A group of people, with serious expressions, retreated towards the hall.
Experts and committee members instinctively stayed on the perimeter, protecting the administrative staff and students.
Bai Mo walked on the perimeter, the mist between reality and dream swirling around his fingertips, having just dipped a drop of potion prepared by his apprentice.
Whew...
The wind blew, the potion quickly evaporated, the colorless, tasteless, formless medicinal air diffused.
Suddenly, the Red Line Insects, which had just warmed and revived in the soil, began to frantically burrow out, crowding the surface, basking in the sun, twisting and curling to let the sunlight reach every part of their bodies!
Though they are intolerant to sunlight, will dry up and die, they were now bathing themselves in sun madly, as if possessed!
The Red Line Insects that penetrated the bodies of committee members and students were also affected, their habits altered, irrationally developing phototaxis—leading to their own demise!
They wriggled, attempting to retreat from fresh flesh, to bask in the sun!
The wind dried Bai Mo's fingertips, brushing across his smiling lips.
It's all over now.
Peach Blossom Eyes followed behind Master cheerfully, Fox Face smiling, its eyes slyly darting around. Before Master arrived at Fox Mountain, the foxes would often fall ill mysteriously. Since Master came and fed them various herbal concoctions, with all kinds of enhancements, they weren't afraid of those messes anymore. With newly enhanced eyes, it could now see those red insects!
The fox took a few steps, then stretched out its claws, grabbing a red insect, ran forward, feeding it to the cricket at Master Chong's feet.
...
Before long, the group arrived at the East Hall.
Everyone was invited inside, finding seats to sit down.
Bai Mo sat in the front row, hearing the noise in the hall, most still unaware of what had happened.
"Why did the meeting suddenly halt?"
"What about those reporters? Will they report randomly?"
"No, definitely not. Any news from the Immortal Technique Committee requires approval from many levels of leadership, not just casual reporting."
"Huh? How do you know? Just saying? Are you an expert?"
"I'm a reporter."
...
Outside the hall, Chairman Chen Shu and Professor Zhang's graduate students were still discussing.
Bai Mo was about to brush off the mud on his trouser leg when he was poked by Master Chong sitting next to him.
"Did you see that female graduate student talking with the Chairman?"
"Her name is Wang Fangyue."
"Rumor has it, she is the most outstanding graduate student under Professor Zhang, already Sequence Nine Perfection, just waiting for the ceremony to advance to Sequence Eight."
"I think Chairman Chen Shu has taken a liking to her."
Bai Mo glanced outside the hall, seeing the graduate student named Wang Fangyue, wearing a white coat, medium build, slightly hunched. Yet even so, she was a mismatch with Chairman Chen Shu...
"Chairman Chen Shu taking a liking to her?"
"The age gap isn't right, is it?"
"And would the Chairman's wife agree?"
Behind the old man's sunglasses, it seemed his eyes rolled up in a white eye.
"What are you thinking?"
"The Chairman has taken a liking to her talent, wanting to retain her in the West State City branch, not marry her home!"
...
Before long, staff pushed a cart into the hall, atop it piles of liquid bags, ambiguous liquids wrapped in plastic.
Wang Fangyue ascended the podium in the hall.
"Ladies and gentlemen, sincerely apologies, something occurred just now, your bodies may have been polluted."
"Now we will distribute to each person a bag of foot soak water, please open the plastic bag and soak your feet carefully for three to five minutes."
Bags of liquid quickly distributed.
Bai Mo and Master Chong didn't need it, but were still allocated.
Master Chong opened to sniff, feeling the strong odor, quickly resealing it.
"What is this thing, can it cure that insect?"
Bai Mo said nothing, understanding inside—a water infuse with Amber Ginger. In foot soak...if initially uninfected by Red Line Insects, it might treat about one-third of the affected?
Of course, against poisoned Red Line Insects, its efficacy only reduced to fatigue relief, sleep improvement, immunity enhancement...a negligible medicinal effect, akin to ordinary hot water soak.
...
The sky over Fox Mountain remained overcast, seemingly unchanged over the years.
Bai Mo, wearing a jacket, scarf wrapped, sat on a stretcher carried by apprentices down the mountain, through long mountain paths, crossing vast medicinal fields, arriving at a sprawling prairie.
The prairie wind blew strong, Bai Mo straightened on the stretcher, adjusting his newly bought cashmere scarf.
"Slow down here."
His Divine Sense expanded, scanning myriad grasses on the ground.
Indeed, in this prairie, most were useless weeds...but occasionally valuable medicinal plants appeared. The well stocks from Fox Mountain medicinal fields came from seeds found in this prairie.
Fox apprentices carrying the stretcher, with Master atop, Master's Divine Sense like a radar roaming the prairie, scanning, surveying.
"Ah, there's a piece of Snake Grass.
"Quite nice."
Bai Mo pointed, immediately followed by quick-witted fox apprentices, eyes darting, confirming Master's target, charging ahead, parting the grass, extracting the Snake Grass, packing it in a small satchel.
"Proceed."
...
"Ah, there's a piece of Milo Ginseng.
"Careful now, sneak up quietly, don't startle the ginseng.
"Grip the leaves first, then slowly dig it out!"
Immediately, quick-witted fox apprentices crept forward silently, lying down, two front paws stealthily reaching out, snapping shut around the leaves of Milo Ginseng.
Other fox apprentices laughed, rushing forward, reaching out, digging around the Milo Ginseng.
...
Bai Mo returned to Fox Mountain via stretcher, back to the great hall, sitting behind the Bronze Table, fully laden.
A total of eight new medicinal herbs were dug up, all valuable, placed on the table awaiting Bai Mo's choice.
"We have three spare medicinal fields, not enough to plant all eight kinds."
Different herbs require various soil conditions; the more advanced the herb, the more land needed.
For instance, planting one Snake Grass requires fifty square meters of land. Planting one Milo Ginseng, requires three hundred square meters.
"Hmm..."
After consideration.
"How about all three fields planted with Milo Ginseng!
"Fox Mountain's warehouse, stocked with various medicinal herbs, lacks substantial supplements.
"Let's plant more Milo Ginseng.
"The remaining types, await field vacancies to plant."
Bai Mo picked up Milo Ginseng, explaining its cultivation method and precautions to several fox apprentices. The fox apprentices leaned in, wide-eyed, ears perked, listening closely.
After a round of instruction, they nodded, departing with Milo Ginseng.
Sending off this batch of fox apprentices, Bai Mo was about to examine the Pill Formula, when another group of fox apprentices arrived at the great hall, carrying two large bundles of vines inside.
Bai Mo rose to inspect, recognizing the Dragon Beard Vine.
"Dried Dragon Beard Vine, a first sight."
Pinching, sniffing, recalling Pill Scripture notes, correlating, Divine Sense penetrating the vine, observing inner core. Eyes widened, scrutinizing surface cell-level grain.
On one hand confirming the Dragon Beard Vine's maturity; on the other, verifying Pill Scripture's notes, solidifying Alchemy Dao knowledge ever so slightly.
"Store it first."
"When our Seven-Star Persimmons and Black Gold Mangos mature, alongside this Dragon Beard Vine, along with warehouse herbs, we'll verify two more formulas."
"Vacant field to grow Snake Grass."
"When Snake Grass matures, another formula can be validated."
Master instructed, apprentices nodded, carrying two large bundles of Dragon Beard Vine, huffing and puffing, moved to warehouse.