Purple Heaven Palace.
"My cultivation is still somewhat unstable... it'll take at least eight or ten years to consolidate my realm."
Inside her bedchamber, Liu Ziyan fretted over her somewhat unstable cultivation realm.
That day, breaking through from the peak of Spirit Transformation to Void Refinement overnight had certainly delighted her.
But it had also left her cultivation unstable.
Had she not accumulated a sufficiently solid foundation at the peak of Spirit Transformation, that overnight breakthrough would have left her realm even more unstable.
One careless mistake could even send her tumbling back to the peak of Spirit Transformation.
"Thanks to the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, dual cultivation can certainly accelerate my cultivation, but at the same time... cultivation gained so quickly isn't truly stable, unless..."
Continuing to practice dual cultivation would quickly stabilize the cultivation she had gained through it.
But...
"How foolish of me. Had I known, I should have found an excellent man to cultivate with. Instead, an ant slipped in while I was vulnerable and forcibly bound himself to me..."
Not only was Lin Mo a servant of the lowest standing in the First Saint Sect, but more importantly...
Even after taking a Life-Prolonging Pill, Lin Mo had little time left.
If Lin Mo failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and extend his lifespan in the time he had remaining, then...
"Ah, I have only myself to blame."
Liu Ziyan pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly.
For certain unusual reasons, she had always viewed every man under heaven as a rat in the sewers, and had even sworn that she would rather grow old and die alone.
She would never take a cultivation partner.
When she first obtained this scroll of the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art in an ancient ruin, she had known it was a dual cultivation technique.
But proud as she was, she believed she could modify the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art herself and master it without cultivating with a man.
Moreover, the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art was the finest cultivation technique she had encountered in her entire life.
And so she had abandoned her original technique to practice the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art.
Only recently, after a strange twist of fate led her to practice dual cultivation with Lin Mo for the first time...
Had Liu Ziyan discovered its many benefits.
Not only had it brought pleasure to both body and mind, but her cultivation had also improved markedly.
"If that old wretch weren't so utterly shabby, I could just about accept him."
Now, Liu Ziyan was torn.
On the one hand, she had enjoyed the many benefits of dual cultivation.
On the other, she felt that Lin Mo, the man bound to her, was simply too shabby.
His identity, his status, his looks-shabby in every respect!
Seeing Lin Mo looking like a candle guttering in the wind, she even worried that she might drain him dry during a cultivation session and send him riding a crane into the afterlife.
The trouble was that once the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art bound her to someone's yang energy, that bond could not be changed.
Yet asking Liu Ziyan to abandon the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art and practice another technique was no solution either; she was truly unwilling to give up her current cultivation.
And if an enemy sect noticed, there was no guarantee they would not seize the chance to attack the First Saint Sect.
When that happened, the First Saint Sect might very well be wiped out, disappearing forever from the historical stage of the Heavenly Abyss Continent.
After weighing the gains and losses, Liu Ziyan could only reluctantly accept the situation.
"I'll find an opportunity to have that old wretch help me consolidate my realm."
For now, Lin Mo had been taken away by the Enforcement Hall to assist with an investigation.
Although she could intervene directly and demand that the Enforcement Hall release him, she...
Liu Ziyan did not want anyone else to know that she, the sect leader of the First Saint Sect, had actually practiced dual cultivation with a decrepit old man from the Maidservant Department.
She could not afford that humiliation.
The Enforcement Hall, Vermilion Bird Squad office.
After Lin Mo had spent some time in a private interrogation room, Shangguan Wuqing pushed the door open and entered.
Feeling a little drowsy, Lin Mo hurriedly roused himself and said solemnly, "Captain Wuqing, ask whatever you please. I'll tell you everything I know and hold nothing back."
"There's no need," Shangguan Wuqing said.
"?"
A question mark popped up on Lin Mo's weathered face. Why was that?
"Evidence? Heh, does it really matter?"
Shangguan Wuqing smiled inscrutably. "I just checked your records. You've been in the First Saint Sect for quite some time. Do you really still know nothing about this place?"
"Well... I truly don't know." Lin Mo was embarrassed.
He knew that the First Saint Sect, a demonic sect, certainly had a bad reputation, and he knew a thing or two about how the Maidservant Department devoured people without even spitting out their bones.
But Lin Mo knew nothing about the affairs of the First Saint Sect's other departments and halls.
Or rather, those matters existed on a level that a mere servant like him could never reach.
Not to mention that he had spent a hundred years as the Purple Heaven Palace's designated servant.
Apart from cleaning the Purple Heaven Palace, he spent almost all his time reading in his little wooden hut. He practically never stepped beyond his own doorstep.
Mostly, it was because he had neither connections nor backing in the First Saint Sect. Even if he left his little hut during his free time, what could he do?
He knew the First Saint Sect was dark, but he truly did not know just how dark it was.
It was like being a security guard in an upscale residential complex-you would never know just how extravagantly the residents lived.
"Ha..." Shangguan Wuqing seemed to find it a little unbelievable, and perhaps a little amusing. "If you don't know, I can tell you."
"Please don't!"
Lin Mo hurriedly shook his head and said in alarm, "Captain Wuqing, I only want to spend my remaining years in peace. I don't want to know too much about things I shouldn't know."
Shangguan Wuqing said dismissively, "It's fine. Everyone knows these things. They're hardly secrets."
"As for Lü Mingtong, my orders from above were simply to arrest him and throw him into the Tower of Self-Cultivation and Self-Immolation immediately. Everything else is outside my responsibility."
"When dealing with the inner disciples of the various departments and halls, our enforcement squads still need evidence. But the Maidservant Department... heh, is that necessary?"
The implication was that the thousands of servant disciples in the Maidservant Department did not count as people.
Lin Mo smiled in resignation. "Hehe, I haven't much time left, so I don't really care about such things anymore. Lü Mingtong being thrown into the Tower of Self-Cultivation and Self-Immolation is good news for me."
How could Lin Mo not know about the Tower of Self-Cultivation and Self-Immolation?
It was where the First Saint Sect punished those who violated sect regulations, sent the casualties of struggles between its departments and halls, and disposed of corpses.
Once someone entered the Tower of Self-Cultivation and Self-Immolation, there was no possibility of coming out alive.
Their flesh, bones, primordial spirit, and soul would all be separated and used as materials for pill refinement, artifact crafting, and various other purposes.
This was the final destination of most First Saint Sect disciples. Even after they died, the last bit of value would be squeezed out of them.
The First Saint Sect was no charity.
If its disciples could not create value for the sect, the First Saint Sect would have gone under long ago.
"You seem to be celebrating a little too soon."
Shangguan Wuqing folded her arms and stared straight at Lin Mo, a meaningful smile curling her crimson lips as she delivered an ominous warning. "Lü Mingtong being thrown into the Tower of Self-Cultivation and Self-Immolation is indeed good news for you, but there's some bad news waiting for you too."
"You're no newcomer. I shouldn't need to explain it to you in detail."
Hearing this, Lin Mo frowned.
He knew what Shangguan Wuqing meant.
With Lü Mingtong brought down, the current deputy steward of the Maidservant Department would take over as its next steward.
The current deputy steward of the Maidservant Department, Zhou Ze, just happened to be Lü Mingtong's friend and fellow townsman!
Lin Mo could not guarantee that Zhou Ze would not make trouble for him after taking over as steward of the Maidservant Department.
After all, Lü Mingtong's example stood right before him, a warning from the overturned cart ahead.
Before you continue