Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 343 – A Decaying Smell

Chapter 343 – A Decaying Smell

Concerning this stone tablet, the jade slip the inn had given him had some baseless rumors recorded on it. But, since these rumors were recorded down through the generations, even if they were without evidence, there should still be some tiny amount of credibility to them. The general idea was as follows:

100,000 years ago, the great vault of heaven shattered and a large stone tablet arrived from the nothingness. After a fierce battle, it was obtained by the Hulun Clan. Then over the thousands and tens of thousands of years, as their people slowly grew, they finally established the Southshine Nation. Their legacy continued for dozens and hundreds of generations without perishing, and they eventually became one of the royal families within the Land of Divinity and Demons with the deepest backgrounds.

The large stone tablet mentioned was this Good Fortune Tablet. Although there were many differing opinions, all of them were approximately the same: the reason why the Hulun Family remained prosperous all the way until now was because of this stone tablet.

No one knew what the truth was. But, the Good Fortune Tablet possessed an unimaginable degree of prestige and energy. This was an indisputable fact.

But, the ways in which this power could be unfolded were a bit out of the ordinary.

Cultivators, and only those who were younger than a hundred years of age, had a chance of perceiving a mysterious pill recipe when facing the stone tablet. And the pill refined was the Revival Good Fortune Pill.

This pill recipe existed within the soul. It was like a gift from the will of the heavens and earth. It could not be described nor could it be explained to anyone. Only the one who perceived and meditated upon it could control it. But, there was a point that was confirmed through countless instances of the Revival Good Fortune Pill being refined. And it was that every pill recipe that a cultivator perceived was different.

But through these differences, they all shared one thing. That was that the refining of the Revival Good Fortune Pill caused a cultivator to lose their lifespan.

Lifespan was an illusory and ephemeral concept. But for a cultivator, it was actually something they could accurately sense – an important existence that no one could neglect. After all, ultimately speaking, all things that had the will to cultivate did so in order to transform their life, to become more perfect, to become more formidable, and to also live for a longer period of time…objectively speaking, the last point was the most crucial one.

Thus, to damage one’s lifespan to refine a pill was an incomparably ghastly and chilling idea. If it weren’t for the fact that after refining the Revival Good Fortune Pill one could then offer it as a sacrifice to the Good Fortune Tablet and receive rich rewards in return, then there was no one who would have the least bit of interest in this pill.

That’s right. After refining the Revival Good Fortune Pill, it had to be offered to the Good Fortune Tablet. There were even some people who made an extremely bold extrapolation based on this – the Good Fortune Tablet was alive, and it was a life form completely beyond anyone’s cognition.

It accepted the sacrifice in order to absorb the lifespan of the cultivator making the sacrifice. Like this, it could continue living longer. Thus, the rewards that the Good Fortune Tablet gave a person were more like a sort of transaction.

Qin Yu originally didn’t believe these rumors. After all, this was nothing but a stone tablet. No matter how much power it contained, how could it possibly be alive? But right now as he truly stood in front of the Good Fortune Tablet, he discovered that he had been mistaken all along.

The surface of the Good Fortune Tablet had no words written upon it. There were only dark golden textures and lines that wove together like a pile of chaotic weeds. Yet, it seemed to contain the highest, most supreme mysteries of the world. The dark golden light it emitted was vast and dignified, the powerful aura emanating without end. It was as if the slightest tremble of it would cause the world to shake along with it.

It was mysterious and formidable!

But at this time, Qin Yu could see through the incomparably dazzling surface of the Good Fortune Tablet and see something hidden within. This thing could be called old, weak, and even decayed.

That’s right, this was a feeling Qin Yu clearly felt after seeing the Good Fortune Tablet. He knew this was an inconceivable ability he obtained after he and the little blue lamp thoroughly fused together and he became the ruler of that spatial fragment in the distant nothingness.

None of this was false!

What the Good Fortune Tablet revealed this time was actually false.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and suppressed his shaking heart. He forcefully restrained his expression and put on a calm demeanor. After seeing through to the Good Fortune Tablet’s true situation, he seemed to vaguely smell the revoltingly decaying smell it emitted. This smell was comparable to a corpse that had been buried beneath the hot ground for months. No, it was at least ten times, or even a hundred times richer and worse.

But besides him, Zhao Jiutian, White Fengfeng, and the others seemed to be enjoying it. After approaching the Good Fortune Tablet, they took in deep breaths, as if they were absorbing the most amazing energy in the world.

At this time, Qin Yu’s hairs rose on end. He finally understood why Wei Ziqing had turned and left without hesitation, and why they could only stay here for 12 hours at most. Perhaps that was the limit they could withstand while remaining relatively safe.

The decaying scent that lingered around his nose became increasingly heavy. Even if he held his breath, he still couldn’t prevent it from invading his body. Qin Yu could only shift his attention somewhere else. He no longer looked at the Good Fortune Tablet itself, but focused on the dark golden textures on its surface. Soon enough, that decaying scent vanished.

At this point, all of the youths who entered the cave, besides Qin Yu, had already approached the stone tablet and sat down somewhere nearby. Repressing their excitement, they started to carefully meditate upon the golden markings with a fervent mentality.

This was because countless cultivators who had obtained good fortune from the Good Fortune Tablet all said that the only way to obtain the pill recipe was through these textures.

Zhao Jiutian sat down cross-legged. He forcefully suppressed his shivering heart. Right now, he was sitting near the stone tablet, bathing in its dark golden light. His entire body felt warm and even his magic power and divine sense seemed to become increasingly lively. Indistinctly, some places within his cultivation that were locked up also began to loosen.

This was truly worthy of being the Southshine Nation’s legendary supreme treasure! Zhao Jiutian’s heart heated up even more and he felt an ever greater anticipation towards the Good Fortune Tablet. Of course, the premise behind this was that he could perceive the pill recipe and then smoothly refine the Revival Good Fortune Pill.

His eyes swept around. The young cultivators from other factions were beginning to meditate. Qin Yu’s lone figure in the back was particularly conspicuous. Sensing his silence, Zhao Jiutian coldly sneered. This person really hadn’t seen the wider world yet. Just by seeing the Good Fortune Tablet his mind had fallen to illusion.

Someone with such a shallow character wanted to refine the Revival Good Fortune Pill? Dream on!

Ning Qin, this time I will certainly stomp you beneath my feet and return all the humiliation and shame I received twice over! A look of powerful self-confidence lit up Zhao Jiutian’s eyes as he looked around. Seeing no one paying attention to him, he turned his hand and took out a pill.

While perceiving the Revival Good Fortune Pill’s pill recipe mainly depended on the cultivator themselves, there were various other supporting conditions that could be raised to increase his chances of success.

Revered Yuan had personally given him this pill the night before they left, saying that it would be greatly beneficial in helping him perceive the Good Fortune Tablet. With Revered Yuan’s status, there was no need to lie, thus Zhao Jiutian held a great deal of anticipation towards this pill.

After swallowing it, Zhao Jiutian’s eyes widened. This was because he discovered that the Good Fortune Tablet in front of him became incomparably clear. The dark golden textures seemed perfectly engraved into his vision, as if he could sense every tiny twist and turn.

There was a faint dimness within his consciousness, as if a light mist covered his thoughts. Then, the dark golden textures began to twist, as if wanting to form certain markings.

Zhao Jiutian screamed inwardly with joy. He had heard of such a scene before. Without accident, this was the beginning sign of the pill recipe appearing. Really, the pill that Revered Yuan gave him possessed an inconceivable strength. He, Zhao Jiutian, would be the first to perceive this pill recipe!

He looked around towards those people that were still deep in bitter meditation. Zhao Jiutian’s chest puffed out with pride. He thought these people hadn’t even obtained any knowledge and yet he had already crossed the threshold. He wanted all these people to know that within the Southshine Nation, he, Zhao Jiutian, was the strongest young alchemist of all!

As his heart was soaring with heroic vigor, Zhao Jiutian suddenly noticed a pair of eyes that were looking at him, filled with shock.

It was Ning Qin!

This attention fully satisfied this schoolmate Zhao Jiutian’s exhibitionist desire for attention. Moreover, he felt even more cheerful that it was the Ning Qin whom he hated the most.

Hahaha! Ning Qin, do you see? I have already run in front of you.

With a face full of smug satisfaction, he left behind one last cold and taunting look before turning back and starting to perceive with all his strength. Every second seemed to give him enormous harvests. His face gradually flushed red as endless excitement emanated from him.

Qin Yu was indeed looking at the shivering and delusional schoolmate Zhao Jiutian with shock. This was because he had inadvertently seen Zhao Jiutian swallow down a pill, and as he was curious as to what he was doing, he saw the following sight:

The ghastly rotting stench that flooded the entire cave and the rich scent of decay that was so thick that it left one struggling to breathe, was suddenly pulled somewhere by an invisible strength. After a short period of time, it started to gather without warning, forming a nearly pitch black fog that covered Zhao Jiutian. Every time he took a deep breath, he would suck in a vast amount of this rotten, decayed aura. Every pore on his body also opened and sucked it in, and his face revealed a look of incomparable joy and ecstasy. It was like with every deep breath he took, he obtained a great harvest.

Qin Yu’s chest tumbled. Luckily, with the experience of the transmission array fresh in his mind, he was barely able to suppress the desire to vomit. He hurriedly turned away, no longer daring to look. But in his heart, he became keenly aware of something. Those cultivators sitting in front of the Good Fortune Tablet should be obtaining the pill recipe to the Revival Good Fortune Pill by absorbing that horrific decaying aura.

He glanced around towards the vacant-eyed but also somewhat excited White Fengfeng. Qin Yu had the sudden impulse to warn her, but in the end remained silent. He couldn’t take any risks. Any mistake could result in a consequence that left him beyond redemption. Moreover, since there was an established time limit of 12 hours, she shouldn’t suffer any irrevocable injuries.

He apologized inwardly and sat down. He put on a respectful and solemn expression, and then…blankly stared on.

Yes, Qin Yu was only blankly staring on right now. This was because after coming to understand and realize the essence of the Revival Good Fortune Pill, it was no longer possible for him to refine it on his own initiative, even if it would bring him rich rewards. This was because he had no idea what sort of consequences would result from refining the Revival Good Fortune Pill and offering it to this increasingly spooky and strange Good Fortune Tablet.

Qin Yu was now considering how to delay for more time. It was best if he didn’t refine the Revival Good Fortune Pill until the world killing tribulation arrived…but, this didn’t seem too realistic. After all, only by pulling close to the Southshine Nation’s Old Ancestor would he be able to survive.

If he didn’t refine the Revival Good Fortune Pill and didn’t obtain the attention of the Old Ancestor, then he wouldn’t be able to approach him. This was a difficult problem with no obvious solution.

Qin Yu suppressed these questions that gave him a headache. He just thought to drag things out for as long as he could.

As for this Good Fortune Tablet, he really was wary of it and didn’t want to approach.