Chapter 509: Chapter 509: School

Ever since Bai Mo spoke with An Caiwei that day, Ah Er had been paying close attention.

In a corner of the house, quite a few stone slabs and bone carapaces were still lying around.

Because two of the bone carapaces had a fine texture, making them warm in the winter and cool in the summer, it had even used them to line its own nest.

Pulling the two bone carapaces from its nest, Ah Er squinted as it examined them.

Its education level was low, and looking at the script on the bone carapaces was like trying to read a heavenly script.

But looking at them now, all it could see was money written all over them.

It stroked the patterns on the surface. Every word was worth a thousand gold; it was a truly delightful thought.

Bai Mo had long since thoroughly studied the contents of the bone carapaces and stone slabs. The original author’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao were not necessarily as high as Bai Mo’s.

They were things he had intended to dispose of, but he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. He never expected them to have this kind of alternative value.

How could Ah Er not be tempted?

Bai Mo knew it had a habit of padding its own little stash.

Although, it often used the Spirit Stones from that stash to subsidize the purchase of medicinal herbs, so there was never much left over.

"If you want to sell them, just take them out whenever you have a free day. You can keep the Spirit Stones for yourself."

Bai Mo walked into the room, unable to stand its money-grubbing look. He deliberately interrupted its thoughts.

"For the next few days, you’re to be my assistant. We’ll see if we can refine that Pill."

"Oh, and leave the largest bone carapace for me. Grind it into a powder and store it properly."

Hearing this, Ah Er grinned so widely its eyes disappeared.

It stuffed the bone carapace and stone slab in its hands back into its nest, then scurried over to Bai Mo’s side to serve him.

Once the medicinal ingredients were prepared and the Tai Sui mushroom was washed, Ah Er tossed everything into the Pill Furnace and blasted it with a fierce fire.

Bai Mo stood to the side, looking at a booklet in his hand. It recorded the procedure he had devised.

Now, Ah Er was just replicating it.

He was only assisting with his Divine Thought from the side.

Refining this Pill wasn’t particularly difficult.

Two days later, the materials in the furnace had melted into a Pill Liquid, which then contracted into a paste and rapidly formed a ball.

PUFF!

A muffled sound came from the furnace, making the tips of Ah Er’s ears twitch. It immediately looked back, somewhat unsettled.

It felt like it was its fault.

Bai Mo stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. He casually placed a hand on its head.

"It’s not your fault."

"Take the Pill out. Let me see."

Bai Mo had personally tried refining this Pill once before and had failed. The mishap had occurred at this very same stage.

Judging by the quality of the sample, the alchemist from the other race didn’t possess his level of skill.

There was definitely something strange about it. After having Ah Er perform the practical steps while he observed, Bai Mo noticed a few clues.

Ah Er climbed the bamboo ladder next to the Pill Furnace and used bamboo tweezers to remove the half-finished Pill from within.

This half-finished Pill was black and much softer than the final product. It already had a faint fragrance, but it couldn’t be consumed.

After a moment of observation, Bai Mo suddenly took out a dagger and sliced it in half.

The inside of the Pill was still glowing red, a result of the high heat.

Bai Mo leaned in for a closer look, coating his eyes with Spiritual Qi to avoid being burned.

Within the red glow were some unusual patterns. After staring intently, Bai Mo strode quickly to the stone table in the courtyard.

"Ink and brush!"

Ah Er quickly fetched a brush, ink, and paper. It casually splashed some tea onto the inkstone and ground it a few times, and just like that, the ink was ready.

Following the trajectory of the patterns he had seen in the red glow, Bai Mo began to trace them onto the paper.

Seeing how tense he was, Ah Er stood by his side, not daring to breathe.

After a short while, the Pill cooled down. The red glow faded, and it became a useless husk. The patterns on it vanished.

Bai Mo casually tossed it aside.

Ah Er, however, picked it up and put it in a cloth bag, planning to throw it off the cliff once the bag was full.

On the table, a sheet of paper covered in profound patterns remained, exuding the faint scent of tea.

Even with Ah Er’s limited insight, it could tell the patterns on the paper were extraordinary and must hold some secret.

Bai Mo, however, discerned two characters from the overlapping lines, written in an ancient script.

’Tian Weng.’

"What incredible skill, to hide words inside a Pill. Why go to such great lengths?"

Bai Mo rubbed the bridge of his nose and sent a message to the Foreign Affairs Hall.

The green-robed manager arrived soon after.

"Tian Weng?"

His expression shifted.

"Such an arrogant name. What does it mean?"

Bai Mo explained, "It might be a person’s name, or perhaps a certain school or faction. It was deliberately hidden within the Pill."

"During Alchemy, if one cannot grasp the mystery within the trajectory of these characters, the Soul Power will not integrate smoothly, making it difficult to form the Pill."

The green-robed manager pondered for a moment, then turned and left.

"Allow me to go back and investigate."

...

A few days later, the green-robed manager came again.

"I’ve questioned many disciples who have been to the other side. They have occasionally seen these two characters."

"It was mostly in places related to the Alchemy Dao. And based on their descriptions, it doesn’t seem to be a person’s name. It’s most likely a school, a faction, or some kind of sect."

This was the first time Bai Mo had encountered such a peculiar matter. He was now starting to see that group from the other race in a new light.

The green-robed manager thought for a moment, then asked tentatively,

"If we were to capture a member of the other race of considerable status, Junior Brother, do you think we could question them and learn the secret?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"Matters of the Alchemy Dao are not something an ordinary member would know. Since the sect wishes to have dealings with them, it’s best to avoid such actions."

"Besides, this group from the other race doesn’t necessarily have an Alchemy Dao master. To grasp the corresponding method, they most likely have the assistance of a tool."

"A tool?" the green-robed manager asked, puzzled.

Bai Mo then explained it to him.

"A Pill Furnace is crafted with a unique method. If such a Pill Furnace is passed down, this branch of the other race would only need to master simple techniques to refine Pills with it."

"Some sects use this kind of method to prevent their Pill Formulas from being leaked."

"They probably have a special Pill Furnace that fulfills the hidden requirement of the two characters ’Tian Weng’ within this Pill."

If that was the case, things would be much more difficult.

The green-robed manager pondered for a moment before revealing a piece of information to Bai Mo.

"This Pill is exclusively for the other race’s Cultivators at the Core Formation and Nascent Soul Realms. It is of extraordinary significance and an important chip for us to win over one of their factions."

"Can you think of a way, Junior Brother?"

Bai Mo had already considered it.

He replied directly, "I can try."

"I’ve never encountered anything like this before. If I don’t succeed, please don’t blame me, Senior Brother."

"Of course," the green-robed manager nodded, then asked,

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Bai Mo shook his head.

"This is my own business now. However, if you get any more news about these two characters in the future, please let me know, Senior Brother."

The green-robed manager agreed and, taking the opportunity, shared some more information with Bai Mo.

In the ruins, records of ’Tian Weng’ had been found in many different places, indicating their involvement in numerous events and locations.

He saw the green-robed manager off.

"These five thousand Spirit Stones really aren’t easy to earn..."

Bai Mo murmured.

He then returned to his room, flipping through Pill Books to look for similar records.

He paid particular attention to the anecdotes of several famous predecessors who were fond of stealing Pill Formulas.

They had stolen a wide variety of Pill Formulas, so they must have encountered something like this before. The question was how they had solved it.

At this point, this job was no longer just about the five thousand Spirit Stones.

It was a perfect case of a hunter’s thrill upon spotting new prey.

Without this kind of curiosity for the unknown aspects of the Alchemy Dao, it would be highly unlikely for a Cultivator to raise their accomplishments in it to Bai Mo’s level.

Ah Er helped him flip through the books. With serious business at hand, it couldn’t be bothered with making money for now.

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.