Free Web NovelChapter 169: Chapter 169: Infiltration
CLANG!
In a black kiln somewhere in the city, Bai Mo waved his sleeve and produced a small Pill Furnace.
The Pill Furnace was only knee-high. It wasn’t the most convenient for Alchemy, but its main advantage was its portability.
Bai Mo took out a palm-sized pouch. It felt heavy in his hand; inside was Cinnabar Sand.
A specialty product of the Fire Cave Dynasty’s Western Desert. This small pouch alone had cost Bai Mo three Spirit Stones.
Recalling the refining method for the Five Obstacles Pill, Bai Mo stuffed some semi-dry Spirit Wood underneath the Pill Furnace.
A few moments later, the light of a fire rose within the black kiln.
The thick smoke was acrid and choking. Even at his most destitute, Bai Mo had never subjected himself to such miserable conditions.
However, with his current limited options, he had to make do.
Outside, a skinny man was grinning obsequiously at Zhao Jingyu.
"So? My humble place might not be the best, but it has a ready supply of Spirit Wood, and it’s quiet!"
"I guarantee no one will disturb you!"
Zhao Jingyu nodded.
"Not bad."
"Don’t worry. Once my friend is done, you’ll get your Spirit Stones."
The man was instantly overjoyed.
"I won’t disturb you two any longer, then. If you need anything, find me in the front courtyard."
There were black kilns in the city, fully equipped with Spirit Wood and Spiritual Springs. The quality wasn’t top-grade, but it was passable.
It was wartime, so all the Artifact Refining shops in the city were under strict regulation.
But people still had to make a living, especially in such difficult times, so some commoners had opened their own black kilns.
Usually, this just involved converting a cellar in a residential backyard and stocking it with the necessary equipment.
Bai Mo had simply asked a waiter at an inn about places for Artifact Refining or Alchemy, and the owner of this kiln had come to find him.
Alchemy naturally takes a Pill Master some time.
By noon, Zhao Jingyu was bored out of his mind. Just as he was wondering when Wan Shenxiu would return, he heard a sound from behind him.
He quickly turned to look.
Bai Mo pushed open a wooden hatch on the ground and leaped out.
A cloud of blackish-red smoke drifted up from the cellar with him.
Zhao Jingyu leaned in closer but was hit by a plume of the smoke. A sharp, metallic, rusty smell surged into his throat.
His eyes watered and he nearly burst into tears. He couldn’t help but be horrified.
"Did the furnace explode?"
Bai Mo shook his head and, with a flick of his wrist, produced two pill vials.
"It’s done."
Zhao Jingyu frowned, pointing at the cellar opening.
"Then what’s with this...?"
"This is just what it’s like when you refine Cinnabar Sand," Bai Mo explained.
"Let’s go see if Brother Wan is back."
The two of them went to the front courtyard, where the owner was washing old rice.
Seeing them approach, he quickly put down the tray in his hands and wiped them on the apron tied around his waist.
"Are you two finished?"
Bai Mo nodded, taking out two Spirit Stones and handing them over.
"We’re leaving now. You should probably air out your cellar, or you’ll never get rid of the Cinnabar Sand smell."
With the Spirit Stones in hand, the man’s face broke into a wide smile, his wrinkles bunching together.
"I know, I know."
"Cinnabar Sand is good stuff, no doubt, but it’s certainly harmful to the body..."
The two returned to the inn.
Bai Mo casually took out a Five Obstacles Pill.
Upon the pill’s lustrous white surface, specks of silver light flashed. There was no sign that Cinnabar Sand had been smelted within.
Zhao Jingyu examined it with curiosity, then gave it a sniff.
The Pill had no fragrance, only a faint, foul odor that was instantly repulsive.
Sensing there was more to it, he scratched the outer layer with his fingernail. A thick, rusty, and foul stench instantly gushed out.
For a moment, it felt as if a vile miasma from some wicked land was assaulting his senses.
Zhao Jingyu shuddered back to his senses and frantically handed the Five Obstacles Pill back to Bai Mo, who sealed it in the vial.
"Good stuff!"
"How do you use this thing?"
Bai Mo said calmly,
"It’s an item that throws the mind into chaos and corrupts Spiritual Qi. You just have to smash it on someone."
"When the Pill shatters, the surging medicinal power inside is enough to make a normal person completely lose their composure."
This ’mineral pill’ branch of Alchemy was a real eye-opener for Bai Mo.
If not handled properly, pills from this school of thought often caused bodily harm.
But the finest examples had truly astonishing effects, far beyond what many Spirit Medicines or nectars could achieve.
Zhao Jingyu chuckled.
"This pill... How about you sell me some when we get back, Bai Mo?"
"I’m always getting into fights out there. I need some things to protect myself."
Bai Mo put the vial away. He frowned slightly, only agreeing after a moment’s hesitation.
"Fine. But you can’t tell anyone you got them from me."
"Ha!" Zhao Jingyu clapped his hands and laughed.
"Of course. You Pill Masters... you’re all so ruthless!"
Bai Mo ignored his teasing.
The Cultivation Realm was a cruel place; a Pill Master had to have their own means of self-preservation, especially those who followed the mineral pill branch.
Many of the pills they created were horrifically toxic, with effects that were the stuff of nightmares.
It’s just that for the sake of their reputations, everyone had a tacit agreement not to speak of it.
Having spent the morning doing Alchemy in the squalid, poorly ventilated black kiln, Bai Mo was rather disheveled.
By the time he had washed up, Wan Shenxiu was back.
Wan Shenxiu had brought back a number of items—all spiritual materials—which he had tossed messily onto the floor.
When Bai Mo found Wan Shenxiu, he was at a desk, scribbling on a sheet of rice paper with a brush.
On the paper was a map of a mansion’s layout, complete with guard posts marked out.
’So it’s not a military-style compound, as I thought.’
Having come this far, Bai Mo’s worldly knowledge had grown, and he now knew a little about military matters.
The map showed only a few sentry posts, likely to guard against assassins, but otherwise lacked the strict security typical of a military encampment.
WHOOSH!
Wan Shenxiu tossed his brush aside. With the map finished, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I walked around the place a few times, observing in secret. After combining my observations with deductions about the mansion’s Array, this is the result I came up with."
"If I hadn’t spent so many Spirit Stones and drawn attention to myself, I could have made it even more detailed."
"This is more than enough," Zhao Jingyu said, picking up the map.
His eyes lit up.
"We’ve come this far, what more could we ask for?"
Bai Mo was wiping his face with a cloth.
"When do we make our move?"
"There’s no time like the present. Let’s do it tonight," Zhao Jingyu said with a chuckle.
"Why delay?"
Bai Mo raised an eyebrow.
"I’m fine either way."
Once Wan Shenxiu agreed, he immediately shooed the other two out of his room.
If they were going to act tonight, he needed to get some of his Array Dao gadgets ready right away.
Shoved out of the room, Bai Mo returned to his own and sat down cross-legged.
The mental energy he had consumed during Alchemy slowly recovered. At the same time, the process of refining the Five Obstacles Pill replayed over and over in his mind.
In this state, Bai Mo’s Divine Thought was exceptionally active.
A few wisps of his Divine Thought landed on the wall, and he could even feel the vibrations from Wan Shenxiu’s movements in the next room.
As his consciousness drifted, he sank into a state of primordial chaos.
He was only roused from this state by a series of thunderous noises.
When he came to his senses, he realized the sound had been someone knocking on his door.
’It’s already dark.’
Bai Mo was slightly alarmed.
’Ever since I started practicing the Divine Thought Transformation Scripture, this happens often. I lose all track of time. The only thing is, it works wonders for my cultivation and my comprehension of the Dao.’
’I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.’
This feeling—blinking and finding that an unknown amount of time has passed—was deeply unsettling.
"Bai Mo?"
Zhao Jingyu’s voice came from outside the door.
"Is something wrong?"
Bai Mo straightened his clothes and got out of bed.
"I’m fine..."
...
A short while later, three figures emerged from the inn and melted into the night.
In the dead of night, the city was silent, save for the occasional, echoing clang of a blacksmith’s hammer.
The three of them slipped through a hole in the grand mansion’s defensive Array.
Three sections of an iron rod appeared in Zhao Jingyu’s hands. He connected and tightened them together.
He stood in a corner, squinting as he looked up.
"See that person lying on the eaves?"
"Nothing better to do on a hot night like this. Probably just trying to cool off."
"Bai Mo, you’re up..."
