Chapter 437: Breakthrough

Chapter 437: Chapter 437: Breakthrough

In the mountains, one loses all track of time.

For Ah Er, at least, time had become a blur.

Naturally nocturnal, he had started moving about during the day after following Bai Mo. This change had made him less sensitive to the passing of days and nights.

It had likely been a long time since anyone from the outside had seen Bai Mo.

The patrols of the black prison were conducted by Li Wuji.

On the rare occasion Li Wuji was too busy, Ah Er would take his place.

He was meticulous, so a single patrol often took up the better part of a day.

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples, still bustling outside the mountain trying to reclaim the Ghostly Land, had no complaints.

The reason the work had dragged on for so long was that the Foreign Affairs Hall members had discovered a ghost egg thirty feet underground.

Heaven knew which hiding Ghost King had left it behind, but in any case, the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples were in an uproar.

They summoned the disciples who guarded the ghost caverns, gave them a thorough tongue-lashing, and then sent out search parties to find the now-exposed Ghost King.

"No wonder it’s been so hard to restore this area. So there’s a lingering aura from a Ghost King..."

Whenever Ah Er had a spare moment, he would sit by the door and watch them bustle about, muttering and cursing.

One day, a messenger bird from the Foreign Affairs Hall arrived, delivering a letter.

One of the letters was addressed to Bai Mo.

The envelope had a familiar feel. After taking it, Ah Er scraped it open with his claws and began to read it on the spot.

Bai Mo had permitted this; it seemed he had nothing to hide from the badger.

The letter was from the White-Haired Elder.

Ah Er took out the letter and squinted, beginning to read.

The prose between the lines was formal and deliberate, as if an old man were speaking aloud.

Skipping over a few characters he didn’t recognize, Ah Er finished the letter and got the gist of its contents.

It said that the sender’s pill-tasting conference had begun on schedule, with invitations extended to nearly a hundred renowned masters of the Alchemy Dao.

Countless other Alchemy Cultivators had come to spectate, making for a truly grand occasion.

To Ah Er’s surprise, the pill-tasting conference was to run day and night, lasting for the better part of a year.

The White-Haired Elder had scheduled Bai Mo’s Pill to be presented during the latter half of the event.

During the conference, each of the attending masters was expected to demonstrate their skills, not to mention the possibility of challengers looking to disrupt the proceedings.

Such scheduling was, in fact, quite reasonable.

It was just that Ah Er had never witnessed such a grand event, so he found it amazing.

After reading it through twice and confirming there was nothing urgent enough to interrupt Bai Mo’s seclusion, Ah Er carefully folded the letter and put it away.

Shortly after he had put the letter away, another disciple arrived from a distance, piloting a Flying Ship.

Seeing the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples busily at work, the newcomer hesitated for a moment before landing.

Ah Er was sitting on a small stool, and the disciple subconsciously took him for a guardian Spirit Beast.

"Excuse me, is the warden here by any chance Junior Brother Bai Mo?"

The disciple asked politely.

Ah Er stood up and, with all due propriety, gave him a formal, cupped-hand salute.

He then nodded, striking a pose as if to ask what business brought the visitor, and even took out a tea set with a table and chairs, offering to serve him.

The visiting disciple was amazed. He took a seat as offered and said:

"I once did a job for Junior Brother Bai in the Jade Plate Secret Realm. He promised he would refine a Pill for me..."

Ah Er handed him a pen and paper, gesturing for him to write down his request.

He had heard Bai Mo mention this before. After taking the man’s token as proof, Ah Er politely saw him off.

An Caiwei was not nearly as polite when she arrived.

Seeing Ah Er’s sleek, glossy fur, she struggled a bit to hoist him up and gave him a shake.

"Hasn’t Junior Brother come out yet?"

Unable to stand her boisterous affection, Ah Er struggled amidst the shaking to pull out a bottle of Pills, hastily handing it to An Caiwei.

This was the Outer Pill Bai Mo had promised to refine for her.

An Caiwei let out a sigh of relief.

For someone with her energetic personality, spending day after day worrying about her cultivation had been a true ordeal.

"So, that means Junior Brother has been out before?"

With the Pill in hand, An Caiwei put Ah Er down. A clever glint appeared in her eyes as she spoke.

Ah Er nodded.

Bai Mo had indeed come out about a month ago, though not for long.

The moment he emerged, he had given Ah Er the recent deliveries from the shops, along with all the Spirit Stones he had on hand.

In total, it all added up to over fifty thousand Spirit Stones, which Ah Er was to use to go purchase materials.

When Ah Er went out, he was a nervous wreck, seeing a potential thief in everyone he met.

It was the first time in his life he had ever carried such a fortune.

He didn’t have a solid concept of the amount, but since he handled Spirit Stones often, he had a vague sense of its worth.

His heart in his throat, he traveled to many different marketplaces.

The disciples who served him grinned from ear to ear, but their prices were not as friendly.

Only the disciples from Medicine Peak, who vaguely recognized him, were easier to deal with. Seeing the size of his order, they were willing to offer a ten percent discount.

Once the materials were acquired, Bai Mo retreated back into his stone house.

Ah Er snuck a peek inside and saw that the walls and ceiling were coated in a thin layer of transparent crystals. He had no idea what they were.

He started to worry.

’I wonder if that stuff will be hard to clean.’

Seeing the myriad of thoughts reflected in the changing expressions on his face, An Caiwei was momentarily taken aback.

"Did something happen to Junior Brother?"

Ah Er snapped out of it and quickly shook his head.

An Caiwei sighed in relief.

’He’s fine, and he really managed to make the Outer Pill. It looks like his seclusion has been fruitful, so I don’t need to worry for nothing.’

"Well, you keep watch. I’ll introduce you to some friends later so you don’t get bored."

With that, she left, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

As time passed, more and more fellow sect members came to visit and request Pills.

Ah Er didn’t recognize more than half of them. Unable to handle their requests himself, he could only take down their names and what they wanted.

’Something must have happened,’ he thought, but there was no one he could ask.

「In the blink of an eye, another two months passed.」

Having turned over every inch of ground in front of Mi Mountain’s gate, the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples came calling.

"We’re almost done out here. We just need Junior Brother Bai Mo to release the restrictive seals so we can take a look at the earth veins."

"Once we confirm everything’s alright, we can all pack up and go home."

Ah Er shook his head, signaling that it wasn’t possible.

"Junior Brother Bai is still in seclusion?"

"Don’t tell me we’ll have to ask a Supervising Senior Brother to come and probe the area..."

The Foreign Affairs Hall disciples muttered amongst themselves.

Suddenly, a blast of hot air swept past, startling them.

Then, from the mountaintop, a few wisps of a burning mane appeared, and a lazy voice echoed in the minds of the disciples and the beast.

"A supervisor? What are these people here for?"

"Every last one of them is clumsy and loud. Aren’t they afraid of disturbing me, their Old Ancestor?"

The faces of the Foreign Affairs Hall disciples lit up.

"Since you’re awake, Old Ancestor, there’s no need for that. It would be wonderful if you could help us take a look at the earth veins."

"We were only going to ask for a Supervising Senior Brother’s help because Junior Brother Bai was unavailable..."

The Great Suanni yawned.

"That Bai kid is probably about to have a breakthrough. How could he have time to deal with you lot?"

"I’ll take a look at the earth veins myself."

Hearing this, they all froze in astonishment.

"A breakthrough? That’s wonderful news."

...

Just as the Great Suanni had said, Bai Mo was indeed preparing for a breakthrough.

However, his current condition was far from ideal. He sat cross-legged on his bed, his forehead burning with fever.

Words and images collided in Bai Mo’s mind, interspersed with flashes of bizarre, phantasmagorical scenes.

They were an amalgam of images from his theoretical deductions and his recent practical experiments.

He had only just begun to grasp the mysteries of the Outer Pill; he had yet to form even a basic understanding of its underlying system.

To break through, he would first have to sort through his chaotic understanding of the way of the Outer Pill.