The Ghost Tiger darted effortlessly through the mountain forest, its body undergoing a transformation due to its Ghost Attribute Spirit Root.
Its flesh grew increasingly ethereal, its fur transforming into jet-black smoke, which dispersed and morphed into grotesque human heads.
No matter how one looked at it, it truly deserved the name Ghost Tiger.
A newly formed Weak Crown Stage Deceit Beast passed by, and the Ghost Tiger exerted its limbs, sprinting madly toward its prey, disappearing instantly into the shadows.
Li Mo’s expression was subtle.
Without using his Divine Sense, he found it impossible to catch sight of the Ghost Tiger with the naked eye alone.
This proved that the Ghost Attribute, while more extreme than Yin, bestowed the Ghost Tiger with unparalleled stealth, akin to the ghost emissaries in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio."
Li Mo couldn’t help but heave a deep sigh—what a shame that Ghostly Spirit Energy was so scarce, even within the Corpse Mountain Mini World, where not even a few wisps could be found.
The Ghost Tiger crouched low, staring fixedly at the Deceit Beast as shadows gathered at the tip of its tail.
A crisp sound of piercing air broke through.
The Ghost Tiger’s tail directly skewered through the Deceit Beast’s skull, ending its prey in less than half a breath, demonstrating an unspeakable level of terrifying attack power.
The Ghost Attribute Spirit Root naturally merged into the tiger’s tail, giving birth to its Life-bound Magical Artifact:
[Chang Ghost Shadow].
For now, Chang Ghost Shadow had yet to develop additional abilities, merely allowing the Ghost Tiger’s tail to lunge like a scorpion’s sting.
The Ghost Tiger bit down on the Deceit Beast’s corpse, dragging it into a crevice in the ground.
It opened its mouth, releasing endless black smoke to fully envelop the carcass. The Ghost Tiger then burrowed bit by bit into the corpse, lying dormant inside without moving.
Li Mo quickly discerned the Ghost Tiger’s intentions—as Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy filtered through the corpse, its properties shifted into a peculiar smoke-like form.
Once the Ghost Tiger absorbed it into its stomach, the Yin Attribute Spiritual Energy slowly began to transform into Ghostly Spirit Energy.
Li Mo’s face betrayed his regret.
Without a Ghost Cultivation Technique, no matter how diligently the Ghost Tiger inhaled and exhaled Spirit Energy, its cultivation progress was far slower than that of the Mountain Demon or Salamander.
Perhaps by the time the Salamander reached the Nascent Soul stage, the Ghost Tiger might still struggle to achieve Foundation Establishment.
Li Mo did not want to forcibly create a cultivation technique to bluff the Tattooed Beast—one careless misstep could damage its foundational roots or even harm its Taoist Body.
After soothing the Ghost Tiger, Li Mo observed varying states among other Tattooed Beasts.
The Golden Toad was cultivating its Metal Spirit Root, merging it into its toad skin to form [Golden Toad Robe]. Externally, it appeared similar, but its body size had grown to nearly a hundred meters.
Li Mo initially intended to craft a cultivation technique based on Artifact Cultivation for the Golden Toad but quickly realized the compatibility was far too low and had to abandon the idea.
Artifact Cultivation primarily focused on the destructive nature of metal.
The Golden Toad, on the other hand, relied purely on physical strength, with its Life-bound Magical Artifact—the Golden Toad Robe—serving as a defensive tool. The two concepts were fundamentally incompatible.
"Perhaps I could find a suitable cultivation technique for the Golden Toad among the Sword Cultivation inheritance?"
To Li Mo’s surprise, Artifact Cultivation turned out to be a better match for the Red Fox. Legend has it that the extreme flames—the Samadhi Fire—possess terrifyingly erosive properties.
The Sub-Device Sect also had Fire Attribute inheritances, immediately placing the creation of a technique into focus.
The Red Fox’s Fire Attribute Spirit Root similarly merged into its tail. Its nine tails ignited behind it, with gleaming flames of a dazzling phosphorescent color.
Paired with its snow-white fur, it resembled Daji from "Investiture of the Gods," known for her seductive allure.
Its Life-bound Magical Artifact: [Nine-tailed Fire].
The flames emitted by Nine-tailed Fire were so potent that any contact melted flesh entirely.
Li Mo spent several days crafting the cultivation technique [Red Fox Phosphor Scripture], which the Tattooed Beast adapted smoothly without issue.
The Red Fox curled its tails, lying leisurely by the volcanic rim, lazily licking its fur.
Next in line was the Kun Whale, whose presence in the Corpse Mountain Mini World stirred the greatest commotion, causing the rivers surrounding the mountains to surge turbulently.
As a remnant of the Giant Beast Era, some Water Element Plant Cultivators sought refuge within the rivers.
They swayed up and down along with the currents, gazing at the Kun Whale with reverence.
The Plant and Tree Cultivators had yet to achieve unity, with only the central area of the small world under the governance of Zhang Guo and He Guo, who recently established a gathering site.
However, their faith in Li Mo remained undiminished.
Further reinforcing their beliefs, even Li Mo’s seven Tattooed Beasts had respective statues in the temples, clearly regarded as Subordinate Gods.
The Kun Whale let out a resonant cry.
As its Water Attribute Spirit Root took form, it naturally melded into its fin bone.
The fin bones, relics from the evolution of fish fins, resembled volcanic mounds on the whale’s back, used for spewing water vapor.
Its Life-bound Magical Artifact: [Fish Cloud Rain].
With Fish Cloud Rain activated, clouds enveloped the area within a kilometer radius, scattered raindrops quickly giving rise to a torrential downpour.
In the blink of an eye, the rain transformed into hail, or even thick, featherlike snow.
Overall, the Kun Whale’s Life-bound Magical Artifact exhibited the most grandeur, but its unrefined cultivation limited the actual power of the heavenly phenomena.
Li Mo pondered, realizing the Kun Whale’s Spiritual Power was highly versatile, capable of converting between water, mist, ice, and snow—it seemed better suited for Qi Cultivation Techniques.
Qi Cultivation Techniques, being gentle and steady, refined Spiritual Power to closely match the properties of Spiritual Energy itself.
Though Li Mo knew of few Qi Cultivation Techniques personally, the techniques were widely circulated in black markets and could be readily acquired.
With the Four Seas Commerce gathering Qi Cultivation Techniques for him, he had no cause for concern.
Li Mo patiently awaited the completion of the Candle Dragon’s Acquired Spirit Root—the Great Wilderness Immortal Body was already stirring restlessly, on the verge of transformative evolution.
"Its growth speed, tied to the Tattooed Beasts, is indeed staggering," Li Mo noted.
By contrast, Primordial Chaos and the Innate Saint progressed exactly oppositely, requiring Tao Body fusion akin to piecing together scattered fragments slowly.
Li Mo narrowed his eyes as Gang Wind caused his features to ooze faint traces of blood.
He forced himself upright, finding his flesh partially eroded without him noticing. Yet the resilience of his bones remained akin to a Mid-grade Magical Treasure.
Li Mo took two or three hundred steps forward until the Gang Wind pushed him to his physical limits.
Loss of flesh was inconsequential, as the process forged the Vajra Buddha Body—a true augmentation of strength.
Li Mo harnessed a decade’s worth of Innate Essence, regenerating his emaciated physique until it was brimming anew. The freshly grown flesh carried a faint white sheen, resembling the material of Seven Treasures.
"Damn, if I keep cultivating the Floating Island Circulation Buddha Hand so deeply, won’t my entire body turn into spiritual material?"
Li Mo’s mouth twitched, imagining himself ending up like Tang Seng.
Nonetheless, the Floating Island Circulation Buddha Hand remained more beneficial than harmful, especially due to its rarity as a Body Refinement technique that also accounted for all the organs.
Every two or three days, Li Mo continued advancing another hundred paces.
Compared to traditional cultivation, body refinement was outright torment—constant sizzling of flesh, as the Great Sun Spiritual Power restructured him from within outward.
After two months, sufficient Qi Cultivation Techniques were obtained to perfect the Tao Seed.
[Kun Whale Teapot Scripture]
The Kun Whale Teapot Scripture fully showcased the Kun Whale’s water control talents, with its Weak Crown Stage even nurturing hundreds of fish stomachs internally.
The fish stomachs served to store varied types of Spiritual Energy, gradually refining the Kun Whale’s abilities in manipulating heavenly phenomena.
The Kun Whale fanned its fins, diving into the riverbed, relentlessly absorbing Spiritual Energy while racing to catch up to the Mountain Demon’s Core Formation Stage.
Li Mo surveyed the Corpse Mountain Mini World, where all Tattooed Beasts with cultivated techniques exhibited extraordinary Divine Skills.
"We must ensure the Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop flourishes as much as possible—even if it doesn’t yet engage with other Qinghong Workshops, that day is inevitable."
Li Mo couldn’t fully grasp the Twelve Immortals’ intentions and had to remain prepared at all times.
Under the management of the Four Seas Commerce, Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop grew increasingly orderly, experimenting with the cultivation of Poisonous Spiritual Materials.
Once the Toad Poison Beast reached its limit, Heart Beast Sect would provide suitable Medicine Field resources for mass cultivation—it seemed feasible.
Li Mo sent his thoughts to inquire Tian Changwen’s progress and learned they lacked avenues for obtaining Body Cultivation Resources.
"I’ll handle the Body Cultivation Resources myself—brewing some Corpse Wine should suffice."
After planning the exact development steps for Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop, Li Mo noticed the Candle Dragon, long dormant, was finally showing signs of awakening.
Li Mo turned his focus onto the Candle Dragon as the Corpse Mountain Mini World exhibited a rare phenomenon of the Sun and Moon hanging simultaneously in the sky.
As the master among the Tattooed Beasts, the Candle Dragon was undoubtedly the most unique, representing the ultimate potential of the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, its growth limitless.
A deafening dragon’s roar echoed.
The Deceit Beasts chose to retreat into dormancy, while Zhang Guo and He Guo decisively launched counterattacks—throughout the mountains, small humanoid figures wielded root tendrils.
The Candle Dragon charged skyward, sending Yin Yang Attribute Spirit Energy into chaotic bursts.
Two Acquired Spirit Roots were simultaneously gestating in its body.
Li Mo hardly had time for speculation before his whole body was seized by immense agony—the source of the pain being the connective tissues within his skin, otherwise known as "sinews."
Driven by the Great Wilderness Immortal Body, his left-hand sinew transformed into an Acquired Fire Spirit Root, his right-hand sinew into an Acquired Ghost Spirit Root, and his left-leg sinew into an Acquired Wood Spirit Root...
Most notably, two Spirit Sinews emerged inside his brain.
His left eye connected to a Yin Attribute Acquired Spirit Root, while his right eye connected to a Yang Attribute Acquired Spirit Root—their combined Divine Power of Taiyin and Taiyang caused an overwhelming upheaval.
Li Mo reached out and plucked.
His left eye dropped into his palm, Taiyin Star emitting an eerie dark glow.
Within half a breath, Poison Clothes Qinghong Workshop plunged into eternal night, stripping away everyone’s five senses as time seemed suspended.
Even the Toad Poison Beast could not escape; it crashed into and demolished a mountain hundreds of meters high.
Li Mo hurriedly reabsorbed Taiyin Star.
A lingering unease gripped him—the Divine Power of Taiyin and Taiyang, amplified by the Spirit Roots and further tied to the Candle Dragon, had multiplied its strength tenfold.
Li Mo’s expression froze as he flipped open the Creation Book.
A blank page revealed the shadow of his left-leg sinew.
Once imprinted, not only would the Wood Attribute Spirit Root in his left leg transform into an Innate Root, but the Salamander’s Spirit Root could also move from Acquired to Innate.
The Tao Body formed from the eight Spirit Sinews would seamlessly align with the Great Wilderness Immortal Body—perhaps even unify with it during further development.
Li Mo suppressed the urge to imprint, recognizing that blank pages had become increasingly scarce.
"Eight Sinews to imprint, five senses to imprint—I hope the Divine Separation Stage can grant several more pages."
Li Mo closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation technique, his Acquired Spirit Roots increasing cultivation efficiency by fifty percent while deepening the bond with Tattooed Beastification.
As for the Candle Dragon’s cultivation technique, it posed an even greater challenge than those of the Ghost Tiger or Golden Toad.
Matching both Yin and Yang Attributes—was he truly considering pursuing dual cultivation among backdoor sects?
The thought made Li Mo shudder—it was hard to imagine the Candle Dragon engaging in dual cultivation with itself; the idea was not only revolting but tied to lower-level inheritances.
The Candle Dragon’s Life-bound Magical Artifact: [Yin Yang Beads], constituted its dual eyes.
The Yin Yang Beads could each envelope distinct regions, plunging them respectively into daylight and nightfall.
Li Mo chuckled bitterly, continuing toward the Toad Poison Beast’s head, while the giant beast’s speed had perceptibly slowed.