Chapter 505: Chapter 505: New Assignment

An accompanying Cultivation Technique for the Core Formation stage was also delivered to Bai Mo.

If he was unsatisfied, he could easily exchange it, whether by leveraging the resources of Broken Blade Peak or using his own wealth.

Bai Mo wasn’t too particular about it, however, and simply chose a Cultivation Technique for refining his Golden Core.

The technique was called the Refining Pill Scripture, a method known for its long-term, gradual benefits.

It was said that the Golden Cores of Cultivators who practiced this technique were far more brilliant than others.

This was the result of diligent refinement.

It was an excellent Cultivation Technique, just one that progressed a step slower than others.

Someone like Yin Zhen, who was always striving for vigorous and rapid advancement, would certainly have been unsatisfied with it.

Speaking of his senior brother, Bai Mo hadn’t seen him in a long time. He wondered if he had achieved Core Formation yet.

Just as he was thinking, the clear cry of a goose echoed from the sky.

The courier goose from the Foreign Affairs Hall descended, delivering a letter to Bai Mo.

It was the same goose as before. It struck a familiar pose, and after receiving a Feeding Pill from Bai Mo, it spread its wings to exchange a few words with Ah Er before departing contentedly.

"It’s still in charge of this route?"

Bai Mo was pleased.

After all, he had relied on this particular goose for his correspondence for a long time, and it had never once made a mistake.

A familiar face was a reliable one.

"AHRK!"

Ah Er leaned in and secretly revealed the truth to Bai Mo.

The goose had relied on its superior size and strength to bully its colleague off the route and claim it for itself.

The two wounds under its wing were proof of the fierce battle that had ensued.

The facts proved that the law of the jungle was inescapable.

Bai Mo opened the letters. As expected, they were from the old master and from Immortal Arrival City.

The former was a senior and fellow Daoist, as well as a close friend despite their age difference. Bai Mo always felt relaxed when corresponding with him.

The letter detailed the paths taken by seniors in the Alchemy Dao who had formed Golden Cores similar to Bai Mo’s, offering him significant guidance.

It also contained some of the old master’s own insights, which, in Bai Mo’s opinion, contained a few questionable points.

After making his corrections, Bai Mo jotted down some of his own recent thoughts, particularly regarding the advantages his Golden Core provided, intending to mail the letter in a few days.

The main reason was that the old master was preparing for secluded cultivation. He said that after a period of diligent work and travel, he’d had some flashes of insight and wanted to seize upon them.

It wasn’t easy for someone his age to achieve a major breakthrough, and Bai Mo was genuinely happy for him.

As for the letter from Immortal Arrival City, it contained greetings from his shop assistants, who also asked when he might be able to visit again.

Ever since news of Bai Mo’s Core Formation had spread through the city, the shop’s standing had changed once more.

There were some matters that a few low-level assistants couldn’t be expected to understand.

Now that he was no longer the warden of the Black Prison, Bai Mo was indeed much freer than before.

However, having just accepted an important new post, Bai Mo couldn’t just leave right away.

The shop would have to be left in the hands of his assistants, who would have to feel their way forward and manage as best they could.

It was just a transitional period. Immortal Arrival City wasn’t some place of dire straits, and their business catered to the lower strata. He trusted they could handle it.

After handling the correspondence, Bai Mo spent another three days successfully mastering the Star-Drawing Divine Stabilizing Skill.

When he closed his eyes, his spiritual sense could perceive a beam of starlight, incredibly dazzling, as if it had come from beyond the heavens.

This was the spiritual positioning ability, meant to prevent the sect’s disciples from losing their way.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of this new technique or because he had thwarted his opponent last time, but Bai Mo’s dreams were no longer disturbed.

...

The days trickled by.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Mo had been living here for four months.

Bamboo shoots had already sprouted by the entrance, though they were still short, only reaching his shins.

The bamboo stalks stretched into the distance in neat rows. Ah Er had planted them, putting in a great deal of effort.

It had also deliberately taken some familiar medicinal seeds and buried them at the foot of the wall, intending to train vines to grow up the surface.

Young sprouts had emerged, clinging to the base of the wall, their future shape already becoming apparent.

The man and beast had finally put down roots in this place.

Bai Mo started to fire up his furnace from time to time, experimenting with a few batches of Pills.

Ah Er carefully stored the quality Pills. It couldn’t bear to throw away the medicinal dregs, either, saving them for when it could bring its mount over and reward it with the scraps.

Without the constant interruption of miscellaneous chores, like back in the Black Prison, life was indeed satisfying.

But the good times didn’t last.

The green-robed steward came looking for him. This particular steward seemed to be in charge of such affairs.

"Over in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, we’ve found a clan of non-humans. They’re quite powerful and subsist on consuming natural treasures and other Spiritual Objects."

"Junior Brother, see if you can decipher this Pill."

The green-robed steward produced a Pill—reportedly a treasured food of this non-human clan—and let Bai Mo examine it.

Bai Mo took it. A thick, foul stench wafted up from the black, pasty Pill, and he felt an instinctual wave of revulsion.

"Very primitive and barbaric methods..."

Bai Mo discerned its nature at a single glance.

The green-robed steward nodded.

"Can you replicate it? If you can, the elders hope to establish a trade relationship with the clan."

Bai Mo pointed out, "The ingredients involve blood and living souls. These methods are largely reviled by the mainstream..."

"That is of no concern," the green-robed steward said calmly.

"Whatever ingredients you require, the Beast Taming Peak can provide. After so many years, they have found substitutes for many such things."

"As for the methods... you’re within the sect. What is there to fear?"

His words made sense. If the sect permitted it, there was nothing more for Bai Mo to consider.

He nodded at once.

"I’ll give it a try, but it might take a month or so. I’ll give you an answer then, Senior Brother."

The green-robed steward paused.

He had intended to give Bai Mo three months; he hadn’t expected his junior brother to be so direct.

He gave Bai Mo a long, hard look before speaking.

"It seems you are indeed well-versed in such paths, Junior Brother."

Bai Mo was unfazed.

"All techniques are interconnected. One can learn from the methods of others. If you see enough, you naturally start to understand."

The green-robed steward nodded.

"Very well. I will return in a month."

He turned and left, heading in the direction of Zhu Tong’s residence.

It seemed his neighbor, just as he himself had said, was indeed extraordinarily busy.

Bai Mo returned to the courtyard, Pill in hand. When he turned his head, he saw Ah Er keeping its distance.

"What’s wrong?"

Ah Er shook its head, its gaze fixed on the Pill with utter disgust.

Bai Mo understood.

"’It seems this really isn’t a good thing.’"

"But this is the Alchemy Dao. When does everything go exactly as you wish?"

"’Come have a look. You’ll have to deal with this sort of thing eventually...’"

Only then did Ah Er reluctantly follow Bai Mo into the house.

He stepped over the bluestone threshold. The main hall was piled high with medicinal herbs; besides those, there was only a wooden table and chairs.

Bai Mo sat down, took out a set of bamboo tweezers, a sieve, and other tools, and sliced open the side of the black, pasty Pill to begin analyzing it.

As Ah Er caught a whiff of the smell, its entire face scrunched up.

"This non-human clan probably only has this single craft passed down through their generations. They aren’t proficient in the Alchemy Dao; their work is crude."

"Therefore, no matter how potent its medicinal power, it’s ultimately no different from an ordinary Pill. In terms of refinement, it’s barely comparable to a Tier Two Pill."

"’If you practice Alchemy in the future, you must never be this sloppy. You’ll be a laughingstock among your peers...’"

After saying this, Bai Mo himself paused.

’That seems a little too harsh.’

’For an ordinary Cultivator, successfully creating this Pill wouldn’t be easy at all.’

But seeing Ah Er nodding vigorously beside him, it was clear that his companion agreed wholeheartedly.

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