Celestial Barrier Mountain seed to exist in a tiless state, its appearance as unchanging as ever.
Wild vines grew with abandon, and the dense canopy blotted out the sky.
The few scattered traces left by the Demon Hunting Team would be completely swallowed by the wilderness in less than half a month.
Bai Mo took out a dicinal powder and sprinkled it over himself.
When he was done, he didn’t forget to offer so to his three senior brothers.
"Brothers, this is a powder I concocted myself. It should give us so peace and quiet here in Celestial Barrier Mountain..."
But as he held it out, he suddenly realized his mistake.
"Oh, right! Since you ca from the sect, you must have plenty of supplies like this."
Bai Mo said, a bit sheepishly.
Liu Tong, however, snatched the powder from his hand.
"Heh, in that case, it’d be rude not to accept!"
With that, he dutifully poured a generous amount on himself, patting it lightly with his hands to spread the powder all over his body.
Bi Ming and Li Dao took the powder from Liu Tong and did the sa, pouring it over themselves.
"The sect is great and all, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch."
They all shook their heads as they spoke.
"If you just wait around like a fool, you get nothing. When we co out for missions, we still have to pay for things out of our own pockets..."
Beside him, Bi Ming took out a Pill. It was pink and gave off a faint, sweet fragrance.
"This is an Insect-Repelling Pill we bought from one of our peers."
"The guy’s also a Pill Master, but our little junior sister never gave him the ti of day. I bet its effects aren’t as good as your powder, Brother Bai."
He pursed his lips. "And he charged a whole Spirit Stone for it."
With that, he prepared to wrap the pink Pill in a cloth.
"Wait!"
Bai Mo quickly stopped him, a look of keen curiosity in his eyes.
"Could I take a look at that Pill?"
Bi Ming chuckled, paused, and casually handed the Pill to Bai Mo.
"Why not?"
He didn’t find it strange. This was just how Alchemy Cultivators were.
Whenever they encountered a Pill they hadn’t seen before, they always felt the urge to examine it up close.
Bai Mo took the Pill and weighed it in his palm, surprised by how heavy it felt.
He brought it closer for a sniff. The scent was quite invigorating.
"What an ingenious idea!"
Bai Mo scraped off a little powder and touched it to the tip of his tongue, then imdiately spat several tis.
Bi Ming took the Pill back, sowhat surprised.
"Brother Bai, what did you discover?"
Bai Mo said, "This Pill uses its scent to frighten away insects."
"The pleasant fragrance isn’t the key. The real secret lies deeper."
"What is?" Liu Tong and Li Dao looked over as well.
They were his regular custors, so they naturally paid close attention to his words.
Bai Mo explained, "One of the Pill’s main ingredients must be a ground-up poison. It’s the scent of this poison that frightens away insects."
"If I’m not mistaken, it should be one of the Five Venoms..."
As soon as he said this, Li Dao’s expression darkened.
"Is what you’re saying true, Brother Bai?"
Before Bai Mo could answer, Liu Tong recalled sothing.
"He might be right. The last ti I went to that bastard’s place for Pills..."
"I saw that he seed to be raising a number of unusual centipedes at his ho, so as long as my forearm."
"He was feeding them raw at!"
Li Dao imdiately gritted his teeth and growled:
"Damn it! That bastard tricked everyone, saying this Pill was perfect for female Cultivators to carry and that it nourished one’s qi and enhanced beauty..."
Bi Ming chid in, "Don’t tell you gave one to your partner, Brother Li?"
Seeing Li Dao’s face, he added in surprise, "I heard that scoundrel scamd a lot of Cultivators, but I didn’t think you’d be one of them, Brother Li..."
Li Dao, his face grim, ignored him and suddenly turned to Bai Mo.
"Brother Bai, is this thing really suitable for a female Cultivator to carry?"
Bai Mo didn’t think much of it.
"Nourishing qi and enhancing beauty is impossible, but it will definitely repel insects. It shouldn’t be harmful to a person’s health either!"
’Although, if you ran into a particularly fierce and aggressive insect, it might just rush forward for a fight instead.’
Liu Tong interjected, "Let it go for now. We can settle the score with him when we get back to the sect."
"We have more important matters to attend to right now."
Everyone present was sensible enough not to dwell on the topic any further.
The three of them followed Liu Tong in silence, heading deeper into the woods.
The air under the canopy was humid, and the long walk was becoming uncomfortable.
Snakes, insects, and other vermin occasionally scurried past in front of them, but none dared to approach.
By now, they were deep inside Celestial Barrier Mountain.
Li Dao wiped the sweat from his neck.
"Doesn’t this seem a little off? Have we seen a single beast this entire ti?"
He turned his gaze to Bai Mo.
"Brother Bai, was it like this when you ca through here before?"
Although Bai Mo had only been here once before, he knew the forest was teeming with wildlife.
Based on the habits of Lanshan and his group, they would hunt for food when setting up camp, only turning to their dry rations when they couldn’t find any prey.
Bai Mo imdiately shook his head.
"Could the senior brothers from the sect have cleared out all the beasts in the area?"
Liu Tong flatly denied it.
"Impossible. What would they do with all the Demon Beast carcasses? Just leave them here to rot and breed maggots?"
"It’s not like they’ve lost their minds. Co on, let’s keep moving."
After another hour of walking, a flicker of doubt appeared in Liu Tong’s eyes. He pulled out a map and studied it for a long ti.
"Did we take a wrong turn?"
Li Dao couldn’t help but ask.
Liu Tong kept his eyes on the map. "Don’t rush , I’m looking."
The terrain in Celestial Barrier Mountain was rugged and treacherous. It was genuinely difficult to find your way if you weren’t an old hand.
Bai Mo was scanning the surroundings when his pupils suddenly constricted.
"Hold on!"
With that, he took several steps forward.
Bi Ming, who was beside him, hurried to catch up, staying close as if to guard him.
"What is it?"
Bai Mo walked up to a gnarled old tree with rough, craggy bark.
On the trunk, a large, colorful wasp as thick as a finger clung to the bark. It was reaching through a crack, tearing at the body of a flesh-colored grub inside.
The grub refused to submit, and the two began a fierce struggle.
Bi Ming let out a gasp.
"What a vicious wasp."
Bai Mo picked up two twigs and, with a sudden movent, trapped the wasp between them.
The wasp struggled relentlessly, while the grub in the bark dragged its mangled body and hurriedly burrowed deeper into the tree.
Bi Ming asked curiously, "Are you interested in this wasp, Brother Bai?"
Bai Mo explained, "I’ve seen one of these before..."
He then recounted his previous experience with it.
"The crucial part is, I later heard that disciples from the Miaofa Sect are also searching for these things!"
By this point, Liu Tong and Li Dao had gathered around.
"The Miaofa Sect is looking for them too?"
The three senior brothers exchanged a look, and Liu Tong’s eyes narrowed.
"Perhaps it’s sothing that escaped from that Secret Realm. To think it would end up in Celestial Barrier Mountain... it sure knows how to pick a spot!"
Bai Mo was completely baffled by this.
Seeing his confusion, Liu Tong quickly said:
"This matter is a sect secret, Brother Bai. Don’t ask about it. You’ll find out when it’s made public."
Seeing Bai Mo nod without any sign of being bothered, Liu Tong breathed a sigh of relief.
"Based on what Brother Bai said, the beasts around here have probably fallen prey to these wasps!"
"It’s possible they’ve already found new hosts..."
Liu Tong tilted his head. "These colorful wasps must have so unique properties. Why don’t we collect a few and sell them when we get back to the sect..."
Bai Mo’s eyes widened at his words.
As Brother Liu spoke, a stubborn, almost rcenary glint flashed across his face.
Catching Bai Mo’s stare out of the corner of his eye, Liu Tong quickly cleared his throat.
"Everyone gets a share, of course! A cut for everyone who’s here!"
"Assuming there really are Demon Beasts around, Brother Bai, do you have a way to lure them over?"
Bai Mo hesitated, thinking for a mont.
"The senior brothers before us probably did a lot of killing in these mountains..."
’It won’t be easy to lure back the Demon Beasts and wild animals that have been scared off.’
"I can try!"
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