CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 104 I AM YOU [SUBSTITUTE TAO PAGE]

The Naihe River added a touch of the Underworld to the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

However, the Corpse Mountain was originally a Magic Artifact refined from flesh and blood, so the addition of a river full of severed heads was not too outrageous.

Moreover, the medicinal properties contained within the Corpse Wine were also beneficial to the Mini World.

The evaporated liquor merged into the cloud layers, descending as raindrops that nourished spiritual materials across the Mini World, indirectly benefiting the Plant and Tree Cultivators greatly.

Buzz.

The Kun Whale emerged from the water, letting out a breath, causing the water surface to boil without reason.

Li Mo observed as Zhang Guo and He Guo, the pair of senior disciples, led tens of thousands of Plant and Tree Cultivators in migrating from the vicinity of the main peak to the shores of the Naihe River.

They had chosen to build towns near the river and intentionally planted spiritual materials.

Every Cultivator possessed a Low Grade Magical Artifact, likely refined by He Guo, with the sole purpose of masking their presence.

One had to admit, they were gradually forming the semblance of a Sect.

He Guo stared at the Naihe River and babbled with Zhang Guo about some unknown topic, then ordered their kin to drag over a newly-born Deceit Beast.

The Deceit Beast resembled an Alligator Turtle, but its shell looked like white bone and its limbs exhibited human-like features, giving it a disturbingly bizarre appearance.

"Hehehe."

He Guo grinned, pulling out a piece of spiritual material from a Storage Bag at his waist.

Zhang Guo released Spiritual Power to nourish the material while He Guo forcibly lifted the shell of the Deceit Beast, transplanting the spiritual material directly onto its Five Internal Organs.

Li Mo raised an eyebrow.

The spiritual material He Guo transplanted was called [Age Worm Grass], a fungal-based material formed through parasitism, similar to Cordyceps.

The Plant and Tree Cultivators took turns suppressing the life force of the Deceit Beast while nudging the Age Worm Grass into a precarious balance with the host.

Under Li Mo’s watch, the Age Worm Grass completely parasitized the Alligator Turtle-like Deceit Beast.

Once He Guo relaxed the suppression, the Deceit Beast became dazed and ceased its aggression toward nearby creatures, entirely controlled by the Age Worm Grass.

"Interesting."

Li Mo realized that as long as the Plant and Tree Cultivators ensured the Age Worm Grass maintained dominance, the Deceit Beast would remain under their control.

Given their expertise in spiritual materials, this should not pose much difficulty.

"It’s an unexpected turn of events. I thought Zhang Guo and He Guo would attempt to destroy the Deceit Beast, but they chose instead to enslave it."

He Guo used Naihe Wine to stimulate the Deceit Beast’s growth in size.

Then, on the beast’s shell, they buried soil, intending to cultivate the Deceit Beast into a small movable island that would serve as a base for the Plant and Tree Cultivators.

Li Mo watched with interest, as the Deceit Beast’s attachment to the cultivators suited his own plans nicely.

"Not bad. Reward them."

Li Mo descended his consciousness among the Plant and Tree Cultivators.

He Guo and the rest immediately prostrated themselves, muttering Li Mo’s name incoherently.

Li Mo surveyed them; Zhang Guo and He Guo had already reached Weak Crown Middle Stage, while the others were still stuck at the bottleneck of Childhood.

The Plant and Tree Cultivators were inherently suited to the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

Their only downside was the snail’s pace of cultivation, reminiscent of ancient Cultivation World’s Demons, relying wholly on prolonged lifespans to ascending in realms.

"He Guo. Zhang Guo."

"Ah!"

"Your disciples are here."

Their spirits soared with excitement, especially He Guo, who had devoted himself to aiding Zhang Guo in reorganizing their tribe after becoming Plant and Tree Cultivators.

Li Mo extended a finger and pressed it against their foreheads, imbibing them with the medicinal power of the Bodhi Fruit.

What had previously completed only one-quarter of their Acquired Spirit Roots now rapidly perfected in mere moments, consuming only five fruits.

This starkly demonstrated disparities even among Acquired Spirit Roots.

For instance, the Tattooed Beast’s Acquired Spirit Root, linked to its Great Wilderness Immortal Body, required fifty Bodhi Fruits to perfect, while Plant and Tree Cultivators merely constituted fractions by comparison.

"With Immortal bestows upon me longevity, the mark of eternal life well received."

He Guo’s face erupted in delight as his body grew explosively due to the perfected Acquired Spirit Root. Simultaneously, his aura shifted away from resembling spiritual material.

Zhang Guo’s transformation transcended He Guo’s, as waves of medicinal fragrance enveloped the air.

With perfected Acquired Spirit Roots, their path to the Core Formation Stage seemed within reach, while even the Nascent Soul Stage appeared achievable.

"I bless you with five additional Immortal Fruits to aid in training your disciples."

Li Mo tossed Bodhi Fruits toward them before withdrawing his consciousness.

Observing the bounty, Zhang Guo and He Guo deliberated, ultimately deciding not to use the fruits to birth Spirit Roots among five Cultivators.

Instead, they diluted the medicinal potency as much as possible.

They discovered that even diluted to just one percent, the Bodhi Fruit’s medicinal effects still nurtured faint traces of Acquired Spirit Roots.

No matter how imperfect the Spirit Root, prolonged Spiritual Power nourishment could gradually complete it.

Five Bodhi Fruits were enough to let five hundred Plant and Tree Cultivators undergo rebirth, reaching Foundation Establishment and quietly scheming to triumph over the Deceit Beasts.

At this pace, the Giant Beast Era would likely extinguish within five centuries.

If the Plant and Tree Cultivators partnered with the Tattooed Beasts, the timeframe might compress to less than a century.

Since gaining cultivation techniques, the Tattooed Beasts had secluded themselves for rigorous training; the Red Fox and Salamander were already at Weak Crown Stage Perfection.

The Kun Whale, possessing numerous dantians, might require another decade to catch up.

Among the three Tattooed Beasts proficient in the Xia Dao Technique, spurred by the abundant Illusion Spirit Roots scattered across the terrain, they had successfully condensed Illusion Golden Cores.

The Xia Dao Technique’s effects were boosted by as much as thirty to forty percent in the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

Unfortunately, once the Tattooed Beasts left the range of Illusion Spirit Roots, these roots would slowly wither, significantly undermining their strength.

"If I made Xia Dao my main focus, wouldn’t I devise ways to propagate Illusion Spirit Roots everywhere?"

Li Mo scrutinized the inhabitants of Corpse Mountain.

Decapitated bodies exposed Illusion Spirit Roots sprouting from their necks, numerous stems wriggling incessantly.

"Thirteen million Illusion Spirit Roots transplanted. The Illusory Spirit Patterns on the Spirit Root Worm have reached 31 lines. Once all tenants of Corpse Mountain move into Xia Dao Palace..."

"Heh heh heh... the Spirit Root Worm has the potential to become a High Grade Magical Treasure."

The Spirit Root Worm’s progress was grounded in nearly 400,000 corpses. If any old demon wielded Li Mo’s inventory of corpses...

They would undoubtedly earn a place on the Absolute Taoist Rankings.

Over the coming days, Li Mo planned to hasten the cultivation of Illusion Spirit Roots. If he succeeded in refining a High Grade Magical Treasure, even if the Spirit Root Worm leaned toward support functions, it would suffice as his trump card.

Meanwhile, feeding the giant eyeball continued unabated.

The Special Page was nearly half complete.

Merely glancing at it revealed its eerie profundity, with unsettling inscriptions sketched across the surface.

Initially, its texture resembled an eye’s pupil. Upon reaching its next third, it morphed into the silhouette of a woman’s upper body, though her features remained indiscernible.

Li Mo had never encountered a Special Page as intricate as this, fueling his anticipation.

The Harmonization and Raiding Pages acquired from the Sub-Device Sect had directly forged shortcuts to immortality and enlightenment; the Special Page linked to No-Life Mother was unlikely to disappoint.

Elixir Pills tossed into Blessed Land Cave Heaven prompted entwining blood vessels extending from the giant eyeball to snatch them violently.

Compared to meatballs supplied by other forces in the background, Li Mo’s pills were negligible mistakes from alchemical misfires, akin to Waste Pills.

Li Mo estimated ten years before the Special Page’s complete gestation.

Still, Master Han’s oversight of medicine fields proved smoother than anticipated.

The third type of Spider Puppet was now being mass-produced, which Han Cai dubbed [Shepherd], designated for cultivating medicine fields in place of mortal farmers.

The limbs of the Shepherd resembled various farm implements, with a head covered in hundreds of insectoid eyes for meticulous surveillance of the spiritual materials’ growth.

The only limitation was Han Cai’s Divine Sense capacity.

If Li Mo were to control countless Spider Puppets with his sheer multitasking ability, he could elevate spiritual material yields to unimaginable heights.

Seeing the potential, Li Mo slowed his pace of Elixir Pill refinement.

Although all indicators suggested the giant eyeball was the least significant remnant of No-Life Mother’s corpse, overlooked by most...

Li Mo chose caution, staggering his offerings to avoid coinciding with background forces feeding meatballs.

"Hah..."

An enthusiastic glint crossed Li Mo’s eyes.

The Creation Book dutifully absorbed, finally presenting the complete Special Page.

Li Mo perceived that the Creation Book could continue nurturing pages through the giant eyeball but knew greed led to ruin.

He immediately activated Da Ai Mi Tian, forcibly awakening the Toad Poison Beast.

The remaining corpses in the oily water were wiped clean, spurring the Toad Poison Beast into agitated motion.

"Master Han, the time has come to prepare for withdrawal from Blessed Land Cave Heaven."

Upon receiving Li Mo’s transmission, Han Cai couldn’t contain his delight, urgently commanding civilians to return to Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop and maximizing the Mountain Protection Array.

Rumble rumble...

The Toad Poison Beast extended its limbs, lumbering toward a wall’s surface.

At an immense length of over two thousand meters, any minor movement launched torrential waves, inevitably damaging medicine fields near the perimeter.

Han Cai relinquished the outer fields to shield the core regions.

"Croak."

The Toad Poison Beast gathered energy in its limbs, generating rippling turbulence.

With a deafening eruption, the beast soared skyward, monstrous Gang Wind battering the Mountain Protection Array with resonating cracks that almost shattered it.

Within mere moments, light from the well’s opening flooded in.

Li Mo suppressed his burning radiance, relievedly eyeing the Creation Book as details of the new Special Page surged into his mind.

The Special Page unveiled a feminine silhouette.

A faint discernible image revealed the woman seemed to be the No-Life Mother within a temple.

Even a brief gaze brought upon an unnerving illusion as if the No-Life Mother herself stared back at him.

"Utterly uncanny..."

[Substitute Dao Page]

Li Mo licked his lips, finding the Special Page not only bizarre but domineering.

Once activated, the Substitute Dao Page...

Li Mo could strip No-Life Mother of an ability—be it a Skill, Magic, Dao Body Spirit Root, or even treasured artifacts and spiritual materials—without exception.

Moreover, the Substitute Dao Page permitted nine uses.

After all nine instances...

No-Life Mother would vanish entirely, her existence erased, along with all records of her presence.

Simultaneously...

Li Mo would wholly replace her.

No-Life Mother’s networks, descendants, Taoist inheritance, reputation... all would transfer to Li Mo.

What did this mean?

Nine activations of the Substitute Dao Page would result in Li Mo becoming No-Life Mother, and her becoming him.

"Damn, this is beyond defiance of the heavens."

Li Mo fully grasped the terror of the Creation Book—it was no mere mortal artifact, capable of revolutionizing all conventions.

"Why not give it a try?"

Li Mo murmured under his breath. The Substitute Dao Page’s extraction left no trace that others could perceive, not even by No-Life Mother herself.

After all, the Substitute Dao Page wiped any record directly from existence.

Not even No-Life Mother would remember ever possessing the stolen attribute.