CHAPTER 542: CHAPTER 58: LAND OF BECOMING IMMORTAL [ANCESTOR COURT]

Li Zhuang?

Li Mo fell briefly into a daze. The memory of Li Zhuang had grown hazy, lingering only as far back as the journey to the Sub-Device Sect.

Tian Changwen gravely transmitted his thoughts: "Li Zhuang appeared in the Stove Land half a day ago with no warning, behaving very strangely."

"He walks the streets and alleys like a puppet, seemingly headed for the Creation Ancient Wood."

Li Mo’s first instinct was that he might be the target. After all, his ties to Li Zhuang ran deep, but the open and bizarre nature of this situation made it unusual.

"What is Li Zhuang’s current state?"

"Our people are keeping watch over him. His mouth has been sewn shut with thin thread, his Spiritual Wisdom seems dull, and for now, there are no discernible non-human traits."

"Thin thread?"

"Yes, I had someone examine it. It seems to be southern silk. It hardly qualifies as spiritual material; it’s just mundane thread used in mortal weaving."

Tian Changwen sent the thin thread to the Great Wood via the Nearby Array.

Li Mo examined the thread for a moment and then dissolved it into nutrients using his Artifact Pill Body. It was indeed just ordinary silk.

But if it pertains to the world-altering events, the closer it is to the mundane, the more it proves its strangeness.

"After we removed the thread from his mouth, it resealed itself shortly after. There were no detectable traces of magic..."

Li Mo sighed helplessly. "Conventional techniques are unlikely to uncover the truth. With matters tied to world-altering events, there’s no logic to grasp."

Tian Changwen remained silent. Just a glimpse of the iceberg that was the upheaval left them at a complete loss.

Li Mo scanned the local rumors and soon found a clue.

It was said that in Medicine Valley City, a woman had died and come back to life, her mouth sewn shut. Town gossip claimed her fate was due to her habit of sowing discord in life, and that after being punished in the Tongueless Hell, King Yan released her back.

Li Mo naturally dismissed tales of the Tongueless Hell, but it confirmed that events of resurrection were happening all over the Cultivation World.

He asked Tian Changwen further, "When exactly did the original Li Zhuang die?"

"Several hundred years ago. Let me see... Oh, he died from an invasive Death Disease."

"Death Disease?"

Li Mo looked puzzled. Back then, the Heart Beast Sect was no longer resource-poor. Unless the Death Disease was exceedingly severe, suppressing it shouldn’t have been hard.

"Li Zhuang willingly abandoned treatment. Many cultivators made similar choices; as they aged, the cost of suppressing the disease grew too steep—it wasn’t worth clinging to life."

Tian Changwen seemed to be speaking both to Li Mo and to himself.

"What about Li Qingfang?"

Li Mo thought of Li Zhuang’s younger sister, Li Qingfang. The siblings were his cousins; Li Qingfang might know more about Li Zhuang.

"Li Qingfang is alive and has achieved Weak Crown Stage Perfection in cultivation. She runs a tailor shop at the port."

"Should we arrange for her to meet Li Zhuang?"

"No, he cannot possibly be Li Zhuang."

Li Mo extended his Divine Sense and focused on the prison holding Li Zhuang.

Li Zhuang was being held in the seventy-seventh level of the port’s prison, a location built due to the chaos caused by the abundance of Biao Bureaus in the area.

Li Mo’s awareness encountered darkness and cold. Li Zhuang was confined in the deepest part of the prison, alone.

"His physical aura is identical to Li Zhuang’s."

Fragments of memories long buried stirred in Li Mo’s mind. Li Zhuang looked almost identical to the image he held, though frozen at the age of twenty.

He stood straight in the cell, his skin untouched by decay, his face bearing a faint, enigmatic smile.

Tian Changwen’s security measures were strict, with three Core Formation Stage cultivators maintaining a vigilant watch.

Li Mo’s Divine Sense swept over Li Zhuang but found nothing unusual. He then silently infused cancer cells into Li Zhuang’s flesh and bones.

"Elder Tian, there are certainly more resurrected beings than just Li Zhuang at the port. Tell the Creation Sect disciples to locate them all and detain them in the seventy-seventh level. Set up an Array as well..."

Upon hearing this, Tian Changwen promptly carried out Li Mo’s orders.

He understood that Li Zhuang might hold far-reaching implications, potentially affecting Creation Sect’s larger plans.

More resurrected figures began filling the cells under Tian Changwen’s directive.

Most had only recently appeared at the port, unnoticed by anyone, assumed to be wandering mortals.

The imprisoned cultivators were transferred to other levels, leaving an atmosphere of silence and death within the prison.

"They have no souls..."

From the cancer cells’ feedback, Li Mo realized that Li Zhuang and others were akin to walking corpses. The Mud Pill Palace, which should have housed soul-like germs, was entirely empty.

Not even traces of soul existence remained.

Tian Changwen leveraged Creation Sect’s centuries-old network, accumulating ever more clues from black markets across the land, all funneling toward the port.

Li Mo noticed that major sects were actively collecting these individuals.

The rich rewards offered by the sects enticed disciples to hunt for them, referring to the resurrected as "Exiles."

"Exiles..."

The term "Exile" is traditionally reserved for demoted or banished officials. Clearly, the major sects possessed more concrete information—these Exiles were undoubtedly tied to the hidden truths behind the world-altering events.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Li Zhuang burst into laughter, as did the other Exiles.

They exchanged glances, their gazes fixated on one another’s heads, where clustering cancer cells resided.

Li Mo hadn’t expected that the Great Cancer Da Ai Mi Tian, at the Spiritual Treasure level, could so easily expose them. He grew even more intrigued by the true significance of the Exiles.

Tian Changwen gravely transmitted: "They’ve suddenly begun rioting, Sect Master. Should we impose the Array’s restraints, or perhaps...?"

"Ignore them."

Li Mo sneered coldly, instantly allowing cancer cells, accompanied by the Mother Furnace, to engulf the seventy-seventh floor. If any Exile rioted, Da Ai Mi Tian could hurl them into the Cosmic Furnace immediately.

Major sects were clearly collecting Exiles for some purpose—but what was it?

Li Zhuang opened his mouth and spoke in a halting, unfamiliar voice: "Northwest..."

Before he could finish, his jaw dissolved as the flesh melted away. In the next cell, another Exile continued.

"Mountains..."

Then a third: "Eight..."

"Tao Court...""Location..."

Li Mo narrowed his eyes. It was evident the Exiles were conveying some kind of message. Could the major sects also be pursuing the secret behind this information?

Other Exiles pointed toward the Creation Ancient Wood.

"I’m at...Tao Court...waiting for you."

With this brief statement, the Exiles’ jaws had all dissolved, blood dripping from their tongues, evoking a sense of horror among observers.

"Heh."

Li Mo didn’t hesitate. He incinerated the Exiles with his Artifact Pill Body, erasing the memories of the guarding cultivators as he did.

In the end, the Exiles scattered into ashes, offering nutrients no different from those of mortals.

No matter how he viewed them...

The Exiles seemed like mere tools for transmitting messages.

Li Mo pondered over the words "Tao Court," his mind racing with chaotic, fragmented memories. He couldn’t help but take a deep, sharp breath.

Ancient Ninth Realm cultivators would ascend the immortal ladder after surviving the Tribulation Lightning. To reach the end was to become immortal; failure along the way meant death.

According to some survivors, the immortal ladder was a grueling process of transcending mortality, involving unimaginable pain and purification.

However, the ladder wasn’t without rest stops. Between the Immortal and Mortal Realms, there was a tattered, temporary small world where cultivators could pause.

This small world was known as the "Ancestor Court."

Li Mo muttered softly, "Northwest mountains, eight peaks, the location of the Ancestor Court."

"The Northwest is mostly plains, with very few mountains. If the Exiles spoke truly, finding the Ancestor Court shouldn’t be difficult."

"But...why would the Ancestor Court exist in the mortal world?"

Li Mo was deeply perplexed, hesitating for a long time without taking action.

He refrained from dispatching cultivators. The Exiles had appeared too abruptly, or perhaps he simply couldn’t grasp their underlying meaning.

"The major sects might know. The Cultivation World is about to descend into chaos," he thought.

Li Mo ordered Tian Changwen to impose strict control and gradually began sealing the port’s exit and entry points, abandoning black markets in territories controlled by the major sects.

"I can’t help but feel...remaining detached may not be realistic. The upheaval will inevitably affect everyone. Should I...actively involve myself?"

"I’ll wait for Senior Sister’s word first and see what plans they have."

Li Mo narrowed his eyes, as Innate Essence freely flowed into the Great Cancer Da Ai Mi Tian.

The cancer cells stimulated the gradual completion of the Innate Saint body, which should be ready to transcend mortality and become the Third Immortal Body in roughly two centuries.

Compared to the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, which favored the physical body, and the Ten Thousand Sword Immortal Bone, which favored the skeleton, the Innate Saint prioritized Divine Sense and soul.

It would perfectly complement his weaknesses.

If all went according to plan, once the Innate Saint body was fully formed and he endured the Ancient Age Death Disease, he should naturally reach the bottleneck of the Mahayana Realm.

Whether or not he could achieve the Mahayana Realm before the upheaval was uncertain.

But Li Mo would undoubtedly rank among the strongest Land Immortals in the mortal world by then.

Li Mo observed the Innate Saint. Unlike his previous two self-created immortal bodies, the Innate Saint seemingly originated from the rumored "Supreme Heavenly Beings."

He wasn’t certain whether any immortals possessed the traits of Supreme Heavenly Beings, so every step he took was meticulously careful, lest his immortal body breach some unspoken taboo.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

The rumors of resurrection gradually began fading.

Li Mo paid little attention and instead leveraged the Creation Sect’s external influence to amass various resources. He’d even obtained three Top-Grade Spirit Stones over time.

"Hmm? Who’s there!"

Li Mo interrupted his closed-door cultivation, feeling a surge of overwhelming spiritual power rushing from Yellow Dragon Mountain.

Bang.

A loud crash echoed from the entrance to the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, sending pieces of stone cascading like rain.

Initially, Li Mo went on high alert, but upon identifying the visitor, his expression relaxed, and he rose to greet them.

"Junior Brother, it’s me—Eleventh Senior Sister."

A dragon’s head extended through the entrance to the crater.

Qu Ai had transformed into a True Dragon composed of rock, her immortal body’s aura unconcealed.

Port cultivators gawked at the dragon’s silhouette in astonishment. Qu Ai made no attempt to hide her aura, her expression even carrying a hint of smugness.

Qu Ai transmitted a thought: "Junior Brother, Eldest Senior Sister hopes you’ll accompany us to the Northwest."

"The Northwest?!"

Li Mo’s first reaction was the Ancestor Court mentioned by the Exiles.

"Why the Northwest?"

"We’ll explain on the way. It concerns the matter of becoming immortal."

"Alright."

Li Mo didn’t hesitate. Even though he possessed a Heavenly Dao Page, it didn’t mean he could let his guard down. Better to see what the Eldest Senior Sister had planned.

Qu Ai was about to leave when she froze, as if remembering something. "Almost forgot."

She opened her mouth and spat out a crystal-clear Amber Stone. It flew toward Li Mo, who caught it with Spiritual Power and noticed someone sealed inside the amber.

It was none other than Bai Xizi.