Chapter 537: Chapter 537: The Beginning

The days passed.

Perhaps out of consideration for how busy Bai Mo and the others were, no one from the Foreign Affairs Hall came to disturb them again.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Bai Mo finished refining the ten thousand Pills—a total of one hundred thirty-one different types—placed them into pill vials, and delivered them to a disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

The person who came to receive them was not the Red-Eyed Steward from the Foreign Affairs Hall, but someone else.

This person did not understand the Alchemy Dao. He was simply shocked upon receiving them, and his words and attitude were extremely respectful.

"Junior Brother, you are truly worthy of being the sect’s Alchemist, a master of the Alchemy Dao."

Even with Bai Mo’s exquisite skills, completing this task left him feeling utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically.

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. May I ask, has the Grand Sacrifice process begun?"

The disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall hurriedly replied:

"It has. The sect’s supplies, along with some of the required personnel, are all gathering at Five Elements Ridge."

"As for those like you, Senior Brother, there’s no need to rush. You just need to wait for our notification."

"Mm," Bai Mo nodded, gently rubbing his temples.

"Then I’ll be troubling you, Senior Brother."

Seeing how truly exhausted he looked, the disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall didn’t dare bother him any further and immediately took his leave.

Judging by his direction, it seemed he was headed toward Tian Ru’s residence.

’I wonder if this fellow Daoist has completed his task.’

Bai Mo didn’t dwell on it. He returned to his room, and his head had barely hit the pillow before he fell asleep.

He slept so deeply he lost all track of time.

After some time, he began to hear a sound, which seemed to be people talking.

It was immediately followed by a BANG BANG BANG on the door.

Bai Mo opened his eyes, threw on some clothes, and went out the door. Ah Er, who had been pounding on it, quickly pointed outside the courtyard.

He peeked out and saw a steward in blue robes looking around outside the courtyard, waving at him.

"Senior Brother, please wait a moment."

Bai Mo called out, quickly washed his face, gave the antsy Ah Er a light kick, and then went out.

Parked outside was a large, sharply-angled Flying Ship that glinted with a dull, metallic luster.

A dozen or so disciples stood upon it. Due to the different Cultivation Techniques they practiced, their auras were all distinct, but they each exuded the same crisp, business-like demeanor.

Two of them were typical disciples from Broken Blade Peak, sturdily built, with their hands constantly resting on the hilts of the sabers at their backs.

Personnel from the War Hall.

Bai Mo and the blue-robed steward boarded the ship. Bai Mo casually asked:

"Aren’t we traveling with the others?"

The blue-robed steward shook his head.

"We’re going to Mi Mountain first to pick some people up."

"I had originally intended to bring Zhu Tong. He’s a master of the Array Dao, and having him along would have been safer. Unfortunately, I was a step too late; he left more than a day ago..."

The two War Hall disciples from Broken Blade Peak turned to look, giving Bai Mo a slight nod.

"Let’s go. We shouldn’t be the last ones and make everyone wait for us..."

HUMMM!

The Flying Ship activated with the resonant hum of metal and shot off toward Mi Mountain like a bolt of lightning.

Before long, Mi Mountain was visible in the distance. The group had arrived.

The stone giants had already received word and were there to greet the party.

One of them looked at Bai Mo and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.

"It’s been almost half a year. We haven’t heard from you in a long time, Junior Brother."

Bai Mo bowed to them in greeting.

"I’ve been busy with alchemy and haven’t had any contact with the outside world."

The stone giant looked at Ah Er.

"But this Spirit Beast of yours, Junior Brother, has been running all over the place. He hasn’t stopped for a moment."

"Little guy, did you bring my Pills?"

He directed the last part of his sentence at Ah Er.

Ah Er nodded eagerly. He took the Spirit Stones handed over by the stone giant and pulled a vial of Pills from his chest to pass over.

The transaction was complete.

The little rascal was surprisingly deft. He took out the pill vial, and with a flick of his claw, it landed in the stone giant’s hand.

’Clearly, he’s made quite a few of these deals lately.’

The blue-robed steward took out a command talisman and handed it to the stone giant. After it was inspected, a War Hall disciple on the Flying Ship made a pulling motion.

THUD THUD THUD!

With a series of muffled thuds, a dozen or so coffins were pulled from thin air by the War Hall disciples and slammed onto the deck.

Bai Mo had seen these coffins many times before, but this was his first time accompanying others to retrieve prisoners.

The group entered the black prison and opened the cell doors one by one. Chains shot out from the coffins and, in short order, dragged the selected Nascent Soul Cultivators inside.

The captured Nascent Soul Cultivators roared in fury, but it was useless. As the coffin lids slammed shut, the sounds of their struggles vanished.

A moment later, the coffins were stacked neatly on the Flying Ship as it set out for Five Elements Ridge.

The War Hall’s Flying Ship roared onward at top speed. The landscape flew past below, and the wind cut at their faces like knives.

The War Hall disciples were thick-skinned and their expressions remained unchanged.

Bai Mo released his Spiritual Qi to block the gale-force headwind, his eyes narrowed as he studied the coffins.

The blue-robed steward noticed his expression and asked:

"What is it?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"I was just curious. Who could have refined a Magical Artifact capable of imprisoning a Nascent Soul Cultivator? Its power is astonishing."

The blue-robed steward said, "The refining technique is a top sect secret. But the key isn’t the technique; it’s the raw materials."

"These coffins were all originally used to bury great personages. After being nurtured underground for a long time, steeped in corpse qi and earth qi, they underwent a strange transformation."

’So that’s how it is.’ Bai Mo understood now and asked no more questions.

The War Hall disciples scanned their surroundings.

They had expected to be spied on by Divine Beings again, but the journey was quiet. Even when the Flying Ship passed through a region overseen by a Divine Being, there was no sign of activity.

The divine light, usually so brilliant, was now as silent as death.

"It’s a shame. These Divine Beings have been scared off and don’t dare show their faces. Otherwise, we could have grabbed a few to trade with the people from the Foreign Affairs Hall for some rewards."

The two disciples from Broken Blade Peak chatted, their words tinged with regret.

Hearing this, the blue-robed steward’s expression turned grave as he issued a warning.

"Don’t be so careless!"

"Our recent conflicts with the Divine Beings have just been minor skirmishes. We only have the upper hand because the sect has been suppressing them, and not many Great Gods have reawakened in the area."

"But in other places, sects have already been conquered by Divine Beings, their mountain gates turned into Divine Kingdoms. There are some truly formidable existences among them..."

Unwilling to let his fellow Sect Disciples become complacent, he began to recount recent news received by the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Things were still manageable in the regions bordering the Xuandao Sect, but in the areas beyond its influence, life wasn’t easy for the smaller sects and factions.

Many sects had been reduced to vassals of the Divine Beings, forced to gather the power of worship for them.

"Once the Divine Beings’ forces are established, they will gather together and snowball, carving out their own territories. They’ll be strong enough to take a real pound of flesh from the major sects."

This was the first time Bai Mo had ever heard such things.

’Such blatant actions have brought the struggle out into the open, no longer hidden and veiled like before.’

’Between the Divine Beings and the sects, it’s hard to say which is good and which is evil.’

’Especially since he, Bai Mo, had come from the life of a Loose Cultivator. He knew that for a Loose Cultivator, there wasn’t much difference between the two.’

’It’s just that the path to immortality itself seems to be shrouded in secrets.’

’All living beings seek immortality but can never attain it. They brave tribulations and fight for their destiny, only to be sabotaged by hidden forces. And the Divine Beings have often played a part in that sabotage.’

’That alone was reason enough to treat them with malice.’

A day later, the streaking light of the Flying Ship began to slow.

In the distance, a dense crowd moved like ants, carrying livestock and sacrificial offerings up a mountain.

Judging by their clothes and cultivation levels, most were local Cultivators from Five Elements Ridge.

Mixed in among them were tall, red-skinned figures. They were barefoot with bare arms, their knotted muscles bulging, so brawny they hardly looked human.

They were the spirit-monster laborers from Divine Dao Mountain, hauling massive stone carvings up the slope and leaving shallow craters for footprints in their wake.

They had arrived at Five Elements Ridge.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.