Chapter 364: Backlog
Going by its appearance alone, there was nothing remarkable about the Pill Ghost.
Only the Pill Qi wafting from its mouth hinted at the immense power contained within.
The white-haired elder examined it closely for a moment before striking the Pill Ghost's body with his hand. The force of the impact made his palm sting.
"If this thing could cultivate, I can't imagine how incredible it would be."
Everyone laughed.
"It's an artificial creation to begin with. If it were no different from a normal person, wouldn't that be a feat of nature itself?"
Xu Wucai spoke up. "You've all had a look. Do you have a plan in mind for how to proceed?"
Jing Heng spoke with confidence. "This Pill Ghost... we can't kill it, and we can't poison it. At least, not with our current abilities. We're powerless against it."
"It's a creation of the Alchemy Dao. To it, any ill effects from a Pill are just a different-flavored snack."
"Therefore, our efforts will have to focus on the aspect of digesting its medicinal power..."
At this point, there was nothing more to say.
After a word with Yin Lang, medicinal ingredients, ores, and other materials were brought over in succession.
These were all items the sect had on hand, originally meant to be transported to Celestial Mountain City for sale, but now the West Pole Sect was using them first.
CLANG!
Steward Gong brought over several Pill Furnaces, setting them down on the floor of the mountain cavern with a crisp clang.
"These are superior-quality Pill Furnaces. Gentlemen, take a look. Are they to your satisfaction?"
Bai Mo wasn't particularly picky. Xu Wucai and the others glanced at them but said nothing.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
The kindling was lit, and flames roared to life beneath the Pill Furnaces, casting a fiery red glow.
The members of the West Pole Sect saw this and naturally backed far away, not daring to cause the slightest disturbance.
For these few to be performing Alchemy, if this were anywhere else, countless people would be begging for the opportunity to watch.
It was an opportunity people would gladly pay any price for, even if it meant putting their heads on the chopping block.
But now, they were dealing with the Pill Ghost, which was a different matter entirely.
From the perspective of the West Pole Sect members, even if the Pills being refined weren't poisonous, they likely had other... unpleasant effects.
The Spiritual Spring boiled inside the Pill Furnaces. One by one, medicinal ingredients were tossed in, their essences gradually being extracted.
Bai Mo stole a glance at the white-haired elder and saw the old senior calmly tossing ingredients into his furnace.
There were no profound techniques on display, just meticulous work of timing and sequencing. Before long, a clear fragrance began to waft from the Pill Furnace.
Then, he saw the elder gently caress a flower bud, causing it to slowly bloom before he plucked it and placed it in the furnace.
Such a casual act revealed the profound depth of the elder's skill with flora.
Just as he was thinking this, Bai Mo's gaze suddenly met the elder's.
The two exchanged a smile and a slight nod before looking away.
The others were all doing much the same.
Their gazes darted back and forth, observing each other's techniques without neglecting their own tasks.
Elder Gai, much like Bai Mo, employed a wide variety of techniques.
However, he was far more nonchalant and cared little for the Pill's appearance. Black smoke was already rising from the Pill Liquid in his furnace.
Presumably, the Pills he normally refined followed the principle that bitter medicine is the most effective.
Jing Heng waved his sleeve, scattering the black smoke that drifted over from Elder Gai's station.
"The Pill Ghost hasn't even done anything, and you're already starting with me, old man!"
He adhered to a Pill Principle of the five elements' generative cycle, striving to get three parts of effect from one part of ingredients.
Bai Mo had heard of his philosophy before. It was incredibly esoteric; for an ordinary person, just grasping the basics was exceedingly difficult.
But this path of the Dao was truly extraordinary.
Over at Xu Wucai's station, the Spiritual Spring in his Pill Furnace was boiling, having already turned into a brownish-red Pill Liquid.
Many small bits of ore were dropped into the Pill Furnace and were gradually dissolving, releasing a rich, metallic scent of lead and mercury.
Each of them had their own specialty.
The reason they had so readily agreed to the West Pole Sect's job was that they also intended to use it as an opportunity to exchange pointers.
Four hours later, some of them began to finish their Pills.
The first were Bai Mo and Elder Gai.
The two exchanged a smile, and after glancing at each other's Pills, they stuffed them into the Pill Ghost's mouth.
The creature didn't move, but as the two Pills entered its mouth, a suction force pulled them in.
Before they even reached its throat, the Pills had already dissolved into two streams of liquid and were swallowed.
HUFF!
The Pill Ghost let out a breath.
The two Pills complemented each other, their medicinal powers intertwining to become even more potent.
"Hey! You two..."
The white-haired elder fished a verdant green Pill from his furnace and hurriedly placed it in the Pill Ghost's mouth.
"You didn't wait for me. Are you trying to feed this thing until it's full?"
His Pill carried a fresh fragrance, but when it took effect alongside the ones from Bai Mo and Elder Gai, it seemed to cause a subtle change.
The three of them waited a moment, observing the change in the Pill Qi the Pill Ghost exhaled. After checking on the furnaces of the remaining two, they started a new batch.
Jing Heng's and Xu Wucai's Pills took longer, but they too were fed to the Pill Ghost.
Following the same process as Bai Mo's group, they also began refining another batch.
「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」
The five of them worked tirelessly, never stopping, continuously feeding Pills into the Pill Ghost's mouth. The medicinal energies within it tangled and swelled.
The clashing medicinal energies were innumerable, yet they didn't erupt. Instead, they just accumulated inside the Pill Ghost's body like a bad case of indigestion.
Of the five, Bai Mo and Elder Gai were the fastest to produce a Pill, while Xu Wucai was the slowest.
However, Xu Wucai's mineral-based Pills were extremely potent. Especially since they were meant for the Pill Ghost, many of the usual precautions were unnecessary, allowing him to truly let loose.
Yin Lang turned his head and asked Steward Gong, who had come over to observe:
"What's the situation outside?"
Steward Gong's gaze remained fixed on the five Pill Furnaces.
"Those people are being very patient. They haven't shown any signs of movement. But don't worry, everything is in place. The moment they make a move, I'll know..."
Yin Lang nodded slightly.
After a moment of silence, Steward Gong spoke again in a low voice:
"Seeing this level of effort, this transaction was well worth it."
Yin Lang let out a breath of relief.
"After all, we had to pull some strings just to make this connection."
"You have to understand, any one of those Pills would be hard to come by on the open market, even for a thousand Spirit Stones..."
As the two were speaking, they were startled by a sound like muffled thunder, or perhaps a deep groan.
It came from the Pill Ghost.
At this sound, Bai Mo and the others paused, their movements slowing.
They saw that the Pill Ghost's eight arms were still wrapped around its body, but its posture was much more natural, no longer stiff. They knew it had truly fallen asleep.
His Pill was only halfway through refinement, but Bai Mo quickly changed the ingredients and hastily finished it.
The others did the same.
Once the last of them, Xu Wucai, finished his Pill, all the glowing-hot Pill Furnaces were extinguished.
Yin Lang hurried forward, his voice tinged with excitement.
"Gentlemen, is it done?"
The white-haired elder chuckled.
"The medicinal energies have built up and become entangled. Even a Pill Ghost won't be able to digest and absorb that easily."
"Until it does, this creature will remain quiet."
"Thank you all so much for your help!"
Yin Lang bowed in thanks, then went up the slope to check the Pill Ghost's condition.
They had been tending to the Pill Ghost for two years and had picked up some experience.
They had originally thought they might gain some benefit from this strange creature, but it had turned out to be nothing but frustrating trouble.
Meanwhile, Bai Mo and the other four began to converse in low voices.
Through this experience, they had gained a much deeper understanding of each other's skills. By drawing parallels, each had their own moment of enlightenment.
In the future, if a matter arose that was beyond their own abilities, they would know who to call on for help.
This was how networks were built between Pill Sects.