Chapter 85: Death

Although Chen Mobai understood the intentions behind the Shenmu Sect's recruitment of independent cultivators, he still yearned for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

This pill, it was said, could give a cultivator at the peak of the Ninth Level of Qi Practice a success rate of at least thirty percent for Foundation Establishment, making it a veritable elixir of immortality.

If he could obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, even if the pill toxicity exceeded the standard, Chen Mobai would be willing to give it a try.

After all, once he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he would have enough time to resolve the pill toxicity.

Unfortunately, even though the Shenmu Sect was the most lenient among the seven major sects of the Eastern Wasteland in recruiting independent cultivators, it only held recruitment every ten years, and mostly recruited those with the ability to create talismans. After all, such Qi Practice cultivators, once taken under the sect, could immediately contribute to the sect's income with just a little cultivation.

Moreover, these people, in order to earn enough sect contributions to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill, would put all their effort into creating talismans. Cultivators who grew up in such an environment and successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage generally achieved high levels.

Chen Mobai thought about it and decided that if he wanted to blend in, he needed to quickly master the skill of creating talismans.

Fortunately, the five talismans recorded in the "Shenmu Sect Talisman Creation Insights" were exactly what the sect tested during each recruitment. He decided to start focusing on talisman creation as his second priority after cultivation after the entrance exam.

By this time, it was already dawn.

Chen Mobai tidied up his equipment and, for the first time, independently rented a boat to hunt demon beasts.

He was well-prepared, with talismans all over his body, and he chose the Black-Armored Turtle, known for its defensive capabilities but relatively low offensive power in the Yunmeng Marsh. This independent mission went smoothly, and he easily killed a lone Black-Armored Turtle.

During the process, he encountered the Ba siblings, who had also rented a boat.

Chen Mobai and the Ba siblings exchanged greetings across the lake, then each took their own prey and headed back to Green Light Island from different directions.

"These two seem to be on guard against me," Chen Mobai muttered to himself on his boat. The vigilance between people in the Tianhe World was even stronger than he had imagined. Despite having fought alongside the Ba siblings a few times, they still did not let each other get close in the Yunmeng Marsh.

Chen Mobai could only be grateful that he did not encounter Qi Hou and his disciple Xi; otherwise, it would have been awkward.

After safely returning to Green Light Island, Chen Mobai sold the Black-Armored Turtle he had hunted to a vendor at the dock who specialized in buying demon beasts. Since his talismans were mainly for entrapment, the turtle's most valuable shell was intact, and he sold it for 2 spirit stones.

The Black-Armored Turtle's shell, after being processed by a weapon master, could become a defensive magical artifact.

Chen Mobai kept one of the turtle's legs. He had brought some seasonings this time, intending to cook this nourishing ingredient himself. However, just as he was carrying the cut-off turtle leg back to his wooden house, a beam of spiritual light shot from the distant lake like an arrow, hitting a cart loaded with demon beast meat nearby.

Instantly, blood and flesh flew everywhere.

Chen Mobai quickly activated his Water Control Technique, forming a semispherical water wall in front of him to block all the flying blood and flesh.

"Which little brat blew up all the goods I worked hard to collect this morning!"

An Eighth Level Qi Practice cultivator, ignoring the blood and flesh on his body, rushed to the spiritual light, punched it open, and pulled out the person inside, ready to beat him up.

"Quickly report to the island lord, a large army of demon beasts... is heading this way..."

The person inside the spiritual light was barely alive, coughing up blood as he spoke. The powerful talisman he held in his hand turned to ashes.

"Hey, it's him."

Chen Mobai was greatly surprised to see that the person was Ba Jiang.

At this moment, the two Shenmu Sect disciples who had been watching from the dock heard Ba Jiang's words and their faces changed. One of them instantly pushed away the vendor who was about to punch, while the other, with a pained look, slapped a "Revival Talisman."

"Send a message to Senior Uncle Zheng, the highest emergency one!"

After slapping the talisman and keeping Ba Jiang alive, the Shenmu Sect disciple turned to his junior brother, who was restraining the vendor. The latter nodded and took out a talisman used for internal communication by the Shenmu Sect, infused it with spiritual energy, and released it into the sky.

Whoosh!

A pillar of fire shot up into the sky, visible to everyone outside their houses on Green Light Island.

"What's happening!"

Less than a minute after the talisman was released, a white-haired elder with a strong aura of spirituality flew from the highest point of Green Light Island. His eyes were sharp as he stood in mid-air, and Chen Mobai knew from his powerful aura that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"A cultivator has reported that a large army of demon beasts is heading towards Green Light Island."

The Shenmu Sect cultivator guarding the dock was very efficient, summarizing the key points for Senior Uncle Zheng.

The white-haired elder immediately flew higher and then Chen Mobai clearly saw him shoot out twelve talismans in all directions. After about eight or nine breaths, seven talismans flew back and landed in his palm.

"Everyone, retreat to the island and immediately activate the great array. At the same time, send a message to the disciples outside, telling them not to return to the island and to find a way to survive on their own."

Senior Uncle Zheng, who had been stationed in the Yunmeng Marsh for a long time, had a contingency plan for such situations. After confirming the presence of the demon beast army with the demon-seeking talismans, he immediately began issuing orders to mobilize the sect's disciples.

"Yes, Senior Uncle Zheng!"

The Shenmu Sect disciple who had been holding Ba Jiang immediately put down the now useless messenger and, together with his junior brother, retrieved some valuable spirit boats docked on the shore and activated the array nodes on this side.

As for the other independent cultivators on the shore, there was no need to mention them.

Seeing the Foundation Establishment cultivator speak, they knew the situation was real and immediately scattered, abandoning their goods to buy battle talismans, magical artifacts, and pills in the market.

The cultivators who had just left the island were lucky; the Shenmu Sect disciples waited for them to land before activating the great array.

As for those who had already left far away, they could only hope for the best.

Even the Shenmu Sect disciples who had left the island could only rely on fate, hoping they would not encounter the demon beast army and survive this ordeal.

Seeing the suddenly empty dock, Chen Mobai immediately ran to the side of Ba Jiang, who was barely alive, and carried him, who seemed to have exhausted all his spiritual energy to activate the life-saving talisman.

Ba Jiang was moved to see that Chen Mobai did not run away in this situation but saved him.

"Where is your sister?"

Chen Mobai remembered that he had seen the two of them not long ago.

"Dead."

The simple two words made Chen Mobai stop in his tracks.

Once again, he felt the danger of the Tianhe World.