Chapter 418: Chapter 43 Raising Some Golden Canaries to Ward Off Disaster
"Sword Shuttle?"
Ye Zhuo Daoist was still pondering whether the Sword Shuttle could make it to the Fire Spirit Hall, when suddenly the Golden Toad’s shadow behind Li Mo began to transition from illusion to reality.
Gua gua gua.
The deep croaks of the Golden Toad grew increasingly resonant.
Amidst a tremor that shook the earth and mountains, the true form of the Golden Toad descended, simultaneously displaying mastery over size control, its body rapidly expanding before the naked eye.
"Does he not fear drawing external attention?"
Ye Zhuo Daoist swallowed hard, realizing that Li Mo was likely doing this intentionally, deliberately creating a commotion with his artifact refining.
The wind and sand whipped up, crackling as they struck the ground.
The Golden Toad’s massive body immersed halfway into the clouds, its shadow casting a shroud that darkened the skies.
Among all Tattooed Beasts, the Golden Toad’s abilities were the most straightforward; even with a mainline cultivation technique, it only gained the additional ability of exhaling Sword Qi.
However, the Golden Toad possessed unparalleled physical resilience; with its mastery of size control, it could extend to an extreme height of over three thousand meters.
"Interesting. Looks like we really have some fish taking the bait,"
Li Mo could sense over a dozen concealed gazes quietly observing them.
"No one at the Heavenly Palace Stage? It seems those at that stage have already advanced to the Fire Spirit Hall."
Li Mo’s expression was inscrutable as he purposefully magnified the Golden Toad’s display, making no effort to hide his artifact refining intentions.
He used the Taiyin Law Heaven as a foundation, blending in elements from the Refining Sword Technique.
Unleashing Artifact Refining Divine Power.
The Great Sword Shuttle.
With Sword Intent nurturing thirty-two types of metallic spiritual materials until the Magic Artifact Embryo took shape, aided by Lapis Lazuli Powder and Three-Life Stone Powder, it was tempered using Metal Spiritual Power to refine the artifact.
Li Mo nodded in satisfaction.
The Great Sword Shuttle should prove adequate for dealing with small to medium rainfalls.
Once the Sword Dao Spirit Patterns on the surface of the White Bone Treasure Body were complete, Li Mo could further elevate the Sword Shuttle’s status from a Magic Artifact to a Magic Treasure.
The taboos carried by rainwater were too perilous.
Li Mo didn’t mind treating a Magic Treasure as a disposable item. After all, he couldn’t guarantee that the Tattooed Beast would remain unaffected by the rain’s taboos.
The Elephant Eye technique offered by the Great Sun Sword Tomb was indeed effective, but it only provided a means to observe the intensity of the rain and determine an appropriate route.
If one relied solely on the Elephant Eye for navigation and unintentionally entered a region of torrential downpour, surrounded on all sides by dangerous lands, it was almost certain they would meet their end, their Dao extinguished.
Li Mo’s Cave God’s Eye could entirely replace the role of the Elephant Eye.
"What exactly is the Heavenly Sword Sect plotting?"
Li Mo furrowed his brows. The dangers of rain-born taboos loomed over the entire Great Sun Sword Tomb, yet the Heavenly Sword Sect seemed to have only dispatched a sparse number of individuals.
"Could it be that something even more perilous is unfolding within the Heavenly Sword Sect?"
Li Mo thought of Senior Sister Yu Xiao; she seemed to have ventured into some dangerous locale. Luo Yang had also hastily left the Great Sun Sword Tomb, most likely to assist her.
Gua.
The Golden Toad excitedly shook its head, interrupting Li Mo’s train of thought.
With a sudden flick of its tongue, a massive rock a kilometer away was instantly pierced through, the speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive.
"Wait... weren’t we supposed to be refining a Sword Shuttle? Why does something feel off?"
Ye Zhuo Daoist stood in place, unable to resist scrutinizing the giant beast.
The Golden Toad was three-legged, its entire body clad in dazzling golden-scaled armor. As it breathed, an indescribable aura of Golden Sha permeated the surroundings.
Because Li Mo and Ye Zhuo were situated at the boundary between the Purple Sun Palace and Yu Xin Palace, the nearest Daoist Temple was ten thousand meters away, eliminating concerns over rain-born taboos.
Gua...
With an ear-splitting croak, the Golden Toad began accumulating Spiritual Power.
Cracks spread across the ground, and an indescribable aura burst forth. Yet, it was evident that the Golden Toad had not reached the Divine Separation Stage.
Li Mo patted the Golden Toad, then took out an enormous quantity of spiritual materials.
The spiritual materials piled up like mountains.
The Golden Toad actively devoured the spiritual materials, erupting with ferocious Spiritual Power. The materials in its mouth were gradually dissolved into liquid form, refined bit by bit.
The Golden Toad had always possessed impressive talent in artifact refining, though it was limited to Metal Magic Tools. However, it was more than sufficient for refining the Great Sword Shuttle.
Ye Zhuo Daoist’s mouth hung slightly open.
The Golden Toad spat out the refined materials, swallowing the remaining spiritual materials without pause. Its practiced movements revealed it to be experienced in artifact refining.
"So... beast-based Flying Swords have such benefits as well?"
Ye Zhuo Daoist clicked his tongue in astonishment and then stepped forward to assist the Golden Toad in refining.
Upon closer observation, he discovered that the Golden Toad summoned by Li Mo was linked to his Lifebound Spirit Beast, cleverly intertwined with Sword Dao.
"The Thirteen Immortals have expertise in a wide array of disciplines, not only pursuing dual cultivation but also fusing them seamlessly. No wonder they are destined to ascend to immortality."
"If even Senior Brother cannot become an Immortal, then the severed Immortal Ladder may not see the faintest hope of restoration even after another ten thousand years."
Ye Zhuo Daoist gazed at Li Mo with reverence, noting the seven colossal beast shadows surrounding him.
"Heh heh, I have an errand to run at Yu Xin Palace. Whether someone chooses to test you or not, it doesn’t matter. Focus entirely on your artifact refining."
Ye Zhuo Daoist hesitated before asking, "Then why bait others to come?"
"When mortals venture into underground mines, they often bring along a few Golden Canaries. If the air takes a sudden turn, the Canaries perish instantly," Li Mo said, holding the Illusion Fish Sword before hastening into the swirling dust.
Ye Zhuo Daoist watched Li Mo disappear, unable to suppress a solemn sigh for those who might cross him.
Yu Xin Palace, adjacent to Purple Sun Palace, so far remained untouched by rainwater. With the Sword Ghosts no longer active, this was the perfect time to obtain Sword Dao inheritances.
Li Mo made no effort to conceal himself.
Sword Qi erupted with abandon, the radiating Sun Sword Intent becoming a beacon amidst the mist.
Li Mo casually occupied a dilapidated Daoist Temple, strengthening his Spiritual Power while biding his time for the opening of Yu Xin Palace’s Teaching Daoist Temple.
Calamity loomed near, and Sword Ghosts no longer roamed the night.
However, barring rainwater, the Teaching Daoist Temple would reopen once every hundred days—a rhythm etched deeply into the instincts of the Teaching Elders.
Thirty-six days passed in a blur before Shadow Puppets began flowing across the walls.
Li Mo’s long-dormant Sword Intent flared to life once more.
"Sun Star."
Li Mo tossed his right eye into the air, where it transformed into a seven-colored sun.
Ye Zhuo Daoist gazed toward Yu Xin Palace, noticing Li Mo heading toward the central Yangzhu Temple. With every step, his Sun Sword Intent roared with vigor.
"A natural Sword Cultivator... How long until Taishan Yan becomes the Chief?"
Li Mo arrived at the temple gates. The Teaching Elder emerged, extending its giraffe-like neck and repeatedly slamming its head against the ground in a display of agitation.
Its Spiritual Wisdom was clearly inferior to Elder Wuxin’s, and its appearance even more grotesque and terrifying.
Li Mo processed the flood of memories surging from the Creation Book—each one an episode of transmitting and imparting teachings.
Within the memories, he found a once-and-for-all solution and respectfully saluted. "Junior Taishan Yan wishes to test himself with the sword, knocking upon the Immortal Gate’s Five Passes."
"I humbly request the Elders to emerge and grant me the supreme teachings of Sword Dao."
The Sword Intent that Li Mo radiated grew wilder, gradually transforming from the Sun Sword Intent to Ghostly Light Sword Intent, causing the surrounding foliage to ignite without flame.
Bang bang bang...
The main halls of the other Teaching Daoist Temples opened, and four Teaching Elders stepped forth, converging toward Yangzhu Temple without hesitation.
A sharp glint flashed in Li Mo’s eyes.
He deliberately mimicked the ancient Heavenly Sword Sect’s Sword Cultivator, "Ru Zhenzi," who had once single-handedly acquired four Sword Dao inheritances.
Figures as dazzling as Ru Zhenzi were numerous amidst the tens of thousands of years of Heavenly Sword Sect’s history, but those who ascended as Land Immortals were exceedingly rare.
The gazes spying on Li Mo were filled with astonishment. His actions were no different from courting death.
The four Teaching Elders surrounded Li Mo.
Their bodies bore countless scorch marks, resembling moths, with even their oral organs transformed into straw-like proboscises.
From Li Mo’s ribs sprouted twenty pairs of arms, each wielding his Lifebound Flying Sword as he faced them head-on.
"Elders, I humbly seek guidance. This disciple has perused countless aspects of Sword Dao and seeks but a sliver of clarity."
Metal clashed endlessly as Li Mo advanced and retreated with elegance, wielding his long sword with practiced ease and reveling in the exuberance of his Sword Intent.
Sword Cultivators, indeed, seemed born for battle.
Whenever Li Mo crossed swords with another, he felt his Sword Intent thrumming with vitality.
Whether it was the Superior Sword Intent Sun or the Mid-level Sword Intent Dark Moon, both frenetically absorbed the lingering traces of Dao comprehension sparked by sudden enlightenment.
Not long after.
Li Mo transitioned from Sun Sword Intent to Dark Moon Sword Intent.
Yangzhu Temple was plunged into darkness, rendering the prying gazes unable to discern clearly.
The Dark Moon Sword Intent silenced all sound; the only evidence of the intense battle within was the occasional flying debris from the buildings.
As the designated two-hour period ended, the Teaching Elders withdrew one by one from Yangzhu Temple.
"Cowards! Not a single one of them thought to take advantage and kick him while he’s down?"
Covered in wounds, Li Mo slowly left Yu Xin Palace, now with four more inherited minds stored within the Liu Li jar in the Corpse Mountain Mini World.
Given the impending disaster, obtaining these Sword Body inheritances hadn’t been too difficult.
If Li Mo wished, he could keep heading southeast and, perhaps before the half-year deadline, acquire another four Sword Dao inheritances.
"But, eventually, to become the Chief, I’ll have to take them all down anyway."
Li Mo suppressed his stray thoughts and soon approached within a hundred meters of the Golden Toad.
With eight Sword Bodies already in his possession, it was time to study their commonalities. Fusing them into one unified Sword Body would not be an easy feat.
The Great Sword Shuttle, refined by the Golden Toad, had taken on its rudimentary form.
The Magic Artifact Embryo had been reduced from the size of a mountain to around eight or nine meters. Its entire body shimmered in silver-white, faintly exuding traces of Sword Intent.
"Not bad. Leave it to me."
Once Li Mo took over, the refining process of the Great Sword Shuttle became even more fluid and proficient.
Ye Zhuo Daoist surveyed the surroundings.
At the edge of Yu Xin Palace, Sword Cultivators had already begun to appear.
Li Mo looked every bit like someone preparing to refine a Sky-controlling Magic Device for his journey to the Fire Spirit Hall. Fellow Sword Cultivators, seeking to protect themselves, would undoubtedly covet the Great Sword Shuttle.
As the Sword Shuttle shrunk to just half a meter, Li Mo began a process of Hundred Refinements.
He deliberately enshrouded the mountain peak in mist, concealing the refining progress from onlookers, who were growing increasingly restless and racing toward the Great Sword Shuttle.
Sixteen people soared on Flying Swords, constantly engaging each other in exchanges of Sword Qi.
A Sword Cultivator elder with two heads jeered, "Taishan Yan, with your Burning Wind Sword Body, you shouldn’t need a Magic Device, right?"
"What nonsense is this? Evil Woman, if you had full confidence, you wouldn’t be returning to Yu Xin Palace either."
Taishan Yan, sporting a single eye and molten-like meridians crisscrossing his body, grew increasingly irate as they exchanged barbs.
Eventually, their rising tempers culminated in a clash of Sword Qi, generating waves of violent energy.
Amid the swirling dust, both simultaneously chose to slash their swords toward the mist where Li Mo was, revealing their apprehension about his strength.
Shing.
The Sword Qi flashed by.
But the mist was already empty.
The crowd of Sword Cultivators raised their heads in disbelief as a colossal Sword Shuttle—stretching over a thousand meters—pierced through the clouds, heading directly into the dense rain above Purple Sun Palace.
Where it passed, water vapor surged outward in spirals.
Taishan Yan fixed his gaze on the massive Sword Shuttle, noticing how its bottom shielded against much of the rain.
Without hesitation, the Sword Cultivators pursued on their Flying Swords.
"There, now we have our Golden Canary, don’t we?"
"But you’d better keep an eye on Bai Shuo—something’s clearly off with him."