Chapter 136: How Can I Reject an Opportunity That Presents Itself?
Shen Mo discovered that the person dressed in the Qingxuan Sect disciple's robes was actually Xiao Fan.
The woman beside him was not a Qingxuan Sect disciple, but Ouyang Qian, the daughter of the deputy sect leader of the Divine Sword Sect.
"According to fate, Xiao Fan had long hooked up with Ouyang Qian. As for Liu Fei, he must have already dumped her, right?"
"Even Liu Yuanfeng can endure this—his own daughter was abandoned by his disciple, yet he remains indifferent... Well, it makes sense. He probably saw that Xiao Fan had cozied up to Ouyang Qian, so he had no choice but to bear it."
Shen Mo took a sip of tea and smiled faintly.
He continued to carefully examine Xiao Fan's life panel.
When he saw the upcoming opportunities, he was pleasantly surprised.
*[Upcoming Opportunity 1]: Two days later, while searching for the source of a floral fragrance with Ouyang Qian, he will arrive at an uninhabited residence in the east of White Stone City. Beneath the house, he will discover a mid-tier Earth-rank treasure, the Red Sun Lotus.*
*[Upcoming Opportunity 2]: Five days later, the Thousand Mile Fragrance will bloom in the City Lord's mansion of White Stone City. The White River Sect, Stormy Rain Sect, and Purple Star Sect will all be involved. Xiao Fan will witness the factions fighting and take advantage of the chaos, eventually obtaining both the peak-tier Earth-rank treasure Thousand Mile Fragrance and its rare essence.*
*[Upcoming Opportunity 3]: Seven days later, upon returning to the Qingxuan Sect, Ouyang Qian will gift him a bottle of Great Replenishment Pills before his departure.*
*[Upcoming Opportunity 4]: Half a month later, while practicing the Thunder Shadow Sword Technique in the bamboo forest near Qingxuan Sect's mountain gate, a thunderstorm will occur. During this moment, he will have an epiphany and advance the technique to the third level.*
*[Upcoming Opportunity 5]: ...*
Shen Mo clicked his tongue in amazement.
This guy truly lives up to being a favored child of fate, a reincarnated mighty figure.
Although he hasn't unlocked the memories of his past life yet, opportunities are coming one after another.
On the way to find the Thousand Mile Fragrance, he'll accidentally stumble upon the Red Sun Lotus, then obtain something even more precious—the Thousand Mile Fragrance Essence.
The Red Sun Lotus is one of the treasures that nurture a nine-layered lotus platform. It also strengthens the body and accelerates blood growth.
The Thousand Mile Fragrance Essence is even more difficult to obtain.
It must be cultivated by the Thousand Mile Fragrance over a hundred years without any disturbance to form a single drop of essence.
Its effect is to permanently increase the speed of spiritual energy recovery.
For someone like Shen Mo, who has vast spiritual power, its value would be even greater.
Once he refines the Thousand Mile Fragrance Essence, the amount of spiritual energy he could recover in a few breaths would likely surpass what others could restore in several dozen breaths.
Leaving such a treasure to someone else would surely be a waste, right?
"I almost feel embarrassed by how easily these opportunities are falling into my lap."
"But since the opportunity is coming to me on its own, I can't just reject it."
"After all, as the saying goes, even a goose feather sent from a thousand miles away carries the sender's affection."
Shen Mo smiled faintly.
He immediately tossed out a piece of low-grade spirit stone, paid the bill, and left.
The shopkeeper was overjoyed, hastily accepting it and bowing deeply as Shen Mo walked away.
His chilled tea was infused with many precious medicinal ingredients, making it cool and refreshing.
Yet even so, a jar of it would barely sell for two low-grade spirit stones.
Shen Mo's single small piece of spirit stone was worth half a jar of his tea.
Naturally, he was extremely grateful to Shen Mo.
Xiao Fan took a big gulp of the tea and, as he watched that departing figure, an inexplicable sense of fear arose within him.
"That back looks so familiar... Could it be Shen Mo? No, no, it's impossible. He should still be in seclusion at Profound Frost Cave."
"I'm out here seeking opportunities this time. He definitely doesn't know, so there's no way he's following me."
"Yes, it must not be him. The treasures of White Stone City are mine for the taking!"
...
Night fell.
In White Stone City, at the Tongfu Inn.
A graceful woman stood on the rooftop, gazing at the night sky.
Her features were exquisite, her appearance stunning, making it impossible to determine her age.
Behind her were three elders in the Core Formation stage.
Two of them appeared to be around forty or fifty years old.
They wore blue and white elder robes of the White River Sect.
The third was cloaked in black, his entire body concealed.
Under the moonlight, one could just barely make out his white hair and his face full of age spots.
"Sect Master," the three cultivators cupped their fists toward the graceful woman.
"How are things?" the woman asked faintly.
One of them replied, "After the news of the strange floral fragrance in White Stone City spread, Shen Mo has already exited seclusion and arrived in the city. However, as soon as he entered, he sensed someone tailing him and managed to shake off our people."
"The only thing we know is that he's wearing a half-face mask with a flame pattern."
The woman calmly said, "Find him. Our White River Sect has been secretly operating in White Stone City for many years and already has a vast intelligence network."
"Inform the rogue cultivators to keep an eye out for this person. He must be found within three days."
"Yes."
The woman added, "Also, the news of the floral fragrance in White Stone City has spread. I suspect many top-tier sects have already arrived."
"We must find the Thousand Mile Fragrance before them. This item is crucial for Sect Master Zhang to form his Nascent Soul—it cannot be lost."
"I understand!"
The two men bowed their heads and left.
After they had gone, the elderly man who had remained silent suddenly spoke.
"Xinyue, a treasure as precious as the Thousand Mile Fragrance—you don't want it for yourself?"
White River Sect Master Lü Xinyue sighed softly, "I am only at the peak of the Core Formation stage, not yet at its pinnacle. I don't need treasures to prepare for the Nascent Soul stage just yet."
"More importantly, using such a treasure to secure the support of the Heavenly Water Sect is of greater value."
The elderly man frowned, "Is Qingxuan Sect truly that powerful? When I went into seclusion forty years ago, the Qingxuan Sect had already declined into a second-rate sect."
Lü Xinyue smiled bitterly, "Second Uncle, too much has changed with the Qingxuan Sect. Shen Mo somehow obtained the art of Crystal Refinement and handed it to Qingxuan Sect. Now, their business covers the entire southern part of the Xuanjiang Prefecture."
"Even Feng Lieshan, the Blood River Sect Master, a peak Core Formation cultivator, was killed by Shen Mo."
"If Qingxuan Sect continues to grow at this rate, in less than three years, they will rise to rival the Heavenly Water Sect, reclaiming their place among the five great sects of Xuanjiang."
"When that happens, what do you think will become of our White River Sect, given that we betrayed Qingxuan Sect back then?"
The elderly man fell silent.
Back when Qingxuan Sect was still one of the five great sects of Xuanjiang, the White River Sect had been a loyal subordinate, faithfully following their orders.
However, as Qingxuan Sect gradually declined, the White River Sect started harboring second thoughts.
Later, the Heavenly Water Sect reached out to the White River Sect.
After offering great rewards, the two sects struck an agreement.
Naturally, this culminated in the classic betrayal of an old ally.
If Qingxuan Sect's fall from grace among the five great sects was caused by the Heavenly Water Sect, then the White River Sect was at least an accomplice.
They had also become mortal enemies of Qingxuan Sect.
After a long pause, the old man finally spoke slowly, "You're right."
Lü Xinyue nodded, "That's why we must spare no effort to halt Qingxuan Sect's rise."
"And the best way to achieve that is by capturing Shen Mo!"
"I had initially thought that Feng Lieshan's ambush at Profound Frost Cave would be enough to catch Shen Mo, but unexpectedly... sigh..."
The elderly man smiled faintly, "No worries. Now that I'm here, no matter how talented or powerful this child may be, he's as good as caught."
Lü Xinyue nodded slightly, "Second Uncle, you cannot fight for long. The three of us will create the opportunity for you—just capture him with one strike."
The elderly man smiled kindly, "Alright."
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