“Courtesy demands reciprocity…”
“Then I’ll thank you, Junior Sister Duan.” Lin Mo accepted the ring and immediately slipped it onto his finger. The ring was a pale blue color and quite pleasing to the eye—far better looking than any of the storage rings he currently owned.
Secretly observing from the shadows, Ye Kai was thrilled when he saw Lin Mo put it on. “This time, there’s no way I won’t bring you down.”
That night, Lin Mo was meditating in rest. From the ring on his finger, demonic energy was constantly drilling into his body.
On the third day, Lin Mo opened his eyes slightly and checked his physical condition. He then glanced down at the ring and exclaimed in surprise: “What kind of dumb luck is this?” “This isn’t just improving my ability to absorb spiritual energy—this is like having spiritual energy stuffed straight into my mouth!”
Lin Mo had no idea that what he had been absorbing the whole night wasn’t spiritual energy—but demonic energy. To him at this point, the sensation of absorbing spiritual energy and demonic energy felt exactly the same. In the end, both were being fused into his Golden Core anyway.
“The spiritual tea I drank a while ago helped me break through to mid-stage Golden Core.” “At this rate, I’ll probably hit late-stage Golden Core in less than half a month.” “But… why does Junior Sister Duan’s ring have this kind of effect?” “Could it be… one of the materials used in making it had special properties?” “And she herself wasn’t even aware of it?” “She really deserves the credit for suggesting gift-giving. My luck is insanely good.”
In a short time, he had encountered two outrageous strokes of luck.
Half a month later, Ye Kai watched Lin Mo break through to late-stage Golden Core, and was once again shocked. “Wanwan… what the hell is going on?” His voice trembled as he spoke to the girl inside the ring—uncertain whether it was from anger or fear.
Forget Ye Kai—even Wanwan was completely dumbfounded this time. “Something’s wrong. Your senior brother… something’s seriously wrong.” Wanwan kept mumbling that line to herself.
“Wanwan, I know something’s off about him—but what exactly is it?” Ye Kai was at his wit’s end.
“Forget that for now. You need to deal with the vow you made earlier.” “What vow?” “To eat shit.” “……”
Ye Kai’s face darkened. “Wanwan, I was just joking when I said that.” “I know,” Wanwan replied coldly. “But in front of the demonic, there’s no such thing as a ‘joke’. You must fulfill your oath.”
Ye Kai cursed in his heart, his face turning pale one moment and dark the next. He swore to himself that he would never make vows in front of Wanwan again—otherwise he’d… He abruptly stopped that thought, slamming the brakes in his mind. He almost made another vow.
After thinking for a while, he came up with a method he could barely accept: “Would pig intestines, with some of the original flavor still preserved, count?” “That’ll do,” Wanwan replied calmly.
—
Leaving Qingling Sect, he arrived at an inn in nearby Yunshen City. Ye Kai ordered a dish of pig intestines—specifically requesting it to retain the original flavor.
The waiter, thinking he misheard, asked again about the strange order. “Sir, you said ‘original flavor’? I’m not sure I understand.”
Ye Kai’s face turned grim as he said stiffly, “Whatever’s in the intestines—make sure to stuff it back in when you cook it.”
The waiter gave him a look of deep respect. In his years working at the inn, he’d seen many pig intestine lovers. Those customers always preferred strong, heavy flavors—especially the less ‘clean’ kind. But this guest was something else—he actually wanted extra ingredients added back in.
Strange fetishes were truly getting more and more common these days.
Staring at the plate of stir-fried pig intestines in front of him, Ye Kai’s stomach churned. He was filled with regret—why had he made that kind of oath back then?
And worst of all, nothing had even gone wrong for Lin Mo! So why did he have to go and eat pig intestines with their original stench?
—
Meanwhile, on Lin Mo’s side, the system chimed in his mind:
【Ding! You have gained regret because of the someone. Received: 1888 regret points.】
Huh? Who was the genius that suddenly gave him such a generous amount of regret points?
—
After finishing a full bowl of pig intestines, Ye Kai looked at Wanwan with a serious expression. “Is that enough now?”
“Alright.” Wanwan appeared calm on the surface, but inside, she was trying hard not to laugh. As expected, messing with humans was still the most fun. He believed everything she told.
“Let’s get back to business,” Ye Kai said.
“Let’s wait for an opportunity when Lin Mo leaves Qingling Sect. At that time, I’ll return to my true form and see what he really is,” Wanwan said after a moment of thought.
After these two encounters, she had already begun to suspect Lin Mo’s identity. He always gave her a familiar, kindred feeling—
Yet no demonic energy could be sensed from him. She had seen this kind of situation before. This human did have demonic energy on him.
But now, she was in a soul form, hiding inside Ye Kai’s ring, so she couldn’t see clearly. Only in her true form could she fully see through Lin Mo.
Just a few days later, Lin Mo planned to take Gu Qingxue and Qu Ruyan out for a stroll. Mainly because Qu Ruyan was simply too much of an eater—
She insisted on going to the city to have a proper meal.
Lin Mo also felt it had been a while since he’d taken Gu Qingxue out. Life in the sect had become rather stifling.
“I’ll go wherever Brother Lin Mo goes, as long as I’m by your side,” Gu Qingxue said sweetly with a smile.
“Me too—as long as Senior Brother takes me to eat, I’m happy,” Qu Ruyan, in her cat form, chimed in.
Lin Mo shot a glare at his spirit pet. “What nonsense—weren’t you the one whining about going to the city to eat?”
Qu Ruyan’s cat face looked aggrieved. “But… I can’t get full on Qingzhu Peak…”
That wasn’t a lie. The meals on Qingzhu Peak were fixed. And with Qu Ruyan’s gluttonous constitution, a few bowls of spiritual rice weren’t even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth. Even though Lin Mo secretly gave her spiritual fruits, they weren’t nearly enough to satisfy her hunger.
“Alright, when we get to the city, I’ll let you eat to your heart’s content.”
“I knew it—Senior Brother spoils me the most!” Qu Ruyan happily wagged her tail.
When they arrived at Yunshen City, Lin Mo bought everything Qu Ruyan set her eyes on from the street vendors. At the inn, he ordered all the signature dishes without hesitation.
After ordering, he noticed the waiter hesitating to speak. Lin Mo asked, “Is there something else?”
“Well, sir, one of our signature dishes is Spicy Stir-Fried Pig Intestines.” “I wonder if you’d prefer a stronger flavor or a milder one?”
Lin Mo turned to Qu Ruyan, who was sprawled on the table munching on a large meat bun. “Do you prefer it mild or strong?”
Qu Ruyan, in her cat form, looked puzzled. “What’s the difference?”
The waiter wasn’t surprised at all that a spiritual beast with mysterious light was talking to humans—
He had heard that some intelligent, high-level spirit pets could take human form.
He respectfully explained to Qu Ruyan, “If you prefer a milder taste, we’ll wash it more times. If you like a stronger taste, we wash it less.”
Lin Mo suddenly got curious. “How strong can the flavor be, exactly?”
The waiter chuckled awkwardly. “A few days ago, there was a handsome young man—not as handsome as you, of course, sir—who asked for the intestines to retain some of their original flavor.”
Qu Ruyan blurted out, “Ugh! Someone actually likes to eat poop these days?”
“Then forget the pig intestines. Save them for that guy who likes the original taste.”
In the shadows, Ye Kai wore an expression like he was badly constipated.
Even Lin Mo was surprised—he hadn’t expected this inn to serve something even more extreme than the infamous Nine-Turn Pig Intestine.
That meal thoroughly satisfied Qu Ruyan.
Not long after they finished eating, a tear in the sky suddenly appeared. A girl in red stuck her head out from the crack, staring directly toward Lin Mo.
As if sensing something, Lin Mo looked up. But in just an instant, the red-robed girl disappeared.
Lin Mo frowned. That sensation of being watched just now—it hadn’t been an illusion. Someone had been observing him from the shadows… And that aura definitely wasn’t human.
Could it be related to the demonic cultivators who had been attacking disciples of Qingling Sect?
“What’s wrong, Brother Lin Mo?” Gu Qingxue lightly patted his shoulder, seeing him spacing out.
“It’s nothing. It’s getting late—let’s go.”
This wasn’t a place to linger. Who knew whether that non-human creature would make a move?
With that, Lin Mo sped up his sword flight, taking Gu Qingxue and Qu Ruyan back to Qingzhu Peak.
Back on Wanwan’s side, her soul form returned once again to the ring Ye Kai wore.
“Wanwan, did you see anything?” Ye Kai asked impatiently.
“I did. Lin Mo has been cultivating demonic techniques.”
No wonder—no wonder her special medicinal powder had no effect on Lin Mo. Wanwan felt a wave of regret in her heart.
That powder was actually quite rare. At the time, she had thought the first dose simply didn’t work, so she kept using it for four or five days straight. And it all ended up benefiting Lin Mo.
The worst part was—her cultivation! She had basically handed over her cultivation for free to Lin Mo. She, a dignified demon, had ended up being taken advantage of by a human? What an unbearable humiliation.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo inexplicably gained another batch of “regret points”…
“If he’s cultivating demonic techniques, then why didn’t the Demon Detection Stone pick up his demonic energy?” Ye Kai asked, puzzled.
“Because he cultivates both immortal and demonic paths,” Wanwan replied.
“Cultivating both immortal and demonic paths? That’s impossible!” Ye Kai’s mouth dropped open. Even though he didn’t fully understand what it meant, it sounded incredibly powerful.
“Close your mouth. The smell is too strong,” Wanwan said with disdain.
Ye Kai’s face darkened, but he obediently shut his mouth.
“There’s nothing impossible about it. I examined Lin Mo’s physical condition myself—this is indeed the case,” Wanwan continued.
She herself was quite surprised by it. In all her hundreds of years of life, she had never heard of anyone cultivating both immortal and demonic techniques.
After all, spiritual energy and demonic energy were mutually repelling and incompatible. Yet inside Lin Mo, the two had reached a state of balance.
To be honest, she had no idea how he had managed to do it.
“This is actually a good thing for you,” Wanwan added. “Since he already possess demonic energy himself, doesn’t this make your mission easier to complete?”
Wanwan’s words made Ye Kai snap back to reality.
That’s right—wasn’t exactly this kind of mixed demonic energy what he needed from Lin Mo? He still didn’t know why Lin Mo would cultivate demonic techniques, but it worked perfectly in his favor.
Ye Kai sneered inwardly: Since you keep walking right into my trap, Lin Mo, don’t blame me for being ruthless.
Wanwan, however, was a bit speechless inside: Sure, Ye Kai’s temperament isn’t bad, but when it really comes down to a fight to the death, can someone who can’t even recognize a demon possibly be Lin Mo’s match?
