Chapter 448: An Accidental Gain

Chapter 448: Chapter 448: An Accidental Gain

Having received his orders from Bai Mo, Ah Er turned and left.

As it traveled, it would occasionally pause, trying to recapture the wondrous sensation of its previous transformation.

But with the Outer Golden Pill’s power exhausted, it could no longer find that feeling and had to reluctantly give up.

Upon reaching a patch of forest, Ah Er called out a few times.

After a long while, a Spirit Beast with the body of a snake and the head of a raccoon dog slowly slithered out.

Its head was still wrapped in medicinal herbs, and it looked completely drained of energy.

Of all the Spirit Beasts Ah Er had rounded up, this one had been the most grievously injured. Since it had no master, Yuan Chu had simply tossed it back into the woods to be done with it.

Seeing this, Ah Er felt a pang of guilt and couldn’t help but offer it a Pill.

This wasn’t a Feeding Pill, but a Healing Elixir it had been saving.

The snake-bodied, raccoon-dog-headed Spirit Beast was stunned. Before it could react, Ah Er had shoved the Pill into its mouth and departed.

Ah Er had traveled the rest of the route many times before and was quite used to it.

After hitching a few rides on disciples’ conveniently-bound Flying Ships, it arrived at the market city and strutted about with its claws clasped behind its back.

When some disciples in the market saw its swagger, their eyes immediately lit up.

This Spirit Beast, after all, was backed by a true master of the Alchemy Dao.

Although they had never met Bai Mo, they knew of his affluence thanks to Ah Er.

Ah Er didn’t even have to approach their stalls; the disciples swarmed it one after another.

Ah Er took out the list Bai Mo had given it. When unrolled, the long sheet of paper was even taller than it was.

After checking with the various market disciples, it didn’t take long to arrange for all the materials. All that was left was to wait for delivery.

Once the prices were agreed upon, Ah Er made arrangements with the disciples and went on its way.

It still remembered Bai Mo’s request for the Pill Formula of the Ten Thousand Medicine Great Pill, so it continued to wander through the market, searching everywhere.

...

Meanwhile, Bai Mo was still on Mi Mountain, mulling over the matter of the Outer Pill.

Yuan Chu and his group had finally found the Great Suanni they had been so eager to see.

The creature had awakened from its slumber and revealed itself willingly. It resembled a great cat wreathed in flame, its eyes hazy with sleep, not deigning to give the group so much as a second glance.

Resigned, Yuan Chu and the others could only obediently begin to examine its body.

Truly worthy of an ancestor-level existence in the sect, it had relied on its innate gifts to outlive several generations of Sect Leaders. It had never been reduced to a mere mount, and its seniority was immense.

In the few short years since arriving at Mi Mountain, it had used the mountain’s baleful yin qi to manipulate the forces of yin and yang, successfully stabilizing its Soul Body.

Divine Dao Mountain’s mastery of this particular art was unparalleled in the Xuandao Sect, and they had originally intended to use this expertise to recruit the Great Suanni.

Now, however, Yuan Chu and his group found themselves utterly unable to deliver the pitch they had prepared.

Just as they finished their thorough inspection and were about to state their findings with beaming smiles, the Great Suanni lazily rolled over.

Before Yuan Chu could even react, it vanished completely.

It left behind a few wisps of Spirit Charm, which drifted about erratically.

In several corners nearby, flames flared and transformed into tiny Suanni, which peered curiously at the group.

A gust of wind swept through, and these little Suanni vanished as well.

Yuan Chu heaved a deep sigh. He went down the mountain, bid farewell to Bai Mo, and left with his fellow sect members on their Flying Ship.

An Caiwei arrived right on their heels.

Yuan Chu’s group had just left when An Caiwei arrived.

The moment she saw Bai Mo, she sucked in a sharp breath, her teeth clenched.

"Whoa!"

"Junior Brother, your cultivation... it’s already higher than mine!"

Bai Mo was unfazed.

"I’ve spent a long time on this mountain with no other distractions, focused solely on the Alchemy Dao and my training. It’s only natural that my progress would be a little faster."

"How is that Outer Pill I gave you working out, Senior Sister?"

An Caiwei thought he had a point.

’This Junior Brother Bai is the type who can handle extreme solitude,’ she thought. ’And he’s certainly not a fool, so his current achievements are no surprise.’

At the thought of Bai Mo’s Outer Pill, she grew excited.

"Your Outer Pill is amazing!"

"It gathers Spiritual Qi incredibly quickly—about thirty percent faster than when I cultivate on my own. The only thing is, it gets used up rather fast..."

Bai Mo took two bottles of Pills from his sleeve and handed them to her.

"It is an external aid, after all. It only gathers Spiritual Qi for you; it doesn’t have the effect of refining it. I’m afraid that will increase the burden on your meridians."

"You should be careful when you use it, Senior Sister."

An Caiwei waved her hand dismissively. "I know, I know."

She glanced around, then suddenly took out an object with an air of mystery and shoved it into Bai Mo’s hand.

"It’s something from the Divine Kingdom. Take a look..."

It was a piece of silk cloth embroidered with a Ten Thousand Spirits Map. The style prioritized spirit over form, creating a wild and ferocious impression.

Along the edge, a scant hundred characters were embroidered in small, golden thread, forming a Pill Formula.

As Bai Mo read it, his eyes narrowed.

"Senior Sister, where did you get this?"

The purpose of this pill was to allow one to meditate on the creatures depicted in the Ten Thousand Spirits Map and borrow their Divine Power.

However, due to the unpredictable nature of such meditative communication, heaven only knew what sort of entity one might contact, or if that entity might seize the opportunity to possess one’s body.

It seemed more like a technique from the reckless Demon Dao—something that couldn’t be brought out into the open within the Xuandao Sect.

An Caiwei smiled smugly.

"Surprising, isn’t it? The things that come out of the Divine Kingdom are a motley bunch. You can find anything and everything."

"I had my younger clan-brother help me find it. I figured you’d have a use for it."

She had a rough idea of Bai Mo’s temperament.

’It’s true he can be reckless with his methods, but he also cherishes his life dearly. He’ll study and learn from this, but he would never actually use such a technique.’

Bai Mo’s gaze lingered on the silk cloth. He nodded and put it away.

"This is extremely useful. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Senior Sister..."

Seeing the intrigued expression on his face, An Caiwei’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t resist adding a few words of warning.

Bai Mo smiled to reassure her.

"When I reach Core Formation, I’ll likely need to refine a great pill to validate my own path, much like the predecessors who certified their Dao."

"This Pill Formula will be helpful to some degree..."

An Caiwei was taken aback.

"What! You’ve already reached that stage!?"

Bai Mo waved his hand dismissively.

"It’s not that dramatic. I’m just making preparations in advance."

"I intend to refine an Outer Pill that incorporates a Divine Technique, but I haven’t even found a starting point yet. I’m still trying to figure it out..."

"Well, you’d better take it slow then."

An Caiwei chatted with him for a little longer before finally departing.

Seeing Bai Mo forge ahead on his cultivation path, her own motivation returned, and she felt a renewed determination to catch up.

After she was gone, Bai Mo took out the silk cloth and stared at it in silence, his thoughts churning.

’Could this be fate?’

’With all other methods at a dead end, now is the perfect time to try this new direction...’

Refining an Outer Pill capable of granting someone Divine Techniques was no simple feat.

Divine Techniques were innate and natural. Compared to the cultivation methods of an ordinary Cultivator, they were far more profound and complex, involving the deeper mysteries of heaven and earth.

Bai Mo’s current idea was to use an incredibly vast and complex medicinal power to construct an "ecosystem" for the Divine Technique.

However, he didn’t know if this method was even feasible and wasn’t very confident in it.

The hunchbacked Cultivator who had been taken back to the Waking Corpse Sect could no longer help him with this matter.

With Bai Mo’s current level of insight, he could tell at a glance that the man had zero accomplishments in the unorthodox path of creating Divine Techniques.

There were likely few in the current era who were proficient in this path, so Bai Mo could only rely on more frequent exchanges with his fellow Daoist, the one known as the "White-Headed Old Man."

Fortunately, this elder was quite interested in the subject and had also pondered it deeply, making him a Daoist friend whose path aligned with Bai Mo’s.

’I’m afraid I’ll have to borrow the strength of Divine Dao Mountain... once Senior Wangni Daoist is free...’