The Mother and Child Ghost Heads are very special, a rare type of Combined Magical Artifact.
Because their forging requires Yin Attribute spiritual materials, they were considered outright Devil Sect artifacts in the ancient Cultivation World seven thousand years ago.
Li Mo acquired it at the Treasure Pavilion.
The Treasure Pavilion never sells low-value Magic Artifact Catalogs to the public and usually gives them away partially. Li Mo obtained it by chance.
The price of Yin Attribute spiritual materials is steep, and the Mother and Child Ghost Heads were unappealing, so in the end, Li Mo took them since the artifact type was uncommon.
The so-called Combined Magical Artifact refers to several Magic Artifacts interrelated, controlled by a core artifact with multiple auxiliary artifacts assisting.
In the memories Li Mo absorbed from the Creation Book, the most famous is the ancient Immortal Sect "Sword Sky Sect," whose method of controlling a hundred swords with energy is an extremely mysterious Combined Magical Artifact technique.
The core of the Mother and Child Ghost Heads is the Mother Ghost Head.
It is accompanied by a varying number of auxiliary Child Ghost Heads, yet even if a Child Ghost Head is used alone, it is still a Low Grade Magical Artifact.
After a cultivator refines the Child Ghost Head, the artifact will parasitize the body, transforming into a puppet head, significantly enhancing hearing and vision.
The Mother Ghost Head restrains the Child Ghost Head, not only severing the connection between the cultivator and the artifact but also misleading their Five Senses in return.
Subsequent refining can lean towards curses, achieving an invisible beheading of the enemy.
Li Mo did not intend to develop the Mother and Child Ghost Heads towards sinister purposes but instead, through a Second Refinement, allowed the Mother Ghost Head to share the perception of the Child Ghost Heads.
For cultivators inside the Secret Realm, an extra flexible head would undoubtedly make it easier to guard against dangers, even when facing so-called "mud statues," allowing prolonged staring.
Li Mo immediately began the artifact refining process.
Unfortunately, his own Spiritual Power is not of the Yin Attribute. To refine the Magic Artifact Embryo for the Mother and Child Ghost Heads, he needs to use the somewhat extreme Blood Refining skill.
Most Loose Cultivators perform Blood Refining, mainly because the steps are simple, leading the Blood Refining Magic Technique to become very widespread.
Before his cave mansion is about to be completed, Li Mo took time to visit the Heart Beast Black Market.
He first went to the Treasure Pavilion to purchase an old coffin of baby size and over a hundred liters of female blood prepared for Blood Refining.
In the ancient Cultivation World, refining Low Grade Magical Artifacts through Blood Refining meant slaughtering at least a village of women and children, inevitably leading to more killings.
But nowadays, it’s not a big deal.
After all, once mortals suffer from the Death Disease, if they exceed forty years old, their internal organs are almost completely rotten, and their blood is useless.
They usually sell their blood in advance, and the Treasure Pavilion surprisingly has a large stock.
After replenishing his resources, Li Mo set out for the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm, retreating into his cave mansion, no longer concerning himself with external matters.
Since several people have disappeared in the mine, it has been abandoned. With numerous intersecting tunnels, he doesn’t have to worry about cultivators accidentally intruding.
The cave mansion is only the size of a guest room, with an entrance and exit requiring one to stoop, ensuring its concealment.
Li Mo filled the coffin with blood, then soaked the Yin Attribute spiritual material "Ghost Pear" inside, occasionally adding some wild animal bones into the coffin.
The Ghost Pear can only grow on the pear trees in a Chaotic Burial Mound, appearing like a human head, and its flesh possesses highly toxic properties that seal the throat upon contact with blood.
Li Mo has found a benefit to Blood Refining.
Although the required materials are somewhat expensive, as long as the steps are followed, the success rate is far superior to the foundation Artifact Refining Technique.
The Ghost Pear bobbed in the blood, emitting sizzling sounds.
While paying attention to the transformation of the spiritual material, Li Mo made a simple arrangement in the cave mansion.
However, he only covered the ground with a layer of dry grass and lit a candle.
A moment later, just as the Ghost Pear was about to shrivel, he used the Desert Map to fish out the Magic Artifact Embryo.
Li Mo examined the Magic Artifact Embryo, probably because he added wild animal bones, its low quality was at most suitable for Three Refinements.
His requirements for the Magic Artifact Embryo are not high, just necessary for Second Refinement.
For the First Refinement of the Mother and Child Ghost Heads, he chose ordinary Yin Wood as the spiritual material, enhancing the artifact’s Five Senses, as something too costly would draw attention.
As for the Second Refinement, Li Mo does not intend to refine the Child Ghost Heads, only needing the Mother Ghost Head, with the spiritual material being the brain marrow of the Boneless Bird.
The brain marrow was mixed with Bone Powder, evenly injected into the Mother Ghost Head’s interior.
After the Mother Ghost Head completes the Second Refinement, it didn’t deviate from expectations and indeed shared the perception of the Child Ghost Heads. Li Mo couldn’t help but exhale a long breath.
Yet when he looked at the lifelike Mother Ghost Head, he couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.
After refining, the Mother Ghost Head needs to parasitize the cultivator’s blood and flesh, and within just a few days, it grows from the size of a fist to the size of a normal human head.
Li Mo became entangled in where to temporarily place the Mother Ghost Head.
"Wait, any of my own flesh and blood would work..."
Li Mo raised an eyebrow, glancing subtly at the Ghost Tiger; isn’t the Tattooed Beast made of Blood and Flesh Spiritual Power? After canceling Hui Qingyi, the Blood and Flesh Spiritual Power will return to him.
"Ghost Tiger, it’s you."
"It won’t take long, as I need to understand the situation in Corpse Mountain."
Before the Ghost Tiger could react, Li Mo directly parasitized the Mother Ghost Head on its back. However, the head that grew was not a human head; it was actually a Mountain Lord Head glaring angrily.
The twin-headed Ghost Tiger indeed had a bit of the Exotic Beasts flavor mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Li Mo refined the Mother Ghost Head, creating a connection with the other Child Ghost Heads. On the surface, the Child Ghost Heads appeared as independent artifacts.
The Ghost Tiger, uncomfortably swishing its tail, quickly grew accustomed to the Mother Ghost Head.
Li Mo intentionally made the artifact products inconsistent in refinement to avoid recognition of his unique refining style.
To precisely control the artifact’s quality within a certain margin of error, there are hardly any artifact refiners in the entire Heart Beast Sect who can achieve this.
The refining process was uneventful, only the distribution of the Child Ghost Heads was a bit troublesome.
Li Mo did not want it known that he was the one who refined the Mother and Child Ghost Heads, so he couldn’t sell them openly at a stall, nor was bothering Jiang Xin’an realistic.
He indeed happened upon the Magic Artifact Catalog at the Treasure Pavilion, but the catalog must have been read by many cultivators. To prevent exposure, his identity must never be revealed.
Li Mo pondered for a long time, eventually setting his sights on the Viper Gang.
As an organization within the Heart Beast Black Market, the Viper Gang derives a significant portion of its income from extracting protection money from low-level cultivators.
Their main area of activity is south of the black market.
Taking advantage of the Viper Gang cultivators collecting protection money, Li Mo slipped a Storage Bag containing Child Ghost Heads into their sack.
Afterward, the cultivators would check their collection and take their share, undoubtedly discovering ten or so Child Ghost Heads.
Generally, they would dispose of ill-gotten gains quickly.
Li Mo wasn’t concerned about the loss of Spirit Stones, only worried that they might choose to hand it over to the Viper Gang.
Fortunately, snakes and rats are in it together. The Child Ghost Heads appeared in the black market within half a day. Their selling price was even lower than Li Mo expected and quickly sold out.
The Child Ghost Heads can assist cultivators in exploring the depths of Corpse Mountain. Even if any of Li Mo’s traps are discovered, the Viper Gang would be blamed.
He then waited for the situation to unfold.
Meanwhile, Li Mo took out large quantities of Earth Attribute spiritual materials and, while operating the Circulation Cycle, ground the spiritual materials into powder, preparing for the Primordial Postnatal Dao Body.