Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: The Pill of Gold and Iron

After a few visits from the Demon Hunting Team, Xue Ning and Wei An finally settled down.

The massive Demon Beast parts were moved into the warehouse behind the shop, where Wei An took it upon himself to light pine branches.

The smoke cured the meat, infusing it with a rich pine fragrance as it dried.

Bai Mo liked it, so Wei An went all out.

After several consecutive days of guidance from Bai Mo, Xue Ning and Wei An had no more questions about the Pill Formula.

Any remaining problems would only surface once they began the practical work.

Additionally, Bai Mo pointed out the shortcomings in their judgment and techniques. He could spot the flaws in their fundamentals with a single glance.

In the shop, the two middle-aged Cultivators rediscovered their initial passion.

As their Alchemy Skills improved, with no way to repay Bai Mo, they often took the initiative to discuss the contents of the Pill Book with Wei An.

They would also explain confusing points in the Pill Formula to the other two apprentices.

Thus, Bai Mo finally got some peace and quiet.

In the Alchemy Room.

Bai Mo sat cross-legged.

The Pill Formula from his senior brothers lay before him. It was untitled, the Pill’s name and its creator both unknown. The ink was still fresh.

Bai Mo studied it for a long time before he began to understand its intricacies.

’Whose handiwork is this? One of the elders?’

’It was probably an elder from the sect who, struck by an idea, formulated this Pill Formula from a high-level perspective.’

From Bai Mo’s point of view, there was nothing to criticize in the Pill Formula; its completeness was evident.

’But no matter the Pill Formula, you can never be sure it’s viable until you actually try to refine it.’

’I’ll give it a try.’

Fortunately, the ingredients weren’t expensive. As for the one missing ore, he sent Qin Wen to the market, who managed to procure it.

The ingredients were tossed into the Pill Furnace in sequence, and before long, their medicinal properties were fully activated.

Bai Mo’s hands moved with incredible speed. As he monitored the changes in medicinal energy, he added ingredients at precise moments, his arms moving so fast they were almost a blur.

If one’s Alchemy Skill wasn’t superb, they wouldn’t even get a chance to attempt it.

Before long, an unpleasant odor began to fill the Alchemy Room.

Thick white smoke billowed from the Pill Furnace, enveloping the Alchemy Room in a hazy fog.

Bai Mo’s expression remained unchanged.

’This elder certainly has a flair for the dramatic. It’s just a normal transformation of medicinal energy, but they had to make it look so profound.’

’I shouldn’t have followed their sequence.’

With that thought, Bai Mo tossed in the fist-sized black ore he was holding.

A puff of green smoke was followed by a pungent, acrid smell, and sparks began to fly.

Bai Mo froze. Without a second thought, he leaped up, dashed out of the Alchemy Room, and pulled the door shut behind him.

He waited quietly for a moment. After hearing a muffled THUMP, Bai Mo opened the door.

The acrid smell in the Alchemy Room was nearly suffocating. Bai Mo grabbed a cattail fan and fanned the air as he hurried over to the Pill Furnace.

He knocked the lid off the Pill Furnace with one hand, revealing the scene within.

A black, pasty sludge of medicinal dregs. The fist-sized ore sat within, almost completely undissolved, still glowing with flecks of red and radiating intense heat.

One could only imagine the tremendous energy that had just been unleashed inside the Pill Furnace.

Attracted by the sound and the smell, Qin Wen arrived.

He knew nothing of alchemy, and he had a cloth tied around his face, covering his mouth and nose tightly.

"Shopkeeper."

Bai Mo nodded.

"Clean it up."

So Qin Wen opened the doors and windows and skillfully began to clean away all traces of the failure.

The Alchemy Room would need to air out for at least an hour before the smell completely dissipated.

Bai Mo stepped outside for some fresh air and immediately heard a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha!"

"How goes it, Junior Brother? A few days have passed. Any progress on that Pill for us?"

Bai Mo looked over and saw one of the senior brothers from the other day. He replied irritably,

"A Pill Formula that was only recently devised—and for a poisonous Pill meant for internal consumption, no less. You senior brothers actually dared to steal it?"

"I don’t know whether to admire your courage or despair at it."

The disciple pursed his lips.

"Relax, Junior Brother. Our master said that as long as this Pill Formula is refined properly, the effect will be more or less as intended."

"We’ve invested heavily for next year’s assessment, and this Pill Formula is our most important guarantee."

"We’ll have to trouble you to put in your best effort, Junior Brother."

He took a bright red fruit from his sleeve, stuffed it into Bai Mo’s hand, and broke into a wide, fawning smile.

"Please do your best, Junior Brother. We’ll be sure to remember this kindness."

Bai Mo recognized the Spirit Fruit as a valuable aid for cultivation, and his expression softened slightly.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I will do my best."

"It’s just that the Pill’s toxicity is quite high. I’m worried your bodies won’t be able to withstand it when you take it."

The disciple chuckled.

"We don’t know a thing about alchemy. That’s for you to figure out, Junior Brother Bai."

"Just do your best. Even if you fail in the end, that’s just our fate."

"At worst, several years of our hard work will go down the drain, and we’ll disappoint our masters and families. As long as our path on the Dao isn’t severed, it’s not the end of the world..."

Bai Mo felt the Spirit Fruit in his hand suddenly become a heavy burden, and his grip loosened.

But his senior brother, ever so "considerate," grabbed his hand and said,

"We have to go out often for a while, so we won’t be stopping by much. We’ll bring you back something interesting when we return."

Only then did Bai Mo’s mind settle.

Back in the Alchemy Room, the water from Qin Wen’s cleaning had completely dried.

Bai Mo closed the door to the Alchemy Room, picked up an iron rod, and with a few loud CLANGS, smashed the black ore into fragments.

Following the instructions in the Pill Formula, he once again began tossing the ingredients in one by one.

Four hours later, the Pill in the furnace had still failed to form. Bai Mo poured away the silvery-white waste liquid.

From sunrise to sunset, he lost count of how many batches he attempted to refine.

The man who pushed a handcart through the streets during the day, helping people dispose of their trash, was terrified.

For several days running, he had been hauling away all sorts of strange things from Bai Mo’s shop.

The smell of the refuse was beyond description.

For someone in his line of work, a bad smell wasn’t usually a big deal.

But when he considered Bai Mo’s identity, he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly these foul-smelling things were.

Qin Wen’s solemn warnings as he loaded the materials onto the handcart were especially unnerving.

Not daring to probe any further, the man took it all—the wooden barrels, the medicinal dregs, and the waste liquid—and transported it to the deserted outskirts to be buried.

After several more days of this, Bai Mo finally succeeded in refining two pills.

When he retrieved them from the Pill Furnace, the Pills were still silver. After an hour, their color became indistinguishable from that of ordinary metal.

Bai Mo flicked one of the Pills. After confirming that it could be safely swallowed, he finally relaxed.

’It seems my knowledge is still lacking. I actually doubted whether such a thing was possible with mineral-based alchemy.’

Qin Wen was waiting at the door. He looked somewhat surprised when Bai Mo emerged.

"No need to clean up?"

Bai Mo said with satisfaction, "The Pills are done. No need."

Understanding dawned on Qin Wen’s face, and he asked,

"Shopkeeper, you’ve been working for days on a Pill requested by a distinguished disciple of the sect. It must be something wondrous."

"May I have a look?"

Bai Mo hesitated for a moment before taking out one of the Pills.

As the Pill with its metallic luster was revealed, Qin Wen’s eyes widened.

"A Pill like this... its quality is truly extraordinary. It must be incredibly rare. I imagine most people have never seen anything like it."

Bai Mo thought for a moment before replying,

"It’s not that it’s rare, but that pills made from minerals tend to have violent medicinal properties. Gentle ones are few and far between."

"Most Cultivators don’t even consider using them for their training, so you rarely see them on the market."

Among Alchemy Cultivators, however, mineral-based pills were still quite popular.

Qin Wen observed Bai Mo’s expression, sneaking a glance at him before choosing his words carefully.

"How about... I find someone to test the Pill for you?"

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