The so-called "simulation" refers to replicating the true essence of a beast head tattoo by implanting beast hair, teeth, and eyeballs directly onto the skin.
It seems easy in theory, but its execution requires meticulous control down to the finest detail.
"Blood Drenching," on the other hand, involves bathing the beast head tattoo in the fresh blood of its kin, which can trigger transformation, though the effects are notably subtle.
Deceit Beast blood could also serve for Blood Drenching, but doing so would amplify the feral nature of the beast head tattoo, leading to inevitable backlash upon Li Mo if prolonged.
Li Mo left the storeroom. The exchanged Beast Blood would suffice for Blood Drenching for over half a month. He decided to observe the development of the beast head tattoo for now.
He could feel the limitations in cultivating Hui Qingyi.
In the surrounding two hundred miles of Rong Town, the wild beasts seemed to undergo an inexplicable mutation, forcing even cultivators to hunt in Xinji Ridge.
This had resulted in materials related to beasts becoming absurdly expensive to exchange for.
Li Mo knew of a black market where loose cultivators gathered outside of Rong Town. He planned to engage with it after promoting to the Second Layer of Puberty.
He left the pawn shop straightaway and, while it was still early, headed toward the Medical Hall.
The streets were bustling with people. On the surface, the atmosphere appeared lively, but as dusk approached, the townsfolk would immediately retreat to their homes, bolting doors and windows shut tightly.
No matter how many Deceit Beasts were hunted down by cultivators, the surviving ones—though devoid of Spiritual Wisdom—developed a cunning born of instinctual vigilance.
When Li Mo arrived at the Medical Hall, he found the main hall crowded with over a hundred people.
Most of the townsfolk seeking treatment were afflicted with external injuries caused by the Death Disease, but among them, a dozen or so cases stood out as peculiar.
These individuals inexplicably grew multiple additional arms.
The arms protruded from their joints, entirely beyond their control, and could only be surgically removed by the doctors amidst incessant cries of agony from the consultation room in the back.
"True People, may I ask what brings you to our Medical Hall?"
A clerk approached, using a towel to wipe the dust from Li Mo's robe.
Li Mo did not conceal his Mist Fog Spiritual Power. Even ordinary people could easily identify him as a cultivator since such status was universally respected.
"What's their condition?"
"True People, it's a case of Multiple Limb Syndrome caused by demons—a recent bizarre occurrence, though it does not threaten the lives of the afflicted."
Li Mo nodded thoughtfully.
However, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was not as simple as a case of Deceit Beasts. The sight of those arms was akin to parasitic maggots burrowing into flesh and bones.
"Please inquire with Doctor Han if there are any basic medical texts related to Universal Skillful Hand. You may say it's a request from his junior, Li Mo."
At the mention of Doctor Han, the clerk's expression hesitated, but he eventually mustered his courage and headed toward the backyard.
As he waited, Li Mo couldn't resist observing the patients with Multiple Limb Syndrome.
He noticed that their skin had turned a dark gray hue, their eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and their gums blackened—symptoms reminiscent of heavy metal poisoning.
An immortal body should theoretically be immune to all diseases, so the patients' conditions appeared particularly bizarre.
A short while later, the clerk hurried back to the main hall and respectfully handed a Bone Scroll to Li Mo.
Li Mo had expected to pay some Spirit Stones but was surprised when the clerk mentioned nothing about compensation, hinting that Han Cai did not value the Universal Skillful Hand medical skills highly.
On his way back to the inner chamber, Li Mo absorbed the contents of the Bone Scroll.
The medical text documented various techniques related to Universal Skillful Hand, focusing primarily on skin and flesh surgery. For Li Mo, this was more than sufficient.
Simulation only targeted the skin where the beast head tattoo was located, avoiding involvement with deeper layers like flesh and bones.
Returning to his inner chamber, Li Mo immediately unveiled the fifth page of the Creation Book, where a blank page manifested a dark red phantom of a heart.
The heart imprint was successfully engraved.
"Mm…"
He clutched his chest suddenly, as his heartbeat grew painfully laborious, as if to siphon all the blood from his body.
Li Mo knew that enduring suffering was a necessary part of nurturing Divine Skills.
Resolutely, he began experimenting on his own arm with Universal Skillful Hand, practicing surgical techniques as a training template.
By the time the heart transformation was completed, ten days had passed unknowingly.
The heart had doubled in size, with its internal and external blood vessels becoming more intricate, though the heartbeat frequency remained unaffected by the engraving.
However, as blood circulated through the heart, it became noticeably thicker and more viscous.
The awakened Divine Skill of the heart was named [Green Blood and Red Heart].
Green Blood and Red Heart could refine blood, transforming it into a mercury-like substance that indirectly influenced flesh and bones, thereby enhancing physical attributes.
Li Mo realized that with the foundations of Green Blood and Red Heart paired with his Multi-layered Dantian, his future cultivation path would inevitably become much smoother.
The only uncertainty was whether Spirit Root Transformation of the heart would affect Green Blood and Red Heart.
From his Storage Bag, Li Mo retrieved the draft sketch of the Tiger Head Tattoo he had prepared during previous secluded cultivation sessions without neglecting his drawing practice.
Though he had hit a bottleneck in his artistic skills, he continued practicing every few days without fail.
This time, without using charcoal lines, he ground tiger blood into ink and used Magic Finger to directly outline the tiger head on his right upper arm.
The Red Fox Tattoo bared its fangs and claws as if sensing the growing threat from the Tiger Head Tattoo.
Li Mo ignored the Red Fox Tattoo. Within just ten minutes, he had completed most of the tiger head, resulting in an immediate shift in his aura.
A suffocating beastly presence enveloped the entire room. If anyone had been present, they would likely have collapsed to the ground in sheer terror.
As the Tiger Head Tattoo absorbed Mist Fog Spiritual Power, a ferocious tiger with white-eyed, slant-eyed markings began to materialize.
Li Mo summoned the tattooed tiger beast.
His body appeared slightly withered, and Mist Fog shrouded a ten-meter radius, revealing a black-and-white mountain lord crouching in the shadows with a predatory glance.
The dark golden beast pupils seemed capable of devouring one's soul.
The Red Fox leaned toward the Fire Attribute, passively absorbing fire attribute Spiritual Energy from the air to strengthen itself, and its attacks carried an additional burning effect.
The Ghost Tiger leaned toward the Yin Attribute, and from its very moment of birth, Yin Spiritual Power flowed into it. Its means were more discreet, able to hide in silence.
Li Mo inspected his physical state.
Even while simultaneously sustaining two tattooed beasts, he estimated that the burden occupied at most thirty percent of his blood and spiritual power—well within his tolerance.
Compared to two years ago when he first cultivated Hui Qingyi, the process was undoubtedly far easier now.
If he were to fully exhaust his blood and spiritual power, the tattooed beasts might even grow to a height of five meters.
Li Mo was satisfied as he withdrew the Ghost Tiger while retrieving more Beast Blood from his Storage Bag.
He poured the Beast Blood over the tattoos as the Red Fox and Ghost Tiger devoured it greedily, their hues visibly deepening as the tattoos transformed.
A single bottle of Beast Blood would be sufficient for the tattooed beasts to digest over the following days.
Li Mo did not stop; he immediately prepared to attempt simulation by implanting beast hair onto the surface of the beast head tattoos to augment their potential.
However, he was not confident in succeeding, as simulation required linking the beast hair to the capillaries beneath the skin.
Li Mo hadn't anticipated a seamless process, so he cautiously picked up a tiger hair and pierced it beneath his skin, aiming to locate a capillary.
Yet, as the tiger hair approached a capillary, the Ghost Tiger Tattoo actively guided the process, causing the simulated hair implantation to progress smoothly.
Li Mo then spread a beast skin across his desk.
With increasing speed, his Magic Finger repeatedly rose and fell, gradually covering the beast head tattoo in tiger hair. The Ghost Tiger grew ever more lifelike.
Once the tiger hair implantation was complete, Li Mo moved on to the Red Fox Tattoo's beast hair. When finished, he collapsed onto his bed, snoring thunderously as he fell into deep sleep.
The beast head tattoos began to undergo a gradual transformation.
While the improvement in spell power was not immediately evident, the beast head tattoos' rate of absorbing external Spiritual Energy had increased by at least fifty percent.