I offered sacrifices to the gods

The next day, at Jinyang Temple.

A group of disciples sat in a row in front of a huge pure gold statue, chanting the Longevity Sutra, praying for the longevity of Daoist Jinyang.

This Taoist priest seemed to enjoy this very much, and went so far as to build his own shrines of longevity in every prefecture and county of the Yu Kingdom in order to collect the power of faith.

Lin Mo wondered if it was just his imagination, but as the monthly blessing ceremony ended, the pure gold statue seemed to become even more dazzling.

This day was also a rare day off for all the servants of Jinyang Temple.

"Junior Brother Lin, you're really lucky. You've only been in the temple for two days and you've already found a day off," the chubby Taoist boy who had led Lin Mo up the mountain said with a grin.

Lin Mo looked around at the scattered disciples and frowned, saying, "The rogue cultivators of Yu Kingdom all dream of joining the Golden Sun Temple, but who would have thought that after entering the temple, they would be doing menial tasks all day long?"

"If word gets out, I'm afraid many cultivators will be greatly disappointed."

However, the fat Taoist boy shook his head repeatedly, saying, "You can't say that. Junior Brother Lin, you are of royal lineage, how could you know the difficulties of rogue cultivators?"

"The spiritual energy of the Yu Kingdom is scarce. There are only a handful of spiritual veins in the country. Even if many rogue cultivators obtain cultivation techniques, they mostly breathe in the thin spiritual energy in the wilderness."

"Furthermore, given the low grade of his cultivation technique, he will probably never even reach the threshold of the Candle Illumination Realm in his entire life."

"Although we ordinary disciples have to do some chores, we still have time for daily cultivation."

"Two hours of meditation in the temple is equivalent to a whole day in the outside world."

That's true. Jin Yang Peak is the place with the most concentrated spiritual energy in the entire Yu Kingdom, even surpassing the imperial palace.

Moreover, they can eat spirit rice every few days, and occasionally spirit fruits are also bestowed upon them.

Life there is much more comfortable than that of wandering cultivators in the outside world. Disciples who come here, as long as their talent is not too bad, can often have the opportunity to break through to the Candle Illumination Realm after several decades of hard work.

Of course, whether or not the promotion will be successful is another matter.

"Senior Brother Zhong, do you know how my second brother died?" After hesitating for a moment, Lin Mo finally asked the question that concerned him most.

Even while in the palace, the Second Prince's talent for cultivation was already quite good, and he reached the late stage of the Spirit Guidance Realm early on.

By practicing breathing techniques and drawing spiritual energy into the body, one's physical vitality far surpasses that of ordinary people in the later stages.

Even if a cultivator at this level bleeds once a month, they wouldn't die a violent death within five years.

As for the cause of death being accidental ingestion of a spiritual elixir, Lin Mo didn't quite believe it.

The fat Taoist boy shook his head and said, "I don't know, but as long as we behave ourselves, there won't be any danger to our lives."

"Alright, never mind, it's a rare day off, time to go back and cultivate."

With that, the fat Taoist left with a cryptic expression.

Seeing that he couldn't get any results from asking, Lin Mo returned to his cabin and began studying the two body-refining techniques he had just acquired.

"The conditions for cultivating the Spirit Wood Meridian Refining Technique are too harsh; one must use the life force of spirit wood to temper oneself."

"The advantages are that it is quick and effective, saving much time and effort compared to other body-strengthening exercises."

Lin Mo muttered to himself, inevitably thinking of the dragon blood tree he had seen yesterday.

That was the most precious and rare spirit tree he had ever seen, and it even required drinking dragon blood and consuming dragon energy.

If one could secretly extract a trace of the essence of the spirit wood to nourish oneself, the benefits would be unimaginable.

In this way, the essence lost from bloodletting each month can be fully replenished.

The only problem was that every time he bled, the abbot would lead him to the forbidden area.

While that abbot's cultivation level might not be as high as that of the Golden Sun Ancestor, he was still at the Visualization Realm.

It would be virtually impossible to secretly extract the essence of the Dragon Blood Tree right under this person's nose.

"This is really a difficult situation. I've only been here a short time, and the abbot certainly won't let me enter the forbidden area alone so easily."

There's no other way but to take it one step at a time.

Unable to cultivate the "Spirit Wood Refining Meridian Technique" obtained from worshipping the deity, Lin Mo had no choice but to focus his mind on the "Blood Transporting Scripture" given to him by the abbot.

This is also a body-refining inheritance, but it is incomparable to the "Spirit Wood Meridian Refining Technique".

The "Blood Transmission Manual" emphasizes a slow and meticulous process, relying on years of hard work to cultivate one's physical strength.

This method is divided into four levels: beginner, minor success, major success, and perfection.

It is best to supplement cultivation with spiritual medicines or pills that strengthen the foundation and nourish the vital energy, so that cultivation can be twice as effective with half the effort.

"This body-forging method is truly rare; it's actually a secret internal cultivation technique."

"At the beginner level, one can increase their strength. If one cultivates to a minor level, their blood and energy will be as vigorous as a first-tier demon beast."

"At the Great Completion Realm, blood and qi flow continuously like a gushing spring, and one can even perform blood exchange to expel waste blood from the body."

Lin Mo murmured to himself, a look of anticipation in his eyes.

The abbot wasn't lying to him. If he cultivated the Blood-Moving Scripture to its highest level, then bleeding the Dragon Blood Tree once a month wouldn't be a big deal.

"Although it is not as good as the 'Spirit Wood Meridian Refining Technique', it is still a rare internal cultivation and body-strengthening method."

You can practice more!

With this in mind, Lin Mo began to cultivate the Blood Transporting Scripture.

He calmed his mind and tried to mobilize the qi and blood in his body according to the instructions in the scriptures.

This allows Qi and blood to circulate in specific major meridians, forming an internal structure.

Through repeated cycles, one's own Qi and blood will gradually increase.

This is the most difficult part to get started with: controlling one's own Qi and blood, making it circulate steadily, and forming an internal Qi and blood stance.

It sounded simple, but after actually running it once, Lin Mo was covered in sweat.

"call!"

"It's so tiring, it's as if you've been tilling several acres of land."

Before he knew it, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and it took him a long time to regain his strength.

However, since it concerned his own life and death, he couldn't afford to slack off.

No matter how tough or tiring it is, you have to grit your teeth and persevere.

Thus, Lin Mo once again devoted himself to the cultivation of the Blood Transporting Scripture, hoping to quickly master it and establish a blood and qi internal stump within his body.

Time passed leisurely, and before he knew it, he had been cultivating until late at night.

"It still doesn't work... I had bloodletting yesterday, and my body's qi and blood are severely depleted, making it impossible to replenish them in the meridians."

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating his face and making him appear exceptionally pale.

Glug glug!

Lin Mo felt an unprecedented hunger; he could probably eat a whole cow if it were placed in front of him right now.

"I wonder if there's still any food left at this late hour."

He had been diligently practicing this body-strengthening technique, and he was so hungry that he felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Before a practitioner ignites the flame of life and advances to the Candle Illumination Realm, they are still unable to abstain from grains.

Stepping out of my cabin, the surroundings were eerily quiet; I couldn't hear a sound.

Lin Mo walked towards the kitchen. It was late at night, and there was no one in the temple except for the sound of his own footsteps.

Not long after, the closed kitchen left him greatly disappointed.

Just as he was about to turn back, a gust of wind arose.

"The kitchen stops serving food after 5 PM, so if you come at this time, you'll only be turned away."

A clear voice came from the sky, and a young cultivator dressed in a dark blue Taoist robe stood on a tree branch with his hands behind his back, looking down at Lin Mo.

This person had his hair neatly tied up, his face was stern, and his expression was serious.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.

Wearing a dark blue Taoist robe, this is a direct disciple!

There are two types of disciples at Jinyang Temple. One type is a newly initiated disciple like him, who has to do odd jobs and chores every day.

The other type is direct disciples.

These people often have good talent for cultivation. They become disciples of two elders or the abbot, and they only need to focus on cultivation on weekdays. They are not required to perform any miscellaneous tasks or chores within the temple.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I just started practicing yesterday and am unaware of this matter. In addition, I was so engrossed in my cultivation today that I forgot the kitchen's mealtime," Lin Mo said, bowing his head in greeting.

Upon hearing this, Cui Donghao's tone softened slightly: "So it's Junior Brother Lin. I heard Master mention it today; the royal family has sent another prince to the temple for cultivation."

"Since you are a disciple of our lineage, I, as your senior brother, certainly cannot let you go hungry."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cui Donghao patted the storage bag at his waist and tossed out a bulging cloth bag.

"These are some white spirit fruits I picked casually while I was in the Giant Tree Forest. You can take them to tide you over."

It's actually a spirit fruit!

Lin Mo was somewhat flattered. To be honest, since he transmigrated, even his emperor father had never treated him this well.

"This is not right. I can't accept something for nothing. How could I possibly take my senior brother's cultivation resources for free?"

That's what he said, but his eyes were fixed on the bag of spiritual fruits in front of him.

"Hehe, take it. It's just some miscellaneous spiritual fruits, barely enough for a small treat for me."

"We don't have many disciples in this lineage, so you'd better put your mind to your cultivation."

Having said all that, Lin Mo knew that refusing again would be inappropriate.

He gratefully picked up the bag of spiritual fruits in front of him: "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

"We are all fellow disciples from the same lineage, so there's no need for thanks."

"I have other matters to attend to. You should go back to your cultivation. Don't forget tomorrow's duties, or you'll be in big trouble if Elder Wu blames you."

After saying that, Senior Brother Cui rode on a dark black flying sword and disappeared into the night.

Once one's cultivation reaches the Candle Illumination Realm, the spiritual power within the body can support flight using magical artifacts.

Lin Mo looked on with a hint of envy and murmured to himself, "There are still more good people in the world."

"Oh dear, I forgot to ask this senior brother's name. Oh well, we're all in the temple anyway, I'll find out sometime in the future."

He shook his head and carried a bag of spirit fruits back to his wooden house.

...

On the other side, Cui Donghao did not return to his cave, but went to the outside of the Golden Sun Hall to meet the abbot.

"Disciple greets Master!"

"Come in and speak." A steady voice came from inside the hall.

Inside the main hall, the abbot sat cross-legged on a futon, surrounded by wisps of pale golden spiritual light.

"Have you seen that hostage? What do you think of him?" the abbot asked calmly.

Cui Donghao hesitated for a moment before speaking, "His talent is still unknown, but he is quite diligent in his cultivation, to the point of neglecting to eat and sleep."

The abbot nodded slowly, quite satisfied with the result.

"Well, you should take good care of him and try to help him reach the perfection of the Blood Transporting Scripture within five years."

"He and Lin Luo were both born to the same emperor, so their talents are probably not that different."

Cui Donghao took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed his head, saying, "Disciple obeys."

"Go down. If this matter is accomplished, you will be rewarded handsomely." The abbot waved his hand and closed his eyes to begin his meditation.

...