The First Immortal of Destiny

A thought arose within Shen Mo's mind.

He retrieved the Nether Fire from the cauldron and returned it to his Ocean of Qi Dantian.

Using Earthly Fire to refine Elixirs is truly convenient. No need to chop firewood, and I can control it at will, which also enhances the Elixir's quality. No wonder those Alchemists and Forgemasters pursue it so desperately, even spending their entire fortunes to obtain a favored Earthly Fire. The Alchemy Tower has quite a lot of good things. Once I've maxed out my proficiency with the remaining four types of Elixirs, I'll go and fleece it for all it's worth!

Suppressing these distracting thoughts, Shen Mo gulped down an Exorcism Origin Pill.

At the same time, he began to circulate and cultivate the Purple Mansion Heart Scripture.

[You have consumed an Exorcism Origin Pill. Its medicinal power is being refined by the Purple Mansion Heart Scripture, and the pill's poison within your body is continuously being eliminated.]

The moment the Elixir entered his stomach, a cooling sensation spread through his abdomen.

As the Purple Mansion Heart Scripture circulated, various parts of his body—his Qi Sea, Chakras, organs, and more—began to throb with a stinging, burning pain.

Gradually, carried by the medicinal power, the cooling sensation diffused throughout his entire body.

As if fighting for territory, the cool energy relentlessly spread. The burning pain, far from diminishing, actually intensified.

The pain was so intense that beads of sweat covered Shen Mo's forehead, and he almost lost control of his cultivation method.

"COUGH!"

"COUGH, COUGH!"

A sudden, violent fit of coughing caused Shen Mo to expel a cloud of grey-black mist.

Simultaneously, the stinging, burning sensations in various parts of his body began to subside, eventually vanishing completely.

Not bad! Sixty to seventy percent of the pill's poison in my body is gone; it no longer affects my cultivation. After taking two more Exorcism Origin Pills, all the pill's poison should be completely purged. If it were of perfect quality, or even peerless grade, one Elixir would have been enough!

Even among Elixirs of the same type and rank, the medicinal effects of different qualities could vary dramatically, sometimes by several or even tens of times.

Refining higher-quality Elixirs was the relentless pursuit of every Alchemist.

Shen Mo was naturally no exception.

With the aid of the Destiny Panel, he firmly believed that sooner or later, he would be able to refine all Elixirs he handled to a peerless grade.

He continued refining Elixirs, selling them, and earning Spirit Stones to advance his cultivation through [Martial Performance].

However, it wasn't long before Shen Mo encountered trouble.

His frequent sales of exceptional quality Elixirs had finally attracted the attention of certain interested parties.

Jiyun Town was presided over by a Golden Core Patriarch, and with the Keeper maintaining order, those with malicious intent dared not make a move within the Market.

But once outside Jiyun Town, they had no such scruples!

Shen Mo used a bamboo hat and black robe to conceal his identity, not revealing himself as a disciple of the Riverside Sect.

Consequently, in the eyes of these interested parties, he was a money tree growing wild for the taking.

The ones who intercepted Shen Mo this time were three evil cultivators, all at the middle-stage of the Qi Gathering Realm—specifically, Layer IV, Layer V, and Layer VI.

Their goal was not to kill Shen Mo and seize his cultivation resources.

Instead, they intended to subdue and imprison him, forcing him to toil like a beast of burden, refining Elixirs exclusively for them to earn Spirit Stones.

To deal with a mere Layer II Qi Gathering Realm cultivator, they had dispatched three middle-stage Qi Gathering Realm cultivators.

In the eyes of these three evil cultivators, this task was as easy as plucking snails from a field—a surefire win.

The result, however, was that Shen Mo swept them up with his Soul Refining Flag, and amidst a sky filled with the Blood Shadows of Heavenly Demons, they were transformed into three Soul Generals on the flag.

What Shen Mo found most difficult to accept was that these three evil cultivators were utterly destitute. After rummaging through their Universe Bags, including all materials, talismans, and other items, he had gained less than three hundred Spirit Stones in total.

There were a few incomplete evil cultivation methods, but Shen Mo thought little of them and tossed them into a corner of his Universe Bag to gather dust.

This was the reality for most cultivators: their expenses always outstripped their earnings.

Despite Shen Mo's rapid advancements in Alchemy and talisman making, which brought in a large amount of Spirit Stones daily, his spending was even more prodigious.

This incident also served as a stark reminder for Shen Mo.

If he continued to set up a stall in the Jiyun Town Market, his cultivation at Layer II of the Qi Gathering Realm might no longer be enough to deter those rat-like scoundrels.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

The Spirit Storage Rat, thinking the term "rat-like" was referring to it, scrambled out of its Spirit Pet Bag.

Clutching at Shen Mo's clothes, it scurried up onto his shoulder with a few rustles and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

"I wasn't talking about you, glutton!"

Shen Mo flicked the little creature's head in annoyance.

He casually handed it a piece of jerky made from thousand-year-old Python Dragon meat, and only then did the Spirit Storage Rat contentedly return to its Spirit Pet Bag.

I need to find a way to resolve this hidden danger! Today it was middle-stage Qi Gathering Realm evil cultivators; tomorrow it could be late-stage ones. Even Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses might be tempted!

It was a commonly accepted idea in the cultivation world that skilled Alchemists could earn a fortune.

Shen Mo frequently sold excellent Grade II Elixirs, and even a considerable number of perfect and peerless quality Elixirs.

This was enough to demonstrate his extremely high attainments in Alchemy; even if he wasn't a Grade III Alchemist, he wasn't far from it.

Yet, the cultivation he displayed was merely Layer II of the Qi Gathering Realm, and he was disguised as a rogue cultivator—anyone would be tempted by such a prospect!

After all, capturing a wild Grade III Alchemist to use as a workhorse, exploiting them relentlessly, would be enough to support the daily cultivation of a Spirit Sea Realm powerhouse.

Revealing my identity as an inner disciple of the Riverside Sect isn't a good idea either. The sect isn't some harmonious utopia where everyone is kind and looks out for each other. Never mind fellow sect members; even back on Earth in my previous life, weren't there countless cases of family members turning against each other over immense benefits? My current cultivation isn't enough to deter these scoundrels; I'll have to fabricate a powerful alias.

With his mind made up, the next time Shen Mo went down the mountain to sell Elixirs, he didn't set up a stall.

His spiritual sense vaguely detected several malicious gazes in the Market sizing him up.

A bunch of clowns, they really think I'm some ripe fruit ready for the picking! Shen Mo cursed inwardly but swaggered confidently into the Baodan Pavilion in the Jiyun Town Market.

This wasn't his first visit to the Baodan Pavilion.

He had bought the Red Cloud Cauldron here and had even chanced upon an opportunity, obtaining the Alchemy insights of Alchemist Red Cloud.

He also frequented this shop when purchasing spiritual medicinal materials needed for Alchemy in Jiyun Town.

Through these repeated visits, he had become somewhat acquainted with the short, stout Shopkeeper.

"Well, if it isn't our valued customer! What can I get for you today?" Seeing Shen Mo enter, the Shopkeeper greeted him with a beaming smile.

Even though Shen Mo concealed his face and build, everyone has subtle individual mannerisms. Coupled with the unique aura of cultivators, it wasn't surprising that the short, stout Shopkeeper recognized him.

Moreover, his porter, He Er, had once carried the Red Cloud Cauldron and followed Shen Mo into the outer grounds of the Riverside Sect.

Shen Mo had no doubt that this Shopkeeper had known all along he was a disciple of the Riverside Sect.

Fortunately, the Shopkeeper was savvy enough to see through it but not expose him, a very astute move. Shen Mo was also pleased to do business with perceptive people.

"Shopkeeper, does your establishment purchase Grade II Elixirs?" Shen Mo asked, getting straight to the point.

The Baodan Pavilion specialized in selling items related to Alchemy, but it seemed they didn't sell finished Elixirs, hence Shen Mo's question.

If they didn't buy them, he would simply find another shop.

"We do, we do!"

The short, stout Shopkeeper nodded eagerly, his smile amiable. "Esteemed customer, you might not be aware, but the Ascending Pill Shop not far from here is also one of my establishments!"