The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 407: Chapter 407 Eight Pains Poison Insect_1

Shen Mo’s voice echoed incessantly within the Treasure Hall.

But Yuan Chengshan did not respond. His jovial laughter never wavered, and his gaze never shifted as he watched them. Not even the slightest ripple disturbed his demeanor!

”Junior Brother Shen, look over there!”

Jiang Lingfeng pointed to a corner. Following her direction, Shen Mo saw the Hanged Ghost Demon Soul General, also seated on a smaller lotus throne.

Its robe, originally formed from chaotic Turbid Qi, was slowly morphing, gradually resembling the cassocks worn by everyone inside the hall.

Its features had also changed somewhat. Despite its tongue hanging far out, a peaceful smile spread across its face.

The original dullness in its eyes was replaced with a glimmering light of awareness, slowly turning towards Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng.

”Hall Master Yuan... I am afraid things are not looking good for him,” Shen Mo whispered, then, propping up the Green Cloud Umbrella, he slowly retreated. ”Senior Sister Jiang, do not go inside the hall. Let’s get out of here!”

Jiang Lingfeng nodded lightly, her face filled with caution as she also withdrew.

At that moment, over a hundred figures within the hall simultaneously broke into laughter, including Yuan Chengshan and the Demon Soul General who had recently taken a seat on the lotus throne.

Accompanied by the loud guffaws, Gold Black Beetles, glowing with gold and mottled with black, crawled out of their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses. They spread their wings and flew towards Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng.

”BUZZ!”

”BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ!”

In the blink of an eye, Gold Black Beetles filled the entire Treasure Hall, covering the sky and earth like a swarm of locusts, too numerous to count!

Seeing this, Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng did not hesitate and ran downhill.

However, these Gold Black Beetles were astonishingly fast, comparable to the magic unleashed by a Spirit Sea Realm Cultivator.

”Run!”

Shen Mo bellowed, twirling the Green Cloud Umbrella rapidly in his hands, reducing large clusters of beetles to specks of light.

The beetles seemed to lack a physical form. They turned into specks of light before fading away almost instantly. The sensation they elicited in Shen Mo was both unfamiliar yet somewhat reminiscent, seemingly a hybrid of the Buddhist Skill, Uncommon Victory, and demonic primality.

”Senior Sister Jiang, how much do you know about Buddhist cultivators?” Shen Mo hastily asked, still twirling the Green Cloud Umbrella and smashing clusters of Gold Black Beetles.

”SWISH!”

”SWISH!”

”SWISH!”

Jiang Lingfeng skillfully waved her Demon Slaying Sword, cutting down a hundred beetles that had gotten too close, then quickly answered, ”The sect’s ancient texts do not record much about Buddhist cultivators.”

”I have yet to encounter any in my travels in the Red Flame Country!”

”However, I do know that they likely originated from the Extreme West Land.”

”Ever since an unknown entity turned the West into a Spiritless Land two thousand years ago, very few Buddhist cultivators have journeyed eastward...”

She did not know much more about Buddhist cultivators than Shen Mo did.

If the ancient texts are correct, then this temple-like structure and the Suspended Immortal Mountain have probably existed in this sea region for more than two thousand years.

Just knowing this is of no use. Shen Mo rapidly came to a conclusion after remembering a detail he had unconsciously overlooked.

When I was killing the beetles with my Green Cloud Umbrella, I clearly felt the enhancement provided by my Destiny, Uncommon Victory.

Moreover, this particular Destiny targets evil spirits and Heavenly Demons... In other words, these beetles likely belong to this type of existence too, not purely a Buddhist technique.

While he was frantically thinking of a plan, a Gold Black Beetle managed to burrow into Jiang Lingfeng’s ear before she could cut it down.

The next moment, Shen Mo watched as her body immediately stiffened.

Meanwhile, golden brilliance gushed from her seven apertures—her mouth, nose, and ears—within which a trace of inauspicious black light also appeared!

This is bad! Shen Mo thought with alarm. He had more or less hypothesized the consequences of the Gold Black Beetles entering a body.

There is a high chance that she will become a being similar to the numerous creatures in the hall. Whether they are living or dead is uncertain, but she definitely will not be able to leave this palace in her lifetime!

But now, let alone aiding Senior Sister Jiang, he himself was like a clay idol trying to cross a river—barely able to save himself.

The endless golden beetles were inexhaustible, no matter how many he killed or swatted away. After only a few more breaths of resistance, a beetle flew into Shen Mo’s eye.

「...」

In a shabby, four-walled thatched cottage, a young man with disheveled hair and a filthy face, reeking of a foul stench, lay on a broken bed board. For as long as he could remember, he had been plagued by countless illnesses.

Typhoid, common colds, venomous sores, dysentery, consumption, smallpox... He had suffered nearly every ailment a mortal could experience. Some had healed, while others still clung to him.

Being bedridden for years, constantly surrounded by medicines, had pushed his body and mental power to the brink of collapse.

”COUGH, COUGH!”

The young man coughed violently, hacking up murky phlegm mixed with streaks of blood.

Am I... dying? The young man was jolted awake by his coughing. He wanted to reach for the dirty, broken medicine bowl on the ground, but he could not lift his arm.

Just as he closed his eyes, preparing to give up, a mysterious panel recording various destinies appeared before him.

”Destinied Lord: Shen Mo... Who is Shen Mo?”

Oh, that seems to be me.

Wait! I am Shen Mo!

In an instant, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck the young man’s mind, cleaving through the fog and confusion within!

Subsequently, Shen Mo exhausted all his strength. With willpower far exceeding that of an ordinary person, he struggled up from the broken bed board, kicked over the dirty, broken medicine bowl, and cursed, ”I am a cultivator at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, with a robust vitality and a long lifespan! I have mastered various disaster-avoidance techniques and am augmented by numerous extraordinary Skills! How could I have nearly died of illness here?”

The next instant, the ”Flawless” Skill activated, and the various afflictions vanished as if snow under a blazing sun, instantly disappearing without a trace.

His originally ulcerated skin and decaying flesh also returned to their previous peak state.

The moment the medicine bowl was kicked over, Shen Mo’s vision went black, and he once again fell into a dazed state.

One snap of the fingers contained twenty instants, and each instant contained twenty thoughts.

One thought, he was still a patient on the verge of death in his sickbed; the next, Shen Mo had become an old man in his seventies or eighties.

His vision was blurred, his hair was gray, and his teeth were loose.

His body was in severe decline. The old injuries and ailments accumulated from past labors tormented him, making life unbearable.

Just as he was feeling disheartened and despondent, he closed his eyes and once again saw the brightly shining panel in his mind!

In an instant, Shen Mo was jolted awake once more.

「...」

Soon, Shen Mo began to experience a series of numerous tribulations.

At times, he became an infant, enduring the ten-month confinement of the womb, only to cry out from the biting cold on his tender skin upon entering the world. At other times, he became a devoted lover, suffering the grief of losing his wife and children successively. Then, he would be a dying man, unable to cry out, experiencing the profound terror of his consciousness slowly fading...

The suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death; the pain of separation from loved ones; the anguish of unattainable desires; the torment of encountering enemies; the raging of the five skandhas—these and many other tribulations were inflicted upon him. If he failed to overcome even one, he would be lost to them forever.

Thankfully, he had the Destiny Panel as his Anchor Point, firmly tethering him to reality. His willpower was also extraordinary, preventing his gnosis from being eroded by these numerous tribulations.

Outside the Suspended Immortal Mountain and the nameless Treasure Hall.

Only a snap of the fingers had passed in time. Shen Mo’s body suddenly trembled, and the golden light tinged with black emanating from his seven apertures instantly receded.