Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 124 - 125 What is that monster?

Chapter 124: Chapter 125 What is that monster?

The power struggle for the Taoist inheritance had begun to tilt in Tian Changwen’s favor.

Originally, Tian Changwen had to counterattack defensively, responding to Shi Ji’s moves step by step. But now, with the Slaughterhouse in his control, he instantly turned the tide, shifting from passive to active dominance.

The trajectory of the struggle became increasingly subtle. Even Shi Ji stopped acting excessively, seemingly preparing to preserve the remaining strength of the Puppet Cultivators.

However, even so, minor clashes were still inevitable.

Particularly, some smaller groups of Puppet Cultivators, working in teams of twos and threes, focused specifically on ambushing lone Beast Cultivators, trading their heads for various resources.

Deep within the thick fog, ruined shops could occasionally be seen lining the path.

These shops, generally hosting five or more Puppet Cultivators, were well-coordinated in their tasks. Even when confronted with an overwhelming Beast Cultivator, they could rely on Shi Ji to quickly relocate to a safer haven.

Hong Chuan was among them.

He sat in the courtyard of one such shop with six companions around a crackling bonfire, roasting strange, unidentified pieces of meat.

Due to the prevalence of humanoid Deceit Beasts, even Hong Chuan himself couldn’t discern the source of the meat.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Hong Chuan coughed violently, spitting out half his tongue, revealing rotting flesh crawling with countless wriggling maggots.

He quickly swallowed an elixir, reducing the corpse-like stench emanating from him, if only slightly.

"Damn it, living off stored resources like this won’t work at all."

Hong Chuan cursed under his breath repeatedly.

Ten years ago, when he faced the Childhood Death Disease, he barely survived, but his flesh and bones had already undergone irreversible corpse-like degradation.

To preserve himself, Hong Chuan switched to cultivating a more advanced Multi-limb Technique, but he still needed to regularly consume Decaying Pills, or else his foundation would undoubtedly collapse.

Most cultivators who endured the Death Disease inevitably carried some lingering defects.

The Childhood Death Disease spanned from age twenty to fifty. If one couldn’t suppress it in time, the outcome would be akin to becoming a walking corpse like Hong Chuan.

The Puppet Cultivators accompanying Hong Chuan were in similar predicaments.

Their only solace was that, no matter how dire their condition, they had survived the Death Disease. With their decayed foundation intact, they still held a slim chance of advancement.

Hong Chuan let out a heavy sigh, his expression filled with venomous resentment as he gnawed at the roasted flesh.

Ma Wenang, sitting by his side, remained silent for a long time. Finally, he turned his head and spat out a finger bone, saying, "Hong Chuan, the power struggle for the inheritance is nearing its end, don’t you think?"

"Do you think we’ll get another chance to kill a few more and exchange the heads for Spirit Stones?"

Hong Chuan furrowed his brows, muttering under his breath, "I’d like that too, but lone Beast Cultivators are becoming rare. The last fat sheep we caught was ten days ago—that wasn’t nearly enough to trade for Decaying Pills."

One of the Puppet Cultivators suggested, "How about we try our luck in the Beast Calamity area?"

His words immediately gained the support of the other Puppet Cultivators.

A trace of eagerness flashed across Hong Chuan’s face, revealing a glimmer of unrealistic hope for furthering his cultivation.

He didn’t dare wish for advancement to the Fake Core Stage, but even reaching the Weak Crown Middle Stage would mean a thirty percent increase in resources allocated from the Mixed Grain Shop.

Glancing sideways at his four companions, Hong Chuan began calculating in his mind how to make them his cannon fodder for the Beast Calamity.

Bang, bang, bang...

A series of muffled, rhythmic thuds echoed from the distance.

Hong Chuan reflexively stood up, his eyes glinting with greed.

From what he recalled, there was indeed a Beast Calamity in that direction, under the domain of Yang Quanzi at Black Wind Ridge, reportedly with over ten Puppet Cultivators following under him.

This sudden upheaval was likely due to a Beast Cultivator raid on Black Wind Ridge.

Yang Quanzi wouldn’t sit idle. Both sides were bound to be locked in a fierce confrontation.

Hong Chuan figured there might be a chance to scavenge some spoils without even stepping into Black Wind Ridge, simply ambushing the stationed Beast Cultivators outside.

Even if some humanoid Deceit Beasts were mixed among the Beast Cultivators, it didn’t matter. Organs could still be sold as spiritual materials, though it might mean fewer Spirit Stones for their heads.

"We’ve got ourselves a big catch," Hong Chuan said with a vicious grin, rallying his companions to prepare.

He activated his spiritual tablet to contact Shi Ji and began leading the group toward Black Wind Ridge, using the shop as a staging point to mask their movements, moving silently and stealthily.

They halted as they neared Black Wind Ridge, gradually filing out of the shop’s courtyard.

Hong Chuan used a Musk Pearl Magic Artifact to release a veil of white smoke, cloaking their figures as they quickened their pace toward an imposing manor in the area.

But before advancing much further, Hong Chuan felt something was amiss.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, far from what one would expect at a Beast Cultivator outpost, instead exuding an indescribable sense of oppression.

"Stay cautious," Hong Chuan warned, gesturing for Ma Wenang to scout the manor ahead.

Ma Wenang nodded, placing insect eggs under his tongue. Soon, dozens of brain-marrow-drenched, multi-limbed mosquitoes crawled out of his nostrils.

"Go," he commanded.

The mosquitoes flew into the manor straight toward the direction of Black Wind Ridge.

Hong Chuan watched Ma Wenang intently. Moments later, Ma Wenang’s expression twisted in pain as dark red pus dripped from his nostrils.

"What happened?!"

"The brain bugs died mysteriously—it might have something to do with Black Wind Ridge."

Grabbing Ma Wenang’s shoulder, Hong Chuan urgently asked, "Did you see the stationed Beast Cultivators?"

Ma Wenang hesitated but then replied, "I saw them, but..."

"How many? What’s their formation? Did they sense us..."

"It seemed to be just one individual," Ma Wenang murmured.

Hong Chuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. After confirming again, Ma Wenang closed his eyes to recall the scene.

"Only one—a Beast Cultivator who seemed to have narrowly escaped from Black Wind Ridge. He appeared gravely injured, taking an elixir to recover..."

Hong Chuan’s brow furrowed. Elixirs were valuable; for someone to use them lavishly suggested severe injuries beyond control.

"Alright. If this Beast Cultivator managed to escape Yang Quanzi, there must be something worth seizing. Let’s move quickly and kill him."

Ma Wenang hesitated briefly, repeatedly analyzing the brain bug’s memory. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the Beast Cultivator seemed unusual, but he chose to remain silent.

After all, hesitation would mean missing out entirely if other Puppet Cultivators arrived first.

Hong Chuan led the group through the manor and stopped before the reception hall’s door.

Click, click, click...

A strange sound emanated from the reception hall, resembling minerals being crushed, with hints of teeth grinding hard substances.

"What the hell?!"

Hong Chuan muttered nervously, glancing at Ma Wenang, who also hesitated.

Using a Magic Artifact to sense the situation, Ma Wenang verified a single, weak Beast Cultivator’s aura within the hall, suggesting an attempt at deception.

Any further delay might allow reinforcements to arrive.

"Damn it, since when did I become so indecisive?!"

Biting his lip, Hong Chuan swung the door open.

A thick, acrid fog spilled out, its pungent stench sharply assailing his senses.

The Puppet Cultivators exchanged tense glances and channeled their Spiritual Power as they cautiously stepped into the reception hall.

Approaching the Hundred Beasts Map, they spotted a figure seated cross-legged beneath the Beast Calamity, a frame towering over three meters tall.

Upon seeing the Beast Cultivator’s form clearly, Hong Chuan’s pupils contracted involuntarily.

The Beast Cultivator rested against the wall, golden, unevenly patterned scales covering sections of his bare skin. Two vague horns were visible atop his head.

His mouth stretched to his ears, filled with metallic, razor-sharp teeth.

Click, click, click...

The unsettling crunching sound came from this figure biting down on Mid-grade Spirit Stones as if they were food.

"This isn’t good."

Turning to flee, Hong Chuan froze mid-step. Ma Wenang’s decapitated head rolled to his feet, his expression frozen in shock.

The beast-like figure’s arm rested on Hong Chuan’s shoulder.

As his life ebbed, Hong Chuan found himself laughing internally.

Decades of hard cultivation, all for nothing.

A thread of steel flashed.

Hong Chuan’s severed head hung in the air; his now-headless body sprinted several hundred meters before collapsing at the door, darkened, dried-up blood seeping out as mere pus.

Using the few moments of clarity remaining, Hong Chuan strained to open his eyes.

"Mountain... Sea... Dweller..."

"Truly... unfathomable..."

Li Mo, his breathing heavy, suppressed the surging killing intent in his heart. Before the Puppet Cultivator’s life force completely dissipated, he confined their injuries with rudimentary measures.

There was no choice—Corpse Mountain required its "residents" to remain in a state between life and death; otherwise, the stream of Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy couldn’t be sustained.

Li Mo also swept in Yang Quanzi’s faction along with their loot of Deceit Beast Flesh collected from the statues.

Several new tombstones emerged, the fourth sub-peak of Corpse Mountain towering higher.

When Li Mo’s consciousness lost its connection to Corpse Mountain, he realized his Magic Artifact had finally undergone a transformation.

However, his face bore no joy—his Acquired Dao Body’s "Life-gathering Beast Body" carried too many flaws.

Life-gathering Beast Body had been accidentally formed when the Tattooed Beast absorbed the medicinal power of the Nourishing Yuan Fruit. Essentially, it stemmed from the influence of Hui Qingyi on his constitution.

The Life-gathering Beast Body’s ability allowed cultivators to seamlessly fuse with beastly organs, enabling unrestricted grafting of all kinds of beast limbs and internal organs.

Looking at his half-human, half-beast form, Li Mo couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

He had never intended to remodel himself into a non-human monstrosity under the influence of the Life-gathering Beast Body.

Back at Black Wind Ridge, Li Mo had only tested allowing the Beast Head Tattoo to temporarily inhabit his body for a full transformation into a Tattooed Beast.

As expected, when he reverted to human form, his Acquired Dao Body’s lack of control over his physiology left him with lingering beast transformations across various parts of his body.

If his Spiritual Power were abundant, he would have slowly erased these transformations bit by bit.

But transforming into the Three-legged Golden Toad had drained his Dantian within mere breaths.

In the future, if he obtained a new Spell Page, prioritizing the imprinting of Hui Qingyi to elevate the Life-gathering Beast Body into an Innate Taoist Body might be worth considering.

Chewing on Mid-grade Spirit Stones, Li Mo gradually began retracting parts of his beast transformations, enduring pain akin to being flayed alive.

Simultaneously, more Puppet Cultivators slipped into the grand estate outside, only to be discovered by the Breath Fog.

Li Mo’s eyes burned crimson, the ferocious Sha of the Three-legged Golden Toad laid bare completely.

Before the Puppet Cultivators could reach the reception hall, Li Mo chose to take the initiative, unleashing the terrifying strength of his mutated body, instantly slaughtering four of them.

This time, however, he lost control over his strength, and three of the victims perished completely.

Li Mo noticed a slight diminution in the beastly ferocity within him, seemingly allowing for even more reckless action as the massacre around the estate continued unabated.

Those who managed to survive one round were then deemed qualified to join the Corpse Mountain Burial Mound.

Outside the estate, savage, beastly roars shook the air continuously, leading outsiders to speculate that a Deceit Beast had likely escaped from Black Wind Ridge.

As time passed, the strength of the incoming Puppet Cultivators noticeably increased—an indication that Shi Ji had likely grasped the reality of Black Wind Ridge.

Still, the Puppet Cultivator faction had entered a downward spiral. Knowing Black Wind Ridge harbored a Fake Core Stage cultivator, Shi Ji could hardly afford to send in large reinforcements anymore.

Amidst the carnage, the golden scales covering Li Mo’s body slowly faded, but the pair of beast-like vertical pupils remained.