Chapter 443: A Visit

Chapter 443: Chapter 443: A Visit

Ever since getting that half-formed Outer Golden Pill, Ah Er had taken to playing with it often.

Its mind would often wander, drifting off to who knows where.

Bai Mo watched its behavior with a cool gaze.

But he was far too busy to give Ah Er a chance to go out.

He spent another few days refining Pills—Outer Pills of various grades, each batch more beautiful in appearance than the last.

Bai Mo packed them up, preparing to send them to Immortal Arrival City.

He kept a few of the highest quality, however, intending to give them to the white-haired elder.

The elder had been a great help when Bai Mo consulted him about the path of Outer Pills. Now that he had achieved some success, it was only natural to inform him.

He also intended to exchange pointers and ask for more advice, to see if his Outer Pills had any remaining shortcomings.

An Alchemy Dao senior like the white-haired elder had been refining Pills his entire life and had dealt with countless peers. His eye for quality was astonishingly sharp.

Two other Pills were intended for Qian Tong, the City Lord of Black Mountain City, which lay near the Celestial Barrier Mountain range.

Bai Mo had previously been dispatched there on a sect order to defend against Demon Beasts and had received the City Lord’s patronage. Now that he had achieved some success, it was only natural to show his gratitude.

As usual, Ah Er climbed to the mountaintop and cried out, successfully summoning a messenger goose from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Bai Mo handed the increasingly robust bird three parcels and offered it a Feeding Pill.

The goose nodded in satisfaction, gave Ah Er a call, and then spread its wings and departed.

He had just finished a batch of miscellaneous tasks and hadn’t even had a moment to catch his breath when people from the Foreign Affairs Hall arrived.

Two disciples, smirking in a way that suggested they were up to no good, led a middle-aged Cultivator to him.

The man had a beard and long hair, and his gaze was chilling. The sinews on his bare arms were like flood dragons coiled on stone; he was clearly no ordinary person.

"Junior Brother, how is that hunchbacked fellow Daoist of yours?"

one of the two from the Foreign Affairs Hall asked, then gestured to introduce the guest beside them to Bai Mo.

"This is Senior Gong of the Awakened Corpse Sect. He has come specifically to escort a sect elder back to his clan."

Bai Mo cupped his hands in greeting.

"’Well’ isn’t the word I’d use. He returned from the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, and his mind has been far from ordinary ever since."

The Cultivator named Gong’s expression changed.

"Do you know the reason?"

His voice was raspy, as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time.

Bai Mo shook his head.

"How could I possibly know? More than one Cultivator has returned from that place, and not a single one of them has been normal."

"But they all gained new abilities—a powerful inheritance. It’s hard to say whether it’s a blessing or a curse."

The Cultivator named Gong’s expression darkened.

A Foreign Affairs Hall disciple chimed in, "Don’t dawdle."

"Senior Gong has been waiting at the sect for many days. He’s anxious to find his man, so Junior Brother, please bring him out."

Mi Mountain had its rules: outsiders were forbidden from entering the Black Jail. Bai Mo had no choice but to ask them to wait outside while he went in alone.

As he entered the Black Jail and walked through its corridors, he naturally attracted the attention of some of the more restless inmates.

The Black Jail was only patrolled once every three days, and today was not a patrol day.

Bai Mo walked straight to the hunchbacked Cultivator’s cell.

The man had just woken from a doze and was startled by Bai Mo’s sudden appearance.

"Shameless scoundrel! How dare you steal my inheritance!?"

"May heavenly lightning strike you down!"

As he came to his senses and recalled their last encounter, malice flooded his heart, and he spat out the curse.

CLANG!

The iron chains on the cell door fell away. Bai Mo stepped inside and took out a Pill.

"Someone’s here to claim you. Take this Pill and come with me."

"You..."

The hunchbacked Cultivator froze, his expression a mixture of shock and suspicion.

In the other cells, many inmates who had overheard Bai Mo’s words lifted their heads and looked in their direction.

A murmur of whispers spread through the cells, like the lapping of water on a pond stirred by a night wind.

"Who?! Who’s getting out?"

"That’s the second one, counting him! Why isn’t it me!?"

"Heh, according to the Black Jail’s rules, no one ever leaves here safely. It seems things are changing..."

Such an event struck a sore spot, agitating the long-suffering prisoners.

In the end, the hunchbacked Cultivator still took the Pill with a look of suspicion. His body swayed and then slumped to the side.

Bai Mo half-supported, half-dragged him out of the Black Jail.

If he hadn’t used such a potent drug, Bai Mo wouldn’t have dared do this.

The man beside him was, after all, a Core Formation Cultivator. If he suddenly lashed out, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to inflict injury.

BOOM!

The great door to Mi Mountain opened.

Sunlight from the outside world struck the hunchbacked Cultivator’s face, causing him to squint.

He subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

’No matter what, at least I managed to keep some parts of the Outer Pill method to myself. I managed to protect it.’

"Martial Uncle!"

The Cultivator named Gong rushed forward, grabbing the hunchbacked Cultivator’s hand with a grave expression.

The hunchbacked Cultivator jumped in fright. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"What happened to my Martial Uncle?"

Bai Mo took the opportunity to hand the man over.

"For him to be locked in our Xuandao Sect’s Black Jail, I’m sure Senior Gong can guess a few things."

"I wouldn’t have dared bring him out without drugging him. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine in about fifteen minutes."

Bai Mo added, "Senior Gong, you should still be careful. He might not recognize you, and he’s full of sinister tricks..."

As the two Cultivators from the Awakened Corpse Sect came face to face, the hunchbacked one was on high alert. Just as predicted, he didn’t recognize his fellow sect member.

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples paid them no mind. With the Cultivator named Gong restraining his own Martial Uncle, the group departed.

Bai Mo watched their retreating backs and suddenly felt a little regretful.

’I can probably figure out what he was hiding. It would just take some time.’

’But forget it. In the end, they’re just Pill Formulas. I have no use for them, so it’s not that important...’

With that thought, Bai Mo returned to his stone house and pointed at the mess inside.

"Clean all this up, and I’ll give you a few days off. How about it?"

Hearing this, Ah Er’s eyes lit up, and it immediately agreed.

It expertly grabbed a broom and a rag, scurried into the house, and quickly got to work.

Bai Mo brought over a lounge chair, placed it to one side of the door, leaned back, and fell asleep before he knew it.

The accumulated fatigue of the past few days was released all at once, leaving him completely drained of energy.

Still, it had all been worth it.

Ah Er paid no mind to his master’s indifference, its mind completely preoccupied with settling a score.

With its network of beastly acquaintances, if it had truly rallied its forces, it might not have lost to them that day.

But alas, a tiger on open plains gets bullied. It had suffered the disadvantage of being alone.

As it thought about this, Ah Er let out a heavy snort.

...

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples led the two from the Awakened Corpse Sect on their way, heading out of the sect.

They had traveled less than a hundred li when they came across two elderly men, well into their fifties, shuffling unsteadily in the direction of Mi Mountain.

The two groups passed each other.

"Those two... judging by their robes, they don’t seem to be from our Xuandao Sect, do they?" one of the disciples remarked.

The other nodded.

"They’re from two outside lineages. Look at the emblems on their chests..."

After a moment of discussion, they looked away and paid the matter no further mind.

The fact that two outsiders were allowed to wander the Xuandao Sect’s grounds alone was enough to prove their special status.

The two old men, of course, had also noticed the departing group. They exchanged a look and broke into wide smiles.

"Did you see that hunchback?"

"You can’t fake that stench of misfortune on him. He must have just been released from prison. We’ve come to the right place..."

"Haha, indeed, indeed," the other one chuckled.

"It’s all thanks to you, my old brother, that we could come this time."

"Don’t you worry. When we get back, I’ll be sure to let you borrow my copy of the *Yellow Tiger Scripture*!"

The two of them continued on their way to Mi Mountain, chuckling to each other.

"I wonder what this Grandmaster Bai is like..."