I Don't Understand a Single Word!

Early the next morning.

After breakfast, Lin Mo did not return to his Small Courtyard. Instead, he took Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe straight to their new home.

Like the old courtyard, their new home was on Spirit Plant Peak, but it was nearly three times as large. The backyard alone covered more than a mu of land.

Under Wang Qiuru's instructions, the Servant Disciples had long since cleaned the place, leaving not the slightest trace of its former owner.

There were several more rooms, too. Aside from the main hall and four bedrooms, there was a side room to both the east and west, stocked with tools commonly used by Spirit Plant Farmers.

"Finally, everything's in place!"

It was not until noon that Lin Mo finally finished setting up his Private Field again.

Two mutated fire spirit fruit plants, twenty ordinary fire spirit fruit plants, twenty golden coin grass plants, and fifteen spirit rice plants-all had been watered with gourd spirit spring water, two drops apiece!

With no shortage of spirit liquid on hand, Lin Mo naturally would not stint on these spirit plants, though he did not expect all of them to mutate.

Based on the patterns he had worked out before, at least one or two of these spirit plants should mutate. If none did, he would simply try again next time. The number of mutated spirit plants would surely keep growing.

"Time to set up the formation."

Although this was his first time setting up a formation, Lin Mo had long since learned the setup instructions for the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation by heart.

In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, all two hundred and eighty spirit stones had been buried underground, each corresponding to a formation base position.

The Formation Disc engraved with formation patterns was also buried at the formation eye's position. Lin Mo then stirred the spiritual energy in his dantian and carefully poured it into the formation eye.

Hum!

A faint sound rang out.

An almost imperceptible, peculiar fluctuation spread from the ground beneath Lin Mo's feet, instantly covering an area of one mu.

Of course, the Formation Range was not limited to such a small area. If Lin Mo wished, he could extend its coverage to ten li, the limit of all ninth-rank upper-tier formations.

But the backyard was only so large. Expanding the Formation Range would serve no purpose and would only make the formation's presence easier to detect. Naturally, Lin Mo would do nothing so foolish.

"With this formation, even if I have to go down the mountain someday, I won't have to worry about anyone discovering these spirit plants."

With the formation complete, the great stone weighing on Lin Mo's heart finally settled to the ground. He carefully inspected the growth of all fifty-seven spirit plants, then returned to the main hall in satisfaction.

Qin Sang Sang had already gone to the Spirit Field to tend those pitiful ordinary spirit plants for Lin Mo. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaohe was excitedly exploring the new home she shared with her brother, its novelty clearly yet to wear off.

"That girl..."

Without disturbing Lin Xiaohe, Lin Mo shook his head with a smile and went straight back to his bedroom, ready to continue cultivating.

Unexpectedly, he had barely sat cross-legged and had not even begun circulating the Evergreen Art when Wang Qiuru's voice came from outside the courtyard gate. "Lin Mo, are you here? Elder Gou of Spirit Beast Peak has sent someone to see you!"

Hmm?

Lin Mo paused briefly, then immediately got off the bed. He told Lin Xiaohe to stay in her room before heading out through the courtyard gate himself.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw the unfamiliar man beside Wang Qiuru.

Although he had never seen this man's face from the front, Lin Mo's heart sank, and he instantly guessed who he was.

The cloaked young man who followed me from the Black Market that night!

"This is Xun Bin, Elder Gou's only direct disciple."

Wang Qiuru was clearly quite wary of Elder Gou. She discreetly winked at Lin Mo. "Among the thirty-six Outer Elders, Elder Gou ranks sixth, but his strength could put him in first place."

"If he sent Xun Bin to see you, it must be important. Be sure not to take it lightly."

Despite her words, she was not actually worried that Lin Mo might offend Elder Gou.

A special constitution was no laughing matter!

Only the Sect Master and a very few Inner Sect elders knew the truth about Lin Mo. A mere Outer Elder was not even qualified to learn of it!

"Sorry for the trouble of showing me the way, Steward Wang. I would like to discuss the rest with Junior Brother Lin in private."

Smiling, Xun Bin cupped his hands and directly gave Wang Qiuru her marching orders.

Wang Qiuru was not afraid of Xun Bin, but she was wary of Elder Gou, who stood behind him. She gave Lin Mo another meaningful look, then turned and left.

Lin Mo's heart could not help sinking.

He had no relationship whatsoever with Elder Gou. If his guess was right, word of the mutated fire spirit fruit he had brought out at the Black Market had probably already reached Elder Gou's ears!

"Junior Brother Lin, we meet again."

Once Wang Qiuru had walked away, Xun Bin turned back to Lin Mo with a cheerful smile. "Well? Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat? Surely you don't mean for us to stand here talking?"

Lin Mo was extremely guarded inwardly, but his expression betrayed nothing. Cupping his hands, he said, "Normally, I certainly ought to invite you inside, Senior Brother. Unfortunately, I've only just moved and haven't finished tidying up. It's rather inconvenient, so please forgive me."

Xun Bin also knew that Lin Mo had moved today and thought nothing of it.

He glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then smiled. "Before coming here, I made inquiries in several places. I know that you haven't formally taken a master yet, Junior Brother Lin. You're merely an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple."

"So whose hands produced the mutated fire spirit fruit you brought out at the Black Market?"

"Or perhaps..."

At this point, he stared into Lin Mo's eyes, his own suddenly narrowing as his voice dropped. "The one who cultivated that mutated fire spirit fruit was you yourself, Junior Brother Lin!"

Boom!

Lin Mo's heart jolted, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes involuntarily twitched several times.

That tiny change clearly did not escape Xun Bin's notice.

The solemn look on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a smug smile that said, "Just as I thought." "Let's speak openly rather than hide our words in the shadows. Although you haven't admitted it, Junior Brother Lin, I've already guessed the truth."

"You needn't worry, either. My master and I bear you no ill will. When he learned of your skill at cultivating spirit plants, he came to appreciate your talent, so he sent me here especially."

"As long as you're willing, Junior Brother Lin, I'll go to the Sect Affairs Office immediately and have your status changed."

"From then on, we'll be fellow disciples under the same master. As for Master, he..."

Lin Mo did not take in a single word that followed. He was rapidly analyzing Elder Gou's true intentions.

Taking an Outer Elder as one's master-and the strongest Outer Elder at that-could be called flying onto a branch and becoming a phoenix for an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple. Naturally, it was an opportunity they could only dream of.

But he was different.

With the Treasure Gourd in hand, even with the worst five-spirit root, he was confident he could reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. He even had a chance of becoming an Inner Sect elder. His future was boundless.

More importantly, how could he cultivate his spirit plants right under Elder Gou's nose?

Even if he cultivated mutated spirit plants, Elder Gou would surely seize them by force. He would be reduced to a mere tool, never to see the day he could rise above his lot!

"I'm overwhelmed by the favor you and Elder Gou have shown me, Senior Brother. Lin Mo is truly flattered."

After weighing the advantages and disadvantages, Lin Mo finally cupped his fist and spoke slowly.

"I would very much like to become Elder Gou's disciple, too. Unfortunately, my allotted blessings are meager. I'm afraid I don't have that good fortune."

"Because..."

"You must have mistaken me for someone else, Senior Brother. All that talk about mutated fire spirit fruit just now-I don't understand a single word!"