Chapter 337: Out of the Furnace

Chapter 337: Chapter 337: Out of the Furnace

Some time passed.

After two full moons, the Pill was finally complete.

Bai Mo felt a little dazed. This was the first time he had used the ancient method of refining Qi into a Pill.

Moreover, there had been no mishaps; he had succeeded on the first try.

When he lifted the lid of the cauldron, a rich Pill Fragrance wafted out, startling the demons in the black prison and setting off a flurry of whispers.

Their reaction told Bai Mo all he needed to know about the Pill’s quality.

Li Wuji and Ah Er were both beside him, extremely curious about the Pill he had refined.

"What does this Pill do?"

Bai Mo explained, "The Pill is called Celestial Favor. Its original purpose was to defy heaven and alter one’s fate."

"But that requires a grand Cultivator with heaven-defying abilities to capture a newly-formed primordial beast and use it in the Pill Formula."

"This one in my hand is much weaker."

Li Wuji was immediately intrigued.

"If I were to find a Primordial Beast Egg and have you refine a Pill for me, Junior Brother, could it perhaps remove my affliction?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"I’m afraid not."

"This Pill can only help a Cultivator absorb Spiritual Qi and improve their cultivation aptitude."

"But your affliction, Senior Brother, doesn’t seem to lie in that area."

Li Wuji let out a long sigh.

The sun was high in the sky. A streak of golden light shot over, a flying sword hovering in place as Yin Zhen leaped lightly to the ground.

Bai Mo came out to greet him and spoke before any pleasantries could be exchanged.

"I have not failed you. Your Pill is ready, Senior Brother."

The urgent look on Yin Zhen’s face finally faded, replaced by a faint smile on his pale features.

"Thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother."

He didn’t know many people in the inner sect.

Pill Peak of the inner sect was undoubtedly the authority on the Alchemy Dao, but their fees were quite expensive.

For the same price, he trusted this Junior Brother Bai, with whom he had dealt before, much more.

Bai Mo took out a brocade box and handed it over solemnly.

"This Pill is called the Celestial Favor Pill."

Yin Zhen’s hand paused as he took the brocade box.

"What a grand name!"

But Bai Mo said, "It’s an ancient name. The seniors who named it probably did so with a certain wish in mind. You needn’t pay it any mind, Senior Brother."

Yin Zhen nodded slightly.

"What exactly does the Pill do?"

Bai Mo was prepared for this and explained slowly,

"When a Cultivator consumes this Pill, a ’vortex ear’ will form inside their body. It’s shaped like a whirlpool and located at the heart, no different from one of the body’s Acupoints."

"With this ’vortex ear,’ the speed at which you draw in Spiritual Qi will increase dramatically!"

This was the first time Yin Zhen had ever heard of such a peculiar Pill.

"What you say, Junior Brother, is rather sensational."

"A person’s aptitude is determined by the heavens. There are very few miraculous items that can alter it..."

"And a primordial beast happens to be one of them!"

Bai Mo held up one finger.

"Have you heard of any other disciple in the last hundred years obtaining a Primordial Beast Egg like you did, Senior Brother? This item is exceedingly rare!"

"Unfortunately, the stone egg’s life force had completely dissipated. After I opened it, I found the embryo was severely damaged. Even so, I was able to refine a Pill with the remaining essence."

"The speed at which that ’vortex ear’ absorbs Spiritual Qi might even be comparable to the cultivation speed of an ordinary Cultivator..."

Hearing this, Yin Zhen’s breath caught in his throat.

Though it still felt unreal, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of resentment toward the person who had cast a spell to harm the Primordial Beast Egg.

"If it can truly do this, then I am deeply indebted to you, Junior Brother."

At this point, he felt that the injuries he had suffered before were all worth it.

Bai Mo didn’t think much of it.

"A Primordial Beast Egg is rare. If you had gone to Pill Peak, Senior Brother, they naturally would have treated it with the utmost care."

"Not necessarily," Yin Zhen said with a smile.

"Even if I had gone to them, whether or not they could have utilized the Primordial Beast Egg to this extent, or refined a Pill like the Celestial Favor Pill, is another matter entirely."

"Besides, their fees are much higher. To be honest with you, Junior Brother, I had to borrow the Spirit Stones to buy that earth-element heavenly treasure..."

As he spoke, both of them couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

In the outside world, Yin Zhen was, after all, a Prince of a dynasty. His noble status went without saying.

To have fallen to such a state was always surprising.

The two chatted and laughed for a moment. When Yin Zhen was about to leave, Bai Mo quickly added some instructions:

"Senior Brother, your health is poor. When you take the Pill, it would be best to have an elder proficient in the Dao of Creation with you."

"After all, adding a foreign Acupoint will inevitably have some effect on your body."

Yin Zhen nodded.

"I’ll remember that."

"Oh, right. A few days ago, I saw three fellow disciples from Divine Dao Mountain. They seemed to be looking for you and even asked me about you."

Bai Mo knew many people from Divine Dao Mountain, so he asked,

"What did they look like?"

"There were three of them. One was unusually burly, a real man’s man. Another had freakishly long arms."

"And the third one..." Yin Zhen paused.

"He was short and stout, decked out in jewels. The aura of wealth around him was so thick it almost drowned him, enough to make anyone’s eyes burn with envy."

Bai Mo was stunned as he watched Yin Zhen depart.

He had a good idea who they were. It had to be Yuan Chu and his two brothers.

The three of them had sought him out for a Pill before the Secret Realm opened, and they had done very well for themselves inside it.

’But what’s with Gong Gui being all decked out in jewels?’

’I remember his Dharma Protector was the Money Turtle. Could it be related to that?’

’But when I met them before, the three of them looked anything but wealthy.’

Shaking his head, Bai Mo put it out of his mind.

He turned and went back into the stone house.

Li Wuji shook out his completely dry clothes. For the past few days, Ah Er had been helping him with his laundry.

"Junior Brother, your Pills are truly wondrous, to think they can make someone grow a new Acupoint out of thin air."

"Are there any Pills that can let someone attain the Dao in an instant?"

Bai Mo laughed.

"That’s not realistic. But if one could find the right miraculous materials, it’s possible to grant someone a few more extraordinary skills."

"That was the original purpose of the Alchemy Dao, but it’s become very difficult to achieve now due to the scarcity of materials."

With that, Bai Mo cupped his hands in a small bow.

"I’ll have to trouble you to keep an eye on things for a while longer, Senior Brother. I’m going to refine a Pill for Ah Er and see if I can improve its bloodline."

"It’s not good for it to be squawking so noisily all the time. It’s better to raise its aptitude a bit so it can refine its hyoid bone sooner."

Li Wuji had no objection.

"After all the help it’s given me these past few days, it would seem ungrateful of me to refuse."

"But please be quick, Junior Brother."

He glanced toward the black prison and lowered his voice.

"I’ve received news. They say the Sea Race from the Unpassable River has been driven out."

"Many of the Core Formation Sea Race were killed. Their heads were hung from flagpoles and planted in the sea to intimidate those with ulterior motives."

"Even two Sea Race members at the Nascent Soul Realm were slain!"

Bai Mo’s emotions churned as he listened, and for a moment, he felt the urge to go see it for himself.

But the thought was fleeting. With his current strength, if he got caught up in it, he wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

"Then the Unpassable River Sea Eye..."

Li Wuji said gravely,

"I’m afraid it’s about to be completely suppressed."

"When that time comes, the various sects will contribute people and effort. It will require more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators as a sacrifice..."

"Mm," Bai Mo responded softly.

"I understand."

Although he didn’t know how many Nascent Soul cultivators his own sect would have to offer, he suspected the number of prisoners in the jail was about to decrease by more than just two.

At this thought, Bai Mo, who had planned to leisurely refine the Pill for Ah Er, began to feel a sense of urgency.

He flicked out a Feeding Pill, startling the badger that was sleeping on its back on the ground.

"Its cultivation is weak. To take the Pill, it must be in its best possible condition."

"For the next few days, I’ll have to rely on your help, Senior Brother."

This badger was a diligent worker, but when it came to cultivation, it was clueless and rather lazy.

Li Wuji smiled.

"Leave it to me."

Bai Mo then said to Ah Er, "You’re in for a rough time."

With that, he closed the door to the stone house.