"Qi refining period perfection!"
Feeling the surging spiritual power within him, Lin Mo's heart swelled with excitement.
Now, breaking through to the foundation establishment realm was only a matter of time.
"That Female Demon Liu Ziyan really is nothing like those painted, common beauties such as Shangguan Wuqing!"
Such a terrifying effect from dual cultivation was truly enough to leave anyone speechless!
Although he had not successfully broken through to the foundation establishment realm, the final result was already astonishing enough.
From here on out.
He only needed to cultivate quietly, condense his Dao foundation within his body, and break through to the foundation establishment realm. Then he would no longer have to worry about running out of time.
Coming back to his senses, Lin Mo looked up.
Liu Ziyan stood by the window with dignified elegance. Sunlight streamed in over her face, as though draping her already exalted status in a veil of gold.
He had to admit, from this angle, Liu Ziyan was so beautiful she seemed like a heavenly being.
" Sect Leader, do you have any further instructions?"
With the battle over, Lin Mo recovered his respect for Liu Ziyan.
Liu Ziyan glanced at him and said coolly, "I will be going away for a while. In one month, you are to clean the Purple Heaven Palace."
"Also, while I am away, keep track of who comes looking for me and who enters the Purple Heaven Palace. You must record every detail. Understood?"
"Yes, I'll remember." Lin Mo nodded solemnly.
"Remembering alone is not enough. If you miss even one person, I will hold you accountable!"
Hearing that, Lin Mo immediately stood at attention.
He suddenly realized there was a very serious problem.
Could Liu Ziyan be trying to root out spies? Whether she was or not...
One thing was certain.
At least while Liu Ziyan was away from the Purple Heaven Palace, there would not be a single truly safe place for Lin Mo anywhere in the vast First Saint Sect!
If Su Yu took this opportunity to get rid of me...
Lin Mo knew that, at least as he was now, he still had no power to resist Su Yu.
"Sect Leader, shouldn't you give me some sort of safeguard? In case..." Lin Mo forced himself to speak.
"Hmm? What safeguard?"
Liu Ziyan asked, "I am only asking you to watch the entrance, not confront those people, much less capture them."
"You're just a servant. They won't pay you any attention."
"..."
For a moment, Lin Mo found himself at a loss for words.
He considered whether he should tell Liu Ziyan about Su Yu. After all, his personal safety was at stake.
"Very well. I will give you one saber move. Cultivate it and study it on your own for now."
"As for a suitable weapon, buy one yourself at the Spirit Treasure Hall." After some thought, Liu Ziyan still left Lin Mo a tattered book.
Lin Mo picked up the book and saw several large characters scrawled across its cover, their strokes like soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes.
"Soul-Devouring Saber Art."
"If you encounter a predicament you cannot handle, go to the Elder Council and find Hong Yue. She will deal with it."
Lin Mo abruptly looked up, but Liu Ziyan's graceful figure had already vanished, leaving only wafts of fragrance.
And her voice, as melodious as heavenly music, lingered in his ears without fading.
"She left so quickly."
Lin Mo pursed his lips. She had told him to find Grand Elder Hong Yue if he ran into trouble.
But Lin Mo reckoned he would not even be able to get through the Elder Council's gates.
Even if he met Grand Elder Hong Yue, how would he persuade her to help him?
Lin Mo had heard a little about Grand Elder Hong Yue.
Apparently, Grand Elder Hong Yue loved playing tricks on people and was deeply calculating.
Lin Mo did not doubt for a moment that, with his current abilities, Hong Yue could sell him off and he would still cheerfully help her count the money.
"I still have to rely on myself." Lin Mo let out a long sigh.
Then he collected himself and left the Purple Heaven Palace.
Back at the Wooden Hut, Lin Mo opened the Soul-Devouring Saber Art Liu Ziyan had left him.
The first move of the Soul-Devouring Saber Art: Soul Hook.
Turning further through the book, he found densely packed, obscure diagrams of human figures. They appeared to depict the cultivation method for the first move, Soul Hook.
To his surprise, Lin Mo discovered that these diagrams, which ordinary people would find extremely obscure and whose mysteries would be difficult to comprehend.
Began playing automatically in his mind the moment his eyes fell upon them.
The cultivation secrets, key principles, and precautions for [Soul Hook] were all perfectly clear.
After flipping through a few pages, Lin Mo immediately closed the book.
Without another word, he left the little Wooden Hut.
He needed to take advantage of this brief window, when Liu Ziyan had just left and no one knew about it yet.
He had to visit the Spirit Treasure Hall's marketplace and buy a suitable magical treasure.
The Sect Trading Market also sold magical treasures, but most were forged by sect disciples who practiced artifact refining, and their quality was generally poor.
Nothing was absolute, though. Occasionally, magical treasures acquired by sect disciples through fortuitous encounters during their travels would turn up there.
But the odds of that happening...
Rather than calling it a frequent occurrence, one could at least say the odds were pitiful enough to move someone to tears.
They were probably about the same as winning five million in the lottery.
Anyone with even a little eye for quality would either keep those valuable, powerful magical treasures for themselves or sell them to the Spirit Treasure Hall.
Snag a hidden bargain? Lin Mo did not believe that such a melodramatic plot device from fantasy novels would happen to him.
So it was safer to simply buy one at the Spirit Treasure Hall's marketplace.
Just like his first visit to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
When the disciple tending the shop saw an elderly servant actually entering the Spirit Treasure Hall's marketplace, he immediately questioned Lin Mo.
Now Lin Mo finally understood why novels always included scenes where the protagonist was mocked.
Apparently, the inspiration came from reality.
Still, Lin Mo could understand it.
It was like an elderly scavenger going to a car dealership to look at cars. Would the salesperson give him a second glance?
Putting himself in their shoes, Lin Mo thought he would probably act the same way.
So he patiently told the disciple tending the shop, "Fellow Daoist, I have enough spirit stones to afford one. Bring me a few saber-type magical treasures to look at."
With that, Lin Mo tossed out a Storage Ring containing one thousand spirit stones.
"Well, look at you. A servant who really has enough spirit stones to buy a magical treasure. All right, I misjudged you today. My apologies."
After inspecting Lin Mo's Storage Ring, the shop disciple finally changed his attitude. Following Lin Mo's request, he brought out three saber-type magical treasures and laid them before him.
"These all cost around a thousand spirit stones. Take a look first."
Lin Mo nodded and began carefully examining the three saber-type magical treasures before him.
The Tiger Soul Saber, a low-grade Spirit-Rank Treasure, priced at one thousand spirit stones.
The Crimson Flame Saber, a low-grade Spirit-Rank Treasure, priced at nine hundred and fifty spirit stones.
The Earthly Baleful Saber, a low-grade Spirit-Rank Treasure, priced at one thousand spirit stones.
On the Heavenly Abyss Continent, magical treasures could broadly be divided into four tiers and sixteen grades.
The four major tiers were spirit, heaven, emperor, and saint, each divided into the four minor grades of low, middle, high, and supreme.
But none of the three magical treasures before him particularly appealed to Lin Mo.
Then Lin Mo glanced aside, his attention settling on a long, pitch-black saber hanging on the wall behind the shop disciple.
"Fellow Daoist, could you let me take a look at that saber?"
While Lin Mo was buying his saber.
He failed to notice a pair of savage, deranged eyes in a concealed corner.
Like a vulture searching for prey, they stared greedily at him.
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