The road is vague

Chapter 268 Jade Marrow Liquid

After a while.

Chen Huiling returned to the main hall and personally handed a wooden box to Li Mo.

Li Mo opened the wooden box and looked inside at the elixir containing a fusion of ice and fire, its contents infinitely mysterious, like stars in the sky, beautiful and exquisite—it was indeed the Ice-Fire Pill.

His face immediately lit up with joy, and he carefully put it away.

"Thank you, Master Chen."

"Well, go ahead."

After nodding, Li Mo left the main hall of the Alchemy Hall and went to the Alchemy Hall's spirit field.

He first glanced at his large patch of Luohan bamboo, which was thriving under Cao Lingjie's cultivation. Then he noticed that Cao Lingjie had indeed also cultivated a patch of Luohan bamboo, about thirty or forty plants, which seemed to be intended for his future use.

"Truly worthy of being a disciple of the Spirit Herb Sect."

Li Mo was very satisfied with this, and he immediately took out a communication talisman to express his gratitude to Cao Lingjie.

After a while.

Cao Lingjie quickly arrived at the spirit field.

"Senior Brother Li!"

He greeted them from a distance, his face showing undisguised surprise.

Li Mo noticed that he had changed into the clothes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lingmu Sect. He smiled in realization. The five years of observation back then had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Junior Brother Cao, congratulations!"

The two chatted for a while in front of the bamboo garden. It was clear that Cao Lingjie was quite satisfied with his current life. Compared to his previous life at the Lingcao Sect, he felt as if he had lived in a completely different world.

Li Mo did not leave the alchemy hall until evening.

Next, he went to the Ancestral Hall to report that he had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage and learned that in the past five years, he had actually saved more than 20,000 spirit stones and a large amount of sect contributions. Even when he was in seclusion, these stipends were still paid without fail.

After taking the spirit stone, Li Mo changed into clothing representing the late Foundation Establishment stage before leaving the Ancestral Hall.

He casually produced two communication talismans.

However, neither Wei Cang nor Jiang Feiyan responded.

"What have you all been doing?"

After frowning slightly, Li Mo headed towards Cuixia Peak.

"Teacher's wife!"

The teacher's wife, Wang Xiyue, stood on the chessboard, looking down at Li Mo with a slight smile.

She and Lu Qi usually lived separately and were not together every day.

"Li Mo, it seems you've gained a lot from this seclusion. You've already advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage. If this continues, the Spirit Eye Sect will probably gain another Golden Core cultivator in just a few years."

"Advancing to the Golden Core stage is no trivial matter. My foundation is still shallow, and I am not very confident. I plan to consolidate and accumulate more experience for a while. In addition to paying my respects to my master's wife, I also wanted to inquire about the situation of Senior Brother Wei and Senior Sister Jiang. How are they doing now?"

Wang Xiyue handed over a cup of spiritual tea; the teacup was made of bamboo.

"Your senior brother has already gone down the mountain to get married and have children, and he's living a very comfortable life. As for your senior sister, she started her seclusion a year ago, probably preparing to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage in one go, just like you."

If Wei Cangru could produce several offspring with spiritual roots to pass on the spells and secret techniques he had mastered, and with the care of Lu Qi, Wang Xiyue, Jiang Feiyan, and Li Mo, they would become a small aristocratic family within the Lingmu Sect.

As for Jiang Feiyan...

If you calculate her age, she is already in her sixties.

For more than a decade, she had been diligently cultivating in the outer sect. Now, after becoming a true disciple, she spent another four years meditating on the mountain. At the age of over sixty, she advanced to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, which is quite impressive in the Lingmu Sect. She is expected to advance to the Golden Core stage.

However, compared to Li Mo's cultivation reaching the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage at the age of thirty-seven, it is insignificant.

"By the way, the sect leader has already emerged from seclusion. Haven't you gone to pay him a visit yet?"

A strange glint flashed in Wang Xiyue's eyes as she spoke.

Li Mo came to his senses and, unaware of Wang Xiyue's unusual expression, was taken aback upon hearing her words.

"The Sect Leader has emerged from seclusion? When did this happen? I just went to the Ancestral Hall and didn't see the Sect Leader."

He asked three questions in a row.

Wang Xiyue suppressed her unusual expression and answered truthfully based on what she knew.

"They just came out of seclusion a few days ago. It is said that the imperial court has sent people. I think the sect leader is probably receiving them in the Qingming Hall. It should be about the Southern Barbarian Lands. I heard that it is in complete chaos there. Perhaps it won't be long before the imperial court takes a big step."

"Alright, I'll go and pay my respects right away."

Now that he had learned that the sect leader had emerged from seclusion, he, as a true disciple of the Lingmu Sect, naturally had to pay him a visit.

So he hurriedly bid farewell to Wang Xiyue and headed towards the main hall atop Qingming Mountain.

The Qingming Hall remained towering, solemn, and majestic. The disciples on duty there bowed to Li Mo in respect.

After crossing the long stone steps, he arrived at the entrance of the main hall, only to find Chen Kaixuan waiting there as well.

The two looked at each other.

"The sect leader is receiving people from the Six Doors."

"The Six Doors?"

After a moment of surprise, Li Mo realized that the other party was referring to the royal family, that is, the descendants of the Six Arts School.

A while later, Sima Fu's voice came from inside the main hall.

"Come in, everyone!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo and Chen Kaixuan entered the main hall.

The jade floor tiles gleamed, and 108 white jade pillars stood tall, supporting the Jade Peak, exuding solemnity and majesty. Milky white spiritual energy lingered among the clouds at the summit.

Three people stood at the far end of the hall, all looking over.

"Li Mo, you've emerged from seclusion?"

Sima Fu remained as ethereal and refined as ever, with long, white eyebrows and a gentle, humble expression on his face. However, this gentleness was like a mask, making it impossible to discern his true nature.

"This disciple has just emerged from seclusion today. Upon hearing that the Sect Leader has also emerged from seclusion, I have come to pay my respects immediately."

"Yes, you've come at the right time. Let me introduce you."

Sima Fu pointed to the two people who were receiving guests.

"This is Li Gu, a true disciple of the Six Doors, and this is Dongfang Jia, a true disciple of the Holy Cauldron Sect. The two of them have come here to recruit a group of elite disciples from the six eastern sects to drive out the man-eating monsters that have scattered from the Southern Barbarian Lands to the border areas. It is also an opportunity for the elite disciples of each sect to make friends. Which of you two is interested in going?"

Li Gu was short, stocky, and sturdy, and surprisingly, he was a bald monk, resembling a little Maitreya Buddha.

Dongfang Jia, with the iconic white hair and purple eyes of the Dongfang family, glanced at Li Mo as if by chance.

Chen Kaixuan responded immediately.

“Disciple Chen Kaixuan is willing to go.”

Li Mo hesitated for a moment before asking, "When will this mission begin?"

Upon hearing this, Li Gu responded with a smile.

"Hehe, it starts next month. This mission is not mandatory. I'm just giving it a chance for the elite young disciples of the six Eastern Sects to make friends. If you need anything, Fellow Daoist Li, please feel free to do so."

At this time.

Dongfang Jia suddenly said, "Although the Spirit Eye Technique cannot directly confront enemies, it is the best aid for us to search for those monsters that are good at hiding. It would be a real pity if Fellow Daoist Li did not go. Or is it that Fellow Daoist is afraid that I might take revenge for some of the conflicts with the Dongfang family in the past?"

At this point, he smiled proudly and looked at Li Mo.

"Fellow Daoist, you can rest assured. Although I am not a virtuous gentleman, I am by no means a despicable person who would turn against his own people!"

Li Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I do indeed have other plans, but they will last at least four months, and at most five months. If you are still on missions at the border, I might as well join you..."

A quarter of an hour later.

Li Gu, Dongfang Jia, and Chen Kaixuan left, leaving Sima Fu with only Li Mo.

“Li Mo, there is something I have never told you before, because I was afraid you would overthink it and misunderstand. But now that I am the sect leader, for the sake of the Lingmu Sect’s thousand-year foundation, I have no choice but to play the villain. I must explain this to you.”

Upon hearing this, Li Mo was stunned.

"The Lord Zhong who came to read the imperial edict to you last time is actually the Lord of Fate of the Road Guidance Bureau. Among the many rewards he gave you was a pot of Jade Marrow Liquid. Although it can temporarily transform into a Jade Marrow Body after being applied externally, increasing the probability of Core Formation, it is actually the most primitive and crude use of Jade Marrow Liquid."

Sima Fu revealed a meaningful expression.

"Actually, the true use of Jade Marrow Liquid is to combine it with the Jade Marrow Spirit Communication Secret Technique left by True Person Qingming, which can increase the chances of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. Lord Zhong is also aware of this, after all, this secret technique was originally bestowed by the imperial court. So... if you really use this Jade Liquid as a material for advancing to the Golden Core stage, it is really a waste of its potential. After all, the probability of this substance increasing the breakthrough of the Golden Core bottleneck is not very high. However, if the same probability is transferred to the Nascent Soul stage bottleneck, it can be called a treasure. Moreover, within the next twenty or thirty years, there will happen to be one person in our sect who may break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck."

"My master!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo almost blurted it out.

"Exactly."

Sima Fu said in a low voice, "He hasn't told you any of this yet, has he?"

Li Mo was in a state of turmoil, and slowly nodded.

"He's afraid you'll overthink things. If you fail to form your core because of this, given your master's personality, he'll likely feel guilty and be troubled by inner demons, which would harm him. So you'd better decide based on your own situation before forming your core. Your sect will never interfere in the slightest."

Sima Fu sighed.

"However, you can rest assured about one thing: if you manage to save the Jade Marrow Liquid, when you advance to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, your sect will definitely do everything in its power to search for materials with similar functions, or equivalent spirit stones..."

After returning to his cave, Li Mo pondered deeply for a long time.

As Sima Fu said, the Jade Marrow Liquid is not particularly effective for advancing to the Golden Core stage.

However, the same level of improvement, when it reaches the bottleneck of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, is a rare treasure, priceless and hard to come by.

He had initially thought that the imperial court rewarded him with Jade Marrow Liquid in order to help him advance to the Golden Core stage as soon as possible, but after Sima Fu's explanation, he suddenly realized the truth.

So this is what chalcedony liquid means?
……

Thousands of miles away.

Inside the secret chamber of Yuancheng.

With a sneeze, Zhong Wuhui rubbed her nose and continued to lie on the armchair with her eyes closed to rest.

"Lord Si Ming, the person chosen by the Grand Elder is a top-ranking executioner for the seventh day after death. We are finding it increasingly difficult to control him. If this continues, it will no longer be our Road Passing Office managing the seventh day after death, but the seventh day after death managing our Road Passing Office!"

"What can we do?"

Zhong Wuhui didn't even open his eyes once; he sighed.

"The Grand Elder is, after all, the number one assassin, and he has outlived so many Fate Masters. Apart from the Holy Emperor, who can completely suppress him? The Emperor only cares about the result, not the process. I'm getting old, and I don't have many years left to live. Although I secretly provided so many materials, I don't know if the selected individuals can still catch up. That little guy I had the best hopes for, it's a pity he's only at the Foundation Establishment stage. My Jade Marrow Liquid..."

(End of this chapter)