Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Commotion

"Not bad, not bad. A very nice flavor!"

An Caiwei beamed, her eyes crinkling in a smile.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Pill that tasted this good."

She stretched lazily in front of Bai Mo, looking quite pleased.

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow.

As the one who had personally refined the Jade Flower Pill, he knew its potency better than anyone.

The immense medicinal power concentrated in a single batch had almost been too much for his Pill Furnace to handle.

Seeing An Caiwei act this way, Bai Mo knew at once that this senior sister of his was no ordinary person.

’At the very least, her Cultivation Technique must be some profound and wondrous art.’

Bai Mo chuckled. "Popping a Pill like that as if it were candy... only you, Senior Sister."

"Anyone else would be called a wasteful glutton."

An Caiwei rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, a roar echoed from somewhere.

"Junior Sister An! Where are the documents for the east side of the city!?"

"The merchant association over there is in an uproar! The Shopkeeper is threatening to hang himself! How dare you delay!?"

An Caiwei simply pouted, offering no response.

"The hunt for the Demon Dao disciples is about to begin! Our senior brothers have been planning this for ages; we can’t afford any delays!"

’Let the east district’s merchant association cause a scene. Who has time to deal with them...’

Be that as it may, she still waved a hand to dismiss Bai Mo.

"This Jade Flower Pill is very potent. Be extremely careful when you take it."

An Caiwei let out a burp, thumping her chest as she spoke.

"I’ll leave you to it, then."

Bai Mo nodded, stood up, and left Mountain View Tower.

The tower was bustling with activity. When he occasionally saw fellow disciples he knew, he would simply offer a nod in acknowledgment.

Bai Mo had no duties at Mountain View Tower, so he didn’t know what all the fuss was about.

It wasn’t until he came across two separate standoffs on his way back that he began to understand.

It was a conflict between a Demon Hunting Team and one of the city’s powerful clans, their tempers flaring over what seemed to be a dispute about profits.

Both sides were at daggers drawn. The leaders drew their weapons and exchanged a few blows.

Although they were wary of the Xuandao Sect’s prestige and a full-blown brawl didn’t break out, blood was still shed.

A well-informed Cultivator gasped.

"How dare they cause trouble in the city!?"

"They’ll never escape a three-month prison sentence for this."

A busybody who had rushed over to watch the spectacle shook his head and explained:

"If it weren’t for that group of out-of-town merchants fanning the flames, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point."

"They’re just bullying the Demon Hunting Team for not having local backing, trying to squeeze their profits."

"Tsk tsk. They should take a good look at themselves before trying to challenge the Demon Hunting Teams’ standing in the Celestial Barrier Mountain."

The speaker shook his head smugly, full of disdain.

A few Cultivators nearby were very interested. Seeing him fall silent, they quickly sidled up to him.

"Please, Fellow Daoist, tell us more of the details..."

But Bai Mo had already walked away.

With outside forces officially setting foot in Immortal Arrival City, such conflicts were only a matter of time.

As far as Bai Mo knew, many "guests" from out of town had already appeared in the Celestial Barrier Mountain.

Some of these Cultivators hoped to make a living this way, earning resources for their cultivation, and had even found their way to Bai Mo’s shop to purchase Pills.

But most of them met a miserable end.

They were no match for the experience of the Demon Hunting Teams.

Even the city’s lone-wolf cultivators usually had advice passed down orally from their predecessors to deal with the dangers in the Celestial Barrier Mountain.

Even so, the members of the Demon Hunting Teams were exceptionally philosophical about whether they would live to enjoy their old age.

This path of fighting for survival was by no means an easy one.

For outsiders, no matter how skilled they were, perishing in the Celestial Barrier Mountain was still a common occurrence.

Bai Mo considered the time of year.

’It’s that time again when the Demon Hunting Teams head into the mountains in droves. Life is only going to get harder for the powerful clans and the outsider Cultivators.’

At this time of year, the Demon Beasts in the mountains were neither seeking mates nor were they the green-eyed starvelings that had just woken from months of hibernation.

It was the best time to deal with them.

It also coincided with some Demon Beasts emerging to fatten up for autumn. With nothing better to do, they wouldn’t waste energy on unnecessary actions.

It was indeed the most peaceful time of the year.

Returning to the street where his shop was located, Bai Mo greeted the old Shopkeeper of the bookstore.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw the old Shopkeeper stick out a finger and point nearby.

Bai Mo looked over and saw a crowd of people gathered together.

’Don’t tell me there’s a conflict on our street too?’

Surprised, Bai Mo walked over, only to see an old man hawking puppies with great enthusiasm.

It was the remnant of the Beastial Sect, the old man who had been guarding the *Distant Mountain Cold Fishing Painting*.

The puppies in front of the stall had not yet opened their eyes and were squirming and tumbling over each other in a pile.

Many well-informed Cultivators were sizing up the puppies on the ground with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

The old man was unconcerned. Instead, he said smugly:

"You all know who I am. How can you still doubt the quality of these dogs?"

Bai Mo watched discreetly for a moment, but couldn’t squeeze through the crowd, so he returned to his shop.

"That old man... how did he get released?"

Qin Wen shook his head.

"I don’t know. I heard he’s still living at Old Man Mo’s place."

"Old Man Mo helped him set up that stall just an hour ago."

The old man’s puppies had long since been confiscated by Mountain View Tower.

Bai Mo had thought the old man would meet a bad end, but he never expected him to get out unharmed.

At that moment, Xu Ruyuan sauntered into the shop, swinging his wide sleeves, and said with a laugh:

"He was released first thing this morning. I even ran into him at the dog market today."

Everyone looked at him, and Xu Ruyuan quickly waved his hands.

"Don’t look at me."

"I greeted the old fellow and asked him about it. He only said that the Xuandao Sect is benevolent."

"Judging by his tone, he didn’t seem to hold any grudges. And from the looks of it, he really plans to make an honest living now."

The old man was cunning; the dogs he was now selling were all sourced from the dog market.

He really was starting to look like a proper merchant.

The matter wasn’t worth much concern.

Bai Mo returned to the main topic. "How’s the shop’s Pill inventory looking?"

"The Demon Hunting Teams will probably be buying in bulk soon. They can’t delay their trip into the mountains, so we need to be fully prepared in advance. We can’t let our regulars down."

Wei An put down the ledger in his hand.

"Don’t you worry. Based on the output from the Alchemy Room, we should have enough."

"We’ve already set aside enough for our regular customers."

"If it really comes to it, we’ll just have Hou Cheng and the others put in some overtime for a few days."

The words had barely left his mouth when someone stepped into the shop.

"What’s this? The shop is low on Pills?"

"Get mine ready first! I’m going to go borrow some Spirit Stones!"

The newcomer, whose face was a mangled mess on one side, had only caught the tail end of the conversation.

It was Liu Yaozi.

Qin Wen waved his hand dismissively.

"What kind of ears do you have? Who said we’re low on Pills? We always have some for you."

Liu Yaozi didn’t quite dare to look Bai Mo in the eye. He just scratched his head and said with a grin:

"I must’ve misheard."

Qin Wen looked him up and down a few times.

"You earned so many Spirit Stones a while back. Already spent them all? You and your wife shouldn’t have gone through them that fast, right?"

Liu Yaozi shook his head.

"This trip into the mountains is different. We might have to fight those outsiders. We’ve got to be fully prepared with life-saving gear, don’t we?"

For even someone like him to say this, Bai Mo knew that the conflict between the Demon Hunting Teams and the other factions was now unavoidable.

’I wonder if this autumn hunt will be enough to beat them into submission.’

Liu Yaozi wasted no time. He moved quickly, selecting healing and detoxification Pills without missing a single one.

He paid with Spirit Stones and then hurried out the door.

"I’m a little short on Spirit Stones. I need to go pick up my custom-made Soft Armor first."

"If you’re short on Pills, for the sake of our friendship, remember to save some for me..."

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