Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Backup Plan

The turmoil from the sacrificial rites in Immortal Arrival City had just subsided, and peace quickly returned.

The city’s cultivators, like those from Lanshan Mountain, had to hunt and make a living, leaving them little time to worry about anything else.

Whether for their cultivation or their future, few in the city had any time to spare.

Even Bai Mo’s neighbor, the nightlife wastrel Sun Qiao, wasn’t truly idle. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be busy in broad daylight with dark circles under his eyes.

With such large crowds, who knew how many Demonic Cultivators were mingling within, moving about freely.

The Xuandao Sect Cultivators in the Mountain View Tower were truly unaware.

"Damn it all, when are they going to clear those people out and give me some peace?"

"They’re a major sect, aren’t they? Can’t they pull out some real measures?"

Sun Qiao was filled with righteous indignation.

He had a decent relationship with Bai Mo, so Wei An was still very respectful toward him.

"Senior Sun, don’t be anxious. It’s only a matter of time."

"Look, isn’t it perfectly calm and peaceful right now?"

It had been nearly half a month without any news. The Demonic Cultivators seemed to have all gone into hiding, making no moves.

Sun Qiao was fuming, but there was nothing he could do.

A few days ago, when he was about to leave the city to purchase supplies, he had run into Demonic Cultivators on a killing spree.

A spinning blade, chillingly cold, had grazed his scalp as it flew past.

The experience had scared Sun Qiao out of his wits. Fortunately, there had been no news of such incidents since.

As he was muttering to himself, Sun Qiao suddenly saw an old man hurry inside.

"Hey, who’s that guy? I’ve seen him a few times. Some big shot?"

Sun Qiao jutted his chin, gesturing for Wei An to look at the old man.

Wei An recognized him with a single glance and couldn’t help but sigh.

"He’s a neighbor from down the street, staying at Uncle Mo’s house."

Seeing that Sun Qiao was listening intently, Wei An decided to share a few things he could talk about.

The old man browsed in the shop for a long time, but in the end, he still only selected a few Feeding Pills to buy.

"Brother Wei, does the shop still only have the same old varieties?"

"No new Pills at all?"

The old man said with a smile as he came to the front counter to pay.

Wei An had run out of good temper.

"Senior, you come here so often, yet you only ever buy Pills for that dog you’re raising. You’re never willing to buy even half a Pill for yourself."

"Why do you care so much?"

The old man didn’t get angry. He simply paid with his Spirit Stones, chatted a little longer, and then left the shop.

Watching his retreating figure, Sun Qiao finally remembered something.

"Oh! So he’s that dog-selling old man!"

"I’ve heard his name for a while but never actually seen him. Haha, someday I’ll get a good dog for my house too, just for the novelty of it!"

Just as Sun Qiao was speaking, he suddenly heard a commotion outside, followed by panicked shouts.

He jolted and hurried to the door to see.

In the middle of a circle formed by the retreating crowd, a Cultivator stood pale-faced, clutching his wrist in confusion.

Sun Qiao’s face paled as well, and he cried out:

"It’s a Demonic Cultivator!"

Only then did he see a Cultivator with a dignified bearing standing on a nearby roof, his hands clasped behind his back.

Beside him, a flying sword hovered, trembling slightly and emitting a low hum.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Several grappling hooks flew out from the crowd, ensnaring the Demonic Cultivator who had lost the ability to resist.

Wei An also came out to watch. He saw the hooks tighten, binding the Cultivator securely.

Seeing the way the man’s body convulsed, it was clear that countless bones had been broken.

The Demonic Cultivator was dragged away, and the crowd dispersed.

Some people, with expressions showing they were used to such sights, turned and left.

If one listened carefully, their conversations could be overheard.

Vaguely, words like "the other day," "slain," and "escaped" could be heard frequently.

Wei An had a sudden realization.

’So, Sect Disciples are moving around, suppressing the hidden Demonic Cultivators.’

’No wonder things have been so quiet. It’s because people are out there keeping the peace.’

His eyes scanned the area, finally finding the old man’s figure.

The old man looked as if he was still shaken from the shock.

After the crowd dispersed, he stood alone in place. After taking a few deep breaths, he stumbled away as if he had lost his way.

「Meanwhile.」

Bai Mo sat cross-legged in a quiet room, the floor covered with densely-written manuscripts.

’This method of co-refining... it really is a bit difficult for one person to complete.’

Beneath the nearby Pill Furnace, half the firewood remained. Inside the furnace, the Pill Liquid churned, occasionally bubbling up.

Having reached this step, all that was left was to add the key ingredients, and it would be more or less complete.

However, Bai Mo grabbed some more medicinal ingredients and put them in.

’For him, refining this Pill is a matter of mental effort. It just takes a bit more work.’

’It’s better to put more energy into its medicinal properties to explore potential changes.’

This action also held great significance for the shop’s assistants.

’If they’re going to co-refine it, I have to find some margin for error. Otherwise, it would be easy to fail at the last step.’

「Half a day later.」

The Pill Liquid had solidified. Bai Mo waited for it to cool, then pried it out of the Pill Furnace, scraped off a bit of powder, and tasted it.

’Not bad. Not a waste.’

With that thought, he poured the entire contents of the furnace into a wooden bucket.

Looking around, Bai Mo gathered the manuscripts, tidied them up, and finally left the quiet room.

The solidified medicinal liquid now sat in the bucket; with a little force, the contents could be easily crushed into powder.

After placing the wooden bucket in a safe spot, Bai Mo didn’t bother with anything else. He went straight to his room, fell onto his bed, and went to sleep.

When he woke again, it was long past noon. The sun’s heat was no longer so fierce, feeling pleasantly warm.

Pushing open the door to the Alchemy Room, Bai Mo handed the wooden bucket to Hou Cheng.

"This is..."

Hou Cheng was puzzled.

Bai Mo said, "It’s what’s left over from testing the Pills. I’ve already tested all the medicinal properties and balanced them with other ingredients."

"If you refine it into the Feeding Pills, it will also be good fodder for Spirit Beasts."

Hou Cheng nodded hurriedly.

In all his years, this was the first time he had seen a method for reusing waste liquid.

He looked at Bai Mo with even greater admiration.

"Shopkeeper, about that co-refining method you mentioned..."

Bai Mo nodded.

"It’s complete. But the three of you still need to work harder, or you won’t even meet the threshold to practice this method."

Saying this, Bai Mo took out his manuscripts and handed them to the group.

"There are several copies here, with the parts each person is responsible for noted down. When the time comes, you can choose the position you’re most confident with."

Bai Mo explained a few more things to them. Seeing their thoughtful expressions, he then left the Alchemy Room.

He came to the storefront, feeling his stomach was completely empty with nothing to fill it.

Just as he was about to ask Wei An to prepare some food, he saw the old man talking with Wei An.

He was holding a dog, but it was different from the previous one. This new pup’s coat was even glossier and shinier.

’Who knows what happened to the last one.’

Seeing Bai Mo approach, the old man beamed.

"Oh! The Shopkeeper has emerged! Seeing you look so worn out, you must have been busy with important matters. I won’t be a nuisance here any longer."

Bai Mo touched his face and indeed rubbed off a bit of medicinal ash.

When he came back to his senses, the old man was already gone.

Wei An looked at Bai Mo and said:

"That old man is up to something. He’s been running over to our place a lot lately."

"Anyone can see something’s not right."

Bai Mo was unconcerned.

"From the looks of him, he doesn’t seem like someone who could stir up much trouble."

The words had barely left his mouth when another clamor erupted outside.

"What’s going on outside?"

Wei An shook his head.

"This is the sixth time this month. They’re arresting a miscreant."

He no longer had any desire to go out and look.

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