Chapter 380: Wartime Order
After a night’s rest, he felt refreshed and invigorated.
Bai Mo woke up with a backlog of ideas waiting to be implemented. But before he could decide where to start, someone came to his door.
A disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall arrived, all smiles.
"Junior Brother, what elegant taste. Mi Mountain is finally starting to look lively!"
Bai Mo was initially surprised by the disciple’s perfectly timed visit.
Then he remembered that Shang Wunian and the others had likely reported to the Foreign Affairs Hall, and it all made sense.
"I was just tidying up in my spare time."
"Senior Brother, what brings you here?"
The disciple took out a document from the Foreign Affairs Hall and asked Bai Mo to read it.
"The sect is about to issue a wartime order. I’ve come to ask if you have any difficulties, Junior Brother."
Bai Mo froze for a moment upon hearing this.
The description of the wartime order from the Black Prison’s handbook surfaced in his mind.
Whenever the Xuandao Sect had important external affairs, this order might be issued. Once given, all involved disciples must be on standby and were not permitted to act without authorization.
They would then be deployed as the sect saw fit.
The Black Prison was marginally within the order’s scope. The previous warden, the two Brother Shis, had encountered it twice during their many years of guard duty.
Bai Mo couldn’t help but ask, "What happened?"
"It’s not a huge deal."
The disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall was still smiling.
"I’ll let you in on a little something, Junior Brother."
"I heard two other major sects came to discuss important matters with us. The elders ordered the Foreign Affairs Hall to prepare right after."
"It’s supposedly about what’s on the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountain range..."
Bai Mo was very familiar with the Celestial Barrier Mountain range. When he first started out, he had relied on the mountains for his livelihood.
But no one had ever mentioned what was on the other side of the range.
Perhaps the continuous peaks were too rugged, and the few who tried to cross all ended up getting lost.
Unfortunately, this disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall didn’t know much more. He simply notified Bai Mo and left.
He still had to go to other places to inform and inquire about their situations, as everything had to be reported to the director.
Ah Er was heading out up the mountain with a carrying pole. Passing by Bai Mo and seeing him in a daze, it couldn’t help but let out a cry.
Bai Mo snapped back to his senses, let out a breath, and smiled.
"It’s nothing."
"I’ll go up the mountain with you and see how you’ve been managing things."
The Xuandao Sect was a behemoth with countless talented disciples.
In this Cultivation Realm, as long as one was willing to put in the effort, there was no shortage of cultivation resources. This was, after all, not an age of Dharma decline.
Since the sect’s disciples enjoyed such good treatment, they inevitably had to bear corresponding responsibilities.
’Now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to Immortal Arrival City for several years.’
Bai Mo thought to himself on the way up the mountain.
However, for a disciple like him who was just guarding the Black Prison, this matter didn’t really have much of an impact.
As he was lost in thought, he was suddenly tripped by something underfoot.
He looked closely and saw a thick, exposed root. Its rough, scaly bark was dried out by the scorching sun. He couldn’t tell which plant it belonged to.
There were also signs of digging beneath it.
Bai Mo couldn’t help but glance at the badger beside him. Ah Er pulled at the corners of its mouth, trying to flash a fawning smile.
Its diet was very eclectic, and it found it hard to resist fragrant plant roots that were rich in Spiritual Qi.
"Many of these things are poisonous. You shouldn’t eat them carelessly."
Bai Mo gazed out. The greenery provided ample shade, and the air was filled with the fresh fragrance of plants.
After all this time, the medicinal herbs on the mountain were finally starting to look decent.
After two busy days of recording all the medicinal herbs on the mountain, Bai Mo finally had some free time.
The Abyssal Vine in the corner of the stone house had already matured, bearing vermilion, fish-eye-sized fruits hidden beneath its leaves.
He gave it a push, and the small trinkets hanging on the vine fell to the ground with a CLATTER.
Ah Er quickly ran out to clean them up.
Bai Mo handed it a letter and casually instructed:
"When you have a spare moment, take this to Silkworm Valley."
"I’m going into seclusion for a few days. Don’t disturb me unless it’s important."
With that, he returned to the stone house.
With the wartime order about to be issued, the Battle Hall disciples would be recalled and those disciples who were usually active outside would be on standby. The Black Prison would probably have a period of peace.
The letter to Silkworm Valley was a request for An Caiwei to look into what was happening.
Inside the room, Bai Mo sat down cross-legged.
He had gained much in recent days. As his mind settled, he could see the foundation of his Foundation Establishment.
On the three Scripture Platforms, the pages of the Daoist texts flipped, rustling loudly as small seal script characters condensed and were inscribed within.
At the same time, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was drawn in by Bai Mo and refined within his body.
The Foundation Establishment realm didn’t have as many subdivisions, only the early, middle, and late stages.
From now on, his cultivation progress would depend entirely on the accumulation of his Daoist cultivation.
...
Ah Er had never traveled so far from home.
The fact that it could find Silkworm Valley just by following a map on a leisurely stroll was proof enough that this badger was indeed very smart.
It just took some effort to find the right person.
When An Caiwei saw the little bear-like Spirit Beast, it took her a while to recognize it as the badger Bai Mo was raising.
More than ten days later, Bai Mo received An Caiwei’s reply, brought back by Ah Er.
After finishing his inspection of the Black Prison, Bai Mo unfolded the letter and read.
An Caiwei’s information came from her family and wasn’t very detailed.
It only said that the Xuandao Sect had joined forces with two other major sects to explore the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, in an attempt to uncover the secret to becoming immortal.
As for what this so-called secret was, An Caiwei had no idea.
According to her, whenever the matter of becoming immortal came up, the sect always became vague and mysterious.
Li Wuji, who had originally planned to go out, was forced to cancel his arrangements because of the news about the wartime order.
He came looking for Bai Mo to ask for a Pill to once again dissolve the foundation of his Core Formation and nourish his physical body in return.
As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Mo tearing down the Abyssal Vine and picking off the small, vermilion, pinky-sized fruits.
Nearby, Ah Er watched, occasionally prodding the scabs on its body with a paw. Its injuries were almost healed.
"This thing was growing so well. Why did you pull it down, Junior Brother?"
Bai Mo tossed the vine in his hand onto the ground.
"Once the fruits ripen, the vine dies anyway. What else was I supposed to do but pull it down?"
Such a large vine had only produced a handful of fruits, just over ten or so.
Bai Mo walked over to a stone basin where several silver fish were swimming and sprinkled the fruits in.
These fish had been raised for a long time but were still vigorous. Bai Mo had gotten them from the fisherman north of Mi Mountain.
Seeing the fish swallow the fruits, Bai Mo clapped his hands clean and looked at Li Wuji.
"The wartime order is about to be issued. What are your plans, Senior Brother?"
Li Wuji shook his head.
"I’ll just await the sect’s orders."
A thought occurred to Bai Mo, and he suddenly asked:
"I heard the sect’s actions this time are to search for the key to becoming immortal. Do you know any details about it, Senior Brother?"
Because of his own condition, Li Wuji had looked into many hidden and strange matters, so he actually knew a thing or two.
"I’ve heard that in this day and age, it’s no longer possible to become immortal. That’s why all the major sects in the world want to investigate the reason why..."
Bai Mo was surprised. "Is that really true?"
"Yes." Li Wuji didn’t know the full details either.
However, this wasn’t something for the two of them to worry about. After a few more words on the topic, he returned to his own situation.
"For the time being, I’m afraid I’ll have to be on duty at the Black Prison more often, rather than just coming whenever I please."
"Perfect."
Bai Mo said, "With you here, Senior Brother, it will be more convenient for me to concoct the Pill."
Li Wuji took out a cloth bag of medicinal herbs.
"I’ve gathered some rare medicinal herbs as payment for the Pill. If it’s not enough, I’ll make up the difference with Spirit Stones..."