Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 169 - 29: What is called an open conspiracy is simply following the trends of the times.

Chapter 169: Chapter 29: What is called an open conspiracy is simply following the trends of the times.

The Four Seas Refining Shop was packed to capacity.

All the cultivators deliberately maintained a two-meter distance from one another. The details concerning the upcoming Alchemy Competition had long spread secretly.

Whoosh.

A sharp sound pierced the air.

At the staircase leading to the top level of the Four Seas Refining Shop, a chain suddenly shot out, flashing towards a certain location with blinding speed.

A toolsmith cultivator stared in disbelief at the chain piercing through his chest.

"You..."

His entire body weakened, and the melting furnace within him had already been shattered by the strike. The surrounding cultivators watched the gory scene indifferently, their expressions cold as ice.

The toolsmith wanted to say something, but his consciousness slipped into an endless darkness.

A fissure cracked open at the back of his skull, as if something was trying to crawl out. Yet, before that could happen, his body was swiftly dragged away by the chain.

The cultivators regarded all this as commonplace.

Every few days, there would be alchemists who thought they had concealed their identities well, sneaking into the refining shop to gather intelligence or ambush Daoist Qingtian.

Their fates were invariably the same: they became vengeful ghosts enslaved by Daoist Qingtian.

The chilling realization was that, with each alchemist throwing themselves into these failed assassination attempts and dying, the alcohol production at the Four Seas Refining Shop only seemed to increase.

Moreover, Daoist Qingqiu showed no qualms in naming the beverages outright as "Corpse Wine."

Who would believe the brewing of Corpse Wine had nothing to do with actual corpses?

But rather than harming business, the wine trade flourished. Cultivators even speculated that the corpses of alchemists held greater medicinal properties.

Because of Daoist Qingtian’s ruthless methods, the Alchemy Competition had maintained a semblance of restraint, and fewer alchemists dared to probe the refining shop.

The region’s perpetual rainy season even seemed to abate slightly.

The death toll remained steady at four or five individuals—a stark comparison to the nearly ten thousand resident cultivators of the port, where fatalities from metal poisoning far exceeded this number.

After two or three months, the Four Seas Refining Shop instead became a beacon of tranquility, with even the adjacent streets now unusually peaceful.

The alchemists refrained from launching attacks, and Daoist Qingtian remained secluded within his chamber.

It seemed like an unspoken truce had been reached.

But astute observers could easily tell that as soon as Daoist Qingtian deemed himself fully prepared, he would undoubtedly launch a bloodbath against the alchemists.

The two sides were locked in an unending cycle of mutual destruction. Should Daoist Qingtian show any sign of weakness, the alchemists would pounce to pick apart his remains.

Moreover, there was an Outer Elixir Daoist rumored to have been at the Fake Core Stage for twenty years and possessing a Dual Dao Body—an exceptionally formidable individual.

Li Mo was in no hurry; instead, he contacted Elder Zhong and managed to acquire a small shop beside the Four Seas Refining Shop, establishing the Qingshan Tavern.

The Qingshan Tavern quickly drew the attention of many loose cultivators.

They discovered that not only had Li Mo expanded the variety of Corpse Wine, but he also refined the recipes, making the wines’ medicinal effects significantly more potent for cultivation.

The effects were comparable to those of equivalent elixirs.

Logically, one would assume that running the refining shop alone would already consume much of Li Mo’s energy, leaving no room for the creation of new wine formulas. After all, a man’s energy is finite.

Yet, to everyone’s stunned disbelief, Li Mo managed to handle the countless orders for Beast Head Meat Limbs while still finding the leisure to brew wines and even continue his cultivation.

Was this some Heavenly Human Seven Brains physique?

The Corpse Wine at the Qingshan Tavern cost only a third of the price of equivalent elixirs, instantly earning the adoration of loose cultivators upon release.

The originally desolate streets now bustled with activity due to the two establishments, Qingshan and Four Seas. The streets became a sea of people and carts.

Within a kilometer’s radius, the air was filled with an intoxicating mixture of industrial fumes and wine fragrance. Along the way, tipsy cultivators could be seen wandering about.

Elder Zhong grew increasingly uneasy.

In his understanding, Li Mo was not someone who would willingly keep a low profile.

Since he had already stirred up this much commotion, he must harbor intentions of utter annihilation. How could he spare energy for running a shop?

Elder Zhong, unable to shake off his apprehension, quietly visited the Qingshan Tavern, his eyes immediately catching sight of hundreds of cultivators bustling around the entrance.

Due to the shop’s purchase limits on alcohol, a new group of wine resellers had emerged in the port.

Whenever the shop was about to open, they raced to queue at the door, buying up Corpse Wine only to resell it at a 30% markup.

Particularly sought after were the older vintages of Corpse Wine, which, while only slightly stronger medicinally, offered flavors far richer and more complex—a truly rare treasure.

The Qingshan Tavern made no effort to stop these loose cultivators, instead letting them do as they pleased.

As a result, Corpse Wine began flooding the lower-tier market of the port. A twenty-year vintage had become so rare that it was practically priceless.

"That brat Qingtian only gifts me ten-year-old wine at best,"

Elder Zhong muttered a few words, his gaze sweeping over the Corpse Wine stored in glazed Liu Li jars, his apprehension growing ever stronger.

When Daoist Qingqiu saw him, she hurriedly welcomed this Core Formation senior inside.

"Elder Zhong, if you’d like a drink, a word from you would suffice."

Daoist Qingqiu was responsible for managing both establishments and had performed admirably during the Quiong Battle. Even the toolsmith cultivators regarded her with respect.

"I’m just taking a look,"

Elder Zhong narrowed his eyes. Volcanic-like external organs on his body emitted thick smoke, but the shop’s suspended magic artifacts absorbed it entirely.

"Your artifact refinement has progressed too rapidly. If not for them being born entirely from the Mother Furnace, I would’ve guessed some Great Power had seized your body and been reborn in it."

He chuckled bitterly, his gaze scanning the various types of Corpse Wine inside Qingshan Tavern: Bear Liver Wine, Brain Nourishing Wine, Tongue Moss Wine, Big Dream Wine, Multi-Eyed Wine.

This was also Elder Zhong’s first time encountering Big Dream Wine and Multi-Eyed Wine. The former had a greenish-blue hue, while the latter was slightly viscous, with a dozen or so eyes of varying sizes floating inside.

According to Daoist Qingqiu’s explanation, Big Dream Wine alleviated latent physical injuries, inducing a drunken stupor that allowed the body to detoxify and heal.

Multi-Eyed Wine nourished the eyes and was particularly beneficial for cultivators practicing ocular-based techniques. Regular use could greatly enhance the power of such techniques.

Big Dream Wine was the best-seller, mostly due to the corrosive nature of the port’s lower-tier smoke and dust.

The wine’s rich fragrance wafted into Elder Zhong’s nostrils.

Unable to resist, Elder Zhong asked Daoist Qingqiu for a few samples to taste. He subtly cast an ocular spell, his eye sockets briefly sinking and emanating smoke.

The spell dissipated in less than a fraction of a breath, leaving his expression utterly peculiar.

Elder Zhong noticed something unexpected: tiny, imperceptible worms floated within the wine. The Qingshan Tavern didn’t even attempt to hide this fact, deliberately using clear Liu Li jars to store the wine.

According to posted notices inside the shop, these worms, called Wine Worms, prolonged the medicinal potency of Corpse Wine, preventing it from evaporating over time.

Elder Zhong’s eyes twitched as he left the Qingshan Tavern.

"As expected, Qingtian never intended for the alchemists to walk away alive. This is beyond my purview."

The Wine Worms were an overt plot—one any cultivator could guess was aimed at the alchemists. Yet, no one minded since the worms truly extended the wine’s lifespan, and they delighted in the thought of the alchemists’ impending doom.

Li Mo sat cross-legged in his seclusion room, holding a Liu Li wine bottle containing an unusually large Wine Worm as thick as a finger.

[Brewing Worm]

[Through sacrificing one’s own flesh and blood, along with the addition of five taels of bone powder and some strands of hair, Brewing Mother Worm eggs can grow in select organs.]

The Brewing Mother Worm produced a hundred eggs every three days, which, upon maturing into Brewing Worms, helped preserve Corpse Wine.

Additionally, Li Mo could sense the location of the sub-worms through the Brewing Mother Worm.

When exposed to air, Wine Worms immediately perished, but the intangible intelligence they conveyed was vast and far surpassed the concealment capabilities of Breath Fog.

Li Mo had specifically ordered Daoist Qingqiu to gift wine to the port’s most prominent establishments.

In just half a month, the Wine Worms had spread throughout the port, weaving an invisible web that tightly encased the alchemists.

Li Mo kept his eyes closed, connecting with the Brewing Mother Worm.

He had already locked onto several alchemists, who, while merely having come into contact with Corpse Wine, were entirely unaware they had long been exposed under Li Mo’s gaze.

Even if the alchemists detected something unusual about the Wine Worms, it wouldn’t matter.

What made it an overt plot was its inevitability.

"Just a little more... let’s gather up ten alchemists before striking,"

Li Mo murmured before diverting part of his consciousness to study the tattoo points on his shoulders. His ideas for surgical modifications were beginning to take shape.

Once all seven of the tattoo points were perfected, he could finally consider imprinting the Green Robe.

He was immensely curious about the extraordinary transformation that might occur if the Life-Gathering Beast Body combined with the Hundred Beasts Blood Body in an Acquired Dao Body.

This attempt with the Life-Gathering Beast Body was a pivotal experiment for Li Mo.

After all, the notion of artificially meddling with the formation of a Dao Body was unheard of in the Heart Beast Territory. Even the slightest error could harm the foundation.

If the Life-Gathering Beast Body truly proved capable of merging with the Hundred Beasts Blood Body,

Li Mo might even consider conducting additional experiments to forge connections between Dao Bodies, laying groundwork for the eventual cultivation of a Supreme Immortal Body.

"That Outer Elixir Daoist is quite intriguing, hiding so deeply,"

Li Mo’s lips curled into a smirk. Over these recent days of devouring elixirs, the first crack on his Mist Fog Golden Core had healed completely. Alchemists at the Fake Core Stage who were versed in sect techniques held boundless value.

Such wondrous supplements indeed.

......

At the southwestern corner of the port’s lower tier—

"Yellow essence of man, fragrant osmanthus, caution with two buckets of filth."

A tightly-wrapped carriage crept towards a secluded alleyway, exuding a strong metallic odor.

"Night Cleaning" referred to those who handled waste in the port.

Typically, cultivators who specialized in foul spiritual power were hired for the role. It was one of the few ironclad professions in the port, offering steady Spirit Stone wages.

The waste involved was not conventional refuse; even mortals, after turning twenty, no longer consumed food.

Instead, waste referred to blood-soaked scraps contaminated by metal poisons, mainly byproducts discarded during the refinement of meat limbs at artifact shops.

The Night Cleaner emptied their load into a desolate well.

The well extended deep into the port’s underground. Piles of waste enhanced the metal spiritual energy in the environment while stabilizing the meteorite belt.

After offloading, the cleaner promptly drove the carriage away from the well without noticing the chewing noises rising from its depths, accompanied by a resentful murmuring. It sounded as though a creature was growing steadily within.

Moments later, a figure began to crawl out of the well inch by inch.

The figure sported eight heads, its flesh corroded by metal poison and laced with rust, exuding a faintly medicinal aroma.

"Qingtian, I... I can only mend my losses by devouring you. Just you wait..."

"You are destined to be the stepping stone for me to form a High Grade Golden Core, the nourishment I need."

His Taoist Inheritance was "Detoxification Pill."

The Detoxification Pill was used to suppress metal poisoning in the body. Before the advent of Big Dream Wine, it had been an indispensable resource for loose cultivators’ daily survival.

The figure retreated back underground, navigating the narrow subterranean pathways to silently maneuver throughout the port’s lower-tier areas.