Mo Su Zūnzhǔ led the Black Robe Guards of the "Mo" squad out of the sect to carry out a patrol mission.
Before leaving, Mo Su reviewed the jade slips containing information from the Heavenly Sword Sect and Buddhist Sect about handling the "Blood Sacs." He also reviewed explanations from the Mo Lie Palace Master. With this information, he roughly formulated a plan of action.
Mo Su decided to patrol the sect's territories from the farthest point inward. Since the Heavenly Sword Sect found the "thing" in the city farthest from their sect, it showed their side was still cautious.
After all, great sects like the Heavenly Sword Sect and Heavenly Demon Palace both had Mahayana Zhēnzūn stationed. If anything appeared near the sect, a Zhēnzūn could intervene immediately.
The Buddhist Sect's blood sac was clearly moved there recently. It might be because everyone was conducting thorough inspections in their own lands, driving it unconsciously toward Putuo Mountain.
That was why Mo Su planned this patrol route—start from the farthest place and investigate inward. If a blood sac appeared, they could drive it closer to the sect where reinforcements would be easier to send.
After deciding the direction and route, Mo Su took the Black Robe Guards through the teleportation array toward the Chimei Mountain Range. The other side of this range was the Dao cultivators' territory, called Chonglin Mountain Range.
The part of Chimei Mountain Range Mo Su entered was the shady side, covered in dense mist year-round. The fog hid poisonous insects and small carnivorous spirit beasts that often attacked defenseless cultivators. This was the deadliest place for cultivators undergoing trials.
Mo Su chose this first stop because it was well known as a training ground where losing one or two cultivators daily was normal. No one paid much attention; if you died here, it was just bad luck.
Thus, dropping a "Blood Sac" here was the easiest way to avoid detection and conveniently collect blood essence.
Mo Su and the Black Robe Guards all wore black veils and robes, blending perfectly with the mist as they carefully followed the bones of cultivators and large beasts, searching the mountain in detail.
On the other side, in the Chonglin Mountain Range, the General Hall's captain gripped a compass, changing direction from time to time as he advanced toward the location marked on the map.
Spirit beasts appeared occasionally in the forest but fled immediately at the team's imposing aura, unwilling to get close or obstruct.
When they had about half the distance left, the Tracking Hall captain signaled for the team to stop.
"We're close to the location marked on the map. We must restrain our aura and move covertly. Being too conspicuous will attract attention."
"Yes," the team responded in unison. They withdrew their pressure to the Golden Core level—not too strong to stand out, not too weak to arouse suspicion.
"Xiao Jiu, have you marked the trail properly?" the captain asked the Divine Transformation stage cultivator at the rear.
"Captain, rest assured. All the markers are set, including places with high-level spirit plants. After finishing the investigation, we can gather additional resources," Xiao Jiu replied.
"Good. Let's move on."
This time, the ten-person team advanced even more cautiously, having entered the inner area of the Chonglin Mountain Range.
At this moment, Bai Bai poked her little head out from Jian Feng's sleeve, looking around and sniffing occasionally to confirm direction.
Before leaving, Jian Feng had carefully shown Bai Bai samples of low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade spiritual ore. Bai Bai was immediately drawn to the top-grade ore, happily pointing and hopping excitedly.
Jian Feng said directly, "We're entering the mountains to find this kind of ore. You must carefully recognize the scent and appearance of these stones. If you find any in the Chonglin Mountain Range, alert me immediately."
Bai Bai happily agreed and asked if she could bring a few pieces back for her master if she found such pure stones.
Jian Feng nodded, knowing whether they would find any was uncertain, but the priority was to keep Bai Bai motivated.
Bai Bai was full of energy and immediately started discerning direction and marking several high-level spirit plants, all noted by Xiao Jiu. However, she did not find the spiritual ore Jian Feng had described.
Once inside the inner area, Bai Bai slipped out from her sleeve and hid in Jian Feng's chest collar, keeping watch on the surroundings.
Finally, the Tracking Hall squad stopped in front of a petrified forest. The trees had fossilized over thousands of years. The trunks were deep brown, the branches a pale brown, and there were no leaves on the limbs.
Some trees still seemed alive, firmly rooted in the earth. Others had fallen, broken into three or four segments, revealing tightly packed growth rings where they snapped.
If Jian Dan were here, she would recognize these as petrified trees called silicified wood.
"Captain, is this the marked ore vein site?" someone asked.
"Yes, but don't rush in. Check for formations or traps first."
The team spread out, standing in different directions, extending their divine sense to search crosswise.
"No traps detected!"
"Same here!"
"Nothing found!"
Within half an hour, all reported their results.
Jian Feng, after confirmation there were no traps, was the first to step into the silicified forest. Bai Bai poked out half a head, sniffing and helping identify directions.
Suddenly, Bai Bai's little black eyes brightened. She pointed her tiny paws deep into the forest. Jian Feng nodded and signaled the team to maintain defensive formation as they cautiously moved inside.
They stopped at the largest silicified tree, which had been cut down, leaving a huge stump large enough that at least six people were needed to surround it.
Bai Bai pointed clearly at this stump, indicating the spiritual ore was inside.
Jian Feng trusted Bai Bai, gently pressing her back into his embrace before circling the stump.
In fact, Bai Bai had already been noticed by the General Hall members, but they all knew the rules. This was a special aid assigned by Zūnshàng, so she naturally had exceptional abilities.
It turned out Bai Bai lived up to her "Treasure-Seeking Mouse" title; she had found the right place.
Jian Feng summoned his life sword and swung it at the silicified stump. The instant sword light touched the stump, Jian Feng transformed into a streak of white light and disappeared before the squad.
The nine members of the team reacted quickly and almost simultaneously swung their swords at the stump, transforming into white lights and vanishing into it as well.
Mo Su's team had made discoveries upon entering the mid-range of the Chimei Mountain Range.
Beneath the white mist, there seemed to be an aura that even the spirit beasts did not detect, all moving in the same direction without awareness.
Some cultivators undergoing trials were rushing forward eagerly. Mo Su stopped one demon cultivator.
The cultivator was startled, unable to gauge Mo Su's cultivation level, so he suppressed his racing heart and bowed, "Senior, may I ask why I am stopped? Have I offended in any way?"
"Where are you heading?"
"Reporting, senior, I received news from a friend that the 'Nine-turn Demon Flower' appeared in the mid-range of Chimei Mountain."
Mo Su frowned. The Nine-turn Demon Flower was a precious treasure, but its growth was formed from piles of bones.
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Lol, Cao Cangfeng and Mo Su will meet again? Is this arc where their relationship blooming?