Following Shang Biao's directions, Li Mu quickly arrived near the ancient tea tree.

I originally thought there wouldn't be many ancient tea trees, but when I arrived, I found that there were at least tens of thousands of them everywhere. Just walking through this ancient tea forest would take a lot of time.

Li Mu felt he had been tricked by Shang Biao; he should have let that guy lead the way.

To avoid taking detours, I had to keep my spiritual senses focused throughout the entire journey into the mountains.

When Li Mu saw the largest tea tree, he could sense a faint spiritual energy emanating from its vicinity.

Everything has a spirit. The old tea tree has been growing for at least a thousand years and is more than ten meters tall. It is still benefiting people today.

Everyone in the market is boasting that their tea is picked from ancient trees. Li Mu doesn't really drink tea, but if it really is tea from this tree, it should taste pretty good.

If the spiritual energy here is absorbed, this ancient tree probably won't live much longer, so Li Mu certainly wouldn't do something so despicable.

After finally passing through the tea forest and walking into the mountains for another half hour, Li Mu's consciousness began to occasionally detect animal traps.

A kilometer away, there was a stilted wooden house with an old man sitting at the door, eating a rabbit leg.

When Li Mu saw the old man in his divine sense, he thought he was guarding the tea plantation and wanted to ask him for directions.

Unexpectedly, the old man was very vigilant. When Li looked at him, he was also looking in the direction where Li Mu was. After a while, he turned around and went back to the wooden hut.

Li Mu withdrew his divine sense and sped towards the wooden hut.

.

When Li Mu arrived at the wooden house and saw the old man again, he almost burst out laughing.

It turned out that the old man had gone back to his room to change his clothes, which happened to be a faded gray monk's robe.

An old man in monk's robes, a wooden hut with two or three rooms—could this be Liaoyin Temple? Why isn't there even a plaque?

Looking at the old man's appearance, he had short, gray hair, a ruddy complexion, and a body as fat as a Maitreya Buddha.

Not only that, the old man sat barefoot on the futon, gently tapping the bowl in front of him with a rolling pin in one hand.

Seeing this, Li Mu hesitated, wondering whether he should go in or not.

If I hadn't seen this person in my consciousness before, the old man's current appearance would really give off a Buddhist vibe.

"Since you've come, please come in and have a chat."

Sensing the hesitation of the benefactor outside the door, the monk Liaoyin extended an invitation.

Hearing the old man speak, Li Mu had no choice but to go in, even if he didn't want to.

After spending several hours and traveling dozens of miles of mountain roads, I still wanted to ask about the origin of the jade pendant.

Li Mu sat cross-legged on the futon opposite the old man and began to sized him up. The old man was also looking at Li Mu, and they stared at each other for a few seconds.

The old man put down the rolling pin and placed his hand on his leg. Li Mu immediately saw a scar on the old man's leg that was oozing black blood.

"Have you come here to settle some karmic debt?"

Monk Liaoyin seemed unconcerned about his injuries and asked Li Mu.

.

As Li Mu watched the head monk speak, his eyes inadvertently glanced at the donation box next to the Buddha shrine.

Immediately, his mind cleared, and he scanned the entire wooden house with his divine sense, realizing that this old monk was indeed not a proper monk.

First, he pretends to be a master, then he plays the victim, and then he subtly suggests that people donate to good deeds. He's very adept at this whole operation.

The head monk, who should have been practicing meditation, had his kitchen filled with pickled wild game, several jars of snake and scorpion wine, and an unfinished rabbit leg on the cutting board.

They were rushing to receive me, their benefactor, who had come to collect alms.

I thought to myself, this monk is really something else. He's gotten so fat and chubby, with a ruddy complexion, and he's still playing the victim.

Li Mu didn't want to play along with this fake monk, so he took out the jade token and asked directly.

"Master, have you ever seen this jade pendant?"

When Monk Liaoyin saw Li Mu take out the jade token, his eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal.

This jade pendant was given away a few years ago by a pilgrim who donated 30,000 yuan, but unexpectedly it was returned to him.

“You are very kind, benefactor. This jade pendant is a treasure that I lost a few years ago. I never expected that you would return it to me.”

As the monk Liaoyin was speaking, he reached for the jade pendant, his movements incredibly swift. He was fast, but Li Mu was even faster, instantly storing the jade pendant in his ring.

“Great monk, I spent millions to buy this jade pendant at auction, not to give it to you.”

Let's be open and honest. If you can tell me where this jade pendant came from, I can give you some other treasures.

Li Mu hadn't sensed any blood energy from the fake monk before, but judging from his actions, he could now tell that this monk was a master with a restrained aura, at least at the Earth Realm level.

Some even suspect that the black blood on the monk's legs was forced out by himself, in order to gain sympathy and merit.

.

“Benefactor, I have been presumptuous. I acquired this jade pendant by chance many years ago, and then lost it again a few years later.”

Now that the jade pendant is in your hands, it means that this pendant is destined to be with you, and with both of us. If you do not wish to return it, then please take it back.

Monk Liaoyin was also somewhat wary of Li Mu. This young man's strength was not apparent, yet he was able to take the jade token even when he intervened. He must be no less powerful than himself.

Looking at this person, his hands were empty, he didn't even have a bag to carry anything, so where would he find any other treasures?

Getting the jade pendant was definitely a win, but since we can't get it back, let's just forget about it.

Li Mu felt that this fake monk was quite clear-headed; he would never reveal the origin of the jade pendant unless he obtained the treasure or benefited from it.

“Great monk, monks do not lie. With your skills, it is unlikely that you lost the jade pendant. If you can tell me where the jade pendant came from, you will certainly receive a reward.”

"Oh! What do you say, fellow Daoist?"

When Monk Liaoyin's little scheme was exposed, he wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, he directly asked about the benefits, and Li Mu went from being a benefactor to a fellow Daoist.

“Great monk, I see you are poisoned and it will be very difficult to cure you. I have two pills here that can help you recover quickly. I wonder if this is enough?”

"Medicine? You say you have medicine? What kind of medicine could possibly cure my poisoning?"

When Monk Liaoyin heard Li Mu mention the elixir, his eyes sharpened and then dimmed. He had been poisoned by the elixir and was terrified at the mere mention of it.

Since Li Mu had already mentioned it, he must know what kind of poison the fake monk had been given. Under normal circumstances, martial artists wouldn't be poisoned by this kind of poison; it was probably poisoned by accidentally ingesting a medicinal pill.

Now, isn't this a coincidence? We just happened to have refined two batches of Qinglin Pills, which will come in handy.

Li Mu reached into his pocket with the ring on his hand and took out two Qinglin pills from the ring.

.

“Great monk, there are two pills inside. These pills are called Qinglin Pills, which are specially used to treat erysipelas.”

"Ah! You, how did you know I was poisoned by the pill?"

Upon seeing the small medicine bottle in Li Mu's hand and hearing that it was a medicine for treating erysipelas, Master Liaoyin was greatly surprised.

It's already quite impressive for an ordinary person to be able to tell that they've been poisoned, but now, a young man of unremarkable strength has actually been able to tell that he's been poisoned by the elixir.

"Come, great monk, let me introduce myself. My name is Li Mu. I am a little genius in the mortal world who loves martial arts. I have studied medicine for two years and can cure all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases."

Looking at the fake monk's expression, Li Mu went from being shocked to feeling secretly pleased and expectant, silently putting on a show for himself.