Lin Mo truly hadn’t expected that Lin Xiang’er’s “Seventh Sister” was actually Yan Ruyu’s maidservant. Although he had been forced at the time, Yan Ruyu really was his first woman. To be honest, he had almost no feelings for her, but since she was his first, his memory of her was somewhat deeper. He had to admit though, the things Yan Ruyu left him were quite useful—the Heaven-grade nameless sword technique, and the stone that had once saved his life…

“How is it you?” Qiqi’s eyes widened in shock as she pointed at Lin Mo. She too remembered him clearly—partly because of his good looks, and partly because he had once been chosen as the Saintess’s breeding partner. What shocked her more than his appearance here, however, was his cultivation level. She herself was at the Soul Splitting stage, and she could clearly see that Lin Mo was at the same level. But ever since the Saintess had left him, only two and a half years had passed. Could that little Foundation Establishment novice from back then really have broken through to the Soul Splitting stage in such a short time? Even with great talent and countless fortuitous encounters, it was still almost unbelievable. Could it be that the Saintess truly had a discerning eye?

“Am I really that strange? What about your master?” Lin Mo said coldly. “I still have a lot of scores to settle with her.” His attitude made Qiqi bristle. “My master not only gave herself to you, she also left you with so many good things. What kind of score could you possibly have to settle with her? You were only at Foundation Establishment back then, while she was at the Soul Transformation stage. If it weren’t for those special circumstances, what right would you have had to touch her body?”

Lin Mo waved his hand dismissively. “I was the victim. What’s wrong with me wanting to settle accounts with her?”

Mo Pao’er, having heard enough, muttered under his breath, “Brother Mo, you’re really being ungrateful…”

“Get lost, brat.” Lin Mo kicked him hard, sending Mo Pao’er flying off into the distance. The latter howled in his heart, These days, even telling the truth gets you beaten!

“Seventh Sister, Sister Qiqi, Daddy, please stop fighting…” Lin Xiang’er hurried over to break them up. Lin Mo, seeing this, was about to speak calmly when Qiqi cut him off. She glanced around warily and whispered, “This isn’t the place to talk.”

Glancing at the countless eyes fixed on him, Lin Mo agreed. “Then let’s talk somewhere else.”

They found an inn nearby and entered a private room on the second floor. Lin Mo set up a barrier using a formation. Qiqi couldn’t help but be impressed. “This formation of yours is quite clever.” In her eyes, unless someone at the Integration stage appeared, no one would be able to eavesdrop on them.

Lin Mo took a sip of tea and said calmly, “It’s passable.” The formation he had drawn from the system wasn’t low-rank—he did have some means.

“Alright, now we can talk properly.” Lin Mo fixed his gaze on Qiqi. “I’ll ask, you just answer.”

Sensing the shift in his aura, Qiqi felt as if she were facing her master. Her throat tightened and, almost against her will, she nodded.

“First of all, who exactly is Yan Ruyu?” Lin Mo asked.

“She’s the Saintess of the Demon Realm,” Qiqi replied.

Lin Mo was startled. He had always sensed that Yan Ruyu wasn’t ordinary, but he hadn’t expected her status to be so exalted. “Then who is Xiang’er’s mother?”

“The Saintess…”

Although Lin Mo had long suspected this, hearing the truth left him at a loss for words. He remembered clearly that when he and Yan Ruyu had been together, there had been signs of her virginity. Even her movements at the time had been awkward and clumsy—it really should have been her first time, without a doubt. Could the cultivation world really even fake something like that?

He glanced at Lin Xiang’er’s innocent face and suddenly felt exhausted. Had he just been overthinking, like some paranoid keyboard warrior? Two and a half years—could Yan Ruyu really have conceived from just one encounter? That would mean the child should only be about a year and a half old. Yet Lin Xiang’er looked seven or eight… Thinking of this, Lin Mo felt as if his head was turning green.

Qiqi noticed the strange look in his eyes and immediately understood what he was thinking. “Don’t overthink it. Xiang’er really is your child.”

She then turned to Xiang’er with a puzzled look. “Xiang’er, how do you know he’s your father?”

Lin Xiang’er blinked her big eyes and said in her soft, childish voice, “Mommy said Daddy is super handsome. I searched for several days, and Daddy was the best-looking.”

Qiqi shot Lin Mo a sympathetic glance. Lin Mo’s face twisted in misery. “So after all that, it was just a guess?” Being praised for his looks brought him no joy this time. If someone else had looked better, would Xiang’er have chosen a different father instead?

But Xiang’er added earnestly, “The most important thing is, whenever I see Daddy, I naturally feel like getting close to him.”

Those words finally eased Lin Mo’s heart. This little cotton-padded jacket with holes in it could still be worn—it just needed some patching up.

At that moment, Qiqi explained, “Sorry—don’t let Xiang’er’s appearance fool you. She’s actually not even two years old.”

Lin Mo froze and looked her over carefully again. No matter how many times he examined her, he still couldn’t believe this little girl was less than two.

“Lin Mo, you can check Xiang’er’s physical condition,” Qiqi suggested, her face full of heartache as she looked at the child.

Though puzzled, Lin Mo followed her advice and probed into Xiang’er’s body. At once, his brows furrowed. Inside her, besides her own demonic energy, there was another stream of demonic energy that clearly didn’t belong to her. It seemed to be nourishing her body and aiding her growth, but at the same time it was violently unstable—like pulling up sprouts to force them to grow.

“What’s with this other demonic energy inside Xiang’er?” Lin Mo asked suspiciously.

Qiqi answered with sorrow, “That energy came from Demon Lord Yan. She forcibly infused it into Xiang’er to make her grow faster.”

Lin Mo’s frown deepened. He had heard of such methods in the cultivation world—those who were forcibly infused with spiritual or demonic energy might grow rapidly for a time, but in the end, their bodies couldn’t withstand the power and they exploded to death. So how was Xiang’er still unharmed?

He voiced his doubts to Qiqi.

Qiqi explained, “Xiang’er is of the demon race. Her body’s endurance isn’t something humans can compare to.”

Lin Mo frowned. “So all demons can be treated this way?”

Qiqi shook her head. “No. Normally no one would do such a thing. Even if the body can withstand an external force and grow rapidly, it still suffers pain beyond what ordinary people can comprehend. It’s like having one’s entire body—limbs and bones—shattered repeatedly, only to be restored again and again.”

Hearing this, Lin Mo’s face darkened as anger surged inside him. “I just want to know—why would that Meiyan Demon Lord do this to Xiang’er?”

Qiqi began explaining the full story. In the beginning, the entire Demon Realm had been ruled by the Ancestor, Chu Tiange. But a hundred years ago, he was sealed away. Since then, the Demon Realm had been jointly governed by the three great demon clans—the Baili, Qianchi, and Meiyan. With the Ancestor gone, the one with the greatest authority was Saintess Yan Ruyu.

However, the three clans were unwilling to submit to her. They tried everything to force her to step down and elect a new Holy Son or Holy Maiden. Naturally, Yan Ruyu refused. She understood that the strength of the three clans was evenly matched; if she abdicated, they would inevitably fall into bloody conflict over whose candidate would take the position.

The only way to maintain balance was for the original Holy Maiden or Holy Son to produce an heir, someone who could rightfully inherit the position. But the three clans had spies everywhere in the Demon Realm, and there was no chance for Yan Ruyu to conceive a child with any demon.

That was why she set her sights on humans. After slipping past countless obstacles, she secretly entered the human realm, arriving in Daliang City—the very place Lin Mo had gone at the time. By coincidence, she encountered the most talented cultivator she could find: Lin Mo. And so she chose him to “borrow a seed” from.

Hearing this, Lin Mo asked suspiciously, “If I hadn’t gone to that Talented Youth Assembly, would Yan Ruyu have simply chosen someone else there?” In truth, he found the whole thing puzzling. Across his thousands of reincarnations, he had never once seen Yan Ruyu’s shadow—nor had he ever died by her hand.

If Yan Ruyu had truly held a Talented Youth Assembly, then she should have crossed paths with Nangong Xu. But Nangong Xu had always been with Jiang Yanran, and had never been connected to Yan Ruyu in any of those lifetimes. The storyline just didn’t line up.

Qiqi remained silent, which was answer enough.

After Yan Ruyu had succeeded in conceiving and returned to the Demon Realm, her actions were quickly discovered by the Meiyan Demon Lord—Yan Ruyu’s cousin. Her scheme was simple: imprison Yan Ruyu, use demonic energy to forcibly accelerate Lin Xiang’er’s growth, and make her inherit the position of Holy Maiden. With Yan Ruyu as leverage, Lin Xiang’er could be forced into obedience, raising the prestige of the Meiyan clan.

Hearing all this, Lin Mo finally understood the full cause and effect. To put it plainly, wasn’t this just the classic ploy of “holding the emperor hostage to control the lords”? What he wanted to know now was just how much pain Xiang’er had endured in the process.