Free Web NovelChapter 161: Chapter 161: Departing for the Fire Cave Dynasty
Before long, May had arrived.
The daytime heat was oppressive, but thankfully, the early morning was cool and shrouded in a thick fog.
Wei Xianxing led Bai Mo down the mountain, passing through a forest of stone.
There was no need for any further admonitions; everything that needed to be said had been said over the past few days.
A stone platform appeared before them, and several figures could be seen indistinctly through the mist.
Bai Mo shook his robes, flicking away the beads of dew that had condensed on the fabric.
Wei Xianxing grinned.
"The fog’s a bit thick today."
As the two of them stepped onto the stone platform, they saw Shui Ziming standing there, calm and still.
A massive Spirit Beast squatted on the ground, its wings folded.
A cultivator from Beast Taming Peak with the surname Mo was tending to it nearby. Liu Ji hadn’t been able to come see them off.
He had gathered several people and gone out to capture the strange fish Bai Mo had mentioned.
"Eldest Brother."
Wei Xianxing stepped forward and called out a greeting.
"Mm."
Shui Ziming nodded, then turned his gaze to Bai Mo.
"This journey will be an ordeal, Junior Brother. It was originally my responsibility, but now it has fallen to you all."
Bai Mo quickly replied, "You are too kind, Senior Brother."
"We’re all contributing to the sect. It’s nothing worth mentioning."
Shui Ziming laughed. He sized Bai Mo up for a moment before saying:
"You really are different now."
Bai Mo looked abashed.
Loose Cultivators lacked a proper foundation. Their cultivation techniques were crude and unrefined, so Sect Disciples saw them as fundamentally lacking.
This was why Sect Disciples had always looked down on Loose Cultivators.
It also gave rise to the many rumors and tales of grievances and feuds, where the cause of conflict was often nothing more than a passing thought.
But now, having crammed several profound cultivation technique manuals into his head, Bai Mo finally carried the air of a true Sect Disciple.
The most obvious change was the aura around him; it was now coherent and structured, no longer chaotic like that of a Loose Cultivator.
The cultivator surnamed Mo stepped away from the Hengyuan giant bird.
The group hadn’t fully assembled yet. Disciples from another peak stood off to the side, keeping to themselves.
He pulled Bai Mo aside and, after a moment’s hesitation, whispered:
"Junior Brother Bai, are you sure about those Demon Fish?"
Bai Mo was surprised.
"Of course. I’ve handled a Demon Fish carcass myself."
"Did something happen?"
The cultivator surnamed Mo sighed.
"The other day, Brother Liu consulted the records, gathered scoop nets and other gear, and headed out with a few close brothers, looking for all the world like he was ready to brave the mighty rivers."
"He’s sent back a fair number of bizarre-looking Demon Fish lately, but none of them are the kind you described."
Bai Mo was confused.
"There are Demon Fish right here in Celestial Barrier Mountain. I could have had someone lead him to the spot. Why...?"
The cultivator surnamed Mo shook his head.
Bai Mo wasn’t an expert; he didn’t understand the methods of raising Spirit Beasts.
The selection and taming processes alone were filled with countless intricacies.
Even by the standards of the Beast Taming Peak disciples, the creatures in Celestial Barrier Mountain were exceptionally wild, difficult to tame, and completely unintelligent.
Naturally, such Demon Beasts couldn’t be used for breeding.
Liu Ji had no other choice but to go out to the rivers, enduring sun and rain while battling the waves from his boat.
As the two whispered to each other, more cultivators began to arrive.
Each was escorted by their own senior brother, and it was clear they were all outer disciples from various peaks.
After greeting Shui Ziming, the brothers from each peak fell into their own conversations, much of which consisted of last-minute instructions and warnings.
The cultivator surnamed Mo’s eyes darted around, scanning the disciples who were about to depart.
He was the cultivator from Beast Taming Peak in charge of this trip’s transport. The Hengyuan giant bird had a difficult temperament, and he couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong.
Even as his mind raced, he didn’t forget to continue his whispered conversation with Bai Mo.
"There’s no telling when you’ll be back from this trip. When will your Feeding Pills be ready, Junior Brother Bai?"
Bai Mo remained impassive.
"Haven’t I already delivered fifty-five percent?"
"According to our prior agreement, the rest just needs to be taken care of within the year."
"That’s not how it works," the cultivator surnamed Mo said nonchalantly.
"When we do business, it’s best to close one deal before starting the next, right? We’re talking about a long-term partnership here..."
It had been a long time since any Pill Master had researched Feeding Pills. Now that Bai Mo’s had appeared, they naturally caused a stir on Beast Taming Peak.
The Feeding Pills had passed through the hands of Liu Ji and the other man, and nearly half of the stock was immediately distributed.
A good number of them went to disciples who dabbled in the Alchemy Dao, for them to study and reference.
The cultivator surnamed Mo, who was managing the matter for both of them, suddenly felt the pinch. He had to be incredibly stingy during normal feedings.
While the two of them were calmly negotiating, all the disciples chosen for the mission finally arrived.
The last person to arrive emerged from behind his senior brother and leaped onto the platform.
After a sweeping glance, a tremor ran through his body as he unleashed his cultivation aura.
"Looks like I’ll be the one leading this trip."
"I am Zhao Jingyu. I ask for your guidance, my fellow brothers!"
His eyes shone, and his skin seemed to faintly glow. He was, impressively, at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer!
SMACK!
A hand reached out from behind and shoved him aside.
"Move it. You’re blocking the way."
A tall, broad-shouldered cultivator strode onto the platform. Zhao Jingyu’s own senior brother, with a subservient expression, glared at his disappointing junior brother before scurrying to follow.
Shui Ziming’s gaze fell on the brocade-robed cultivator who was slowly ascending the platform.
"Junior Brother Mo, we’ll be counting on you for this trip."
"You’re too kind, Brother Shui."
The man walked closer, gave Shui Ziming a cupped-fist salute, and then began to speak with him in low tones.
The eyes of the cultivator surnamed Mo, who was standing next to Bai Mo, lit up.
"It’s Brother Mo Tianshu! He’s ranked seventh among the outer disciples!"
Speaking of which, the two of them shared a surname, but they’d never had any dealings with each other.
Once the two influential figures of the outer sect had finished their conversation, Bai Mo and the four other outer disciples were gathered together.
"Bai Mo, Zhao Jingyu, Wuyin, Qi Yang, Wan Shenxiu."
Shui Ziming indicated each of them in turn.
"For this journey, you will accompany Junior Brother Mo to the Fire Cave Dynasty."
"Remember to follow his orders. Do not act on your own accord."
The five of them nodded quickly.
Everyone except Bai Mo knew that this was a test from the sect, one that would affect their future cultivation and standing within their respective factions.
Only Wei Xianxing gave Bai Mo an encouraging look.
On Broken Blade Peak, they didn’t bother with such things.
As long as you were willing to work hard and make a name for yourself out in the world, you were a true champion in the eyes of a Broken Blade Peak disciple!
Mo Tianshu swept his gaze over the group.
The gaze of the seventh-ranked outer disciple was dark and heavy, and Bai Mo and the others felt an invisible pressure settle over them.
"You must be Bai Mo?"
Mo Tianshu’s gaze shifted, lingering for a moment on Bai Mo and Wan Shenxiu of the Gold-Jade lineage, before he spoke.
"I am. Bai Mo pays his respects to Brother Mo."
"Mm."
Mo Tianshu nodded.
"An Elder has instructed me to give you something."
With that, he reached out and tapped his index finger on Bai Mo’s forehead.
Bai Mo felt a sharp pain on his forehead, as if his skin had been broken, but then the sensation vanished.
As Mo Tianshu retracted his hand, Bai Mo instinctively wiped at his forehead.
’No blood.’
Shui Ziming’s expression remained unchanged. He simply looked at Bai Mo and said with a faint smile:
"It’s nothing. It is a Divine Thought seed from one of the sect’s elders. You can only use it if you run into real trouble."
A chill went through Bai Mo’s heart.
’This "trouble" must be related to the murder of that disciple from the Sublime Dharma Sect—one of their Thirteen Prodigies. The Thousand-Mile Soul-Chasing Talisman on his body ended up latching onto me. The sect elders are just casting a wide net, hoping to catch something.’
The group headed toward the Hengyuan giant bird.
The cultivator surnamed Mo from Beast Taming Peak trotted over, roused the giant bird, and had it lower a wing for them.
Mo Tianshu led the way, and the disciples boarded one by one.
Only when it was Bai Mo’s turn did the cultivator surnamed Mo force a smile.
"Junior Brother Bai, the Feeding Pills, the Feeding Pills..."
Bai Mo’s expression stiffened. He shot the man a silent glance, and with a flick of his wrist, a pill bottle appeared in his hand.
He tossed a Feeding Pill of excellent quality into the bird’s beak before finally climbing onto its back.
The Hengyuan giant bird tilted its head back, and the Pill in its beak dropped into its stomach.
It let out a long cry to the heavens, and with a single, powerful beat of its wings, it scattered the fog and shot straight into the sky.
