Chapter 388: Teaching
The matter of Fu Jiu had drawn the attention of many fellow patients.
When they heard he truly had a solution, the other patients' faith in him grew.
'Since that's the case, we can't afford to wait any longer.'
'If I delay any damn longer, my wife is going to have a few words for me…'
That was easier said than done, as the Jiao soul required for the Jiao Soul Pill was difficult to find.
Even after sending letters to friendly sect members in the Celestial Barrier Mountain range, Demon Beasts of the Jiao Species were still rare.
For a time, the loved ones of these disciples rushed about, frequenting the marketplaces in an attempt to find the medicinal catalyst Bai Mo had mentioned.
Before he knew it, Bai Mo had already made a small name for himself.
Meanwhile, back on Mi Mountain, Ah Er had crossed mountains and valleys, returning with two buckets of river water brimming with Spiritual Qi.
Several silver fish swam within the water.
"Oh? You know how to fish, too?"
Bai Mo was surprised.
Ah Er quickly shook its head and began to gesture.
After a bit of communication, Bai Mo learned that it had met that one senior brother who specialized in fishing by the river.
"Since it was a kind gesture from that senior brother, I won't touch your fish."
"They're good stuff, though. Don't let them go to waste."
Ah Er then picked one up and earnestly offered it to Bai Mo.
"Ah! Erh!"
Bai Mo shook his head. "I have to start the furnace. Where would I find the time to eat?"
"This should be good for you. You keep it."
With that, he scooped the silver fish from the buckets, placed them in the stone basin he had previously used to keep fish, and carried the two buckets of water into the stone house.
Ah Er shot a quick glance at the stone basin, then hurriedly ran into the house as well.
It had been craving these fish for a long time, and now its wish was finally granted.
Cleaning the Pill Furnace, processing medicinal herbs—these were all trivial tasks.
Now with Ah Er's help, Bai Mo's life was naturally much easier.
Other great masters of the Alchemy Dao usually kept a few attendants for this very purpose.
Take the white-haired old man Bai Mo had written back to a few days ago. According to him, not counting his apprentices, he also had four attendants under his charge.
They didn't just assist with alchemy; they also took impeccable care of his daily life.
And Jing Heng, another Alchemy Dao Grandmaster he had met in Celestial Mountain City, was even more impressive.
As a City Lord, even though the city's factions were in conflict and he didn't have much real power, he still kept sixteen pairs of attendants—an extravagant display.
It wasn't that Bai Mo couldn't afford it, but if he took on attendants, he would have to divide his attention to teach them, which would consume a great deal of energy.
After all, you couldn't expect people to work for you for free.
Besides, it really wasn't suitable to add more people on Mi Mountain, so the many trivial chores fell to his own Spirit Beast.
SPLAT!
The Demon Beast's Blood Bone was poured out, spattering blood everywhere.
A foul, bloody stench filled the stone house.
Overcome by the smell, Ah Er grew dizzy and staggered.
It wasn't just the stench. The origins of this Demon Beast's Blood Bone were extraordinary—nothing simple. Its aura assailed Ah Er, throwing its mind into temporary chaos.
Bai Mo reached out and tapped a finger on its head. Ah Er's body instantly went still.
"It's already dead. What's there to be afraid of?"
"Give it a light rinse. No need to wash away all the blood, just clean the surface grime…"
After a flurry of activity, he finally managed to refine a furnace of bright yellow Pill Liquid before nightfall.
He tossed the Demon Beast's Blood Bone into it. Enveloped by the yellow Pill Liquid, the blood swirled and coagulated into a bloody sphere.
Before the Blood Bone was fully refined, Bai Mo took out the Jiao soul that was thrashing about in its cloth bag.
He held the Jiao soul in his hand and took a closer look, only to stare in astonishment.
He saw that the Jiao soul, though unable to move, had opened its savage maw and was letting out a guttural hiss at him.
It was a Jiao that had evolved from a snake.
Ah Er was quite frightened and hid behind Bai Mo, peeking out while holding onto him.
Sooner or later, it would have to learn how to handle such materials and overcome this instinctual fear, but Bai Mo had no time to worry about that right now.
Bringing the Jiao soul closer for a careful look, Bai Mo could faintly make out the dark pink fleshy markings under its eyes.
"It's actually a Lust Jiao!!"
Bai Mo's brow furrowed deeply.
He'd been in this business for a long time. What kind of situation hadn't he seen?
But this was the first time he'd ever met such a careless client.
'How can something like this be casually refined into a Pill for someone to consume?'
'One wrong move, and my reputation could be ruined…'
Jiao souls were hard to come by, so Bai Mo couldn't very well refuse it and ask for a replacement. He could only put in some extra effort to suppress its undesirable aspects.
It was certainly a hassle, but not an insurmountable problem. It would just cost extra.
...
This was the second Jiao Soul Pill he had refined. Its quality was even better than the one Fu Jiu had taken.
The Jiao soul held out for a full three days before it was completely saturated by the medicinal power and the essence of the Blood Bone, finally forming a single, blood-red Pill.
It was Ah Er who, lying by the Pill Furnace, used bamboo tweezers to pick apart the bright yellow crystals inside and fish out the Jiao Soul Pill.
Bai Mo was planning to train it as he would an attendant.
Bai Mo went to inspect the prison cells. That mad Cultivator was having another episode, convulsing and losing consciousness.
Bai Mo treated him with practiced ease, and in the end, was once again taught the latter half of the *Sacrificial Ceremony*.
He still didn't dare to listen, but the other prisoners in the jail had no such scruples and were discussing the wonders of the technique among themselves.
They were all people of extraordinary insight, and they had high praise for this method.
Listening to them, Bai Mo knew that the *Sacrificial Ceremony* was of an extremely high level.
Occasionally, he could also hear some prisoners mention a new title, which seemed to be a technique called the *Life and Death Reversal Body Refining Scripture*.
It was a technique for refining the physical body, and at some unknown point, the mad Cultivator must have uttered its name.
According to a Nascent Soul prisoner who was studying the technique, it was very likely another method that led directly to the path of immortality.
Bai Mo left the dark prison and reported the situation to the Foreign Affairs Hall.
The Foreign Affairs Hall had no particular reaction to this, only saying they were aware and that Bai Mo should continue to monitor the situation.
The disciple who had delivered the medicinal ingredients arrived on time.
When he heard Bai Mo explain the problem with the Jiao soul, his face immediately flushed red.
"That senior brother swore up and down to me at the time, guaranteeing it was a vigorous Jiao soul."
"He dared to cheat me? And we're acquaintances! He's completely shameless!!"
Bai Mo shook his head.
"Perhaps not. The Jiao soul is indeed of high quality. He probably just didn't recognize its nature as a Lust Jiao."
The disciple's expression remained worried.
"My senior brother has preserved his virginity to this day. If he takes this Pill, will his personality change drastically?"
Bai Mo was taken aback, and could only say:
"The Jiao Soul Pill can indeed reshape a person's body and influence their mind, but I have already suppressed the impurities. There's no need to worry about that."
The disciple immediately sighed in relief.
After the Pill was handed over, he even offered additional Spirit Stones.
"My apologies for the trouble, Junior Brother. We'll likely be doing business with you again in the future. This is just a little something extra for your efforts. Please, accept it."
"Of course."
As the days passed, more and more disciples came looking for Bai Mo to refine Pills that could reshape the physical body.
Many of them had just returned from the Celestial Barrier Mountain range.
The three allied sects had already established an outpost on the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountains, built upon the wreckage of two of the Celestial Capital Sect's great-ships.
Due to various crises, the pressure on the three sects had increased greatly, and they were continuously drawing manpower from their home bases.
When Bai Mo heard this news, he couldn't help but feel a stir of emotion.
Since joining the sect, he had never seen it face such difficult times.
Let alone a situation where three sects of the same caliber had joined forces.
In his spare time between alchemy and teaching Ah Er, Bai Mo also made a point to inquire about news from the Celestial Barrier Mountains from the disciples who came to his door.