Chapter 477: Breaking Realm
The prisoners of the black prison hadn’t seen Bai Mo in a long time.
Now, the task of patrolling the prison was handled entirely by that fat badger.
It wasn’t a kind creature, either. Occasionally, it would take food laced with Pills it had concocted itself, coax the deranged prisoners into eating it, and then watch their reactions.
Many of the prisoners were schemers, but all their plots were extinguished whenever they saw the occasional wisp of Spirit Charm wafting by.
‘There were clearly so many opportunities to strike.’
Watching Ah Er stroll back and forth, the prisoners seethed with resentment.
Today was the day to patrol the black prison.
Ah Er looked at the prisoners, their expressions shifting and unpredictable. A flash of fear made it quicken its pace.
A moment later, it finally passed through the long prison corridor and was back outside.
The stares from behind were finally cut off.
It habitually glanced toward the door of the stone house, but Ah Er saw no new Pill vials.
‘It’s been quite some time.’
Previously, even though Bai Mo never showed his face, he would leave out Pills from time to time.
Ah Er would send the Pills to Immortal Arrival City as usual, keeping only the finest specimens for itself.
Over time, it had accumulated a considerable fortune for Bai Mo.
Approaching the door, Ah Er carefully pressed its ear against it to listen. The sound of the Pill Furnace being fired within was incessant.
‘He should be fine.’
Besides, it wasn’t like it was going to starve. Ah Er pulled back its now-sweaty ear, unconcerned, and turned to attend to its own affairs.
「Inside the stone house.」
Bai Mo reached into the furnace and retrieved the Pills.
Three perfectly round, snow-white Pills. They were quite pleasing to the eye. If one had to find fault, it would be that the inscribed patterns weren’t very attractive.
*Phew!*
Letting out a long breath, Bai Mo’s mind stirred.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Realm: Late-stage Foundation Establishment]
[Identity: Pill Sect (1476/1500)]
[Aptitude: Glimpse Creation, Manipulate All Things]
He was so close to maxing out the progress bar on his status panel. It was just a hair’s breadth away.
Seeing this progress, Bai Mo felt a wave of relief.
‘Why have I been toiling away day and night, never seeing the sun, covered in dust and grime as I attend this Pill Furnace?’
‘Was it all for Spirit Stones!?’
‘No, not entirely.’
Bai Mo looked away and wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“With my previous level of insight, I likely wouldn’t have been able to solve the many difficult problems I’m facing.”
“Regardless, it’s time for an upgrade…”
The Celestial Dao rewards the diligent. Over a thousand Tier Three Pills were enough to prove his diligence.
He tossed a few ores and herbs into the Pill Furnace, letting them churn on their own.
Then, he flopped onto his bed, and Bai Mo was asleep in an instant.
He’d been working day and night with almost no rest, an effort that had truly taxed his body and soul.
「A few days later.」
Bai Mo started another batch. His technique was as practiced and effortless as pouring tea, and he added a number of fine ingredients.
When the Pills emerged from the furnace, their surfaces glowed with a golden light. They were clearly no ordinary items.
This sight left Bai Mo deeply gratified. With a thought, he brought up his status.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Realm: Late-stage Foundation Establishment]
[Identity: Grandmaster (0/5000)]
[Aptitude: An Attuned Dao Heart, Reflecting Heavenly Time Above, Illuminating Earthly Geography Below]
Just as this scene flashed before his eyes, a stream of cool energy instantly shot into his brain.
Even the finest century-old cooling herb couldn’t compare to this energy. Bai Mo’s thoughts froze, and he collapsed on the spot.
He managed to issue one last command as he fell to the ground.
With a slight wave of his arm, the flames beneath the furnace were instantly extinguished.
He was unconscious for an unknown amount of time. By the time Bai Mo slowly came to, the ashes beneath the Pill Furnace were already ice-cold.
Listening closely, he could hear Ah Er’s heavy snoring from outside the house.
“I must have been out for a long time.”
“That creature… so ridiculously dense. It didn’t even think to come in and check on me. What if something had gone wrong…”
The words held no real meaning; they were simply spoken out of reflex.
Bai Mo’s mind was preternaturally clear, yet a torrent of disparate thoughts flooded it, leaving him feeling disoriented.
Speaking some of these random thoughts aloud helped him forcibly focus his mind and come back to his senses.
Suppressing his discomfort, Bai Mo pushed open the door to the stone house.
Outside, a cool breeze caressed his face, bringing with it a refreshing chill. It was already the dead of night.
In the corner, Ah Er slept soundly with its paws crossed. The tips of its ears twitched, and its breathing suddenly softened.
Fighting against the waves of sleepiness, it struggled to pry open one eye.
Through its blurry vision, it seemed to see a figure standing in the doorway, silently observing the herbs outside.
All the herbs had been sent from Immortal Arrival City.
Once the Demon Beasts’ mating season was over, the Demon Hunting Teams would charge into the mountains. While harvesting the exhausted male Demon Beasts, they also helped Bai Mo collect herbs.
The fruits of their labor were laid out on the ground.
Ah Er stared for two breaths, then its entire body went rigid. It was as if its mind had been struck by lightning. All sleepiness vanished in an instant, and it leaped to its feet.
“Gah!”
Shaking its head hard, it hopped over to Bai Mo’s side.
It saw Bai Mo take several deep breaths before the thoughts racing through his mind finally calmed.
He could faintly sense the Spiritual Qi around the stone house pulsing. Judging by the frequency, it was like the breathing of some kind of beast.
He also sensed a great deal of fire energy converging nearby. After merging with a wisp of vital essence, it formed a brightly shining Spirit Charm.
“What day is it?”
Bai Mo asked.
Ah Er took out a calendar, quickly flipping through the pages with its claw. It soon pointed to a date and held it up for Bai Mo to see.
“May thirteenth…”
“So much time has passed. I wonder how long I was out.”
Turning his head, Bai Mo asked,
“Has there been any trouble in the black prison?”
Ah Er thought for a moment, then held up two claws. It followed this by clutching its throat, twisting its face, and falling over.
The meaning was clear: two prisoners had died.
Bai Mo went to one side, opened the black prison’s register, and read the entries made by Li Wuji.
Two prisoners had died. They were both Cultivators who had been locked up for a long time, and their cells happened to be adjacent.
Apparently, after seeing the other die of old age, the second one lost his will to live. With no remaining attachments or obsessions, he simply followed.
Ah Er had notified Li Wuji, and disciples from the Foreign Affairs Hall had come to retrieve the message. They quickly and efficiently disposed of the stiff corpses.
‘By now, those two have probably been reduced to ash.’
Ah Er scrambled up from the ground and went to Bai Mo’s side. After he finished reading the register, it made a few gestures, its eyes full of inquiry.
“It’s over,”
Bai Mo said, shaking his head.
“Until the two-year deadline arrives, I’ll probably have some free time.”
Hearing this, Ah Er let out a genuine sigh of relief.
It trotted to a corner and put away the abacus, its lacquer worn from constant use. It then tossed aside a personal notebook filled to the brim with entries.
Lately, it had been managing all the affairs on the mountain, both internal and external.
This included not only patrolling the black prison but also handling correspondence with Immortal Arrival City and managing the flow of Spirit Stones and herbs. It was responsible for all of it.
The abacus had been clacking away day after day, all just to keep the accounts straight.
It was truly a difficult task for the creature.
Bai Mo picked up the notebook it had tossed aside. A quick look through revealed several errors and omissions.
They weren’t major, only involving a discrepancy of about a thousand Spirit Stones.
Of course, over in Immortal Arrival City, Wei An would likely notice something. That kid was extremely sharp.
‘That would be his problem to deal with. I wonder if he’ll be tearing his hair out over it.’
Ah Er, skilled at reading expressions, saw Bai Mo’s gaze linger in a few places and its heart skipped a beat.
“Gah?”
“It’s nothing,”
Bai Mo said with a smile.
“The Spirit Stones are all there. I just never realized you were so bad with numbers…”
Only then did Ah Er relax. It glanced at the sky, then carried its bed back into the house, found a clean corner, and curled up to sleep.