CHAPTER 553: CHAPTER 69: REUNITING WITH SENIOR SISTERS

Li Mo took a long time to recover his composure, the Cave God’s Eye on his forehead pushed to its limit.

The Yin Yang intersection of the Cave God’s Eye split open with a crack, and an eyeball emerged, enabling him to see once again the world woven with spiritual energy.

Yet, try as he might, he still couldn’t find any trace of Chunyangzi’s reality.

"Hiss..."

Li Mo carefully recalled his encounter with the Heavenly Dao. No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn’t fathom how Chunyangzi managed to connect with the Heavenly Dao.

The Nearby Array alone seemed to hold a faint glimmer of hope in achieving the feat.

"What the hell? Why would Chunyangzi appear in the Gate God’s dream realm, and how did he transcend time to communicate with me?"

Li Mo pondered for a long time, his doubts growing deeper and more baffling.

"Something’s off."

"In Qu Ai’s four pieces of advice, Chunyangzi’s existence was mentioned, as if she anticipated that I might encounter him..."

[If a scholar knocks on the door in the rain, you must open it.]

Aaaaaaaaaah.

The face etched into the wall suddenly let out a primal scream, prompting Li Mo to retract the Cave God’s Eye. For now, he’d need to consult Qu Ai for clearer answers.

"I’ll continue my charge toward the Mahayana Realm."

Li Mo let out a long sigh, then released the Immortal Treasure-protected left arm, exposing part of his blood and bone to the corrosive invasion of mutation.

A series of internal explosions rocked his left arm, causing blood to splatter outward constantly.

Flecks of shredded flesh returned to his body along with the blood after a few breaths, and gradually, the physical strength of his left arm began aligning with his right arm’s robustness.

The Great Wilderness Immortal Body’s efficiency was remarkable for local organ refinement.

The downside was the enormous consumption of Innate Essence.

After refining his limbs, Li Mo expended nearly twelve hundred years’ worth of Innate Essence. Fortunately, his limbs had barely adapted to the Ancestor Court.

Even if his limbs were left exposed, the Gate God’s mutation could only severely damage them.

"Yet another Blessed Land Cave Heaven ideal for tempering the flesh... The Gate God’s mutation, which intensifies over time, is practically tailor-made for the Great Wilderness Immortal Body."

Setting aside the strange matter of Chunyangzi, the Ancestor Court could save Li Mo two or three hundred years, accelerating his flesh’s promotion to the Mahayana Realm.

Immediately, Li Mo began using the mutation to act upon his five internal organs and six viscera.

Compared to the limbs, internal organs required far more caution. The five internal organs, being part of the Corpse Spirit Root, were highly susceptible to damage, which could lead to spiritual power upheavals.

Li Mo had no intention of inadvertently awakening the Gate God due to his body refinement.

The heart was his starting point.

Li Mo meticulously extended the mutation along the blood vessels and meridians connected to his heart, carefully observing any aberration they exhibited. If something went wrong, he’d immediately use Spirit Root Worms to shield the organ.

"Ugh."

Li Mo let out a muffled groan as his blood vessels and meridians twisted like pythons.

Even his heart throbbed wildly, sprouting a massive, gaping maw that began tearing at the surrounding blood vessels and meridians.

As the mutation’s corrosion intensified, the heart gradually slipped from Li Mo’s control, showing signs of imminent collapse.

Bang.

Blood seeped from Li Mo’s five facial orifices as his heart exploded inside his chest cavity.

Due to the halted circulation of blood, spiritual power scattered across his flesh and bones. Fortunately, his preemptive preparations prevented significant upheaval.

Reassembling his heart turned out to be far more taxing than Li Mo had anticipated in terms of Innate Essence expenditure.

Not only did the heart transform, but the blood itself began imbibing the aura of the Three Immortal Body, intermingling with brilliant multicolored hues.

Once the heart was restored, his Innate Essence suffered a direct depletion of five hundred years.

"If each organ requires as much as the heart... my Innate Essence won’t suffice."

Li Mo felt a pang of helplessness, but soon discovered that under the heart’s influence, blood flow throughout his body experienced faint signs of body refinement.

How to put it?

There was a strange illusion that his body was coming alive.

Li Mo realized that the five internal organs were key, and without worrying about conserving Innate Essence, sequentially refined the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

After completing the five internal organs, his Innate Essence was down to a little over three thousand years.

To prevent accidents, Li Mo couldn’t afford to fully deplete it; for the remaining visceral organs, he’d have to rely on painstaking efforts and hope they could transform naturally on their own.

He sat cross-legged within the Gate God’s body, allowing the five internal organs to nourish his entire form.

Time flowed by.

As April was quickly drawing to an end, there was still no sign of his two senior sisters, leaving Li Mo to suspect they might have encountered danger.

Yet with the Ancestor Court’s labyrinthine complexities, Li Mo couldn’t figure out the reality of their situation.

"I’ll wait another ten days. If nothing changes, I’ll leave the Ancestor Court."

Shortly after this thought surfaced in his mind, Li Mo suddenly noticed the candle flames within the room flickering, and the jade in his hands radiated a warm glow.

[Place the Spiritual Fat Candle at the four corners of the room.]

[With brain matter as wax and soul fire as flame.]

Li Mo sensed the cancer cells lingering on Qu Ai’s body. Their location seemed both near and far, likely in different dream realms.

In the ancient cultivation world, Spiritual Fat Candles were specifically used to guide souls back to their bodies when cultivators or mortals experienced soul detachment.

Typically refined from Spiritual Fat Fruit, but brain matter could serve as a substitute.

Li Mo scanned the Corpse Mountain Mini World and discovered two Spiritual Fat Trees hiding in crevices. He casually picked a few fruits and began refining.

The benefit of routinely tossing junk into the Corpse Mountain Mini World became apparent—any obscure spiritual material could be retrieved from its terrain.

The bone-white Spiritual Fat Candle was completed. He neatly arranged them at the four corners as instructed.

Nowadays, without detached souls, Li Mo used spiritual energy to ignite the candles, watching the purple-red flames flicker as an odd incense-like fragrance spread across the room.

Li Mo looked toward the walls, where two elegant silhouettes twisted incessantly.

Seeing this, he prepared himself, remaining vigilant—even against his senior sisters, especially given the strange matter of Chunyangzi mere moments ago.

The figures grew tangible as chaos outside the room began to churn.

"The Gate God is truly awakening..."

Li Mo’s Three Immortal Body gave varying degrees of warnings; the Incense Fire Immortal displaying signs of deceitful transformation was at least on par with a False Immortal.

A familiar feminine voice came through as Si Rui stepped into the room. She wore a light blue robe, her appearance ordinary, but her eyes seemed to house galaxies that swirled around her pupils.

"Little junior brother, long time no see."

At the moment Si Rui appeared, Li Mo sensed the Nearby Array trembling as if it wanted to detach from him—a clear indication of the enhancement effects her immortal body had on the Array Tao.

Qu Ai transformed into a half-human, half-dragon form, with faint signs of damage visible on her stone-like armor.

Si Rui smiled and said, "Junior brother, your considerations are quite thorough. You’ve already planned a route out of the Ancestor Court."

"Eighth Senior Sister, my understanding of the Array Tao pales in comparison to yours."

"Not at all," Si Rui replied earnestly. "Your proficiency in the Array Tao is remarkable; I merely rely on the subtleties of my immortal body..."

"Alright, that’s enough."

Qu Ai interjected, cutting short their exchange, and said succinctly, "The Immortal has taken notice of the three of us. He definitely intends to seize our immortal bodies to enter the mortal world."

"He’s on the verge of awakening; there’s no time for leisurely conversation here."

"Understood."

Si Rui nodded slightly, her eyes widening as she scrutinized the room in fine detail, conducting occasional probes using spiritual energy.

Even though Li Mo bore the Tao Seed, he still found himself leagues behind Si Rui.

Using spiritual energy without alerting the Gate God.

Si Rui was likely examining the structural composition of the Gate God’s form.

"No wonder it’s the Cave Void Immortal Eye."

Li Mo couldn’t help feeling an inexplicable familiarity with the Cave Void Immortal Eye.

He could only assume the Creation Book had once encountered a related immortal body, as no matter how hard he tried to recall, he had no prior memory of it.

Li Mo speculated that the Cave Void Immortal Eye’s ability to perceive would grow stronger with time—Si Rui had almost certainly glimpsed the immense web of spiritual energy.

Perhaps, the Cave Void Immortal Eye at its apex could even utilize the web to emulate Elder Yue and journey to the Immortal Realm.

Of course, the Cave Void Immortal Eye lacked combat capabilities compared to other immortal bodies.

"Junior brother, do you know the Golden Blood Formation?"

"I do."

Li Mo naturally had experience with the Golden Blood Formation, primarily used for blood sacrifice refining. Nowadays, it also served well in the organ modifications tied to the Immortal Creation Technique—a Nascent Soul Stage array.

"Junior brother, take a look at my revised Golden Blood Formation and see if there’s any issue."

Si Rui traced intricate spirit patterns onto her palm. Li Mo leaned in to examine them closely before nodding and remarking, "It looks fine overall. Senior Sister, are you intending to use the array to mimic the Upper, Middle, and Lower Dantians, persuading the Immortal to abandon his own organs voluntarily?"

"What do you think—does it seem feasible?"

"It actually does."

Li Mo hesitated for a moment, understanding the Gate God was a deceitful entity created through words-to-law, infused with mortal remains, making its spiritual wisdom inherently chaotic.

Judging by the countless corpses dotting the Ancestor Court’s surface, the Gate God showed clear signs of self-collapse.

If the Gate God sensed abnormalities in its organs, there was indeed a chance to acquire them effortlessly.

"Let me refine the design further. The framework of the Golden Blood Formation alone won’t suffice to influence the Immortal—it’ll require comprehensive revisions."

Without hesitation, Li Mo delved into feverish adjustments to the spirit patterns.

Qu Ai instinctively drew a sharp breath.

She could grasp some aspects of Si Rui’s array, but when faced with Li Mo’s refined version, she felt utterly adrift.

The primary issue was that Li Mo’s spirit patterns were far too chaotic, beyond the grasp of mortal understanding.

While setting up the array, Li Mo could easily use a simpler method, yet he chose an unconventional route that intertwined the spirit patterns in a tangled mess.

Si Rui watched with keen interest—through the perspective of her Cave Void Immortal Eye, the Golden Blood Formation seemed almost reborn under Li Mo’s hands.

Crack... Crack... Crack...

Fissures spread across the walls, emitting a putrid stench as blood oozed out.

"That should be it. Factoring in Senior Sister’s immortal body, we have about a 60–70% chance. Any further detailing would take too long."

"That’s good enough; it’s already more than sufficient."

Si Rui seemed eager to begin array setup immediately, her enthusiasm and dedication to the Array Tao unmistakable—a trait unchanged from ten thousand years ago.

"I’ve got the spiritual materials."

Li Mo took out the main materials one by one, Si Rui measuring and comparing them on the side.

Qu Ai let out a sigh of relief. With Li Mo and Si Rui present, their journey through the Ancestor Court wouldn’t end in death and destruction.

"Eleventh Senior Sister."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Your earlier advice of ’three and a half sentences’ saved me from imminent danger."

"No big deal. If anything, I owe my entry into the Ancestor Court to you drawing attention from all the factions."

Qu Ai muttered, "Three and a half sentences? Shouldn’t it be two and a half sentences?"

Li Mo furrowed his brows deeply—it seemed the peculiar matter of Chunyangzi was no coincidence, as though an unseen force was orchestrating his path.

His encounter with Chunyangzi might very well be predestined.