CHAPTER 519: CHAPTER 35: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF A FALSE IMMORTAL, KONG DONGZI

The face of the Cloud Strange Man was grotesquely eerie, his eyes hollow. On the surface, the fishing rod he held appeared to be made of ordinary tough miscellaneous wood.

If not for the fact that he was fishing in the South Sea, the Cloud Strange Man would easily pass as a common mortal.

But who could have imagined that the thin fishing line at the other end was actually connected to the Great Sun Sword Tomb, spanning over ten thousand miles deep into the South Sea Dragon Pond in his cast?

Just a quick glance was enough for Li Mo to sense an indescribable feeling of crisis.

He understood that if he continued to stare at the Cloud Strange Man, the latter might very well notice him.

"Should I head straight to the True Void Hometown?"

"No, the disturbance caused by connecting to the True Void Hometown would be too great."

In the eyes of the Cloud Strange Man, Li Mo and the others were probably akin to insignificant shrimp and beetles flitting around in a pond, unworthy of attention. But if the shrimp attempted to jump out of the pond’s boundaries, wouldn’t it undoubtedly cause ripples on the water’s surface?

"Taiyi, what in the world is going on?"

Luo Yang couldn’t resist asking, while beside him, Li Mo made a gesture for silence, then gravely shook his head.

Li Mo’s eyes turned red as he stealthily controlled the Ghost Tiger to drift toward the outside of the Dragon Palace.

The others sat upright, already aware that something was amiss with the Great Sun Sword Tomb. Li Mo had most likely detected some hidden and terrifying threat harbored in the depths.

Ye Zhuo Daoist instinctively raised his head to look.

Within the endless, ink-like abyss of the ocean, there seemed to be an indescribable presence observing them.

Ye Zhuo Daoist shuddered, suddenly realizing that Li Mo was not someone who acted recklessly. When faced with an unfathomable catastrophe, his caution far exceeded that of most cultivators.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The vibrations emanating from the Great Sun Sword Tomb intensified.

The fishing line tautened, yet it wasn’t reeled back immediately, as though the angler was locked in a contest of patience and strength with the fish. This tension caused waves to ripple across the waters of the South Sea Dragon Palace.

"If the opportunity arises, use the water flow to escape."

Li Mo, drenched in cold sweat from the tension, immediately summoned the Kun Whale.

Kun Whale, deeply connected to Li Mo’s consciousness, opened its mouth wide and swallowed the six of them whole.

The Kun Whale allowed the Ghost Tiger to burrow into its flesh and bones, its body covered by golden scales, as the Tattooed Beasts began to fuse with one another.

For the first time, Li Mo orchestrated the fusion of the Kun Whale, Golden Toad, and Ghost Tiger, an agonizingly painful process for the Tattooed Beasts.

A moment later.

A small black fish emerged from the shadows.

With the Ghost Tiger’s Concealing Breath, the Kun Whale’s Water Manipulation, and the Golden Toad’s Size Control perfectly melded, the fusion was completed.

Who could have imagined that this palm-sized fish contained within its belly an expansive world? Li Mo and the six others took refuge inside a grotto-like internal space.

The water ripples did not stop, yet the Kun Whale acted no differently than an ordinary fish.

Seemingly startled, it cautiously edged closer to the side gate of the Dragon Palace, moving slowly but reducing its presence to the utmost.

Luo Yang’s breathing quickened.

He had always thought of Li Mo as a reckless daredevil, yet the latter’s wariness toward the Great Sun Sword Tomb underscored how deeply intertwined the situation was.

Unbeknownst to Luo Yang, Li Mo had faced Immortals twice before without feeling this level of apprehension.

What could one say?

Li Mo had witnessed the descents of Chen Tiangang and Tian Chenzi. His recollections from the Creation Book had offered visions of many Immortals, yet not one had posed this level of threat compared to the Cloud Strange Man.

The Cloud Strange Man wasn’t inhuman, but there was a certain... unsettling aura that defied the natural order of existence.

Even recalling the Cloud Strange Man made Li Mo’s stomach churn like a storm, causing extreme discomfort in his body and soul.

"Hahahaha, the Body Integration Realm is within reach, it is within reach!!!"

"Neither Taiyi Daoist nor Zhang Qiyang can hinder my path to achieving Land Immortal status. Hahaha, fortune is on my side!"

Laughter erupted from the fissure in the Great Sun Sword Tomb.

Zhang Mu stumbled out, clutching the petrified head of the Golden Light Venerable.

The Golden Light Venerable perished with unresolved resentment, faint wisps of smoke drifting from his mouth and nose — clearly being used by Zhang Mu as a vessel to seal the Immortal Marrow.

"Hahaha, becoming Immortal... Immortal Ascension is truly one of life’s greatest joys."

Zhang Mu, battered and scarred, appeared mentally unhinged, entirely disregarding the peril of his surroundings or the absence of Li Mo.

Cradling the petrified head ecstatically, he crawled out of the fissure in the Great Sun Sword Tomb.

Cough. Cough. Cough.

Zhang Mu spat out a bone seed, which rapidly sprouted into a fleshy plant resembling an oral organ under the nourishment of spiritual power.

This fleshy plant, called "Sky-reaching Wood," was one of the means of traveling to the Mountain Gate from Medicine King Valley.

Zhang Mu was mere steps away from successfully retreating.

"Taiyi..."

Bi Hengguang couldn’t help reminding Li Mo. Given Zhang Mu’s current state, even a Lifebound Flying Sword could easily end his life from afar.

The Immortal Marrow was within grasp.

Li Mo’s eyes flickered with a trace of pity as he controlled the Kun Whale to discreetly traverse the vacant corridor, arriving at the reef cluster by the side gate.

By now, half of Zhang Mu’s body had stepped onto the Sky-reaching Wood.

Swoosh.

A scaled, human-like hand burst forth from the depths, gripping Zhang Mu’s right leg. Its purplish-red nails pierced deeply into his flesh.

"Who dares..."

Zhang Mu screamed in hysteria.

A Void Refining-stage cultivator at the Offshore Realm, he gradually withered and shriveled, his Externalized Dharma Body offering not a shred of resistance.

Bi Hengguang swallowed nervously, watching as Zhang Mu’s life ebbed away within mere moments, leaving behind a desiccated corpse clutching the petrified head.

Simultaneously, the fishing line was reeled back.

The Great Sun Sword Tomb shook violently before beginning a slow ascent.

Luo Yang and the others held their breath, the sheer spectacle of the Great Sun Sword Tomb shaking them to their core, their teeth involuntarily gnashing together.

Li Mo suddenly caught sight of the true form of the iceberg hidden deep beneath the sea.

The surface of the Great Sun Sword Tomb was riddled with fungus-like viscous material, as if some colossal entity was consuming it; evidently, the fish had taken the bait.

"Ugh."

Master Owner clutched his chest as his internal organs exhibited signs of activation.

The others also experienced varying degrees of uncontrollable mutation, except for Li Mo, whose Great Wilderness Immortal Body provided sanctuary and preserved his clarity.

With a flick of his hand, Li Mo induced slumber in Luo Yang and the others.

The ground crumbled as seawater surged into the Dragon Palace, leaving its halls, coral reefs, artificial mountains, and courtyards in ruins.

The Kun Whale reached the side door, drifting along with the debris as it exited the Dragon Palace.

The debris dissolved instantly upon contact with seawater, unable to withstand the terrifying pressure thousands of miles below the surface.

The Kun Whale froze, unable to move, surrendering itself to the currents.

Li Mo bore sixty percent of the water pressure, his body resonating with strained creaks. Thankfully, he had deliberately conditioned his form against the pressure beforehand.

Otherwise, both body and soul would have suffered severe injuries.

The aftermath swept outward, the Kun Whale drifting farther from the Dragon Palace, with the Ghost Tiger assimilating into the darkness through its scaled armor.

Unable to adapt to the crushing water pressure, the Kun Whale temporarily lost its autonomy, leaving Li Mo deprived of the Great Sun Sword Tomb’s field of vision.

"There really is a fish?"

In a final glance, Li Mo saw a colossal fish beneath the Great Sun Sword Tomb.

The fish was enveloped by fleshy fungal threads, with countless arms sprouting from all parts of its body. Its belly was three times the size of its torso, its translucent scales barely revealing its stomach contents — an immense number of mortals.

Millions of mortals teemed within the fish’s body, resembling parasitic organisms.

"Mortals?"

Li Mo desperately sought to discern if there were any traces of the Death Disease among the mortals.

This detail was crucial, potentially influencing the direction of events following the cycle of catastrophic world upheaval.

The Cave God’s Dharma Eye cracked open once more, his Yin Yang Pupils fixated on the fish.

"There’s no Death Disease, but they aren’t pure mortals either. If the Cloud Strange Man’s objective is to provoke another catastrophic upheaval, the repetition has become imminent, though there’s still some time left."

Li Mo sighed in relief, then closed his eyes to stimulate his Great Wilderness Immortal Body.

Thinking too much yields no benefit; adapting to the environment quickly and covertly returning to the shallows to strategize within the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater would serve better.

His Great Wilderness Immortal Body absorbed Innate Essence, while Buddha Demon Spiritual Power assisted in refining his flesh.

The Tattooed Beasts likewise reaped the benefits.

As the transformation of his Great Wilderness Immortal Body deepened, Li Mo reviewed the memories pouring forth from the Creation Book, coming to grasp the identity of the Cloud Strange Man.

The Ghost Immortal Ancestor.

Kong Dongzi.

Ghost Immortals, in the ancient Cultivation World, referred to "Land Immortals lacking physical bodies."

The origins of Kong Dongzi traced back two millennia, his name once resounding like thunder across the Cultivation World, esteemed by all Great Sects as an honored guest.

Yet now, Kong Dongzi was scarcely remembered, with mentions in ancient texts few and far between.

According to the Creation Book’s memories, Kong Dongzi was born into the now-extinct Wuliang Sect, an exceptional Loose Cultivator hailed for his preeminent talent.

What made Kong Dongzi celebrated was his founding of the Ghost Immortal lineage. Before him, Void Refining cultivators facing bottlenecks who failed to transcend their tribulations all invariably ended in death, their Dao decimated.

Unfortunately, Kong Dongzi never discovered a path for Ghost Immortals to transcend; rumor has it he became deranged after living past ten thousand years and disappeared.

The Ghost Immortal lineage created a faction of anomalies among Land Immortals.

A group unable to ascend to the Immortal Realm, cursed with eternal lifespans, their Cultivation remaining stagnant.

The Cultivation World’s initial reverence for Kong Dongzi as the Ghost Immortal Ancestor eventually turned to scorn, his title mockingly pointing at the Ghost Immortals eking out their existence across eras.

Kong Dongzi now transcended conventional Ghost Immortal status, though he had yet to achieve true Immortality.

"A False Immortal? Chunyangzi’s Nine and a Half Realms?"

"The trajectory of the Nine and a Half Realms seems skewed — the sense of disparity from Immortals is palpable, yet somehow... there’s also a suffocating feeling of transcendence above them."

Li Mo let out a long sigh.

Kong Dongzi’s reappearance signified the revival of ancient cultivators who endured the chaotic upheaval of the past; to be precise, the victors of those events.

When such entities resolved to intervene in the inevitable upheaval, the situation escalated beyond prediction.

As for the role the Three Pure Heavens played, Li Mo could only wonder. It was clear that a sweeping reshuffling, spanning both Immortal and Mortal Realms, stood imminent.

Suppressing unnecessary thoughts, Li Mo began to process the gains from this expedition.

The Ancestor Beast Sword Scripture drew closer to completion, while the Symbiotic Dharma Body neared its breakthrough to the Void Refining Stage, with both Dual Dharma Bodies showing signs of advancement.

Ultimately, he faced his current dilemma: excess.

The dual Demon Sect factions had fed him five Void Refining cultivators, supplemented by a Dragon Embryo rivaling Void Refining completion, their accumulated essence continuously fueling his Externalized Dharma Body.

"Once I depart the sea, I must seek out No-Life Mother’s remnants within the Creation Sect and devise strategies to ambush Void Refining cultivators. Yes, targeting the Ten Thousand Demon Dao will work best."

Killing and refining corpses remained the fastest path to advancing to the Body Integration Stage.

Attaining Land Immortal status would qualify Li Mo as a player in the upheaval game, even if still woefully inadequate before False Immortal elites.

While pondering, his Dual Dharma Bodies inadvertently entered a phase of transformation.

The spiritual materials from the Corpse Mountain Mini World poured endlessly into the Void Realm, the Plant and Tree Cultivators willingly depleting their own medicinal power to regenerate spiritual resources.

The Evil Ghosts and Buddhas of the Purgatory Pure Land multiplied rapidly.

Meanwhile, planetary fragments around the Artifact Pill Dharma Body within the Cosmic Furnace fractured further.