CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 105: THE ORIGINS OF THE 12 IMMORTALS

The horror of the Substitute Dao Page transcends mortal imagination. Even Li Mo, as the owner of the Creation Book, couldn’t help but take a sharp breath of cold air.

"What kind of method could possibly nurture the Substitute Dao Page?"

Li Mo used his consciousness to communicate with the Substitute Dao Page, attempting to glimpse the reality of the special page amidst the boundless and mysterious ocean.

He still harbored unease about the Substitute Dao Page.

Primarily, he feared that after imprinting himself nine times, he might replace the No-Life Mother only to end up divided between the Daoist and Demon factions.

"Sigh, I’m overthinking things."

Li Mo shook his head slightly and muttered to himself, "Stealing nine special pages under the watchful eyes of both the Daoist and Demon factions is simply unrealistic."

"For now, I should make the most of the value of the existing Substitute Dao Page."

Li Mo closed his eyes to search.

The Substitute Dao Page could strip opportunities related to the No-Life Mother, but the latter had likely lived for tens of thousands of years and come into contact with countless things.

He needed to plan carefully to ensure the deprivation was completed in as short a time as possible.

"The top priority should be the Taoist inheritance. If I can perfect my cultivation technique, I can navigate my future Immortal Path freely."

Li Mo quickly made up his mind.

At this moment, cheers from the townsfolk could be heard outside, accompanied by the sounds of drums and gongs, creating an atmosphere akin to New Year celebrations.

The radiance of the sun enveloped the town, dispelling the gloom brought by the Blessed Land Cave Heaven.

The Burning Radiance had no intention of contending with the sun; it autonomously withdrew its aura and, in the blink of an eye, darted back into Li Mo’s Seclusion Room.

The wind howled.

The Toad Poison Beast leapt out of the well, landing ten miles away with closed eyes to adapt to its surroundings.

Compared to the time when it initially entered the Blessed Land Cave Heaven, the Heart Beast Sect had undergone a complete transformation. Their strength now ranked among the top of small Immortal Sects.

Over ten thousand Poison Martial Artists had entered the First Level of Puberty and more than four hundred Beast Cultivators had achieved Foundation Establishment. Even for those in the Core Formation Stage, seven members had succeeded.

Of course, the most critical development was the emergence of Nascent Soul Beast Cultivators.

Regardless of how strong the foundation of the Heart Beast Sect was, without a Nascent Soul Stage presence, it ultimately lacked strength. Han Cai and Huang Mu Taoist had filled this gap in the sect.

Huang Mu Taoist gradually began to explore the function of the Half-human Nascent Soul Beast Form Technique.

He discovered that, as his understanding of the Nascent Soul grew, he became increasingly aligned with his Lifebound Spirit Beast, allowing for brief fusion into Spirit Beast Transformation.

The power of the Lifebound Spirit Beast was thus pushed to its extreme—worthy of being a Nascent Soul Technique.

Upon receiving telepathic messages from Han Cai and Huang Mu Taoist, Tian Changwen began tirelessly organizing branch veins, inevitably reshaping the dynamics within the Mountain Gate.

Previously, in the absence of anyone at the Nascent Soul Stage, the Core Formation cultivators held unparalleled status in the Heart Beast Sect.

Integrating the Taoist inheritance would undoubtedly impact their interests.

Fortunately, the Heart Beast Sect had only been established recently. With Tian Changwen’s methods, quelling chaos and consolidating the Taoist inheritance was merely a matter of time.

"Croak."

The Toad Poison Beast crouched down, charged itself, and impatiently rushed toward its next destination.

Upon witnessing this, Li Mo activated the Creation Book.

When his Divine Sense poured into the Substitute Dao Page, he felt an enveloping darkness and chaotic, disordered sounds filling his ears.

Suddenly, his mind was struck with memories likely originating from the No-Life Mother.

The moment Li Mo withdrew his Divine Sense, the anomaly vanished entirely.

"Strange."

Li Mo initially thought he could directly deprive the No-Life Mother of her opportunities but found the Substitute Dao Page more intricate than he had imagined. Perhaps it could unveil the secrets of the Twelve Immortals of the No-Life Sect?

His Divine Sense surged into the Substitute Dao Page once more.

From the perspective of an observer, Li Mo examined the memories of the No-Life Mother.

He heard a woman muttering in an extremely deranged tone: "I want to ascend. What exactly must I do to transcend and attain immortality?"

"You may die satisfied once you hear the Dao," she said.

The memories were highly fragmentary. The woman wandered through towns and landscapes, seemingly in search of the secret to ascension, her mental state growing increasingly unhinged.

Li Mo furrowed his brows.

From the scattered imagery in the memories, it was evident that the timeline during which the woman existed was prior to the great changes of heaven and earth.

"Was this person the No-Life Mother?"

"Why...?"

From start to finish, Li Mo could only see the woman’s indistinct silhouette, yet there was an indescribable sense of familiarity—as if... she was his Senior Sister.

The first among the Twelve Immortals. He had never encountered his Senior Sister, nor had the Creation Book provided much information about her. He didn’t even know her name.

"My Senior Sister is the No-Life Mother?"

Li Mo wasn’t sure, but his heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.

He dared not be rash, lest he overlook crucial pieces of the No-Life Mother’s memories, potentially tied to the great changes of heaven and earth.

The woman’s silhouette grew hunched, transforming from youthful elegance to middle-aged disrepair.

Like a madwoman, she repeated her mantra about ascension and immortality, clutching shattered tiles in her hands, with bloodshot eyes that sent a chill down the spine.

When hungry, she consumed raw meat and blood; when thirsty, she scavenged roadside puddles.

In moments of lucidity, she resembled an obsessive seeker of the Dao, but now, she was utterly deranged.

"What the hell is this?"

Li Mo couldn’t help but be speechless.

In the memories, it was clear the woman had opportunities to enter the Dao.

Li Mo noticed that she once visited the abode of a Loose Cultivator, seeking discipleship. After the cultivator assessed her Four Spirit Roots talent, he genuinely considered accepting her as a disciple.

But all the woman did was ask him whether she could attain immortality.

The Loose Cultivator, being only at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Cultivation, would never dare to promise immortality outright. As a result, the woman left without hesitation.

By her forties, she no longer attracted the attention of any cultivator.

Eventually, she descended fully into madness.

"In the ancient Cultivation World, talent, mindset, and lifespan were all essential—her chances at cultivation should have already been cut off."

Li Mo grew increasingly puzzled, as though he were watching an absurdist drama.

Just when the woman was at her lowest point of despair, she encountered a Loose Cultivator from the Devil Sect. The latter appeared no different from an ordinary elderly woman, dressed like a street performer.

The Demon Cultivator had only barely entered the Dao, mastering only the simplest spells—her understanding of Spiritual Power was still rudimentary.

But when she saw the woman, she treated her as a treasure, especially after hearing of her obsession with ascension.

"Haha, if you cultivate with me, you can achieve immortality and transcendence! Come, stay within the Immortal Jar for forty-nine days, and you’ll ascend during daylight!"

The Demon Cultivator opened her earthen jar, from which faint, turbid Spiritual Energy spilled out.

Li Mo immediately deduced that the jar was likely a grotesque, bloodthirsty inferior artifact from the ancient Cultivation World.

Its name: [Canned Immortal].

To forge a Canned Immortal, one needed to refine ten pairs of mother-daughter flesh into inferior magical artifacts, then use them to house a living "Immortal in a Jar."

However, the living person had to actively choose to become part of the inferior artifact, doomed to eternal suffering.

With just a few words, the Demon Cultivator managed to deceive the woman into entering the earthen jar.

She sought artifact refinement but also needed sustenance. Thus, she hid in an inconspicuous city and performed tricks with the Canned Immortal.

The woman, enslaved by the Demon Cultivator, did not regain her sanity. She continued muttering insane ramblings about ascension and immortality every day.

Li Mo felt none of this connected to the Twelve Immortals, much less the No-Life Mother.

Until.

He realized that at some point, the woman’s words began to change.

Due to her confinement within the earthen jar, the woman could absorb almost no external information—just snippets of mundane chatter from ordinary townsfolk.

She took these fragmented ramblings as the Demon Cultivator’s impartation of the secret to ascension.

One day, a nobleman admiring her tricks with the Canned Immortal told a companion: "I’ve seen those vendors who raise creatures in jars, but one that survives four or five years is indeed rare, haha..."

Women and children sold for labor or worse were often referred to as "jar creatures" under certain regional dialects. Later, this practice was called "harvesting raw lives."

The woman’s eyes widened, and she began murmuring "jar creatures" repeatedly, then attempted to mimic the Demon Cultivator’s methods of inhaling Spiritual Energy.

Half a year later, the woman successfully entered the Dao, reaching the First Level of Puberty.

She became utterly convinced of the existence of Immortal Laws.

Then one bizarre phrase after another began spilling from her lips.

"Jar creatures, Ji Benggong, Back Shell, Six taels of yellow lotus powder, Three parts gold and one part tin, Backed with Wanying, Northern River Flowers, Chess-like formations, Twelve feet Three Pure Ones, Crimson Branch, Horse Abdomen, Burn for a hundred days."

"What a mess."

Li Mo couldn’t make sense of it at first. Most terms seemed to be local slangs completely unrelated to ascension.

But soon, he noticed something far more unsettling.

The woman’s secret Immortal Law consisted of twelve phrases, corresponding to the Twelve Immortals. Moreover, their meanings clearly pointed toward them.

[Yellow lotus powder] was an herbal remedy with mild toxicity, corresponding to Fourth Senior Sister Qingjing.

[Three parts gold and one part tin] was a technique for tempering sword artifacts, corresponding to Fifth Senior Sister Yu Xiao.

[Wanying] was a healing salve, corresponding to Sixth Senior Sister Mou Miaoqing.

[Northern River Flowers] were autumn blossoms from the north, corresponding to Seventh Senior Sister Da Hua Taoist.

Da Hua Taoist founded the Left Daoist sect, Qihua Palace, achieving Nascent Soul cultivation. However, her sect perished thousands of years ago.

[Chess-like formations] referred to the arrangement of chess pieces in a match, corresponding to Eighth Senior Sister Sihui Pavilion.

[Twelve feet] referred to the equipment used by martial artists to temper their physical bodies, corresponding to Ninth Senior Sister Ruoshui.

[Crimson Branch] was both a kind of rouge and an exotic material, corresponding to Tenth Senior Sister Luo Fu Fairy.

[Horse Abdomen] referred to a rumored Exotic Beast, corresponding to Eleventh Senior Sister Qu Ai.

Qu Ai was famed among ancient beast cultivators for raising swarms of Lifebound Spirit Beasts, though she never progressed beyond Core Formation due to focusing solely on her beasts.

She eventually passed away from exhaustion.

[Burn for a hundred days] was a mourning tradition, corresponding to Twelfth Senior Sister, Ta Shi.

"Ji Benggong hints at traditional doctors—so Second Senior Sister was a healer? Back Shell refers to thieves—Third Senior Sister linked to bandits?"

Li Mo became certain that the woman in the memory wasn’t the No-Life Mother but his Senior Sister.

Not long after she entered the Dao, the Demon Cultivator unexpectedly perished, releasing her from the binds of the jar. Her sanity stabilized.

But the Twelve True Words Immortal Technique became deeply etched into her mind.

In the last of the stored memories, Senior Sister pursued cultivation while searching for things related to the twelve phrases.

She heard rumors of the reverence Jianghu folk had for Ruoshui, whose remains were buried outside her hometown’s village amidst thriving incense offerings.

"What in the..."

Li Mo’s jaw slackened as he realized the truth.

"Senior Sister wouldn’t be digging up corpses everywhere to use the Canned Immortal jar to contain them—then creating twelve monstrous entities, would she?"

"How could something so random give rise to the Twelve Immortals?"

"And the No-Life Mother? Could she have been born from the Twelve Immortals?"