Chapter 425: Instructions

Chapter 425: Chapter 425: Instructions

Bai Mo went to receive the disciples from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

He glanced over casually and saw that their chests still bore no new embroidery.

It seemed the sect had not yet appointed a new person to preside over the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Bai Mo opened the gate and led the men inside.

"Senior Suanni taking up residence on Mi Mountain is a great fortune for this place. The petty crooks in the prison no longer dare to cause trouble."

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples all laughed.

"That’s not all. Look at the plants and trees you’ve planted on the mountain—they’ve all wilted quite a bit."

"Ah, there’s a reason for that..."

The men chatted as they walked.

The disciples from the Foreign Affairs Hall knew the Suanni’s temperament, so they spoke without reservation.

Bai Mo, however, was much more reserved.

Before long, the group arrived at the Black Prison, stopping in front of the mad Cultivator’s cell.

The mad Cultivator was not lucid at the moment. He was holding a small stone, muttering to himself as he etched something on the ground.

Judging by the complex patterns, he had been at it for some time. This wasn’t an act he was putting on for their benefit.

One of the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples took a look and said,

"Those are the Array Patterns for an Array."

"Probably a small part of the Netherworld Communication Array. He’s mentioned it before, and the sect has already recorded it."

Bai Mo opened the cell door, and the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples flooded in, pinning the madman to the ground.

The mad Cultivator was furious at being so abruptly interrupted.

"Who are you people?!"

"How dare you be so insolent! Do you not fear the wrath of gods and demons?!"

"..."

He shouted a few more times before one of the men stuck a needle in his neck, and he instantly fell into a deep sleep.

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples scrambled to examine him.

One of them even took a moment to erase the Array Patterns on the ground.

Seeing Bai Mo’s surprise, he explained,

"According to him, a great power from across the mountain range once used this Array to communicate with gods and demons. He asked them to guide him to immortality and nearly succeeded."

"However, that ritual required far too many sacrifices."

"Living souls. They ran out of prisoners from various nations, so they offered up the names of countless commoners for their souls to be reaped. An entire small kingdom was wiped out..."

The disciple’s meaning was clear: it was best that this Array was never spread.

Hearing his words, many prisoners in the nearby cells craned their necks to get a look.

HUM!

Suddenly, a low rumble sounded, and a mane that looked like flickering flames descended around them.

A dry heat fell over the area, evaporating all the moisture in the prison.

A tremendous will seemed to fill the space, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

The prisoners in their cells were alarmed and uncertain.

The Great Suanni’s soul-stirring voice echoed through the prison.

"Oh? Such a thing actually happened?"

"You there, boy. Tell me the details..."

The disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall wasn’t frightened. He just chuckled.

"This all happened long ago. How could I possibly know all the details?"

"When our Sect Disciples investigated the ruins across the mountain range, they did find some clues, but anything more detailed is unknown."

The Great Suanni asked again, "What kind of gods and demons were they?"

"I heard they were two demon gods."

"Is that so?" The Great Suanni’s voice held a trace of disappointment.

The disciple who had been speaking laughed. "Old Ancestor, what’s there for you to be disappointed about?"

"It’s not like you’d ever need to use this method."

The Great Suanni sighed, and the heat receded like the tide.

"What do you know? Many of my Suanni clan’s ancestors have long since ascended to immortality..."

As his voice faded, a faint snoring sound took its place, which also gradually grew silent.

"The old man fell asleep again."

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples exchanged helpless glances.

"He always was a heavy sleeper. With the recent death of the previous ancestor, his soul is unstable, so this is to be expected."

Listening to their conversation, Bai Mo had a realization.

’No wonder the Great Suanni has been so quiet,’ he thought. ’It turns out he was just asleep.’

Back in the cell, the mad Cultivator was handled by the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples for a long while before they finally propped him up against the wall.

"It seems he’s doing well in the Black Prison. His heart meridian is stable."

"His mind has likely healed partially, but it’s not stable yet. Junior Brother Bai, please continue to look after him," the Foreign Affairs Hall disciple concluded.

They gave Bai Mo a few more instructions before taking their leave.

Just before leaving, one of them seemed to remember something and turned back to add a reminder:

"The Old Ancestor is easy to serve, so you really don’t need to be so nervous, Junior Brother. Just try not to raise a ruckus that might wake him..."

With that, the group departed.

「The next day.」

Bai Mo entered the Black Prison for his routine inspection.

The mad Cultivator had slept for a full day and night and seemed quite refreshed.

He stared at the blurred smudges on the floor, looking confused. He clearly didn’t remember what had happened yesterday.

Bai Mo watched from a distance as the man glanced around furtively, then picked up his stone and began to draw on the floor again.

This time, however, it wasn’t an Array Pattern, but an entirely new incantation.

Bai Mo sighed in admiration.

’Out in the world, this man could be the founding patriarch of his own sect.’

’Fate is a cruel mistress for him to have ended up in a place like this.’

Bai Mo continued on his way. The sound of his footsteps startled the mad Cultivator, who quickly wiped away the incantation on the floor and watched Bai Mo nervously.

Bai Mo shook his head and said flatly,

"I saw everything."

The mad Cultivator froze, then became deeply vexed. He hugged his head and retreated to a corner, sinking into a state of inner turmoil.

Bai Mo watched him quietly.

After a moment, he shook his head and sighed.

According to the instructions from the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples, the mad Cultivator needed to be stimulated from time to time.

He couldn’t be allowed to just retreat into that foolish, dazed state.

It wasn’t conducive to the healing of his mind.

Seeing no further reaction from the man, Bai Mo turned to leave.

"Hey! Kid..."

It was the Great Suanni’s voice.

Bai Mo stopped in his tracks, looking around in surprise and uncertainty.

He realized the Great Suanni was contacting him secretly.

"Senior?" Bai Mo asked softly.

"Mhm. I want you to get the complete set of Array Patterns for the Netherworld Communication Array out of this man."

The Great Suanni’s voice was a little groggy as he gave the command.

Bai Mo’s heart skipped a beat.

’Could it be that this great being has become obsessed with the Netherworld Communication Array?’

"Senior, why not look it up in the sect’s records?"

"I just checked the records. What the sect has is incomplete—only seventy or eighty percent of the Netherworld Communication Array."

As the former guardian of the Foreign Affairs Hall, the Great Suanni indeed had the authority to do so.

"The Netherworld Communication Array can commune with gods and demons, so it must be incredibly vast and complex. There’s no guarantee that even this man remembers all of it," Bai Mo said softly, blinking.

"Hm?"

The Great Suanni seemed to wake up a little more.

"From the looks of him, he probably knows the rest. Why are you being so difficult, kid?"

Bai Mo gave a dry laugh. "Senior, why are you so fixated on this Array?"

He didn’t beat around the bush with his question.

The Great Suanni just scoffed in response.

"You think I care about summoning gods and demons?"

"Heh, in my current state, if I summoned one of them, they’d probably just snatch me up and make me their mount."

He sounded quite experienced, and said proudly,

"Kid, let me tell you, plenty of people have had that idea."

"To this day, not a single one has succeeded, not even the old freaks in the sect!"

Bai Mo then asked, "In that case, you want it for..."

"Sigh. It’s all for the burden of my descendants."

"I still have some children and grandchildren out in the world. I want to pass this Array down to them so that if they ever have nowhere else to turn, they can summon me to lend a hand."

His voice was filled with concern.

"Before that, the Array will have to be modified. Summoning an enlightened senior probably won’t work, but changing it to summon me should be possible..."