I offered sacrifices to the gods

The angry shout was so abrupt that Guo Sheng's screams stopped abruptly.

"Junior Brother Lin, are there other people in this Evil Water Cave?"

"I didn't know. I thought I was the only one in the cave these past few days."

In the darkness, Lin Mo and Guo Sheng stared at each other, neither daring to go over and investigate.

"Should we...go and take a look?" Guo Shengqiang asked hesitantly, enduring the pain in his body.

Lin Mo pondered the suggestion for a while and decided to agree to go and take a look.

After all, they would be staying in this treacherous cave for several months, and if they didn't figure out the situation, they would have to live in fear for the rest of the time.

"The temple's territory is on both sides, so there shouldn't be any bad guys around."

"Let's go take a look together then, but Senior Brother Guo, are you even able to walk in your current condition?"

Guo Shengqiang, supporting himself against the cave wall, struggled to his feet.

"Let's go. Perhaps he's a senior brother who was imprisoned in the cave before. It wouldn't be a bad thing to pay him a visit." Guo Sheng nodded and followed closely behind Lin Mo.

This guy clearly still had energy left, yet he pretended to be so weak when he entered the cave, probably because he was worried about being blamed by me.

Lin Mo withdrew his gaze and silently complained to himself.

He thought to himself that Guo Sheng seemed honest and simple on the surface, but in reality he was quite cunning, and he admired his level of caution.

The Evil Water Cave has a downward slope; the deeper you go, the closer you get to the bottom of this mountain.

The cave was intricate and winding. After traveling for some time, both of them keenly heard a heavy breathing sound.

With the cultivation level of the Spirit Guidance Realm, the five senses have been greatly improved compared to ordinary people, so even from such a distance, one can still clearly hear the movements from deep within.

After passing through a narrow crevice in the rocks, the space behind suddenly opened up.

Several lamps were lit here, illuminating a deep pool in this underground space.

On the other side of the pool, a emaciated figure was nailed to the stone wall, hanging in a cross shape.

"This Evil Water Cave hasn't imprisoned any disciples for several years. What mistakes have you two made to be locked up here?"

The person hanging on the stone wall slowly raised his head. His eyes were bright and piercing, like two torches in the darkness.

"Disciple Lin Mo greets this senior brother!" Lin Mo reacted quickly and was the first to bow.

Seeing this, Guo Sheng, who was standing to the side, also tremblingly clasped his hands in a salute.

"It's been years since I've spoken to anyone. Tell me, what's the situation at the temple now? Has the abbot passed away?"

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment before answering, "The abbot still looks to be in his prime, how could he have passed away?"

Upon hearing this, the person hanging on the stone wall was stunned for a moment, then murmured, "The peak of spring and autumn? How is that possible? Has the abbot been replaced? Or has he advanced to the Shackles Realm?"

"He was the eldest disciple of Ancestor Jin Yang. If he hadn't advanced to the Shackles Realm, he should have been halfway to the grave by now."

At this point, the man suddenly realized what he had said, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Didn't Junior Brother Lin Yang gain the favor of the Punishment Elder?"

Upon hearing the name Lin Yang, Lin Mo's heart stirred slightly. Wasn't this his second elder brother?

"Senior brother, do you know my second brother, the imperial brother?"

"My second brother died a month ago. The cause of death was accidentally ingesting a highly poisonous plant. He died on the spot, and there were no remains left."

Upon hearing this, the prisoner on the stone wall sneered, "So, not even a skeleton was left behind? He was refined into a Human Essence Pill, body and soul. How could he possibly leave behind any remains?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo felt a chill run down his spine.

He was refined into a Human Essence Pill?! The Second Prince was used as material for alchemy?!

"Senior brother, you've been imprisoned here for several years, how did you find out about this?" Lin Mo pressed on.

The man then raised his head and looked at Lin Mo, who was standing in the darkness.

"You're Lin Yang's younger brother, and also a hostage sent by the royal family?"

"After you went up the mountain, did the abbot give you a body-strengthening method called the 'Blood-Moving Scripture'?"

Lin Mo gasped, then nodded, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "That's right."

"Then you're finished. There's something wrong with that body-tempering method. Once you've perfected it and advanced to the Candle Illumination Realm, it can become a main ingredient in the Human Essence Pill."

"Taking it can increase one's lifespan by thirty to fifty years, and each cultivator can take a maximum of two pills."

These words struck Lin Mo like a thunderbolt, leaving him speechless for a long time.

He had considered many possibilities, the worst of which was that he would be treated as a blood slave, imprisoned on the mountain for life, bleeding the dragon blood tree to nourish its growth.

But I never imagined that I would be used as a medicinal herb for alchemy.

Guo Sheng, standing to the side, was even more incredulous than him, exclaiming in shock, "How is this possible... using humans to refine medicine, isn't that the work of demonic cultivators?"

The man sneered, "For a cultivator whose lifespan is about to end, let alone using one person to refine pills, even if he used the lives of an entire city to refine pills, he would only worry about whether the number of sacrifices was enough and whether it would affect the quality of the pills."

At this moment, Lin Mo's expression was extremely grim.

My fate has been more arduous than I imagined.

"Then why me? There are clearly so many other disciples in the temple..." Lin Mo murmured.

The man sighed, "The royal family is blessed with a unique advantage. Each generation of offspring inherits a trace of dragon blood, allowing them to cultivate from birth."

"If one were to cultivate the Blood Transporting Scripture to perfection and advance to the Candle Illumination Realm, it would become an excellent main medicine."

Upon hearing this, Guo Sheng felt a chill run down his spine.

These words finally made him realize just how dark the Golden Sun Temple he was in was.

"Then may I ask, senior brother, why were you imprisoned here?" Lin Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

The person on the stone wall also looked at Lin Mo with a rather strange expression: "Back then, I accidentally discovered the secret of the abbot's method of refining the Human Essence Pill, and told your second brother about it, so I was imprisoned here for life."

Original origin...

A thought flashed through Lin Mo's mind, and as if realizing something, he suddenly raised his head.

Some people did not want the abbot to refine another Human Essence Pill, so they arranged for him to enter the Evil Water Cave, where he met this person and learned the abbot's secret.

That person is very likely the Elder of Punishments.

There is still a chance for things to turn around!

Even the abbot doesn't have absolute power in the Golden Sun Temple. The fact that someone can check and balance him is already great news for Lin Mo.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother!" Lin Mo took a deep breath and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the other party.

"Bring some food. I haven't had a proper meal in years. Once we get out, I'll definitely settle scores with those guards."

"Senior brother, have you not eaten for years?" Guo Sheng asked in surprise, looking at the person hanging on the stone wall as if he were a monster.

The man scoffed and said, "After advancing to the Candle Illumination Realm, as long as one's life force doesn't go out, one can live well even without eating for more than ten years."

Guo Sheng showed admiration and longing. Although he had heard that one could abstain from grains once one entered the Candle Illumination Realm, he never expected that he could persist for so many years.

"The meals will only be delivered at noon each day, so please wait a moment, Senior Brother," Lin Mo said.

"It's okay, no rush. We've waited for years, so what's a little longer?"

In the time that followed, Lin Mo began to plan what to do in the future.

Should we simply give up practicing the "Blood Transporting Sutra"?

This is probably not feasible. If abandoning the cultivation of this body-tempering method could save them from being refined into pills, then the second prince would not have died.

The abbot, who has already taken a Human Essence Pill, is conservatively estimated to live for another thirty to fifty years.

As long as others remain in Jinyang Temple, they cannot escape the control of the temple master.

run away?

That might be a bit difficult. With such low cultivation levels, how could they possibly escape the abbot's grasp?

Now, all hope can be placed on that mysterious Elder of Punishments.

Of course, he couldn't trust the elder in charge of punishments too much.

The best way to stop the abbot from refining the Human Essence Pill is to directly kill him and destroy this main ingredient.

The reason he hasn't taken action yet is because he still needs to live; he needs to water the dragon blood tree once a month.

No matter how fiercely the higher-ups at Jinyang Temple fought amongst themselves, they would never dare to delay the affairs of that Jinyang Taoist.

Soon, it was past noon, and Lin Mo and Guo Sheng went to the cave entrance to get food.

"Hey, Junior Brother Lin, did you notice that the place where I was imprisoned seemed unaffected by the water mist? But now that I'm out, the pain has returned?"

Lin Mo had actually discovered this long ago; the place where his senior brother was imprisoned was somewhat special, allowing him to avoid the torment of the water mist.

But now is not the time to worry about these things. We're about to be refined into a human pill, so the most important thing is to figure out how to save our lives.

Despite the pain of the water vapor corroding their bodies, the two arrived at the cave entrance and retrieved the food that had been brought in that day.

The food was simple, consisting of only a bunch of wild fruits and two large white steamed buns, with no meat at all.

The two took the food and returned to the pool. The person hanging on the stone wall had eyes that were practically glowing green, and swallowed hard, saying:

"Quickly, I haven't eaten in years, bring it over right away."

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then picked up a snow-white steamed bun and said to Guo Sheng beside him:

"Senior Brother Guo, could you please help me deliver this steamed bun to that senior brother? You can have the rest."

Upon hearing this, Guo Sheng paused for a moment, then slowly reached his hand into the basket containing the food.

"it is good."

Just as his hand was about to touch the steamed bun, his hand suddenly tore open, revealing several holes, and then several spirit insects suddenly flapped their wings and flew out.

Guo Sheng's expression turned hysterical.

...