Chapter 431: Coping

Chapter 431: Chapter 431: Coping

The clean-cut youth’s shame deepened at his words.

"The disciples guarding the Ghost Cave have all been punished by the sect. They’ve been ordered to recapture the remnant souls within a set time limit."

But there weren’t many disciples at the Laundry Waterfall, so it couldn’t be accomplished overnight.

Bai Mo frowned.

"The sect isn’t sending anyone to help?"

The young man barely dared to look at him.

"The sect is short on manpower right now. Where would we find extra people to help?"

He himself was just a new inner sect disciple, recently assigned to the Laundry Waterfall and still in training.

And now he’d been pulled out to handle things on his own.

But he understood the Black Prison’s unique importance. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong here.

"The Black Prison is too important. There can be no delays."

The young man said, "I can summon my fellow disciples. We can set up on Mi Mountain first and use our methods to gather the nearby remnant souls and take them away."

Bai Mo considered this for a moment and asked:

"Will it cause a big commotion?"

The young man said, "We’d have to set up a Ghost-Attracting Array."

"It would naturally cause quite a stir."

’This is not good.’

Any major undertaking around Mi Mountain had to be reported to the Foreign Affairs Hall. This was to guard against those with ulterior motives.

The regulations in the Black Prison manual were crystal clear on this.

After some consideration, Bai Mo rejected the young man’s proposal.

"Forget it. A Suanni has taken up residence on my Mi Mountain, a being on the level of an Ancestor."

"It loves to sleep, and waking it would be a great disrespect..."

The young man visibly relaxed upon hearing this.

After all, with such a powerful being presiding over the area, there was no way anything could go wrong at the Black Prison.

But then he remembered that the incident at the Ghost Cave was the responsibility of the disciples from the Laundry Waterfall, and his heart filled with anxiety again.

The gathering of remnant souls could stir up yin energy, altering the very environment and making it inhospitable to the living.

’If a commotion like that were to awaken the Suanni Ancestor, the consequences would be unthinkable!’

He was worried.

"Then, Brother Bai, how do you plan to handle this?"

Bai Mo glanced at him and said:

"I have my own methods. I can handle a few remnant souls. You should go and attend to your duties elsewhere."

"But remember, if large numbers of remnant souls start migrating toward Mi Mountain, you must intercept them..."

...

The young man left.

Bai Mo couldn’t help but sigh.

’One crisis after another. Why now of all times?’

The Pills promised to Zhen Yuan and the three disciples from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge would have to be delayed.

He figured they would understand, once they heard about this unforeseen event.

This matter was truly out of his hands.

Those men were all in the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet Bai Mo had asked them to capture the hunchbacked Cultivator.

Even though they’d learned from the mad Cultivator that their target was weak—nothing like a true Core Formation expert—it was still a dangerous assignment.

He glanced up the mountain one last time, seeing two remnant souls being swept away by the extending branches of a small sapling.

Bai Mo turned and returned to the stone house.

"I need to fire up the furnace and prepare some ghost-luring Pills."

"I don’t need your help this time. Just take care of the two in the Black Prison."

Bai Mo instructed Ah Er.

"Oh, and if any remnant souls attack, you’ll have to deal with them too."

Hearing this, Ah Er’s eyes widened, and it pointed at itself in surprise.

"Gah!?"

It didn’t have that kind of power.

Bai Mo knew its capabilities—or lack thereof—all too well, so he gave it a few useful items.

A long whip covered in red spots, and two bottles of Pills that could injure a Divine Soul.

The long whip was a gift from a fellow disciple who had previously requested Pills.

It was said that after being half-forged, it was soaked in a Yin Spring for half a year before it was fully formed.

"This whip isn’t a high-quality item, but it’s exceptionally effective against remnant souls. Remember, don’t use it to play with your friends."

"If the whip doesn’t work, take out a vial of Pills and smash it hard on the ground. That should also scare away the remnant souls."

In truth, the long whip alone was enough to handle most situations.

Remnant souls were weak, and Ah Er was well-fed and robust, brimming with vigorous qi and blood. Ordinary souls would take one look and flee.

But this was the Ghost Cave, after all. When disciples of the Xuandao Sect encountered troublesome ghost nests or lairs on their travels, they moved them back here and tossed them inside.

Generation after generation passed.

Heaven knows how many remnant souls had gathered in the Ghost Cave over the years, or if some powerful entities had been born among them.

Ah Er listened to Bai Mo’s instructions with a solemn face, nodding repeatedly.

Seeing that it had truly committed his words to memory, Bai Mo returned to the stone house and closed the main door.

Before long, a blazing fire ignited inside, its heat radiating through the cracks in the door.

These soul-luring Pills were something Bai Mo had researched before.

Now was the time to take up that research again.

Outside, Ah Er looked at the closed door and took a deep, forceful breath.

It was a little nervous.

After a thought, Ah Er put the two Pill vials into the cloth bag on its chest, brought over a stool, and sat down right outside the entrance to Mi Mountain.

Its imposing, legs-spread posture startled a remnant soul that had just arrived from a distance.

Just as it was about to cautiously approach, it suddenly saw the gate-guarding beast glare.

Its furious expression made the remnant soul shudder.

Driven by what little wisdom it had left, the remnant soul hesitated for a moment, then retreated.

Seeing this, Ah Er, who was sitting at the gate, finally calmed its pounding heart.

’Just now, when I saw the remnant soul approach, I thought I wasn’t intimidating enough. But it seems the other party knows what’s good for it.’

...

「The next day.」

Two bottles of Pills had appeared in front of the stone house door.

Bai Mo had worked through the night to produce them.

After telling Ah Er to take them away to dry, Bai Mo once again immersed himself in his pill-making.

Ah Er took out the Pill vials, went outside, and first sprinkled some powder around to repel insects and birds before pouring out the Pills to dry.

The brownish-yellow Pills rolled out, looking quite delightful.

Ah Er subconsciously took a breath, and a clear fragrance shot up its nostrils and straight into its mind.

A feeling of peace and tranquility suddenly arose, and Ah Er felt a wave of inexplicable comfort.

Even with some chores left undone, its current state of serene bliss was completely unaffected.

After more than ten breaths, it shuddered, suddenly jolted awake.

"Gah!"

’How could I be so lazy!?’

’Work is work, it must be done! These Pills are dangerously distracting!’

Ah Er took two steps back, gave the Pills a suspicious look, then turned and went back inside the gateway.

’My master definitely has some plan for the two people in the Black Prison, even if I don’t know what it is.’

’I have to do my best.’

Moving nimbly, Ah Er spent half an hour preparing the meal, then carried it into the Black Prison.

It first went to the mad Cultivator’s cell, wearing a beaming smile.

’This one knows how to appreciate my cooking, so I have to be polite.’

The mad Cultivator, however, had already forgotten the events of yesterday and watched in confusion as it handed over the food.

"Since when did this prison offer such treatment?"

"Gah!"

Ah Er responded.

The mad Cultivator didn’t understand, but he wasn’t very wary at the moment, so he took the food and began to eat.

When it arrived at the hunchbacked Cultivator’s cell, Ah Er’s expression wasn’t nearly as pleasant.

Without a word, it sent the food in and then lit the Black Pill.

The hunchbacked Cultivator shrieked strangely, his hands forming seals as he tried to execute some technique. But it had no effect, and just like always, he was possessed by the hungry ghost...

After finishing its business in the prison and collecting the bowls and chopsticks, Ah Er finally went out.

It stood guard before the entrance of Mi Mountain, sitting upright and proper. With the brownish-yellow Pills drying beside it, it cut a rather imposing figure.