Primal Dao Seed

Li Mo carefully examined the Primal Dao Seed.

The so-called Primal Dao Seed referred to the Dao Seed within the Middle Dantian. Its smooth, flawless surface could be used to inscribe cultivation methods.

The moment Li Mo inscribed the Nourishing Origin Fundamental Scripture onto the Dao Seed, words surfaced upon it.

Then, under the Dao Seed's influence, the miasma spiritual power began its Circulation Cycle. The route of his cultivation underwent subtle changes, becoming more concise.

It did not merely aid cultivation. Through the inscription of other cultivation methods, the Primal Dao Seed could also refine Li Mo's primary Nourishing Origin Fundamental Scripture.

Li Mo was naturally overjoyed.

However, he soon discovered that while he had been in seclusion, quite a few incidents seemed to have occurred within the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm. The Black Market was gripped by panic.

When Li Mo returned to the Secret Realm, Corpse Mountain shook even more frequently. Pebbles rained down like raindrops, and the cave was filled with dust.

His expression turned grave, and the joy of advancing to Childhood Stage Layer 4 vanished without a trace.

Li Mo could hear dense footsteps outside the cave.

The footsteps did not belong to Viper Society cultivators. Clearly, clay sculptures were waiting outside his cave dwelling. Such a large-scale mobilization was unprecedented.

Li Mo summoned the Ghost Tiger, pressed the Mother Ghost Head onto its back, and connected his consciousness to the magic tool.

The fervor for excavating spiritual herbs in the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm had already declined considerably. Most cultivators holding Child Ghost Heads remained around the outskirts of Corpse Mountain, and noticeably fewer rogue cultivators were entering the Secret Realm.

The main reason was that more than a dozen cultivators had vanished in the depths of Corpse Mountain and had not returned for over half a month.

The outside world believed the missing cultivators had encountered danger and met Death on the Dao, but Li Mo could clearly sense that they were still alive.

Unfortunately, the Child Ghost Heads deep within Corpse Mountain were simply too far away. The Mother Ghost Head's sensing range was limited, and he only knew that they were gathered somewhere.

The magic tool was still too limited. After all, the Mother Ghost Head was merely a Second Refinement Low-grade Magic Tool.

Li Mo did not hurry to leave the cave dwelling. He closed his eyes and communicated with the Mother Ghost Head, hoping to find clues through the Child Ghost Heads.

After a long period of communication, however, he only discovered a few hints through the Child Ghost Heads' hearing.

The cultivators were trapped deep within Corpse Mountain. Their lives should not be in danger for the moment, but they seemed to have fallen into some inexplicable encounter.

Li Mo carefully distinguished the sounds transmitted by the Mother Ghost Head.

The main sounds were the cultivators' heavy breathing. He could hear that their emotions were abnormally agitated, yet there was not the slightest trace of fear.

They seemed to be in a narrow, sealed environment. There was also a strange voice lecturing the cultivators on a spell.

"Heaven and Earth Mysterious Origin, Ten Thousand Qi Root, Vast Cultivation of Countless Kalpas, Attest My Divine Power."

"Inside and Outside the Three Realms, Only the Dao is Supreme, Body Has Golden Light, Cover and Reflect My Body."

"Look but Cannot See, Listen but Cannot Hear..."

Li Mo's face turned livid. The content spoken by that voice was clearly the Ziqi Sect's Armor Spell, yet it also somewhat resembled the Golden Light Spell from his previous life, which he had once heard Jin Li mention.

The Book of Fortune poured even more memories of the Ziqi Sect into his mind.

In the Ancient Immortal Cultivation World, the Armor Spell was considered a relatively orthodox spell. It absorbed Golden Qi from magic tools to temper one's own body.

It was one of the compulsory spells for Ziqi Sect disciples, usually used together with a Natal Magic Tool.

Once the Armor Spell reached minor mastery, it would feed Golden Qi back to the Natal Magic Tool, making up for the damage caused by cultivating the technique.

The source of Metal Poisoning was, unsurprisingly, the so-called Armor Spell.

Since the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm was filled with an immense amount of Metal Toxin, did that mean that in the deepest part of Corpse Mountain, there was a Dharma Treasure or magic tool from the Ziqi Sect?

Li Mo summoned the Salamander to help watch the surroundings, then directed the Ghost Tiger out of the cave dwelling.

"Wuuu..."

The Ghost Tiger could not help whimpering. Sure enough, the passage outside the cave dwelling was filled with clay sculptures, frightening its four limbs until they went weak.

The clay sculptures remained motionless in kneeling worship, like mortals welcoming an immortal.

Li Mo's expression shifted unpredictably.

His advantage lay in Contain Toxin and Digest Poison. Ordinary cultivators needed to swallow pills to suppress the toxins before returning to the real world, and the medicine's effects lasted roughly half an hour.

Yet the instant Li Mo activated Contain Toxin and Digest Poison, he could leave the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm.

Li Mo had the Ghost Tiger keep watch over the clay sculptures, then walked out of the cave dwelling along the wall. When he saw the fanatical clay sculptures, a chill ran down his spine.

Although the clay sculptures possessed no facial features, their appearances and builds differed.

Through the cracks in the clay sculptures, Li Mo saw that their interiors were crammed with countless maggots. Each was as thick as a finger, making one's scalp tingle.

According to the memories flooding out of the Book of Fortune, these maggots were called Gold Devouring Insects. They fed on metal residue and produced refined iron spiritual herbs. They were generally common near iron mines.

In ancient times, the Ziqi Sect raised Gold Devouring Insects to ensure the fullest use of ore resources.

Li Mo found it utterly absurd. Why had Gold Devouring Insects formed these bizarre and inexplicable clay sculptures? What strange secret did Corpse Mountain hide?

The clay sculptures were likely trying to guide him into the depths of Corpse Mountain.

Li Mo understood that the Primordial Acquired Dao Body might very well originate from the Ziqi Sect, causing the clay sculptures to mistake him for a Ziqi Sect disciple.

He headed deeper into the mine cave.

Whenever the clay sculptures vanished from his sight, they would immediately appear at a fork in the road, bowing and scraping as they showed Li Mo the way.

Li Mo headed straight for Xu Guangcheng. Before long, he reached an area covered in candlelight. The rock walls were filled with Viper Society cultivators whom Xu Guangcheng had hanged as examples for secretly hoarding spiritual herbs.

Besides them, there were also many rogue cultivator corpses, though all were mangled beyond recognition.

"Demon!!!"

The Viper Society cultivators were terrified out of their wits. Limbs freshly cut from corpses fell to the ground, while scraps of flesh and blood still clung to the corners of their mouths.

To their eyes, so many clay sculptures were simply earth-shattering and horrifying.

The clay sculptures that the Viper Society feared like the plague were as docile as sheep before Li Mo.

Li Mo surveyed the mine cave. The Viper Society was not particularly greedy. They had simply excavated spiritual herbs around the one-thousand-meter mark, showing no intention of going deeper.

He did not even need to act. Once the Viper Society was targeted by the clay sculptures, how could they possibly survive?

The Ghost Tiger, meanwhile, was responsible for collecting the spiritual herbs.

Meat paste covered the ground wherever Li Mo passed. The Viper Society committed every wicked deed imaginable in their daily lives; every one of them had blood all over their hands. Dying at the clay sculptures' hands was actually letting them off too easily.

Xu Guangcheng remained in the cave dwelling Li Mo had originally carved out.

Before him stood a wooden table laden with a dazzling array of spiritual herbs. Under the faint light, they gleamed with five-colored radiance.

Xu Guangcheng was thin as a withered skeleton, his sunken eyes fixed upon the spiritual herbs.

"I'm going to establish my foundation. I'm going to establish my foundation, Foundation Establishment..."

After hearing the screams from the mine cave, his right arm transformed into a poisonous needle and stabbed into the cultivator beside him. His reason had long since been crushed by greed.

"No one can stop me. Mad Daoist, it must be that Mad Daoist..."

Xu Guangcheng revealed a sickly expression and crawled unsteadily toward the outside of the cave dwelling. Yet what entered his sight was the surface of the rock wall, bearing the shadow of a fox's head cast by Li Mo's hand gesture.

"Fox."

The more than seven-meter-long Twin-tailed Crimson Fox swallowed Xu Guangcheng in a single bite, its monstrous demonic aura seeming almost tangible.

Li Mo passed by coldly. As he concealed his aura, he left every clay sculpture within the mine cave occupied by the Viper Society cultivators.