CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 116: THE MYSTERIOUS AND CONFUSING CHANGES OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

Li Mo, while handling the corpses of the Ten Desires Forest Demonic Cultivators, kept an eye on the unfolding situation with the Twelve Immortals.

The situation was far more complex than anticipated; the Twelve Immortals’ peculiar willingness to be seized likely indicated that Zu Xiuyun had a hidden card.

"Senior Sister must have foreseen the possibility of opportunists seizing the fruits of her labor."

"But with her extreme and erratic temperament, she couldn’t possibly guarantee her next move; the variables are still too high."

Li Mo shook his head privately as he flipped through the magic techniques parsed from the corpses of the Demonic Cultivators.

"Yin Yang Furnace Tripod Great Life Miao Scripture"

The Tao Seed had already absorbed the Yin Yang Furnace Tripod Great Life Miao Scripture, but unfortunately, its contribution to the main cultivation method was minimal—it was a chicken rib, tasteless yet a pity to discard.

Overall, the Ten Desires Forest’s Yin Yang Dual Cultivation defied common sense.

Though it refined women into furnaces, it provided the furnace the possibility of rebellion, forcing the Demonic Cultivators to bind the furnace using the seven emotions and six desires.

"It feels like the Ten Thousand Demon Dao is a massive human experimental lab, mixing countless unassessable pros and cons of magical inheritances together. Anyone who manages to rise out of it must certainly be a lunatic."

Li Mo took a sharp breath, perhaps the Ten Thousand Demon Dao was the true face of the Devil Sect.

An alternative form of a "Psychiatric Hospital."

Through the Tao Seed, Li Mo discovered that the Ten Thousand Demon Dao hadn’t left the Yin Yang Furnace Tripod Great Life Miao Scripture unmodified, yet they hadn’t addressed its flaws at all—only pushed its advantages to an extreme.

"In comparison to the utterly insane Ten Thousand Demon Dao, the Heavenly Sword Sect is fully worthy of being called an Immortal Sect."

Li Mo grew increasingly resolute in his determination to attain the subsequent cultivation path from the Heavenly Sword Sect, and then throw all the Demonic Cultivators into the Corpse Mountain Mini World as its residents.

Of course, the Yin Yang Furnace Tripod Great Life Miao Scripture at least broadened his understanding of dual cultivation.

If someday he could access the dual cultivation inheritance of Taoist sects, he might even create a cultivation method suited for the Candle Dragon.

Boom.

Li Mo’s thoughts were interrupted as an unexpected upheaval arose once more from the palace chambers.

He hurriedly willed his consciousness to descend into the Fake Buddha, only to find Gui Qiong and the other cultivators’ true bodies collapsed onto the ground, pus flowing from them capable of polluting thousands of miles.

Even though their consciousness had perished, the instinctive wails emitted from their true bodies were still spine-chilling.

Soon after, a grotesque and horrifying Externalized Dharma Body struggled to emerge from their mouths.

Li Mo felt his scalp tingle—it was as if their Externalized Dharma Bodies were piles of rotten sludge, crawling with constantly fracturing and healing flesh, blood, and bones.

"Given their...years, they must have already achieved Externalized Dharma Bodies during the great upheaval of the world, right?"

"It seems that the corruption of the Externalized Dharma Bodies is a result of the Death Disease’s erosion. Unless one achieves immortality, there really are no methods to circumvent the Death Disease."

Li Mo observed as the Externalized Dharma Bodies gradually turned into wisps of smoke and merged into the bodies of the Twelve Immortals.

Manic laughter echoed, seemingly a sign that the smooth insertion of the Externalized Dharma Bodies into their Dantians cemented the inevitability of body-seizing and rebirth.

The Twelve Immortals still showed no resistance.

Their features began to change, becoming more akin to Gui Qiong and the other cultivators’ figures, while their cultivation underwent explosive growth under the effect of the Externalized Dharma Bodies.

In mere moments, their cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Stage.

The group of body-seizing cultivators’ mental states were completely enveloped in ecstasy, even outright ignoring the eerie attitudes displayed by the Twelve Immortals.

Gui Qiong muttered hoarsely, "No regrets for having waited thousands of years. The Innate Immortal Seed can easily bear Void Refining Stage cultivation."

"Ha-ha, I have hope of becoming immortal—becoming immortal!"

Gui Qiong completely abandoned his true body, lest his corpse become a source of backlash.

Li Mo furrowed his brows.

He scrutinized Gui Qiong’s true body as its flesh and bones gradually grew withered, then briefly afterward saw the traces of Death Disease’s erosion surge violently.

In just a few breaths, Gui Qiong’s true body vanished into nothingness.

Only the wooden box that housed his true body remained lying on the ground, its material reverting to ordinary in the blink of an eye, and a crack appearing due to a collision.

"The more I look at it, the more it just seems like an ordinary wooden box?"

Through the box’s crack, he could glimpse what appeared to be some miscellaneous items inside.

Li Mo’s expression turned subtle—the truth of the great upheaval of the world seemed close at hand, yet due to the dangers around the palace chambers, he couldn’t obtain the wooden box.

Bang, bang, bang...

One true body after another was abandoned, with the porcelain bottle hosting the Poison Jiao directly shattering—it bore no resemblance to a vessel capable of housing a Divine Separation Stage entity.

Li Mo hesitated for a long time before manipulating the cancer cells hidden inside the Thirteen Palaces.

Numerous cancer cells had long since proliferated within the palace chambers, some drifting with the wind and burrowing into the heaps of corpses accidentally spawned by It Corpse.

In mere moments, several corpses began to tremble violently.

Li Mo dared not act recklessly; he communicated his consciousness with Da Ai Mi Tian, gradually beginning to nurture subtle crawling insects to quietly approach the container housing the wooden box.

He glanced at the Corpse Demon possessing It Corpse, faintly guessing the intent behind the Twelve Immortals’ actions.

Twelfth Senior Sister, as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal Body, had one most notable characteristic: she lacked a soul.

It was only upon achieving immortality that a Corpse Dissolution Immortal Body would awaken Spiritual Wisdom, akin to the emergence of a newborn infant. Cultivation World’s major texts had consistently recorded this.

But the Corpse Dissolution Immortal Body had a point that most people were ignorant of.

"It cannot be seized."

Li Mo had witnessed Twelfth Senior Sister It Corpse’s experiences through the Creation Book and knew of the Corpse Dissolution Immortal Body’s unique function.

Since the Corpse Demon could possess It Corpse, it indicated that the body was not actually a Corpse Dissolution Immortal Body.

Jian Yu closed his eyes to sense Yu Xiao’s body, unable to help but praise enthusiastically, "Marvelous, truly marvelous. The injuries my Sword Qi inflicts on the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are fully healed in half a breath’s time."

"No wonder Yu Xiao mastered Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent back in the day. Just relying on these resilient meridians would be enough to withstand the devastation of thunderbolts."

Poison Jiao nodded in agreement, "Indeed, in the later stages of the Immortal Path, physical endurance becomes key. To fend off high-level poisons is quite rare."

"Did you know?"

The Corpse Demon took out a Jade Bottle from his chest and dumped the human brain inside it into his mouth. "Consuming human brains can actually accelerate cultivation enhancement."

"Simply wonderful."

They discussed the Innate Immortal Seed fervently, with some of them already regaining Divine Separation Stage cultivation. On the ground, numerous cracks began to spread.

Li Mo’s eye twitched.

"All the traits match Mountain Spider perfectly."

What on earth had Zu Xiuyun done to transform the Mountain Spider into a vividly lifelike body double, indistinguishable by him?

As time passed, Li Mo also noticed the increasing mutations among the body-seizing cultivators, yet they themselves showed no awareness whatsoever.

Clearly, the body-seizing cultivators were gradually falling into Zu Xiuyun’s trap.

Gui Qiong’s expression stiffened as he spoke in astonishment, "Something’s off."

The other cultivators abruptly fell silent before Gui Qiong continued, "I...I seem to be on the verge of achieving immortality."

"Indeed, I’m becoming immortal. This cannot be wrong."

"They say the Immortal Path is severed, but the truth proves the Immortal Path still exists. We who lived in squalid survival seven thousand years ago now stand poised for daytime ascension."

Li Mo no matter how he observed still felt that the attainment of immortality claimed by the body-seizing cultivators resembled nothing more than the delusions of insanity.

The body-seizing cultivators began to succumb to hysteria one after another, their maniacal laughter resonating everywhere.

Li Mo scanned the surroundings and noticed faint figures approaching within the dense fog, revealing that the Daoist and Demon factions behind them were unable to contain themselves.

He hurriedly sent the crawling insects into the wooden box.

What he expected to be ancient Cultivation World artifacts in the box turned out to be no more than a dozen yellowed letters.

"What in the world is this?"

The letters were made of ordinary rice paper, stained with spots of Gui Qiong’s blood, but they had no connection to cultivators whatsoever.

Apart from that, Li Mo discovered remnants of common herbs in the crevices of the wooden box.

Had he not personally witnessed a Void Refining Stage Demonic Cultivator emerging from the wooden box, he would have assumed it was no more than a medicine basket from the mortal world.

Li Mo used the crawling insects to open the letters, but the words had already blurred beyond clarity.

"On the third day of February: Li Jiao sends regards to his mother. Fortunately, this body remains intact. Is the chronic illness troubling Mother any further? Wishing Mother..."

Li Mo finished reading the letters and fell into prolonged silence.

Based on the information contained within, the letters were written by a young man named Li Jiao to his mother, who was residing in her uncle’s household while receiving medical treatment.

Li Jiao inquired about his mother’s health, mentioning how he had been herding sheep while continuously gathering herbs to supplement their household income, urging her to focus on recovering.

The letters had been written sporadically, which was normal.

In ancient times, mortals had to spend considerable silver coins to send letters, often writing plenty before hiring someone to deliver them to the address recorded.

Li Jiao hadn’t finished writing the letters for delivery before he encountered the great upheaval of the world.

The final page featured chaotic markings; Li Jiao seemed to attempt writing something, but his strength had failed, and he ultimately died for unknown reasons.

"How could a medicine basket for mortal items be linked to a Void Refining Stage cultivator?"

Li Mo inspected each container.

He found that not only the wooden box, but all of the containers bore remnants of the pre-upheaval era, indicating how abrupt the calamity had been back then.

Considering the earlier exchanges between Zu Xiuyun and Gui Qiong, the great upheaval of the world became even more elusive and mysterious.

The Heart Beast Sect’s disciples had inexplicably turned into Beast Skin People during the upheaval, with no explanation to connect it with mortals.

The Sub-Device Sect had become entrenched in the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, ceasing to recruit servant disciples—their sect records had never provided reasoning. Reflecting on it now, were Artifact Cultivators working to avoid the mortal realm?

Li Mo couldn’t help but shake his head; the current clues were far too fragmented, obscuring his view as if by a single leaf, leaving only the major sects potentially bearing records of the great upheaval.

He retracted the crawling insects and obediently waited for the situation to conclude.

More and more piercing gazes emerged surrounding the palace chambers, sizing up the body-seizing cultivators with scrutiny.

After an indeterminate period, Gui Qiong and the other twelve abruptly fell silent mid-conversation, freezing in place like a paused scene.

Li Mo understood that Zu Xiuyun had begun her counterattack.

The ground trembled gently.

"Zu Xiuyun, do you really think there’s still a chance for you? With just a remnant of consciousness, don’t bother trying to turn the tables; the one achieving immortality is me."

"Immortality—I, Poison Jiao, am about to achieve it!"

Their frenzied soliloquies continued as their Spiritual Power fluctuations grew ever more intense. Dust and smoke filled the air, and the commotion became increasingly chaotic.

......

Seeing this, Li Mo redirected his focus entirely to the Fake Buddha, striving to increase the efficiency of the Flying Sword’s nourishment absorption and ensure its promotion to the Divine Separation Stage.

After the Flying Sword had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, further growth demanded the devouring of massive amounts of nourishment with every increment.

The Thirteen Palace gradually shrank.

Li Mo gained profound insights into Universal Illumination Sword Intent, though he still could not progress further.

When he occasionally released his consciousness to scan the surroundings, he discovered that terrifying figures had spread across a thousand meters within the mist around the palace chambers.

The events surrounding the Innate Immortal Seed seemed like nothing short of an absurd stage play.

Evoking Zu Xiuyun’s worth, the Daoist and Demon factions weighed the benefits, and Senior Sister’s actions were evidently akin to making deals with tigers.

The gamble was immense.