Chapter 40: Setting Off for Langya Commandery

"Make it up to you? Like hell I will!" Lin Mo said unceremoniously!

"Good! Good! Good! Young man, don't be so arrogant!" Granny Jinhua said through gritted teeth!

"You're just at the False Core stage, yet you really think you're hot stuff! If young people aren't arrogant, can they still be called young people!"

Granny Jinhua was choked up with speechlessness by Lin Mo's rebuttal and could only leave indignantly. However, she had thoroughly harbored a grudge against Lin Mo; as she walked away, the glare she cast at him was like the eyes of a venomous snake.

Lin Mo didn't care either. Since they were still within the Sect, she wouldn't dare to act out of line.

It was just a minor episode, and Lin Mo didn't mind it. He didn't believe Granny Jinhua would dare do anything to him.

…

In the Inner Sect, at Liu Ruyan's residence, Liu Ruyue tearfully went to find her Elder sister:

"Sister, didn't you say I could win the Outer Sect Phantom Trial?"

Liu Ruyan shook her head. "Your sister isn't an Earth Deity; I can't foresee everything with divine accuracy. Last time you snuck out, planning to teach Lin Mo a lesson, only to return covered in injuries. How are you? Are your injuries all healed?"

Liu Ruyue's face turned bright red as she whispered, "They're healed, but…"

The more she spoke, the less she dared to continue. When she was injured and unconscious, she was still vaguely aware of her surroundings.

What was more, after waking up, not only were her injuries healed, but her clothes were disheveled, and even her Storage Pouch was gone.

Who on earth had saved her? Liu Ruyue was completely puzzled.

Liu Ruyan sighed and said, "Since that's the case, you should go back and rest first."

…

Another month passed. Recently, Lin Mo had not taken any Medicinal Pills and consolidated his cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Tang Waner's health had also recovered, and she came to see Lin Mo a few times during this period.

Lin Mo politely declined her request to have a baby, but accepted Tang Waner's affection.

He swore silently in his heart, "I must find a way to cure Tang Waner and never let her Calamity Poison Body erupt."

On the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, there was an ancient book that reportedly contained detailed descriptions of the Calamity Poison Body.

However, this ancient book was extremely rare and required over 1,000 contribution points to exchange. Lin Mo had spent all his previous contribution points on the fishbone flying sword. Now empty-handed, he still needed to find a way to earn some contribution points so he could exchange for the ancient book to study it.

As Lin Mo's cultivation grew higher, he felt increasingly comfortable staying at the Earth Fire vent in the Waste Pill Room. His body felt warm, and the circulation of his Spiritual Qi became noticeably faster.

Luo Qingcheng had long told him that he possessed the Pure Yang Immortal Body. The fire poison in the Waste Pill Room couldn't threaten him at all; in fact, it could even help him increase his cultivation.

Lin Mo drank spiritual wine in the Waste Pill Room while eating White-Feathered Chicken roasted over the Earth Fire vent, feeling like his life was better than an immortal's.

However, his mind was constantly pondering where to get some contribution points so he could go to the Scripture Pavilion and exchange them for the Secret Manual.

So much so that he didn't even notice when Shangguan Rouer walked in.

Shangguan Rouer said through gritted teeth, "Junior Brother Lin sure is in high spirits! Spirit Beast Peak is in utter chaos, yet you're still sitting here drinking wine and eating meat."

As the culprit, Lin Mo looked embarrassed. He broke off a drumstick and said, "Senior Sister, would you like to try some?"

The figure-like Shangguan Rouer twitched her cute nose as the aroma of the White-Feathered Chicken drifted straight into her nostrils.

Ungraciously taking the drumstick, she said, "Don't think you can bribe me with a chicken leg."

Lin Mo smiled obsequiously. "Yes, yes, yes. As long as Senior Sister finds it tasty, that's all that matters."

Shangguan Rouer took a bite of the drumstick and said, "For the sake of how delicious this drumstick is, don't say I didn't think of you when a good thing came up. There's a task—do you want to go together?"

Lin Mo asked, "What task? How many contribution points is the reward?"

With the drumstick still between her teeth, Shangguan Rouer mumbled, "This task hasn't posted in the Task Pavilion yet. It was assigned by our Sect-Protecting Elder, Gale Eagle. Supposedly, the demonic Soul-Devouring Beast Sect is enslaving a large number of Spirit Beasts for some insidious scheme. We're asked to sneak into the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect to investigate the truth. The reward is 1,000 contribution points per person."

"I'll go! Why wouldn't I?" Lin Mo said without hesitation.

With these 1,000 contribution points added, he would have just enough to exchange for the ancient book in the Scripture Pavilion.

Shangguan Rouer counted on her small fingers and said, "Then we have enough people: you, me, Senior Sister Huang Doudou, and Senior Sister Leng Hanyue. We set off tomorrow."

Lin Mo nodded. Everyone doing the task together was an acquaintance, so they would coordinate with better synergy.

Lin Mo was already eager to start, perfect for testing out his fishbone flying sword.

…

On the second day, the four of them set off together. According to the investigation, the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect was located in Langya Commandery, to the west of the Jade Maiden Immortal Sect.

However, members of the Demonic Path were all sneaky figures who hid their heads and showed their tails, so they didn't know the exact location either.

The group arrived at Langya Commandery by flying vessel. As soon as they landed, Shangguan Rouer said in distress, "Langya Commandery is vast and abundant in resources, how are we supposed to find the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect?"

Lin Mo asked, "Senior Sister, do we have any intelligence on the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect right now?"

Shangguan Rouer said earnestly, "Currently, we only know that the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect has a Disciple named Wang Dabiao, who is a Demonic Path deacon responsible for recruiting Outer Sect Disciples. Only by finding him can we figure out a way to sneak into the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect."

Lin Mo looked up at Shangguan Rouer, waiting for her to share more intelligence.

After a moment, Shangguan Rouer was still silent. Lin Mo asked, unwilling to give up, "Senior Sister Shangguan, that's it?"

Shangguan Rouer nodded cutely. "That's right, that's all."

For a moment, the group stood on the spot looking at each other in dismay. Trying to find one person in such a vast Langya Commandery was truly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Senior Sister Leng Hanyue asked, "Should we go straight to the Commandery Governor? They probably have news about the Soul-Devouring Beast Sect."

Senior Sister Huang Doudou shook her head and said, "Junior Sister, do you know that the imperial court has quotas for slaying demons and devils?"

"Of course I know."

Senior Sister Huang Doudou continued, "The imperial court sets the demon-slaying quotas, but when it reaches local Commandery Governors, things get twisted. Many Commandery Governors feign compliance while secretly disobeying. They cooperate with demonic Sects, which regularly supply the Commandery Governor with a set number of Demonic Path Cultivators each month. If anyone inquires about news of the Demonic Path, the Commandery Governor will notify them immediately."

"When that happens, it'll be even harder for us to find Demonic Path Cultivators."

Senior Sister Leng Hanyue was simple-minded and physically adept. She clenched her small fists and said angrily, "Then what should we do? We can't just keep waiting here forever, can we?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment and said, "No need to wait, let's go gather intelligence first."

Teahouses and taverns have always been the easiest places to collect intelligence. Lin Mo and the other three sat inside a teahouse.

They had been drinking a pot of plain tea for the entire afternoon while listening to the people around them talk about everything under the sun, but unfortunately, they obtained no useful intelligence.

Senior Sister Leng Hanyue could no longer sit still. Rubbing her hands together, she said, "Junior Brother Lin, this is so boring. Why don't you lend me some Spirit Stones, and we can go gamble a bit?"

Lin Mo shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

He suddenly had a brainwave and said, "Senior Sister, how about we open a teahouse too? Since we can't find intelligence on Wang Dabiao, we can spread it out ourselves!"