“Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma—consuming it can expel thousands of poisons, treat chronic ailments, enhance beauty, and is even more effective when used in alchemy.”
The moment Shen Ke’er heard that it could expel poisons, she was already excited.
By the time she heard it also had beauty-enhancing properties, she could no longer sit still.
“Master…” Shen Ke’er grabbed onto Master Yuehua’s sleeve, looking at her pitifully.
She was in such a rush that she failed to notice the way Master Yuehua’s eyes lit up slightly—
Deep inside, she was wondering: “Could this Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma remove… the mark on my body?”
The Treasure Pavilion auctioneer then announced the starting price:
“One million spirit stones.”
Before coming here, Master Yuehua had sold off quite a few items, so she still had some spirit stones left.
She placed a bid: “1,100,000.”
This herb’s beauty-enhancing properties made it highly sought after among female cultivators, who immediately joined the bidding war.
“1,200,000!”
“1,500,000!”
“2,000,000!”
The price skyrocketed.
Everyone here was wealthy, and many powerful cultivators were willing to spend a fortune just to please their female companions.
Soon, the bidding settled at 2,600,000 spirit stones.
Shen Ke’er grew frantic. “Master, please! You know my situation—I truly need this Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma!”
Master Yuehua sighed and shook her head helplessly. “It’s too expensive.”
She also wanted it.
But after selling off her accumulated resources and artifacts, she only had 1,800,000 spirit stones—
She simply couldn’t afford to bid any higher.
Lin Mo glanced at Master Yuehua several times.
Why did she look so disappointed about not being able to buy this Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma?
He didn’t believe it was just because she couldn’t help Shen Ke’er.
After all, her relationship with Shen Ke’er wasn’t that close.
Then, as he thought about it—Master Yuehua had always worn a veil.
A suspicion formed in Lin Mo’s mind.
Could it be that her face was horribly scarred…?
Was she trying to buy the Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma to heal those scars?
After all, women care deeply about their appearance.
Lin Mo was convinced he was mostly correct—
But in reality, he couldn’t have been more wrong.
Meanwhile, on Ye Kai’s side, the woman inside his ring let out a soft chuckle.
“Your master is probably trying to erase the mark left on her when she was once used as a demonic furnace.”
Ever since yesterday, through his conversations with Wanwan, Ye Kai had already learned Yuehua’s secret.
The mark on Master Yuehua’s body was something only high-ranking demons could sense.
And Wanwan—having a noble status in the demonic realm, along with her unique bloodline—was able to clearly perceive it.
Among the high-ranking demons, there existed a secret technique.
By having a human cultivator practice it, a demon could eventually inherit all of that cultivator’s cultivation—without losing any efficiency.
This was different from low-level dual cultivation techniques, which had low conversion rates.
It was more like a grafting technique, allowing a demon to perfectly absorb all the cultivation of the human host.
However, anyone who practiced this secret technique would be branded with a demonic furnace mark.
When Ye Kai learned about this, he was ecstatic.
He not only had a chance to restore his own talent, but now, he could also seize all of Master Yuehua’s cultivation!
And Master Yuehua was a Nascent Soul cultivator.
If he successfully inherited her cultivation, he could instantly break through to the Nascent Soul stage himself.
But before that could happen, Wanwan told him—
He needed to restore his talent first.
And she had already provided him with a method to do so.
Inside the ring, Wanwan smiled and asked,
“Have you made up your mind? Once you use my method, you’ll officially become part of the demonic race.”
Ye Kai hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Wanwan, if I use your method, will people immediately recognize me as a demon?”
Wanwan giggled and reassured him,
“Of course not. Your body will gradually transform, and even when you fully become one of us, I have ways to help you conceal your aura.”
Hearing this, Ye Kai felt completely at ease.
He then asked, “Wanwan, do you have a way to make someone generate demonic energy?”
Wanwan laughed playfully. “Of course! I have plenty of methods for that!”
“For example, make him practice demonic cultivation techniques, have him consume my specially prepared pills, or let him carry an artifact tainted with demonic energy.”
Hearing this, Ye Kai had already completely planned out how he would take revenge on Lin Mo.
He wanted Lin Mo to experience the pain of having his Golden Core dug out and his bone marrow extracted by his own master and junior sister, just as he had suffered in that dreamlike vision of the future.
He could already imagine the look on Lin Mo’s face when that moment arrived.
Meanwhile, inside the ring, Wanwan continued to observe Lin Mo in secret.
“As expected, this human does indeed carry my aunt’s aura.”
“How interesting… So that’s what happened—my aunt used him as a seed-bearer, huh?”
“Not bad. I’d really like to see what kind of talent my aunt’s chosen one possesses—will he be better than the one I’ve chosen?”
“And when the time comes, if the one I favor kills the one my aunt favors, I can’t wait to see her reaction.”
The more Wanwan thought about it, the more excited she became.
Her trip to the human world had always been to track down the remnants of her aunt’s aura.
Lin Mo finding her had not been a coincidence—she had deliberately lured him into her scheme.
But to her surprise, after Lin Mo picked her up, he had immediately tossed her aside, ignored her existence, and spent his time hunting demonic beasts and gathering spiritual herbs instead.
Even when he left, he hadn’t even considered waking her up.
Instead, it was Ye Kai—the second person to arrive—who gave her a surprise.
His entire being exuded a scent that she loved—greed, jealousy, resentment…
And after further interaction, she found that he and the man her aunt had chosen were from the same sect.
Even better, his emotions were entirely fueled by his hatred toward that very man.
Wasn’t this perfect?
By helping Ye Kai, she could obtain what she wanted, while at the same time, she could disgust her least-favorite aunt.
In a way, everything had aligned perfectly by sheer coincidence.
Meanwhile, on Lin Mo’s side, after considering why Master Yuehua wanted the Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma, he placed a bid:
“Three million.”
The moment he bid, Shen Ke’er’s face lit up with joy.
“Thank you, Senior Brother!”
She had been right after all—Senior Brother still cared about her.
Lin Mo smiled lightly.
“No need to thank me.”
Because I never planned to give it to you.
The price of three million spirit stones was too high for anyone else to bid further.
At the end of the day, it was just an herb that detoxified the body, healed ailments, and enhanced beauty—nothing so valuable that it warranted a bidding war.
Once Lin Mo successfully won the Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma, Shen Ke’er’s face bloomed with joy as she reached out to take it.
With genuine sincerity, she thanked him: “Thank you, Senior Brother, for helping me!”
But then—
“I told you, no need to thank me. I wasn’t planning on giving it to you.”
Lin Mo retracted the herb into his storage ring and smiled again.
Shen Ke’er’s smile froze.
“Senior Brother, I know my attitude toward you wasn’t right before, and I sincerely apologize for that. But please, don’t joke with me like this.”
“I’m not joking.” Lin Mo’s smile faded completely.
“But Senior Brother, you sold off other detoxifying herbs just a while ago. This Three-Leaf Azure Ganoderma shouldn’t be of any use to you, right?”
“Just because it’s useless to me, does that mean I can’t give it to someone else?” Lin Mo countered.
“Exactly! Senior Brother, you can just give it to me!” Shen Ke’er still hadn’t realized the reality of the situation.
“Then let me ask you—why should I give it to you?” Lin Mo’s expression turned cold.
Shen Ke’er responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
“Because I’m the junior sister you raised since childhood!”
Lin Mo ignored her completely.
At this point, he seriously wondered—was Shen Ke’er’s sense of entitlement really because the original Lin Mo had spoiled her too much?
Probably not.
After all, Shen Ke’er was already eight years old when the original Lin Mo brought her back.
By that age, a person’s personality was already mostly developed.
Her sense of entitlement likely stemmed from her own childhood environment—even before she met the original Lin Mo.
But Lin Mo didn’t care about any of that.
The reality was that Shen Ke’er had become an ungrateful leech.
And that was all that mattered.
After briefly greeting Master Yuehua, Lin Mo turned and left.
Meanwhile, Shen Ke’er stood there, utterly humiliated in front of everyone—and the seeds of resentment toward Lin Mo were already beginning to take root in her heart.
Watching their relationship continue to deteriorate, Ye Kai’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk.
Shen Ke’er was a crucial piece in his plan.
Even without his direct interference, things were naturally unfolding in his favor.
It seemed like fate itself had finally started helping him.
