Preparation Before Departure

Duobao was puzzled. "Isn't this a good thing? Doesn't it only prove that Bai Ze acts with propriety, values loyalty, and knows how to repay kindness?"

Guang Chengzi shook his head and sighed softly.

"This was originally a good thing, but what if he wants to repay us for everything?"

"Then it would no longer be simple gratitude. It would mean he doesn't want to be tainted by karma!"

Thus, beneath this closeness, he had always maintained a certain distance from us.

And what I'm doing is making him truly devote himself!"

Duobao frowned tightly. Watching Guang Chengzi's departing figure, then looking toward Bai Ze within the cave dwelling, he hesitated.

"Is that really so? Could Senior Brother be overthinking it?!"

Inside the cave dwelling, Bai Ze looked at the Heavenly Treasures Duobao and Guang Chengzi had left behind, feeling somewhat melancholy.

"This karma keeps piling up. On this journey, I must find a way to repay it!"

Bai Ze had no intention of refusing to use them or returning them to the two. If he did, his intention to keep his distance would be far too obvious.

Not to mention that he was currently penniless. With three hundred years until his departure, he truly needed to strengthen himself.

Several of those pills in particular would be greatly beneficial for nurturing his physical body.

He looked over them for a while, then stored the pills and other resources back into the Ring Space.

Next, he began setting up the Primordial Concealment Formation within the cave dwelling.

The Primordial Concealment Formation he had comprehended had formed naturally between Heaven and Earth. Thus, what he understood and used required no additional resources; he only needed to use Primordial Spiritual Qi as the guide and carve it at the entrance of the cave dwelling.

After finishing everything, he entered the stone chamber on the left.

Now that the Celestial Venerables had refined it for him, it naturally no longer looked as crude as before.

Instead, it had been divided into several stone chambers.

They were a Cultivation Chamber containing a Supreme-Grade Primordial Spirit Vein, an Enlightenment Chamber containing the mysterious laws that had given birth to him, and a Reception Chamber for entertaining guests.

Though there were only three chambers, they were more than enough for him.

If he needed more in the future, he could simply carve them out himself.

After all, he was now a beast with a mountain of his own!

He was now heading to the Cultivation Chamber. The moment he entered, the stone door closed by itself, and the array patterns around him flickered, locking the dense Primordial Spiritual Qi within without allowing even a wisp to leak out.

Looking at those familiar array patterns, he knew this had to be Venerable Lingbao's handiwork, and a flicker of warmth rose in his heart.

With Venerable Lingbao's attainments in array formations, he could certainly have completed every array that needed to be set up within the cave dwelling.

Yet he had deliberately left the grand formation at the entrance for Bai Ze to arrange himself. How could Bai Ze not be moved by such thoughtfulness?

Still, when he recalled Venerable Lingbao's twisted sense of humor, he carefully inspected the array formations in the Cultivation Chamber from top to bottom.

The result...

Bai Ze looked speechlessly at the few peeping array patterns that were hard to notice without close inspection.

"Why does the Celestial Venerable love spying on people so much?"

He immediately began constructing an Anti-Peeping Formation.

Having comprehended the Mountain-Guarding Forbidden Formation outside the courtyard for thousands of years, his foundation in array formations was already extremely solid—particularly in the area of peeping formations.

He was already highly experienced. In no more than a moment, he had improved the formation in the Cultivation Chamber and set up the Anti-Peeping Formation.

Only after finishing all this did he transform into his true form, leap onto the stone platform, and absorb the endless stream of Primordial Spiritual Qi surging up from below.

As he settled into meditation and entered cultivation, a faint glimmer lit up in an imperceptible array pattern at the end of the Supreme-Grade Primordial Spirit Vein beneath the stone platform...

In the backyard, within a mysterious space.

Venerable Lingbao watched Bai Ze make alteration after alteration with such caution before finally beginning to cultivate, and curled his lip disdainfully.

"You little brat, this poor Daoist has plenty more tricks where that came from!"

Then he waved a hand, dispersing the image floating in the void.

Venerable Yuanshi, standing beside him, was rendered speechless by the sight.

"I was wondering why you insisted on merging that Supreme-Grade Primordial Spirit Vein into Bai Ze Cave. So you had tampered with it.

But he's already in the courtyard. What is there to worry about?"

Venerable Lingbao glanced at Venerable Yuanshi and said blandly, "As an anomaly, his whereabouts naturally need to be grasped as thoroughly as possible.

I don't believe Senior Brother didn't tamper with anything while refining his cave dwelling."

At those words, Venerable Yuanshi fell silent. After a long while, he sighed. "It is merely taking precautions before trouble arises."

Venerable Lingbao chuckled. "Likewise, likewise."

Venerable Yuanshi shook his head with a sigh. With a slight movement of his fingertips, several images immediately appeared in the void. Besides the Cultivation Chamber where Bai Ze was, the other two stone chambers appeared as well.

Venerable Lingbao stared blankly at the sight. After a long while, he said faintly, "Senior Brother is still more formidable. You actually refined the entire mountain into a Dharmic Treasure."

Venerable Yuanshi smiled and shook his head. "I've refined so many Dharmic Treasures that I did it out of habit."

Venerable Lingbao was instantly speechless. Only a fool would believe he had done it out of habit!

Within the cave, there was no passage of time; in the world outside, three hundred autumns had passed.

Inside the Cultivation Chamber, Bai Ze slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of sharp light vanished in an instant.

"Huu—"

He slowly exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi, instantly blowing the dense Primordial Spiritual Qi around him outward in all directions.

It revealed his enormous body, white as jade.

"Just one thread short!"

Three hundred years of cultivation had already allowed him to completely digest all the resources Duobao and Guang Chengzi had given him.

Yet the second Fleshly Body Inscription was still just a thread away from fully condensing.

But upon closer inspection, the embryonic inscription on the other hand bone had already grown to the size of a fist, radiating a faint golden glow.

It would not be long before it completely condensed.

If he obtained True Phoenix Blood Essence on this journey, it would certainly condense successfully!

After all, True Phoenix Blood Essence contained boundless power of creation and vitality. It would surely help him succeed in condensing it!

It might even leave enough power to save him a great deal of time in condensing the third Fleshly Body Inscription!

However, True Phoenix Blood Essence was difficult to obtain. If he wanted it, either the True Phoenix had to offer it willingly, or he had to kill a True Phoenix and seize its blood essence!

It was obviously unlikely for a True Phoenix to offer it willingly. That left only the latter option!

Bai Ze pondered slightly, then left the Cultivation Chamber and came to the secret chamber he had painstakingly excavated three thousand feet underground.

Here, he had set up a small Mountain-Guarding Forbidden Formation and an Anti-Peeping Formation, then concealed them with the Primordial Concealment Formation.

After activating every formation, he entered his Inner Landscape and began to deduce.

"Will this journey to obtain True Phoenix Blood Essence bring mortal danger?"

The next moment, the patterns on the Fate Compass slowly lit up, and the silver grains of sand at its center began to dance.

A moment later, the grains of sand formed three figures fleeing ahead. Behind them was a bird so vast it blotted out the sky and covered the earth, leading several smaller birds in relentless pursuit.

Bai Ze frowned at the sight. "It's this dangerous?

Could it be that we successfully obtained the True Phoenix Blood Essence?"

As Bai Ze voiced his question, the silver grains of sand did not change again, making him frown deeply.

It was too vague!

If he could successfully obtain the True Phoenix Blood Essence, then encountering such danger would be understandable, though still within what he could endure.

What he feared was that they would fail to obtain it and still suffer an attack from the Phoenix Clan. That would truly be a case of losing the lady and losing the army besides.

After all, he had not seen any sign of himself obtaining the True Phoenix Blood Essence...

For a moment, Bai Ze hesitated.