The flame in a Pill Furnace was suddenly extinguished.

The Cultivator in front of it laughed, reached inside, and scooped out two Pills.

They were round and smooth, steam gently rising from their surfaces.

The Pill Master overseeing the third floor was also old, but he had a very kind look.

"Senior, what do you think of the quality of my two Pills?"

The Pill Master took the Pills, examined them for a moment, and commented:

"To have refined Pills to this level after looking at the Pill Formula for only a short while shows that your skill is actually quite good."

"If you put in a bit more effort, you should be among those who pass the third floor in the next Pill Master certification!"

The Cultivator’s face, initially filled with joy, immediately stiffened.

"Senior, why..."

Before he could finish, the Pill Master rubbed one of the Pills between his fingers, and it crumbled into dust.

Inside the Pill were black impurities, looking just like charcoal.

The Cultivator’s outcry died in his throat. He took a breath, his face flushing with shame.

"My skills are lacking. I’ll take my leave!"

He hurried away, slightly covering his face as he passed by Bai Mo.

Standing by the stairs, Bai Mo immediately caught the kind-looking Pill Master’s attention.

’What a fine young man.’

The kind-looking Pill Master beckoned. "Come over here, quickly."

Bai Mo did as he was told and walked forward.

From the dozen or so Pill Furnaces with their flames still burning, strange fragrances wafted out from time to time.

But Bai Mo knew this phenomenon only occurred when the medicinal power of the herbs inside wasn’t properly refined.

He then looked at the incense burners next to each person. A long stick of incense was burning slowly, with two or three more remaining beside it.

An acolyte stood by, removing the burnt-out incense sticks and replacing them with new ones.

Bai Mo immediately understood something.

Sure enough, the kind-looking Pill Master led him to the now-vacant spot.

"Here is a Pill Formula. You have five incense sticks’ worth of time to refine it into a Pill with sufficient medicinal power. Do that, and you’ll have passed the third floor."

Bai Mo accepted the two-page Pill Formula. Immediately, two tall Cultivators came over, used a bamboo pole to hoist the still-warm Pill Furnace, and carried it away.

A new Pill Furnace was brought in right after.

An acolyte lit a long incense stick and also ignited the pill fire for Bai Mo, warming the new Pill Furnace.

The Pill Formula was very simple. With Bai Mo’s comprehension, he understood the gist of it after a single read-through.

When he looked again at the parts he didn’t understand, he only had to think for a moment before it was as if lightning flashed through his mind, and everything became crystal clear.

The Pill Formula wasn’t the problem. Bai Mo turned his head to look at the medicinal herbs.

’So this is where the difficulty lies.’

The herbs provided for the Cultivator were only enough for about two attempts.

Furthermore, they were riddled with flaws—bitten by snakes, insects, and rats, aged improperly, or not yet mature.

Even a Cultivator who knew nothing of Alchemy would frown upon seeing these herbs for the first time.

’Herbs like these wouldn’t fetch any price in Immortal Arrival City, let alone in Celestial Mountain City, where the Alchemy Dao flourishes.’

Bai Mo crouched down, sorting through the herbs on the ground.

They had all been processed; at least the obviously unusable parts had already been cut away.

’The herbs are usable, but they’re an extreme test of an apprentice’s ability to extract what little medicinal power they contain.’

While Bai Mo was lost in thought, one incense stick’s worth of time had already passed.

The acolyte tiptoed over, removed the old incense stick, and inserted a new one.

Bai Mo also returned from his contemplation and began tossing herbs into the Pill Furnace.

’Dissolving the medicinal power of these herbs will take at least one incense stick’s worth of time.’

The unique, fresh fragrance of the herbs began to spread, but it seemed to lack stamina.

And just as Bai Mo started, another apprentice successfully produced a Pill.

The man took out two strangely shaped Pills and walked toward the Pill Master, full of pride.

"Senior, what do you think of my Pills?"

"They may not be round, but that doesn’t affect their consumption. Many of the Pills I sell outside are of this type!"

The kind-looking Pill Master took the Pills and squeezed them lightly. They actually deformed under the pressure.

They had clearly been refined into some strange texture.

The apprentice even broke off a corner of one Pill with force, revealing its snow-white interior.

Someone watched in amazement and exclaimed, "Could this person actually succeed?"

But unexpectedly, the kind-looking Pill Master glanced at the apprentice and held the Pill out to him.

"You eat it."

"Huh?" The apprentice who submitted the Pill was stunned.

It was the first time he had ever seen this old Pill Master make such a request.

"Eat it."

"It’s a Pill to aid cultivation. It’s harmless to eat."

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the apprentice’s face flushed slightly as he took the Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

The Pill Master observed him. "Try circulating your Qi. If..."

Before he could finish, the apprentice’s face began to change, turning a terrifying mix of blue and red.

"Senior, please step aside..."

After forcing out the words, the apprentice squirmed and rushed out, disappearing from sight.

The kind-looking Pill Master shook his head, sighed, and sat down.

Bai Mo also retracted his gaze. The medicinal power in his Pill Furnace had completely dissolved.

Bai Mo controlled the heat as if he were finalizing the Pill, but before it was finished, he began tossing a second batch of herbs into the Pill Furnace.

He then abruptly increased the intensity of the fire, and the radiating heat attracted the gazes of several acolytes.

"He’s almost out of herbs! He only has one chance!"

Bai Mo heard their words, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued to maintain the high heat.

Now, the few other apprentices who had the spare energy to pay attention to others also looked over.

"He’s insane! Poor-quality herbs can’t withstand that much heat..."

"Another one who’s just giving up. His Dao heart isn’t firm enough!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Bai Mo noticed the others’ gazes but paid them no mind.

Neither hurried nor slow, he waited until four incense sticks had burned. When the final stick was nearly a third of the way through, Bai Mo began to reduce the fire and quickly retrieve the Pill.

Finally, before the long incense stick was even half-burnt, Bai Mo opened his Pill Furnace.

Reaching inside, Bai Mo pulled out a massive Pill, nearly thirty percent larger than a normal one.

An acolyte looked over curiously.

"Look! He actually produced a Pill!"

"It’s useless. Look at the surface of that Pill—it’s all pitted and bumpy. Would you dare to eat it?"

"That’s true..."

Holding the Pill, Bai Mo came before the kind-looking Pill Master.

"Senior, my Pill is also complete."

The Pill Master stroked his beard, a little hesitant.

"This Pill of yours..."

Bai Mo smiled faintly.

"Senior, please watch."

Bai Mo applied a little pressure with his fingers, and a CRACK sound came from the Pill in his hand.

Immediately after, the rough surface of the Pill fell away like an eggshell, revealing a round, smooth Pill within.

The Pill inside was only a fraction larger than a normal one.

"A Pill within a Pill!"

The kind-looking Pill Master’s eyes widened, still somewhat surprised.

"This Alchemy Skill of yours..."

The Pill inside, affected by the ingredients, couldn’t be exceptionally potent.

And yet, it was still a sliver better than what was sold on the market.

Just the Pill Qi it emitted was enough for an experienced Pill Master to know its quality!

Bai Mo spoke up, "This is an Alchemy Skill I created myself. It can seal in the medicinal power. I call it Pill-Within-a-Pill."

"It took one and a half portions’ worth of ingredients to fuse into this single Pill!"

"Senior, do you need me to consume it for verification?"

The kind-looking Pill Master laughed, revealing a missing tooth in his mouth.

"I’m not that senile yet."

"Ah, what a joyous occasion! Our ranks of Pill Masters have gained another promising newcomer!"

He had Bai Mo put the Pill away and used a cinnabar brush to add another red line to Bai Mo’s wooden tablet.

"Young man, take your token and go. Someone outside will handle the rest of the procedures for you."

"Remember what they tell you, and come visit when you have time!"