Liu Ziyan: You Think You're Funny?

The Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art was divided into the yin scroll and the Yang Scroll.

Women cultivated yin, while men cultivated yang.

Under normal circumstances, dual cultivation with someone of the opposite sex could rapidly improve the cultivation of those practicing the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, and even help them break through bottlenecks between realms.

But if both partners practiced the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, then through yin-yang harmonization, with the yin scroll and Yang Scroll drawing from and replenishing each other in balance...

They could achieve an effect where one plus one was greater than two.

This was why, even with the restriction that the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art bound its practitioners to the yin or yang energy of their first dual cultivation partner...

It remained the supreme evil cultivation art sought after by countless evil cultivators across the continent.

Even if their spiritual meridians were of an unremarkable grade, and their cultivation talent and comprehension were only average...

As long as both cultivation partners practiced the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, they could achieve terrifying results comparable to those of prodigies.

Thus, Lin Mo successfully mastering the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art was indeed tremendous news for Liu Ziyan.

But she clearly had no intention of telling Lin Mo that.

Then Liu Ziyan closed her delicate hand around empty air, and the jade scroll stored in Lin Mo's Storage Ring immediately flew out and landed in her hand.

Lin Mo did not mind her taking back the Yang Scroll's cultivation method. He had already mastered it anyway.

"This old man has a small favor to ask. I hope you can lend me a hand, Sect Leader."

"The matter with the Maidservant Department?" Liu Ziyan asked.

"Yes."

Lin Mo nodded slightly.

He was not sure whether Zhou Ze, the Maidservant Department's new steward, would come looking for trouble with him, but it was better to avoid that sort of trouble.

So Lin Mo wondered whether he could get Liu Ziyan to step in and settle the matter.

Otherwise, he would not even have any peace to cultivate.

"You need me to intervene over such a trifling matter? Has your brain gone muddled, you old servant?"

Liu Ziyan said with keen interest, "If you can't even deal with a few ants from the Maidservant Department, what use are you to me?"

Use an ox-cleaving blade to kill ants? Would that not cheapen her standing?

"..."

Lin Mo was momentarily speechless. Sure enough, he should never have counted on Liu Ziyan.

But upon careful thought, what Liu Ziyan said was not without reason.

Having her personally resolve a matter in the Maidservant Department really was a bit... much.

"However..."

A moment later, Liu Ziyan lightly flicked her delicate finger, and another Storage Ring landed in front of Lin Mo. "Since you've mastered the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, I'll concede that you still have some value, old servant."

"There are a thousand spirit stones in here. Take them and cultivate."

"If you can settle the Maidservant Department's matter yourself, I'll reward you with another five thousand spirit stones. If you can't, you'd better pray for your own good fortune."

"Sect Leader, how could I possibly accept this?"

His mouth said no, but Lin Mo's body was honest enough.

He immediately picked up the Storage Ring from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket with the speed of thunder that left no time to cover one's ears.

At the First Saint Sect, menial servants ranked lower than dogs and earned just one spirit stone a year.

Thus, a thousand spirit stones was undoubtedly a fortune to Lin Mo.

That was also why, once you became a menial disciple of the First Saint Sect, throwing off your serf's shackles and singing in triumph was no easier than climbing to heaven!

"You don't want it? Then give it back."

"Sect Leader, it's not as though you're short of a thousand spirit stones. A gift is like water poured out-how can you take it back? Wouldn't you agree?" Lin Mo said shamelessly.

"You think you're funny?" Liu Ziyan's face was cold.

But in truth, she was a little amused.

Why had she never noticed that Lin Mo had a bit of a sense of humor?

Perhaps she had been too strict with him before, and had never treated him as a person at all.

"I... I do all right," Lin Mo said brazenly.

"Sharp-tongued thing. You can get lost now."

"Then I'll take my leave, Sect Leader."

Just as Lin Mo turned to leave, Liu Ziyan suddenly snapped coldly, "Find some time to go to the Jade Purity Pool and wash that stench off yourself. It's revolting!"

"If you come to the Purple Heaven Palace smelling like that again, I'll let you savor the nightmares of your youth all over again."

Lin Mo froze.

A stench?

He was old, but he still paid close attention to his personal hygiene. How could he possibly stink?

Lin Mo did not catch on at first. He had no idea that the stench Liu Ziyan meant was the scent Shangguan Wuqing had left on him.

Lin Mo could not smell it himself.

So he thought Liu Ziyan was simply going mad.

"Understood, Sect Leader." Lin Mo could not be bothered to argue with Liu Ziyan about whether he smelled, and left the Purple Heaven Palace.

Back in his little wooden hut, Lin Mo took stock of his current assets.

Counting the spirit stones he had saved over the past hundred years, as well as those Liu Ziyan had given him the first time...

He now had roughly thirteen hundred spirit stones in total.

Plus five Spirit-Boosting Pills.

Spirit-Boosting Pills were pills that could increase the speed at which one absorbed spiritual energy for a limited time.

They were not much use to geniuses with spiritual meridians of the seventh grade or higher.

But for cultivators whose spiritual meridians were below the seventh grade, they were very valuable.

Thus, the main market for Spirit-Boosting Pills was still ordinary cultivators with spiritual meridians below the seventh grade.

With his pure yang sacred body, Lin Mo naturally had no need for these Spirit-Boosting Pills anymore.

So he thought he would find some time to visit the Sect Trading Market and sell them.

They should fetch quite a few spirit stones, too.

"The most important thing right now is figuring out how to fleece those five thousand spirit stones out of Liu Ziyan..." Lin Mo stroked the beard on his chin and muttered to himself.

Originally, Lin Mo had thought that as long as Zhou Ze, the Maidservant Department's new steward, did not come looking for trouble, he would be happy to enjoy some peace and quiet.

But that she-devil Liu Ziyan had dangled a piece of bait in front of him.

For those five thousand spirit stones' worth of cultivation resources, Lin Mo really had no choice but to take the hook.

Five thousand spirit stones! Even to an inner disciple of the First Saint Sect, that was a fortune!

Ordinary inner disciples received only five hundred spirit stones in starting funds from the sect when they first joined the First Saint Sect.

If they wanted more resources afterward-spirit stones, pills, magical artifacts, and the like-they had to find their own way.

Of course, the First Saint Sect offered many ways to earn spirit stones.

These included, but were not limited to, sect missions, training expeditions, pill refining, artifact refining, talisman making, and so on.

All in all, disciples might make a killing, but the sect never took a loss.

Now, even if Zhou Ze did not come looking for trouble with Lin Mo, Lin Mo would probably have to go looking for trouble with him.

Besides, the goal Liu Ziyan had set him really was not too difficult.

"If this old man remembers correctly, Zhou Ze seems to be at the seventh level of qi refining as well."

With Lin Mo's current strength, dealing with Zhou Ze would still be a little tricky.

So...

"I need to hurry up and improve my cultivation."