Li Mo had encountered numerous Illusion Realms produced by deceitful objects, and Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang gave him a similar feeling, though the latter was almost indistinguishable from reality.
"Illusion Spirit Root..."
Why call it Illusion Spirit Root? Mainly because the cancer cells had sensed an unusual Spirit Root aura among the corpses at the Chaotic Burial Mound.
Whether it was related to the Illusion Spirit Root was merely speculation on Li Mo’s part.
Da Ai Mi Tian was affected and unable to perceive the specifics of the corpses. Li Mo was equally unclear about how the Illusion Spirit Root might have changed after ten thousand years.
The Illusion Spirit Root is distinct from common special Spirit Roots, also referred to as Taoist Body. After all, it doesn’t facilitate the improvement of cultivation and cannot absorb Spiritual Energy from the outside world.
In Li Mo’s impression, those with an Illusion Spirit Root are inherently skilled in Illusion Techniques.
They are commonly found as spectacle artists performing street tricks, earning meager silver coins with their Illusions, or outright resorting to deception and fraud.
"Whether Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang is an Illusion Technique will be evident with a single test."
Li Mo had already decided in his mind. He summoned the Mountain Demon with the highest cultivation, then flooded its body with a massive surge of cancer cells.
The Mountain Demon didn’t resist but kept scratching its ears and cheeks frantically.
A moment later, the cancer cells began acting on the Mountain Demon, directly erasing its pupils and causing the Tattooed Beast to temporarily lose its sight.
The Mountain Demon, desperate and frantic, touched its face, hoping to recover vision through mutation.
"Don’t move. I need you to stay as you are, and I’ll give you Corpse Wine afterward."
After Li Mo repeatedly warned it, the Mountain Demon reluctantly suppressed its instincts. Using its other senses to perceive the outside world, the impact wasn’t too significant.
"Hold steady and defend. The longer you last, the more wine you’ll drink."
Aside from its fondness for poison-making, the Mountain Demon also enjoyed sneaking Corpse Wine, particularly Monkey Head Wine used for cultivating techniques.
The Mountain Demon nodded repeatedly, extending three fingers to negotiate with Li Mo.
Li Mo patted its head before releasing the restraints on the Tattooed Beast, which then leapt onto the back of the Lizard Poison Beast near the Chaotic Burial Mound.
The Mountain Demon landed at the Chaotic Burial Mound and simultaneously appeared within the Illusion Realm’s projection.
"A flower in the mirror, the moon in water."
Li Mo softly murmured as he observed through the perspective of the Daoist Temple. What he saw was a terrifyingly grotesque demon ape landing, sprouting dozens of arms, crawling between the Daoist Temples.
The Mountain Demon’s task was simple: to endure within Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang long enough for Li Mo to test its reality and illusion.
Li Mo deliberately chose a location in a secluded corner of the Daoist Temple, only to underestimate the Mountain Demon’s destructive power.
The Mountain Demon’s temperament resembled that of a mischievous child. Upon hearing the chaotic noise around it, it began wildly releasing highly toxic excretions without restraint.
A few breaths later, the surroundings within a kilometer transformed into a swamp.
The Daoist Temple hurriedly organized disciples to deal with the sudden appearance of the Mountain Demon.
Their methods within Qing Hong Fang were like those of the ancient Taoist sects, using standard orthodox spells that were mediocre in power but overwhelming in numbers.
The Mountain Demon retaliated but still ended up cowering after taking blows, relying entirely on its recovery ability comparable to deceitful objects to barely avoid defeat. The aftermath injured some weaker disciples of the Daoist Temple.
Li Mo ignored the Mountain Demon’s pitiful appearance and focused on studying the corpses at the Chaotic Burial Mound.
When Taoists fell, the vitality within their corresponding corpses gradually diminished, turning them into ordinary lifeless bodies.
Li Mo also discovered that the spell power used to attack the Mountain Demon had significantly reduced in effect.
"It truly is an Illusion Technique. The world is full of wonders."
Li Mo’s mind stirred, and the cancer cells within the Mountain Demon’s body began to boil. As a result, the Tattooed Beast gradually lost its hearing bit by bit.
The Mountain Demon’s face lit up with joy.
It realized that the Taoists’ spell attacks could no longer inflict fundamental damage.
The Mountain Demon thumped its chest, its body expanding to over twenty meters, unleashing a frenzied counterattack that turned numerous Daoist Temples into ruins.
A Nascent Soul cultivator within one of the Daoist Temples was drawn by the commotion and actively joined in besieging the Mountain Demon.
Li Mo pushed Da Ai Mi Tian even further.
The Mountain Demon’s sense of smell, taste, and touch gradually faded away, almost entirely severing its perception of the outside world while further diminishing the power of the Taoist spells.
But perhaps because the Mountain Demon was still within the Illusion Realm’s boundary, some faint influence remained.
Li Mo overheard a Nascent Soul Taoist angrily shout, "Demon! You deserve death! How dare you attack my Xia Dao Sect? Behold the mirror!!"
An elder with Daoist Immortal elegance stepped forward, raising a treasure mirror to shine it upon the Mountain Demon.
The Mountain Demon let out a series of miserable screams, trying to resist but being completely outmatched, suffering severe injuries and fleeing in panic like a headless fly within the Illusion Realm.
"Outer Heaven Demon!"
The elder’s voice echoed, his gaze fixated on the clouds above.
"I, Kunlunzi, vow to destroy your Primordial Spirit!"
Li Mo and Kunlunzi locked eyes, the latter’s eyes flickering with a trace of greed.
Kunlunzi abandoned the threatening Mountain Demon without hesitation and led hundreds of tunneling lights directly toward Li Mo’s position.
Among all the Taoists of the Xia Dao Sect, only Kunlunzi spoke with clarity, subtly serving as the central figure for the others.
Li Mo remained calm, withdrew the Mountain Demon, and opened a crack in his palm.
A Corpse Mountain within his flesh exuded suction power.
Thousands of corpses were absorbed into the small world, unleashing devastating effects on the Taoists within the Illusion Realm.
One Taoist after another perished inexplicably. Kunlunzi, initially refraining from countering the suction, used his Divine Sense to scrutinize Li Mo instead.
"A worthy Outer Heaven Demon indeed."
The tunneling lights approached, and Li Mo severed his connection with the cancer cells through Da Ai Mi Tian.
All the Xia Dao Sect’s techniques dissolved like illusions.
Kunlunzi’s face twisted with resentment, but as the Daoist Temple vanished, he left only the burial mound covering the back of the Lizard Poison Beast.
Li Mo emitted a sinister laugh.
"It might count as a Devil Sect inheritance; its strength is hard to pin down."
The Xia Dao Sect in the Illusion was on par with the Sub-Device Sect, boasting nearly a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators, yet outside the Illusion, it was nothing at all.
Since the mastermind had not revealed themselves, the Xia Dao Sect posed little threat to Li Mo.
With Da Ai Mi Tian, Li Mo held significant restraint over the Xia Dao Sect, leaving them no choice but to succumb to his grasp despite their frustration.
Li Mo subdued his aura and reconnected with the mountain of cancer cells.
Though the disciples of the Xia Dao Sect were searching for concealed cancer cells, their attempts were futile.
The cancer cells in the corpses had fused with their blood, flesh, and bones, making them nearly undetectable.
Li Mo analyzed the corpse and quickly noticed a clue: all the organs had decayed beyond recognition except for the Mud Pill Palace, which remained unusually intact.
From the Mud Pill Palace, he extracted a fingernail-sized dead insect.
Information from the Creation Book flooded in, presenting fragmented images of various Illusion Techniques.
"So it truly is an Illusion Spirit Root."
To be precise, it was an Illusion Spirit Root implanted later by someone else, used to control the residual consciousness within the corpse and integrate it into the Illusion Realm.
Li Mo studied it for a while, finding that the Illusion Spirit Root seemed to have formed through organ differentiation.
"Interesting. Does this mean the entire Xia Dao Sect has only one living person, while the remaining disciples are merely illusions created by the Illusion Spirit Root?"
Li Mo attempted to burn several corpses but found no useful magic techniques from their Tao Seeds.
The cultivation techniques practiced by the Xia Dao Sect disciples within the Illusion Realm were ordinary spiritual breathing methods, with their improvement entirely dependent on the mastermind’s whims.
Unsurprisingly, Kunlunzi was manifesting the mastermind’s consciousness.
The mastermind had not reached the Divine Separation Stage; otherwise, they wouldn’t have left such apparent flaws.
Everything within the Illusion was merely a mirage. The disciples had long since perished, and the Tao had disappeared.
Li Mo collected the corpses for his small world as tenants, but unfortunately, they had died too long ago, causing their Spiritual Power and Cultivation to dissipate.
"Let’s see if Da Ai Mi Tian can force the mastermind to reveal themselves."
Li Mo cast his gaze across the chaotic Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang and continued deploying Da Ai Mi Tian, consuming Spiritual Power to proliferate cancer cells in large numbers.
Corpses began undergoing cancer transformations, extending their influence into the Illusion Realm.
Like a plague spreading through the Daoist Temples, numerous Taoists inexplicably contracted illnesses. In reality, their corpses’ Mud Pill Palaces were being invaded by cancer cells.
Without Li Mo needing to increase the cancer cells, the Xia Dao Sect began their own decline.
It seemed like the Illusion Realm was plunging into madness, but in truth, it aimed to lure out Li Mo, even if it meant sacrificing tens of thousands of cultivators’ corpses as pawns.
Li Mo countered effortlessly, using his cancer cells to turn the Toad Poison Beast into the dominator.
The process was challenging, as the Poison Beast rivaled Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. Its enormous size required vast quantities of cancer cells to fully envelop its flesh.
The Lizard Poison Beast’s tentacles suddenly emitted odd sounds, gradually decaying entirely.
The Toad Poison Beast had already grown weak, with at least sixty percent of its flesh becoming withered. Seeing this, it seized the opportunity to counterattack.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
The two Poison Beasts clashed anew, causing the ground to tremble and mountains to shake.
The Xia Dao Sect was already preoccupied, and the Lizard Poison Beast’s body was pierced by tentacles. The Toad Poison Beast seized the advantage, quickly restoring its injuries.
The Illusion Realm grew increasingly unstable.
Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang fell into utter chaos, filled with cancer-transformed Taoists.
Li Mo held nothing back. Utilizing the gaps created by the disruption in the Illusion Realm, he drove the Corpse Mountain to relentlessly steal corpses from the Chaotic Burial Mound.
Disciples cultivating beside Blessed Land Cave Heaven couldn’t help but stare in shock at the two Poison Beasts.
Countless corpses hung suspended in midair like raindrops, barely revealing Li Mo’s figure standing steadily above the clouds.
Not only did the Corpse Mountain reap countless benefits, but the White Bone Treasure Body also absorbed substantial nourishment.
Within an hour, two to three thousand corpses had been turned into tenants of the Corpse Mountain. The remaining corpses were buried deep underground, making them temporarily inaccessible.
Li Mo prepared to obliterate everything but still couldn’t locate the mastermind’s whereabouts.
Da Ai Mi Tian was deployed to its extreme, proliferating cancer cells throughout the Illusion Realm, yet not a single living creature remained atop the Lizard Poison Beast’s back.
Li Mo’s expression subtly shifted as he connected to the True Void Hometown while descending to the ground.
"Young cultivator, you’re still too green. Your body, I shall take for myself."
The Illusion Realm dissipated instantly, and Xia Dao Qing Hong Fang reverted to an ordinary Chaotic Burial Mound.
The Lizard Poison Beast twitched inexplicably as an ominous black shadow crawled out from its eye sockets—revealing the mastermind had been hiding within the Poison Beast all along.
The shadow surged directly toward Li Mo with incredible speed, untraceable by the naked eye.
Li Mo locked onto the shadow with his Divine Sense, then halted his act of connecting to True Void Hometown, a faint, imperceptible smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
The shadow settled on his brow.
Li Mo noticed it was a half-meter-long skinless worm covered in countless eye-like patterns, attempting to burrow into his Mud Pill Palace.
An elderly voice echoed in his ears.
"Do not resist, young one. I shall teach you Xia Dao Sect’s Supreme Method."