Chapter 442: Outer Golden Pill

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: Outer Golden Pill

Bai Mo paid a high price to commission a disciple from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge to forge a long needle.

It was made from high-grade ore, the kind normally used for forging blades, and cost five hundred Spirit Stones.

Nothing less would be sufficient to pierce a Golden Core and withstand the impact of its power.

The long needle was delivered seven days later.

This was mainly because the other party stood to make a huge profit from the order, so they were very enthusiastic.

In the stone house, Ah Er waited attentively at his side, watching as Bai Mo picked up the long, silver needle.

The needle was as long as a palm and, after being coated over a fire, it faintly shimmered with a bright white light.

Bai Mo took out the pigeon-egg-sized Golden Core, aimed, and pierced it with an extremely steady hand.

POP!

With a soft sound, the long needle stabbed into it, breaking the balance of the power flowing across the Golden Core’s surface.

Ordinarily, a Cultivator could rebalance an abnormality in their Golden Core with a single thought, but this time was different.

With no external force to interfere, the Spiritual Qi inside the Golden Core began to dissipate, creeping up the long needle and forming a white mist.

When the white mist climbed onto Bai Mo’s fingers, he felt a faint stinging pain, as if he had placed his hand in a place of extreme, freezing cold.

Bai Mo’s brow furrowed slightly.

’You really get what you pay for.’

It was unclear whether the problem was with how the Golden Core was preserved, or if the original owner’s cultivation was simply shallow.

The strange power within this Golden Core was only on the surface; it wasn’t profound.

"How many Spirit Stones did you spend to buy this Golden Core?"

Hearing this, Ah Er quickly extended three claws and shook them slightly.

"Three thousand..." Bai Mo mused for a moment.

’No wonder it was so cheap.’

"In the future, don’t buy any more of this quality. They aren’t of much use."

Ah Er nodded quickly, indicating it had taken note.

Bai Mo then handed the punctured Golden Core to it and picked up another one.

Ah Er, holding the wooden tray, cautiously took the item.

The power emanating from it inspired instinctual fear. Even as a dead object, it was enough to frighten a Demon Beast or Spirit Beast of its cultivation level.

On this trip, Ah Er had spent a total of nine thousand Spirit Stones.

Excluding incidental expenses along the way, the bulk of the cost went to the large Golden Core now in Bai Mo’s hand.

This one was as large as two knuckles, its entire body faintly glowing with golden light. Its quality was higher by more than just a single grade.

POP!

As Bai Mo pushed the long needle in, he felt the needle’s shaft tremble under pressure, so he smoothly pulled it out.

As expected, the essence of the Spiritual Qi within gushed out, forming a small, brilliant rainbow on the spot.

Ah Er stared, stunned.

Bai Mo, however, let out a cold laugh.

’The gap between people is truly greater than the gap between a person and a pig!’

However, although the rainbow was brilliant, a closer look revealed faint bloody threads within it.

They were like a filthy spiderweb hidden beneath a beautiful facade, always ready to trap and harm.

These were impurities, indicating that the original owner’s cultivation path was not pure.

The smaller Golden Core was the same, just not as obviously.

’He was really courting death. It’s no injustice that he died at the hands of a Battle Hall disciple.’

Placing the Golden Core on the wooden tray, Bai Mo ignited the fire beneath the Pill Furnace.

Once the Pill Furnace was glowing red-hot, he added a large amount of herbs in sequence, and also casually grabbed some ash from the Spirit Wood at the furnace’s base and tossed it in.

The large Golden Core was tossed in last. After rolling around twice inside, it was buried by the wood ash.

This first step was to purge the impurities from the Golden Core.

In the art of Outer Pills, safety is paramount.

Some unscrupulous or careless Alchemy Cultivators who didn’t handle this step properly would refine extremely toxic Outer Pills that could easily be fatal.

The fire under the Pill Furnace burned hotter and hotter.

The firing process lasted for two days.

The power clashing within the Golden Core slammed against the furnace walls, making them ring with a BANG BANG sound.

In the meantime, Ah Er was sent out to patrol the Black Prison.

By the time it returned, Bai Mo was holding a bucket and pouring water into the furnace.

After the water had boiled for half a day, Bai Mo extinguished the fire and opened the furnace lid to look inside.

The liquid in the furnace had separated into two layers. The bottom layer was thick and bluish-gray.

On top was a layer of floating impurities and clear water.

"Not bad."

Looking at the two distinct layers, Bai Mo took a ladle, skimmed the top layer clean, and reignited the fire.

This time, however, he began to inject his Divine Thought, gathering the bluish-gray Pill Liquid together again and again.

Under the heat of the fire, the Pill Liquid grew thicker and drier, forming a sphere under Bai Mo’s guidance.

He added a drop of beast blood, which spread out and easily formed vein-like patterns.

When the time came, the medicinal power would surge out along these veins, flowing along a predetermined path. That would be the moment the Outer Pill’s great power was unleashed...

...

Yin Zhen arrived at the appointed time.

Just as he landed before the gate of Mi Mountain, the doors opened on their own.

Bai Mo walked out from within, followed by a dry-furred Ah Er.

"Senior Brother, you’ve arrived."

Yin Zhen noticed the fiery aura on him and couldn’t help but nod.

"I’ve troubled you, Junior Brother."

Bai Mo shook his head.

"It was no trouble. In fact, that vial of beast blood you gave me, Senior Brother, was of superior quality."

"I used it for a small experiment, and it was perfect for the task."

With that, he motioned for Ah Er to bring out the Pill.

Ah Er twitched its claws and presented a tray, upon which sat a bluish-gray Outer Pill.

Looking closely, one could still see the faint red patterns within.

In truth, its appearance wasn’t very good.

But Yin Zhen had used many of Bai Mo’s Pills and had confidence in him. He picked it up and asked:

"What does this Pill do?"

Bai Mo said, "This is an Outer Golden Pill. After consuming and activating it, you can gain a portion of the power of the Core Formation stage."

"Given this Pill’s quality, you can probably activate it four to five times."

Yin Zhen was moved.

"That’s enough. It’s enough to increase my chances in the Divine Kingdom by at least twenty percent."

"It’s that dangerous?" Bai Mo was surprised.

Yin Zhen sighed.

"A Divine Kingdom is the private domain of a Divine Being. The creatures within it are born with divinity and are uniquely blessed, not something ordinary beings can compare to."

"What’s more, it’s not just people from my Xuandao Sect entering. Disciples from many other powerful sects will be there too. A crowd of titans will be vying for supremacy..."

Even with his temperament, he wasn’t very confident.

Bai Mo then instructed, "In that case, Senior Brother, you must remember this."

"A Foundation Establishment Cultivator cannot freely withstand the external power of Core Formation. After you use it, your meridians will definitely be damaged."

"Furthermore, with a Pill like this inside you, if you encounter Demon Beasts, it might not escape their notice. They might mistake you for some kind of precious medicine."

"Be careful they don’t try to cut you open to get the Pill..."

Bai Mo shared some records from the Pill Book—all the invaluable experience and golden advice of his predecessors.

Yin Zhen committed it all to memory, then took his leave and departed.

Bai Mo turned back, closed the main gate, and let out a breath.

’The competition is that fierce? Tsk tsk.’

’Good thing I’m not on that path, or it would be incredibly dangerous.’

Someone like Yin Zhen, having just returned from the Celestial Barrier Mountain Range not long ago, was already tirelessly plotting for opportunities in the Divine Kingdom. It was truly an arduous life.

If he didn’t have such a competitive personality, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it.

After sighing for a moment, Bai Mo took out an object that looked like a mud ball.

This Outer Golden Pill was the one refined from the three-thousand-Spirit-Stone Golden Core. It was shriveled and less than half the size of an ordinary Pill.

Rubbing its not-quite-round body, Bai Mo curled his lip.

’As expected, the main ingredient was too poor. It couldn’t properly form a Pill.’

He casually tossed it to Ah Er, who frantically raised its two claws to catch it.

"It’s yours. So you won’t have to take crap when you’re out."

A gleam immediately lit up in Ah Er’s small eyes.