Chapter 245
“Just as I expected from you, but you haven’t met that opponent yet.”
“.....”
Ying Bingyu’s expression was not grave; instead, it was a complex mix of contemplation and something hard to decipher.
Shang Qinqing paused for a moment, then asked, “What are you thinking? Even though they both have the ink character, Mingjiao is still far from being on par with a human.”
“I don’t know.”
Ying Bing stared at the big-headed doll, but unfortunately, the doll couldn’t speak to provide her with an answer.
What could possibly make someone become indistinguishable from Mingjiao?
Still standing out in the aquatic selection?
That seemed a bit far-fetched...
But if it were something that happened to him, it seemed reasonable, no matter how unexpected.
“Ah, I get it! If it’s not him, then it’s not worth mentioning.”
“If it is him, then there’s no need for a fight…”
Shang Qinqing suddenly realized something, then said earnestly, “In a couple of days, I’ll personally take you to Xuankong Temple.”
“Why?”
“I want to pay my respects in person!”
“.....”
......
P.S.: This morning, the rickety bed in my rental collapsed, and the carpenter came to fix it for a long time, so I’m a bit late with my writing, orz.
---
**Chapter 263: Departing for Xuankong Temple, the Hope of the Aquatic Clan!**
The Heishui Marsh was shrouded in perpetual rain, and today was no exception.
Pavilions and towers appeared hazy behind the curtain of rain, while the lake was filled with countless ripples.
In a certain courtyard, before a water tank that rippled in the same way, the face of a young man from the Mingjiao clan, a newly recognized genius, was reflected, along with his body glistening with a dark sheen.
“The Three Treasures Lingzhi are all gone.”
“The Linghu Zhuanggu Dan... hmm, that’s gone too.”
Li Mo looked at the empty jade bottles and boxes in his system space and sighed silently.
He had basically cleared out all the precious body-refining pills from the Hengtong Trading Company.
To be fair, the quality of Hengtong’s goods was quite good.
Well... provided you didn’t compare them to the feedback from Bing Tuozi.
Not to mention Bing Tuozi, even the feedback from Princess Xiao Jiang was far superior.
So, Li Mo could only make up for quality with quantity.
This led to a massive consumption.
Moreover, the effort required to elevate a supreme-level martial art from perfection to transformation was even greater than all the previous efforts combined.
The progress in observing divine intent had also slowed considerably.
Li Mo had originally hoped to make significant strides before competing for the Celestial Jade.
Currently, the progress was far from ideal.
It was akin to an extravagant, exceptionally talented, yet utterly ordinary person.
Oh, right.
Recently, he had received many gifts, but very few were actually useful...
Knock, knock—
At that moment, the door was suddenly knocked on.
When he opened it, he saw a young girl from the clam clan standing there, holding a pearl that was evidently larger than the previous ones.
Zhen Bang’s face was flushed.
“Li Mo, this is for you!”
“This pearl is of good quality,” Li Mo nodded, intending to take out some gold from his system space to exchange.
But he heard Zhen Bang mumble, her head lowered, “This one is free. It’s a gift from the elders of my clan to you, as a betrothal gift…”
“.....”
Li Mo’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the pearl.
This wasn’t the first time.
It was well-known that among the demon clans, bloodlines were revered; the stronger the bloodline, the more outstanding the offspring.
Thus, as a newly recognized genius of the Mingjiao clan, Li Mo was terrifyingly popular.
“We’re bound to produce exceptionally talented offspring together!”
“Wait, I’m quite satisfied with this pearl, but…”
“Yay! Lord Li Mo says he’s very satisfied with me!”
“Can you let me finish? I come from outside the South, and I’m a traditional jiao; we don’t have an emotional foundation…”
After much effort, Li Mo wasn’t sure if she understood his meaning.
Zhen Bang truly didn’t understand.
In the demon clan’s perception, as long as a powerful bloodline was satisfied with the gift presented, it meant consent to breed; that was how the Mingjiao clan operated.
What was this thing called an emotional foundation?
So after all that talking, Zhen Bang only remembered one thing:
“Lord Li Mo says he’s very satisfied with me!”
With her face still flushed, she turned and dashed away.
Li Mo: “Σ( °△°|||)︴”
All you hear is what you want to hear; is that also your bloodline power?
Were you being intentional or just careless?
Sighing at the pile of gifts in his room, Li Mo took out the Wukong Qiudao Tu and began to observe divine intent.
---
In the afternoon.
The door was knocked on again, and it was Murong Xiao and his family of three.
Initially, when he took Murong Xiao to meet the couple Murong Feng and Wu Qing, something unexpected happened.
This couple, who had been urged by their clan to have a second child, were quite surprised by Murong Xiao’s arrival.
It wasn’t them who sent the message for Murong Xiao to come to the South.
Adding to the coincidence of the rebel forces appearing, not fleeing deep into the South, but instead capturing Murong Xiao...
Li Mo found this matter suspicious.
This was also why he had been striving to improve himself every moment lately.
Though there was no direct evidence, the shadow of the Huamojiao was vaguely present in the South, and this trip to Xuankong Temple would likely not be peaceful.
The family of three clearly exchanged warm greetings and shared a moment of tenderness.
“If it weren’t for you, my wife and I might not know when we would see Xiao’er again.”
Wu Qing’s eyes were red; she had already learned of Murong Xiao’s experiences on the road, and even a fifth-grade demon couldn’t help but shed tears.
But she didn’t know that the heavenly jiao before her was originally human.
“I was already planning to come to the South; I was just traveling alongside Murong brother,” Li Mo said with a slightly embarrassed smile.
He had originally intended for Murong brother to return directly to Qingyuan Sect.
“Thank you.”
Murong Feng also bowed slightly.
“Too kind; I’ve admired you for a long time, Uncle.”
“You know me? Though I made a name for myself when I was young, that was so long ago…”
Murong Feng was somewhat puzzled about where this admiration came from.
Perhaps it was just a polite remark?
“Ah, I’m naturally happy that Xiao’er is back, but… he is still a half-demon,” Murong Feng sighed with a complex expression.
Li Mo pondered.
Wait a minute.
As a half-demon, wouldn’t it be better for him to stay within the Mingjiao clan? Moreover, the demon clan not only had no prejudice against half-demons but actually admired their powerful abilities.
But from Murong Feng’s tone, it was clear he thought Murong Xiao would be safer in the human realm?
“Learning Buddhist teachings is also Xiao’er’s opportunity.”
Wu Qing looked at her son’s bald head and the white jade relic in his hand, and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
The couple had their concerns.
But they perhaps felt this wasn’t something young people should worry about, so they didn’t elaborate.
Moreover, this wasn’t a recent encounter.
The Tianming Shenyuan wasn’t mind-reading; it couldn’t know what others were thinking.
“Just in time, Xiao Wumo and the others are also heading to Xuankong Temple, so we can go together.”
“When do we leave?”
“Of course, today; otherwise, why would I come to inform you?”
The Mingjiao clan’s style of doing things was quite decisive; they left as soon as they said so, which likely contributed to the outside world’s perception of their impulsive nature.
That day, the other four aquatic geniuses, including Wu Damo, were already waiting by the lake.
Xuankong Temple was quite far from Heishui Marsh, located at the far west of the South, but there was a waterway to take.
A massive fishbone ship was docked at the shore.
“Our aquatic clan hasn’t competed for the Celestial Jade in many years.”
“This time, the bird clan is quite formidable; the Dapeng clan has a half-demon Zhiduo, who not only has a powerful bloodline but also knows human martial arts. If you encounter him, do you have confidence?”
The other four demons glanced at the boy by the fishbone ship not far away.
Without hesitation, they all nodded.
“Yes!”
“Also, there’s the Qingluan clan, which has produced a Qingluan goddess who has slain many vicious disaster beasts; her strength is even more terrifying than Zhiduo. Do you have confidence against her?”
The four demons, including Wu Damo, were momentarily stunned.
This time, they pondered for a long while.
But then they suddenly remembered that the heavenly jiao Wumo had once said that with just a slight effort, he could make the Qingluan goddess unable to resist!
“Yes!”
“Brother Wumo has the talent of a heavenly jiao!”
“They have the Qingluan goddess, but we have the heavenly jiao to back us up; what is there to fear!”
“Our aquatic clan’s time to shine is coming! I can’t wait to see what a fierce battle between jiao and luan will be like.”
The aquatic clan was filled with confidence.
“Hmm?”
Li Mo turned back in confusion, and after some thought, he felt a bit regretful.
If he had known, he would have held back a little.
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