Chapter 361: Success
The Earth Fire surged, and waves of heat rolled out.
Before leaving the sect entrance, Bai Mo had already prepared the medicinal ingredients.
Even the Dragon Transformation Bone needed for the Immortal Pill had been purchased from the market at the sect entrance, and it had been excellently processed and preserved.
Refining this Pill was extremely costly, using up a large portion of Bai Mo's personal stock of medicinal ingredients.
Medicinal ingredients were continuously fed into the Pill Furnace, and the Pill Fragrance filled the air.
Bai Mo was accustomed to this process, and Bai Tou Weng and the others were still composed.
At their level of mastery, sometimes, to accommodate a particular ingredient without damaging its medicinal properties, they often had to take a roundabout approach and use complementary ingredients.
However, the spectating Pill Masters were clearly astonished.
"Is that... more than two hundred ingredients already?"
"He's still adding more. When will it end? And how can he possibly balance all their properties without ruining the Pill Liquid?"
They all spoke in hushed tones.
Those able to witness such an occasion were, of course, no mediocre practitioners who had only mastered one or two Pill Formulas.
It was just that from their perspective, continuously adding ingredients like this raised the difficulty of control by more than just a little.
Bai Mo's expression was calm. With a flick of his hand,
a leaf spun through the air, slapping the white flood dragon that was leaping out of the Pill Furnace back into the Pill Liquid.
It went down with a splash.
SLAM!
The furnace lid was sealed tight.
Bai Mo closed his eyes, waiting patiently and listening to the movements within the Pill Furnace.
THUMP THUMP! THUMP THUMP THUMP!!
A series of irregular impacts echoed from within.
The flood dragon was so full of life; Bai Mo felt his three thousand Spirit Stones had been well spent.
According to the disciple at the market, the Dragon Transformation Bone he was using came from a malevolent flood dragon that had survived its heavenly tribulation but failed its human one.
The elder who slew the creature brought its entire corpse back to the sect and processed it with a Secret Technique.
The very bone Bai Mo was now using was one of those pieces, and the vital energy within it was incredibly active, saving him a great deal of effort.
That slick-tongued disciple hadn't been lying after all.
Hearing the sounds from within the furnace, the Pill Masters were already astonished.
"What is that?"
"It sounds like... a flood dragon? A spiritual manifestation?"
"But how could it be so vivid? It sounds like it's actually alive."
Even Bai Tou Weng and the others finally showed a change in expression.
"This must be Young Friend Bai's technique of infusing Qi into his alchemy. It has its own unique flair."
None of the five of them specialized in this particular technique, so for a moment, they found it quite novel.
As they focused, their keen hearing made it seem as if they could even hear the flood dragon's roars from inside the Pill Furnace.
Bai Mo, however, remained completely at ease, unperturbed by external matters, and focused on listening to the sounds from the furnace.
Occasionally, he would lift the furnace lid to add a few more medicinal ingredients, casually tossing in even fist-sized ores.
This act, performed without the slightest hesitation, immediately made the other Pill Masters aware of the gap between them.
Just as they were watching, completely engrossed, they suddenly heard a faint squeaking sound.
A few of them frowned instantly. With their rich experience, they knew what was happening.
"Are there Spirit Beasts and other creatures near this branch hall?"
"There are. Mostly small, peaceful creatures like Spirit Rats. Oh, and there's also a troop of Spiritual Monkeys that have developed some intelligence..."
"Deal with them, quickly!"
A Pill Master hurriedly jogged out, summoned a few young attendants, and gave them some instructions.
The young attendants who handled the hall's chores hastily grabbed brooms and ran outside.
They didn't take weapons because they knew they couldn't beat the troop of Spiritual Monkeys anyway, and fighting would just needlessly disrupt the peace.
Besides, they still had to ask the monkeys for Spirit Wine in the future.
When Bai Mo had refined the Immortal Pill in the outer sect, he had attracted the covetous attention of many Spirit Beasts and Demon Beasts. He had only been safe because Yin Zhen stood guard.
Bai Mo wasn't surprised by the slight disturbance.
A short while later, the commotion in the Pill Furnace subsided.
He opened the lid and saw that the Pill Liquid inside had turned completely golden.
The flood dragon began to swallow the Pill Liquid, its body gradually turning a golden yellow.
At this point, the process was ninety percent complete.
Bai Mo narrowed his eyes. He saw the flood dragon seemed to be struggling as it swallowed the Pill Liquid; it couldn't contain it all, and a small amount was leaking out.
This was a sign that not all the vital energy had been extracted from the Dragon Transformation Bone.
So, Bai Mo turned his head and looked at Jing Heng.
"Senior Jing, did you happen to purchase some Numbing Grass today?"
Jing Heng nodded. Without a word, he tossed an arm-length stalk to Bai Mo.
Catching it deftly, Bai Mo folded it, mixed it with a few other ingredients, and tossed the bundle into the furnace.
RUMBLE!
As he closed the lid, a low, muffled sound came from within.
This Numbing Grass grew only in areas with frequent thunderstorms. Chewing it caused one's body to go numb, a property derived entirely from the lightning energy it absorbed.
Adding it now was meant to crudely imitate the aura of a heavenly tribulation, thereby drawing out the remaining vital energy within the Dragon Transformation Bone.
A moment later, he lifted the lid again. The flood dragon inside was indeed more powerful, gulping down the golden Pill Liquid, its body now faintly glowing.
'Success,'
Bai Mo thought to himself.
He wondered what his peers thought of his various techniques.
All that remained was to control the heat and ensure the Pill Liquid remained stable.
The Earth Fire burned. Four hours later, the flood dragon had devoured every last drop of the Pill Liquid and lay coiled at the bottom.
Its body coiled up and, in a short time, transformed into a single, glittering golden Pill. A ferocious-looking flood dragon was etched upon its surface.
Bai Mo took it out and placed it in a brocade box.
"Seniors, please take a look."
Starting with Xu Wucai, the Immortal Pill was passed around. Each person, in turn, used their Spiritual Qi to scrape off a minuscule trace and placed it on their tongue to experience its effects.
Bai Tou Weng returned the Pill to Bai Mo and chuckled.
"Even in this old body of mine, I can feel my blood boiling and my Spiritual Qi on the verge of erupting. But its subtle qualities go beyond that."
"This Pill seems to follow a path of sublimation, not merely triggering a violent eruption of one's potential."
The others all nodded in agreement.
"There's definitely something special about it. The one who created this Pill Formula must have been a renowned master of the Alchemy Dao."
"It is without a doubt a Tier Three Pill."
Bai Mo nodded, pleased that his fellow Pill Masters understood the Pill's qualities so clearly.
Xu Wucai delivered the verdict.
"Young Friend, your refining skill is beyond question."
"So, how about we hold a discussion on the Dao now?"
"Never mind Fellow Daoist Gai and his two companions; I've never had the chance to exchange pointers with you."
Bai Mo readily agreed.
"Then how about I discuss the method of infusing Qi into alchemy with Senior Xu?"
Xu Wucai nodded in approval.
"I pursue both the Alchemy Dao and my own cultivation, but I specialize only in the path of mineral-based Pills and have no energy to devote to other areas."
"However, different mountains and earth-veins nurture different ores. Even the same type of ore can have different properties in alchemy depending on its region of origin."
"This is likely related to Qi. A topic you and I could discuss at length..."
The youthful-looking master from the Pill Sect stepped forward as well, his tone serious.
"I would like to discuss the principles of yin-yang balance in medicinal properties with you, Young Friend. I observed how masterfully you stabilized the Pill Liquid just now, so I imagine you are well-versed in this area..."
The other Pill Masters instantly held their breath, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
They might not have understood the refining process itself, but they could still memorize the core concepts and ideas these masters were about to share.
This was all priceless knowledge, worthy of deep contemplation.
Meanwhile, outside, the scene for this year's Pill Master assessment was much more deserted than in previous years.
Only a handful of Pill Masters were presiding over the event, rotating in and out, while the assisting Cultivators were sweating buckets from the workload.
Fortunately, there weren't many promising new talents this year. Otherwise, they would have been completely overwhelmed.