CHAPTER 345: CHAPTER 91 ILLUSORY MAGIC TREASURE [SPIRIT ROOT WORM]

The conflict involving Poison Beasts drew considerable attention, as it concerned the Qinghong Workshop, which represented the interests of various independent cultivation forces.

Everyone knew that every Qinghong Workshop had a backing force stationed nearby.

Li Mo handling the Xia Dao Qinghong Workshop single-handedly naturally garnered attention; everyone wanted to witness the famed methods of Elder Qing Shan.

The result.

Thunderous noises, but only slight rain.

The sight of bodies hanging upside down made them incredibly tense, so much so that Huangmu Taoist had already quietly prepared to assist Li Mo.

Yet, life and death were suddenly decided, and Xia Dao Qinghong Workshop became a stepping stone.

"Disciple, have you taken care of it?"

Han Cai noticed the forest had returned to quietness, the toad-like Poison Beast now an unchallenged dominant force, and couldn’t help but transmit his thoughts to inquire about Li Mo.

"It’s taken care of. The lizard-like Poison Beast’s back, which appears to have tens of thousands of grave mounds, actually housed only one Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator. Dealing with it wasn’t challenging."

Han Cai let out a sigh of relief.

After hesitating for a long while, he continued to ask, "Once the Blessed Land Cave Heaven is completely scavenged, could you spare some time?"

"Huangmu is the Beast Cultivator with the highest Golden Core quality in Heart Beast Sect. Elder Tian Changwen and I think perhaps you should guide him a little."

"Master Han, that’s a trivial matter. Heart Beast Sect indeed needs a second Nascent Soul."

While agreeing, Li Mo spoke oddly, "But, Master Han, haven’t you ever considered breaking your Core and forming a Nascent Soul yourself?"

"Me?"

"Impossible! A low-grade Golden Core, and my age nearing a thousand. How could I possibly..."

Li Mo cut him off abruptly: "A low-grade Golden Core is only difficult, far from being an insurmountable barrier. It all depends on whether you have the resolve or not."

After finishing their conversation, Han Cai stood silently, gazing at the Blessed Land Cave Heaven in an absent-minded state.

Li Mo could sense that Han Cai still harbored aspirations to progress further; otherwise, he would not have mobilized to Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop.

If Han Cai wanted to form a Nascent Soul, Li Mo wouldn’t mind aiding his first master a little.

Truth be told, given the scale of the Corpse Mountain Mini World, providing enough resources for several Core Formation Stage cultivators to ascend to Nascent Soul Stage would scarcely make a dent—merely a drop in the bucket.

The older generation Beast Cultivators like Han Cai greatly supported Li Mo.

Upon meeting Huangmu Taoist, Li Mo suddenly realized that the Heart Beast Sect would inevitably evolve and rotate its members over time, and that even if one achieved immortality, it didn’t guarantee that the sect would always be controlled by the old-generation Beast Cultivators.

As thousands of years passed, the familiar Beast Cultivators would retreat to secondary roles.

If Li Mo wished to gather more resources in the future, it might result in covert opposition, thus making it reasonable and necessary to ensure "his own people" could ascend to Nascent Soul.

"What a pity. Even with sufficient resources, the success rate for breaking the Core and forming a Nascent Soul remains modest at best."

Suppressing random thoughts, Li Mo examined the Illusion Spirit Root extracted from the Mud Pill Palace.

The half-meter-long Ascaris-like worm looked bizarre. On its surface, there was no detectable Spiritual Power fluctuation, making it hard to believe it was at the Nascent Soul Stage.

"What an anomaly."

Regardless of ancient or modern times, Xia Dao Sect had always been a purely demonic sect. The methods Kunlunzi used to construct illusion realms made even Li Mo deeply apprehensive.

Stowing away the Ascaris-like worm, Li Mo meticulously checked the lizard-like Poison Beast’s back.

After confirming that nothing was overlooked, Li Mo sat cross-legged atop the toad-like Poison Beast’s head and began organizing Kunlunzi’s Storage Bag.

"Kunlunzi had at least lived for over three thousand years, during which time just how many people did he assassinate in the shadows?"

Li Mo stared at the mountain of Spirit Stones in awe—ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones and thirty High-grade Spirit Stones, rivaling those of a small Immortal Sect.

He piled the Spirit Stones in a hidden valley within the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

"Jackpot."

Li Mo’s face lit up with joy. The content of the Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique was extremely comprehensive, detailing cultivation from childhood all the way to the Divine Separation Stage.

After flipping through it briefly, Li Mo couldn’t help but harbor questions about Xia Dao Sect’s founder.

"Is this truly a cultivation technique meant for humans?"

The framework of the Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique was vastly different from the norm. Cultivation didn’t involve breaking cores and forming Nascent Souls; instead, it relied on collecting corpses to enhance cultivation.

Kunlunzi achieved corpse-based illusions by transplanting Illusion Spirit Roots into the corpses, enabling them to secrete Void Spirit Qi.

"Void Spirit Qi..."

Void Spirit Qi was essentially a false type of Spiritual Qi that could only be utilized within an illusion realm. Calling it a lifelike manifestation or perfect illusion wouldn’t be far off.

Kunlunzi leveraged the absorption of Void Spirit Qi to nourish his Ascaris Body.

The strength of the Ascaris Body correlated with the number of controlled corpses, and the upper limit for a Nascent Soul-stage cultivator in Xia Dao Sect was ten thousand corpses.

As for advancing to Divine Separation Stage, it required killing twenty thousand people within the illusion realm simultaneously. All victims had to willingly become nutrients to forcibly allow the Ascaris Body to evolve—an extremely stringent condition.

"Everything truly crumbles into an illusion."

"Even if Kunlunzi’s Ascaris Body reached the Nascent Soul Stage, should a large portion of the corpses be destroyed, his power would plummet to levels below the Weak Crown Stage."

Li Mo wasn’t interested in the Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique, but due to its peculiar nature, it provided abundant nutrients for the Tao Seed.

During the Tao Seed’s digestion interval, Li Mo found several scattered techniques amid Kunlunzi’s accumulated materials.

The techniques clearly originated from acts of slaughter and arson; given Kunlunzi’s proficiency in illusion realms, exterminating a small sect silently would be effortless.

Li Mo even discovered techniques belonging to an affiliated Sword Sect.

Kunlun Old Demon certainly had audacity.

"Illusion realms are truly unpredictable. Were it not for Kunlunzi’s downfall, he’d possibly live another few thousand years in comfort."

According to Kunlunzi, the Twelve Immortals unleashing Poison Beast was related to the True Void Hometown.

It concerned fetal birth.

Li Mo had only heard the term fetal birth from Si Rui Workshop, suggesting it related to No-Life Mother’s sleeping chambers, which contained vast inheritances said to be as vast as the ocean.

"There must exist credible sources; otherwise, with demonic cultivators’ opportunistic natures, why would they chase such ephemeral rewards?"

Li Mo memorized every single technique thoroughly.

Kunlunzi didn’t require forming a core or advancing to Nascent Soul; his absence of technique dependence meant that the inheritances left in the Storage Bag either lacked high value or had dangerous origins.

Two sword-sheath techniques, however, showed some promise, birthing Lifebound Flying Swords named [Mu Shan].

Presumably, they were from an unlucky affiliated Sword Sect, now reduced to a pile of bones—a matter likely overlooked even by Heavenly Sword Sect.

Thinking this over, Li Mo glanced at the Fake Buddha Sword Embryo nearby.

The Sword Embryo had absorbed six to seven hundred years’ worth of Innate Essence. Its initially head-shaped form finally began exhibiting subtle transformations.

Retrieving the embryonic artifact from the Corpse Mountain Mini World, Li Mo held it in his hands for scrutiny.

The Sword Embryo’s neck had slenderly extended, while the naturally emitting Buddhist light from its head made it resemble an instrument.

A Treasure Lotus Lamp.

Of course, an eerie version—a Human Head Treasure Lotus Lamp.

Li Mo infused Great Sun Spiritual Power into the Sword Embryo, feeling the sword intent within, now much denser than before.

The Fake Buddha Sword Embryo consistently carried a pseudo-Buddhist Zen Sword Intent.

When he first acquired it, the Zen Sword Intent felt like meddlesome stray thoughts from True Word Sect monks dabbling in fringe paths, repelling even the Time Sword.

Yet after two to three hundred years of Innate Essence baptism, the Zen Sword Intent resembled a novice monk who had not long entered the path—thin yet pure.

Now it even held the refined aura of an elder monk. Evidently, sword intent maturation reflects a flying sword’s potential.

Should the Invisible Sword encounter the Fake Buddha Sword Embryo again, it likely wouldn’t abandon it so readily.

"Not bad. When my Great Sun Golden Core promotes to Divine Separation Stage, could the Fake Buddha Sword Embryo ascend into one of Heavenly Sword Sect’s top ten swords?"

Li Mo grew fonder of the artifact while incrementally fretting over insufficient foundational materials for other Nascent Soul aspirations.

The higher the Fake Buddha Sword Embryo’s quality, the less willing he was to compromise.

"Alas..."

Li Mo sighed softly.

As the Tao Seed completed digesting its nutrients, it immediately began refining techniques.

The Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique, however, was utterly incompatible with Li Mo’s cultivation methods, serving only to enhance minor details for smoother Circulation Cycles.

Using insights from advancing to Divine Separation Stage within the aforementioned cultivation, the Tao Seed invented several blood-sacrificing techniques related to living beings.

Li Mo shook his head helplessly.

Though he held numerous divine methods for advancing to the Divine Separation Stage, each seemed even more wicked than the last.

"The Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique did at least occupy the Tao Seed for several days during digestion; perhaps it might aid with skills or divine processes?"

Closing his eyes, Li Mo communed with the Tao Seed, discovering subtle movements among various skills and divine techniques.

Particularly noticeable were Array, Artifact Refining, and Gu Worm techniques.

Calling forth his divine abilities, countless revelations surged through his mind.

[Spirit Root Worm]

[Refine the Illusion Spirit Main Root as a Magic Artifact Embryo, add three ounces of essence blood, two pounds of Nascent Soul-stage brain tissue, and deeply embed within the Taoist Body that has cut all three corpses. Utilize the Yunling Formation for five years of nurturing to produce the Spirit Root Worm.]

"What the hell?!!"

The Spirit Root Worm was a type of artifact resembling a Gu Worm, akin to a Mountain Spider before spiritual imprints were applied.

Using Spirit Root Worm as the Array Eye could enhance corpse-based illusions, with efficacy comparable to the Supreme Three Corpses Nine Worms Technique.

Through absorbing Void Spirit Qi secreted by the corpses, the Spirit Root Worm could gradually evolve in artifact refinement.

The Tao Seed’s generated method to create [Spirit Root Worm] included Li Mo’s current Taoist Body, while the Three Corpses technique originated from the Sub-Device Sect.

Li Mo realized the Tao Seed’s boundless potential by constantly acquiring new knowledge.

A self-growing artifact like the Spirit Root Worm was undeniably valuable. Its worth extended beyond top-grade Magic Treasures, potentially reaching transcendent artifact levels.

"Wait, assuming an illusion realm could endlessly produce Void Spirit Qi..."

"Could Candle Dragon, Ghost Tiger, and Golden Toad absorb Void Spirit Qi for cultivation, enabling effortless detachment from their current paths?"

Li Mo deemed this possibility plausible, though specifics required further deduction.

Although the Tattooed Beasts couldn’t bring cultivation benefits outside the illusion, assigning tasks for them could still prevent mental turbulence.

Li Mo actively prepared for Spirit Root Worm creation, ensuring maximum chances of success by soaking the Ascaris Body in Corpse Wine.

He even invested decades of Innate Essence to nurture the Ascaris Body, maintaining it in peak condition.

Simultaneously, Li Mo instructed Han Cai to organize manpower for the reconstruction of Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop.

The scale of Qinghong Workshop would also expand, with city walls and ground tiles crafted from inferior spiritual materials, making it easier for Li Mo to carve large-scale arrays later.

The temporary camp stationed atop Blessed Land Cave Heaven now housed over thirty thousand mortals, along with fifty thousand Poison Martial Artists and more than two thousand Beast Cultivators.

They had excavated the Blessed Land Cave Heaven down to its core, while mortals gradually moved into Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop, creating a lively atmosphere.

Various independent forces gained substantial profits—even their minor shares were resilient enough to be noticed.

Bang.

The lizard-like Poison Beast collapsed weakly to the ground, while the toad-like Poison Beast’s mouth stretched wide, its tongue pulling the shriveled prey directly into its stomach.