I offered sacrifices to the gods

Upon hearing this, Lin Ping's eyes revealed disbelief.

Just now, his sixth brother spoke in a very calm tone, saying something truly remarkable.

"How...how could this be? Sixth Brother, aren't you the Abbot's personal disciple? On Golden Sun Peak, who could possibly harm you?"

Once Lin Mo dies, then after he succeeds to the throne and his children grow up, they will have to be sent to Jinyang Peak again as hostages.

Lin Ping may not have had deep feelings for the concubines he married, but he loved all the children who were born one after another.

If his sixth brother could live a long and healthy life, then his offspring would not need to be sent up the mountain.

You should know that cultivators at the Candle Illumination Realm have a lifespan of at least 180 years!

However, Lin Mo simply smiled calmly, without directly answering his question. Instead, she gazed into the distance, her eyes filled with a longing to live.

"If I could, I would want to live too."

The calm tone struck Lin Ping's heart. After years of experience, he was no longer the ignorant prince he once was in the palace.

He understood Lin Mo's unspoken meaning. Yes, he was the abbot's personal disciple, and now, there were only two people in Jin Yang Temple who could harm him.

Regardless of which one, the current royal family simply cannot afford to offend them.

There was nothing he could do about it.

Lin Ping's eyes reddened slightly as he downed the spirit wine in his cup and whispered, "Sixth brother, take care. I hope we'll meet again someday."

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty." Lin Mo also drank a cup in return.

After bidding farewell to his elder brother, Lin Mo's heart grew heavier. Once the Golden Sun Ancestor's birthday celebration was over, the Abbot would take action.

The place was bustling with activity as other disciples moved from seat to seat, warmly welcoming the cultivators who had come to offer their birthday wishes.

Some people took this opportunity to meet other monks, some discussed doctrines and scriptures, and some engaged in business transactions.

The cultivators who came to attend this grand birthday celebration all had their own purposes.

Lin Mo was the only one who remained detached from the noisy birthday banquet, always appearing as a cold-eyed bystander.

Just then, a series of illusory characters appeared in his field of vision.

[Successfully completed the third pilgrimage to the statue of Mother of the Forest, and obtained: Wood Shadow Escape!]

[Next pilgrimage reward: The Seal of All Things in the Universe!]

Upon seeing these illusory words, Lin Mo was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized that the spirit fruit trees he had planted at the foot of the mountain had ripened.

As for the reward for the pilgrimage that he had just received, it turned out to be a teleportation technique!

"What an amazing escape technique! It allows one to use the surrounding trees to escape."

A look of surprise flashed in Lin Mo's eyes. If this Wood Shadow Escape technique was mastered, one could instantly escape into a tree within a radius of several miles.

If he were in a deep mountain forest, this escape technique would be most effective. Unless he had been locked onto by divine sense, it would be difficult for even a cultivator a level higher than him to catch him.

However, this technique has three drawbacks. First, it consumes an extremely large amount of mana. Even with his mid-stage Candle Illumination Realm cultivation, his mana can only support him to use the Wood Shadow Escape four or five times at most.

Secondly, if he were to flee to an ordinary tree, when he leaves again, that tree would be drained of its life force and wither away instantly.

Third, this technique cannot be performed if there are no trees nearby.

In that case, their tracks would still be easily exposed.

Even so, this Wood Shadow Escape was the most amazing escape technique he had ever seen.

Most common Wood Release techniques leave a wooden stake in place, allowing the user to dodge for a distance of less than a hundred meters at most.

This method, when combined with other means, might actually be able to defy fate!

"Truly a gift from the gods, such a miraculous escape technique is simply unheard of."

Lin Mo muttered to himself, then quickly stood up, intending to return to his cave and begin focusing on cultivating this secret technique.

However, at that moment, the abbot called out to him from afar.

"My dear disciple, where are you going? On the day of our Ancestor's birthday, is there anything more important than this?"

Soon, gazes followed the sound and finally landed on Lin Mo, following the abbot's gaze.

Almost half of the cultivators in the room were drawn to him, with many rogue cultivators and some family cultivators looking at Lin Mo with envious eyes.

"So he's the abbot's top disciple. He doesn't look that old, yet he's already at the mid-stage of the Candle Illumination Realm."

"Jinyang Temple truly produces many talented individuals. With such a lineage of cultivation, what worries could there be about an unsuccessful path ahead?"

"This person has very strong blood and energy, and the aura he exudes is like that of a demonic beast. He probably has a remarkable body-tempering method in his cultivation."

"His blood and energy are surging, and his origin is profound. His life fire must also be extremely strong. He is another potential candidate for the Visualization Realm."

"..."

Aside from the other cultivation lineages with patriarchs at the Shackles Realm, the disciples of ordinary forces all looked at Lin Mo with great awe.

Some enthusiastic monks even raised their cups to him from afar in greeting.

But Lin Mo knew his own situation best. He stiffened slightly, turned around somewhat awkwardly, and clasped his hands in greeting to the abbot, saying, "Reporting to Master, I was deeply impressed by the extraordinary demeanor of all the patriarchs just now, and I am now thinking of going back to cultivate diligently."

Even at times like these, he doesn't forget to cultivate himself. With such a diligent mindset, it's no wonder he has such attainments at such a young age.

For a moment, many cultivators present were filled with awe and respect.

"Look at this, these are the disciples of a powerful force. They are neither arrogant nor impatient, but have lofty aspirations and are focused solely on cultivation. You are still far behind."

"Look at him, he ignited his life flame at such a young age, yet he still diligently cultivates. And look at you lot, you haven't even ignited your life flame yet, spending your days just running around the clan fighting and killing each other!"

"There's no comparison. Jin Yang Temple is full of spiritual energy, and its disciples are all incredibly diligent. There's simply no way to catch up."

These words made Lin Mo's lips twitch involuntarily.

The abbot chuckled, beckoned to Lin Mo, and said, "That's right, having ambition is a good thing, but don't aim too high."

"Our ancestor's Taoist arts are profound and his achievements are comparable to the workings of nature; how could you possibly reach his level?"

"Come here. There is a jar of spirit wine that has been aged for hundreds of years. It is not usually opened. It is only brought out to entertain distinguished guests on the ancestor's birthday."

"Have a cup too. This is brewed with several rare and precious herbs and the true bones of a third-tier great demon. One cup is enough to further enhance your blood and energy."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo finally understood why the abbot had chosen to start refining pills after Jin Yang Daoist's birthday celebration.

So this is where they were waiting for him. After drinking this cup of the century-old spirit wine, he would probably immediately reach the perfect state of the Blood Transporting Scripture.

The main ingredient for refining the Human Essence Pill was also fully matured.

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then decided to step forward and, amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the other cultivators, drank the cup of spiritual wine bestowed by the abbot in one gulp.

The other lower-level cultivators, upon seeing this, practically wished they could immediately replace him.

This is no ordinary spirit wine; for low-level cultivators, it's practically nectar!

After drinking the spirit wine, its rich aroma spread, along with the medicinal properties it contained.

boom!

Lin Mo felt his entire body go numb and tingling, as if he were being gnawed at by countless insects.

The next moment, his blood and energy surged wildly through his meridians, like a rushing river.

"By circulating your energy and regulating your breath, you can take this opportunity to perfect the Blood Transporting Scripture."

...