CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 66: SUPPRESSING THE HEAVENLY SOUL, DIVINE SKILLS EMERGE ON THEIR OWN

In the mountains, the years mean nothing; in cultivation, the passage of time is irrelevant.

Li Mo could barely sense the flow of time, his Divine Sense fixed on the steady growth of spiritual power, as his strength slowly advanced toward the Divine Separation Stage.

Every year or so, the Tattooed Beast would come to demand a Bodhi Fruit.

Through its transformation and rebirth, the Acquired Spirit Root made them closer to the ancient Cultivation World’s concept of "Demons."

Legend has it that demons cultivate to transform into human form, thereby giving birth to the Acquired Spirit Root.

If not for the limited supply of Li Mo’s Bodhi Fruits, he would have already experimented on wild beasts to see if Acquired Spirit Roots could indeed recreate demons.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Soul-devouring Demon Infant was the first to show signs of promotion.

Meanwhile, a new Fake Soul Consciousness was born in the Mud Pill Palace, and Li Mo immediately noticed that the Fake Soul Consciousness had become even more solidified.

"Oh?"

A trace of doubt flashed in Li Mo’s eyes.

He found that, under the status quo of Mayfly Dream maintaining its current state, the deduction time of the Fake Soul Consciousness had increased significantly, now exceeding forty-six years.

Li Mo promptly realized that it was the Nine Nether Buddha Light Illuminating Scripture that had invisibly nurtured his Divine Sense, allowing the Fake Soul Consciousness to benefit deeply.

Consider it an unexpected blessing, perhaps.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Mo began deducing Dao Body Fusion.

With the Mountain Spider enhancing the surgeries, the Fake Soul Consciousness in the Illusion Realm was no longer completely aimless. Seeing this, Li Mo didn’t pay much more attention to it.

After five years of steady effort, the Soul-devouring Demon Infant naturally promoted to the Corpse Infant Stage.

Its size grew larger, now covered with blood-red demonic patterns, and a second, grotesque mouth formed on its abdomen, resembling a gash sliced open with sharp tools.

Li Mo communicated with the Soul-devouring Demon Infant and learned that the mouth on its head was called [Devouring All Things], specializing in consuming living beings; the mouth on its abdomen was called [Devouring Spirit Treasure], focusing on devouring Magic Artifacts.

Once the Soul-devouring Demon Infant swallowed a Magic Artifact, it could sever the connection between a cultivator and their artifact.

The Nascent Soul’s true name was different as well.

[Qiankun Soul-devouring Demon Infant]

The words Qiankun symbolized Heaven and Earth, indicating the Demon Infant would achieve an Externalized Dharma Body, one day possessing the Divine Skill to devour everything.

Li Mo also discovered that the numerous believers of the Lifeless Divine Statue could lend their power to the Demon Infant.

"I now have a rough direction for crafting the Demon Infant’s spell."

Li Mo did not rush the creation, since the Demon Infant differed from Pu Dao’s Artifact Infant in nature, with the Magnetic Light Nascent Soul Mixed Element Scripture deeply rooted in the Sub-Device Sect’s essence.

"As long as I finish the Nascent Soul Technique before promoting to the Divine Separation Stage, it’s acceptable."

He asked the Futu Hermit to keep an eye out for relevant techniques.

Then, stabilizing the Demon Infant, Li Mo took some time to digest the memories of the Fake Soul Consciousness—a torrent of chaotic and intricate fragments flooding his mind.

Initially, he thought forty-six years of deductions would be enough for the Fake Soul Consciousness to make the next leap, discovering commonalities between the two types of Dao Bodies.

Yet unexpectedly...

The Fake Soul Consciousness remained stuck exploring the boundary between Dao Body’s tangible and intangible aspects.

Li Mo froze for several breaths, then chuckled bitterly as he stowed away the Bodhi Fruits meant for the Tattooed Beasts, his gaze sweeping over the patterns on his skin.

Sure enough, because the Tattooed Beasts were nurturing Acquired Spirit Roots, the Dao Body inadvertently benefitted significantly but ultimately backfired.

Slight structural changes in the Dao Body forced the Fake Soul Consciousness to re-map and realign its understanding.

Li Mo sighed lightly. The Bodhi Fruits would have to wait until Dao Body Fusion was complete, and he promptly sent word to halting the Tattooed Beasts’ feeding program.

The Tattooed Beasts emitted a chorus of mournful whimpers.

Their instincts told them of the significance of the Bodhi Fruit, rubbing their heads against Li Mo, though he remained deaf to their pleas.

The Chaos Beast Infant followed closely behind the Demon Infant, breaking through its bottleneck effortlessly.

Li Mo first subdued the Heavenly Soul, then the mud sculpture detached itself from the Mud Pill Palace, heading to the Multiple Dantians.

The Heavenly Soul, [Tai Guang], belonged to Heaven, eternally desiring purification. Long residing within the human body, it could grant longevity.

The Chaos Beast Infant embraced the Heavenly Soul tightly, gnawing at its solid soul shell with its teeth. Within moments, the shell fractured with gaping cracks.

Li Mo’s eyes widened as he fixed an unrelenting gaze on the blank page of the Creation Book.

Once the soul shell shattered entirely, viscous, rotting fungal threads spilled out, turning everything it touched into honeycomb-like structures.

"What devilry is this?"

The fungal threads multiplied rapidly, swelling to several times their original volume within just a few breaths, turning the Multiple Dantians into a repulsive nest of toxic insects.

Li Mo felt his heart pounding in fear, hastily consuming the blank page to imprint the Fetus Light Soul.

The Chaos Beast Infant grabbed hold of the Fetus Light Soul, stuffing it into its mouth, devouring the fungal threads completely with no remnants.

The moment the Creation Book’s imprint was completed, the Chaos Beast Infant absorbed the Fetus Light Soul.

The Nascent Soul transformed within the Multiple Dantians into various forms of birds and beasts, approaching a half-human, half-beast concept, and even the Mist Fog Spiritual Power it emitted took shapes resembling vivid animals.

Its true name: [Taisu Chaos Beast Infant]

"Taisu..."

Li Mo muttered the word several times, recalling that Taisu seemed to be one of the Five Innate Taos discussed in Taoism: Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji.

"Taisu represents the beginning of matter, where the forms of Qi and substance exist yet remain undifferentiated, hence called ’Hunlun.’"

"Hunlun implies the state where all things are intermixed without separation."

Taisu signified the primal medium from which life originated, suggesting the Chaos Beast Infant might eventually evolve into the world’s first "beast."

Of course, for now, the Chaos Beast Infant was merely trending in that direction.

To truly achieve the title of Taisu, it would need to become an Immortal, regardless of the potential displayed at the Nascent Soul Stage.

As for the Fetus Light Soul’s Divine Power, it was called [Bright Tai Su] and belonged to Mayfly Dream.

The power’s effect, surprisingly, remained indeterminate.

Simply put, Li Mo could select a skill, distinct from the Seven Spirits, for Bright Tai Su to use as its core to manifest myriad techniques.

Li Mo understood the Three Souls Divine Power must involve skill-based contexts.

He hadn’t expected to choose the type of skill, meaning the remaining two souls would require careful consideration—swordsmanship? Escape Technique? Body Technique?

In the case of the Heavenly Soul, the choice was clear: medical skills took precedence.

After imbuing it with medical knowledge, Li Mo lost contact with Bright Tai Su.

Such was the sheer volume of medical information to be absorbed, requiring a period of settling and assimilation.

"Dao Body Fusion is close to perfection."

Li Mo surveyed his own body.

The three Nascent Souls had all reached the Corpse Infant Stage, but the path to the Nascent Soul Stage remained long.

The progress of the Great Sun Golden Core lagged even further behind the three Nascent Souls, barely reaching the Condensation Stage after over a decade of effort. Perfect Core Formation might take another century.

Unable to stabilize the Great Sun Golden Core, Li Mo shifted his focus as anomalies arose within the Corpse Mountain.

Crack... crack...

The spiritual patterns on the Corpse Mountain had now reached over ten, triggering seismic changes within the small world—mountains rearranging as if undergoing the primordial act of creation.

The elevation of the mountain ranges proportionately increased, while grass and wood grew uncontrollably, the Evergreen Tree now towering over five hundred meters, surrounded by incessant Dao Rhythms.

Under the influence of the Evergreen Tree, the Deceit Beasts crawled low to the ground as their mutations intensified.

Compared to the Deceit Beasts, the Plant and Tree Cultivators experienced only partial breakthroughs in their existing realms, resulting in a dramatic disparity in strength between the two factions within a short period.

The small world expanded tenfold, encircled by a winding river at the mountain perimeter, waves crashing against the rocky walls.

He Guo, astonished, gazed at the scenery before him.

Previously, his understanding of the small world’s nuances allowed him to discern its elements easily. Now, distinguishing between reality and illusion seemed nearly impossible.

A massive bird, over ten meters in length, soared overhead, while the Deceit Beasts within the mountain averaged similarly colossal sizes—some exceeding twenty meters.

The beasts hunted the Plant and Tree Cultivators relentlessly, plunging the Corpse Mountain Mini World into chaos.

"Ah..."

A Plant and Tree Cultivator unleashed a surge of spirit light, only to blast away chunks of a Deceit Beast’s flesh, which promptly regenerated, leaving its main body unthreatened.

Previously, Plant and Tree Cultivators could leverage their numbers to maintain dominance over the Deceit Beasts.

Now, the balance had tipped.

Fortunately, Plant and Tree Cultivators possessed numerous strategies for evading danger, burrowing deep underground to elude the Deceit Beasts temporarily.

He Guo sidestepped to dodge the claws of a giant bird, using his herbal energy to stimulate the surrounding vegetation.

The plants formed a natural barrier, obstructing the Deceit Beasts from spying on He Guo, who extended his roots toward the cave where Zhang Guo was situated.

He Guo understood well—Zhang Guo, the eldest disciple of the Immortals, could not perish under any circumstances.

Supreme Qingtian had entrusted the governance of the small world to He Guo, but assisting Zhang Guo faithfully was the true path he had to follow. Dominance within the small world must return to Plant and Tree Cultivators.

Li Mo, too, noticed the transformative upheaval in the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

He had intended to intervene in the small world’s evolution but seeing the Plant and Tree Cultivators largely unharmed, he decided to use the Deceit Beasts as an opportunity for them to train.

If the Plant and Tree Cultivators couldn’t suppress the Deceit Beasts, their future achievements would remain limited.

With a thought, Li Mo directed new Clear Streams to sprout within He Guo’s body, and the nurturing of a segment of Acquired Spirit Root from the Bodhi Fruit commenced.

The Plant and Tree Cultivators’ further prosperity would depend on Zhang Guo and He Guo—the two brothers—and the Acquired Spirit Root could elevate their strength to standout levels.

He Guo beamed with wild joy.

"Following Supreme Qingtian truly is the right choice. There’s hope for the Dao... My Dao can indeed remain within reach!"

Even if the Acquired Spirit Root was fragmented and incomplete, its enhancement of cultivation efficiency was immense.

He Guo felt confident he could achieve Core Formation within two hundred years. When the Acquired Spirit Root was fully restored, Breaking the Golden Core and becoming an Infant would no longer be mere conjecture.

Li Mo ensured that the Corpse Mountain Mini World, having entered the Giant Beast Era, wouldn’t result in ecological collapse, leaving the Plant and Tree Cultivators to develop on their own.

With the Corpse Mountain’s ongoing promotion, the small world was destined to experience various "eras."

Li Mo hoped the Plant and Tree Cultivators could still provide tangible support—even after he achieved immortality—instead of merely offering meager sustenance.

He studied the spiritual patterns of the Corpse Mountain for a long time, as the interwoven patterns induced a headache.

Mid-Grade Magical Treasures required ten spiritual patterns, not much of a leap from Low-Grade ones. However, High-Grade Magical Treasures necessitated a daunting one hundred spiritual patterns.

The process was destined to demand an extremely prolonged period.

Li Mo withdrew the Corpse Mountain, noting that Da Ai Mi Tian was on the verge of becoming a Mid-Grade Magical Treasure.

However, before the cancer cells could fully "boil," a new Fake Soul Consciousness formed within the Mud Pill Palace, once again revolving around Dao Body Fusion deductions.

The second round of Dao Body Fusion proceeded more smoothly.

Even though the Bright Tai Su Divine Power couldn’t be utilized, the Fake Soul Consciousness utilized the Mountain Spider to attempt micro-surgeries.

Still, the surgeries resulted in failure, primarily because the Five Internal Organs had to undergo modification simultaneously.

The core of the Paoxiao Swallowing Body lay within the five viscera, requiring concurrent surgeries to ensure their harmony. The difficulty of this process was unimaginable.

By comparison, the Ancient Sacred Body posed fewer challenges, as the Tattooed Beast willingly cooperated in merging with the Dao Body.

Li Mo placed his hope in the Bright Tai Su Divine Power and immediately activated it upon sensing the power’s awakening.