Chapter 413: Chapter 38: The Five Zang-organs and Six Fu-organs of Life Wisdom
The rising dust from the ground intertwined incessantly with the drizzling rain.
Boom.
A damaged Daoist temple collapsed into ruins, and the Sword Ghost exposed to the rainfall disintegrated into scattered fragments within a few breaths.
Only the blood-curdling screams echoed, chilling to the bone.
Zhi Mountain Temple, located relatively close to Purple Sun Palace in the northwest district, remained entirely intact thanks to the protection of the Tattooed Beast.
"Troubled times."
Li Mo shook his head in silence.
As the moment of the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease approached, the frequency of organ activation grew more and more frequent, especially for the six viscera, which sprouted inexplicable and grotesque facial features every few days.
The internal organs muttered to themselves intermittently, even testing the limits of Li Mo’s patience.
What puzzled him, though, was that the activations only ever lasted for a fleeting dozen breaths, before the mutated features would gradually vanish.
Li Mo initially thought the phenomenon was due to the branding on his five internal organs. However, he soon realized the six viscera underwent the same cycle of transformation and mutation.
"Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease seems completely unlike the previous death diseases."
Li Mo attempted to use the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease as a window to uncover the secrets of immortality, meticulously observing his six viscera with his Divine Sense.
The six viscera, namely the gallbladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, and triple burner.
The six viscera function only to transform substances, not to store them, thus their inability to hold anything fulfilling or substantial.
Anything ingested through the mouth would be transformed into worthless waste by the six viscera, hence the saying: "The six viscera thrive in passage, and descend in harmony."
Li Mo had refrained from branding the six viscera partly to avoid wasting blank pages.
After all, the Taoist body cultivated by the six viscera would primarily serve to eliminate impurities—an ability that was somewhat trivial given his current body and soul.
"Hiss..."
Li Mo drew a sharp breath as the piercing pain of organ activation stirred within him once more.
This time, it felt different—Da Ai Mi Tian unexpectedly began mobilizing cancer cells to suppress the anomaly, and even his Four Tao Body was affected.
"Damn it."
Li Mo’s expression darkened, realizing the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease had finally erupted.
At the height of Da Ai Mi Tian’s performance, countless cancer cells permeated his five internal organs and six viscera, barely subduing their restless state.
The heart sprouted an eye; the liver grew malformed limbs; the spleen gnawed at the blood vessels binding it; the large intestine attempted to devour the small intestine...
As a mid-grade magical treasure with ninety-three spirit patterns, Da Ai Mi Tian showed faint signs of losing control as countless cancer cells perished.
Li Mo immediately deployed the Blood Pattern Lock, the fake magical treasure tightly encasing his organs.
"Wa-woo-woo..."
The organs wailed incessantly, thrashing violently as they tried to escape the confines of the fake magical treasure, causing the Blood Pattern Lock to emit overburdened groans.
Li Mo’s expression remained stone-cold as he secured the organs with eight additional Blood Pattern Locks.
"This is going too smoothly?"
Li Mo hesitated for several breaths before signaling the Kun Whale phantom to dump hundreds of barrels of Muddy Spirit Wine onto the main hall in one go.
Though the Kun Whale’s true form hadn’t descended, manipulating wine posed no issue.
The Muddy Spirit Wine evaporated into a haze that retained its medicinal properties, seeping into the five internal organs and six viscera through Li Mo’s skin and gradually eroding their spirit.
Li Mo had anticipated that the Muddy Spirit Wine, being approximately equivalent to Nascent Soul Stage Corpse Wine in potency, would barely suffice in suppressing the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease.
Solving the death disease entirely would require painstaking effort over an extended period.
Yet the outcome was entirely unexpected.
The spirit of his five internal organs and six viscera visibly withered, and the activated organs were eradicated under the devouring force of the cancer cells.
Moments later, the organs returned to a state of tranquility.
"Something’s wrong."
In Li Mo’s understanding, the death disease should last at least two to three years—how could it possibly resolve itself merely half a day after erupting?
Li Mo scanned his five internal organs and six viscera with his Divine Sense and found them restored to normalcy.
Even their instinctive warnings had abruptly ceased.
By all appearances, the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease had concluded in an inexplicably anticlimactic manner, leaving an indescribable sense of absurdity lingering in his mind.
Li Mo continued monitoring his organs for over half a month, keeping them tightly sealed with the Blood Pattern Locks.
During this time, no further organ activations occurred.
Li Mo narrowed his eyes.
Gradually, he released the Blood Pattern Locks, bracing himself with techniques to combat the death disease should it re-emerge.
"What the hell?!"
At the moment the organs were unbound, the five internal organs and six viscera began rapidly absorbing nutrients from his entire body; blood and flesh proliferated, expanding their volume in the blink of an eye.
Li Mo’s expression twisted in astonishment as the extreme Taoist energy of the Great Wilderness Immortal Body grew increasingly powerful.
This sudden proliferation of blood and flesh not only avoided developing into intelligent activation but unexpectedly benefited the five internal organs and six viscera, indirectly reinforcing the Great Wilderness Immortal Body.
Muddy Spirit Wine was poured endlessly into the main hall, but its medicinal properties elicited no response from the organs.
The five internal organs and six viscera expanded by a full third before growth ceased. Simultaneously, their blood vessels sprouted numerous branches, forming intricate and mysterious structures.
Li Mo remained uncertain and wary.
As he moved about the main hall, his strengthened organs facilitated smooth circulation of blood and energy, unexpectedly enhancing his physical stamina by half a stage.
The benefits of the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease extended beyond this.
The efficiency of his body refinement had soared, comparable to the addition of ten thousand Buddha Heads to his Mud Pill Palace.
The Spirit Branches of the Nourishing Yuan Fruit grew more lush, accelerating the condensation of Innate Essence.
"Could it be that starting from the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease, the disease has transformed into an unequivocal blessing?"
Li Mo clearly felt that the changes in his five internal organs and six viscera could rival those of an Innate Taoist Body.
The information he could obtain on the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease was scarce, as most cultivators failed to endure even the Uncertainty Period Death Disease.
Moreover, even large sects had abandoned efforts to resist the death disease.
Summing up the existing texts yielded only the cryptic phrase: "Organ Intelligence Awakening."
"What a bizarre phenomenon."
Li Mo remained skeptical. While he focused on cultivating his Dharma Body, he never entirely shifted his attention from the five internal organs and six viscera, his Divine Sense repeatedly analyzing their states.
He noticed that whenever his Circulation Cycle passed through the organs, an imperceptible amount of Spiritual Power would dissolve within the five internal organs and six viscera.
The organs continuously absorbed Spiritual Power, autonomously enhancing themselves.
Their mechanisms for transporting blood and nutrients grew progressively streamlined.
The heart’s blood vessels adopted specialized functions, becoming even more dynamic than before suffering the death disease; the liver developed hierarchical layers, secreting unique toxic liquids to cleanse impurities from the body; the triple burner transported turbid energy from various organs into the Cave God’s Eye, expelling it from his system...
"Exhale."
Li Mo opened his eyes, his body mass having expanded to over seven meters.
He had not intentionally applied Taoist energy augmentation; the sheer physical growth had nearly doubled his size, and the potential of his flesh was activating gradually.
The Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease seemed to have opened Pandora’s box.
Li Mo felt as though the strength of his meat body was no longer constrained, now confident he could take on a cultivator in the Five Qi Period barehanded and emerge victorious.
Roaming the main hall, he delivered strikes that generated waves of air, his blood boiling ferociously.
An expenditure of blood and energy was anticipated, yet the five internal organs and six viscera—energized by absorbed Spiritual Power—replenished him, keeping him in peak condition.
"Clearly... something’s off."
Li Mo’s expression grew grim as he continued stimulating his organs through Spiritual Power.
The organs emitted subtle rustling sounds, and under the Spirit Power’s influence, countless miniature figures emerged from within them.
Li Mo’s pupils dilated in shock.
The figures were grotesquely malformed, composed of viscous blood, possessing four limbs but resembling extended offshoots of the organs’ vascular systems.
Even Li Mo’s Divine Sense lacked the clarity to fully perceive their shapes.
The small figures had already hollowed out the organs, seemingly reconstructing the structure of the five internal organs and six viscera, while developing an entirely alien civilization within a matter of moments.
After detecting Li Mo’s Divine Sense, they retreated unanimously into the organs.
Li Mo’s Divine Sense lost all contact with the figures. Moments later, sharp pain flared across his five internal organs and six viscera, which suddenly lost all vitality.
His blood and flesh withered away, and the palpable essence of his health vanished in mere breaths, as the five internal organs and six viscera showed renewed signs of activation.
The anomalous situation lasted briefly, before the organs returned to calm.
Li Mo’s face turned grim.
It was unmistakable—the figures possessed intelligence.
Their strange behaviors were warnings to Li Mo: only by maintaining symbiosis could his physical state remain at its peak.
"Organ spirits, five viscera and six viscera gods?"
"The spirits of the six viscera and five internal organs reside within the body, operating the Heavenly Sutras, self-sustaining day and night, to achieve longevity."
There existed a Taoist belief that each of the five internal organs and six viscera contained a deity, arising from the transformation of spirit and energy—the so-called "Five Internal Organs and Six Viscera Gods."
"So this is what the Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease really is, organ intelligence awakening? It’s clearly the birth of malevolent entities within the organs!"
Li Mo cursed under his breath.
With its overly general descriptions, the records on the death diseases hardly scratched the surface.
The five internal organs and six viscera began writhing again, as the miniature figures resumed their reconstruction while deliberately eroding the meridians.
Over time, Li Mo’s Spiritual Power would gradually deplete, leaving him increasingly reliant on his physical body.
"Go."
Twenty-eight Blood Pattern Locks encased the five internal organs and six viscera; while the Corpse Wine proved ineffective, the fake magical treasures were still capable of temporarily suppressing the death disease.
The figures were now well-established, tearing apart layer after layer of Blood Pattern Locks.
Li Mo’s eyes glittered coldly—this Destiny Knowing Stage Death Disease had only just begun.
The figures absorbed his blood and energy to break free from the seals, causing his flesh and bones to develop points of rot, and corpse spots began spreading across his skin.
"Cough, cough..."
Li Mo spat out several teeth, his body resembling that of a dying old man.
"I must cut off this cancer quickly, or my foundation will be irreparably damaged."
Thoughts raced through Li Mo’s mind—conventional methods now proved ineffective, and even the Creation Book had failed to manifest a phantom of the organ figures.
"Plunge into death to grasp life."
Li Mo consumed vast amounts of poisonous spiritual materials designed to erode the five internal organs and six viscera, swallowing them in one go while forcibly suppressing the Taoist body’s detoxification.
"Mountain Demon!!!"
Roar.
A Mountain Demon smashed through the main hall doors, causing Daoist Bai Shuo to freeze in bewilderment as the Tattooed Beast transformed into a streak of ghostly green light and merged into Li Mo.
"Senior Brother Taiyi?"
"Struggles against heaven, earth, and man—what joy!"
Daoist Bai Shuo’s immediate reaction was that Li Mo had completely lost his sanity.
Evil Sword Intent erupted, Li Mo’s flesh dissolving visibly while Da Ai Mi Tian exerted its mutative effects without reservation.
"Symbiosis, huh?"
The Corpse Mountain unleashed countless Gu Worms, burrowing into Li Mo’s flesh and bones.
"Cackling laughter."
United in prosperity, united in loss.
Mutation, poison, Gu Worms... spread through his five internal organs and six viscera, contaminating even the Blood Pattern Locks, rendering the fake magical treasures fragile.
In mere breaths, Li Mo’s life force was severed.
Daoist Bai Shuo swallowed nervously and hesitated to step forward, only to find the Mountain Demon leering at him, gripping its White Bone Stick high.
"I..."
Li Mo opened his eyes, spitting out saliva mixed with traces of the figures.
"Unfortunately, the organ modifications couldn’t be preserved; still, it wasn’t a complete waste."
"The organs can undergo preliminary alterations prior to branding, allowing them to nurture the desired Taoist body."