Chapter 478: Discovery
Chapter 478: Chapter 478: Discovery
After so long in seclusion, Bai Mo had a backlog of matters to attend to.
As for Immortal Arrival City, the Demon Hunting Team had been active for quite some time and their efforts had been fruitful. It was time for them to rest.
There was also a discrepancy in Ah Er’s ledger that didn’t align with Wei An’s records. That needed to be brought up as well.
He had just sent off a few letters when the Foreign Affairs Hall came knocking.
It was time for the annual review once again.
Over the past year, Bai Mo had made no errors, contributed to dealing with the deranged Cultivator, and cooperated with various sect initiatives...
The Foreign Affairs Hall found plenty of justifications on his behalf, ultimately securing him the highest possible rating.
After dealing with the Foreign Affairs Hall, life on Mi Mountain returned to its usual rhythm. Prisoners came and went, lived and died, just as they always had.
Coincidentally, not long after Bai Mo emerged from his seclusion, a letter arrived from the White-Haired Elder.
In the letter, the old man inquired about the status of the Outer Pill.
He had finished visiting two old friends and was on his way back. If he could make it in time, he was still willing to study the profound arts with Bai Mo.
Bai Mo estimated the elder’s travel speed and silently dismissed some of his ideas.
In his reply, however, he made it clear that when the time came, he still hoped the White-Haired Elder would come to witness the event.
After all, he was a fellow cultivator with whom he corresponded, and he had helped Bai Mo a great deal. Theirs was a friendship that transcended age...
After sending the letter, Bai Mo returned to his room.
The Outer Pill fragment, which had been soaking in Golden Liquid from a Crystal Charm’s Golden Core, had been eroded by the liquid, revealing a deeper layer.
Before Bai Mo now, a fragment of an Outer Pill shattered by a mighty expert ages ago was revealing a corner of its mysteries.
What was once a fist-sized mass had been reduced to nearly half its original size by the corrosive Golden Liquid.
The remaining portion was likely so dense and durable that not even the Golden Liquid from the Crystal Charm could dissolve it.
Bai Mo used bamboo tweezers to retrieve the remainder and held it before his eyes for a closer look.
On its surface were intricate patterns the likes of which he had never seen—incredibly complex, yet exquisitely fine.
Bai Mo stood motionless, observing for a long time. He concluded that the patterns were composed of three interlocking parts.
He then took three sheets of paper and carefully sketched each part separately.
This half of the Outer Pill fragment had more cracks, and they were more spread out, perhaps indicating that the principles it contained were even more profound.
After several days of study, Bai Mo had Ah Er summon Yi Xiang.
The Outer Pill fragment Bai Mo held was the one he had obtained from this very disciple of the Foreign Affairs Hall.
Upon hearing it was news about the Outer Pill, Yi Xiang rushed over immediately.
"Junior Brother, have you made a discovery?"
Bai Mo shook his head.
"Nothing too significant, just a small lead. Senior Brother, take a look at these three drawings..."
Yi Xiang leaned closer, examining the three drawings on the table. Their intricate lines were reminiscent of Array Patterns.
He studied them for a moment but couldn’t make anything of them.
"They seem incredibly profound. What do they mean?"
"I don’t know yet," Bai Mo said. "But our sect has no shortage of experts. Senior Brother, you should take these and ask around."
Yi Xiang gave him a surprised glance but said nothing, simply taking the three drawings and leaving.
A few days later, Yi Xiang returned, visibly excited.
"There’s a senior in the sect who’s an expert in the Dao of painting. He looked at them and said they are a partial manifestation of the Acquired Dao."
"He said he’s seen similar manifestations in the depths of his meditations, so there’s no mistake!"
Bai Mo knew the sect had talented members, but he never imagined they were this capable. He quickly asked:
"Then are there any inconsistencies in the drawings?"
"They conform to the Dao’s principles and contain no errors. Only these five spots seem a bit abrupt, but that’s likely due to your lack of skill when you were drawing, Junior Brother..."
Yi Xiang said honestly.
Bai Mo pulled him aside.
"Senior Brother, look. On the fragment, there are numerous cracks right on these Dao patterns. They’re scattered, yet precise."
"This is the root cause of the Outer Pill’s fragmentation. It couldn’t have been done by human hands."
If it were an ordinary Pill, one might say someone had used a Great Divine Technique to shatter it.
But the original, colossal Outer Pill was born in response to the Great Dao of heaven and earth itself. Its power was peerless.
Even its owner probably couldn’t have fully controlled it, let alone damaged it to this degree.
"Only a shift in the Great Dao itself could cause the original Outer Pill to crumble from within and shatter like this..."
Bai Mo could almost see a giant hand shifting the cosmos, altering the Great Dao to shatter the Outer Pill, and then restoring the Dao to its original state.
He just didn’t know if such a magnificent being truly existed in the world.
Yi Xiang was lost in thought.
This was merely the baseless, fantastical speculation of two inner-sect disciples.
But Yi Xiang was a disciple of the Foreign Affairs Hall; he had seen a great deal and was far more accepting of seemingly outrageous ideas.
"Now that you’ve said this, Junior Brother, if anyone else makes a similar discovery, the sect will probably have to investigate this part of the Acquired Dao..."
He murmured to himself, then bid Bai Mo farewell and swiftly departed on his Flying Ship.
Many of his colleagues had already made progress in their research on the Outer Pill fragments, while he alone had nothing to show for it.
Although the supervising senior brother didn’t blame him, Yi Xiang was still anxious. Naturally, he was now in a hurry to report his findings.
Bai Mo watched him leave, then instructed Ah Er to dispose of the Golden Liquid in the basin.
The liquid, once the color of pure Gold, now looked dull and mottled with impurities after dissolving a portion of the fragment.
This was caused by the decaying toxins from the Outer Pill, rendering the basin of Golden Liquid useless.
Watching Ah Er carry the wooden basin out, Bai Mo grew pensive. He picked up his brush and jotted down some notes.
’Such a precise manifestation of the Dao within the Outer Pill was clearly not carved by human hands.’
’If the mighty expert who died had truly been familiar with this Dao, there would have been no reason for him to refine an Outer Pill as an aid.’
’It’s more likely there’s another method—one that intercepts the true essence of a Divine Technique, causing the Dao to manifest within the Outer Pill on its own...’
’I might possess such a method as well.’
Bai Mo recalled his research into the art of human refinement.
A portion of the cultivation base belonging to Wei Xianxing’s nominal wife and her handmaid had once been refined away within the Pill Furnace manifested from his own Divine Thought.
If those parts could be preserved and stored within a Pill, he should be able to reproduce some of their effects.
A cascade of logical and convincing thoughts flooded his mind.
Even Bai Mo himself was surprised by the notion. He wrote his ideas down, leaving them for later contemplation.
......
Meanwhile, far from Mi Mountain, Ah Er carried the basin of discarded Golden Liquid into a distant patch of woods.
It glanced around and, seeing no one, immediately stooped down and began to dig furiously.
Before long, it had dug a pit about ten feet deep.
It poured the Golden Liquid into the hole, pushed the dirt back in, and stamped the loose earth firm. Only then was Ah Er satisfied.
It had a habit: the more toxic something was, the farther away it had to be buried.
Just as it was dusting off its paws and turning to head back up the mountain, it spotted a huge wild boar. The boar was sniffing the air and staring in bewilderment at its peculiar behavior.
There was even a hint of grievance in its round, piggy eyes.
Ah Er jumped in fright and hurried forward, pushing at the boar’s head to make it move away.
’The thing buried in the dirt absolutely must not be eaten.’
’It’s not something Master made. You don’t know where outside things come from. If you eat it, I’m afraid all your pork will spoil.’
The boar was enormous, and Ah Er couldn’t budge it. In a panic, it leaped directly onto the boar’s head, grabbed its ear, and tried to force it to turn.
The wild boar was shocked. It had never had anything ride on its head before.
It shook its head uneasily, its four hooves stomping erratically as it carried Ah Er deeper into the forest.