Was the Grand Elder Going to Take Him as a Cultivation Cauldron?

"Heh."

Lin Mo gave a bitter chuckle, unsure what to say.

"Your injuries are healing faster than I expected, though."

As she spoke, Hong Yue swayed her slender, serpentine waist and approached the bed.

She extended her long, delicate fingers and gently lifted Lin Mo's chin.

Her deep crimson eyes carefully studied his weathered face as she said in mild puzzlement, "Hmm... looking at you like this doesn't really tell me anything."

"The Clear Spirit Pill I gave you can heal internal injuries, but it clearly shouldn't have produced results like these. How strange."

It wasn't merely Lin Mo's unexpectedly rapid recovery that puzzled Hong Yue.

Stranger still, she actually found his weathered face, etched with the marks of passing years, so attractive.

Back at the Purple Heaven Palace, Hong Yue had thought it was an illusion born of prolonged loneliness.

But as she gazed at Lin Mo's old face up close, she became certain.

It seemed this was no illusion.

"Little servant, why don't you tell me what's going on?" Hong Yue asked.

"Grand Elder, perhaps this old servant simply isn't fated to die yet," Lin Mo said, casually inventing an excuse to evade the question.

Seeing the Grand Elder Hong Yue's foxlike, seductive manner, he grew wary.

He dared not let Hong Yue know that he possessed a pure yang sacred body.

If Hong Yue took him away to serve as a cultivation cauldron, it wouldn't be worth it.

"Hehe, is that so?"

Hong Yue gave an eerie smile.

An explanation like that clearly couldn't fool her.

"All right."

After a moment, Hong Yue released Lin Mo's chin. "Little servant, now that you're awake, it's time to leave. If you're missing for too long, you might put the Saintess on her guard."

"But... Grand Elder, this old servant's injuries haven't fully healed. If I return now and the Saintess attacks me, I'm afraid I'll have no strength to fight back," Lin Mo said.

"You make it sound as though you could contend with the Saintess at the foundation establishment early stage even if your injuries were healed."

Hong Yue said pointedly, "Your task was never to confront the Saintess head-on. Use your brain. Put your survival instincts to work. I'm sure you can do it, right?"

"Besides, thirty thousand spirit stones and a Heaven-Tier Treasure aren't so easily earned."

"Oh, and let me remind you: don't expect me to save you every time. Unless you've obtained conclusive evidence that the Saintess is a spy, I won't intervene if she threatens you."

"Fine." Lin Mo pursed his lips.

For now, he really could only rely on himself.

If Hong Yue could intervene, she wouldn't have needed to seek him out as bait.

Wouldn't simply taking down the Saintess Su Yu have been easier?

Afterward, with Hong Yue's arrangements in place, Lin Mo left through the Elder Council's back door.

Rather than immediately returning to the First Saint Sect's gates, Lin Mo found a secluded cave on a mountain peak near the Elder Council.

He intended to recover fully before returning.

At the very least, Lin Mo was certain that the Saintess Su Yu had absolutely no idea where he was now.

So he didn't need to worry about Su Yu finding him while he healed.

"Azure Dragon Squad Captain Zhuiming..." Lin Mo sat cross-legged on a large boulder inside the cave, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He hadn't wanted to provoke Zhuiming, but since the man wanted him dead...

"Then don't blame this old man!"

A gentleman would not leave such a grudge unavenged.

But with his current cultivation, he was still far from a match for Zhuiming.

Cultivation in the foundation establishment realm was simply too weak.

Lin Mo reckoned that to establish a firm foothold in the First Saint Sect, he would need to reach at least the golden core period.

"Too weak. Far too weak!"

Never before had Lin Mo craved greater power so desperately!

The Saintess Su Yu alone had nearly crushed him until he couldn't breathe.

Now Zhuiming had appeared as well.

Those two were like mountains weighing on Lin Mo's shoulders, leaving him unable to let his guard down for even a moment.

Without further delay, Lin Mo settled his mind.

He began circulating the Yin-Yang Evil Demon Art, mobilizing the pure yang energy within him to repair his internal injuries.

Together with the lingering medicinal effects of the Clear Spirit Pill, it took effect.

The injuries within Lin Mo's body were healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

And so it continued.

More than half a month passed.

Lin Mo opened his eyes again and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

He rose from the boulder and hopped a couple of times. Only after confirming that his body was largely fine did he reveal a relieved smile.

"Lin Mo?"

"Little old man!"

"..."

Just then, familiar calls suddenly sounded outside the cave.

Recognizing Shangguan Wuqing's voice, Lin Mo relaxed again after briefly tensing.

Lin Mo walked out of the cave and looked toward the voice. Sure enough, he saw Shangguan Wuqing not far away.

"Captain Wuqing, over here."

At Lin Mo's call, the bewildered, anxious Shangguan Wuqing finally spotted him.

"Little old man! Thank goodness!"

Seeing that Lin Mo seemed safe and sound, Shangguan Wuqing finally felt the weight lift from her heart and ran toward him in wild delight.

Like a lover reunited after a long separation, she threw herself into Lin Mo's arms.

"Ahem, Captain Wuqing, this old man is fine. Calm down."

A long while passed.

Shangguan Wuqing's emotions finally settled somewhat.

She asked Lin Mo about what had happened that day. He did not conceal the details, recounting everything to her from beginning to end.

He did, however, leave out the fact that Grand Elder Hong Yue had saved him.

The fewer people who knew about Hong Yue's fishing scheme, the better.

"You're still smiling? Zhu Fan's cultivation was higher than yours, after all. Do you know how dangerous that was?" Shangguan Wuqing said, a little angry.

"There was nothing else I could do."

Lin Mo chuckled. "Under those circumstances, this old man had no choice but to fight."

"True."

Shangguan Wuqing blamed herself. "It was all my fault. I never expected Zhuiming to be so brazen that he'd actually dare have his men force their way into my home."

"But you won't have to worry about him from now on. My master, the head of the Enforcement Hall, has already punished Zhuiming and sent him away from the sect to gain experience."

Ever since then, Shangguan Wuqing had been searching for Lin Mo.

She had practically turned the entire First Saint Sect upside down before finally finding him.

"That's excellent."

Lin Mo let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Captain Wuqing, you needn't blame yourself. It was this old man who caused you trouble."

Lin Mo hadn't expected the head of the Enforcement Hall to punish Zhuiming severely for the sake of a mere servant like him.

But at least Zhuiming's departure from the sect to gain experience was undoubtedly good news for Lin Mo right now.

At least he had one fewer enemy watching him.

Next, he only needed to concentrate on maneuvering around the Saintess Su Yu.