Chapter 424.1: Jin Li: I... Am Very Gentle

Concealing himself, Moheng quietly made his way toward the Severed Moon Abyss. Moheng would have Mochi keep an eye on Motong, who was acting off. His figure remained hidden as he passed by quite a number of Yin Spirits stationed there. Even when he came within only a few miles of them, not a single one noticed his presence.

After some time, Moheng came to a halt, his gaze directed toward the depths of Severed Moon Abyss. A formation blocked his vision. Although his strength far exceeded Mochi's, he did not possess a Principle Art. He couldn’t perceive anything inside. As a Principle Yang Spirit, both his status and position surpassed Mochi’s, so he was usually not the one paying a visit.

"Heavenly Venerable Mochi, please come out and see me at once," Moheng transmitted.

The formation deep within the Severed Moon Abyss rippled. Qi Yuan, disguised as Mochi, hurried out in apparent haste. He seemed somewhat flustered. This genuine display of nervousness could probably deceive cultivators of the same level, but it was easily noticed by a Principle expert one realm above him.

"Greetings, Moheng!" Qi Yuan lowered his head respectfully, a trace of surprise on his face. "May I ask why you have come to the Severed Moon Abyss?"

He devoted himself entirely to acting, suppressing even his inner thoughts.

Moheng glanced at him. "Mochi, have you seen Heavenly Venerable Motong recently?"

Qi Yuan continued his act, appropriately revealing a look of shock. “Yes. A few days ago, I paid my customary visit to Heavenly Venerable Motong. He invited me to launch a surprise attack on the Divine Moon Palace. However, one of my batches of pills had reached a critical stage, so I declined. Did something happen?”

"Heavenly Venerable Motong has suffered some injuries." Moheng's expression was profound. "I suspect the injuries are rather serious and have already affected him. Unfortunately, I am stationed too far from the Absolute Moon Abyss to monitor him constantly. Help me keep an eye on him."

Qi Yuan's expression grew solemn. "Moheng, are you suspecting that Motong...?"

He swallowed hard, leaving the rest unsaid.

Moheng did not elaborate further. "You need only keep watch and report everything to me promptly."

Qi Yuan lowered his head, not daring to look directly at him. "Understood!"

Moheng said indifferently, "You may return."

Qi Yuan hurried back.

Several minutes later, Moheng narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming rather complicated. "This Mochi also seems somewhat suspicious. There is no aura of a newly refined precious pill upon him."

Just now, Mochi had claimed that he had refused Motong because he was refining pills. If that were true, he should have been doing that the entire time. Even though Moheng had sensed the aura of precious pills on Mochi, upon closer examination, it was the lingering aura of pills refined long ago. In other words, Mochi had lied about that matter.

Moheng's gaze deepened. "He must be hiding a little secret. Again, what a pity. My true body is stationed far away. Otherwise, I'd quite like to see exactly what little secret Mochi is hiding."

His gaze turned distant as inspiration struck him. "Moqi is stationed adjacent to the Severed Moon Abyss. I'll have him keep an eye on Mochi."

After giving it some thought, Moheng headed toward the territory guarded by Moqi. Indeed, Moheng was very good at nesting one surveillance inside another.

***

The armored woman, Mu Tianshui, arrived at Floating Cloud Pavilion in the Sixth Heaven. She had changed into an ordinary emerald-green outfit, and much of the murderous aura surrounding her had dissipated. She walked out of Floating Cloud Pavilion, her expression carrying a trace of gravity.

The young girl, Mu Bihua, wore a puzzled expression. "Aunt, aren't we enemies of the Moluo Clan? I believe we are still at war with them? So why are we borrowing money from them?"

Today, she had accompanied her aunt into a Moluo Clan’s territory to arrange for a loan. The amount of Immortal Jade they were borrowing was astronomical, so much so that the Moluo Clan would have to deliver it to their clan in installments.

A tall man replied, "War is war. Business is business. Although the Moluo Clan and the Divine Moon Palace have been fighting in the demon abyss for nearly hundreds of thousands of years, the only ones who've perished have been Yin Spirits. Not a single Heavenly Venerable has fallen."

He sighed. To him, the grudges between these great powers seemed especially laughable. The casualties were always those at the bottom. Those at the top sat high above in the heavens, untouched by hatred. At any moment, a single order could turn mortal enemies into allies.

"So naturally, business can still be conducted." The tall man revealed a puzzled expression. "What I can't understand is why Her Highness the Moon Maiden ordered us to borrow from the Moluo Clan. Their interest rates certainly aren't low."

Since they were enemies, the Moluo Clan charged them noticeably higher interest than usual. The interest per decade alone amounted to an astronomical sum, equal to several Immortal Jade mines. One Immortal Jade mine alone was enough to allow a Venerable to advance into the Great Venerable realm.

Thinking about the debt, the young girl wore a bitter expression, appearing utterly unwilling. "Exactly. With so much Immortal Jade borrowed, most of our family's wealth will end up being paid to the Moluo Clan as interest!"

A fat man with a round face and large ears approached, saying somewhat mockingly, "Don't tell me you still don't know? Your Moon Maiden has become infatuated with some little fox spirit and voluntarily gave up her status! She likely lacks cultivation resources. That’s why she even borrowed Immortal Jade from the Moluo Clan!"

Mu Tianshui snorted coldly. "Even if Young Miss lost her status, the Zhao Clan is still insignificant compared to her. You are not qualified to offend her."

The fat man's expression stiffened. Indeed. Whether or not Jin Li was the Moon Maiden didn’t change the fact that the Zhao Clan was far inferior to the Mu Clan.

Nevertheless, he could not resist saying, "At least we can still send our daughters to the Divine Moon Palace and produce another Moon Maiden! Since your clan voluntarily gave up the Moon Maiden position, you no longer have the right to send female descendants into the Divine Moon Palace!

"The debt you've taken from the Moluo Clan alone will be enough to ruin you! Wait another thousand or ten thousand years. Once your Moon Maiden fails to break through to the Yang Spirit realm, the Mu Clan is done for!"

Naturally, the fat man assumed that after losing her status, Jin Li would no longer receive the Divine Moon Palace's resources. Hence, to break through into the legendary Yang Spirit realm and defy heaven itself to change her fate, she had recklessly borrowed such an obscene amount for one desperate gamble.

There were quite a few Mythic cultivators who had done the same. Every single one had ended miserably. How could becoming a Yang Spirit possibly be so easy? Throughout the surrounding five realms, and even across this region of the Sixth Heaven, not a single Yang Spirit had ever been born since ancient times.

Having finished speaking, the fat man flicked his sleeves and departed.

Mu Bihua said angrily, "How infuriating! Those crooked melons and cracked dates from the Zhao Clan must be dreaming! Her Highness will definitely break through to the Yang Spirit realm and slap that fellow in the face!"

The tall man turned toward Mu Tianshui, rather curious. "What kind of person is Her Highness' dao companion?"

Mu Bihua also looked over expectantly. The fact that the Moon Maiden had given up her position because of a man had caused a tremendous uproar within the Mu Clan. One clan elder had even dug out his own Nascent Soul, intending to present it before Jin Li in hopes that she would change her decision. Others had burst into tears.

There were actually very few people who truly understood their own place. After all, many had grown accustomed to relying on seniority, becoming extremely stubborn. However, Jin Li never had to intervene because Mu Tianshui had personally dealt with those clan elders. Jin Li's decision was the Mu Clan's will.

Thinking back to the young man by Jin Li’s side, Mu Tianshui's expression became rather complicated. To be honest, it was the first time she had ever seen Jin Li displaying such a girlish side.

After thinking for quite a while, she could only come up with one merit Qi Yuan possessed. "He... is very handsome."

Mu Bihua blinked. "Eh?"