Departing for the Hanging Temple, the Hope of the Shui People

The Blackwater Marsh was perpetually shrouded in overcast rain, and today was no exception. Pavilions and towers blurred behind the curtain of drizzle, while the lake shimmered with countless ripples.

In one such courtyard, before a water vat equally disturbed by ripples, the reflection of a young man’s face appeared—none other than the newly ascended Heavenly Serpent of the Mingjiao Clan, whose name had shaken the Southern Border. His figure gleamed with a dark, metallic sheen.

"The Three Treasures Spirit Mushrooms are all gone."

"The Spirit Tiger Bone-Strengthening Pills... hm, finished those too."

Li Mo sighed silently as he surveyed the empty jade bottles and boxes in his system storage. He had practically cleared out the rare body-tempering elixirs and treasures from Yunzhou’s Prosperous Trade House.

To be fair, the quality of Prosperous Trade House’s goods wasn’t bad.

Well... that was, unless compared to the feedback rewards he got from the "ice block" or even Princess Little Jiang. The difference was like night and day.

So, Young Li had no choice but to compensate for quality with quantity.

Naturally, this meant his consumption rate was astronomical.

Moreover, advancing a peerless-grade body-refining martial art from perfection to the transcendent realm required more effort than all his previous training combined.

His progress in comprehending divine intent had also slowed considerably.

Originally, Li Mo had hoped to push himself one step further before competing for the Celestial Jade.

But his current progress was... underwhelming.

At best, he was just an ordinary, untalented person—albeit one with vast wealth and supreme natural gifts.

Oh, right.

Lately, he’d received quite a few gifts, though very few were actually useful...

Knock knock—

Suddenly, the door was rapped twice.

When he opened it, he found a clam maiden standing there, holding a luminous pearl—this one noticeably larger than the ones before.

Her cheeks flushed pink as she spoke.

"Wu Mo, this is for you!"

"This pearl’s quality is quite good," Li Mo remarked, nodding as he prepared to retrieve some gold from his system storage in exchange.

But then the clam maiden, Zhen Bang, lowered her head and mumbled:

"This one’s free... My clan elders told me to bring it as a betrothal gift..."

"......"

Young Li’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the pearl.

This wasn’t the first time.

As everyone knew, demons revered bloodline purity—the stronger the lineage, the more exceptional the offspring.

Thus, as the Mingjiao Clan’s newly risen prodigy, Li Mo’s popularity was downright terrifying.

"We’d definitely produce an outstanding serpent-clam hybrid!"

"Wait, I do appreciate this pearl, but—"

"Yay! Lord Wu Mo said he’s very satisfied with me!"

"Could you let me finish? I’m from outside the Southern Border, a traditional serpent—we don’t have any emotional foundation—"

He expended great effort explaining, but he wasn’t sure if she understood.

Zhen Bang truly didn’t.

In demon culture, if a high-bloodline individual expressed satisfaction with a gift, it meant they agreed to sire offspring. That’s how the Mingjiao Clan worked.

What even was an "emotional foundation"?

So after all that, the only thing Zhen Bang retained was:

"Lord Wu Mo said he’s very satisfied with me!"

Blushing furiously, she turned and scampered off.

Li Mo: "(⊙ˍ⊙)!"

Selective hearing—was that also part of your bloodline power?

Are you doing this on purpose or just oblivious?

Sighing at the pile of gifts in his room, Li Mo pulled out the "Monkey Seeks the Dao" scroll and resumed studying its divine intent.

That afternoon, his door was knocked on again—this time by Murong Xiao and his parents.

When Li Mo first brought Murong Xiao to meet Murong Feng and Wu Qing, something unexpected happened.

The couple, who had long been pressured by their clan to have a second child, were stunned by Murong Xiao’s arrival.

They hadn’t been the ones to summon him to the Southern Border.

Add to that the coincidental rebel ambush, their bizarre retreat (not deeper into the Southern Border), and Murong Xiao’s capture...

Young Li smelled a rat.

This was why he’d been pushing himself relentlessly lately.

Though there was no direct evidence, whispers of the Demon Summoning Sect lingered in the Southern Border. This trip to the Hanging Temple might not be as peaceful as it seemed.

The family of three exchanged warm words and embraces.

"If not for you, we might never have seen Xiao’er again," Wu Qing said, her eyes reddening. The fifth-tier demoness was on the verge of tears after hearing of her son’s ordeal.

But she didn’t know this Heavenly Serpent was originally human.

"I was heading to the Southern Border anyway—Murong Xiao and I just happened to travel together," Li Mo replied with an awkward smile.

He’d actually tried to send Murong Xiao straight back to the Qingyuan Sect.

"Thank you," Murong Feng said, bowing slightly.

"No need for formalities. I’ve long admired you, Uncle."

"You know of me? I made a bit of a name in my youth, but that was so long ago..." Murong Feng was puzzled. Maybe it was just politeness?

"Ah, having Xiao’er back does bring me joy, but... he is still a half-demon," Murong Feng sighed, his expression complicated.

Li Mo paused.

That didn’t add up.

For a half-demon, staying with the Mingjiao Clan should be ideal. Demons didn’t discriminate against half-breeds—they revered their power.

Yet Murong Feng seemed to think Murong Xiao was safer in human lands?

"Learning Buddhist teachings is also Xiao’er’s destiny," Wu Qing said, eyeing her son’s shaved head and the white jade relic in his palm with something like relief.

The couple was clearly burdened.

But perhaps they deemed these matters unfit for younger ears, so they said no more.

Besides, this wasn’t a recent development.

The Eye of Providence wasn’t mind-reading—it couldn’t unveil private thoughts.

"Since Little Wu Mo and the others are also heading to the Hanging Temple, we might as well travel together," Wu Qing suggested.

"When do we leave?"

"Today, obviously—why else would we be notifying you now?"

The Mingjiao Clan’s decisiveness was legendary. Once decided, they moved. No wonder outsiders called them hot-tempered.

By the lakeside, Wu Dameng and the other four aquatic prodigies were already waiting.

The Hanging Temple lay far to the west, but fortunately, a water route led there.

A massive fish-bone ship was moored at the shore.

"Our aquatic clans haven’t won the Celestial Jade in years," an elder said gravely.

"This time, the avian factions are strong—the Peng Clan has Zhi Duoluo, a half-demon with formidable bloodline and human martial arts. If you encounter him, are you confident?"

The four demons glanced at the youth inspecting the ship nearby.

Without hesitation, they nodded.

"Yes!"

"Good. Then there’s the Qingluan Clan’s Qingluan Goddess, who’s slain countless savage calamity beasts. She’s even more fearsome than Zhi Duoluo. Are you confident now?"

Wu Dameng and the others hesitated.

This time, they pondered deeply.

But then they recalled the Heavenly Serpent’s words:

With but a slight effort, I can render the Qingluan Goddess powerless!

"Yes!"

"Brother Wu Mo has the makings of a Heavenly Serpent!"

"They have their Qingluan Goddess—we have our Heavenly Serpent! What’s there to fear?"

"Our aquatic clans’ time to shine has come! What a clash of serpents and phoenixes it’ll be!"

Morale was high.

"Hm?"

Li Mo turned back in bewilderment, lost in thought before regret crept in.

He should have held back a little.

Now, suddenly becoming the hope of the aquatic clans—it was all rather unexpected.