I offered sacrifices to the gods

Lin Mo, who had been sent back to the ground by the Elder of Punishment's spiritual power, had a very interesting expression on his face.

This is definitely a good opportunity. At present, the abbot is unable to attend to other matters, and the elder of punishments has also gone to join the battle.

It's impossible to say that they had no intention of escaping.

But the words left behind by the elder of punishment left him feeling very conflicted.

"A divine imprint, when did that old man leave it? This is really troublesome." Lin Mo frowned deeply.

If it's a spiritual mark, he can still find a way to clean it, but it might take a lot of time and spiritual energy.

However, he couldn't even detect where the divine imprint was.

The most important sign of the visualization realm is opening up the sea of ​​consciousness and condensing one's own soul. At this stage, the cultivator can use the power of divine sense.

Lin Mo muttered to himself with an extremely grim expression, "Once a divine sense imprint is planted on someone, no matter where they escape to, their location will be accurately detected by the other party."

Those whose cultivation level is below the Visualization Realm and who have not condensed their own divine soul cannot even perceive where the traces of divine sense are, let alone conceal or erase the marks of divine sense.

The abbot valued him far more than he had imagined.

"As long as the divine imprint remains on me, there will be nowhere for me to hide in the entire Yu Kingdom."

"At my current speed, no matter where I escape to, as long as the abbot is still alive, it won't take long for him to catch up with me."

Lin Mo grew increasingly desperate. Even if he were given a magnificent steed and fled for days and nights without rest, it wouldn't take the Abbot more than a day to catch up.

He had already witnessed how fast that golden spirit boat was. It took less than three days to travel from Jin Yang Temple to the southern border of Yu Kingdom, and that was without the temple master pushing the spirit boat to its full potential.

"South of the southern border of the Yu Kingdom lies a deep, insurmountable mountain forest, with extremely treacherous terrain and teeming with all sorts of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts."

"My only way to survive now is to cross that dangerous mountain forest, go to the Stream Kingdom, and seek the protection of the Heavenly Poison Sect."

As he spoke, Lin Mo looked towards the southern horizon.

His eyes gradually hardened and became resolute. He was determined to try, no matter what. If he succeeded and joined the Heavenly Poison Sect, even the abbot would be powerless against him.

As for the royal family of Yu Kingdom, he had no attachment whatsoever. Even if the abbot was angry afterward, Lin Mo would not feel anything, but would only applaud.

After making the decision, Lin Mo prepared to bypass Chongning Pass in front of him, cross the steep mountain ridge next to it, and enter the dense forest.

With that in mind, he immediately took action.

However, soon, a series of chaotic and rapid footsteps came from ahead.

A herd of fine horses appeared ahead, led by a man dressed in a bright yellow python robe, but whose expression was extremely disheveled.

"Sixth brother?"

This person is the newly appointed crown prince of the Yu Kingdom, the fourth among all the princes, who succeeded the third prince as crown prince.

Upon hearing this familiar address, Lin Mo quickly stopped and looked toward the source of the voice.

"Long time no see, Fourth Brother. I didn't expect to run into you here," Lin Mo said with a hint of surprise.

The crown prince, dressed in a python robe, rode forward, his expression now one of eager anticipation, and said in a rather ingratiating tone, "In response to the call of Jin Yang Temple, the imperial court has dispatched tens of thousands of troops, and I have been appointed as the supervising officer."

This attitude made Lin Mo quite uncomfortable. In the past, when he was in the palace, his brothers had never given him a kind look.

The reason they are so eager to please him now is because he is doing quite well in Jinyang Temple and has become the abbot's personal disciple.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to congratulate Fourth Brother on being named Crown Prince. That's truly a cause for celebration."

Lin Mo offered a perfunctory congratulation, only thinking about leaving this place as soon as possible.

He worried that his other disciples would also arrive, and if they encountered Cui Donghao, it would be difficult to escape.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince's expression became complicated. He was, of course, fully aware of how he had come to be the heir apparent.

If it weren't for the other party's manipulation within the Jin Yang Temple, the Third Prince would still be sitting in this position now.

The title of Crown Prince may sound glamorous, but compared to his sixth brother, the abbot's personal disciple, he is still somewhat inferior.

With just one decree from the other party's master, the position of crown prince will be changed again.

"Our campsite isn't far ahead. It's been so long since we last met, why don't we, brothers, have a good drink and catch up?"

However, Lin Mo was eager to leave and had no interest in reminiscing with him. He calmly shook his head and said:

"Let's skip it. I have a mission to perform at the temple this time, and I can't afford to delay."

"Fourth Brother, you should also take your troops back as soon as possible. If you miss important military matters, it will be a real problem."

Hearing this, the Crown Prince didn't try to stop him any longer. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Mo and said, "Since that's the case, then I won't keep you any longer. Take care, Sixth Brother!"

"Okay, goodbye."

With that, Lin Mo left without looking back.

The crown prince watched him go from afar, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Sixth Brother has really changed a lot; it's like he's a completely different person."

"Just now, the dragon seed actually tried to break free from my control for a moment and leap into his arms."

"What exactly did he experience during his time at Jinyang Temple that caused such a dramatic change in him?"

His tone was still somewhat shaken. If he hadn't been able to suppress the incomplete dragon seed within his body, he wouldn't have been worthy of the title of crown prince.

...

After walking a distance, Lin Mo slowed down and couldn't help but look back.

"There's something on Fourth Brother that's attracting the dragon blood within me."

The moment they met, he felt the dragon blood within him stir, and the wisps of imperial dragon energy became much more active.

This had never happened before, and he even felt an urge to kill the other party and seize that unknown treasure.

"It seems there's a lot to it about the position of Crown Prince. After the Third Prince was deposed, his cultivation level also dropped to the Spirit Guiding Realm."

Although he didn't know what secrets were hidden within, he had no interest in paying attention to it anymore.

Since he had decided to escape the Yu Kingdom, he would naturally go as far away as possible, and he would have nothing to do with anything that happened to the Lin royal family in the future.

And so, Lin Mo plunged headlong into the treacherous mountain range not far away once again.

He dared not take the road through Chongning Pass, because in that direction, the abbot and the Five Poisons Sect Master were still locked in a standoff. Running in that direction would surely reveal his intentions immediately.

So he had no choice but to settle for a longer route.

They crossed the mountains, ventured into the deep forests from the border of Nanlin Prefecture, and then headed south into the territory of Xi Kingdom.

Only in this way can they escape the master's grasp.

After traveling at full speed for about an hour, Lin Mo finally arrived at the foot of the mountain range and began climbing without hesitation.

There are no open mountain paths here; the area is covered with thorns and vines, making it extremely difficult to climb.

After a difficult climb, even Lin Mo's physical strength was almost completely depleted.

Fortunately, he still had a lot of spirit rice in his storage bag. He took out a handful, skipped the cooking process, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

It was a bit dry and tough to chew, but it restored a lot of his strength and spiritual power.

With his current physical strength, eating spirit rice raw is naturally not a difficult task for him.

He didn't dare light a fire along the way, only thinking about leaving south as soon as possible.

Occasionally, he would encounter small animals such as wild rabbits or squirrels in the mountains, all of which he defeated with his spiritual power.

He is not yet able to abstain from grains at the Spirit Guiding Realm, so he still needs to eat to maintain his physical strength.

Along the way, he drank beast blood when he was thirsty, and ate spirit rice or chewed raw meat when he was hungry.

To survive, and to escape Jinyang Temple, he had no choice but to take this step.

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

Lin Mo felt a slight tightness in his chest, wondering how the battle was going on the Abbot's side.

"At least the abbot hasn't come after me yet. Either he's still fighting and doesn't have time to worry about me, or he's dead. That old bastard, he might as well die sooner rather than later."

Although he cursed like that, he knew perfectly well that the abbot was not someone who would die easily.

Just then, a burst of fire appeared on the mountain road ahead.

This scene startled Lin Mo, who thought it was the abbot or Cui Donghao waiting for him ahead.

But after bracing himself to approach, he discovered that the person was actually a disciple of the Five Poisons Sect!

They really have a lot of nerve. After the magic formation at Chongning Pass was broken, instead of retreating, they dared to stay in the mountains.

"That's right. When Chongning Pass fell, all six of the temple's direct disciples went after it."

"If you want to survive, you definitely can't run into flat terrain. You have a better chance of survival if you dive into the mountains on both sides and take advantage of the dense forests for cover."

Thinking this, Lin Mo did not intend to disturb the other party, but planned to retreat step by step and continue to circle around.

But at that moment, the Five Poisons Sect cultivator who had been meditating by the fire to recover his spiritual energy suddenly opened his eyes and shouted in a terrified voice, "Who?!"

We've been discovered?!

Lin Mo cursed inwardly, wondering if this person's senses were a bit too sharp. He had only glanced at him a couple of times, and he had already been noticed.

Just as he was about to bite the bullet and come out, someone beat him to it and came out first.

"Fellow Daoist, you have quite the audacity to openly light a fire for illumination at this critical juncture."

From another direction, a man dressed in the robes of a third-rank official of the imperial court emerged. His aura was not weak; he possessed the cultivation level of the late stage of the Spirit Guidance Realm.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the Five Poisons Sect cultivator visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Excellency is joking. This is your territory; what could possibly happen here?"

"I am following the sect leader's secret orders and will rest here for the night. I will go down the mountain at dawn to continue our discussions on cooperation."

Governor?!

Hidden in the shadows, Lin Mo's heart leaped into his throat once more, as if he had overheard something extraordinary.

A governor in the imperial court was found to be colluding with the Five Poisons Sect!

He peeked out, trying to get a clear look at the governor, but the governor was cautiously hidden in the darkness, with only half of his body illuminated by the firelight.

"There's nothing more to discuss. The abbot is still alive, so let's leave it at that."

"Go back and tell Senior Poison Wolf that the cooperation is over, and our dynasty will not provide any further assistance to your sect."

"How long can your Five Poisons Sect hold out in the two southern prefectures? We'll have to see how capable you are."

Upon hearing this, the cultivator from the Five Poisons Sect was slightly taken aback and said in disbelief, "The Abbot is still alive? That's impossible. The Sect Master even invited a protector from within the sect."

The mysterious governor sneered, "You underestimate the abbot. He brought another elder from Jinyang Temple with him this time."

"After a fierce battle, the abbot only suffered minor injuries."

Upon hearing that the abbot had only suffered minor injuries, Lin Mo, who was hiding in the shadows, felt a chill run down his spine and his entire body went cold.

He felt that he might be found by the abbot at any moment and taken back.

But the next words from the Five Poisons Sect cultivator eased his anxiety somewhat.

"Just a minor injury... That shouldn't be the case. My sect is skilled in using poison. No matter how minor the injury, if you're poisoned, you'll never feel any better."

"He definitely won't live much longer. The abbot's lifespan is nearing its end, and he's been poisoned. His lifespan will be no more than a year."

The governor shook his head and said, "Believe it or not, I advise you to leave this place as soon as possible and not linger any longer."

"We'll discuss our next steps in cooperation only when the abbot is truly dead."

As he spoke, the governor's figure retreated back into the darkness.

The Five Poisons Sect cultivator's expression shifted slightly, but he ultimately extinguished the fire and hurriedly fled backwards.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mo immediately mobilized his internal energy and suppressed his aura fluctuations to the lowest point, then followed the other party's movements.

The other party will inevitably return to the Five Poisons Sect. He wants to go with them to the Five Poisons Sect's territory. When the Five Poisons Sect Master is there, the Abbot will be hesitant to arrest him.

Before long, Lin Mo followed him down the mountain and arrived at the area behind Chongning Pass.

In the darkness of night, the Five Poisons Sect cultivator stopped again, turned around, and looked coldly at what was behind him.

"Your Excellency, since the cooperation has temporarily ended, why do you continue to follow me?"

"Are they planning to kill me to silence me? Is it really necessary?"

Lin Mo, who had been following along, immediately held his breath upon hearing this, his eyes revealing surprise and uncertainty.

Was he discovered? Or was the governor really following him as well?

Just as Lin Mo was thinking this, a sense of danger surged in his heart, and a fluctuation of spiritual energy came from behind him.

not good!

At this critical moment, he activated the Blood Transporting Scripture, unleashing the full power of his internal energy and blood, and his legs shot out like springs.

Even with such a quick reaction, he was still struck in the side by a beam of azure light.

His Taoist robe was torn, and blood kept flowing down.

Before he could catch his breath, another punch landed on his face.

Lin Mo was terrified. He immediately activated the Stone Skin Technique and raised his hand to block the punch.

boom!

The layer of earth elemental energy that he had gathered on his arm blocked the attack, but the powerful impact sent him flying backward.

The Five Poisons Sect cultivators stared at Lin Mo as if they had seen a ghost, completely bewildered as to where he had come from.

The governor, dressed in the robes of a third-rank official, emerged from the darkness with narrowed eyes and said, "Fellow Daoist, you were too careless. You didn't even notice that someone was following you. If I hadn't forgotten something and wanted to chase after them to remind them, I might not have even noticed him."

The Five Poisons Sect cultivator's face turned ashen; he recognized the Daoist robe Lin Mo was wearing.

"A disciple of Jin Yang Temple, at the Spirit Guidance Realm?"

"Didn't they say that Jin Yang Temple only sent six direct disciples this time? How come there's one with such a low cultivation level?"

...