As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful aura emanated from Mo Mo. Some of those who were not strong enough knelt down. The expression on the Holy Empress's face finally changed, because even she felt the pressure. If she didn't rely on the Star Array, she wouldn't be confident of stopping Mo Mo. Even with the Star Array, she estimated she still wouldn't be able to do anything to Mo Mo. Only now did she finally understand why Mo Mo didn't take her seriously at all. He had the right to disregard her. And this was only because Mo Mo had only revealed a little of his aura. If he were to fully reveal his aura, even with the protection of the Star Array, even a god would be razed to the ground in an instant.
"So you possess such strength, Your Excellency. I was presumptuous. With your abilities, you are fully qualified to teach You Rong. I entrust You Rong to you. I have matters to attend to in the palace, so I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell." After learning of Mo Mo's strength, Empress Tianhai did not hesitate and immediately returned to the palace. She did not want to stay here and embarrass herself. As for Xu You Rong and the matter of investigating or winning over Mo Mo, that would be a matter for after returning to the palace.
Mo Mo didn't linger on Tian Hai and let her leave. After all, Tian Hai was the Holy Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he didn't want to cause too much trouble. Although he wasn't afraid of such trouble, the mere annoyance was enough to give Mo Mo a headache.
After Tianhai left, the hall immediately fell silent. Seeing her master so majestic, Xu Yourong's face was filled with joy. However, when she saw her parents slumped in their chairs, her joy vanished. But thinking of how much her master loved her, she believed that if she just acted a little coquettishly towards him, he would surely forgive them.
"What? Are you all mute? Weren't you shouting so loudly just now? Didn't you say I wasn't qualified to take You Rong as my disciple? Didn't you want to steal my disciple? Come on, why are you all mute? Speak up!" Mo Mo's voice remained calm, but the people in the hall dared not underestimate him in the slightest. This was a saint; killing him would be no harder than crushing an ant. Didn't you see that even the elders of the Lishan Sword Sect and the saintess of Saintess Peak were scared? Jumping out now would be tantamount to courting death.
"Senior, I was blind to your greatness. Please forgive me. I will return to apologize to the Sage of Zongli immediately." The elder of Lishan Sword Sect, who was holding Qiushan Jun's hand, bowed to Mo Mo and was about to leave. As for his idea of letting Qiushan Jun and Xu Yourong get to know each other better, he had long forgotten about it. Trying to abduct someone's disciple in front of a Sage? He didn't want to die. He was still young and wanted to live a few more years.
"You think you can just bow and apologize and leave after offending me? Aren't you oversimplifying things? If you don't leave something behind today, you'll have to stay at the Xu residence." The elder of the Lishan Sword Sect, who was about to turn and leave, froze in place.
The elder of the Lishan Sword Sect was ruthless enough. He knew that he wouldn't be able to leave without paying a price. He gritted his teeth, placed his storage magic treasure on the table, and then pulled Qiushan Jun away.
Mo Mo glanced at the others, then fixed his gaze on the curvaceous saintess, and said calmly, "Your turn."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 178 The Forgotten Akiyama-kun
She already knew something was wrong when the Holy Empress left. For the Holy Empress, one of the Five Saints, to back down and turn away, Mo Mo's strength was self-evident. When the elder of the Lishan Sword Sect was extorted by him and left with only his sword, she felt even more uneasy. After all, the elder of the Lishan Sword Sect had all his belongings taken away just for agreeing with her, and as the person involved, she couldn't escape. Sure enough, Mo Mo still came after her.
"What do you want? Although you are a saint, my Saintess Peak is not to be trifled with. I will not be as cowardly as the elders of the Lishan Sword Sect. Just draw up the rules for what you want to do, and my Saintess Peak will take care of it." It must be said that the saintess of Saintess Peak is indeed tough, but she has chosen the wrong person to be tough on.
“Very good, I greatly admire someone as principled as you. To show my respect, I have decided to waive your compensation.” Mo Mo paused deliberately, looking at the Holy Maiden.
Before Mo Mo could continue, the Holy Maiden smiled and took over the conversation, saying, "You said it yourself. Since the Holy One has spoken, I'll be leaving now." With that, she turned and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?" Just then, Mo Mo's voice came from behind her, instantly extinguishing the joy on her face. "It really isn't that simple after all!"
"Didn't you say you had already waived my compensation?" The saintess turned around and asked Mo Mo in confusion.
"I did say I would waive your compensation, but I never said I would forget about what happened before. I can forgive you for offending me, but how am I supposed to settle the score with you for hurting Rong'er?" Mo Mo's words were filled with coldness, which made the Holy Maiden shiver.
Although intimidated by Mo Mo's imposing aura, the Holy Maiden still managed to retort, "I did not harm Rong'er, and I genuinely wanted to take her in as my disciple. How could I bear to hurt Rong'er? Besides, Rong'er wasn't injured at all!"
“Yes, Rong’er’s body was not harmed, but her heart was severely damaged. Your actions have seriously hurt her young mind. If I hadn’t been strong enough to stop you, Rong’er would probably have been taken away by you. Otherwise, if you had left a demon in her heart, her life would have been ruined. Tell me, how do you want this matter settled?” Mo Mo looked at the Holy Maiden aggressively.
"I... I thought you were an ignorant and incompetent person back then. I really liked You Rong, and I only resorted to this tactic to prevent Rong'er from going astray. Who knew it would cause such serious consequences? Besides, who told you to hide your identity? So if something really happens, you have to take responsibility." Pressed by Mo Mo, the Holy Maiden lowered her head guiltily, but she still argued her case.
Mo Mo didn't press her further, but instead changed the subject and asked directly, "Do you really like You Rong? Do you want to take her under your wing and mentor her?"
"Of course it's true," the saintess replied instinctively.
"If I were to give you the opportunity to teach You Rong, would you be willing?" Mo Mo then asked.
"Of course I'd be willing to teach You Rong. You Rong is the reincarnation of a Heavenly Phoenix. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be the next Saint. Who wouldn't want a disciple like that?" Although she didn't know what Mo Mo was planning, the Saintess still voiced her thoughts.
"In that case, let's make it a pleasant decision then." Mo Mo nodded with a smile.
Now that everything has been resolved, Mo Mo announced that the apprenticeship banquet would officially begin. After all that commotion, everything was simplified, so apart from a few more people, the ceremony was basically the same as the one Mo Mo had at Ji Daoren's Taoist temple, only this time it was more grand and formal.
After burning incense to worship the heavens, the ceremony of becoming a disciple was performed. When Mo Mo put down the cup of tea he had finished drinking, he found Xu Yourong looking at him pitifully, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't, which was exceptionally cute.
Meanwhile, the Holy Maiden looked at the exquisitely beautiful Xu Yourong with a bitter expression. She had thought that Mo Mo would make Xu Yourong become her disciple as well, since Mo Mo had just promised to let her teach Xu Yourong. However, after the discipleship ceremony, she realized that Mo Mo had no such intention at all. Instead, he wanted her to be a nominal master without any formal title, but in reality, clearly trying to take advantage of her.
This was a blatant conspiracy, but she had no choice but to jump in because Mo Mo had already waived her compensation, and she had publicly agreed to teach Xu Yourong. So even though she knew it was a trap, she still had to jump in with a smile.
Later she realized that she was wrong. Mo Mo did not covet the inheritance of their Saintess Peak. What he really wanted was her. However, by the time she realized this, it was too late. Even if she had understood everything from the beginning, she would not have been able to escape the same fate.
After waiting for a while without seeing Mo Mo make any other moves, Xu Yourong pouted, tugged at his sleeve, and called out in a sweet voice, "Master~" This "Master" with three parts grievance and seven parts coquettishness made Mo Mo unable to help but laugh.
"Alright, alright, here you go. Remember this: you are my disciple, Wangchen's disciple, the most unique person in the world. You don't need to submit to anything or anyone. You just need to cultivate diligently and be happy. Even if you cause a huge mess, your identity can cover it up." Mo Mo smiled and patted Xu Yourong's head, then took out a drop of golden blood and flipped his hand to extract it.
"What if you can't stop it, Master?" Xu Yourong didn't rush to take the drop of blood, but tilted her head and asked Mo Mo this question.
"Can't stop him? If we can't stop him, Master can still run away with you. Apart from a few people, there are very few in all the heavens and myriad realms who can stop Master. And if all else fails, we can ask your ancestor for help, even if it's a bit embarrassing," Mo Mo said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I understand, Master." After saying that, Xu Yourong grabbed Mo Mo's hand and swallowed the drop of golden blood that was floating on his palm.
Just as Mo Mo took out that drop of golden blood, the sound of swallowing saliva rose and fell in the hall. Although they did not know what the drop of golden liquid was, they could feel the powerful life force and energy in it. Moreover, their bodies instinctively told them that as long as they swallowed that drop of liquid, they would gain unimaginable benefits. However, they forcibly suppressed this instinct, because it was Mo Mo who took out this drop of golden liquid, the Mo Mo who could make the Holy Empress, one of the Five Saints, take the initiative to retreat.
When Xu Yourong swallowed the golden droplet, a deep sense of envy and jealousy welled up in their hearts. They envied Xu Yourong's good luck and were jealous that it was Xu Yourong who swallowed the golden droplet instead of them. Some of these people had a strange look in their eyes, as if they had seen the most delicious prey.
After swallowing the drop of golden dragon essence blood, Xu Yourong began to feel drowsy. When Mo Mo picked her up, she fell asleep directly in his arms. From the time Xu Yourong swallowed the dragon essence blood to the time she fell asleep, it was only two breaths. This shows the effect of the drop of essence blood.
However, this drop of divine dragon blood essence has already been refined by Mo Mo, and precious natural materials have been added to it to remove impurities and violent factors, so that Xu Yourong can consume it directly without worrying that this drop of blood essence will cause her to burst.
However, although Xu Yourong can directly consume this drop of essence blood, it will still take a considerable amount of time to fully refine it. During this period, the drop of essence blood will slowly integrate into her body, subtly improving her physique and enhancing her bloodline power.
The apprenticeship banquet had now ended, and the group in the hall had no desire to stay and enjoy the food, so they all left. Mo Mo took the young Xu Yourong back to her boudoir and then asked the Holy Maiden to take care of her. Mo Mo finally learned the Holy Maiden's name, "Qingyue".
Half a month later, Xu Yourong finally woke up, and Mo Mo took the opportunity to bring Xu Yourong to the small courtyard he had built on the mountain outside the capital. The whole process went very smoothly. Of course, the Holy Maiden Qingyue also came along. Xu Yourong fell back into a coma after waking up for a day.
More than half a month later, Xu Yourong woke up again. Although she was still somewhat sleepy, she no longer fell into a deep sleep all day. Mo Mo also began to slowly teach Xu Yourong how to cultivate. At this time, the Holy Maiden Qingyue woke up. Mo Mo had not asked her to teach Xu Yourong at all, but rather to treat her as a maid for the two of them.
However, she realized this a little too late. In the past month or so, she had fully understood how powerful Mo Mo was. Fortunately, although Mo Mo treated her like a maid, he did not do anything excessive. Most importantly, she had been conquered by Mo Mo's cooking skills and alchemy abilities. In particular, the bottles of pills that Mo Mo casually threw in the alchemy room like cabbages had increased her strength by 20% in just one month, making it even more difficult for her to make the difficult decision to leave this small courtyard with only three rooms.
So every day she took care of Xu Yourong, served her as she washed and dressed, tended the vegetable garden in the yard, went hunting in the mountains to obtain food, and then cultivation became her daily routine. Mo Mo would also occasionally teach her cultivation after teaching Xu Yourong.
Sometimes Mo Mo would go crazy and go hunting monsters or fishing for monsters in Wugou Lake. The first time Qingyue went, she was almost scared to death. However, when she saw Xu Yourong looking calm, she realized that she had overreacted. Gradually, she got used to this kind of life.
What bothered her the most was that Xu Yourong's fist-sized little white rabbit was actually stronger than her. She had personally witnessed that adorable little white rabbit kick a demon beast at the Tongyou Mirror level to death. However, when she saw the disappointment on the little white rabbit's face, she felt relieved. This little white rabbit's usual diet consisted of all kinds of elixirs, some of which she herself would be reluctant to eat.
Time flies, and so, the Holy Maiden Qingyue spent more than ten years in this small courtyard with Mo Mo and his apprentice. And today, the capital city welcomed a special young man. He was quite handsome, wearing a somewhat worn Taoist robe, and holding a short sword with a sheath. It was called a short sword because its blade was only about half a meter long. The person holding this sword was named Changsheng, and his full name was Chen Changsheng.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 179 Breaking the Sword Formation, Taking Over the National Academy
Not far from the capital, on a magnificent mountain where flocks of cranes fly, a handsome and distinguished man stands quietly outside a small courtyard.
This is a small courtyard built by the water, with a crystal-clear stream flowing gently beside it.
There is a wooden house in the courtyard, roughly in the shape of a triangular character, covering an area of about 200 square meters. To the right of the door is a large hall, which occupies about two-thirds of the area of the first row. To the left of the hall is the kitchen.
There is also an alchemy room, three bedrooms, and a study in the back.
On both sides of the wooden house, there were some trees and fruits, and round watermelons lay all over the ground under the trees.
In front of the wooden house was a vegetable garden, with a pebble path more than two meters wide running through it, dividing the garden, which was filled with green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, into two sides.
Behind the wooden house was a small medicine garden, and in the garden was a small pond, but I don't know what was raised in it.
Behind the small pharmacy, there was a row of buildings, including bathhouses and outhouses.
But in this ordinary little courtyard lived the saint who had once made the Holy Empress yield to him, and the woman who haunted his dreams. The world-renowned Qiushan Jun had been standing at the entrance of this seemingly ordinary little courtyard for more than an hour.
“Rong’er, are you really not going to go out and meet him? He’s been standing at the door for over an hour. He’s the famous Qiushan Jun, the descendant of the Heavenly Dragon Bloodline. Apart from him, I’m afraid there’s no one else in the world who is worthy of you.” Inside the wooden house, two stunningly beautiful women were playing chess, and the one who spoke was the woman playing black.
The two stunningly beautiful women playing chess are none other than Xu Yourong, who has grown up, and Qingyue, the former Holy Maiden of Saintess Peak.
More than a decade has passed. Apart from gaining more popularity and becoming more approachable, mature, and sexy, the former saintess's appearance has remained largely unchanged. Meanwhile, the little girl Xu Yourong has grown into a stunningly beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure and a slender, graceful build.
The two people playing chess at this moment look like a pair of stunningly beautiful sisters, creating a beautiful scene.
"Him? He's far inferior to Master. As for bloodline, it's not that I look down on him, but if I were to release all the pressure of my own bloodline, it's questionable whether he could even withstand it for the time it takes to burn an incense stick." Xu Yourong glanced in Qiushan Jun's direction and said with some disdain.
"Your master?" Qingyue rolled her eyes at Xu Yourong and continued, "Don't compare your master to others. He's a monster. He's already beyond human capabilities. He's incredibly powerful. I estimate that even if Zhou Yu, the former number one person in the world, were to be resurrected, he might not be able to defeat him."
"That's right, but look who my master is. But how do you know my master is incredibly powerful? Have you tried it yourself?" Xu Yourong said, giving Qingyue an ambiguous smile.
"You brat, how dare you flirt with your Aunt Qing! Watch out for my invincible back scratcher!" Instantly, the two women started bickering, abandoning their chess game. Before long, they were disheveled, their hair and clothes in disarray.
As for Akiyama-kun, who was still foolishly waiting outside, he had long been forgotten.
The two girls played around for a while, and then stopped, perhaps because they were tired.
After straightening her clothes, Xu Yourong's smile faded, and she asked seriously, "Aunt Qing, did you and Master... you know... do you know? What was it like?"
"I'm going to die, you brat, why are you asking this?" Qingyue's pretty face immediately turned bright red.
“Just tell me, Aunt Qing!” Xu Yourong tugged at Qingyue’s sleeve.
"Sigh~" Qingyue sighed deeply, her face filled with a deep sense of loneliness, and said, "Your master is single-mindedly pursuing the Great Dao, how could he care about personal feelings? Although he has treated me well over the past ten years, he has never done anything excessive."
"Does Master really not want to get involved with romantic feelings?" A hint of resentment flashed in Xu Yourong's eyes.
"I don't know either, but he has never touched me in the past ten years. I even tried to seduce him a few times, but he still didn't take me. However, I can tell that he was tempted, but he didn't do anything about it." Qingyue's words were filled with deep resentment and bitterness.
She was the Holy Maiden of Saintess Peak. Although her position as Holy Maiden was taken over by her junior sister after she arrived here, her charm was undeniable. However, even though she took the initiative to seduce Mo Mo, he still did not win her over, which greatly disappointed her.
"So that means Master isn't a heartless person, but just has some reservations that prevent him from accepting you, Aunt Qing?" Upon hearing Qingyue's words, a glint flashed in Xu Yourong's eyes, and a smile returned to her face.
"Perhaps, but even so, we have no way to proceed, since we don't know what he's worried about." Qingyue's face also showed a smile again.
Hearing Qingyue's words, Xu Yourong smiled and said, "As long as Master doesn't become heartless and ruthless, there's still a chance. Besides, Master can't possibly cultivate the path of ruthlessness, because the cultivation method Master taught me never mentioned anything about not being able to feel emotions."
After hearing Xu Yourong's words, Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from her heart. At the same time, she thought to herself, "I don't believe it. With my charm, you won't be tempted. At worst, I'll just send myself to your bed and see if you can still resist."
Meanwhile, Mo Mo, who was fishing for monsters in Wugou Lake, was unaware that a blood-pumping romantic encounter was waiting for him. However, it could not be called a romantic encounter, since he knew Qingyue's feelings. He had simply been concerned about Xu Yourong and did not want her to be exposed to these things too early, which was why he had repeatedly rejected Qingyue.
Inside the wooden house, Xu Yourong and Qingyue, each with their own thoughts, fell silent for a moment.
Four or five minutes later, Xu Yourong suddenly asked Qingyue, "Aunt Qing, when did you fall in love with my master?"
"When did you fall in love with him?" Qingyue was taken aback, then fell into deep thought. After a while, she slowly said, "I don't know when I fell in love with him. Maybe it was at your apprenticeship banquet, or maybe it was when I came here. But when I realized that I had fallen in love with him, I was already hopelessly infatuated. Even though I told myself again and again that I couldn't fall in love with him, that I was a saintess and couldn't fall in love."
After a pause, Qingyue continued, "Fortunately, my distress was short-lived. Saintess Peak revoked my Saintess status, and I was able to express my love for him without any reservations. But your master, that bastard, didn't say a word. He neither agreed nor refused, and it's been dragging on until now."
"So what do you like about my master?" Xu Yourong asked.
Qingyue rolled her eyes at Xu Yourong and said, "What do you like about him? Is that even a question? What girl doesn't dream of love? I also hope that my other half is a super hero, the most powerful and handsome man in the world. And you should know your master's abilities better than I do. Moreover, he knows how to take care of people. Not only is he good at refining pills, but he also cooks well."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingyue saw a smug smile on Xu Yourong's face. Looking at Xu Yourong's smile, Qingyue sighed deeply and said softly, "Yourong, he's your master, you..."
Xu Yourong interrupted Qingyue directly, saying, "Aunt Qing, the moment I first saw Master, his image was deeply engraved in my heart. My heart can only hold him, no one else."
"Alas, what a tragedy!" Qingyue sighed, but she didn't try to persuade Xu Yourong anymore. After all, what right did she have to advise her?
At this moment, Mo Mo, by the Wugou Lake, put away the giant serpent demon beast with a single horn and the long fishing rod tied with a dragon blood ginseng. Then, humming an unknown tune, he headed towards the capital.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 180 Enrollment Begins