CHAPTER 543: CHAPTER 59: THE IMMORTAL WHO SMUGGLED HIMSELF TO THE MORTAL WORLD

The port was in an uproar.

The presence of two Land Immortals brought an unimaginable sense of terror, especially Qu Ai, who had transformed into a Rock Dragon. The invisible pressure made breathing difficult.

Li Mo could sense that Qu Ai possessed a Beastly Immortal Body.

The Creation Book responded, and the phrase "Rock Blood Immortal Body" surfaced in his mind.

Though termed a Beastly Immortal Body, it leaned more towards the Earth Attribute—a perfect fusion of beast and earth. Yet, it still paled in comparison to the Great Wilderness Immortal Body.

Li Mo fixed his gaze on Qu Ai, momentarily lost in thought.

He realized that Qu Ai’s maintenance of a dragon form wasn’t merely a display of strength but arose from the Rock Blood Immortal Body.

The Rock Blood Immortal Body allowed Qu Ai’s Spiritual Power to transform into Stone Marrow. The Stone Marrow secreted through the pores of the skin, forming a thick Rock Armor on the surface, which could grow over time.

The function of the Stone Marrow was straightforward.

No attack could penetrate Qu Ai, but it would consume the external Rock Armor layer, while the armor also bolstered Qu Ai’s body and soul.

Theoretically, once the Rock Armor accumulated to a certain extent, even an Immortal would be helpless against Qu Ai.

This was the power of an Immortal Body—representing an innate talent that inevitably reached the threshold of an Immortal’s level.

As for why Qu Ai’s appearance was that of a Rock Dragon, it was likely related to the Taoist Child inheritance of Yellow Dragon Mountain. The Eleventh Senior Sister probably perfected the technique.

"Hiss..."

Li Mo inadvertently furrowed his brows.

Amidst Qu Ai’s Immortal Body aura, he still felt an indescribable familiarity, similar to the sensation he had facing Yu Xiao, although their Immortal Bodies shared no commonality.

"Could it be the Substitute Dao Page? Did I miss something in No-Life Mother’s memories?"

Li Mo quickly suppressed these stray thoughts, choosing not to delve into the source of this inexplicable premonition as long as the Twelve Immortals posed no malice.

"Junior Brother, how should we deal with this one?"

Qu Ai idly flicked a piece of amber with her dragon claw, while Bai Xizi’s face was filled with terror.

Li Mo’s mouth twitched as he hurriedly activated the Spirit Root Worm to envelop the port, creating an illusion where Qu Ai merely lingered for a brief moment before leaving.

The commotion in the port gradually subsided.

Qu Ai’s appearance, in some ways, enhanced Li Mo’s reputation there, indirectly demonstrating that he had indeed ascended to the rank of a Land Immortal.

A Sect with a sitting Land Immortal could be considered for large Sect status, were it not for Li Mo’s affiliation with the Heavenly Sword Sect.

"Eleventh Senior Sister, how... is he still alive?"

When Bai Xizi heard Li Mo’s voice, even though his Spiritual Power was scattered, his eyes darted around desperately, full of pleading.

He truly didn’t want to be enemies with Li Mo. The time spent sealed in Qu Ai’s stomach had been like an unending nightmare to Bai Xizi.

Qu Ai glanced warily at Li Mo.

"Junior Brother, you should know the rules between Sects, right? I can’t intervene in a conflict between the two of you. Senior Sister Yu Xiao even tasked me to clean up thoroughly. The question is, what does ’clean up’ truly mean..."

Li Mo listened to Qu Ai’s rambling but interjected before she could continue, "Eleventh Senior Sister, no need for you to act. I’ll take care of it."

"That works. Your Heavenly Sword Sect’s internal disputes have nothing to do with me," Qu Ai replied.

She added, "Just deal with it quickly. Eighth Senior Sister is waiting for the two of us in the Northwest. If you can’t take care of it now, simply keep him sealed until you have the time."

The Eighth Senior Sister? Si Rui Zhai.

Li Mo’s expression relaxed. Based on the feedback from the Creation Book and his interactions, Si Rui Zhai was the most kind-hearted among the Twelve Immortals.

Si Rui Zhai had been focused on Array Tao ten thousand years ago and had even less worldly experience than Li Mo.

Back then, Eighth Senior Sister possessed Immortal Bone Eyes capable of seeing through Spiritual Energy patterns, but her talent only amounted to Five Spirits Root, posing no threat to the top echelons of the Daoist and Demon factions.

Li Mo recalled that during her lifetime, Si Rui Zhai hadn’t encountered any severe tribulations.

"Mmm... mmm..."

Bai Xizi struggled to plead for mercy.

He could only hope that Li Mo would spare him out of respect for their shared Sect. Having finally waited for the grand upheaval of Heaven and Earth, Bai Xizi didn’t want to die such a miserable and pointless death.

"Don’t worry. Leave it to me."

Li Mo stepped toward Bai Xizi and gently tapped the amber.

"This better be your last chance."

Cracks spread across the amber as crisp sounds echoed from within. Bai Xizi’s expression twisted, but his heart was filled with the joy of surviving a calamity.

Once he returned to the Inch Sword Tomb, Bai Xizi swore to inform Senior Brother Qi Yunfei and find a chance to eliminate Li Mo. There was no way he could be allowed to live—absolutely not!

Bai Xizi activated his Lifebound Flying Sword, intending to teleport and escape immediately.

Li Mo watched with a faint smile.

"Huh?"

Bai Xizi felt a sudden daze. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in an infinite void surrounded by hundreds of planets encircling the Artifact Pill Body, which was ten thousand meters tall.

"Taiyi!!!"

Bai Xizi drew his Lifebound Flying Sword, disappearing instantly to avoid the tangling metal roots of the Artifact Pill Body.

As he navigated the Cosmic Furnace, the metallic roots of the Artifact Pill Body were predictable, but his flesh and bones involuntarily became ensnared by magnetic forces.

Li Mo glanced at the Cosmic Furnace. Seeing that Bai Xizi had no chance of escape, he lost interest.

It was challenging to kill a Body Integration Realm Dharma Body through conventional means. Leaving him to be slowly worn down in the Cosmic Furnace was both practical and patient.

Qu Ai cast a deep look at Li Mo. "Let’s go. No time to waste."

She turned and left the entrance of the crater, heading into the Northwest sky with a massive body over six thousand meters long, still growing in size.

Li Mo didn’t transform into a dragon. Instead, after a brief reminder to Tian Changwen, he summoned the Kun Whale.

Buzz.

The Kun Whale expanded to over five thousand meters, soaring high amidst rolling clouds.

Sitting cross-legged atop the Kun Whale’s head, Li Mo didn’t stop his effort to complete the innate saint phase, aiming to transcend mortality before the Ancient Age Death Disease erupted.

He suspected that the Ancient Age Death Disease was linked to the soul and organ spirits.

The two proceeded one behind the other.

The Northwest was a vast ten thousand miles from the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, crossing the domains of three major Sects. Yet the two made no effort to conceal themselves.

From the response of the various Sects, Li Mo realized that news of the Ancestor Court had already become widespread.

It seemed the large Sects were well aware of the Ancestor Court, with many cultivators also heading to the Northwest, their cultivation levels typically at the Divine Separation Stage or above.

Li Mo and Qu Ai drew countless gazes.

Before long, their figures disappeared over the horizon, leaving behind multiple Land Immortals who revealed themselves.

"Is Zu Xiuyun in the Northwest?"

"Probably not. Now that two disciples of No-Life Mother are heading to the Ancestor Court, it’s likely a distraction to obscure Zu Xiuyun’s plans..."

"Heh, without the recognition of the Exile, it’s a waste of time."

One Land Immortal shook his head. "It has nothing to do with us. We’d be better off focusing on the West Sea Dragon Palace—looks like the Ten Thousand Demon Dao has already intervened there."

"Zu Xiuyun really has her hands in everything, weaving schemes everywhere."

......

Li Mo glanced back over his shoulder, spotting at least three or four Land Immortals appearing.

"Recognition of the Exile?"

"The Exile previously invited me to the Ancestor Court, which should already count as recognition."

Exiles were beings reborn after death, carrying faint traces of Heaven and Earth’s upheaval. Yet they were also tied to the Ancestor Court linked to the Immortal Realm, a strange phenomenon.

"Senior Sister, what’s the true situation of the Ancestor Court?"

"Haven’t you heard of it? There must be records in texts—the Ancestor Court is a small world connecting the Immortal and Mortal Realms."

"Was the Ancestor Court always in the Northwest?"

"No. The Ancestor Court fell from the Upper Realm."

Qu Ai replied with a complicated tone, "The reason major Sects are so interested is that the Ancestor Court is linked to immortal ascension."

"Immortal ascension..."

Li Mo felt the timing of the Ancestor Court’s emergence was too perfect, coinciding with the repeat of Heaven and Earth’s upheaval, accompanied by myriad strange rumors.

It felt orchestrated.

Li Mo’s heart sank as he pressed, "Can one ascend back to the Upper Realm from the Ancestor Court?"

"Hehehe."

Qu Ai let out an eerie laugh. "The fallen Ancestor Court is but a fragment, less than one or two percent of its full size. However..."

"The First Senior Sister said that within the Ancestor Court sleeps an Immortal from the Immortal Realm."

"An Immortal!!"

Li Mo’s eyelids twitched violently. Although a False Immortal might already transcend mortality, the gap between them and a true Immortal was like the difference between heaven and earth.

"You’ll understand when we reach the Northwest."

Li Mo didn’t press further, assuming Qu Ai herself didn’t know much more.

After the two had traveled for half a year, the mountainous terrain gradually transitioned to plains. Due to the high altitude, the concentration of Yang Qi increased dramatically.

Li Mo took a deep breath, absorbing massive quantities of Spiritual Energy into his Mud Pill Palace to nourish his Buddha Demon Body.

He sensed a faint, inexplicable thread within the Spiritual Power, resembling a silver filament, and his Buddha Demon Body instinctively resisted it.

"We’re almost there. Don’t let the Land Immortals detect us for now."

Qu Ai shrouded herself with swirling sands, while Li Mo’s Kun Whale moved with silent precision.

The two gazed toward the direction of the Ancestor Court.

The so-called Northwest Mountains appeared more like mountain ranges formed by meteorite strikes.

The range consisted of eight main peaks, each occupied by one of eight large Sects, with countless cultivators stationed around the mountains’ perimeter.

"What in the world is that?"

Li Mo took a sharp breath as he observed the Ancestor Court.

The Ancestor Court, which had fallen into the Northwest, was indeed a fragment, roughly ten thousand meters in size, resembling a reef encrusted with barnacles.

But the surface of the reef was covered with twisted, ferocious corpses.

The bodies showed no signs of decay, with visages that ranged across all ages and genders. They struggled against each other, their open mouths devoid of tongues.

Li Mo suddenly recalled Bishui Dragon Pond.

The Bishui True Monarch had been driven mad when, at a Dragon King Festival hosted by mortals, a wish to visit the Dragon Palace led to tens of thousands of people being crammed into the Dragon Palace.

Those people ultimately transformed into unspeakable horrors—eerily similar to the situation with the Ancestor Court.

Li Mo scanned the corpses on the surface of the Ancestor Court. The clothes they wore were crudely made, stitched together with simple threads, yet the materials used were of Mid to Lower Grade spiritual materials.

"These corpses aren’t from ten thousand years ago, nor are they from the Mortal Realm."

"They’re from the Immortal Realm."

"Not only is there an Immortal within the Ancestor Court, but it also retains mortals brought from the Immortal Realm."

Li Mo was engaging directly with objects tied to the Immortal Realm for the first time, and his thoughts churned while Qu Ai deliberately slowed down to let him process this influx of information.

"Does the Immortal Realm lack Death Disease?"

"I understand now. The mortals of the Immortal Realm fled there during the great upheaval of Heaven and Earth, while the Death Disease only emerged toward the end of such upheavals."

"When Chunyangzi transformed into the Heavenly Dao, the resulting Death Disease likely remained confined to the Mortal Realm."

Li Mo narrowed his eyes.

If the Immortal Realm lacked the Death Disease, then its great upheaval had likely never ended—or had perhaps reached a form of coexistence unknown to the Mortal Realm.

But why had Immortals chosen to descend via the Ancestor Court? And why had mortals turned into such abominations?