CHAPTER 550: CHAPTER 66 MARCH 12, SOMEONE IS FEELING ANXIOUS

Li Mo unconsciously furrowed his brow and instinctively followed Gou Zhuzi’s gaze toward the beam of the house.

The Cave God’s Eye opened.

But the beam was completely empty, covered in a thick layer of dust due to long neglect.

Outside the door, noise erupted as Gou Zhuzi nervously explained to the constable, fear evident in his words, causing the nearby children to start crying.

Li Mo shook his head slightly.

"The perspective of a child has nothing to do with me. To put it plainly, everything in this town is merely a replay of Yihai Year’s events. I am just a bystander."

Li Mo’s reaction might have been somewhat exaggerated, but considering the involvement of the Ancestor Court and the Gate God, it was no wonder his mind felt tense.

The constable drew a long blade and moved his eye close to the hole in the paper covering the door, scrutinizing the room within.

"There’s no monster here, you little brat. Scared half to death by a paper-mache Disaster Beast. I’ll tell your uncle later and see if he spanks you."

"That...that monster—it looked like a skinned frog, perched on the beam, with eyes exactly the same as the Disaster Beast’s."

Gou Zhuzi gestured, trying to explain, but the constable slapped the back of his head.

"Gou Zhuzi, don’t keep making a fuss over nothing. Why not go to the private school and study like Scholar Li? Learn to be a bit more cultured."

Luo Zhou Town had only a few thousand residents, all tied by local bonds and relationships. The constable appeared very familiar with Gou Zhuzi’s family, scolding and hitting him without hesitation.

Gou Zhuzi’s expression turned blank, doubting whether he had seen incorrectly.

He wanted to take another look but lacked the courage, as even the Gate God’s portrait appeared grotesque to him now. He shuddered uncontrollably.

The constable reached out to touch—Gou Zhuzi’s back was already soaked with sweat.

"Alright, everyone go home and get changed, or you’ll catch a cold."

The children returned to their homes one by one.

The constable kept staring at the hole for a few moments before smearing it shut with spit. As evening approached, he finally left the house.

Smoke curled up from chimneys, leaving the town’s alleys deserted and silent.

Li Mo let out a long sigh.

He knew Gou Zhuzi hadn’t seen wrong—the Disaster Beast had likely come back to life and learned to disguise itself as a paperman, secretly amassing power.

Thinking of the Dragon King Festival’s outcome, Li Mo wasn’t the least bit surprised.

In the people’s Word-to-Law belief, the birth of the Disaster Beast was only the prelude to drastic changes.

Li Mo lay flat inside his home, gazing as Kongming Lanterns floated toward the clouds amidst the fading lights of the thousand households.

The brief night passed.

Luo Zhou Town was still bustling, even attracting mountain people from nearby villages for the market. Yet, no children played noisily near Li Mo’s door anymore.

Li Mo focused solely on recuperating for now, finding no visible danger from the Ancestor Court.

In the ensuing days, the town remained immersed in the joy of Spring Festival, with Gate God-related decorations and figurines visible everywhere.

Evidently, the Ancestor Court existed as a dreamscape of the Gate God.

According to the Creation Book’s feedback, despite the town’s thriving incense offerings to the Gate God, celebrations largely adhered to traditional customs.

Li Mo’s spiritual power had recovered to eighty percent, and some depleted blood vessels and meridians had undergone reshaping.

To save time, the consumed Corpse Wine could now fill a lake; even combat with cultivators of the same realm wouldn’t weaken his foundation.

March quietly arrived in Luo Zhou Town.

As the snow melted, mountain people busily prepared for the springtime’s seed planting, and children were sent off to private schools, leaving the town feeling emptier than before.

"Something bad has happened!!!"

A panicked shout came from the town’s entrance, breaking Li Mo’s concentration.

Any anomaly in Luo Zhou Town could ripple outward, potentially heralding disaster—or even drawing the Gate God’s ire.

"Today is March 6th—hm, the almanac mentions a warning against bloodshed."

Li Mo activated the Cave God’s Eye and noticed five hunters carrying a corpse as they descended the mountain, drawing a crowd of mountain people to the town entrance.

The body had been savaged by a large beast—its abdomen was gouged open, the Five Internal Organs were gone, and parts of the thigh and hip were missing flesh.

Grieving sobs echoed continuously.

"What kind of beast did this?"

One hunter shouted loudly, "A human-bear! The human-bear hunts in Da Linzi!"

A human-bear refers to an elderly black bear, its behavior far more cunning than ordinary ones, capable of using terrain to hunt smaller animals.

"The eldest from the Lin family died just like that? The human-bear woke up too early this year, didn’t it? At least half a month earlier than usual!"

"This year’s thaw came early—I noticed tender shoots sprouting in the fields myself. I thought it’d be a bountiful year, but it turns out..."

The mountain people muttered amongst themselves, with the hunters wearing particularly grim expressions.

"A human-bear that eats humans... this is big trouble! If we don’t kill that cursed beast, it’ll surely come into town looking for prey."

Normally, wild beasts wouldn’t actively attack humans.

But once they’ve tasted human flesh, they’ll add mortals to their menu—even forsaking other food in favor of human meat.

Li Mo listened to the hunters’ conversation. Apparently, the locals had a belief:

If a human-bear devours a person’s brain, it becomes increasingly intelligent, shedding more of its beastly traits as its fur gradually falls away.

"It has begun—drastic changes to the world."

Li Mo narrowed his eyes, sensing the dark currents signaling disaster’s arrival.

The human-bear crisis filled Luo Zhou Town with anxiety; even those tending crops worked in groups, too fearful to be alone outside the town.

What worsened their plight was the mysterious disappearance of mountain people in Luo Zhou Town.

The missing individuals vanished from their homes, evidently unrelated to the human-bear. Some claimed they saw eerie, inexplicable creatures crawling along rooftops.

Li Mo suspected that the paperman-turned-Disaster Beast had quietly left its dwelling.

With the townsfolk consumed by fear, the human-bear matter eventually faded from their focus. The hunters only discovered numerous animal corpses near the forest’s edge.

The bodies were largely intact, often missing only internal organs, and their frequency dwindled as days passed—the bite marks confirmed the human-bear’s involvement.

The hunters gave up pursuit; as long as the human-bear didn’t attack the mountain people, they deemed it harmless, indicating its diet hadn’t yet fully changed.

But Li Mo knew better—the human-bear was starving.

Under normal circumstances, a human-bear with abundant food options would only consume the tastier organs. In early spring, with many animals yet to migrate back, the availability of prey should have been extremely limited.

If the human-bear had scouted multiple times but hadn’t taken full advantage of its catches, it could only mean its original diet no longer satisfied it.

March 12th.

Spring rain fell in streams, with the skies gloomy by the afternoon.

Mountain folk returned home early, streets and alleys devoid of pedestrians, their footsteps mirrored in the raindrops falling on the ground.

Relatives anxiously awaited hunters, only to see thick mist enshrouding the mountain paths. They realized the hunters would likely need to stay in the mountains overnight.

Spread out, the relatives muttered their complaints against the rain-shortened day.

Moments later, as the sun set, the town plunged into utter darkness. Coupled with the drifting fog, even the constable abandoned his patrol.

Not until midnight did the spring rain finally halt.

The eerily silent Luo Zhou Town echoed with a bizarre tapping sound, followed by an unnerving, monotone voice crying out, "Da Linzi, Da Linzi..."

Li Mo could vaguely see a slim figure walking the streets—the deep voice uncannily matched one of the hunters.

As the figure passed by, dark brown fur scattered across the ground.

It was undoubtedly the human-bear.

The human-bear stopped in its tracks, gazing at Li Mo’s location with a spine-chilling look.

"Da Linzi..."

The human-bear disappeared into the fog, its odd, human-like gait disturbingly irregular.

Li Mo’s Cave God’s Eye had severe limitations within the Ancestor Court, making it impossible to determine whether the human-bear was affected by the drastic changes underway.

Prolonged use of the Cave God’s Eye also triggered an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

It might even attract the Gate God’s attention.

"Best not to activate spiritual power—I’ll regroup with Senior Sister later."

Li Mo disengaged the Cave God’s Eye, losing track of the human-bear, yet remaining composed as he continued his Circulation Cycle.

Rain seeped through the cracks in the door, only to be stopped by the Ghost Tiger.

Past midnight, a faint scent of blood emerged in the air—proof the human-bear had taken advantage of the pitch-black night to begin its massacre.

Li Mo murmured, "It’s here."

Knock knock knock.

Sudden, heavy knocks resounded at the door—the human-bear appeared outside, now dressed in human clothing. Its fur had fallen off completely, revealing a bloated, malformed body resembling a grotesque strongman.

Exposed fangs dripped with blood mixed with the nauseating stench of brain marrow liquid.

"Open the door—it’s me."

The human-bear mimicked human speech, pounding its arm heavily against the wooden door.

"During the Earth-shaking changes of Yihai Year, a dozen mountain people hid in this very house—the human-bear was intent on entering and feasting on them."

Li Mo had no intention of opening the door. The human-bear grew agitated, opening its mouth wide, the voices of different mountain people resonating from its throat.

"Hmm?"

Li Mo sensed his own mutation—his appearance was gradually transforming into that of a mountain person, accompanied by numerous foreign memories flooding his mind.

As the process continued, his physical body became increasingly fragile, and his connection to the Externalized Dharma Body weakened, teetering on the brink of degrading into a mere mortal.

Li Mo’s Great Wilderness Immortal Body operated at full force, barely suppressing the mutation.

He had always believed that the Great Wilderness Immortal Body could adapt to any mutation—even if hard to resist, it would at least allow him to hold steady for some time. He had not expected to nearly lose control within the Ancestor Court.

Left with no alternative, Li Mo expended Innate Essence to nourish the Great Wilderness Immortal Body.

The Immortal Body forcibly purged the mutation, inadvertently undergoing a round of body refinement. With its physical strength steadily approaching a breakthrough of the Body Integration Realm’s limit.

For ordinary cultivators, resisting the mutation’s corrosion would have been impossible.

Roar.

The human-bear ceased its actions, opening its maw toward the sky.

Then, it collapsed heavily to the ground, dying abruptly without any external force. Ill-fitting clothes exaggerated its grotesqueness.

Li Mo understood—drastic changes had officially descended upon this world.

Word-to-Law had emerged.

With the morning sun illuminating Luo Zhou Town, several hunters moved the human-bear’s corpse away while the townsfolk appeared extraordinarily euphoric.

They knelt before the Gate God’s temple, singing praises of its divine manifestation.

Li Mo scanned the mountain people.

Sure enough, not a single person was missing—in fact, there were even more.

"How come there are five more people?"

The deceased mountain people had been resurrected through incomprehensible means. Naturally, the townsfolk attributed this to the Gate God, glorifying its power in slaying the human-bear and Disaster Beast.

Little did they realize they had opened Pandora’s box.

Li Mo fell deep into thought, suddenly coming to an alarming realization.

"Cultivators without Immortal Bodies entering the Ancestor Court shouldn’t survive the human-bear’s mutation. Moreover, the wooden door should have been easily breached."

"Under the mutation’s effects, cultivators might have been turned into mountain people, their memories altered—it’s highly likely they’ve become part of the town’s populace."

"Then..."

"Who are the cultivators that ’left’ the Ancestor Court?"