Chapter 481: Chapter 106: Why Not Go Big?
The Artifact Core Dharma Body revealed itself, instantly attracting the gaze of countless Sword Cultivators.
The sheer mystique of the Artifact Core Dharma Body was overwhelming.
The surrounding space crumbled, faint spiritual energy seeped into it, while the towering ancient wood on the surface of the Dharma Body resembled a miniature Immortal Plant.
"Melt."
Li Mo whispered to himself.
The Artifact Core Dharma Body hovered in mid-air, invisibly radiating magnetic force.
The Taoist Children were unwittingly tainted by the magnetism of the Dharma Body. Their bodies uncontrollably began orbiting the Artifact Core Dharma Body in a fixed trajectory.
As weightlessness set in, they struggled desperately against the force holding them.
Yet, the more they resisted, the faster their flesh and bones disintegrated, their nutrients transformed into powder-like medicinal energy. The remains of their limbs crashed into the planetary surface like meteors, only to be absorbed by the Xuan Magnetic Dharma Body.
"Ye Zhuo, take Bai Shuo back to the Mountain Gate for healing."
Daoist Ye Zhuo snapped out of it, hastily summoned the Blood Soul to drag the dazed Fire Deity Yang Monster into the range of the Nine Curves Chain Formation.
After digesting the medicinal energy, the Xuan Magnetic Dharma Body began to swell.
Within mere minutes, its planetary size expanded beyond one meter, simultaneously boosting its own nutrients to replenish the Great Medicine Dharma Body.
The ancient wood sprouted, with faint green vitality emerging from its tips.
At the Nascent Soul Stage, the Artifact Core Infant could temporarily expand its size with the Tai Magnetic True Body. But now, upon advancing to the Divine Separation Stage, the growth became permanent.
"Among the Three Dharma Bodies, the Artifact Core is the most compatible. Their symbiotic relationship ensures harmony without conflict."
Li Mo, surrounded by countless Taoist Immortals, unabashedly inspected the Artifact Core Dharma Body.
He noticed an internal space of over a thousand cubic meters inside the Xuan Magnetic Dharma Body, not resembling a small world but merely a storage area for miscellaneous objects.
Once the nutrients from corpses were drained, valuable fragments of flesh and bones were kept within the internal space. If Li Mo left them there over time, they would similarly decompose into medicinal energy and be absorbed by the Dharma Body.
As the Artifact Core Dharma Body grew larger, the range of its magnetism expanded geometrically.
It was akin to a black hole—anything unable to resist its magnetic force would turn into nutrients for the Dharma Body, leaving the Sword Cultivators absolutely terrified.
"Outer Heaven Demon!!!"
An Immortal charged straight at Li Mo, attempting to stop the Artifact Core Dharma Body.
Yet before they advanced even a few steps, their body was pierced through by a Flood Dragon.
"Hehehehe."
Li Mo couldn’t help but let out an eerie laugh. The cultivation growth of the Artifact Core Dharma Body far exceeded the norm, easily surpassing the Residual Body Stage with just nutrients.
He casually threw a massive quantity of useless spiritual material into the Artifact Core Dharma Body, actively urging the Dharma Body to decompose the spiritual material to ensure ample nutrients.
"The Artifact Core Dharma Body is perfect for me; it’s practically cultivation on autopilot."
Li Mo effortlessly obliterated a few Immortals as the vicinity of the Artifact Core Dharma Body turned into a true void. Within a blink of an eye, the Dharma Body expanded beyond ten meters.
Without retracting the Artifact Core Dharma Body, Li Mo swiftly left the outskirts of Cancer Island.
"Bai Shuo, Jiang Xi, instruct some Sword Cultivators to station themselves at the Heavenly Tree... Send fifty percent of the remaining corpses into the Heavenly Tree."
Li Mo avoided directly mentioning the Artifact Core Dharma Body, giving it an ambiguous name as if it were merely a Magic Treasure.
Jiang Xi and the others quickly agreed. With the Artifact Core Dharma Body present, not only could the pressure be alleviated, but it also served as a secure zone for hiding.
Li Mo saw this as an opportunity to absorb more medicinal energy within the Demon Cave.
He looked around; the Cancer Island had regained order, although inevitable casualties left the personnel somewhat sparse.
Li Mo released dozens of Flood Dragons to assist the Sword Array before reimmersing himself into cultivation.
Outside, the din was deafening. The other sects also experienced chaos, but their deep foundations allowed them to barely avoid collapse.
With the involvement of the Thirteen Immortals, the Sword Cultivators’ morale was significantly boosted.
Especially the piercing noise occasionally emitted by Li Mo, accompanied by faint traces of dreadful aura, causing Lifebound Flying Swords to tremble.
They witnessed firsthand Li Mo’s unprecedented talent and comprehension.
Every few days, Li Mo radiated a sharpness of Sword Intent—a newly comprehended Middle Lower Rank Sword Intent encompassing all spirit attributes.
It was clear he truly didn’t care about the environment.
Comprehending Sword Intent often led to backlash, yet Li Mo chose the perilous Demon Cave as his surroundings, which could only be described as audacious brilliance.
No telling how much time had passed.
"It’s done."
Li Mo’s face split into a smile as his golden-hued eyes gleamed.
The ninth section of his Sword Bone had transformed into gold, while the Golden Immortal Bone further advanced the Ten Thousand Sword Immortal Bone. His Taoist Body now approached the level of an Innate Saint.
Li Mo pointed a finger.
A narrow rift was carved through the outskirts of Cancer Island.
Daoist Bai Shuo gasped sharply, murmuring, "Senior Brother Taiyi’s Sword Dao is becoming increasingly terrifying. His progress is unbelievably fast!"
Not just Sword Cultivators—all sect disciples noticed anomalies.
They secretly monitored the Cancer Island, having learned that Sword Cultivators, as warriors of countless battles, were capable of naturally evolving their Sword Intent from the baptism of deceitful objects.
The Thirteen Immortals overturned all conventional logic.
They hadn’t made a move from start to finish, yet their outward Sword Intent grew evermore intense.
The Artifact Core Dharma Body had already approached one hundred meters; any Taoist Child within ten li was affected by the magnetic force and severely weakened.
Unbeknownst to anyone, suspended islands began drifting closer toward the Cancer Island.
"Hehehehe, business has arrived."
Li Mo opened his mouth and spat out over a dozen fish formed of illusion attributes, weaving through clusters of deceitful objects.
The fish opened their mouths and shouted.
"Five Immortal corpses for one jar of Nascent Soul Stage Corpse Wine, fifty Immortal corpses for one jar of Divine Separation Stage Corpse Wine. Five thousand Taoist Child corpses count as one Immortal corpse."
Xu Ning’s body was covered in bloodstains. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but rage furiously, "Thirteen Immortals—do they seriously raise prices on a whim when doing business?!"
Li Mo paid Xu Ning no mind as the fish entered the array.
Indeed, Taoist Children were countless, while Immortals were only scattered in ones and twos.
Li Mo directly raised the exchange rate by fivefold, practically forcing them to use Taoist Child corpses for corpse wine, embodying the behavior of a typical profiteer.
Aside from Medicine King Valley, other sects lacked sufficient supplies.
Left without alternatives, they had no choice but to accept.
After all, deceitful objects accumulated over time within mountain gates would erode their island-bound magic treasures.
Li Mo was presently the biggest winner in the Demon Cave. It wasn’t unreasonable to expect the Artifact Core Dharma Body to surpass a kilometer—it was only a matter of Ten Thousand Demon Dao’s machinations.
Just as he entertained the thought.
Suddenly.
Boom.
The ground quaked and the mountains swayed as the Void Refining Stage Externalized Dharma Body of the Ten Thousand Demon Dao descended upon the Demon Cave.
Li Mo couldn’t help but look toward the source, spotting three towering figures over a kilometer tall, standing motionless with strange phenomena spiraling around them, rendering the Cave God’s Eye incapable of discerning truths.
"A Dao Jun is about to descend..."
The Ghost Tiger instinctively wrapped around Li Mo, shielding him. The small world of the Demon Cave wasn’t that expansive; even the residual waves of a Void Refining Stage could severely injure him.
Silently, deceitful-object-owning Demon Cultivators emerged one by one from the Taoist School.
They all possessed Immortal status, three flowers gathered atop their heads. However, their swollen abdomens revealed heart sizes three to four times that of ordinary people.
The Ten Thousand Demon Dao was clearly well-prepared. As purple qi spiraled out from the horizon...
Demon Cultivators ascended one after another.
Lord Chaoxi twisted his body, clearly displeased with the Void Refining Stage Elders, grabbing ascended Demon Cultivators and swallowing them whole.
The eyeballs on Li Mo’s hand ruptured continuously as he stared intently at Lord Chaoxi.
"The Ten Thousand Demon Dao wants to manipulate the Fake Heavenly Dao."
"Their target seems solely focused on Lord Chaoxi. After all, the Heart-Stealing Demon Cultivators are limited in number—they couldn’t possibly dispatch them en masse within the Demon Cave."
What’s so special about Lord Chaoxi?
Li Mo fell into thought as Lord Chaoxi gradually faded in mid-air.
In the Business Leader City, tumult brewed.
Lord Chaoxi descending upon the Demon Cave bore no resemblance to his colossal projection—in true form, he was barely an oversized maggot.
Li Mo’s mouth twitched. Lord Chaoxi’s appearance matched precisely with his memories.
Barely over a meter-six in height, his bloated body slightly writhing—completely discordant with the imagery of a thousand-mile-spanning Heavenly Dao and wholly absurd to Li Mo.
Mortals clustered around Lord Chaoxi, reverently chanting his name.
"Why does it feel like Lord Chaoxi isn’t nearly as powerful as expected? Even I, a Divine Separation Stage Cultivator, could fend him off—it feels strangely fragile."
Li Mo licked his lips as the Creation Book’s turbulent reverberations became increasingly uncontrollable.
Simultaneously, the Spirit Root Worm seemed intrigued; swallowing the Fake Heavenly Dao might allow its Illusion Realm Heavenly Dao form to undergo complete transformation.
"Hehehehe, the worm has finally emerged."
Chen Yun’s Externalized Dharma Body took a step toward the Business Leader City, leaving trails of flesh paste in his wake. Taoist Immortals and Children couldn’t even approach—they were crushed by the sheer residual force of the Void Refining Stage.
Due to prominent mutation characteristics, Li Mo couldn’t discern the appearance of the Externalized Dharma Body.
Only that they aimed to severely injure Lord Chaoxi.
Li Mo suspected the Fake Heavenly Dao within the Demon Cave might possess the quality of being undying, yet once ravaged, the Ten Thousand Demon Dao would likely seize a chance to exert control over the Heavenly Dao.
"The heavens are dead, a Dao Jun shall rise!"
"Colossal Spirit Behemoth, raise high your hands, pace far and twist the rivers."
Lord Chaoxi shrieked hysterically as countless mortals perished across the city; amidst the corpses, spiritual light surged and blood and flesh congealed.
The Immortal of Colossal Spirit was born mid-sentence, composed solely of an upper torso.
Bang.
The floating islands tilted. Even the Heavenly Sword Sect couldn’t withstand the residual shockwaves.
The Artifact Core Dharma Body gathered a vast number of deceitful-object corpses, expanding to two hundred meters, its magnetism now swallowing grass, wood, and rocks from within the Demon Cave.
"Damn it."
Li Mo could clearly sense genuine potential for nurturing a special page from the Creation Book if he parasitized Lord Chaoxi using Da Ai Mi Tian.
Yet, Business Leader City lay in utter ruin—not only were Void Refining Stage Demon Cultivators battling against Dao Jun, the other sects’ Void Refining Stage Cultivators were also circling like predators.
Li Mo gazed skyward as the Third Dao Jun showed signs of awakening.
[Plague Lord]
The Plague Lord, whose real name was Wu Ximing, was the cruelest among the Four Daoist Lords in temperament.
Thus, the public had originally attributed the diseases rampant within the Demon Cave as the Plague Lord’s punishment. His Heavenly Dao was likely [Catastrophe].
As the Plague Lord awakened, the plague spread across the Demon Cave.
The air grew increasingly dense, and graves everywhere emitted green-gray dust as corpses decayed, accelerating the plague’s spread and potency.
The plague filtered out weak embryos, dramatically increasing the number of mortals comprehending the Dao from the purple qi.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A fit of coughing erupted on Cancer Island, with Sword Cultivators simultaneously succumbing to stubborn illnesses—their Five Internal Organs exhibiting anthropomorphic characteristics.
Li Mo waved his hand, allowing cancer cells to infiltrate their bodies, subduing the mutations.
"The plague will grow increasingly terrifying over time—could I leverage this?"
"Forge a potent, unique toxin, mix it within the plague, and seize control of the entire Demon Cave... then wait for an opportunity to complete the special page."
"Should I go big?"
Li Mo didn’t know if he’d succeed, but relying on his soul’s cultivation techniques and divine skills, he reckoned there was a chance.