Free Web NovelChapter 156: Chapter 156: Elder Gai
A crowd was gathering at the foot of Celestial Justice Peak, and from time to time, more Cultivators would arrive riding Spirit Beasts.
By the time Bai Mo had eaten and drunk his fill, the crowd of Cultivators had surrounded Celestial Justice Peak as if on a pilgrimage.
"Make way, move it!"
Wei Xianxing led Bai Mo, struggling to push through the flow of people.
A disciple, thinking they were cutting in line, glared at them, only to be met by Wei Xianxing’s even more domineering gaze.
Sensing the overwhelming battle-lust and Evil Qi emanating from him, the disciple’s expression changed several times before he took a few steps back.
"Please, Brother."
As they left the crowd and started up the mountain, Bai Mo glanced back.
The Cultivators in the front rows were mostly dressed in brocade robes, their eyes closed in calm meditation, looking perfectly at ease.
Wei Xianxing continued up the mountain, the corner of his eye following Bai Mo’s gaze.
"Most of them are disciples from the Golden Jade lineage."
"If you ever encounter similar opponents out there, remember to be careful."
Bai Mo kept pace with him.
"I’d be grateful for your guidance, Brother."
Men like Wei Xianxing tempered themselves through conquest and battle, earning the resources they needed for their cultivation.
To say he was a veteran of a hundred battles would be an understatement; his combat experience was immense.
"Most of them are Array Masters. They care a lot about appearances and fanfare, so they usually dress like that."
"Who knows how many Arrays are inscribed on the inside of those robes."
He advised:
"When fighting people like that, you must aim for a killing blow on the first strike. Focus all your essence, energy, and spirit into a single point, holding nothing back."
"Break their defenses, take their head."
"If you can’t, then retreat immediately and wait for another opportunity."
Bai Mo silently committed his words to memory.
"You hold Array Masters in such high regard, Brother?"
"The methods of Arrays are mysterious and profound. You can’t afford not to be wary of them."
The two walked on through the mountain. Wild grasses and old trees became more numerous, and the faint scent of vegetation filled the air.
An insect, chased by a Shilongzi, stumbled past them.
It looked just like a desolate mountain in the mortal world.
Two Cultivators stood beside the mountain path, swords cradled in their arms, looking down at the pair.
Wei Xianxing bowed his head and obediently stepped forward.
"Brothers."
Bai Mo did the same, taking the opportunity to sneak a glance.
The two Cultivators had extremely cold expressions. The aura around them rose and fell like a suppressed ocean tide, with a turbulent undercurrent raging beneath.
"Brother Wei, it’s been a while. How are things in the Outer Sect these days?"
Wei Xianxing replied respectfully, "All the brothers are working hard every day, never slacking. The atmosphere hasn’t changed."
"You Brothers in the Inner Sect have no need to worry."
The two Cultivators’ expressions softened slightly as they looked Bai Mo up and down.
"This brother looks unfamiliar. A new arrival to the mountain, perhaps?"
Bai Mo quickly answered, "Indeed, I only just joined Broken Blade Peak recently."
"I am your junior, Bai Mo. It is an honor to meet you two Brothers."
Wei Xianxing took a step forward and added in a low voice:
"Due to the steward’s reforms, Brother Bai is cultivating the Hundred Weapons Sacrificial Dao Skill."
The faces of the two Inner Sect Disciples changed slightly, and they exchanged a look.
"He’s certainly ambitious. Even we have never touched that Cultivation Technique."
"Alright, we won’t keep you. Head back as soon as you can, so this brother can get to studying the scriptures."
Wei Xianxing respectfully bid the two brothers farewell and led Bai Mo on his way again.
"Those two Brothers had such dense Evil Qi on them. They must have just returned from outside, right?"
Wei Xianxing wiped non-existent sweat from his brow and couldn’t help but whisper:
"Those two, honestly... not reining it in at all. They’re nowhere near as approachable as I am—"
Before his voice had even faded, Bai Mo heard the sound of something tearing through the air.
His heart jumped. Before he could react, Wei Xianxing beside him cried out in pain.
Bai Mo whipped his head around to see a fingernail-sized red dot appear on the man’s forehead, visibly starting to swell.
Wei Xianxing clutched his forehead, feeling waves of dizziness and a sharp, piercing pain spread out.
"Brother, quick, what does my forehead look like!"
The big man couldn’t bear it. He gritted his teeth and squatted down, taking a long moment to recover before the pain gradually subsided.
But a large lump had already swollen up on his forehead.
The two fumbled about in a panic for a good while before setting off again.
Bai Mo looked left and right.
"Brother..."
Wei Xianxing nodded.
"Don’t speak carelessly. We don’t know where the Inner Sect brothers are hiding."
Old trees swayed, and dry leaves drifted down from above.
As a light breeze blew past, he could occasionally spot Cultivators lying in the tall grass.
Bai Mo felt a chill in his heart.
"Brother, who is this whole setup meant to guard against?"
Wei Xianxing cleared his throat, but the movement was too big and tugged at the bump on his forehead.
He sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and said quickly:
"Brother, why do you think those Array Masters down the mountain rushed to get here first?"
Before Bai Mo could respond, he continued on his own:
"Array Masters often explore ancient ruins and venture deep into dangerous lands. It’s not unusual for them to pick up all sorts of things on their bodies."
"They rush here first because they’re worried something is wrong with them, burning with anxiety."
Bai Mo recalled Xin Meng’s behavior when he had arrived, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Brother Xin..."
Wei Xianxing was unconcerned and just said:
"Most of them are just scaring themselves, or it’s some small, thorny problem."
Celestial Justice Peak was quite high, and they wouldn’t reach the summit any time soon.
Seeing that no more brothers appeared to greet them, Wei Xianxing racked his brain for stories and began sharing them with Bai Mo.
"If a disciple from the Golden Jade lineage seeks you out and offers a high price to act as their guardian, you must be extremely careful."
"At the very least, bring several other people along. The places they go are never good."
He began to recount an incident from years past.
"It was about twelve years ago, I think. An Array Master from Golden Jade Peak was divining fate and directly triggered a restriction on Celestial Justice Mountain."
"That day, purple energy filled the sky, shot through with golden threads. It created an indescribably noble phenomenon of a dragon and phoenix appearing together."
A look of remembrance appeared on his face. The shock of it had clearly not been small.
"How could the disciples of Celestial Justice Mountain have ever seen such a spectacle? They thought it was some noble from the mortal world, born with an emperor’s destiny."
"After alarming who knows how many elders, they finally discovered that he had broken into the tomb of an emperor from an ancient dynasty."
"As that disciple was moving about, a ’death substitution and rebirth’ technique was unwittingly placed on him."
"Tsk tsk, a grand tomb of who-knows-how-many-years. You can’t even find the name of that dynasty anymore, yet it can still cause such trouble."
Wei Xianxing stared intently at Bai Mo, his gaze filled with warning.
Although Bai Mo felt it was unlikely he would ever take on such a job, he still nodded.
"Right, what happened to that disciple in the end?"
"He died."
Wei Xianxing said curtly.
"There’s no need to dig into the details. It’s enough that you know about it."
"Oh."
Knowing that a group of Inner Sect Disciples was nearby, Wei Xianxing was no longer acting so carelessly.
Bai Mo sensed the dignified bearing of a true senior brother from him—earnest in his teachings, steady and composed.
Therefore, when they reached the summit, the Inner Sect Disciple stationed there was very pleased with him.
At the summit was a single, crude stone hut. It looked as if it had been built haphazardly by some savage from beyond civilization, and was covered in all sorts of patterns.
The patterns were not regular, looking like a child’s graffiti, yet they possessed their own strange rhythm.
Patting Wei Xianxing’s shoulder in appreciation, the Inner Sect Disciple pushed open the stone hut’s door.
"Old Man Gai!"
He forced a smile onto his rugged face.
"My junior brother is here. We’ll have to trouble you for a bit. Once you’ve taken a look, we can have a proper reunion and catch up."
CLANG!
A bronze box accidentally fell to the floor.
Inside the stone hut, a short old man struggled to pick it up.
Underneath a wide purple robe, the shriveled Old Man Gai turned to look at them.
His face was so covered in wrinkles and age spots that his original features were no longer discernible.
"Your Broken Blade Peak’s fortune is truly unending. Every year, the ones who come here are all promising seeds for cultivation."
The Inner Sect Disciple bowed his head slightly and smiled.
"This is the sect’s good fortune as well!"
Old Man Gai shook his head, then picked up a bronze mirror and began using its reflection to arrange the wrinkles on his face.
"Fine, fine. One can’t take gifts and give nothing in return. I’ll take a look at you brothers first."
"Who wants to be the first to take a turn before the Bone Mirror?"
