Free Web NovelChapter 153: Chapter 153: Settling In
Insects chirped incessantly, but no birds dared to cross.
This was Suspended Blade Cliff on Broken Blade Peak. The stone cliff face was a hundred zhang high, cleaving the northern side of the mountain.
Inside, it was lush and green. Grass and vines grew in abundance, and small beasts could occasionally be spotted.
The wooden house by the cliff’s edge was unadorned. Its roof was laid with green tiles, and having been long unoccupied, it was now vacant.
The Daoist Child helping him was a disciple born and raised in the Xuandao Sect, both of whose parents were Cultivators in the sect.
"Brother Bai is worthy of his reputation as a cultivation prodigy."
"To be so bold and dedicated, he must have chosen this place to make his cultivation more convenient."
The Daoist Child said in admiration.
Bai Mo gave a helpless smile.
"That’s not entirely it. It’s just that my senior brother has high hopes for me."
The wooden house had been unoccupied for a long time, and the Daoist Child had to go in and out repeatedly before he finally finished cleaning the interior.
When Bai Mo walked inside, he could still feel a sense of dampness.
The Daoist Child still had a cloth towel draped over his shoulder and a wooden bucket at his side.
He scratched his head.
"Ah! Brother Bai, it’s quite damp in here. The house is probably just old."
"Should I find a handyman to take a look for you?"
But Bai Mo was quite satisfied.
"Old houses are like this. There’s no need to worry about it."
He raised a hand to wipe the dust from the Pill Furnace in the main room. Lifting the lid, he saw some residue left inside the man-sized furnace.
Looking at the ashes beneath the Pill Furnace, he saw the remnants of charred vine stems.
’The previous disciple who lived here probably dabbled in Alchemy Skill, which would explain this setup.’
"Once I fire up the furnace a few times, it should take care of the dampness in the house."
Bai Mo tossed out two Spirit Stones.
"I’ll have to trouble Junior Brother Shi to make a couple more trips to help me get all my daily necessities."
The Daoist Child took them, nodded, and briskly left with the wooden bucket.
His luck was quite good today.
When new disciples joined the sect, the various chores involved in helping them settle in were considered a separate two-day duty.
In other words, whichever Daoist Child managed to grab this task only had to help the new disciple move in for two days and would be exempt from other arduous duties.
When the steward was looking for someone, Shi Tong happened to be there at the right time. To his pleasant surprise, he snagged the assignment to help Bai Mo.
This senior brother didn’t look like the troublesome type.
He figured that by helping out for these two days, he might even have some time to spare. All told, that meant he could squeeze in a few extra hours of cultivation.
"Tsk, tsk."
Bai Mo glanced at Shi Tong’s retreating back and then looked away.
’Even a Daoist Child born and raised here doesn’t have it easy.’
He glanced around the house. Besides the partitioned bedroom, there was only a place for washing up.
The remaining main hall took up a great deal of space.
Besides the Pill Furnace, there was also a small iron stove with a copper kettle with a curved spout sitting on top.
The kettle was rust-free and still usable.
There was nothing else.
’Any weapons that might have been here were probably moved out by someone.’
The bedroom had a table and chairs. On the empty bedframe, the growth rings of the wood it was made from were visible.
Bai Mo casually tossed his bag down, left the wooden house, and walked about a hundred paces to the edge of Suspended Blade Cliff.
Looking down, his vision was filled with lush greenery.
Occasionally, a flash of mottled color would pass by—an insect or a small beast on the move.
Thick vines grew on the cliff face. Beneath their concealing leaves, the reddish-brown stems were as thick as a wrist.
Bai Mo grabbed one and, with a hard pull, yanked it up.
After a brief attempt, he discovered the vines were extremely tough.
Next to the door of the wooden house was a rusty woodcutting knife. Having endured sun and rain, it was somehow still usable.
Bai Mo struggled to chop through the stem. A viscous sap oozed from the almost-woody cut.
’This should provide a lot of heat when burned.’
Bai Mo sniffed it, tossed it aside, and continued to pull up and chop the nearby stems.
The senior brother who previously lived in the house had used this very thing as firewood.
However, the vines were only a temporary solution, suitable at best for refining some simple Pills.
Bai Mo got into a rhythm, and in no time, a small pile had accumulated beside him.
Past noon, when Shi Tong returned drenched in sweat, he saw Bai Mo resting by the cliff’s edge.
He was slightly taken aback, then quickly waved to the porters behind him, who were laden with bags big and small, gesturing for them to move the items into the house.
The wind was cool by the cliff, and the two mortal porters had wanted to rest for a moment, but seeing the gesture, they gave up the idea.
Shi Tong walked over to Bai Mo.
"What are you doing? Do you need me to help you carry those back?"
Bai Mo shook his head and patted the half-man-high pile of vines next to him.
"This can be used as firewood for Alchemy. It’s excellent fuel on its own and doesn’t need to be dried. It’s fine to just leave it here."
He could tell this Daoist Child was truly putting in the effort, bustling about his tasks with brisk efficiency.
The two porters who had come along got to work. They took out the items Shi Tong had purchased and had everything set up properly in less than an hour.
A plain linen cloth was draped over the bed, the mat and quilt were spread out, and on the table, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were all laid out, with nothing missing.
In the corner, the smoke from burning incense snaked its way upward in a continuous, winding trail.
The two porters finished arranging everything with the grace of flowing water, then respectfully took their leave.
Bai Mo called out to Shi Tong.
The two of them began to clean the Pill Furnace.
Without Bai Mo’s permission, Shi Tong didn’t dare to touch such an item.
The Pill Furnace was somewhat different from the ones Bai Mo had used before.
It had many intricate features, likely a standard sect-issued model.
But Bai Mo was a seasoned veteran. He only needed a few glances to understand its subtleties.
"Brother Bai, since you practice Alchemy, will you need to purchase medicinal ingredients?"
Shi Tong, who was carefully cleaning under Bai Mo’s direction, suddenly spoke up.
Bai Mo glanced at him.
"The sect has a Medicine Peak that produces rather good medicinal ingredients. I plan to purchase from there."
Seeing the Daoist Child’s hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but was holding back, Bai Mo asked directly:
"Does Junior Brother Shi have a better recommendation?"
Shi Tong hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Well, it’s like this. A friend of mine has an older brother who is now an outer disciple of Medicine Peak."
"He has cultivated his own medicinal field at the foot of the mountain and has some ingredients for sale. The price is much lower than Medicine Peak’s."
He added:
"Of course, without the nourishment of the Arrays on Medicine Peak, the quality is certainly a bit inferior."
’If I’m just refining some simple Pills, there’s no need to be too demanding about the ingredients’ quality.’
"I’ll give you a list. Bring a few stalks over later for me to take a look at."
Hearing this, Shi Tong was overjoyed.
"Great! Please wait for me!"
By the time everything was settled, the sky was already nearing dusk.
Shi Tong hurried away.
Bai Mo went to the cliff’s edge. The scenery here was excellent.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, the creatures at the bottom of the cliff also seemed to have grown much more languid, not as active as they were during the day.
’These three manuals I have can only stay with me for two months at most.’
He recalled Wei Xianxing’s words and his encouraging gaze.
Bai Mo felt a bit of a headache coming on.
’If I focus most of my energy on them, barely reaching the entry-level in two months shouldn’t be a problem.’
’It’s just that my practice of the Divine Thought Transformation Scripture will probably have to be postponed a little.’
Wei Xianxing seemed accustomed to this and naturally had great confidence in Bai Mo.
He had also said that all the disciples on the peak went through the same thing and that two months was more than enough time.
Hearing the faint whistling sounds in the air, Bai Mo couldn’t help but sigh.
That was the sound of Broken Blade Peak disciples practicing their martial arts.
On Broken Blade Peak, high-intensity cultivation was the norm.
Yet, the Cultivators on this peak were all talented individuals who progressed extremely quickly. Compared to mortal Loose Cultivators, this created a completely different atmosphere of competition.
’Forget it.’
’In a couple of days, I’ll start my training. When I have some free time, I’ll go visit my fellow Daoists.’
Bai Mo had made promises to several Cultivators he had befriended in Celestial Barrier Mountain, and he didn’t dare break them casually.
A few of them were particularly well-informed about matters within the sect, and he was afraid of being accused of breaking his word.
