Chapter 445: Dispute

Chapter 445: Chapter 445: Dispute

After daybreak, Bai Mo saw the two old men off and drank the last sip of his tea.

"Scholarly Envoys, huh."

’This Cyan Heron Academy... sounds like no simple matter.’

’After all, for those two to be able to move so freely within the Xuandao Sect, they must have some serious backing.’

’Borrowing a bit of the Cyan Heron Academy’s prestige to build my own reputation... all upside, no downside. Not a bad idea at all.’

Beside him, Ah Er was waiting on him. Seeing the teapot was empty, it looked toward Bai Mo.

"No need to refill it."

Bai Mo had drunk a bellyful of tea. When he stood up, his stomach went GURGLE GURGLE.

He picked up that copy of *Jing River Pill News* and went straight back to his stone house.

’Today, I’ll see for myself just what these heroes of the Jing River’s Alchemy Dao are all about...’

’That old man’s network was surprisingly vast, to have caused such a stir.’

’No wonder he didn’t have time to correspond later.’

Seeing him get up, Ah Er hoisted the table and followed behind.

When it saw that Bai Mo was already sitting at his desk, reading quietly, it still brewed a pot of tea and placed it on the desk before zipping out the door.

It didn’t let out a cheer until it was a couple of miles away.

Hopping and skipping, it came to a forest. It put its paws on its hips, called out a few times, then took out a Feeding Pill and waved it around in its paw.

In just a moment, the sound of snapping twigs came from the forest floor. CRUNCH.

A Spirit Beast with a snake’s body and a raccoon dog’s head silently slithered out.

This Spirit Beast also had light-colored fur growing from the gaps in its scales. The overall look was jarring and disharmonious.

Ah Er called out to it a few times and tossed the Pill, which the other beast swallowed in one gulp.

This was its payment.

This odd-looking Spirit Beast had been abandoned by its master due to its strange appearance. Now, it was looking for a new home, its meals few and far between.

For a deal like this, it would naturally give its all.

The two beasts then came to a wild Spirit Field. They didn’t dare show themselves; Ah Er just let out a few low calls.

Before long, a small colt galloped over like the wind. Without waiting for its master to arrive, it hastily ran off with Ah Er and its companion.

The master of the herb field arrived just a moment later. He was a big, burly man in a straw hat, and he hurled curses at the retreating figures of the three beasts.

"You ungrateful wretch!"

"Supposed to be guarding the herb field, but you’re always running off..."

This little colt was a good friend of Ah Er’s and extremely lively.

The three beasts continued on their way, gathering more allies until their ranks swelled to a mighty procession of seven or eight.

They headed toward the place where Ah Er had been bullied that day.

Within the Xuandao Sect, as long as one didn’t go to places where disciples gathered, most open areas were free to play in.

Before long, they arrived near a market square.

That day, it was here that Ah Er had encountered a group of leashed Spirit Beasts.

The leader, a green luan, had inexplicably started to taunt it.

Although Ah Er was furious, it was carrying two Golden Cores and was in a rush to get them back to Mi Mountain. It had settled for shooting the other party a glare before lowering its head and hurrying on.

It never expected that a single glare would lead to disaster.

The other side had strength in numbers. After some pushing, shoving, and a brawl, it fell into a mud pit, ending up a complete mess, mocked by others.

The more it thought about it, the angrier it got. Familiar with the route, Ah Er went behind a shop in the market and vaulted the wall into the backyard.

In the backyard stable, an old horse was eating fodder.

Ah Er went up to it, took out a Feeding Pill, crushed it, and mixed it into the feed.

"OOK!"

After a series of gestures, it soon got the information it wanted and left, satisfied, by climbing back over the wall.

Inside the shop, a few disciples saw this scene through the door curtain.

Yuan Chu laughed. "Isn’t that Junior Brother Bai’s Spirit Beast?"

"It usually looks so well-behaved. Seems it gets up to quite a bit of mischief when it’s out and about, eh?"

Beside him were several other disciples from Divine Dao Mountain. Hearing his words, they asked in surprise:

"This Junior Brother Bai you speak of..."

"That’s right, the head of the Black Prison. I’m on good terms with him. I’ve also heard that Nai Daoist, one of the consecrated masters, is also good friends with Junior Brother Bai."

Yuan Chu instructed, "When you see him, you must all be polite."

The disciples from Divine Dao Mountain nodded.

Lately, Nai Daoist and Kunwu True Monarch had been feuding fiercely. No one knew how the grudge started, but the two consecrated masters were constantly at odds—a small skirmish every two days, a major battle every three.

The commotion they caused was never small, and any disciple caught in the crossfire was left to suffer terribly.

Since Bai Mo had ties with a fierce figure like Nai Daoist, they naturally wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful.

The disciple managing the shop was ringing them up. Hearing this, he looked up and said:

"I’ve heard that junior brother from Mi Mountain is a very polite person, and very generous too."

"What are you all going for? Business, or to request Pills?"

Yuan Chu gave a knowing chuckle.

"We’re going to check on the health of one of the sect’s ancestors!"

After paying with Spirit Stones, they left the shop and walked along the market road.

Along the way, they saw Ah Er sneak off to meet up with a few other Spirit Beasts, but they didn’t think much of it and continued on their way.

The old market horse was worldly and well-informed; Ah Er had gotten its intelligence from it.

Now, looking at its crew, Ah Er felt the magnificent satisfaction of a hero whose time for revenge has finally come.

’So what if the other side has more numbers? These old friends of mine have clawed their way through the world; they’re not to be trifled with!’

"OOK!"

Ah Er communicated with its companions.

That green luan was the Spirit Pet of a certain disciple. The beasts it associated with were also raised by other disciples of the same lineage.

It seemed they were all Spirit Beasts raised by disciples specializing in beast mastery.

Lately, they had all been loitering around the market square.

"NEIGH!"

Hearing this, the little colt showed a trace of worry.

After all, they were Spirit Beasts from a beast mastery lineage; there was no telling what kind of bloodlines they might possess.

At these words, Ah Er also calmed down, but it had its own plan.

Looking around, it found a large rock. It ran behind it and took out Bai Mo’s half-finished Outer Golden Pill.

Lifting a paw, it tossed the pill into its mouth and swallowed it whole without chewing.

It tried to sense and activate it.

The next moment, a golden light rose from behind the rock, followed by a POOF and a puff of smoke.

Its little companions watched from a distance, feeling the fluctuating aura, and immediately began to whisper amongst themselves.

’A Spirit Beast from a famous master is truly on another level! So many trump cards!’

In the eyes of these Spirit Beasts, Ah Er’s background seemed extremely impressive.

...

Meanwhile, Yuan Chu and his companions spent half the day in the market, finally gathering the requisite gifts and any rare materials they might need.

Since their Mountain would reimburse them anyway, the group, laden with bags large and small, spent money with extravagant flair.

"I hear the Suanni Ancestor has quite a temper."

"Exactly. We’re going to ’check on its health,’ but the old ancestor might not appreciate the gesture."

"The Ancestor is probably in a deep sleep. We need to find a way to soothe its temper when it wakes..."

Piloting the Flying Ship, the group discussed the situations they might encounter.

Not long after leaving the market and taking flight, a powerful wave of heat assaulted them from below.

"Who’s there!?"

Yuan Chu’s expression darkened. With a casual swat of his long arm, his qi wave extinguished the incoming Cyan Fire.

The group looked down. When they got a clear view of the situation, their eyebrows shot up.

Down in the forest below, a dozen or so Spirit Beasts were brawling in a chaotic mess of flying feathers and blood.

The snake-bodied, raccoon-dog-headed Spirit Beast that Ah Er had recruited now knew that earning a living was not easy.

It was pinned beneath a three-legged toad and had been kicked more than ten times, its head spinning.

’A job for a single Feeding Pill... and it’s this dangerous!’

In the center of the fray, a green luan was pinned down and being ridden by a child with a sturdy, robust look, dressed in a thick Daoist robe, with rosy lips and pearly-white teeth.

The child held a short cudgel, which it brought down relentlessly.

The green luan’s head was covered in blood. It was spewing fireballs randomly, and its shrieks turned into human words.

"This bastard can shapeshift! Go get my brother, quick!!"