Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Treasure

Days flowed by like water, gone before you knew it.

「A month had passed since Bai Mo entered seclusion.」

Other than on the first and fifteenth of the month, when Wei An delivered supplies to the door of the secluded chamber and could feel the heat radiating from within, there was no other news.

The shop clerks had long since grown accustomed to the Shopkeeper’s absence, so things ran smoothly without any mistakes.

Lanshan had finally returned from Celestial Barrier Mountain.

The strapping man was wrapped in several layers of cloth bandages and looked rather miserable.

He had brought a large fish for the shop. Its head was massive and full of fangs.

Wei An stared at it. ’I wonder if a head like that can be used for fish soup.’

"Now this is a rare sight."

Qin Wen sniffed the earthy, fishy smell from the creature’s body and couldn’t help but ask:

"Where did you get this fish?"

Lanshan let out a breath.

"Do you remember that swamp in the mountains we couldn’t get past?"

Qin Wen nodded. He knew Lanshan and his people had struggled there for a long time.

"That swamp is guarded by strange fish, and the green-glowing thing inside must be a real treasure."

Lanshan said through gritted teeth:

"But the closer we got, the stronger the guardian fish were. There’s no way we could have broken through in such a short time."

"However, after trying a few different approaches, we managed to find the source of the swamp’s water."

Qin Wen was taken aback.

"So that’s something no one noticed. Where is the source of the swamp’s eternally flowing water?"

The rugged man held up three fingers.

"Three hundred li further into the mountains, that’s where the source is."

"It’s a magnificent cliff. Water flows down from a crack in the rock face, and further downstream, it forms the swamp."

"We caught this fish at the base of that cliff."

Qin Wen turned the fish over, seeing it had already been gutted and its gills cleaned.

"Is there anything special about this fish?"

Lanshan grinned.

"According to what we’ve heard, eating it can boost one’s strength."

"A pretty decent effect, wouldn’t you say?"

Qin Wen was visibly moved.

’I thought their trip wasn’t very profitable, but it seems I was wrong. A fish like this could probably fetch a huge price!’

Wei An listened to the two of them speak, completely engrossed, as if listening to a storyteller in a teahouse.

Seeing this, Lanshan laughed and chided him:

"You rascal, you’ve lived in the city for so long. How are you still so wide-eyed and green?"

Wei An scratched his head and chuckled.

"Listening to you, it just feels like hearing ancient tales from some old book."

Lanshan shook his head.

"That’s where you’re mistaken."

"It’s true that we in the Demon Hunting Team come across strange things now and then, but how can that compare to Shopkeeper Bai?"

"Don’t be fooled because Shopkeeper Bai is so down-to-earth and seems easy to get along with, just like a common man."

"But if you took the Pills he concocts and sold them five hundred li away, the Cultivators there would think they were some kind of legendary Pills and pay a fortune for them."

As he spoke, Lanshan pointed upstairs.

"If he were a seventy or eighty-year-old man, people on the street would treat him like an Immortal Master bestowing fortunate encounters..."

Wei An thought about it, but he still had trouble picturing such a scene.

He closed the ledger on the counter and put it away, then turned to Qin Wen and said:

"I’m going to deliver something to the Shopkeeper."

With that, he went to the storeroom as usual, gathered medicinal herbs and food, and took them to the secluded chamber.

But as soon as he reached the door, he noticed something different.

"Huh!"

A brocade box was sitting right there at the entrance.

Wei An picked it up and saw a slip of paper tucked into the box’s opening.

"For An Caiwei of Mountain View Tower."

He put the box down and hurried back to the storefront.

"The Shopkeeper wants us to deliver this to Mountain View Tower."

Qin Wen took the brocade box.

"I’ll go."

He had heard that there was a lot of activity at Mountain View Tower recently, with Cultivators coming and going nonstop.

They just hoped they could find the right person in time and deliver the item, so as not to delay the Shopkeeper’s business.

"Excuse me, I’m a clerk from Alchemist Bai Mo’s shop. I’m here to deliver something for my Shopkeeper."

"May I ask where An Caiwei, Immortal An, is?"

The disciple at the reception desk had a flash of realization.

"Ah, so you’re from Junior Brother Bai. Please wait a moment."

He waved, called over another disciple, and had them go fetch the person.

A short while later, An Caiwei arrived.

"Junior Brother Bai sent me something?"

"This is it."

Qin Wen handed her the brocade box.

An Caiwei had already guessed what was inside, but she was still pleasantly surprised.

"Junior Brother finished refining another one so quickly? Experience really makes a difference..."

She opened the brocade box, saw the Jade Flower Pill inside, and was instantly delighted.

’On closer inspection, this Pill looks a little different from the last one I took.’

An Caiwei didn’t overthink it, simply assuming it was the result of Bai Mo’s improving skills.

"Here! This is what I promised him. Give this to your shopkeeper!"

"This is a precious item, so take good care of it."

With a flick of her hand, an object wrapped in black cloth appeared.

「And so, that evening, Bai Mo received An Caiwei’s gift in return.」

’So this is the "treasure" Senior Sister An was talking about?’

Unwrapping the black cloth revealed a petrified silkworm.

Bai Mo pressed it with his hand. It truly had the texture of wood, which piqued his curiosity.

’I think I’ve read about this in a book somewhere...’

He began to search through his Pill Books.

At this moment, Bai Mo’s face was haggard, but his eyes were bright.

Days of nonstop Alchemy, even for one as proficient as him, had inevitably taken a great mental toll.

Fortunately, he had finally accomplished his goal.

For the next two months, he just needed to focus on his cultivation.

After flipping through two Pill Books, Bai Mo finally found information on the wooden silkworm. Reading it, he felt a jolt of excitement.

"The Petrified Silkworm. This worm is the main ingredient for the Lying Silkworm Pill, which has the miraculous effect of strengthening the body and improving one’s cultivation talent."

"It really is a treasure of heaven and earth, a first-rate item!"

However, after reading the Pill Formula, Bai Mo cast aside any thought of performing the Alchemy.

’What a whimsical Pill Formula. I bet no one has ever tested it.’

’Even if someone did use this Pill to defy heaven and change their fate, there’s no guarantee their Pill Formula was the one recorded in this book.’

In Bai Mo’s opinion, the Pill Formula in the book was most likely completed by later generations through speculation, with no real basis in fact.

’In that case, I can only use it for its secondary effect.’

Taking out a dagger, Bai Mo sliced directly into the silkworm’s body, cutting off a thin sliver.

Inside, the body had visibly become woody fibers, its original form completely unrecognizable.

Bai Mo placed the sliver on top of a candle’s flame.

Licked by the flame, the small slice soon began to burn, releasing a plume of grayish-green smoke.

Bai Mo sniffed it. It didn’t smell strange at all; in fact, it carried the distinct, fresh fragrance of plants.

But within just two breaths, Bai Mo felt the Spiritual Qi in his body abruptly spiral out of control, rampaging through his meridians.

It was moving at a speed he had never before experienced in his life.

’Senior Sister An is truly something else, to be able to get her hands on an item like this.’

’Now, I’m the one in her debt.’

Bai Mo immediately took out a Jade Flower Pill and swallowed it without a second thought.

BOOM!

It was as if a river of Spiritual Qi had poured into his abdomen, where something was stirring up a storm, raising monstrous waves.

Bai Mo clenched his jaw, managing only a muffled grunt as he guarded his mind and guided the flow of Spiritual Qi.

He could feel his cultivation increasing at a dangerously fast, visible rate.

It was truly terrifying!

The secluded chamber fell silent. There was only the thin sliver above the candle, licked by the flame, gradually shrinking.

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