The road is vague

Chapter 44 Returning home in glory
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Boat Festival is here.

After the Flower Festival, after more than two months of recuperation, Li Mo not only recovered from the damage to his body and mind, but also reached the late fourth level of Qi training. He also obtained the recipe for the Qi Gathering Pill from the experience exchange in the Medicine Hall.

The recipe for the Qi Gathering Pill is semi-public among alchemists.

However, Li Mo still paid some price for this, which was to help an alchemist who was temporarily out to look after the spiritual field. Li Mo was also exempted from the fine for missing daily tasks.

From the exchange of experiences among the alchemists, Li Mo learned that although the Qi Gathering Pill had the effect of assisting cultivation during the Qi training period, its efficacy was not very strong. It was only because the Qi Gathering Pill had no specific restrictions on the main medicine and only required a hundred-year-old elixir, which made it suitable for large-scale alchemy that it was vigorously promoted by the cultivators of various sects in the Qian Kingdom, and then widely circulated among the disciples in the Qi training period.

Many alchemists also mastered the so-called exclusive elixir recipes, which are far more effective than Qi Gathering Pills.

However, Li Mo cannot use those so-called exclusive recipes for the time being.

He hasn't even taken the Qi Gathering Pill yet. Besides, his aptitude for cultivation is pretty good. He just encountered a bottleneck at the fourth level of Qi training, and finally broke through with his own understanding. Based on this, it can be inferred that he shouldn't encounter too many obstacles at the fifth level of Qi training.

After the sixth level, you may need to prepare a little more.

Especially when one reaches the seventh level of Qi training, the form of the mana in the Dantian will change again, forming a so-called bottleneck. However, if one can break through, the mana will undergo a qualitative change in an instant.

Judging from the situation of the second-year disciples last year, the peak of the sixth level of Qi training seems to be the limit, while the third-year disciples are at the ninth level of Qi training.

"Within this month, I should be able to break through the fourth level of Qi training and enter the fifth level."

Li Mo seemed to be lost in thought.

"Even if I can't use it after breaking through to the fifth level of Qi training, during the summer thunderstorm season, I will enter the ethereal dream more often, and my cultivation speed will also increase significantly. By then, I still need to break through to the sixth level of Qi training, so I'd better prepare in advance."

Think of this.

After breakfast, Li Mo planned to go to the main hall of the training hall to receive a temporary commission.

He planned to work hard to earn spirit stones in the coming time, buy various auxiliary spiritual medicines, and use the hundred-year-old red essence ganoderma as the main medicine to refine a furnace of Qi Gathering Pills!

of course.

During the mission, he would not forget to look for clues about the spiritual-flavored lightning-struck wood and the ethereal demon pill.

"Li Mo, there are new disciples coming to the Enlightenment Hall!"

Ma Ling was talking excitedly outside the door.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo and Ma Ling found Niu Li and Yang Guang again. The four of them came to the flying boat station in the backyard of Shenshu Square. As expected, they saw the new disciples with confused faces. They blinked their clear eyes that revealed stupidity and followed the disciples of the Supervisor Hall off the flying boat.

"Time flies so fast. It's already been a year."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Yang Guang couldn't help but sigh.

"This time last year, I was just like them, knowing nothing. Hehe, when the year-end assessment comes, I'm going to give them a good beating and let them know how powerful my senior brother is!"

Li Mo was speechless when he heard this.

But then he thought of the experience of the first-year disciples being bullied by the second-year disciples during the year-end assessment, and how he himself was eliminated by Zhao Liang. This year, it would be the turn of these guys to enjoy this treatment in the assessment, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, it's time to take good care of them!"

After chatting for a while in front of the Feizhou Post Station, the four of them returned to the kitchen of the Jinxiu Hall to have breakfast. Then Li Mo said goodbye to the three of them and came to the hall of the Jinxiu Hall alone.

There are more than a dozen temporary commissioned tasks open to second-year disciples at this moment, which only indicate the task location, task purpose, task deadline, task reward, and task initiator.

After a quick glance, Li Mo found a mission to Tongchao Town, Bai'an County.

The mission rewards six spirit stones.

"From Tongchao Town to Hua'an Town, if we take the main road and ride a fast horse, it will take at most three days. If we make a round trip, it won't delay the 15-day mission deadline."

It has been more than two years since I left Hua'an Town, and I don't know how my family is doing.

He thought of his mother, Zhao Siman, Zhang Qin, Master Zhang Dongliang of Jimintang, his good friends Wang Pan, Senior Brother Ding Jie, Senior Brother Zuo Shu, Senior Brother Wang Ben...

Thoughts welled up in his mind like a spring. He immediately took off the task card and found Master Xiong from the Weapon Refining Hall according to the contact information on it.

"After you arrive in Tongchao Town, go to Xinghua Village and find a boy named Xiong Shaoan. His family lives by the fish pond at the east end of Xinghua Village. Show this jade pendant to his family, and they will understand everything. Then bring him here."

"Yes."

In other words, when returning, it will cost one more spirit stone to take the flying boat?
The reward for this task is only six spirit stones, no wonder the task time is extended to half a month.

Li Mo guessed that Xiong Shaoan was most likely the distant nephew of the uncle in front of him, but he didn't dare to ask more. After taking the jade pendant, he turned around and left, and quickly came to the Feizhou Post Station.

Normally, these flying boat stations have fixed routes and can only reach county towns and larger county towns. They are public transportation subsidized by the Lingmu Gate.

Next, you will need to find your own way to the counties, towns, and villages.

Li Mo chose a flying boat that was about to sail to Anbei County. After paying a spirit stone as a fee, he went into the cabin and waited quietly.

About half an hour later.

As the flying boat slowly rose into the sky, it sped through the clouds until noon the next day, when it slowly descended and arrived at the county seat of Anbei County.

Although the county seat of Anbei County is not as prosperous as the provincial capital Anle City, it is not comparable to any county town.

Because Li Mo planned to go back to Hua'an Town during the mission and time was quite urgent, he did not stay there. He quickly came to the Tianming Division in the county town, showed his Lingmu Sect disciple badge, and rented a fast horse without deposit.

In the process, he found out the specific route.

Tongchao Town in Bai'an County is not too far from here. Generally, it takes three or four days to get there, but if you work harder and travel day and night, you can arrive in about two days. Therefore, theoretically, although the reward for this task is small, the time required is relatively less, so he immediately spurred his horse and galloped away.

He planned to go to Xinghua Village first, confirm the mission objectives, and then give them a few days to prepare.

Then I will take this time to go to Hua'an Town.

The time for a round trip, plus the time spent in Hua'an Town, is about seven or eight days at most. It takes another two or three days to get back to the county town, which is just enough time.

"Drive! Drive!"

Li Mo was actually practicing the Small Zhoutian Qigong while riding a horse.

It was thanks to his experience as a gatekeeper that he was able to complete such a difficult practice. However, the efficiency of his practice was also greatly reduced, less than a quarter of the usual level.

In addition to the factor of cultivation status, the concentration of spiritual energy in Qingming Mountain is also incomparable to that in the outside world.

sunset.

Li Mo frowned.

After living in the sect for so long, he almost forgot about the outside world.

The sky reflecting the sunset glow became exceptionally evil in Li Mo's eyes, filled with an atmosphere of oppression, horror, absurdity, and uneasiness. Those looming behemoths appeared again. They would occasionally try to approach the earth, and their huge shadows seemed to cover the entire sky. However, most of the time, they were just dancing with their tentacles in the distant sky, looking even bigger than the sunset.

Li Mo withdrew his gaze. Dusk was an unlucky time and one should avoid going out on the road.

He noticed a tea stall on the roadside not far away, and immediately pulled the reins to stop his galloping horse.

"Boss, give me a pot of hot tea, two steamed buns, and four to go."

"Okay, wait a moment."

More than two years ago, when Li Mo went out, he would be regarded as a half-grown child. But now, although he is still a child, no one will treat him as a child anymore. Just sitting there, he will give off the aura of a grown man.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Li Mo paid the required copper coins and was about to leave when he saw the boss hesitate and dissuade him, "Sir, are you going to Tongchao Town?"

Li Mo couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

"What happened over there?"

The boss sighed.

"Sir, you may not know that after the nearby counties and prefectures jointly wiped out the bandits in the Eighteen Mountains last year, many bandits fled. Tongchao Town is adjacent to the Eighteen Mountains. Some time ago, a group of them appeared. They are all highly skilled in martial arts and seem to be looking for someone. They block the road everywhere, searching for beautiful women, and kill passers-by. After the government dispatched and strangled them once, they quieted down for a while, but recently they started again."

Li Mo sneered when he heard this.

With his martial arts skills, he was naturally not afraid of any bandits or thieves, so he did not take them to heart. After thanking the tea stall owner, he sped away on the night road.

Two days later.

It was not known whether it was his good luck or the good luck of those bandits, but Li Mo arrived at Xinghua Village in Tongchao Town without any obstruction. Following the instructions of Uncle Xiong, he indeed found a family with the surname Xiong at the east end of the village.

"anyone there?"

Li Mo knocked on the door and asked.

He could see that this family was not wealthy.

After a while.

An old man holding a wooden stick was looking through the crack in the door, looking very cautious.

Seeing this, Li Mo hurriedly took out the jade pendant as a token. The old man was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became so excited that he burst into tears and opened the gate of the courtyard.

"Great, great, Shaoan, come out quickly!"

A dark-skinned boy walked out of the house.

The old man burst into tears and said, "Your fourth grandfather really hasn't forgotten us. He has sent someone to pick you up. Shaoan, you are smart. Leave here quickly. When the time comes, listen to your fourth grandfather's words. You will definitely be able to make a name for yourself in the future."

Li Mo finally understood what was going on.

So he hurriedly said, "There's no rush for this. You guys get ready first. I have another thing to do. I'll be back in about seven or eight days."

The old man was stunned for a moment and then nodded.

"Well... that's fine, young man, you go ahead and do your work. We'll be waiting for you here. Remember to come back early. Things are not peaceful lately!"

Li Mo was about to leave when he heard the other party's reminder and suddenly became thoughtful.

"Is there a bandit problem here?"

The old man's face turned bitter when he heard this.

"Just a month ago, the Zhang family in the west of the village not only had their daughter stolen away, but Old Zhang was also dead. I had no other choice but to write to the Fourth Master and ask him to give the Xiong family's only child a chance to survive. Alas."

Hearing this, Li Mo narrowed his eyes, nodded, and prepared to leave.

If the mission time was not so tight, he would not mind being a hero here. These bandits are more hateful than the bandits who collect tolls in the Eighteen Mountains.

"Oh, by the way, one more thing. Have you heard of any trees killed by lightning in this area?"

"This? I haven't heard of it."

Li Mo didn't care about getting any clues about the spiritual lightning-struck wood, and rode away on his horse.

Over the next two days, Li Mo galloped all the way to Hua'an Town. On the evening of the third day, he finally arrived outside Hua'an Town. Looking from afar at the familiar stalls on the town's streets, he was a little dazed for a moment, and dismounted to walk away, holding the reins.

"Hot pancakes, hot pancakes!"

“Freshly cooked meat buns!”

"Sugar-coated haws……"

The familiar hawking sounds and the past events are still vivid in my mind.

Li Mo's heart was filled with unspeakable emotions. He said to the vendor selling candied haws, "Boss, I want one string... no, two strings of candied haws."

"Okay, that's sixteen cents."

More than two years have passed, and the candied haws here are still eight cents a string. Li Mo has passed by here countless times, but he has swallowed his saliva secretly countless times and was reluctant to buy them. Today he has made up to himself.

Holding the candied haws, Li Mo continued to walk forward.

The sound of horse hooves clattered on the stone road as he led the horse to a three-story clinic with a plaque that read "Jimin Hall" in large letters.

He looked towards the front hall, where several senior brothers were chatting.

All the past events gradually emerged before his eyes, and he couldn't help but lose his mind.

"Senior Brother Ding Jie, Senior Brother Zuo Shu... Wang Pan."

The little fat man in the pharmacy was stunned for a moment, looked suspiciously towards the front hall, and thought someone was trying to entice him. He shook his head and continued to prepare medicine, looking honest and cute.

"Junior Brother Li Mo!"

Ding Jie was the first to come to his senses. He strode out of the front hall and came in front of Li Mo. He showed an expression of disbelief, grabbed his shoulders, and his eyes were a little red.

"It's been more than two years. Where have you been?"

Everyone came to their senses and walked out in big strides.

Everyone asked about Li Mo's experience.

"Li Mo!"

Wang Pan still had that chubby, fair face. When he saw that it was Li Mo, he shouted excitedly and ran over. He excitedly grabbed Li Mo and after confirming that it was real, he immediately gave him a bear hug.

"I missed you so much, what took you so long to come back?"

When the two let go again, Wang Pan's eyes were blurred with tears.

"The Jimin Hall in Quhe Town said you hadn't arrived. Senior Brother Ding Jie was so anxious that he went there in person and reported it to the authorities. They said you were bullied by a scoundrel named Niu Er. The officials arrested him and interrogated him thoroughly, but in the end they couldn't get any information..."

"Cough cough."

Just as everyone was discussing, Old Feng walked out from the front hall, looked at Li Mo, and revealed an expression of relief that was hard to describe.

"I'm glad you're back. Hey, your master Zhang Dongliang passed away in Shangfeng County three months ago."

"Master."

After hearing this, Li Mo was a little dazed for a moment. It had been three years since his master returned to his hometown to retire. If he remembered correctly, his master should be sixty-seven years old this year.

He revealed an indescribable bitter smile and looked up at the sky.

"I have learned alchemy as you wished."

Two sparrows chirped in the sky and chased each other past.

(End of this chapter)