"Long time no see."
Su Hongyu thought this was directed at her and quickly responded, with a hint of resentment in her voice, "You, this guy, every time I tried to find you in the past month, Sha Luo always said you were in seclusion. And now, you suddenly appear here?"
Su Hongyu assumed he had come specifically to see her.
However, Chen Mo didn't even glance at her and instead walked straight to the counter, smiling as he said, "I wonder if our previous agreement still stands?"
Bang!
The map that Hai Bodong was working on was suddenly covered in a layer of frost, turning into ice and shattering into pieces. His gaze swept over Chen Mo, and as he confirmed that the aura was emanating from Chen Mo, his expression turned odd.
"How could this kid have the aura of Queen Medusa?"
This thought flashed through Hai Bodong's mind.
Upon hearing Chen Mo's words, Hai Bodong recalled the event from a month ago and, with a touch of excitement in his voice, asked, "Has the pill been successfully refined?"
"So excited?" Seeing Hai Bodong's sudden enthusiasm, Chen Mo quickly took two steps back and said, "No, it hasn't."
Hai Bodong frowned, his tone turning cold as he asked, "Then what do you want with this old man?"
"Although I haven't successfully refined the Breakthrough Pill, I do have a way to lift the seal within you."
"Another method..." Hai Bodong's eyes flickered, and his gaze unconsciously shifted to the black-robed figure behind Chen Mo. His expression changed immediately. Although this person hadn't revealed their cultivation level, the faint yet overwhelming aura surrounding them was clearly above his own.
"An Emperor..."
Hai Bodong's tone suddenly softened, "No matter the method, as long as it can remove the seal within me, this old man will keep his word."
Chen Mo nodded, "Then can I see the partial map?"
"Of course, please follow me."
As they began heading towards the secret chamber, Su Hongyu suddenly stepped forward, "Chen Mo, I was talking to you! Why are you ignoring me?"
"Girl, do not be rude. This is an honored guest of mine," Hai Bodong frowned, feeling irritated by the girl in the red dress who visited every day.
"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?" It was only then that Chen Mo noticed the girl in the shop was Su Hongyu.
"What…?" Seeing how little she was noticed, and after being scolded by Hai Bodong, Su Hongyu became timid, her eyes turning red.
"You know each other?"
"Sort of."
Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong's expression softened slightly, and he said, "You should go back. There's no need to come here anymore. I'm a person who values freedom and won't take you as a disciple. Here, take this scroll of low-grade Profound level battle techniques and study it well."
With that, the three of them entered the secret chamber.
Not long after the three entered the chamber, the tears in Su Hongyu's eyes disappeared, and the look of grievance on her face was replaced with one of excitement.
"As expected of a disciple of Yunlan Sect, the face value is high."
"Miss, should we…"
"Let's go. No need to come back. Pretending every day is exhausting."
…
["Ding! Detected a remnant map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. You can spend 1 Fortune Point to peek and obtain it."]
After confirming that the map in his hand was indeed the remnant of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, Chen Mo stored it in his storage ring.
Seeing this, Hai Bodong said, "Back then, I split this map into two halves, and the other…"
"Old man…"
Chen Mo cursed under his breath, pulling out a green talisman from the system and tossing it to him.
"Read after me."
"…"
Although Hai Bodong didn't understand what Chen Mo meant, he still held the talisman and began reading.
As soon as the words were spoken, the talisman shattered, emitting a green light that enveloped Hai Bodong from head to toe.
In the next moment, a small, dark green energy serpent mark appeared on Hai Bodong's forehead, before shattering and disappearing.
Seeing this, the black-robed Yun Yun's face showed shock, and then a trace of guilt appeared on her delicate face.
She remembered that Chen Mo had also given her such a talisman in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, but she hadn't believed him and didn't use it, leading to the seal troubling her for several days.
With the seal lifted, a bright gleam flashed in Hai Bodong's once-clouded eyes, as a powerful aura that had been dormant within him suddenly awakened.
"This damned seal is finally gone! I've regained my strength as an Emperor!"
Hai Bodong's body floated in midair, with a pair of wings made of cold ice forming behind him. He laughed heartily, and the echoes of his laughter filled the secret chamber.
Not only did the talisman break his seal, but with enough energy, his strength could instantly return to its peak.
Hai Bodong squinted his eyes slightly, and the next moment, ice mist appeared on the floor and walls around him, quickly condensing into ice spikes.
Chen Mo and Yun Yun spread their wings and took to the air.
Behind Chen Mo, a pair of wings, half black and half purple, entwined with thunder and fire, caught everyone's attention.
The three of them hovered at the same height, with Hai Bodong's gaze meeting Chen Mo's, a hint of coldness in his eyes.
As he looked at the strange wings on the young man, Hai Bodong recalled the battle outside Desert City a while ago. That overwhelming aura had naturally drawn him to watch from a hidden corner.
He had seen the pressure emanating from Chen Mo that only a Zong (Ancestor) level cultivator could possess.
Listening to the mercenaries speak of the five Kings who appeared at the Lingyan Pavilion's inn, and the Emperor accompanying him today…
All these factors told Hai Bodong that Chen Mo must have a profound and powerful force backing him.
"I can only befriend him, not oppose him."
With this thought flashing through his mind, a kind smile appeared on Hai Bodong's old face, and the ice mist in the chamber dissipated.
Hai Bodong slowly descended, retracting his cold aura. He cupped his hands and apologized, "Regaining my strength so suddenly made it difficult to control my Dou Qi, and I inadvertently disturbed you, young friend. Please forgive me."
"Is that so…" Chen Mo said playfully, "If you hadn't explained yourself, I might have thought you wanted to fight me."
"Perish the thought." Seeing Chen Mo's confident demeanor, Hai Bodong became even more certain of the powerful background behind him and was glad he hadn't turned hostile earlier.
Hai Bodong took out another piece of the remnant map from his robe and handed it to Chen Mo with a smile, ["Here's the other half of the map."]
After the system confirmed it, Chen Mo smiled and stored it in his storage ring, then said, "Old Hai, now that your seal has been lifted, does our previous agreement still hold?"
["Of course, from now on, I'll follow the Pavilion Master's lead."]
"No need to exaggerate. As I said before, we're in a cooperative relationship." Despite saying this, Chen Mo was quite pleased with Hai Bodong's attitude.
Chen Mo continued, "I'm planning to establish the intelligence division of the Lingyan Pavilion in the Black-Corner Region. I intend for you to take charge there."
"What do you think, Old Hai?"