The road is vague

Chapter 428 True Essence Pill

After Li Mo and the puppet returned to Jimu Mountain, they naturally went to a secluded spot on the mountaintop together.

"What is your purpose in coming to Jimu Mountain, entering the Lü family workshop, and infiltrating my side?"

The puppet asked first.

Her words, though calm, were full of vigilance.

After all, although the other party was Zhong Laogui's man and a trustworthy person, their background was too mysterious. They were also accompanied by two Nascent Soul cultivators. She had not noticed the true identities of the three of them before, which was enough to arouse her vigilance.

Li Mo smiled bitterly.

"If I said it was just a coincidence, would you believe me?"

"What do you say?"

The puppet countered with a question.

After a moment of silence, Li Mo gave the puppet a deep look.

"Two months from now, before the Spiritual Immortal Puppet Conference, I will give you and your employer an answer."

The puppet also remained silent for a moment.

"I'm waiting for your answer."

A month later.

Li Mo arrived at the headquarters of the Road Guidance Bureau once again.

"Lord Town Governor, the task you entrusted to me has yielded results."

After Li Mo took the intelligence scroll, he saw that there were as many as seven or eight pieces of information about Danjing, but only two pieces of information about the Ten Thousand Year True Essence Ginseng, and only one piece of information about the secret technique for advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

He focused on the information about the Ten-Thousand-Year True Essence Ginseng and the secret techniques related to advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

The two people who possess the Ten Thousand Year True Essence Ginseng are: one is the Prefect of Jingzhou, who is in charge of managing all affairs of Yuancheng. He is not only a third-rank official in the court but also a member of the royal family. He is a peak late-stage Golden Core cultivator. The other is the head of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

As for the secret techniques related to advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, they have been entrusted to Dafeng Auction House and will be auctioned publicly in a few days.

"nice."

Li Mo nodded.

This information was quite reliable, and the spirit stones spent were well worth the price.

So next, he spent three thousand spirit stones to buy a pill crystal from a merchant house, as indicated by the intelligence.

Li Mo looked at the fist-sized, crystal-clear pill in his hand, sensing the special order contained within it, and couldn't help but reveal a look of satisfaction.

The materials themselves are not expensive; the difficulty in finding them stems from the fact that there is only niche demand.

It's unknown which expert from the Beast Taming Sect came up with the idea of ​​using this thing to allow the demon core to develop a trace of the ancient demon's bloodline after being left for thousands of years.

Next, Li Mo began to secretly investigate Yuan Cheng, the Prefect of Jingzhao.

Although he has now secretly entered the Travel Permit Office under the arrangement of Grand Minister Zhao Minghan, there is still a considerable risk in rashly contacting such a high-ranking official. Who knows if this official has an intelligence network around him?

As for purchasing it from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, that's practically impossible.

For a sect, especially a weak sect like the Myriad Swords Sect, this kind of thing is its foundation. Unless Li Mo can offer something better in exchange, it will be difficult to obtain.

"Let's entrust this to Old Ghost."

The revelation from the Misty Box points to Old Ghost Zhong, which is clearly not without reason. He must possess something that Li Mo needs, something that is not so easily obtained.

That very night, Li Mo found Zhong Laogui and explained his purpose.

"The Prefect of the Capital?"

Old Ghost Zhong sat up from his armchair, his face showing astonishment. He said, "This is a member of the Six Doors, and a rare sealing master at that. If you offend him, not only you, but I will also be implicated!"

Li Mo shook his head and smiled, then took out a storage bag.

"I'm not trying to rob you, it's just a transaction. These spirit stones should be enough, right?"

After taking the storage bag, Zhong Laogui glanced at it and immediately showed a look of surprise.

"Oh, it seems you've really encountered a tremendous opportunity and are quite wealthy. You can just take out so many spirit stones like that. Alright, I'll help you with that. However, as far as I know, this Prefect of the Capital is at the late Golden Core stage and is on the verge of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. He's probably using this ten-thousand-year-old True Essence Ginseng to refine True Essence Pills... By the way, what do you need the ten-thousand-year-old True Essence Ginseng for?"

Old Ghost Zhong was naturally unaware that Li Mo in front of him was actually only at the Golden Core stage.

The Shadow Mask is just too powerful.

Furthermore, because the True Demon clone inherits the order of the Evil Grass, its quality will improve over time, and it is not impossible for it to possess heaven-reaching power in the future.

"One of my closest friends needs the True Essence Pill to help him advance in his cultivation level."

Li Mo responded.

a few days later.

Li Mo spared no expense in bidding at the Dafeng Auction House to obtain this Ghostly Body Forging Secret Technique, which required him to kill five Golden Core stage cultivators or demonic beasts in a short period of time, using their essence and blood to aid his cultivation.

This can be described as an evil magic or secret technique.

After carefully studying it, he looked thoughtful.

With war raging throughout the Great Qian Kingdom, killing five Golden Core cultivators from the Lu Kingdom on the battlefield wouldn't be too difficult for him, but advancing his cultivation on the battlefield would be far too risky.

"This matter still needs long-term consideration."

Advancing to the Nascent Soul stage is of paramount importance.

If one is interrupted midway and fails to advance on the first attempt, subsequent advancements will become increasingly difficult, and it is not impossible to miss the path to the Great Dao. Therefore, one must be cautious.

Fortunately, at this moment, Old Ghost Zhong brought good news: he actually threw back the storage bag that Li Mo had given him earlier.

“I arrived too late; he had already used up that ten-thousand-year-old True Essence Ginseng.”

Just as Li Mo was stunned, Zhong Laogui gave a strange smile.

"However, after some negotiation, the other party agreed to trade one True Essence Pill. You still have some spirit stones left, so take a look." Li Mo was overjoyed.

After glancing at the tens of thousands of spirit stones remaining in his storage bag, he immediately took out a jade box from the bag.

After the seal was broken, the jade box was slowly opened, and the elixir emitted a faint spiritual light. A refreshing aura surged out and suddenly floated up, as if preparing to fly away from the box.

Having anticipated this, Li Mo immediately released a beam of spiritual light, fixing it inside the jade box.

"Not bad!"

Li Mo showed a satisfied expression and thanked Old Ghost Zhong.

Seeing this, Old Ghost Zhong chuckled and said, "You should prepare yourself well. The Heavenly Mandate Bureau has recently made some discoveries. The Hidden Dragon Organization will be launching a major operation. These secret organizations are in the open, while we are in the shadows. If you handle things well, that will be your chance to make a name for yourself."

"The Hidden Dragon Organization!"

Li Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had dealt with this secretive organization quite a bit. After all these years, it was still active within the Great Qian Kingdom, which meant it had considerable resources!
As the Spiritual Immortal Puppet Tournament drew near, Li Mo became increasingly preoccupied.

One reason was the threat of his death on the seventh day after his passing, which forced him to live in anonymity; the other was because of Lü Cuicui, which filled him with guilt.

But no matter what, Lü Shun died because of him.

The Lü family workshop covers tens of thousands of acres and even has a dedicated air cargo station. As the workshop manager, he is actually just a thug. He looks impressive but doesn't have much real power.

These days, the workers' biggest topic of conversation is the Spirit Flavor Immortal Puppet Conference.

Countless artisans from all over the world came to participate in this grand event. It is said that even some legendary puppet masters have come after hearing the news, not only because of the astronomical rewards offered by the Lü Family Workshop, but also because this is the first time that the Great Qian Kingdom has held such an event.

Puppet masters have always been considered inferior to formation masters.

In the Qian Kingdom, a grand assembly of array masters is held every ten years, where they discuss the secrets of heaven on the edge of danger, combining the secret words of countless array masters who glimpsed the secrets of heaven before their deaths.

This is because the Holy Maiden of the Daoist Sect is the Grand Tutor of the current Imperial Court, and therefore the conference received subsidies from the Imperial Court.

The puppet masters, however, did not receive this treatment, and naturally they were resentful.

After hesitating for a long time, Li Mo arrived in front of a mansion.

"Please inform the master that Old Monster Black Dog has something important to report to the master, concerning the Matrix Puppet."

Please wait here.

After the guards entered the mansion, the puppet came out shortly afterward and looked at Li Mo.

"The master invites you in."

"kindness."

Li Mo followed behind the puppet, looking at the various puppet parts in the room, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether this was a workshop or Lü Cuicui's boudoir.

cough cough.

A soft cough and panting sound came from inside the room. Lü Cuicui looked at Li Mo, revealing a hint of urgency.

"You said you have important matters to report regarding the Matrix Golems. Where did you come into contact with the Matrix Golems? Have you heard of a cultivator named Li Mo?"

Li Mo looked at the frail and elderly Lü Cuicui, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He then took a deep breath, slowly removed the Shadow Mask, and revealed his true face.

“I came across the Matrix Puppet Technique in Bai’an County, Muzhou. Li Mo said he misunderstood you, he was sorry for you, and he missed you very much. Over the years, in order to escape the pursuit of a powerful enemy, he had no choice but to flee overseas, but he has never forgotten you.”

Lu Cuicui stared blankly at Li Mo, her cloudy pupils trembling.

After a while.

After realizing she wasn't dreaming, she suddenly covered her face, tears streaming down her face, and couldn't help but cry.

"Lianyi, please help me turn around, waah..."

Lü Cuicui turned her back to Li Mo, not daring to look at him anymore.

"I've become like this, an ugly old woman, no longer the Lü Cuicui I once was. I don't want you to see me like this. Go away! Waaah, why didn't you come back sooner? That way, the effects of the Youth Preservation Pill would have been maintained. Why didn't you come back later? That way, I could have stayed by your side through my puppet body. Why did you have to come back at this time..."

"Cui Cui!"

Li Mo choked up and said, "Spiritual essence is just emotion. Without memories, are you still you? Is what you're doing worth it?"

With her back to Li Mo, Lü Cuicui spoke with unwavering determination.

"worth!"

A long silence fell over the room before Lü Cuicui spoke again.

"Are you married?"

"No."

Lu Cuicui, who was initially nervous, showed a relieved smile after receiving Li Mo's answer, but it quickly turned into disappointment.

"Can you tell me where you've been and what you've been doing all these years?"

Li Mo nodded.

He recounted his experience of being assassinated by the King of Assassins and fleeing overseas in a panic. He then described how he traversed the Forbidden Sea, the Wasteland, the Death Storm, the Seven Kingdoms, and the State of Lu before returning to the Great Qian Dynasty, and how he secretly prepared a plan to seek revenge.

"Lianyi, can you help him?"

Yep.

Upon hearing his friend's plea, the puppet nodded solemnly.

Lü Cuicui smiled with relief and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Li Mo, you should leave. I don’t want to greet you like this. I will accompany you in another way. I will become like Lianyi through this Spiritual Immortal Puppet Tournament, and then I can continue to accompany you.”

Li Mo watched Lü Cuicui's retreating figure, sighed deeply, and then turned and left.

(End of this chapter)