Longevity Strange Immortal
Chapter 196 - 56: Ziqi Sect Daoist and the Heart Returning Beast

Chapter 196: Chapter 56: Ziqi Sect Daoist and the Heart Returning Beast

The Chaotic Burial Furnace crawled toward Zone 9, and half of Qiong Mountain’s old husk began to stir restlessly once more, as fissures snaked across the mountain’s surface.

Li Mo watched Bai Gu Qianzu disappear into the distance.

From the perspective of the Cave God’s Eye, Bai Gu Qianzu was covered in phosphorescent traces, filling every corner of the mountain gate, which sent chills down his spine.

"Is the Sub-Device Sect planning to confront the Great Mother?"

"Or are they seeking some manner of coexistence?"

Li Mo remained noncommittal until the Old Earth True Monarch urged disciples to head to the main hall, snapping him out of his reverie as he followed the crowd.

After Golden Cauldron Sect concluded its rituals, the Old Earth True Monarch referred to the upcoming phase as the "Kneeling Ceremony."

The Kneeling Ceremony marked the promotion of Li Mo and another disciple into the Inner Sect—a ceremony that the Chaotic Burial Furnace had not held for over two centuries.

Li Mo stood in the center of the gathering, dressed in a long robe of azure and purple, feeling a little out of place.

Though the Golden Cauldron Sect’s formalities had ended, the ripple effects they would set in motion remained uncertain, much like the Inner Sect itself.

The main reason Li Mo had extended favors to the Mu Daoist trio was to prepare for his status in the Inner Sect, especially since small worlds below the tenth layer were frequently visited by the Great Mother and the Deceit Furnace, fraught with danger.

Having multiple allies could expand his information network.

Li Mo, accompanied by Three Mountains, arrived at the main hall to hear the Old Earth True Monarch recount the history of the Chaotic Burial Furnace.

Three Mountains listened in awe, while Li Mo split his Divine Sense to memorize critical details, finding the long and dull Kneeling Ceremony uninteresting.

Li Mo diverted part of his attention toward Zone 9, sensing a dense concentration of Spiritual Power at around 30%. Instead of showing joy, a trace of apprehension flickered across his face.

He felt a little uneasy.

With thousands of meters still separating Zone 8 from the Inner Sect, Zone 9 was almost within reach. Who knew if Qiong Mountain’s Great Mother might secretly close in?

The Chaotic Burial Furnace was no place to stay.

"Today, disciples ascending from the Chaotic Burial Furnace—Qingtian and Three Mountains—have now entered the Inner Sect, laying the foundation for Taoist inheritance, a noble virtue,"

the Old Earth True Monarch nodded in ceremonial acknowledgment, and the remaining disciples gradually streamed into the main hall, encircling Li Mo and his fellow disciple by the Nascent Soul statues.

Li Mo sighed softly.

The Old Earth True Monarch dipped willow branches into dewwater, sprinkling it evenly upon the heads of hundreds of disciples. The act symbolized washing away worldly distractions and returning to simplicity and truth.

Within the main hall, the statues began to awaken, one by one.

The statues closer to the ceremonial platform all belonged to past Chaotic Burial Furnace disciples who had ascended to the Inner Sect. Their expressions varied widely as they emerged.

The statues of Nascent Soul Great Powers featured two beings whose Divine Sense descended.

"Impressive."

"Nascent Soul is within reach. To ascend to the Inner Sect is an auspicious blessing of the Chaotic Burial Furnace."

The two figures, whose Taoist titles were "Qian Tu" and "Half Wall," spoke with a hazy tone, likely due to their thousand-year slumber from the Death Disease, making it feel as if their words emerged from distant dreams.

Three Mountains bowed his head.

He understood his place and knew that, were it not for Li Mo’s presence, the Kneeling Ceremony would never have been so grand. He couldn’t help but glance at Li Mo from the corner of his eye.

Only to find Li Mo wearing a vacant expression, lost in thought.

Three Mountains gaped in disbelief. When it was time to recite the Chaotic Burial Furnace’s Taoist rules, Li Mo, surprisingly, followed the Old Earth True Monarch’s words with unhesitating precision.

In contrast, Three Mountains found himself struggling to keep up.

The Kneeling Ceremony lasted for two full days and nights. Only when the mountain gate settled did the Old Earth True Monarch wrap up the rites and commence distributing rewards.

Five hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, an assortment of Top-grade spiritual materials, thirty magical techniques from the Taoist Collection, one Top-grade Magic Artifact Embryo, and five port shops.

Three Mountains felt he had gained some incidental benefits—the port shops seemed to have been newly added, likely to aid Li Mo in expanding his Artifact Refining and brewing enterprises.

Li Mo accepted the rewards one by one, hesitating only when it came to the Top-grade Magic Artifact Embryo.

"Senior Old Earth, this junior Qingtian has little use for the Top-grade Magic Artifact Embryo. I would prefer to exchange it for records detailing Artifact Refining techniques."

The Sub-Device Sect’s Magic Artifact Embryo was well-suited for those exclusively practicing Artifact Cultivation, but Li Mo, who now practiced the dual cultivation of Artifact and Beast, found it too cumbersome for future refinement.

The Old Earth True Monarch nodded slightly and withdrew the Magic Artifact Embryo, replying, "Very well."

In its place, he provided four Top-grade Magic Artifact Catalogs, bringing a smile to Li Mo’s face. The Magic Artifact Catalogs were highly beneficial for refining his Divine Skill, the Hammer and Anvil.

Once his Primordial Dao Seed absorbed enough nutrients, he could subsequently cultivate suitable Magic Artifact techniques.

The mountain gate settled firmly in Zone 9, and with that, the Kneeling Ceremony smoothly concluded. The consciousness and Divine Sense within the statues gradually faded away.

Li Mo stepped out of the main hall and stood atop the mountain, surveying Zone 9’s terrain.

The area of Zone 9 was visibly sprawling, the ground riddled with countless protruding apertures, which exuded dense metal-laden smoke.

Li Mo studied this scene with interest.

What made Zone 9 extraordinary was its controllable environment. Upon sensing the mountain gate’s spirit attribute, the apertures radiated an environment out to a hundred-mile radius.

The current setting was "Wasteland."

Zone 9’s resource enhancements had reached the pinnacle of the Sub-Device Sect Outer Door, but it was rumored to still pale compared to the Inner Sect.

Each Artifact Cultivator was bustling about, arranging the buildings of the mountain gate.

To better utilize Zone 9’s resources, the structures of the Chaotic Burial Furnace needed thorough optimization, particularly the large and small furnaces for seclusion.

"Fellow Daoist Qingtian,"

Three Mountains approached Li Mo respectfully, extending the resources bestowed by the Old Earth True Monarch with both hands, withholding nothing.

"Being able to advance to the Inner Sect was entirely thanks to Fellow Daoist Qingtian’s support. Three Mountains has no way to repay your kindness."

Li Mo hesitated for a few moments, then withdrew the certificates for five port shops, remarking, "This is sufficient. Let’s not cheapen the Inner Sect quota for outsiders."

"The port shops are very useful to me, so I won’t stand on ceremony. In the future, if Fellow Daoist Three Mountains wishes to arrange Artifact Cultivators to enter the shops, simply say the word."

Of the ten shops, all were directly under Li Mo’s control. If he chose to, he could sublet them to loose cultivators without paying additional rent to the Chaotic Burial Furnace. Seven shops sat in the port’s lower levels, and three in the middle tier.

Owning these shops allowed Li Mo to openly recruit Melt Town Cultivators.

"I..."

"Don’t worry. Use your time wisely for cultivation. The Inner Sect isn’t solely a safe haven,"

Li Mo said before sidestepping toward the Old Earth True Monarch, intending to discuss his plans for heading to the port. However, before he could speak, the Old Earth True Monarch proactively advised him to temporarily leave the Chaotic Burial Furnace.

He explained that he intended to reorganize the Mountain Protection Array, undoubtedly in response to matters involving Qiong Mountain.

Li Mo did not linger. That very day, he concealed his aura and discreetly returned to the port.

The Golden Cauldron Sect’s aftereffects were still ongoing, with the port blooming in its peak prosperity, bustling with newly arrived loose cultivators in every alley and market street.

Li Mo’s dual-layered human skin fused seamlessly, rendering his leakless body flawless and imperceptible to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.

He headed straight for the Four Seas Refining Shop, only to find it still empty.

Inside the shop stood only two idle Artifact Refining apprentices, with Qingqiu Taoist nowhere in sight, prompting Li Mo to furrow his brow.

"Customer, please come back another time. Daoist Qingtian has just advanced to the Inner Sect and has no time to manage the shop,"

One of the apprentices mistook Li Mo for a loose cultivator looking to purchase Beast Head meat limbs and called out to the back room, only to receive no reply.

He walked back to the main hall with an odd expression, catching only the departing figure of Li Mo.

The apprentice found Li Mo increasingly familiar but lost track of him within moments.

Li Mo’s expression shifted slightly. He decided to visit Elder Zhong’s Yin-Choked Archive, where he learned that Qingqiu Taoist had left the port, claiming to break through her realm.

He immediately understood.

Qingqiu Taoist had most likely gone to the Heart Beast Territory. After all, Li Mo had previously tasked her with keeping an eye on Rong Town and providing resources to Futu Hermit.

Still, doubt stirred within him—why had Qingqiu Taoist remained in Rong Town for over a decade?

Traveling from the port’s stove land to the Heart Beast Black Market should only take about two months. Over twenty years without a word seemed eerily unusual.

If not for his ability to sense through the Spirit Contract that she was still alive, Li Mo might have assumed Qingqiu Taoist had perished along the way.

"Qingqiu’s temperament is exceedingly cautious. Even with her half-wrecked body, she managed to survive the port’s lower levels for years. There’s no reason for her to slip in such trivial matters."

The Heart Beast Territory, as a subsidiary of the Sub-Device Sect, served as a trial ground for Artifact Cultivators and was supposed to be relatively safe.

No Nascent Soul presence should appear within the Heart Beast Territory.

Li Mo speculated that Rong Town might have become embroiled in some complication, trapping Qingqiu Taoist and preventing her return for more than a dozen years.

He resolved to go to the Heart Beast Territory himself.

Having left his imprint on the Chaotic Burial Furnace’s main hall, Li Mo knew trying to escape the Sub-Device Sect undetected would be unrealistic. He decided to ask the Old Earth True Monarch openly.

He had anticipated resistance from the Old Earth True Monarch.

To his surprise, the Old Earth True Monarch, upon hearing of Li Mo’s intention to use the secret realm for Artifact Refining seclusion, merely replied, "Very well."

But he restricted it to a five-year limit, emphasizing multiple times not to reveal his presence to outsiders.

It seemed the Old Earth True Monarch was preparing to deal with Qiong Mountain’s imminent transformation into the Great Mother within five years, lest the opportunity for Taoist inheritance’s elevation be lost.

Li Mo also learned from the Old Earth True Monarch that the secret realm was guarded by Duobao Mountain. Only crossing 50 miles outside its boundary would risk attracting the Sub-Device Sect’s notice.

With the Old Earth True Monarch’s approval, Li Mo certainly wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

Besides, he had always planned to return to the Heart Beast Territory before entering the Inner Sect.

Once within the deeper small worlds, it might take a century before he could return.

"I haven’t seen Master Han in ages. I wonder if he’s formed his Golden Core yet?"

"I’ll let Zhu Zi taste the Corpse Wine—that vat of 500-year immortal brew has aged quite well."

The Corpse Mountain provided a significant boost to brewing, especially when using Core Formation stage corpses as containers. The aging process advanced exponentially faster than normal methods.

Li Mo’s thoughts stirred in countless directions.

Like a wanderer returning home after years away, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

At the same time, he wished to visit Tian Chenzi’s remnant again; perhaps his Divine Sense could uncover some ineffable secrets hidden within.

Still, Li Mo did not rush to depart.

News of his presence at the port would undoubtedly spread among the cultivators. He decided to first cultivate for a few months in the port’s guesthouse.

Carefully suppressing any fluctuations in his Spiritual Power, Li Mo successfully nurtured his fourth Artifact Pearl within the furnace over two months.

The Artifact Pearl merged into his Ash Golden Core, raising his cultivation to the Dan Formation stage.

The two streams of Spiritual Power intertwined and balanced delicately; as long as he avoided recklessly disturbing the equilibrium, they would complement each other under the blessings of the Heavenly Man.

Li Mo stabilized his cultivation, yet Qingqiu Taoist remained absent from the port.

Using the Cave God’s Eye, Li Mo meticulously verified the safety of the surroundings before leveraging the capabilities of his leakless body to discreetly enter the stove land.

Stove land was essentially a tunnel—in its depths, the walls increasingly resembled blood and flesh.

At the tunnel’s end, on either side, sat hundreds of bone-crafted doorways, each leading to different black markets and realms under Duobao Mountain’s supervision.

Using information from Ma Xun, Li Mo quickly found the doorway nearest to the Heart Beast Territory.

The door opened and closed without stirring even the slightest ripple.