Li Mo stepped into the warehouse.
Due to the spiritual tablet at his waist, not a single guard tried to block his way.
Although several cultivators eyed Li Mo, they seemed intimidated by something unknown, instinctively keeping their distance.
Li Mo glanced around the warehouse and noticed that all the windows were sealed shut with wooden boards. Fortunately, lamp sconces hung along the walls, dispelling much of the darkness.
The warehouse held dozens of wooden shelves, packed densely with a dazzling array of goods.
The distinct smell of mildew permeated the air.
Li Mo saw numerous cultivators moving through the warehouse. Their expressions carried an indescribable tension, and occasionally they exchanged cautious glances.
This only made Li Mo more certain of his suspicions.
The warehouse was a massive trap set by the pawn shop. Most cultivators were unaware of what fiendish horrors they were actually dealing with.
Li Mo carefully observed the cultivators, picking up ever more details.
Every ten meters or so, there was invariably a cultivator proficient in Eye Magic.
They bore obvious traits related to their eyes—like exposed scleras with no iris, hollow, decayed eye sockets, or pupils dimly glowing with a faint light.
The cultivators specializing in Eye Techniques were clearly responsible for surveillance. Their strategically spaced positions formed a protective perimeter both inside and outside the warehouse.
What seemed like aimless wandering was, in reality, methodical movement. None of them ever left the visual range of their peers.
Within this layered perimeter stood a dozen or so cultivators whose bodies were horrifyingly deformed.
Their skeletal structures showed varying degrees of grotesque twisting, as though forcibly snapped and healed at unnatural angles.
Li Mo felt an inexplicable dread; a chilling sensation raced down his spine.
Most of the cultivators had no idea what was truly happening in the pawn shop—they only recognized the danger in the warehouse and left hurriedly after completing their exchanges.
The remaining cultivators appeared resolved to stay in the warehouse until the massive trap ensnared its prey.
Li Mo dared not think too much; his heart was racing wildly. If not for his leakless body, his clothes might have already been drenched in sweat.
His priority now was to acquire Beast Blood and leave the warehouse before nightfall, waiting anxiously for the pawn shop's next move.
Li Mo browsed the wooden shelves, searching for Beast Blood.
The shelves held a considerable amount of ancient calligraphy and paintings, crafted with special materials that reacted faintly to spiritual power.
Clearly, these ancient works were nascent Magic Artifacts.
Raw spiritual materials were also present. Li Mo even spotted Yin Ink Sticks distributed back at the Calligraphy and Painting Hall, their label marked with the three characters "Yin Ink Stick."
Li Mo's head buzzed slightly; interacting with these spiritual materials triggered an influx of memories from the Creation Book. It revealed that seven thousand years ago, similar materials had existed in the Cultivation World.
The Yin Ink Stick was made by injecting ink into the stomachs of corpses, where it solidified alongside coagulated blood.
Thus, it was a particularly sinister material used in the ways of the Demon Path, suited to ancillary and forbidden practices of cultivation.
Overall, the warehouse contained all sorts of spiritual materials, but most catered to Childhood Cultivators, with high-quality materials nowhere to be found.
After absorbing the memories, Li Mo noticed a cultivator covertly observing him.
He turned his head, only to see an exceptionally tall and obese Daoist—over two meters in height—whose footsteps caused the floor tiles to tremble faintly.
Li Mo instantly recognized this man—it was Jin Li, whom he had met previously at Miao Shou Inn.
At the time, Jin Li had been seeking to cultivate a spell called Protective Marvel. His back had been sliced open, and Han Cai was the one to implant Qian Qiuzi into him.
In less than a year, the Protective Marvel had already shown its effects.
Jin Li had grown at least forty centimeters taller, and instead of becoming gaunt, his body had filled out with solid muscle, exuding raw power.
Li Mo exchanged a nod with Jin Li and proceeded to the northwest corner of the shelves.
There, in the corner, he found the Beast Blood. He had thought the pawn shop might have prohibited anything related to beasts due to their innate threat.
The Beast Blood was stored in ceramic bottles, with one bottle likely sufficient for Li Mo to paint twice.
Unfortunately, though the ceramic bottles had been minimally refined, they were not on par with Liu Li jars. As a result, the Beast Blood inside was slightly stale.
Thankfully, according to Hui Qingyi's description, the required quality of Beast Blood wasn't particularly high.
Li Mo picked up a ceramic bottle and noticed it had a label detailing the blood's origin.
The Beast Blood mostly came from cattle and sheep, mixed with traces of wild beasts' blood. However, it contained no Mountain Lord Blood—only that of black bears, leopards, and foxes.
Li Mo gave the Beast Blood a quick scan, his gaze finally settling on the Fox Blood.
Hui Qingyi's method allowed the creation of a total of seven tattoos. Two of these housed beast-themed tattoos, while the remaining ones were beyond the scope of a Childhood Cultivator.
Li Mo wasn't disappointed to find no Mountain Lord Blood.
On one hand, Steward Hu's concerns had to be considered. On the other hand, in the process of painting the Hundred Beasts Map, Li Mo discovered that replicating Mountain Lord and Fox figures was significantly easier—they carried a natural essence within the strokes.
Li Mo picked up the Fox Blood and approached the counter at the warehouse's entrance.
Behind the counter sat an elderly woman, who looked over a hundred years old. Her cloudy eyes and sinuous hands gripping a cane revealed exposed white bones.
Li Mo quickly recognized her—Manager Sun of the Ceramic Hall. It seemed that due to the dire circumstances, she was personally stationed here.
She murmured indistinctly, "See no evil, hear no evil…"
"Excuse me, how can I purchase Fox Blood?"
"One Low Grade Spirit Stone per bottle."
Li Mo raised an eyebrow. Even ordinary Beast Blood required Spirit Stones for purchase.
Old Lady Sun muttered, "Only three or four drops are needed to sculpt a statue. The Beast Blood comes from Xinji Ridge, two hundred miles away—it's not cheap."
Li Mo placed two crystals on the counter in front of her.
"What do you think…"
Old Lady Sun fumbled to pick up the crystals, sighing helplessly, "They may be spirit stones, but their quality doesn't even reach Low Grade Spirit Stones."
"Fine, two pieces of broken spirit stones barely suffice for one Low Grade Spirit Stone. Off you go, off you go."
"Thank you, Granny. May I ask—is something happening in the pawn shop recently?"
Old Lady Sun pocketed the spirit stones and stared at Li Mo with her cloudy eyes before responding, "Sigh, what do you know?"
"I know nothing."
"Good. Not knowing is best. Just don't leave the pawn shop—Rong Town isn't safe. Stay hidden, and you'll be fine."
Old Lady Sun closed her eyes and sank into a deep slumber.
Li Mo hesitated for several moments. Why was the pawn shop deliberately concealing information, and how had those grotesque injuries occurred?
He stepped out of the warehouse, squinting up at the sun.
On his way back to the inner chambers, Li Mo noticed cultivators converging on buildings closer to the warehouse.
He stopped mid-step.
The warehouse was evidently a trap designed to lure prey. Although this made it perilous within, it also concentrated a large number of cultivators.
If trouble arose, staying nearby could indeed offer some mobility and tactical advantage.
Li Mo turned and headed toward the Calligraphy and Painting Hall, even though it was only a five-minute walk.
The Calligraphy and Painting Hall was eerily empty, though its chambers housed numerous apprentices. They seemingly had been warned beforehand and were holed up in their rooms, too frightened to move.
Li Mo returned to his familiar room; the furnishings remained unchanged.
Unnoticed, Li Mo began to feel an intense itch throughout his body, a sign that the second layer of human skin was about to fully form, and his old skin had become increasingly resilient.