Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Retreat

Wan Shenxiu worked quickly, setting up a protective Array in just a moment.

The Spirit Stones on the Array Plate dimmed at a visible rate.

Zhao Jingyu, holding his lower back, struggled to his feet and moved to within half a zhang of the Array Plate.

Here, he didn’t have to worry about the corrosive smoke.

He watched the changes in the Spirit Stones, alarmed.

"Junior Brother Wan, can your Array hold?"

"If it can’t, we’ll pull out immediately."

The corner of Wan Shenxiu’s eye twitched, but he waved his hand and said:

"It’s fine. I’m quite well-off."

With the Silver-Robed Cultivator having escaped, they were bound to alert the others from the Douchen Sect, so the three of them dared not delay.

After Zhao Jingyu broke the iron chains wrapped around the coffin, Bai Mo stepped forward and pushed the lid open.

A stale, rotten stench wafted out.

Bai Mo quickly backed away, only approaching again after the smell had dissipated.

Inside the coffin was a withered corpse, dressed in plain clothes and shorts. Its hair was dull, and its body was tall and sturdy.

Wan Shenxiu craned his neck for a look and said:

"This Combat Puppet is nearly complete."

Bai Mo asked in surprise, "Brother Wan, is your insight truly that sharp?"

"Just a basic practice of the Gold and Jade lineage."

Wan Shenxiu said with a placid expression, continuing:

"Deal with the coffin, and then we have to leave immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Jingyu closed the lid and wrapped the chains back around it.

Wan Shenxiu quickly said, "Brother, I meant we should destroy the coffin and the Combat Puppet."

"A single fire will be enough to utterly destroy it."

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Jingyu said.

As he spoke, he had Bai Mo help him strap the chains to his own back.

"How can we just waste such a rare item?"

"Even if our own sect has no use for it, we can always sell it for a good price."

He started walking out with the coffin on his back.

Resigned, Bai Mo and Wan Shenxiu had no choice but to follow him out.

At the mouth of the old well, red and black smoke billowed upward like a signal fire.

Even from a great distance, Bai Mo could feel the disturbance in the qi near the well’s mouth.

Bai Mo flicked out a Five Obstacles Pill with a backhand motion.

POOF!

The smoke formed a pillar, and a commotion broke out outside.

Bai Mo immediately looked at Wan Shenxiu.

"Brother Wan! Quickly!"

"Right..."

The Silver-Robed Cultivator from the Douchen Sect was right outside, but he no longer had the graceful bearing he once showed before his junior brothers.

Not only was he covered in dirt, but multiple places on his body were corroded and bleeding.

When the foul, acrid miasma had exploded, he had been the closest.

One of his eyes had been blasted by the smoke. It itched and ached so badly that he still couldn’t open it.

As for Zhao Jingyu, he had anticipated it, shielding his eyes and other vital spots with one hand.

He had also retreated and was then pulled aside by Bai Mo, so he wasn’t badly affected.

Seeing his many sect brothers retreat, the Silver-Robed Cultivator’s heart skipped a beat.

"Don’t let the villains escape!"

The other disciples looked at him in surprise, but had to steel themselves and wade into the smoke.

A Douchen Sect disciple came to his side and asked softly:

"Senior Brother, are you sure they’re disciples of the Xuandao Sect?"

The Silver-Robed Cultivator nodded.

"That is a major sect. Their outer disciples’ methods are very orthodox, and I wouldn’t mistake their aura!"

"Except for that Qi Refining Seventh Layer disciple, the other two’s cultivation levels are not worth mentioning. If I hadn’t been ambushed..."

His expression was rather grim.

Just now, he had been caught completely off guard and suffered a great loss. The Spiritual Qi in his body was in disarray, and he didn’t know when it would recover.

The junior brother beside him looked at his senior’s expression, hesitated, and then said softly:

"We’ve already figured out the route those people used to sneak in."

"It started with Junior Brother Yin. There were also two Cultivators from the rebel army, both of whom were highly regarded and intended for recruitment into the sect."

The Silver-Robed Cultivator paused.

"How is Junior Brother Yin?"

"They didn’t hold back. His body is finished, but his Divine Soul has not dispersed."

The Silver-Robed Cultivator took a sharp breath.

"From among those Combat Puppets, pick one of good quality and let him inhabit it."

"Yes."

The junior brother was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back.

"Senior Brother, you’re the expert on this trip. Why don’t you go take a look and lend Junior Brother Yin a hand?"

The Silver-Robed Cultivator shook his head.

"How would I have the time?"

"You go on."

He sighed.

’Sigh, to come all this way and plot for so long... it seems things are finally about to get turbulent.’

The junior brother didn’t dare say anything more.

When the many Douchen Sect disciples, still smoking from the fumes, hastily retreated,

everyone knew that the Xuandao Sect disciples had already escaped.

They looked at each other in dismay, and in the end, could only disperse to search individually.

Meanwhile, outside the residence...

CRACK! CRACK!

Bai Mo heard a strange noise from the Array Plate in Wan Shenxiu’s hand.

"Brother Wan, are you sure your Array Plate is alright?"

They had just passed through the smoke from the exploded Five Obstacles Pill, and Wan Shenxiu’s Array had barely been able to withstand it.

It was just that the exquisitely crafted Array Plate seemed to have reached its limit.

Wan Shenxiu’s expression flickered with pained regret.

"It’s nothing. At worst, it’ll just take spending a few more Spirit Stones to fix when we get back!"

By this time, they had left the Douchen Sect’s residence and were moving through an alley.

On the nearby rooftops, Douchen Sect disciples were zipping back and forth.

Zhao Jingyu looked up, then abandoned the thought of making a move.

"The city is rebel army territory, after all," he said aloud.

"Once those mortal soldiers have sifted through the city, we will definitely be exposed."

"Why don’t we just leave the city now?"

Bai Mo nodded.

"Brother Mo wanted to find a compliant person to place in the central court. It seems that’s impossible on the rebel army’s side now."

"Let’s go directly to Moyun Peak and meet up with him."

So, the three of them headed straight out of the city.

...

The soldiers pursuing and searching for them weren’t as motivated as expected.

To pluck three Upper Sect Cultivators from a vast sea of people seemed like too faint a hope to most of them.

This allowed Bai Mo’s group of three to travel in peace.

「Seven days later.」

Bai Mo surveyed his surroundings.

The climate of the Fire Cave Dynasty was different from other places, and the scenery had its own unique character.

In more peaceful times, this would be a fine place for sightseeing.

"Unfortunately, these patrolling soldiers are a real eyesore," Bai Mo said aloud.

He had previously been confined to Immortal Arrival City, unable to go elsewhere.

Now that he was out, his mood had lightened considerably.

Wan Shenxiu had a thoughtful expression, mulling over the words of the scout they had captured the other day.

"That messenger soldier confessed that the Emperor’s methods have been even more ruthless lately, and he’s showing signs of launching a counterattack against the rebel army."

"Yuan Kang and the Old Duke have been granted the titles of general. It’s clear the Emperor was truly pleased after the pill was presented."

"Junior Brother, the pill you had the Old Duke give to the Emperor... it wasn’t actually a treasured pill, was it?"

Bai Mo replied casually:

"I don’t even know the man, why would I give him a treasured pill?"

"Then the Emperor is..."

Zhao Jingyu leaned in, still carrying the coffin on his back.

Fortunately, the three of them were traveling through the wilderness; otherwise, they would have certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Bai Mo thought for a moment, then explained:

"I wonder if you brothers noticed a particular phrase the soldier used. He said the Emperor revealed his ’dragon visage’ and awed the army with his might."

"If the Emperor had truly taken something like a Corpse God Pill before, my pill would have activated it, causing him to reveal his inhuman form."

"If he was truly exposed, the Emperor would have no reason to hide anymore, no need to hold back."

Zhao Jingyu and Wan Shenxiu exchanged a look.

"If that’s the case, how could the Old Duke have survived?"

Bai Mo looked at the two of them in surprise.

"I have no intention of harming the Old Duke. Of course I thought of that."

"It’s true that the pill triggers the Emperor’s true form, but it also temporarily halts his corpsification. I imagine he’d want to grasp that lifeline."

At these words, both Zhao Jingyu and Wan Shenxiu broke into smiles.

They realized that when they reached the Northern Territory, they likely wouldn’t need to be so cautious.

They would probably be treated as honored guests.