Li Mo faced the tip of the iceberg revealed by the Heart Beast Black Market and quickly calmed himself down.
After all, he understood that in the world he inhabited, both immortals and mortals pursued immortality, so cultivators putting organs on shelves was nothing out of the ordinary.
Once spiritual energy entered the body, organs became precious spiritual materials.
Seven thousand years ago, the Cultivation World also had demon cultivators who killed people to refine elixirs. But in the present day, this had become a common phenomenon.
Li Mo hesitated for a moment, refraining from directly seeking a shop that purchased Deceit Beast corpses.
Instead, he wandered around the black market. Even though numerous eyes were watching him, he concealed his aura, focusing solely on investigating the shops.
Soon, Li Mo located the Treasure Pavilion mentioned by the man surnamed Yue.
The Treasure Pavilion was indeed the largest pawn shop in the black market, with a constant flow of cultivators coming and going. Among them were a few in their Weak Crown Period, whom Li Mo could not discern clearly.
The other shops were a mixed bag; while some might offer higher purchase prices, the risks were substantial.
Li Mo cast a deep glance at the plaque of the Treasure Pavilion and, under the shadow of several malicious gazes, turned and headed toward an inn.
The black market had a total of three inns, each prominently featuring Heart Beast Sect carvings in their decorations.
All the inns were enveloped in Spirit Gathering Arrays. While the density of concentrated spiritual energy varied, the differences were negligible for someone like Li Mo still in childhood.
Childhood, after all, was primarily a foundational period for building one’s Taoist path.
Li Mo sighed inwardly. If he had abundant Spirit Stones, the Heart Beast Black Market would undoubtedly be a far better place than Rong Town for seclusion and cultivation.
He entered a Tushan Inn where the spiritual energy was relatively sparse.
The scene before him featured numerous screens painted with wild beasts, and the porcelain bottles on the counters were evidently sourced from pawn shops as well.
The lobby was completely empty, with the guest rooms located upstairs.
No cultivator lingered in the lobby, as the black market’s array ensured that people instinctively kept at least ten meters apart from each other.
Because of his leakless body, Li Mo emitted no aura, and his physique bore no exaggerated deformities, exuding an unconventional presence.
In the eyes of the loose cultivators, Li Mo must possess a Taoist inheritance, and thus they were reluctant to provoke him easily for fear of incurring the wrath of a high-level practitioner.
The inn’s waiter maintained a stiff smile as he stepped forward and asked, "Guest, are you looking for a meal or a room?"
Li Mo, having little need for food, glanced outside the inn and replied, "Childhood, a room."
He gave no hint of being a novice, as though visiting the inn was a regular occurrence, his remarkable observational skills attributed to his photographic memory.
The waiter paused for half a breath before continuing, "Understood, five Low Grade Spirit Stones for ten days. I’ll first collect payment for ten days. If you wish to stay longer, simply place the Spirit Stones outside your door."
Bent over slightly, the waiter gestured for Li Mo to follow him.
The perpetual smile on the waiter’s face gave Li Mo the impression of a puppet, his actions following fixed patterns.
However, the skin did not seem artificial—perhaps forged from a living person?
Li Mo handed over five Low Grade Spirit Stones. His expression remained calm, but inwardly, he felt a twinge of pain. The black market’s inns were outrageously greedy.
The benefits of the Spirit Gathering Array were negligible; the five Low Grade Spirit Stones’ value lay entirely in the inn’s protection for cultivators.
Li Mo’s current assets, excluding the Deceit Beast corpses, amounted to only two hundred Low Grade Spirit Stones—barely enough to sustain him at Tushan Inn for just over two years.
But there was no alternative. The Childhood Death Disease manifested around the age of twenty.
Li Mo’s Childhood Death Disease was delayed slightly, but in less than ten years, it would fully erupt. During this time, he had to enhance his cultivation as much as possible.
"Guest, this is your access token. Contact me if you need anything."
The waiter led Li Mo to a west-facing guest room on the second floor, then turned and left, his footsteps maintaining an unwavering rhythm.
Clearly, he was not an ordinary mortal and was indeed a puppet controlled by spells.
Li Mo put away the bone token that served as his access credential.
The guest room was exceedingly simple. There was no bed, not even a single piece of furniture—just a meditation cushion placed in the center.
Closing his eyes, Li Mo connected with the outside world and discovered that the concentration of alien spiritual energy was about thirty percent higher.
The rest of the guest room was no different from the inner rooms he had stayed in at other pawn shops. However, at those places, he had only been able to afford the Human Room grade accommodation.
The Earth Room and Sky Room grades undoubtedly also had Spirit Gathering Arrays.
Li Mo closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, stabilizing his mental realm through his circulation cycles.
The process of Spirit Root Transformation in his heart had unconsciously reached nearly fifty percent, with its internal structure starting to show signs of petrification.
He opened his eyes, still dissatisfied with his cultivation efficiency.
"I should find a way to purchase some smog spiritual energy in the black market to directly absorb, or perhaps take some elixirs to hasten my cultivation pace."
Li Mo speculated that even if the Treasure Pavilion stocked smog spiritual energy, the quantity would be limited.
Even the smog spiritual energy collected by Han Cai was only enough to help Li Mo advance to the second layer of childhood. Ultimately, cultivation required a grounded and steady approach.
The lack of Spirit Stones was also an issue. He could only rely on refining Magic Artifacts to earn profits.
Focusing on two tasks simultaneously, Li Mo maintained his circulation cycles while taking out the foul-smelling Deceit Beast corpses and carefully dissecting them.
There were two Deceit Beast corpses in total. Aside from the remains of a childhood-stage mountain lord, the Fake Beast Awakened Lion had undergone some minor transformations before its death, making it more valuable than others of the same level.
Li Mo’s actions were precise and flawless, categorizing all the organs into orderly groups.
He realized he indeed had a talent for being a doctor—or perhaps a butcher. His Magic Finger transformed into a scalpel, effortlessly slicing through muscle fibers without damaging the original textures.
Immersed in his work, Li Mo only snapped back to his senses when the room was drenched in a bloody aroma.
Before him lay neatly arranged organs from the two Deceit Beasts, many of which were still twitching, a testament to the Deceit Beasts’ tenacious vitality.
Li Mo wrapped them in oiled paper and stored them in his old Storage Bag.
Unfortunately, he didn’t possess any containers for preservation. The corpses had to be sold within fifteen days to avoid decomposition, which would compromise their quality.
Li Mo planned to wait a few more days before making his move.
He understood that after entering the black market, he had already attracted the attention of loose cultivators. It would be wise not to leave the inn for a while to avoid unforeseen incidents.
Li Mo extracted the Deceit Beast Blood—three bottles of Mountain Lord Blood and seven bottles of Awakened Lion Blood, all suitable for blood drenching in Tiger Head Tattoos.
The Red Fox, sensing the Ghost Tiger’s excitement, released waves of heat in displeasure.
As the Tattooed Beast grew stronger, its spiritual wisdom was visibly advancing, saving Li Mo from having to constantly control it with spells.
After pacifying the Red Fox, Li Mo began refining the Deceit Beast Blood.
Unlike ordinary beast blood, Deceit Beast Blood required the elimination of its feral nature as much as possible; otherwise, it could adversely affect Tattooed Beasts.
In batches, he added his fingertip blood, infused with Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy for nourishment.
The Deceit Beast Blood began to boil, faint screams of the dead echoing from within.
When the commotion subsided, Li Mo’s Magic Finger transformed into a needle to absorb the Deceit Beast Blood.
Through tattooing, he enhanced the details of his Tiger Head Tattoo, making it appear even more lifelike.
For the first time, Li Mo used Deceit Beast Blood to nurture his Beast Head Tattoo, applying only a quarter of the usual amount.
Yet, the Ghost Tiger still entered a state of dormancy, and a faint sound of the mountain lord’s slumbering whimpers emanated from his right arm as the tattoo pattern continuously shifted.