Under the watch of the Myriad Dharma Sect, not a single ripple could be stirred in Immortal Arrival City.
But what was a mere ripple in the eyes of a behemoth was a tidal wave to the city's Loose Cultivators. It was why Lanshan and the others felt the city was seething with tension.
Bai Mo's shop had not opened for many days. Even when regular customers knocked, no one answered.
Lanshan and Han Meng exchanged a look. Han Meng was a little uneasy.
"Shopkeeper Bai... he isn't closing down the shop, is he?"
He still had some injuries. Several scabs on his neck extended down beneath his collar, giving him a fiercer look and tempering his usual rashness.
Lanshan shook his head slightly, his gaze toward him holding a hint of gratification.
"Don't talk nonsense. A livelihood isn't something so easily abandoned. Let's go. We'll come back and check in a few days."
The two turned to leave. They hadn't taken more than a few steps when they saw a sturdy-looking man turn the corner.
Both parties paused, stunned to see each other.
"Shopkeeper Bai's place..." the sturdy man spoke first.
"Still not open," Lanshan said.
The sturdy man's steps slowed. He nodded to Lanshan and also gave up on his plan to go to Bai Mo's shop.
Their meeting drew the eyes of many, especially the well-informed business owners nearby.
They were all figures who had made a name for themselves in the recent turmoil. No one could say for sure if this was a prelude to some newsworthy event.
Bai Mo was, of course, aware of the customers knocking on his door, but right now, he had no mind to deal with them.
The room was now filled with curling smoke, waiting to escape through the vent.
In the haze, Bai Mo's hands never stopped, skillfully tossing medicinal herbs into either a pot or the Pill Furnace.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Realm: Qi Refining Second Layer]
[Identity: Pill Apprentice (457/500)]
[Aptitude: Introspective, Minor Enlightenment]
It had been eight days since Bai Mo closed his shop.
At first, Bai Mo would still respond to the customers who came to his door. But starting from the third day, he suddenly realized he seemed to have entered a certain state.
The mental energy spent on Alchemy seemed negligible. The process became effortless, as if guided by divine aid.
Recalling certain descriptions in the Pill Book, Bai Mo immediately knew that his experience was a rare, chance opportunity.
This opportunity might not be so precious as to grant a Cultivator some new special ability, but it was helpful nonetheless.
If nothing else, Bai Mo could only achieve his current Alchemy progress while in this state.
This was the real reason he was ignoring his shop.
A wave of fatigue washed over him. Bai Mo glanced at the nearly-ready herbs in the pot and, with a flick of his shovel, sent them flying into the Pill Furnace.
Seeing that the heat from the old Pill Furnace was just right, he paid it no more mind.
He walked to a corner, took a dry flatbread from a burlap sack, and began to chew on it ravenously.
Suddenly finding it a bit bland, he broke off a few roots from his medicinal herbs and tossed them into his mouth, just to add some flavor.
Being a Pill Apprentice was a bitter life; Bai Mo had known this ever since he set foot on this path.
It was a life of smoke and fire. In order to watch over the Pills, his three daily meals were destined to be anything but refined.
'But this is already very good. For a child to have a foothold of his own... back then, I don't know how many jaws I made drop in the neighborhood.'
'Still, I need to complete the Pill Master certification as soon as possible. Once I do, my standing will increase immensely in an instant.'
As for being kidnapped and turned into an alchemy tool, Bai Mo wasn't the least bit worried.
Among the many professions of cultivation, any certified Cultivator held a special status and was protected.
More than a few factions, big and small, that did such things had been utterly destroyed.
Just as Bai Mo was finishing his food, he suddenly heard a BUZZ.
He hastily threw down the corner of the flatbread in his hand, darted to the Pill Furnace in a single bound, and removed the firewood from beneath it.
Lifting the lid of the Pill Furnace, he saw six Condensed Dew Pills lying inside, radiating heat. Not a single failed Pill among them.
Bai Mo was overjoyed.
"Not a single failed Pill! I've saved a ton on costs!"
He had to strike while the iron was hot, but Bai Mo first meditated for an hour before starting again.
He wanted to ride this momentum, to push through in one go, complete the progress on his panel, and advance to the next level!
However, Bai Mo's body couldn't hold out as long as he had hoped.
After starting another two batches of Pills, just as he was feeling proud of himself and getting into the groove, his body suddenly swayed.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and Bai Mo was startled.
For the past few days, he had only slept for four to six hours each day, relying on meditation to sustain himself for the rest of the time.
Coupled with several days of poor diet, his body was finally giving out.
'The Pill Book once said that if one is fortunate enough to enter a wondrous state, one must do everything in their power to make it last.'
'The longer it lasts, the greater the benefits.'
But his thirteen-year-old body was ultimately too weak. He couldn't force it.
Bai Mo's thoughts raced.
'I have to break through on the panel, no matter what.'
So, after collecting the Pills from this batch, Bai Mo switched the type of Pill he was refining.
Forcing himself to continue, he performed a series of techniques, carefully controlled the heat, and eventually gave up on multitasking, focusing solely on the Pill Furnace.
By doing so, just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, Bai Mo managed to refine a batch of Qi Blood Pills.
He lifted the lid of the Pill Furnace and saw two pills had formed—one success, one failure.
This Pill was for his own use, so it was naturally different from the one Lanshan had taken. Bai Mo had applied his new insights to it.
It burned the medicinal power within to offset a portion of his qi and blood consumption.
Once the Pill was formed and had cooled, Bai Mo tossed it into his mouth without a second thought and swallowed it.
His body began to itch slightly. A torch seemed to ignite within him, warming him like the Pill Furnace, and the enhancement of his physical body revitalized his spirit.
[Pill Master: Bai Mo]
[Realm: Qi Refining Second Layer]
[Identity: Pill Apprentice (469/500)]
[Aptitude: Introspective, Minor Enlightenment]
Without further delay, Bai Mo's hands became a blur, and medicinal herbs flew through the air.
He was going to refine the Qi Absorption Pill, the one he was best at.
This Pill was needed by everyone, from the Demon Hunting Teams to the other Cultivators in the city. As such, it was the best-selling item in his shop.
What Bai Mo didn't know, however, was that the vent in his room faced the residential area behind his building.
Two young masters in brocade robes came out of a residence, pointing and commenting on the white smoke drifting over on the wind.
"Brother Wang, look at that smoke. It's been billowing for over eight days."
"You're right, Brother Wei. Could that be an eatery over there?"
"I think not. We've eaten at every restaurant and stall nearby and don't recall one there. I'd say it's the work of an Artifact Refiner or a Pill Cultivator," said Brother Wei.
"Impossible! How could they work day and night without stopping!" Brother Wang said indignantly.
"What a nuisance! Let's go give him a piece of our mind!"
He was about to step forward when his companion grabbed him by the wrist.
"Our families sent us here to keep a low profile and see if we can get a piece of the action with the Li family's business."
"Our families' ability to establish a presence in the city is at stake. We can't act rashly..."
The two of them muttered to each other for a long while before finally deciding not to bother Bai Mo.
And so, the smoke from Bai Mo's residence continued to drift until dusk, mingling with the cooking fires from a hundred other homes.
Bai Mo numbly raised his head, looking at the yellow light filtering through the crack in his window.
'It's almost dusk again.'
BUZZ!
He lifted the lid of the Pill Furnace. Inside lay a full seven Qi Absorption Pills, their quality exquisite!
The corners of Bai Mo's mouth curled up slightly. With a thought, his panel appeared.
But his vision had already blurred, and he could barely keep his eyes open.
Without even taking the Pills from the Pill Furnace, Bai Mo stumbled to his bedside and collapsed onto it.
The mental high faded, revealing the profound exhaustion beneath. Pushed beyond its limits, his body finally gave out, and Bai Mo fell into a deep sleep.
Just before he passed out, his last glance happened to catch the Identity section on his panel as it changed.
[Identity: Pill Apprentice (503/500)]