The Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop did not descend into chaos due to Li Mo’s actions. In fact, within just a few days, the Four Great You Pavilion returned to a state of relative peace.
After all, the interests of Poison Cultivators are centered on the Pavilion Master. As long as the Pavilion Master does not end up dead, there will be no dire situations of mutual destruction.
However, it was clear that the atmosphere had grown tense.
After a few days of silence, Jinhong Youguan began recruiting disciples externally.
They had suffered a loss of two to three hundred Poison Cultivators, in addition to a Core Formation Elder, so naturally, they needed a large number of Poison Martial Artists to replenish their ranks.
Various Independent Practitioner Forces began to stir beneath the surface.
On the one hand, they feared the Four Seas Commerce. On the other hand, they did not want to miss the opportunities presented by the pavilion.
Every day, thousands of Poison Martial Artists would gather in front of the pavilion, from which the Poison Cultivators would select a hundred. This process would continue for ten consecutive days.
Initially, the Martial Hall instructors paid no mind to it, as they were still inclined toward the Mountain Demon.
It must be noted that the Mountain Demon’s displayed abilities far exceeded imagination, in that one finger could transform Lin Zong, allowing mortals to shed their mortal shells and enter Tao.
Yet, those Poison Martial Artists who first joined Jinhong Youguan consecutively achieved the entry into Tao.
Seeing this, the Martial Hall instructors went to investigate the Four Seas Commerce, only to discover that the so-called new martial hall remained unclear as to when it would even come into existence, nor had anyone seen the Mountain Demon in some time.
Originally, the Mountain Demon would accept disciples based on its preferences, with a total of ten individuals entering Tao under its guidance.
But recently, even the Mountain Demon’s silhouette was nowhere to be found, forcing them to abandon hopes of entering Tao through the Four Seas Commerce and settle for their next-best option instead.
"Immortal Masters of the Pavilion, I was once the Sect Leader of the Black Tiger Sect, and my mastery of techniques is unparalleled."
"I have reached the pinnacle of Innate Martial Artist, merely half a step away from entering Tao."
The competitors introduced themselves frantically, while Jinhong Youguan indeed filtered through the crowd of Poison Martial Artists according to their progress in refining the body and chose individuals to join the pavilion.
Later on, when the Independent Practitioners saw no abnormal actions from the Four Seas Commerce, nor did they retaliate against factions tied to the Martial Hall instructors who defected to the pavilion, even the elderly who benefited from Li Mo’s generosity began to grow restless.
Li Baoquan looked utterly helpless.
Though he had tried numerous times to stop them, he simply could not alter the thoughts of others.
"All of you are just opportunists. Without the Skillful Hands Inn’s Immortal Masters, how would it be possible for you, old and nearly dead, to survive dangerous surgeries?"
Yet, no matter how disgruntled Li Baoquan felt, there was nothing he could do. The Four Seas Commerce showed no sign of intervention, and he naturally wouldn’t take the lead to stir up trouble.
To say nothing of Li Baoquan, even Han Cai didn’t quite understand what Li Mo had in mind.
Han Cai silently conveyed the current situation to Li Mo—that the Independent Practitioners of Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop had already defected—but the reply he received was simply to "watch and wait."
Li Mo remained calm and collected, his mindset stabilizing once he inferred the underlying truths of the pavilion.
Corpses of Poison Cultivators were tossed into the Melting Furnace, accompanied by countless miniature White Bone Spiders, gnawing on the mangled brains of the corpses.
The greatest advantage of the White Bone Treasure Body was its ability to nourish itself by devouring human brains.
The brains of three hundred individuals allowed the eleventh Spirit Pattern to begin forming faintly, while also making the White Bone Spiders it divided out more intelligent.
Li Mo carefully processed the corpses, obtaining a wealth of Poison Clothing Techniques in the process.
The Medical Divine Power absorbed the nutrients, benefiting tremendously and allowing the surgeries it performed to extend well beyond just the arms.
He noticed a particularly peculiar thing: Qinghong Workshop’s Poison Clothing Techniques frequently involved the transplantation of beast heads.
Yet, the magic methods born of Medical Divine Power showed no trace of this at all. It was clear that the beast head transplantation was forcibly integrated as an additional measure.
"It seems the pavilion views Qinghong Workshop as a medicine field, and Poison Martial Artists as spiritual material."
Upon burning Chen Xingshun into ashes, Li Mo verified this assumption with the technique obtained.
[Thousand Spider Poison Heart Scripture]
Li Mo consulted the Old Earth True Monarch, learning that the Thousand Spider Poison Heart Scripture originated from a small poison sect, the Spider Poison Sect, whose strength was equivalent to that of the Heart Beast Sect.
The Thousand Spider Poison Heart Scripture was starkly different from the Poison Clothing Techniques; it had nothing to do with body refinement or beast heads and was purely a Poison Cultivation Technique.
Disciples of the Spider Poison Sect absorbed Poisonous Spirit Energy for their use, to the point where their internal organs decayed completely, with their abdominal cavities refined into a Middle Dantian.
Practicing this technique would result in a Middle Dantian’s capacity surpassing that of others in the same realm by tenfold.
Of course, if the Thousand Spider Poison Heart Scripture caused Deviation, there would barely be a chance to react, with almost certain doom leading to utter obliteration.
The brain alteration surgery, meanwhile, was a unique technique of the Spider Poison Sect, designed to transform one’s constitution into a specialized poison-attribute physique.
Theoretically, the brain’s many regions could endure repeated surgeries.
The Spider Poison Sect did indeed achieve instances of post-surgery producing the Acquired Dao Body, but they never delved into the principles of such transformations nor created methods for Dao Body cultivation.
Li Mo sorted through the causal chain, feeling an exhilarating sense of satisfaction.
"Eighty percent of this seems to involve the Spider Poison Sect accidentally encountering the Toad Poison Beast and being entrusted by the Twelve Immortals to gather resources from Poison Cultivators, Body Cultivators, and Beast Cultivators alike."
The pavilion master bore unmistakable traces of refinement, likely bestowed by the Twelve Immortals upon the Spider Poison Sect to expedite their own strength enhancement.
The Spider Poison Sect had taken an unconventional path, developing Poison Clothing Techniques to harvest Poison Martial Artists.
Once Poison Martial Artists entered Tao, various areas of their bodies would transform into spiritual materials, which the Spider Poison Sect treated as crops ready to be harvested.
For instance, the heart served as spiritual material for Body Cultivation; the brain was for Beast Cultivation; and the blood was for Poison Cultivation—a literal treasure trove.
"The other Qinghong Workshops likely share the same principle. Each appears to be a faction under the directive of the Twelve Immortals. It seems that the senior sisters’ ambitions are quite significant, indeed."
Li Mo transmitted his thoughts to Tian Changwen, instructing him to cease searching for traces of the various Qinghong Workshops.
The sects stationed at the Qinghong Workshops were each far stronger than the Spider Poison Sect, and they would never permit external forces to interfere with the Twelve Immortals’ schemes.
Li Mo couldn’t help but suppress his errant thoughts. Having absorbed countless nutrients from brain-related surgeries, his Medical Divine Power underwent a qualitative transformation.
He immediately unleashed his divine abilities.
Due to the consumption of Divine Sense required by the Bright Tai Su, Li Mo soaked himself in Replenishing God Wine, using the White Bone Treasure Body to nurture his Divine Sense simultaneously.
Surgery techniques for brain modification blossomed one after another.
Li Mo experimented incessantly and discovered the Spider Poison Sect’s methods were most compatible with the Great Sun Golden Core, likely because both involved the brain.
Unsurprisingly, the Nascent Soul Technique of the Great Sun Golden Core originated from brain surgery.
The technique Li Mo found most satisfactory was named [Vajra Circulation Buddha Hand].
[Applicable for transmitting Vajra Circulation Buddha Hand. Requires brain modification as a prerequisite, combined with Great Sun Spiritual Power to nourish flesh and blood meridians. Once Spiritual Power permeates the Mud Pill Palace, the technique will be cultivated.]
The Nine Nether Buddha Light Illuminating Scripture’s Nascent Soul formation differed slightly.
The Great Sun Golden Core would integrate into the brain, its tissues transforming into the Great Sun Nascent Soul, demonstrating the wondrous efficacy of Vajra Circulation Buddha Hand.
Once the Great Sun Nascent Soul was cultivated, Spiritual Power could continuously refine one’s physique.
The only regret was that Vajra Circulation Buddha Hand wasn’t comprehensive, as it focused solely on flesh and meridians.
Li Mo’s requirements were straightforward: body refinement must encompass all aspects, down to every single cell, to ensure invulnerability.
To accomplish this, he planned to acquire as many Spider Poison Sect techniques as possible.
Mountain Demon’s cries interrupted Li Mo; the little one had just absorbed a Bodhi Fruit and, seeing its Acquired Spirit Root nearing completion, grew impatient.
Li Mo tossed over another Bodhi Fruit, which the Mountain Demon devoured in one gulp.
The moment its Acquired Spirit Root completed, extraordinary phenomena burst forth around the Mountain Demon.