Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 195 - 55 Inner Sect? Ask Li Mo First

Chapter 195: Chapter 55 Inner Sect? Ask Li Mo First

The Golden Cauldron Sect has already lasted over a dozen years.

In the eyes of the cultivators at the port, everything carried an air of unusualness.

Previously, though the Golden Cauldron Sect had been known to command all Daoist inheritances to enter Zone 9, the number of Core Formation Artifact Refiners who truly participated was exceptionally small.

Yet over a decade ago, more than a thousand Core Formation Artifact Refiners mysteriously disappeared.

This even impacted the port’s businesses; shops like the Four Seas Refining Shop had to temporarily close because their Artifact Refiners had vanished.

What shocked everyone most was how long the Golden Cauldron Sect had persisted this time.

Golden Cauldron Sect events usually last five to six years, with very few instances nearing twenty, especially given that the interval between events is roughly about a century.

Even Nascent Soul Great Powers had completely vanished.

According to the Sub-Device Sect, these Nascent Soul Great Powers had ventured into a small world deep underground, but the convergence of so many oddities was utterly baffling.

The strange and inexplicable nature of the Golden Cauldron Sect naturally led to widespread speculation among the cultivators.

Some even suspected internal upheaval within the Sub-Device Sect, leading to the mass demise and Dao disappearance of Core Formation Artifact Refiners, with only a veneer of calm maintained. This speculation sent chills down many spines.

The port became a chaotic mix of fish and dragons, with spies from other sects appearing all over.

It wasn’t until five years ago, when the Nascent Soul Great Powers gradually reappeared, that the turbulence caused by the Golden Cauldron Sect began to subside, though undercurrents still lingered.

The depression of the port’s second-tier shops became visibly apparent.

But the bottom tier grew increasingly prosperous, with the number of loose cultivators multiplying by three or four times. The buildings there had been expanded several times, appearing unbearably crowded.

As cultivators speculated on what outcome would conclude the Golden Cauldron Sect’s developments...

...eighteen years after the initial incident, the port suddenly reverberated with the words of a Nascent Soul Great Power, announcing the end of the protracted Golden Cauldron Sect.

"The Golden Cauldron Sect is closed."

As soon as the words fell, unusual activity occurred at the mountain gates on the fringes of Zone 9.

Starting from the low-grade Dao inheritances’ mountain gates, the silhouettes of Core Formation Artifact Refiners began appearing one by one.

The Core Formation Artifact Refiners seemed dazed as if awakening from a dream, with many still clutching Corpse Wine Jars in their hands. The pungent stench of wine pervaded the mountain gates.

Nascent Soul Great Powers of the lower-grade Dao inheritances floated in the midair above the mountain gates. Seeing that their disciples hadn’t suffered major losses, they nodded secretly in relief.

The loose cultivators also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, only if the Sub-Device Sect maintained stability could the port remain flourishing.

After a brief silence, the port erupted into jubilant cheers.

After a pause, the Nascent Soul Great Powers began, following the usual rules of the Golden Cauldron Sect, to recite the hierarchy shifts of the Dao inheritances. The various factions were caught between joy and sorrow.

"Pupil Mirror rises to Tier 2; Golden Embryo Pill descends to Tier 1..."

A rise in hierarchy meant gaining more shop quotas, while a descent meant the opposite, inevitably affecting affiliated loose cultivator forces.

When all the names of the lower-grade Dao inheritances had been announced, there was one conspicuous absence: Thousand-Year Vine.

The expression of the Nascent Soul Great Power "Thousand-Year Elder" of the Thousand-Year Vine was one of astonishment. His beard, resembling intertwined roots and intestines, wriggled involuntarily.

He scanned the disciples within his mountain gate but did not notice Kuteng Daoist’s presence.

The Thousand-Year Elder’s expression shifted, and his flesh began to rapidly rot. Countless intestinal roots entwined among his wounds, sending chills down the spines of the onlookers.

Failing to announce Thousand-Year Vine’s status within the Golden Cauldron Sect left only two possibilities.

Either the Daoist had become an inner sect disciple, granting the low-grade Dao inheritance a chance to "leap" into the middle grade.

But that possibility seemed slim.

Or, the Daoist had done something detrimental to the Sub-Device Sect, resulting in the inheritance being delisted altogether.

"The inheritance I painstakingly built, ruined by that brat Kuteng! It would’ve been better to crush him outright back then..."

The Thousand-Year Elder couldn’t hold back and erupted into a torrent of curses.

The cultivators at the port stepped back several paces. This was the first time they had seen a Nascent Soul Great Power lose his temper, and they were immediately overwhelmed by his aura, unable to breathe.

Creating a Dao inheritance was an arduous task, requiring the delisting of an inheritance in Zone 1 and a contest over the quota by over a dozen Nascent Soul Great Powers.

The Thousand-Year Elder had once belonged to the "Taiping Qingmu" inheritance of Zone 7. When he had left the mountain gate, it had stirred some old grudges with Fan Mu.

In order to secure a quota to create an inheritance, he had offended a large number of Nascent Soul Great Powers at the same cultivation level.

If Thousand-Year Vine were delisted, the Thousand-Year Elder would likely be relegated to a low-grade inheritance. There was no way middle-upper grade inheritances would accept him.

"Heh..."

The Nascent Soul Great Power "Wan Tong" opened his countless eyes and added salt to the wound, sneering, "Thousand-Year, why not come to Pupil Mirror? After all, going from Zone 1 to Zone 2 could be considered a low start with a high rise."

"Scram!"

The Thousand-Year Elder suppressed his anger, locking his gaze on his mountain gate.

Moments later, Kuteng Daoist was brought to the Thousand-Year Vine’s mountain gate by the Mother Furnace. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed the Thousand-Year Elder’s face was bright red with rage.

"Unfilial disciple, I’ll crush you!!"

The Thousand-Year Elder, with his grafted flesh-arm, pressed his finger down at Kuteng Daoist.

"Dao name Kuteng ascends to the Inner Sect, Thousand-Year Vine of Zone 2 elevated to Zone 4."

The other Nascent Soul Great Powers were stunned—lower-grade Dao inheritances producing Core Formation Inner Sect disciples had only been recorded once in the past thousand years.

The Old Earth True Monarch’s eyelids twitched, suddenly recalling Li Mo for some reason.

The Thousand-Year Elder’s eyes bulged as his expression shifted from stormy to sunny. He cautiously picked up Kuteng Daoist. "You? An Inner Sect disciple?"

The Thousand-Year Elder knew well enough what Kuteng Daoist was capable of.

He was merely the best among mediocrity.

Kuteng Daoist had only an Acquired Dao Body known as the Withering and Flourishing Tao Body, which allowed his body to enter a withered state during cultivation.

In ancient times, the Withering and Flourishing Tao Body could reduce life span loss, while in later generations, it could alleviate death diseases.

Even if Kuteng Daoist had, through some miraculous chance, transformed his Dao Body to the Innate level, it would still be considered lackluster. Being a Daoist of a lower-grade inheritance was fine, but ascending to the Inner Sect was entirely unrealistic.

"Well..."

"Master, it’s thanks to Senior Brother Qing Tian’s guidance."

The Old Earth True Monarch silently thought, "As expected," though he still didn’t know exactly what Li Mo had done.

The Thousand-Year Elder’s gaze turned smug as he glanced around. "No matter what, ascending to the Inner Sect is all that matters. Good disciple, you’ve made great contributions and deserve a reward."

"Thank you, Master."

In just two hundred years since its founding, the Thousand-Year Vine had leaped to a middle-grade Dao inheritance.

Whether or not it could maintain this position didn’t matter; at least they could now secure top-grade artifact embryos on the Path of Self-Reflection. Even if later relegated to Zone 3, they’d still retain underlying middle-grade potential.

The other Nascent Soul Great Powers silently cursed the Thousand-Year Elder’s outrageous luck. Though the exact circumstances of the Golden Cauldron Sect remained unclear, riding the coattails of someone else’s fortune was hardly a testament to his own abilities.

However, they were even more curious about Li Mo’s influence.

Soon, Core Formation Artifact Refiners from middle-grade Dao inheritances began returning to their mountain gates.

The shifts among the middle-grade inheritances were evident, but no second Inner Sect disciple emerged, implying that remaining slots were all claimed by the upper-grade inheritances.

"Dao name Mu Daoist ascends to the Inner Sect, Taiping Qingmu of Zone 7 elevated to Zone 8."

Fan Mu nodded slightly, his previously foul mood caused by the Thousand-Year Elder easing somewhat.

Mu Daoist’s ascension to the Inner Sect caused little commotion since her strength was widely recognized as being among the top three for Daoists.

Mu Daoist clasped her hands in thanks: "This disciple also benefited greatly from Taoist Qingtian’s guidance."

Fan Mu’s expression showed slight surprise. The Nascent Soul Great Powers instinctively glanced at the Old Earth True Monarch. How could Li Mo, who just entered Core Formation, have such sway over the Golden Cauldron Sect?

"Burning Sand Land demoted to Tier 7, Scorched Hemp Field demoted to Tier 7, Stone Fetus Stone demoted to Tier 6."

Following the announcement of Mu Daoist’s ascension, a string of near-simultaneous demotions occurred among the Zone 8 inheritances, with their respective Nascent Soul Great Powers visibly displeased.

However, none of them voiced objections.

Their disciples were all marked by signs of mutation—it was clear they had encountered Nine Nether Immortal Energy within the Golden Cauldron Sect, and three of their Daoists were likely entrapped within it.

"Dao name Qiong Zhi ascends to the Inner Sect, Falling Star Fire of Zone 7 elevated to Zone 8."

The True Monarch Qiong Zhi took this opportunity to announce that her ascension to the Inner Sect was closely tied to Daoist Qingtian, leaving the gathering in stunned silence.

"Such formidable Divine Skills."

Big Deer Thousand Feet shot a glance at the Old Earth True Monarch, lamenting internally. He had thought that Li Mo merely obtaining an Inner Sect slot was impressive enough, but he hadn’t expected Li Mo to silently alter the trajectory of the Sub-Device Sect’s Dao inheritance hierarchy.

When Li Mo’s form appeared at the Chaotic Burial Furnace, it immediately drew the attention of the crowd.

"Dao name Qing Tian ascends to the Inner Sect, Chaotic Burial Furnace of Zone 8 elevated to Zone 9."

"Dao name Three Mountains ascends to the Inner Sect, Chaotic Burial Furnace of Zone 8 elevated to Zone 9."

For a single Dao inheritance to claim two Inner Sect disciples demonstrated Li Mo’s dominance over the Golden Cauldron Sect, perhaps even leveraging the existence of Five Dao Body to overshadow his peers.

Li Mo cupped his hands respectfully in greeting, as tens of thousands of gazes fell upon him.

The Old Earth True Monarch’s eyes brimmed with gratification.

Earlier, he had worried about Li Mo’s safety. Now, it seemed all his concerns were entirely unnecessary.

"Dao name Qian Zu ascends to the Inner Sect, White Bone Thousand Feet of Zone 9."

"Dao name Luo Chen ascends to the Inner Sect, Sky Sun Furnace of Zone 9."

"Dao name Golden Essence ascends to the Inner Sect, Glass Mountain of Zone 9 demoted to Zone 8."

The most absurd outcome in the Sub-Device Sect’s history had occurred.

Despite all three Daoists of Zone 9’s inheritances ascending to the Inner Sect, the Chaotic Burial Furnace, with two Inner Sect disciples, managed to displace Glass Mountain.

This was simply because Glass Mountain had faced heavier losses within the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Nonetheless, the Nascent Soul Great Powers of Glass Mountain showed no signs of complaint, seemingly sharing a tacit understanding with the Old Earth True Monarch.

Li Mo’s attention was entirely focused on Thousand-Legged Master and Luo Chen Daoist.

Once amalgamated into Great Mother entities as Core Formation Artifact Refiners, they had somehow been resurrected in entirely unharmed states and both ascended to Inner Sect disciples.

Li Mo employed the Cave God’s Eye to carefully observe.

Their entire bodies were suffused with phosphorescence. Outwardly, they appeared normal, but in truth, they had already transformed into indescribable Great Mother entities.

Judging by Big Deer Thousand Feet’s demeanor, he had evidently realized the state of his disciples in advance.

Li Mo suspected that the true intention of the Nascent Soul Great Powers was to deliberately create a batch of Great Mothers through the Golden Cauldron Sect for the purpose of exploring deeper small worlds.

As Thousand-Legged Master and Luo Chen Daoist’s gazes met Li Mo’s, their faces immediately contorted into expressions of extreme horror and malice, indicating that they still retained their memories from life.

Artifact Refiners who had encountered the polymer entities were filled with confusion, but as it involved the Great Mothers, it was beyond their realm to investigate further.

Big Deer Thousand Feet asked, "Qian Zu, was your ascension to the Inner Sect thanks to Qing Tian’s guidance?"

"Yes, I did indeed receive some guidance."

Thousand-Legged Master struggled to reply, his back squirming awkwardly, as if phosphorescent light were about to burst from his body at any moment.

Li Mo maintained his composure.

Frankly, you’d best take care of yourselves first. Survive until the next meeting before we talk. Do you really think becoming Great Mothers means you can rest easy?

"No objections to the rise and fall of Dao inheritances. All disciples must proceed to the Inner Sect within ten years."

The loose cultivators spontaneously hailed Qing Tian, symbolizing the most gifted Artifact Refiner in the Sub-Device Sect across its ten-thousand-year history, with a reputation unparalleled.

The Golden Cauldron Sect concluded.

Countless lanterns across the port remained lit, as the mountain gates of various Dao inheritances glimmered faintly in the night.