Chapter 490: Surprise
Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Surprise
Nothing can ever be completely certain.
This was especially true in alchemy, where the variables were immense. Even an Alchemy Cultivator of peerless skill wouldn’t dare guarantee a successful outcome before a pill was drawn from the furnace.
Bai Mo had left himself plenty of room for error.
There was significant room for Bai Tou Weng to contribute, and he shared many of his thoughts with Bai Mo. The two understood each other with just a hint of explanation.
Their discussion was both productive and enjoyable.
"Young friend, you already carry yourself with an air of effortless mastery. Even if you don’t succeed this time, with a few more years of proper accumulation, you will achieve something truly remarkable."
Such was Bai Tou Weng’s assessment of Bai Mo.
Bai Mo waved his hand dismissively.
"When one stands before the gate, impatience is inevitable. What reason is there to hold back? I only wish to advance with courage and vigor, to catch a glimpse of the Great Dao..."
Hu Xueli, who was attending to them, often couldn’t comprehend their ideas. He could only force himself to memorize a few words here and there.
He frequently found himself lost in thought, trying to puzzle out the deeper meaning of their conversation.
Fortunately, Ah Er had already completed his errands and returned to Mi Mountain.
He didn’t understand a single thing about Bai Mo and Bai Tou Weng’s discussion.
Even if he committed their words to memory, their meaning was completely lost on him. He just had a vague sense that it all sounded very impressive.
’After all, I’m just a badger. What’s the point of dwelling on it?’
With that thought, Ah Er never paid their talk any mind. He just focused on serving them, carefree as could be.
Humming an almost inaudible, off-key tune, he placed a selection of carefully chosen cashews and other snacks on the table.
He refilled the tea for Bai Tou Weng and Bai Mo.
While he was at it, he also poured a cup for Hu Xueli.
Hu Xueli, still lost in thought, was startled by the motion and quickly offered his thanks.
Ah Er glanced at the man. ’I really don’t know why Bai Tou Weng brought this guy along.’
’He doesn’t look too bright. How is he supposed to take good care of anyone?’
"Young friend, when do you plan to begin refining this pill?"
Bai Tou Weng’s sudden question immediately captured Ah Er’s attention.
Bai Mo calculated for a moment before replying, "In a little over eight months. I had one of the sect elders skilled in divination perform a reading. That day is the most auspicious for beginning the refinement."
Bai Tou Weng nodded.
"A pity. I likely won’t be able to get away at that time. I’ll have to miss seeing this grand event..."
Bai Mo cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute.
"For this refinement, I have received a great deal of help from many fellow Daoists. I, Bai Mo, will never forget this kindness!"
Bai Tou Weng waved his hand, brushing it off casually.
"It was merely an exchange between peers. We old men can’t stir up a fuss the way you can, young friend. We benefited a great deal as well."
"That’s certainly true for me, and I imagine it’s the same for the others..."
Bai Tou Weng stayed at Mi Mountain for over a month before finally departing.
He had actually come to the Xuandao Sect with two of his disciples.
However, his fifth disciple was busy performing alchemy for one of the elders and had been unable to join them on Mi Mountain.
Now that the fifth disciple’s pill was nearly complete, the master and his students had no reason to delay their departure any longer.
Bai Mo had Ah Er personally escort Bai Tou Weng, telling him not to stop until he had seen them to the designated mountain peak.
By the time Ah Er returned, more than ten days had passed.
He had a delighted expression on his face, having received a good number of snacks from Bai Tou Weng.
Upon seeing Bai Mo, he remembered his duties, quickly composed himself, and took out the ledger he carried with him.
All four clients had received their pills and promptly settled their final payments.
Ah Er had returned with a fortune.
The people at Kongliu Valley were, of course, overjoyed. The pill’s effect in dispelling fire poison was remarkable.
Although a full cleansing would still take a considerable amount of time, they were already delighted with the results.
They had taken Ah Er’s Flying Ship in for maintenance, and it came back looking almost brand new.
It had been fitted with several new arrays, which Ah Er found fascinating.
While on the road, he activated one of them on a whim. The Flying Ship immediately flipped over several times in mid-air.
He wasn’t careful and tumbled out, ending up covered in dust and dirt. Luckily, he was sturdily built and wasn’t seriously injured.
There was no one around to see it, so Ah Er was spared the embarrassment, but he didn’t dare to experiment recklessly again.
The other three clients were another matter. Everything went as expected with two of them, but the report on Sheqing Mountain of Divine Dao Mountain was particularly noteworthy.
According to Ah Er, after taking the pill, Sheqing Mountain’s millstone-sized nephew showed no discernible change whatsoever.
He remained just as listless, his slowness still agonizing to watch.
On that day, the great millstone turtle had swallowed the pill, retracted its head, and slept for a full two hours. It then woke up at a leisurely pace and proceeded to stare at Sheqing Mountain for half the day.
This was torture for Ah Er, who had been forced to wait on the side.
Fortunately, Sheqing Mountain suddenly exchanged a few words with his nephew, finally breaking the deadlock for Ah Er.
This old turtle seemed quite pleased. In addition to settling the final payment, he gave Ah Er a stone as a gift.
The stone was smooth, its surface covered in a thin layer of green moss from having been submerged in a pond for a long time.
Naturally, the stone ended up in Bai Mo’s hands.
It looked like a river stone, but its texture was closer to that of mountain rock.
As Bai Mo held the stone, he could feel the spiritual energy flowing within it.
It was undoubtedly a fine treasure.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Mo handed it back to Ah Er.
"Put this stone in your nest. Over time, it will make you smarter."
’It’s hard to say if this was something Sheqing Mountain found to boost his nephew’s intellect, or if the stone developed these spiritual properties simply by being near him for so long.’
Ah Er wasn’t particularly interested when he heard the words "become smarter."
He even had a few complaints about Bai Mo’s suggestion.
’The main problem is that this thing is too hard. If I put it in my nest, it’ll poke me when I’m trying to sleep.’
"If you sleep with it long enough, you might even be able to comprehend a Divine Technique on your own."
"You’d even save me the trouble of making you a pill."
Hearing this, Ah Er finally took the matter seriously.
He scurried to one side, carefully wrapped the stone in two layers of animal hide, and tucked it away in his nest.
Only then did he return to focus on the accounts with Bai Mo.
After settling the accounts for the various orders, Bai Mo found he was up by nearly twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
He didn’t take the twenty thousand Spirit Stones for himself, leaving it all with Ah Er so the little guy would have funds available for his errands.
In the days to come, Bai Mo still needed to purchase a great many herbs, all of which would require Ah Er’s help.
Bai Mo first sent a letter to Immortal Arrival City before handing a list to Ah Er and telling him to figure out how to procure everything on it.
The list was very long.
When Ah Er held it up, he discovered the scroll of paper was much taller than he was.
After poring over the details, he finally rolled up the list and put it away.
...
The days flowed by like water, and Ah Er was constantly running errands outside the sect.
The seventh month arrived, a river of fire in the sky.
Before he knew it, the most scorching-hot time of year had arrived once again.
During this season, the Demon Beasts in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range also found the summer heat unbearable. They were far more irritable than usual.
A few burly men from a Demon Hunting Team, carrying a Demon Beast on their shoulders, met Ah Er outside the sect gates to make the exchange.
Ah Er paid them the six thousand Spirit Stones that Bai Mo had offered as a bounty.
The men headed back, overjoyed.
On the way, they probably began to discuss how they would spend such a huge sum.
Ah Er, meanwhile, packed the half-pig, half-wolf Demon Beast into a large sack and rushed it back to Mi Mountain with all possible speed.
Bai Mo had been waiting for him for quite some time.
"How is it? Is the hide broken? Is it bleeding?"
Ah Er had already inspected it upon receiving it, and he immediately shook his head.
After accepting Bai Mo’s bounty, the men from the Demon Hunting Team had specifically gathered a full crew and the right gear before heading into the mountains to hunt this very Demon Beast.
They had used a combination of drugs and brute force to take down the beast, which stood as tall as three men. It was a truly impressive feat.
"This is a pleasant surprise..."
In front of his stone house, Bai Mo laid out the Demon Beast’s corpse. He inspected it and found that its hide was indeed perfectly intact, with almost no blemishes.
The beast’s vital essence was perfectly preserved within its hide.
This was a Demon Beast that possessed a Divine Technique.
Bai Mo had only sent the request to Immortal Arrival City on a whim, not truly expecting anyone to succeed.