Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: A Time to Return

The Fire Cave Dynasty was back on its original track.

With the Old Duke taking the lead, the Second Prince, having just recovered from a serious illness, ascended the throne as everyone had hoped.

The storm to pacify the realm began in the royal palace, sweeping out toward the surrounding territories.

How many interests were redistributed, how many blades flashed in the shadows—Bai Mo no longer knew.

After Bai Mo recommended Tan Long and the other local magnates to the Old Duke, they were, as expected, entrusted with significant responsibilities.

The brothers came to his door that very night bearing gifts, declaring their grand ambitions.

"You are all men of ambition. Your time to rise would have come sooner or later. It is not to our credit."

Bai Mo said with a smile.

Tan Long sighed.

"Without you Seniors’ recommendation, we would have languished for half our lives, remaining nothing more than local strongmen."

He cupped his fists solemnly.

"My brothers and I will leave the city tomorrow to pacify the unrest. We will come to pay our respects to you Seniors again someday."

It was clear their words were quite sincere.

Bai Mo simply waved his hand.

"We’ve been delayed for several days and should be heading back ourselves. Farewell, until we meet again."

"Ah, so soon!?"

...

「Three days later.」

Having received the fire-lacquer stones from the new emperor, Mo Tianshu crushed a fire starter in his hand, sending wisps of white smoke into the air.

Before long, the great Hengyuan bird arrived on beating wings. Mo Tianshu led the way, leaping onto its back with Bai Mo and the others.

The great Hengyuan bird shot into the sky.

The Old Duke and his retinue, who had seen them off, watched with upturned faces for a long time before finally looking away.

"Now that the dust has settled, is your mind at ease?" the Old Duke asked, supported by a general as he looked at those around him.

The young new Emperor gave a wry smile.

"The Xuandao Sect is a renowned and righteous sect, after all. Their actions are fair. I don’t know why so many in the court wanted to switch our allegiance."

"The current suffering of our people can be largely attributed to them."

The Old Duke thought for a moment, then said:

"There is no need to investigate further."

"Those who are gathered around Your Majesty now are all capable and loyal officials. If the sovereign and his subjects work as one, we will surely achieve a prosperous reign."

The newly enthroned Emperor deeply agreed.

He was about to say a few more words about the pleasantries of court when an armored soldier rushed over.

"Report!"

As soon as he approached, the soldier dropped to one knee, cupped his hands, and announced:

"We found a group of cultivators’ bodies outside the Imperial City."

"By the looks of them, they are cultivators from the Miaofa Sect."

The Old Duke’s brow furrowed.

"Report the details at once!"

The soldier hastily reported all the particulars.

After listening, the Old Duke said,

"It seems to be the same group that meddled in the palace. The one-armed corpse in particular must be the Miaofa Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator that the Senior from the Upper Sect mentioned."

"The Seniors have been under our watch these past few days; it certainly wasn’t them."

He pondered for a moment before concluding:

"Forget it. Their business was likely not with us. Give the bodies a simple burial."

The Emperor beside him nodded.

"Your Grace is wise and prudent. We cannot afford any more turmoil..."

「In the vast sky.」

Mo Tianshu seemed to sense something. He looked back, only to see the landscape of mountains and rivers rapidly receding below.

"Brother Mo, what is it? Don’t tell me you’re reluctant to leave the scenery of the Fire Cave Dynasty?"

Zhao Jingyu was in high spirits and asked loudly.

Mo Tianshu shook his head.

"It’s nothing..."

Unconvinced, Zhao Jingyu turned to their other sect-mates.

"We made it back in one piece! At least we didn’t bite the dust back there."

"I wonder what reward the sect will give us. Hehe, at least two years of sect service will be waived!"

He patted the coffin resting beside him.

"That’ll give us the free time to prepare for next year’s Jade Plate Secret Realm assessment!"

The others smiled at his words.

Wan Shenxiu said, "This trip showed me the deficiencies in my own arrays."

"If I can’t patch them up after we get back, I’ll just be making a token appearance at the Jade Plate Secret Realm."

As he spoke, he was already thinking of asking his Brother Xin Meng for help.

With guidance from a close sect-mate, mending a small flaw like that wouldn’t be difficult.

Qi Yang said, "I’m not as fortunate as the rest of you. I’ll rest for half a month after returning to the sect, then I have to set out again."

With that, he looked over at Bai Mo.

"I’ll have to trouble you with a few small matters for that, Brother Bai."

Qi Yang’s order for Five Obstacles Pills was a large one, and it was a matter of life and death for them, so Bai Mo couldn’t afford to be careless.

"Rest assured, Brother. Just come to Immortal Arrival City to retrieve the pills when the time comes."

At his words, all eyes turned to him.

"Brother, you’re still going back to your Immortal City?"

Most people would beg for a place within the sect. The Spiritual Qi is abundant there, making cultivation exceptionally comfortable.

Few would voluntarily leave the sect, aside from those cultivators who’ve hit a bottleneck and developed a mental block, unable to advance a single step.

Bai Mo sighed. "I’m not the competitive, aggressive type. That’s not my path."

"On the Alchemy Dao, one must face many trials to make progress. I can’t do that by holing up inside the sect."

"Immortal Arrival City is near the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, which is rich in medicinal herbs. It’s the most suitable place for me."

More importantly, that was where Bai Mo had his roots. He still had to rely on his business in Immortal Arrival City to earn his cultivation resources.

Although the others didn’t quite understand, they could tell from Bai Mo’s expression that he knew what he was doing, so they didn’t comment further.

"However, that Emperor’s skin-disguise is a bit of a hot potato. After you return to the sect, Brother Bai, you’d best take a few days to get rid of it."

"After all, it’s tied to some unsavory business."

Wan Shenxiu said sagely.

Bai Mo nodded.

The Emperor’s skin-disguise had later been given to Bai Mo by Mo Tianshu.

Although Bai Mo had used trickery with the Five Obstacles Pill to kill the Emperor, Mo Tianshu wasn’t so petty as to squabble with his junior brother over such a minor prize.

"Sigh, maybe it’s because I spent so long in the Fire Cave Dynasty and got used to the climate,"

Zhao Jingyu said suddenly.

"I actually feel a little cold."

Bai Mo looked up at the sky. There were indeed dark clouds, and the air felt heavy with moisture.

His memory was excellent, and he quickly realized something was wrong.

’Such large dark clouds?’

’How long have we been under this cloud bank? Is some natural disaster on the way? A torrential downpour? A flood?’

Mo Tianshu was instantly alarmed and shot to his feet.

"Nonsense! Below us is the Celestial Master Country. They have cultivators skilled in that very art, summoning wind and clouds to ensure the country enjoys favorable weather!"

"How could such a massive bank of dark clouds gather for no reason!?"

The words had barely left his mouth when several bodies, dressed in magnificent brocade robes, fell from the sky above.

"They’re cultivators from the Celestial Master Country!"

Qi Yang’s pupils contracted. He was worldly, after all, and had once witnessed the strange techniques of the Celestial Master Country’s cultivators alongside his senior brother.

BOOM!

Thunder rumbled in broad daylight as the vast dark clouds converged.

As wind and clouds churned, they formed a colossal, coarse-featured human face.

An immense pressure descended. The great Hengyuan bird cried out in anguish, forced lower and lower.

Bai Mo and the others were paralyzed, frozen in their upward-gazing posture as their bones creaked and cracked.

Only Mo Tianshu could still move, though with great difficulty. After unleashing a few sword beams to no avail, he turned his gaze to Bai Mo.

"Junior Brother!"

"Before we left, an Elder gave me something for you!"

Bai Mo froze.

Before he could react, a cold sensation touched the spot between his eyebrows.

His Divine Thought seemed to be completely drained away. Bai Mo’s mind went blank, his consciousness nearly shutting down.

Drowsy and dizzy, his vision blackening, Bai Mo saw a tattered, ragged old man leap out of thin air just before he passed out.

"WAH YAH YAH! I finally caught you!!"

"Fiend, prepare to die!"