CHAPTER 334: CHAPTER 80: THE BIZARRE COUNTERPART OF THE GREAT SAGE EQUAL TO HEAVEN

The Mountain Demon quickly mastered the cultivation technique, without even needing Li Mo to deliberately guide it.

Simply because the Mountain Demon Gu Poison Scripture was too well-suited for it, effortlessly allowing it to switch cultivation paths successfully.

Whoosh.

The Mountain Demon swung the White Bone Stick with force, its spine transforming into a bony centipede.

The White Bone Centipede hissed and crackled, and the sharp edges sparked upon contact with the walls, nearly causing the protective array to collapse.

Li Mo watched with interest. The Mountain Demon Gu Poison Scripture inherited the [Insectification] trait of the Five Poison Five God Heart Sutra, enabling the Mountain Demon to transform its flesh and blood into insects.

The Mountain Demon grew more exhilarated, its movements becoming increasingly reckless.

Li Mo simply directed the Blood Soul to engage in a close battle with the Mountain Demon.

The White Bone Stick was somewhat lacking against the Fake Magical Treasure. The joints clashed and creaked, and the Life-bound Magical Artifact seemed on the verge of damage at any moment.

The Mountain Demon showed no restraint, bluntly battering the White Bone Stick until it bent.

In truth, the White Bone Stick was not an ordinary Life-bound Magical Artifact. Its nature was similar to the Tattooed Beast, composed entirely of Li Mo’s flesh and blood.

Even if the White Bone Stick were to be damaged, Li Mo could consume his flesh and blood to regenerate it.

However, during this period, the Mountain Demon’s combat strength would be significantly reduced, as the White Bone Stick, being an Acquired Spirit Root, functioned like the Tattooed Beast’s Dantian.

"Waaahhh!"

The Mountain Demon was almost crazed, sweeping the White Bone Stick horizontally, reducing the few intact pieces of furniture in the room to fragments.

The Skillful Hands Inn tilted slightly, and the surface of the building was scarred with numerous cracks.

Even the surrounding streets sensed the anomaly, with Poison Qi churning like a storm, attracting a crowd of onlookers around the Skillful Hands Inn.

"Is it Master?"

"Has the elder emerged from seclusion?"

Lin Zong and the disciples of the Mountain Demon all turned towards the source of the commotion instinctively.

They felt an inexplicable unease, realizing that this was likely caused by their master. They couldn’t help but appear thrilled, muttering under their breath.

Although these disciples had only advanced to the First Level of Puberty thanks to the Mountain Demon’s enlightenment, they were stuck, unaware of the subsequent cultivation techniques to advance further.

For dozens of days, they’d been treading water in their progress.

Lin Zong and the others pinned their hopes on the Mountain Demon emerging from seclusion to impart Immortal Laws, so they patiently stayed in the martial arts school. How could they not be excited now?

Having already set foot on the Immortal Path, how could they be content to stop at the Childhood Stage?

Especially since some of their former acquaintances in the Jianghu, who had joined the Jinhong Youguan, had already advanced greatly, reaching the second or third levels of the Childhood Stage.

Their progress was astonishingly fast.

It was unrealistic to say Lin Zong and the others hadn’t thought of defecting to the pavilion, but the Four Seas Commerce was an entity they could not afford to offend. At the same time, the independent practitioner family was exerting both pressure and incentives, forcing them to curry favor with the commerce.

Thump, thump, thump.

The Skillful Hands Inn tilted even further, followed by the sound of Han Cai cursing and shouting.

"Did you build this martial school just as a decoration? That damned monkey practicing martial arts in my hospital—why not just put on a show right in front of me?"

Han Cai extended several arms, forcibly pushing the Skillful Hands Inn back into position.

His peripheral gaze swept towards the end of the street, where he spotted Poison Cultivators from the pavilion secretly observing, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Keep it down, don’t let those beasts look down on us."

Hearing Han Cai’s words, Li Mo ordered the Mountain Demon to stop its relentless stick-swinging. It seemed the deliberate plan to draw the pavilion’s attention was beginning to work.

The Mountain Demon, panting heavily, retrieved the White Bone Stick.

Unlike the Sun Monkey, who would shrink the Jingu Bang and tuck it into his ear, the Mountain Demon allowed the insectified White Bone Stick to burrow back into its spine.

The Mountain Demon tried to close its eyes to rest, but it couldn’t suppress the upheaval in its flesh and blood.

Its body continued to mutate, clearly struggling to adapt to the Acquired Spirit Root, which unleashed the suppressed beast-like nature buried deep within its soul.

"Waaahhh!"

The Mountain Demon tore off its own scalp, throwing the bloody fragments to the ground.

Under Li Mo’s peculiar gaze, the scalp transformed into tens of thousands of mosquitoes, spreading like a dark cloud throughout the room.

The mosquitoes inherited the Mountain Demon’s highly toxic nature; even the slightest contact was enough to burn the soul and corrode bones.

"Oh, Mountain Demon, Mountain Demon, you almost seem like a grotesque version of the Sun Monkey."

Li Mo nodded with satisfaction. No matter how macabre the Mountain Demon’s methods were, its dramatic increase in combat strength was undeniable.

The difference from its former self was now like heaven and earth.

Li Mo pointed at the Mountain Demon’s brow, pulling the little creature into the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

He estimated that the Mountain Demon wouldn’t calm down unless it exhausted itself with its antics.

The Mountain Demon landed on the Sub-peak where the Poison Pool was located, surrounded by Poisonous Spiritual Materials, and the Poison Corpses in the pool continuously released dense toxic fumes.

Roar!!!

The Mountain Demon bellowed, its body instantly expanding to over four meters tall.

It pounded its chest with force, spewing out swarms of mosquitoes, and began recklessly practicing martial arts. Dust and dirt flew everywhere on the Sub-peak.

Li Mo isolated an area within a hundred miles of the Mountain Demon to prevent any Deceit Beasts from interfering.

Although the Mountain Demon’s strength had soared, its cultivation level was still at the Childhood Stage, while certain Deceit Beasts had already attained the Core Formation Stage.

The Candle Dragon noticed the Mountain Demon’s presence and moved toward the peak where it resided.

As Li Mo had predicted, the Candle Dragon, sensing the threat posed by the Mountain Demon’s Acquired Spirit Root, fixed its gaze firmly on the opponent.

The Candle Dragon displayed no hostility but rather an eagerness to spar with it.

Normally, no matter how other Tattooed Beasts provoked it, the Candle Dragon maintained an indifferent, unbothered demeanor, paying them no heed.

"Huff."

The Candle Dragon exhaled green smoke, then disappeared into the clouds above.

It deliberated for a long time and only gave up on the idea of engaging in battle when it saw the Mountain Demon retrieve the White Bone Stick once more. Instead, it opted to watch from the sidelines.

Moments later, the Tattooed Beasts began to awaken one after another.

They immediately sensed the Mountain Demon’s presence, but they wondered—why, after so little time, had the gap between them grown so vast?

Especially the Ghost Tiger, which lunged forward to battle the Mountain Demon.

But it was defeated in no time at all.

It had to be said that the Acquired Spirit Root’s augmentation to the Mountain Demon was indescribable, not to mention the perfect compatibility of the Mountain Demon Gu Poison Scripture.

The Ghost Tiger scratched its head repeatedly, a sense of defeat evident in its heart.

"When the Spirit Root matures, you too will be able to develop your own Life-bound Magical Artifact."

After transmitting this thought, Li Mo threw a Bodhi Fruit to the six Tattooed Beasts. They each swallowed it and returned to secluded cultivation.

Previously, the Tattooed Beasts had wasted the brief comprehension effect of the Bodhi Fruit.

Now, their active effort to utilize the Bodhi Fruit to unearth potential Divine Skills clearly showed how shaken they were by the Mountain Demon’s progress.

"Those little ones had it too easy before. It’s time they felt some pressure."

Li Mo left the house untouched, sitting cross-legged as he began cycling various forms of Spiritual Energy while monitoring the movements of the Four Great You Pavilion through his Divine Sense.

There was no denying it—the Four Great You Pavilion were indeed stirred up by the Mountain Demon.

Through the cancer cells, Li Mo could sense the Jinhong Pavilion Master, who seemed filled with greed for the Mountain Demon’s aura, desiring to consume it entirely.

"Heh."

The Mountain Demon’s spine, having fused with the Acquired Spirit Root, was already a top-quality Poisonous Spiritual Material, so their greed was only natural.

"Let’s pour more fuel onto the fire."

Li Mo hoped the Four Great You Pavilion would come for him voluntarily.

He didn’t want to actively disrupt the Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop’s setup; after all, it was part of the Twelve Immortals’ design, and any mistake could offend his senior sister.

Three days later, the Mountain Demon had fully adapted to its Acquired Spirit Root.

The Mountain Demon now looked different: its fur was jet-black and needle-like, its eyes glowed a ghostly green, and its pores exuded Poisonous Smoke.

After returning to the real world, it clung to Li Mo’s leg, rubbing its head against him incessantly.

"Don’t waste the Qinghong Workshop’s high Spiritual Energy density—start absorbing it quickly."

After much coaxing, the Mountain Demon finally began drawing Spiritual Energy. Unpicky about the type of energy, its efficiency even rivaled Li Mo’s.

Rumble, rumble.

The sound of wind roared, forming a tornado centered around the Skillful Hands Inn.

The Poisonous Spirit Energy poured into the Skillful Hands Inn’s second floor at a visible speed. In just seven or eight minutes, the Mountain Demon successfully advanced to Foundation Establishment.

Li Mo dissolved the Skillful Hands Inn’s array and set up a Spirit Gathering Array for the Mountain Demon instead.

This also meant that the Mountain Demon’s presence was now fully exposed, and hundreds of Poison Cultivators from Qingyi Square turned their attention to the Skillful Hands Inn.

The commotion was simply too grand.

The Poison Martial Artists, startled, felt an inexplicable dread as if encountering a natural predator.

The Toad Poison Beast’s toxic smoke grew increasingly intense, and the Mountain Demon quickly fell into a trance, consumed only by its raw desire to strengthen its cultivation.

"Wah wah wah..."

From the Jinhong Pavilion came the eerie sound of a baby’s crying, spine-chilling to the core.

Moments later, hundreds of Poison Cultivators carried the Jinhong Pavilion Master into the street, slowly approaching amidst a clamor of drums and gongs.

Li Mo had expected the Four Great You Pavilion to act immediately, but surprisingly, the Jinhong Pavilion Master stopped abruptly a hundred meters from the Skillful Hands Inn.

"Hungry... hungry..."

The Pavilion Master wriggled its body, its eyes blazing with fervor.

Li Mo remained unmoved, pouring canned Poisonous Spirit Energy around the Mountain Demon.

"You’re about to reach the Weak Crown Middle Stage—how fast! You truly remind me of myself back in the day."

The Mountain Demon’s body, after all, came from Li Mo and could support Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. Still, it had to break through bottlenecks step by step.

Li Mo immediately began preparations, refining a Poison Pearl with his own blood.

The Poison Pearl functioned like the Three Souls and Seven Spirits and was similar to the Artifact Pearl. However, it was personally condensed by Li Mo to enhance his control over the Tattooed Beasts.

In the Core Formation Stage, the Mountain Demon Gu Poison Scripture allowed the cultivation of a Blood and Flesh Golden Core within the belly.

At the Nascent Soul Stage, traces of the No-Life Ten Directions Festival could already be perceived—the shattered core transformed into a Nascent Soul, merging directly with the Tattooed Beast itself.

The Tattooed Beast thus became the Nascent Soul, eventually evolving into the Externalized Dharma Body.

To some extent, the Tattooed Beasts served as Li Mo’s externalized Middle Dantian, effortlessly enabling him to wield their Spiritual Power.

"All arts converge into one furnace; I shall surely ascend to immortality."

The Mountain Demon was highly compatible with Poison Cultivation, but the cultivation techniques for the other Tattooed Beasts remained an unresolved issue.

Standing in the shadows, Li Mo extended a finger and placed a Poison Pearl into the Mountain Demon’s mouth, prompting it to begin its promotion to the Weak Crown Middle Stage.

"The Ghost Tiger should pursue Demon Cultivation, the Salamander Pill Refinement, and the Red Fox Artifact Cultivation..."

As Li Mo pondered, he pulled out the Jade Gourd from his robes, exhaling a breath of Innate Essence into the magical artifact before releasing it into the world.

The moment the Innate Essence appeared, even the Toad Poison Beast grew restless.

Let alone the low-intelligence Pavilion Master.

As Li Mo watched the stream of people from the Four Great You Pavilion converging on the Skillful Hands Inn, a sudden thought occurred to him. He cast a scrutinizing gaze at the Mountain Demon.

"Hm, could it be that if the Mountain Demon reaches the Core Formation Stage, it might also form a Flawless Golden Core?"