Following the direction Bai Mo was pointing, they saw a man standing on a stool, surrounded by a crowd.
The man was dressed in a green robe. He was thin and frail, but his expression was one of feverish excitement.
"Come on, let's go see."
Bai Mo led Lanshan and his sister forward, trying to squeeze into the crowd.
However, the audience was just as fervent, and it wasn't easy to push through.
Suddenly, Bai Mo spotted several middle-aged Cultivators standing near a stone lion by the doorway of a nearby house.
They listened with faint smiles and calm expressions, occasionally exchanging a few words with those beside them. The aroma of Pill Qi clinging to them was incredibly dense.
After a moment's hesitation, Bai Mo headed in their direction.
Seeing the three of them approach, the middle-aged Cultivators paused their conversation and fell silent.
Their gazes fell upon Lanshan and his sister, their brows furrowing slightly.
But when they saw Bai Mo, their expressions relaxed.
"Greetings, young friend."
"You're quite young, my friend. Haha."
The men greeted him, their manner quite amicable.
Bai Mo solemnly returned the gesture.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists. There wasn't a good spot, so I'm afraid I have to impose on you all."
"It's no trouble. This is public space. Anyone can stand here."
Lanshan, with Lan Ru in tow, remained silent. He sensed a certain air about these men.
It was the air of an expert, something you might only occasionally find in the old master craftsmen of certain shops.
After the greetings were exchanged, everyone's attention returned to the hysterical alchemy apprentice shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Gentlemen, listen to my Human Pill Method!"
"We use a Pill Furnace for our Alchemy. The medicinal ingredients, the type of fire, the purity of the Spiritual Qi, the terrestrial influences of wind, water, and fire... all of these are variables that affect the outcome of our Pills."
"Without a Grotto Heaven or a blessed land, our conditions are limited. How can we possibly create the best Pills!?"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. Below, a crowd of alchemy apprentices scribbled down his words with their Spiritual Pens.
"Why not use our own bodies to nurture the Pills? We can store the medicinal power within ourselves, cultivate and refine it to its peak with our own Spiritual Qi, and then use our body's internal fire to concoct it!"
The man in the green robe said, enunciating each word clearly:
"This way, we can create the absolute best Pills!"
"As for how to mobilize the human fire, how to store the medicinal power, and all the other details—if any of you gentlemen are interested, you can discuss it with me..."
As soon as he finished, the crowd of onlookers grew noisy, erupting into a small wave of chatter.
Lanshan was slightly stunned.
"This guy is amazing!"
He didn't understand Pills, but seeing so many apprentices treating the man's words as gospel, he was somewhat convinced.
Just then, the middle-aged Cultivators standing nearby exchanged a smile.
One of them, a rather elegant Cultivator in a red robe with a salt-and-pepper beard, looked at Bai Mo.
"What do you think of his words, young friend?"
This was a question from a peer. Bai Mo pondered for a moment before answering cautiously:
"What this person says does have some merit."
"In fact, many ancient texts record such Pill Methods. It's a fine technique for refining important Pills."
"The general method he describes is not incorrect. It is indeed feasible!"
At this point, Bai Mo paused for a moment before continuing:
"However, this method greatly consumes the alchemist's life force. If any deviation occurs during the process, even if a Pill is produced, the cost will far outweigh the gain."
"Besides, this isn't the only way to refine high-quality Pills. There's no need to be so fanatical about it."
Lanshan was taken aback. He could tell Bai Mo didn't exactly endorse this method.
He quickly looked at the other Cultivators, wanting to hear their take on it.
But the elegant Cultivator didn't offer a critique. He only said:
"For you to be so against this method, young friend, I suspect there's another reason, isn't there?"
Bai Mo nodded.
"Correct. I'm sure you all know that this method is most likely to attract the covetous eyes of certain Cultivators with malicious intent..."
The elegant Cultivator sighed.
"Indeed. If something really were to happen, having your Pill stolen and your life taken would be the least of your worries. The real fear is someone treating you as a living, human-shaped super-Pill..."
He didn't elaborate.
Hearing this, however, Lanshan's heart tightened.
'Is the world of Pills and Alchemy really this treacherous?'
The group stopped paying attention to the noisy crowd beside them and began their own conversation.
Bai Mo cupped his hands and asked, "Are any of you gentlemen certified Pill Masters?"
The elegant Cultivator waved his hand and chuckled.
"Not yet. But we've been at this for so many years, running our own businesses, so we're not in a rush."
"We've all had to withdraw with regret several times, always falling just short. We'll just attend a few more times. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky one of these days and pass."
They all introduced themselves, and Bai Mo learned that they each owned their own shop in Celestial Mountain City.
But since they specialized in different types of Pills, there wasn't much of a conflict of interest between them.
"My name is Bai Mo. I run a business in Immortal Arrival City, under the jurisdiction of the Marvelous Dharma Sect."
"Do you have a signature Pill?" the elegant Cultivator asked.
Bai Mo paused for a moment, then said, "Mostly just basic Pills. If I had to name one with a unique feature, it would be the Qi Blood Pill."
His Evil Exorcism Pill, used for removing a Blood Curse, was also quite rare on the market, but Bai Mo didn't mention it.
The elegant Cultivator thought for a moment, a look of confusion on his face.
"There are many kinds of Qi Blood Pills on the market. How can you say yours is unique?"
Bai Mo chuckled.
"My Qi Blood Pill is different. I've modified the formula to incorporate the essence blood of a Demon Beast."
"The essence from a high-quality Demon Beast's blood is extremely potent. Not only can it supplement a person's qi and blood, it can even surpass it..."
The middle-aged Cultivators' eyes lit up as they listened, and they nodded repeatedly.
"Excellent, excellent. That way, not only does it provide a more powerful effect, but the strain on the user's body isn't as great either..."
Returning the favor, they began discussing the pros and cons of their own Pills. They were all veterans with their own unique ideas.
One idea about sealing medicinal power—a method to prevent its loss during Alchemy—was particularly useful to Bai Mo.
The more they talked, the more engrossed they became. But this stood in stark contrast to the agitated crowd nearby, making them seem out of place.
Lanshan noticed people repeatedly glancing their way. His gaze turned cold as he stared back, forcing them to look away.
"Shopkeeper Bai, everyone, this isn't the place to talk. We should find somewhere more secluded."
Only when Lanshan spoke did Bai Mo and the other Cultivators realize the situation.
They immediately backed away, moved to a street corner, and continued their earlier conversation.
Lanshan still couldn't understand most of it, but he tried to commit some of their words to memory.
This was all talk born from experience, tested through practice. There was no harm in learning a little.
At the very least, it would help him avoid being scammed in the future.
Among the many Pill peddlers, there were always some who sold fakes.
Using one in a life-or-death situation could be a fatal mistake!
Although such people were often hunted down for revenge and had become much more discreet, who could guarantee they would never run into one?
Just as they were talking, a few young people suddenly walked over.
"Uncle!"
"Shopkeeper!"
"Father!"
They were called by all sorts of titles, and the group's conversation came to an abrupt halt.
From the way the young people addressed them, Bai Mo knew these were the juniors of the Cultivators before him.
"What are you doing here? Didn't you say you weren't going to wander around? You had us searching everywhere!" one of the youths complained.
The elegant Cultivator didn't seem to mind and just chuckled.
"We ran into a fellow Daoist and got so caught up in our discussion we forgot everything else."
He introduced Bai Mo, saying, "This is fellow Daoist Bai. He's also here for the Pill Master certification. His Alchemy Skill is extraordinary!"
Hearing this, the group of youths grew restless.
"He's already preparing at his age!?"
"Poor guy. Heavens know how agonizing this process is!"
"Yeah, really. The certification is incredibly difficult. We participate every year just to gain experience, but even then, there's no need to start preparing this young..."