As the Quiong Battle approached, the port was clearly shrouded in an atmosphere of death and violence.
The port housed several hundred Artifact Refining Shops, with a portion owned by loose cultivators, while the rest were backed by the various Taoist inheritances of the Sub-Device Sect.
at Limb Magical Artifacts, being consumables, could bring in a flood of orders for a long ti if they perford outstandingly in the Quiong Battle.
This inadvertently amplified the significance of the event.
What surprised the loose cultivators the most was the seemingly extraordinary scale of this Quiong Battle, as even a Nascent Soul Great Power had made a deliberate visit.
Furthermore, Daoist Qingtian of the Chaotic Burial Furnace was also said to make an appearance during the event.
Various factions harbored their own sches; the renowned na of Daoist Qingtian had long spread far and wide, especially as an unprecedented wielder of the Five Dao Body.
It was said that not long ago, he had advanced to the Weak Crown Middle Stage, and the anomaly born from his promotion lingered in the skies above the Chaotic Burial Furnace for three consecutive days.
Most crucial of all, Daoist Qingtian’s Taoist Body exhibited nearly no internal conflicts.
So long as the Golden Core ford by Daoist Qingtian reached top-grade quality, most Artifact Cultivators would not dispute referring to him as a future Nascent Soul.
Daoist Qingqiu limped her way through the lower levels of the port.
She was garbed in a robe embroidered with the emblem of the Chaotic Burial Furnace, her Early Stage of Youth cultivation aura leaking outward, deterring petty criminals hidden in the shadows from approaching.
Loose cultivators, upon seeing Daoist Qingqiu, were inevitably filled with dread.
Though the Chaotic Burial Furnace was relatively weak in influence at the port, it remained a Taoist inheritance of Zone 8, backed by four or five Nascent Soul Great Powers.
"Ridiculous."
A self-deprecating expression surfaced on Daoist Qingqiu’s face as she pondered how, just months prior, she had been struggling desperately.
At that ti, she could only watch as her body decayed, the tal Poison corroding her Corpse Spirit Root completely, while the Death Disease tornted her restless mind.
The ultimate outco seed inevitable: death, Tao extinguished, and being discarded into the bottomless abyss outside the port.
Yet sohow, she had turned her fate around, becoming a servant disciple of the Chaotic Burial Furnace, and the Four Seas Refining Shop’s business had already stabilized.
Daoist Qingqiu had no understanding of the Artifact Cultivator shopkeeper at Four Seas Refining Shop, nor did she know why she had been chosen. She could only diligently fulfill her duties, acquiring low-tier at Limbs from the lower ranks for him.
In her heart, she held a faint, inexplicable sense of familiarity toward Li Mo.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
A violent coughing fit interrupted Daoist Qingqiu’s thoughts.
Squinting, she noticed at the corner of the street over a dozen limbless, emaciated loose cultivators crouching in the shadows, struggling to prolong what little life they had.
Industrial fus entered the noses and mouths of these loose cultivators, while the neon glow from the tall buildings reflected in their vacant eyes, gradually stealing their last vestiges of vitality.
Since the Quiong Battle drew near, shops had increasingly demanded loose cultivators for their experints.
To fine-tune the power of at Limb Magical Artifacts, continual testing of the spiritual material integrated later was inevitable, and loose cultivators often beca the test subjects.
For loose cultivators hoping to wield at Limb Magical Artifacts, their Universal Skillful Hand mastery had to be exceptional.
Otherwise, they risked backlash from the artifacts, leading to the destruction of their foundation.
Loose cultivators flocked to volunteer as test subjects primarily because, if they could beco Qiong people, they would receive cultivation resources, effectively allowing them to join a Taoist inheritance force.
If Daoist Qingqiu hadn’t beco a worker at Four Seas Refining Shop, she would likely have tried her luck for a slim chance of survival.
After making her rounds, she only secured six uneven pairs of at Limbs.
It was evident that the Quiong Battle had driven up the price of at Limbs. High-quality ones were becoming even rarer, forcing her to return with disappointnt.
Daoist Qingqiu returned to the Artifact Refining Shop and placed the at Limbs outside the seclusion room door.
"Shopkeeper, at Limbs are becoming increasingly scarce on the market."
She was about to open the shop when a voice ca from inside, "Qingqiu, the Four Seas Refining Shop will participate in the Quiong Battle. We’ll need to recruit a few Qiong people next."
Daoist Qingqiu’s mouth opened slightly.
She had never seen the Four Seas Refining Shop deal in at Limb Magical Artifacts. What allowed them to participate in the Quiong Battle, especially considering that many lower-level shops had resorted to open and covert struggles for participation slots?
Daoist Qingqiu looked down at her hands and feet. The hostility she once carried had long been worn away by her ruined body, and the spells she once wielded were now out of reach.
Standing still for a long ti, she finally gritted her teeth and squeezed out a reply: "Understood, Shopkeeper."
Li Mo didn’t push Daoist Qingqiu further. After all, the Quiong Battle carried risks, and trustworthy Managers in shops were a rare commodity.
"Anyway, the Quiong Battle only happens once every five years. No need to rush to showcase the Beast Head at Limbs."
With the na of the Chaotic Burial Furnace, they’d undoubtedly be able to recruit desperate loose cultivators, though their strength would likely be pitifully low.
Daoist Qingqiu paced around the shop’s main hall, her expression shifting unpredictably.
The recruitnt notice for Qiong people was already prepared; all she had to do was post it at the shop entrance and continue her daily routine as usual thereafter.
Yet, an inexplicable sense of unwillingness surged within her heart.
Even though assisting in managing the Four Seas Refining Shop provided Spirit Stone earnings better than what loose cultivators earned, achieving Core Formation and Nascent Soul seed an unattainable dream.
Hesitating for a long while, Daoist Qingqiu, almost as if possessed, returned to the door of the seclusion room.
"Shopkeeper, am I capable?"
"Yes."
With trepidation, Daoist Qingqiu pushed open the seclusion room door, greeted imdiately by a thick, acrid cloud of smoke with a figure sitting cross-legged at its center.
As the smoke gradually dispersed, Li Mo’s figure beca clear to her.
He had an imnsely burly fra, his two arms hanging down to his knees, with intricate tattoos stretching across the skin of his massive arms. Though his eyes were shut, the Yin Yang Fish etched on his forehead gazed outward with piercing round pupils.
The Yang eye absorbed Spiritual Energy, while the Yin eye exhaled waste gas.
The oppressive presence of the Cave God’s Dharma Eye was indescribable, and it was only after a long pause that Daoist Qingqiu returned to her senses, her back already drenched with sweat.
To Daoist Qingqiu, Li Mo felt three tis more terrifying than a Core Formation Cultivator.
The tattoos on his arms seed faintly familiar; the once notable Artifact Cultivator of the Heart Beast Sect, Li Mo, had worn sothing similar, though never as exaggerated or intricate as this.
Daoist Qingqiu dismissed her suspicions. How could Li Mo possibly appear within the Sub-Device Sect?
"Co closer."
Li Mo examined Daoist Qingqiu’s ruined body, noting how her original spells were tied to her physical appearance, which had long been rendered useless.
"Do you have a grasp of Universal Skillful Hand?"
"A smattering."
"That’s sufficient. However, if we’re transplanting at Limbs, your functioning arms and legs must be severed; otherwise, it will disrupt the power of the Beast Head at Limbs."
"Beast Head at Limbs..."
Daoist Qingqiu muttered a few tis under her breath before nodding. Having chosen the path of becoming a Qiong person, there was no turning back now.
"Good."
Li Mo wasted no ti, exhaling a cloud of toxic smoke that caused Daoist Qingqiu to lose consciousness instantly. Her remaining limbs were deftly and cleanly severed.
Except for Artifact Cultivators, Beast Head at Limbs were most compatible with Beast Cultivators, ensuring Daoist Qingqiu could utilize at least fifty percent of the magical artifact’s power.
Li Mo examined the cross-sections of the wounds carefully, morizing the distribution of blood vessels and muscles.
He then began crafting the Beast Head at Limbs, using the blood of a fox-type Deceit Beast to etch the image of a three-tailed demon fox onto the surface of the limbs.
This process had beco second nature to him. Over the last ten days, Li Mo had continuously refined them, already mastering the thods for crafting mid-grade at Limb Magical Artifacts.
However, due to the inferior quality of the raw materials, the process necessitated consuming the dicinal power of a Nourishing Yuan Fruit.
Fully focused, Li Mo completed the custom at Limbs for Daoist Qingqiu in just half a day — arms and legs adorned with fox tattoos.
Of course, the Beast Head at Limbs for her legs were slightly flawed, resulting in reduced power by forty percent and an increased likelihood of backlash if overused.
In contrast, the subsequent crafting of Beast Head at Limbs was simpler than producing a Magic Artifact Embryo.
The primary challenge of at Limb Magical Artifacts lay in constructing the intricate network of blood vessels and channels while seamlessly integrating Deceit Beast Blood into the artifact over ti.
Li Mo surmised that even if he publicly shared the thod of crafting Beast Head at Limbs, fewer than five Artifact Refiners within the Sub-Device Sect could replicate his work.
The Magic Artifact Embryo itself was limited in quality, ultimately only able to withstand fifteen refinents.
The focus of fifteen refinents leaned toward fire poison, with supplentary spiritual materials enhancing the artifact’s toughness; the ultimate effects would depend on Daoist Qingqiu’s performance.
The Eight-Ard Spine Nerve repeatedly rose and fell, precisely suturing muscle tissues together, thoroughly fusing the Beast Head at Limbs with Daoist Qingqiu.
The Sub-Device Sect’s at Limb Magical Artifacts were particularly unique. As a type of Blood and Flesh Magical Artifact, they could perfectly parasitize a body, though without an Artifact Cultivator’s Spiritual Power, their full power would remain unrealized.
Daoist Qingqiu furrowed her brows in pain, as though trapped in a nightmare-like abyss.
When she eventually woke, a surreal sensation washed over her; the stabbing pain in her left hand and right foot was gone, and her blood was circulating more smoothly than ever.
Daoist Qingqiu found herself in the main hall of the Four Seas Refining Shop and, after rising, instinctively looked down at her limbs. Her tattooed hands and feet were strikingly long and slender.
As she channeled Spiritual Power into the at Limb Magical Artifacts, the lines lit up with a fluorescent glow, and fine fox fur extended outward from her pores.
Bang...
Unable to control her strength, Daoist Qingqiu stomped through the floorboards beneath her feet.
"Deceit Beastification... Shopkeeper, have you been to the Heart Beast Territory?"
She hurried to repair the floor, her aura sharp and fierce, reminiscent of the once-notorious Daoist Qingqiu of the black market.
Li Mo descended the stairs unhurriedly. "The shop won’t open in the next few days. You’ll stay in the courtyard to familiarize yourself with the Fox Head at Limbs."
He tossed a human slip to Daoist Qingqiu before turning back to the seclusion room.
"Master the Taiwei Bird Manipulation Skill to the entry level, or you won’t survive until the Quiong Battle ends."
"Thank you, Shopkeeper."
Li Mo had no intention of idling; he planned to complete the twenty refinents of the Daluo Heaven artifact. Otherwise, any misstep in the upcoming Quiong Battle could prove disastrous.
Another Daoist Qingtian had erged—one could never predict the complexities at play.
Li Mo doubted he could rely observe from the sidelines. To avoid being exposed when participating, he needed to refine the Daluo Heaven into a defensive magical artifact.
Co to think of it, he didn’t have a wide array of options. The real concern was whether the Nascent Soul Great Powers could discern his possession of Thirty-Stage Mist Fog Spiritual Power.
"The timing should suffice."
The closure of the Four Seas Refining Shop caused no stir.
At most, it sparked so displeasure among alcoholics, as they couldn’t even buy watered-down Corpse Wine anymore.
With the port beginning to auction off preview items and signaling the participating Quiong Battle contenders, the Four Seas Refining Shop’s na appeared at the very end of the list.
All cultivators were instantly taken aback, deeply astonished by the inclusion of the Four Seas Refining Shop.
Known as little more than a vendor of low-tier spiritual materials and watered-down liquor, it was the epito of diocrity at the port, yet sohow it had secured a spot in the Quiong Battle without paying any apparent price.
The situation was undeniably baffling.
All sects and inheritances watched with entertained curiosity.
Sure, they recognized that a Nascent Soul Great Power had intervened, but the Four Seas Refining Shop showed no significant signs of distinction. Could it be that the great power was unafraid of tarnishing their reputation?
Or perhaps, the ergence of Daoist Qingtian with his Five Dao Body had left the Chaotic Burial Furnace intoxicated with overconfidence?
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