27: Chapter 27 The "Mushrooms" Growing in the Shadows, and the Correct Method of Pickling Souls

The night in the Scripture Pavilion was eerily quiet.

Although the stench of ink left behind after Yan Kuang's death had been blown away by the evening breeze, the air was still permeated with an indescribable, viscous sensation, like some sort of damp, sinister malice.

Li Mo sat before the desk, where the candlelight flickered.

He was toying with Xiao Hei, the book that had just "evolved" into the 《Starry Iron Book》, but his gaze was not on the book; instead, he stared fixedly at the ground beneath his feet.

There, his shadow was stretched extremely long under the candlelight.

The edges of the shadow were exhibiting an abnormal, jagged shape, as if something was frantically scratching inside the shadow, attempting to tear through this two-dimensional plane and crawl into the three-dimensional world.

"Still not giving up?"

Li Mo sneered, his voice triggering a barely perceptible echo in the spacious pavilion.

The thing in the shadow was none other than the Old Ancestor of the Blood River, whose Physical Body had been destroyed, leaving only a wisp of his Soul to escape.

This old Devil Head was a ruthless character. At the last moment, he had unleashed the Shadow Sect secret technique "Shadow Escape Parasitism," intending to lurk unnoticed and wait for an opportunity for Possession and Rebirth.

Unfortunately, he had encountered Li Mo.

A person who followed the Dao of Survival, extremely sensitive to any prying and full of schemes.

"Hiss—"

The shadow suddenly twisted, emitting a sharp sound like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

The next moment, that pitch-black shadow defied the principles of optics and slowly "grew" up from the ground, transforming into a blurry half-body portrait where one could vaguely recognize the hideous and vengeful face of the Old Ancestor of the Blood River.

"Kid... your body... is perfect..."

The black shadow spat out a hoarse whisper, its voice carrying a demonic power that could bewitch the heart.

"Longevity Body... Vast Righteous Qi bones... as long as you offer this Physical Body to this Old Ancestor, I will guarantee you..."

"Guarantee you, my foot."

Li Mo didn't give him the chance to finish; he suddenly raised the spring and autumn brush in his hand.

【Truth Tampering (Incomplete)】 activate!

His Mental Energy transformed at this moment into a floodgate being opened, surging madly into the brush tip!

Li Mo wrote with the brush in the Void Realm like a dragon and snake, completing a vigorous, blood-colored character in one stroke.

— "Solidify."

Hum!

The air in the entire Scripture Pavilion seemed to turn into solid amber.

The black shadow that was about to pounce, all its clawing and grasping postures, all its vengeful and crazy expressions, along with the surrounding light and dust, were completely frozen in that instant, stuck in mid-air.

"Shadow Transformation? Void?"

Li Mo put down the brush, gently rubbed his aching temples with his fingertips, and the corner of his mouth curled into a mocking smile.

"Here, I make the rules of physics."

This 【Truth Tampering】 was overwhelmingly domineering, but the consumption was truly astonishing; just one character had drained nearly half of his Mental Energy.

He turned and walked to the corner, digging out a dusty earthenware jar from a pile of miscellaneous items.

This jar was originally used for pickling vegetables, but after the vegetables were eaten, he hadn't been able to bring himself to throw it away.

"What are you doing?!"

The Soul of the Old Ancestor of the Blood River, frozen in mid-air, looked at the jar that emitted the smell of aged pickled vegetables, and an extremely ominous premonition crushed his dignity as a Late Stage Golden Core cultivator.

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! I am a Late Stage Golden Core powerhouse; how dare you use a pickle jar to contain me?!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Li Mo patted the jar wall, producing a crisp sound.

"This jar has good breathability and is light-proof, perfect for a dark, light-avoiding reptile like you."

As he spoke, he quickly drew a "Spirit-Locking God-Trapping Talisman" inside the jar using a cinnabar brush.

The talisman was formed.

Like picking up a noodle, he gave it a light flick with the brush handle, without any hint of effort.

The stiff black shadow was precisely and accurately "flicked" into the jar.

"Get in there!"

"No—! Let me out! I have ancient Treasure Trove! I have supreme secret techniques! I even have shocking secrets about the Great Zhou Dynasty!!"

A dull and shrill roar came from inside the jar, shaking the jar until it hummed.

"Want to talk now? It's too late."

Li Mo expressionlessly covered the jar with its lid.

He casually tore a corner off the 《Cannibal's Notes》 that Yan Kuang had turned into, moistened it with a bit of saliva, and slapped it onto the jar opening like a seal with a "slap."

"Confucian Vast Righteous Qi suppression, abyss aura sealing, plus the physical isolation of a pickle jar."

Li Mo patted the jar with satisfaction, his tone chilling to the bone.

"This is the 'Trinity' ultimate pickling method."

"Reflect well inside. When the baleful aura on your body is thoroughly pickled, we'll talk about the value of those 'secrets' of yours."

"Squeak!"

Squeak, who had been hiding in the distance, jumped over, curiously circling the jar, even reaching out its little paw to try to peel off the seal.

"Don't touch it."

Li Mo picked it up.

"This thing is more pungent than stinky tofu right now; be careful of the smell."

After settling Squeak, Li Mo's gaze returned to Xiao Hei on the table.

"Pickling is too slow; efficiency is paramount. Xiao Hei, get to work."

Xiao Hei immediately opened its metallic cover with excitement.

After being strengthened by the Star Iron Essence, its devouring and analysis abilities, which originated from the abyss, had undergone a qualitative leap.

"Analyze him; I want everything in his brain."

Li Mo issued the command.

"Especially the entire plan targeting the Heavenly River Sword Sect."

A black tentacle, as thin as a hair but exuding a heart-palpitating aura, silently extended from Xiao Hei's pages. Like a phantom probe, it ignored the physical barrier of the jar and drilled inside.

"Ah—!! What is this?! What the hell is this?!"

"No! Don't read my memories! That's mine! Mine! Aaaaah—!!"

"I'll talk! I'll say everything! Please, stop!!"

The jar began to shake violently, and the screams coming from inside were no longer coherent, filled with the extreme fear and pain of having one's very Soul essence stripped and chewed away bit by bit.

For cultivators, Soul searching is the most cruel torture.

But being Soul-searched by the "abyss" is the ultimate terror that cannot even be described as torture.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The screams gradually weakened, eventually turning into intermittent sobs.

Xiao Hei retracted its tentacle and let out a satisfied belch.

The pages flipped with a rustle, and several lines of blood-red text clearly appeared on Li Mo's retina.

【Analysis complete.】

【High-value intelligence obtained:】

1. **The Extermination Plot**: The Great Zhou Dynasty Imperial Preceptor Sima Changfeng has joined forces with the Shadow Sect and the Myriad Monster Valley, planning to hold the "Southern Wilderness Dao Discussion Conference" in front of the Heavenly River Sword Sect's mountain gate in half a month. If the Heavenly River Sword Sect loses all three categories of "Debate," "Dharma Battle," and "Formation Breaking," they will be stripped of their orthodox Daoist title in accordance with the "Heavenly Dao Alliance Treaty," and the Sect-protecting Formation will automatically become ineffective at that time.

2. **Hidden Trump Cards**: Besides Yan Kuang, there are three other monsters of the same level in the bottom layer of the dungeon: the poison-killing Grandmaster "Thousand-Faced Gentleman," the giant-strength Devil Head "Mountain-Moving Ape," and... a "Ghost Asura" that has survived for five hundred years. Sima Changfeng holds their Life Souls and can deploy them at any time.

3. **Private Treasury Coordinates**: The Old Ancestor of the Blood River's lifelong savings are hidden in a three-layer underground karst cave in the Deadwood Forest, protected by a self-destruct Formation. (Attached: Unlocking password "Long live the Old Ancestor of the Blood River, long live, long live the longest.").

Looking at this intelligence, Li Mo's expression gradually darkened.

"Dao Discussion Conference... stripping the Daoist title..."

This move was truly vicious.

In the Cultivation World, the strong prey on the weak, but it also values being "justified and righteous."

If they were to directly attack and destroy the Sect, the Great Zhou Dynasty would have to bear heavy Karma and might even invite a joint counterattack from other Righteous Path Sects.

But once they use the "open and aboveboard" rules of a "Dao Discussion" to prove that the Heavenly River Sword Sect is "virtue-less" and has "lost its Daoist orthodoxy," then attacking afterward would be acting on behalf of the heavens, gaining both fame and fortune.

"This is trying to roast us on a fire, and once roasted, they want to let the people of the world feast on us."

Li Mo's fingers tapped gently on the desk, producing a series of rapid sounds.

"That Sima Changfeng is indeed an old schemer who plays with human hearts and rules."

"He calculated that everyone in the Heavenly River Sword Sect is a group of straight-forward Sword Cultivators. They might not be afraid when it comes to fighting, but when it comes to these twisty rule-based games, they are no match for the politicians and corrupt scholars under his command."

If they lose, the Sect will be dissolved, their Luck will be exhausted, and everyone will be able to bully them.

If they win...

A bone-chilling cold light flashed in Li Mo's eyes.

"Since you want to play by the rules, then I will accompany you and play properly."

He pulled out the 《Yan Kuang · Cannibal's Notes》 from his bosom, which he hadn't even warmed up yet.

Immediately after, he took out the 《Thick Black Theory》.

"I originally didn't want to be this 'Dean of Students'."

"But since you are pushing too hard, don't blame me for training this group of iron-willed, straight-laced men of the Heavenly River Sword Sect into... a 'Troll Squad' that will make the entire Cultivation World tremble with fear."

Outside the window, the night was deep.

No one knew that inside this inconspicuous Scripture Pavilion, a "dimensionality reduction strike" that was about to subvert the style of the entire Cultivation World was quietly brewing.