Celestial Taoist

Chapter 10 The World of Heavenly Punishment

Li Mofan responded and followed the two towards the back door of the martial arts school. As soon as they reached the back door, Master Xuan raised his hand and waved, a pale blue light suddenly appearing, enveloping the three of them like a thin veil. Before Li Mofan could react, his body lightly rose into the air, the wind whistling in his ears, the surrounding scenery rushing past. In just over ten minutes, the light slowly descended, stopping in a deserted valley.

Deep in the valley stood a marble building, its walls covered in vines. Without careful observation, one would hardly notice its presence. Master Xuan withdrew his escape light and led the way towards the building. Zhao Qiankun gestured for Li Mofan to follow, his tone still gentle: "Mofan, this is the entrance to the advanced cultivation area. Once inside, do not touch anything."

Li Mofan's vigilance rose again, and he followed the two into the building. The room was dark and damp, filled with an old smell. In the center stood a doorway about half a person's height, emitting an eerie dark purple halo. As the halo shifted, a blurry shadow could be vaguely seen behind the door.

"This is... the entrance to the advanced cultivation grounds?" Li Mofan couldn't help but ask, his voice tinged with hesitation.

Mr. Xuan nodded slightly, offering no further explanation. Zhao Qiankun stepped forward, patted Li Mofan on the shoulder, and said with concern, "Mofan, there's too much supernatural power in this cultivation place, making it difficult for signals to pass through. Call home first to let them know, so they won't worry."

Upon hearing this, Li Mofan felt a warmth in his heart, thinking he was just overthinking things. He took out his phone and dialed home. The moment the call connected, his mother's familiar voice came through, full of concern as she inquired about the martial arts school and told him to take care of himself.

"Mom, I'm fine," Li Mofan said with a smile. "I got a great job opportunity and I have to go on a business trip to a place for a while. There's no signal there, so I might not be able to call you often. You and Dad take good care of yourselves and don't worry about me."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mofan suddenly felt a strange unease. He turned to look at Mr. Xuan and Zhao Qiankun, only to see that their eyes were full of expectation.

"I think I'm not going. The Fierce Wind Martial Arts Academy is fine too." Li Mofan's heart sank, and he turned to run out.

But his speed was ultimately no match for Mr. Xuan. Mr. Xuan's figure blurred, and he appeared behind him. With a light tap of his fingertip, a domineering energy instantly surged into Li Mofan's body. Li Mofan felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and his vision went black.

In his final moments before losing consciousness, he saw Mr. Xuan raise his hand and push his body towards the dark purple portal of light. His body was enveloped by the portal's halo and rapidly swallowed up, while Zhao Qiankun stood there, staring at the portal with a complex expression, and said in a low voice, "It's safer to send these ability users to the Heavenly Punishment World. Keeping them here poses too great a threat."

Mr. Xuan slowly turned around: "Although you lack talent, our Tianfa world welcomes talents like you."

"No, I think this place suits me quite well..."

The dark purple light gate slowly withdrew its glow and returned to calm, as if no one had ever stepped into it.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Mofan slowly opened his eyes. The blinding pale golden light made him squint instinctively. A dry, stinging pain shot through his throat, and his entire body felt as if it were being burned by fire—a mix of soreness and numbness, making even moving a finger difficult. He struggled to turn his neck and found himself lying on a cold metal platform, enveloped in a pale blue energy shield. The shield swirled slowly, emanating a gentle yet domineering aura.

This was a spacious stone chamber with walls made of dark stone. In one corner were several instruments that emitted a faint blue light. The pointers on the instruments kept jumping and made a soft "beep" sound. There was a faint metallic smell in the air.

A cold, mechanical voice rang out, devoid of any emotional fluctuation: "The body modification is 30% complete. Do not struggle, or the modification will fail, and you will explode and die."

Li Mofan's heart tightened. He tried to struggle to get up, but found his body firmly fixed to a metal platform, unable to move, only his consciousness remained clear. A warm energy was seeping into his body through the light shield, slowly flowing through his meridians. Wherever it passed, the soreness from being knocked unconscious and teleported gradually dissipated, only to be replaced by a sharp, stabbing pain. That energy was forcibly tearing apart his meridians, reshaping his bones, and transforming his physique.

"What...what exactly do you want?" Li Mofan gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse, regret and anger intertwined in his heart. He finally understood that the so-called "advanced cultivation ground" was nothing but a scam.

The mechanical voice remained cold: "The energy concentration of the Heavenly Punishment World far exceeds that of your original world. Your body cannot withstand the energy impact and you must undergo physical modification. After the modification is completed, you will become a novice talent in the Heavenly Punishment World."

As soon as he finished speaking, the instrument in the corner suddenly emitted a series of rapid beeps. The pale blue light shield instantly intensified, and the energy surging into his body became even more domineering. Li Mofan shuddered, and excruciating pain instantly swept through his body, as if countless steel needles were piercing his meridians, or as if raging fire was scorching his bones. He couldn't help but groan, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat, and his vision began to blur. "Damn it, they didn't even give me anesthesia," Li Mofan complained one last time before passing out.

After an unknown amount of time in his unconscious state, Li Mofan was awakened by a slight stinging pain. This time, the pain was no longer the excruciating agony of tearing his meridians, but rather like a mosquito bite, concentrated between his eyebrows—sharp yet still bearable. He slowly opened his eyes; the pale golden light had softened considerably, and the burning and aching sensations within his body had lessened by more than half. However, his entire body remained weak and sore, still enveloped in a pale blue energy shield, rendering him unable to move.

He struggled to move his eyes and found that the instruments in the stone chamber were still running, the soft "beep" sound still clear. However, the instruments, which had originally emitted a faint blue light, were now projecting several thin, pale silver beams of light, precisely converging on his brow. The moment the beams touched his brow, the stinging pain intensified abruptly, as if a tiny metal chip was being forcibly embedded into his skull. The icy sensation spread from his brow to his entire brain, making him shiver involuntarily.

"Body modification is 70% complete. Initiating the optical brain implantation program. Do not resist during the implantation process, otherwise it will cause brain tissue damage and turn you into a cripple." The cold, mechanical voice sounded again, with a more mechanical command feel than before, without any emotion.

"A quantum computer? What is that?" Li Mofan's heart tightened, and the stinging sensation between his eyebrows became more and more intense. He could clearly feel a tiny foreign object slowly drilling into his forehead. Accompanied by a tingling sensation, countless unfamiliar streams of information flooded into his mind like a tide, chaotic and disordered, making his head buzz as if it were about to be split open.

After a few minutes.

The stinging sensation between his brows gradually subsided, replaced by a strange sense of connection, as if his brain had established some invisible link with the instruments in the stone chamber. He could clearly perceive the fluctuating pointers on the instruments and hear the subtle hum of the quantum computer activating. He subconsciously focused his mind, and a pale blue virtual interface instantly appeared in his mind, filled with unfamiliar characters and symbols. The quantum computer automatically translated them in his mind, and he understood them at a glance:

The initial optical brain implantation was successful, binding to the host Li Mofan.

Talent: Taoist

Spirituality: Max level

Qi and blood: 86

Spiritual power: 30

Attack: 38

Defense: 42

Agility: 35

[Basic access to renovation permissions; can view renovation progress]