He had only intended to take a short nap, but when Bai Mo opened his eyes, he found the sun was already high in the sky.
A little dazed, Bai Mo washed up quickly and headed downstairs, still feeling a bit groggy.
"Waiter, one at dish, one vegetable dish, and a bowl of rice."
After placing his order, Bai Mo sat down and stared blankly into space.
’I shouldn’t be this drowsy. I’m not usually like this. Did I ntally exhaust myself last night?’
Bai Mo recalled the Pill thod he had been formulating the previous night and nodded to himself.
’It’s a very complex thod. If I had to figure it out on my own just from reading, who knows how long that would have taken.’
’I suppose I should make a point to discuss things with others more often...’
Bai Mo had already mostly grasped the thod for preventing the loss of dicinal potency that a fellow cultivator had shared with him the day before.
It was the kind of thod every Pill Shop’s Shopkeeper would love.
Preserving eighty percent of the dicinal ingredients’ potency would directly translate to an increased yield of Pills.
Normally during Alchemy, losing thirty to forty percent of the dicinal potency was a common occurrence.
For a Pill Shop, that ant an extra ten to twenty percent in gross profit—a very significant amount.
However, after studying it repeatedly, Bai Mo discovered that the thod wasn’t entirely complete.
That was to be expected. People always kept so proprietary techniques to themselves.
But for a Cultivator with so skill, the parts that were shared were more than enough. They could deduce the rest and fill in the blanks on their own.
Bai Mo went even further, breaking the thod down and blending it with his own insights to arrive at a unique result.
’My approach is different. It’s not about the quantity of Pills I produce, but their quality.’
Bai Mo mused, feeling a little pleased with himself.
’I can refine a large-batch Pill, mixing as many dicinal ingredients as possible and increasing its mass to contain even more dicinal potency.’
’That’s my specialty. And when I combine it with the thod for preserving dicinal potency...’
Bai Mo ran through the process in his mind once more and again arrived at a peculiar thod for constructing Pills.
’It’s a sha I don’t have a proper Pill Furnace with , or I’d refine a batch and give it a try.’
Just as he was lost in thought, the waiter ca over with his al.
"Anything interesting happen in the city today?"
Bai Mo asked casually as he took the bowl and chopsticks.
Inn waiters were always well-inford, and if you found one who liked to chat, you could learn a great deal.
The waiter took the towel from his shoulder and gave the edge of the table a routine wipe.
"Funny you should ask."
"I heard so pill apprentices were arguing on the street, and things got heated. Next thing you know, they were fighting. Rumor is, both of them are top prospects to beco Pill Masters."
The waiter seed a bit bewildered.
"I heard they’re both just a few attempts away from becoming full-fledged Pill Masters. Why would people like that behave in such a way, you think?"
Seeing that no other custors needed his attention, he leaned in and continued.
"Oh, and that whole business with hoarding Wood Ganoderma that had the city in an uproar? There’s been a new developnt in the last couple of days."
"A few rchant caravans from out of town brought in a huge supply of Wood Ganoderma—the artificially cultivated kind. The people who were hoarding it before are taking a massive loss!"
Bai Mo was familiar with Wood Ganoderma.
It was a dicinal ingredient with neutral properties, used in many Pills as a pri choice for buffering conflicting potencies.
"Oh, and sothing pretty major happened this morning, too."
The waiter said, as if just rembering,
"A deacon from the Xuandao Sect is at the Mingding Tower, scouting for promising new disciples for the sect."
"Tons of people went—the great clans of the city, Loose Cultivators, everyone. If you get picked, your future is set."
Bai Mo froze, then quickly asked,
"And what happened?"
The waiter shook his head.
"There’s no news yet."
"We’ll have to wait for a custor to co over from that direction to get the story. It’s too soon for news to travel."
Bai Mo figured it was too early as well and asked,
"Does the Xuandao Sect select disciples often?"
The waiter nodded.
"It happens every now and then. They always take a few people with them each ti."
"And what becos of them?" Bai Mo asked.
At this question, the waiter perked up.
"I’ll tell you, but don’t go spreading this around."
"The ones who were chosen in the past... well, to us, they were all considered prodigies!"
"But what happened to them afterward... well, their fates varied greatly..."
Bai Mo ate and listened, and an occasional nod or a word of agreent was all it took to get the waiter even more excited.
The waiter was mostly repeating common gossip, which was largely credible, though so parts didn’t quite hold up to scrutiny.
He spoke of the more well-known Cultivators from Celestial Mountain City who had joined the Xuandao Sect and what had beco of them.
So had beco great Cultivators, famous far and wide, while others had simply vanished into obscurity.
The ones the waiter talked about most, however, were the few Cultivators who had been sent back to Celestial Mountain City to serve as Shopkeepers for rchant guilds or to manage transport routes.
Without a doubt, those were the ones who had been weeded out by the Xuandao Sect.
Although their current status was certainly higher than before they left, they were inevitably the subject of ridicule behind their backs.
By the ti the waiter finished his stories, Bai Mo had also finished his bowl of rice.
The observant waiter walked away and returned a mont later with a fresh bowl.
Bai Mo accepted it and asked, "The Pill Master certification is coming up. Are there any places in the city where one can practice Alchemy?"
The waiter started in surprise.
"So you’re a pill apprentice, sir!"
After recovering from his surprise, he said with so hesitation,
"There are indeed places in the city you can rent for Alchemy, but they don’t use ordinary fire."
"So the price isn’t sothing an ordinary person can afford. The ones who use them are mostly established Pill Masters with specific needs!"
"Even if soone cos from a wealthy family, if their kid went to a place like that just to practice, they’d be called a wastrel..."
Bai Mo was a little disappointed. It seed that while the Alchemy Dao was indeed advanced in Celestial Mountain City, it wasn’t so convenient that it covered every possible need.
"I would have thought that with so many pill apprentices around, such a demand would have given rise to a business opportunity."
Seeing that Bai Mo’s question wasn’t just a casual one, the waiter leaned in and lowered his voice.
"Actually, sir, if you’re really interested, it’s not entirely impossible."
"Oh?" Bai Mo looked at him, his gaze wavering.
"Is there so kind of workaround?"
The waiter nodded, his voice barely a whisper.
"When Pill Masters go to those rental facilities, they have to bring their own ingredients. This creates an opportunity to carry... other things."
"So people have managed to smuggle out fire starters from those places and set up their own private alchemy rooms. The special fire doesn’t last long, but since it’s no ordinary fla, it makes Alchemy go much, much faster!"
"The rent for these ’black market’ alchemy rooms is a lot cheaper."
Of course, from the waiter’s deanor, Bai Mo could tell that such places were not officially permitted.
Bai Mo looked at the waiter and suddenly smiled.
"You must get a hefty commission for steering custors toward these dens, don’t you?"
The waiter jumped in fright and quickly waved his hands.
"You’re joking, sir! We don’t even know where they are, so how could we possibly solicit custors for them!?"
He turned to leave, but added a final word before he went.
"If you’re really interested, sir, we could help you ask around. But that’s all we can do."
Bai Mo pursed his lips, dismissing the waiter’s suggestion almost imdiately.
’I can’t go to one of those black market dens. If the place gets raided and I’m interrupted at a crucial mont, I’d lose my inspiration. It’s not worth the risk.’
’Finding an acquaintance and borrowing their Pill Furnace would be a much better idea...’
Bai Mo chewed on a piece of at, his eyes narrowing in thought.
’I don’t know anyone in Celestial Mountain City, but I could try my luck through the rchant caravans.’
’The certification is starting soon. It’s always good to have another skill under your belt.’
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