In Cold Ice Palace, Palace Master Gu Qianxue furrowed her brows. The moment her external incarnation stepped into the secret realm, a mysterious force severed their connection. At that very instant, all of the incarnation’s cultivation reverted back to her main body. Focusing her divine sense to probe, Gu Qianxue’s brows furrowed even deeper.
“The connection… is completely gone?”
She took a deep breath. This sudden turn of events left her mind in turmoil. She had set her incarnation’s age at just over twenty years old. Now that she could no longer control it, her incarnation’s personality and thoughts would remain at that level. Moreover, the incarnation no longer possessed any cultivation—it was now a mere mortal. Just thinking about her younger self’s personality and mindset gave Gu Qianxue a headache. If the incarnation was simply wandering in the secret realm, her main body would at most feel some feedback effects. What she truly feared—was that her incarnation might experience some bizarre event beyond her control.
“Forget it, forget it…” The situation had already unfolded—there was no point in overthinking. Perhaps this was her trial, a lesson in detachment. Gu Qianxue stopped dwelling on it. If her incarnation survived the secret realm, they would naturally reconnect afterward, and she would be able to retrieve its memories.
Lin Mo followed the Lin family team through the secret realm’s entrance. When they emerged from the teleportation, they found themselves above a vast lake. Reacting swiftly, they moved across the water, eventually reaching a large swampy area. For many Lin family disciples, this was their first time entering a secret realm. Excitement lit up their faces, their minds filled with fantasies of great fortune and soaring to new heights.
As they traveled deeper, they noticed something unusual—they had yet to encounter a single demon beast. Some of the arrogant younger disciples started whispering.
“This secret realm isn’t that impressive… even the back mountains of Tianxing City have more demon beasts than this.”
“Yeah, I was expecting some grand monster-infested land, but this is kind of disappointing.”
“I can’t wait for a fight—my blade is itching for some action!”
“Enough. You guys only ever fought low-tier demon beasts in Tianxing City. If we actually run into something powerful here, you’ll be the first ones running.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? We still have Brother Zijian with us!”
This last remark came from Lin Tian, a devoted follower of Lin Zijian. Lin Zijian, basking in the flattery, straightened his back and patted his chest.
“Of course! Everyone, rest assured—I will keep us all safe.”
With their self-proclaimed protector reassuring them, the younger Lin family disciples grew even bolder. Surrounded by lush greenery and fragrant flowers, they couldn’t resist exploring the exotic plants and herbs they had never seen before. Near a muddy area, a particularly beautiful spiritual flower caught Lin Tian’s eye. Eyes gleaming, he eagerly shouted:
“Look at this flower! It’s gorgeous—wait, let me pick it for you!”
Just as he reached out to pluck it—PAIN. A sudden sharp slap landed on the back of his hand.
“Oww!” Lin Tian clutched his reddened hand in shock and anger, turning furiously toward Lin Mo.
“What the hell?! Why did you hit me?!”
Lin Mo remained calm, his gaze fixed on the so-called spiritual flower Lin Tian had nearly touched. With an indifferent tone, he said—
“That’s not a flower. It’s a trap.”
“I saw it first, don’t think about taking it from me.”
“Do you even recognize this kind of spiritual flower?” Lin Mo asked flatly.
“Who doesn’t? It’s a valuable medicinal ingredient, isn’t it?” Lin Tian frowned.
“If you don’t even know what it is, you just reach out and grab it?”
Seeing how reckless the younger Lin family members were acting, Lin Mo could only sigh in exasperation. He had encountered this kind of spiritual flower before in the Great Continent mountain range. Though it was of decent quality, its petals and roots contained a potent poison. It couldn’t be harvested barehanded. Moreover, if such a flower was growing here, there was definitely a guardian demon beast lurking nearby. Luckily for Lin Tian, Lin Mo was still his elder. He couldn’t just stand by and let the fool get himself killed.
Lin Tian, however, stood his ground in front of the spiritual flower, his eyes filled with suspicion.
“Uncle Lin Mo, don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to something I found first? I was the one who spotted it first!”
At this moment, Lin Zijian also noticed the commotion. After glancing at Lin Tian and the spiritual flower, he calmly said,
“That flower is poisonous. You need to use spiritual energy to pluck it.”
As he spoke, he extended his spiritual energy toward a nearby green leaf, intending to use it to touch the flower. The moment the leaf brushed against the flower—Zzzzz! A sizzling sound filled the air. Before their very eyes, the leaf disintegrated into fine dust.
Lin Tian, now utterly shaken, immediately started bootlicking.
“As expected of Brother Zijian, your knowledge is unparalleled!”
The surrounding Lin family disciples quickly echoed their agreement. Lin Zijian remained expressionless, but internally, he felt somewhat pleased with himself.
Only Lin Qingqing scoffed, glaring at Lin Tian.
“If Uncle Lin Mo hadn’t stopped you, your hand would be crippled by now.”
Lin Tian’s face flushed red in embarrassment.
“Y-Yes, yes. Thank you, Uncle Lin Mo.”
His words were reluctant, but he still hurriedly used spiritual energy to safely harvest the flower.
“Wait!” Lin Mo called out.
However, Lin Tian was faster—thinking that whoever grabbed it first would get to keep it. Just as his spiritual energy wrapped around the flower—Boom! The swamp erupted. From its depths, a hidden demon beast lunged out, claws outstretched.
The sudden attack stunned Lin Tian into complete inaction. He froze as the demon beast bared its fangs, ready to tear him apart. Lin Qingqing screamed in shock.
Just when Lin Tian thought he was about to be devoured—A streak of sword light flashed before his eyes.
Swish! The demon beast was sliced cleanly in two.
Lin Mo patted Lin Tian’s trembling shoulder and said calmly,
“What were you doing? Standing there waiting to die?”
“For rare spiritual flowers like this, there’s almost always a guardian demon beast nearby.”
He shook his head, sighing.
“As expected, noble family disciples lack real experience in the wild…”
Lin Tian’s face burned with shame. Lin Qingqing, however, expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you, Uncle Lin Mo.”
Lin Mo simply waved a hand dismissively.
Lin Zijian squinted his eyes slightly, feeling like he had lost face. He quickly added,
“I forgot to mention earlier—whenever you see rare spiritual plants or flowers, report them to me first. Don’t act recklessly, or you’ll end up like Lin Tian, nearly caught in a sudden accident.”
Lin Mo rolled his eyes.
‘Great. Now you say it? What a brilliant afterthought.’
Despite this brief interruption, the group continued moving forward. Before long, a dense forest appeared in the distance. Having learned their lesson, everyone grew more cautious. They no longer rushed to pluck unknown spiritual plants or herbs without first carefully observing their surroundings.
However, Lin Mo was different. Every time he spotted a rare spiritual herb, he would instantly store it in his spatial ring. His actions left the others completely dumbfounded. They had no idea how he was able to identify valuable plants so quickly. After collecting so many spiritual flowers and spiritual herbs, they still hadn’t encountered any guardian demon beasts.
These young Lin family members had no idea that over the years, Lin Mo had frequently ventured into the Great Continent Mountain Range. On top of that, he had memorized countless botanical records. He could gather these spiritual plants without startling any demon beasts, making the process seem effortless. Of course, for extremely high-quality spiritual plants, the guardian beasts would naturally be stronger. Some spiritual plants were even inseparable from their protectors. If one wanted to obtain them, they would have to rely on their own strength.
Lin Mo glanced at the abundant harvest in his storage ring. Meanwhile, Lin Zijian was watching him with gritted teeth, full of envy and resentment.
Ahead, the dense forest opened into a forked path. The young Lin family disciples pricked up their ears, unable to tell any clear differences between the two paths. They looked to Lin Zijian for guidance.
“Brother Zijian, which way should we go?”
Lin Zijian examined both paths carefully. He noticed that the left path had fewer demon beast footprints and no signs of carcasses. So, he chose the left path, deeming it the safer route.
Lin Mo also knew that the left path was safer. But instead, he chose to walk toward the right.
This immediately caused a disagreement between the two. Most of the younger Lin family members chose to follow Lin Zijian. To them, staying close to Lin Zijian was the safer and more logical choice. Plus, following Lin Mo offered no apparent benefits.
Seeing Lin Mo deliberately choosing the right path, Lin Zijian couldn’t help but smirk coldly. The right path clearly had more demon beast tracks, meaning it was far more dangerous.
“Let’s see how long he lasts.”
If Lin Mo encountered misfortune inside the secret realm, then Lin Zijian would once again be the only prodigy of the Lin family. But on the surface, he still feigned concern.
“Uncle Lin Mo, are you sure you don’t want to join us?”
Lin Mo glanced back at the hesitant young disciples.
“I feel like your group is slowing me down.”
The younger Lin family members instantly felt offended. They had originally considered following Lin Mo, but hearing him call them a burden made them angry and dismissive. Any thoughts of joining Lin Mo vanished immediately.
Lin Qingqing also silently returned to Lin Zijian’s team. Unlike the others, she didn’t feel insulted—instead, she was frustrated at her own weakness. If she had tried to fight that demon beast earlier, she probably would have died instantly. She silently vowed to train even harder. If she ever had the chance to team up with Lin Mo again, she refused to be a burden.
Of course, Lin Mo had said those words on purpose. He had zero interest in dragging a bunch of inexperienced juniors around.
“Exploring this secret realm alone is far more enjoyable.”
He walked toward the right path, gradually distancing himself from the main group.
After traveling a short distance, Lin Mo encountered several demon beasts. However, most of these demon beasts were not even at the Golden Core stage. For Lin Mo, they were no challenge at all.
The resources in this area were far more abundant than those in the outer regions of the Great Continent Mountain Range. Lin Mo had only been walking for half a day, yet the total value of the spiritual herbs and beast meat he had gathered was already equivalent to ten days of hunting in the outer regions of the Great Continent Mountain Range.
Suddenly, he halted his steps, his gaze fixating on the grass on the right.
“You’ve been following me for so long… isn’t it about time you showed yourself?”
Not long after entering the secret realm, Lin Mo had already noticed something trailing him. He originally thought that taking this route would allow him to avoid this stalker—but apparently, that wasn’t the case. Lin Mo had a strong feeling that this thing was trying to get even closer.
The reason he hadn’t acted yet was that he could sense that this entity posed no real threat to him. However, being tailed by an unknown presence for so long was still an unpleasant experience.
Just as he finished speaking, not long after—The grass suddenly rustled, producing a series of rustling sounds as something stirred within. A sound echoed.
Lin Mo’s sharp gaze remained fixed on the grass. He was curious to see exactly what had been following him all this time.
Then—A fluffy figure suddenly popped out from the grass and ran up to him. It let out a soft cry—
“Meow~”
Lin Mo: “…”
