CHAPTER 326: CHAPTER 72: THE BEAST HEAD, WITH THE HUMAN BRAIN AS THE BASE

The tail of the giant beast resembled a staircase leading to the mountain peak. One figure after another carefully made their way toward the town on its back.

Some reckless loose cultivators, however, drove their Magic Artifacts straight toward the town.

Little did they know that, in the toad’s eyes, they were no different from mosquitoes.

Whoosh.

The sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

A straw-like tongue flashed past, and the loose cultivator in mid-air disappeared without a trace. Only their Magic Artifact, having lost its Spiritual Power, fell to the ground.

After swallowing a few people, the toad remained lazily motionless, still crouching in its original spot.

Upon seeing this, the crowd continued toward the town. At the gates, they could see a stone stele inscribed with three bold characters: "Qinghong Workshop."

Qinghong Workshop was not technically a black market for loose cultivators; rather, it was a Poison Cultivator force that had suddenly risen to prominence over the past century, with its founder remaining unknown.

Its defining feature was its poisonous beast that served as its Mountain Gate.

No one knew whether the poisonous beast was a deceitful object or a flesh-and-blood puppet refined through some process. All that was known was its natural instinct to track spiritual materials.

The poisonous beast wandered across the mortal world, seeking Blessed Land Cave Heavens teeming with Poison Element spirit materials.

What shocked many loose cultivators was that Qinghong Workshop controlled a total of twelve poisonous beasts, as if they had appeared overnight in the Cultivation World.

The toad under Qinghong Workshop’s command was named "Poison Clothes," whose emanations of poison were comparatively mild, attracting countless loose cultivator forces to congregate here.

Some even brought along mortal relatives from Cultivation Families.

"Gua." (The sound of the toad croaking.)

Due to the absence of Li Mo, the source of Poison Element spiritual materials in the valley had dwindled. The new vegetation that grew was generally unfit to be refined into spiritual materials.

In the hustle and bustle of the bear-headed, human-bodied farmers, it took ten days to fully harvest the valley’s resources.

They had spent long periods in the corrosive, flesh-melting poison smoke, yet instead of poisoning them, it had rendered their skin as tough as cowhide.

In some ways, it was as though mortal martial arts had advanced to another level.

When the bear-headed farmers pushed carts loaded with resources into Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop, the toad poisonous beast suddenly grew restless.

"Gua."

The crowd atop the giant beast’s body instinctively lay prone. The cultivators cloaked themselves in Spiritual Power, while mortals fastened themselves to the toad’s surface using hooks and ropes, as if prepared for the worst.

"Gua."

The toad poisonous beast moved toward the mouth of the valley, burying its head to devour the poison smoke inside. Its distorted, grotesque face twisted with greed and frenzy.

A moment later...

Dissatisfied with the nourishment provided by the poison smoke, it opened its mouth wide, stretching its tongue into the valley to lap up the poison scattered across the ground.

The onlookers were somewhat taken aback.

In their eyes, poisonous beasts only lost control when faced with Top-grade spiritual materials of the Poison Element.

The Blessed Land Cave Heaven that had formed in this valley was still embryonic at best. Even Mid-grade spiritual materials were scarce here. What could compel the poisonous beast to act so out of character? It was perplexing.

A few Poison Cultivators with fox-shaped heads combed through the valley but, finding nothing amiss, left it at that.

What they didn’t realize was that the real culprit, Li Mo, had already ascended the poisonous beast. He walked lightly along its scale-covered tail as if it were flat ground.

Li Mo cut a figure likened to a performer from the Jianghu.

Clad in an old Daoist robe, he wore a sun-blocking bamboo hat on his head. Perched on his shoulder was a blue-faced, fang-toothed exotic beast—a Mountain Demon.

"Wa, wa, wa..."

The Mountain Demon clung to Li Mo’s head, looking around excitedly.

To it, the smoke wafting through Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop had an irresistible fragrance, while the Spiritual Energy constantly emitted by the toad poisonous beast was even more enticing.

Yet, constrained by Li Mo’s presence, the Mountain Demon refrained from recklessly absorbing the Poison Element spiritual energy.

"What the Fourth Senior Sister is up to, I can’t fathom," Li Mo murmured as he scanned the mortals with their transplanted beast heads—they all bore traces of Cultivation.

"Strange, too strange. What kind of Poison Cultivation lineage is this?"

Li Mo couldn’t easily reconcile Poison Cultivators with beast head transplants, yet the two were clearly intertwined, and their cultivation requirements were astoundingly low.

As he traveled, he noticed that the beast-headed farmers had all already entered the Poison Cultivation Technique at a foundational level.

They might only need one elixir to reach childhood.

Li Mo increasingly felt that the Poison Cultivation traditions of Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop were well-suited for the Mountain Demon. With some refinement, it could aid the latter in its cultivation.

"Wa ya ya."

The Mountain Demon pointed at the Qinghong Workshop stone stele. The town was already within reach.

Li Mo nodded silently, quickening his pace into the depths of Qinghong Workshop, where the long-lost sights and smells of mortal street life overwhelmed him momentarily.

Qinghong Workshop was nothing short of bizarre.

It housed loose cultivators setting up stalls like a typical black market, but also beast-headed citizens hustling for their livelihoods. Here and there, the transplant surgeries popular in Sub-Device Sect ports were found in abundance.

"One day’s meat, three and a half jins! Stay here and live as a Qingfang person forever!"

A butcher waved his cleaver with a clang, using its sound to announce special bargains to passing customers.

Li Mo caught a glimpse of the butcher’s pig’s head. The scene resembled the Ghost Market from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio—a gathering of spirits imitating human behavior, even putting price tags on their heads for sales.

He kept moving, weaving through the bustling streets.

Some loose cultivators noticed the Mountain Demon on Li Mo’s shoulder, their expressions betraying barely concealed fervor. They signaled to each other, following him closely.

The Mountain Demon refrained from deliberately absorbing the Spiritual Energy around it, but its every breath inadvertently consumed it.

"An exotic beast!"

"If it’s raised for a decade or two and grows to the third or fourth layer of childhood, its value will be immense."

"Even if sold, I’d say it’s worth at least this much."

The loose cultivators exchanged hand signals, quickening their steps.

Just as they drew close to Li Mo, the Mountain Demon cackled mischievously, spitting a foul-smelling glob of saliva directly onto their faces.

Before they could react, the lethal toxin had already spread through their Five Internal Organs.

"Ah..."

Even without Li Mo supplementing its Spiritual Power, the Mountain Demon—a mere First Level of Puberty exotic beast—was far beyond what ordinary cultivators could provoke.

The sheer toxicity it carried would be enough to incapacitate even Core Formation cultivators.

The passersby showed no concern whatsoever.

In Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop, deaths from poisoning were routine, with cultivators outnumbering mortals among the casualties.

Mortals who underwent beast head transplants were nearly immune to poisoning, whereas cultivators retained their human heads and suffered more for it.

Li Mo flicked the Mountain Demon on the head before striding into a nearby medical hall. Judging by the constant influx of patients, business was clearly booming here on most days.

The medical hall attendants shouted slogans at the top of their lungs: "Jiuqiao Gate Street Medical Building, Skillful Hands for your woes, Colorful Banners in welcome, Shading the very sun..."

Li Mo was immediately met by a mortal who had recently undergone a beast head transplant.

Their neck oozed blood due to bodily rejection, with transparent cerebral fluids occasionally streaming from their nostrils.

From further within the medical hall, a familiar and aged voice could be heard.

"Why the rush? Do you know how busy I am?"

"Do you really think head transplants are so easy?"

...

Li Mo’s mouth twitched.

Ignoring the attendants’ questions, he slipped into the inner sanctuary with a few quick steps, greeted by the continuous sound of bones being sawed through.

An elderly half-human, half-spider Daoist was deftly wielding a saw. Before him sat several Liu Li jars filled with mountain lord heads.

"Master Han, aren’t you supposed to be running a medical hall in the port? Why are you here in Qinghong Workshop?"

Han Cai’s movements froze for a brief moment. The patient lying on the operating table let out a blood-curdling scream, silenced only when their head separated from their body.

Without even turning around—there was no need to, as only one person ever addressed him as Master Han—Han Cai gestured for the attendants to leave and then sighed, "Ah, you know what the port is like: monotonous, day in and day out."

"It’s exhausting, truly exhausting."

It had been a long time since Li Mo last saw Han Cai, whose cultivation had undergone significant progress, now only half a step away from the Nascent Crying Stage. There was hope yet for him to break his Golden Core and form a Nascent Soul in the future.

Li Mo hesitated for a moment.

After catching sight of the toad poisonous beast from afar, he had sent a telepathic message to Futu Hermit, who in turn told him Qinghong Workshop’s history.

The Heart Beast Sect had not missed out on this opportunity, specifically dispatching a section of the Four Seas Commerce here.

Typically, the movements of poisonous beasts were predictable.

With enough Spirit Stones to bribe Poison Cultivators, one could easily locate the Blessed Land Cave Heaven a poisonous beast had settled in.

What surprised Li Mo was that Han Cai himself had led the Four Seas Commerce delegation to Qinghong Workshop. The old man seemed to have energy to spare, indeed.

Besides the medical hall, Li Mo noted that the adjoining tavern belonged to the Four Seas Commerce as well.

"Qing Mountain."

Han Cai hesitated for a few moments, refraining from addressing Li Mo by his actual name, as the latter now bore the guise of the Nascent Soul Beast Cultivator "Elder Qing Shan."

While performing surgery, Han Cai spoke in hushed tones, "The Poison Clothes lineage is quite fascinating. I think it’s highly beneficial for Beast Cultivators seeking to promote to Nascent Soul."

"It’s a pity that the cultivation techniques remain scattered across Qinghong Workshop’s various factions. Furthermore..."

"I can’t comprehend why head transplants are necessary."

As he spoke, Han Cai meticulously extracted a whole brain from his patient and continued to refine the distribution of its neurological structures with great precision.

"This is..."

Li Mo raised an eyebrow, silently observing Han Cai’s every move.

The Mountain Demon stuffed its right hand into its mouth, its eyes darting wildly as it fixated on the poison-stained brain tissue, as if deep in thought.

Han Cai shooed away the Mountain Demon, sensing its growing appetite with unease.

"The locals call this set of cultivation techniques the Poison Clothing Technique. It resembles mortal martial arts in some ways; its foundational level involves altering the brain."

Li Mo scrutinized the brain tissue and quickly discerned its peculiarities.

"Indeed, it is somewhat intriguing."

He had initially taken an interest in the Poison Clothing Technique solely out of its potential to develop a cultivation method for the Mountain Demon. But now, he saw that it might also hold significant utility for himself.

After mortals initiated into the Poison Clothing Technique, their brains instinctively gained control over their flesh and blood.

Whenever they inhaled poisonous smoke, their Five Internal Organs and Eight Extraordinary Meridians unconsciously performed rudimentary energy circulation.

It was no wonder that the farmers, after prolonged exposure to the valley, experienced physical growth rather than decay.

However, Li Mo still couldn’t grasp why brain alteration was tied to the transplantation of beast heads; the two seemed utterly unrelated.

Han Cai lamented, "Unfortunately, my access to the Poison Clothing Technique is limited. Jinhong You Pavilion only authorized our Skillful Hands Inn to perform surgeries based on their basic martial technique—Iron Thorns Unstable Finger."

"You Pavilion?"

Traditionally, enclosures used for raising wild beasts were called You Pavilions or hunting gardens.

Han Cai’s expression turned mocking. "That’s what those beast-headed Poison Cultivators call themselves. Even we Beast Cultivators don’t take pride in being likened to beasts. It’s truly laughable."

"Qing Mountain, if you plan to leave Qinghong Workshop, you’d better do so soon. When the poisonous beasts begin their migration, the Mountain Gate might remain sealed for years on end."

Li Mo nodded, falling into deep thought.

The primary allure of Qinghong Workshop for mortals trudging across mountains and rivers was You Pavilion’s incredibly low threshold for transmitting the Poison Clothing Technique.

Most mortals lacked any path to Cultivation and would undergo head transplants willingly.

In contrast, for cultivators to join You Pavilion, they had to pass rigorous screenings. Han Cai only managed to secure You Pavilion’s authorization because of his exceptional surgical success rate.

"Is Fourth Senior Sister planning to establish a Taoist inheritance outside?"

"Or perhaps... the Twelfth Senior Sister is following a similar plan?"