Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: About to Open

"It’s all thanks to my hard work."

As night fell, a disciple from Beast Taming Peak hurried over to speak with Bai Mo.

Bai Mo remarked with a sigh:

"Thinking back to my days struggling in Immortal Arrival City, studying the Alchemy Dao day and night... it feels like a lifetime ago."

The visitor from Beast Taming Peak had the look of a servant boy—slicked-back hair, a powdered face, and a personality to match.

He offered a subservient smile.

"With a heart so devoted to the Dao, Junior Brother Bai, it’s no wonder you’ve achieved such mastery in the Alchemy Dao."

Bai Mo was on good terms with Beast Taming Peak. They had a long-standing business relationship involving Feeding Pills.

Even though the Peak now had alchemists of their own who could craft Feeding Pills, the quality paled in comparison to Bai Mo’s work.

So, while Beast Taming Peak’s own alchemists silently worked to catch up, the Peak continued to place ever-larger orders with Bai Mo.

If he hadn’t hired a few assistants, Bai Mo would have been unable to keep up with the demand long ago.

"But really, Junior Brother, is it truly impossible to reveal any information about the brothers purchasing your Pills?"

"Even just their general purpose would do."

The Beast Taming Peak disciple asked, a perfectly placed hint of contrition on his face.

As if he genuinely meant it.

Bai Mo laughed and deflected the question.

"Senior Brother, please don’t ask me to ruin my own reputation. In my line of work, I can’t just go around revealing client information."

The disciple from Beast Taming Peak seemed unbothered and continued,

"A pity, a pity."

"Oh, by the way, we have many other businesses up on our peak. If you’re interested, Junior Brother, you should come find us..."

’They really have a knack for business,’ Bai Mo thought. ’They’re more like merchants than Cultivators.’

They dabbled in everything from information brokering and acting as intermediaries for hiring help, to running gambling operations that took bets on various outcomes.

And it was all related to the Jade Plate Secret Realm.

Bai Mo’s mind reeled as he listened, seeing only the vast streams of income flowing into Beast Taming Peak.

’For a moment, he felt his own knack for earning Spirit Stones was paltry compared to theirs.’

At this, the disciple across from him cried foul.

"It’s a tragedy! The sect can’t stand to see us making such huge profits. They have people watching us specifically, and we have to hand over a full forty percent of our income to the sect."

"I don’t know which elder suggested it, but they’re practically inhuman!"

For a mere disciple to speak so rudely, it was clear how truly aggrieved they felt.

Bai Mo laughed aloud. After a bit more small talk, the disciple finally got to the point.

"Junior Brother, do you know when the Jade Plate Secret Realm is set to open?"

"I thought the official word was ’sometime soon,’ with no fixed date, pending circumstances?"

"Wrong!" The disciple from Beast Taming Peak slapped his thigh.

"It’s in two months!"

Bai Mo was stunned.

"When did this news break?"

He had a steady stream of clients, not to mention the well-connected An Caiwei, yet none of them had mentioned this.

"Four hours ago."

A crafty, merchant-like smile spread across the disciple’s fawning face.

"It’s because of an ’earth dragon turning over’—an earthquake—within the Jade Plate Secret Realm. It’s disrupted the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and shifted the internal landscape, hence the change in schedule."

"The sect forbids us from profiting off this information, so I’m telling you for free."

Bai Mo processed this information and cupped his hands in a small salute.

"I am indebted to you for making a special trip to inform me, Senior Brother. I won’t forget it."

"Haha, you’re too kind, Junior Brother Bai."

Then, the disciple opposite suddenly leaned in, lowering his voice.

"...I was wondering if you might refine a batch of Pills for us, Junior Brother? And afterwards... we’d be grateful if you didn’t tell anyone we asked you for them..."

"Here is the Pill Formula and the quantity we need..."

Less than an hour later, the unexpected visitor from Beast Taming Peak departed.

Watching him go, with his furtive, skulking posture, Bai Mo thought he looked just like a thief.

An Caiwei emerged, a tray of tea in her hands.

"Someone from Beast Taming Peak? What did they want?"

Bai Mo smiled, folding the paper in his hand and tucking it into his sleeve.

"He brought some news, and put in an order for some Pills."

An Caiwei was surprised.

"What news? Can you tell me?"

Bai Mo let out a breath.

"The Jade Plate Secret Realm is opening in two months."

An Caiwei froze, her eyes widening.

Bai Mo continued, "I hear it was an ’earth dragon turning over’ that affected the Secret Realm’s interior."

An Caiwei turned on her heel and started to walk away.

"I’m going to go ask around."

Something like this, even if the sect hadn’t made a public announcement, should be discoverable with some careful inquiries.

The people from Beast Taming Peak were either particularly sensitive to intelligence or had been tipped off by someone in the upper echelons, which was why they knew earlier than anyone else.

What surprised Bai Mo, however,

was that Beast Taming Peak, always looked down upon when it came to cultivation matters, also intended to take part in the Secret Realm.

"Tsk, tsk."

’Could they have really produced a powerful disciple? A late bloomer, perhaps? Or did they manage to raise a formidable Spirit Beast?’

Their reason for coming to him in secret was also simple.

They wanted Bai Mo to refine a batch of Pills designed to stimulate a Spirit Beast’s potential, exchanging any chance of future advancement for a temporary surge of power.

Such clandestine behavior inevitably set Bai Mo’s mind racing with possibilities.

’Are they planning on competing against their own sect-mates for opportunities?’

After all, the Jade Plate Secret Realm was filled with treasures capable of defying destiny and altering a Cultivator’s very aptitude.

...

Since the Secret Realm was opening in two months, he couldn’t afford any delays with the Pills.

Bai Mo worked through the night, speeding up his work.

Sure enough, two days later, Lv Mang and Jin Jiang arrived together.

"Junior Brother, are our Pills ready?"

Urgency was written all over their faces.

Bai Mo handed over the Pills.

"Fortunately, I was able to complete your order."

The tension on Lv Mang’s face visibly drained away.

"Good. We’re still in time."

Bai Mo asked, curious, "Have you two also heard the news about the Secret Realm’s opening?"

"Yes. We all thought we had another three months. We never expected it to be so soon."

Jin Jiang nodded.

"From your expression, Junior Brother, it seems you’ve known for a while."

"I just heard about it two days ago."

Bai Mo shook his head with a wry smile.

"Looks like I won’t be getting any peace for the next two months."

Once the news was confirmed, there would always be disciples who were slow to realize the urgency. In their desperation, they’d turn to anyone for help, and he could end up receiving all sorts of strange orders.

Jin Jiang then shared a piece of news.

"Junior Brother, did you accept an order from a Divine Dao Mountain disciple? I hear it’s for a rare Pill?"

"Ah... yes, that’s true."

Jin Jiang lowered his voice. "I heard some disciples from Pill Peak have taken an interest in that Pill Formula. They’ve been making quite a fuss."

"They even had a huge argument with the people from Divine Dao Mountain. You could say all pretenses are off now."

As he spoke, a look of regret crossed his face, as if he couldn’t understand why his fellow disciples had become this way.

"On the other hand, your reputation has been unintentionally enhanced by all this, Junior Brother. I’m sure many more people will be flocking to you now."

With that, Jin Jiang pulled Lv Mang away, and they departed in a hurry.

Lv Mang had been busy pinching his Bear Arm Pill, scrutinizing it.

Beneath its bright red exterior, the Bear Arm Pill gave off a less-than-friendly odor.

Lv Mang grimaced.

Only after getting a nod of confirmation from Bai Mo was he finally convinced and willing to leave.

「The next few days.」

An Caiwei didn’t dare leave her post at the door for a moment, exclaiming that she couldn’t rake in the Spirit Stones fast enough.

Meanwhile, Bai Mo was in his Stone Lodge, engrossed in studying the Pill Formula from Divine Dao Mountain.

The Lesser Creation Golden Pill.

The name alone was enough to make even An Caiwei stare blankly for a long moment; she naturally understood that refining such a Pill would be no easy task.

Therefore, whenever Cultivators came to their door, An Caiwei would collect several orders at a time, only daring to confirm whether they could be accepted after checking in with Bai Mo every four hours.

Occasionally, An Caiwei would also see fellow sect members arrive, their demeanor aggressive.

"I’d like to see him actually refine it!"

"And even if he does, I bet the quality will be garbage!"

Almost as if throwing down a challenge, they would toss down a Pill Formula and a deposit, then storm off.

An Caiwei was left bewildered.

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