Chapter 809: Departure
"Give me what Mo Tianxie has in his possession, and I'll let you leave Taian alive." Bai Mo's words carried the distinct ring of a kidnapper's demands.
"Outside the city, there are displaced people and renegade soldiers everywhere. If we weak women leave Taian, where will we find a place to settle down?" The matriarch, a woman surnamed Yan, had a face full of helplessness.
Of course, eight-tenths of that expression was feigned. All of them were first-rate martial artists in the martial world; if they truly fought, any one of them could easily incapacitate three to five grown men.
The remaining two-tenths of genuine helplessness stemmed, naturally, from the sudden death of Mo Tianxie, the backbone of the Wentian Sect. Once the news spread, while they could certainly protect themselves, trying to control the entire sect was a task where their will was strong, but their power was lacking.
"I will send you to the Yin-Yang Sect."
"The Yin-Yang Sect? I've never heard of such a sect. Is it perhaps some reclusive sect?"
"An immortal cultivation sect."
"You're a cultivator?!"
The upper echelons of Taian Prefecture City were all aware that this world contained lofty cultivators.
Especially cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, they almost never dealt with mortals who lacked Spirit Roots. Only a few Qi Refinement cultivators, those who coveted worldly glory, would become honored guests of kings, dukes, and nobles.
"Yes." Bai Mo nodded.
Just then, Mo Fengwu and the matriarch surnamed Yan exchanged a glance, seemingly having made a decision.
"Pardon my offense." Mo Fengwu, clad in fluttering light gauze, pulled out a spirit talisman from her inner pocket, still warm from her body.
"We need to confirm whether you possess sufficient strength."
"Fire Dragon Talisman, go!"
The spirit talisman spontaneously combusted without wind, transforming into a fire dragon that shot directly at Bai Mo.
Then...
And that was the end of it.
The fire dragon was extinguished by Bai Mo's unconscious spiritual pressure when it was still about three inches away from him...
"..."
"First layer of Qi Refinement cultivation?"
No one saw clearly how that white figure appeared by Mo Fengwu's side in the blink of an eye, then placed a hand on the crown of her head.
"A Pseudo-spirit Root that doesn't even count as a Five Spirit Root; she can't even activate the Immortal Ascension Token. No wonder Mo Tianxie didn't leave the Immortal Ascension Token behind..."
Spirit Root grades range from the best, the Heaven Spirit Root, also known as a single Spirit Root, to double Spirit Roots, triple Spirit Roots, quadruple Spirit Roots, Five Spirit Roots, and finally, the Pseudo-spirit Root, which barely counts as a Spirit Root but no sect would ever accept.
"You!" Mo Fengwu, realizing that her entire body, from inside to out, from skin to internal organs, had been thoroughly scrutinized by a strange sensation, felt her face flush like an unripe tomato.
"Merely flesh and skin."
"..."
"Mr. Li, please put Fengwu down first," the matriarch surnamed Yan hastily said.
Hearing this, Mo Fengwu finally realized that the hand gently placed on her head had silently lifted her until her feet were two inches off the ground.
The most terrifying thing was that she hadn't even realized it herself!
Escaping from that devil's grip and returning to the ground, Mo Fengwu became more terrified the more she thought about it.
"We five, mother and daughters, are willing to follow you to the Yin-Yang Sect." The matriarch surnamed Yan bowed slightly, signifying the choice made on behalf of the others.
The other four women, including a still-shaken Mo Fengwu, also gave Bai Mo a deep bow.
After Mo Fengwu's little interlude, the matriarch in charge, a woman surnamed Yan, immediately understood: the man was a genuine high-level cultivator, completely uninterested in female charms, and a reliable backer that their group of orphans and widows could temporarily trust.
As for the Wentian Sect, they definitely couldn't hold onto it with just the few of them. It was better to give it up in time and exchange it for a good price with those "good brothers" who were eyeing the power with rapacious hunger.
In the past six months, with no news from Mo Tianxie, many within the sect had already been stirring restlessly.
"I'll give you one day. We depart from here tomorrow."
"No problem."
"Fengwu, you entertain the gentleman and this little sir to the guest room to rest."
"Alrigh...t." Mo Fengwu, having accepted this awkward task, could only steel herself and step forward.
She possessed the cultivation of a Pseudo-spirit Root at the first layer of Qi Refinement, and barely managed to gather enough spiritual power to activate spirit talismans.
Therefore, compared to her adoptive mother, who couldn't detect spiritual power at all, she was much more able to sense the fleeting glimpse of abyssal, sea-like spiritual power when that person made his move.
That was simply a sea of spiritual power clad in human skin!
Even if it merely stirred up a small wave, it felt like it could blast her to smithereens.
...
"Is this, Esteemed Senior, your... disciple?" Mo Fengwu thought for a long time before picking a relatively "safe" topic.
The little beggar also gazed expectantly at Bai Mo, desperately hoping for the answer in his heart.
"Him? No."
Unfortunately, Bai Mo's cold words shattered the child's fantasy with a single punch.
"Sister, sister, my name is Xin Ling," the little beggar proactively stated the name Bai Mo had casually given him yesterday.
Before this, he hadn't even had a formal name.
Of course, a sickly little beggar living like a stray dog on the roadside, liable to die at any moment, didn't need something like a name.
"Xin Ling, that's a lovely name! I'm Mo Fengwu." Compared to the high and mighty Bai Mo, Xin Ling, who followed behind him, was undoubtedly much easier to get along with.
Xin Ling was deeply moved, for this was the first beautiful elder sister who truly treated him as a "person."
As for Bai Mo, Xin Ling initially thought he was being gentle specifically towards him, but it wasn't long before he discovered that Bai Mo treated everyone with the same attitude.
It was always a gentleness devoid of a single trace of emotion, always accompanied by an endless distance.
"This medicine was left by him." Bai Mo took out a bottle of pills labeled "Zhuyan Pill" and tossed it to Mo Fengwu.
Originally, according to Mo Tianxie's plan, this Zhuyan Pill was a gift he intended to bring back to his wife and daughters after reincarnating through possession. Alas, he fell before achieving victory...
...
"Sir, the carriages are ready. We can depart at any time."
At noon the next day, the matriarch surnamed Yan proactively stated.
Aside from gold, silver, valuables, and a few trusted maids, they brought nothing else.
All the properties under the women's names, along with the position of sect master, were sold last night to the sect's high-ranking members who were willing to take over.
Especially after experiencing the effects of the Zhuyan Pill gifted by Bai Mo yesterday evening, their interest in the legendary immortal cultivation world was greatly piqued, while their lingering attachment to the mortal world had faded considerably.
Even though they didn't even possess Spirit Roots themselves.
Three carriages, amidst the curiosity of the onlookers, departed from Taizhou Prefecture City.
Following the directional guidance of the Immortal Ascension Token, the carriages slowly advanced towards the Yin-Yang Sect's designated rendezvous point...
Along the way, mountain bandits and marauders came in wave after wave.
Strangely enough, every bandit, just as they were about to approach the carriages, would inexplicably put down their weapons, clutch their heads, and weep bitterly, completely forgetting about the robbery until the carriages calmly departed.
"Could he truly be a great benevolent person who refuses to take lives?" Mo Fengwu, who had watched the entire process, was extremely curious about this.
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