The Sword Testing Conference passed in an instant.

Although it was held at the Death Tomb, the process was somewhat anticlimactic after an initially high-stakes start.

The presence of Li Mo disrupted the norm, turning what was originally a nine-death-one-life conference into a Blessed Land Cave Heaven for him to refine his body.

All cultivators witnessed firsthand the emergence of the first person to achieve the Body Integration Realm through pure physical refinement alone.

Even though the event occurred seven or eight years ago, discussions within the Heavenly Sword Sect have not ceased, drawing a large number of cultivators to the perimeter of the Death Tomb.

The number soon exceeded a thousand, including many Outer Disciples at the Core Formation stage.

The situation within the Side Room Tomb of the Death Tomb was rather complex.

When Li Mo first ventured into the core area of the Death Tomb, it was in a constant state of upheaval.

Two to three years later, the Death Tomb calmed down, and Li Mo's traces became impossible to find, as if swallowed by the consciousness of the Death Tomb itself.

Near the conclusion of the Sword Testing Conference, the Side Room Tomb suddenly began to swell.

As its size expanded, grotesque meat tumors emerged on the surface of the Death Tomb. The aura it emitted grew unstable, teetering on the brink of losing control.

Even Qi Yunfei and others couldn't make sense of the abnormalities in the Death Tomb, only knowing they were connected to Li Mo.

Rumors flew thick and fast.

Some said Li Mo had succeeded in shedding his mortal coil for an immortal transformation and was now struggling to break free from the Tomb's bindings; others believed he had accidentally plunged too deep into the core, with the Death Tomb's consciousness digesting his body and soul.

For now, most cultivators leaned towards the belief that Li Mo had perished and his Dao had faded.

Deliberately venturing into the Death Tomb despite the taboos of two or three hundred years, no matter how miraculous his Immortal Body might be, Li Mo ultimately hadn't achieved immortal ascension yet.

Luo Yang gazed at the Death Tomb, growing increasingly tense deep within.

"Immortal Zhang, the Sword Testing Conference is nearly over, yet Taiyi and the others still haven't emerged. Do you think…"

"I don't know."

Zhang Qiyang hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Taiyi must have his reasons; he wouldn't have entered the Death Tomb's core without purpose."

He truly couldn't comprehend. Li Mo could have advanced to the Body Integration Realm outside—why take such a risk? It seemed entirely unnecessary and unwise.

Glancing at Yu Xiao, Zhang Qiyang noticed the latter betraying no emotion at all.

The surroundings descended into wordless silence.

For most factions, Li Mo's life or death directly impacted the balance of power, as the Great Sun Sword Tomb heavily relied on him to maintain its reputation.

Ka-ka-ka.

The Death Tomb emitted faint whispers of activity, though its aura swelled immensely.

Luo Yang's expression was solemn beyond words, the faint stirrings of a bad premonition forming. After all, the Heavenly Sword Sect's history wasn't lacking in tales of prodigies meeting premature ends.

Qi Yunfei, however, relaxed. Even if Xia Yun would suffer unforeseen consequences because of it, the joy of eliminating a looming threat far outweighed the risks.

He didn't understand why, but Li Mo exerted an undue influence on his Mental Realm.

If Li Mo truly rose to prominence, he himself might endure irreversible cracks in his Tao Heart, or worse, a complete deviation, forever losing the chance to traverse the Ninth Mirror of Immortal Ascension and the Tribulation Crossing stage.

Half a day passed.

The Side Room Tomb of the Death Tomb remained unremarkably still, apart from its aura now having reached the absolute peak of the Body Integration Realm.

Though grotesque meat tumors densely marred its surface, signs of death-associated anomalies were not uncommon in the Death Tomb. They provided little evidence to suggest that Li Mo was breaking free.

After hesitating for a few moments, Zhang Qiyang finally spoke, "Fellow cultivators, it seems Taiyi may have lost his way within the Death Tomb. I propose guiding Li Mo out of this predicament using my Lifebound Flying Sword, without interfering with the Sword Testing Conference—what do you all think?"

Master San Yan nodded and said, "That seems reasonable. Taiyi has been safeguarding the disciples of various Sword Tombs anyway."

Zhang Qiyang was just about to speak further when Qi Yunfei interrupted him. "Safeguarding? You should make yourself clear: they're safeguarded only as long as they're alive."

"If over two hundred disciples perish, doesn't that mean Taiyi is slaughtering his own peers?"

Zhang Qiyang sneered in retort, "Old Ghost Qi, the Sword Testing Conference always allows for casualties—you're meddling far too much."

"Heh heh heh."

Qi Yunfei chuckled softly, "There's no need to employ your Lifebound Flying Sword to guide Taiyi. Let me tell you directly: Taiyi Taoist's fate within the Side Room Tomb of the Death Tomb is sealed—he's doomed."

With that, he summoned the Sky Dome Mirror, revealing the interior of the Death Tomb for everyone to see.

The Sky Dome Mirror expanded to over a kilometer in size, providing a detailed view of each side chamber it scanned, but still failing to detect the slightest trace of Li Mo.

The rooms were blanketed in flesh-like fungal mats, unnaturally vivid in their scarlet hue.

The Sky Dome Mirror's viewpoint drew closer to the Death Tomb's core. To enhance the clarity of the projections, Qi Yunfei even resorted to deploying his Externalized Dharma Body.

Endless chambers passed by, yet even Zhang Qiyang couldn't help but doubt whether Li Mo was still alive.

At that moment—

BOOM.

The Mountain Protection Array emitted a deafening roar as waves upon waves of Sword Intent surged toward the Side Room Tomb.

With the Sword Testing Conference having concluded, the Mountain Protection Array was naturally sealing the Death Tomb. If nothing unexpected occurred, it wouldn't reopen for another two to three millennia.

Zhang Qiyang inwardly cursed several times.

Even Land Immortals lacked the authority to override the Mountain Protection Array. If Li Mo was merely trapped inside, he risked being sealed along with it, subjected to millennia of torment.

The cultivators present murmured amongst themselves. Some had already begun closely observing the patterns of the Mountain Protection Array, as it was certain that the Side Room Tomb's sealing was inevitable.

Qi Yunfei retracted the Sky Dome Mirror and crossed his arms over his chest.

Lu Yuan hesitated briefly, contemplating whether to send his Lifebound Flying Sword, Yang Niu, into the Death Tomb. However, Yang Niu exhibited an unusual aversion to the Mountain Protection Array.

Zhang Qiyang raised a hand to stop Lu Yuan, speaking gravely, "No need. Taiyi's sanctified body ensures he wouldn't perish. If he remains in the Tomb, he might even avoid looming calamities."

"Whether fortune or misfortune, perhaps this is Taiyi's destined fate."

Luo Yang let out a long sigh.

The decline of the Great Sun Sword Tomb seemed inevitable. Its remaining disciples were incapable of shouldering greater responsibilities, and competing for ascension to the Immortal Realm was now meaningless.

Lu Yuan remained silent, his thoughts drifting back to the apocalyptic upheaval eight thousand years prior.

If, as Zhang Qiyang suggested, it truly allowed one to avoid repeating those disastrous events, it would undoubtedly be a blessing. Yet with current developments, even False Immortals had begun appearing, leaving little hope for anyone.

A sharp metallic sound emanated from the Mountain Protection Array, accompanied by spatial distortions in the surroundings.

The cultivators all retreated. The Mountain Protection Array linked all the Sword Tombs, enveloping the thirteenth Death Tomb in an unfathomable Sword Intent.

The Outer Disciples were dumbstruck.

Being new to the sect, they had never witnessed such an overwhelming display. Even their own Sword Intent instinctively merged with the Mountain Protection Array.

The Mountain Protection Array functioned as the Heavenly Sword Sect's Fake Heavenly Dao, laden with an immense amount of Sword Intent.

Many Outer Disciples, already at their bottlenecks, began showing signs of breakthroughs under the Mountain Protection Array's stimulation.

The Land Immortals, though lacking comprehension of the Sword Dao, validated their own foundations through the array.

Only Yu Xiao showed complete disregard for the Mountain Protection Array. He even maneuvered a giant Sword Shuttle to isolate himself from the array's aura.

The Mountain Protection Array grew increasingly intense, its Sword Intent sweeping across the entire Heavenly Sword Sect.

Zhang Qiyang ultimately relinquished all hope.

"Something's not right,"

Master San Yan suddenly interjected, casting a peculiar gaze toward the Death Tomb.

Zhang Qiyang hurriedly lifted his eyes and noticed the Mountain Protection Array had inexplicably stalled. While its surface remained intact, the Sword Intent within mysteriously began to recede.

The innumerable cultivators gradually regained their senses, their faces brimming with indescribable pain.

When meditating on the Mountain Protection Array, it indeed often gave an illusion of imminent breakthrough, only for the Sword Intent to abruptly halt, leaving them deeply uncomfortable.

Qi Yunfei grew visibly uneasy.

He quickly activated the Sky Dome Mirror again, but the Death Tomb still showed no signs of Li Mo.

"What's happening? Could the damage to the Great Sun Sword Tomb be interfering with the Mountain Protection Array's sealing of this Death Tomb? But why are the other Death Tombs unaffected?"

Could it, could it be...

A far-fetched thought bloomed in Qi Yunfei's mind.

The next moment, the Mountain Protection Array's aura completely vanished, leaving the Death Tomb suspended in midair. One by one, Land Immortals in hiding descended to observe.

Their expressions carried traces of disbelief as their Divine Sense swept over the Sword Tombs incessantly.

Ka-ka-ka.

Cracks began to spread across the Death Tomb's surface, accompanied by both the wailing of an infant and a chillingly familiar laughter from within.

The fissures widened, the aura of the Side Room Tomb of the Death Tomb plummeting rapidly.

BOOM.

A deafening explosion resounded.

The Death Tomb imploded, causing the surrounding space to fold inward.

A two-kilometer-tall figure hovered in mid-air.

"I, Taiyi Taoist, have become a Land Immortal."

With a flickering motion, countless roots of metallic plants flashed past, absorbing the fragments of the Death Tomb into their being, leaving behind only a faint residual aura.

"Hiss…"

Zhang Qiyang gasped sharply, murmuring in disbelief, "Li Mo?"

Li Mo restored his physical form, his colossal presence of two or three kilometers shrinking into a figure just over two meters tall. Though his features were mostly unchanged, his aura radiated unparalleled seamlessness.

Without closer inspection, everyone could tell that Li Mo had successfully stepped into the Body Integration Realm.

A dual fusion of body and Dharma Body.

"This has to be a joke. Using the Death Tomb as nourishment for transformation? Even the emergence of an exiled immortal wouldn't be this outrageous, would it?"

Master San Yan's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he muttered, as though awakening from a dream.

"Leveraging the taboos of the Death Tomb to achieve Body Sanctification, and then directly advancing into the Body Integration Realm through the Tomb itself—how on earth did he manage this?"

The entire scene fell into unbroken silence.

They had imagined Li Mo might escape, or that his Dharma Body might achieve Land Immortal status, but none could have foreseen such an outcome.

Ever since the appearance of the Death Tomb, none had survived its trials for thousands of years.

With a flick of his sleeve, Li Mo caused a Nascent Soul Ghost Tiger, also in the Body Integration Realm, to spit out the various cultivators it had swallowed.

It became clear that, apart from those who had harbored malicious intent toward him, Li Mo bore little hostility toward the remaining cultivators—or perhaps, he simply found them beneath his notice.

Li Mo had plans yet to claim the Taoist inheritance of the various Sword Tombs.

With his Three Dharma Bodies fully entering the Body Integration Realm, the nourishment derived from Void Refining cultivators was now scarcely sufficient to him.

Initially, Li Mo hadn't even intended to confront the Side Room Death Tomb.

Yet unexpectedly, his Three Dharma Bodies broke through their bottlenecks with remarkable ease, nearly two and a half years ahead of schedule. Subsequently, he devoted himself entirely to harvesting nourishment.

Once his cancerous cells gained full dominance, it meant the Death Tomb's extinction was sealed.

Da Ai Mi Tian entered a deep slumber, and it wouldn't be long before Li Mo acquired a new Lifebound Spirit Treasure, surpassing his other two in power by far.

Though Zhang Qiyang struggled to suppress his astonishment and shock, his eyes darted to Qi Yunfei.

Qi Yunfei's face had turned ashen, the instability of his aura becoming increasingly pronounced. The Sky Dome Mirror began to fracture, a clear sign of his Tao Heart collapsing.

"Such an Innate Immortal Seed, such a Thirteen Immortals, such a Taiyi Taoist."

Qi Yunfei turned abruptly, intending to leave.

The disturbance in his Tao Heart necessitated urgent seclusion, as the ancient cultivators' systems were notoriously prone to deviation, running the grave risk of inner demons.

"Wait a moment, Senior Qi. Did I permit you to leave?"

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