Chapter 494: Chapter 10: My Rapid Progress After Accumulated Efforts
Li Mo’s consciousness returned to his body, and he continued observing the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater.
The Sub-Device Sect had settled into a semblance of order, at least on the surface.
Although the Beast Cultivators struggled to adapt to the harsh environment of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, after undergoing surgical modifications by Han Cai, they could at least breathe smoothly.
The Loose Cultivators gradually regained consciousness. Upon learning they could not leave the Sub-Device Sect for the time being, they were filled with panic and despair but had no choice but to accept their predicament.
After all, most Loose Cultivators were still in their childhood stage, belonging to the lowest tier of the Cultivation World.
"Trouble really abounds. If left unresolved, it will erupt sooner or later."
Li Mo’s face showed helplessness. Even with external foes looming, cultivators are inherently selfish, and the current state of the Sub-Device Sect was indeed far from optimistic.
The Spiritual Energy in the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater had already been polluted, mixed with faint traces of Buddha Qi.
The Spiritual Energy within the small worlds of the Inner and Outer Sect was even worse. The concentration of Buddha Qi rivaled that of a True Word Sect Secret Realm, rendering the planting of spiritual materials impossible. The area would remain barren for at least a century.
With the Ascension Conference approaching, it was impossible to allocate manpower to reclaim wastelands.
Li Mo cast a glance at the port. The Heart Beast Sect had around fifteen thousand disciples, the Sub-Device Sect had over three hundred disciples, while loose cultivators numbered over six hundred thousand.
"There aren’t enough resources for hundreds of thousands of people to cultivate; order is bound to collapse eventually."
Li Mo felt a headache coming as he calculated. To ensure the secrecy of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, he had instructed the Heart Beast Sect not to carry any mortals. Depending on the Spirit Fields on the floating islands was clearly unrealistic for resource production.
If order collapsed, countless cultivators might succumb to deviation, and the sect could be annihilated before the Three Pure Heavens even arrived.
"But I need Corpse Mountain to sustain my cultivation..."
"Wait a minute."
Li Mo raised a brow, then controlled the Mother Furnace to give rise to mutations. Giant channels resembling spiritual sinews extended from the surface of the rock wall.
The cultivators scrambled to retreat, fearing that the Mother Furnace had gone berserk.
Li Mo’s voice resounded, "All Loose Cultivators can undertake tasks assigned by the two sects in exchange for staying time at the port. Anyone causing chaos will be expelled."
The loose cultivators, already uneasy about being trapped at the port, quickly despaired.
They could already envision their future days—being drained completely by the sects, their corpses thrown into the endless depths of the crater.
"Am I acting too hastily? But yes, there’s no time anymore. It’s impossible to focus efforts on comforting the loose cultivators now."
Dome Mountain frowned, preparing to signal to the Three Mountains to suppress dissenting voices.
Suddenly.
The sinews of the Mother Furnace connected to the port, as if flesh and blood were being transfused through them.
Rustling noises spread. The port’s area expanded tenfold in an instant, accompanied by a steady influx of Spiritual Energy.
Rumbles filled the air.
The layers of Spiritual Energy at the port became distinct; different spirit attributes occupied specific streets, and the Spiritual Energy concentration now approached that of the Inner Sect.
The Mother Furnace also absorbed a small portion of the Spiritual Energy to restore itself.
"Impressive moves." Han Cai inhaled sharply, growing increasingly familiar with the situation as he studied it further.
"Why does the incoming fluctuation of the artifact feel like Corpse Mountain? Back in the day, wasn’t it retrieved by me together with Futu Hermit and Hu Wen from the catalog?"
The Spiritual Energy concentration was visibly robust, dissipating much of the loose cultivators’ negative emotions.
For them, this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for Immortal Fate, potentially enabling Core Formation and Nascent Soul advancement.
In such a Blessed Land Cave Heaven, they wouldn’t even need to rely on elixirs or corpse wine. Due to the port’s secluded nature and limited manpower, they might even get the chance to join the Heart Beast Sect.
Li Mo nodded slightly, though he knew plenty of hidden troubles still lurked within the port.
But he had faith in Tian Changwen’s ability to oversee the region. Managing a port with hundreds of thousands of people shouldn’t be an insurmountable problem for him.
"The only issue is that isolation makes obtaining information from the outside world extremely difficult."
Li Mo’s No-Life God Statues placed across various places in the Cultivation World struggled to discern incidents distorted by San Sheng’s twisted perceptions, leaving him almost completely in the dark.
"Well, overthinking won’t help. Advancing to the Void Refining Stage is the top priority now."
Besides that, the Great Wilderness Immortal Body Transcendence was also imminent.
After obtaining the Yin Yang Dual Cultivation Technique from Ye Zhuo Daoist, Li Mo had finally perfected the Candle Dragon’s primary cultivation technique.
[Candle Dragon Yin Yang Scripture]
The Candle Dragon Yin Yang Scripture didn’t contain obscene cultivation practices but mainly focused on deriving two spiritual sinews, one Yin and one Yang, within the Tattooed Beast’s body.
By using the spiritual sinews to simulate the dual cultivation behavior of snakes, the Candle Dragon’s cultivation could be fostered.
The Candle Dragon had already achieved Core Formation. Once it reached the Divine Separation Stage, and the Spiritual Power of the seven Tattooed Beasts balanced out, the Great Wilderness Immortal Body could transcend mortality.
If all went well, it should be completed within fifty years.
"With the Immortal Body in possession, it doesn’t matter if I’m only at the initial Void Refining Stage. Whoever dares to storm the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, I’ll kill them without hesitation."
Li Mo sneered, then immersed his consciousness in secluded cultivation.
The Buddha Demon Body gradually grew, the Symbiotic Dharma Body steadily healed, and the process of dissolving the Karma Seal Mother demanded slow progress.
Amid breaks, Li Mo used his Divine Sense to communicate with the Mother Furnace in the Eleventh District.
Thousands of disciple corpses once collected by Chen Tiangang resided there, all possessing Taoist Bodies, with lingering consciousness enduring torment in the Illusion Realm.
The Illusion Realm was tied to the Ascension Conference, so Li Mo dared not act recklessly. Nonetheless, he had promised long ago to grant relief to the corpses.
The corpses crowded the interior of the rock wall, forming a scene akin to sardines packed tightly in a can.
Distorted faces and gaping mouths seemed to want to speak, but in reality, their souls had long since scattered during the upheaval.
"Be it Jiang Tianche or Chen Tiangang, their fates amounted to nothing more than self-inflicted cocoons in the end."
Li Mo attempted to retrieve the corpses.
Upon leaving the Mother Furnace, the corpses’ expressions instantly returned to calmness.
The Creation Book flooded Li Mo with related memories, allowing him to sense the corpses’ respect for Jiang Tianche during their lifetimes. He even faintly guessed that Chen Tiangang intended to use them as a medium for ascension.
Still, to protect their Senior Brother Jiang Tianche, they threw themselves into the frenzy of the Ascension Conference wholeheartedly.
"In that insane era, simply existing as a human was already a mistake."
The Illusion Realm didn’t appear affected by the corpses, perhaps because the Mother Furnace continued to incubate them. Ancient disciple corpses were in the minority.
However, the disciples within the Illusion Realm showed signs of diminished Spiritual Wisdom.
Li Mo buried the thousands of corpses in a corner of the Corpse Mountain Mini World, engraving their Taoist titles meticulously on tombstones.
With the mini world already housing nearly a million occupants, a few thousand more corpses made little difference, so he refrained from using them for brewing.
Unknowingly, five years had passed as Li Mo worked on the corpses.
The Karma Seal Mother hadn’t shown significant changes, though she seemed weaker, her gaze filled with tangible venomous hatred, yearning to break free.
Meanwhile, the Artifact Core Body had absorbed nutrients from the Karma Seal Mother and neared a breakthrough.
"Qing Tian! Qing Tian!"
"You don’t have Void Refining Stage Taoist inheritance; the Heavenly Sword Sect needs to return to the Sword Tomb for promotion. Staying in the Sub-Device Sect will only lead to death."
"Hahaha, whether I die or not, you are doomed without question!"
The Karma Seal Mother rambled on, but the Artifact Core Body’s roots had penetrated every inch of her flesh. Her struggles were futile.
Li Mo observed the Karma Seal Mother, her demands dwindling into softer murmurs.
Throughout the first ten years, she had endlessly ranted, only to notice her cultivation was declining. The Karma Seal Mother then grew fearful, attempting to negotiate with Li Mo.
Li Mo ignored her. During this time, the Artifact Core Body silently ascended to the Heavenly Palace Stage.
The Artifact Core Body had grown to three thousand meters by now. The Karma Seal Mother saw no hope of freedom, resorting to desperate pleas.
"There’s no need for us to fight to the death. If you wish to preserve the Sub-Device Sect, I can inform the Three Pure Heavens. They wouldn’t refuse."
"Do you know, Qing Tian? Disaster is about to descend upon the Immortal and Mortal Realms, and aside from the Three Pure Heavens, none shall survive."
"Amitabha Buddha, a monk does not speak falsely."
Li Mo understood that the Karma Seal Mother had likely sworn a Heart Demon Oath, leaving her highly unlikely to provide useful information.
Spirit Root Worms began burrowing into the internal space of the Artifact Core Body, their tendrils piercing into the Karma Seal Mother.
"No... no... don’t do this, I don’t want to go back into the jar..."
The Karma Seal Mother’s consciousness began to fade.
Xia Dao Palace spontaneously launched deductions, transforming numerous Daoist Temples into Buddhist monasteries. Former Daoists now recited sutras, chanting with abandon.
The Four Taoist Lords’ Fake Heavenly Dao provided a feast for the Creation Book, while the Spirit Root Worms merely benefited indirectly, their parasitic abilities allowing them limited deductions of memories.
Unfortunately, Li Mo was not yet at the Void Refining Stage, so his understanding of the Karma Seal Mother remained limited. Xia Dao Palace’s insights into reality offered fragmented and ambiguous results.
Fortunately, with help from the Creation Book, pieces of memory provided a clearer picture.
Li Mo did not see the shadow of No-Life Mother in the memories. Instead, the recollections were filled with images of various Buddhist monasteries hosting Nirvana Conferences, preparing monks for Feather Transformation into Immortality.
The Buddhist Sect had fallen into extremism by this time. Monks had begun mutating uncontrollably into non-human entities.
They extolled distorted scriptures, their backs blooming with fissures as newly forming limbs crawled forth from their remnant forms.
"All beings suffer. Only ascending to the Yongle World brings true liberation!"
Splurt, splurt.
Remnants broke apart.
Grub-like monks crawled free, disintegrating into nothingness under brilliant Buddha Light, entirely different from the Feather Transformation into Immortality experienced by Chen Tiangang.
Some older monks opted to stay in the mortal world, carrying their remnants to the back of Leiyin Temple.
After examining the memories, Li Mo deduced that the Karma Seal Mother was likely a product of remnant mutations. Unfortunately, the fragmented memories produced by deductions offered little real insight, leaving the Three Pure Ones Sect’s situation unclear.
"Something’s wrong—why does the Buddhist Sect seem increasingly abnormal?"
"The Yongle World? Isn’t it supposed to be Nirvana instead of Yongle?"
Li Mo pondered, his gaze landing on the remaining Substitute Dao Page. If his own speculations were correct, this might present an opportunity.
Crack, crack, crack...
The Karma Seal Mother’s skin shattered, vast floods of Spiritual Energy bursting forth.
The Artifact Core Body alone was unable to fully absorb it. Li Mo poured the excess into the Corpse Mountain Mini World, leading to another round of expansion in the mountain range.
"Right, there’s also the millions of corpses in Falling Abyss."
Li Mo rummaged through the Mother Furnace, soon locating Falling Abyss, which housed over seven million corpses.
Additionally, he noticed hundreds of deceitful objects at Core Formation and Nascent Soul levels at the bottom of Falling Abyss.
"Collect."
Corpse Mountain surged, devouring both corpses and Spiritual Energy indiscriminately.
Spirit Root Worms extended tendrils to plant Illusion Spirit Roots, leading to a significant increase in the number of spirit patterns on the two treasures, propelling them rapidly toward Spiritual Treasure-level enhancements.
"Three Pure Heavens, is it? By the time you descend upon the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, I’ll most likely have completed my preparations."