Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 274: Chapter 274: Partaking

He was busy for an hour, but the fish talisman gave no response.

Bai Mo thought he must have made a mistake somewhere in the process.

But when night fell, a whistling wind rose up from the rear courtyard.

Bai Mo threw on an outer robe and hurried to the door. However, it wouldn’t open, as if blocked by some immense force.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that he heard a hearty, booming laugh.

"Satisfying!"

Only then was Bai Mo certain: Nai Daoist had truly arrived.

By dawn, the wind had vanished without a trace.

Bai Mo pushed the door open and stepped out, only to find the courtyard in utter disarray.

Wine jugs were strewn everywhere across the ground.

Not much wine had been spilled, but bones littered the entire area.

On bones as thick as a man’s arm, countless sharp scrape marks were clearly visible, obviously left behind by a ferocious set of teeth.

Hearing Bai Mo open the door, Wei An came out as well.

He gasped when he saw the chaos in the rear courtyard.

"That was sixty percent of the provisions in the warehouse!"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"The Dharma Protector is not human. It’s understandable that his appetite would be larger."

’To trade a bit of food for the assistance of such a powerful being was something countless people could only dream of.’

’The great sects truly have a deep foundation. No wonder no one has been able to challenge them for so long.’

"Let’s clean this up."

The two of them worked until dawn to finally clean up the mess in the courtyard.

The bones and meat scraps filled several large sacks, completely exhausting Wei An.

The masked man with the handcart appeared right on time to collect the residents’ refuse.

When he saw the contents of the sacks, his face filled with astonishment.

"Did you host a banquet here!?"

Wei An didn’t elaborate, saying only:

"Don’t ask questions. Just take them."

"Can your small cart even hold all this?"

"It can!" the man said decisively.

He lifted the sacks and stacked them high, perfectly neat and remarkably stable.

"From this stuff, I can render out a good bit of grease. And it’s all from Demon Beasts, too."

"Tsk, tsk. And these bones... plenty of people will pay for these."

With a delighted expression, the man pushed his cart away.

’I originally thought making an offering would be like the legends about temples,’ Bai Mo mused. ’I figured that after the deity partook, the wine and meat would just turn to dust and clay.’

’I never imagined Divine Dao Mountain’s method involved the being itself showing up to personally enjoy the offerings on the spot.’

Bai Mo made a special trip to Mountain View Tower.

As it happened, a disciple from Divine Dao Mountain was there fulfilling his service. When he heard what Bai Mo had experienced, he was unfazed.

"The Dharma Protectors and divine generals of the mountain come from all sorts of backgrounds. Take Kunwu True Monarch, whom you sought out, Junior Brother. Would you dare treat him with the same sacrificial rites used by mortals?"

"Should you worship them with sincere reverence out of fear for their power, like one would an Evil God?"

"Junior Brother Bai, that simply wouldn’t do."

The Divine Dao Mountain disciple explained slowly.

"Having the being itself come to partake is a method our predecessors devised. It distinguishes our offerings to divine generals and Dharma Protectors from the way mortals worship their gods."

"We at Divine Dao Mountain don’t just revere heaven and venerate the worthy. We also value pragmatism. When commanding divine generals and Dharma Protectors, we don’t concern ourselves with whether they are righteous or evil..."

"However, Junior Brother Bai, you shouldn’t think that was Dharma Protector Nai’s true body that descended."

"Beings like him are far different from ordinary people. They can use their power to manifest a Dharma Body, which is indistinguishable from their true self."

’So, what came to my courtyard last night was Nai Daoist’s Dharma Body.’

’His true self must be on Divine Dao Mountain, receiving offerings there.’

Bai Mo asked several more questions, and after the disciple answered them, he thanked him and took his leave.

Just as he was about to leave Mountain View Tower, he saw An Caiwei walking toward him.

"Oh! What brings you here?"

Bai Mo greeted her and said:

"I found some Azurewater Jade Flowers and I’m about to go into seclusion for alchemy, so I probably won’t be around for a while."

An Caiwei was very understanding. She waved her hand and said:

"Cultivation comes first."

"I’ll come find you when it’s time for me to lead people to the sect gates."

After she spoke, a look of envy appeared on her face.

"You’re so lucky, Junior Brother, finding Azurewater Jade Flowers so quickly."

"After you refine them, remember to save a couple of pills for me. I have an excellent treasure that pairs perfectly with cultivation pills."

"I’ll trade it to you for them."

"Alright."

Bai Mo bid her farewell and began visiting the various merchant guilds around the city.

While some in the city might not recognize Alchemist Bai’s face, the clerks of the various merchant guilds were not among them.

Whenever Bai Mo stepped into a shop, a clerk or manager’s expression would change, and they would rush to greet him.

"What can I get for you today?"

Bai Mo listed the names of several medicinal ingredients and said:

"How much of each of these do you have in stock?"

The ingredients Bai Mo named were not produced locally. To gather them all on short notice, he had to rely on the merchant guilds.

In a single morning, Bai Mo spent nearly two hundred Spirit Stones.

An old Pill Master stationed at one of the guilds saw the ingredients Bai Mo was purchasing and couldn’t help but ask:

"The medicinal properties of these ingredients are complex and many of them conflict. I can’t think of any two pills that would require them simultaneously."

"What exactly are you planning?"

Bai Mo glanced at him and couldn’t help but smile.

’So the merchant guilds in the city are hiring their own resident Pill Masters now. They must be taking the current flow of people into Immortal Arrival City seriously.’

He didn’t try to hide his intentions.

"Senior, you’ve guessed wrong. I’m not using these ingredients for two different pills, but as supplementary ingredients for a single pill."

"It’s an ancient Pill Formula. Looking at it from a modern perspective, there are inevitably areas that can be improved or altered."

"I’m combining these ingredients to achieve a unique medicinal effect that will make the final pill even more potent."

Even with a pill of the Jade Flower Pill’s caliber, once Bai Mo had actually worked with it, he noticed room for improvement.

’In any case, these pills aren’t for sale. They’re for my own cultivation.’

Bai Mo wanted to see just how effective the Jade Flower Pill could become if he didn’t have to worry about the cost.

The old Pill Master who had questioned him found this all profoundly insightful and couldn’t help but sigh.

"The younger generation is truly formidable. Truly formidable."

After visiting several merchant houses in the city, Bai Mo stopped in front of one particular guild.

A logo adorned the main entrance of the guild hall, one that was cast from molten gold and looked incredibly grand.

Bai Mo hadn’t stopped because of its opulence, however.

It was because he clearly remembered that the black cloak worn by the Great Azure Beggar had the very same logo embroidered on its inner lining.

A clerk spotted him from afar and hurried over to greet him.

"Are you Alchemist Bai, sir?"

Bai Mo nodded, but noticed a hint of anxiety on the clerk’s face.

The two of them entered the guild.

After a moment, the clerk asked carefully, "Could it be that something about our guild has dissatisfied you, sir?"

’I heard he’s already cleaned out several other guilds in the city. If we let a major customer like him walk away, wouldn’t that mean we’re inferior to our competitors?’

The clerk was, therefore, extremely nervous.

Bai Mo paused for a second, then smiled as he understood.

"So that’s what this is about."

"It’s nothing. I was just reminded of something. Do you have any Sea Mother’s Gall, Celestial Heart Wood..."

Bai Mo listed several more ingredients, and the clerk, his face wreathed in smiles, nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, we have them! We have them!"

Bai Mo asked for six pounds of each. While the clerk went to prepare the order, he asked another question:

"By the way, have you ever had a customer who wears a black cloak?"

"He likes to wear a mask and might seem quite strange to others."

Bai Mo expected the clerk to hesitate and think for a moment, but the man answered without a second thought:

"We have, actually. The man’s probably a ritual performer. He’s always completely covered up, never speaks a word, and observes all the proper taboos."

"But he’s an incredibly generous spender..."

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