Industrial waste gas rises.
Every time the thick fog reaches a certain level, under the influence of the array enveloping the port, it gradually transforms into a mercury-like drizzle.
It washes over various places on the lower streets, and if the body hasn’t been modified, it’s very easy to suffer foundation damage due to metal poisoning.
Compared to other places, the stove land has an array, so the scale of the rain is smaller.
After all, most of the stove land consists of Loose Cultivators who are new to the port city and still need multiple modification surgeries to adapt to the harsh environment of the Sub-Device Sect.
However, not all Loose Cultivators are avoiding the continuous rain.
Some people take risks, choosing to collect water rich in various spiritual energy, filtering it through special methods.
This results in liquefied spiritual energy valued at ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones per ounce.
As Loose Cultivators, if they can’t seize every opportunity, they simply won’t survive in the port and will end up as roadside bones.
Chang Fu stood at the entrance of the stove land, gazing at the street bustling with figures.
For some reason, he seemed to smell a faint scent of medicine, yet because of the rain, it also seemed like the metallic rust smell.
The dim street scene seemed to hide countless evil spirits.
"It should be an illusion. The elders in the sect did say not to bother with the corpses..."
Chang Fu couldn’t help but suppress his miscellaneous thoughts, organizing his summary on the Heart Beast Black Market, a hint of uncontrollable smile appeared on his face.
A decade ago, some Loose Cultivators did get in contact with the Heart Beast Black Market.
Because the Heart Beast Black Market was rather impoverished and its forces were affiliated with the Sub-Device Sect, the Loose Cultivator did not dare to stay long and left.
Chang Fu nodded secretly.
He didn’t want to know what was special about the Heart Beast Black Market; the important thing was being able to connect with Daoist Qingtian, which is what many Artifact Cultivation practitioners dream of.
"At least we have found the location of the Heart Beast Black Market."
Chang Fu originally planned to wait for the rainy season to end before going to the Four Seas Refining Shop, but his unease grew increasingly intense.
As he looked at the port where he had lived for more than seventy years, he suddenly felt inexplicably strange.
Chang Fu didn’t want to wait any longer and was ready to set off immediately, to go out and inform Li Mo about the matters of the Heart Beast Black Market and also inquire about the secrets of the corpses.
A century ago, similar calamities did occur, but he was transferred back to the Mountain Gate at that time.
Nowadays, the responses of various Taoist inheritance sects are similar, with the young Artifact Cultivation practitioners no longer in the port city, making the remaining Artifact Cultivation practitioners somewhat fearful.
"By the way, where is Ji Dachun?"
Chang Fu asked the Artifact Cultivation practitioner beside him, who kept his head down and answered, "Brother Chang, ever since Ji Dachun saw those four corpses, he has been unwell and staying at home."
Chang Fu didn’t think much about it, as Ji Dachun’s nature was originally somewhat timid and cautious.
Encountering an incomprehensible calamity, if you don’t know how to adapt, it can easily affect your mental realm. After all, the stove land has been relatively peaceful recently, and taking a break for a while isn’t a problem.
"Ma Shi, I’m going out for a while; keep an eye on the guild’s rats, don’t let them make the stove land a mess."
Chang Fu instructed his fellow practitioners a few times, then got up and headed towards the second layer of the port.
His figure disappeared into the rain mist. As he just stepped out of the market’s range, he instinctively sensed a gaze watching him.
Chang Fu looked around but couldn’t find anything unusual.
On the bustling lower streets, each Loose Cultivator’s face appeared blurry and unclear.
Chang Fu mumbled to himself nervously, his eyes wide with bloodshot veins, subconsciously avoiding places with heavy traffic.
Upon reaching a secluded spot, the feeling of being pricked in the back was even more apparent.
He faintly heard sobbing.
"Something’s wrong, someone must be following me."
Chang Fu didn’t stop, his limbs replacing with mid-grade meat limbs of the Five Refinements, as thick plants grew out of his pores, forming a thick outer shell on the skin surface.
The nearby Loose Cultivators noticed the presence of an Artifact Cultivation practitioner and quickly retreated.
Chang Fu dashed, eager to reach the Four Seas Refining Shop immediately. Only by receiving protection from Daoist Qingtian could he escape danger.
Although there was no one around, Chang Fu dared not relax.
The rain had subsided a little, and just as the staircase leading to the second layer appeared in the distance, a faint medicinal scent entered his nostrils.
The smell was very similar to the Mid-grade spiritual material Iron Bone Grass.
Chang Fu had no time to react before the tingling spread from his spine, accompanied by the sound of bones colliding inside his body.
Chang Fu struggled to control his limbs, but only ten meters away from the staircase, he collapsed weakly into the depths of an alley.
The medicinal scent filled the air.
He endured and stood up, facing a strange-looking figure.
Chang Fu’s expression was grave; he couldn’t believe it was Ji Dachun who had followed him, and the latter’s situation was becoming dire.
"Brother Chang, someone’s been in my head; I can’t be blamed."
Ji Dachun wept bitterly, seemingly skin and bones, yet due to his bones swelling several times, he appeared extremely bloated.
As he walked, bones kept squeezing out of his throat.
Chang Fu crawled a few meters, then was despairingly dragged into the darkness, where chilling chewing sounds echoed.
The body was only discovered by passersby after the rain stopped.
After all, it involved an Artifact Cultivation practitioner, and no one dared to move the body. Besides, anyone who had seen the full appearance of the body would feel a deep sense of dread.
The crowd gathered at the alley entrance, exchanging fearful whispers.
Until a figure with Yin Yang Fish on his forehead appeared, they belatedly dispersed, fearing to offend Daoist Qingtian.
Li Mo frowned as he walked slowly into the alley.
Recently, he had been researching the Great Miao’s Tumor and Divine Fetus Technique, immersed in his Life-bound Magical Artifact, paying little attention to the Alchemy Conference.
After all, no matter how much it brewed, it wouldn’t burn onto him.
Shortly after going into seclusion for half a month, Chang Fu of Three Ginseng Corners died at the bottom, and such incidents only marked the beginning of a series.
Li Mo’s right eye emitted light, illuminating the darkness in the alley.
He saw two bodies twisted awkwardly together, wrapped in a thick layer of bone armor, their features unusually despairing.
Like a tree growing from the cracks in the wall.
"Chang Fu, Ji Dachun."
If Li Mo was correct, they died from incessant bone hyperplasia, completely draining their nutrients, forcibly hardening their bodies into bizarre white bone statues.
According to Old Earth True Monarch’s description, Dan Cultivators of the Inner Core Lineage can become intangible medicinal air, attaching to others’ flesh and bones.
The technique inheritance of the Dan Ghost Sect was named after elixirs.
Li Mo suspected the Dan Cultivator inheritance responsible for attacking Chang Fu was the [Bone Forging Pill], indeed the Bone Forging Pill that was commonly seen in the market.
Bone Forging Pill can temper bones; many Childhood Cultivators buy it to enhance bone quality due to lacking protective Magic Artifacts.
Bones are innate armor, encasing fragile organs and brains.
The Dan Cultivator inheriting Bone Forging Pill has terrifying control over bones, enough to turn two Weak Crown Period Artifact Cultivators into white bone statues easily.
The corpse Chang Fu encountered at the stove land, the Dan Cultivator inheritance attached was the [Enlightenment Pill], which temporarily boosts comprehension when consumed.
The Enlightenment Pill cultivator can affect the host’s cognition, willingly smuggling into the port.
Clearly, both Inner and Outer Pill Cultivators have found their way into the port through various channels; Li Mo’s previous deterrence did have an effect, or else the bomb would have detonated six months ago.
The most terrifying aspect of Dan Cultivators is that despite the horrific state of the bodies, they retained a trace of life — the remaining medicinal properties of the Dan Cultivators, subjecting them to relentless torment.
In the Dan Ghost Sect, semi-dead cultivators are usually referred to as "Dan Slaves," seemingly for cultivating specific spiritual materials.
Li Mo squinted his eyes, absorbing the bodies into the Yin Attribute Secondary Peak of the Corpse Mountain.
Even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator couldn’t save those on the brink of death, but the Chaotic Burial Mound could at least erase their consciousness.
Li Mo casually performed the technique Prosperity Through Grain, and the nurtured wine prescription did have connections to Medicine Slaves, named "Ice and Fire Twin Birth Wine."
[Ice and Fire Twin Birth Wine]
[Using the heart and kidney as the medicinal guide, adding five pounds of powdered skull, and placing it in the corpse belly for three years can create the wine, with the medicinal effect of bone forging and growth.]
"Indeed, if the wine prescription has no pattern, what divine skills could it be called?"
Li Mo glanced at the nearby shop; Chang Fu most likely wanted to relay the commission matter but was unexpectedly killed in the corner.
There’s no fear of losing leads to the Heart Beast Black Market, as Qingqiu Taoist can also follow up.
But the Dan Cultivators had grown so brazen to implicate him.
Li Mo couldn’t sit idly by any longer, or the Dan Cultivators might find him easy to handle, ultimately causing endless trouble, so he had to crush the few emerging threats with thunderous means.
Just so happens the Dan Ghost Sect’s techniques include both Alchemy and Gu Refining, indicating a substantial industry scale from the pills containing Gu Worms.
Li Mo intended to utilize the Dan Cultivators to enrich the Primordial Dao Seed, allowing the Mist Fog Golden Core to transform flawlessly.
However, Dan Cultivators come and go without a trace, making it difficult to find the main body.
Li Mo pondered, thinking of ways to force the Dan Cultivators out of hiding or attract them to come proactively.
"Ice and Fire Twin Birth Wine might have ingenious uses, and Artifact Cultivators are prime bait, so perhaps..."
Li Mo returned to the Four Seas Refining Shop, now knowing how to contend with the Dan Cultivators, just waiting for the port’s rainy season to arrive.
Dan Cultivators used the pungent smell of the strong acid rain to mask their medicinal aroma; otherwise, Chang Fu wouldn’t have died so simply.
He soon confirmed his suspicions with Elder Zhong.
After the continuous drizzle, a total of five Artifact Cultivators were found dead in the port, each exhibiting different symptoms, coming from various Taoist inheritances in the Upper Six Districts.
Li Mo was not distracted from his cultivation progress by the Alchemy Conference.
The scope of his Life-bound Magical Artifact had narrowed, temporarily to four categories: [Brain Device], [Blood Artifact], [Internal Organ], and [Bone Artifact].
The Brain Device complements the five senses and can be retracted into the impregnable Mud Pill Palace, making the Life-bound Magical Artifact resilient to external damage.
The Blood Artifact is associated with all internal and external aspects, with blood saturating the flesh and bones, making it a versatile choice.
The Internal Organ is nourished by both Corpse Spirit Root and Paoxiao Swallowing Body, growing swiftly, with its shapes all being Combined Magical Artifacts.
The Bone Artifact, on the other hand, is advantageous for future Uncertainty Period Death Disease, increasing at least thirty percent assurance.
Li Mo casually fed the twin twenty years’ worth of Nourishing Yuan Fruit Medicine Power, constantly envisioning cancerous magical artifacts in his mind.
The port remained unaffected by the deaths of the Artifact Cultivators, prompting Dan Cultivators to stir restlessly.