Chapter 414: Chapter 39: Achieving the [Taiyi Sword Body]
Li Mo’s condition could hardly be considered good.
Although most of the organ miniatures were eliminated, the Fate-Stage Death Disease had not yet been completely resolved.
The horror of the Fate-Stage Death Disease was not merely its corrosion of the five organs and six viscera.
It was a peculiar form of [Symbiosis].
The Fate-Stage Death Disease provided Li Mo a possibility: to succumb to the disease, harnessing its power to increase his strength, and even possibly become an Immortal.
"I wonder, what truly caused the emergence of the Death Disease during the upheaval of heaven and earth?"
Li Mo closed his eyes and manipulated Da Ai Mi Tian, continuing to launch a siege on the remaining organ miniatures, even at the risk of damaging his organs.
In the courtyard, only Daoist Bai Shuo remained, while the Mountain Demon eyed him warily.
Daoist Bai Shuo’s expression remained dazed; his eyes occasionally darted towards the main hall while he unconsciously scratched his right arm.
The Mountain Demon could only sense a corpse-like stench emanating from Daoist Bai Shuo.
A strange smell seeped from the pit in his right arm, suggesting the taboo caused by the rain was revealing subtle yet ominous flaws over time.
The Mountain Demon was about to act and test him, but Li Mo’s mind stopped it.
It rasped and grinned before leaping to the rooftop with the White Bone Stick in hand.
A moment later, Daoist Bai Shuo regained his senses, his right arm already reduced to a bloody mess.
The surface of his skin, at some point, was covered with dense scars, but as Spiritual Power surged, the scars vanished within an instant.
"I wonder how long Senior Brother Taiyi... will need to finish his retreat?"
Daoist Bai Shuo seemed unaware of his strange behavior, his actions reverting to what was normal as he trained himself in the courtyard.
Li Mo had been observing Daoist Bai Shuo with divided attention but could not find a solution for now, leaving him to wait for the Heavenly Sword Sect to address the Fire Spirit Hall issue.
"The taboo triggered by the erratic Night Patrol Deity is certainly not simple."
He gestured for the Mountain Demon to secretly keep watch on Daoist Bai Shuo, while he continued his retreat.
Li Mo’s body and soul were deteriorating even further—his physical form was already on the verge of collapse, with his flesh, blood, and bones subjected to various corrosive forces and his vital energy in a state of profound weakness.
The five organs had suffered heavy injuries, which even impacted the Great Wilderness Immortal Body.
Fortunately, the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, after several rounds of Dao Body Fusion, had the Tattooed Beast as its primary core, meaning the influence of the five organs was mostly confined to the beast’s cultivation.
"The Fate-Stage Death Disease has already cost me half my life. I wonder what bizarre and incomprehensible scenarios will arise during its Ancient Age Stage outbreak."
The only blessing was that the Ancient Age Death Disease was still a thousand years away.
With Li Mo being backed by the Heavenly Sword Sect, he should be able to consult fragmentary information about the Ancient Age Stage and prepare in advance with Xia Dao Palace’s calculations.
"The Ancient Age Death Disease must be approached from every conceivable angle."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Cancer cells located small traces of organ miniatures deep within his lungs, and while eliminating them removed the threat, it inevitably left his lungs riddled with severe wounds.
The organ miniatures had quietly and successfully achieved symbiosis beforehand, causing the organs to develop a dependency.
Other cultivators, even if they sensed abnormalities, could only submit to the constraints of the organ miniatures—unless they were willing to destroy their own foundations.
"Could the Death Disease be the hidden ploy of some Great Power?"
Li Mo inhaled sharply as, through the penetrative efforts of the cancer cells, the structure of his organs came into view.
The internal layers of the organs were well-defined, akin to a town divided into different zones, with the liver even being covered in fine, fur-like fungi.
As suspected, these fungi were the "crops" cultivated by the organ miniatures.
The heart, as the primary gathering spot for the organ miniatures, also showed signs of a budding array formation.
If allowed to persist over time, the organ miniatures would likely develop sect-like factions, treating Li Mo entirely as barren land turned into nutritional Blessed Land Cave Heaven.
This novel form of life utterly overturned Li Mo’s understanding.
Li Mo tried to salvage some organ miniatures and store them in containers, but once removed from the five organs and six viscera, they immediately disintegrated into pus.
Using external organs as a substitute proved ineffective as well.
"Perhaps... one of the six viscera could be used to preserve the organ miniatures?"
Li Mo quickly dismissed the thought—for if the organ miniatures were not completely eradicated, they would surely stage a comeback within days.
The organ miniatures possessed spiritual wisdom and were well-versed in avoiding disaster.
Allowing them to proliferate again would render their elimination significantly more difficult.
Li Mo could not allow any lingering troubles within his body—especially since the organ miniatures originated from the sinister Death Disease, it was best to decisively uproot them.
Soon, with the comprehensive search by the cancer cells, the heart was the first to be cleansed of the Death Disease, as evidenced by the sensations from the Great Wilderness Immortal Body.
Li Mo continued his siege against the organ miniatures while nourishing the heart with Innate Essence.
The heart, serving as one of the Corpse Spirit Roots for the Taixu Nascent Soul, though nearly compromised, recovered completely under the restorative power of Innate Essence.
The heart resumed beating.
Viscous blood began circulating anew, and the corrosive influence on Li Mo’s entire body showed signs of mitigation.
The liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys successively burst with vitality, as the Salamander’s true form descended upon the Tattooed Beast’s phantom, releasing roots to entwine Li Mo’s flesh and bones.
The Salamander’s life force began repairing the five organs, erasing the modifications left by the organ miniatures without a trace.
However, compared to the five organs, the severity of the six viscera was far beyond imagination.
The six viscera were completely corpsified due to the Death Disease’s corrosion; even Innate Essence was of no help, rendering them irreversibly dead matter.
Were it not for the protection of the cancer cells, the six viscera would have decayed completely within a hundred years.
Li Mo had anticipated this outcome early on.
In fact, during the outbreak of the Fate-Stage Death Disease, he had several opportunities to imprint the six viscera.
Using the Creation Book to combat the Death Disease was somewhat feasible; he might have perfectly overcome it, leaving fewer severe traces of the disease.
Li Mo, however, chose against imprinting the viscera, purely recognizing the profound mystery of organ modification.
He had wasted six blank pages back then, only obtaining a Daoist Body with minimal utility in removing impurities—which, when fused with the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, was merely better than nothing.
Should he attempt to reshape the six viscera in the future, the Daoist Body they nurtured might very well transform him entirely.
"Does this count as surviving the Death Disease?"
"Based on the Cultivation World’s standards, as long as only some organs show signs of corpsification without compromising the Dantian, it should count as successfully surviving."
The corrosion from the Death Disease varied in intensity; severe cases led to the complete destruction of one’s body and Dao, while losing merely a few organs was comparatively trivial.
Li Mo shook his head faintly; Xia Dao Palace had already begun calculating organ reshaping.
Since the Buddha Demon Dharma Body became its anchor, Xia Dao Palace had grown increasingly realistic, with its simulations extremely logical and highly efficient.
For instance, Xia Dao Palace simulated a plague spreading during organ reshaping.
The plague was non-lethal but rendered the organs of forty thousand Taoists devoid of life force.
Li Mo glanced at Xia Dao Palace briefly before continuing to heal his injuries, spending as much as eight hundred years’ worth of Innate Essence to fully restore the five organs.
The losses in vital energy would require painstaking efforts to recover.
Outside Zhi Mountain Temple, the rain had not diminished despite the passage of time; on the contrary, it grew even more torrential, seemingly poised for a full deluge.
"What’s happening with the Fire Spirit Hall? Surely it’s incapable of managing even Void Refining Stage cultivators?"
Li Mo exhaled deeply, "With the Tattooed Beast Sword Intent on me, I can traverse the Purple Sun Palace even amid the rain. I might as well wait until my Taiyi Sword Body is perfected to claim the remaining three inheritances."
His primary concern was the potential fall of the Purple Sun Palace or even the entire Great Sun Sword Tomb, which would prevent him from accessing the Teaching Daoist Temple.
The critical aspects of the Taiyi Sword Body had been settled through calculations.
The White Bone Treasure Body indeed could serve as the foundation for the Sword Body.
Li Mo stretched, preparing to craft the first-stage [Artifact Sword] for the Taiyi Sword Body, requiring [Flint Sand] exclusive to the Great Sun Sword Tomb.
The Taiyi True Immortal Sword Body Technique involved embedding seven Artifact Swords into the Spiritual Caverns to stimulate the body’s absorption of the swords’ essence for transformation.
Li Mo’s thoughts stirred, prompting the Red Fox outside to respond with a cry.
The Red Fox lazily rose, slowly heading to the courtyard wall of Zhi Mountain Temple, sweeping its nine tails lightly across the junction of wall and ground.
Zi.....
The bricks melted, cooling into crystalline Flint Sand.
Li Mo dared not directly destroy the courtyard walls, as the rain outside had already risen to knee height.
The Red Fox circled Zhi Mountain Temple, gathering enough Flint Sand.
The other spiritual materials were relatively common, and the Corpse Mountain Mini World contained reserves of them.
Li Mo activated the Artifact Refining Divine Power, hoping to refine the Artifact Sword, though its effects were limited.
This indicated that the Heavenly Sword Sect’s proprietary sword body had already reached near perfection, far beyond the scope of adjustments in the Divine Separation Stage.
Still, the locations of the Spiritual Caverns underwent changes.
Originally centered at the Taiyi Acupoint in the upper abdomen, encompassing seven Spiritual Caverns along the Zu Yangming Stomach Meridian.
Now, to adapt to the White Bone Treasure Body, the Spiritual Caverns were adjusted closer to the spine, allowing the Artifact Swords to pierce directly into its fissures, thus integrating the Daoist Body.
Li Mo grew an extra arm on his ribcage to aid in crafting, meticulously contemplating the Spiritual Caverns’ arrangements.
When the Artifact Swords were finally completed, seven bone spikes floated before him.
After confirming no flaws, the Artifact Swords drilled directly into his flesh and bones, their blades emanating waves of warm, wind-like Sword Qi.
Bang, bang, bang...
The sound of bones colliding echoed continuously.
Li Mo directed a swarm of White Bone Spiders into the nurturing process of the Sword Body, gradually guiding the Artifact Swords to establish connections with his spine.
If the White Bone Treasure Body showed any anomalies, he immediately paused.
For now, the White Bone Treasure Body exhibited little rejection of the Artifact Swords; perhaps the essence of the Sword Body lay in forging the body into a Sword Sheath.
The compatibility between the two was extraordinary.
Clang.
Li Mo couldn’t help but twist his spine, and a Sword Sound rang out.
The regenerative powers of the White Bone Spiders created new wonders; his limbs transformed into sharp-edged sword blades—not only enhancing destructive capability but facilitating surgical precision.
"Kekekeke, truly marvelous."
Li Mo grinned as the Taiyi True Immortal Sword Body Technique reached fruition; the Artifact Swords fully embedded themselves in his spine, gradually coursing through his skeletal system.
A sudden gale swept through the main hall, causing all the Sword Ghosts to instinctively retreat.
Tai—signifying greatness.
Yi—wood, the wind of the sun.
Thus, the Taiyi Sword Body was also known by another name: [Wind Erasing Sword Body], signifying the ability to dispel malignant winds.
Li Mo could sense his mastery of Yang Attribute Sword Intent rejoicing fervently.
While the Taiyi Sword Body seemed somewhat restrained, its amplification of Yang Attribute Sword Intent still reached twenty percent, and the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant showed signs of breaking through its bottleneck.
Li Mo pressed forward without hesitation, suspending the Corpse Mountain within his Sword Pouch.
Spiritual Energy enveloped the Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant, and to Li Mo, bottlenecks did not exist; nor did he worry about recklessly advancing and succumbing to deviation.
The Taiyi Sword Body required time to fully integrate into his flesh and bones.
But once the Sword Body merged with the White Bone Treasure Body, it became a natural part of Li Mo’s system; within moments, all his bones were imbued with its essence.
The Ten Thousand Transformation Sword Infant advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Li Mo’s body shivered, shedding dead skin as his appearance underwent subtle changes.
Though his facial features remained unchanged, his aura now brimmed with sharpness, and radiant Yang Attribute Dao Rhythm flowed within the Cave God’s Eye at the center of his brows.