Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 162 - 22: Divine Skills of the Pupils [Taiyin and Taiyang]

Chapter 162: Chapter 22: Divine Skills of the Pupils [Taiyin and Taiyang]

The Stove Land is located on the west side of the port’s lower layers. Being connected to the outside world, hundreds of loose cultivators pass through it every day.

Over time, a fixed market naturally developed.

On the surface, the Stove Land appears to be a temple. Inside, there’s a passageway leading directly underground, ending at a towering gate over twenty meters high.

Beyond the gate lies Duozhi Mountain, which the Artifact Cultivators commonly refer to as Duobao Mountain.

The Sub-Device Sect has established twenty Duozhi Mountains in total across the outside world, varying in scale. Some peaks measure barely a hundred meters, offering no resource yields.

Near Duozhi Mountains, black markets established by loose cultivators are commonplace.

The circulation of goods through multiple black markets has transformed Stove Land into the port’s most chaotic street, with loose cultivators’ corpses being discarded here daily.

The Stove Land serves as the port’s dark underbelly, riddled with gangs big and small.

Some newly arrived loose cultivators fall victim to schemes devised by the gangs before they’ve even caught sight of the neon streaks along the roadside, often finding themselves forced to sell organs to repay debts within days.

Of course, gangs that behave too brashly seldom survive for long.

The Sub-Device Sect is wary of disrupting the port and typically eliminates troublemakers swiftly, then pacifies the remaining gangs.

The Stove Land bustles with commotion; loose cultivators within the market murmur amongst themselves.

No one knows why, but the Sub-Device Sect has abruptly sealed off Stove Land, leaving only a squad of Artifact Cultivators standing outside, looking at each other in confusion.

Artifact Cultivators generally bear characteristics of three arms, indicating their origin from the Three Ginseng Corners of District Two, a group tasked with maintaining order in Stove Land.

"Brother Chang, could it be the Death Disease? I’ve never seen a death like this."

An Artifact Cultivator couldn’t resist voicing his suspicion.

Though the Three Ginseng Corners disciples oversee Stove Land entirely, their strength mostly hovers around the Weak Crown’s early to mid-stage, relying solely on the Sub-Device Sect’s intimidating influence to suppress the gangs.

Chang Fu cast a glance at the speaker, Ji Dachun, whose body had already deteriorated severely, his advanced age making him the oldest among the Artifact Cultivator guards.

"A century ago, similar corpses appeared, hmm..."

"Hard to say."

Chang Fu shook his head, avoiding a direct answer, then attempted to reassure him: "The elders within the sect mentioned that a top-grade inheritance Artifact Cultivator will arrive to assist us. Don’t worry, it won’t fall solely on us few to handle."

Ji Dachun’s face lit up in delight. "Core Formation stage?"

"Impossible."

"Though several loose cultivators have died, the Sub-Device Sect wouldn’t bother deploying someone at Core Formation. It’s probably a seasoned fellow Daoist."

After hearing Chang Fu’s words, Ji Dachun and the other Artifact Cultivators felt a bit disappointed.

The corpses were simply too eerie, as though harboring an unspeakable horror. Just thinking about it was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

"Brother Chang, when will the person arrive? You know Stove Land can’t remain closed for long."

An Artifact Cultivator reminded him, his gaze involuntarily scanning the market in all directions, clearly mixing with spies from over a dozen gang factions.

The Three Ginseng Corners sect’s mountain gate belongs to Upper Three Districts of scarce resources.

They survive purely on what Stove Land generates for them, their interests intertwined with gangs, resulting in the market’s rampant chaos.

Now that Stove Land is shut down, it will undoubtedly disrupt the gangs’ black-market transportation of "contraband."

"They should be arriving soon."

A glint of malevolence flashed in Chang Fu’s eyes. If a gang dared stir trouble in Stove Land, the sect’s revenue must be secured, even if it meant wholesale cleansing.

"Just wait for my signal. If any gang takes the lead in causing trouble..."

"Hmm?"

Before Chang Fu could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed the market crowds parting voluntarily, as though yielding for a figure approaching Stove Land.

The figure stood over two meters tall, clad in loose robes. His chest bore the emblem of the Chaotic Burial Furnace.

A gust of wind swept through.

From the exposed cuffs of his sleeves, one could see dense and intricate tattoos sprawling across his four limbs. The ferocious beast patterns seemed to constantly shift and move.

What surprised Chang Fu the most was that the man had three eyes.

On his forehead were Yin-Yang Fish, while his two main eyes manifested as Yin and Yang. The air around him twisted perpetually, driving nearby passersby away instinctively.

After the Quiong Battle, no cultivator could fail to recognize Daoist Qingtian.

The image of him effortlessly obliterating deceitful objects still lingered vividly in memory. It is said that Daoist Qingtian’s talent was unprecedented in the Sub-Device Sect.

The gangs shrank away instantly, losing all nerve to act.

They commanded the crowd to line up along the streets, clearing a path for Li Mo, terrified of inadvertently angering him.

Ji Dachun muttered to himself, "Qing...Qingtian Daoist, we..."

Chang Fu shook his head and said, "It’s fine; he’s likely the Artifact Cultivator dispatched to assist us. Just follow Daoist Qingtian’s direction in handling things."

His face revealed a strange expression; though he had only caught a glimpse during the Quiong Battle, close observation now gave him a full sense of the terrifying pressure emanating from Li Mo.

It was simply inhuman.

And though only two years had passed, Qingtian Daoist’s cultivation was still at the Weak Crown mid-stage. However, his aura had become even more suffocating.

"Let’s go and inspect the corpses."

Li Mo led the way into Stove Land, with only Chang Fu and Ji Dachun following closely behind.

After Li Mo’s figure disappeared, the market regained its usual clamor, while the gang factions began plotting inwardly.

The passage into Stove Land was pitch dark, suffused with a peculiar medicinal fragrance.

Li Mo discerned that Stove Land was equipped with unique protective arrays, likely deactivated due to the Dan Ghost Sect’s influence.

After progressing for a short while, four grotesque corpses came into view.

Their bodies had shriveled to skin and bones, while their heads swelled to three times their normal size. Their tongues, grotesquely swollen and protruding from their mouths, made their heads resemble human-headed snails the more one looked.

The nearby walls within ten meters blossomed with lush green sprouts, all newly grown medicinal herbs.

Ji Dachun showed a trace of fear, but upon seeing Li Mo’s indifferent expression and recalling his scene of mercilessly slaughtering a berserk Pill Cultivator, he managed to steady his mind.

"The corpses died half a day ago without warning; their flesh suddenly began shrinking, and their tongues burst through their jaws."

Chang Fu spoke while retrieving an illuminating Lantern Magic Artifact.

As soon as he infused Spiritual Power into it, the Lantern Magic Artifact emitted a brilliant light, illuminating the surrounding hundred meters—but shadows still lingered in areas.

"I’ll handle this; otherwise, things might still be overlooked."

Under the watchful gaze of the two others, grayish Ash Spirit Power leaked from Li Mo’s right eye, causing the structure of his eye to alter rapidly.

The black pupil and white sclera of his right eye exuded thick plumes of smoke.

Gradually, his pupil transformed into a burning miniature Sun, while his left eye condensed into a solid form resembling a pale gray miniature Moon.

Li Mo reached out to his right eye, extracting the miniature Sun into the palm of his hand. His right eye socket now appeared to cave inward, resembling a collapsing black hole.

He flung the miniature Sun into the air, instantly lighting up the dim passageway.

Chang Fu’s jaw dropped in shock; Li Mo’s methods left him utterly astonished. Should the miniature Sun explode, he would likely have no means of resistance whatsoever.

One could vaguely sense that the black-and-white dual eyes were tied to some sort of Spell.

"Two years have passed, and Qingtian Daoist hasn’t idled it away. This technique must be an innovation of his Magic Technique..."

Chang Fu’s guess was startlingly close to the truth.

The transformation of Li Mo’s eyes originated from the imprint of the Creation Book, awakening a Divine Skill named [Taiyin and Taiyang], intimately linked to the Dharma Eye of the Cave God.

His left eye represented Taiyin, while the right eye represented Taiyang.

This Divine Skill enables Spiritual Power to manifest in forms of Extreme Yin and Yang, while his pupils can detach temporarily to convert into Sun and Moon shapes.

Currently, Li Mo was still in the exploratory phase, requiring further imprints from the Creation Book across his five senses or the birth of an Innate Taoist Body for more significant potency.

The Divine Skill was presently in a visually impressive yet practically limited stage.

He bent down to inspect the four corpses, noting that they retained traces of life energy, their tongues having crushed and completely fragmented their skulls.

The medicinal fragrance emanated from their tongues.

For Childhood Cultivators, tongues could be used as spiritual material to boost cultivation, providing results even superior to costly Elixirs.

Ji Dachun swallowed nervously, prompting Li Mo to jest, "Interested?"

"I-I-I..."

Li Mo waved him off, laughing. Then Breath Fog emerged from his fingertips, penetrating the corpses’ heads to investigate their shattered Mud Pill Palaces.

Typically, Mud Pill Palaces resemble a walnut and are located at the back of the skull.

These corpses’ Mud Pill Palaces instead resembled honeycombs, fractured into thousands of tiny chambers previously housing indescribable entities that had violently burst forth within Stove Land.

Outer Elixirs incorporate the body into the pill; Inner Elixirs incorporate the soul into the pill.

In all likelihood, the culprit behind the loose cultivators’ deaths was related to the Inner Core Lineage. Li Mo had already formed a hypothesis regarding the specifics.

Li Mo realized now why Old Earth True Monarch entrusted the Dan Ghost Sect affair to him.

It was because his Leakless Body rendered him immune to the bizarre possession abilities of Outer and Inner Pill Cultivators. However, Li Mo couldn’t fathom why Old Earth True Monarch was so certain that no high-level Pill Cultivators would arrive at the port.

Lost in thought, he casually stored the four half-dead corpses into the Corpse Mountain.

The corpses retained traces of life and were buried in the Chaotic Burial Mound at the Yin Attribute Secondary Peak; this marked yet another expansion of Corpse Wine production.

Chang Fu cautiously asked, "Taoist Qingtian, what do you propose we do?"

Li Mo took out a Spirit Talisman designed for transmitting thoughts and informed Elder Zhong of the Dan Ghost Sect affair. The elder hesitated for some time before replying.

"Proceed as usual."

He also learned that Old Earth True Monarch had returned from the deeper layers of the small world.

Li Mo sighed with resignation, embedded the miniature Sun back into his right eye, and swiftly made his way toward the Stove Land exit.

"Reopen it."

Chang Fu and Ji Dachun didn’t fully understand but refrained from asking further.

Li Mo paused at the gate, turned, and said cryptically, "Stove Land’s smuggling operations have grown rampant. Have you heard of a black market dealing in Heart Beasts?"

The two exchanged glances, unsure of how to reply.

"Keep an eye out for me. If any smuggling involves the Heart Beast Black Market, I need you to pass something to one of its loose cultivators."

Chang Fu cupped his hands solemnly and replied, "Taoist Qingtian, if I get word of anything, I’ll inform you immediately without the slightest delay."

"Thank you."

Li Mo nodded in acknowledgment before vanishing with a few effortless flickers.

Meanwhile, his split consciousness processed the memories released by the Creation Book upon contact with the corpses, all linked to ancient records of the Dan Ghost Sect within the Cultivation World.

Back then, the ancient Dan Ghost Sect was renowned for its extensive connections, frequently inviting Foundation Establishment disciples from associate Immortal Sects to their Internal Core Lineage promotion Alchemy Competitions.

High-quality Foundation Establishment Pills would be gifted to Qi Cultivation Stage attendees, and their success with Foundation Establishment determined their eligibility for Inner Sect promotion.

The modern Dan Ghost Sect retains the tradition, albeit taking initiatives to visit other Immortal Sects to "perform alchemy" rather than hosting guests.

The port has essentially become their Alchemy Furnace.

"If I had joined the Dan Ghost Sect back then, with my knack for stealing nests from others, I’d undoubtedly have been their most prominent disciple."