Chapter 504: Entering a Dream

Chapter 504: Chapter 504: Entering a Dream

A month later, the steward in green came again.

He stood outside the new courtyard, still unwilling to enter.

He had brought Bai Mo some Spirit Stones.

"The last matter was a great success. Divine Dao Mountain captured the Demon Beast and, in the process, acquired a Secret Realm fragment it was using to hide."

"The creature was quite formidable. It nearly overpowered one of Divine Dao Mountain’s seniors. Fortunately, its physical body proved to be a hindrance, which allowed the senior to succeed..."

Bai Mo’s hand paused as he took the Spirit Stones, his expression one of astonishment.

"That Demon Beast is still alive?"

The steward in green nodded.

"It’s alive, thanks entirely to the potent medicines within the Secret Realm. This is an ancient Demon Beast."

"The sect is taking this matter very seriously. The Demon Beast is highly intelligent. Judging by its past movements, it began beguiling human Cultivators and manipulating conflicts to reap benefits from a young age."

"It was only because it has grown too old and its consciousness has become muddled that it was lured out by its own instincts..."

The steward in green told Bai Mo a few things about the Demon Beast.

The creature’s bloodline was quite ordinary. It had reached its current state relying entirely on its wits and luck.

The great powers from Ancient Times who fell on the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountain may have been active even after this Demon Beast’s era.

"Its fur and bones have all been refined to the level of Magical Artifacts. Truly remarkable."

"The sect believes it is somewhat different from modern Demon Beasts. Studying it could help us understand the changes the world has undergone from Ancient Times to the present."

It was indeed a matter of luck.

The disciple who initiated this matter had some demerits against him, but now that he has coincidentally achieved a great merit, his past mistakes have naturally been cleared.

Bai Mo, however, was a little puzzled.

The Cultivation Realm has an orderly inheritance of knowledge, surviving through countless trials and tribulations.

’Records have been kept through every generation. What kind of changes could possibly have gone unrecorded? Why care so much about a single Demon Beast?’

In response, the steward in green explained:

"There was actually a gap in our history, a period of about ten years. A great calamity occurred then, and many lineages were lost."

"Although ten years is but a fleeting moment in the long river of time, it was during that decade that the Celestial Barrier Mountain appeared."

There was clearly something strange about this. No wonder the sect paid so much attention to the Celestial Barrier Mountain and was still active on the other side.

After seeing the steward in green off, Bai Mo returned to his courtyard and continued to dry his medicinal herbs.

Ah Er, after some experimentation, had confirmed that An Caiwei’s Purifying Water was useless for it and had regretfully poured it out.

Having received Bai Mo’s promise to keep looking for a solution, it had refocused on its tasks.

Not half a day later, his neighbor, Zhu Tong, came to visit.

It was called a visit, but he didn’t actually enter, only chatting with Bai Mo at the gate.

He was still wearing that ill-fitting long robe, carried over in a soft sedan chair by puppets.

Only when he arrived at Bai Mo’s gate did Zhu Tong climb out of the chair.

He glanced into the courtyard and saw medicinal herbs drying on the ground, a chopping knife and various pots and pans laid out, and a chicken and a mouse scurrying about. The scene was brimming with domestic life.

Zhu Tong smacked his lips.

"When did you renovate it to look like this? You Alchemists are certainly meticulous..."

He said, sporting dark circles under his eyes as he yawned.

Bai Mo smiled faintly.

"Senior Brother, you jest."

"I heard Senior Brother still owed the steward some work. Have you finished it all?"

Zhu Tong pouted.

"I finished the last job. A large-scale Array. I had to rework it three times, which took a lot out of me."

"Are you busy? If you’re free, I could take you to visit some of our other colleagues. Sometimes when assignments come down, we have to work together."

"It’s good to get familiar with their faces beforehand."

Bai Mo was naturally happy to do so and nodded eagerly, but he was immediately asked about the Cultivation Technique he practiced.

"Junior Brother, have you cultivated the Star-Drawing Divine Stabilizing Skill? What level have you reached?"

Zhu Tong asked.

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow.

"What is that?"

Zhu Tong slapped his forehead and shook his head.

"It seems the Foreign Affairs Hall hasn’t officially given you any assignments yet. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have failed to teach you even this technique."

He explained:

"The kinds of assignments people like us get can offend many strange existences, which occasionally leads to trouble."

"They can’t trouble us directly, but they have plenty of little tricks. Learning this skill can stabilize your mind and save you from a lot of hassle..."

Since Bai Mo hadn’t learned it yet, Zhu Tong couldn’t take him to meet the others, fearing he might get caught up in something without any way to defend himself.

After chatting with Bai Mo a little longer, Zhu Tong, yawning nonstop, climbed back into his sedan chair and was carried away by the puppets.

Ah Er had returned while they were in the middle of their conversation.

After eavesdropping for a moment, its furry face filled with worry.

’This doesn’t seem like a very good job; it’s actually quite dangerous.’

Bai Mo was unconcerned and comforted it, saying:

"Now that I’ve reached Core Formation, things are naturally different from before. Haven’t you seen how many senior brothers are out fighting?"

"In the Celestial Barrier Mountain, more Core Formation Cultivators die than Foundation Establishment disciples. That’s naturally because of their duties..."

...

Perhaps it was a case of what one thinks about by day, one dreams about by night.

A few days later, while lying in bed, Bai Mo had a dream for the first time in a long while.

In the dream, there was a great serpent that blotted out the sun and sky. Its head was bizarre, with large eyes, long fangs, four horns, and a face full of rage.

"How dare you deceive me!?"

An angry roar filled the dreamscape as several Pills were spat from its mouth.

Bai Mo frowned.

’It can enter my dream directly?’

This was probably the Demon Beast captured by Divine Dao Mountain.

But when he remembered that it could bewitch Cultivators into making sacrifices to it, and had succeeded repeatedly, Bai Mo relaxed.

Without a method like dream infiltration and intimidation, such a feat would surely be difficult. After all, while there were plenty of fools, there weren’t *that* many.

With a turn of his thoughts, a Pill Furnace materialized before him, its flames roaring to life.

Immediately after, Bai Mo blew a sharp breath toward the bottom of the furnace.

FWOOM!

Sparks flew as flames erupted from the base of the furnace, engulfing half the sky.

Amid the fiery light, the dreamscape suddenly collapsed.

’Heh, I had some experience entering dreams back in the day. Now that I’m at Core Formation, I can’t just let anyone bully me...’

Outside the room, hearing Bai Mo’s steady breathing, Ah Er’s pricked-up ears relaxed, and it too fell peacefully asleep.

The next day, the steward in green paid a visit.

"That Demon Beast—has it been sent to the sect’s inner grounds?"

Bai Mo asked immediately.

The steward in green paused, his expression changing slightly.

"Did something happen?"

Bai Mo then recounted last night’s dream.

Seeing that Bai Mo’s expression was normal and he still looked as calm and composed as ever, the steward in green breathed a sigh of relief.

"Beings with profound cultivation that have also lived for a very long time often possess the ability to sense the world around them."

"That is why it was able to enter your dream, Junior Brother. Thankfully, your Divine Thought is strong enough that you could overturn it directly..."

"It was my oversight."

He placed a brand-new booklet into Bai Mo’s hands.

"The *Star-Drawing Divine Stabilizing Skill*. This is the most recently revised version from the sect. If you practice this technique, you’ll be able to handle yourself more freely in dreams..."

According to him, the delay of a few days in delivering the technique to Bai Mo was precisely because they were revising the star positions.

"What star is this?"

Bai Mo asked curiously.

The steward in green shook his head.

"It is a star created by the sect to guide its disciples. The inner workings of it are not something to be investigated."

Bai Mo was greatly surprised.

’As expected, after reaching Core Formation, one comes into contact with more of the sect’s affairs.’

’Especially a behemoth like the Xuandao Sect. It has its hand in everything, with many secrets hidden within its foundations.’