I offered sacrifices to the gods

The capital of the Kingdom of Yu.

The crown prince, who had just suppressed a mutiny in a border prefecture, was greeted by countless people lining the streets to welcome him back to the capital.

He rode his white horse through the streets, his face beaming with pride, his horse galloping swiftly.

After this ordeal, his position as crown prince should be secure, and he no longer needs to worry about threats from other princes.

Sure enough, within a few days of the Crown Prince returning to the capital, many potential in-laws came knocking on his door.

The ministers in the court, the various immortal cultivation families in the Yu Kingdom, and the generals in the army all wanted to form marriage alliances with him.

"Your Highness, have you decided which family's young lady you wish to marry?" an aide asked as he stepped forward.

The crown prince sat upright in a pavilion, admiring the scenery of the imperial city, and did not reply for a long time.

He took a sip of the spiritual wine in his cup, and a wisp of fire appeared in his pupils.

During this period, he successfully ignited his life flame and advanced to the Candle Illumination Realm.

The path of spiritual practice is currently on the rise.

A cultivator at the Candle Illumination Realm who is not yet thirty years old is almost certain to advance to the Contemplation Realm in the future; he still has plenty of lifespan to squander.

"I'd like to postpone this matter for a while. The most important thing in the cultivation of the Candle Illumination Realm is to avoid leaking one's essence."

"If one can maintain the body of a pure yang virgin before advancing to the visualization realm, the foundation will be more solid. Only in this way can there be a sliver of hope to break the shackles of the human body and tear apart the feminine chains."

As he spoke, the fire in his eyes burned even brighter.

Once he reaches the Shackled Realm, he will have the opportunity to free the Yu Kingdom from the control of the Golden Sun Temple in the future.

In this way, his achievements would be comparable to those of the founding emperor.

His advisors whispered, "It's certainly good that Your Highness has such ambitions, but you should also consider the matter of succeeding to the throne."

"Although His Majesty is in his prime and full of vigor, he has also considered abdicating and retiring to a life of seclusion, and has not had any more children in recent years."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince finally sighed and decided to compromise.

The Lin royal family has a trace of dragon blood flowing through their veins, but only the emperor's offspring can inherit this trace of dragon blood; the offspring of other princes have ordinary bloodlines.

The secret lies in the fact that the royal family possesses a flawed dragon seed passed down through generations, and that dragon seed only recognizes the bloodline of the Lin royal family.

Only after inheriting the position of Crown Prince will this flawed dragon seed be bestowed upon him.

The reason he was able to enter the Candle Illumination Realm so smoothly was also due to the help of this dragon seed; otherwise, the process of igniting the life flame would not have been so smooth.

Those who inherit the bloodline of the dragon can also have offspring whose bloodlines can activate a trace of dragon blood within them.

This is why dragon blood can circulate within the bodies of every generation of royal descendants!

"Sigh, then let's choose the Liu family of Yunhe Ridge. Anyway, it's all about dealing with Jinyang Temple." The Crown Prince's gaze couldn't help but drift towards the distant horizon.

There was a Taoist temple in that direction, which suppressed the Lin Dynasty for more than two hundred years!

Several days after the Crown Prince decided to marry the eldest daughter of the Liu family of Yunhe Ridge, an imperial edict was issued from Jinyang Temple.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

Inside the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, a eunuch rushed in, carrying a gold-embossed imperial edict.

The crown prince, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, frowned slightly and asked, "What happened? Why are you so anxious?"

"In the face of great events, one must remain calm. Even if the sky were to fall, one must remain composed. Only in this way can one turn danger into safety and misfortune into good fortune."

"Speak, what is it? Could it be that the Liu family of Yunhe Ridge is unwilling to marry off their daughter?"

The eunuch said with a sob in his voice, "No, Jin Yang Temple just issued a decree to the palace. Your Highness, please take a look."

The decree of Jinyang Temple?!

His Highness the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes, thinking that the tribute of spirit grains and spirit stones would be increased.

Upon receiving the imperial edict and reading its contents, his breath caught in his throat, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Depose me... How could this be? How could Jinyang Temple interfere in the succession to the throne?"

"Why? Why is this happening? Can anyone tell me?!"

The eunuch kneeling on the ground said tremblingly, "His Highness Lin Mo has become a disciple of the Abbot and his personal apprentice."

Upon hearing this, the crown prince's pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing became erratic.

Immediately afterwards, he spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

"puff!"

"Impossible, this can't be..."

The hostage who was sent up the mountain not only did not die, but actually became the abbot's personal disciple.

This is something that no previous hostage prince had ever accomplished; how could his sixth brother have gone this far?!

A day later, the crown prince was deposed, causing an uproar throughout the court and shocking the entire country.

The dragon seed within him was forcibly stripped away, causing his cultivation level to plummet to the Spirit Guiding Realm.

With just a single imperial decree, the once-prosperous Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was reduced to a thing of the past in an instant.

...

On Jinyang Mountain, Lin Mo held a scripture scroll in his hands and read it carefully.

This was a local history book he had borrowed from the Sutra Repository of the temple. It introduced the customs and culture of the Yu Kingdom and some surrounding areas, which broadened Lin Mo's horizons considerably.

Books like these don't belong to the tradition; a direct disciple like him could easily borrow several copies.

"This world is truly full of wonders. There is even a celestial river that flows backwards, and one can cross thousands of miles in a short time by boat."

As he spoke, he closed the book of local customs in his hand, preparing to return it to the library.

Along the way, some disciples greeted him in a fawning manner.

"Senior Brother Lin, the Abbot's decree has reached the capital!"

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow and asked with a light laugh, "How did it go?"

"Hehe, is that even a question?"

"As soon as the abbot's decree arrived, the crown prince was immediately deposed, and it is said that his cultivation level inexplicably dropped back to the Spirit Guiding Realm."

Hearing this, Lin Mo was slightly taken aback, not expecting that even his cultivation level had dropped.

"How could my cultivation level have also dropped? Why is that?"

The disciple who had tipped them off shook his head and said, "I don't know. It's probably because that person's foundation was unstable and they used some external means to advance to the Candle Illumination Realm."

"Having suffered such a great blow, his mental state could not withstand it, and thus his cultivation level has declined."

"However, he probably won't live much longer. Although his cultivation level has dropped, the life fire within his body is still burning. The cultivation level of the Spirit Guiding Realm is not enough to sustain the life fire. Without life-extending medicine, he will at most exhaust his life essence and die in five or six years."

Lin Mo felt much better after learning that there was such a saying.

In this way, it can be considered as revenge for those two fat and thin Taoist boys.

Without much conversation, he walked straight through the courtyard and into the Sutra Repository of the temple.

After returning the local history book, Lin Mo ascended to the second floor of the Sutra Repository.

Compared to the miscellaneous books and classics on the first floor, the inheritance on the second floor is mostly displayed in the form of jade slips. Even a direct disciple like him can only borrow one of them for free each year.

If you want to borrow more, you'll have to spend your contribution points.

He came here this time intending to borrow "The Art of Stone Skin".

Before long, Lin Mo found the jade slip inscribed with the spell "Stone Skin Technique," and below the jade slip was some information about the spell.

Stone Skin Technique: Suitable for cultivators who mainly practice earth-based cultivation methods. It is divided into three levels: beginner, minor success, and major success.

Beginners have tough skin that is difficult to damage from ordinary weapons.

Those who have achieved some mastery of this technique will find their entire body as if clad in golden armor, making their physical body incredibly strong and unshakeable.

Upon reaching the pinnacle of cultivation, one can utilize the power of earth element to cover the entire body, both inside and out, making one invulnerable except for high-grade magical artifacts.

"It is indeed a defensive spell, and it is more suitable for cultivators who practice earth-based techniques."

"I just don't know how fast I'm progressing in my cultivation, but my current progress is not slow, and mastering one more spell won't be a bad thing."

During this period, he cooked spirit rice every day and ate it as his daily meal.

It should be noted that this is a privilege usually reserved for disciples of the Candle Illumination Realm. He enjoyed all of this while he was in the Spirit Guidance Realm, so the benefits he received were naturally considerable.

The most obvious change is that his spiritual power is now much stronger, and he has taken a big step forward in the middle stage of the Spirit Guiding Realm. He is not far from breaking through to the late stage of the Spirit Guiding Realm.

Eating a pound of spirit rice a day, plus the occasional pills and spirit fruits bestowed by his master, his cultivation speed became faster than ever before.

At this rate, it will probably only take a few months before he can easily enter the late stage of the Spirit Guidance Realm.

"Then I borrowed this spell."

After making his decision, Lin Mo did not rush to leave, but stayed on the second floor of the Sutra Repository to examine the other inheritances.

It must be said that the lineage recorded in Jinyang Temple is indeed rich.

Besides powerful spells like the Stone Skin Technique, there are also many other cultivation techniques passed down through generations.

The most important of these are the four arts of alchemy, weaponry, array formation, and talisman, all of which are present on the second level and have reached the second rank.

However, the cultivation of alchemy, artifacts, arrays, and talismans is not that simple. It requires a lot of resources, and if one does not have talent, one may waste a lot of spiritual resources.

Even among direct disciples, only a small number choose to inherit the skills of alchemy, weaponry, array formations, and talismans.

Lin Mo then learned that, besides him and Cui Donghao, the abbot had several other personal disciples, all of whom were alchemists with considerable talent.

These senior brothers were rarely seen in the temple on ordinary days; they were mostly engrossed in their alchemy room or their own cave dwellings and rarely showed themselves.

"If conditions permit in the future, I might consider choosing one or two cultivation techniques to rely on."

As he spoke, Lin Mo suddenly noticed a water-attribute spell.

Yin Shui Lei!

Out of curiosity, he checked the brief description of the spell.

Before long, an interested look appeared in Lin Mo's eyes. This was actually a rare and extremely lethal water magic technique!

Once activated, it can maximize the yin energy within the waterway's spiritual power, resulting in considerable power.

The introduction to this technique concludes with: "If one can control a rare and wondrous water source, the power of this technique can increase several times over!"

The wondrous water of heaven and earth, the wondrous water that Jin Yang Daoist subdued from the Evil Water Cave, was one such wondrous water of heaven and earth.

Now he knows what that strange water is; it is a kind of strange water called Yin Flow Bone-Corroding Water.

Soon, Lin Mo thought of the Water-Absorbing Inner Core inside his body.

Although the inner core of the Water-Drawing Elixir has just been refined, it has absorbed the residual power of the strange water in the Evil Water Cave and can also exert a portion of the power of the Yin Flow Bone-Corroding Water.

The properties of the inner elixir of water allow it to carry spells and supernatural powers.

Once the spell is mastered and integrated into the inner core, it can be activated instantly without consuming one's own spiritual power.

"This technique is extremely suitable for me." Lin Mo's eyes flickered slightly, his mind racing.

Even though he was so tempted, he still didn't exchange for the spell to cultivate, and ultimately chose the "Stone Skin Technique".

Next time, I'll switch to this water-based spell for practice.

The inner elixir of the Water-Drawing Ceremony is only in its initial stages of refinement; it is still somewhat insufficient to support a magical spell.

However, the "Stone Skin Technique" was related to his life and safety, so he had to practice it.

The Hall of Punishments also promised that as long as he could master this technique, they would bestow upon him a corresponding divine power.

"Junior Brother Lin, the jade slips on the second floor of the Sutra Repository cannot be taken out; you must memorize them while you are in the hall."

"In addition, you must also swear an oath to the Demonic Path, promising not to teach the learned techniques to anyone."

"If you disobey, the Hall of Punishments will completely destroy your cultivation."

Unlike the miscellaneous books and classics on the first floor, which can be borrowed at will, the inheritance management of the second floor of the Sutra Repository is much stricter.

Lin Mo nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you for lifting the restriction, Senior Brother."

"Okay, give me your identity token."

Next, the disciple guarding the Sutra Repository used Lin Mo's identity token to temporarily remove the restriction on the jade slip containing the "Stone Skin Technique".

Lin Mo, in front of him, used his spiritual power to activate and receive the spells recorded in the jade slip.

After a while, he made a solemn vow.

After the entire process was completed, the disciple chuckled and said, "That's enough, Junior Brother Lin. I wish you a smooth cultivation journey."

"Thank you, senior brother, for your kind words."

...

Back in his cave, Lin Mo resumed his reclusive lifestyle.

He didn't have many familiar disciples in the temple, and he wasn't interested in making friends with other fellow disciples at the moment. He just kept his head down and cultivated in his cave.

As time passed day by day, apart from Elder Wu occasionally preaching on the platform, he hardly ever left his cave.

Lin Mo focused all his energy on cultivation. With the support of the Abbot, his cultivation in the Spirit Guidance Realm was incredibly smooth.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and suddenly a surge of spiritual energy rose within Lin Mo's cave.

hum!

He sat cross-legged on a blue futon, his chest rising and falling rhythmically with his breathing, and wisps of spiritual light emanating from his body.

Immediately afterwards, a strong attraction swept out from his body, and spiritual energy from all directions poured into his body.

During this process, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is drawn into his physical body, and then flows through his meridians through one cycle after another.

Finally, this spiritual energy was transformed into pure spiritual power and sank into his dantian.

Gradually, the spiritual energy within his dantian became increasingly abundant, until it broke through that barrier.

boom!

Late stage of the Spirit Guidance Realm! This breakthrough can be described as a natural progression, without encountering even the slightest obstacle.

"Phew, I'm one step closer to death." Lin Mo opened his eyes and muttered to himself.

...