Chapter 424: Manpower

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Manpower

Bai Mo led Ah Er on a walk around the mountain.

Ultimately, they found no trace of the Great Suanni.

Instead, they discovered many more fissures leaking baleful yin energy. It was as if something suppressed for years had suddenly been pierced with several holes, allowing it to vent.

"We’d better not plant anything living in these spots."

Bai Mo expected further changes in the areas where the energy was venting, so he instructed Ah Er.

Ah Er agreed on the spot.

’The so-called clash of yin and yang probably won’t result in such a simple change,’ Bai Mo thought to himself.

’From these changes, perhaps I can gain some insight into the Dao of Yin and Yang.’

It was the first time in Bai Mo’s life he had seen such a High Tier existence manipulate yin and yang. There was much to be learned from it.

On the way down the mountain, Bai Mo again saw several flames that had coiled into the shape of a Suanni, watching him from a distance, looking utterly lifelike.

PUFF!

Ah Er suddenly leaped from the flowers, pounced, and clapped its paws together, successfully catching a small Suanni.

It grinned from ear to ear, as if it had found a great treasure, and bounded over to show Bai Mo.

Bai Mo watched, stunned. He hadn’t expected Ah Er to have such a knack for this.

Ah Er quickly came closer and carefully opened its paws.

The small Suanni inside turned into a stream of fire and flowed out. It flew around Ah Er’s paws, curiously sizing up the two living beings before it.

WHOOSH!

A gentle breeze blew past, and the flames making up the small Suanni swirled and were instantly extinguished.

Bai Mo’s eyes widened as he watched the instantaneous change.

The flame’s extinguishment was only a surface phenomenon; more importantly, a speck of soul had just shattered and dissipated.

A flash of understanding dawned on Bai Mo.

These small Suanni were the scattered thoughts of the Great Suanni.

The creature was so powerful that these stray thoughts gained a brief existence, lingering in the world for a moment before fading away on the wind.

This ancestor-level Suanni was not hard to find; the old master was all over the mountain.

"Don’t be so mischievous in the future. It’s disrespectful to that great being..."

「Three days later.」

Ah Er worked tirelessly and finally finished tidying up the mountain.

Without taking a break, it packed its tools early in the morning, left Mi Mountain, and set off alone.

Bai Mo watched it leave.

Counting the days, the herbs that Medicine Peak had purchased in advance should have matured by now.

Ah Er was now setting out precisely to harvest them.

Meanwhile, Yuan Chu had gathered a group of five people and brought them over.

Even though he had given Bai Mo a heads-up, Yuan Chu still seemed rather embarrassed.

The reason was simple: the five were dressed like paupers.

Their robes looked like they hadn’t been changed in ages. They were tattered in many places, with crude patches and grimy, blackened edges.

As Inner Sect Disciples, it was unlikely they couldn’t afford new clothes; they were probably just used to dressing this way.

Bai Mo didn’t dare to look down on them and greeted them politely.

The group didn’t enter Mi Mountain, conversing only at its base.

Of the five, three were brawny men with smoke-stained faces, rough skin, and unusually thick arms.

The remaining two were shorter and had very white skin—an unnatural pallor.

Yuan Chu stepped forward and explained their backgrounds to Bai Mo.

The three brawny disciples were all blacksmiths from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge.

The Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge was where the Xuandao Sect processed its various metal ores, producing over a hundred types of hundred-forged refined metals annually.

By weight, this exceeded a million pounds.

The disciples inside were all men who swung great hammers, and there was no shortage of Core Formation experts among them.

The work was so arduous that only disciples who coveted the Lodge’s wages or those intent on practicing the art of forging would take on such jobs.

The two shorter men were dyers from Silkworm Valley.

Since they frequently had to jump into dyeing vats, their skin had suffered considerable damage.

Bai Mo asked politely, "Do all you Senior Brothers know what I am requesting?"

A disciple from the Iron Lodge stepped forward, gestured to himself and the other two brawny men, and grinned.

"Yuan Chu told us. We’re to find a hunchback on the other side of the mountain range, one who might be skilled in alchemy, right?"

"Finding a single person in these vast mountains is no small trouble."

He held out a large hand.

"When I get back, you must refine five pills for me."

"I’ll specify the Pill Formula. How about it?"

It was rare to find a fellow sect member skilled in the Alchemy Dao; accepting Spirit Stones would be selling themselves short.

Bai Mo pondered for a moment. "Agreed."

"It’s just that, the tier of these pills..."

"Don’t worry, they won’t be higher than Tier Three."

Apparently, Yuan Chu had already laid everything out for them, so everyone knew what to expect.

Bai Mo’s brows relaxed.

"Good."

The other two disciples from the Iron Lodge had the same request.

The two disciples from Silkworm Valley, however, were different.

"For the two of us, twenty thousand Spirit Stones each will do."

"Our strength can’t compare to our three Senior Brothers from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge. We wouldn’t dare ask for such high compensation."

They subconsciously glanced at the three from the Iron Lodge as they spoke.

Years of swinging hammers had forged a monstrous strength that was no joke; these were ruthless characters who could truly fight Demon Beasts with their bare hands.

Bai Mo agreed to this as well.

It was hard to say which party’s price was better.

After all, he was an Alchemy Cultivator. To Bai Mo, Tier Three Pills weren’t as precious as others might imagine.

He had just settled things with the group and hadn’t even had a chance to catch his breath when he saw another person approaching in the distance.

He seemed to be on a leisurely stroll, yet he covered thirty feet in a single step, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.

All eyes turned to him.

The newcomer was dressed in black, his face sullen, and he carried a broadsword on his back.

He arrived and, without preamble, simply asked:

"Who is Bai Mo?"

Bai Mo stepped forward and cupped his hands. "I am. And you are, Senior Brother...?"

The disciple in black spoke coolly.

"I competed with Yin Zhen. I was not his match and lost an opportunity. He referred me here, saying there was a benefit to be had."

"Right. I’m Zhen Yuan." ℴ

’So he’s the help Yin Zhen sent over.’

Hearing his name, Yuan Chu suddenly recalled something, and his expression shifted.

"You’re *the* Zhen Yuan, Senior Brother?"

"Yin Zhen can actually compete with you now? That’s incredible!"

Zhen Yuan’s expression didn’t change. He only said, "On the path of cultivation, the skilled lead the way. Those who rise from behind to surpass their predecessors are a dime a dozen."

"There’s no need to dwell on it."

From Yuan Chu’s reaction, Bai Mo knew that this Senior Brother Zhen Yuan was no ordinary person.

In the end, it turned out that he only wanted a pill, one that could increase his cultivation speed in a similar way to Yin Zhen’s.

This was no easy task, but after a moment’s hesitation, Bai Mo agreed all the same.

He brought out the documents. After everyone confirmed the details, they signed the contracts on the spot, fair and square.

Since no sect ships were returning anytime soon,

the group of six, now employed by Bai Mo, gave it some thought and decided to journey to the Celestial Barrier Mountain on their own.

The mountain range had already been breached by the three sects. Following the path of their predecessors probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

...

Having resolved a matter that had been weighing on his mind, Bai Mo felt relieved.

He had planned to go up the mountain to observe the strange phenomena and contemplate the Dao of Yin and Yang, but he happened to run into people from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

They were here about the insane cultivator.

A group of disciples from the Foreign Affairs Hall arrived. Before even entering the black prison, they stood at the foot of the mountain, looked up for a moment, and let out a laugh.

"So the old man really did come to Mi Mountain..."