Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Pill Completion

Inside the Stone Lodge, the Earth Fire was extinguished. Its final flame flickered out, leaving behind only dark ashes.

Bai Mo had already perfected the Pill Formula, but even so, he couldn’t fully grasp all its mysteries. He knew what to do, but not the principles behind it.

Inside the Pill Furnace, the various ingredients roiled and transformed. The tortoise shells, fish scales, and other items An Caiwei had brought back from Beast Taming Peak bobbed up and down.

The beast tendons, bones, and blood within blended together, yet no gamey or bloody scent escaped.

With so many ingredients, the slightest misstep could ruin one of them, forcing him to discard the entire furnace of Pill Liquid.

Bai Mo had to remain aware of the internal changes, periodically tossing in herbs and pouring in a bottle of foul-smelling beast blood to neutralize their medicinal properties.

’The person, or group of people, who created this Pill Formula must have been masters of the craft.’

His eyes were bloodshot, and he had to open the lid from time to time to check the furnace’s condition.

Finally, on one occasion when he opened the lid, he saw a wisp of white vapor leap out, only to be dragged back into the Pill Liquid by a bursting, bloody bubble.

He seemed to have an epiphany.

’So that’s how it is.’

But as for how to extract that wisp of energy, or the principles behind it, he was completely clueless.

He had no leads. Thinking about it further was useless and might even cause him to waste a furnace of irreplaceable Pill Liquid.

Bai Mo stopped hesitating. He finished refining the Pills in all three Pill Furnaces before finally stopping to catch his breath.

He lifted the furnace lid. Inside was a layer of white bone powder, with a single, glowing, blood-red Pill resting in the center.

The surrounding powder probably wasn’t all from bones; after all, he hadn’t put that many in. It was likely the residue of other ingredients that had lost their essence.

Bai Mo waited for it to cool, then reached in and plucked out the Pill with two fingers.

’It’s done.’

Although he wasn’t one hundred percent certain, Bai Mo couldn’t find any flaws. His intuition told him the same thing.

Suddenly, his mind stirred, and a panel materialized before his eyes.

[Pill Master: Bai Mo]

[Level: Qi Refining Eighth Layer]

[Identity: Pill Sect (6/1500)]

[Aptitude: Perceive Creation, Manipulate All Things]

The Pill’s quality was very high, but for it to be rated as a legendary Tier Three Pill was still beyond Bai Mo’s expectations.

Based on his calculations, only Tier Three Pills could advance his progress now.

His proficiency progress bar hadn’t budged in a very long time.

The identity title wasn’t exactly the same as those in the Cultivation Realm, but the tiers were quite similar. The breakthrough value of over a thousand gave Bai Mo the feeling of staring up at a mountain so high its peak was invisible.

He hadn’t paid attention to it for a long time.

He placed the six Pills into a pill bottle.

After thinking for a long time, he concluded that although the Small Creation Golden Core was good, he didn’t feel it could truly reach the level of the legendary Tier Three Pills, which were said to be accompanied by dragons and tigers.

’It must just be that its rarity is what barely qualifies it for such a high rank.’

Having reached a conclusion, Bai Mo pushed open the door and stepped out.

The cool wind from outside rushed in, colliding with the hot air in the Stone Lodge and swirling up the ashes of the Earth Fire from the floor.

"It’s gotten so late."

The starry sky tonight was beautiful—vast and cloudless, utterly clear, with brilliant starlight.

Bai Mo couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

’The Pill Formula stated that the Pill Liquid must be decocted until nightfall to be complete. It even specified the celestial phenomena for the day of refinement.’

’These changes in heaven and earth are probably inextricably linked to the successful creation of the Pill Liquid.’

Yuan Chu and the other two were quite lucky. The damaged parts of the Pill Formula weren’t critical; otherwise, even Bai Mo would have been helpless to fix it.

The sound of the Stone Lodge opening naturally startled An Caiwei, who was keeping watch.

She approached, yawning, her eyes heavy with sleep.

Bai Mo glanced at the new, smaller thatched hut that had appeared behind her.

"You’ve worked hard, Senior Sister, staying here with me through all this."

An Caiwei waved her hand dismissively.

"Cut the pleasantries. Are the Pills ready or not?"

Bai Mo flipped his palm over, produced the pill bottle, and tipped out a round, red Pill.

"The Pills are ready."

An Caiwei leaned in to look, her expression turning unusually solemn after a moment.

"The Pill has a strange fragrance. It’s a scent I’ve never encountered before. It’s completely unheard of."

She’d consumed at least three hundred, if not five hundred, Pills of all sizes in her life. They’d almost turned her into a walking apothecary.

Now, seeing this Small Creation Golden Core and giving it a thorough examination, she felt like she was witnessing something completely new.

An Caiwei held the Pill, captivated by its scent. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret.

"This Pill must be incredibly beneficial for cultivation. It’s a shame there aren’t any extra, or I’d try one."

Bai Mo quickly snatched the Pill back from her hand.

"Don’t take this Pill unless you have the abilities of Divine Dao Mountain."

"A significant portion of its medicinal power is more than a normal person can handle. It has to be paired with a unique technique."

With that, he put the Pill away safely.

An Caiwei looked inexplicably crestfallen.

Seeing this, Bai Mo changed the subject and asked, "You stopped checking in on me after I officially started refining. Do we have a lot of orders piled up now?"

An Caiwei sighed, shaking herself out of her stupor. "There are over ten orders now, all of which you approved. For anyone who came after, I just told them you were spread too thin."

"They probably couldn’t find another option, which is why they’ll come looking for you again."

Bai Mo started to laugh.

"That’s how it should be. I was worried you’d get greedy at the sight of Spirit Stones and string people along, holding up their cultivation paths."

An Caiwei couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

"Am I that kind of person? I’ve seen plenty of Spirit Stones. How could I possibly stoop to the disgraceful behavior you’re describing?"

"Ha, who knows!" Bai Mo said. "Spirit Stones you earn with your own hands are always different..."

The two of them chatted and laughed for a while before An Caiwei remembered something.

"You’ve just exhausted a lot of mental energy. You need to order a Spiritual Meal to recover."

"We can’t let this get in the way of our grand money-making plan!"

She took out a Jade Talisman and infused it with Spiritual Qi. The talisman ignited and quickly burned away to nothing.

Bai Mo watched with a sense of wonder.

’As expected of the Spiritual Cuisine Tower operating within the sect gates. Even their food ordering system is so grand.’

’Just to order food, they use up a Spirit Talisman. How extravagant.’

An Caiwei was unimpressed and took the opportunity to mock his country-bumpkin ways.

"This talisman is cheap. It only works within the sect gates, so it’s just a clever little trick."

"Never seen one before, have you?"

Bai Mo had no intention of arguing with her and just smiled. "Who would have thought someone would go to the trouble of creating something like this?"

"Hmph. If there are Spirit Stones to be made, someone will naturally put in the research."

An Caiwei, finding no opportunity to press her advantage and kick him while he was down, felt a bit bored and just muttered under her breath.

For some reason, her thoughts drifted back to the Small Creation Golden Core.

"By the way, what tier is that Small Creation Golden Core?"

"Mm, it’s probably just touching the edge of being a Tier Three Pill," Bai Mo said.

An Caiwei, however, was stunned speechless.

...

"The half-month deadline is up!"

"Gong Gui, let’s go, quickly!"

Yuan Chu stretched out his arm and forcefully pounded on a stone pillar in the middle of the lake.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Following the urgent sounds, a bulge suddenly rose from the lake’s surface.

SPLASH!

The short and stocky Gong Gui burst out, shaking off a spray of water and gasping for air, his chest heaving.

Yuan Chu watched him, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Tsk, tsk. Your Turtle’s Breath technique still isn’t perfected?"

Gong Gui caught his breath and shot him a glare.

"If Brother Yuan hadn’t come to disturb me, I could have slept for another six days without a problem."

"All you do is rush me. Why don’t you go rush Brother Xiong? With that temper of his, hmph, hmph!"

Yuan Chu just smiled, shook his head, and turned to leave.

"You’re the slowest one. Who else would I rush?"

"Xiong Xin is already out of his cave. He’s just waiting for you so we can go collect the Pills together. Hurry up..."

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