"Drinking?" Lin Mo was helpless.

At a time like this, was he really in the mood to drink? From the wide sleeves of her robe, Jiang Rushi stretched out two lotus-root-white forearms, ten fingers like scallions. She stood at Lin Mo’s side, a faint floral scent spreading through the air and drifting to the tip of his nose. "I know, Young Master, that you’re in no mood for wine right now, but problems always need to be thought through slowly.

Since we’re sitting here with nothing to do anyway, we might as well drink." "This wine is something I’ve treasured for a long time. It’s brewed from an extremely rare ’Yuanyun Fruit’. It goes down smooth and mellow, and it can also make one’s qi and blood more robust. If it were an ordinary person, I would never be willing to give it to him." Jiang Rushi said with a cheerful smile

.

But her hands did not stop moving. After setting out the Jade Cups, her pale hand lifted the wine pot, and with the other hand she gently pressed down. Clear, fine wine flowed from the spout, filling the two cups to the brim.

"So in City Lord Jiang’s heart, I’m not an ordinary person." Lin Mo half-smiled.

Jiang Rushi glanced at him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly, but she did not speak.

Just as Jiang Rushi had said, the wine was very fragrant, a faint scent that seeped into the heart and lungs, richer than flowers, more fragrant than flowers.

"Young Master Lin Tanyu, have a taste." Jiang Rushi held up her cup, smiling.

Lin Mo also picked up his Jade Cup. "I rarely drink, but today I suddenly feel like having some."

"Please." Jiang Rushi raised her sleeve to cover her face, tilted back her neck, and drained the wine in one go. "Young Master Lin Tanyu, this wine must be drunk in a single mouthful. Let it wrap around your mouth; don’t rush to swallow it. Carefully feel its flavor—it’s beautiful."

Lin Mo nodded. Lacking a woman’s elegance, he directly poured the wine from the Jade Cup into his mouth, letting it envelop his palate. A rich, mellow fragrance spread wantonly through his mouth. This wine was indeed soft and velvety, yet carried a faint, lingering aroma.

The feeling was like walking along the ancient shores of Jinling Lake in the spring rainy season, fishermen’s songs sounding at dusk, brilliant towers shining like flame, stirring memories of longing.

"Meng Die, Zi Ning." A trace of melancholy flashed across Lin Mo’s eyes.

Looking at him, Jiang Rushi said mildly, "It seems Young Master Lin Tanyu also has someone he misses in his heart. Besides the name ’Yuan Yun Fruit Wine’, this wine has another name: ’Longing’. Anyone who drinks it will think of the one they love."

"Is that so? Then Cultivators really shouldn’t drink too much of it." Lin Mo smiled.

If a Cultivator sinks too deep into longing and melancholy, unable to hold fast to their true heart, whether in Cultivation or in their path as a whole, they will easily be affected, even lose their lives. "I also occasionally drink a cup when I miss my husband." Jiang Rushi smiled. "My husband and I were originally from Earth Emperor Star. We lived in a small country. My husband was only a clerk in a government yamen. Our life was poor but happy. He loved to paint. Every time he

painted, I would stand at his side grinding ink for him, watching him..."

"It’s a pity that little country was too weak and was destroyed by a larger nation. My husband died as well. Later I met a Cultivator who passed his legacy on to me. I swore that once I gained the strength, I would definitely annihilate that great nation."

Lin Mo was stunned.

He had not expected Jiang Rushi to have such a story behind her.

"Young Master Lin Tanyu, you must be thinking I’m not that kind of woman at all, aren’t you?" Jiang Rushi sneered softly. "The way I am now, I’m not much different from those famous courtesans of the pleasure quarters, am I?"

"Everyone has their own story." Lin Mo said. "After I destroyed that great nation, I didn’t know what to do next, so I wandered everywhere cultivating. With Cultivation came conflict, and the desire to survive. Later I met the True Yang Venerable. He took me in and helped support me to become one of the four City Lords of the Sky City Continent." Jiang Rushi said faintly.

Lin Mo set down the Jade Cup and rose, gazing into the distance. "Why are you telling me this? Our relationship can hardly be called close."

"If you want to live, you have to lay out a retreat for yourself. If a person cuts off all their own roads, that’s never a good thing." Jiang Rushi said, her tone heavy with implication.

"Ha, you think I can contend with the True Yang Immortal Venerable?" Lin Mo laughed.

Jiang Rushi poured herself another cup of wine and took a sip. "I merely feel that Young Master Lin Tanyu is not ordinary. A woman’s intuition is sometimes more accurate than that of experts with profound Cultivation."

...

Seven days had passed.

He had been confined here for seven days.

Lin Mo stood in the long pavilion, staring at the giant tree growing within the main palace hall. It soared a thousand zhang high, with countless branches stretching in all directions, its foliage dense, covering nearly half the space above the palace.

Amid the emerald dream-butterflies, one could vaguely see some ripened fruits, some red, some green.

"Sun and Moon Divine Fruit?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Lin Mo muttered to himself.

Over these seven days, from Jiang Rushi’s mouth he had come to understand this tree’s name and origin.

This tree did not belong to the True Yang Venerable, but to the Star Sky Alliance.

Only once every thousand years did this tree blossom and bear fruit, and each time, all the fruits produced would be taken away by Envoys of the Star Sky Alliance. Lin Mo did not know what use these fruits had, but clearly, this was a Treasure.

If the True Yang Venerable knew that after imprisoning Lin Mo, Lin Mo was actually eyeing these Treasures, what kind of wonderful expression would appear on his face?

"I’d wager there are powerful Prohibitions all around this tree. Even if I tried to pick a couple of fruits, even if I got them, I still wouldn’t be able to get out of here." Lin Mo shook his head.

"Even picking a single leaf would do."

Lin Mo’s eyes lit up.

The leaves of this Sun and Moon Divine Tree—what marvelous use did they have? They were precisely what countless geniuses who entered the Dark Demon Sea for tempering and sought the attention of the Star Sky Alliance were fighting over!

Whoever obtained a leaf would hold a pass to go to the Star Sky Alliance.

Those geniuses and monsters gathered from the Wanxing Domain were ultimately fighting over these leaves. They were tokens. Gaining a leaf from the Sun and Moon Divine Tree proved their strength and allowed them to join the Star Sky Alliance.

"Come to think of it, this really is a bit of a happy accident. Those geniuses who enter the Dark Demon Sea for training will probably have to go through layer upon layer of dangers before they can possibly find their way here, yet I actually got dragged in by a Venerable?" Lin Mo said with a wry smile.

Was this outcome a joy, or a sorrow?

...

Inside the main palace hall.

The True Yang Venerable wore a white blue-trimmed robe and stood barefoot in the great hall, his brows slightly furrowed.

A moment later, a figure flashed into the hall and dropped to one knee. "Venerable, I’ve already contacted those people. They agreed."

"Good. As long as they’ve agreed." The True Yang Venerable’s brows smoothed. With that Time drawing ever closer, he had to resolve the problem of Lin Mo as soon as possible.

"However." The man rose and said, "Those people want one Sun Fruit and one Moon Fruit."

"What?" The True Yang Venerable was stunned, then snapped angrily, "These people are truly insatiable. In a thousand years, I only get two fruits as my share, and they want to take them all?"

The True Yang Venerable’s heart ached. The Sun and Moon Divine Fruits were extremely precious. Every thousand years he only received two as his allotment. Now he was to hand them all over—his heart ached, ached to death.

"Send someone to bring Lin Mo to me." The True Yang Venerable said with a frown.