Chapter 419: Respect The Rank
Bai Xiaochun suddenly looked at Chen Manyao with glistening eyes.
Chen Manyao covered her mouth as she laughed lightly, her eyes sparkling with charm. Seeing how much Bai Xiaochun was interested in such news, she didn’t beat around the bush.
“Based on a comprehensive investigation I carried out, I am sure that, despite not knowing Du Lingfei’s exact current location… she is definitely in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!”
Although Bai Xiaochun didn’t say anything, his eyes continued to glitter brightly.
“The things I’ve promised to do for you, I will do,” Chen Manyou said. “I’ll continue to investigate, and when I get some more specific information, I’ll tell you immediately. Just keep in mind that Du Lingfei is likely already aware of your presence here.” Giving Bai Xiaochun one last look, she turned and left.
Bai Xiaochun stood at the entrance of his immortal’s cave for some time after Chen Manyao left, looking at the setting sun on the horizon, at the spreading shadows of evening, and at the majestic golden sea spreading out as far as the eye could see. At the same time, he thought back to many memories of the past.
Two hours later, he took a deep breath, settled his heart, and walked back into his immortal’s cave to meditate. By now, he was not as stubbornly attached to learning the truth about Du Lingfei as he had been years ago.
A few days later, though, he was still feeling somewhat unsettled. Not only was the matter of Du Lingfei still eating at him, but his troubles with the Living Mountain Incantation were continuing to frustrate him, and he couldn’t stop thinking about what Stonemountain had said.
“Forget myself, forget the mountain. When I wake up… I will be the mountain, and the mountain will be me….” Bai Xiaochun frowned. Although he understood the words in general, it was the word ‘forget’ that was obviously the most important part.
Of course, it was easy to talk about forgetting something, but to actually do so was another matter, and at the moment, Bai Xiaochun had no idea how to go about doing it.
“How do I forget…?” he murmured anxiously. “Go into a trance? The mnemonic doesn’t specifically say anything about going into a trance…. I wish there was some way you could just say forget and then instantly forget! That would be perfect.” Almost as soon as the words escaped his lips, he suddenly froze in place, his eyes shining with a strange light.
“Say forget and then instantly forget….” He licked his lips, eyes sparkling as he thought back to his own Fantasy Pill, which, upon being consumed, placed one into a hallucination in which one forgot about reality.
“That’s right!” He smacked his thigh excitedly, then rose to his feet and started pacing back and forth in his immortal’s cave. After spending much time in thought, he produced one of his Fantasy Pills and looked it over carefully. After a moment, his brow furrowed as he thought of the very strange expressions that appeared on the faces of cultivators who took the pill, and then started to worry that he would look like them if he consumed it.
“No, that won’t do. Since I’m going to consume it myself, I need to be much more careful. I need to adjust the formula to suit me specifically.” After spending some more time in thought, he hurried out of his immortal’s cave to the Hall of Devil Slayers to get some necessary ingredients.
When the disciple in charge of the supply depot saw Bai Xiaochun coming, he smiled and then respectfully bowed in greeting. Bai Xiaochun visited the Hall of Devil Slayers quite often to acquire items he needed, much of which he purchased on credit. It was an arrangement the likes of which had never occurred in the Hall of Devil Slayers, and as a result, he was very famous.
“I need to re-concoct this pill. I need a pill designed for me, something that’s not dangerous at all. Say forget and then instantly forget, say wake up and then instantly wake up. That’s the pill I need!” The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Therefore, he produced a huge sum of merit points to acquire the medicinal plants he needed, all of which were very rare.
As he browsed through the available items, he suddenly saw one particular spirit plant that had no flower, but instead, seven leaves, each one a different color.
Almost immediately, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes lit up, and he gasped.
“Seven-colored mistysea grass!!” Back in the Spirit Stream Sect, he had read some information about seven-colored mistysea grass on a jade slip. It was a spirit plant known to emit a hallucinatory mist that could be used in psychedelic medicinal pills. Not only was it unusually effective, but it had absolutely no harmful side-effects.
“Give me some of those!” he said excitedly, pointing at the seven-colored mistysea grass.
“Elder Brother Bai, the sect limits the sale of this type of medicinal plant. Only people in the top 1,000 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars can buy it.”
“Huh?” Bai Xiaochun said, his jaw dropping. After hesitating for a moment, he still couldn’t suppress his excitement about the plant, and immediately flew toward the main temple in the Hall of Devil Slayers.
Along the way, numerous disciples of the Hall of Devil Slayers cast respectful glances in his direction. Normally when he came here, he would strut around and show off a bit, but now, he was simply too excited, and rushed directly toward the temple.
“Hallmaster,” he cried out before even arriving, “it’s me, Bai Xiaochun. May I request an audience?” Master Cloud-Dao was standing guard outside the temple, and when he saw Bai Xiaochun coming, he smiled and did nothing to block his path, allowing him to enter directly into the temple.
Feng Youde was sitting at the end of the temple, meditating. However, as soon as Bai Xiaochun hurried in, his eyes opened.
Forcing a smile onto his face, he said, “How can I help you, Xiaochun…?”
Recently, Bai Xiaochun had been in the Ravine of Endless Mountains, leaving the Hall of Devil Slayers much quieter. Before that, he had always come over with one issue or another to annoy Feng Youde.
“Hallmaster,” Bai Xiaochun said anxiously, “I really need some seven-colored mistysea grass. Do you happen to have any? Can I have a few stalks…?”
Feng Youde pulled out a jade slip to check how much seven-colored mistysea grass was in the Hall of Devil Slayers. After a moment, his face twitched; although seven-colored mistysea grass wasn’t a very rare plant, there wasn’t a big supply on hand. The Hall of Devil Slayers only had three stalks. Furthermore, considering the hallucinatory effects of the plant, it could only be safely handled by cultivators with a relatively high cultivation base. As such, the sect had put limitations on how it could be distributed.
Feng Youde sighed and said, “Ah, this isn’t a big deal. Just go find someone in the top 1,000 of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars, and have them buy it for you.”
As of this point, he really felt like he had become Bai Xiaochun’s Dao protector. Suppressing the gloomy feeling which had risen up in his heart, he raised his voice and he said, “Master Cloud-Dao, could you please handle this?”
Master Cloud-Dao nodded in assent and hurried over.
Bai Xiaochun was immediately moved. His entire purpose in coming here was to seek help from Feng Youde in getting someone from the top 1,000 to buy the plants for him. Throwing his arm over Master Cloud-Dao’s shoulder, Bai Xiaochun quickly led him out of the hall.
“Junior Brother Bai,” Master Cloud-Dao said quickly, “the Hall of Devil Slayers only has a few dozen disciples in the top 1,000. All of them are Chosen, obviously, and are a proud and arrogant lot. Obviously, any of them who agree to help you will expect some sort of compensation in return.” Master Cloud-Dao did nothing to hide the truth from Bai Xiaochun. As the honor guard of the Hall of Devil Slayers, not only did he wish to avoid offending Bai Xiaochun, he also sought to avoid provoking those who were in the top 1,000.
“No problem!” Bai Xiaochun said, waving his sleeve. If there was one thing he had a lot of, it was merit points. Filled with zest, he hurried along after Master Cloud-Dao toward a distant immortal’s cave.
Upon reaching a certain distance, Master Cloud-Dao stopped to offer an explanation. “This is the immortal’s cave of Junior Brother Zhou. He’s already in the late Core Formation stage, despite not being even a hundred years old. He reached the green portion of the rainbow, earning a rank of 777 in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Superstars!
“Junior Brother Zhou is a true Chosen, and is very famous in the Hall of Devil Slayers. He also has a lot of followers among the lower-ranking disciples. Let’s go pay him a visit. Remember to be very courteous, and definitely don’t say anything to offend him.” Master Cloud-Dao offered a few more exhortations along these lines, and Bai Xiaochun nodded in agreement the whole time. He knew that when going to ask for help, one had to be on their best behavior.
Before the two of them could even get close to the door, three cultivators rushed forward to block their path. These three cultivators had profound cultivation bases, but once they saw that it was Master Cloud-Dao approaching, they stepped aside. However, after reaching the door, no amount of calling out on the part of Master Cloud-Dao provoked even the slightest response.
“I guess Junior Brother Zhou isn’t home….” Master Cloud-Dao said a bit awkwardly.
Bai Xiaochun frowned and then opened his third eye a tiny slit. Instantly, he could see inside of the immortal’s cave. Reclining on a divan was a young man being waited upon by several maid servants. A look of scorn could be seen on his face as he blatantly ignored Bai Xiaochun and Master Cloud-Dao.
“Don’t worry, Junior Brother Bai, let’s just move on. Next is the immortal’s cave belonging to Junior Brother Chen. He’s a friend of mine, so he should be able to help out with a small matter like this.” Bai Xiaochun was starting to get a bit depressed, but he followed Master Cloud-Dao along to a second immortal’s cave.
Apparently, Master Cloud-Dao really was friends with this Junior Brother Chen, who immediately opened the door and allowed them in. However, despite the fact that he didn’t treat them coldly, neither did he treat them with much warmth. After Master Cloud-Dao explained the situation, Junior Brother Chen looked over coolly at Bai Xiaochun and said, “I’ll handle it after my current session of secluded meditation.”
“Many thanks, Elder Brother Chen!” Bai Xiaochun said quickly. “By the way, how long is your–”
“At the soonest, two years. Perhaps as much as five.” Looking a bit impatient, he waved them out of his immortal’s cave.