txolops Chapter 53 Sweeping Away the Trap
Chapter 53 Sweeping Away the Trap
Chen Bai looked in the direction of the sound and saw Duan Heisi's sturdy figure striding towards them.
Duan Heisi walked straight up to Chen Bai, first grinning broadly at Fairy Yueyi and Zhang Ruxue, then cupping his hands in a rough bow: "Duan greets the two fairies."
Fairy Yueyi nodded slightly in return.
Zhang Ruxue glanced at him briefly before looking away and continuing to drink her tea.
Duan Heisi didn't mind and turned to Chen Bai, saying, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you left in such a hurry that we didn't have a chance to talk to you about the important matter."
He lowered his voice as he spoke, but with his deep voice, lowering it only made it go from thunder to drumming. "It's like this—"
The Spirit Sword Sect recently issued a bounty, saying they wanted to clear out several monster lairs on the outskirts of the Ten Directions Mountain Range. Wu Liang, Lü An, and Miao Wuniang all planned to take the job.
We've all been thinking about it, and we were wondering if you'd like to go.
"The Ten Directions Mountain Range?"
Chen Bai raised an eyebrow slightly.
"right."
Duan Heisi nodded, his expression becoming more serious. "It is said that after the monster tide, monsters still occupy the resource points on the southern part of the western side of the mountain range, on the outer peaks."
Since the Spirit Sword Sect couldn't spare any manpower, they simply issued a bounty and summoned rogue cultivators to wipe them out.
The pay is quite good.
"An extra 100 spirit stones will be awarded for each Nascent Soul stage demon beast, plus a certain amount of Dao cultivation points from the Spirit Sword Sect. These can be exchanged for pills and magical artifacts at the Spirit Sword Sect's External Affairs Hall."
He lowered his voice and leaned forward, saying, "It will be in half a month, so we have plenty of time to prepare."
This time, both the Spirit Sword Sect and the Three Peaks Taoist Temple have disciples accompanying us for support. With more people, the risk is much lower than if we went it alone. To be honest, this kind of opportunity with disciples from immortal sects backing us up is rare; if we miss this chance, we'll never have another one.
Chen Bai didn't rush to answer. Instead, he lowered his eyes, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the teacup, his mind racing with calculations.
He did indeed have very few spirit stones left in his bag.
He had previously bought several corpses of fetal-breathing demon beasts in the market, spending spirit stones without batting an eye. However, when he tallied up his belongings afterward, he realized that the deal had nearly emptied most of his savings.
Now, all the odds and ends in the bag are barely enough for daily expenses.
This is all without him buying elixirs, renting cave dwellings, or acquiring magical artifacts.
If another month or two passes, even buying spirit stones for cultivation will require careful budgeting.
Besides spirit stones, he needs whetstones even more.
He had already mastered several Daoist techniques in the training ground, and with the addition of the five beast spirits in his dantian, he considered himself to be no weakling among rogue cultivators of the same realm.
But the iron puppets in the execution ground are ultimately dead, and compared to a real life-or-death struggle, they always lack the feel of real combat.
Although he was lucky to win that rough duel with Xue Zhen that day, it also exposed his lack of practical combat experience. He needed real combat experience to hone his fighting skills under the pressure of life and death.
Moreover, he had a reason he couldn't tell anyone.
"The Cauldron of Returning to Origin and Creation"
The first profound principle of the small cauldron, "Return to Origin," can break down recycled materials into essence and dregs.
The second mystery, "Creation," allows the essence to be remelted and recombined.
For these two mysteries to work, they ultimately require "investment".
Whether it's the corpses of demonic beasts, demon cores, or broken magical artifacts, the more you invest, the greater your harvest.
This trip into the mountains presents an excellent opportunity.
The Shifang Mountain Range stretches for thousands of miles, teeming with countless demonic beasts and abundant spiritual materials.
Even if it's just a short-term mission to clear out a monster's lair, you might still encounter other opportunities along the way.
But the risks were also obvious, and a thought gradually took shape in Chen Bai's mind.
"Fellow Daoist Chen."
A gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.
He turned his head slightly and met the gaze of Fairy Yueyi. She held a light pink Five Qi Smoke Handkerchief in her hand, and there was a faint worry between her brows.
Fairy Yueyi put down the handkerchief in her hand and spoke carefully: "What Fellow Daoist Duan said just now is indeed true."
This mission to eliminate the demonic beasts was indeed a joint effort between the Spirit Sword Sect and the Three Peaks Taoist Temple.
The Spirit Sword Sect dispatched three inner disciples to provide support, one of whom was a sword cultivator at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
The Sanfeng Daoist Temple also sent two direct disciples, both of whom had cultivation levels above the mid-stage of the Fetal Breathing realm.
Adding the recruited independent cultivators, there are at least a hundred or so people. Even if they are divided into two groups, they still constitute a large and powerful force, far exceeding the capabilities of ordinary small teams.
She paused, her gaze falling on Chen Bai, and said sincerely, "You have several familiar fellow Daoists, such as Fellow Daoist Duan and Fellow Daoist Wu, going with you so that you can look after each other."
As for the Spirit Sword Sect, I can ask someone to give them a heads-up beforehand, so that if we encounter any danger, we won't be left all alone.
There are risks, of course, but they are far less than venturing alone into the Ten Directions Mountains.
Upon hearing this, Chen Bai made up his mind. He turned to look at Duan Heisi and nodded.
"Okay, I accept. What's the departure time? Where do we meet?"
Duan Heisi grinned when he saw that he had agreed: "Great! Half a month later, at 3:45 AM, meet at the south gate of the market, under the blue stone archway."
Wu Liang is in charge of compiling the list; I'll have him add your name later.
He patted Chen Bai on the shoulder with considerable force, "I'm going to find Wu Liang now. If you have any questions later, feel free to come to me."
After saying this, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to the two fairies, then turned and strode away.
As Fairy Yueyi watched Duan Heisi's figure disappear into the crowd, she turned around and her gaze lingered on Chen Bai's face for a moment.
She hesitated for a moment, but still said, "The Ten Directions Mountains are not a safe place. Although there are many people this time, please be careful in everything you do."
Although Fellow Daoist Duan is rough and unrefined, he is reliable. Wu Liang is shrewd, but he is quite kind to his own people.
But that Lü An—"
She frowned slightly. "His alchemy skills are passable, but his combat abilities are mediocre. He might not be reliable in case of trouble."
Chen Bai listened attentively, then cupped his hands and said, "I have remembered your instructions, Fairy."
Seeing his solemn expression, Fairy Yueyi felt a little relieved, nodded, and said no more. She then turned around and began to talk quietly with Zhang Ruxue.
Zhang Ruxue remained aloof and indifferent, occasionally nodding and occasionally offering a brief reply of one or two words.
Chen Bai did not linger.
He sat in the pavilion for a while longer, finished the remaining spirit wine in his cup, ate a few spirit fruits to replenish his spiritual power, and then got up and walked in the direction where Wu Liang and the others were.
Since he was going to the Ten Directions Mountains with everyone, he needed to find out more about each person's abilities and character.
During the remainder of the tea party, Wei Changshou became lively again, surrounded by several disciples of the immortal clan.
He said polite words, but he didn't dare to glance at Zhang Ruxue even once more.
Several fairies gathered together and chatted. Fairy Leyi and Zhang Ruxue sat side by side. Occasionally, a maid would come over to add tea, and they would start a new conversation.
The discussion and casual conversation continued for nearly an hour.
When the melodious sound of bells and chimes rang out again, it was already late afternoon.
As the tea party ended, everyone rose and took their leave in twos and threes.
Chen Bai bid farewell to Fairy Yueyi, arranged a meeting time with Wu Liang and the others before setting off, and then disembarked from the Tingyun Boat with the flow of people.
Instead of leaving immediately, he strolled slowly along the main streets of the market, continuing to scavenge for discarded magical artifact fragments and rare spiritual materials.