Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 156 - 16 Another Me? (Request for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 156: Chapter 16 Another Me? (Request for Monthly Votes)

Boom...

A giant magical tree nearly a hundred meters tall swept across the sky above the port before stopping two hundred meters above its topmost layer.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was the Daoist inheritance of Zone Seven—Taiping Qingmu—specialized in the Golden Wood cultivation techniques and uniquely dominant within the Sub-Device Sect.

Such a grand display could only mean that a Nascent Soul Great Power from Taiping Qingmu had arrived.

Taiping Qingmu was merely the opening act.

Zone Six’s Daoist inheritance, Baili Fushan, arrived wielding a Magical Artifact resembling chunks of flesh; Zone Nine’s inheritance, Bai Gu Qianzu, bore an artifact shaped like a skull; Zone Five’s inheritance, Great Corrosive Water, featured a towering hundred-meter-tall Nascent Soul cultivator carrying its disciples like a living mud sculpture.

The Sub-Device Sect had fewer than a hundred Daoist inheritances, yet over thirty had shown up for this gathering.

The overwhelming pressure emitted by the Nascent Soul stage—however slight—was more than enough to obliterate the port on which loose cultivators relied for survival.

"Daoist Qingtian!"

An Artifact Refiner couldn’t contain their astonishment as a massive coffin slowly floated into view, its lid bearing over a dozen figures.

Among them was bound to be the renowned Daoist Qingtian.

In previous Quiong Battles, Daoist inheritances often found themselves unable to avoid settling old grudges and creating new ones—even having their disciples personally fight on the battlefield was a common occurrence.

The Artifact Refiners were eager to see if Daoist Qingtian would personally take action; it would certainly be entertaining.

After all, the legendary name of the Five Dao Body carried immense weight, and everyone was curious if Daoist Qingtian lived up to the extraordinary reputation.

The port’s Artifact Refiners continued to congregate, far surpassing the scale of previous Quiong Battles.

The tension between Daoist inheritances within the Sub-Device Sect was one factor, but the other was the opportunity to acquire Meat Limb Magical Artifacts in preparation for the upcoming Golden Cauldron Sect event.

While paying close attention to the Chaotic Burial Furnace, cultivators also discreetly monitored the Four Seas Refining Shop.

No one understood why the Chaotic Burial Furnace was participating in the Quiong Battle—after all, the esteemed Four Seas Refining Shop had been personally guided by a Nascent Soul Great Power.

What was so special about the Four Seas Refining Shop’s shopkeeper?

It was then that they realized the shop’s stationed Artifact Refiner had never shown themselves, leaving their identity shrouded in mystery.

The shop was cloaked by a specific array, making it impossible for outsiders to discern its internal activities.

Over time, the prying eyes targeting the Four Seas Refining Shop had gradually receded, leaving only a few cultivators drunk on their vices to loiter persistently outside its doors.

In the three days leading up to the Quiong Battle, the area within a hundred meters of the refining shop was isolated by the port’s protective array, ensuring no accidental intrusions.

The bustling marketplace at the port’s base came to a near standstill; even loose cultivators desperate to sell their spiritual materials held their silence during the Quiong Battle, choosing instead to observe the unfolding events.

The auction would be the biggest wildcard, directly influencing the price fluctuations of spiritual materials.

If an unpopular Meat Limb Magical Artifact managed to prove exceptional at the auction, the corresponding spiritual materials would inevitably see a significant price hike.

The port base was packed with speculative loose cultivators.

Every Quiong Battle ended with some loose cultivators gambling boldly and achieving overnight wealth, further cementing the port as a haven of opportunity.

"Hmm, let’s begin."

An unknown Nascent Soul cultivator spoke, their voice resonating through the pit.

The asteroid belt began to tremble, and the port’s structure underwent a complete transformation, until the loose cultivators’ collective gasps filled the air.

Greed intermingled with desire.

The port began to collapse of its own accord, but judging by the calm demeanor of the loose cultivators, such large-scale changes occurred at every Quiong Battle.

The asteroid belt shifted from its island-like appearance to that of a basin, with the port’s base situated at its inner circle.

The remaining buildings were stacked upward in a precise pattern, with the topmost tier reserved for the refining shops participating in the Quiong Battle.

The central region was composed of countless shattered stones, seemingly on the verge of collapse at any moment.

The loose cultivators referred to this central area of the basin as the "fighting basin," a space for intense skirmishes among the Qiong people.

The term "fighting basin" also carried a secondary metaphor of being a container for cricket fights.

The earth continued to shake violently.

The sheer magnitude of the movements had cracked the walls of some buildings.

The freshly exposed insides were revealed to be constructed from white bone material, intertwined with writhing strands of pulsating blood veins—unsurprisingly, the sight seemed to have become commonplace for the cultivators.

An invisible force seemed to pervade the port, growing in intensity.

The loose cultivators became uncharacteristically fervent, while industrial fumes rose from the alleys and streets, casting their surroundings into multicolored neon-like glows under sputtering candlelight.

They resembled compulsive gamblers at a betting table, willing to stake their lives for a chance to change their fortunes.

From within the refining shops emerged a wave of Qiong people, most of whom had cultivation levels at the Weak Crown Middle Stage. After all, those at the Weak Crown Late Stage were focused on reaching Core Formation and would never risk participating in the Quiong Battle.

The Qiong people refrained from displaying their Meat Limb Magical Artifacts, for fear of revealing their strengths and weaknesses to potential opponents—each appeared either lacking hands or missing legs.

After prolonged silence, the Four Seas Refining Shop’s doors slowly opened.

Daoist Qingqiu stood expressionless at the entrance. She was the only Qiong person with all limbs intact, though her hands and feet were wrapped in a loose-fitting robe.

With cultivation at the Weak Crown Early Stage, her initial appearance was scorned by the other refining shops.

However, it was already surprising that the Four Seas Refining Shop could produce Meat Limb Magical Artifacts—it seemed the Chaotic Burial Furnace truly intended to take part in the Quiong Battle.

The stationed Artifact Refiners watched Daoist Qingqiu closely.

They noticed that her external aura was unimpressive; her limbs were likely made of Meat Limb Magical Artifacts, radiating a faint sense of...

Beast-like essence?

The last time the Chaotic Burial Furnace participated in a Quiong Battle was five centuries ago.

Back then, the Meat Limb Magical Artifacts produced by the Chaotic Burial Furnace were crudely manufactured but carried unmistakable traces of corpse dao. Why now did they seem like beast limbs?

"Huh..."

Not only could the Artifact Refiners not decipher things, even the Nascent Soul Great Powers murmured in visible confusion.

The gazes on Daoist Qingqiu gradually withdrew; other refining shops typically fielded three Qiong people, while the Four Seas Refining Shop had only her, posing little threat.

The Gang Winds roared.

All cultivators felt momentarily disoriented as dense mist rose from the pit, quickly obscuring the massive magical artifacts representing each Daoist inheritance.

The Daoist inheritances withdrew from the Quiong Battle, adopting vantage points as spectators hovering above the auction.

Next came the stationed Artifact Refiners, who lacked the capabilities of Nascent Soul Great Powers and had no choice but to obediently float into the dense mist, leaving the Qiong people behind to await the start of the clash.

It was almost absurd; the refining shops seemed like cages holding fighting crickets.

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch. The port’s environment was inherently stifling, and the loose cultivators treated the Quiong Battle as a vent for their pent-up emotions.

However, frustration mounted as the Quiong Battle remained delayed.

The culprit behind the delay was none other than the Four Seas Refining Shop.

According to the Quiong Battle’s rules, refining shops were only allowed to field their Qiong people—preventing Daoist inheritances from secretly meddling in the disputes.

Yet Li Mo had yet to make an appearance, leaving the tens of thousands of cultivators at the port waiting for him alone.

Strangely enough, the dozen Nascent Soul Great Powers remained completely patient toward Li Mo’s tardiness, exhibiting an almost unthinkable tolerance.

What sort of enigmatic force was the Four Seas Refining Shop?

Daoist Qingqiu bore the suffocating pressure helplessly; being the center of attention was far from pleasant, and she had already begun to regret choosing to participate as a Qiong person.

She knew well that Li Mo was in secluded cultivation, and loud noises occasionally echoed from within his quarters.

She had assumed he wouldn’t miss the Quiong Battle, but as it turned out...

Footsteps rang from the Four Seas Refining Shop, relieving Daoist Qingqiu as the pressure eased—soon, Li Mo’s figure emerged through the doorway.

Li Mo stepped into the gaze of countless onlookers.

His towering frame exceeding two meters, restrained spiritual power permeating his body, and faint tattoo patterns on his arms, with beast heads faintly visible on his wrists, came into view.

If Daoist Qingqiu’s beast-like essence resembled that of a common animal, then Li Mo’s radiated the ferocity of a primordial wilderness beast.

His Cave God Dharma Eye, resembling Yin Yang fish, swept across the surroundings, prompting cultivators to instinctively avert their gaze.

After revealing himself, Li Mo left them even more perplexed regarding his identity—there was no record of his existence within the Chaotic Burial Furnace.

Unfazed by the murmurs, Li Mo shook his head with slight exasperation.

He had underestimated the refining difficulty of the Daluo Heaven array. Interrupting the Twenty Refinements for a top-grade magical artifact was impossible, forcing him to see it through.

Thankfully, it hadn’t consumed too much time, and the Twenty Refinements process was completed flawlessly.

Li Mo was familiar with the Quiong Battle’s rules, and considering the attitudes of the Nascent Soul Great Powers, he understood that his identity was no longer a secret.

Clearly, the Nascent Soul Great Powers were willing to give Li Mo face; otherwise, the Four Seas Refining Shop’s qualification would have been revoked long ago.

"And that second Qing Tian Daoist... What kind of trouble is this now?"

Li Mo slightly bent his knees as his blood surged like torrents, his heart pounding furiously under the effects of Paoxiao Swallowing Body.

Bang!!

Spiderweb-like cracks extended across the ground.

Li Mo vanished into a wisp of shadow, his Cave God Dharma Eye piercing through the dense mist, which obligingly parted to create an opening for him to vanish through.

His brute actions undoubtedly distinguished him as far from ordinary.

At least possessing the Three Path Body, for he wouldn’t otherwise have such terrifying physical prowess combined with pure spiritual cultivation. Yet the last notable user of the Three Path Body from the Path of Self-Reflection was only Sheng Ge...

Li Mo passed through the mist, unexpectedly finding himself surrounded by a courtyard.

The courtyard appeared conjured by the methods of a Nascent Soul Great Power—a small world perhaps signifying that, to them, the Quiong Battle was nothing but a game.

As for the port, it now resembled nothing more than a wooden basin, with loose cultivators reduced to the stature of ants—it indeed bore some similarity to a cricket fight.

In the courtyard, there were over a dozen Nascent Soul Great Powers, hundreds of Core Formation cultivators, and numerous refining shops’ stationed Artifact Refiners.

Li Mo even noticed Sheng Ge—the prominent Three Path Body cultivator—among the crowd.

All eyes on Li Mo carried varied emotions, with some Nascent Soul Great Powers even harboring an elusive touch of envy.

"Qing Tian, such an imposing presence."

Big Deer Thousand Feet squinted faintly, locking its gaze onto Li Mo.

Old Earth True Monarch stepped forward with a warm smile, his complexion akin to the flawless sheen of porcelain. The main hall of the Chaotic Burial Furnace similarly housed his statue.

He cradled a porcelain bottle in his hands. "Big Deer, the disciples of the Chaotic Burial Furnace are not yours to discipline. Have you forgotten that I’m here as well?"

"Damn it, the Five Dao Body should belong to Bai Gu Qianzu," someone hissed venomously.

Hostilities escalated imminently.

Li Mo retreated into the crowd, with Core Formation cultivators naturally stepping aside to make way, while even the Nascent Soul Great Powers exhibited strangely polite expressions toward him.

It left Li Mo utterly bewildered until he made a chilling discovery.

Through his Cave God Dharma Eye, Li Mo discerned over twenty Artifact Refiners present whose bodies radiated phosphorescence—their appearances remained outwardly normal, yet their internal organs had turned into pulp.

Even more bizarrely, the porcelain bottle held by Old Earth True Monarch exuded a resonance akin to Li Mo’s own aura.

And most unsettling of all, the shaking within that bottle unmistakably indicated... life.

What exactly was contained within it?