Chapter 392: Collecting Herbs
Compared to the standard set by the old master’s attendant, Bai Mo’s badger still had a long way to go.
Luckily, it had a sturdy body and could endure the training.
The training would only be truly complete when Ah Er could manage Bai Mo’s daily life.
But before that, it had to go harvest the herbs on Medicine Peak.
「Three months passed, and it was now early autumn.」
The designated disciples from Medicine Peak had already set out for the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, and back on the peak, many of the contracted herbs had ripened.
Bai Mo gave Ah Er some Spirit Stones, carefully instructed it on the proper harvesting technique, and then finally let it go.
"Go to the market and have someone take you there. Remember to pay them with Spirit Stones."
"If you run into any trouble while harvesting the herbs, remember not to use brute force. Just come back and find me..."
Ah Er looked a little nervous, but it nodded vigorously before setting off on its own.
Bai Mo, meanwhile, returned to his stone house.
Inside, water was heating in a wooden tub set over a fire, with Li Wuji soaking within.
His hearing was sharp, and he had overheard all of Bai Mo’s instructions.
"If you’re that worried, why not go supervise it yourself?"
Bai Mo shook his head.
"It has to learn to do things on its own. I can’t watch over it for every little thing."
With that, he changed the subject and asked:
"Senior Brother, the Jiao Demon Dao Body should be quite helpful for your Body Refinement path. Are you sure you want to get rid of it?"
Li Wuji’s expression was calm.
"I have long had a plan for my Dao path, and it cannot be disrupted. Since I’ve discovered this constitution doesn’t align with my intentions, I will no longer pursue it."
Bai Mo didn’t press the issue, simply tossing some mashed herbs into the tub.
It wasn’t difficult to undo the constitution, as it hadn’t yet stabilized in Li Wuji’s body.
"By the way, Senior Brother, what about that veterinarian I asked you to help me find?"
"Don’t worry. Once he’s finished with his sect duties, he’ll come by to take a look at your Spirit Beast."
"He’s a veteran with years of experience. The fact that the beast can’t speak won’t be a problem for an old hand like him."
...
Meanwhile, Ah Er arrived at the market in a flurry.
It saw disciples bustling about, most of them haggling over the quality and price of fragrance beads.
After watching for a moment, it went to a stall at the side, skillfully took out a Spirit Stone, and exchanged it for a rather ugly-looking fragrance bead.
A disciple who was picking out beads stared in astonishment as it tossed the bead into its mouth and began to crunch on it loudly. CRUNCH CRUNCH.
"This..."
The disciple lowered his voice and asked the stall owner.
"Whose Spirit Beast is that? So extravagant?"
The stall owner laughed.
"That’s the one raised by Junior Brother Bai from the Black Prison. He has excellent Alchemy Skill, you know."
"Didn’t you see how many people were looking for him recently? Junior Brother Bai is definitely not short on Spirit Stones."
"Look how well it’s raised, its coat is all sleek and glossy..."
While the two were whispering, Ah Er spotted a familiar-looking disciple in a grey robe who had just bought a fragrance bead and was about to board a Flying Ship to leave.
It hurried over to him.
"Oh, it’s you. What’s up?"
The grey-robed disciple was a frequent visitor to the market and recognized the intelligent Spirit Beast.
Ah Er took out its notebook, opened it, and pointed to the words "Medicine Peak."
"Aark!"
It took out a Spirit Stone.
"Oh!" The grey-robed disciple’s face lit up with understanding.
"You want to go to Medicine Peak?"
"Aark!"
"Of course! Hop on!"
With a little hop, Ah Er leaped onto the Flying Ship, and only then did the grey-robed disciple set off.
Medicine Peak wasn’t on his way, but this Spirit Beast was offering Spirit Stones.
Thinking of this made the grey-robed disciple feel a pang of sadness. He had no special skills and just did odd jobs around the market.
After accounting for his cultivation expenses, money was normally extremely tight.
This Spirit Beast, which just wandered into the market from time to time, was a much bigger spender than he was.
After a hasty journey, Ah Er finally arrived at Medicine Peak.
As it ambled along, preparing to head up the mountain alone, it was suddenly stopped.
The disciple guarding the mountain held a steel pitchfork, his face a mask of intimidation.
He assumed it was just someone’s Spirit Beast, drawn by the scent of the herbs, and was about to drive it away.
Ah Er paused for a moment, then, realizing what was happening, quickly pulled out the contract signed by Bai Mo and the Medicine Peak disciples.
The mountain guard read it, his eyebrows rising in surprise. Only then did he let it pass.
’Who’s so reckless, sending a Spirit Beast to collect herbs? Aren’t they worried it won’t be able to resist and will just ruin everything?’
But Ah Er, having reached the medicinal fields, paid it no mind. It took out a basket and sickle, stretched its back, and busily got to work.
A breeze blew past, carrying the fragrance of herbs, and it began to work faster and faster.
「On the mountainside.」
"That looks like Junior Brother Bai’s badger."
A tall stone giant looked down from above, speaking in a deep, booming voice.
In a nearby pavilion, the yellow-robed Daoist was conversing with an extremely old man whose hair and beard were completely white.
Hearing this, the yellow-robed Daoist glanced over casually.
"He’s raising a Spirit Beast, too?"
The old man, who had several white spots on his forehead, did not look very vigorous.
"What, you’re keeping an eye on a disciple? That’s quite rare for you."
The yellow-robed Daoist was known for his temperamental nature, but he was quite restrained in front of this old man, offering only a light chuckle.
"Senior Brother, you know my disposition. Where would I find the energy for something like that?"
"I just saw that the disciple had a knack for Alchemy Skill and was idling in the outer sect, so I pushed him into the inner sect to take over for those two stone boys guarding the Black Prison."
The old man didn’t say much more about it.
"You always act on a whim, without any regard for rules or regulations."
"Have you been to the Celestial Barrier Mountain range?"
The yellow-robed Daoist nodded.
"The sect asked me to go, so I took a look."
"And what did you think?"
"A horrifying sight," the yellow-robed Daoist commented.
"To think it could drive a mighty cultivator, one with heaven-defying Divine Techniques, to exhaust their Dao and their very being. They tried dozens of methods, even descending into madness, yet still failed to achieve immortality."
"I wonder what the real story is behind it all."
The old man sighed.
"Whatever the case, many ancestors in our sect have already perished in the attempt. We must uncover the secret to ascension."
"However, your skills in divination are highly susceptible to karmic entanglement. You should stay away from that place."
The yellow-robed Daoist gave a sly chuckle.
"Perfect. I’m traveling and enjoying my freedom. Tell the sect to leave me be."
"My old friends are waiting, so I’ll be taking my leave. I’ll come visit again, Senior Brother!"
The old man waved a hand, not trying to make him stay.
"You..."
The yellow-robed Daoist led his stone giant follower down from Medicine Peak.
"You two brothers are real blockheads. You’ve been following me and your master for a long time now. How does it feel compared to guarding the Black Prison?"
The stone giant shook its head.
"It’s nothing special. But Master gave the order, so we follow."
"Elder, we must hurry. My elder brother and Master have been waiting for a long time."
As they walked off into the distance, the yellow-robed Daoist caught a glimpse of the medicinal fields and suddenly remembered something.
He took out a piece of yellow paper, and as he moved his finger across it, characters materialized out of thin air.
"Soon, some powerful figures might be imprisoned in the Black Prison. Some of the long-unused restrictive formations within will need to be reactivated."
"When that happens, the situation at Mi Mountain will become difficult to control."
"Give this message to that Spirit Beast. Tell that kid, Bai, to raise his cultivation level. Otherwise, he’ll probably have to be transferred."
The stone giant took the folded yellow paper and walked toward Ah Er.
With his rock-hard expression, he reached the edge of the medicinal field, giving Ah Er quite a fright.
But then it immediately remembered that it seemed to have seen this big rock before.
The stone giant paid no mind to its thoughts and simply pressed the yellow paper into its paws.
"Give this to your master."
With that said, it walked away without another word.
Puzzled, Ah Er unfolded the yellow paper. After seeing the contents, it knew the message was indeed for its master.
After a moment of thought, it carefully put the paper away and bent down to get back to work.