Chapter 477: Chapter 102: The Possibility of Stealing the Fake Heavenly Dao
"I have achieved enlightenment, enlightenment! I, Huadu, am about to become an Immortal!"
The Immortal Elder laughed maniacally, wielding a Dharma Seal to repeatedly strike Xu Ning away, yet his flesh, blood, and bones gradually faded into nothingness.
Within the city, scripture chants echoed, and invisible spirit light enveloped Huadu.
However, instead of stabilizing his injuries, Huadu’s body accelerated its collapse, his aura plummeting towards the Divine Separation Stage.
Apart from the disciples of the Great Sun Sword Tomb, the rest from various sects chose to observe coldly.
Soon, they realized the sword cultivator was merely exploiting the attention drawn by the Immortal to body cultivators, seizing the chance to kill the Immortal Daoist Children.
The Hui Dragon flashed by.
"So that’s Taiyi’s Lifebound Flying Sword, huh? Mediocre at best."
Xu Ning raised an eyebrow. The aura emanating from Hui Dragon clearly belonged to Li Mo. Though it contained an indescribable Sword Intent, it hadn’t reached a level he couldn’t withstand.
From what he understood about sword cultivators, a Lifebound Flying Sword was unique to its wielder. Hui Dragon posed no threat; Li Mo’s true menace lay in his terrifying body, as strong as a body cultivator’s.
"He’s only been in the Heavenly Sword Sect for two or three hundred years, right? How could he possibly have honed his Sword Dao? It’s all about that monstrous body bolstered by the Taoist Body."
"Heh, Taiyi hasn’t mastered any body cultivation techniques. I’d say there’s at least a sixty percent chance of victory."
Xu Ning maintained a poker face as he scanned the central area of Cancer Island.
Unlike the apprehension others harbored, he was eager to meet Li Mo. If he won, perhaps Ruoshui would view him more favorably.
Even if he lost, no big deal.
Xu Ning was confident that if it came down to a head-on clash of raw physical strength, he wouldn’t lose quickly and might even use Li Mo as a stepping stone to elevate his prestige.
With this in mind, he began to restrain the tangible flow of his Qi and blood, focusing primarily on entangling Huadu.
"Immortality, immortality!"
Huadu shouted frantically, his body becoming increasingly haggard.
Xu Ning’s entire body swelled with purplish-green boils. The boils burst open, releasing countless wriggling worms—a self-healing technique of some sort.
He adjusted his strategy, deliberately guiding Huadu towards Cancer Island’s direction, waiting to see if Li Mo would act recklessly.
"Lord Chaoxi!"
Huadu called out feverishly to the sky. Without Xu Ning needing to make a move, his body crumbled and disintegrated, his flesh, blood, and bones losing their nutrients within mere moments.
"What a waste of a top-quality Void Refining Stage deceitful object corpse."
Li Mo’s expression turned grim, an anthropomorphic eye appearing on the back of his hand, revealing Huadu’s abundant spirit surging outside his body.
Only a few breaths passed before Huadu formed an invisible phantom, shielded by the blossoms above his head, headed toward Lord Chaoxi.
"Lord, Lord, Lord..."
Even in death, Huadu continued muttering Lord Chaoxi’s name.
Li Mo resisted the urge to gaze directly at Lord Chaoxi, focusing his peripheral vision on the latter’s actions instead.
Lord Chaoxi’s immense and grotesque figure trembled faintly. He then extended an arm to grab Huadu, injecting spirit light into his body.
Within a blink, Huadu’s size expanded exponentially, resembling a maggot even more.
"Under Lord Chaoxi’s grace, I, Huadu, will serve eternally by your side, and am willing to..."
Lord Chaoxi’s expression remained timelessly aloof.
He brought Huadu closer for scrutiny, then, without hesitation, shoved him into his mouth, the sickening crunch of chewing resounding.
Huadu’s screams lasted no more than half a breath.
Mortals and Immortals alike within Business Leader City saw none of this. In their perception, Huadu simply disappeared after achieving immortality.
"The Heavenly Dao is dead, and the Lord shall reign."
Lord Chaoxi pointed at a certain spot within the city. Inside a Taoist school, an Immortal suddenly erupted in joy, his consciousness ascending in an epiphany, comprehending limitless Taoist mysteries.
If nothing unexpected occurred, this person would soon ascend.
Lord Chaoxi then retreated into his half-dreaming, half-waking state.
"If the Heavenly Dao truly is a worm, what a joke that would be."
Li Mo had a gut feeling—once Lord Chaoxi finished his feast, he might awaken completely, descending upon the Demon Cave.
"Void Refining Stage Elders from the Five Sects are sure to clash with Lord Chaoxi. Could it be possible to steal a special page of the Heavenly Dao amidst the chaos?"
Li Mo licked his lips, feeling an uncontrollable impulse.
Whether the Four Taoist Lords were genuine or not, their presence in the Demon Cave symbolized the Dao. The special page they formed was likely extraordinary.
As Li Mo mulled over these possibilities, cancer cells silently dispersed outward.
The cancer cells infiltrated the grass, wood, and rocks of the Demon Cave. As long as they remained undisturbed, they could survive for hundreds of years.
"Even if I can’t secure the special page right now, the proverb holds true—run away, but the temple stays."
If all else failed, Li Mo considered using the cancer cells’ tracking to locate the Demon Cave, maneuvering around the watchful gaze of the Ten Thousand Demon Dao.
"Heh heh heh... though I suspect the Ten Thousand Demon Dao is plotting something..."
"Hm?"
Li Mo’s train of thought was interrupted. His Divine Sense shifted outward, noticing Xu Ning slowly inching toward Cancer Island under the guise of clearing out Immortals.
Other sects seemed intrigued as well, mostly intent on probing Li Mo’s true capabilities.
"Perfect timing. My understanding of body cultivation techniques is rudimentary at best."
Li Mo had just disassembled a body cultivator’s corpse, gaining fragmented knowledge of the Divine Separation Stage body cultivation technique [Heart Palace Great Refining Eight Transformation Mysterious Skill].
Due to the cultivation system’s uniqueness, there were many aspects he still found puzzling.
Li Mo took a deep breath. His transformation into the Golden Toad Tattoo Beast intensified, his appearance becoming increasingly grotesque, his form stretching to a colossal seven or eight hundred meters.
In an instant, he vanished from sight.
Xu Ning’s pupils contracted as he pounded his chest firmly with his right fist.
Countless cracks spread across his body, and from the wounds, innumerable hearts sprouted—their pulsations deafening.
Boom.
The two exchanged direct blows.
The shockwave wiped out many Taoist Children instantly.
Li Mo was mildly surprised. It was the first time he had encountered someone whose physical strength matched his own, with Xu Ning even faintly surpassing him.
Xu Ning was even more astonished.
He concentrated his Qi and blood to a single point, only to feel like he’d thrown a stone into the ocean.
Despite having anticipated this outcome, he couldn’t help but mutter, "Since when did sword cultivators have bodies that could rival body cultivators of the same realm? Wait, isn’t he in the Five Qi Period?"
If Li Mo advanced to the Heavenly Palace Stage, wouldn’t his physical body outclass his own?
"Innate Immortal Seeds are just freaks, but no matter..."
Li Mo’s bones emitted cracking noises as twelve additional arms sprouted from his ribs, unleashing a storm-like barrage of attacks.
Xu Ning had intended to delay and stall, only to realize that Li Mo’s fighting stance had changed.
Using his fingers as swords, Li Mo targeted Xu Ning’s acupoints with precision, his Cave God’s Eye analyzing the flow of Qi and blood within him.
"Interesting—body cultivation techniques seem to involve acupoints as well. Pity though, the Heart Palace Great Refining Eight Transformation Mysterious Skill ties heavily to transformed bodies."
Xu Ning was unnerved, feeling as though he’d been completely seen through.
Their silhouettes tangled in midair, and the Taoist school refrained from dispatching Immortals—they were content to watch the celestial demons clash.
Xu Ning couldn’t resist asking, "You don’t even understand the basics of body cultivation. How did you forge such a fearsome physique?"
"Fearsome physique? I’ve never deliberately trained my body."
Li Mo’s expression remained unchanged. The Buddha Demon Spirit Power refining his body occurred autonomously, and he hadn’t paid attention to its progress for a long time.
Xu Ning’s gaze wavered, frustration bubbling up within him.
Li Mo shifted his approach, the Buddha Demon Spirit Power targeting weaknesses in Xu Ning’s physical structure. His curiosity about the circulatory system piqued.
The Heart Palace Great Refining Eight Transformation Mysterious Skill had rendered Xu Ning’s physique akin to a heart, but Li Mo discerned that the technique mimicked a non-human heart.
"The Three Elements Pavilion hides deep secrets."
"They’ve likely acquired several Immortal corpses."
Comparing the technique’s details, Li Mo deepened his understanding, utilizing spare arms to provoke reactions in Xu Ning’s muscles.
"Damn it."
Xu Ning felt utterly miserable, as though he were unintentionally giving Li Mo pointers.
Many physical combat techniques he’d painstakingly developed were now being mastered by Li Mo.
He remembered his experience with Ruoshui.
Ruoshui, reborn after millennia, had forgotten much of what she knew about martial arts. The elders of the Three Elements Pavilion confined Xu Ning and others’ Qi and blood, forcing them to serve as sparring partners for Ruoshui.
From scratch, Ruoshui took only ten days to familiarize herself with the Pavilion’s martial arts, and within six months, she innovated upon them and became their guide.
"Xu Ning, your shoulder blade has an old injury. You might consider massaging it with medicated oil."
"I’m at least two thousand years your senior, and this is where I end up! Argh!"
Xu Ning’s expression soured as layers of flesh split open to reveal a bizarre body filled with heart chambers, each heartbeat echoing thunderously.
"Does the Taoist inheritance of the Three Elements Pavilion revolve around mimicking internal organs?"
Several Spider Sword Orbs crawled into Xu Ning’s flesh and bones, analyzing his Taoist Body.
Xu Ning resisted the urge to manifest his Externalized Dharma Body. The very act of revealing its aura triggered inexplicable anxiety within him.
He knew unveiling the Dharma Body signified a life-or-death battle with Li Mo.
At that moment—
"Lord Yang De, Lord Yang De..."
Scripture chants echoed from Business Leader City—not for Lord Chaoxi this time, but for Yang De, the sole female among the Four Taoist Lords.
Li Mo’s mind flickered with memories. The second lord had awakened.
"If the Heavenly Dao stirs, the rules within the Demon Cave shift once again."
Xu Ning noticed Li Mo lapse into distraction, his flesh completely disintegrating, exposing his Dantian—the source of his Qi and blood—where waves of energy surged violently.
"This is my chance!"
A tremor resonated from Xu Ning’s Dantian, distorting the surrounding air.
Li Mo’s body spilled blood, his bones on the brink of crumbling to powder.
Based on Xu Ning’s calculations, even the Thirteen Immortals would suffer severe injuries to their meridians, blood vessels, and organs under such circumstances, leaving Li Mo at a disadvantage.
Suddenly, Xu Ning noticed rippling water-like patterns across Li Mo’s skin.
The Great Wilderness Immortal Body adapted to the pulsation of the Heart Palace’s rhythm. Li Mo had purposefully prolonged the fight, intending to temper his body for comprehensive evolution.
Through combat with body cultivators, every facet of his body underwent refinement.
"Heh heh heh, Fellow Daoist, let us duel another day."
Li Mo cackled as he opened his mouth, releasing his dense Earth Attribute Lifebound Flying Sword. The Flood Dragon’s head rammed heavily into Xu Ning’s chest.
"You..."
Xu Ning was caught off guard, and the Flood Dragon carried the freshly comprehended Superior Sword Intent [Earth], akin to a mountain weighing on his shoulders.
Li Mo never looked back as he entered Cancer Island, preparing to face the Taoist Lord, while scouting opportunities to exploit loopholes.
Xu Ning was sent flying, crashing onto a floating islet belonging to the Three Elements Pavilion, carving a deep pit into it.