"What is the connection between the Tie Ding Sect, Multiple Limb Syndro, and tal toxins?"
Li Mo suspected that tal toxins were pervasive in the air within the Heart Beast Sect’s territory, causing everyone to be unknowingly poisoned over ti.
However, Li Mo possessed a leakless body, which made him relatively more resistant.
Li Mo took out his spiritual tablet to inquire with Jin Li whether there had been any unusual activity recently in Rong Town, only to find that the latter had already left half a month ago to follow the Governnt Office to Fuan Town, where Multiple Limb Syndro had broken out.
Fuan Town was in an exceptionally severe situation.
Pillars of flesh composed of aggregated limbs were reportedly still growing, and their size had unknowingly exceeded a kiloter, resembling a mountain range.
To address the outbreak of Multiple Limb Syndro in Fuan Town, nearly a hundred cultivators were dispatched from Rong Town under Han Cai’s leadership, creating a massive spectacle.
Li Mo’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
During his spiritual communication with Jin Li, although he could sense Jin Li’s uncontrollable fear, his ntal state had significantly improved.
It was as if the effects of the tal toxins had completely dissipated.
After pondering for a long ti, Li Mo put the spiritual tablet away. Since tal toxins could be temporarily suppressed with Tea Poison, he decided to observe the situation further.
He flipped through the catalog of the Golden Sand Map, imdiately gaining a deeper understanding.
Originally, Li Mo had planned to hurriedly refine the Golden Sand Map and sell it on a black market stall while investigating the cultivation world’s circumstances.
But he suddenly realized that, for now, the Golden Sand Map might still co in handy.
Li Mo retrieved the Iron Sand Stone and placed it in a special inkstone, grinding it into fine powder while deliberating on how to make his markings on the Magic Artifact Embryo.
To shape a Magic Artifact, the spiritual materials must be thoroughly integrated.
A Low-Grade Magic Artifact Embryo could absorb five types of similar spiritual materials, while a Mid-Grade Magic Artifact Embryo could integrate twenty types.
Typically, as the number of spiritual materials infused into a Magic Artifact increases, so does the difficulty of further integration, but the artifact’s power also improves considerably.
The Golden Sand Map didn’t have high material requirents, as Earth tal spiritual materials sufficed. Therefore, Li Mo opted for the Earth Attribute spiritual material "Iron Sand Stone."
Iron Sand Stone was a parasitic ore corroded by Iron Rust Spirit Qi, making it both cheap and perfectly suited for refining the Golden Sand Map.
As he continued grinding, the Iron Sand Stone gradually turned into a fine powder.
Li Mo fully focused, spreading the beast skin on the ground and pressing it down with a Suppressing Stone before calming his mind to begin drawing the Golden Sand Map.
With a Magic Finger, he guided the iron powder across the surface of the beast skin, turning it into a continuous depiction of the Flowing Sand River, exuding a torrential and overwhelming conception.
Under the influence of Mist Fog Spiritual Power, the spiritual materials fused with the Magic Artifact Embryo, making it seem as though the Flowing Sand River naturally belonged to the beast skin from the very start.
Once refined into a Magic Artifact, the Golden Sand Map beca introverted, with its emitted presence entirely pure.
As a Low-Grade Magic Artifact, the Golden Sand Map’s quality was nearly perfect, showing no traces of the iron sand stone’s incorporation.
Li Mo injected Spiritual Power to refine it, and monts later, the Golden Sand Map responded to his will like an extension of his own body.
Whoosh!
He controlled the Golden Sand Map to orbit around him, unleashing waves of sand that shrouded the guest room. However, its destructive power was limited—it could only corrode enemies by burrowing grains of sand into their flesh.
Against enemies, it wasn’t even as practical as the Universal Skillful Hand.
"Retrieve."
Li Mo had other uses for it. The Golden Sand Map coiled around his neck like a python, transforming into a bandage that wrapped his head, leaving only his eyes exposed.
Beyond filtering the air, it also protected vital areas and concealed his appearance.
Although it might not be fully effective against airborne tal toxins, even partial filtration was better than nothing.
Using the sa thod, Li Mo refined the remaining beast skins into several Golden Sand Maps.
However, to avoid drawing attention, he deliberately introduced flaws into the artifacts he refined later, used lower-quality spiritual materials, and even left visible inconsistencies during the fusion process.
Li Mo stepped out of the inn and headed straight for the bustling area outside the Treasure Pavilion.
As soon as he set foot on the street, he noticed that the black market seed quieter than usual.
Though there were still many passing cultivators, most were low-level cultivators in the early childhood stage with one or two layers.
From the appearances of a few Loose Cultivators who did not bother concealing their identities, Li Mo could tell that the symptoms of tal poisoning were generally mild among them, yet those severely poisoned seed to have vanished mysteriously.
As Li Mo walked along, the street stalls were sparse and scattered.
The entrance to the Treasure Pavilion was still lively, but the crowd predominantly comprised low-level cultivators as well. It seed that during the past few months he spent in seclusion, a silent purge had swept through the black market.
"What the hell..."
As the only Loose Cultivator market within 200 miles of Rong Town, any major disruption should have provoked widespread attention—how could it be so eerily calm?
Finding a secluded corner, Li Mo mimicked the behavior of Loose Cultivators by setting up a stall.
All it required was a white cloth spread out before him—it seed there was an unwritten code in the black market to not disrupt transactions maliciously.
At first, no one paid attention to the Golden Sand Map.
But soon, a dozen or so low-level Loose Cultivators beca intrigued. However, sensing the unapproachable aura Li Mo exuded, they refrained from inquiring further because they knew they couldn’t afford it in Spirit Stones.
Appearing to be ditating with his eyes closed, Li Mo was, in fact, laying bait with a long-term strategy. After all, he was confident that the Golden Sand Maps he refined, even with minor flaws, were of top-quality compared to Treasure Pavilion’s artifacts.
Not long after...
A group of Loose Cultivators in the late stage of childhood started gathering near the Treasure Pavilion.
They were clearly interested in the Golden Sand Map, and seeing this, Li Mo breathed a sigh of relief. At least it indicated there hadn’t been any large-scale deaths among the black market’s Loose Cultivators.
"Fellow Daoist, I am Song Liang from Hongxing Escort Agency. Na your price."
Song Liang’s body was already ravaged by Death Disease, his face covered with putrid, festering wounds that harbored crawling centipede-like parasites.
His exposed skull glead with a tallic luster, as the tal toxins had penetrated deep into his bones.
Li Mo squinted his eyes.
The mud on Song Liang’s shoes contained tallic impurities unlike those commonly seen in the black market. Had he recently visited the Tie Ding Sect?
"Although it appears to be a Low-Grade Magic Artifact refined only once, its integration of spiritual materials is excellent. It should have no trouble completing the Four Refinents in the future."
"Fellow Daoist, I’m offering thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for one artifact. Let’s make a deal."
Song Liang’s breathing was labored, his eyes clouded with chaotic thoughts—clear signs of the harm caused by tal toxins, identical to what Jin Li had experienced before.
Li Mo weighed his options; the price offered was already well above market value.
Before he could respond, a half-snake-tailed cultivator approached—a mber of the Viper Gang in the Heart Beast Black Market, a minor league unworthy of ntion.
"Yin Xue from the Viper Gang. I, too, offer thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Step back, Brother Song."
Yin Xue reached directly for the Golden Sand Map, implying his "offer" of thirty Spirit Stones covered two artifacts.
Song Liang erupted in fury and was about to intervene when he noticed Yin Xue eyeing him with heightened caution.
"Two artifacts for sixty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Hand them over."
"Fine..."
Song Liang’s expression shifted complexly as he glanced at Li Mo. Behind the cloth covering Li Mo’s face were predatory eyes.
He hesitated for several breaths before solemnly advising, "Fellow Daoist, be careful when entering the Secret Realm. The Viper Gang is notorious for murdering and stealing treasures."
Yin Xue chuckled darkly, his gaze fixed on Li Mo. "Captain Song, I see your poisoning has reached a critical stage. You must be headed to the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm soon. Take care..."
Li Mo arched an eyebrow and quickly grasped the hidden connections within the Iron Cauldron Secret Realm, simultaneously realizing the major advantage of Tea Poison-enhanced Divine Skills.
Accepting Song Liang’s Spirit Stones, Li Mo slipped into a nearby alleyway.
As he moved, his body started exhibiting mysterious signs of sandy transformation, becoming indistinct and elusive, as though on the verge of disappearing from the black market.
"Entering the Secret Realm? Courting death."
Yin Xue’s face twisted with greed as he pursued Li Mo, gesturing to others to detain Song Liang.
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