Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 9 – Lang Tu’s Death

After failing dozens of times and using up a tremendous amount of materials and time, he had finally refined a Foundation Establishment Pill!

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Qin Yu couldn’t help but acknowledge that his talent in alchemy was actually quite ordinary.

With the alchemy notes and techniques of an expert like Cang Mangzi in his possession, and even with a powerful alchemy tool like that Fleeting Flame Furnace he had, the road of alchemy was still rough and bumpy.

If it weren’t for the Eastern Mountain Sect somehow having an unimaginably high amount of waste pills to continuously provide him with materials, then Qin Yu wouldn’t have been able to use up materials so freely and he definitely wouldn’t have been able to produce such a high quality pill like a Foundation Establishment Pill. But no matter what the circumstances were, this was enough.

The Foundation Establishment Pill. Just as its name indicated, it could allow a cultivator at the tenth level of the Energy Refining realm to take another step forwards and enter the Foundation Establishment realm.

Drawing upon the support of pills to make a breakthrough could be damaging to his future cultivation and even ruin his foundation, but Qin Yu didn’t care about this at all. This was because his cultivation was built upon a pile of pills, and as for foundation…he never had something like that to begin with!

There was still another two hours of nighttime. Qin Yu closed his eyes and started to meditate. He opened the foot-wide sea-blue illumination in the darkness once more and placed the seven Foundation Establishment Pills within.

Beneath the reflection of the dim blue light, Qin Yu’s face became even more angular and dashing. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t seen sunlight for all this time, but his skin had become fair and pale, with an ivory sheen to it. He had spent a year cultivating in loneliness, and in the silence his temperament seemed to have become more introspective and tenacious…after spending so much time here down below, the youth had slowly and quietly transformed!

The night passed and the blue light disappeared.

Qin Yu put away the little blue lamp, but he didn’t move the clearly transformed Foundation Establishment Pills. This was because he discovered that as the rank of the pills increased, they required a longer period of absorbing the blue light.

The second night.

Third night.

When the light of the little blue lamp disappeared once more, Qin Yu’s eyes flashed open. His heart, body, and soul had been adjusted in these three days and had reached the peak!

The seven Foundation Establishment Pills had absorbed the deep blue brilliance for three nights and had turned from an azure color to the endless deep blue of the heavens, leaving one enchanted just by looking at them. They were like treasures that exuded an extraordinary brilliant luster!

Without hesitation, Qin Yu picked up a Foundation Establishment Pill and swallowed it down.

Today, he would break past his boundary and reach Foundation Establishment!

When the Foundation Establishment Pill fell into his stomach, it seemed to sizzle around as if it had been dropped in boiling oil. It began to spark and emit blazing flames. The magic power of the tenth level of Energy Refining started to tumble within him, bringing with it bursts of biting pain as if some vicious beast were battering against his insides.

Qin Yu hugged his hands together. He emptied his thoughts, only allowing a trace of his mind to observe the state of his body, but not interfering in the process at all.

The magic powers of the Energy Refining realm were ethereal and invisible, slowly flowing out from his flesh and blood and marrow. Only by forcing this magic power to boil up and collide with itself could it condense into a base of the Great Dao – this was the boundary of Foundation Establishment.

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Bang –

Bang –

The stormy magic power galloped through his body, quickly sinking into the sea of his dantian and colliding with itself. Violent winds rose up all around Qin Yu and his robes began to stir. He had entered the critical moment of his breakthrough!

Common sense stated that when someone at the tenth level of Energy Refining swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill, they would have at least a 70% chance of making a breakthrough. Moreover, Qin Yu had purified and upgraded these Foundation Establishment Pills with the little blue lamp. As a result, their medicinal efficacy had risen and a single one could compare with three from before.

A breakthrough should have come smoothly, but Qin Yu soon discovered that the rumbling within his dantian began to slow down and weaken; it simply wasn’t able to condense a base of the Great Dao. If things continued like this then his breakthrough would end in failure.

Qin Yu opened his eyes. He picked up another Foundation Establishment Pill and swallowed it down.

Bang –

Silent magic power began to rage in his body like a conflagration. Like a flame with oil added to it, the power within him started to collide at an even faster and more violent pace.

Heart-ripping pain spread through his body, but this degree of collision still wasn’t enough!

Qin Yu grit his teeth. He picked up a third Foundation Establishment Pill and swallowed it down.

As the saying went, one’s fighting spirit was aroused by the first roll of the drums, depleted by the second, and exhausted by the third. This was his moment!

Bang!

Medicinal efficacy erupted within him, causing his magic power to instantly surpass the limit. Qin Yu coughed as blood started to flow from his head.

But, a clear and sharp smile still hung on the corners of his lips.

Tides of magic power wildly rushed out from within the sea of his dantian. The phantom of a base appeared. Like a black hole, it started to crazily suck in all the outside magic power.

In a short several breaths of time, all the magic power disappeared and the base phantom finally condensed into being. This base was simple and blue, emitting the mystical aura of the Great Dao all around it.

Strictly speaking, this was the first step in cultivating the Great Dao. From this point on, Qin Yu had truly taken his first step in establishing his foundation and entering the great road of cultivation.

Shua –

The violent winds around him suddenly faded away. Qin Yu sat up. Blood still stained his face and his complexion was still pale. Although he had only taken three Foundation Establishment Pills, the truth was that it was equal to taking 10 ordinary ones. It was unknown whether there had been any other Energy Refining cultivators before Qin Yu who would cultivate in such a crazy manner.

If it weren’t for Qin Yu having purposefully tempered his body for this past year and having swallowed up so many body tempering pills, making his body far more tenacious than before, then he might not have suffered only wounds right now.

As he felt the earth-shaking changes to the magic power within his body, Qin Yu ruefully laughed at his own martial talent. For him to need the strength of over 10 Foundation Establishment Pills to smoothly enter Foundation Establishment, this proved that he was truly trash amongst trash.

But none of this was important. What mattered was that today he had become a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm. A smile appeared on his face, rapidly widening until it became a grin.

Who would imagine that I, Qin Yu, would one day reach Foundation Establishment!

His eyes fell upon the little blue lamp. For some weird reason, he thought that this little blue lamp was also looking at him. But then this feeling disappeared, and the little blue lamp looked no different than usual.

Qin Yu drew back his smile. He thought a little more and placed the little blue lamp back into his chest.

He lifted a hand and swallowed another pill.

He closed his eyes and began meditating.

Four hours later, with the help of the medicinal efficacy, the wounds that came from the colliding magic power in his body finally disappeared. He wiped away the bloodstains on his face, pushed open the stone door and started walking up the steps again.

In this year, every time he made a breakthrough in his cultivation he would attempt to open up the entrance of the disposal department. He had failed every time, but, last time when he was at the tenth level of Energy Refining, he had felt the faintest of tremors within the array formation. It was exactly this faint tremor that gave Qin Yu a tiny amount of hope.

Perhaps...he would succeed today!

When he was meditating he had restored his magic powers to completion. As he walked forwards, he gathered his body, energy, and mind. With this, Qin Yu didn’t hesitate. He stood in front of the entrance and poured his Foundation Establishment realm magic power into the entry token.

That familiar and horrifying suction instantly drew out all of Qin Yu’s magic power. This time, in the originally unmoving rock array formation, there was finally a stir. Ripples spread out like a rock being dropped into a calm lake surface.

Qin Yu endured the stabbing pain in his mind. He stubbornly looked ahead as a light ringing filled his ears. From the opening in front of him, a speck of black light flew in from the fog. Without any time to react, the light crashed into his chest.

A dreadful strength struck him like a tsunami. Qin Yu was sent flying upside down. He crashed into the stone steps and tumbled down several dozen more. He spat out a mouthful of blood that dyed the front of his robes red.

He violently coughed. With difficulty, he struggled to take out the little blue lamp. There, he discovered that a black nail had been caught in it. If it weren’t for the little blue lamp, Qin Yu’s heart would have been pierced through and he would have died right then and there.

Nervously checking, Qin Yu discovered that the little blue lamp was completely unmarred and let out a sigh of relief. He looked forwards at the entrance and revealed a carefree smile. Although the array formation spell still existed, he knew that with the entry token the terrifying fate of being imprisoned here had vanished. In other words, in the future he could rely upon this entry token to come and go as he pleased!

Time was the most terrifying power in the world. Not only could it cause Cang Mangzi to die with hatred in his heart, but it also made this sinister and vicious array formation become extremely fragile. Of course, this was all connected to the decline of the Eastern Mountain Sect. No matter how strong an array formation was, if it lay in despair for all these years then it would still eventually be ruined.

His fingers touched the black nail and a small piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind: Corpse Sealing Nail, demonic path, can be activated using magic power.

Such a thought could only be transmitted by a magic tool. Of course, the premise was that this magic hadn’t been refined by someone before, otherwise even if the original master’s mark was removed, it still wouldn’t be able to be used.

The strength of this Corpse Sealing Nail had also declined to the extreme with the passing of time. Otherwise, with the might of this magic tool, even if it were blocked by the little blue lamp, the horrifying strength that transmitted through would have been more than enough to turn his insides into goo.

The person who had arranged this array formation had been truly meticulous. If someone chose to forcefully break through it then they would encounter this Corpse Sealing Nail in their weakened state. That was almost certain death!

Qin Yu coughed twice. He lifted his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Then, he wiped it on the nail and watched in satisfaction as the nail absorbed the blood. Items of the demonic path were normally refined with blood, and as he saw today, it was at least true in this situation. At least he hadn’t lost his blood in vain.

He placed the Corpse Sealing Nail in the storage bag. As time passed it would automatically restore its spiritual strength. Then, he placed the little blue lamp back in his chest and took out several pills to swallow.

He lavishly used pills and the effects showed. When Qin Yu opened his eyes again, six hours had passed. Not only had he restored his magic power but his wounds had healed up.

Soon, it would be night and he could leave then.

In the dark of night, the sounds of nature were silent. The faint mist separated and Qin Yu quietly stepped out. He looked at the full moon in the skies, staring upwards as the beams of moonlight illuminated his young and smiling face.

He looked around several times to see that there was no one around. Then, he took a deep breath of the night air that was mixed with moonlight and the fragrance of the earth. With a step forwards, he blended into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

He moved forwards smoothly. After a moment, Lang Tu’s little courtyard appeared before his eyes.

My good brother, blessings were enjoyed together and misfortunes were endured as one!

If there were people he could truly trust in this world, then Lang Tu was one of them. Although he couldn’t tell him about the incident of the little blue lamp, he could still give him some pills.

With several light steps, he fell into the courtyard like a swan. Although he hadn’t truly studied any immortal magic arts, the magic power that came with the Foundation Establishment realm was more than enough to make his body as light as a feather. And even without his powerful mortal body strength, he could still accomplish the same.

That fellow Potato would surely be frightened so much he would leap into the air!

Thinking of the cries of horror that Lang Tu would make upon being surprised, Qin Yu grinned. But then, his smile froze. The entire courtyard was in ruins as if it hadn’t been maintained for a long time. It was covered in leaves and the stone pillar that Lang Tu trained with all day was covered in weeds. On a stone platform in the front, dark and dry bloodstains were still visible, incomparably blinding beneath the moonlight!

Something had happened.

Qin Yu paled. He forced himself to not think too much about it. He turned around and floated out of the courtyard. His figure was hidden in the shadows as he crossed the ground, and soon he appeared inside another small courtyard.

“If you don’t want to die then don’t move.”

The deep and cold voice sounded out. An outer court disciple that was suddenly woken up was immediately drenched in a cold sweat.

“Three miles southeast of here, there is a small courtyard. Where is the person that lives there?”

The outer court disciple thought about it. Then, the horror on his face rose even higher. “Se-senior…”

The hand on his neck tightened. “Speak!”

“I’ll speak, I’ll speak! The person living in that courtyard is already dead! He died three months ago!”

The black-robed figure froze. “What is the name of the person living in that courtyard?”

Feeling the piercing cold behind him, the outer court disciple’s mind nearly collapsed. He sobbed, saying, “Lang Tu, his name was Lang Tu!”

Qin Yu gasped. Every time he breathed, it was like his heart was being torn out.

He died…Lang Tu had died…

It was a long time before he regained his composure. He quietly hissed, “Who killed him?”

The outer court disciple shook his head. “I don’t know, I really don’t know!” Panic appeared in his eyes.

Qin Yu drew closer to the outer court disciple. “Tell me, and tonight will only be a nightmare. Otherwise, believe me, I will kill you.” His voice was calm, but each syllable carried with it an icy chill that pierced into the marrow!