Chapter 252
"By the way, there are quite a few half-demons at the Xuankong Temple this time."
Guo Jing pulled out several jars of wine and poured them into the flowing banquet, inviting everyone soaking in the river to taste.
"Really?"
Li Mo raised an eyebrow. He had wandered around the temple for quite a while, but his Tianming Divine Eye hadn’t revealed any information about half-demons.
"They only arrived at the last moment."
Guo Jing, with a face full of the scent of alcohol, said, "You threw me quite far away! I just returned to the Xuankong Temple in the evening and happened to see them."
"I feel... they’re not weak."
"Half-demons..."
Li Mo couldn’t help but think of his brother Murong.
Murong Xiao had been targeted by the Demon Calling Sect because of his half-demon heritage, almost ending up as some kind of divine child.
Could those half-demons be related to this matter?
"Tomorrow, we can check with the Tianming Divine Eye."
Li Mo silently noted this in his mind.
Then he took out some fine wine, exerted a slight force, and shattered the jar, letting the wine flow into the water.
"This is wine I brought from the human realm. Please enjoy."
"Thanks, Boss Mo!"
"Tsk tsk, this aroma! It’s time to show off my drinking capacity."
It seemed that the aquatic creatures had a poor tolerance for alcohol.
Before long, a bunch of flipped-over demons floated in the river.
...
Meanwhile, in another side hall of the Xuankong Temple.
Eight half-demons, including Zhi Duo Luo, sat around the same table, each displaying bizarre features of their demon lineage.
Some had fish gills on their necks, others were covered in tiger stripes, some were enormous, and a few had multiple fox tails...
But they all shared one common trait.
Their expressions were incredibly cold, and from them, one could hardly discern any human emotions.
"Is that Wu Mo really of true dragon blood?" the half-demon Qiong Qi licked his lips.
Zhi Duo Luo squinted his golden eyes. "Otherwise, it’s hard to explain why he’s so powerful."
"If he falls into our hands, it would greatly aid our plan to revive the true dragon for the Da Shang..."
"Not just him, but that Qing Luan too; her true phoenix bloodline is even more important!"
"But both of them are the dragon and phoenix among demons, their combat power far exceeds that of their peers. Capturing even one of them will be quite a challenge."
The half-demons fell into contemplation.
"You don’t know something."
Zhi Duo Luo’s lips curled into a smile. "Wu Mo and Luan Bing have already clashed. I saw them go head-to-head; they will definitely determine who’s superior. Perhaps they’ll fight to the death over the divine jade."
"Why not wait for them to weaken each other before we strike? Then we can snatch the divine jade for ourselves."
"That’s a plan that kills two birds with one stone!"
The half-demons all agreed that Zhi Duo Luo’s plan was quite feasible.
Let’s do it!
---
**Chapter 271: The Mourning Love Master? The Empty Minded Monk**
The next morning.
In the aquatic side hall.
In the rushing river, a shadow of a jiao swam upstream, creating large splashes and occasionally dodging the rocks in the water.
The current grew stronger, but the jiao, which was actually a transformed Li Mo, remained unyielding against the waves.
Speed had always been a weakness for Li Mo.
Now, transformed into a jiao, with just a bit of practice in the water, he felt as if he had divine assistance.
Splash—
The water erupted, and the jiao leaped into the air, transforming into a bare-chested youth mid-flight.
In the sunlight, the young jiao, Li Mo, had a muscular upper body that retained a sleek beauty reminiscent of a cheetah, faintly shimmering with a dark luster. Though he wasn’t particularly large, he exuded an aura that made him seem unshakeable.
The shadow of the jiao behind him added to his extraordinary presence.
This was evident from the expressions of the female demons nearby.
"The demon race truly has exceptional talent."
Shaking off the water droplets, Li Mo couldn’t help but marvel.
Now, his speed in the water was only slightly slower than Huang Donglai’s on land.
The benefits were significant.
But there were downsides too.
Every morning, Chen Bolai took a bit longer, and restless thoughts would bubble up in his mind...
At such times, to clear his mind, Li Mo could only meditate on the ice block in his mind... the Ascension Diagram, using the moonlight to calm his heart.
However, his spirit didn’t seem to grow much; demons couldn’t observe other divine intents.
"No wonder Brother Murong always fails to restrain himself."
Li Mo deeply understood how vulnerable Murong Xiao’s weakness was.
Softness and hardness sometimes complement each other; if one aspect is too soft, it can lead to another being overly rigid.
Splash—
At that moment, the rushing river slowed down, and Wu Qing, looking satisfied and surprised, said, "Not bad, you’ve mastered the water manipulation technique of the jiao clan."
"When I was at the seventh rank, my speed was no better than this."
Li Mo cupped his hands. "Thank you, Auntie, for your help. I haven’t seen Brother Murong these past few days. How is his training at the Xuankong Temple going?"
As he spoke, he took out some jerky for breakfast.
"He..."
Wu Qing’s expression was complex.
"Xiao’er faced quite a bit of resistance when he entered the Xuankong Temple with his demon body."
"Well... after all, this is a place of Buddhist purity," Li Mo nodded, understanding.
"Moreover, the masters said that Xiao’er has difficulty severing his worldly attachments, especially when it comes to love..."
Li Mo recalled the instincts ingrained in male jiao and sighed, "Brother Murong has always been trying hard; it’s just that it hasn’t been effective."
"Fortunately, he has great wisdom. Master Hengyuan insisted on taking him in despite the opposition and even gave him a Dharma name."
"What is it?"
Li Mo took a bite of jerky, and the thought of having to call him by his Dharma name next time made him chuckle.
"Zang Ai."
"Pfft..."
Li Mo nearly spat out his jerky.
That Dharma name was indeed fitting, but why did it sound so strange?
The Mourning... Zang Ai Master?
A non-mainstream monk?
Uh...
Brother Murong becoming a disciple of the Buddhist sect as a half-demon was indeed quite non-mainstream.
Ding—
As they spoke, a bell tolled, breaking through the clouds and resonating in the cave.
This was the morning bell for the early service at the Xuankong Temple, reminding every demon in the cave.
The competition for the divine jade was about to begin.
Li Mo and the other demons exited the cave, passing by the Yinyuan Tree, and arrived at the main hall of the Xuankong Temple. Though it was called a main hall, it was far from the usual grandeur of temples; instead, it was an ancient and simple structure.
Many demons had already gathered here.
Apart from the disaster beast clans, the young talents from various major clans in the southern region had come with their elders.
As soon as Li Mo arrived, his gaze began to search among the demons, and he activated his Tianming Divine Eye.
The ice block hadn’t arrived yet.
He took out a small notebook and started jotting down notes.
Before long, a sudden piece of information appeared before him, causing him to pause.
The young man with golden hair and golden eyes, clad in golden armor and wings, with a hooked nose... was none other than the male bird who had previously blocked his path, trying to join the fun with a group of female demons.
【Name: Zhi Duo Luo】
【Age: 29 (4120)】
【Root Bone: Golden Peng Bloodline】
【Realm: Seven Apertures of Divine Observation.】
【Destiny: Blue with a hint of purple】
【Evaluation: A divine child of the Demon Calling Sect’s Beast Hall. Before the fall of Da Shang, Han Zhen used his own mastery of the profound to give birth to the Golden Peng divine intent, lying dormant in the southern region for many years, practicing the True Scripture of Summoning Spirits, and growing his spirit through the power of incense and wishes. Ultimately, he could bring back one of Da Shang’s totems, the Golden-Winged Great Peng.】
【Recent Encounter: Intends to take advantage of the conflict between Wu Mo and Luan Bing to profit.】
No wonder Zhi Duo Luo had blocked his way that day.
He clearly had his eyes on what he called the ‘true dragon bloodline’!
"Not the Demon Calling Sect again..."
Li Mo scanned the half-demons beside him.
Sure enough.
They were all from the Demon Calling Sect, each notable on the Qianlong List, and ranked quite high.
"The Xuankong Temple is above worldly affairs and never competes with other forces."
"The strong within the temple may be aware, but they might not have the intention to intervene..."
Retracting his gaze, Li Mo’s expression turned a bit strange.
Two sides suffering?
Him and Bing Ku?
Li Mo suddenly realized he had been taking things too seriously; these half-demons might not pose any real threat to him.
Unless the Demon Calling Sect wanted to make a big show on the territory of the Xuankong Temple.
Just a little caution would suffice.
"The Qing Luan goddess has arrived."
"Just by looking at her appearance, it’s clear she’s a pure-blooded Qing Luan; a true phoenix in the world, nothing less."
"Keep it down; she looks cold, but she can be ruthless. Since her emergence, she’s slain over a hundred disaster beasts, averaging two a day."
"Is she looking at me?"
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