Chapter 491: Chapter 7: No Intention to Let Karma Seal Mother Live
"Senior Brother, you... you..."
San Shan’s spirit wavered between hope and despair. Several times he tried to speak, but each time found himself unable to string together a coherent sentence.
Phosphorescence burst out beneath his skin, and his bones twisted under the unbearable strain of mutation.
Until a wave of comforting warmth flowed from Li Mo’s palm.
The mutation in San Shan’s body receded bit by bit, and his heart brimmed with certainty: the Daoist Qingtian, who had suppressed the Sub-Device Sect for centuries, had returned!
Li Mo raised his head to look at the rock wall, his consciousness communing with the faintly unwilling Mother Furnace.
To be precise, the Mother Furnace now resembled more a subordinate to Da Ai Mi Tian, a flesh-and-blood puppet parasitized by millions of cancer cells.
"San Shan, everything will come to an end."
"Senior Brother, the Sub-Device Sect is running out of time! We’re all that’s left... just a few of us! What should we do? What can we do?"
San Shan clumsily tried to explain their current predicament, then glanced toward Qiong Mountain and said, "Senior Brother, it’s unnecessary. Once we’ve saved Master Qiong, we can leave the Sub-Device Sect and find another opportunity elsewhere."
Trusting Li Mo, he no longer clung stubbornly to the idea of defending the Sect to the bitter end.
"Or, Senior Brother, you can leave first while we divert the attention of the Great Freedom Guanyin Temple. Use the chaos to escape and plan your next move in the outside world."
San Shan feared, above all, that Li Mo might act recklessly.
He knew that with Li Mo’s extraordinary talent, as long as Li Mo survived, the Sub-Device Sect would one day rise again. Reaching the Divine Separation Stage—and even the Void Refining Stage—was not beyond his reach.
San Shan spoke with an increasingly slurred tone, tinged with drunkenness.
Li Mo didn’t reply. All the while, he focused on using Corpse Wine to stabilize San Shan.
The other artifact cultivators stood silent, saying nothing.
For a fleeting moment, their dull expressions showed a hint of vitality, only for it to vanish within seconds. They stood there, numb and detached.
It was as though the defiant Li Mo in the distance and the chattering San Shan bore no relation to them.
The name "Daoist Qingtian" was already a fading memory to them, and they couldn’t comprehend San Shan’s trust in Li Mo. Some had even forgotten why they were in the Cave Mansion at all.
Vaguely, they recalled that Daoist Qingtian was a name that once resounded like thunder in their ears.
But none of the artifact cultivators believed that Li Mo could contend with the Great Freedom Guanyin Temple. How could mere centuries bridge such an insurmountable chasm?
In the first twenty years of Qiong Mountain’s slumber, he occasionally woke.
But every time, the once-venerated Master Qiong only cast a dead-eyed gaze over the artifact cultivators. If the threat from the Great Freedom Guanyin Temple were merely at the Divine Separation Stage, why would Qiong Mountain lack even the will to survive?
Void Refining Stage...
Just recalling that term was enough to send chills through the artifact cultivators’ spines.
"There is no choice. The Sub-Device Sect has no choice," someone muttered.
As San Sheng had put it: either flee like stray dogs or eke out a miserable existence in the crevices of the port.
"San Shan, I’m going to check on Master Qiong’s body and soul."
"Senior Brother Qingtian, Master Qiong may be at risk of losing control due to a mutation. Please be careful—don’t set yourself ablaze."
"It’s fine."
While attuning himself to the Mother Furnace, Li Mo approached Qiong Mountain’s side.
The mutation in Qiong Mountain was highly advanced. Phosphorescence filled the spaces between his blood, flesh, and bones, resulting in clinging adhesions between his five internal organs. Soon, he would transform into something like a phosphorescent Taiyang, a deceitful object of terrifying power.
But Li Mo believed that Qiong Mountain’s mutation stemmed primarily from his Mental Realm.
The oppressive weight of the Karma Seal Mother was indescribable. Even the Mother Furnace was powerless before it; for those in the Nascent Soul Stage, the horror of the Void Refining Stage was beyond imagination.
"Master, it’s been a long time."
Li Mo summoned his Magic Treasure. A Spirit Root Worm burrowed into and connected with Qiong Mountain’s brain tissue.
The phosphorescence in Qiong Mountain’s brain receded under the Spirit Root Worm’s suppression, while damaged areas were easily repaired by the Spider Sword Orb. His mind became active once again.
Qiong Mountain’s eyelids twitched. After more than a decade, his consciousness resurfaced.
San Shan held his breath, astonished that something even years of effort couldn’t achieve was resolved by Li Mo in mere moments.
"Senior Brother, what stage are you at now? Nascent Soul Perfection? It’s a pity the Sub-Device Sect lacks Taoist inheritance for the Divine Separation Stage..."
Qiong Mountain’s pupils focused, and his expression shifted incomprehensibly when he recognized Li Mo.
"Qingtian, why have you returned? You shouldn’t have returned! Why?! Why?!"
Despair weighed even more heavily in his voice. Gripping Li Mo’s shoulders tightly, Qiong Mountain cried out, "Qingtian, do you have any idea what the Sub-Device Sect has become? The Karma Seal Mother’s aura is everywhere! There is no escape!"
He let go of Li Mo and clutched at his own head. "No, no, this must be an illusion, a trick of the Karma Seal Mother. Hahaha!"
Qiong Mountain laughed maniacally, his Spiritual Power surging wildly out of control.
The energy tore through the Cave Mansion’s array, cracks spreading across the rock walls.
San Shan clenched his teeth, and the other artifact cultivators instinctively moved to stabilize the array. Nevertheless, the disturbance toppled some of the buildings on the ground above.
"Master, snap out of it! Master, it really is Senior Brother Qingtian. Don’t lose yourself, Master Qiong, or you’ll doom us all!"
Qiong Mountain came to, finally pulling himself back from the brink of losing control. It dawned on him that they must immediately relocate the Cave Mansion or escort Li Mo far away.
He turned to speak, only to be interrupted by Li Mo. "Master Qiong, is there any chance Fire Flame True Monarch can be saved?"
"No... none of them can be saved..."
"What about re-forging?"
Qiong Mountain murmured, "I don’t know. The Mother Furnace may already be under the Karma Seal Mother’s control. Any Artifact Embryos it produces are likely tainted. The Sub-Device Sect is finished."
"Then re-forge everything."
Li Mo was certain that the Karma Seal Mother had not converted to the Mother Furnace but instead had mixed Buddha Qi into the phosphorescence, infiltrating every corner of the Sub-Device Sect.
"Master Qiong, chaos will soon erupt at the port. You and the others will need to maintain order. Hehehe..."
The others glanced at each other in confusion, unable to discern Li Mo’s intentions.
At that moment.
Heavy footsteps echoed from below. The chant of "Amitabha Buddha" from Fire Flame True Monarch reverberated through the Cave Mansion, piercing the layers of soil and reaching their ears.
The temperature in the Cave Mansion surged; it was clear that Fire Flame True Monarch had sensed them.
"Qingtian, you don’t..."
Before Qiong Mountain could finish, Li Mo pointed to the ceiling.
"Infinite Light."
Boom.
A column of light broke through the rock wall. The artifact cultivators instinctively averted their gaze, unable to look directly at the blinding brilliance.
Li Mo ceased his attack. The flesh that formed the Cave Mansion opened of its own accord; in the area of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater, the Mother Furnace was omnipresent.
Immediately, everyone caught the long-missed stench of industrial waste gas.
After a brief moment of silence, chaos broke loose.
"Let’s go. Stabilize the port first."
Li Mo spoke calmly: "Now that I’m back, I don’t plan on letting the Karma Seal Mother live."
The Ghost Tiger carried the group out of the Cave Mansion, arriving at a port already thick with the stench of smoke and warfare. Groups of monks marched toward them.
Qiong Mountain’s gaze fell instantly on a massive corpse, several hundred meters long, lying at the entrance of the port.
One strike.
That was all it took. Fire Flame True Monarch was dead, his Nascent Soul obliterated, with a half-meter hole in his chest. His face still bore the expression of devout reverence toward the Bodhisattva Guanyin in his final moments.
San Shan trembled with excitement, knowing full well the strength of Fire Flame True Monarch.
Though merely at the Nascent Soul Stage, under the influence of an unknown force, Fire Flame True Monarch had been able to contend against three or four artifact cultivators of the same stage.
Yet, before Li Mo, he was utterly powerless.
The monks avoided looking at Fire Flame True Monarch’s miserable state. Hundreds surrounded them, striking wooden fish drums to unsettle the cultivators.
"Amitabha Buddha. Why do you not place your faith in the Great Freedom Guanyin..."
"Infinite Light."
A sweep of light bisected hundreds of monks at the waist.
"Noisy."
"Master Qiong, suppress them. Don’t hold back."
Li Mo leaped into the air, drawing countless gazes. Faces across the battlefield became pensive, as if an ancient, long-buried name was on the verge of surfacing in their minds.
"The Great Freedom Guanyin? There might be some parallels with the Dao I’ve comprehended. Today, I’d like to see what ’Great Freedom’ truly is!"
Li Mo’s voice echoed like thunder.
"Infinite True Demon."
His body swelled nearly to a kilometer in height, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of ferocious heads. Like a Demon Lord, he stood at the port’s apex.
"Transformation Freedom Heaven, attaining freedom through the transformations of others."
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang...
Pillars of blood and flesh erupted from the port, their surfaces writhing with bound souls. The buildings began to undergo a hideous metamorphosis, merging with flesh.
It seemed as though the port itself was sinking into an endless hell.
The Karma Seal Mother’s Buddha Qi dissipated completely, rendering Li Mo terrifying and oppressive beyond measure.
"Endless Darkness."
Dozens of temples silently dissolved into oblivion, while the channel from stove land to the outside world closed off, sealing them in for their long-awaited confrontation with the Karma Seal Mother.
One by one, cultivators broke free from the Buddha Sect’s influence. Some artifact cultivators even wept tears of joy, collapsing to the ground in confusion and relief.
Qiong Mountain burst into raucous laughter, shouting like a madman, "Ha-ha-ha, he’s my personal disciple, the Daoist of the Sub-Device Sect, Qingtian has returned! Qingtian has returned!!"
The Karma Seal Mother had gathered most of the Sub-Device Sect disciples to convert them at the port. Among them were some who had known Li Mo well.
Their recognition was immediate, even though he no longer bore the features of an artifact cultivator.
San Shan didn’t hesitate any further. Leading the others, he began slaughtering those cultivators who were beyond redemption.
Li Mo displayed only a fraction of the power of his Buddha Demon Body, refraining from using the Mother Furnace. His aim was simple: to draw the Karma Seal Mother to the port.
Engaging her in the crater’s depths wasn’t his plan; the risk of damaging the Mother Furnace was too high.
And more importantly,
Li Mo wanted the orchestrators behind the scenes to understand one thing: as long as he stood, the Sub-Device Sect was an unbreakable bastion. Even Land Immortals would pay a steep price trying to devour it.
"Come, then, Karma Seal Mother. Let me see just who you really are."
......
At the depths of the Outer Heaven Meteorite Crater.
"Good... good... good... good..."
Countless eyes opened in the darkness as the Karma Seal Mother muttered incessantly to herself. Cancerous flesh seeped Buddha Qi, causing the Mother Furnace to writhe in torment.
"No matter if you are Daoist Qingtian, Supreme Qingtian, or Taiyi..."
"A mere Void Refining Stage cultivator dares proclaim yourself as the Great Freedom? Courting death!"
The Nine-layered Small World trembled. Two to three hundred Nascent Soul artifact cultivators surged toward the port, their forms grotesque avatars resembling myriad Guanyins.
As they marched, their bodies fused, forming a grotesquely lifelike wall.
[Guanyin Hundred Buddha Painting]
Each Guanyin became etched on the surface of the fleshy wall, their distorted faces frozen in perpetual agony.
Li Mo’s killing intent could no longer be contained. Gripping the Hundred Feet Illusion Fish Sword at his waist, the demonic energy permeating the port roared to life.