Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Stripping

Bai Mo closed the door to the stone house.

Activating his Divine Technique, he looked at his hand. Sure enough, the back of it was faintly glowing, and azure veins were visible beneath the skin.

Without lingering on the sensation, Bai Mo lit the fire beneath the Pill Furnace, leaped inside, and gave a casual wave.

WHOOSH!

The flames flickered, and the Pill Furnace gradually filled with scorching heat.

Bai Mo sat cross-legged and extended his Divine Thought, guiding the fire to coil around the Pill Furnace like a serpent and bake it.

After a moment, feeling the heat was right, he gestured to the furnace lid beside him.

With a CLANG, Bai Mo’s vision went dark.

Boldness comes with skill. Having done this countless times, Bai Mo was unfazed, no stranger to the conditions inside the furnace.

Once the furnace was searing hot, Bai Mo flicked his wrist and produced an exquisitely woven straw doll.

The heat flowed along a set path within the furnace. At a certain point, Bai Mo’s mind suddenly blurred.

A faint, fluorescent light began to seep from his body, drifting unsteadily toward the straw doll in his hand.

At the same time, a profound and inexplicable sense of loss washed over him.

This was the instinctual reaction of a Cultivator having his very foundation refined away.

Once the fluorescent light stopped drifting from his body, Bai Mo didn’t dare to stay in the furnace any longer, throwing open the lid and leaping out.

The moment he landed, waves of dizziness assaulted him. It felt just like the time he had mistakenly tested a Poison Pill and been afflicted by a bizarre toxin.

Bai Mo staggered a few steps, took a few Pills, and returned to his room to meditate until dusk before he could finally suppress the fogginess in his mind.

By this time, Ah Er had returned. It was in a corner, washing the dirt from its body, shaking its fur vigorously.

Seeing Bai Mo push the door open, it instinctively turned its head to look, then stared in utter shock.

Bai Mo frowned.

"What is it?"

Ah Er scampered into the house, leaving a trail of wet spots, then came out holding a bronze mirror.

Bai Mo looked into the bronze mirror. His reflection was haggard, the spot between his eyebrows dark—all signs of profound depletion.

Ah Er’s face was a mask of worry.

’He’s only been back for half a day, how did he end up looking like this?’

’Could he have been struck by a hidden attack from that Kunwu True Monarch?’

Such was Ah Er’s guess.

It didn’t know about the dealings between Bai Mo and Kunwu True Monarch.

But from the snippets it had overheard before, it had guessed that Kunwu True Monarch and its master were probably at odds.

Bai Mo watched its expression change. He didn’t know what it was thinking, but he said nonetheless:

"Don’t overthink it. I probably just got a bit carried away with my experiment this afternoon."

Bai Mo’s brows furrowed.

’I didn’t expect the consequences of stripping a Divine Technique to be this severe...’

He had originally planned to start Alchemy tonight, but now it seemed that was impossible.

Some things can’t be forced. If he insisted on pushing forward, the outcome would surely be poor—a fact that was especially true in the art of Alchemy.

Bai Mo tried to work through a Pill Formula in his mind, but the instant he began, his thoughts felt sluggish and his head throbbed with pain.

’I should rest early. Tomorrow will be busy...’

He ate, washed up, and went to bed.

Before closing his eyes, Bai Mo popped two pale green and white Pills into his mouth, letting them rest there.

As the medicinal power diffused in his mouth, Bai Mo fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next day, Bai Mo finally awoke when the sun was already high in the sky.

’Ah Er’s snores are gone from outside. It must have gotten up early to start its work.’

The two Pills in his mouth were now just small fragments, releasing a sweet taste.

Chewing and swallowing them, Bai Mo picked up the bronze mirror and looked at his reflection.

His face in the mirror, aside from being a little pale, showed no other abnormalities. It was as if yesterday’s depletion had never happened.

After tidying up a bit, Bai Mo called for Ah Er to act as his assistant and start the Pill Furnace for Alchemy.

The straw doll was taken out, and Bai Mo tossed it into the furnace.

The straw doll was not woven from common materials. It was made of priceless herbs, which is why it was capable of bearing the brand of a Divine Technique.

Sheqing Mountain, that old turtle, was very generous. What it had given Bai Mo was the fundamental brand of its Divine Technique.

Although it was only a wisp, it contained the foundation of the mountain-piercing Divine Technique.

It made resolving the grudge with Kunwu True Monarch on its behalf worthwhile.

Afraid that the Divine Technique’s brand on the straw doll would dissipate, Bai Mo opened the furnace and lit the fire, all in one smooth motion.

Before long, a thick Pill Liquid was rendered out.

A turquoise liquid oozed from the straw doll, which then completely melted into the Pill Liquid.

Bai Mo controlled the heat while urging Ah Er beside him.

"Hurry up."

Hearing this, Ah Er immediately put all its strength into it, its Stone Pestle pounding with a loud THUD THUD THUD.

The ore in the stone basin was quickly ground into powder and poured into the furnace by Bai Mo.

Next were some collected essences of heaven and earth. Ah Er stared at the words on the cloth bags for a long time before daring to hand them to Bai Mo.

Items like ’Golden Wind’ and ’Jade Dew’ were all fine things Bai Mo had managed to acquire from the Silkworm Valley through An Caiwei.

Out in the world, every single one of them was priceless.

Now, Bai Mo carefully measured and added these items to the furnace.

This process took a full two days before it was complete.

Bai Mo took out his Pill Book, looked at it, and only after some thought did he sit down.

"Alright, now we just wait for the Pill to form. You can go rest."

Ah Er, at his side, copied his posture, also sitting down cross-legged and shaking its head to show it wouldn’t leave.

Bai Mo let it be.

The Pill Furnace burned for another three days, then the tumbling inside suddenly stopped.

Bai Mo remained unmoved, waiting until the moon had risen above the treetops before he finally lifted the furnace lid.

The furnace was long since burned dry, with only a single, bright yellow Pill lying quietly inside.

The herbs, ores, and all the essences of heaven and earth that had been added seemed as if they had never existed.

He ran a finger along the furnace wall, revealing faint dust on his fingertip.

Bai Mo rubbed his fingers together.

"It should be a success."

Hearing this, Ah Er, who had been sitting still for a long time, let out a huge sigh of relief. Its dust-covered face brightened considerably.

"URGH!"

It let out a cry, pushing on its legs to struggle to its feet.

It was about to ask Bai Mo what this Pill, which had taken so much effort to refine, was for, when it saw Bai Mo pick up the Pill, examine it, and say:

"It’s late. I’ll test the Pill tomorrow."

The refined Outer Pill felt heavy in his hand, weighing nearly an ounce.

This was consistent with the descriptions in some Pill Books; after all, many minerals had been added.

Bai Mo brought it back to his room. Probing it with his Divine Thought, he could perceive delicate patterns inside, just like the Outer Pill fragment he had.

He looked at it all night, but in the end, couldn’t bring himself to cut it open for observation.

When dawn broke, Bai Mo took Ah Er to the forest outside the mountain.

He pressed the Pill into Ah Er’s paw. "Eat it. Let’s see what happens."

Although the weight of this Pill was a bit strange—the heaviest Ah Er had ever held—having witnessed the refining process, it still believed it was a good thing.

’It cost so much to make, it can’t possibly be poison,’ Ah Er thought, and casually tossed the Pill into its mouth.

"Don’t bite it, don’t chew it. Just swallow."

Ah Er closed its eyes and swallowed it with effort, feeling it scrape its throat.

Watching the creature’s throat bulge and then recede as the Outer Pill went down, Bai Mo felt a little nervous.

"How do you feel?"

Ah Er took a moment, then simply shook its head.

So Bai Mo slapped it on the stomach, sending ripples through its fur and belly.

The Outer Pill in its stomach was activated. A white light immediately enveloped Ah Er’s body, making it feel incredibly light.

It had never felt anything like it before, and it looked at Bai Mo with a thrilled expression.

Bai Mo didn’t waste any time, pointing to a large boulder he had picked out earlier.

"Ram your head into it!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.