The village exam was approaching, and Qing Town grew increasingly desolate.
To be precise, all the towns within the Sword Tongue Sect’s territory had fallen into an eerily deserted state, with not a trace of the usual hustle and bustle.
Even though the exam was still twenty to thirty days away, the townsfolk had already shuttered their shops, and the official road outside the town was devoid of any travelers.
They understood the village exam involved the Sword Tongue Sect and that even the slightest misstep could bring catastrophic consequences.
Throughout Qing Town, the brothels were the only places still open, primarily to entertain Immortals. Evidently, even in the face of calamity, Han Ya still found ti for indulgence.
At nightfall, the windows of Xinghua House emitted a faint ghostly glow, and the red lanterns swayed in the breeze, their candlelight flickering.
One could vaguely discern the shadows of the won within, laughing and chattering.
Li Mo carried a sack filled with herbs, cautiously making his way through the twists and turns of the alleys.
His expression was full of fear, the image of a simple townsman, though in reality, his mind was constantly refining strategies to obtain a cultivation technique.
"I must establish an identity on the surface that grants access to the village exam..."
The exam would certainly have an "Invigilator" from the Sword Tongue Sect present. Whether the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators would stir up trouble remained to be seen.
Li Mo arrived at the side door of Xinghua House, knocking gently. Soon, an old Madam swayed her hips as she opened the door, a wave of heavy perfu hitting him.
The guests who visited Xinghua House all referred to the Madam as "Lady Wu."
Having spent five years in Qing Town, Li Mo naturally knew it like the back of his hand, even recognizing all the holess beggars by na.
He often made deliveries to Xinghua House, primarily due to the Oiran’s need for dicinal herbs.
After all, the Oiran were mortal won, frequently requiring herbs to treat rotting skin. The so-called "human skin magic artifacts" of the Qinghong Flower Tower were re fantasy.
The Madam hid the flirtatious look in her eyes; for so reason, Li Mo reminded her of the youngest son her family had lost to demons over a decade ago.
"Heizi, it’s always you who delivers the herbs."
"Here, take your paynt."
The Madam was quite polite, handing Li Mo a heavy coin pouch. Though the reward was rely copper coins, she wasn’t stingy about it.
"Lady Wu, you’re too kind."
"I’ve brought extra herbs this ti. Starting tomorrow, I will have to stay ho as well."
The Madam didn’t protest, nodding in agreent. "Indeed, during the ten days of the village exam, Immortals are bound to arrive one after another. Heizi, you better be careful and stay indoors."
"Thank you for the reminder, Lady Wu."
As she bent down to inspect the herbs, her loosely draped clothing revealed large areas of snow-white skin. However, even the best costics couldn’t conceal the corpse spots.
Li Mo feigned a glance inside Xinghua House, seeing Oiran diligently wiping their decaying skin.
In the mortal world’s brothels, the won had to diligently maintain their bodies. They were all under thirty years old but carried various degrees of rot.
The Madam couldn’t help but complain, "Without a doctor this month due to the village exam, the girls in Xinghua House might end up entirely rotted."
They relied heavily on herbs to forcibly stimulate vitality and heal their skin, but the drawback was that the Death Disease within their bodies only worsened.
Yet no one cared, as the Death Disease was an inescapable plague.
"Lady Wu, I know a bit of dical skill. How about letting try?"
"What? Oh～～"
The Madam was slightly startled but noticing Li Mo’s appearance as a young man in his twenties, she couldn’t help revealing a knowing smile before gesturing for him to follow.
"Co inside and take a look. Just don’t make too much noise—there are Immortals in the private rooms upstairs."
Li Mo followed behind the Madam, and as he entered Xinghua House, the girls flocked to him, giggling with playful but indiscernible teasing.
He discreetly scanned the surroundings.
Sure enough, he was not mistaken—brothels were among the few places untouched by Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators, likely because the business of flesh and drink was easily unraveled.
The Oiran gathered around and studied the cold-faced Li Mo.
A bold Oiran placed her slender hand on his shoulder, her fragrance mingled with the stench of decay, causing Li Mo to frown deeply.
"Young man, we’ve heard about your dical skills—why not help this elder sister..."
Li Mo grabbed her pale, bloodless arm, and under their astonished gazes, pulled out a strand of silken thread from his pocket.
With a silver needle attached to the thread, he quickly stitched up the wounds on her arm. In only a few breaths’ ti, the wound was perfectly nded.
Thanks to the fineness of the silk thread, there was almost no trace of stitching. To the won, his skill was nothing short of miraculous.
The Madam gawked. "Heizi, what kind of dical skill is this?"
She recalled hearing rumors at the morning market about Li Mo’s dical expertise, though few had seen it firsthand.
"It’s a family tradition. Lady Wu, if you think it’s suitable, I can nd your girls’ wounds free of charge."
"Thank you, Mr. Li."
The Madam spoke respectfully; doctors held a high status in Qing Town, and she believed that with Li Mo’s age, his future was bright.
The won grew even more enthusiastic. Li Mo skillfully stitched up their injuries.
He worked late into the night before stopping, and the Oiran, after thanking him, retired to their rooms, casting flirtatious glances in his direction before leaving.
Throughout this ti, noises occasionally ca from upstairs, clearly from the Immortals the Madam had ntioned.
The Madam, who had been waiting nearby, stifled yawns. Though just past forty, she still retained the habit of sleeping and could no longer resist her drowsiness.
"Thank you, Doctor. If you don’t mind, let give you another token of gratitude."
"Lady Wu, I’ll take my leave first—no need to send off."
"I..."
Li Mo quickly left the main hall, and seeing this, the Madam didn’t get up.
After all, with the village exam near, the streets were utterly deserted. Even with the side door wide open, no one would dare intrude.
"True masters keep a low profile."
The Madam shook her head slightly and turned to enter a side room.
Little did she know, as soon as she left, Li Mo stealthily re-entered the main hall and made his way to the second floor of Xinghua House with light, silent steps.
From the one lit room, faint cursing could be heard.
Without hesitation, Li Mo pushed open the door.
Before him sat a Loose Cultivator man perched on the edge of a bed, mumbling incoherently. Behind him, an Oiran lay unconscious.
"You must be Wu Wei?"
"Mm."
Li Mo’s expression showed no surprise. Before the man could speak further, Li Mo stepped forward and twisted his neck with a swift motion.
The man’s face froze in shock—his tongue clearly missing as he gaped at Li Mo in disbelief.
"You..."
What he saw last was a blood-red intestine extending from Li Mo’s palm, dragging him into a sealed lting furnace.
After rging the End-of-the-World Dao Seed with Mayfly Dream, such Divine Skills beca even more subtle.
The man dissolved into ash within monts, leaving behind only his Daoist robe, accessories, and other nondescript magic artifact embryos.
"So the Loose Cultivators in Qing Town were truly forr mbers of the Sword Tongue Sect."
Four years ago, Li Mo had already encountered Loose Cultivators and noticed they generally lacked tongues, suspecting they originated from the Sword Tongue Sect.
He retrieved the man’s Storage Bag, finding several unsent family letters from which he gleaned partial information.
The Sword Tongue Sect required books from scholars after the entry exam—not for imdiate promotion to Outer Disciple, but for a stint as servant disciples first.
If their cultivation failed to progress, they would face expulsion from the Immortal Sect.
Most disgruntled servant disciples chose to leave the sect’s territorial bounds, seeking opportunities to reach the Foundation Establishnt stage elsewhere.
Though Wu Wei had not abandoned cultivation, nearing fifty years old, he was still at Qi Refining Second Level.
He clung to mortal pleasures yet feared the dangers of the cultivation world, settling in Qing Town to indulge in luxury and vice daily.
This highlighted the imnse struggles Loose Cultivators faced in finding a viable path forward.
Within Wu Wei’s Storage Bag was also a skull-shaped Jade Scroll from Han Ya, instructing him to oversee the Eastern Examination Hall during the village exams in exchange for ten Low Grade Spirit Stones.
"Impersonating Wu Wei should be foolproof."
Wu Wei’s role in the exam was insignificant, unlikely to draw the attention of Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators or Sword Tongue Sect disciples.
The Eastern Examination Hall was far from the Land God Temple, providing an opportunity to observe silently.
Li Mo also extracted Wu Wei’s forr cultivation technique, the "West Mountain Eight Sword Strokes," but it contained only childhood content.
Though intrigued by the Sword Cultivator system, the scroll lacked the key thod for condensing a Lifebound Flying Sword, offering minimal value for reference.
Even after being absorbed by the Primordial Dao Seed, it stirred no response.
"What a pity. If I knew how to forge a Lifebound Flying Sword, perhaps I could refine Da Ai Mi Tian further."
Li Mo silently activated Paoxiao Swallowing Body, causing his flesh and bones to writhe.
His physique gradually shifted to resemble the man’s, and with simple adjustnts, his five features looked nearly identical. Finally, he donned the Daoist robe.
Even his tongue, thanks to Paoxiao Swallowing Body, atrophied and vanished.
All these changes to his appearance were temporary, solely to align with a Sword Cultivator’s identity.
Li Mo then released a slight tether on two of the blood souls within Mid-Dantian, allowing two streams of spiritual power to blend and simulate Wu Wei’s Iron Mound Spiritual Power with Gold and Earth attributes.
"Phew."
The Da Ai Mi Tian technique gave rise to a heart, which soon bore a tumor the size of an eyeball.
Hollow at the core, the tumor provided a vessel for storing Gold-Earth Spiritual Power as a temporary dantian substitute without issue.
"Thankfully, Wu Wei was only at Qi Refining Stage; Foundation Establishnt would’ve been far more troubleso. I’d risk losing control with too much power to simulate."
Li Mo calibrated his aura in a few breaths, emitting the faint spiritual power of Qi Refining Second Level, indistinguishable from the genuine Wu Wei he had observed many tis in secret.
Qing Town had a total of five Loose Cultivators, with Wu Wei being the most reticent of them all.
Li Mo had covertly watched him before. Whether heading to the brothel or elsewhere, Wu Wei always traveled alone and rarely fraternized with others.
This made him the perfect candidate for impersonation.
"I must prepare for potential combat."
If the Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators instigated chaos, Li Mo would inevitably be caught in the crossfire. However, Wu Wei’s long-standing avoidance of combat in Qing Town made it easy to maintain his facade.
Li Mo sifted through the Storage Bag, finding little besides won’s undergarnts and two preserved won’s heads. Finally, he noticed Wu Wei’s Flying Sword tucked in a wooden box.
Though it wasn’t a Lifebound Artifact, the Flying Sword was an ordinary Third Refinent Lower Grade Magical Artifact shaped like a sharpened leg bone.
Disdainful, Li Mo didn’t bother refining the sword.
With a point of his finger, cancer cells penetrated the leg bone sword, swiftly spreading throughout its interior and exterior until a faint blood-red filant erged.
"Return."
Li Mo mimicked Wu Wei’s actions, securing the leg bone sword in the wooden box and strapping it to his back.
Who would dare say I’m not a Sword Cultivator?
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