Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 140 - 141: An Immortal Seeker Passes By the Heart Beast (End of Volume)

Chapter 140: Chapter 141: An Immortal Seeker Passes By the Heart Beast (End of Volume)

The destruction brought to Rong Town by the Sub-Device Sect far exceeded the struggle for Taoist inheritance.

Li Mo stood under the eaves and surveyed the surroundings; in the town, barely a single intact building could be seen, and the surrounding environment was heavily polluted.

It was difficult for grass and trees to grow within ten miles of Rong Town, and the likelihood of children dying young increased by 30%.

No one knew how long it would take for Rong Town to return to its former prosperity.

"Sigh..."

Li Mo couldn’t help but sigh, knowing that when he returned to the Heart Beast Territory from the Sub-Device Sect, the rebuilt Rong Town would be utterly unrecognizable.

How many old friends and elders familiar to him would remain?

"Tomorrow is a farewell day, mountains layered in melancholy."

Li Mo forced a bitter smile and strode through the ruins amidst the winds and rain.

After ensuring that no Artifact Cultivators were nearby, he exchanged the old human skin for the new one.

Though Rong Town was already destroyed beyond recognition, traces of the past could still be seen in the ruins: the once bustling streets encircled by vendors.

There was an old man who set up a food stall in the morning, calling out to passersby.

Children chased and played with one another, wielding wooden swords in their hands, provoking scolding from their relatives and elders as chaos ensued.

Li Mo unleashed his memorization Divine Skill, letting the sights and memories intertwine in his mind.

The noise of the market flowed into his ears.

On the street, a performer displayed tricks, with cheers erupting from the watching crowd. At the street’s end, the melodious singing of a woman arose.

Inside the tea house, the sharp sound of a wooden clapboard echoed intermittently.

The pungent scent of spices drew passersby to ask for bowls of tea.

What a picturesque scene of worldly life.

Unknowingly, Li Mo arrived at the former site of the pawn shop. The Calligraphy and Painting Hall inside was already dilapidated, with scattered everyday items visible on the ground.

This showed how hurriedly people had fled Rong Town during the evacuation.

Li Mo sat cross-legged in the hall and brought his consciousness to the Mud Pill Palace, guiding the "intent-representing" Fu Shi Soul into the Tao Seed within the Middle Dantian.

Cultivation always emphasized natural progression, and Li Mo had no concerns over gains or losses.

Once the Fu Shi Soul was steadily placed within the Tao Seed, Li Mo split his consciousness to engrave the Creation Book and simultaneously poured a bottle of corpse oil wax into his mouth.

Cracks emerged on the outer layer of the Fu Shi Soul.

He felt refreshed; while the "Shi" in Fu Shi Soul carried an implication of impurity, it referred specifically to mental clutter.

Subduing the Fu Shi Soul would make his thoughts smoother, aligning it with the Swallowing Thief Soul and Sparrow Yin Soul to harmonize the Three Tastes of spirit.

Ordinarily, for most cultivators, the first choice among the Seven Spirits to subdue was the Corpse Dog Soul, given its ability to enhance perception, potentially saving one’s life.

Alternatively, they might favor the Nonpoison Soul for its resistance to toxins or the Detoxification Soul for suppressing Death Disease — both would indirectly improve cultivation efficiency.

For a Cultivator like Li Mo, primarily focused on building a solid foundation, such an approach was exceedingly rare.

If that renowned Artifact Cultivator noticed Li Mo, he would undoubtedly be astonished.

After all, Li Mo, living in such a desperate and eerie Cultivation World and having entered the Tao in the impoverished Heart Beast Sect, held his foundation in such high regard.

At that moment, heavy, unapologetic footsteps echoed from outside the Calligraphy and Painting Hall.

Li Mo furrowed his brows and instinctively prepared to split his consciousness to summon the Ghost Tiger to guard him, but the approaching aura was strikingly familiar.

Han Cai walked into the courtyard of the Calligraphy and Painting Hall with a limping gait.

Leaning against the wall, his expression reflected the eager anticipation of parents outside an exam hall, gratified by Li Mo’s breakthrough to Weak Crown Stage Perfection.

Han Cai’s injuries had mostly healed, but his damaged foundation remained worrisome.

His exposed skin was riddled with scars, and sutured marks were visible everywhere; much of his body had undergone surgical replacement.

Shi Ji and Tian Changwen still couldn’t move freely; the former’s cultivation had diminished to Weak Crown Middle Stage, while the latter’s cultivation had not regressed, but his Heart Ape Intent Horse and Hundred Beasts Blood Body were utterly destroyed.

Han Cai wasn’t sure what to say.

Tian Changwen had nearly exhausted all his strength to acquire the Hundred Beasts Blood Body, yet completely mastering the Acquired Dao Body’s nurturing process might still require hundreds of years of refinement.

Han Cai even doubted whether the Hundred Beasts Blood Body was worth it.

But he understood that unless Rong Town accepted its fate, the Hundred Beasts Blood Body was indeed the only solution to breaking the impasse.

Only by mass-producing Acquired Dao Bodies could cultivators avoid being bottlenecked at Core Formation.

Han Cai leaned against the wall and sat down. "My disciple, breaking through the bottleneck is crucial. Once you’ve advanced, focus on stabilizing your cultivation; don’t worry about me."

"Understood."

The wind and rain did not cease until three days later.

Relying on consuming corpse oil wax, Li Mo easily eroded the outer layers of his soul, allowing the Fu Shi Soul’s worm eggs to hatch.

An eyeball emerged from the worm eggs.

The eyeball resembled a jellyfish, slowly swimming through blood vessels. The eerie nature of souls was undeniable, making the Three Souls unimaginable.

Li Mo glanced at the Creation Book, observing the Divine Skill awakened by the Fu Shi Soul.

[Commanding Intent Communication]

Among the Seven Spirits, the Fu Shi Soul’s significance was beyond question.

Li Mo had previously not associated the Fu Shi Soul’s awakened Divine Skill with Artifact Refining, but to his surprise, it involved "Feeding Ghost."

By consuming his own consciousness, he could stimulate the primordial Tao Seed’s nurturing technique.

The Heart Beast Sect had no records of techniques related to Feeding Ghosts, so the growth of Commanding Intent Communication would require him to seek answers in the Sub-Device Sect.

Though, Li Mo was a bit perplexed.

Now that even the Three Souls and Seven Spirits weren’t entirely his, where would the ghosts he fed come from?

Opening his eyes, Li Mo noticed that the primordial Tao Seed was refining his spell techniques but remained far less impactful than his cultivation techniques.

Li Mo had anticipated the primordial Tao Seed’s transformation.

As his cultivation level increased, every Divine Skill and Tao Seed would correspondingly strengthen.

Li Mo stood up, tiptoeing out of the hall, while casting Commanding Intent Communication. Immediately, his mind felt fatigued.

[Stone Fetus Feeding Ghost Technique]

[Five taels of human brain as the medicine, mix corpse spot stone powder with blood water, and submerge a ten-meter rock’s embryo heart. After two hundred years, the stone fetus may have a slight chance of transforming into a wandering soul.]

Li Mo raised an eyebrow, suddenly finding the Fu Shi Soul’s Divine Skill intriguing.

It seemed to follow the path of "all things can turn into ghosts," which might be applied to Artifact Refining, endowing Magic Artifacts with a touch of creation.

Unfortunately, under the current Commanding Intent Communication, any attempt at Feeding Ghosts would only be a waste of time.

When Li Mo approached within two meters of Han Cai, the latter immediately stirred awake.

"Greetings, Master Han."

"Li Mo, my disciple, has Weak Crown Stage Perfection gone smoothly?"

"Of course."

Li Mo helped Han Cai into the house, with the latter’s stiff movements resembling those of an old man due to his lingering injuries.

Han Cai took a sip of tea and handed Li Mo a bone scroll he had prepared beforehand.

"It contains information about the Hundred Beasts Blood Body. If you have the opportunity once you leave the Heart Beast Sect, do try to complete it..."

"What’s going on?"

Li Mo’s eyes briefly flashed with surprise before dismissing the notion that his identity as a traitor was discovered. After all, not even disciples of the Sub-Device Sect had noticed the uniqueness of the Kengjin Punishment.

Han Cai spoke gravely: "Tian Changwen wants to recommend you as the shopkeeper, but I know you cannot stay in Rong Town."

"The Sub-Device Sect harvests every few decades; how will you cultivate?"

"I’m still counting on you to become Immortal."

Although Han Cai’s tone was humorous, his confidence in Li Mo was steadfast.

He pointed southward. "According to my information, heading south of Rong Town lies an Immortal Sect comparable to the Sub-Device Sect, named Dan Ghost. Li Mo, you might want to try."

"I understand, Master Han. Your disciple promises to return in the future."

Li Mo nodded solemnly and began reviewing the contents of the bone scroll.

The Hundred Beasts Blood Body was drafted by Tian Changwen and others, employing acupuncture to inject beast blood into various body parts, stimulating physical transformation.

Its design echoed aspects of the Primordial Postnatal Dao Body, suggesting that they borrowed from other techniques, though it remained far from perfected.

"Master Han, can you temporarily transplant the Hundred Beasts Blood Body into me? I want to examine its potential flaws; perhaps I’ll find some insights."

"My disciple, you..."

Han Cai began to guess Li Mo’s intent, but mostly felt astonished.

They had endured extraordinary hardship to barely construct its framework, unclear if their direction was correct. Was Li Mo, who had entered Tao less than twenty years ago, truly capable of improving their technique?

After a long silence.

Han Cai shook his head. "Transplanting the Hundred Beasts Blood Body imposes a heavy burden on the flesh, easily introducing impurities into the bones and tissues..."

"It’s alright, Master Han. I understand."

Seeing Li Mo’s certainty, Han Cai retrieved the Liu Li jar containing a wild beast embryo.

Transplanting the embryo was a shortcut far less effective than mastering it through techniques, at least avoiding obvious vulnerabilities.

After hesitating for a while and considering the robustness of Li Mo’s Three Path Body foundation, Han Cai reluctantly connected the embryo’s umbilical cord to Li Mo’s abdomen.

Li Mo instantly felt the Tattooed Beast growing unusually active, and the Life-gathering Beast Body was also empowered. Clearly, the Hundred Beasts Blood Body was indeed well-suited for Beast Cultivators.

The primordial Tao Seed began spinning rapidly, improving the incomplete contents of the Hundred Beasts Blood Body and even dividing its cultivation steps clearly.

Yet, it also highlighted the crude nature of the Hundred Beasts Blood Body. The primordial Tao Seed struggled to modify the refined details of Hui Qingyi, indicating the flaws remained severe.

"Master Han, there’s little I can do."

"But I hope that upon my return to the Heart Beast Sect, you will have already founded an eternal legacy."

Li Mo’s Magic Finger transformed into a carving knife, inscribing the walls with meticulous concentration.

Han Cai gazed blankly at the wall, overwhelmed by the intricacy of the Hundred Beasts Blood Body, as Li Mo structured its framework within mere minutes.

Though it still contained many shortcomings, the direction was undoubtedly correct.

When Li Mo finished, Han Cai remained deeply immersed in the profound nature of the Hundred Beasts Blood Body, murmuring its concepts repetitively.

Li Mo calmly detached the embryo from himself and returned it to the glass bottle.

He carried the embryo into Corpse Mountain, contemplating whether the Hundred Beasts Blood Body could enhance the Life-gathering Beast Body, as their compatibility was far greater than expected.

Standing at the door of the Calligraphy and Painting Hall, Li Mo gazed out at the sky.

A full half-day passed before Han Cai finally snapped out of the Hundred Beasts Blood Body’s profundity, reluctantly collecting the walls inscribed with cultivation techniques.

"Master Han, I must leave now."

"Wait, I cannot provide you with many resources, but take this."

Han Cai handed Li Mo a fist-sized withered root, resembling a shriveled human head with its facial features still squirming.

The Little Human Head, an exceedingly rare spiritual material, was used to assist Core Formation.

Li Mo accepted the Little Human Head and walked out of the town under the moonlight.

"By the way..."

"Master Han, tell Zhu Zi that it’ll be some time before we drink together!!!"

An Immortal Seeker passed through the Heart Beast.