Chapter 476: Chapter 101: Mortal? Word-to-law?
"What kind of monster has the Ten Thousand Demon Dao created?"
Li Mo clicked his tongue inwardly.
Mere eye contact with Lord Chaoxi for a moment had nearly disrupted his mental realm, and yet Lord Chaoxi’s previous life had only been that of a mortal.
"Damn it, what exactly is a Dao Jun?"
Li Mo surveyed his surroundings, ensured the situation on Cancer Island was still relatively stable, and closed his eyes to immerse himself once more in analyzing the memories stored within the Creation Book.
At the outset of the memories, the Ten Thousand Demon Dao supplied enormous resources to the Demon Cave.
Mortals lacked clothing, but with just a few utterances from the Four Taoist Lords, the Ten Thousand Demon Dao would promptly deliver the necessary materials to the Demon Cave; when a plague erupted in the gathering places, mortals revered the Taoist Lords as if they were Immortal Gods, and the Ten Thousand Demon Dao would conveniently offer elixirs.
The Demon Cave was essentially a miniature society, with the Four Taoist Lords becoming complete proxies of the Heavenly Dao.
Mortals within the small world quickly formed villages dependent on the Four Taoist Lords as experiments stretched on for about 180 years.
And yet, the Demon Cave remained desolate, producing no resources of its own.
During this time, the mortals reproduced ceaselessly, their naturally deranged minds long forgetting that their ancestors hailed from outside, and that the Heavenly Dao was not equivalent to the Four Taoist Lords.
To ensure the survival of the Four Taoist Lords, the Ten Thousand Demon Dao even secretly fed them Lifespan Extension Pills.
It’s worth noting that in the ancient cultivation world, Lifespan Extension Pills that mortals could absorb were highly valuable, and a single pill could extend one’s life by only five years.
This speaks to the Ten Thousand Demon Dao’s dedication.
As the memories progressed, generations of mortals died of old age, further solidifying the Four Taoist Lords’ positions; any rebellions were silently suppressed by the Ten Thousand Demon Dao.
The experiment—thus far without any accidents—transformed the Demon Cave into a prison for livestock, each day repeating the same monotonous cycles.
But Li Mo knew the Ten Thousand Demon Dao had yet to achieve what they desired.
While Lifespan Extension Pills allowed mortals to live to 250 years, the Four Taoist Lords, just barely past their 200th year, were already showing signs of physical decline, as if their lamps were running dry.
The patience of the Ten Thousand Demon Dao was wearing thin. However, instead of outright cleansing the small world, they steered the experiment toward another extreme.
"The Demon Cave is practically a portrait of heaven and earth’s upheaval,"
Li Mo couldn’t help but murmur.
The Ten Thousand Demon Dao intentionally began reducing resources to the Demon Cave. To mortals, it became evident that the Four Taoist Lords had lost their authority over the Heavenly Dao.
As resources dwindled, rebellion was an inevitable result in the small world.
Li Mo studied this chaotic period of memory closely, only discovering that the population of the small world plummeted from seven or eight hundred thousand to merely two hundred thousand.
Even as the Four Taoist Lords clung to life under the protection of their supporters, their dwindling lifespans and weakening bodies made survival increasingly uncertain.
By all rational judgement, unless the Ten Thousand Demon Dao intervened again, this farce unfolding in the Demon Cave would likely end with the deaths of the Four Taoist Lords.
But what happened next was completely unexpected.
The Demon Cave’s small world, already cut off from the Ten Thousand Demon Dao’s resources, suddenly experienced a macabre transformation during the Four Taoist Lords’ prayers, as chunks of flesh and blood rained down like a storm.
The Demon Cave returned to the hands of the Four Taoist Lords and underwent a peculiar metamorphosis.
The Four Taoist Lords truly became the Heavenly Dao.
With word-to-law, the Ten Thousand Demon Dao lost all control over the Demon Cave. The desolate small world gradually began showing signs of verdant growth.
"Though the mechanics remain unclear, the mortals of that era indeed acquired incredible powers—powers enough to reshape heaven and earth,"
"The Four Taoist Lords believed themselves to be the Heavenly Dao, so they became the Heavenly Dao?"
Li Mo couldn’t help but laugh, his expression brimming with ridicule toward the Ten Thousand Demon Dao.
The Demon Cave’s loss of control may not have directly led to the Ten Thousand Demon Dao’s demise, but it undeniably exposed them to a terrifying truth, planting the seeds of their destruction.
"So the Four Taoist Lords became a unique Heavenly Dao within the small world."
Li Mo involuntarily activated Da Ai Mi Tian, his hand sprouting humanoid eye-like pupils that stared intently at the maggot-like Lord Chaoxi.
Having prepared ahead of time, the moment his mental realm suffered interference, the pupils detached themselves automatically.
"The Four Taoist Lords can arbitrarily alter the rules of the Demon Cave, birthing phenomena like Purple Qi Comes from the East, which undoubtedly portends greater challenges from immortal sects,"
Li Mo’s curiosity piqued. He pondered what kind of special pages the Creation Book might produce upon absorbing the Four Taoist Lords—could it be a Heavenly Dao special page?
His heart trembled with anticipation, but he quickly forced the thought down.
Currently, ordinary methods were clearly insufficient to nurture a special page—it might necessitate direct contact with the Four Taoist Lords or even slaying a Dao Jun.
Given Li Mo’s present strength, such an endeavor seemed implausible; perhaps only Land Immortals could stand a chance.
The Ten Thousand Demon Dao had likely detected the impending awakening of the Four Taoist Lords and began intervening through the Demon Suppression Cave, even if only to stall and drain the Dao Jun.
Boom.
A wave of relentless attacks from the immortal sects surged in, growing ever more intense.
Sword cultivators gradually revealed their unrivaled prowess; with just a flash of light, Taoist children fell like harvested wheat, tumbling down as lifeless bodies in droves.
Among the sects, only body cultivators could rival the sword cultivators.
Body cultivators resembled tireless puppets, entirely unfazed by death—even amidst constant battles, they remained inexhaustible, their blood refining their forms repeatedly.
The Ten Thousand Demon Dao’s effort was modest yet stable, successfully blocking the immortals’ magic.
Zhibai Dao and Medicine King Valley appeared slightly weaker, though no signs of collapse were yet apparent; Daoists were forced to intervene twice under duress.
The Taoists of Three Elements Pavilion and Ten Thousand Demon Dao only occasionally revealed themselves.
Li Mo glanced at Business Leader City and subconsciously noted over 200,000 mortals had perished already, while the Taoist School continued dispatching immortals relentlessly.
Veteran immortals reaped the spoils like opportunistic fishermen, harvesting resources that were consolidated entirely within their domains.
Li Mo noticed that some immortals, who daily absorbed purple qi, exuded an increasingly Daoist Immortal air, with three spiritual flowers blooming atop their heads.
Of course, the cultivation system within the Demon Cave was likely fashioned from the Four Taoist Lords’ perceptions.
They were the Heavenly Dao, even if only a fabricated image of it—and since the Dao Jun viewed cultivation this way, the Demon Cave naturally spawned corresponding changes.
"Three Flowers Gathering at the Top?"
Li Mo scrutinized the immortal sects’ portrayal of the concept, finding it overly superficial, with limited impact on their overall strength.
"A single Dao Jun awakening is enough to overturn the situation entirely. Could the Four Taoist Lords foster Land Immortals? Forget it—for now, there’s a Void Refining Stage elder nearby."
Li Mo shook his head faintly and refocused his energy on advancing his Great Medicine Pill Infant.
The Great Medicine Pill Infant had unknowingly ascended to the Nascent Soul Stage, thanks largely to the Buddha Demon Body and Symbiotic Dharma Body supporting its cultivation.
Meanwhile, Li Mo busied himself with managing foundational spiritual objects.
From within the Realm Core, the Dan Tree had finally matured to Li Mo’s satisfaction, having grown fully yet with fruitless branches.
Li Mo refined his methods of advancing to the Divine Separation Stage based on the foundational spiritual objects.
[Artifact Method]
[Using the body of the Profound Magnetic Infant as the primary material and the limbs as auxiliary components for refining, allow the magic treasure to take preliminary form. Subsequently, let the nascent soul devour it to achieve promotion to the Divine Separation Stage.]
[Seed Pill Method]
[Using the auxiliary golden core of the Great Medicine Pill Infant as the main material, deeply bury the auxiliary golden core in soil to absorb sufficient nutrients and break ground. Once integrated back into the nascent soul core, promotion to the Divine Separation Stage can be achieved.]
Li Mo roughly mapped out his plan; the particulars would depend on whether variables arose during promotion.
The pill infant was approaching the Nascent Soul Stage’s final phase (Birthing Soul Stage), outpacing the Candle Dragon cultivation technique.
However, for caution’s sake, the Great Wilderness Immortal Body’s transcendence would be delayed—at least until Li Mo exited the Demon Cave. The Artifact Core Nascent Soul posed no need for delay.
Li Mo cultivated steadily. Spiritual energy surged into the alchemy furnace, while his externalized dharma bodies transformed spiritual power into earth essence-infused spiritual power.
The pill infant advanced rapidly; upon encountering a bottleneck, it broke into the Birthing Soul Stage after mere days.
The Birthing Soul Stage, as the final realm before the completion of the Nascent Soul Stage, was ready to begin nurturing foundational spiritual objects.
Li Mo then forcibly pulled away the Dan Tree within the Realm Core.
The plant-like pill infant extended tendrils to entwine itself with the Dan Tree, while the artifact infant embedded the Realm Core into its abdomen, swiftly forming bonds between the two.
The Golden Sha Taoist inheritance gifted by Yu Xiao was progressing steadily. The process of merging the Ten Thousand Sword Immortal Bone was smooth and uneventful.
"Hm?"
Li Mo furrowed his brows, sensing intense fluctuations emanating from Business Leader City.
An elder immortal appeared in midair, his face overcome with joyful fervor.
He chanted zealously, unable to suppress his ecstatic cries: "Lord Chaoxi is above, how can Outer Heaven Demons be allowed to run rampant!"
Without warning, the elder immortal rushed to the floating island above.
He bypassed the Great Sun Sword Tomb, ignoring the comparatively weaker Medicine King Valley, and headed straight for the closest location—the Three Elements Pavilion.
His actions had the unmistakable air of someone racing to their demise.
The elder’s flesh and bones began dissolving into crystalline light, amplifying the power of his spells significantly as he instantly shattered the array.
"Hahaha, perish, Outer Heaven Demons!"
The elder threw his Treasure Seal, scattering a dozen body cultivators in its wake.
"Ha!!"
From the floating island came a thunderous roar as a skinless body cultivator, towering three hundred meters high, soared into the sky to meet the immortal in combat, his surging vitality palpable.
"Xu Ning."
Li Mo didn’t recognize the identity of the Three Elements Pavilion Taoist, but Jiang Xi knew of him.
Apparently, Xu Ning was the senior brother of the Twelve Taoist Inheritances’ [Atrial Palace] in the Three Elements Pavilion, serving a role akin to the chief of the Great Sun Sword Tomb.
However, after Ninth Senior Sister Ruoshui joined the sect, the title of senior brother was effectively abolished within the Three Elements Pavilion.
In her later years, Ruoshui set up martial arts schools in rural areas to guide martial artists lacking spirit roots in the path of cultivation, effectively making her the progenitor of body cultivation.
This rendered Ruoshui’s status unassailable.
Xu Ning’s body was adorned with numerous hearts. As they beat, drum-like sounds echoed forth, creating disorder among the immortals’ physiques and leading them toward deviation.
Any leaking breaths of the immortals were absorbed by Xu Ning, converted into vitality, and reintegrated into his body.
Even when wounded, the blood he spilled was swiftly reabsorbed, keeping him in peak combat form.
The Atrial Palace embodied endurance through a hundred battles.
Yet the elder, a peerless figure among immortals, had already achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, allowing him to suppress Xu Ning, with other Taoist children also beginning to converge on the Three Elements Pavilion.
Li Mo mused aloud: "So the weakness of the Atrial Palace lies in its exposed hearts? No, Xu Ning’s... body is the true heart itself."
The distinctive Taoist physique of the Atrial Palace mimicked the structure of the heart; Xu Ning’s appearance suggested he was likely a walking, skinless organ in the outside world.
Xu Ning bared his teeth, signaling his allies to steer the floating island toward Cancer Island.
Evidently, he aimed to redirect the disaster.
Li Mo wasn’t inclined to indulge him and immediately had Cancer Island confront him head-on.
"Great Sun Sword Tomb, encircle and annihilate the deceitful objects."
Li Mo unleashed his Hui Dragon Lifebound Flying Sword, silently devouring body cultivators’ corpses.
Xu Ning frowned, thinking that the Thirteen Immortals were utterly irreverent, flaunting their innate immortal seeds with complete disregard for even the Three Elements Pavilion.