Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Nai Daoist

Qi Long’s face was grim. He pressed a hand lightly to the wound on his chest.

The pain had yet to fade, still throbbing dully.

The others stopped fighting, their gazes shifting between the man in black and Qi Long, their expressions varied.

Qin Wen’s pupils contracted. He quickly schooled his features before speaking in a low voice:

"This man is flourishing in Celestial Barrier Mountain. He really is something special."

"With your expertise, can you tell if this man is connected to the Demon Dao?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"It’s a Secret Technique, similar to the Winter Storage Skill that Lanshan and his people are now practicing. It probably consumes one’s own vitality and potential."

"It’s not a Demon Dao technique, though."

The dozen or so men they had brought along were inwardly cursing their luck, but seeing Bai Mo and Qin Wen converse so casually, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They never expected to encounter a figure like this.

They didn’t see how it happened, but the power to wound Qi Long so badly in an instant was terrifying.

They, at least, knew they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Only Qi Long knew the true depth of his own horror.

It had been a single exchange. He was struck before he could even react. If not for a few tricks up his sleeve, he’d be on the ground already.

’I can’t fight him head-on!’

Qi Long’s heart sank, and he quickly said:

"Alchemist Bai! This man is not to be underestimated. What say you and I put aside our differences and join forces!?"

"I only need a petal and a leaf, just enough to report back to the Yan family!"

Bai Mo gave him a smile that wasn’t quite a smile and glanced at the men he had brought with him.

"Alright!"

The word had barely left his lips when the man in black shot into the air, his dark cloak whirling like a vortex.

It billowed with a menacing sound, seeming to blot out the very sky.

The Cultivators near him were enveloped by the cloak before Qi Long could even give a command. A sickening sound of cracking bones followed, chilling everyone to the core.

The tall, burly man was injured, but his wound seemed only to ignite his ferocity, and he launched a sudden attack.

He gripped his plain saber with both hands and swung it wide. The blade sliced through the air with a whistle, nearly cutting a Cultivator before him in two at the waist.

The opposing Cultivator dodged the slash, narrowly saving his own life, only to be met with a brutal kick from the tall man.

CRACK!

His eyes wide with fury, the big man’s kick shattered his opponent’s bones.

"Fuck off! You think you sons of bitches will live if we let Alchemist Bai get back to the city?!"

"He’ll come after us sooner or later!"

The remaining men, inspired by his ferocity, immediately followed him in a charge toward Bai Mo.

’He’s a disciple from a major sect. For him to hire a bunch of hicks like us and dare to venture into the mountains, he must have some ace up his sleeve, right?’

A wooden case landed in Bai Mo’s palm. He squeezed it hard, piercing his own skin and letting his blood flow over it.

Bai Mo didn’t feel the usual stickiness of blood; it was as if every drop flowing from his palm was being completely absorbed by the wooden case.

Remembering the instructions of his fellow sect member, Bai Mo called out Nai Daoist’s name in his mind.

FWOOM!

Qin Wen threw the Five Obstacles Pill in his hand, and a cloud of green smoke billowed out.

The man before them was not an opponent they could face directly. Qin Wen couldn’t worry about anything else; survival was all that mattered now.

The pitch-black cloak billowed out wildly, drawing angry curses from several Cultivators.

"Who would use something like this as a Magical Artifact!?"

After six or seven of Qi Long’s men were crushed to death, thoughts of retreat finally surfaced.

In the midst of the chaos, Qi Long instead charged in a low crouch toward the cluster of blue and white flowers.

THUD! WHOOSH!

A gale kicked up, and a figure abruptly appeared before him.

In a fleeting glimpse, all Qi Long saw was a hideous mask before his chest was struck once more.

His chest caved in, leaving a small hole clean through his torso.

Qi Long let out a wretched scream, his body sent flying back to where he started like a broken sack.

"He’s still not dead?!"

The tall man had just reached Bai Mo’s side when his eyes widened in astonishment. He couldn’t help but cry out.

"Dammit! A guy with the backing of a powerful clan like that, and he’s still out here trying to steal the food from our mouths?"

The man in black gave his cloak a shake to gather it, his gaze falling upon the slowly-rising Qi Long, seemingly intrigued as well.

Qi Long’s face grew even paler, but new flesh began to sprout in his chest, slowly sealing the hole shut.

Perhaps it was this sight that gave his men confidence, as the eighteen or nineteen survivors all began to hesitantly move closer to him.

Qi Long struggled to turn his gaze to Bai Mo.

"Alchemist Bai, if we don’t join forces, what chance do we have of getting the flower and making it back?"

Bai Mo waved his hand.

"Fellow Daoist, your eagerness to snatch the flower is something we simply can’t compare to. We wouldn’t dare conspire with you."

As he spoke, Bai Mo flicked his hand, scattering a handful of Five Obstacles Pills.

POOF! POOF! POOF!

Green smoke erupted, acrid and choking.

Qi Long and his men, who were downwind, scattered and fled.

The man in black also shot backward in retreat.

Bai Mo had noticed it when Qin Wen first threw a Five Obstacles Pill—the man in black seemed extremely wary of the green smoke.

And yet, he had also waved his sleeve to conjure a gust of wind, blowing the smoke away to protect the cluster of flowers.

’Dharma Protector Nai is certainly taking his time.’

Bai Mo thought to himself as he led his men in a swift retreat.

’A good amount of time has passed since I called for him.’

’If this were a true life-or-death crisis, my corpse would be cold by now.’

SNAP!

A body came flying through the air—it was one of the fleeing Cultivators. He had been trying to escape when the man in black caught him and snapped his neck, leaving his corpse in a grotesque position.

SNAP! SNAP!

Several more sickening snaps followed, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

The man in black had shown his vicious side, his attacks swift and merciless.

Qin Wen was once again gripped by that feeling of his life being completely out of his hands. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"This is bad. He’s picking off anyone who tries to flee. He doesn’t intend to leave any witnesses."

The words had barely left his mouth when the green smoke was blasted apart, and the man in black shot out from within, carrying a terrifying force.

Before the enemy even arrived, they all felt an overwhelming pressure and a gale-force wind blasting against their faces.

"Is it really possible to crush people with sheer force from a distance like this?"

The tall man cried out, his voice cracking.

Bai Mo felt that same profound terror, but then his heart suddenly steadied.

"Dharma Protector, save me!!"

A wind rose from behind them, kicking up sand and stones. Pebbles and fallen leaves stung their skin as they were pelted by the gale.

The green smoke from the Five Obstacles Pills was completely blown away, scattering to the four winds.

"Who dares to harm a disciple of my Divine Dao Mountain!!"

A deep, resonant roar echoed through the clearing, carrying with it a heart-stopping pressure that sent countless birds and beasts scattering in terror.

The next moment, a beast-faced Daoist with long, shaggy hair and wearing a Daoist robe materialized out of thin air, landing before Bai Mo.

The man in black, who had been hurtling toward them, was taken aback. His mask seemed to vibrate slightly. He stopped dead in his tracks and then shot backward in retreat.

As he retreated, several wooden darts shot from his sleeve, pinning two Cultivators who were trying to escape to the nearby trees.

As for Qi Long’s remaining men, they had inhaled too much of the green smoke in their panic and were now all on their knees.

Clutching their throats, they coughed violently, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

"Eh? Turns out you’re not a disciple of my Divine Dao Mountain. Those little brats, they’ll give these things to just about anyone!"

Nai Daoist glanced back at Bai Mo, a hint of surprise in his beast-like eyes.

Bai Mo was even more astonished when he saw Nai Daoist’s face.

The man’s sideburns and beard were wild and bristling, his reddish-yellow face rugged and coarse.

The beastly fur that covered his body from the neck down was contained by his Daoist robe, giving him an air of restraint, like a god from a folk temple statue.

Nai Daoist took a couple of light sniffs and nodded.

"Well, that’s a relief. At least you’re a disciple of the Xuandao Sect."

"But this job you’ve found for me, kid... it’s not going to be easy."

He turned to look at the man in black.

"To think there’s a fellow traveler here."

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