Chapter 428: Pill Emergence

Chapter 428: Chapter 428: Pill Emergence

Bai Mo took out several chunks of ore. They were extremely heavy.

All of them were the kind of goods that wouldn’t be cheap on the market. He casually tossed them to Ah Er.

"Grind them."

With quick eyes and nimble hands, Ah Er caught the items. It deftly placed them in a large stone basin, grabbed a Stone Pestle as tall as itself, and began to pound.

For a time, the stone house was filled with the unending sounds of CLANGING and POUNDING.

Bai Mo lowered his gaze slightly, flipping through the Pill Book in his hands.

’It isn’t hard to refine a Pill that an expert would consider good. The hard part is making one that leaves no room for doubt. I’ll have to think this through carefully.’

A quarter of an hour later, Ah Er, relying on sheer brute force, had successfully ground the ore into a fine powder.

It wiped the sweat from its brow and had just breathed a sigh of relief when it saw Bai Mo casually toss over two more chunks of ore and a bundle of medicinal herbs.

Ah Er didn’t dare to take a break and immediately got back to work without stopping.

While it worked nonstop, Bai Mo also began his work.

The previously powdered ore and herbs were tossed into the Pill Furnace. He used Fire Essence to ignite the Spirit Wood.

Before long, under the intense heat of the flames, the ore and herbs melted into a cauldron of brown Pill Liquid, bubbling and extremely thick.

He scraped together another pile of flowers and plants for Ah Er, telling it to peel off their thin outer skins.

Bai Mo went up the mountain. Facing a crowd of wilting plants that had just barely recovered a bit of their vitality, he gently crooked his finger.

Wisps of life force drifted over and gathered, condensing into several strands of azure energy that coiled around Bai Mo’s hand.

For the plants on the mountain, this was like adding frost to snow. The highly intelligent Tiger-Eating Lord trembled uncontrollably.

Ignoring their reactions, Bai Mo returned to the stone house.

He saw that Ah Er’s claws were stained with plant juices of various colors and that it was completely engrossed in its work, so he didn’t disturb it and proceeded on his own.

After an unknown amount of time, a wisp of Pill Fragrance shot into Ah Er’s nostrils, instantly invigorating it.

It quickly raised its head and looked toward the Pill Furnace.

The lid of the furnace was already open. Strands of yellow energy rose, twisting in midair to form a large stone the size of a millstone. ℯ

CRACK!

A crack split across the stone’s surface, and from within, a vibrant green sprout emerged.

The sprout twisted and grew, producing a flower bud. With a forceful push, the stone burst open with a BANG!

The bud blossomed in a blaze of glory, transforming into a brilliant golden lotus that landed in Bai Mo’s hand and condensed into a single Pill.

This was the phenomenon of a golden lotus born from stone.

Ordinary Alchemy Cultivators loved to use it to curry favor with buyers who had hit rock bottom, claiming it was an auspicious sign.

Bai Mo said:

"Ultimately, it’s just a natural phenomenon that occurs when the earth and life energies within a Pill reach a certain state."

Ah Er listened, only half-understanding, but felt as if its horizons had been greatly broadened.

"Ah’er!"

It cried out, looking at the pile of materials scattered to its side.

"Don’t be hasty," Bai Mo said, shaking his head.

"This was just a warm-up. I’ll try a few other kinds..."

For the next few days, the stone house was filled with constant commotion.

Even the prisoners in the dark cells could perceive the alchemical phenomena.

The ebb and flow of tides, the cries of dragons and phoenixes, and even the tinkling of celestial music—all of it was wondrous and extraordinary.

However, no one was moved by it anymore.

In the time Bai Mo had been here, he had experimented with many Pills.

As far as they were concerned, they had witnessed how unreliable this warden was. He had even used people to test his Pills and implant herbs later on.

His unrestrained actions were no different from those of the prisoners themselves.

Given this, the Pills refined by the warden were not necessarily anything good.

So what if there was an Earth-Surging Golden Lotus? Many poisons were also dazzlingly beautiful, enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Many among them were experts in this very art.

Only occasionally would flames spontaneously appear before the door, forming into small Suanni that would poke their heads in, curiously peering into the house.

But before they could get a clear look at the dazzling scene inside, a gust of wind would blow them away, and they would vanish.

This continued until one day, a month later, when the flames in the house suddenly ceased.

A single, snow-white Pill was swiftly placed into a pill bottle by Bai Mo.

He was so fast that even Ah Er couldn’t see it clearly.

But immediately after, the entire bottle began to glow, its already lustrous white porcelain becoming even more dazzling.

Ah Er’s eyes widened at once.

Bai Mo let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I managed to finish refining the Pill before the deadline."

Glancing sideways at the dazed-looking Ah Er, Bai Mo ordered:

"Go, call for that giant goose from the Foreign Affairs Hall."

"I know you two get along and have a way of contacting each other."

Ah Er scratched its head and ran out as told.

However, as soon as it reached the mountain, it saw the crowd of wilted plants and trees.

It froze for a moment, then its face filled with anguish as it ran forward to inspect them.

Thankfully, their vital energy was just damaged; it wasn’t a life-or-death situation.

Ah Er remembered how Bai Mo had frequently gone up the mountain these past few days and immediately guessed he was responsible.

While heartbroken, it also breathed a sigh of relief.

’Looks like my master still knows how to hold back.’

Without thinking further, it found a flag from somewhere, held it high on the mountaintop, and began waving it while calling out repeatedly.

Its calls carried far into the distance.

There were some scribbles on the flag, their meaning unclear. They looked like the playful doodles of a child, evidently drawn by it or one of its companions.

Bai Mo brewed some tea and, amidst the messy stone house, leaned back in his recliner and closed his eyes to rest.

It wasn’t until half a day later that the clear cry of a goose from outside woke him.

’He got here that quickly?’

Surprised, Bai Mo stepped out the door and saw the giant goose flying down from the mountain.

He casually fed it a Feeding Pill, patted the goose’s neck, and took out the pill bottle with his other hand, instructing:

"This item of mine needs to be delivered as soon as possible. The journey is quite long, so I must ask Brother Yan to do his best."

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Bai Mo felt that the creature had grown larger since they first met.

He just hadn’t paid much attention before, so he couldn’t be certain.

As for the giant goose, its eyes were fixed on the still-glowing pill bottle.

Bai Mo coughed, snapping it back to its senses.

"I’m counting on you, I’m counting on you."

The giant goose from the Foreign Affairs Hall was a true professional. It forced itself to focus, took the pill bottle, let out a long cry, and vanished into the sky with a beat of its wings.

「 ... 」

Meanwhile, in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, Zhen Yuan and his group had been in a state of utter disarray for some time.

One of the disciples from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge had even lost an arm, the wound tightly bandaged.

They arrived at a narrow cavern, which looked like a den dug by some wild beast.

A thick, clashing medicinal scent filled the air, creating a sense of unease.

The disciple who had lost his left arm had cold sweat on his forehead. He found the smell nauseating and felt the urge to vomit.

"That hunchback must be hiding here. The information from those prisoners should be correct. Shouldn’t we make our move quickly?"

Only after crossing through the Celestial Barrier Mountain range did they realize that quite a few Cultivators lived here, though most of them weren’t exactly normal.

They had caused a lot of trouble for the members of the Xuandao Sect.

This hunchbacked Cultivator, relying on his unfathomably mysterious Body Technique, was a prime example.

Some also said it wasn’t a Body Technique at all, but that he moved like the wind only with the help of an external object.

It was only because these people didn’t pose a serious threat that the Xuandao Sect paid them no mind.

"Junior Brother, don’t be hasty. That hunchback is quite skilled. If we’re not careful, he’ll get away again."

"We have the element of surprise this time, having snuck over. Let the two from Silkworm Valley set a trap. We must succeed in one strike..."

Another disciple from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge spoke up, comforting the other.

"Losing an arm is nothing."

"I heard Warden Bai is an expert in this field. Since you were injured on his behalf, I imagine it won’t be difficult to get a limb-regrowing Pill from him..."