Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Pharmacy Apprentice

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Awakening Intelligence

The Badger Beast, suddenly exposed, stood on its hind legs. It only came up to Bai Mo’s thigh.

In the mortal world, a creature like this would be a pest, driven away by all and utterly despised.

This was because they often destroyed crops, cutting off people’s food supply.

However, those with knowledge knew their entire bodies were treasure troves. Their pelts were first-rate, their flesh was prime meat, and they even had medicinal value.

Seeing Bai Mo stop in his tracks, the badger’s eyes darted about. It stealthily reached a small paw behind itself, preparing to flee.

Seeing this, Bai Mo quickly stepped forward and raised his sword to strike.

"Aieee!"

Before the sword could fall, the little badger dropped to its knees, tilted its head back, and shrieked.

"Aieee! Aieee!"

The cries were ear-splitting.

It pressed its paws together forcefully, clasping them again and again in a begging motion.

"Heh!"

Bai Mo chuckled, realizing this Badger Beast’s intelligence was far from ordinary.

’I wonder where it learned to act like this.’

Sheathing his sword and taking out a rope, Bai Mo used his Divine Thought to telekinetically control the rope. It slithered like a snake, binding the Badger Beast’s limbs and its sharp-fanged maw.

The creature had never seen anything like it and meekly allowed Bai Mo to tie it up.

Seeing how perceptive it was, Bai Mo became even more convinced that this Badger Beast possessed extraordinary intelligence.

He thought no more of it. After carving off several dozen pounds of meat from the pig beast, Bai Mo picked up the Badger Beast and headed back toward Mi Mountain.

The rope binding the badger was no ordinary item; dozens of golden threads were woven into it. Even the pig beast, had it still been alive, would have been unable to break free.

It had been a valuable gift from a disciple who had come seeking a Pill.

This Badger Beast was naturally intelligent. Even if he didn’t eat it, it would make for an excellent Spirit Beast to patrol the mountain.

Wild Demon Beasts with such high intelligence were quite rare and had plenty of uses.

At high noon, Bai Mo returned to his stone house.

THUD!

The Badger Beast was tossed down in front of the stone house. Leaving it outside, Bai Mo went into his room to flip through his Pill Book.

The Badger Beast blinked. It tried to cry out but failed, managing only a faint whimper.

Its mouth was bound so tightly it could barely stick its tongue out.

Glancing at the Spiritual Spring in the corner, the Badger Beast suddenly felt extremely thirsty.

It squirmed with all its might, trying to wriggle toward the Spiritual Spring.

"Ooh! Heh heh, what a nice piece of meat!"

"Haven’t seen one in so long. Damn those two stone lumps..."

"Come to Grandpa, my pretty little thing... come..."

"..."

Sinister whispers reached its ears, deeply unsettling. The Badger Beast instinctively went rigid, terrified.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE!

Bai Mo was still in his room, flipping through his Pill Book.

’If I remember correctly,’ he thought, ’I should have a Pill Formula for something called a Spirit Awakening Pill. It’s used on Demon Beasts to enhance their intelligence.’

’I never paid it much mind before, since there wasn’t much demand for it outside of Beast Taming Peak.’

’Now, though, it might just come in handy.’

In less than an hour, a fire was burning in the main hall of the stone house.

The Spirit Wood crackled, feeding a roaring flame.

He retrieved herbs from his personal stock. Though it was his first time refining this particular Pill, Bai Mo moved with the ease of a seasoned master.

Having refined so many Pills, similar techniques and processes were already second nature to him.

For an Alchemy Cultivator like Bai Mo, basic Pills held no secrets.

He didn’t add any water from the Spiritual Spring, simply tossing the various herbs into the cauldron to tumble with berries that had been mashed into a pulp.

Noticing the process was slow, Bai Mo took the initiative and stoked the fire, increasing the heat.

’It just means I might have to add a few more ingredients to stabilize the medicinal properties,’ he mused. ’It’s worth it to save some time. No big deal.’

"I smell a Pill Fragrance!"

"Heh heh, so the new kid is an Alchemy Cultivator..."

"What kind of Pill is that... who cares! I’m gonna make him refine a Human Pill for Grandpa! That flavor... tsk, tsk! When the time comes, I’ll be sure to let you all have a taste!"

From the pitch-black passage behind the fence, the incessant whispering grew agitated.

Compared to the two stone figures, this living, breathing person of flesh and blood was far more entertaining.

BANG!

The clamor cut off abruptly as the door to the stone house swung open.

Bai Mo stepped out and saw the Badger Beast was now only a few feet from the passage.

The creature was trembling all over, its face a mask of terror. Tears streamed from its eyes, yet its body continued to inch forward, as if against its own will.

Bai Mo frowned.

’These fiends are as restless as ever,’ he thought. ’It seems the sect’s restrictive seals aren’t foolproof.’

He strode forward and retrieved the Badger Beast, which gave him a look of immense relief and gratitude, as if gazing upon its savior.

Bai Mo untied the rope around the Badger Beast’s mouth and held it near the Spiritual Spring.

The creature had been thirsty for a while and immediately began lapping at the flowing water.

"Go on, drink."

’If these two Pills don’t work, I’ll have to go through the trouble of disposing of you.’

Bai Mo was perfectly calm.

If its intelligence proved insufficient, he had no time to waste training an untamed Demon Beast.

The disciples of Beast Taming Peak might enjoy such a task, but he didn’t have the energy for it.

Perhaps sensing the impending danger, the Badger Beast lapped up the water happily, the cool stream soothing its dry throat.

Then, a Pill was stuffed into its mouth.

The Pill was pitch-black, looking like a mud ball carefully rolled by a child.

The Spirit Awakening Pill began to dissolve in its saliva. Just a hint of the flavor seeped out, but it was enough to overwhelm the Badger Beast with a bitterness unlike anything it had ever tasted in its life.

Following its instincts, it grimaced and stuck out its tongue, about to spit the Spirit Awakening Pill out.

But then it looked up and met Bai Mo’s gaze.

The Badger Beast shuddered. It felt that this two-legged creature wasn’t looking at it as a living being, but with a gaze of detached inquiry.

It was the same mild curiosity it might feel upon discovering some strange, ugly root it had never seen before.

GULP.

Following its instinct, the Badger Beast chewed the Pill a few times and swallowed, saving its own hide.

Good medicine is always bitter, or so they say.

Sensing the Badger Beast’s body heat up, a sign that the Pill’s medicinal power was taking effect, Bai Mo stuffed the second Spirit Awakening Pill into its mouth.

The effect of this second Spirit Awakening Pill wouldn’t be as potent as the first; it would only provide a slight boost, icing on the cake.

However, Cultivators who found young beasts with extraordinary bloodlines often liked to stack medicinal effects this way.

They hoped that this final push might be what it took to trigger a sudden enlightenment in the young beast.

The Badger Beast fell into a groggy sleep, its body burning hot.

Bai Mo casually set it aside, stood up, and tilted his head back to survey the surrounding rock walls.

In fact, Mi Mountain hadn’t always looked this way.

Each warden had the right to landscape their own territory.

This was clearly noted in the manual left behind by the stone giants.

It was just that the previous wardens before Bai Mo had been two stone men. They felt comfortable in the barren environment and had never bothered to tend to the mountain.

Now that Bai Mo was here, he certainly couldn’t let it remain so.

’The Inner Sect is a holy land for cultivation,’ he thought, ’a place where the Spiritual Qi is so dense you’re afraid you might choke on it with a deep breath.’

’A mountain peak with wet and dry zones, a balance of yin and yang, and varied terrain would be an incredibly rare and valuable medicinal garden.’

’Given Mi Mountain’s nature as a black prison, steeped for many years in sinister, yin-aligned energies, it might even be possible to cultivate some truly unique specimens here.’

Unfortunately, Bai Mo had no practical experience managing a medicinal garden. He would have to explore the mountain thoroughly, climbing and walking its paths, before he could make any definite plans.

Before heading out the door, Bai Mo casually hung the Badger Beast upside down from the door beam.

This was partly to prevent it from falling prey to the fiends’ machinations again, but also because he was following an unconventional remedy he had read about in a book.

A certain Cultivator had once noted that hanging a Demon Beast upside down allowed blood to rush to its brain, which could help awaken its intelligence.

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