Chapter 381: Conscription

Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Conscription

Seven days later, the sect’s wartime directive was formally issued.

Disciples on Flying Ships zipped back and forth delivering summons, while a constant stream of messages flowed to and fro.

All the disciples reined in their activities, awaiting the sect’s orders.

Amidst the tense and solemn atmosphere, the entire inner sect seemed to have lost much of its vitality.

Bai Mo, however, knew that this was just a facade covering a surging undercurrent.

On the very day the directive was issued, four of the Nascent Soul Cultivators from the black prison alone were taken away by men from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

A move of this magnitude was bound to cause a huge stir.

Sure enough, just as expected, three days later, Broken Blade Peak mobilized its forces, assembled a hundred disciples, and left the sect, their destination unknown.

Divine Dao Mountain and other peaks skilled in battle also began mobilizing their forces one after another.

These matters did not involve Mi Mountain.

Bai Mo simply immersed himself in his cultivation and his work with pills.

Meanwhile, the few silver fish kept outside his door, having eaten the fruit of the Abyssal Vine, were beginning to change.

Li Wuji’s Core Formation foundation had been smoothly dissolved. It was now the perfect time for him to guide the essence of Spiritual Qi to temper his body.

One day, after Bai Mo finished inspecting the black prison, he came out and saw Li Wuji squatting in front of the stone basin.

"Junior Brother, your fish are growing horns! That’s incredible. They must be turning into some kind of special breed."

Bai Mo walked over to take a look. The silver fish were swimming in the stone basin, and sure enough, a crystal-clear object on their heads had pushed through the scales and was growing out.

After examining it for a moment, Bai Mo shook his head.

"What a pity."

"Hm?" Li Wuji was confused.

Bai Mo called over Ah Er, the badger that looked just like a bear cub, who ambled to the edge of the stone basin to look with them.

"According to the brother who caught them, these fish received a great blessing and were supposed to transform into flood dragons or even true dragons."

"But as you can see, even this little guy can stare at them without the slightest fear. It’s clear they haven’t developed any draconic aura..."

Li Wuji knew that Bai Mo’s Spirit Beast was timid, but he hadn’t expected it could be useful in this way.

"Trying to force it was a long shot. These fish just don’t have the destiny for it, so I’ll have to use them for Alchemy," Bai Mo said.

"That vermilion fruit was full of Aether, which it absorbed from items that flowed out of the Sea Eye."

"In that case, it won’t be a waste."

...

Mi Mountain was in a remote location. If not for the prisoners held there, it would truly have an air of timeless peace.

Yuan Chu and two others arrived together, a look of urgency on their faces.

"Junior Brother, how many Pills do you have here? Bring them out, quickly!"

"The three of us have been conscripted..."

Gong Gui waved a hand, and a cloth sack taller than a man thumped down, filled entirely with Spirit Stones.

This flamboyant act immediately attracted Ah Er.

Getting a nod from Bai Mo, it eagerly dragged the cloth sack away.

"I haven’t fired up my furnace in a while, so I only have some Pills for my own use."

Bai Mo spoke as he pulled various pill bottles from his sleeve.

"But there are quite a few, and a full variety. I think it should be enough for you Senior Brothers to handle the situation."

Yuan Chu and his two companions wanted his personal supply of Pills. They would have been less interested if the Pills had been refined specifically for trade.

Yuan Chu swept his long arm out and gathered up the large pile of pill bottles.

"It’s still better here with you, Junior Brother. We’re about to go fight for our lives in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range."

Yuan Chu sighed. It wasn’t a complaint, just an offhand remark.

Bai Mo then said, "It won’t be easy for Foundation Establishment disciples deep in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range. You Senior Brothers must be careful."

He then shared some tips about the Celestial Barrier Mountain range—things he’d heard from the men in the Demon Hunting Teams, which he figured would be of some use.

Yuan Chu and his companions hadn’t expected Bai Mo to be so knowledgeable about matters in the mountains, and they ended up staying for another quarter of an hour, talking at length.

It was through this conversation that Bai Mo learned of the sect’s initial deployment.

A Nascent Soul elder would lead, Core Formation Cultivators would clear the path, and three hundred Foundation Establishment disciples would follow.

’Such was the might of a sect-level operation.’ He just wondered if a force of this size could safely cross Celestial Barrier Mountain.

"With the Celestial Capital Sect’s giant ship, crossing the Celestial Barrier Mountain range shouldn’t be a problem for us," one of them said.

"But I heard there are some dangers beyond that. The sect’s defenses are for those very things, but I don’t know if they’ll hold up..."

Yuan Chu and his two companions left.

They weren’t old-timers in the inner sect. They were chosen because Divine Dao Mountain valued them and wanted to cultivate them with special attention.

A few days later, to everyone’s surprise, Li Wuji was also conscripted and taken away.

It was only then that Bai Mo learned that this Brother Li had quite a reputation among the Foundation Establishment disciples of the inner sect.

With Li Wuji gone, Mi Mountain suddenly became quiet. And with no prisoners coming or going, it felt even more desolate.

Bai Mo, however, didn’t mind. As a cultivator of the Alchemy Dao, he most enjoyed this kind of undisturbed environment.

Ah Er was more restless than he was, always wanting to go wander around the market from time to time.

Seeing its eyes darting about as it looked for an excuse to go out, Bai Mo grabbed a handful of the fur on its head.

With that, the badger finally settled down and was led inside by Bai Mo.

"Being idle like this won’t do. I told you before, I’m going to teach you a skill!"

"But you can’t read. That’s a problem."

Bai Mo took out a brush and paper, quickly wrote a letter, and handed it to the badger along with some Spirit Stones.

"I’ve made inquiries. The sect has a school for young children, it’s in the outer sect."

"No matter what, you have to go and learn."

The badger’s intelligence definitely surpassed that of a child of several years; learning to read wouldn’t be a problem.

After sending it off by entrusting someone from the market to take it to the outer sect, only Bai Mo and the prisoners were left on Mi Mountain.

Bai Mo chose a day and began his work on the silver fish in the stone basin.

PHOOM!

With a casual gesture, the Spirit Wood under the Pill Furnace ignited, the flames gradually growing stronger.

He tossed all the prepared medicinal ingredients into the furnace at once. Most of them were of a cold nature, and quite valuable.

Spiritual Spring water was poured in, and amidst the boiling, the Pill Liquid was already half-formed.

Bai Mo’s expression was focused. He suddenly reached out and made a few plucking motions in the air above the furnace, as if drawing something out.

WHOOSH!

A layer of white mist appeared out of thin air on the surface of the Pill Liquid.

Bai Mo quickly closed the lid of the furnace and let out a soft sigh of relief.

The method of gathering qi could indeed be used during Alchemy, saving much of the time and effort of simmering ingredients.

After waiting a short while, he lifted the furnace lid. Inside was a jade-green Pill Liquid, very clear and giving off a fragrant aroma.

Bai Mo reached out, scooped up the silver fish, and with a skillful toss, they fell into the furnace.

The silver fish thrashed once, splashing some of the Pill Liquid, and then went still.

Bai Mo craned his neck to look and saw the silver fish beginning to dissolve, gradually melting into the Pill Liquid. Even hard parts like their scales couldn’t escape this fate.

Closing the furnace lid, Bai Mo sat quietly before it, his thoughts starting to drift.

According to the Pill Book, after being refined by aquatic creatures, the Aether would reach an extremely high quality, becoming a superior form of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

To refine it into a Pill would take days and nights of effort; anything less would result in failure.

Bai Mo was used to tedious waits, but refining this Pill was somewhat different. The sound of tides rising and falling came from within the Pill Furnace.

In response, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi inside and outside the stone house also fluctuated in rhythm.

This, however, was not recorded in the Pill Book.

Bai Mo quickly brought out a brush and paper to record it all.

Perhaps sensing the commotion, the member of the Sea Race imprisoned in the black prison found a burst of strength from somewhere and began to slam against the wooden bars. BANG! BANG!

But for now, Bai Mo had no time to deal with him.