Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: A Fortunate Person

Bai Mo was in closed-door cultivation, completely oblivious to the world outside.

Two groups of his fellow sect disciples came to visit during this time, but both were turned away.

The disciples from the Xuandao Sect were quite patient, saying with a smile:

"We are currently staying at the Mountain View Tower. When our junior brother emerges from seclusion, we hope you’ll let us know."

The politeness of disciples from a major sect was a pleasant surprise for Wei An and the others, and it eased much of their apprehension about having to turn them away.

As he watched the Xuandao Sect Cultivators depart, Qin Wen couldn’t help but nod.

"A grand sect truly has a distinguished air about it."

They exchanged a few pleasantries, then suddenly saw someone at the door.

He was a scrawny man who glanced around furtively before lowering his head and hurrying inside.

Qin Wen sized the man up. He wore coarse linen clothes with Soft Armor underneath and had a simple saber slung at his waist.

His appearance and build were nothing special. The battle-hardened aura he exuded might have given him some presence,

but half his face was a wrinkled, dark-red mess, making him look rather demonic and quite frightening.

"Stop staring. You really think anyone’s going to be scared off by that face?"

"With your wealth now, even with a face like that, wouldn’t it be easy to find a sweet young concubine?"

Qin Wen greeted Liu Yaozi and walked toward the shelves where they kept the Pills for mountain expeditions.

A few days ago, this man had delivered a fire-aspected Anomalous Lizard and received a reward of one thousand Spirit Stones from Bai Mo.

To think he wasn’t even resting today and was already heading back to the mountain.

Liu Yaozi gritted his teeth.

"Don’t make fun of me, Qin Wen. You know what a tigress I have at home."

"Besides, in our line of work, whether it’s building strength or gathering cultivation resources, everything needs Spirit Stones. How long can a thousand of them possibly last?"

With that, he swept his hand across the shelf, grabbing two bottles each of healing and detoxification Pills, including the Condensed Dew Pill.

"But you’ve certainly become chattier now that you’re working for the Pill Master. You never used to talk this much."

Qin Wen fell silent for a moment.

"Maybe I’ve just relaxed a little."

The two of them went up to Wei An, who glanced at the Pills and said,

"That will be twenty Spirit Stones."

Liu Yaozi nodded but didn’t rush to hand over the Spirit Stones. Instead, he pulled an herb from within his robes.

The herb was a vibrant green with a bright red tip.

"I don’t know anything about herbs. Could you take a look and tell me how many Spirit Stones this is worth?"

Qin Wen shot him a glance.

’Those aren’t words a Loose Cultivator should be saying.’

’This Pill Master’s shop is just too honest. It hasn’t swindled enough people to teach them a proper lesson.’

Wei An, however, wore a focused expression. He took the green herb, examined it closely, and sniffed lightly at its roots.

Only then did he speak. "It’s worth seven Spirit Stones."

Qin Wen’s eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"

Wei An shook his head.

"There’s a unique fragrance near the roots. It’s definitely a Soul-Calling Grass. Rumor has it they grow from the brains of dead Demon Beasts."

"The Shopkeeper acquired one once, and I was there when it happened."

Qin Wen looked at Liu Yaozi, finding it hard to believe.

’Does this guy really have such good luck?’

Meeting Qin Wen’s gaze, Liu Yaozi gritted his teeth again, fumbled inside his robes, and pulled out two palm-sized spirit herbs.

This time, even Wei An couldn’t hide his surprise. After a careful inspection, he exclaimed in disbelief,

"These two grew as a pair! When they’re together like this, their medicinal potency is at its peak. I can offer you ten Spirit Stones for them."

Qin Wen’s expression, however, turned grim.

"Liu Yaozi, you haven’t run into some kind of trouble, have you?"

"The disastrous consequences of certain... methods... are not something that small-timers like us can afford to bear."

Liu Yaozi shook his head and simply said,

"You can just say I paid for it with this face of mine!"

"It’s not like I can show it in public anymore."

They completed the transaction. With the herbs covering most of the cost of the Pills, Liu Yaozi only had to pay a small difference in Spirit Stones.

"This stuff really is valuable!"

"Alchemist Bai is an honest man and treats us all well. That’s why I’m selling them here."

"We’re all acquaintances here, so you better not breathe a word of this to anyone!"

Qin Wen simply returned a contemptuous smile.

Reassured, Liu Yaozi left the shop and headed for the city gate.

"I’m off! See you around!"

He blended into the crowd outside, head down as he weaved through the people, and quickly disappeared from sight.

Qin Wen looked at Wei An.

"He really has that kind of luck?"

Wei An nodded, gently handling the three herbs.

"These herbs are quite rare. It’s a bit of a waste, though. They weren’t fully mature."

"If they had been, they could have sold for forty or fifty Spirit Stones."

Qin Wen was startled.

Even a veteran herb gatherer would need an incredible stroke of luck to find so many valuable items at once.

’Considering Wei An hasn’t been studying the Alchemy Dao for very long, I can’t help but have my doubts.’

...

BOOM!

The heavy door to the quiet room was pushed open, and Bai Mo emerged. A cool breeze blew through the hall just then, feeling wonderfully refreshing.

The aura around him had not yet settled.

However, the spiritual and physical impact of his breakthrough had suppressed the heavy, chaotic thoughts that had been plaguing his mind.

The two meridians he had been working on were now tougher and more resilient.

As Spiritual Qi flowed through the Baihui acupoint on the crown of his head, Bai Mo felt his thoughts become sharp and active.

When he walked into the main shop, he happened upon the sight of Wei An and Qin Wen arguing.

Wei An looked flustered, his face flushed red.

"What happened?"

Bai Mo asked as he strode in.

The two in the shop looked over at the same time, pleasantly surprised.

Sensing the change in Bai Mo’s aura, Qin Wen cupped his fists in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Shopkeeper, on taking another step on your great path."

’And yet, a chill went down his spine.’

’The Shopkeeper emerged with such a clamor, yet I didn’t even notice.’

’Sure, I was distracted by the argument with Wei An, but the bigger reason was probably that I’ve grown lax.’

Bai Mo approached with a smile, finding the stern look on Qin Wen’s face a bit strange.

"What’s the matter?"

Qin Wen snapped back to his senses and quickly explained,

"Nothing, sir. We acquired a few herbs today, and we had some disagreements about them, so we were arguing."

He then recounted what had just happened.

Bai Mo took the three herbs from Wei An. He placed the two spirit herbs side by side to compare them.

"Not bad. Wei An, you’ve developed a decent eye. You could almost manage a shop on your own!"

"You didn’t misidentify these three herbs," Bai Mo said approvingly.

"There is just one thing. A Soul-Calling Grass should have a small bulb at the base of its main root, an earthy yellow color with a hint of gold."

"Liu Yaozi probably doesn’t know the proper harvesting method and broke it off, leaving the best part behind. Seven Spirit Stones is actually a bit high for it, but it’s no big deal."

Wei An was delighted at first, but his expression turned sheepish by the end of Bai Mo’s explanation.

’The properties and appearance of herbs are fundamental to the Alchemy Dao. That was a careless oversight on my part.’

Bai Mo told Wei An to put the herbs away.

"Celestial Barrier Mountain really is full of opportunities. This Liu Yaozi must be a lucky fellow."

This sort of thing happened all the time in Immortal Arrival City. Every year, a few people would strike it rich and become the subject of envious gossip.

Bai Mo didn’t pay it much mind.

"Have any of my fellow sect members come looking for me these past few days?"

’I wonder if An Caiwei’s friends have arrived yet. According to her, they’re big spenders.’

Qin Wen quickly replied,

"Two groups came by. They looked travel-worn and smelled of wood and soil."

’That’s how I used to smell when I was in the Celestial Barrier Mountain.’

Realization dawned on Bai Mo.

"They must have taken the long way around through Celestial Barrier Mountain. Sounds like they’re all senior brothers who love to fight."

’In that case, they definitely aren’t Junior Sister An’s friends. Her group comes from prominent families; they wouldn’t act so rough.’

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