Chapter 70: Leaving the Team!
Upper Realm.
Ice Palace.
Palace Master Gu Qingxue’s brows furrowed deeply. The moment her external avatar entered the Secret Realm, a mysterious force severed her connection with it.
At that very instant, the cultivation level of the external avatar returned entirely to her.
Calming her mind and using her divine sense to perceive her surroundings, Gu Qingxue’s elegant brows drew even closer together.
“I can’t contact my external avatar at all anymore…”
Gu Qingxue let out a deep sigh. This sudden, unexpected situation left her utterly flustered.
She had set the age of her external avatar to be in her early twenties. Since she couldn’t control it now, the external avatar’s personality and thoughts would remain fixed at that age.
Moreover, this external avatar currently possessed no cultivation level; it was a complete mortal…
Thinking about her own personality and thoughts at that age, Gu Qingxue felt a terrible headache coming on.
If her external avatar were to perish within the Secret Realm, her main body would at most suffer some backlash.
She was more worried that the external avatar might experience peculiar incidents, even exceeding her control.
“Alas, it is what it is. Perhaps this is also one of my tribulations.”
Gu Qingxue stopped dwelling on it. After the Secret Realm concluded, if the external avatar was unharmed, she would naturally be able to reconnect with it. At that time, she would gain its memories from when the connection was severed.
…
After Lin Mo followed the Lin Family’s team into the Secret Realm entrance, he was teleported onto a lake.
Everyone reacted swiftly, walking on the water and arriving one after another at a marshy area.
This was the first time the Lin Family disciples had entered a Secret Realm, and excitement was written all over their faces, each fantasizing about obtaining opportunities within the Secret Realm to soar to unprecedented heights.
After walking for a considerable distance without encountering any Dem, some arrogant disciples began to whisper amongst themselves.
“The Secret Realm is nothing special. Even the back mountains south of Sky Star City have Dem, yet this place is so safe. I heard it was some great Dem Secret Realm, how disappointing.”
“Yeah, I can barely wait for Dem to appear so I can show off my skills. My great saber is thirsty now and needs a taste of flesh.”
“Get real. The low-level Dem you encounter in Sky Star City’s back mountains are only at the Qi Refining stage. When you meet some stronger Dem later, don’t go running off in a panic.”
“What’s there to fear? Don’t we still have Brother Zijian with us?”
The last person to speak was Lin Tian, who was Lin Zijian’s most loyal sycophant.
Lin Zijian patted his collar, a pleased smile on his face after Lin Tian’s flattery. “Cousin Lin Tian is right. We are family. Of course, I will protect everyone’s safety.”
With their main pillar speaking this way, the younger generation of the Lin Family became even bolder.
Seeing the surrounding flowers and birds, one by one, they couldn’t resist stepping forward to examine the Spirit Herbs and Spirit Grass they rarely saw.
Beside a mud pit not far away, there was a particularly beautiful Spirit Flower.
Lin Tian saw it and couldn’t help but step forward, shouting:
“Sister Qingqing, this flower is so beautiful! I’ll pick it and give it to you!”
After speaking, he reached out to pluck the Spirit Flower.
Just then, a sharp pain shot through his hand.
“Ow!”
Lin Tian clutched his reddening hand and angrily looked at Lin Mo:
“Why did you swat my hand away?”
“I saw this Spirit Flower first. Don’t even think about snatching it.”
“Do you recognize this Spirit Flower?” Lin Mo asked indifferently.
“Does whether I recognize it matter?” Lin Tian frowned.
“You don’t recognize it, yet you just reach out to pluck it?” Seeing the recklessness of the Lin Family’s juniors, Lin Mo was utterly speechless.
He had seen this Spirit Flower in the Great Continent Mountain Range before. While its quality was good, its petals and roots were poisonous, and it couldn’t be plucked with bare hands.
Furthermore, there were definitely guardian Dem hidden nearby.
As he was Lin Tian’s uncle, he couldn’t just stand by and watch his junior relative die for nothing.
Lin Tian stood in front of the Spirit Flower, a suspicious look on his face. “Uncle Lin Mo, you’re not eyeing something that I, your junior, have taken a liking to, are you? I found this first!”
Lin Zijian also noticed the commotion. He glanced at the Spirit Flower behind Lin Tian and explained, “That flower is poisonous. You need to use Spiritual Energy to pluck it.”
As he spoke, he used his Spiritual Energy to grasp a nearby green leaf and toss it towards the Spirit Flower.
The green leaf made a `sizzling` sound and quickly turned into powder before the naked eye.
After being shocked, Lin Tian couldn’t help but start flattering again. “As expected of Cousin Zijian, you truly are knowledgeable.”
The surrounding Lin Family disciples also echoed their agreement.
“I merely read the ‘Records of Spirit Plants’ thoroughly.” Lin Zijian outwardly remained impassive, but inwardly he was beaming with pride.
Only Lin Qingqing snorted softly at Lin Tian, “If Uncle Lin Mo hadn’t stopped you, wouldn’t your hand have been ruined?”
“You don’t even know who to thank.”
“Yes, yes, yes, thank you Uncle Lin Mo.” Lin Tian’s attitude was quite perfunctory. The next moment, he used his Spiritual Energy to pluck the Spirit Flower.
“Wait!” Lin Mo called out to him, but Lin Tian’s action was faster. He thought, whoever gets it first, gets it. Why wait for you.
At that very moment, an anomaly occurred. A Dem surged out from the depths of the mud pit and lunged forward.
The sudden turn of events startled Lin Tian, leaving him completely flustered. Staring at the Dem’s fangs, he forgot to resist.
Lin Qingqing also shrieked in terror at the sight of this Dem.
Just as Lin Tian thought he was about to be devoured by the Dem, a sword energy flashed past his eyes, cleaving the Dem in two.
Lin Mo patted the shoulder of Lin Tian, who had fallen to the ground in fright, and lectured, “Standing there like an idiot waiting to die?”
“For a Spirit Flower of this quality, there’s a high probability of guardian Dem nearby.”
As expected, the cultivation experience of these noble family disciples was still too limited.
Feeling a bit tired, he had a sense that he was leading a group of foolish Junior Sisters again.
“I, I certainly know that.” Lin Tian’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Lin Qingqing thanked him, “Thank you, Uncle Lin Mo.”
Lin Mo waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.
Lin Zijian narrowed his eyes. He was putting on a show again.
He quickly added, “I forgot to mention when we entered the Secret Realm. If you see any rare Spirit Plants or Spirit Flowers, report to me first. Don’t act rashly, or you’ll end up like Cousin Lin Tian, encountering unexpected accidents.”
Lin Mo rolled his eyes. What a post-hoc rationalization.
This incident was merely a minor interlude.
The group continued onward. Not far ahead lay a dense forest.
Upon entering the forest, everyone was exceptionally cautious this time. They observed their surroundings meticulously before daring to pluck any unfamiliar Spirit Flowers or Spirit Herbs,
Lin Mo, however, was different. The Spirit Plants within his sight were almost instantly swept into his storage ring with blinding speed.
Everyone watched in stunned silence, unable to understand why Lin Mo, despite plucking so many Spirit Flowers and Spirit Herbs, hadn’t encountered any guardian Dem.
Little did these Lin Family juniors know that Lin Mo’s years of venturing in the Great Continent Mountain Range, combined with his extensive reading of various Spirit Plant compendiums, made it incredibly simple to acquire these Spirit Plants without alarming any Dem.
Of course, for Spirit Plants of exceptionally high quality, the guardian Dem’s strength would be greater, and they would be inseparable from these plants, requiring personal strength to acquire.
Watching Lin Mo amass a fortune, Lin Zijian gritted his teeth with jealousy.
Deep within the forest ahead, a fork in the road appeared.
The Lin Family juniors tapped on both paths, seeing no discernible difference. They then asked Lin Zijian, who was leading them, “Brother Zijian, which way do we go?”
Lin Zijian observed the ground not far from both paths. He noticed fewer Dem footprints and no remains of carcasses on the left, so he chose the left path.
Lin Mo also knew the left path was safer, but he chose to go right.
The two had diverged.
Most of the Lin Family juniors chose to follow Lin Zijian.
For them, firstly, they felt closer to Lin Zijian. Secondly, there were no easy opportunities to be found by staying with Lin Mo.
Seeing Lin Mo choose the right path, Lin Zijian inwardly sneered. The right path had more Dem footprints and was clearly more dangerous. He would have something to deal with later.
He even wished Lin Mo would meet with misfortune in the Secret Realm, so that he could once again be the sole genius of the younger generation in the Lin Family.
However, he still asked verbally, “Uncle Lin Mo, are you truly not going to accompany us?”
“I feel you are delaying my progress in exploring the Secret Realm.” Lin Mo glanced at the still hesitant Lin Family juniors behind him and spoke without politeness.
Those Lin Family juniors felt a pang of displeasure. They had wanted to trust this uncle, but he actually found them to be a burden.
Initially, they had thought of following Lin Mo, but now they had abandoned that idea.
Lin Qingqing quietly returned to Lin Zijian’s group. Unlike the others, she wasn’t thinking that way. Instead, she regretted her own lack of strength.
If Lin Mo hadn’t acted just now, she might have fallen victim to that Dem.
She secretly resolved to cultivate even harder. That way, if she had the chance to travel with Lin Mo in the future, she wouldn’t be a hindrance.
Lin Mo had naturally said that on purpose.
He truly didn’t want to act with these juniors. Wasn’t exploring this Secret Realm alone much more enjoyable?
Proceeding along the right path for a while, Lin Mo encountered quite a few Dem.
These Dem were generally weak, most of them below the Golden Core stage.
Dealing with them was naturally not difficult for Lin Mo.
The resources here were far richer than those in the outer areas of the Great Continent Mountain Range.
After only half a day, the total value of the Spirit Herbs and Spirit Beast Meat Lin Mo had acquired was equivalent to ten days of hunting in the outer Great Continent Mountain Range.
Suddenly, he stopped, his gaze fixated on the bushes to his right.
“After following me for so long, shouldn’t you come out now?”
Shortly after entering the Secret Realm, he had discovered something following him.
He had initially thought this stretch of road would frighten the pursuer away, but he hadn’t expected it to follow even closer.
The reason he hadn’t acted until now was that he sensed this entity posed no threat to him.
However, being constantly tracked by an unknown entity was still a very unpleasant matter.
As soon as he finished speaking, the bushes suddenly stirred, emitting a rustling sound.
Lin Mo’s eyes remained fixed on the direction of the bushes. He was also eager to see what exactly was following him.
Then, a furry figure emerged from the bushes and ran up to him, letting out a cry: “Meow~~~”
Lin Mo, “……”
