Chapter 524: Night Raid
Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Night Raid
In the days that followed, Bai Mo frequently visited the temple to see what Duke Mo Hai was up to and to observe the conduct of the temple priest and the others.
But as the days went by, the oppressive feeling Bai Mo sensed within the temple grew ever stronger.
Even walking amidst the wooden beams of the temple, he could feel a crushing pressure.
He found Youling and asked him why.
Youling explained, "He’s absorbing the incense offerings to increase his power."
"This Divine Being’s cultivation was likely far greater than this at his peak, so recovering his strength is a simpler matter."
Bai Mo nodded.
"With his reckless, Taotie-like method of consumption, it’s only natural for his power to return."
"But this makes it much more difficult for me to move about in the temple."
This Shuofang Country, a territory of only two commanderies, really wasn’t very large.
Bai Mo had been here for several days, wandering about during the daytime, and had already seen his fill of the local sights and customs.
There was truly nothing left to see.
Youling, on the other hand, would go to the temple during the day, making a show of offering incense just so he could observe the changes within.
In reality, he offered no true incense.
This attracted the temple priest’s attention.
"I recognize him. He’s one of that trio—the two men and one beast."
"His frequent visits are making me uneasy."
He gathered his colleagues to discuss the matter, and they all agreed that something had to be done.
A few days later, minor officials began showing up, trying to indirectly question the two of them about their origins.
Ah Er directly assumed his human form and explained things to them with great patience, his demeanor neither servile nor overbearing.
These minor officials possessed only a sliver of cultivation. The sight of a Spirit Beast taking human form filled them with dread.
After asking a few perfunctory questions, they didn’t dare cause any trouble and left in a hurry.
But they would return the next day, and the cycle would repeat.
Ah Er grew impatient and complained to Bai Mo.
Bai Mo laughed. "Someone’s forcing them to come."
"Otherwise, why would they keep coming back every day, too terrified to ask anything meaningful?"
Realization dawned on Ah Er. He grew smug, feeling quite proud of his imposing presence.
Youling witnessed firsthand a Divine Being absorbing incense, only to be tainted by the wicked karma contained within, causing its aura to grow impure.
The process excited him, allowing him to confirm his theoretical knowledge. He became a regular at the temple, visiting rain or shine.
The other worshippers assumed he was simply devout, though some whispered that he was insatiably greedy and asking for too much.
After many days of this, the temple priest and his followers grew restless.
For even Duke Mo Hai himself had noticed the young man and inquired about him.
"The two brothers who vanished a few days ago must have died at their hands."
That night, the temple priest, wearing a red headband, looked around at his colleagues and said grimly:
"That seemingly unremarkable Spirit Beast can take human form. It’s no ordinary creature."
"Which of you can eliminate them?"
His colleagues exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward. Nor did anyone suggest that the temple priest should handle it himself.
The temple priest had been one of the ones who excavated Duke Mo Hai when he emerged, granting him a special status.
Seeing that no one spoke up, he sighed.
"Go and ask those fellow cultivators to act. They were only able to break through to the Core Formation realm thanks to Duke Mo Hai. They can’t just stand by and do nothing now..."
...
The following night was windless and slightly chilly.
The streets were empty. Shuofang Country had a significant temperature difference between day and night, and the locals were not in the habit of strolling about after dark.
Bai Mo was just about to head out when his expression suddenly shifted. He returned to his room and sat down properly.
Youling was cooped up in his room, engrossed in a manual of techniques, occasionally adding his own notes and insights.
He suddenly sensed something and, slipping on his shoes, hurried out of the room.
"This is bad! Someone’s come for us."
His expression was slightly panicked.
He knew from his fellow disciples at Divine Dao Mountain that Bai Mo’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao were extremely high, his prices were fair, and his reputation was excellent.
However, he assumed this senior brother wasn’t skilled in the arts of combat—and the Spirit Beast he kept was... well, just look at it.
"Don’t panic. It’s two Core Formation Cultivators."
Bai Mo sat bolt upright and summoned Ah Er.
Ah Er hurried over, looking at him with wide, expectant eyes, waiting for instructions.
With a flicker of Bai Mo’s Divine Thought, a Pill Furnace half a man’s height materialized before him.
A fire raged beneath the furnace.
"Bring the medicinal ingredients."
Youling didn’t dare to speak, watching as Bai Mo called out the names of herbs and Ah Er continuously pulled them from a cloth pouch on his chest and tossed them into the furnace.
The flames shifted and danced. Under Bai Mo’s dazzlingly complex techniques, the concoctions in the furnace took shape one by one.
Ah Er then took out more than ten dried insects, things like centipedes and scorpions, all of which were unique species from the Celestial Barrier Mountain range.
Bai Mo soaked them in water and added a medicinal powder. The dried insects gradually swelled and then began to move.
Youling’s eyes widened as he watched the centipedes and scorpions crawling chaotically in the basin.
Their many legs scraped against the porcelain basin, making a TAP-TAP-TAP sound.
Bai Mo fed the powdered Pill he had just refined to the insects.
After eating it, they became extremely agitated, attacking and devouring one another.
In the end, only five remained. They were evenly matched, a full size larger, and their carapaces shone with a glossy sheen.
Just as they were about to fight to the death, Bai Mo casually plucked them out.
Strangely, once Bai Mo had them in his grasp, the centipedes and scorpions became docile, looking almost drowsy.
Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he said in a hushed voice:
"They’re outside the courtyard."
Bai Mo fed the creatures a little more powder and tossed them out the window.
A rustling sound came from outside the window as the five creatures scurried off.
Meanwhile, outside the courtyard, two sallow-faced Cultivators stood dressed in simple tunics, their faces devoid of expression.
"So this is where those two outsiders are staying. They’re suspected of spying on the Upper God, I hear."
"Let’s get this over with so we can report back."
As they spoke, their figures flickered, and they were inside the courtyard.
They were just about to flare their auras when two black streaks shot toward them without warning, moving at incredible speed.
Startled, the two men blasted out with their Spiritual Qi.
With two sickening SPLATS, two centipedes were blasted into several pieces, their dark green blood bursting forth.
The splattering blood met the defensive Spiritual Qi, letting out a sizzling HISSS as it broke through the barrier and landed on the two men.
Almost instantly, both men felt dizzy and disoriented.
"Poison!!"
Then two palm-sized scorpions charged at them from the ground, brandishing their large pincers.
"They’re cultivated venomous creatures..."
The two men acted decisively, unleashing lethal attacks, not daring to let the two venomous creatures get any closer.
Fearing further ambushes, one kicked up a cloud of yellow sand while the other opened a pouch, releasing a huge number of black iron darts that rained down like a dark curtain.
These dart-like Magical Artifacts were barely larger than grains of sand, and he manipulated them to mix in with the yellow sand.
With their combined power, the yellow sand howled. In just a dozen breaths, the entire residence would be ground to nothing.
Never mind flesh and blood—not even metal would remain.
But the two venomous creatures seemed impervious to all attacks, charging through the sandstorm as their bodies swelled in size.
In no time, they had grown to the size of small dogs and were brandishing their tail stingers at the two men.
A moment later, the sandstorm subsided.
Bai Mo said to Ah Er, "Go bring them in."
Ah Er took the order and ran outside. He saw two pools of green blood on the ground, with shattered pieces of carapace scattered everywhere.
The last centipede crawled out from a corner, wrapped itself around the two Cultivators, and injected its venom.
After injecting the last of its venom, the centipede’s strength waned. It fell to the ground, belly up, and moved no more.