The sword shuttle traversed through the Gang Wind. Upon leaving the Great Sun Sword Tomb, Li Mo immediately felt the terrifying oppression brought by the Twenty-Eight Sword Tombs.

Previously, under the protection of Luo Yang, he had merely thought of the Sword Tomb as massive beyond compare.

Now, having glimpsed a shred of the truth, Li Mo seemed capable of witnessing the despair of True Immortals before their deaths, with the Twenty-Eight Sword Tombs steeped in dense resentment.

"Perhaps only Immortal Heads could give rise to such strange and inexplicable taboos."

"The Heavenly Sword Sect indeed stands as an eternal Taoist inheritance, but undoubtedly, it has also fallen into an infinite cycle, becoming the prison guards of the Twenty-Eight Prisons."

Li Mo couldn't help but shake his head.

Though he was the only one in the world capable of cultivating the Mortal Transformation Secret Technique, he harbored no intentions of exploiting the truths of the earth-shattering upheaval.

The power brought by the truth was enough to change heaven and earth, but the cost was far too frightening.

It would almost reduce this world to ruins.

"It's none of my concern; I'd better focus on the Void Refining Stage."

Li Mo sat inside the sword shuttle, closed his eyes, and split his focus, planting a large number of Dan Trees in the Corpse Mountain Mini World and guiding the Earth Infiltration Fake Pill to absorb Spiritual Energy.

The primary purpose of the Dan Trees was to cultivate spiritual materials. He noticed that the type of spiritual materials growing on the branches did not remain constant.

Occasionally, spiritual materials of unprecedented kinds would appear, adding to the ecosystem of the Corpse Mountain Mini World.

Li Mo wasn't worried about mysterious spiritual materials overrunning the small world; Plant and Tree Cultivators inherently bestowed their talent upon the cultivation of spiritual materials.

In truth, the Grave Mound Sword Tomb wasn't far from the Great Sun Sword Tomb, but for safety reasons, he decided on a more secluded path.

As his cultivation during the Weak Crown Period deepened, the Earth Infiltration Fake Pill grew increasingly robust.

When the Fake Pill expanded to fill the entire alchemy furnace, the Heart King's Great Method of Seeking Pills successfully concluded Core Formation. Spiritual Power condensed into liquid, emitting a medicinal fragrance.

The hallmark of the Golden Core lay in its resemblance to a seed.

Indeed, upon using his Divine Sense to observe the Earth Infiltrated Golden Core inside and out, he found its structure mirrored that of a seed, though composed of earthy blood.

From mastering the Heart King's Great Method of Seeking Pills to ascending to the Core Formation Stage, he had only spent half a year.

Li Mo's current cultivation efficiency was remarkably swift, and he estimated that Breaking the Golden Core and becoming an Infant would merely take around ten years, with hopes to attempt entering the Divine Separation Stage within a century.

"Quickly acquire some Foundation Spiritual Objects. Think of a way at Yang Niu..."

Li Mo suddenly felt a jolt of disorientation; his Illusionary Jiao Dragon was attacked without warning, and he couldn't discern who had struck.

In the blink of an eye, the Illusionary Jiao Dragon had been reduced to remains.

Li Mo's expression turned exceedingly grim. The actions of the internal foe proved far more covert than he'd imagined. He had hoped to determine their identity during the ambush.

Perhaps upon realizing the Illusionary Jiao Dragon was merely a blinding technique, the mole flew into a rage and destroyed it.

"This won't do; I need to be more cautious."

Li Mo narrowed his eyes, silently stowed away the sword shuttle, and hid within the abdomen of the Illusionary Jiao Dragon, using Spirit Root Worms to maintain the illusion while he traveled.

The Jiao Dragon and Gang Wind merged seamlessly, its speed surpassing the sword shuttle by threefold.

Li Mo focused intently on manipulating his flying sword, maintaining the concealment of the Distant Path Sword Intent.

"Almost there."

The Grave Mound Sword Tomb rested in a corner of the Inner Sect, unlike the architecture-filled Great Sun Sword Tomb, instead surrounded by countless grave mounds.

Most graves lacked tombstones, and even those with tombstones had their inscriptions eroded by time, leaving behind faint traces.

Just like the memories stored in the Creation Book of the destroyed Heavenly Sword Sect.

Li Mo also noticed sporadic flashes of sword light entering the grave mounds. They appeared to be sword cultivators under Thunder Constellation and Qiu Shuang recruiting disciples.

Yet after the sword cultivators set foot upon the grave mounds, even the Cave God's Eye could no longer track their movements.

"The rules among the Twenty-Eight Sword Tombs differ dramatically—I wonder what the situation inside the Grave Mound Sword Tomb is."

The Jiao Dragon drew to within a kilometer of the Grave Mound Sword Tomb. Thick black-gray ash obscured the view, and the colors of heaven and earth seemed to diminish to nothing but black and white.

It was as though plunging into a desolate hell.

"Speaking of which—why did Elder Lu Yuan instruct me to kill Thunder Constellation and Qiu Shuang's disciples?"

Li Mo's gaze swept across the Sword Tomb.

Grave mounds dominated the sight; the ground was carpeted with corpses wrapped in grass mats.

The corpses varied in freshness—some had already been reduced to heaps of white bone, others seemed newly deceased, their open chests and abdomens still emitting warmth.

Strangely enough, Li Mo hadn't witnessed the Heavenly Sword Sect discarding bodies in the Grave Mound Sword Tomb; the corpses appeared to have sprung forth from nowhere, disturbing to behold.

"It's no surprise—this is, after all, formed from the head of an Immortal. Anything fantastical seems within reason."

Whoosh.

His Lifebound Flying Sword darted into his sleeve.

Li Mo refrained from withdrawing the Spirit Root Worms and discretely chose a concealed valley to settle down.

He couldn't help but show a hint of anxiety; ever since the Grave Mound Sword Tomb had appeared in view, not a single trace of a Sword Ghost had been discerned.

"Surely the Sword Ghosts of the Grave Mound Sword Tomb aren't imprisoned inside?"

The moment Li Mo made contact with the ground, the surrounding scenery underwent an abrupt transformation.

The Chaotic Burial Mound vanished, and the Grave Mound Sword Tomb morphed into a bustling town.

Stores lined the streets; the pungent stench of decay had disappeared, replaced by the aroma of food.

Li Mo stood amidst the town's central thoroughfare. The flowing crowds exuded an air of earthly vitality, yet their presence carried an inexplicable eeriness.

"Come, come, take a look! Freshly baked Osmanthus Cake!"

"Dear guest, step inside! Three fine Ling Root Blues for only five coins!"

"If you've got money, spend the coins; if not, lend your presence to the crowd!"

......

Li Mo squinted his eyes.

The Spirit Root Worm offered not the faintest warning, signifying that the town before him was not an illusion—or rather, not an illusion in the conventional sense.

However, the actions of the mortals seemed somewhat rigid, resembling the initial formation of Xia Dao Palace, framed by strange limitations circumscribed by taboos.

"The taboos of the Twenty-Eight Sword Tombs might be insurmountable except for Land Immortals."

Conversely, the taboos of the Great Sun Sword Tomb felt relatively safer—they merely released the imprisoned Sword Ghosts at midnight under the Daoist Temple.

Li Mo surveyed his surroundings—a display of the Cave God's Eye revealed no discernible truths.

After hesitating for several breaths, he walked toward a roadside inn, planning to stay temporarily within and observe the patterns of the Grave Mound Sword Tomb's taboos.

Right then.

Lu Yuan's voice emerged beside Li Mo.

"Why are you only arriving now?"

From the corner of his eye, Li Mo caught sight of hoofbeats echoing from a narrow alleyway—it was an amber cow with cloudy eyes ambling toward him.

"Greetings to Elder Lu Yuan. Disciple was delayed due to encountering a bottleneck during seclusion."

Li Mo refrained from mentioning the incident with the flying sword assault.

He couldn't guarantee that Lu Yuan wasn't the spy; even without malicious intent, there was nothing he could reveal about the mastermind's chaos.

After all, everyone's Three-Life Memories had been erased.

"Follow me—you should still be unaware of the taboos of the Grave Mound Sword Tomb, shouldn't you?"

The amber cow turned back, heading deeper into the alley. Li Mo donned his New and Old Skin guise and, in an instant, transformed into a dying, haggard old man, following Lu Yuan.

As Li Mo took a few steps forward, his aura became faint and elusive.

Evidently, he was mimicking the mortals within the Grave Mound Sword Tomb.

Lu Yuan regarded Li Mo with newfound esteem—someone capable of cultivating Core Formation and Nascent Soul within the outside world certainly was a quintessentially resourceful man.

"Elder Lu Yuan, are the mortals in the Grave Mound Sword Tomb formed from corpses?"

Lu Yuan sneered as he answered, "No, they've never lived before—so how can they be dead?"

"Every day, the grave mounds give birth to tens of thousands of husks, whose consciousness transforms into various mortals within the illusion realm—it's quite fascinating, isn't it?"

"So, it truly is an illusion realm."

Li Mo interjected, "Elder, the illusion realm isn't one of the Grave Mound Sword Tomb's taboos, correct?"

"It comes from another Outer Sword Tomb's taboo. Six thousand years ago, the Grave Mound Sword Tomb consumed it entirely, thus giving rise to the illusion realm."

"The illusion realm allows the husks to subconsciously develop awareness. The mortals, formed from shallow awareness, exhibit low spiritual wisdom."

Li Mo mused inwardly, "The Grave Mound Sword Tomb operates similarly to Xia Dao Palace; however, Xia Dao Palace is at least controllable."

He fixated on several laborers bearing heavy loads, "How long can the husks last?"

"A century."

"The flesh, blood, and bones of the husks will gradually decay. If they haven't achieved autonomy in thought before complete rot, they'll ultimately return to a mere handful of black soil in the grave mounds."

Li Mo came to realize that the recruited disciples were the husks that had come to life.

The two ventured into a foul-smelling neighborhood. Wails of agony emanated from the houses, where one after another, elders lay awaiting their deaths.

In the physical realm, the husks these elders' consciousnesses clung to likely consisted of nothing but white bones.

Li Mo's eyes glimmered with zeal.

Though useless to Lu Yuan, even the most mutilated corpses sent to the Corpse Mountain Mini World could yield immeasurable benefits.

Lu Yuan naturally noticed Li Mo's interest in the corpses—back in the Great Sun Sword Tomb, Li Mo had shown a penchant for collecting blood-flesh-producing Sword Ghosts.

"Taiyi, looking for husks in the grave mounds?"

"Elder, is it permissible?"

"Permissible? Why not—aren't the husks all over the streets?"

Li Mo offered a sheepish grin but kept silent; within the illusion realm, the mortals were composed of ghostly consciousnesses. Killing them all wouldn't yield anything.

What's more, he had no intention of violating the Grave Mound Sword Tomb's taboos.

"Smart move."

The amber cow let out a bitter laugh, and Li Mo somehow felt that Lu Yuan harbored subtle disdain for him.

"Unless the husks are newly born, any mortal death will incite a swarm of rampaging Sword Ghosts, potentially rendering half the Sword Tomb fallen."

Li Mo furrowed his brows and inquired, "Elder Lu Yuan, where are the Sword Ghosts?"

"Deceitful objects exist everywhere."

Lu Yuan struck a stone with his hoof, shattering an earthen jar on the courtyard wall.

From within flowed viscous blood water mixed with several eyeballs, enclosing an unformed grotesque fetus that struggled briefly before falling still.

Li Mo immediately smelled the pungent odor distinct to deceitful objects.

"Within the Grave Mound Sword Tomb, all inanimate objects transform into Sword Ghosts, sealed within the illusion realm through an ingeniously subtle method."

Lu Yuan grinned, "Including clothing—even the average mortal carries dozens of death-bound items. If one dies, demons instantly run riot."

"For all we know, a copper coin in a mortal's purse could be the Night Patrol Deity itself."

Li Mo inhaled sharply.

The number of Sword Ghosts in the Grave Mound Sword Tomb likely exceeded those in the Great Sun Sword Tomb by a hundredfold. Even in the Void Refining Stage, utmost caution within the grave mounds was warranted.

"If husks are what you seek, the chance will arise. Every recruitment sees casualties among most husks—just ensure you don't get involved."

Lu Yuan kicked open the door to a courtyard—it was utterly barren inside.

"Wait here; I'll notify you during the disciple recruitment. Make sure you don't die."

"Elder, what about the disciples in the Grave Mound Sword Tomb?"

"You'll find out."

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