right hand; the rainwater had pierced through muscle and bone, but left no apparent injury, only a hollow crater.
It was as if the hollow crater was an innate defect Bai Shuo had been born with.
Li Mo raised his hand, the phantom of a salamander appearing behind him and channeling vitality into Bai Shuo’s body, only for the hollow crater to show no signs of healing.
Unwilling to give up, Li Mo performed a basic flesh transplant surgery.
Within less than half a breath, the transplanted flesh rotted away entirely in an instant.
Li Mo attempted transplantation at other areas of Bai Shuo’s body. There was no rejection, indicating the taboo targeted only the specific areas touched by the rain.
Daoist Bai Shuo’s face turned pale; if the raindrops had veered slightly and struck the abdominal Middle Dantian, his Externalized Dharma Body would be devastated.
"Bai Shuo, don’t move. The taboos carried by the rainwater are extremely tricky—they may have invisible effects yet to reveal themselves."
Unyielding, Li Mo expels tens of thousands of White Bone Spiders from his mouth.
Bai Shuo’s scalp tingled.
Truly worthy of someone from the No-Life Sect—traces of the Thirteen Immortals’ sinister nature surfaced everywhere. Amazingly, the White Bone Spiders bore no signs of magic whatsoever.
"Thanks to Senior Brother Taiyi’s timely rescue, otherwise it wouldn’t have stopped at mere physical damage."
It was an agreed understanding among sword cultivators—even if one’s physical body fell out of control, it didn’t matter. After all, upon ascending to the Heavenly Palace Stage, one could choose to discard the body altogether.
Daoist Bai Shuo noticed the White Bone Spiders crawling between muscles and bones, forcibly extending the blood and skeletal structure at a microscopic scale.
He couldn’t help but be astonished by Li Mo’s divine sense manipulation abilities.
To simultaneously perform surgery with over a thousand White Bone Spiders—it wasn’t a mere matter of "Divine Sense Strength." No wonder he could command a sky full of Sword Qi.
Li Mo appeared unstrained, maintaining a composed demeanor.
However, none of the measures proved effective—not even a combination of mutated cancer cells and Innate Essence cooperated to yield results.
"Ahhhhh!"
A piercing scream echoed overhead.
Li Mo tilted his head upward, and a spine-chilling shiver ran down his back.
An unprepared One Sword Cultivator had failed to foresee the disaster. Merely moments ago, inside a Daoist Temple tied to a Big Night Wander, as twilight fell, he had hurriedly fled.
Lacking adequate preparation, the raindrops battered his body beyond recognition.
Every part of him was riddled with innumerable hollow craters, yet the cultivator remained conscious, helplessly witnessing himself disintegrate piece by piece.
His left foot fell off—despite detaching from the body, the limb still twitched and struggled.
Shockingly, even with eighty percent of his flesh and bone now dissolved in the rainwater, the sword cultivator retained control over his severed body parts.
"Save me! Save me! Aaaaaah!"
His Externalized Dharma Body manifested, blazing Sword Intent repelling the raindrops, but it was far too late.
A Divine Separation Stage sword cultivator was reduced to scattered limbs under the eaves within just a dozen breaths. Nearby, an eyeball floated, brimming with terror.
Ultimately, the sword cultivator vanished entirely.
The sword cultivator’s death and Dao disappearance served as a grim warning to the remaining sword cultivators. Layers of Sword Intent shielded the main hall temples, plunging the Purple Sun Palace into a state of dead silence.
Li Mo sneered coldly.
"All the Heavenly Palace Stage sword cultivators aren’t in the Purple Sun Palace—they must’ve detected the calamity in advance."
"What’s northwest?"
"Hm, the Fire Spirit Hall."
"Remember how the Heavenly Palace Stage sword cultivators were investigating the northwest? The Fire Spirit Hall is probably already fallen; the Purple Sun Palace is just collateral."
The permanent damages caused by the raindrop taboos were utterly unavoidable.
Li Mo’s physical resilience exceeded that of Daoist Bai Shuo, yet even he felt powerless against the rainwater.
Luckily, Sword Intent was a viable response; otherwise, relying solely on the temple’s protection wouldn’t suffice.
"Oh oh oh."
The faint crowing of a rooster echoed through the Purple Sun Palace as night approached.
Daoist Bai Shuo’s expression grew wary. "Senior Brother Taiyi, the temple isn’t entirely airtight—eventually, rainwater will seep through the window and door gaps."
"Let me handle fending it off. Daoist Ye Zhuo will finish his seclusion within ten years, and then we’ll take turns guarding."
"No need."
Clang.
Li Mo offered no reply, simply drew his Illusion Fish Sword and stepped towards the entrance of the main hall.
The courtyard’s pond had already expanded to ten meters in diameter. Rain continued to converge, pressing down on the earth to form a faint depression.
The entirety of the Purple Sun Palace—weren’t all the temples akin to water basins?
The taboo’s origin remained at the Fire Spirit Hall, leaving them with little choice but to endure its spread. The Heavenly Sword Sect was likely prioritizing the Fire Spirit Hall first.
"Annoying."
"On the bright side, with no Heavenly Palace Stage cultivators around to interfere, obtaining the Taoist inheritance becomes easier."
Murmuring to himself, Li Mo approached the edge of the eaves, his aura surging while the Illusion Fish Sword trembled uncontrollably.
"Senior Brother."
Daoist Bai Shuo was about to interject.
Li Mo had yet to fully master the Taiyi Sword Body—it was a period that required secluded reflection and consolidation. Wasting energy on sustained Sword Intent wasn’t necessary.
Boom.
Scarlet waves of heat rushed forth.
"It’s not Yang Attribute Sword Intent—it feels like Fire Attribute. Surely, it’s not..."
Daoist Bai Shuo struggled to keep his eyes open, barely glimpsing the tattooed beast phantoms retreating several paces away.
Only the Red Fox phantom remained, its fiery tail swaying elegantly.
The tattooed beast itself descended.
As if stepping out of a painting, the Red Fox gradually shifted from ethereal to tangible. Flames intermingled with Sword Qi scattered about, making Zhi Mountain Temple arrayed alluringly.
Sword Intent [Demon Fire]
Li Mo performed a flourish with his sword, and the Red Fox darted from the main hall.
The air distorted, the White Bone Bodhi Tree crackled.
Even though Demon Fire Sword Intent was only mid-level, with the augmentation of the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, the flames engulfed every corner of Zhi Mountain Temple.
"Ah."
Realizing numerous eyes upon her, the Red Fox waved her nine tails triumphantly.
Sword cultivators had seen Li Mo summon beast-type flying swords in the past, but this time the sensation it invoked was entirely different—neither entirely beast nor fully sword.
Rumors of the Thirteen Immortals’ unmatched talent and comprehension across eras seemed to ring true.
Li Mo’s techniques clearly weren’t derived from the Heavenly Sword Sect—they were likely self-created. This realization pushed the surrounding sword cultivators to suppress their fear of the rainwater.
A prodigy like this—how could the Heavenly Sword Sect possibly discard him?
"Mountain Demon, you should go too. The Red Fox can’t manage everything on her own."
As Li Mo’s voice fell, the main hall trembled slightly, and a gargantuan monkey over a hundred meters tall emerged holding a White Bone Stick, bending low as it stepped through the doors.
The Mountain Demon casually tossed the White Bone Stick and leaned against the wall, eyes shut in rest.
The White Bone Stick landed heavily at the center of Zhi Mountain Temple, sending ripples through the ground as viscous green toxic mire seeped out from the gaps in the bricks.
The mire, infused with Evil Sword Intent, directed the rainwater out of the temple.
After merging the Great Wilderness Immortal Body with the Nayuan Body, the tattooed beasts no longer required external sources for spiritual power.
Should a tattooed beast exhaust its spiritual energy, it could always retreat to the Corpse Mountain Mini World to replenish it, while employing external phantoms to sustain Sword Intent was a trivial matter.
The gathered sword cultivators involuntarily noted the seven ferocious beasts revolving around Li Mo, most chilling among them the Human-faced Candle Dragon.
One beast, one mid-level Sword Intent—yet in seven different spirit attributes.
How extraordinary a comprehension and talent must one possess to simultaneously achieve mastery and preserve the Body and Soul from losing control under the corrosion of Sword Intent?
The night deepened.
Only a scattered handful of Sword Ghosts departed the temple, vanishing amid the rainwater soon after.
Sword Ghosts naturally harbored instincts to evade disaster. Shrouded in taboos beyond their measure, the Purple Sun Palace was the last place they’d linger willingly.
Li Mo felt reassured, turning back to enter the main hall.
"Be sure to inform Ye Zhuo of the specifics—don’t let that fool stumble out recklessly."
Daoist Bai Shuo’s mental realm calmed down, gripping his Lifebound Flying Sword firmly as he remained in the courtyard, using his fear of the rainwater to temper his Tao Heart.
The windows and doors of the main hall remained sealed tightly.
To Li Mo, the forthcoming Fate Knowing Stage Death Disease was the real focus—his occasionally active internal organs felt more like death warrants than sources of vitality.
"Speaking of, if I end up perishing due to the Death Disease, what kind of Sword Ghost would I become? Likely not much worse than the rainwater itself."