The Liu clan was a small clan from Azure Water City. It has been declining for many years, and many people coveted their businesses. Recently, Liu Hualing's father, the patriarch, was poisoned by a rival clan that sent a spy to infiltrate the Liu clan and act as a maid for some time before she successfully put a toxin in his glass. Her father was using his cultivation to push back the poison and survive for a time, but his health was degrading slowly and it was only a question of time before the inevitable would occur.
Liu Hualing and a couple of servants left for the Jade Forest with the hope of finding the rare moon pacifying herb and stabilizing her father's condition.
It was an herb reputed to heal most diseases and would also be able to momentarily neutralize the poison. Although it wouldn't be enough to completely cure him, it would buy two or three years of life, and precious time to find something else to heal him.
After one week of searching, they finally found one, but they only had the time to pick it up from the ground before the red-horned leopard rushed at them.
Natural resources like the moon pacifying herb often possess greater amounts of qi than ordinary plants and their surroundings are a suitable environment for the growth of beasts.
It was probably lurking around, using the herb and the ambient air rich in qi to accumulate strength which was why it was so enraged to see people snatch it and lunged at Liu Hualing's group.
"Are you the one who killed it?" Liu Hualing asked pointing at the leopard's corpse.
She still had a hard time believing Ye Mo eliminated the beast by himself when it decimated her whole group previously and would have finished her as well without his intervention. He seemed around her age after all.
In truth, Ye Mo wasn't even thirteen yet, but his now well-developed body made him look older, if she knew his real age, she would be much more suspicious.
"Of course I did, who else?" Ye Mo answered nonchalantly.
While Liu Hualing's group was struggling against the beast, he had been standing near the top of a tree the whole time. When the horned leopard had finished most of them and attacked her, Ye Mo lept off the branch he was standing on and fell straight towards the beast, then will all his strength, he cleaved with his machete exactly at its neck injury.
He thought it would be enough to decapitate the beast, it must be known with his current strength, Ye Mo could break the ribs of most people with one punch, but even then, the machete stopped halfway through the leopard's neck. The beast was left flailing on the ground and Ye Mo madly rushed at it, ending its life.
Everything happened in an instant so Liu Hualing, who crossed her arms over her face, didn't see anything and Ye Mo wouldn't tell her either. All this contributed to her impression that Ye Mo was a powerful and reliable man, most of all, he saved her life.
Her eyes lit up as she thought of something and told Ye Mo, "Why don't you come to my Liu clan as a guest? We will treat you well, you won't be disappointed."
She was very expectant, she couldn't sense any qi fluctuations from Ye Mo so it meant either he had no cultivation at all, or there was a huge gap between their level. Being a witness of his prowess, it was obvious what conclusion she would form about him.
If she could make an expert like him join her clan, they would have much less pressure handling their enemies. She didn't even consider body refining cultivation as those who practiced such arts were either ignorant fools or extremely wealthy experts with a top-notch body refining technique and no one fitted this description in Azure Water City.
"I will think about it." Ye Mo politely refused.
Being part of a clan was as far as possible from what he wanted. He wished to be free of his movements, for him, joining a clan was akin to a life slave contract, and since he wasn't even blood-related he would never be anything more than an external elder.
Liu Hualing smiled before she took a step forward and seductively roamed her finger on his well-defined chest as she whispered in his ear, "You should think quickly, there are many advantages in joining my clan."
Ye Mo couldn't be said to be good-looking, his face was just above average at best, but his muscular body and the aura of fierceness around him could be attractive to more than one woman. After everything that happened, Liu Hualing was more than inclined to give her body if she could recruit him.
"Alright, alright, let's leave this place first, the area isn't safe. We can discuss it later." Ye Mo took a step back and distanced himself, changing the subject on the go.
Liu Hualing visibly pouted, clearly disappointed.
She decided to not be too forceful and scare him so she turned around and was about to leave, determined to try again after they left the forest, but she didn't make one step when her vision started spinning. The last thing she saw was a young girl's headless body still erect and a youth with a bloody machete standing behind her.
"Sorry, but I only need you dead." Ye Mo approached her corpse who just fell as her head hit the ground and removed a green pouch from her waist which he stuffed in his pocket.
In the Jade Forest, the sun was setting and the sky grew darker.
Under the shadows of trees, a silhouette rushed like a cannonball through the land. It was Ye Mo, sprinting as if his life depended on it.
After dealing with the corpses, only dust remained, but Ye Mo didn't expect to get more than ten times the life force he would obtain from ordinary people using the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body technique on Liu Hualing and even more with her servants.
A massive energy was contained in his body at this moment, but he couldn't restrain it much longer. He had to find a safe place to breakthrough as soon as possible or he felt his body would explode.