More than a month had passed since Mu Bai flew out of Silver Frost Forest, yet he had not even covered half of the seventy-thousand-mile journey.
The Golden Roc drooped its head, its eyes half shut and its wings flapping feebly, as though it might fall from the sky.
"Here, one Beast Spirit Pill a day..."
Like a thunderclap out of a clear sky, those words made the Golden Roc's little eyes snap open. Instantly invigorated, it circled joyfully through the air, crying, "Gah, gah!"
"Quiet. The mountains are high and the forests dense here. Don't stir up more trouble."
Mu Bai hurriedly stuffed the Beast Spirit Pill into the Golden Roc's mouth, afraid its screeching might attract another Cloud-Swallowing Beast and send them fleeing three thousand miles in a storm of confusion.
"The tree that rises above the forest will be battered by the wind; the man whose conduct rises above others will be condemned by the crowd..." Mu Bai chatted away to the Golden Roc throughout the journey, relieving the boredom of travel. "Though I'm a dragon among men and you're a golden peng among birds, we still have to keep a low profile when we reach that Spirit Command Sect. Life away from home isn't easy..."
The Golden Roc nodded and screeched a few "gah, gah" cries in agreement.
"Quiet! I told you to be quiet!"
Mu Bai rapidly patted the Golden Roc's head, wondering why he had never realized how loud this fellow was before.
Eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the dew, they pressed on through continuous flights that made the Golden Roc's muscles considerably firmer. Traveling at varying speeds, they finally reached the Spirit Taming Sect's territory after three months of flying.
"This is the place..."
Following the bustling crowds, Mu Bai and the Golden Roc entered Spirit Command City. A man with a roc was nothing unusual, but Mu Bai's white wolf-fur coat was particularly eye-catching. Women all along the street could not resist taking a few looks. Now and then, several gathered together, gesturing and giggling behind their hands.
Spirit Command City was strange indeed. Eight or nine out of every ten people walking or lingering on its streets were women, each dressed in beautiful, thin garments, gently waving silk fans, their eyes brimming with affection. Looking around, even shops selling Soul Soldiers and pills were scarce. Instead, everywhere he looked were silks, gauzes, feathered robes, rouge, and jewelry, along with the languid music of pleasure quarters.
"Oh my, what a handsome young fellow... and so wild! Have you come because of Spirit Command City's reputation?" From a brothel with carved balustrades and jade steps, three or four lovely women leaned out, their soft breasts half covered, and teased Mu Bai with laughter. "What a magnificent big bird..."
The women huddled together, giggling, while the Golden Roc perked up, striding with its head high and chest out, its neck stretched long and its eyes gleaming.
"I came from the east, and I have indeed been searching for your esteemed land for a long time..."
Mu Bai clasped his hands in greeting and spoke respectfully to the women upstairs.
"Then hurry up here and let us ease your weariness."
As soon as the leading woman finished speaking, three or four brightly dressed women poured out of the entrance and ushered Mu Bai inside. Fragrant softness wrapped around him, leaving him rather uncomfortable.
When had Mu Bai ever encountered such a spectacle? Fierce birds and savage beasts were nothing to fear, but this was his first time being surrounded by several tender beauties. Even Xiao Lan's teasing back at Peony Pavilion had embarrassed him terribly, let alone a whole crowd of passionate, uninhibited women rushing around him.
The Golden Roc made no attempt to conceal its excitement and wildness. Its eyes displayed its eagerness and anticipation plainly as it swaggered in after him. Unfortunately, the women all treated it as a mount and paid it no particular attention.
"May I ask, young ladies, is there a sect here called the Spirit Taming Sect?"
"Of course. Our Spirit Command City is the Spirit Taming Sect's secular power..."
The leading woman kept casting alluring glances his way, her fingers seeming to pluck at strings of desire as she pushed Mu Bai down onto a seat.
"If this is the Spirit Taming Sect, why don't I see any rare beasts, only so many beautiful ladies?"
At Mu Bai's question, the leading woman burst into laughter, and the other beauties covered their mouths and laughed as well. Beside them, the Golden Roc let out a crazed peal of "gah, gah" laughter.
The leading woman glanced at the Golden Roc. What a noisy big bird. Such a sudden, loud squawk really gives one a fright. She showed none of this, however, and smiled again as she asked, "You said yourself there are so many ladies here. Aren't we enough for you to 'tame'? Haha..."
"Haha..."
The women dissolved into laughter.
Mu Bai gaped. "You mean the Spirit Taming Sect doesn't tame beasts, but women?"
"What a clever young fellow!" The leading woman beckoned the others over and rested a hand on Mu Bai's shoulder, stroking the smooth fur of his white wolf coat as she smiled seductively. "As long as you have Soul Crystals, every lady here can be 'tamed' by you until she loses her soul..."
"I don't have any Soul Crystals! Not a single one!"
Mu Bai hurriedly pushed her away as though he had encountered that Silver-Winged Giant Tiger again.
"Look how lavishly and boldly you're dressed, young fellow. A third-tier Snow Wolf fur coat could fetch quite a few Soul Crystals, enough for several days of merry pleasure in our Blue Flower Pavilion..."
"No, that won't do. Then I wouldn't have anything to wear."
"Oh, what do you need clothes for? Here in our Blue Flower Pavilion, wearing clothes is what's wrong. Isn't that right, girls?"
The leading woman turned and gave them a meaningful look. Understanding at once, the women moved their hands lightly and slipped out of their dresses.
"No, no, don't!" Mu Bai abruptly turned away. "I came here on important business to see the Spirit Taming Sect's master."
Mu Bai had never seen anything like this. He turned away in fright at once, hearing a ripple of soft giggles behind him. The Golden Roc cried, "Gah, gah!" in boundless excitement, every feather standing on end.
"Oh? You say you've come to see our Spirit Taming Sect's master? I find that hard to believe. Our sect master hasn't appeared in over a decade. How could there be any connection with a child like you?"
"Someone entrusted me with delivering an item here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have crossed half of Eastern Ridge to come here, would I?"
Hearing how earnest and sincere Mu Bai sounded, the leading woman did not dare take the matter lightly.
"You say someone entrusted you with coming to our Spirit Taming Sect. Do you have any token of proof?"
"Here is the token!"
Mu Bai promptly took out the Man in Green's White Jade Token and handed it to the leading woman. At the sight of the jade token, she gave a sudden start of alarm.
"This humble woman, Mu Lan, pays her respects to the sect elder!"
"We pay our respects to the elder!"
At the sight of the White Jade Token, the women all knelt, their expressions fearful, with none of their earlier seductive playfulness remaining.
"Th-this... I'm not an elder!"
"Anyone carrying this token is an elder of our sect."
Good gracious, who would have thought this White Jade Token held such power?
"In that case, may I see the sect master?"
"Please rest here for the moment, Elder. Mu Lan will report this to the sect immediately."
The women withdrew. Before long, they had straightened their clothes and cloudlike hair, brought in a tableful of fruit, vegetables, meat, and fine wines, and knelt on either side to attend him. At a loss, Mu Bai sat stiffly upright. The Golden Roc cried happily, "Gah, gah!" and rushed over with tiny steps, its eyes shining.
"Please have a drink, Elder..." Mu Lan filled a wine cup and offered it to Mu Bai, then filled another and handed it to the Golden Roc. "Please, Brother Roc..."
"Pfft..."
Just as he was about to drink, Mu Bai heard Mu Lan call the Golden Roc "Brother Roc" in that clear, sweet voice. He could not help laughing, choked, and sprayed out his wine with a "pfft."
The women struggled to hold back their laughter, not daring to let it out. They took out handkerchiefs and wiped Mu Bai's chest clean. Fragrance washed over his face, like the breath of the Western Paradise, scarcely seeming of the mortal world.
The Golden Roc looked displeased. It took the cup from Mu Lan's hand in its beak and drained it in one gulp. "Gah, gah!"
Mu Bai stopped laughing and clasped his hands.
"There's no need to trouble yourselves here, ladies. I can just wait here for news."
Surrounded by women, Mu Bai felt deeply ill at ease and wanted to send them away.
"We wouldn't dare. Until someone from the sect arrives, we must attend to your every need, Elder."
Mu Lan poured Mu Bai another cup of wine, showing no intention of leaving.
"Then, if I need to attend to a personal matter, you ladies don't need to follow me, do you...?"
"Mm... if you wish, Elder..."
Mu Bai did not care whether they wished to or not. Dragging the Golden Roc along, he found a doorway and ducked inside. The roc's enormous body was so cramped that he could not close the door at all.
And so Mu Bai faced the Golden Roc, waiting with a woeful expression for the Spirit Taming Sect's people to arrive.
"If Spirit Command City is already like this, wouldn't the Spirit Taming Sect be even worse?"
Mu Bai truly regretted traveling so far to come here, but without coming, he had no way to cure the Hundred-Day Bone-Shattering Pill's poison in his body. The green poison had seeped into his marrow, giving even his complexion a greenish tinge.
"I'd better ask for the antidote, then find a chance to leave. A place of pleasure quarters like this is certainly no place to succeed in cultivation!"
Mu Bai made his decision in secret. The Golden Roc's huge body blocked the doorway with its back facing out. The women did not know what the young elder was doing inside, and did not feel it appropriate to call out, so they could only wait respectfully outside.
With nothing to do during the tedious wait, Mu Bai simply closed his eyes and entered meditation, carefully sensing the essence of heaven and earth around him. He breathed it in and circulated it through his meridians. Hmm, the spiritual energy was quite abundant, but its smell was a little...
Throughout these three months and more, Mu Bai had never forgotten to seize every opportunity to practice his breathing. Even so, the essence in his meridians remained pitifully scant. Who knew what year or month it would be before he could cultivate enough to condense an inner core?
After waiting a long time, the women outside were also growing bored. A few of the bolder ones poked the Golden Roc's rump with their fingers. The Golden Roc suddenly opened its drowsy eyes and perked up at once, baring its teeth in enjoyment without making a sound. Its expression was utterly entranced and lost in bliss...
More than half a day passed before the Spirit Taming Sect's people finally arrived at Blue Flower Pavilion in Spirit Command City, and Mu Bai no longer had to hide in that cramped privy.
"By order of the sect master, please come back to the sect with us!"
"Sorry for the trouble, brothers. That's just what I wanted."
"Certainly, but this big roc... cannot enter!"
Mu Bai turned to look at the Golden Roc, whose little eyes sparkled as it nodded repeatedly. This place is just fine. This badass isn't going anywhere.
"Very well. Then sorry for the trouble, Sister Mu Lan, but please look after it for me. I'll return to collect it in a few days."
"Rest easy, young master. We sisters will certainly take good care of this... this Brother Roc..."
The Golden Roc laughed, "Gah, gah!" and flapped its wings, seeming to urge Mu Bai to hurry on his way.
"Please put in a few good words for me before the sect master, young master. Just say, 'Spring is as it was, yet she has grown thin; red tear stains soak through her merfolk-silk handkerchief'..."
Mu Bai acknowledged her words, stepped onto the Flying Soul Weapon with the two men, and flew toward the mountains west of Spirit Command City.
Before you continue