The road is vague

Chapter 256 Imminent
Li Mo planned to visit Lu Qi to inquire about Sima Fu's seclusion.

It has been half a year since the internal strife within the sect. The life and death of the Lingmu Sect rests entirely on the all-out effort of this acting sect leader. As a true disciple of the sect, he has a direct interest in the matter and should naturally be concerned about it.

But at this moment.

A large number of disciples were seen converging on the direction of the weapon-refining hall, as if something major had happened.

Li Mo stopped and blocked one of them.

"What happened?"

This female cultivator had a snake-shaped bun on her head and wore a crane cloak, which represents a Qi Refining stage disciple, with a simple white dress underneath. She looked very energetic.

"Uncle Master!"

The female cultivator hurriedly replied, "I heard that something happened at the Weapon Refining Hall. Hall Master Jiang failed to reforge the True Yang Cauldron, and many disciples were seriously injured or died."

Upon hearing this, Li Mo immediately thought of the True Yang Secret Realm competition three months ago. He instantly understood the reason for the incident, released the disciple, and headed towards the Weapon Refining Hall.

The entire weapon-refining hall was in complete chaos.

The ruins from the great battle have not yet been fully restored; only a few main buildings have been repaired.

After all, the Refining Hall is not the central location on Qingming Mountain.

After briefly surveying the crowd, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Hall Master Jiang Wenwu's plan to refine the True Yang Cauldron twice failed, the vast majority of disciples returned safely because the Lingmu Sect had set up a refuge barrier in the True Yang Secret Realm at great cost. Only a small number of disciples were instantly reduced to ashes by the power of the central volcano.

As for Jiang Wenwu, a Golden Core cultivator, he successfully left the True Yang Secret Realm.

About an hour later.

The disciples from various halls who had come to watch left one after another, and Li Mo took the opportunity to come to Lu Qi's side.

"master."

"Li Mo."

After bidding farewell to Vice Hall Master Wang Tienan, Lu Qi gestured for Li Mo to follow him, and the two arrived at the main hall of the Dharma Protector Hall.

"You've been quite busy these past three months; you must have gained a lot, right?"

"This disciple has indeed gained a great deal."

After Li Mo responded sincerely, he asked about Sima Fu's seclusion and the imprisonment of the Wu tribe.

Lu Qi sighed.

"Senior Brother Sima is in seclusion, so it's natural that the more thorough the preparations, the better. But in my opinion, Qingming Mountain has been closed for six months, and time is running out... As for the alien race you mentioned, once Senior Brother Sima finishes his seclusion, with your status, it wouldn't be difficult to take them away if you just asked. But you should also know the real reason for this internal strife, right?"

"This disciple already knows."

Li Mo responded in a low voice.

"Now that you know, you should also know the importance of your senior brother's seclusion this time. No matter what, you must not disturb him in the slightest."

"Disciple knows."

After the two talked for a while, Li Mo took his leave. Just as he was about to return to his cave to refine the Wood Spirit Pearl with the Qingling Tree Branch, a communication talisman suddenly fell from the sky.

He initially thought it was a communication talisman from his senior sister Jiang Feiyan, but after channeling his magic power, he discovered that it was actually Ye Yineng's.

“I see that Senior Brother Li has entrusted the Acting Sect Leader with the search for clues to the Yin De Dan. I happen to know some of them. If you are interested, you can come to the Treasure Pavilion at any time.”

"this?"

Li Mo was taken aback; this Ye Yimeng was far too mysterious.

After a brief moment of thought, he immediately changed direction and came to the Treasure Pavilion, which was adjacent to the Ancestral Hall and was usually very quiet.

Inside the treasure pavilion.

Ye Yimeng sensed something; she wasn't wearing a mask today.

Li Mo was momentarily stunned. Looking at her bright eyes and white teeth, her charming eyes filled with shyness, her skin as smooth as ice and jade, her flawless beauty was truly breathtaking. She was an ethereal beauty, a graceful and elegant woman, the most beautiful of all.

All these years have passed, and she seems to have not changed at all.

She was still as alluring and charming as ever, with boundless grace, yet possessed a noble and elegant air that made her seem unapproachable.

"Hehe, senior brother, have you looked enough? Is there something growing on junior sister's face?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo quickly composed himself and showed an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry to have amused you, junior sister. It's been many years since we last met, but you still look fresh and beautiful."

"Do you think I've become an old hag?"

Ye Yi dreamt that Li Mo looked embarrassed, but she was very satisfied with his performance, and a hint of pride showed between her brows.

This is confidence that comes from the heart.

She was no longer the naive and clueless girl she once was; she was well aware of her attractiveness to men.

"As far as I know, the Yin De Dan that Senior Brother is looking for is a secret pill from the Xin Yan Temple in Jin State. However, those monks are always reluctant to talk about it, for fear of revealing any secrets. Therefore, obtaining this pill from them is as difficult as killing them. However, I happened to hear that the Great Qian Imperial Palace also has this pill in its collection."

"The Great Qian Imperial Palace?"

Li Mo was dumbfounded.

His understanding of the Great Qian Imperial Palace was limited to it being the power center of the Great Qian Kingdom above the Three Departments, Six Ministries, and the Central Cabinet. Obtaining the secret pill from the Imperial Palace would be no less difficult for him than obtaining it from the Heart Eye Temple in the Jin Kingdom.

However, Ye Yineng smiled gently again.

"Given your official rank, it's unlikely you could obtain this pill directly from the palace. However, as far as I know, there's a lot of turmoil in the Southern Barbarian Lands. The peace between Qian and Lu probably won't last more than a few years, and a new war will break out soon. If you can achieve military merit, it's not impossible for you to obtain the Yin De Pill or the formula through the military."

Ye Yineng's words made Li Mo thoughtful.

On one hand, there's the matter of Yin Dedan; on the other hand, there's the undercurrent of turmoil in the Southern Barbarian Lands that she mentioned. It's hard to say that this has nothing to do with the battle at the Southern Barbarian Cangyuan Land God Temple that he participated in back then.

However, these are all inevitable trends, and they just happened to be there at the right time.

It cannot be said that they caused the future war.

"Thank you for the clue, Junior Sister Ye. May I ask what kind of reward you would like?"

"No need for compensation. I just happened to know about it. I hope that you, my senior brother, can display your prowess in the military in the future, expand the territory of our Great Qian Kingdom, unify the Central Plains, and make a contribution, so as to end the endless wars between the countries as soon as possible."

After Li Mo nodded, he took out a 300-year-old Nine Yin Fungus.

"No matter what, the reward still needs to be paid. I remember you have a water-attribute spiritual root, so this Nine Yin Mushroom should be useful. Consider it as the reward."

"Since Senior Brother has said so, then Junior Sister will respectfully comply!"

After chatting for a while longer, Li Mo took his leave.

The war is about to begin again.

Although this is a disaster, it also contains countless opportunities. Moreover, the Southern Barbarian Lands are the most abundant in demon cores, with hundreds of gods of all sizes, not to mention the man-eating demon beasts.

If the two countries were to wage war over the southern barbarian lands, it would be quite a spectacle.

"Furthermore, the ten-year agreement with Cao Lingjie of the Korean Lingcao Sect has now come to an end. This Shenmu Body was born in a small country, which is indeed full of sorrow. No wonder he said those words back then."

Things just kept happening one after another.

After becoming a true disciple, Li Mo focused solely on improving his strength and couldn't help but think of bringing Cao Lingjie to the Lingmu Sect. However, as a reward...

Besides the pill formula he had promised, he also needed to take care of those thousand-year-old Arhat Bamboo for Li Mo. The Divine Wood Body was quite unique in cultivating spiritual plants, and it could also be considered as Li Mo's own force being cultivated within the sect.

Of course, all of this is predicated on Sima Fu being able to advance to the Nascent Soul stage and the Lingmu Sect still existing.

Lost in thought, Li Mo returned to his cave and began refining the Wood Spirit Pearl.

Of the aristocratic disciples who were sealed away by the disciples of the Justice Society, only Chen Kaixuan was released from the seal after being appointed as a true disciple. The others have not yet shown themselves.

I don't know how long they'll be kept locked up.

This puzzled Li Mo. Even the Golden Core stage hall masters had compromised, so why were they still so hesitant to deal with these Foundation Establishment disciples? Otherwise, he would have been prepared to ask Zhou Can how he comprehended and refined these Wood Spirit Pearls.

……

As the evening moon fades, the Flower Festival begins.

Another three months have passed. Since the Dragon Boat Festival last year, Qingming Mountain has been closed for nine months.

These past nine months.

For both the disciples on the mountain and those at the foot of the mountain, each day felt like an eternity.

this day.

From the direction of the Ancestral Hall, alarm bells rang out once again.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

The alarm bells still sounded eighty-one times, representing the highest level of danger for the Lingmu Sect.

After refining the Wood Spirit Orb, Li Mo, who was refining the Composite Matrix Puppet, revealed a serious and focused look in his eyes. He was wholeheartedly devoted to his work and unaffected by external affairs.

As the bell tolled through the array of flags in the cave, even Li Mo couldn't help but stop what he was doing.

As the bell tolled more and more frequently, Li Mo no longer hesitated. He quickly put away the various puppet parts in front of him, left the cave, and headed towards the Ancestral Hall.

Along the way, disciples were gathering in the direction of the Ancestral Hall, their faces filled with tension and anxiety as they constantly inquired about each other's situation.

"Junior brother! Junior sister!"

Wei Cang was the first to spot Li Mo and Jiang Feiyan, and he sent a telepathic message to them, causing them to quickly converge on him.

"Brother!"

"Senior brother?"

Li Mo and Jiang Feiyan noticed Wei Cang's change and couldn't help but exchange a glance.

In just six months, Wei Cang seemed to have aged considerably.

This is not due to the loss of vital essence, but rather a change in mindset.

Although Wei Cang had aged, he always had an indomitable fighting spirit, so a sinister look would always involuntarily appear between his brows, belonging to a middle-aged man who was striving and fighting.

But now he looks somewhat kind, and his smile has become much more amiable. He no longer looks as thin as a rake, but rather has an air of otherworldly wisdom, with a youthful face and white hair, like an elderly man who has seen through the illusions of life.

"Hehe, do you guys have any news? It's actually the eighty-first time the Ancestral Master's Warning Bell has been rung. My old bones can't take a second round of this."

Wei Cang smiled and said self-deprecatingly.

Li Mo and Jiang Feiyan both shook their heads and didn't say anything more, seemingly unaware of the matter.

Fortunately, many Golden Core cultivators had arrived. Although things still didn't look very harmonious, they didn't seem to be about to fight. They were whispering among themselves, seemingly trying to find out the reason for their gathering.

This made the disciples who had gathered there breathe a sigh of relief.

Whether they were members of aristocratic families or members of the Fair Way Society, they were all still shaken by last year's internal strife.

About a quarter of an hour later.

"quiet!"

At the command of the acting sect leader Chen Shouyi, the tens of thousands of disciples who had gathered there fell silent, including many Golden Core cultivators.

The vast majority of them had cold, expressionless faces, and seemed completely bewildered.

"Everyone, just six hours ago, a disciple of our sect's Four Seas Hall issued a warning, which I have also confirmed via flying sword. A large army consisting of over a hundred large warships from the Divine Mechanism Sect has crossed the border of Muzhou and will arrive at Qingming Mountain within three days at the latest."

"what!"

"What are they trying to do? Are they going to start a war between sects?!"

"Could the intelligence be wrong? We don't have much of a business relationship with the Shenji Sect, so why would they..."

Li Mo quietly gazed at Chen Kaixuan from the crowd. He could sense the panic among the people nearby. Wei Cang and Jiang Feiyan remained silent after hearing this, their faces clouded with gloom.

If it were truly a major sect war, then even last year's internal strife would be considered a minor incident.

"Why not have the sect leader report this to the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Wei Cang looked puzzled and frowned as he looked at Li Mo and Jiang Feiyan.

"According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, sects are not allowed to fight each other. As long as this matter is reported to the imperial court, the court will definitely punish the Shenji Sect. No matter how powerful the Shenji Sect is, would they dare to disobey the imperial court's orders?"

It wasn't just the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples below who were all lined up together.

Most of the Golden Core cultivators in front of the Ancestral Hall looked surprised and puzzled. Finally, Lü Ci, with a gloomy expression, couldn't help but speak up.

"Since that's the case, what are we waiting for? Why don't we quickly ask the sect leader to report this to the imperial court?"

The others also looked at Chen Shouyi with expressions of agreement.

For a Golden Core cultivator, the sect leader's twenty-year seclusion is not a big deal.

Chen Shouyi shook his head.

He looked up at the sacred tree, seemingly never tiring of its magnificent scenery, his grief evident in his words.

"This is what I solemnly announce today: the last Nascent Soul cultivator of our sect, the third-generation sect leader, True Person Qingling, secretly passed away in the Immortal Palace twenty years ago. It was Acting Sect Leader Sima Fu who first discovered this, which is why he spared no effort several months ago to integrate the sect's resources and make every effort to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck. It was I who realized it too late and failed to stop what should have been..."

Chen Shouyi's next words were immediately drowned out by countless exclamations.

among the crowd.

Chen Rong and Lü Cuicui were struck dumb, staring blankly at Chen Shouyi in front of the Ancestral Hall, a stark contrast to the panicked crowd around them.

Immediately afterwards, the disciples of the aristocratic families who had been sealed by the disciples of the Justice Society were brought by Ye Shoutian of the Law Enforcement Hall.

There is no longer any need to keep it a secret.

He looked at the dozens of disciples who had been imprisoned for more than half a year.

"On behalf of my sect, I thank you for your efforts over the past six months. Now you are free. If the sect can overcome this difficulty, we will provide you with additional compensation."

"Senior Sister Jiang!"

"Senior Brother Lü..."

These disciples were immediately surrounded by many familiar faces.

Surrounded by the crowd, they all wore expressions of grief as they recounted what they had seen and heard in the underground spiritual palace, their voices filled with emotion and tears streaming down their faces.

(End of this chapter)