Several hours later...
Inside his almost non-lit cultivation cave on Thousand Chittering Peak, Mo Shen sat cross-legged on a cold stone bed, revealing his bare upper body.
The deep sword wound on his left shoulder had finally stopped bleeding, but it still looked ugly.
Several dark bruises had also formed across his chest and ribs from the Foundation Establishment cultivator's palm strike.
Rip...!
He tore a strip of clean cloth with his teeth and carefully wrapped it around his shoulder and torso, tying the bandage as tightly as he could tolerate.
He scoffed at his own situation.
"Tsk… how pathetic."
Mo Shen shook his head, his expression filled with irritation and self-mockery.
"If I had just a few hundred spiritual stones, I could have bought a decent wound healing pill and recovered in half a day. But right now… I don't even have enough to buy a single low-grade recovery pill."
He tightened the bandage with a sharp tug, causing a fresh wave of pain to shoot through his body.
He gritted his teeth and endured it without making a sound.
"After killing six people and nearly dying myself, all I got were some trash storage pouches and a few dozen low-grade spirit stones. Barely enough to cover my daily cultivation needs."
"That Foundation Cultivator must have broken through a week ago or something."
Mo Shen leaned back against the cold cave wall, letting out a long, tired breath.
His face was pale, and cold sweat still dotted his forehead, but his eyes remained as calm as ever.
"Looks like I'll have to rely on my own body to heal this time… How annoying."
He glanced at the small black serpent coiled quietly on his right arm.
The little creature seemed to sense his pain and gently licked the back of his hand, as if trying to comfort him.
"At least you're useful… Unlike me right now, who can't even afford basic medicine."
Mo Shen gave a faint, almost helpless smile and lightly stroked its smooth scales with one finger.
"...Not to mention that I need more resources now since I want to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm."
"I'll need to do more sect missions, earning as much contribution as possible to exchange for a low-grade Foundation Advancement Pill."
He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing his breathing to steady.
"...My foundation will probably be a mediocre one, considering my talent and the almost non-existent resources that I have."
At his words, he almost wanted to chuckle.
Of course, he didn't want a mediocre foundation.
And he was going to make sure that he didn't get one, but he needed to work hard to even get an intermediate-grade foundation.
Not to mention a high-grade or a perfect one.
"Mhm..."
Checking his spatial ring, the only gift he had been granted by his own master, he took out a bunch of gu worm food before putting it in a little bowl he had bought before.
"Go, and eat your fill, little guy..."
He summoned the Paralysis Wine Gu out of his dantian and let him feast on his food. The little guy didn't waste any time and started eating out like a glutton!
As for the little snake, Mo Shen still had half a boar on his spatial ring, so he also brought it out to feed the snake.
And what he saw... almost made him choke.
"W-what the... fuck?!"
The snake became longer, much longer for a split-second, and devoured the whole boar in a damn second!
Then, it opened its mouth, returning to its normal size, as if letting out a burp.
"Hiss~"
He coiled around Mo Shen's arm once again, as if what it had done was the most normal thing in the entire world.
Mo Shen eyed the snake suspiciously before letting out a sigh.
"For now… I need to rest and recover as much as possible. Once my injuries stabilize, I'll go greet Master as usual. If she notices anything strange…"
Mo Shen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…I'll just have to act even more carefully."
He finished bandaging the last wound, then slowly pulled his dark robe back over his body, hiding all traces of the battle beneath the fabric.
Then, settling down on his cultivation mat, he changed into a lotus position and started absorbing qi from the surroundings.
...
The next day, at the exact usual hour, Mo Shen made his way up the mountain path toward his Master's cave boudoir.
Despite the dull pain still throbbing in his shoulder and chest, his posture remained as firm as ever.
He could not afford to show even the slightest weakness.
As soon as he stopped a respectful distance away from the stone doorway and prepared to salute...
Swissh!
The space around him suddenly collapsed for a brief moment. An invisible force grabbed his body and flung him directly inside the cave.
Mo Shen staggered, almost falling face-first onto the ground, but he quickly stabilized himself with a twist of his foot.
He immediately composed his expression, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply.
"This disciple greets Master."
Only after speaking did he raise his head slightly.
Fengwu Yao was seated on her usual wide stone bed covered in dark silk, her posture relaxed and elegant as always.
Her red eyes rested on him without any visible emotion.
But at the same moment, Mo Shen noticed another figure standing quite close to his Master.
It was a young woman with long, flowing dark blue hair that shimmered like midnight silk under the dim lamplight.
Her exquisite emerald-green eyes were sharp and beautiful, carrying a faint trace of cold arrogance.
She had a stunning figure with big breasts that strained slightly against the fabric of her robes, a slender waist, and long legs partially hidden by the folds of her clothing.
She wore delicate robes embroidered with intricate silver orchid patterns, giving her an air of refined nobility that contrasted sharply with the dark and sinister atmosphere of the Gu Pavilion.
Mo Shen recognized her instantly.
His Eldest Senior Sister, the first personal disciple Master had ever taken.
Without hesitation, he cupped his hands toward her as well and spoke respectfully.
"This disciple greets Eldest Senior Sister."
The Eldest Senior Sister nodded slightly at Mo Shen's greeting, her emerald eyes briefly glancing at him before she cupped her hands elegantly toward Fengwu Yao.
"Master, I have returned from my mission."
She spoke with calm confidence.
"I've successfully become an Elder of the Sacred Alchemy Sect. The ancestors even praised me as a one-in-a-million talent, and I'm pretty confident that they trust me fairly well. Now, what should I do next?"
At those words, Mo Shen sucked in a cold breath inwardly.
'...Damn. As expected of the first disciple of this witch... if only the people in the Sacred Alchemy Sect knew the truth, tsk, tsk, tsk.'
Fengwu Yao remained seated on her silk-covered bed, her red eyes half-lidded as she listened without any change in expression.
After a moment, her soft yet commanding voice echoed in the cave.
"Very good. Continue staying there as an Elder. Do not rush, and slowly build your influence and gain their full trust. Once the time is right, find an opportunity to obtain the 'Nine Yin Spirit Lotus' from their sacred medicine garden. Do not get caught. If you fail… you know the consequences."
The Eldest Senior Sister bowed deeply.
"This disciple understands. I will not disappoint Master."
Fengwu Yao waved her hand lightly.
"You may leave."
The Eldest Senior Sister gave one last respectful bow, turned gracefully, and walked out of the cave boudoir without another word.
The stone door closed silently behind her, leaving only Mo Shen and Fengwu Yao inside.
Mo Shen kept his head lowered, standing quietly in his usual spot.
This was the same routine he had followed every single day for the past fifteen minutes ever since he transmigrated here.
'Phew… at least she's back to normal.'
Or so he thought.
"Approach."
Fengwu Yao suddenly motioned with her slender finger.
Mo Shen's mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't dare hesitate.
He stepped forward obediently, stopping at the same one-and-a-half-meter distance as the past few days.
"Sniff..."
Without warning, Fengwu Yao reached out, grabbed his sleeve, and brought it close to her nose, taking a faint sniff.
Her red eyes showed no visible emotion at first.
But as she took another, deeper sniff…
"…Didn't I tell you not to meet with people from the Hehuan Pavilion?"
Mo Shen's heart sank instantly.
'Fuck…! Is she a fucking dog or something?!'
He screamed inwardly, cold sweat threatening to form on his back.
Before he could even think of a response, Fengwu Yao's voice turned colder.
"Explain."
Mo Shen didn't dare to hesitate for even a breath. He lowered his head even further and started explaining quickly.
"This disciple only happened to encounter Martial Aunt Yue at the Beast Festival. This disciple didn't know she was there, but I... accidentally bumped into her. She was the one who approached me first… and she even granted me a beast egg that perfectly suited my needs. This disciple did not dare to refuse her gift."
At those words, Fengwu Yao suddenly raised her hand and pressed one of her long, pitch-black nails against her own cheek, slowly dragging it downward in a lazy motion.
Mo Shen flinched slightly.
Drip...
A thin, stinging line of blood instantly appeared on his left cheek. Her nail was sharper than any sword he had ever faced, as it had cut his skin without him even feeling the blade.
He didn't dare move or wipe the blood away.
Fengwu Yao stared at him for a moment longer before suddenly reaching out, grabbing the front of his robe, and pulling him closer with terrifying strength.
Mo Shen's body stiffened as his face was brought mere inches away from hers.
Sniff... sniff...
She leaned in and took another deep sniff at his collar, her breath brushing against his neck. Then, her lips slowly curled upward into an extremely cold smile.
"It seems that your dear Martial Aunt really likes you, huh?"