CHAPTER 517: CHAPTER 33 HIGHLIGHTING ONE HUNDRED TABOOS

"The matter is urgent, and this junior won’t waste words. If anyone has objections, I’ll bury you along with them."

The eerie silence of the South Sea Dragon Palace was shattered, causing turbulent waves to roll across the sea.

Li Mo’s actions forced all cultivators to confront the deceitful object, making it impossible to extricate themselves. Dissatisfaction instantly arose among them.

"How did a Chief suddenly emerge from your Great Sun Sword Tomb?"

"Fellow Daoist Bi, you..."

Golden Light Venerable squinted, his tone filled with resentment.

But before he could finish speaking, Li Mo’s entire being erupted with an intense Great Sun Sword Intent. A mysterious swastika symbol appeared in his palm, which he pressed forward.

Bang.

A gust of palm wind swept past.

Golden Light Venerable’s pupils contracted. Not far away, the Green Soft River Dragon King was sent flying backward.

The Dragon King collided heavily with the wall, his chest caved in, and a glowing swastika symbol appeared there. The true body of the deceitful object in the rear courtyard grew even more enraged.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

The ground roiled as the blood vessels reversed their flow, absorbing nutrients from the deceitful puppet.

Li Mo smiled silently. Under the reinforcement of his Taoist Body, his figure swelled to over five meters, exerting a terrifying pressure with the sheer strength of his physical body.

Even Bi Hengguang and the other cultivators were left incredulous.

They stared at Li Mo, momentarily speechless.

Chief of the Great Sun Sword Tomb? But since when did Sword Cultivators possess such tremendous physical strength without a trace of compromise in their sword intent?

"A fine Taiyi Taoist, treating the South Sea like your Heavenly Sword Sect? How utterly audacious."

Golden Light Venerable felt his face burning with shame.

Although an Offshore Realm expert, he had somehow fallen into a disadvantage against a mere Fake Void Realm junior. Unable to accept this, he began mobilizing his spiritual power, and minute fragments of rock began emanating from his pores.

"Senior, may I know how you are addressed?"

Li Mo, his entire body clad in scale armor, the Golden Toad fused with his flesh and bones, struck forcefully at Golden Light Venerable.

Boom.

At the instant of impact, the residual force shattered cracks across the walls of the reception hall.

Li Mo stood firm while his forearm was covered in stone, whereas Golden Light Venerable took several steps back.

The cultivators struggled to conceal their shock. Golden Light Venerable’s sect, Yellow Dragon Mountain, though not primarily focused on body refinement, boasted physiques as resilient as spiritual materials, their physical strength unparalleled.

Even when Golden Light Venerable confronted top experts like the Dragon Head Residence of the Three Elements Pavilion, he would not succumb quickly.

Yet against Li Mo, the disparity was glaring.

"Good, good, good..."

Golden Light Venerable uttered "good" three times in succession, his previously hostile expression somewhat softened.

It was not merely Li Mo’s physical strength that astounded him, but rather his ability to suppress the petrification on his arm in an instant—proof that he could almost nullify Yellow Dragon Mountain’s spiritual power erosion.

An Immortal Body—an eighty percent likelihood.

What kind of fortune had blessed the Heavenly Sword Sect to possess yet another Innate Immortal Seed?

Li Mo did not bother to conceal the threat he represented.

Scanning the Ten Thousand Demon Dao branch sect, the Meat Lotus Sect, he couldn’t help but feel a trace of pity. The group of a dozen Demon Cultivators shivered with unease.

Had the sect master of the Meat Lotus Sect, Master Dan Yan, stepped forward, Li Mo wouldn’t hesitate to use the opportunity to annihilate the sect entirely.

On one hand, the Four Taoist Lords were on the brink of being drained entirely by the Creation Book, and it wouldn’t be surprising if hostilities arose with the Ten Thousand Demon Dao. Starting with killing a few sect masters was not a bad idea.

On the other hand, Golden Light Venerable was a tough nut to crack, someone Li Mo didn’t have full confidence in defeating.

Most Demon Cultivators had unstable foundations. Li Mo believed he could exploit Master Dan Yan’s retaliation to completely capture the Meat Lotus Sect within the Artifact Pill Body.

"Heh heh..."

Master Dan Yan’s back was drenched in sweat.

The so-called Chief of the Great Sun Sword Tomb was even more unscrupulous than Demon Cultivators.

He had a gnawing premonition that if he uttered a word supporting Fu Wen or sided with Golden Light Venerable, Li Mo would unhesitatingly act to send him into that damned sphere as well.

He couldn’t quite believe Fu Wen had been ambushed and ended with his Dao disappearing.

Despite Fu Wen’s crafty cultivation, he had genuinely achieved Existential Realm status. Taiyi Taoist must be far stronger than anticipated.

"Chief of the Great Sun Sword Tomb? From whence sprung such a figure."

Boom.

One by one, the halls within the South Sea Dragon Palace began to collapse.

"Interesting."

Li Mo could not help muttering to himself; the true body of the deceitful object was emitting a faint True Dragon aura. This must have been the direct descendant of the South Sea Dragon King back in the day.

Its corpse, if dismantled, might indeed yield the Benevolent Dragon King’s Taoist inheritance.

Originally, Li Mo planned to lure the deceitful object’s true body into the reception hall, but now it seemed necessary to deal with it separately to preserve the integrity of the corpse.

He unleashed the Golden Toad’s ability to alter size, swelling to a massive four to five hundred meters.

With a single punch.

The reception hall completely collapsed, forcing the cultivators to scatter hastily.

Li Mo noticed out of the corner of his eye countless blood vessels snaking toward the reception hall. It was clear the true body of the deceitful object sensed a mortal threat.

Zhang Mu spoke coldly, "Junior, you’ve gone too far."

"We extended help to the Great Sun Sword Tomb out of goodwill, yet you divert the disaster onto us?"

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you speak falsely," Bi Hengguang began defending Li Mo when suddenly, a fierce wind swept past him.

Li Mo ignored Zhang Mu entirely, launching several sword qi attacks that forced him into evasive maneuvers while seizing Bi Hengguang and vanishing into the depths.

"Enough chatter, seniors. Kindly help hold off the deceitful object for a moment. We’ll meet again eleven thousand miles underwater."

"You—"

Li Mo stepped forward and disappeared into the shadows.

With the Spirit Root Worm veiling Ghost Tiger’s movements, it was as if Li Mo had melted into the seawater; none of the Void Refining cultivators managed to localize him.

The cultivators had no time to search for Li Mo as blood vessels rained heavily upon them.

The Green Soft River Dragon King had already been fully drained, leaving an intensified surge in blood vessels, with eighty percent converging around the reception hall, causing the earth to quake.

Deep fissures split the soil, and countless eyes gleamed within.

Li Mo carried Bi Hengguang to a side hall where Luo Yang was hiding. Bi Hengguang’s gaze turned complicated, momentarily at a loss for words.

If the Great Sun Sword Tomb had not suffered calamity and its resources tilted fully toward the cultivation of Taiyi Taoist...

It was possible they might gain another Land Immortal.

"Taiyi... That deceitful object’s true body possesses Void Refining Stage perfection. It’s not something you can handle—not alone. There’s truly no need."

"Don’t worry. It’s just a hollow threat."

Li Mo chuckled sinisterly.

If the true body could indeed assemble a functional physical vessel—even if the vessel wouldn’t last long—Li Mo would have chosen to flee without hesitation.

But now, with the true body still undeveloped, he felt confident he could grind it to extinction.

"A profit beyond imagination."

Li Mo could scarcely contain his glee as he dissected the Hundred Faces Sect’s Demon Cultivators, absorbing their respective Taoist inheritances into his consciousness.

The Void Refining techniques alone made this venture worthwhile.

And the nutrients extracted from the blood and bones were continually enhancing his Externalized Dharma Body. His Artifact Pill Body and Buddha Demon Body reaped substantial benefits as well.

"Slay a few more Void Refining cultivators, and Existential Realm will be within reach."

Li Mo, after setting Bi Hengguang down in the side hall, strode silently toward the rear courtyard.

Bi Hengguang and Luo Yang exchanged grim looks.

Throughout the South Sea Dragon Palace, blood vessels sprawled everywhere, reeking of nauseating stench. Occasionally, Merfolk emerged from the ends of these vessels, only to rapidly dissolve into a mess of flesh.

It was abundantly clear to all: the true body had spiraled completely out of control.

Upon reaching the rear courtyard, Li Mo saw his Lifebound Flying Swords destroyed, exposing the soil below where a colossal amber sphere, a hundred meters across, came into view.

"Tsk, tsk."

A look of surprise crossed Li Mo’s face. Inside the amber was an unformed embryo.

The embryo bore scant resemblance to a True Dragon, with its scaleless body, undeveloped limbs, and even malformed, useless internal organs.

"The last True Dragon in existence?"

Li Mo conjectured the deceitful object had been an embryo before the world was thrown into upheaval, leading to the collapse of the South Sea Dragon Palace and obliterating its chance to hatch.

The Dragon Embryo’s longing was singular: to become a True Dragon.

The blood vessels extended toward corpses of cultivators, selecting organs for integration into its form, all intended to free the embryo from the amber’s constraint.

The South Sea Dragon Palace resembled a potted garden, and the Dragon Embryo was its seed buried within the soil.

Roar!!!

Twisted by the bizarre rules of the South Sea Dragon Palace, the embryo lacked spiritual wisdom.

Its howls were fragmented phrases from some perverse drama: "Bride... wedding, today is... auspicious. Dragon King..."

It continued to summon corpses of cultivators.

"Open," Li Mo commanded.

He clasped his hands together, pulling the Dragon Embryo into the Purgatory Pure Land.

The aura emanating from the Purgatory Pure Land spread unease among the cultivators.

They had never seen a Void Realm where Buddha and Demon were cultivated simultaneously—not to mention Li Mo had earlier wielded an Externalized Dharma Body dissimilar to the Purgatory Pure Land.

To control two top-quality realms simultaneously—what kind of talent did this require?

Li Mo descended into the Purgatory Pure Land, merging his form with the Buddha Demon Body. Accompanied by the chants of thousands of Buddhas and evil spirits, Tattooed Beasts circled him.

The Tattooed Beasts underwent remarkable changes in the Purgatory Pure Land.

Their bodies bore countless bloody imprints that emitted a radiant seven-colored glow. Wherever they tread, earth-white skeletons emerged from the soil. As they moved, their feet rested upon gold-and-white auspicious clouds.

When the Dragon Embryo entered this unfamiliar environment, it grew visibly uneasy.

Blood vessels rooted in the realm.

An indescribable dragon-like deceitful object emerged, fiercely clashing with the evil spirits and Buddhas.

Li Mo observed the Dragon Embryo lacked an Externalized Dharma Body. Yet simply relying on its Void Refining perfection-level aura, it exerted influence upon the realm.

"Buddha Transformation."

"Great Brightness."

The Sun Treasure Bottle hovered midair, radiating boundless light, unleashing endless sword qi to shred the deceitful object.

Li Mo revealed the power of the Buddha Demon Body as he grabbed a blood vessel. Eight arms exerting force together uprooted it entirely.

The Dragon Embryo writhed in pain, agitated by the stimulation. Blood vessels lashed ferociously, tearing at the Buddha Demon Body.

Blood vessels continued to grow, transforming the Dragon Embryo into a hedgehog-like creature, making it nearly impossible for Li Mo to reach the amber core at its center.

The relentless battle gradually pushed the realm to its limits.

Li Mo abandoned offense, focusing solely on evasion. His movements prevented the Dragon Embryo’s advance while simultaneously keeping tabs on the external situation, ensuring no opportunists tried to seize the Great Sun Sword Tomb.

Fortunately, the various factions exercised restraint. The Void Refining cultivators cooperated for mutual benefit.

With Zhang Qiyang present and Li Mo’s intimidating presence growing, any further treachery among factions would render access to the Immortal Marrow impossible.

"Who knows what further calamities lie ahead in the depths of the South Sea? Preparedness for retreat is a must, though the gains from this venture are already ample."

Li Mo stalled the Dragon Embryo, conserving his spiritual power as much as possible.

Intent on securing Taoist inheritances, he planned to wait until his Artifact Pill Body fully decomposed before tossing the Dragon Embryo into the Cosmic Furnace for gradual refinement.