I offered sacrifices to the gods

In the Hall of Punishments at Jinyang Temple.

The Elder of Punishments was still in seclusion, so the person who punished Lin Mo and Guo Sheng this time was Yang Xiaoran, the Elder of Punishments' eldest disciple.

This was a woman of outstanding appearance, sitting upright in the main seat, exuding a rather heroic and dignified air.

She wore a dark blue Taoist robe, but she didn't look like a Taoist nun at all. Instead, she looked more like an aggressive female knight-errant.

"Guo Sheng, Lin Mo, do you two know your crimes?" Yang Xiaoran said in a cold voice.

Guo Sheng looked miserable; ever since he was brought to the mountain gate, he had been completely distraught.

"Disciple knows his sin..."

Lin Mo, who was also kneeling to the side, sighed softly and said in a rather helpless tone, "This disciple knows his sins."

Yang Xiaoran tapped her slender fingers lightly on the stone table twice, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Is that so? Since they all admit their guilt, then drag them away and behead them as a warning to others."

This development was completely unexpected by Lin Mo; he never imagined that he would be executed so soon.

There's no process for conviction; isn't this Hall of Punishments a bit too frivolous?

"Wait, I haven't finished speaking!"

"Haven't you already admitted your guilt? What else do you have to say?" Yang Xiaoran asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lin Mo hurriedly said, "So many spirit insects suddenly appeared in the orchard. My cultivation is too low to handle them."

"I am guilty, but not guilty of a crime punishable by death. I beg you, Senior Sister, to investigate thoroughly!"

Yang Xiaoran ignored her and said nonchalantly, "The White Fruit Forest was severely damaged, and you, as the disciple on duty, failed to stop it."

"This alone is enough to sentence you to death."

Hearing this, Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected the rules of Jin Yang Temple to be so rigid.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Junior Brother Lin, I've dragged you into this," Guo Sheng said, his face pale.

Just as Yang Xiaoran was about to make his decision and sentence the victim, a clear voice came from outside the hall:

"Master Yang, please wait. We beg you to be lenient."

Cui Haoran, who had brought Lin Mo fruit last night, walked in from outside the hall and stood beside Lin Mo.

"Senior Brother Cui? What's wrong with you..." Yang Xiaoran frowned.

Cui Donghao smiled gently and said, "This person is a disciple from the royal family. He still needs to water the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree of our ancestor. If we kill him like this, it may ruin our ancestor's important plans."

In the temple, any principles and rules become insignificant in the face of Jin Yang Dao Ren.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoran's eyebrows immediately relaxed, and she said in a gentle tone, "I see. It was my oversight."

"However, the death penalty can be waived, but the punishment must still be determined. Let's imprison him in the Evil Water Cave for three months."

Cui Donghao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Junior Sister Yang, isn't that unnecessary?"

"Senior Brother Cui, the rules of the Punishment Hall were also set by the Ancestor."

"Putting this person in the Evil Water Cave won't stop him from watering the Ancestor's precious tree. Just let him out once a month."

"Could this person have some other identity?"

Yang Xiaoran blinked curiously and glanced at Lin Mo.

Since things had come to this point, Cui Donghao didn't bother to argue any further and sighed, "Then let's do as my junior sister says."

Thus, Lin Mo's crime was changed from a death sentence to being imprisoned in the Evil Water Cave for three months.

Although I don't know what that treacherous cave is, I still managed to survive.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Cui!"

Cui Donghao shook his head and said, "No need for thanks. You are useful to the ancestor, so naturally you won't be easily executed."

"However, that Evil Water Cave is not a good place to stay. It is the birthplace of a strange water, and the water mist inside will corrode the physical body and wear down spiritual power."

"It won't kill you, but it will be extremely agonizing. You... good luck."

Lin Mo opened his mouth, but said nothing, choosing to accept his fate.

...

And so, Lin Mo was imprisoned in the Evil Water Cave.

This cave is located in a mountain ridge south of Jinyang Peak. The entire mountain is filled with a light mist and the vegetation is extremely lush.

The Evil Water Cave is located halfway up the mountain. It is heavily fortified, making it impossible for outsiders to enter and for those inside to escape.

Clang!

A heavy ring of shackles was placed around Lin Mo's feet. The guarding disciple released the restraints and pushed him inside.

"Go inside. I will bring you food and wild fruit every day at noon. If I can't see you at the cave entrance, I will leave the food there. Remember to take it yourself."

"Thank you very much, senior brother!" Lin Mo said.

boom!

The barrier was resealed, and the cave suddenly became pitch black, with only the dripping sound of water droplets audible.

Gradually, a layer of mist rose from below.

At first, he didn't feel anything, but after a while, Lin Mo noticed a faint stinging sensation in his body.

As time went on, the stinging sensation continued to intensify.

"Hiss, no wonder it's called 'evil water,' it's really eerie."

Terrified, Lin Mo had no choice but to move, avoiding the mist that filled the dark cave.

However, no matter where he went, the air was still filled with moisture, which seeped into his skin and eroded his body.

boom!

Lin Mo stumbled and fell heavily to the ground, splashing water everywhere.

This time, an even stronger surge of evil water power invaded his body, feeling as if thousands of needles were pricking him.

Just as he was writhing on the ground in pain, the immortal palace in his mind suddenly appeared.

"This is..."

Before Lin Mo could even feel fear, a deep blue halo emerged from the immortal palace, and a statue in a shrine gradually became tinged with a deep blue halo.

[Statue Unlocked: Xuan Yuan Zhen Ming Zhen Jun]

[Visiting the temple will grant you the method for refining the Water-Drawing Inner Elixir]

Another statue of a deity has been unlocked!

Lin Mo endured the excruciating pain, his thoughts racing. He quickly realized that the remaining strange water in the Evil Water Cave must be related to this deity.

Yes, the reason I unlocked the statue of the Mother of All Forest was because I came into contact with a rare and precious tree in the palace.

He finally figured it out: every shrine in the Immortal Abode was now under a state of lockdown.

Only by coming into contact with the corresponding spiritual object can the statues within the immortal abode be unlocked.

But now is not the time to think about these things. Although the statue has been unlocked, it has not truly received the protection of the gods.

At this moment, the power of the evil water was still eroding his physical body, and the excruciating pain was constantly stimulating his mind.

Time passed slowly, and Lin Mo felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally; he was numb with pain.

"Now I understand why being imprisoned in the Evil Water Cave was a form of punishment; it truly is... worse than death."

Over the past day, the excruciating pain from the needle pricks had not lessened at all, but he had managed to get used to it.

Lin Mo chose to sit cross-legged and try to cultivate.

However, he was unable to calm his mind to draw spiritual energy into his body, and the spiritual energy in the evil water cave was not abundant, making the energy refining process extremely inefficient.

So he tried to cultivate the Blood Refining Scripture again. After establishing the internal blood energy foundation, he could be considered to have made a preliminary entry into this body-refining tradition.

The best news right now is that he extracted the maximum amount of spiritual wood essence that he could contain in the orchard.

These spiritual wood essences have already permeated every inch of his flesh and blood, and will continue to nourish his body over time.

That enormous amount of spiritual wood essence was almost equivalent to taking two century-old medicinal herbs that could strengthen the body and replenish vital energy.

When the "Blood Transporting Scripture" is circulated, the blood and qi in the body form an internal stump in the meridians.

During this process, the body's Qi and blood resisted most of the moisture that had seeped into the flesh, and the intense pain was finally reduced considerably.

"Fortunately, I've mastered the basics of the Blood Removal Scripture, otherwise I would have been driven mad by the torment." Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief and focused all his attention on cultivating the Blood Removal Scripture.

For every moment he maintained the internal blood and qi stance, his physical body would become stronger and his blood and qi would become more vigorous.

At the same time, some of the spiritual wood essence contained in his flesh and blood will also be consumed.

The two methods complement each other perfectly!

The essence of spiritual wood absorbed by the "Spiritual Wood Refining Technique" can quickly replenish his life essence, but it takes a certain amount of time to transform it into physical strength.

The Blood Transformation Scripture can quickly temper the physical body and improve blood and qi, but it requires a large amount of blood and qi tonics.

With their combined efforts, Lin Mo's physical physique is rapidly improving.

Of course, the former is the most important, since body-refining inheritances like the "Blood Refining Scripture" are not uncommon in the cultivation world.

For the rest of the time, Lin Mo used the Blood Transporting Scripture to resist the pain of the evil water corroding his body.

When he was hungry, he would endure the excruciating pain and walk to the cave entrance to retrieve the food and wild fruit brought by the guarding disciples.

Five days passed in this way.

On this day, the restrictions on the Evil Water Cave were lifted again, and a person covered in blood, on the verge of death, and barely breathing was thrown in.

"Uh, cough cough..."

Startled awake by the commotion, Lin Mo stopped cultivating and went to check what was going on.

"Guo Sheng...Senior Brother?"

"You're not dead? How did you end up in the Evil Water Cave?"

That's right, the disciple who was just thrown in is Guo Sheng.

"Ahem, Elder Wu intervened on my behalf, and the death sentence was commuted, but he was still whipped and imprisoned in the Evil Water Cave for six months before he could leave."

It's doubtful this guy can hold on for six months.

"I'm sorry, Junior Brother Lin, I've dragged you into this."

"I also practice a lineage of insect mastery, which allows me to tame and utilize spirit insects."

"The spirit insects that previously wreaked havoc in the orchard were ones I've been collecting and taming over the past two years."

"But I don't know why it got out of control..."

Guo Sheng said with deep remorse, his voice filled with apology and guilt.

"Stop talking, Senior Brother Guo. Get some rest. This Evil Water Cave isn't a safe place to stay."

As soon as Lin Mo finished speaking, Guo Sheng, who was leaning against the cave wall, immediately let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"It hurts, it hurts..."

Just then, a deep voice echoed from the depths of the Evil Water Cave.

"So noisy!"

In an instant, Lin Mo's scalp tingled, and he stared incredulously at the source of the sound.

That wasn't the cave entrance, but rather the angry shouts echoing from deeper within the Evil Water Cave.

He stayed there for five or six days and didn't discover at all that there were people being imprisoned deep inside the Evil Water Cave.

...