The next morning, Bai Mo was up bright and early.
Without opening the doors or windows, Bai Mo went straight to the bottle containing the Earth Dragon Root.
Overnight, the Earth Dragon Root couldn't possibly have grown anything new.
Bai Mo pulled out the Earth Dragon Root and looked at the Mountain Bear blood essence in the bottle.
The level had indeed dropped, and the foul, coppery smell wasn't as strong anymore.
When he had first opened the bottle last night, the stench had almost made him stumble backward.
Plugging the bottle, Bai Mo examined the twisting Earth Dragon Root in his hand. He noticed a layer of red hidden beneath its brown skin.
"It worked!"
This wasn't simple absorption. It had broken down the original structure of the Demon Beast's blood essence while retaining its core vitality.
There was no time to lose. Bai Mo fetched his Pill Furnace and a bronze pot, lit a fire, and was soon busy at work.
He processed the medicinal ingredients quickly. Carefully controlling the heat, he soon tossed all the materials into the Pill Furnace.
The furnace burned for an hour, and Bai Mo didn't dare to step away for a moment.
Only when he felt the time was right did he pull out all the firewood.
Then, it was time to open the furnace and retrieve the pills.
HISS!
Bai Mo's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, the moment he fully opened the Pill Furnace's lid, a wisp of black smoke drifted out.
After a moment of silence, Bai Mo used bamboo tongs to remove two black-and-red mottled pills.
"A failure..."
Two completely ruined pills. Bai Mo didn't even dare to touch them with his bare hands.
'But why?'
A look of confusion crossed Bai Mo's face as he mentally retraced his alchemy process.
'My technique could be better, but there shouldn't have been any mistakes in the procedure.'
'The ratios? Those should have been correct, too...'
With a sullen expression, Bai Mo focused his thoughts.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer]
[Identity: Pill Disciple (0/900)]
[Aptitude: Glimpse the leopard by one spot; nascent comprehension.]
'This makes no sense. How am I stumped by a mere Qi Blood Pill?'
Bai Mo was utterly baffled, but seeing the sun climbing higher in the sky, he knew he couldn't delay any longer.
Today, he had to visit the household Master Wang had told him about.
After tidying up a bit and deciding his gray robes were presentable enough, Bai Mo left.
Immortal Arrival City was massive, covering at least a hundred-li radius.
A true Immortal City.
Bai Mo had rarely explored it. For someone at the mere Qi Refining Stage like him, having a corner to call his own was already fortunate.
The long street where his shop was located was the territory of the cultivators in his area.
Doing business rashly in other territories would lead to hostility and ostracism.
The Chaoyun Commerce Association was different. Located in the city center, it welcomed guests from all corners.
It was a massive building, four stories and sixty feet tall, situated right in the city.
Bai Mo walked past it without a second glance, heading straight for the residence he remembered had stone lions.
Such a conspicuous landmark was hard to miss.
And indeed, it wasn't long before Bai Mo found the house.
The stone lions were already covered in moss, though not thickly, and there was no gatekeeper at the entrance. It was clear the family had fallen on hard times.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Bai Mo grabbed the door knocker and rapped it several times.
After a moment, an elderly man in blue robes opened the door.
He looked a little surprised to see Bai Mo.
"Young man, were you the one knocking?"
"I was," Bai Mo said, politely clasping his hands in a salute.
"And what might your business be?" The man didn't recall anyone in the household mentioning this boy.
"My name is Bai Mo. I am the humble shopkeeper of a Pill Shop, and I have some small knowledge of Alchemy Skill..."
Before Bai Mo could finish, the man understood his purpose.
He gave a bitter smile. "I didn't expect that even a young man like you would've heard the news. Come in."
Bai Mo was a bit baffled by his words. It wasn't until the man led him into a study that he began to understand.
The study was a complete mess. The desk, writing brushes, and chairs were mostly broken.
It looked as if several groups of people had fought violently in here.
Seeing this scene, Bai Mo naturally couldn't bring himself to touch anything.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The man said, "This is what you're looking for, young man. Two Spirit Stones per item. Pick what you want."
Bai Mo's expression turned serious.
"I came here seeking Pill Books and notes, for a fair trade with no deception."
"But with things like this, what position are you putting me in? If you don't explain the situation, I wouldn't dare take anything."
Judging by the state of the study, the people who had searched through it before hadn't been polite.
Connecting this to the family's background, Bai Mo could guess what had happened here.
Likely some combination of threats and bribes to force the family to hand over the Pill Master's belongings.
'If I just take things rashly, how would I be any different from them? I might end up offending someone important.'
'I don't want to get entangled in this kind of meaningless karma,' Bai Mo thought. 'It's better to be clear about things.'
The man was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "Everything in here has been picked through countless times. Some who came were brutes, others were polite."
"No matter who it is, we're used to it now. It's two Spirit Stones per item."
"It's just that there's nothing of much value left. I only hope you don't feel it's not worth the price, young man."
Looking at the man before him, Bai Mo suddenly felt his words were pointless and couldn't help but sigh.
"May I ask your name?"
"My surname is Gou, same as the master's. I'm the butler here."
Bai Mo replied, "Alright, I'll remember that. If I get a good deal from you today, then in the future, if you purchase Pills from my shop, I'll give you a ten percent discount on any order under one hundred Spirit Stones."
With that, he said no more and entered the study to start searching.
The books in the study were a motley collection. There were quite a few about medicinal herbs and pills, but they were all common books with basic knowledge.
'Hm? *Detailed Explanation of Alchemy*? This is a version I haven't seen before. Is it one circulated among Pill Masters?'
The handwriting was clearly that of a commercial scribe. The book looked very new, and he guessed it hadn't been read much.
Bai Mo casually set it aside.
A version not commonly seen on the market was still worth buying.
The remaining items were just as the butler had said: not much of value.
There were only a few notebooks, filled with fragmented jottings. Judging by the handwriting, they were quite old.
They must have been things the Pill Master had casually written down when he was still a student; some of the ideas seemed rather immature.
This was why no one had bothered with the notebooks.
Bai Mo picked out a thicker notebook and, along with the *Detailed Explanation of Alchemy*, walked back to the butler.
"Back then, did that Alchemist Gou study under a famous master?" Bai Mo asked.
The butler nodded. "He wasn't a formal disciple, just followed him to learn."
He then added a reminder, "Are you sure you want this one, young man? The master's Alchemy Skill back then might not have even been as good as yours."
Seeing how seriously Bai Mo was making his selection, he realized the boy could actually tell good from bad, and he began to take him more seriously.
Bai Mo nodded. "Yes, but this notebook still has its merits."
After all, the famous senior that Pill Master had followed might have occasionally mentioned things that were anything but worthless.
The butler was speechless for a moment, thinking the young man before him was truly confident.
"But so many people have been through here and none of them realized that Master Gou was taught by a famous master. How did you figure it out, young man?"
Bai Mo opened the notebook and pointed to a few passages inside.
"There are a few descriptions in here that seem completely unrelated, but they actually describe a very exquisite method for processing a certain medicinal ingredient."
"It's not something an ordinary medicine boy would know, and only a powerful Pill Master could teach it."
The butler was stunned again. "And how would you know that, young man?"
"Because I happen to know it too."
Bai Mo pressed four Spirit Stones into his hand, packed up his items, and took his leave with a smile.
The butler watched him go, still somewhat dazed.
'Where on earth did that kid come from?'