Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Arriving in Succession

"Junior Brother Bai’s shop seems to be doing well."

"From what I’ve heard around the sect, his Pills are just as good as those from the fanatics on Pill Peak..."

A disciple spoke up.

The other disciples, however, turned their gazes to the young woman.

"Senior Brother, the source of those sect rumors is standing right in front of you."

Meeting their gazes, the young woman tilted her head and let out a soft huff.

Just then, Bai Mo arrived in a hurry. He was startled to see the young woman, then formally greeted his senior brothers, one by one.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’re too polite."

"Exactly. Here, this is a gift we brought for you, a specialty from our mountain!"

One of the disciples took out an oil-paper package. Bai Mo quickly accepted it with both hands. Inside were a few palm-sized, oily fruits, curved like eggs.

"This is..."

It was the first time Bai Mo had ever seen such a thing, and he was a bit confused.

That disciple explained,

"This is an oilfruit. You can cook it or eat it raw. Eating one will keep you full for three days."

"They’re great to have on hand when you’re out and about."

It wasn’t a particularly valuable gift, but it was the thought that counted.

Bai Mo put it away carefully, having Wei An store it properly in front of them.

"May I ask what brings you senior brothers here today?"

The disciples glanced at the young woman, but she acted nonchalantly.

"I just came down the mountain to see what’s going on. This is your business, you handle it yourselves!"

With that, she clasped her hands behind her back and walked over to a nearby shelf, lowering her head to inspect the Pills.

"Let’s see if there are any new flavors of Pills!"

Qin Wen quickly followed, explaining things to her in a low voice.

The disciples gave a wry smile, moved to the side with Bai Mo, and sat on the folding stools Wei An had brought over to talk business.

"To be honest, Junior Brother Bai, you’ve probably already heard why we’re here."

Bai Mo nodded.

"A few senior brothers came by before, asking me to refine a certain Pill for them. They paid a handsome price."

The disciples were startled. They were the ones who were short on funds with no other source of income, which was why they had come seeking Pills.

"What did those fellow disciples give you?"

Bai Mo replied, "A very rare specialty fruit from Celestial Barrier Mountain, plus over a hundred Spirit Stones."

The disciples breathed a long sigh of relief and smiled.

"I was wondering who could be so generous."

"If that’s the case, we’ll make it worth your while too!"

They exchanged a look, and one of them pulled an old piece of paper from his robes.

"Junior Brother Bai, take a look."

"This is an Ancient Pill. Some of the ingredients are almost impossible to find these days. We were hoping you could help us refine it."

Bai Mo took the old paper. Seeing a Pill name and a faded red seal on it, he knew instantly that it was a legitimate Pill Formula, one authenticated by a predecessor and proven through practice.

After a closer look, Bai Mo’s brows furrowed.

"This Pill... is it used to lure Demon Beasts?"

’No, no, no, it’s probably for more than just that. Some other strange and bizarre things might also be attracted to this Pill...’

Bai Mo muttered to himself, but the disciples’ faces lit up with pleasant surprise.

"Junior Brother, you figured it out! The Pill Formula only says it lures ’aberrations,’ but you could tell so much more. This is wonderful!"

Bai Mo took a sharp breath, pushed the Pill Formula back, and said gravely,

"This Pill cannot be refined lightly. Senior Brothers, you must at least tell me what it’s for."

The disciples weren’t surprised. One of them said,

"To be frank, we are disciples from the Divine Dao Mountain lineage."

"As for this Pill Formula, we found it in the sect’s old archives. It was quite a surprise."

Divine Dao Mountain. An unremarkable mountain within the Xuandao Sect.

Bai Mo had seen it before. The entire mountain was shrouded in a dense mist that the wind could not disperse.

According to Senior Brother Shui Ziming, Divine Dao Mountain’s foundations were still strong, but it had fallen into decline.

Bai Mo had once stood outside the mountain for two hours without being summoned inside before Shui Ziming led him away.

It was called Divine Dao Mountain, but in reality, its disciples dealt with all sorts of strange creatures, including things born from the mutated, residual Divine Thoughts of ancient Cultivators.

"So, Senior Brothers, you’re refining this Pill for..."

"Sigh. It’s for the ancient tomb in the Jade Plate Secret Realm," a disciple from Divine Dao Mountain lamented.

"We’ve had our eyes on it for a long time."

Bai Mo was somewhat astonished.

"There are ancestors living in the Jade Plate Secret Realm?"

"Not at all."

"It’s the grave of strange, sentient creatures—a communal tomb for their entire species," the disciple explained.

"Their residual Divine Thoughts have become entangled, undergoing a peculiar transformation over the ages."

"They are what we’re after."

Bai Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brothers, you can only use this Pill within the Jade Plate Secret Realm. You absolutely must not give it to our fellow disciples from the Golden Jade lineage."

The disciples from Divine Dao Mountain laughed and said in unison,

"We know!"

If the disciples from the Golden Jade lineage got their hands on it, they would undoubtedly use it in some great tomb.

If something went wrong and they summoned some great pre-ancient Cultivator or fiend, the karmic repercussions would be immense.

Worse, some might use methods of karmic divination, and anyone involved would suffer.

"Junior Brother, are you confident you can refine this Pill?"

"At least two of the medicinal ingredients are now extinct, and some others are extremely hard to find," one disciple reminded him.

"We’ve been collecting for a long time, and at best, we can only provide you with seventy percent of the ingredients."

Bai Mo nodded and said after some thought,

"I can’t say for sure, but I do have some experience with medicinal properties and potencies. Let me give it a try."

But Bai Mo didn’t dare make any guarantees.

"It will require a lot of work. Senior Brothers, you’ll have to wait a while."

The disciples immediately waved their hands.

"No problem, no problem."

"Just getting your word is more than enough for us. We dare not ask for more."

After reaching an agreement, the Divine Dao Mountain disciples had to go to Mountain View Tower in the city to check in and see if there was anything they could help with.

Before leaving, they looked at the young woman.

The young woman just told them to go on ahead.

"I can’t help with anything anyway. You guys go."

The disciples, helpless, could only leave first.

The young woman was the very same junior sister who had come to the city with Shui Ziming and Qin Yu.

"Hey! The Pills here don’t even taste that good anymore!"

The young woman, like Qin Yu, was focused solely on advancing her cultivation realm; her practical skills were not very good.

But she was extremely picky about her Pills.

Having popped Pills like candy on a regular basis, she had developed quite a palate for them.

Bai Mo gave a wry smile.

"These Pills are mostly for poor Cultivators. The ingredients aren’t the best, but their main advantage is that they’re cheap."

"Besides, I didn’t refine these Pills, so of course the taste isn’t anything special."

The young woman asked curiously, "What about the Pills you used to refine?"

Bai Mo spread his hands.

"I’ve been busy with the Senior Brothers’ Pills lately. I haven’t personally performed any Alchemy in a long time."

Hearing this, the young woman’s eyes lit up.

"What kind of Pill are you refining? Let me try it!"

Bai Mo jumped in fright.

"Absolutely not."

"The Pills I refined for the previous batch of senior brothers were meant for physical tempering."

"They refine the mineral toxins from the Pills into their skin, aiming for a toughness like metal and stone."

Bai Mo said, "That is not something to be trifled with. You can’t just try it recklessly!"

Hearing this, the young woman’s eyes darted around. She clasped her hands behind her back and said,

"Going by enrollment date, you should be calling me Senior Sister. You need to use the proper honorifics."

"I’m out on important business this time and need to stay in the city for a while. I’ll be dropping by to check on you from time to time, so you’d better take good care of me."

She tilted her head up.

"After all, I’m the one who’s been singing your praises in the sect. You should be grateful."

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow. He was incredibly busy, but he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint an acquaintance, so he had no choice but to agree.

"Fine."

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