Free Web NovelChapter 53: Chapter 53: Fellow Daoists of Immortal Arrival City
"There was no one by this name during the Immortal Arrival City certifications."
"The three Pill Masters who were certified are all from our sect."
"So how did another Pill Master just pop up? And one so young..."
The men hesitated. They had planned to use their status to strong-arm him for some benefits.
But now, they realized their status might not be worth as much as a Pill Master’s out in the world.
Just then, the old stallholder walked up, bowed, and said softly,
"Shopkeeper Bai has returned from being certified in Celestial Mountain City. He’s a first-rate young talent."
"Gentlemen, would you like to buy a few bottles of Pills? Consider it a celebration for Shopkeeper Bai."
Seeing the disciples of the Miaofa Sect looking over, the old stallholder quickly forced a smile.
"Everyone..."
"Get lost, you old bastard!" one of the disciples shouted, shoving him.
His expression was vicious, and he put his full force into the push.
They had been watching this place for days; were they really going to give up so easily?
Bai Mo’s eyelid twitched, and he quickly pointed a finger.
A brilliant light flared from his fingertip. The disciple, startled, hastily retreated.
The starlight hit the ground, leaving behind a small black scorch mark.
The old stallholder seized the opportunity to back away, no longer daring to stand before them.
"You dare to attack?" the Miaofa Sect disciple asked in disbelief.
Bai Mo’s expression darkened.
"Who do you think you are, daring to harm someone in my shop?"
As he spoke, he prepared to let the Xuandao Sect Token slip from his sleeve.
"Immortal Arrival City is Miaofa Sect’s..." The disciple who had backed away, now furious and shocked, was about to leap forward.
"How audacious!!!"
At that critical moment, a thunderous roar came from outside.
A long staff shot in from the street, striking the Miaofa Sect disciple squarely in the chest.
The disciple, who had been about to let out a cry, took the heavy blow, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.
Three cultivators with imposing expressions strode in from outside.
Following them was a grim-faced man whose aura fluctuated. The staff had likely been thrown by him.
"Who are you!?"
The Miaofa Sect disciples instantly felt something was wrong. Today’s events seemed to be spiraling out of their control.
The three cultivators walked into the shop. None of them were young.
The oldest was likely in his sixties, while the slightly younger ones looked to be in their forties.
The one with the foulest expression was the cultivator in his sixties.
"The sheer nerve! Just a few outer affairs disciples from the Miaofa Sect, and you dare cause a scene in a Pill Master’s shop!?"
Bai Mo detected the lingering Pill Qi on the three men and instantly knew they were fellow practitioners.
"Hmph! If word got out that a newly promoted Pill Master was being extorted by a few petty thugs in Immortal Arrival City, people would think our branch here can’t even protect its own!"
The three Pill Masters sneered.
The Miaofa Sect disciples finally understood the situation. One of them hurriedly said,
"Sirs, we are, after all, from the Miaofa Sect..."
"Bullshit! You think I’m afraid of your sect!? Go back and see if the Miaofa Sect’s own Pill Masters don’t peel the skin from your bones!"
The sexagenarian Pill Master cursed angrily.
In the eyes of a Miaofa Sect Pill Master, these small fries were nothing; Bai Mo, on the other hand, was a peer...
Bai Mo breathed a sigh of relief.
’The Pill Pavilion’s name is quite useful.’
Although it held no actual authority, it built a separate network of connections for its cultivators.
The Pill Masters’ faces were grim. They wanted to curse some more.
But they couldn’t stand the sight of such filth. After trying to speak several times without success, one of them just said,
"Have your outer affairs manager give us an explanation! Otherwise, watch out for this year’s supply of Pills! Scram!!"
Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the Miaofa Sect disciples. Not daring to argue, they scrambled away.
Only then did the three men turn to Bai Mo.
"We intended to visit a fellow practitioner today. We didn’t expect to run into such riffraff. It truly ruined the mood!"
Bai Mo cupped his fists in greeting. "I greet you three, fellow practitioners!"
"If not for your help, this junior would have had to expend quite a bit of effort today."
The sexagenarian Pill Master waved his hand dismissively and walked straight to Bai Mo’s chair, sitting down.
"You’re still young. You just joined the Pill Pavilion, so you don’t understand yet. If you were given some time to gather a few experts..."
"...and you had killed this trash right here in your shop, who would have said a thing?"
Hearing this, the old stallholder’s eyelids twitched. Seeing a teapot and cups nearby, he quickly poured them some tea.
"I have stools and chairs in my back room," Bai Mo said.
The old stallholder hurried off to get them.
A moment later, everyone was seated.
The sexagenarian Pill Master said to the grim-faced man,
"Ah Cheng, go watch the door. Don’t let anyone disturb our conversation."
The grim-faced man nodded, picked up his long staff, and walked outside to stand guard like a door god.
Seeing this, Bai Mo knew this wasn’t just a simple visit.
"May I ask what guidance you fellow practitioners have for me?"
The sexagenarian Pill Master looked toward the youngest of their group.
"Alchemist Yin, you speak!"
Bai Mo looked at the man. Although this fellow practitioner was no longer young, he was still quite handsome, and one could faintly make out what he must have looked like in his youth. freēwēbnovel.com
’He must have been quite the romantic.’
"Heh, I am Yin Disciple. A pleasure to meet you, young friend."
Bai Mo quickly returned the salutation.
"This junior, Bai Mo, greets the three seniors."
Yin Disciple extended a hand, his two long fingers pointing toward the sexagenarian Pill Master.
"Li Zheng."
He then pointed to the other man, who nodded and smiled at Bai Mo.
"Yang Jing."
"Some busybodies say that Immortal Arrival City’s Pill business has the ’Three Pillars of the Southern Sky.’ That would be us."
Yin Disciple said with a smile.
"When outsiders talk about us, they think we’re quite impressive."
Li Zheng, who was over sixty, grunted.
"Manipulating Pill prices, suppressing the cost of medicinal ingredients, controlling the Pill distribution channels... how is that not impressive?"
Yin Disciple looked at Bai Mo and said bluntly,
"I wonder if fellow Daoist Bai has any intention of becoming the fourth pillar?"
Judging from the imposing air of the three, they were usually quite influential.
But from their words, it seemed there was more to the story.
Bai Mo pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping across their faces.
"What would this junior need to contribute?"
Bai Mo knew exactly what it meant to become the ’Fourth Pillar of the Southern Sky’—it meant joining their alliance of mutual interest.
The benefits were undoubtedly astonishing, but there was bound to be a price.
The old stallholder, listening to their conversation, couldn’t stop his heart from trembling.
He could only pretend the teapot was empty, pick it up, and head toward the back.
"I’ll go get some more..."
His voice was so low it was almost inaudible.
These three were major figures in the city.
A single word from them could decide the livelihood of countless people. They weren’t individuals a Loose Cultivator could meet just by wishing it.
Yin Disciple rubbed the bridge of his nose and said,
"It’s nothing complicated, just a defensive alliance."
"The wealth we three enjoy doesn’t come easy. Above us, we have to guard against the major merchant associations in the city."
"The competition between Pill Masters is no less intense than a battle between cultivators."
"Below us, we have to watch the profits from the Loose Cultivators’ medicinal ingredients to keep them from disrupting the market."
"It’s a bitter existence, really. We have to be so careful, just to prevent the big powers from muscling in on our business. If they do, we’ll be finished."
Bai Mo wasn’t very interested. This wasn’t about the art of pill-making, but purely about business. He didn’t want to get involved in these interpersonal affairs.
Seeing Bai Mo’s downcast eyes, Yin Disciple knew what he was thinking.
"Fellow Daoist Bai, the path of cultivation consumes an extraordinary amount of wealth..."
"Without a way to accumulate riches, progress is nearly impossible. Even a Pill Master, despite being valuable, needs the power to hold their ground."
Bai Mo sighed, took out the Xuandao Sect Token, and placed it on the table.
The three Pill Masters looked at each other in stunned silence.
Li Zheng broke into a laugh.
"Right, I forgot about that. You Pill Masters certified in Celestial Mountain City have always had this tradition!"
