Chapter 401: Stability
"My Brother Qian's days are numbered."
"It's just a matter of how long he can hold on."
On the Flying Ship outside the city, Bai Mo spoke slowly.
Ah Er, who had been peering over the edge to look at the scenery, turned its head in surprise.
When accompanying Bai Mo in formal settings, it never dared to act rashly, afraid of causing trouble.
But from what it saw of the old man, his voice was full of vigor. How did he look like he had one foot in the grave?
"He hides it well. He is at the Core Formation Stage, after all. But I can see through it."
Bai Mo had dealt with many disciples at the Core Formation Stage.
Especially when healing the disciples and reconstructing their bodies, Bai Mo had conducted thorough follow-up examinations afterward.
With such experience, and leveraging the keen perception he had honed through Alchemy, it wasn't difficult for Bai Mo to see through the facade.
"Ah er!"
Ah Er cried out and pointed at Bai Mo.
Bai Mo smiled faintly.
"Don't even think about it. The boundary between life and death isn't so easily broken."
"Especially Brother Qian. He once had a fortuitous opportunity that extended his lifespan, truly squeezing dry every last drop of his life's potential..."
Ah Er scratched its head, looking bewildered.
The Flying Ship, a streak of green light, traveled for four days before two villages finally came into view in the distance.
Ah Er was very excited.
When they had come by before, the people here had been extremely polite, so it naturally had a good impression of the villagers.
The villagers on watch quickly spotted the Flying Ship's green glow and hurriedly notified the village elders to come out and greet them.
Villagers dressed in animal skins and short linen clothes gathered around.
To have several old men who were nothing but skin and bones come out leaning on bamboo canes to welcome him—Bai Mo didn't think he was that important.
"Everyone, please go back."
"I prefer quiet. Just find me a peaceful place to stay."
Leaping off the Flying Ship, Bai Mo stopped the elders from bowing and said lightly.
Seeing his demeanor, the elders assumed this was simply Bai Mo's nature and didn't dare to delay.
"The back mountain!"
"The scenery on the back mountain is lovely, a perfectly quiet and pleasant place. Immortal Master, you can stay there."
With that, they tremblingly ordered the able-bodied young men to go and tidy up the house on the back mountain.
"Reporting to the Immortal Master, after you left the other day, one of the young men hunted another Demon Beast. It was bizarrely-shaped."
"I'm afraid... I'm afraid our village is truly headed for disaster..."
After arranging these matters, one of the elders spoke again, sighing sorrowfully.
Bai Mo's gaze sharpened.
"Where is that Demon Beast?"
"Immortal Master, please come with us..."
He followed the elders and villagers to the center of the village.
There, Bai Mo saw the carcass of a sheep hanging from a bamboo pole.
The sheep's body was torn to shreds. Since not much of it was edible, only a rough outline of its form remained.
It had four horns on its head, the tips of which were like hammers.
Bai Mo had seen this type of Demon Beast back in Immortal Arrival City.
According to Lanshan and the others, this kind of Demon Beast was a herbivore and not very dangerous.
Only an unlucky sod would get their head smashed in by its hammer-like horns.
When a Demon Hunting Team encountered one, it usually meant an extra prize to bring back.
Furthermore, its stomach often contained semi-digested medicinal herbs, which were a treasure in themselves.
However, the one before Bai Mo seemed a little different. It was unnaturally strong, not to mention its body was deformed to varying degrees.
"Ah er!"
Ah Er's sharp eyes had spotted something.
It went forward, hooked a claw into the creature's innards, and pulled out a bone spike.
The bone spike was pale white, covered with tiny, distinct holes. It was clearly quite old.
Bai Mo took it in his hand and examined it closely.
'This clearly wasn't grown on the Sheep Demon...'
Just as he was thinking this, the Spiritual Qi he had spread out to investigate it suddenly flared violently, causing Bai Mo's eyebrow to twitch.
WHOOSH!
Spiritual Qi surged from his body to suppress it, and with a SNAP, the bone spike broke in two.
Bai Mo's brow furrowed slightly, and he casually tossed it to the ground.
"Burn all of this!"
He sensed a thick, malevolent aura from the bone spike, similar to the volatile energy of the Demon Beasts in Celestial Barrier Mountain, only purer.
'It also seems to have similarities to the Blood Curse that infects Cultivators after they kill a Demon Beast...' Bai Mo mused.
Such an expression, in the eyes of the nearby villagers, undoubtedly made them think of many bad things.
An elder's heart trembled, and he pleaded:
"Immortal Master, if something is wrong, you must save our village."
"Others can relocate, but we can't. Our whole community relies on the village well water to dispel the Blood Curse. If we leave, I'm afraid we won't be able to survive..."
Bai Mo snapped back to the present.
He listened to their words but offered no explanation.
"It's nothing. I will be staying here for the time being. Your village is a nice place."
"Considering the fire-fox tails the village offers as tribute each year, I can't just tell you to fend for yourselves..."
Fire-fox tails were a specialty of the two villages in this area.
They seemed to come from a species of fox that only lived and bred in the Celestial Barrier Mountain region. The flannel made from their tail fur was extraordinary.
Not only did it insulate from heat, but many toxins also couldn't penetrate it.
The senior brothers in the sect who forged weapons all praised it after using it.
The village's so-called "back mountain" was actually just a hillock, covered in a lush, green bamboo forest.
A scholar had once lived here and built a thatched cottage, but it had been uninhabited for a long time.
The villagers tidied up the cottage, and Bai Mo moved in.
Only after meeting with the elders from the other village who came to pay their respects did things finally quiet down.
Ah Er busied itself laying out the clothes and bedding, then heard Bai Mo's command.
"Go to the village well and fetch a bucket of water."
"And for the next few days, I'm counting on you to keep watch over the surrounding area."
Before Ah Er could react, a Pill was stuffed into its mouth. It was so sour and bitter that tears streamed from its eyes.
It subconsciously tried to wipe them away but found the tears were endless.
It was instantly startled.
Bai Mo patted its head and shooed it out the door.
"This is good stuff. I only have one. It enhances your eyesight. If it weren't for a time like this, I really wouldn't have been willing to give it to you..."
Letting the tears flow as they would, Ah Er went out, completely satisfied.
The villagers who came out were startled to see the Immortal Master's Spirit Beast fetching water with large, teary eyes.
They were even more astonished when they saw it skillfully drop the bucket and pull up the water.
One person was staring when he was suddenly kicked in the rear by an elder.
"How can you let the Immortal Master's Spirit Beast do manual labor?"
"Young people these days are so clueless! Go help it!"
After a good amount of well water was collected, the door to the thatched cottage closed.
Bai Mo took out a Pill Furnace the size of a human head and began to experiment with the well water's secrets.
The well water here could dispel the Blood Curse. Although its effects disappeared half a day after being drawn from the well, this was still astonishing enough.
The well water was undoubtedly related to the area's good feng shui. A thorough study might yield some benefits.
"Traveling ten thousand miles, while not necessarily better than reading ten thousand books, certainly offers its own unique pleasures and rewards."
To have propagated for generations in such a place, these villagers might have their own share of blessings.
On the first night, Ah Er patrolled the entire surrounding area but found no Demon Beasts roaming or lying in wait.
「The next day」
Accompanied by the chaotic clatter of horse hooves, a procession from Black Mountain City passed by on its way to Dagu Town.
Partway through, two riders broke away from the group and headed for the village.
And with that, things on Bai Mo's end were more or less settled.