Chapter 419: Origin

Chapter 419: Chapter 419: Origin

The sudden appearance of this Pill Furnace immediately caught Bai Mo’s eye.

The Pill Furnace was shaped like a human figure, with one hand raised to its chest and the other extended over its head, as if plucking something from the air.

This posture was very familiar to Bai Mo.

It was a motion used in many techniques for gathering Qi.

Firstly, it protected the practitioner from the backlash of the gathered Qi. Secondly, it helped concentrate their Divine Thought to capture the Qi.

More importantly, the body of this Pill Furnace was densely engraved with ancient text.

Having become quite well-read in books from all periods, Bai Mo could easily decipher the meaning of the characters.

"Very good."

Even with his composed state of mind, he couldn’t help but feel a ripple of excitement.

Seeing this, An Caiwei felt a sense of relief and asked aloud:

"Is it useful?"

"Of course."

Bai Mo smiled and said, "Elsewhere, this might not be considered a great treasure. In fact, due to its school of thought, it might even be branded as a heretical technique."

"But for me, it has come at the perfect time."

"Senior Sister, where did you get this?"

An Caiwei’s heart settled back into her chest.

She had been operating across from the Celestial Barrier Mountain range for a long time, acting with extreme caution, and her gains were few. This Pill Furnace was the only thing she’d found that was worth a second look.

’Looks like my luck isn’t so bad after all.’

"I dug it up from some ruins. This Pill Furnace was buried in a corner, right where the wall of the original building would have been."

An Caiwei gestured to explain.

"I thought it wasn’t considered important. I only took it because I saw the writing on it..."

Bai Mo chuckled.

"It seems our luck is quite good."

An Caiwei then asked, "You still haven’t told me its origin. How is it heretical?"

Bai Mo walked up to the Pill Furnace and tapped it lightly. The sound was crisp, indicating that there were hollow spaces in certain areas inside.

"This is an unusual type of Pill Furnace, likely unique to this school. You place the materials in their corresponding positions, and after they are refined and processed, they flow down through channels."

Bai Mo brought two fingers together and traced a line from the glabella of the furnace’s humanoid form, down past its neck and chest, to its Dantian.

"Finally, the Pill is formed here."

As he spoke, he curled his fingers and gave the Dantian area a skillful rap.

BANG!

As expected, a dark hole was knocked open, revealing a pitch-black passage inside.

Faintly, one could see some dark, sludgy residue of unknown origin.

"This type of Alchemy Skill is an adaptation of the method that uses a human body for Alchemy."

Seeing An Caiwei’s blank expression, Bai Mo explained:

"It’s the refinement method where a human body is used as a Pill Furnace, and once the Pill is formed, it’s extracted."

"This method has great uses, but a slight lack of caution can easily lead one down a heretical path, using it to steal another’s cultivation..."

An Caiwei’s heart skipped a beat, thinking of Bai Mo’s usually unconventional methods.

"You... you’re not thinking of researching this kind of Pill Method, are you?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"Senior Sister, you jest. I learned that kind of technique long ago, I’ve just never used it."

"The true value of this Pill Furnace is the method for refining an Outer Pill that is recorded on it."

This Outer Pill was, in essence, a pill created by stealing another person’s entire cultivation and refining it to enhance one’s own power.

They probably created such a Pill Furnace for practice, afraid of wasting precious materials.

Seeing An Caiwei’s worried expression, Bai Mo decided not to explain the finer details to her.

After all, the text on the furnace didn’t explicitly state this; Bai Mo only figured it out thanks to his profound attainment in the Alchemy Dao.

Hearing Bai Mo’s words, An Caiwei was momentarily unsure how to react.

After a moment of contemplation, she could only advise:

"You... you have to be careful..."

"Don’t worry, Senior Sister."

Bai Mo reassured her, then asked about the origin of the poison she was afflicted with.

Only after asking did he learn that she had been in the camp when the Four Elements Beast attacked that day.

Because of the excellent Magic she had learned in Silkworm Valley, combined with her meticulous and deft hands, An Caiwei often assisted the disciples of Medicine Peak.

Unfortunately, she was caught in the poisonous gas spewed by the Four Elements Beast.

If not for the poison-warding item she carried, it would be debatable whether she could even move right now.

"Here, let me take a look at you."

Feeling a bit guilty, Bai Mo took An Caiwei’s pulse.

After all, he was the one who had encouraged An Caiwei to go into the mountains to find a method for creating an Outer Pill.

But An Caiwei wasn’t worried about that.

"Junior Brother, when can you refine that Outer Pill that aids cultivation?"

Bai Mo was still contemplating her pulse condition. Multitasking, he asked casually:

"Are you in such a hurry, Senior Sister?"

An Caiwei sighed.

"With my family’s help, I had a smooth journey and successfully reached Foundation Establishment."

"However, it wasn’t until I entered the inner sect that I realized my talent might not be as good as I thought. At least, compared to some of my peers, I’m quite a bit worse off."

"If I don’t find a way soon, the disciples who entered Silkworm Valley in the same batch as me will probably leave me in the dust."

’So that’s the reason.’ Bai Mo understood now.

"Don’t you worry, Senior Sister. Give me half a year, and I will definitely refine that Pill for you!"

After puffing his chest out to reassure An Caiwei, Bai Mo turned and rummaged for several different kinds of Antitoxic Pills.

Each one was designed to counter a different type of poison.

"Senior Sister, take these Pills."

"They’re all good stuff, but there’s a specific way to take them. Take one of this Pill in the morning and one at night. These two, you take when you feel weak..."

Bai Mo instructed her earnestly.

An Caiwei carefully memorized his instructions.

The potent poison that had so worried her senior sisters seemed to be nothing more than a common ailment in her junior brother’s eyes, not worthy of much concern.

Before leaving, she smilingly mentioned this feeling to Bai Mo.

Bai Mo’s expression changed slightly.

"Senior Sister, don’t underestimate these few Pills."

"I gave you a total of twenty-four. On the market, they’d be worth at least five thousand Spirit Stones."

After all, these were items Bai Mo had prepared for his own use. They could cure a hundred different poisons in the world, and their ingredients and craftsmanship were impeccable.

Hearing this, An Caiwei’s expression also changed. The brocade pouch in her sleeve suddenly felt much heavier.

"Thank you, Junior Brother! I’ll be heading back now!"

"Okay. Remember to take the Pills on schedule."

After watching An Caiwei leave, Bai Mo immediately returned to his stone house and began to study the Pill Furnace.

With this method of refining a "human body" Outer Pill, Bai Mo was confident he could identify the shortcomings in his own Outer Pill refinement technique.

As the saying goes, master one method, and you’ll understand ten thousand.

With this refinement method before him, Bai Mo could discern a great deal.

...

Just as Bai Mo was lost in thought,

Ah Er also returned from outside. It had taken three different disciples’ Flying Ships, hopping from one to another, to finally get back.

As it walked back, it saw from a distance the wildly overgrown plants on Mi Mountain.

They no longer had the meticulously cared-for appearance from before, as if it had never put any effort into them at all.

Filled with dissatisfaction, it decided to go back and tidy them up at once.

However, just as it reached the foot of Mi Mountain, before it even had a chance to knock on the door,

Suddenly, a wave of heat rolled in from the distant horizon.

The heat wave was so fierce that it made Ah Er break out in a sweat.

The mountain forests on the ground were fine.

But the plants on the body of Mi Mountain, caught by the heat wave, immediately wilted where they faced it directly.

That carnivorous vine that had once tried to prey on Ah Er, known as the Tiger-Eating Lord by the disciples of Medicine Peak, immediately retracted its tendrils.

It hid behind the other plants, all of its previous domineering presence completely gone.

Ah Er was terrified.

It turned to look and saw a figure in a Daoist robe, stepping on clouds as they approached from the horizon.