Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Handover

Mi Mountain was very tall, with many jagged peaks branching off.

"Head further in, Junior Brother. There should be a path at the foot of the mountain."

Brother Gao seemed a bit uneasy and offered a few more words of caution.

"Once you get inside, you’ll be able to see the Black Jail."

Bai Mo made a mental note, bid him farewell, and finally departed.

Bai Mo now had some experience with medicinal fields. A single glance at the soil at the foot of the mountain told him it was barren.

If it was like this at the foot of the mountain, one could only imagine what the mountainside, constantly battered by rain, was like.

The sparse vegetation that did exist also looked malnourished.

But Bai Mo knew it was precious; plants that had aged enough under such conditions often had extraordinary qualities.

After walking along the base of the mountain for nearly an hour, the sky had begun to darken.

A road appeared ahead, wide enough for about two horse-drawn carriages to travel side-by-side. It was neatly constructed, carved directly out of the mountainside.

Without a second thought, Bai Mo followed it.

TAP! TAP!

The sound of his footsteps was jarring in the mountain quiet.

Mi Mountain was deathly still. Aside from the occasional passing bird or beast, there were almost no other visitors.

At the end of the road was a gateway. Set into the stone gate were two large, brass door knockers, each the size of a person.

Bai Mo had to tilt his head back just to see the top of the gateway. Everything about it felt massive and imposing.

"Halt!"

"This is the Mi Mountain Black Jail, a restricted area! Unauthorized personnel are forbidden!"

Two deep, resonant voices boomed out, one after the other.

Bai Mo looked left and right but couldn’t see who had spoken. He replied respectfully,

"I am the disciple Bai Mo, here to take up a post at the Mi Mountain Black Jail."

"Oh?"

"Who sent you?"

There was a slight shift in the tone of the voice.

Bai Mo replied in a voice that was neither servile nor overbearing.

"I came at the request of an elder. He usually wears a yellow Daoist robe."

He had no choice but to describe him this way.

Bai Mo didn’t know the yellow-robed elder’s name. He had asked twice, but the man had refused to tell him.

When asked for a reason, the elder had said he was afraid Bai Mo would use his name to cause trouble in the sect.

’It was utterly absurd.’

"You mean that old man in the yellow robe?"

"Then you’re in the right place!"

RUMBLE!

The roar of shifting rock echoed.

Bai Mo watched in astonishment as two giant boulders on either side of the gateway rolled away, leaving huge pits in their wake.

With a grating sound of stone on stone, the two boulders sprang apart, extended limbs, and took human form.

In just a few moments, two stone giants, each over ten feet tall, stood before Bai Mo.

"Did the old man tell you about us?"

Two stone faces, looking as if they’d been carved with an axe, stared down at Bai Mo.

Bai Mo was inwardly stunned, but he answered without hesitation:

"He only said I was to come and relieve the two senior brothers at the Black Jail."

"That would be us,"

the stone giant on the left said.

"Give me your disciple Token."

Bai Mo did as he was told. In the giant’s hand, his disciple Token looked like a mere toothpick.

He watched as a rocky finger swiped across the Token, which was then handed back to him.

"That old man is so fussy. Going on a trip with our master, and he still needs an attendant."

"He doesn’t have any disciples of his own, so he made our master provide... "

The two stone giants grumbled for a while before looking at the sky and saying,

"Now that you’re here, you must take this duty seriously. There’s no room for error."

Bai Mo naturally agreed.

"Come on. It’s already dark, so it’s not a good time for a formal handover. We’ll get you settled in for now."

The two stone giants pushed open the gateway, creating a tremendous noise that startled a few resting birds into flight.

Bai Mo stepped through the gateway, and the view opened up before him into a vast, square space.

Looking up, he could see the evening sun.

The spot where he stood was situated in a gap between the mountain peaks, allowing sunlight to pour in.

To his right was a smooth stone wall, from which a section protruded to form a stone house, its interior hollowed out to serve as a dwelling.

In the left corner, a mountain spring burst through the stone wall, carving winding patterns as it trickled down and seeped into cracks in the ground.

Bai Mo glanced at the mountain spring for only a moment before his gaze shifted back to the opposite side, where a large barred gate, seemingly forged from refined iron, glimmered with a faint light.

’The ’Black Jail’ part of the name must refer to whatever is in there.’

The two stone giants walked in.

"This is the nature of Mi Mountain’s rock; it’s full of fissures."

"It might look porous, but it’s sealed airtight by an Array set up by the sect. Don’t get curious and go exploring on your own, Junior Brother."

"This is our first time handling a handover, so we’re not sure what we should be telling you."

"Let us think it over. We’ll fill you in tomorrow."

They led Bai Mo to the front of the stone house.

The stone house was spacious, with one main hall and two rooms, and was mostly embedded in the mountainside.

"This place hasn’t been lived in for a long time. Tidy it up a bit, Junior Brother. You’ll be living here from now on."

"Oh, right. You have food, don’t you?"

Bai Mo nodded.

"I have some rations with me."

"Good. Hunting around Mi Mountain requires going a long way out. You’ll have to get used to it."

After finishing their instructions, the two stone giants pulled out huge robes from seemingly nowhere.

The robes, woven with shimmering silver thread, were quite luxurious. The stone giants put them on, cinched them tight, and headed out the gate.

BOOM!

The gateway slammed shut, and the faint sound of footsteps outside gradually faded away.

Bai Mo’s Divine Thought suddenly stirred; he sensed that the flow of qi in the surrounding space had been sealed off.

Evidently, with the stone giants’ departure, Mi Mountain was now sealed.

Shaking his head, Bai Mo entered the stone house. He tidied up a bit, then boiled a pot of tea and sat at the entrance, gnawing on a large flatbread.

The stone house contained nothing but a stone bed and a stone chair, which made tidying up quite easy.

The water for the tea was fetched from the mountain spring in the corner to the left of the house’s entrance. It was very sweet.

Only after tasting it did Bai Mo realize it was a mountain Spiritual Spring. It had a fiery quality to it, though, which would need to be treated before it could be used for Alchemy.

As the sun set, the area plunged into darkness.

’Hmm, looks like I’ll need to prepare some sort of lighting.’

The two stone giants were clearly not human; their needs for food and lodging were different.

Therefore, he would have to prepare his own arrangements for food and other daily necessities.

He returned to his room.

Bai Mo lay on the bed and slept in his clothes, making do for the night.

For some reason, Bai Mo slept restlessly that night. It was as if he were trapped in a nightmare, constantly hearing strange laughter.

But he couldn’t seem to wake up.

The feeling didn’t fade until dawn the next day.

Only then was Bai Mo able to get two hours of peaceful sleep.

The gateway outside boomed open as the two stone giants returned.

"How was your night, Junior Brother?"

The two stone giants looked down at him, their eyes fixed on his face.

"Not very good."

Bai Mo recounted his experience from the night, looking thoroughly bewildered.

When he got up, he had carefully inspected himself and confirmed that he hadn’t been subjected to any sort of trick or spell.

"Heh heh, that’s a good sign."

The stone giants glanced at each other, a hint of a smile appearing on their faces.

"Mi Mountain imprisons many demon lords. Over the years, their evil, baleful energy has seeped into the very rock, causing strange phenomena."

"You’re quite perceptive, Junior Brother, to be so affected by it."

The sect couldn’t just send some dense blockhead. Seeing that Bai Mo was so sensitive, the two of them felt somewhat relieved.

Bai Mo felt helpless. He cupped his fists and asked, "May I ask, Senior Brothers, how am I to deal with this?"

"You can only rely on your own abilities to overcome it. We’ll see what you’re made of."

The two stone giants cracked their knuckles, producing a terrifying sound.

"Come on. We’ll show you the demon lords imprisoned here and tell you about your daily duties..."

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