Chapter 513: Decision

Chapter 513: Chapter 513: Decision

The Foreign Affairs Hall was extremely generous.

They gave Bai Mo maps to three different areas right away.

Bai Mo looked them over. They showed a river valley, the ruins of a vast, deeply buried ancient site, and a large tomb.

"We were just worried that no one would go to places like that."

Said the disciple from the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Bai Mo was puzzled, and it wasn’t until the disciple prompted him that he understood.

"There aren’t many remnants of civilization on the other side of the mountain range. The ruins have been worn down by time, and there’s little of value left."

"For time-consuming and laborious tasks like this, we’ve always found ways to attract outside Loose Cultivators to do the excavating."

Since joining the sect, Bai Mo had also learned of the methods it used to attract Loose Cultivators.

There were many methods, but the most common was to let a small group find some initial rewards, thereby creating a buzz.

Afterward, other Loose Cultivators would come flocking after hearing the news.

Then, once they discovered something, the sect would step in and purchase it for a high price. It was far less trouble than mobilizing its own disciples for the excavation.

Many Loose Cultivators actually knew about this and liked to rush in at the first opportunity, hoping to be the lucky ones chosen by the sect.

After learning the truth, Bai Mo felt the maps in his hands were suddenly too hot to handle.

There were probably some good things at these locations, just not many, and it would require a Cultivator to spend some time digging.

Time in the mountains was precious.

If they made a trip or two and found nothing, even a Demon Hunting Team couldn’t bear the loss of returning empty-handed.

’Oh well. I’ll send it back and let the Demon Hunting Team decide...’

Bai Mo returned to his courtyard and had Ah Er summon a messenger goose to send the maps back.

...

Lanshan hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

The three maps had arrived safely in his hands.

Qin Wen pointed to the river valley.

"In the past, this place was crawling with bear demons. All of them were first-class, ferocious beasts—Tier Two, even stronger than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators."

He recalled.

"In the past, even if the heads of the great families in the city had a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, they rarely dared to venture near this place."

As for the other two locations, no one in the shop had any recollection of them.

Both Lanshan and Qin Wen were veterans of the Demon Hunting Team.

If they didn’t know about a place, it proved that no one from Immortal Arrival City had ever set foot there.

Lanshan’s thick fingers moved away from the map of the large tomb, dismissing it from consideration.

Wei An, who was watching from the side with fresh interest, saw this and spoke up:

"I heard the Shopkeeper say there was once a powerful kingdom behind the Celestial Barrier Mountains."

"A tomb of this scale must have been built by someone extraordinary. It’s almost guaranteed to have valuable grave goods inside."

Lanshan shook his head and said gravely:

"Tombs are treacherous. You need a Cultivator who specializes in such things to profit from them."

"Otherwise, if you start a fight inside, a collapsing tomb passage means a dead end."

He refused decisively and returned that map to Qin Wen.

Qin Wen folded it and put it away, then reminded him:

"The Shopkeeper said in his letter that the returns from these three places aren’t great. They take a lot of effort and might not be as profitable as hunting Demon Beasts."

Lanshan ran a large hand over his stubbly hair and grinned.

"We could hunt damn Demon Beasts for another fifty years and we’d still be in the same spot."

"We’re not some great clan. No sons or daughters, no families to support. Of course it’s worth taking a gamble."

Qin Wen nodded, agreeing with his thoughts.

Ever since they had benefited from the Xuandao Sect, the Demon Hunting Team’s fortunes had improved. It had gradually grown to its current size, making this the best period it had seen in two hundred years.

Plus, they had Bai Mo to look out for them a little.

To be honest, most Loose Cultivators never get an opportunity like this in their entire lives.

If they could just unearth something and get a bit lucky, it could be a turning point in their cultivation path.

However, Lanshan didn’t have many Foundation Establishment cultivators to call upon, so he couldn’t afford to split his forces.

After some deliberation, he took the map of the river valley.

"We’ll go with this one. Even if we don’t dig anything up, we can still hunt a few things on the side. At least we won’t come back to drinking plain broth."

Qin Wen put away the map of the ruins.

"I wish you all good luck. If you come across any Alchemy Dao materials, remember to bring them back for the Shopkeeper."

He gave Lanshan some cloth bags. They were gray and inconspicuous, the kind normally used to transport Pills, as they could conceal auras.

Meanwhile, Wei An stood to the side and handed Lanshan a stack of papers.

The papers were covered in words that Lanshan didn’t recognize.

"The Shopkeeper said to keep an eye out for any similar-looking words. If it’s useful, the information can be exchanged for money..."

The appearance of the Celestial Barrier Mountain maps caused quite a stir in Immortal Arrival City.

When people heard it came from the Shopkeeper of the Pill Shop, they were mostly convinced.

"So many outsiders have come to the mountains. I bet they’re all after the treasures in there."

"Are we about to see a gold rush in the mountains?"

Someone sneered, "Fortune bought with your life. You think just anyone can go?"

"You could sneak around in there digging for ten lifetimes and it still wouldn’t be enough!"

Amidst the buzz, Lanshan recruited two more Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators.

He barely managed to gather a team of seven, and they began discussing when to enter the mountains.

Occasionally, he would also have Qin Wen send a letter to Bai Mo, asking for information. Their intention was to take advantage of Sect Disciples passing through the area to follow safely behind them.

This was the survival strategy of a Loose Cultivator.

In the past, when Bai Mo was running his business in the city, he also had to constantly pay attention to the changing news.

Loose Cultivators were weak and solitary. If they didn’t gain advantages from the changing tides, it was difficult to accomplish anything.

After reading some of the comments in the letter, Bai Mo knew that many people in the city were mistaken.

The Celestial Barrier Mountains were not some treasure trove that could support countless future generations.

Ever since the great power on the other side fell, their deathly aura had been corrupting the minds of Demon Beasts for who knows how many years.

According to information Bai Mo had heard from the sect,

in about another seven thousand years, this influence would fade.

By then, talented Demon Beasts would emerge one after another in the mountains, and sooner or later, an incredible Great Demon would be born.

Their intelligence would be no less than that of the Human Race, and they could easily turn the mountain range into a forbidden zone for humans.

This was a shift in the heavens and the earth, the grand, majestic tide of history that no one could change.

Pulling his attention away from the letter, Bai Mo summoned Ah Er and gave him instructions:

"You should get out more often these days. Go spend more time with those good-for-nothing friends of yours."

"The Cultivation Techniques being unearthed in the mountains are all the rage right now. Most of the sect disciples are probably heading that way. Your friends are likely working as lookouts for them, so they’re bound to have news."

"When you see a lot of people heading there, send a message to Immortal Arrival City."

Ah Er was so happy he nearly jumped for joy.

Those roughnecks from Immortal Arrival City were good people; they often sent him gifts.

Any unexpected finds, especially those related to the Alchemy Dao, were also sent to them first.

Such good people were definitely worth looking after.

Ah Er thumped his chest, making a BANG BANG sound, and repeatedly gave his assurances.

Only then did Bai Mo turn his attention back to the matter at hand.

Right now, the Foreign Affairs Hall had tossed him a troublesome matter.

While the Sect Disciples were conquering territory on the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountains, they encountered something unexpected.

A mutated great cultivator, likely a viceroy in his former life.

After death, its physical body became sentient, merged with the weapon it used in life, and began to stir up trouble, walking back and forth along its former patrol routes.

Everywhere it passed became a domain of absolute death.

This was to be expected; under such circumstances, the Cultivators over there had likely met a tragic end.

Based on experience, some terrifying things were always born from such events.

The order Bai Mo received was to take thirty-six Cultivators of different fates, collect their vital blood, and refine it into a pill.

Then, a great array would be laid down to trigger the deathly aura surrounding the creature and use it to obliterate the creature itself.

A Blood Pill array of this magnitude was incredibly powerful, and the Blood Pill, as the medium, was naturally very particular.

Lacking experience in this, Bai Mo was rather hesitant to begin.

However, perhaps the prisoners in the black jail would have more experience with such things.