Luo Yang's expression grew increasingly grim as he watched Li Mo becoming weaker and weaker in the Sky Dome Mirror, the faint immortal body aura disappearing completely.

"Immortal Zhang, what exactly is Tai Yi's condition?"

Zhang Qiyang hesitated for a few moments before shaking his head and saying, "It seems like he's attempting to invigorate his physical body, transforming it completely. Whether he succeeds or not will depend on fate."

Luo Yang said no more.

Li Mo's sudden actions looked as if he had fallen into deviation.

Normally, a body cultivator in the Void Refining Stage must wait for their spiritual power to transform first. It is known that the physical body cannot ascend to the Body Integration Realm without the nourishment of spiritual power.

Luo Yang couldn't believe Li Mo lacked basic knowledge—perhaps it was just arrogance.

The mysteries of the immortal body are indeed beyond mortal imagination, but in this age of decaying physical forms, spiritual power remains fundamental.

Luo Yang hesitated to speak further; they could not interfere with the Sword Testing Conference.

The assembled cultivators were engaged in heated discussions.

Scanning the surroundings, Luo Yang discovered that no one seemed to have any faith left in Li Mo. Most believed the cultivators dispatched by the Great Sun Sword Tomb had already perished.

Yet, two individuals bore expressions tinged with difficult-to-define intrigue.

One was Yu Xiao.

Yu Xiao stared at the Sky Dome Mirror, furrowing his brows in contemplation, showing not a hint of anxiety. His gaze grew increasingly playful.

The other was Qi Yunfei.

Qi Yunfei's attitude differed; he continually adjusted the angle of the Sky Dome Mirror, eager to glimpse Li Mo's status amidst the Sword Ghost horde.

Luo Yang couldn't help but feel a pang of doubt, wishing he could hurl his lifebound flying sword into the Side Room Tomb.

Time slipped by.

The smoke surrounding Li Mo had already reduced to just a radius of ten meters, but the Sword Ghosts showed no sign of scattering, continuing to encircle him relentlessly.

Master San Yan sighed and said, "An immortal body is indeed an immortal body—truly resistant to decay even in death."

Zhang Qiyang retorted, "Not necessarily. Tai Yi's soul is still intact. Since he voluntarily provoked the Death Tomb's consciousness, he won't die so easily."

Master San Yan patted Zhang Qiyang on the shoulder.

He suddenly felt that the Great Sun Sword Tomb was plagued by ill fortune. Earlier, many disciples were lost due to the calamity erupting from the Fire Spirit Hall. Later, the attack from the Three Pure Heavens left the Sword Tomb heavily damaged.

Just when hope seemed to emerge in the form of the Innate Immortal Seed, it ended with death inside the Death Tomb.

In Master San Yan's view, with Li Mo's talents, reaching the Body Integration Realm was far from his limit. Achieving Land Immortal status would have merely marked the beginning.

Unlike their group of ancient cultivators surviving in mediocrity.

Ten thousand years ago, they couldn't ascend to the Immortal Realm, and ten thousand years after, the drastic changes in spiritual power left them stuck at bottlenecks without progress.

"Hah…"

Qi Yunfei suddenly let out a breath, pointing to the Sky Dome Mirror and saying, "It seems he's truly at his last gasp. Tai Yi's consciousness can no longer control the immortal body, causing it to mutate upon being absorbed by the Sword Ghosts."

Luo Yang scrutinized the mirror closely and noticed the Sword Ghosts becoming agitated.

Roar!!

A Sword Ghost resembling a possum bit onto the head of a fellow ghost. With a muffled sound, the skull shattered, and brain matter and blood sprayed everywhere.

The possum ferociously devoured the corpse, its body visibly swelling at an alarming rate.

All the cultivators could see that the Night Patrol Deity was breaking past its limits, advancing to a level comparable to the Body Integration Realm—evident from the abundant nourishment provided by Li Mo.

Upon sensing the benefits, the Sword Ghosts fought among themselves with increasing intensity.

Even more Sword Ghosts were drawn into the fray.

Boom.

The Eye Lady burst through a wall due to having been slain hundreds of times by Li Mo, its two-hundred-meter frame dominating the Sword Ghosts in size.

It crawled into the room to join the struggle for flesh and blood.

Qi Yunfei coldly remarked, "Originally, the Death Tomb's consciousness wouldn't have awakened so prematurely—it was Tai Yi who made it aware of the threat."

"An immortal body transformed into a deceitful object will only exacerbate the Side Room Tomb's chaos."

Qi Yunfei swept his gaze across the cultivators, refraining from further criticism, although it was clear to the discerning that the Great Sun Sword Tomb had lost its chance.

Its rank will fall to the bottom, and the quota for ascending to the Immortal Realm will no longer be theirs.

Zhang Qiyang still couldn't accept that Li Mo was dead and his Dao vanished. He had always held Li Mo in high regard, purposefully taking him on the South Sea expedition to broaden his horizons.

Though the Great Sun Sword Tomb encountered mishaps, leaving Zhang Qiyang heavily injured, Li Mo's performance exceeded expectations.

Not only did he escape unscathed, but he also managed to lead Luo Yang and the others safely out of the South Sea—there had been no recklessness.

"Why..."

Zhang Qiyang saw the Sword Ghost group scatter, revealing Li Mo's corpse. He closed his eyes in acceptance of the Great Sun Sword Tomb's complete failure.

Li Mo was reduced to a skeleton with fragmented internal organs, and his middle dantian glowed faintly.

"Tai Yi, Tai Yi, if you hadn't pursued transforming your physical body, achieving Land Immortal status would've been guaranteed!!"

Zhang Qiyang lamented bitterly, wishing he could charge into the Death Tomb and question the corpse.

Qi Yunfei chuckled and said, "Heh, the Old Poisonous's personal disciple 'Calamity Worm' is not bad—his methods and temperament are top-quality."

Under the illumination of the Sky Dome Mirror, a humanoid Sword Ghost stealthily approached Li Mo's remains.

The hump on the humanoid Sword Ghost's back housed the parasitic Ye Zhuo Daoist, but his circumstances looked grim.

Ye Zhuo Daoist's skin appeared blue-purple, with slender worms writhing through his blood vessels.

These worms were the Poison Horn Sword Tomb's unique lifebound flying sword, employed with such lifelike precision that only Poison Horn's Chief, Calamity Worm, could achieve.

The humanoid Sword Ghost crept closer to the skeleton.

Its belly held none of Li Mo's flesh, allowing it to avoid attention as it stopped within half a meter of the skeleton.

"Damn you, Calamity Worm, careful or my senior brother will grind you into dust."

Ye Zhuo Daoist couldn't help but curse.

He didn't understand why Calamity Worm was targeting him, but if he couldn't make the latter apprehensive, he was eighty percent likely to perish in the Side Room Tomb.

"Hee hee hee."

Calamity Worm let out a sinister laugh, and the worms covering Ye Zhuo Daoist's eyes wriggled away.

Ye Zhuo Daoist regained his sight, only to catch the horrifying sight of Li Mo's skeleton. Even from its aura, he could discern it clearly, plunging him into terror.

"No… It's impossible. My senior brother had countless techniques and protective magic treasures—how could he die silently amid deceitful objects?"

Ye Zhuo Daoist's bloodshot eyes and flesh began to uncontrollably mutate.

"Hee hee hee."

Calamity Worm cackled as countless worms subtly crawled out of the humanoid Sword Ghost's body.

His sword body, known as the "Blood Gu Sword Body," was a fusion of Poison Horn's Poison Gu Sword Body and Blood Muddling Sword Body, capable of transforming into his lifebound flying sword to become numerous bloodworms.

Calamity Worm had no interest in Ye Zhuo Daoist.

In his view, Ye Zhuo Daoist was already irreversibly mutated—wasting spiritual power on him wasn't worth it.

He needed the Sword Ghosts' cover to approach Li Mo's bones, or he would've disposed of the disgraced member of the Heavenly Sword Sect long ago.

"Innate Immortal Seed…"

"Soon, I will be the Innate Immortal Seed."

Calamity Worm examined the details of the skeleton at close range, his guesses becoming increasingly certain.

He had seen Li Mo showcasing his immortal body multiple times, but the displayed abilities varied, leading to his suspicion that Li Mo possessed more than one type of immortal body.

"Indeed, not only is the flesh imbued with the immortal body—the bones also host another immortal body, one closely tied to Sword Dao."

"What a pity the Sword Dao immortal body is incomplete; however, that would still make success more likely."

Calamity Worm's breathing grew rapid.

He planned to crawl into the skeleton and absorb the immortal body's aura, inheriting at least sixty percent of its traits, which would dramatically enhance his aptitude.

"By then, I will also have an innate immortal bone of the Heavenly Sword Sect."

After confirming the Sword Ghosts didn't pay him any attention, Calamity Worm slithered through the cracks in the ground toward the skeleton, his eyes envisioning the scene of achieving immortality.

Dozens of bloodworms converged and linked their tails within moments.

Calamity Worm hesitated—for the worms were fragile. If Li Mo still possessed the power to resist, danger was inevitable.

But restoring his human form would likely attract the Sword Ghosts' attention.

Calamity Worm lingered near the skeleton, eventually dispelling his concerns. "Tai Yi may be an Innate Immortal Seed, but he's not an Immortal. How could a mere mortal survive without flesh?"

"I must seize this opportunity—perhaps it's my closest chance to achieving immortality."

Calamity Worm crawled toward the top vertebra of Li Mo's spine, radiating a powerful immortal body aura—likely the essence of the incomplete immortal body.

He bit the bones with his mouth organ, only to find the bone density exceeded expectations.

Instead of being disheartened, Calamity Worm rejoiced.

"An immortal body, an immortal body indeed—the immortal body that leads to the Dao of Immortality…"

He unleashed his Mahayana Sword Intent "Insect Disaster," eroding the bones with poison, confident that he would eventually achieve his goal without spiritual power shielding the remains.

Outside, the cultivators debated animatedly as Poison Horn Sword Tomb's Supreme Elder appeared.

The Old Poisonous nodded approvingly.

"Calamity Worm's talent might not be top-quality, but in terms of temperament, he surpasses his peers."

"If not for Fire Cannon seizing part of Tai Yi's immortal body in time, the Side Room Tomb would've benefitted greatly, making it even harder to suppress in the future."

The surrounding cultivators echoed the Old Poisonous's remarks.

Yu Xiao swallowed the lightning released by the sword shuttle, his gaze turning peculiar as he stared at the Old Poisonous before commenting, "Old Poisonous, take another look."

The Old Poisonous smiled silently.

As Yu Xiao toyed with his lifebound flying sword, he simultaneously healed the wounds scattered across his body.

"Huh?"

The Old Poisonous's expression froze as he suddenly noticed Li Mo's skeleton's skull twitch, its deep eye sockets seemingly focusing on Calamity Worm.

Soon, the other cultivators also noted the anomaly.

Could the skeleton be alive?

Luo Yang and Zhang Qiyang exchanged a glance, unsure whether their eyes were deceiving them.

Just then.

Li Mo abruptly reached out and grabbed Calamity Worm. Although his body lacked flesh entirely, he moved with uncanny dexterity.

"You..."

Calamity Worm stared in shock, struggling to free himself, to no avail.

Spiritual power, divine sense, Dharma Body, flying sword—he couldn't connect to any of them, as if an invisible force had sealed everything.

"Is it a human or a deceitful object?!!"

Calamity Worm's first thought was that the skeleton had transformed into a deceitful object, yet something was off about Li Mo.

After all, Li Mo's skeleton hadn't mutated—it remained intact. Then, to everyone's disbelief, he began walking nonchalantly toward the humanoid Sword Ghost.

The cultivators observing through the Sky Dome Mirror couldn't fathom it, struggling to believe what they saw. Could the mirror's projection be a mere illusion?

The skeleton opened its jaws and said, "Ye Zhuo, why are you pretending to cry?"

"Hee hee hee."

Ye Zhuo Daoist's mutation abruptly stopped as he explained with a sinister laugh, "Senior Brother, I knew you hadn't died; I was only acting to make Calamity Worm lower his guard so he wouldn't kill me."

Calamity Worm teetered on the verge of madness, his heart nearly collapsing under the rollercoaster of emotions.

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