Seeing that the Pawnshop had already dealt with the Elk Monster, a flicker of hesitation appeared in Old Poisonous Insect's eyes, and his foot involuntarily stepped half a pace forward.
The other cultivators showed no reaction. Instead, they watched Jin Li with teasing looks.
They had not paid attention to what had happened inside the Calligraphy and Painting Hall, merely assuming that Li Mo had been lucky enough to kill the three Human-Faced Deer.
Would Jin Li really make an enemy of Old Poisonous Insect for a cultivator at Childhood Stage Layer 1?
It was indeed impossible to kill one another within Smelting Town, but making a low-level cultivator hand over Human-Faced Deer corpses was hardly difficult.
Jin Li's expression turned grave. The spells Old Poisonous Insect commanded were exceptionally troublesome, making him a very difficult figure to deal with, but he did not regret his actions.
After all, when he had seen Li Mo at Miraculous Hands Medical Hall earlier, Li Mo had not even reached Entry Level.
For Li Mo to reach Childhood Stage Layer 1 in such a short time, while also mastering spells of considerable power, showed talent beyond estimation.
"Old Poison, let's settle old and new scores together."
Jin Li snorted coldly. As he circulated his Protective Mystical Method, the broad muscles of his back began to writhe, as though a pair of fleshy wings were slowly drilling their way out.
The watching cultivators let out strange laughs. No matter which side came out worse, they would have something to gain.
Though Li Mo said nothing, he had no intention of backing down. Miasma Spiritual Power gathered in his Dantian, ready for him to summon the Crimson Fox at any moment.
Suddenly, he felt the Spirit Tablet at his waist grow faintly warm.
Li Mo picked up the Spirit Tablet and placed it against his forehead. A voice transmission from Steward Hu surged out, and the Thick Fog Formation surrounding the storehouse immediately dispersed.
"Brother Jin Li, my apologies. Steward Hu has business with me. We can talk another day."
After saying that, Li Mo headed toward the storehouse. Old Poisonous Insect's expression became extraordinarily ugly, and even fearful dread showed in his eyes.
Old Poisonous Insect's expression shifted between light and dark, but he knew Li Mo was not lying.
Who would dare borrow a steward's power to intimidate others?
Li Mo paid Old Poisonous Insect no mind. Cultivation was a process of seizing resources; offending people was as common as eating and drinking. If the chance came in the future, he could take his revenge with interest.
But clearly, Old Poisonous Insect would not get that chance.
Old Poisonous Insect's face darkened as he tried to say something, but his flesh and blood began to dissolve, and a hysterical scream burst from his mouth.
"Steward Hu, Steward Hu, don't kill me..."
In the end, not even Old Poisonous Insect's blood or bones remained.
The cultivators scattered in all directions. Who would dare offend the ruthless Steward Hu? Rumor had it that he enjoyed collecting flayed Human Skin.
The Human-Faced Deer corpses in the Calligraphy and Painting Hall remained in the corner, but this time no one dared covet them. In the end, Jin Li put them into his Storage Bag, intending to exchange them for Spirit Stones and return the proceeds to Li Mo.
After his surprise, Jin Li could not help shaking his head.
He had always thought Han Cai stood behind Li Mo. He had not expected Hu Wen to be involved as well. Whether that was fortune or disaster was hard to say, considering Hu Wen's temperament was far too unpredictable.
Li Mo was also somewhat uneasy. Raising his head, he looked toward the enormous corpse of the Elk Monster. Its surface bore bite marks from all kinds of wild beasts, while the flesh exposed through its wounds resembled Jelly-like Jade.
If one ignored the Elk Monster's deformed and horrifying body, one might have thought it some rare Exotic Beast.
Li Mo could not understand Steward Hu's purpose. With his strength, he had no way to interfere at all, and Paint Green Clothes could not discern any connection between him and the monster either.
As he pondered, he gradually approached the Elk Monster. Then the Book of Fortune once again flooded him with memories of the Inner Sect, catching Li Mo completely off guard.
Li Mo was somewhat startled. The memories actually contained the ancient Heart Beast Sect's Qi Cultivation Method.
Though the Qi Cultivation Method was no longer suitable for the present age, there was still much to learn from it, especially its understanding of cultivation.
"Nandou Ferrying People Scripture."
The Heart Beast Sect's Inner Sect Inheritance was divided into four major main branches and twelve branches.
The disciples of the main branches were personally instructed by Tian Chenzi, while those of the branches apprenticed themselves to elders at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The Nandou Ferrying People Scripture was the inherited Cultivation Method of one of the twelve branches.
The Nandou Ferrying People Scripture's spiritual power focused on extending one's lifespan and curing illnesses. It was an auxiliary Cultivation Method.
Li Mo's expression was stunned. Could it be that the gates to Smelting Town's Inner City still retained ancient inheritances? Had the Elk Monster become so indescribably grotesque because it had obtained the Nandou Ferrying People Scripture?
Just what was hidden within the Inner Sect?
Li Mo came within a hundred meters of the storehouse and discovered a Glass Jar floating in midair.
The Glass Jar absorbed the Nectar Spiritual Energy leaking from the Elk Monster. Han Cai stood atop the corpse, laughing with delight written all over his face.
The Pawnshop's four supervisors stood beside the corpse, along with Shopkeeper Tian.
They were covered in blood and injured to varying degrees, but successfully dealing with the Elk Monster still put them all in high spirits.
The other cultivators who had participated in the battle remained more than a hundred meters away.
Li Mo's gaze inadvertently fell upon Shopkeeper Tian's stomach.
Shopkeeper Tian's outer robe was damaged, and a shallow cut had appeared across his abdomen. Though no blood flowed from it, it looked as though it might split open at any moment.
The spell he commanded most likely allowed him to raise Spirit Beasts inside his body.
Shopkeeper Tian glanced at Li Mo, still wearing a faint smile. Then he turned to Han Cai and asked, "Doctor Han, try your best to break down the Sinister Beast into various resources. That way, after dividing them up, we can rebuild the Pawnshop."
"Consider it done, consider it done."
Han Cai turned his head and said, "Hu Wen, why not persuade that little one? How wonderful it would be to plant an auxiliary Corpse Spirit Root at Miraculous Hands Medical Hall. Otherwise, his cultivation speed is simply too slow, hehehehe."
"I do not mind, but I fear Li Mo's body may not be able to bear it."
Steward Hu covered his mouth and chuckled. As Li Mo stood behind Steward Hu under the watching eyes of the cultivators, quite a few of them could not help showing surprise.
"Hehehe, that is no problem."
A series of crack crack crack sounds came from Han Cai's eight arms. They actually stretched to just over five meters long, then spiritual power transformed into all kinds of tools that dissected the corpse at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
"Take some bones from the Sinister Beast and use them to replace the little one's spine. When Universal Skill advances to the Coming-of-Age Stage in the future, it will be much easier."
"Look at this gallbladder. If it is used to replace an organ, he will be Immune to All Poisons."
"And the Sinister Beast's eyes..."
Li Mo's scalp went numb. Han Cai seemed as if he wanted to chop him into eight pieces.
Shopkeeper Tian and the others paid this no mind, seemingly long accustomed to Han Cai's personality. As they casually chatted around the subject of the "Sinister Beast," Li Mo pricked up his ears to listen.
The formation of a Sinister Beast was extraordinarily demanding. A cultivator had to be completely eroded by Death Sickness, then have their body gradually undergo pathological changes in a specific environment.
The more troublesome part was that Sinister Beasts still retained the spiritual power they possessed in life, while their spells became exceptionally strange and unfathomable.
Some Sinister Beasts even possessed the intelligence of ordinary people because of the special nature of their spiritual power.
Sinister Beasts could increase their strength by devouring human hearts. For an Elk Bizarre Beast to reach the Coming-of-Age Stage, it needed to consume over a thousand hearts.
No one knew what was going on in the Inner City, but it seemed exceptionally suited to the formation of Sinister Beasts.
About every fifteen years, the Sinister Beasts of the Inner City would appear in Smelting Town, then vanish again after lasting anywhere from a day to half a year.
Smelting Town had attempted to explore the Inner City, but none of the cultivators who entered had ever returned alive.
The Elk Bizarre Beast's former self had been a Medical Hall doctor a century ago. Unable to endure the torment of Death Sickness, he fled into the Inner City and eventually turned into a monster.
Fortunately, Nectar Spiritual Energy was not suited for combat, or it would not have caused such devastating destruction.
Li Mo sucked in a cold breath.
No wonder Smelting Town secretly controlled the number of cultivators. Sick mortals could be burned into ashes, but cultivators would not meekly await death.
"The Outer Sect Grand Competition held once every fifteen years, the Nandou Ferrying People Scripture."
Everywhere, there were signs of something bizarre.
It seemed that over the past seven thousand years, the Heart Beast Sect had continued following its old rules—only the Inner Sect Disciples had been replaced by a pile of Sinister Beasts.
Li Mo examined the Elk Bizarre Beast.
The Elk Bizarre Beast's blood should be quite useful for Paint Green Clothes, shouldn't it?
Before you continue