Chapter 433: Lending a Helping Hand

Chapter 433: Chapter 433: Lending a Helping Hand

Even the Soul Bodies in the Ghost Cave formed cliques.

Where there are people, there are politics.

As if to prove the point, just a short way out from the Ghost Cave, in the warren of pits and dark hollows, you could find over ten different factions.

A remnant Soul Body with great power and a charismatic personality could easily gather a sizable number of minions.

And now, even out in the open...

These lost remnant Soul Bodies with nowhere else to go still instinctively followed their old rules out of sheer confusion.

When they heard of some benefit, they would call their comrades to go with them.

The handful of Ghost Cave disciples, who had just been reprimanded by the sect and ordered to atone for their mistakes, felt their skin crawl.

’What in the world? Don’t tell me a Ghost King has appeared and they’re all going to worship it?’

If a Ghost King really had appeared, it would be no easy foe, not with its Core Formation Stage power and the unique nature of a Soul Body.

"Let’s follow them and see!"

"If something has really gone wrong, we have to stop these remnant Soul Bodies... even if it costs us our lives."

"If we get chewed out one more time, we’re really going to be sent to feed the pigs!"

"I hear the sect’s pigs are huge and fat. They sell so many that they can’t even keep up with raising them..."

The group concealed their auras and trailed behind the throng of remnant Soul Bodies.

They had guarded the Ghost Cave for years and occasionally had to enter it to investigate, so naturally, they had a few tricks up their sleeves.

As they moved, the remnant Soul Bodies seemed unable to see them clearly, never noticing the six men.

Occasionally, a remnant Soul Body would spot a large, blurry shadow and, after a moment’s hesitation, drift closer to get a better look.

Just then, a fork would shoot out, spear it, and stuff it into a burlap sack.

Just as the disciple with the steel fork was stuffing the eleventh remnant Soul Body into his sack, they finally discovered their destination.

It was a mountain, pitch-black in the night and extremely treacherous.

A chill shot up the spines of the six men, straight to the crowns of their heads.

"We’re screwed! How could something go wrong here of all places?"

"Didn’t Ah Xin say the Black Prison was foolproof?"

They couldn’t be bothered with anything else and broke into a dead sprint.

When they drew near, their hearts leaped into their throats.

Remnant Soul Bodies were gathering from all directions, both in the sky and on the ground.

A rough count suggested there were no fewer than a thousand of them!

The sheer number of them had transformed the local environment. A heavy chill permeated the air, and a ghastly wind scraped at their bones.

The place was no longer fit for mortal life.

The six Ghost Cave disciples identified the problem at a glance.

"These bastards, where did they learn this concealment technique?"

"Ah Xin is still inexperienced. He didn’t see these things hiding underground and misjudged the number of remnant Soul Bodies, which led to his miscalculation..."

Normally, with a Great Suanni around, no amount of remnant Soul Bodies could cause any trouble.

But they knew the Suanni Ancestor from the Foreign Affairs Hall had just recently passed away, and his Soul Body was unstable.

Under such conditions, it wasn’t surprising he was temporarily unable to intervene.

CLANG!

The disciple with the steel fork brandished his weapon, his eyes bloodshot.

"Move it! What are you gawking at? Do you really want to end up as pig feed!?"

They scrambled into action, charging into the mass of remnant Soul Bodies, spearing and slashing wildly.

The most efficient among them was a disciple wielding a Hundred Souls Banner. With a wave of the banner, he swept up all the remnant Soul Bodies in his path.

When the banner began to gleam with an oily sheen, he would wring it out, squeezing black oil into a small porcelain vial.

This was the essence of the condensed remnant Soul Bodies.

Only after a flurry of activity did they finally notice something else was off.

These remnant Soul Bodies flocking here seemed to have lost all intelligence. They didn’t resist, driven purely by instinct.

"This..."

The six of them advanced a short distance before suddenly spotting two people and a beast standing right at the edge of the soul tide, craning their necks to observe them.

A moment later.

After a great deal of commotion, the two groups finally made contact.

"Um, could you two explain what is going on here?"

Bai Mo was in a rare foul mood.

"Shouldn’t we be the ones asking that?"

"I was just testing the waters a little, but I never expected so many remnant Soul Bodies to gather. Counting them all, there must be over ten thousand that have come tonight!"

’Judging by their methods, these six have to be the disciples guarding the Ghost Cave. No ordinary person would have so many techniques designed to deal with remnant Soul Bodies.’

Li Wuji was also in disbelief.

"You lot really managed to screw up this badly?"

Remnant Soul Bodies weren’t just on Mi Mountain; including those from other areas, their numbers were likely uncountable.

The disciple holding the steel fork gave a bitter smile:

"This is our fault. We can’t deny it."

"It seems the remnant Soul Bodies in the Ghost Cave must have been planning this for a while. They’ve even managed to spread this concealment technique among themselves..."

Li Wuji snorted coldly, "Save those words for the people at the Foreign Affairs Hall!"

The six Ghost Cave disciples were clearly in the wrong and had no ground to stand on, so they didn’t press the issue.

After figuring out what was happening on Mi Mountain, a glint appeared in the six disciples’ eyes as an idea struck them.

"Junior Brother, these Pills of yours, could you sell us some?"

"We’ll pay fifty percent above market price!"

Li Wuji chimed in: "There is no market price for these. Junior Brother Bai refined these Pills himself; they don’t even have a name yet..."

The six Ghost Cave disciples were slightly startled.

’No wonder we’ve never heard of such a useful Pill. It’s a one-of-a-kind creation.’

Bai Mo was about to reply when he suddenly saw the momentum of the remnant Soul Bodies surging towards the pit falter slightly.

Some remnant Soul Bodies even became frenzied and started attacking their own kind.

"The Pills at the bottom of the pit are about to burn out."

"Go again."

Upon receiving the order, Ah Er took a single step and charged headfirst into the tide of remnant Soul Bodies.

The obstructing Soul Bodies kept it busy, and an unnatural chill rose from all over its body.

SWOOSH!

A steel fork suddenly flew in from behind, skewering a remnant Soul Body and planting itself right beside Ah Er.

"Use this to clear a path!"

Hearing the voice from behind, Ah Er didn’t hesitate. It grabbed the steel fork and began swinging it wildly, clearing the remnant Soul Bodies from its path.

Before long, it reached the bottom of the pit.

A look confirmed it: the Pills at the bottom of the pit were almost burnt out, with only three fingernail-sized remnants left.

Ah Er took out three pellets from its chest, threw them down as before, and then returned the way it came.

The black cloth laid at the bottom of the pit trembled frequently. It had already absorbed an unknown number of Soul Bodies throughout the night.

The cloth might have looked unremarkable, even grimy.

But given Bai Mo’s current standing, the fact that a disciple seeking Pills would offer it as a gift was a testament to the cloth’s high quality.

Ah Er returned triumphantly and returned the steel fork.

They were fellow sect members, after all, and this was a sect matter. Bai Mo couldn’t just stand by and watch them fail.

"I didn’t refine many of these Pills this time, and I need to keep some for my own use."

"At most, I can sell you twenty pellets. Let’s say five thousand Spirit Stones. How about it?"

The six Ghost Cave disciples were overcome with gratitude.

"That’s more than enough to handle the immediate crisis!"

"We hope Junior Brother will be willing to refine a few more batches. We will be sure to reward you handsomely."

This was a profitable deal for Bai Mo, so he naturally had no reason to refuse.

After telling them to come back for the Pills in a few days, Bai Mo turned his attention to several vicious souls rampaging among the remnant Soul Bodies.

With a flick of his gaze, several Pill Furnaces materialized and instantly refined the vicious souls.

Ah Er ran over to catch and carefully store their remains.

’All very useful things, capable of affecting a person’s mind and spirit.’

’They’d be perfect for testing on that hunchbacked Cultivator.’