Chapter 498: Chapter 498: The Reply

With his mind turned inward, time flowed on.

Bai Mo watched silently as his Golden Core formed. Xiaozhuan, the entity that had emerged from the Daoist scripture, depleted its energy and faded away.

His Golden Core, in turn, was now covered in numerous patterns and traces—part word, part picture—that were profoundly arcane.

Perhaps because his cultivation was still insufficient, the patterns weren’t very dense, covering just over thirty percent of the Golden Core’s surface.

As for the interior, there was even less to speak of.

Now that the Golden Core was formed, its radiance turned inward as it hovered within his Dantian.

Bai Mo’s eyelids fluttered. As the Golden Core rotated, the Spiritual Qi within his body was instantly cycled through and renewed.

The feeling was truly different.

After a long while, Bai Mo opened his eyes. He stood up, stretching his limbs to get the blood flowing again.

Only after carefully assessing his new state did he push the door open and step outside.

It was silent both inside and outside the stone house.

There was no sign of Ah Er, nor was Li Wuji around.

Bai Mo walked out and gazed around. He looked up at the sky and realized two months had already passed.

"I was in a trance. I can’t believe it’s been this long."

It truly embodied the saying about losing all track of time in the mountains.

Li Wuji emerged from the Black Prison, having just finished his patrol. It was an odd time for him to be doing so.

Upon seeing Bai Mo, he paused, feeling a faint sense of pressure from him.

"Junior Brother?"

Bai Mo tried to retract his aura and nodded.

"I’ve troubled you, Senior Brother. I have achieved success, and a part of that credit belongs to you..."

Li Wuji shook his head with a wry laugh.

"I was just covering your sect duties. It was what I was supposed to do. What credit is there to speak of?"

The time of day meant little to him. Seeing that Bai Mo was out of seclusion, he prepared to leave at once.

"Now that you’re out of seclusion, Junior Brother, it’s time for me to head back as well."

Li Wuji rolled his neck, then twisted his torso with a series of pops and cracks that would make one’s teeth ache.

"I’ve been recuperating for two years, and my essence, qi, and spirit are all at their absolute peak. Don’t be surprised if, the next time we meet, we’re both in the Core Formation realm."

Bai Mo walked him out.

"It’s a natural progression. You’re already familiar with the process, Senior Brother. Now that your shackles have been removed, you should be able to charge forward without hindrance..."

Li Wuji’s situation was unique.

He had tried countless methods for Core Formation, but his innate physical limitations had always prevented his success.

All he needed to do now was simply repeat what he had done before.

No one would doubt his success this time.

Li Wuji departed under the cover of night, and Bai Mo watched him leave.

A faint rustling came from up the mountain.

Bai Mo turned back to look.

Under the moonlight, a small beast swung a hoe, striking the earth again and again. It seemed to be digging for something, or perhaps just tilling the soil.

It was the season when the herbs on the mountain needed tending.

What caught Bai Mo’s attention was how the little fellow’s fur seemed to glow brightly under the moonlight, making it extremely conspicuous.

Shaking his head, Bai Mo went back into the stone house, brought out a reclining chair, and started to doze with his eyes half-closed.

...

As dawn broke, Ah Er finally came down from the mountain.

It was carrying the hoe on its shoulder, wiping away sweat with a paw while humming a tuneless "woo-woo" melody.

The door of the Mi Mountain residence swung open on its own before it even had a chance to knock.

The paw wiping its brow froze. Ah Er sidled in, poking half its body through the doorway, and saw Bai Mo on the reclining chair.

"AARGH!"

Overjoyed, it tossed the hoe into a corner and dashed toward Bai Mo.

Seeing the creature drenched in sweat, Bai Mo wrinkled his nose in disgust. With a casual flick of his hand, a ball of water from the Spiritual Spring in the corner flew over and doused it from head to toe.

Ah Er was instantly soaked like a drowned rat, but it paid no mind. It simply shook its golden fur dry and trotted up to Bai Mo.

But instead of celebrating, it began to lament.

It began to recount its grievances: how difficult its fur was to clean, the strange looks it got from people when it went out, and so on.

A truly heartbreaking tale.

Watching its tearful, sobbing display, Bai Mo sighed.

"Stop crying. You’ll probably have to live with this fur from now on, so you’d better get used to it..."

"AARGH!?"

Ah Er’s sobbing came to an abrupt halt. Its eyes went wide with astonishment.

"...Fine, fine. I’ll try again."

’It did suffer this injustice because of my alchemy, after all,’ Bai Mo thought. ’I can’t just ignore it.’

But first, there was business to attend to.

Ah Er brought out a large stack of letters.

It had already replied to the letters from Immortal Arrival City on his behalf, but Bai Mo still needed to review them.

The shop staff had been extremely concerned about his Core Formation, and had clearly put a great deal of effort and worry into the matter.

After reading them, Bai Mo picked up his brush and personally wrote a letter back to Immortal Arrival City to set their minds at ease.

The remaining letters, aside from one from the white-headed elder, were just routine correspondence that didn’t require much attention.

When it came time to reply to the white-headed elder, Bai Mo’s expression turned serious, and he chose his words with care.

First, he shared the news of his successful Core Formation, followed by the insights he had gained during the process.

"...My Golden Core is unusual and seems beneficial to my Alchemy Dao, but I still need to explore the specific details..."

"Senior, you are wise and experienced. Do you know of any others on the Alchemy Dao who have formed a similar variant Golden Core? What became of their cultivation path?"

The two shared a friendship that transcended age, and Bai Mo always found their exchanges invigorating.

Just as he set down his brush, Bai Mo noticed Ah Er rummaging through the letters and pulling out a Jade Talisman.

The little creature paused as if remembering something. It picked up the Jade Talisman and, with a hard squeeze of its two paws, crushed it.

Bai Mo was taken aback.

"What are you doing?"

Ah Er quickly explained with a series of gestures.

"Senior Sister?"

Bai Mo’s eyes lit up with understanding. "Ah, I have her to thank for a great deal this time. Things would have been much more inconvenient otherwise."

He stood up and stretched his waist.

"Go prepare a meal. I’m going to fire up the furnace and test my skills."

"Your master has finally made it big. I’m now the kind of person who’ll end up in stories, a figure of strange and legendary tales."

Bai Mo’s mind was on the white-headed elder’s previous guidance, and he was eager to test the unique power of his Golden Core. Thus, he gave the order.

...

「In Immortal Arrival City.」

First, Ah Er’s reply had arrived, putting the shop staff somewhat at ease.

Two months later, Bai Mo’s handwritten letter followed, bringing smiles to the faces of all the employees.

"See? The Shopkeeper is truly worthy of being in a major sect. He’s on a completely different level from us now."

Wei An looked at Qin Wen.

"Brother Qin, according to the city’s traditions, shouldn’t we throw a huge banquet and invite everyone to celebrate such a joyous occasion?"

Qin Wen, ever the steady one, nodded.

"That is what we should do."

Being so close to the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, the people here lived off the land. The city’s cultivators were fierce, and martial prowess was highly valued.

Usually, whenever a family produced a cultivator who could become a pillar of the community, it was an occasion for a grand display.

It served to intimidate rivals while also boosting one’s own prestige—the benefits were many.

"It’s a shame the Shopkeeper can’t return. When the guest of honor is absent, it’s just not the same," Qin Wen remarked.

Wei An waved his hand dismissively. "We can’t be demanding. Sect affairs are a busy business."

"That’s true. I’ve heard that once a cultivator reaches the Golden Core realm, their status in the sect changes completely. I imagine their duties become much more important as well..."

The employees began discussing preparations for the banquet.

The news quickly reached the members of the Demon Hunting Team.

The burly men were just as excited, and with loud shouts, they began preparing a large quantity of Demon Beast meat.

It was something they had in abundance, and finding a chef to cook it was no trouble at all.

Within a few days, a long line of banquet tables was set up along the street outside the shop, and the air filled with the rich aroma of roasting meat.

A spectacle like this was considered quite lavish in Immortal Arrival City.

Passersby only needed to make a few inquiries to learn that Alchemist Bai from the pill shop had achieved Core Formation.

While marveling at how beneficial it was to cultivate in a sect, they were more than happy to mingle with the crowd and freeload a good meal.

The only downside was that the men from the Demon Hunting Team were boisterous and intimidating after a few drinks.

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