Chapter 264: Chapter 233: Making Friends_1

“Fragrant Consolidating Pill: superior grade – forty bottles, middle-grade – six bottles, lower-grade – four bottles!”

“Peaceful Spirit Pill: superior grade – one hundred and twenty bottles, middle­grade – thirteen bottles, lower-grade – twenty-two bottles!”

“Skin Nourishing Pill: superior grade – one hundred and sixty-nine bottles, middle-grade – forty-eight bottles, lower-grade – seventy bottles!”

Inside the Pill Hall, Xu Mu took out the pills one by one that he had concocted, and after each was checked and approved by an elder, they were recorded.

Du Yu, Qin Xiao, and Yun Zhan, the three Masters of the Hall, along with a group of Elders, stood on the sidelines, watching like spectators at a play, their expressions varied.

The faces of Qin Xiao and Yun Zhan were understandably shocked and incredulous.

They knew all too well what kind of person Xu Mu was.

Because they were involved with it all!

They both tampered with the task handed to Xu Mu.

They had anticipated a scene where Xu Mu couldn’t produce the pills, and planned to join forces to pin the charge of incompetence on him.

Even if they couldn’t expel him from the sect, they could at least strip him of his position.

Although Du Yu knew they were up to something, his prestige wasn’t enough within the Pill Hall, so in order to keep his authority, he was forced to use Xu Mu as the scapegoat.

Originally, Du Yu wanted to bring Xu Mu forward to eat away at the others’ authority, and gradually take control of the entire Pill Hall.

But unfortunately, he underestimated the others, and overestimated himself.

When faced with their counterattacks, he barely offered any resistance and chose to submit, hoping to maintain the status quo.

Thus, the chess piece that was Xu Mu became a disposable existence.

No one expected that, against all odds, he would actually complete the task to an exceeding degree.

Now, under the watchful eyes of all present, Qin Xiao and Yun Zhan couldn’t find any fault even if they wanted to, and could only stand to one side with gloomy expressions.

“Well done! I knew I didn’t misjudge you! Haha!”

Once all the pills were checked, Du Yu couldn’t help but laugh triumphantly.

“It was my duty to give my all for the sect!”

Xu Mu looked as serene as ever, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

“This is the next task!”

Du Yu nodded and gave Xu Mu the task for the next six months.

Xu Mu opened it and saw that there was no difficulty this time.

The two obviously hadn’t expected that he could complete the task, and were too lazy to bother with this matter.

“I guarantee to fulfill my duties.”

“Hmm!”

When everyone handed over their individual assignments, Du Yu briefly spoke about the Pill Hall’s recent situation, singled out Xu Mu for praise, and everyone dispersed.

“Elder Xu, didn’t expect you to have this trick up your sleeve!”

“Elder Xu, truly admirable!”

“Elder Xu, I have a junior…”

Now many of the Pill Hall Elders, who had only exchanged brief greetings with him before, came forward to greet him with warm expressions.

Previously, they hadn’t been willing to associate with him because they didn’t think he could stay.

Now they were willing to associate with him because they believed he could remain.

The position of the disciplinary officer, although not a big one, had many conveniences. If they could establish a connection, it would be a help in the future.

Of course, these people were mostly Du Yu’s confidants.

“You all are too kind!”

Xu Mu spoke and mingled with the crowd, building these weak connections.

In the following year, Qin Yun and the others seemed to retreat but did not make any new moves.

Xu Mu applied for new Alchemist positions and recruited a dozen Alchemists with good potential, including his two disciples, and thus temporarily settled down.

Now even if he didn’t take action, the Alchemy Room could operate steadily.

In the cultivation room, Xu Mu was operating the Secret Skill of Yin and Yang Harmony, using Lu Jingkong’s corpse for intense cultivation, his cultivation level increasing every moment.

After a while, Xu Mu put away his tools and checked his attribute panel.

The experience of his realm had reached more than 190,000, just a little short of 200,000. If everything goes well, he should be able to advance to the second level of the Golden Core Stage in at most two months.

It has been less than three years since he advanced to the Golden Core Stage; this progress could be described as extremely rapid.

However, the greatest progress was in Body Refinement cultivation. “The Great Sun Refining Shape Skill” had reached the mastery level, with attacking and defensive power comparable to the third level of Golden Core.

But even with this rate of progress, Xu Mu still wasn’t satisfied.

“The Great Sun Refining Shape Skill” didn’t need to be mentioned, it depended entirely on taking pills.

If he had enough pills, he could advance to the Transcendent within three years – his strength being equivalent to the common Golden Core’s seventh layer.

So he wasn’t too worried about his body refinement cultivation; what mattered was his cultivation level.

After all, cultivation level is fundamental. Without a cultivation level, no matter how strong one’s fighting power is, it’s negligible.

The current rate of progress is fast for ordinary cultivators, but not enough for him. Moreover, the higher the cultivation, the slower the progress.

At present, it takes three years to advance a level. When he reaches the intermediate stage, it may take ten years, and at the later stage, it might take decades. Not to mention advancing to Nascent Soul.

Hence, he must elevate his cultivation level at a faster rate and have enough time to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.

The best way to quickly advance one’s cultivation is, of course, to take pills.

However, the prerequisite for taking pills is that he must have enough Spirit Stones to buy them.

Recently, he spent a lot on buying Moon Dew, asking others to refine his lifebound artifact, and enhancing his “Great Sun Refining Shape Skill”. His purse has been almost emptied.

“So, I need to find a way to earn money!”

If he could reveal all his cards, with his ability to refine beyond-top-grade Dust Reduction Pill and Hao Yuan Pill, he could make a fortune in Spirit Stones, and the entire sect would respect him and cherish him like a gem.

Unfortunately, he can’t!

As a Loose Cultivator who just joined the sect a few years ago, suddenly mastering such a powerful alchemy skill, anyone would find it suspicious.

When the time comes, the best outcome he could expect would probably be having his soul searched by a Nascent Soul Elder from the Fairy Moon Palace.

He can’t reveal his identity, he can’t delay things and he needs to make everything flawless.

Consequently, earning Spirit Stones becomes considerably more challenging.

However difficult, it still needs to be done.

Xu Mu took out a jade slip and sent a message to his disciple, Ye Bufan, informing him to come to his cave dwelling.

Newly clad in a green robe, Ye Bufan was tall and slender, giving off an impression of being a learned and refined gentleman.

Upon receiving Xu Mu’s summon, he hurriedly flew over using his Wind Control Skill and waited outside the room.

Not long after, Xu Mu’s calm voice came from within.

“I want you to go down the mountain and buy some things for me!”

A piece of paper flew out of the room, landing in Ye Bufan’s hands.

Ye Bufan looked at the paper and saw that it listed some common seeds for flowers and herbs. He couldn’t understand why Xu Mu wanted these.

But habit prevented him from asking too many questions, and he simply accepted the task.

“Once you buy them, you can plant them directly in the courtyard! I’m going to seclude myself for half a year, don’t bother me unless it’s necessary!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Go now!”

“Yes!”

Ye Bufan bowed and then turned to leave, but at that moment, strands of white mist flew out of the room’s gap, silently entering his sleeves.