Li Mo first committed the Basic Artifact Refining Method to memory. Only after blood-soaking the tattoos with Beast Blood did he begin preparing for cultivation.
The effects of Bizarre Beast Blood were indeed more pronounced, but it would inevitably affect his state of mind, making it impossible to use alongside the Circulation Cycle.
He took out Soul-Soothing Sandalwood worth thirteen Low-grade Spirit Stones and lit it, then applied Concentration Ointment to his brow to make it easier to focus.
After a brief meditation, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit immediately reached their peak.
Li Mo finally understood what it meant for one's thoughts to flow freely. With the boost provided by resources, he could easily enter a state of complete concentration and use it to connect with the Spiritual Qi outside.
He pinched the Corpse Brain Pill between his fingers and examined it beside the candlelight.
The maggots within the pill seemed on the verge of breaking from their pupae and turning into butterflies, yet their vitality had already dimmed, making the pill resemble a bluish-green piece of amber.
Li Mo had a guess.
He suspected that the process of refining medicine was similar to raising Gu Insects.
The Gu Insects were made to devour the corresponding medicinal ingredients, gradually accumulating their properties until the final pill refinement was completed when they formed pupae, without the slightest loss of medicinal potency.
"Looks like pill refinement needs an industry chain to support it. An individual can forget about it."
Li Mo communicated with the Crimson Fox, telling it to watch for abnormalities in his body. If the pill's drawbacks proved severe, it was to disperse the Corpse Brain Pill's medicinal power.
After confirming that he had overlooked nothing, he tossed the Corpse Brain Pill directly into his mouth.
The Corpse Brain Pill melted upon entering his mouth and flowed down his throat into his stomach. A faint stabbing pain immediately arose in his heart, and his Spiritual Root Transformation began to intensify.
His other organs also became active, while his brain began to squirm.
Just as Li Mo was about to drink the Spirit Awakening Soup, his Eidetic Memory Divine Ability activated on its own and forcibly suppressed his brain.
The medicinal effect was not affected because of it.
Li Mo breathed a sigh of relief. He would be able to save quite a few Spirit Stones when buying resources in the future.
Only after meditating for two days did the Corpse Brain Pill's effects gradually fade.
To ensure he did not develop drug resistance, he had to wait ten days between taking the same type of pill. Besides, Li Mo did not have the wealth to support such extravagance.
"You get what you pay for."
Li Mo opened his eyes, delight written across his face.
The Corpse Brain Pill had advanced the Heart Spiritual Root Transformation by half a fraction. Under normal circumstances, that would have required more than half a month of cultivation.
Li Mo then tried a Spirit Guiding Pill.
He had held some hope, but the Spirit Guiding Pill's effect on him was truly mediocre.
After all, there was too little Misty Spiritual Energy in the outside world. The increase in cultivation efficiency was negligible, and it was not even as useful as directly absorbing a Mid-grade Spirit Stone.
Li Mo put away the Spirit Guiding Pill, intending to sell it back to Yi Bao Pavilion when he found the chance.
Having gained a rough understanding of all kinds of resources, he continued sitting cross-legged in meditation. This time, however, he began making use of his advantage in multitasking.
While cultivating the Nourishing Origin Fundamental Scripture, he practiced his painting skills.
Li Mo once again deeply experienced the benefits brought by the memories of his previous life.
For the Beast Head Tattoos of Paint Green Clothes, the design had to be painted onto the skin's surface. This required cultivators to have an extremely thorough understanding of the Beast Blood they used.
Li Mo dared to guarantee that within two hundred miles of the Heart Beast Sect, few people had ever seen a Kun Whale in its entirety.
Perhaps he was the only one capable of using a Kun Whale to cultivate Paint Green Clothes.
Li Mo continuously sketched Kun Whales on xuan paper, repeatedly practicing until the Kun Whale in the painting possessed its very essence.
Through the process of copying and tracing, his painting skills became increasingly effortless and refined.
Li Mo spent more than half a month before finally painting a Kun Whale picture that satisfied him.
The painting's background was a tempest of wind and rain. Pitch-black storm clouds nearly leveled with the sea's surface, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.
The Kun Whale burst through towering waves, its twin fins spread wide like a savage Exotic Beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Set off by lightning, the Kun Whale seemed about to undergo Thunder Tribulation and transform into the fabled Kun Peng, whose length was said to stretch for countless thousands of miles.
The fox's essence was "demon," the tiger's essence was "ghost," and the whale's essence was "desolate."
Li Mo gazed at the Kun Whale Pressing the Sea Painting in satisfaction.
Unable to find anything that needed improvement, he paused his heart's Spiritual Root Transformation. After grinding Beast Blood into ink, he began painting on the skin of his right leg.
The Beast Head Tattoo slowly took shape.
The Kun Whale opened its mouth, and even a tsunami appeared utterly insignificant before it.
As Li Mo painted, he entered the zone after merely a few breaths. As a result, he completed the Kun Whale Beast Head even faster than the Crimson Fox Beast Head.
He could not help but use Paint Green Clothes.
The Crimson Fox and Ghost Tiger emerged from his skin first. They instinctively stood together, warily watching the Kun Whale Tattooed Beast that was about to appear.
"Woooo..."
A deafening whale cry rang out, and the porcelain within the room shattered one after another.
Li Mo's expression tightened. The Flesh and Blood Spiritual Power was draining far too quickly, so he hurriedly controlled the Kun Whale Beast Head's absorption.
He kept the Kun Whale at two meters tall, and water vapor began rising through the room.
Immediately afterward, a miniature Kun Whale floated within the room. With a flap of its twin fins, the Haze Mist lifted its heavy body into the air.
Newly born, the Kun Whale was incomparably excited as it flew circles around the guest room.
The Crimson Fox and Ghost Tiger no longer bristled. Tilting their heads, they watched every movement the Kun Whale made.
Li Mo was both shocked and delighted. Although the Kun Whale lacked claws and fangs, making its combat strength far inferior to that of the Crimson Fox and Ghost Tiger.
At the same time, the aura it emitted leaned toward the Water Attribute and was compatible with Miasma Spiritual Power, but at low realms, Spiritual Qi's nature was simply too gentle.
Yet as a means of transportation, the Kun Whale had already exceeded his expectations.
It could fly through the air, travel through water, and once the Kun Whale's complete form emerged, he might even be able to build a house upon its back.
Unfortunately...
Li Mo recalled the Kun Whale. With his current vitality and blood, he certainly could not bear the complete Kun Whale. It would absolutely suck him dry into a human husk.
After blood-soaking his three tattoos, he glanced at the still-empty auxiliary position on his left leg.
He had originally planned for the fourth Tattooed Beast to be a large bird. Since the Kun Whale could already achieve Skyward Flight, however, Li Mo found himself in a dilemma.
"Mobility and offense are both covered. What I still lack is a Tattooed Beast for self-preservation."
"Salamander, sigh..."
Li Mo sighed. If he could paint a Salamander Beast Head, then once it underwent metamorphosis to a certain degree, it would presumably be able to help regenerate Severed Limbs.
However, salamanders were scarce, which was an unavoidable problem.
"I'll keep an eye out after leaving seclusion. Yi Bao Pavilion doesn't have suitable Beast Blood, but perhaps the Rogue Cultivators' stalls might sell some."
Li Mo destroyed the thick stack of paintings and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Circulation Cycle.
His heart's Spiritual Root Transformation had already reached seventy percent, while his Middle Dantian was nearly full again. It should not be long before he could attempt to break through the bottleneck.
The Nourishing Origin Fundamental Scripture's traits of purity and stability were somewhat chicken ribs to Li Mo due to his Multi-layered Dantian. Worse, they highlighted its weakness of insufficient follow-through when breaking through.
Minor realms were not an issue, but Li Mo felt that he needed to switch to another cultivation method before advancing to the Coming-of-Age Stage.
As time passed, the petrification of his heart steadily intensified. The most obvious change was the increased dust mixed into his blood.
Because of this, his Divine Ability, Azure Blood, Loyal Heart, underwent an indescribable metamorphosis.
Li Mo's heartbeat became irregular. For a time, he believed it was a sign of an outbreak of Death Sickness, until he discovered...
At some unknown point, his blood had actually taken on the appearance of flowing sand. Azure Blood, Loyal Heart worked in tandem with the Corpse Spirit Root, and his physique underwent another metamorphosis.
Li Mo had no time to examine it closely. His Middle Dantian had already begun a new round of expansion, instinctively and frantically absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi.
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