Chapter 489: Exchange
Chapter 489: Chapter 489: Exchange
Bai Mo had Qin Wen stay for an extra day.
He mainly spoke about matters concerning Immortal Arrival City and the Demon Hunting Teams, and along the way, had Qin Wen dictate some guidance on the Alchemy Dao to the shop’s assistants.
Qin Wen also took the opportunity to stroll around the sect grounds, broadening his horizons considerably.
Afterward, he took the Pills Bai Mo had prepared and began his journey home.
Just as when he arrived, he rode a Spirit Beast from Beast Taming Peak directly to Immortal Arrival City, with no stops in between.
This cost Qin Wen a few Spirit Stones, but it was a trivial expense.
After all, he was carrying a large batch of Pills, so he couldn’t afford any mishaps.
After seeing Qin Wen off, Bai Mo summoned Ah Er, asked about his recent activities, and then took several pill vials from his sleeve.
"Do you still remember the few places I took you to before?"
Ah Er pulled a booklet from his chest, flipped to the last few pages, looked them over, and nodded.
Bai Mo then handed the pill vials to him.
"Deliver the Pills to them and bring back the Spirit Stones."
"As for Kongliu Valley, if they remember about maintaining the Flying Ship, just give them yours. It’s too shabby."
Bai Mo instructed, but just before finishing, he remembered something else and added a reminder:
"At Divine Dao Mountain, be careful. It’s best to travel with others. No one will say anything if you just tag along with another group."
"I have some connections with the people of Divine Dao Mountain, but the devotees there each have their own temperaments. You mustn’t be careless."
Ah Er noted each instruction, patted his chest, and jumped onto his Flying Ship to depart.
His skill at piloting the Flying Ship was now quite adept. After experiencing numerous capsizes, he could already multitask.
Facing into the wind, Ah Er used a claw to hold down the pages of the booklet, the corners of which whipped in the wind with a sharp WHAP-WHAP sound.
Squinting for a good while, he finally sorted out the route for his trip. Ah Er put the booklet away, preparing to focus on his journey.
But in the instant he looked up, the corner of his eye caught two figures on the ground heading toward Mi Mountain.
There were few people in this region. Judging by their direction, they were undoubtedly guests heading to Mi Mountain.
The old man with the salt-and-pepper hair looked somewhat familiar. Ah Er focused his gaze and recognized him—it was the white-haired elder his master often talked about.
He immediately slowed the Flying Ship and gradually descended to the ground.
The moment he drew near, the white-haired elder recognized him and smiled at the disciple supporting him.
"It’s Little Friend Bai’s Spirit Beast. Quite well-behaved."
Ah Er also had a very favorable impression of this old gentleman.
The man had once given him snacks, and he was a very gentle old man.
With a POOF, a cloud of smoke rose, and Ah Er transformed into the appearance of a Daoist Child before jumping down from the Flying Ship.
"Old Sir, are you going to visit my master?"
"I’ll take you there!"
The white-haired elder smiled and said, "A Daoist Child usually accompanies his master. I can see you must be out alone on important business."
"My disciple here is quite fast on his feet. We won’t need your help."
Ah Er scratched his head. Not insisting, he turned and ran back to the Flying Ship.
"Well then, Old Sir, you must stay for a few days! I’ll be back later to pour you tea and bring you some tasty treats..."
Ah Er waved to the guests, then skillfully started the Flying Ship and departed.
The white-haired elder turned back to his disciple and said:
"That’s a very fine Spirit Beast. To raise it to its current state must have taken a great deal of effort. Let’s get going as well."
The tall disciple beside him nodded.
"That Grandmaster Bai certainly has a lot of leisure time on his hands."
He supported the white-haired elder and strode forward, continuing on their way.
With every step the disciple took, a white mist formed beneath his feet, and the soil on the ground grew slightly warm.
Before the trampled blades of grass could spring back up, the two had already vanished into the distance, their speed no slower than Ah Er’s Flying Ship.
...
Bai Mo was quite surprised to be welcoming the white-haired elder again.
Seeing a fellow practitioner of the Dao naturally brought him joy.
"Senior, why didn’t you let me know you were coming? I could have prepared a banquet to welcome you."
After meeting, the two strolled to the front of the thatched cottage on the mountain and sat down upon a stone.
The white-haired elder’s disciple took the initiative to pour the tea, boiling water and serving it to the two of them.
Bai Mo looked at the man, recognizing him as someone versed in alchemy, but his actual level of attainment remained to be seen.
The white-haired elder noticed his gaze and chuckled.
"This is my second disciple, Hu Xueli. He has been studying alchemy with me for over forty years. He’s not an expert, but his Longevity Pill technique is presentable."
His second disciple put down the teapot and cupped his hands in a salute to Bai Mo.
"Greetings, Grandmaster Bai."
He had the appearance of a man in his twenties or thirties. Anyone not an expert in the Dao would never be able to guess his true age.
After nodding a greeting to Hu Xueli, Bai Mo turned his gaze to the white-haired elder.
"How are the seniors who learned the Outer Alchemy Skill from me last time?"
The white-haired elder stroked his beard and said slowly:
"They said they benefited greatly. However, they are new to the art of the Outer Pill, and I’m afraid it will take some time for them to truly master and integrate it."
With his insight, he could tell those few were still lacking, but it wasn’t appropriate to speak ill of others behind their backs.
Bai Mo understood the meaning behind his words and nodded, preparing to move past the topic.
But the white-haired elder continued:
"Thanks to them, many people now know you are skilled in Outer Pills and wish to visit you. It’s just that the Immortal Sect’s mountain gate has blocked many of them..."
Bai Mo shook his head.
’The way things are now is very good. Peace and quiet, far from worldly matters. Only then can I find some spare time to devote to alchemy.’
’Being disturbed by frequent visitors is really not what I want, especially now that I’m at a critical juncture. I can’t afford any distractions.’
"It’s a good thing the mountain gate is there. Otherwise, I’d have to waste my breath arguing."
The white-haired elder stroked his beard and smiled.
"I recall when I first became famous. I resided high on a peak, and countless people gathered at the foot of the mountain, shouting my name, wanting to ask for my guidance."
"I became immersed in it all, which led to two years with almost no new insights. I regret it to this day..."
He and Bai Mo shared a look, and both of them smiled.
After a few more words, the conversation soon turned back to the alchemy matters Bai Mo was working on.
"I’ve been using my spare time recently to deduce a Pill Formula. I’ve made much progress and perfected many aspects."
"Please, take a look."
Bai Mo took out a booklet, opened it, and handed it to the white-haired elder.
At their level of mastery, insights on Pill Formulas were mostly recorded on jade or bamboo slips, engraved using Divine Thought.
Doing it like Bai Mo, on paper, was more a matter of habit—notes jotted down casually during his deductions, nothing formal.
Dozens of sprawling pages covered the selection of pill ingredients, timing and location, techniques, heat control, the Pill Furnace, and so on.
It was extremely complex, but with the white-haired elder’s experience, he could still grasp its true meaning at a glance.
"Hmm..."
"So thoroughly prepared... It seems you are determined to succeed with this pill, my little friend. It could rival the legendary Immortal Pills and divine medicines of folklore."
The white-haired elder’s face was full of concentration as he tried to find any mistakes or omissions in Bai Mo’s work.
However, every detail was backed by experiments from refining numerous pills, leaving almost no room for criticism.
Hu Xueli, who was pouring tea nearby, glanced at the contents of the booklet.
But because the notes were fragmented, and also because they were beyond his level of understanding, there was much he could not comprehend.
Hu Xueli pondered this, occasionally glancing at his master, trying to gauge the level of these notes.
After a long time, the white-haired elder put down the notes and sighed.
"Little friend, you have accounted for every detail, leaving almost no errors or omissions. There is no need for me to say anything about corrections."
"At most, this old man can offer a few thoughts. You can see if they are of any use."
Bai Mo assumed an expression of someone ready to listen respectfully.
"Please, honored elder, speak..."