Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Selecting

The one at Five Elements Ridge was still repeatedly waking and sleeping, adjusting themself.

Bai Mo and the others returned to the sect and resumed their work, quietly waiting for the six-month period to end.

In the courtyard, the flames beneath the furnace never rested, and outside the gate, the strange fragrance of the bamboo grew stronger by the day.

Bai Mo had specifically gone to inspect them. He suspected the bamboo had become another species entirely—a mutation brought about by specific conditions.

They were extremely valuable, yet required no meticulous care.

Consequently, Ah Er treasured them greatly.

Occasionally, letters would arrive from Immortal Arrival City, reporting on various minor matters.

However, the Demon Hunting Teams in the city still hadn’t recovered. Occasionally, people would still get infected with Voodoo in the mountains and stumble back for treatment.

As a result, the Loose Cultivators in the city were short on funds, so the demand for Pills from the shop wasn’t high.

So Bai Mo didn’t divert his attention to it.

Choosing an auspicious day, Bai Mo went with the steward in green to Mi Mountain.

"For this great sacrifice, we will need fifteen Nascent Souls."

the steward in green said, calculating.

"Junior Brother, you supervised Mi Mountain for a long time, so you must be familiar with the prisoners inside. You’ll have to give your opinion on the selection."

The two arrived at Mi Mountain. Ah Er, disliking the environment of the black prison, didn’t wait for Bai Mo’s call and scampered up the mountain in a flash.

The green vegetation on the mountain grew wild, tangled and intertwined, covering most of its slopes. Occasionally, a bright yellow Spirit Charm would peek out from between the leaves and branches.

Ah Er’s eyes widened as it searched. Before long, it discovered many fruits among the vegetation. With a flick and a cut of its claws, it plucked them and stashed them away.

Bai Mo and the steward in green stopped before the main gate.

"Brother Shi, have you two been well recently?"

Bai Mo bowed respectfully.

"Well enough."

Two large boulders dropped from either side of the gate, landing on the ground with a THUD and transforming into two stone men.

The two brothers looked toward the steward in green.

"The sect’s affairs, big and small, are endless. We know the steward’s purpose in coming, but the proper procedures cannot be skipped..."

The steward in green nodded, took out a command token, and passed it over.

The stone men inspected it, exchanged a glance, and opened the gate.

Bai Mo and the steward in green stepped into the black prison, accompanied by one of the stone men.

"Junior Brother, you’ve spent a long time here and know most of the prisoners inside and out. Just see for yourself. I won’t say more."

After saying this, the stone man fell silent. He merely followed their every step, and it was impossible to tell if his mind had wandered.

Near the entrance were all Cultivators of the Core Formation level.

Bai Mo didn’t spare them a second glance and walked straight past, only pausing briefly when he passed the cell of the mad Cultivator.

This particular inmate had been quite passionate during Bai Mo’s tenure.

Not only did he spend all day spreading tales of the method to achieve immortality from the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, but he also possessed a rare frankness for someone in the black prison.

But now, he was sitting cross-legged in his cell, his face filled with the bitterness of memory. He merely gave Bai Mo’s group a single glance before losing interest.

Bai Mo could tell from the man’s eyes that he had definitely recalled some things, but for some reason, he seemed to have no memory of Bai Mo and the others.

"This is..."

Bai Mo turned his head to look at the stone man.

The stone man finally spoke:

"It’s thanks to the Pills Junior Brother sent back. That badger has been ’walking’ more, so this inmate’s mind has recovered a good deal."

"I was woken up by a noise one night and went to inspect the black prison. I saw a figure wreathed in flames talking to him."

That was probably the Suanni Ancestor, who had taken up residence in Mi Mountain.

The Great Suanni was quite interested in some of the mad Cultivator’s methods.

It’s just that the mad Cultivator’s mind had been muddled for so long that his memories of those methods were likely incomplete. It was hard to say if the Great Suanni got what it wanted.

"Junior Brother."

The steward in green spoke up to remind him. He had important matters to attend to and didn’t want to be delayed.

Bai Mo returned to his senses and walked with him into the depths of the black prison.

The prisoners hadn’t seen him in a long time. Seeing him again now, and noticing his scrutinizing, comparative gaze, their expressions immediately changed.

"We’re doomed..."

one prisoner muttered aloud.

"This one’s not like those stone lumps. His mind is sharp. He must know a lot of our secrets."

Some began to watch their steps, paying close attention to every movement and pause.

From time to time, a prisoner would burst out laughing, tears streaming down their face in schadenfreude.

Bai Mo paid them no heed. He walked through the prison and pointed out thirty-one Nascent Souls.

The steward in green noted down the locations of the thirty-one cells.

Bai Mo said to him in a low voice, "The crimes of these Cultivators are all worthy of utter annihilation, and their auras are pure, stripped of all falsehood."

"For more specific details, Senior Brother can check the registry."

The steward in green nodded. He went outside the prison with them, asked for the registry, and copied a portion of it.

He didn’t have the authority or ability to decide who to choose; this list had to be submitted further up.

The two of them left Mi Mountain.

Bai Mo called out, and Ah Er came dashing down the mountain. Halfway down, it tripped and tumbled the rest of the way.

Several tiny Suanni poked their heads out from under the leaves of the mountain’s vegetation, laughing mockingly.

The tiny Suanni were halfway through their laughter when a gust of wind blew them away, and they dispersed.

Bai Mo recalled something. He turned to the steward in green and asked:

"The Foreign Affairs Hall used to be presided over by the Suanni Ancestor. The disciples of the hall had gold-thread Suanni embroidered on their chests. They were so majestic."

"But now..."

The steward in green’s chest was bare, with no embroidery at all.

He just smiled.

"These days, the hall is presided over by Ancestor Xiang."

WHOOSH!

A hot wind gusted by, and an enormous, ferocious head wreathed in flames emerged from the mountainside.

"Daoist Xiang? That old codger took my seat?"

The steward in green turned and bowed respectfully to the beast’s head.

"Reporting to the Suanni Ancestor, Ancestor Xiang is indeed in charge of the hall now."

"It’s just that Ancestor Xiang also has to suppress the Divine Being, so he doesn’t manage things much. It’s all handled by the disciples of the hall."

The Great Suanni sneered, its flames trembling and roaring.

"Daoist Xiang attained the Dao as an aberrant. He’s not a kind soul. It’d be a miracle if he could spare any thought for your affairs."

"Still, that fellow is worthy of the position."

With that said, it receded directly into the mountainside, vanishing without a trace.

Its flowing mane left behind many tiny Suanni on the mountain as it disappeared, creating a lively scene for a while.

Bai Mo looked at the steward in green and asked in a low voice:

"Back when the Suanni Ancestor Master was in the Foreign Affairs Hall, could it be he didn’t manage its affairs?"

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t imagine this great beast having that kind of temperament.

But the steward in green shook his head, choosing his words carefully.

"Junior Brother, you may not know, but back in the day, the Suanni Ancestor Master..."

He thought for a moment, then said:

"He was incredibly fierce. It’s said that during the years he was active, the disciples of our hall walked a head taller than all the other junior and senior brothers."

Seemingly wary of the Great Suanni hiding in Mi Mountain, the steward in green didn’t say much more. He just waved his hand and left with Bai Mo.

Before the Flying Ship departed, Ah Er arrived just in time, leaping aboard and waving its paw goodbye to the steward in green.

They were not heading in the same direction.

Bai Mo returned to his small courtyard by the cliff. Inside, the fire in the Pill Furnace was burning brightly.

A Pill Fragrance filled the air.

Bai Mo opened the lid, took out the Pills from within, and placed them in a bottle.

He stretched languidly, and after a moment of thought, Bai Mo called Ah Er over and instructed:

"Process the medicinal herbs outside and have them ready. Don’t disturb me unless it’s important."

"And when you’re free, don’t always run off into the woods. Go out and about, gather some news. I’ll want to hear it when I’m done, and by then, the time should be about right..."

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