Chapter 379: Gathering Qi
The paper boat sped all the way back, but the trouble never ceased.
Bai Mo did a quick count. All in all, the fleet had been harassed sixteen times.
Among the attackers were people from major sects and factions, like the Seven Beasts Sect. As it happened, some of their Cultivators showed up, only to be cut down by the disciples of the Xuandao Sect.
Only after they finally made it back to the Xuandao Sect’s territory did things quiet down.
Some Cultivators, who hadn’t dared to leave the boat until now, breathed a huge sigh of relief before finally disembarking.
A Cultivator guarding the border city flew up and greeted Shang Wunian.
"It’s been a while, Junior Brother Shang. Are you well?"
The white-haired old man bowed his head.
Shang Wunian returned the gesture. "Brother Pu."
The old man asked, "I heard from the sect. Did you gain anything from this trip?"
Shang Wunian shook his head.
"Only a few other clues. We’ll follow up on them later."
’He probably got news of some other ruins. Things like this weren’t uncommon these days.’
The old man wasn’t surprised at all.
"The path of the Dao is arduous. We must continue to seek our way..."
The two bid farewell, and the group set off once more.
Along the way, a few other fellow sect members with profound and unfathomable auras approached to speak with them, but they left after receiving Shang Wunian’s reply.
「One month later, they were back at the sect.」
After passing through the cloud wall and returning to the inner sect, the paper boats split into several groups to drop the disciples off at their respective destinations.
Mi Mountain was in a remote location, so Bai Mo was the last one on the boat.
"How has Mi Mountain changed so much?"
The disciple piloting the paper boat was astonished.
After being away for so long, he saw that lush green vegetation now covered more than half of Mi Mountain.
Large patches of green dotted the purple-black mountain, bursting with vitality.
"Heh, it’s probably because my Spirit Beast has been taking good care of the place."
Bai Mo wasn’t surprised. He bid farewell to the disciple on the boat, leaped off, and waved as it flew away.
It felt good to be on solid ground again. Strolling casually to the gate at the foot of the mountain, Bai Mo took a light breath.
BOOM!
With just a thought, the gate opened on its own.
The commotion naturally startled the man and beast inside.
Li Wuji was sitting cross-legged, engrossed in his cultivation. He quickly withdrew his power and stood up.
"Junior Brother, you’re finally back."
After not seeing him for a while, Bai Mo noted that his aura was much more substantial, exuding a faint pressure. His Body Refinement had clearly progressed.
Bai Mo strolled in and stretched his back.
"Yeah, I’m finally back. I should be able to get some peace and quiet for a while."
"Thanks for all your trouble while I was away, Senior Brother."
"Don’t be so formal." Li Wuji just smiled.
Bai Mo then looked at the badger beside him, who was staring up at him.
"And you? What kind of trouble did you get into this time?"
Ah Er looked rather pathetic at the moment.
Not only was he missing a couple of tufts of fur on his head, but his body was also a mess and covered in injuries.
"ARGH! ARGH!"
It cried out twice.
Bai Mo didn’t understand what it meant, but seeing how energetically it was squealing, he knew it wasn’t anything serious.
If it had really done something wrong, the little thing would have a guilty conscience and wouldn’t be acting so confidently.
At the end of the day, it was still a pretty honest creature.
"I’ll deal with you in a minute."
Now that he was back on Mi Mountain, the first order of business was to handle the affairs of the Black Prison.
Over the past few months, there hadn’t been much to do at the Black Prison.
All that had happened was one Core Formation Cultivator being taken away and four new prisoners being sent in. It was extremely quiet.
Bai Mo looked at the registration ledger and immediately understood the situation.
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I have an appointment to meet someone."
Li Wuji handed over a booklet.
Bai Mo quickly took it from him. It was the Qi Collection Skill he had been waiting for.
"That deal you arranged before you left—I spoke with the other party several times and finally managed to close it."
"However, the skill seems to be incomplete. Junior Brother, you’d best be careful when practicing it."
Li Wuji stretched his muscles, then turned and left with large strides, wasting no time.
"Thanks, Senior Brother."
Bai Mo happily saw him off.
He flipped through the book. A quick glance confirmed that the contents were indeed missing some parts, but it wasn’t a major issue.
Bai Mo had gained many insights into the Qi Collection Skill during his trip.
If he were to write one himself, he could probably create a Qi Collection Skill, but it would be shallow and even contain errors—utter nonsense to anyone who read it.
But when it came to filling in the gaps in this booklet, his knowledge was more than sufficient.
Those giants were all experts in the Qi Collection Skill. With the insights he’d gained from them, he had a bird’s-eye view of the subject, making it no problem to work backward and fill in the missing pieces.
Opening the booklet, Bai Mo sat down in front of the stone house, ignoring the slight commotion from the Black Prison caused by the warden’s return.
As he read, Bai Mo spoke.
"Alright, tell me what happened."
Ah Er scurried over to Bai Mo in two steps and began to explain with a combination of gestures and squeals.
Bai Mo spared it a portion of his attention, watching distractedly.
It took him a long while to finally understand the whole story.
"So, you were wandering around the marketplace, eating Pills, and some other Spirit Beast saw you and tried to rob you?"
Ah Er nodded repeatedly, then ran to a corner and brought back a dark, mushy-looking object that gave off a fresh fragrance.
Bai Mo took it for a look and realized it was the thumb-thick bark of some kind of tree.
"This is the compensation their master gave you? Not bad at all."
It wasn’t extremely valuable, but its true worth was in its rarity. Only a unique, ancient Spirit Wood could produce it.
’I wonder what that person’s background is. I’d quite like to pay them a visit.’
There were always companion resources useful for Alchemy growing near a Spirit Wood of this age, and they weren’t easy to find.
Bai Mo put the bark away.
"Alright, I’ll refine it into a Pill for you later to help you recover."
"Remember, from now on, eat your Pills on the sly. Parading around town with them is a bad idea, understand?"
The fact that the other party offered compensation probably meant that the Cultivators overseeing the marketplace had spoken up for Ah Er.
After all, they had some friendly relations with the disciples who sold the fragrant pearls from the clams. Since Ah Er had been there many times, he was a familiar face.
He wouldn’t have come out on the losing end.
Besides, the badger was now plump and strong; an ordinary Spirit Beast couldn’t really bully it.
Ah Er’s eyes darted around, and it was unclear if it had understood Bai Mo’s words. It just pushed forward its empty Pill bottle for Bai Mo to see.
Bai Mo had been gone for so long that even with its frugal eating habits, it had nearly finished all its Feeding Pills.
Bai Mo took out a handful of Feeding Pills, stuffed its bottle full, and ordered nonchalantly:
"Go prepare some hot water for me. Haven’t you learned how to give a proper welcome home?"
Ah Er scurried off, its face full of excitement.
Just as Bai Mo was about to continue reading, he unexpectedly noticed the Abyssal Vine clinging to the wall.
The unique plant’s tendrils were wrapped around the small objects that had spewed from the Sea Eye, and it had now completely drained them of their internal qi.
’It’s ready to be used.’
After a moment of calculation, Bai Mo’s gaze returned to the booklet.
After reading it twice, Bai Mo suddenly reached out and made a grasping motion in the air.
Above the gurgling Spiritual Spring in the corner, a wisp of water vapor easily separated itself and drifted into Bai Mo’s hand, shimmering with Spiritual Qi.
"Interesting."
Bai Mo watched with great interest, then waved his hand and dispersed the wisp of qi.
"I was thinking about it the wrong way before. I thought it was a much more troublesome skill."
"I never expected it to be so simple once you grasp the trick. This should be a great help during Alchemy..."
Ah Er bustled in and out, fetching water and firewood.
It wasn’t surprised to see Bai Mo muttering to himself.
Having spent so much time with him, it already knew its master had some habits that were different from other people’s.