“After some time, once Master comes out of seclusion, I’ll probably leave the sect.”

“Huh?” Duan Susu was a bit confused. “You just got back not long ago, and now you’re leaving again, Senior Brother?”

“I’m not just leaving—I’m leaving the sect,” Lin Mo emphasized again.

Only then did Duan Susu realize that what Lin Mo meant wasn’t leaving Qingzhu Peak, but the entire sect.

“I never thought that even with your status, Senior Brother, such a day would come.” She stared blankly and asked, “Senior Brother, why are you leaving when everything’s going so well?” Then, as if something occurred to her, she quickly added, “If it’s because handling Qingzhu Peak matters alone is too tiring, I can help share the burden.”

Lin Mo let out a chuckle.

Duan Susu stood obediently in front of him.

Looking at her seriously, Lin Mo said, “There are some things I can’t tell you directly, Junior Sister Susu. But I have reasons I must leave.”

“You can consider it as… my family needs me more now.”

Duan Susu knew her Senior Brother’s personality well. If he was talking about leaving the sect, it must have been a decision made after deep consideration.

Thinking about how Qingzhu Peak would no longer have Senior Brother’s presence, her heart suddenly felt empty, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. “Senior Brother, I really… really can’t bear to see you go.”

In his memory, this was the first time Lin Mo had ever seen Duan Susu cry.

Just from those few short words, he could deeply feel how much Duan Susu cared about him.

His heart grew heavy. Lin Mo reached out to wipe away her tears and comforted her, “I’m only leaving the sect. I’m still alive—you’ll still see me. There’s no need to be this sad.”

“But…” Duan Susu didn’t quite know how to express it. She just felt that if Lin Mo wasn’t around, even though Qingzhu Peak would still be the same place, it would somehow feel… different.

It was like a brother and sister who had grown up together—if the elder brother suddenly said he was moving away, how could the little sister not feel heartbroken?

That comfort session ended up lasting a long while.

Eventually, Lin Mo managed to calm Duan Susu down.

After she left, Lin Mo also prepared to return to his residence from the alchemy room.

Though everything seemed peaceful on the surface at Qingzhu Peak, in truth, there were countless problems.

In a way, Qingzhu Peak was already structurally complete.

But unlike other peaks, Qingzhu Peak belonged to all its disciples—from top to bottom.

If it was to truly grow and become strong, it couldn’t rely on Lin Mo alone. All the disciples needed to actively put in effort, not just wait for their Senior Brother to fix things whenever a problem arose.

This all traced back to the original host. He had always been the type to overextend himself.

But sometimes, giving guidance is more valuable than personally taking action. Over-involvement only leads to the current toxic cycle: something goes wrong, and everyone just waits for him to step in and save the day.

Among the thirteen peaks of Qingling Sect, not all are successful in their internal operations.

In fact, it’s worth pointing out:

The twelve peak lords of Qingling Sect weren’t truly fellow disciples in the traditional sense. There didn’t need to be any ties between them.

Unlike other sects, Qingling Sect was originally formed by merging thirteen smaller sects—each peak used to be its own independent entity.

It wasn’t until the current sect leader managed to subdue the twelve sects and unify them that Qingling Sect came into existence.

But even after all these years, Qingling Sect hadn’t truly integrated. Internally, it remained highly fragmented.

Each peak handled its own finances, daily affairs, food, housing—everything independently.

Only when a major sect-wide crisis occurred—like a demonic invasion—would they stand united against the enemy.

Of course, the twelve peaks did have some private interactions.

For example, whenever disciples were sent out to recruit newcomers, undergo training, or participate in the sect’s grand competition, it gave the peaks a chance to understand each other a bit more.

Some peaks did have closer relationships—typically because the peak lords themselves were old acquaintances or had personal ties.

Lin Mo remembered that Qingzhu Peak was considered a more independent existence.

Master Yuehua always remained neutral when it came to dealings with the other peak lords. She rarely reached out, practically living a hermit-like existence, disconnected from the rest.

Lin Mo really couldn’t understand why Master Yuehua had become the head of Qingzhu Peak in the first place.

What was the previous peak lord thinking?

Of course, Lin Mo didn’t know much about Qingzhu Peak’s history.

Which meant that even though he lacked a clear picture of the peak’s past,

Since his return to the sect, he had mostly been preoccupied with handling the affairs of Qingzhu Peak.

Aside from that, he passed time playing chess and chatting with Gu Qingxue, and occasionally took her out for walks—relaxing and carefree.

Though never stated outright, the other disciples of Qingzhu Peak had already come to treat Gu Qingxue as their Senior Brother’s Dao companion.

Even though Gu Qingxue only had Qi Refining-level cultivation,

They still treated her with the utmost respect.

Thinking about it, since he was leaving soon,

Lin Mo figured it was only right to give some benefits to his junior brothers and sisters on Qingzhu Peak while he still could.

He paid out of his own pocket to have Jia Ling upgrade the meals a bit.

However, the junior brothers and sisters on Qingzhu Peak merely thought that their Senior Brother had found a Dao companion and was naturally in a cheerful, lively mood because of it.

But, as always, some rejoice while others grieve.

Upon learning that Lin Mo had a Dao companion, Shen Ke’er was filled with jealousy.

That day, after Lin Mo returned from a shopping trip down the mountain with Gu Qingxue—arms full of things—he was stopped by Shen Ke’er.

Perhaps due to the pills Duan Susu had given her, Shen Ke’er looked noticeably better in spirit.

“Senior Brother, you’ve already found a Dao companion. I’m your Junior Sister—aren’t you going to introduce her to me?” she asked.

“And when is the wedding? Or did you two already get married while you were away? If so, shouldn’t I at least be invited to a celebratory drink?”

No one could tell if she was doing it intentionally or not, but as she spoke, Ke’er turned and stared directly at Gu Qingxue.

Gu Qingxue felt a bit uncomfortable, but she didn’t show it. Instead, she replied, “Brother Lin Mo, is she also your Junior Sister? It’s my first time seeing her on Qingzhu Peak.”

That “Brother Lin Mo” rolled off her tongue smoothly, but to Shen Ke’er’s ears, it was extremely grating.

“The only Junior Sister I’ve seen close to you before was that Miss Duan Susu,” Gu Qingxue added innocently.

Shen Ke’er snapped, “What do you mean by that? I was raised by Senior Brother since childhood—how am I not close to him?”

Gu Qingxue turned to Lin Mo, feigning confusion: “Brother Lin Mo, is she really your Junior Sister from childhood? Then how come the only one who comes to greet you every day is Miss Duan Susu?”

Lin Mo chuckled softly. “I’ve been wondering that too—why is it that only Junior Sister Duan Susu comes to greet me every day?”

Shen Ke’er was suddenly at a loss for words.

She used to greet Lin Mo daily. But ever since she got close to Ye Kai, it started with just occasionally forgetting… Then it became once every few days. And after that argument with Lin Mo over the Ice Spirit Fruit—she hadn’t gone even once since.

“Let’s go back to the courtyard and rest,” Lin Mo said.

Just as he was about to leave, Shen Ke’er instinctively stepped in front of him again.

“Senior Brother, you still haven’t answered— is this girl really your Dao companion?”

Gu Qingxue blushed and was about to say not yet…

But Lin Mo frowned and spoke first: “What does that have to do with you now?”

Shen Ke’er, for reasons she couldn’t explain, suddenly felt deeply agitated. “I’m your Junior Sister—how could it have nothing to do with me?”

“Is it really that hard to tell me whether this girl is your Dao companion?”

Lin Mo didn’t want to deal with Shen Ke’er’s unreasonable behavior anymore.

He truly didn’t understand—

Did his Dao companion mean that much to Shen Ke’er?

She was merely the former host’s Junior Sister. How could she interfere with who he chose to be with?

“Senior Brother!”

Seeing Lin Mo ignore her, Shen Ke’er stepped forward again to block his path.

Lin Mo was growing annoyed. A wave of spiritual energy surged from his body and pushed Shen Ke’er back.

Caught off guard, she stumbled and fell to the ground. Her veil slipped off her face.

There were still a few other disciples nearby.

At that moment, they clearly saw the terrifying sight of Shen Ke’er’s face, covered in black, vein-like markings from the poison.

Whispers and murmurs erupted.

“What’s going on? What happened to Senior Sister Shen’s face?”

“Ugh, that’s kind of scary…”

“Those black lines are freaky…”

…

Shen Ke’er’s face turned deathly pale.

She had always cared a great deal about her appearance.

Every day on the peak, she took meticulous care of her looks—all so she could hear the praise and admiration of her fellow disciples.

Now that her current appearance had been revealed,

She looked up—and there was a flash of hatred in her eyes.

“Senior Brother, even if you don’t like me anymore, was there really a need to humiliate me like this?”

After saying that, she hurriedly pulled up her veil and rushed back to her residence.

Lin Mo frowned and looked off into the distance.

He had only used spiritual energy to push Shen Ke’er away—he hadn’t touched her veil at all.

But just now, he clearly sensed an extremely faint trace of spiritual energy flicker and disappear.

The first person who came to Lin Mo’s mind was Ye Kai, suspecting he was behind this.

But there was no trace of Ye Kai’s aura anywhere on Qingzhu Peak.

That in itself was strange.

“Brother Lin Mo, why don’t you go check on your Junior Sister?” Gu Qingxue said with concern. “She didn’t look well to me.”

“No need. Let’s just go back.”

Lin Mo knew that explaining anything to Shen Ke’er right now would be pointless—she wouldn’t believe him anyway.

What he didn’t know was whether it had actually been Ye Kai who had just acted to sow discord between him and Shen Ke’er.

After Lin Mo and Gu Qingxue left,

Ye Kai, who had been hiding in the shadows, curled his lips into a smirk.

What had just happened was indeed one of his “little games.”

The reason Lin Mo didn’t detect his presence was thanks to the help of the girl beside him.

“Wanwan, your ability to conceal your aura is seriously impressive.”

The one he addressed, Wanwan, chuckled softly.

“Of course it is. I’m a demon, after all. Hiding one’s presence is a basic survival skill for us—of course I’m good at it.”

“But you, I already taught you how to restore your cultivation talent ages ago. Now that your little Mo has returned and been back for days, aren’t you going to act yet?”

“Of course,” Ye Kai said. “In a couple of days, I’ll begin. But before that, it’s crucial to finish preparing the ‘seasoning’ for the main course.”

He smirked coldly.

All this time, he hadn’t left Qingzhu Peak. He’d been hiding in the back mountain, cultivating the techniques Wanwan taught him.

He had remained completely inactive until now—because without Lin Mo’s return, his plan couldn’t move forward.

Now that the “seasoning” was ready, it was time to set his plan into motion.

As for Lin Mo, he really did have ridiculous luck. Went out once and came back with such an astonishingly beautiful woman.

Sensing Ye Kai’s emotions, Wanwan smiled and said, “Nothing to be jealous of. Once Lin Mo is taken care of, everything he has will be yours.”

She then added, “But have you thought about how to get Lin Mo into that position? That’s the key to the entire plan.”

She stared at Lin Mo’s retreating figure.

There was a strange feeling in her heart.

She couldn’t quite say what it was—only that the man somehow felt like… her own kind.

And yet—he had no trace of demonic aura on him at all.