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

"Senior Huang, then this junior will take his leave now."

Inside the market, Lin Mo and Su Jiutong stood side by side, bowing deeply to Huang Jingshan in front of them.

The latter nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on the two for a moment before he raised his hand and dispelled the outermost barrier.

"Take care on your journey."

He solemnly instructed.

After watching the two step onto the gourd and leave completely, Huang Jingshan finally composed himself and put away his gentle expression.

He did not return to the house immediately, but instead closed his eyes slightly and silently spread his divine sense around.

The other side.

"Senior Brother Lin, aren't you being a little too cautious?"

A cold mountain wind swept across the landscape. Su Jiutong and Lin Mo stood one after the other on the gourd. She looked around and, seeing nothing unusual, her tone relaxed a bit.

"I hope it's just my imagination."

Lin Mo placed his hand on the storage bag, looking noncommittal.

As they passed through a secluded valley, Su Jiutong subconsciously wrinkled her nose.

"What's that smell? It's so fishy..."

Before he could finish speaking, a huge black bird suddenly swooped down from the dense forest on both sides of the cliff.

The strange bird was enormous, with feathers as black as ink, each feather standing on end.

A pair of scarlet eyes were fixed on Lin Mo and the other person on the gourd.

The moment he heard the strange bird's cry, Lin Mo immediately changed direction. A flash of light appeared on the Wind-Concealing Gourd, and then he rushed back in the direction he had come from at a speed three times faster than before.

At this moment, Lin Mo no longer had time to think about how the other party knew that he had chosen to return to the sect at this time.

Because on the broad back of that strange bird stood a figure in black robes.

Judging from his aura, this person's cultivation level was actually a level higher than Huang Jingshan's, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Lin Mo pursed his lips, and his spiritual power surged forth as if it were free, pouring into the Wind-Gathering Gourd beneath his feet.

"Senior Brother Lin, he's coming."

Su Jiutong's small face was ashen.

Her voice trembled, and her whole body shook uncontrollably.

"Where do you think you can escape to?"

The black-robed figure on the strange bird slowly spoke, his voice hoarse yet carrying a hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness.

But the next second, he seemed to lose interest in this chase that had no suspense.

With a wave of his left hand, a cloud of black mist shaped like a skull was suddenly launched, hurtling fiercely towards the Wind-Gathering Gourd.

The skull was incredibly fast, and within moments it was almost touching the gourd.

Just as the collision was about to occur, a layer of golden-purple spiritual light suddenly shone from Lin Mo's body, and then enveloped the entire gourd in the spiritual light at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The skull slammed into the light, and the next second it turned around on its own, charging towards the black-robed man on the black bird.

"What's going on? Why can you deflect my spells?"

The man in black robes was also encountering this situation for the first time, and he stood there stunned.

But he quickly realized what was happening.

Seeing that his spell had completely slipped out of his control, the man in black robes frowned and quickly took out a pale yellow talisman from his storage bag and cast it.

"Bang!"

A loud bang suddenly exploded.

The rebounding skull slammed into the newly lit rune shield, unleashing a surge of violent spiritual energy that swept outwards, sending broken branches and leaves flying everywhere from the dense forest on either side of the cliffs.

"Good darling, I'll gladly accept this."

The black bird suddenly swooped down, carrying a foul-smelling black mist as it pressed down.

The man in black robes stood firmly on the bird's back, his withered hands slowly clenching, his eyes filled with a greedy, ferocious light.

Just as the distance between them was decreasing, a bright yellow jade ring fell from somewhere.

The ring was covered with intricate and ancient Taoist patterns, its golden light restrained and calm. As soon as it appeared, it emitted a burst of supreme yang energy that suppressed evil spirits and purified ghosts.

The one who unleashed the ring... was none other than Huang Jingshan, who had been secretly following behind the two of them.

Caught off guard, the black bird was trapped by the ring and immediately let out a shrill, terrified cry, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.

The man in the black robe was not faring much better. His expression changed drastically, and his previous greed and mockery froze on his face. He clearly hadn't expected that someone had been hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

It just so happens that the ring that Huang Jingshan brought out was also quite remarkable, being an extremely yang-type magic weapon specifically designed to counter the black-robed man's techniques.

Suddenly, the tide of battle turned.

Having roughly guessed that he couldn't escape the control of the ring in a short time, the man in black shrieked. In an instant, thick, ink-like black mist spewed out from the strange bird's mouth. The black mist quickly condensed and gathered, firmly enveloping the man and the bird within it.

Seeing this, Lin Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief, his tense back relaxing slightly, while Su Jiutong's face remained bloodless.

She looked timidly at the dark mist enveloped by the ring above, her body trembling slightly.

"Senior brother, has Senior Huang been following us the whole time?"

After a moment, she came to her senses and looked at Huang Jingshan, who was urging the ring to slowly contract, and asked in a low voice.

"That's right, although we didn't notice anything unusual before, but..."

Before Lin Mo could finish speaking, five or six figures appeared on the distant horizon, flying rapidly towards them.

The newcomers were all dressed in brightly colored robes embroidered with patterns of exotic beasts. Each of them rode a well-trained, unnamed spirit bird.

The leader was an old Taoist with Foundation Establishment cultivation. They slowly stopped above the valley, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Lin Mo and his group.

"Are you a fellow Daoist from the Hidden Moon Sect?"

The old Taoist priest glanced at the black mist in the circle and asked a question.

Huang Jingshan glanced at the other person and replied loudly, "Exactly."

"I am Yi Yunzi from Ling Shou Shan." The old Taoist bowed, his tone tinged with doubt.

"Fellow Daoist, what is this?"

Seeing the ring tighten, Huang Jingshan felt a sense of relief.

This magical artifact of his was bestowed upon him by a Golden Core elder of the Hidden Moon Sect, and it is called the "Mysterious Yang Ring".

Once caught in this trap, almost no cultivator of the same level can break free using their own strength.

Therefore, upon hearing the old Taoist's question, Huang Jingshan subconsciously replied, "This person was lurking in the shadows, intending to harm our sect's disciples. Fortunately, we discovered his scheme. Now we are about to take him in and interrogate him thoroughly in the sect later to see who he is and how he dared to harm our Yanyue Sect's disciples."

"So that's how it is." A look of understanding appeared on the old Taoist's face, and then he said indignantly, "They are really audacious to attack and kill the disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect for no reason. They deserve to die a thousand deaths."

As he spoke, he gestured for the people behind him to follow.

"Fellow Daoist, do you need my assistance? Our seven sects are of one mind and have just happened to witness this matter today. We must not let this fellow off lightly."

Yi Yunzi seemed to have a deep hatred for these rogue cultivators who robbed the way.

Upon hearing this, Huang Jingshan subconsciously looked at the ring in the air. Although it was still tightening, it would freeze in place as soon as it touched the black mist exhaled by the black bird.

It would probably take some effort for one person to apprehend both the person and the bird.

So he nodded and agreed to Ikuko's suggestion.

"Thank you very much, fellow Daoist!"