Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 348 – Recognizing a Master

Chapter 348 – Recognizing a Master

Qin Yu’s expression turned cold. These words were obviously spoken to him as a warning. It looked as though he could only deliberately fail once or twice in the refining process, otherwise things would become troublesome.

At most, he would be able to delay for another half month…that damned world killing tribulation, when was it going to come!?

Qin Yu cursed inwardly. After a long moment he took a deep breath and suppressed his tumbling emotions. Then, he took out the Ninth Province as well as the necessary materials from his storage ring.

When failing in the refinement of the Revival Good Fortune Pill, the most obvious sign was the loss of a cultivator’s vitality and lifespan. So he really needed to start refining it to at least appear like he was trying.

The ‘pill recipe’ appeared in his mind. Although it was called a pill recipe, the truth was that this wasn’t too accurate. To be more precise, it was pure mental fluctuations. Only the cultivator that perceived this to begin with could genuinely understand it and the countless myriad meanings behind it. Otherwise, even if he were to repeat the ‘pill recipe’ again and again until he got sick of it, he still wouldn’t be able to teach someone the method of refining it. This was because a person’s consciousness was the hardest thing to control. Just the slightest error, the tiniest mistake, would lead to failure of refinement.

With these thoughts flowing through Qin Yu’s mind, he didn’t even need to think about it before his body moved on its own, already completely aware of how to refine the pill.

Igniting the fire and adding in the materials, the entire process proceeded with an incomparable level of smoothness. It was like Qin Yu had already attempted to refine the pill countless times before. His movements were steady and stable, and even his consciousness seemed to become hazy, as if he were watching all of this from the detached viewpoint of an observer.

If someone were to see Qin Yu’s eyes at this time, they would discover that his pupils had enlarged, nearly occupying his whole eyes.

His entire body was black; it was spooky to the extreme!

After an unknown period of time, Qin Yu finally slapped Ninth Province and the furnace hole flew up. Then, a pill the size of a knuckle flew out. The pill emitted an unexpectedly shrill scream and then split open like a giant mouth, biting down on Qin Yu’s finger.

Gudong –

Gudong –

A trace of fear exploded in his heart, forcefully breaking apart Qin Yu’s indifferent mood. His originally pitch black eyes revealed struggle. His consciousness was shaken, as if everything he had experienced just now was a dream, and just when he awoke from his dream, the refining of the Revival Good Fortune Pill was nearly completed. A deep and sour stabbing seemed to emit from every inch of his flesh and blood, and even his soul seemed to gently tremble.

This was because the pill was not just swallowing his blood, but also his lifespan!

In just this brief moment, Qin Yu could feel that at least five years of his lifespan had been taken away!

He couldn’t allow it to smoothly condense…

Qin Yu drew in a deep breath. Just as he was prepared to forcefully sever the flow of lifespan and ruin the refinement of the pill, an inexplicable fear drilled out from his heart, raising every alarm within him.

At this moment, his body froze and hairs rose up on his cold damp back. Fear, endless fear, covered his heart and mind, drowning him.

The Revival Good Fortune Pill that was swallowing Qin Yu’s blood and lifespan also seemed to sense this new aura. It emitted an even sharper scream and the rate at which it plundered his lifespan actually rose drastically.

Exhaustion appeared on Qin Yu’s face. The majority of the sheen and gloss on his face vanished, and strands of black hair on his head started to turn gray at a speed visible to the naked eye. This sort of gray was not pure gray, but gave off a sense of absolute loneliness and despair.

10 years.

20 years.

50 years.

Qin Yu could clearly feel his lifespan flowing away, but he didn’t stop it because just now he finally felt the aura of the world killing tribulation.

It would finally arrive soon!

And just a trace of this aura was enough to make him feel as if he had died. The might of this world killing tribulation must have reached an absurdly horrifying level.

Qin Yu needed the Southshine Nation’s Old Ancestor to value him ten times more, a hundred times more! Only then would he be willing to recklessly shelter him against the upcoming world killing tribulation.

So Qin Yu needed to not only refine this Revival Good Fortune Pill, but he needed to do so in a way that surpassed everyone’s expectations.

70 years.

90 years.

100 years!

When all of Qin Yu’s hair turned a mottled gray color, the Revival Good Fortune Pill that was biting down on his finger finally let go. It floated in midair, countless textures appeared on its surface and weaving together into a blood red flower.

That’s right, this was a flower Qin Yu had never seen before. But just by looking at it, he could hear countless mournful wails echoing in his ears.

Every petal was extremely exquisite, so lifelike it appeared real, as if it had truly grown on the surface of the Revival Good Fortune Pill.

Qin Yu staggered, forcefully enduring the empty feeling within that nearly caused him to collapse. He took out a specially prepared jade bottle and placed the pill inside.

After this, he was no longer able to withstand the weariness. His eyes closed and he fell unconscious.

Qin Yu was in a nightmare. He dreamed that a flower suddenly bloomed on his body, drawing out all of his blood and life. He could only look on helplessly as vines entangled him and he finally withered away into bones.

“Ahh!” With a loud cry, Qin Yu opened his eyes. At some unknown time, he had already returned to his residence. Although his body still ached, he had recovered most of his strength.

Despite knowing that what he experienced just now was only a dream, it felt incomparably real. His heart turned cold and he forcefully suppressed his thoughts.

The door to his room was pushed open and a beautiful maid walked in. As she saw that Qin Yu was awake, she was pleasantly surprised and immediately bowed before hurrying out.

Soon, Chief Steward Qin came scurrying in. But, he simply walked in, glanced at Qin Yu, and then stepped to the side, respectfully bowing.

An old man walked in behind him. This old man’s body was thin but his eyes were bright and warm. A kind smile hung on his lips.

Qin Yu’s eyes widened. He turned himself and tried to stand up, but he was stopped with a gesture. “In order to save my Southshine Nation’s holy object, little friend has used up a great deal of energy. I am also touched by this and gratified, so there is no need to bow to me.”

Seeing the smiling old man, Qin Yu’s heart shook. He never thought that such an honored individual would actually come here personally.

This old man was an incarnation of the Southshine Nation’s Old Ancestor. He had seen him before at the competition field.

“Old Ancestor…this junior is truly frightened, I simply have no idea what to say.” Qin Yu’s thoughts raced. It seemed he had already achieved his goal. He hardened himself and fully expressed the awe and reverence that a junior of his age should have.

The Old Ancestor smiled, seemingly satisfied with Qin Yu’s response. “You have lost a great deal of your lifespan. Although I have ordered you to be treated with the most valuable medicines, they cannot actually restore it. But, I guarantee that for the price you paid, I will surely compensate you double.”

Chief Steward Qin lightly said, “Ning Qin, in order to help you recover as soon as possible, the Old Ancestor had personally taken action. You must not hold any grudges in your heart.”

Qin Yu nervously shook his head. He earnestly said, “Everything was because of this junior’s own will, otherwise the Revival Good Fortune Pill would not have been able to draw out so much of my life force.”

Even though his face was calm and sincere, his heart was dark and gloomy. To the current Qin Yu, a price of a hundred years of life was a steep price. But in the face of the world killing tribulation, this was the only choice he could make to continue living.

Chief Steward Qin spouted out some words of praise, tossing so many laurels to Qin Yu that he seemed like a basket of flowers. And after Qin Yu showed an excited expression, he dove into the main topic. “Ning Qin, the Old Ancestor’s time is valuable. But in order to save you, he has already spent a great deal of time and effort. When do you think you can offer the pill as a sacrifice? The Old Ancestor is looking forward to what effects there will be with great anticipation.”

The Old Ancestor smiled until his eyes creased, remaining silent.

Qin Yu cursed inwardly. He quickly said, “I can do so immediately!”

He struggled to stand. There was no need for acting this time; his light-headed condition caused him to sway on his feet.

Chief Steward Qin helped him stand, “Ning Qin, can you do this?”

Qin Yu’s heart turned increasingly cold. He smiled and nodded. Luckily, after moving for some time, warmth began to spread through his limbs and body.

Today, this vast building that housed the stone tablet seemed to have been emptied of people. They didn’t meet a single person along the way.

Qin Yu was supported and lifted almost all the way to the great black door. The Old Ancestor flicked his sleeve and the door opened as he stepped in first.

Chief Steward Qin let go, “Ning Qin, begin.”

Qin Yu walked up to the stone tablet. Behind him, the Old Ancestor was calmly waiting. But, the air around him had become much heavier and more dignified.

30 feet away, the dark golden halo of light appeared. However, it didn’t stop Qin Yu at all, but impatiently clung to him, pulling him near.

The Old Ancestor’s eyes erupted with a divine light. There was a trace of vivid excitement in them.

The rich dark golden light enveloped Qin Yu. A fluctuation of will sounded out in his heart, asking him whether or not he was willing to offer the sacrifice.

With his heart tense and worried, Qin Yu took a deep breath and firmly made his choice.

The jade bottle in his hand that contained the Revival Good Fortune Pill slowly rose up until it disappeared into that dark golden light. He could feel an invisible strength disintegrating the jade bottle. Then, the pill that contained a hundred years of his life fell into the stone tablet like a drop of water into a sea.

In Qin Yu’s eyes, the dark golden textures suddenly erupted with light beyond his imagination. Vast sections of the blocked areas rapidly melted away, vanishing from sight. The withered and shrunk channels were unexpectedly restored to their original state in just several breaths of time. In his ears, he seemed to hear the dark golden textures emit excited cheers. He could even sense that the ruined edges had obtained a new life!

The Old Ancestor’s face suddenly flushed with blood and the floor beneath his feet quietly broke into powder. As his eyes fell on Qin Yu’s back, a burning heat blazed within them.

Indeed, he hadn’t been wrong. This junior was his greatest lucky chance!

As for Qin Yu who was regarded as the greatest lucky chance by the Southshine Nation’s Old Ancestor, his tense expression suddenly shook with surprise. He never thought that he would encounter this sort of situation.

Perhaps it was because the Revival Good Fortune Pill contained too much of Qin Yu’s lifespan, but after the stone tablet absorbed his blood and repaired some of the dark golden textures, there was actually some left remaining. And it was this surplus amount that caused Qin Yu’s blood in the pill to remain intact. And he didn’t know why, but it seemed that this blood was being absorbed by the stone tablet itself, forming a faint bloodline connection between them.

Recognizing a master…

Qin Yu never would have thought that the pill he feared to sacrifice so much would actually produce such a result and the stone tablet in front of him would become his possession. No, that wasn’t right…there was only a faint bloodline connection between him and the stone tablet; he hadn’t actually refined it. If it really were to recognize him as its master, it would require far more blood.

But even so, through this connection, Qin Yu finally understood why the Southshine Nation took the Good Fortune Tablet as their holy object.

And why the Old Ancestor valued the Revival Good Fortune Pill so much.

A cold light flashed in the depths of his eyes. Qin Yu had to expend a great deal of effort to forcefully suppress his trembling heart. His thoughts raced because he discovered that he seemed to have a chance to reverse his position and gain the initiative. However, to do so he would have to pay even more of his lifespan.

But did he need to do this? As Qin Yu was engaged in a mental struggle, the Old Ancestor smiled with gratitude and joy. At this moment, it seemed as if he had made a very important decision.