After obtaining the antidote, Xiao Bai wasted no time. He rose on his sword and flew straight for the Errand Disciple Quarters.
Within the forest, Mu Yun followed at low altitude on her sword, concealing her aura all the way as she kept close behind Xiao Bai.
If she relied only on Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation to hide her aura, she likely could not truly conceal herself. Thus, she had no choice but to use a little of the Demoness's methods...
Xiao Bai had anticipated this as well.
There was an eighty-percent chance this Demoness's Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation was fake. Her skills and acting were both stronger than an elder's!
Hundred Herbs Peak concealed countless formations, allowing Elder Yuhu to remain as still as a mountain and hide her strength deeply. Once she left Hundred Herbs Peak, however, her power was not worth mentioning before the sect's few Nascent Soul bigshots.
That was why Xiao Bai had chosen to have Senior Sister Mu Yun accompany him to the Errand Disciple Quarters rather than Elder Yuhu.
Snow Flame Mountain, above the mountain ranges.
For once, the snow had stopped.
The wind howled.
Xiao Bai sped along on his sword, yet his heart was somewhat anxious.
They said that returning home without riches was like walking at night in brocade robes.
But this time, either his friend was in trouble, or he himself was in trouble. It had completely ruined his interest in returning to the Errand Disciple Quarters to show off.
The Snow Flame Sect had established Errand Disciple Quarters in all four directions around the outer mountain ranges.
The Errand Disciple Quarters where Xiao Bai had once lived was the largest, the Northwest Errand Disciple Quarters, where two thousand Outer Sect disciples served.
Hundred Herbs Peak lay directly to the east. The line connecting the two cut across the entire sect, spanning more than ten li. They were quite far apart.
Even Sword Riding at the Qi Refining Realm took several minutes.
Along the way, every Inner Sect disciple Xiao Bai encountered was somewhat bewildered at the sight of a young man in an Instructor's Uniform, possessing only Fetal Breath Cultivation, riding a talisman spell sword...
By the time the passing disciples realized he was Elder Yuhu's Dao companion, Xiao Bai had already flown out of sight.
A laborer, yet quite nimble on a sword!
The Northwest Errand Disciple Quarters had been built in a valley.
The two mountains were covered in sword bamboo groves. At the bottom lay a stone-platform plaza, scattered with the Deacon Hall, dining hall, warehouses, and several small workshops.
Along both sides of the valley, hundreds of connected stone houses had been built against the mountains, interspersed with scattered bamboo huts.
The stone houses were for low-ranking Laborer Disciples.
The bamboo huts were for high-ranking Laborer Disciples.
Li Feiyu was a high-ranking laborer, and Xiao Bai had also bought his way into a high-ranking bamboo hut.
The Northwest Errand Disciple Quarters lay on the outskirts of Snow Flame Mountain, far from the Vein of Fire. Not only had the snowstorm here not stopped, it had grown exceedingly violent.
As a result, Xiao Bai, who wore no padded clothing against the cold, shivered violently in midair, his face cut as though by blades.
Braving the bone-piercing wind, Xiao Bai descended beside Li Feiyu's bamboo hut.
He pushed open the door and looked... There was no one inside.
Something was wrong!
He immediately rode his sword down to the plaza at the valley floor.
On the plaza, Laborer Disciples dressed in gray padded garments and bamboo felt hats bustled through the wind and snow.
Some ate, while others carried bamboo.
When they saw Xiao Bai arrive, the nearby laborers gradually gathered around him, each one green with envy.
"Xiao Bai! Hahaha, it's Xiao Bai! You finally remembered us brothers!"
"What Xiao Bai? This is Elder Xiao! The Sect Tour Ceremony will be held soon."
"Haha, right, right, Elder Xiao."
"I say, Elder Xiao, this Instructor's Uniform doesn't suit your current status. You ought to wear an elder's robe!"
Xiao Bai nodded in acknowledgment.
Heh, fair-weather brothers.
His true brothers, meanwhile, mostly just nodded and called him Senior Brother Xiao, without trying too hard to get close.
After all, they knew why Xiao Bai had come. Li Feiyu's condition was far from encouraging...
"Senior Brother Xiao, did you return to the Errand Disciple Quarters because of Senior Brother Li?"
A short, sturdy laborer asked tentatively.
Xiao Bai had no time for small talk.
"Exactly. Where is Senior Brother?"
The short laborer shook his head and sighed mournfully.
"Senior Brother was poisoned after mistakenly taking forbidden medicine. He is lying in the Healing Cave on the north mountain right now. His condition isn't good. We don't even dare approach him."
Xiao Bai's heart tightened.
His condition had already deteriorated to the point where no one dared approach?
Just then.
A tall, thin old man with a kindly face approached, leaning on a cane sword.
In a deep voice, he corrected the short laborer's account.
"He did not mistakenly take forbidden medicine. He forcibly attempted a breakthrough and suffered Cultivation Deviation."
The old man was the chief deacon of the Northwest Errand Disciple Quarters—
Zhao Hanwu.
His name sounded like a country's name.
It was said that he was over a hundred and fifty years old. He had only advanced to Early Qi Refining at the age of one hundred, which was how he had lived to this day.
Most deacons in the Errand Disciple Quarters were old men with similar experiences.
After all, any young person capable of Qi Refining could enter the Inner Sect directly for cultivation. Who would be willing to waste their years in the Errand Disciple Quarters?
Errand Disciple Quarters deacons differed from Inner Sect instructors. They were simply the managers of the quarters. Though their official rank was low, they managed many people, making it a lucrative post.
Under Xiao Bai's money-scattering offensive, Zhao Hanwu had treated him fairly well, assigning him many jobs that took him into the Inner Sect.
"Deacon Zhao, what exactly happened?"
Deacon Zhao sighed and began to explain at length.
"Three days ago, I advised him that this was not the perfect time to attempt a breakthrough. But seeing you soar to greatness, he felt he could not fall behind either. So he secretly took forbidden medicine and forcibly attempted a breakthrough... Sigh, he is nearly beyond saving."
Deacon Zhao was advanced in years and spoke slowly enough to drive one frantic.
Xiao Bai hurriedly said,
"There is still hope. I brought an antidote. Which Healing Cave is Senior Brother in exactly?"
The old man remained unhurried and said slowly,
"When two disciples found him at Black Stone Slope, he was already unconscious. They could only carry him to the third Healing Cave on the north mountain nearby."
"I'll go at once."
Having confirmed the location, Xiao Bai turned to leave.
The old man grabbed Xiao Bai again and sighed.
"His condition is not good right now. Poisoning from forbidden medicine can be contagious. The two disciples who found him are still bedridden... Take this protective medicine first."
As he spoke, Zhao Hanwu trembled slightly as he took out a green pill, looking somewhat reluctant to part with it.
Xiao Bai accepted the medicine and swallowed it without a second thought.
It really was Spirit-Stopping Medicine.
This old man was not bad after all.
"Let's go."
"This old man will accompany you."
The two headed toward the northern slope, one after the other.
The others followed in twos and threes.
Upon reaching the third Healing Cave, the laborers who had followed only dared watch from afar. No one dared come within ten zhang.
Even Deacon Zhao, at the Qi Refining Realm, only dared remain by the doorway, not daring to step inside.
"Fortunately, you have Balanced Five Elements. Otherwise, I truly would not dare let you enter. Be sure not to let down your guard inside. If anything happens, call for this old man at once."
"Alright."
Xiao Bai nodded.
After glancing around, he pushed open the door and entered.
With a creak.
Though it was called a cave, it had small windows. The interior was fairly bright, and the Spiritual Qi Concentration was decent—better than either the stone houses or bamboo huts.
If you were not gravely ill or wealthy, you were not qualified to stay in a Healing Cave.
"Senior Brother Li?"
Xiao Bai called out in the outer chamber.
The place was empty, and no one answered.
Who knew where Senior Sister Mu Yun was hiding? There was not the faintest sound from her...
It made Xiao Bai especially nervous.
He crept quietly into the inner room, where he finally saw Li Feiyu lying on a stone bed.
Though the room had ventilation on both sides, a faint, strange stench of blood still pervaded the inner chamber.
"Senior Brother, are you alright?"
On the stone bed, Li Feiyu lay facing inward on his side, as if asleep. His breathing was faint.
"Did you write the message?"
Covering his nose, Xiao Bai approached the stone bed step by step.
"I brought an antidote to save you."
"Anti... dote..."
Upon hearing the word antidote, the body on the stone bed, already at death's door, finally regained a trace of vitality.
Li Feiyu slowly turned his head. A pair of pitch-black, hollow eyes crawling with maggots stared directly at Xiao Bai.
"Can you save an Inner Demon too?"
"I can."
Xiao Bai comforted him softly.
He was not frightened in the slightest by Senior Brother Li's horrific state of Cultivation Deviation, his body already at death's door.
Instead, he felt guilty...
He then took out the prepared antidote, hurried to the bedside, and stuffed the pill into his senior brother's mouth.
At that moment!
A rotten arm plastered with talismans suddenly reached out from beneath the blanket and seized Xiao Bai's hand—
"Soul Seizure!"
At the same time!
"Not good, this is a body-snatching technique..."
Deacon Zhao, guarding the door outside, suddenly drew his sword and rushed in.
"—Martial Uncle Xiao, wake up!"
Before you continue