A rotten stench assaulted Fang Mo's nostrils as he approached Doctor Zhu. A disdainful smile tugged at his lips—the man in front of him had lost control of both his bladder and bowels from sheer terror. Any desire Fang Mo had to kill Doctor Zhu evaporated into thin air.
He glanced at Butler Dai, who stood nearby with a deep frown. As expected of the State Lord's head butler, it didn't take him long to realize that Doctor Zhu was merely a pawn. The true mastermind behind the poisoning was someone else within the mansion.
Not my problem to worry about... Fang Mo mused. Still, I've accidentally crushed someone's plans. I'd better not leave the State Lord's mansion for the next few months.
"Guards, take him away. Make sure he spills everything he knows!" Butler Dai ordered. The two guards who had been blocking the door grimaced in disgust as they dragged Doctor Zhu away, ignoring his pitiful screams.
With a polite smile, Butler Dai turned to Fang Mo. "Doctor Mo, thank you for unmasking that viper. If it weren't for you, I fear First Lady would've lost her life at his hands."
Fang Mo could tell Butler Dai had no intention of discussing who was truly behind the scenes, and he had no intention of prying.
"I only did my job. As for First Lady's condition, there's no need to worry. The poison isn't particularly lethal; it's rare for anyone to die from it since the body can naturally expel it over time. The real danger came from prolonged exposure. However, if she stops taking Vermilion Lotus Resin now, the symptoms I mentioned earlier will return, and she'll die. Bring me ginseng leaves, silverdew blossoms, and blackthorn fruit. I'll prepare the antidote."
"Thank you. We have all of that in the mansion. I'll fetch it immediately." Butler Dai bowed and left the room, leaving Fang Mo alone with First Lady.
"Despite your young age, your medical skills are truly remarkable, Doctor Mo," First Lady said softly, drawing his attention. Her expression was calm, and a faint smile played on her lips, as if none of the earlier chaos concerned her. "Many doctors came before you, but none could uncover the root cause of my sickness."
Fang Mo clasped his hands. "It was nothing, First Lady. I was merely doing my duty."
"Please, call me Yang Liu. That's my name." Despite her sickly complexion, an air of gentleness pervaded Yang Liu. "Doctor Mo, why do you wish to enter an immortal sect? With your talent in medicine, you could marry a beautiful woman and live a comfortable life."
Fang Mo looked at Yang Liu's eyes. He wasn't surprised that she knew why he had come here. Even if she had been bedridden for months, she was still the first wife of the State Lord. She wasn't old, but her eyes were filled with knowledge.
"Lady Yang, a man's life must be driven by purpose. When one's purpose is gone, what's the difference between being alive and dead? I want to be strong enough that no one, not even death, can control my fate."
Yang Liu sighed. "Do you know why I'm valued by the State Lord?"
Fang Mo shook his head. A few minutes ago, he hadn't even known about her existence.
"The State Lord has mortal spiritual roots like you, but I have low immortal spiritual roots. Though I've never cultivated, both the sons I had with him were born with immortal spiritual roots. The eldest son had a low-tier root, like me. The younger one has a mid-tier root."
"Had?" Fang Mo asked, though he already knew the answer.
"That's right. His talent for cultivation wasn't high, but he had great ambition and drive. With hard work and luck, he managed to be accepted into an Earth-tier sect. But... he was too strong-headed. A month later, he offended someone he shouldn't have and was killed. His bloodied head was delivered to our doorstep. This happened two years ago."
Yang Liu's gentle expression turned sorrowful. She was a mother who had lost her child. No matter how much time passed, the scars would always haunt her.
"A cultivator's life is filled with blood. To them, life means nothing. Many immortal cultivators live even less than a mortal."
***
"Your Highness, the Third Elder's son is here again to speak with you. He said he came to invite you to discuss the Dao," Qian Fan said, hands clasped toward Xu Yan, who sat cross-legged on the ground with a frown.
"Tell him to fuck off," she said coldly, but right after, her voice turned gentler. "Did you find him?"
Qian Fan sighed. She obviously couldn't tell the Third Elder's son to fuck off. The power he held was even greater than that of a mortal emperor like Xu Yan's father. Being part of the strongest sect in the Five Empires Region, any random elder from the Dao Seeking Sect held dozens of times more power than an emperor, let alone the Third Elder himself.
"Your Highness, my power is limited. If we used the intelligence network from the Yun Han Empire, I'm sure we would have already found him."
"Absolutely not!" Xu Yan said. "If Xu Ru knows I'm searching for a man, he'd kill him first and ask questions later. That old bastard wants nothing more than to marry me off to someone powerful from the Dao Seeking Sect."
Qian Fan smiled bitterly. That old bastard is your father, Emperor Xu... Since when was Her Highness so disrespectful to him?
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll continue searching for the boy called Fang Mo." Qian Fan bowed and left the room, leaving Xu Yan alone to resume her cultivation.
She walked toward the door, where Cai Zihao, the Third Elder's son, was waiting. "Senior Brother Cai, Her Highness is cultivating and doesn't wish to be disturbed, but I've conveyed your kind intentions to her."
Cai Zihao was a handsome man with a refined expression. He stood outside Xu Yan's quarters with a smile. "It's good to see Junior Sister Xu so focused on her cultivation. In that case, I shall take my leave. When Junior Sister Xu is free, I'll come to see her again."
"Thank you for your understanding, Senior Brother Cai," Qian Fan said, clasping her hands toward him.
He turned around and left. Though both of them were core disciples, Xu Yan was regarded far higher than him. It had been less than a year since she joined the sect, but she had already stepped into the ninth level of the Meridian Opening Stage, with hopes of entering the tenth level. He had been cultivating in the Dao Seeking Sect for two years and had barely managed to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm. If it weren't for his father feeding him precious resources, his cultivation would be even lower than Xu Yan's.
"Xu Yan... no matter what, I'll make you mine," he whispered with a dark expression.
***
Four months had passed since Fang Mo arrived at the State Lord's estate. Aside from tending to Yang Liu's condition, there was little else that required his attention. His peaceful life remained undisturbed, save for the persistent attempts to poison him during the past four months.
With plenty of free time on his hands, he focused on tempering his body and studying the medicinal arts practiced by immortals. After selling the Blood Lotuses he had taken from the disciples of the Green Mountain Sect, he scraped together enough spiritual stones to purchase a book on spiritual plants and basic alchemy used by immortals.
Unfortunately, knowledge of alchemy was far more expensive than he had hoped. The ten spiritual stones he had left were far from enough to buy anything useful, so Fang Mo decided to save them for cultivation when he attempted to break into the first level of the Opening Meridian Stage.
"Brother Mo, the Young Master has finally returned! He's calling everyone to gather outside!" A series of urgent knocks slammed against Fang Mo's door. From the voice, Fang Mo could tell how excited the person outside was.
"Calm down, Qian Qi, I'm coming." It was only six in the morning, and Fang Mo had stayed up late the night before studying. Despite his grogginess from lack of sleep, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as well.
The 'Young Master' Qian Qi referred to could only be one person—Yang Liu's son, Yang Bo. He was the State Lord's son, who had registered for the upcoming Winter Immortal Conference.
Still two months left until the Winter Immortal Conference… Are we already heading there?
Fang Mo followed the excited Qian Qi until they arrived at a large gathering in front of the estate. More than five hundred guards stood in neat formation, along with a few other bystanders. All of them were lined up, their eyes fixed on a handsome man with a heroic bearing seated atop a horse.
"As some of you may already know, I'll be leaving for the annual Winter Immortal Conference," Yang Bo announced. "I'll be selecting five guards to accompany me. Those who follow me will have the chance to have their spiritual roots tested. Even those with mortal spiritual roots may have the chance to join a sect as a servant disciple."
The crowd erupted with excitement. Their salaries would never be enough to afford a spiritual root test. This was a dream every mortal harbored—the chance to ascend, to join an immortal sect.