Longevity Strange Immortal-Chapter 581 - 15: Seeing Zu Xiuyun Again

"The Buddha Ancestor is reincarnated within the Doulu Tripod. Interesting. Very well, the Buddha Ancestor is reincarnated within the Doulu Tripod."

"Senior, you..."

Li Mo’s face revealed astonishment. He had thought Chunyangzi would reserve such a grand wish for the very end. Yet, it was so decisively expressed.

Cough, cough, cough.

Chunyangzi began to cough violently, veins bulging on his forehead.

"It’s nothing, cough, cough, it’s nothing. I know my limits."

Li Mo helped Chunyangzi lean against the rock wall, channeling a slight amount of Innate Essence into him. Only when Chunyangzi’s complexion improved did he stop.

The once unfailing Innate Essence could no longer fill the bottomless holes of a broken vessel facing the limit of a Heavenly Person.

"That’s enough."

Chunyangzi gasped for air, then remarked with some irony, "Damn, how utterly pathetic."

"Senior, you..."

"What? Are you feeling pity for an old man on the brink of death? Haha."

Chunyangzi didn’t question why such a significant wish was made. Instead, he continued clinking cups with Li Mo over a few bites of dry nuts.

The two refrained from discussing the upheavals of heaven and earth, instead delving into the mysteries of Sword Dao.

At the mention of Sword Dao, Chunyangzi regained his former radiance, even critiquing Yu Xiao, who was only half a step from ascension.

"Though I’ve never met Yu Xiao, she completely falters in the purity of her Sword Heart. Her deep mastery of the Thunder Attribute only makes Tribulation Crossing all the more perilous."

"Such a pity."

Chunyangzi picked up the wine jar, finding its lingering taste ever more satisfying.

Li Mo smiled faintly, then said, "Yu Xiao... she might not stop at being a Land Immortal. She may still have a chance to attain immortality."

"Is that so?"

Chunyangzi stroked his beard with a smile. Just as he was about to continue teasing Yu Xiao, his expression suddenly turned grave, his gaze fixed on the sky outside the cave.

Heaven’s Mouth opened once more, devouring the Taiyang with reckless abandon.

As all sixteen Taiyangs vanished, the mortal world plunged into a pitch-black eternal night. Heaven’s Mouth then began plucking stars, taking its time to gorge until sated.

Meanwhile, Li Mo noticed peculiar mountain ranges rising from the ground.

Shaped like ears.

The resurrected "Earth’s Ear" marked a new phase of madness in the upheaval of heaven and earth. Now that the heavens themselves had gained awareness, how could mere mortals survive?

"Had enough... had enough..."

Chunyangzi grabbed the long sword beside him and put on his straw hat again.

"Li Mo, if you don’t feel secure, refine the mountains into a small world. I plan to meet with my disciple, then I’ll return for you."

"Just as well, Senior Chunyangzi. I also have matters to handle."

"Let’s go, then."

Chunyangzi staggered to the cave entrance, swaying like a drunkard.

Witnessing this, Li Mo quickly rushed to assist, worried that Chunyangzi might be injured by the Gang Wind. Yet, what followed was Chunyangzi’s unrestrained laughter echoing from the cave’s exterior.

"Hahaha."

"Before calming the storms, how could this old man perish halfway?"

"Winds, COME!!!"

Gang Wind swirled around Chunyangzi’s body, parting the Cloud Sea to create a path. All manner of deceitful objects fled in terror, while the stars shimmered overhead.

"Be gone as well."

Bang.

Chunyangzi vanished in an instant.

Though bound to mortal flesh, he exuded an illusion of body sanctification.

"A true Immortal among mortals,"

Li Mo murmured as he watched Chunyangzi depart. Then, he summoned a massive swarm of Spider Sword Orbs, which poured into and around the mountain ranges, beginning the initial refining process.

The mountains themselves were not superior spiritual materials, but imbued with Chunyangzi’s grand wish, they were enough to shield him until the upheaval ended.

Li Mo secretly employed his Artifact Refining Divine Power, and magic artifact designs swiftly began to take form.

[True Void Hometown]

[Using the thousand-meter mountain range as the main material, reinforce it with a thousand catties of Sumeru Stone and layer it with Vajra Spirit Marrow powder to outline Spirit Patterns; only then can it be tempered into an artifact.]

Li Mo no longer resisted this damned "coincidence." The future could change, so there was no reason to reject everything outright.

With foreknowledge and discernment, he could turn chess pieces into strategy.

"It’s just the Twelve Immortals..."

With Chunyangzi’s Word-to-Law, the Lifeless Mother could be nurtured without relying on the Twelve Immortals. Yet Li Mo doubted that Zu Xiuyun would give up.

Even if she were told the truth, it would be futile. Zu Xiuyun was half a step from attaining immortality; giving up halfway was not in her nature.

Ascension was easy; enlightenment was hard.

"Forget it, I’ll complete refining the True Void Hometown first."

Li Mo focused on his artifact-crafting, weaving Spirit Patterns effortlessly. The mountains began to shrink in size, while the cave’s interior expanded.

With the Divine Sense of a Tribulation Crossing cultivator, failure was nearly impossible.

By the time the True Void Hometown had been refined into a High-Grade Magical Treasure, more than ten days had passed.

Li Mo floated above the Cloud Sea, the Cave God’s Eye scrutinizing the speck of micro dust at his fingertips. The treasure felt as though it would slip free at any moment.

"This is my first time refining a small world for exile into the Endless Void. Although it might not advance to a Spiritual Treasure, its safety lies in its location."

Moreover, the True Void Hometown would autonomously devour fragments of small worlds within the Endless Void, causing its space to gradually expand—just like the True Void Hometown of future eras.

Releasing his grip, Li Mo let the True Void Hometown fly to the Nine Heavens above.

After sensing Zu Xiuyun’s location through the Da Ai Mi Tian, he bowed and headed toward her.

......

At the same time.

On the official road to the Northwest, a carriage moved slowly.

The carriage blatantly carried eleven coffins. From the markings on their surfaces, one could tell their occupants had not been ordinary mortals.

Zu Xiuyun walked silently behind the coffins, while the coachman was Kong Yong.

"Senior Sister Zu Xiuyun, the Buddhist Sect shouldn’t have completely fallen yet. Wouldn’t going directly to Leiyin Temple be too abrupt?"

Kong Yong asked hesitantly.

He had been assigned by Li Mo to assist Zu Xiuyun. Over centuries of tomb-raiding, he had always addressed the Skillful Woman as Senior Sister. After her death, the second senior sister, Hu Teng, had succumbed to mutation and fallen into slumber.

Unknowingly, the pursuit of immortality had left only the two of them.

"It’s not abrupt."

"Leiyin Temple is already at the end of the road. They won’t refuse any lifeline. We will... we will certainly attain immortality."

Zu Xiuyun’s eyes turned red, her breath becoming heavy.

At the mere mention of immortality, Zu Xiuyun seemed on the verge of deviation.

Her obsession wasn’t just born from her mother’s early death. She also hoped to prove her worth to Li Mo through attaining immortality.

Kong Yong dared not say more. Zu Xiuyun had always acted too radically.

While she never directed killing intent at him, she was utterly merciless toward other factions.

What baffled Kong Yong most was that the more decisive and ruthless Zu Xiuyun became, the faster her cultivation advanced. Now, she had already reached the Body Integration Realm.

After centuries of arduous effort, he had only just entered the Nascent Soul Stage. Who knew how long it would take to reach the Void Refining Stage?

"Weilu, Ji Benggong, Back Shell, Six Taels of Yellow Lotus Powder..."

Zu Xiuyun began reciting the Twelve True Words again. Kong Yong tactfully slowed the horses, ensuring the carriage’s bumps wouldn’t disturb her.

Across the vast, sprawling grasslands, a few lanterns flickered in the distance.

Kong Yong gazed at the lights, seeing herders leading cattle and sheep to graze. Yet, since the sun had vanished, grass and trees had begun to wither.

"The Buddhist Sect’s methods are truly decisive, forcing herders onto the path of cultivation."

Kong Yong noticed the herders were imbued with faint traces of spiritual power. He marveled at how Buddhist practitioners could assist others into cultivation through Dharma Transmission, managing to forge a fragile sanctuary for themselves.

Of course, the Buddhist methods addressed symptoms, not causes. As long as the upheaval of heaven and earth persisted, destruction was inevitable.

"Hiss."

Suddenly, Kong Yong spotted a familiar figure chatting with the herders. From every angle, it looked undeniably like Li Mo.

"An immortal..."

Zu Xiuyun opened her eyes, her nose and mouth expelling blood mist in all directions.

"Senior Sister, stay calm!"

Kong Yong’s back felt icy as he worried he had mistaken someone for Li Mo, potentially provoking Zu Xiuyun into a frenzy.

"It’s me."

Li Mo traversed an inch yet reached eternity, appearing beside Zu Xiuyun. Using spiritual power, he stabilized her condition. Kong Yong promptly stopped the carriage.

"Immortal, I pay my respects."

Kong Yong prepared to kneel, but Li Mo used spiritual power to hold him upright.

Zu Xiuyun frantically adjusted her appearance—unkempt after a long time without bathing, her Daoist robe stained with blood.

"Zu Xiuyun."

"Disciple here. I await the immortal’s instructions."

Kong Yong had never seen Zu Xiuyun behave so courteously, and his eyelid twitched continuously.

Li Mo didn’t speak, his expression complex as his eyes passed over one corpse after another.

He knew that if he forced Zu Xiuyun to stop, she might comply, but the other senior sisters would forever lose any chance of resurrection.

"Zu Xiuyun, do you know the cost of failure?"

"I know—death and Dao’s dissolution."

Zu Xiuyun tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, then used her hairpin to gather her disheveled hair. Her eyes burned with inexpressible longing for immortality.

Li Mo parted his lips slightly.

Even though he knew Zu Xiuyun would inevitably fail, it seemed he had no right to extinguish the Twelve Immortals’ future.

After all, in later generations, it was Zu Xiuyun who demanded the Twelve Immortals carry their brethren to ascension. Li Mo alone could not dictate the Immortal Realm.

Those who gain the Dao have many allies; those who lose the Dao are left alone.

"Take this."

Li Mo touched his finger, and twelve True Void Hometown media entered the foreheads of the group.

"If things don’t work out, use True Void Hometown to escape. As long as you’re alive, there’s still hope for immortality."

Zu Xiuyun nodded slightly. Having a retreat did not dull her resolve.

"Kong Yong."

"Disciple here."

"I need you to go somewhere."

"Even if it’s a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, this disciple will have no hesitation."

Li Mo’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Ancestor Court?"

"Huh?!"

Kong Yong recalled what the Ancestor Court was—a liminal space between Immortal and mortal realms. To reach it required traversing the Nine Heavens without becoming lost in the Endless Void.

Li Mo gazed at Kong Yong, who clenched his teeth and said, "Ancestor Court it is."

"Kong Yong, I’ll grant you countless plant and tree spirits. Your task is to establish a Blessed Land Cave Heaven within the Ancestor Court over the span of ten thousand years."

"Ten thousand years... Can I even live that long?"

"You’ll live."

"But you must be cautious. The Ancestor Court harbors sleeping Incense Fire Immortals who smuggled themselves there. Hmm, if it comes to it, you can offer them your worship."

Kong Yong agreed to it all, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

Zu Xiuyun listened closely to Li Mo’s words, showing no inclination to seek his aid. She remained steadfast in attempting the Twelve True Words.

"Zu Xiuyun, as long as you’re certain."

"Yes."

"Kong Yong, come with me. From here on, Zu Xiuyun must walk her path alone."

"Wait, take this for safekeeping."

Zu Xiuyun called to Kong Yong, then removed her hairpin and handed it to him before driving her carriage westward without looking back.

The elevated terrain of the Northwest made the official road appear as though it led straight into the heavens.