Mortal: I can unlock the card pool by becoming an apprentice to him.

The old man and the young girl beside them were naturally Huang Mingyi and his niece Huang Wanrou, who had previously offered to come along.

Although the old man was at the same level of Qi Refining 5 as Han Li and Zhang Tie, his speech and experience were extremely mature. Along the way, the group not only did not find it boring, but also heard a lot of interesting anecdotes about the cultivation world from him.

"I have participated in such a grand event as the Tai Nan Small Gathering four or five times in my life. If I were to follow the routes of the mortal world, it would probably take another half a month to arrive. By then, I wouldn't even be able to find a place to stay and set up a stall."

As Huang Mingyi spoke with a smile, he stroked his gray beard. Reaching his destination smoothly was naturally good news for a low-level cultivator like him.

According to his usual practice, he did not want to travel with others.

However, after witnessing Han Li and Zhang Tie's actions firsthand, Huang Mingyi was convinced that the two were not malicious people, which is why he mustered up the courage to suggest that they go together.

I've heard that the cultivation world has been quite turbulent these past few years, with numerous reports of lone cultivators disappearing while traveling alone.

Huang Mingyi's family, the Huang family of Tanmeng Mountain, was not a major cultivation clan. The highest-ranking elder in the clan was only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining. With such a background, they were only slightly better off than those rogue cultivators with no way to cultivate in the cultivation world.

Therefore, he has always been cautious and low-key.

"Wanrou, when we reach the woods ahead, brew tea and water for Fellow Daoist Lin and the others. We can rest for a while before continuing our journey."

Huang Mingyi smiled slightly at Lin Mo, and then looked at Huang Wanrou beside him.

"Yes, Uncle."

The girl had the appearance of a delicate and pretty young lady, with a refined and well-behaved look.

Once they reached the woods, the group dismounted and rested briefly.

Huang Wanrou quickly found a clean stone table, took out her own tea set and tea leaves, squatted down and drew spring water to brew the tea.

Huang Mingyi then began to recount what he had seen and heard at the small meeting in Tainan, which fascinated Han Li and Zhang Tie.

A short while later, before the tea had even boiled, a series of dragging footsteps suddenly echoed through the woods.

Accompanied by a strong smell of alcohol, a disheveled figure slowly turned around.

The newcomer was a sallow-faced, wild Taoist priest with disheveled hair, a tattered Taoist robe, and a gourd covered in grease hanging from his waist.

"What a rich aroma of tea! Fellow Daoists, you have quite the refined taste. I'm parched from traveling."

His cloudy eyes swept over Lin Mo and the others, and he immediately stepped forward without any politeness, saying in a smug tone, "Hurry up and pour this humble Taoist a cup to quench his thirst."

This rude and overly familiar manner immediately displeased Lin Mo and the other two.

Huang Mingyi could see clearly that the Taoist in front of him was actually a master at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Among them, only Lin Mo was at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

He immediately instructed Huang Wanrou, "Wanrou, quickly pour this Taoist priest a bowl of tea."

"Understood, Uncle."

The Taoist seemed quite satisfied with Huang Mingyi's actions. He took the tea, first giving Huang Wanrou a few undisguised glances, then tilting his head back and drinking it all in one gulp. After wiping his mouth, he looked at Lin Mo and the other two.

"Drinking tea alone won't keep you full. It would be great if we could also have some medicinal pills."

Hearing this increasingly presumptuous tone, Han Li and Zhang Tie's expressions instantly darkened. Just as they were about to utter a few sarcastic remarks, Lin Mo suddenly smiled faintly.

"What a coincidence! I happen to have a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pill on hand. Would you be interested, Your Excellency?"

"Huanglong Dan?"

Upon hearing this, the Taoist's eyes lit up. He assumed that Lin Mo was just a junior who had come out with the old man at the fifth level of Qi Refining to broaden his horizons, and that he was easy to manipulate.

He immediately softened his menacing demeanor and said with a fake smile, "You little rascal, you're quite perceptive. Quickly show it to this humble Taoist priest, or else..."

The moment the words left his mouth, a gust of wind rushed towards him.

At such close range, Lin Mo used his advanced "Dragon-Trapping Technique"—no, it should be "Dragon Transformation Technique"—to make his figure move so fast that it was just a blur.

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared in front of the Taoist priest.

Unexpectedly, the other party was prepared and almost simultaneously slapped the greasy wine gourd at his waist.

"Do you think I wouldn't be prepared for this?"

The Taoist priest's face instantly turned ferocious. A thick, purplish-black mist suddenly gushed out from the gourd's mouth, instantly engulfing his figure and leaving only a nauseating stench in the air.

"There's poison in the fog!"

Han Li shouted, and he, along with Huang Mingyi, Zhang Tie, and Huang Wanrou beside him, all retreated. At the same time, they quickly circulated their spiritual energy to protect their mouths and noses, fearing that they would inhale the poisonous fog.

"Hmph, you ungrateful wretch. It's too late to run away now!"

The Taoist priest's voice echoed ominously from the swirling, purplish-black mist.

Just as he was about to take out a magical artifact from his storage bag to wipe out this group of arrogant fools, a giant palm about half a zhang long suddenly appeared in mid-air.

The giant hand had no physical form; it was entirely condensed from pure spiritual energy, gleaming with silver light and exuding an imposing aura.

"What kind of magic is this?"

The Taoist was instantly terrified. Before he could dodge, the giant palm, carrying a fierce aura that could suppress everything, crashed down!

"Bang!"

A low, suppressed thud suddenly exploded.

The silver palm slammed into the center of the black mist, blasting the previously dense purplish-black mist into disintegration in all directions.

Looking around the field, the Taoist priest was nowhere to be seen.

He was smashed into the mud by the giant hand, half of his body was buried in the soil, and the exposed half was covered in tattered clothes, blood was flowing from his mouth and nose, and he was already lifeless.

"That's quite a bit of power."

Lin Mo looked down at his palm. Although the "Silver Demon Hand" required about two breaths to activate, its power was almost comparable to the full force of a low-level magic weapon.

However, this technique consumes a great deal of spiritual energy; with just this one move, he lost half of the spiritual energy in his body.

It seems that this move can only be used in close combat. If the distance is too far, the power of the giant palm will gradually decrease in the air, making it not only difficult to seriously injure the opponent, but also a waste of spiritual energy.

"Senior brother, he's dead!"

Han Li mustered his courage and stepped forward, nudging the wild Taoist's body with his foot. Seeing that the other party did not react, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The look in their eyes towards Lin Mo now held a greater sense of awe.

"Fellow Daoist, you are truly powerful! You annihilated a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining with a mere wave of your hand. I am truly impressed!"

Huang Mingyi stepped forward, his tone full of amazement and apprehension.

Eighth level of Qi Refining! That's two whole realms higher than Lin Mo's.

He died here so easily, without even being able to fight back.

It truly shocked and frightened him. He even began to doubt whether inviting the other person to accompany him was the right or wrong thing to do.

On the way, he thought the other party was just a naive young man who came to see the world, and that he was only slightly more skilled than him, but probably didn't have much real ability.

But this unprecedented spiritual palm strike instantly shattered any faint contempt he might have felt, leaving only profound shock.