Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 249: Chapter 249: The Dust Settles

"The ways of the Demon Dao!"

"Typical Demon Dao behavior!!"

The old Shopkeeper of the bookshop slammed his hand on the counter, his aged face taut with anger.

He had come to ask about the human sacrifices that had become the talk of the town.

"How could this be!?"

"The human heart is an abyss. Not everyone’s resolve is firm. Once they tread this path, there’s no turning back."

"Is another man-made disaster upon us?"

Bai Mo gently patted his back and soothed him.

"Don’t worry, sir. The people responsible have all been cleaned up."

"The world is clear again. There’s no longer any ground for them to operate on in the Immortal Arrival City area."

Only then did the old Shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief.

"You don’t understand how serious this is."

"Imagine if every family started making sacrifices, competing with and sabotaging one another. Sooner or later, Immortal Arrival City would be plunged into armed conflict, and we’d lose thirty or forty percent of the population..."

He began to tell Bai Mo a story from the past about a large village outside the city, dominated by a single clan.

"Back then, we were all a bit muddle-headed. In our haste to reclaim the wilderness and restore Immortal Arrival City’s prosperity, we welcomed anyone and everyone back."

"A Cultivator secretly spread the ways of the Demon Dao. Everyone in that village began secretly sacrificing to an Evil God. They’d welcome guests with smiling faces, but in reality, they were plotting to harm them."

"After too many outsiders died, we all felt there was something evil about that village and stayed away. Later, we heard stories of the villagers fighting amongst themselves."

He sighed.

"By the time someone investigated, six out of every ten homes in the village were empty. Entire families had been wiped out. It was only when we confronted the villagers that we discovered the truth."

"They were killing people as sacrifices to receive a response from the Evil God. Those who received a response could collect a ’divine dew’ each day to aid their cultivation..."

Ever since then, the old man had been extremely wary of such sacrifices.

He was often thankful that such practices had only been confined to one village and hadn’t spread on a larger scale.

"That divine dew... it was actually effective. Even better than ordinary Pills. It’s terrifying..."

Wei An asked curiously,

"What happened to those villagers back then? What did you do with them?"

The old Shopkeeper glanced at him.

"What else could be done for such a heinous crime? But there were over a thousand of them, including the old and the young. We didn’t actually take a sword to their necks."

"We just exiled them."

"Huh?" Wei An was surprised that the people back then had been so indecisive and soft-hearted.

"Exiled them into Celestial Barrier Mountain."

"You can’t leave a single one who’s tasted the sweetness. The rumor back then was that a Demonic Cultivator was raising them like livestock, waiting for them to ’ripen’ before harvesting them..."

The old Shopkeeper explained slowly.

A fate like that was no different from being beheaded.

Other customers in the shop were also listening in.

They were of a younger generation and didn’t know such old stories.

And with the recent events around Immortal Arrival City, they were naturally interested in what the old man had to say.

"It really was the work of Demonic Cultivators."

Xu Ruyuan strode in.

"Twenty-five Cultivators from the Xuandao Sect traveled a thousand miles to storm the manor. They slaughtered the guards inside and have already uprooted the entire stronghold."

Bai Mo hadn’t heard a single word about this.

After a moment of thought, Bai Mo said,

"I didn’t see any of our sect brothers go out to greet them. The sect must have been furious, sending disciples to strike with lightning speed."

"Did they find anything inside?"

Xu Ruyuan chuckled slyly.

"They sure did, and this is something others don’t know."

"I was right there on the scene. I only managed to get a close look by dropping Brother Bai’s name."

"Over a hundred large chests of gold and silver, all sorts of cultivation resources... Tsk tsk, it was enough to make your mouth water."

"Most notably, there were also plenty of props for their smoke-and-mirrors tricks—things they used to spread their doctrine."

"The one protecting them was a Demonic Cultivator. What a beast—a body as big as a barn door. After engorging himself on blood, he was so bloated he was barely recognizable. Even cleaning up the corpse was a chore."

This was definitely the latest news.

As Xu Ruyuan spoke, his expression turned grim.

"Inside that manor, they were keeping a lot of herb-gathering Cultivators who’d been recruited from the city."

"The reason those fiends targeted me was because a few of my men were spotted while being deployed. The one who saw them was doubling as an herb gatherer for the manor."

"People like that were dying every day, turned into blood sacs for someone else’s cultivation. The city’s herb-gathering business is going to take a huge hit..."

「At noon, Chang Qing came to the shop.」

He purchased a large quantity of Fire Marrow Pills.

"Senior Brother, what do you need so many for?"

Bai Mo asked.

They had met while hunting down Demonic Cultivators. Bai Mo had even helped him find some high-grade animal pelts, so they were on fairly close terms.

Without looking up, Chang Qing just said,

"The senior brothers from the sect arrived without a word and helped us out big time. Don’t we have to show some appreciation?"

But Bai Mo had never heard of the Xuandao Sect having such a tradition.

Chang Qing still hadn’t fully recovered from the blow a Demonic Cultivator had dealt to the top of his head.

The red in his eyes hadn’t completely faded, leaving behind a murky, yellowish tint.

Seeing Bai Mo’s puzzled expression, he explained,

"The sect was afraid things would get out of hand here, so they sent these few over to keep things under control. Several of them were even dragged out of secluded cultivation."

"Besides, if we want them to go to a little extra trouble and give us some more help, shouldn’t we be a bit more thoughtful?"

"It would be a huge waste not to make use of skills as good as theirs!"

Bai Mo finally nodded. "So that’s how it is."

"I also have the Water and Fire Life-saving Pill here. It’s an excellent Pill for balancing yin and yang."

"Senior Brother, you might want to buy some."

Chang Qing shook his head.

"A Pill like that isn’t for gifting. I heard the Fire Marrow Pills you have here have a unique quality, which is why I was specifically sent to buy them."

Bai Mo was at a loss for words.

After a moment’s thought, Bai Mo still had Wei An help pack up the Fire Marrow Pills while he pulled Chang Qing aside.

"Senior Brother, what’s the story with that manor?"

Chang Qing’s face darkened.

"It was set up by Demonic Cultivators. If they want to operate long-term, they’ll always need ways to stay hidden."

"I just don’t know which branch they belong to, that they’d dare to provoke the sect."

With an indignant look, he took the Fire Marrow Pills from Wei An and left without another word.

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Mo shook his head and sighed.

"The whole city is in an uproar."

’But with the sect involved, this incident won’t be able to make any big waves. A few ripples at most.’

Wei An whispered from the side,

"That manor was the ringleader; who knows how many herb gatherers it brought together."

"Now that it’s been dealt with, it’s left a huge gap in the market. Senior Xu has already started making his moves."

This was naturally a good thing.

When everyone got off work at dusk, Bai Mo addressed the group:

"The city hasn’t been peaceful lately. Remnants of the Demon Dao are still around, so everyone be careful."

"But they probably can’t stir up much trouble anymore."

"I’m about to enter secluded cultivation to research a Pill refining method. It’s a technique that requires multiple people to refine together. If I can simplify it, I’ll pass it on to you all."

Upon hearing this, everyone beamed with joy.

What Pill Master was ever so eager to teach their Pill Methods? Only here, where the Shopkeeper came up with something new every so often.

The only problem was that their skills were lacking and they weren’t talented enough, so there was a lot they failed to grasp.

As for Hou Cheng, he felt a surge of gratitude toward his uncle, wondering how the man had ever found such a wonderful place to work.

He had originally thought he’d have to work as an apprentice for years before learning any real secrets.

But now it seemed this place wasn’t like that at all.

’I really came to the right place!’

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