CHAPTER 380: CHAPTER 7: THE SWORD TOMB FILLED WITH TABOOS

Li Mo appeared somewhat helpless as he obediently let go of the door handle.

With his current strength being suppressed by the Mountain Protection Array, he indeed couldn’t act recklessly. At the very least, he needed to figure out the taboos of the Three Suns Sword Tomb.

"Senior Luo Yang, could you elaborate on the difference between ’Cocoon’ and ’Pupa’?"

"Hehehe."

Luo Yang let out a strange laugh and then extended his right hand deep into his throat, retrieving a charred black heart that emitted a three-colored glow.

The charred heart pulsed continuously, with tiny flames flickering at its core.

"My Lifebound Flying Sword, ’Three Burning’, has a taboo that the Heart Fire must remain unextinguished. Simply put, I have to use blood as its fuel."

Luo Yang’s expression turned serious as he toyed with the Three Burning in his hand.

"Three Burning only contains the Three Flavors Sword Intent, so its taboo is relatively easy to manage."

"If one day Three Burning suddenly comprehends a second type of sword intent, it would lead to a mixture of intents, birthing an unpredictable new taboo."

Li Mo immediately understood.

If different taboos were to intertwine, the flying sword could become utterly uncontrollable.

Not only would the behavioral principles of a Cocoon Sword be impossible to predict, but the peculiarities of its mixed Sword Intent could also lead to bizarre and unfathomable abilities.

Pure Sword Intent corresponds to ’Pupa’; mixed Sword Intent corresponds to ’Cocoon’.

Li Mo’s Fake Buddha Flying Sword could already be considered a Pupa Sword, though due to the lower-level Universal Illumination Sword Intent, it wasn’t considered top-tier within the Heavenly Sword Sect.

"Senior, is the Sword Tomb possibly..."

"Ha, your observation is sharp. The Sword Tomb is indeed formed from flying swords."

Luo Yang realized that Li Mo had already noticed the peculiar Sword Tomb among the stars. No wonder he was acknowledged by the Twelve Immortals as Daoist Qingtian—his talent, comprehension, and mental realm were all outstanding at his Nascent Soul Stage.

"Flying swords accumulate Sword Intent bit by bit. Once their intent resonates with traces of the Dao, Cocoon Swords evolve into ’Night Wanderers,’ while Pupa Swords become ’Day Wanderers.’"

"Only after Day Wanderers and Night Wanderers ascend further can they reach the realm of the Sword Tomb."

Luo Yang stopped short, unwilling to delve deeper into the topic of the Sword Tomb. The indescribable Sword Tomb born from a Night Wanderer’s promotion was not something Li Mo could handle.

"The Cocoon Sword in the Three Suns Sword Tomb is already nearing Night Wanderer status. If it remains unmanageable for too long, we might have no choice but to purge the entire Sword Tomb."

Luo Yang shook his head slightly, muttering gravely, "Once a Night Wanderer fully manifests, it could inadvertently pollute the Three Suns Sword Tomb, leading to..."

Li Mo remained noncommittal.

The Heavenly Sword Sect’s decision to dispatch Luo Yang to the Three Suns Sword Tomb indicated they were mentally prepared for the worst. It also revealed the sect’s shortage of manpower.

Li Mo started to understand why the Heavenly Sword Sect recruited only a handful of disciples every thousand years.

As Luo Yang mentioned, Sword Cultivators could also influence their flying swords in reverse. The birth of Cocoon Swords inevitably involved factors that Sword Cultivators couldn’t shirk.

Mass recruitment in the Heavenly Sword Sect could result in further deterioration of the situation.

Of course, it was also due to the sheer power of Sword Cultivators; the Sword Qi they casually unleashed could carry residual might of their Taoist Body, rendering the influx of fresh blood unnecessary.

"Senior Luo Yang, then I’ll take my leave of the Forging Room."

"Go on, go on."

Luo Yang waved dismissively, though he still uneasily reminded him.

"Those anomalous beings formed from flying swords are called Sword Ghosts. While they do cultivate on their own, their progression is exceedingly slow."

"The appearance of Sword Ghosts stems from the Mountain Protection Array. Try not to interact with them—they are inscrutable in nature and should be treated as anomalies."

Luo Yang’s expression turned gleefully sinister. "If they discover your talent, hehe, they’ll surely swarm and attack you."

He pulled out a sword instrument and began forging it repeatedly. Sparks flew everywhere, intermixed with the faint smell of burning flesh.

"Thank you, Senior Luo Yang."

"Qingtian, remember: turn right for one hundred meters to the fifth room. You’re at the Nascent Soul Stage; surely I don’t need to guide you on your cultivation?"

"Certainly not."

Li Mo preferred Luo Yang leaving him to his own devices, allowing him freedom to acquire the Taoist Inheritance from the Three Suns Sword Tomb.

As long as his sword cultivation technique reached the Nascent Soul Stage, no matter how threatening the Three Suns Sword Tomb became, it wouldn’t hinder the Sunlight Bodhisattva from testing the Buddha Embryo Skill.

After hesitating briefly, he pushed open a wooden door, revealing a narrow and worn corridor. Hanging on the walls were several rust-covered iron implements.

A wave of heat assaulted him. From any angle, the place looked like a massive blacksmith’s forge.

As the wooden door closed.

Li Mo felt as though he had stepped into a foreign world, his heart instinctively tensing in alert.

The corridor was lined with forging rooms, within which faint shadows could be seen hammering away. The clang of metal resounded without cease.

Unsurprisingly, they were likely Sword Ghosts—sons of flying swords.

Sword Ghosts bore diverse appearances; their exposed skin was embedded with fragments of sword blades. At first glance, it was impossible to tell whether they were human or non-human.

They monotonously wielded hammers, their movements appearing stiff and mechanical.

As for the objects on their anvils, they were none other than their own left-hand bones, which gradually reshaped under repeated hammer blows, spilling flesh and viscera.

"Since the Mountain Protection Array is composed of flying swords, one of the flying swords might possess a taboo capable of inexplicably spawning Sword Ghosts on a massive scale."

"The Heavenly Sword Sect is far from what it seems on the surface."

The Heavenly Sword Sect’s strength would skyrocket over time, but its glaring weakness was its lack of control.

Li Mo’s gaze swept across the forging rooms as his attire underwent subtle changes, his magic robe gaining distinct ornaments exclusive to the Three Suns Sword Tomb.

He moved toward the corridor’s right side, activating his Cave God’s Eye to the fullest extent.

Whoosh.

Following a crisp sword sound, a scorching Sword Qi sliced past him.

The Sword Qi struck his abdominal region without warning, its impact reduced by seventy percent thanks to his magic robe, leaving only a faint scar on his flesh.

Li Mo halted his step, noticing an old woman sweeping at the end of the corridor.

The old woman was evidently a Sword Ghost—her decayed flesh riddled with holes, her gaze fixated unnervingly on Li Mo as she shuffled toward him.

Li Mo’s fingers stroked the hilt of his sword, the Universal Illumination Sword Intent already poised to strike.

A moment later, the old woman hobbled past him, croaking hoarsely, "Child, walk silently."

Li Mo didn’t relax until the old woman disappeared around the corner.

The old woman’s taboo was probably "walking noisily." With this lesson right after stepping out, the Three Suns Sword Tomb wasted no time teaching him its rules.

It wasn’t that she was difficult to confront; her exposed strength was no more than Nascent Soul Stage.

The real issue lay in the Twelve Thousand Sword Ghost disciples inhabiting the Three Suns Sword Tomb, with one or two thousand reaching the sect-level tier.

Li Mo could imagine that any conflict would incite an endless tide of Sword Ghosts.

One couldn’t be sure whether their actions might inadvertently trigger other taboos, so inside the Three Suns Sword Tomb, caution was paramount.

Crack.

A fissure opened across Li Mo’s forehead as twin Taiji-shaped fish emerged from his pupil. His Divine Sense, enhanced by the Cave God’s Eye, could now extend ten meters from his body.

It had been a long time since he revealed the Cave God’s Eye.

Now that he had joined the Heavenly Sword Sect, there was no need to hide his past identity. After all, Sword Cultivators were notorious for being eccentric and unrestrained.

His steps grew soundlessly restrained.

Li Mo cautiously made his way toward the section housing the Sword Dao secret manuals of the Three Suns Sword Tomb. Ever since entering the tomb, his Illusion Fish Sword had no longer been kept sheathed on his back.

"Right turn, one hundred meters..."

The short passage took only a few minutes, yet Luo Yang had repeatedly warned him beforehand, implying the level of peril.

Li Mo couldn’t help but feel uneasy, his form cloaked in faint seven-colored light as the only lucid Sunlight Bodhisattva quietly recited scripture.

His awareness sharpened—eyes scanning all directions and ears attuned to every sound.

After ten meters.

Li Mo suddenly spotted a gecko crouching in the corner.

In an instant, the gecko vanished from sight.

Li Mo’s entire body tensed as sharp pain shot through his mouth. Sweeping his Divine Sense over himself, he found a fingertip-sized chunk missing from his tongue.

Was the gecko also a flying sword? Its taboo seemed to be "fond of devouring tongue flesh."

Li Mo circulated his Great Sun Spiritual Power, enclosing himself in an airtight shield. Yet two breaths later, another piece of his tongue inexplicably disappeared.

He patiently experimented with different techniques.

Only after flooding his mouth and nose with cancer cells did the gecko’s assault cease.

Li Mo glanced toward the corner. The gecko remained in the shadows, though its size had evidently increased, its aura more potent.

Even the sect’s flying swords were already this troublesome in their taboos.

Li Mo couldn’t begin to fathom the terrifying unpredictability of the Cocoon Sword that even Luo Yang couldn’t locate, should it lose control.

He struggled to maintain inner composure, pacing carefully along the right-side wall.

The first room, the second room...

Each wooden door bore inscriptions, though they weren’t indicators of the rooms’ functions—they merely assigned sequential markings.

[A, C, 1], [A, C, 2].

Upon arriving at [A, C, 5], a faint smell of ink wafted through the door’s cracks.

With forceful effort, Li Mo pushed the door open. At that instant, his right-hand pinky was severed at the joint. The joint was precisely the weak point of his White Bone Treasure Body.

As the pinky struck the floor, it vanished without a trace.

"Another flying sword—the taboo demands a severed finger as the price for opening the door."

The Three Suns Sword Tomb was rife with rules born from taboos. A moment’s carelessness could result in injury, though fortunately not at the cost of one’s life.

Li Mo activated Da Ai Mi Tian, cancer cells surging to his right hand, regenerating the severed pinky.

"I’ve barely walked a hundred meters and already encountered three sect-level flying swords."

Li Mo observed that the sect-level flying swords hadn’t yet reached the Divine Separation Stage. Their appearance near the Forging Room likely owed to them seeking refuge.

Although flying swords had limited Spiritual Wisdom, it didn’t mean they were incapable of sensing danger.

The Cocoon Sword had obliterated over seven hundred flying swords in fifty years, prompting some to instinctively cluster near Luo Yang’s Forging Room.

"If not for the Cocoon Sword, the Three Suns Sword Tomb wouldn’t have descended into such chaos."

While most sect-level flying sword taboos were manageable—no matter how demanding, environments could be crafted to contain them—the emergence of the Cocoon Sword directly led to the collapse of order within the Three Suns Sword Tomb.

Li Mo entered the room.

Dim candlelight illuminated three rows of bookshelves, surrounded by dozens of Sword Ghosts.

To be precise, they were the corpses of Sword Ghosts.

All the corpses had been decapitated, their neck stumps revealing flesh structures identical to living beings, though their dried blood gave off a metallic stench.

Their heads were nowhere to be found, and scorch marks marred their spines.

"Cocoon Sword..."

Li Mo realized the Sword Ghosts had been decapitated by the Cocoon Sword and immediately felt his hair stand on end, fearful the Cocoon Sword might be lurking in some hidden corner, ready to strike.

"Wait."

Li Mo examined the patterns on the ground—the Sword Ghosts seemed to have continued walking into the room, unaware of being decapitated.

"I must ensure my field of vision remains unobstructed when opening doors."

Li Mo tossed the headless Sword Ghost corpses into the Corpse Mountain Mini World, where they were quickly refined into copious amounts of sword-forging materials.