Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 473 – Not Even A Hundred Mouths Can Explain It

“Yao Bin! Don’t think that you can be disrespectful to Elder Tian just because of your reputation as the sect’s number one alchemist!”

“Immediately apologize to the Elder, otherwise I guarantee that you will regret it!”

“Just what are you that you dare to bare your fangs in front of Elder Tian!? You have no idea of death or danger!”

Roars came out from the crowd behind. All of them didn’t hesitate to use this chance to display their own loyalty.

Tian Zhen raised a hand and all the voices fell silent. “Grandmaster Yao, must you really be this way?”

Qin Yu had a sincere expression. “I ask Elder to believe me when I say that if I wasn’t giving you some face, I would have charged you the market price for the monster beasts you captured while I was gone.”

Tian Zhen sighed. “I originally thought I could become friends with Grandmaster Yao, but what a pity it is.” A sharp light flashed in his eyes. “You and I are demonic cultivators, so we will handle things according to the demonic path. As long as Grandmaster Yao can receive one of my fists, I will pass back the monster beast hunting grounds with both hands and also compensate Grandmaster Yao according to the market price. I wonder if Grandmaster Yao dares to agree?”

Qin Yu smiled. “Why would I not?” As he spoke he stepped forwards, his figure flashing like lightning. “But, we will switch places. If Elder Tian can receive my fist, I will give you this monster beast hunting ground.”

Tian Zhen laughed out loud. “Good, then I must ask you for advice!” He gripped his fists and pointed outwards. With a loud roar, crackling and popping sounds resonated from his body. His thin and tall body instantly expanded as his muscles popped out like thick barrels. A golden light flowed across his skin, making him seem like the incarnation of a terrifying Yama.

A loud howl echoed between the heavens and earth. Up above, the phantom of a face appeared, its appearance similar to that of its creator. A terrifying aura erupted, sweeping across the skies!

The two alchemy grandmasters smiled. Looking at Qin Yu, they didn’t conceal their contempt at all. Elder Tian wasn’t ranked high within the sect, but he still possessed a fourth level Blue Sea cultivation and had also cultivated the Diamond Demon Suppression. Because of that, his defensive capabilities were even stronger than his slaughtering skills. Even a sixth level Blue Sea might not be able to break through his defenses, so what could Yao Bin do?

Indeed, they felt that their decision of joining forces with Tian Zhen to take the fourth monster beast hunting ground had been the right one. So what if Yao Bin came back. Just what could he do? He only had himself to blame for his troubles.

A group of subordinate cultivators looked at Elder Tian with eyes full of awe and reverence. When they glanced at Qin Yu, they cruelly smiled, as if they were already imagining his fist breaking apart and his muscles collapsing.

A look of surprise flashed in Qin Yu’s eyes. This Black Demon Sect was worthy of being one of the Demonic Path’s 12 branches; there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers everywhere. Even though this Tian Zhen didn’t have much of a reputation, he still possessed an unexpected level of strength.

But that was it.

After stabilizing his Blue Sea realm, Qin Yu hadn’t yet experimented with the limits of his true strength. However, his intuition told him that overwhelming Tian Zhen wouldn’t be a problem.

Shua –

A silver white light cut through air. It was even faster than lightning, so fast that one couldn’t even see it with their eyes. It was sharp and destructive, filled with a killing aura. Although they only saw it for a moment, all of the cultivators present felt their hearts shrink and fear rise within them.

Tian Zhen’s eyes widened, a stupefied expression on his face. He slowly looked down and heard the sound of tearing skin and flesh. Blood drenched his clothes and his inflated body rapidly deflated like a punctured balloon. He was even thinner than he was at the beginning, making him look like a bag of bones.

On the phantom above his head, a single crack quietly appeared. Then a second, third…a moment later, countless cracks spread throughout the entire phantom.

Hu –

Wild winds were whipped up within the world. The phantom collapsed and the massive flood of spiritual strength that it released immediately smashed apart several giant trees. The two alchemy grandmasters and the numerous disciples screamed out as they were sent flying away. Although they wouldn’t die like this, it was inevitable that they would all suffer some injuries.

Tian Zhen’s lips trembled and he looked up at Qin Yu. There was shock as well as awe in his eyes. This was because he faintly sensed that the beam of silver white light just now had a portion of its strength restrained at the end. If it weren’t for that, his fate wouldn’t have been as simple as his supernatural art being broken down and him suffering a minor backlash.

Yao Bin had the strength to kill him!

As this thought appeared, Tian Zhen’s heart chilled. Though he immediately knew it was the wrong time, he couldn’t suppress his regret.

This was because he had a good disciple and lived a wonderful life in the Black Demon Sect. Obtaining this monster beast hunting ground had only been improving on his great life here.

Who would have imagined that he would offend such a terrifying character because of this!

He thought of the two alchemy grandmasters who had pushed and exhorted him to take over this monster beast hunting ground and then cursed their entire ancestral lineage. Tian Zhen squeezed out a smile. “Grandmaster Yao has an incredible cultivation; I must admit defeat. Here is the key to the monster beast hunting ground, I ask grandmaster to accept it.” As he returned the key he said, “If I offended you in any way before, I must apologize for my actions. I am willing to pay 50 million spirit stones as a way of purchasing the monster beasts I caught while you were gone.”

Qin Yu didn’t refuse. When Tian Zhen handed over the spirit stone card, he gathered his people and left without saying a single extra word. The demonic path revered strength above all and powerhouses stood supreme. Even if the current Sect Master was his disciple, he wouldn’t dare to make enemies of those superior to him. Otherwise, even if he were killed, he would only have himself to blame. No one would try to stand up for him.

After watching the group leave in panic, Qin Yu turned and looked towards the depths of the Black Demon Sect. There, the heaven and earth spiritual strength was richer; it was the residential area of the high level figures within the sect.

He forgave Feng Changjing and now showed mercy to Tian Zhen. This wasn’t because he was soft-hearted. Rather, he felt that something was strange after returning to the Black Demon Sect.

Through Xu Sheng, Qin Yu learned the general situation of what happened. Although he didn’t know the real reason, it was obvious that the Black Demon Sect was paying an abnormal degree of attention towards him.

It had to be known that it was common for a cultivator to go into seclusion. This was particularly true for those that reached the Divine Soul realm and above. When a person’s lifespan rose by a large amount, it became normal to go into closed door seclusion for years at a time.

But he hadn’t left the Black Demon Sect for long before an investigation was launched. Even Tuba and Tutou were detained in the dungeon, and Xu Sheng who was close to him had encountered disaster.

If someone told him there wasn’t some hidden secret, Qin Yu absolutely wouldn’t believe them. There had to be some unknown reason for why the Black Demon Sect was paying so much attention to him.

Since he was so important, how come the Black Demon Sect hadn’t sent people to contact him now that he had returned? It seemed as if they were intentionally pretending they didn’t know anything, as if they were waiting for something to happen.

His dwelling was taken, his followers were imprisoned, and all his belongings were carved up by others…it would be natural for Qin Yu to be angry, and after the anger would be retaliation. And in retaliating, it was likely someone would die. After all, for those that walked the demonic path, this sort of death and slaughter was a common sight.

Qin Yu couldn’t determine whether or not his hypothesis was correct, but since he worried about it he had to be cautious in the way he handled affairs. This was the reason he had shown mercy so far.

News of the minor conflict that occurred at the fourth monster beast hunting ground spread throughout the entire Black Demon Sect at an even faster speed. In truth, for an established powerhouse like Elder Tian Zhen to be defeated, that absolutely wasn’t a minor matter at all. However, when the battle occurred, there wasn’t any drawn-out melee. Victory and defeat was decided in a single swift move and no one had died or even been grievously injured. In this case, calling it a ‘minor conflict’ was an appropriate description.

But it was exactly this minor matter that caused everyone in the Black Demon Sect paying attention to this matter to realize just how fierce Grandmaster Yao was. Thus, everything that happened afterwards proceeded smoothly and without a hitch.

The two alchemy grandmasters who occupied the fifth monster beast hunting ground didn’t even need Qin Yu to open his mouth before they offered him the entrance key on their own initiative. They also included 50 million spirit stones as payment for the monster beasts they captured so far.

Tian Zhen had been the Sect Master’s honorable master when he was young. If even Tian Zhen ended up like this, how would they be any different?

However, as they thought about how they had lost their wives and soldiers just because of a single moment of greed, the two grandmasters felt bitterness swell within them. It felt as if they had swallowed up dozens of lotus roots in a single breath.

Qin Yu thought for a moment and decided not to visit anyone else. He spoke with the two grandmasters and had them spread the word for him. The approximate meaning was like this: If you took something of mine, be nice and bring it back and I will pretend nothing happened. Then, we can all be happy.

As news spread out, many frightened and restless people let out a long breath of relief, a look of rejoice on their face. But soon, their complexion became dark and uncertain. Although Grandmaster Yao Bin had said that they could continue to be friends as long as they returned what they took, anyone who believed this would be an idiot.

Taking someone’s possessions, finding themselves in an awkward state after, and then returning everything and hoping that things would go back to how they were before? Even an idiot would know that was nothing but a dream! Would an increase of 30% be considered an adequate apology? But, that was only an apology. If they wanted to have Grandmaster Yao Bin calm down, they would need to add another 30%.

The key issue here was that the strength Grandmaster Yao Bin had displayed today was so strong that it was a complete mess. This was a properly large and thick leg, so who didn’t want to take this chance to hug tight to it? If one wanted to hold onto this thigh, they would first need the grandmaster to have a favorable impression of them. If so, then the question became just how much of an investment did they need for the grandmaster to develop such a favorable impression?

After carefully calculating it, many people came to the conclusion that repaying twice the amount would be a proper amount, and three times the amount would be a joyous occasion of giving face! Still, another problem occurred. While anyone could do math, that didn’t mean their pockets could withstand it. In particular, several people who had been smug and overly confident at the start couldn’t even cry at this time.

This time, they feared they would even need to sell their pants!

Of course, there were smart people everywhere. Many people decided to wait for the sect to make a statement. From how they handled things before, it seemed the sect had a considerably strong opinion of Yao Bin. But, no one knew how this opinion would change after Yao Bin’s display of strength today.

They might as well wait for the situation to settle down before they made their decision.

…

The Chief Elder had a stunned expression. He had imagined countless possibilities but he never thought that the final result would be Yao Bin completely overwhelming all sides and easily recapturing what he lost. Throughout the entire process, while there were some minor conflicts, no one had died. It simply couldn’t be considered anything important. If they wanted to rely on this to suppress Yao Bin, it clearly wasn’t enough.

And most importantly, with the strength that Qin Yu had displayed today, could they still find a way to suppress him? The Chief Elder’s eyes flashed and he stepped through a transmission array, entering into the set’s restricted zone.

Tie Qianqiu wasn’t in cultivation. When he saw the Chief Elder arrive he nodded his head, his expression calm as if he wasn’t surprised by this visit.

The Chief Elder respectfully bowed. He knew that while the Sect Master was in seclusion all year round, he still kept a tight grip on the happenings occurring within the sect.

“Sect Master, Yao Bin has returned. But with the present situation, I simply have no idea how to process it. I ask Sect Master to show me the way.”

Tie Qianqiu didn’t respond to that question. He said, “Yao Bin’s strength is indeed unexpected. According to you, what level do you think he is at?”

The Chief Elder thought for a long time. He said, “Elder Tian Zhen is only a fourth level Blue Sea, but because of his Diamond Demon Suppression supernatural art, not even someone who is two small boundaries higher might be able to injure him. Yao Bin was able to do so without drawing support from any treasures, so I believe that his cultivation is at the eighth level of the Blue Sea realm.”

“Eighth level Blue Sea…” Tie Qianqiu shook his head. “I think it’s more than that. He should be at the ninth level.”

The Chief Elder’s eyes shook. He had no doubts towards the Sect Master’s judgment ability.

Ninth level…

Even when placed within the Land of Divinity and Demons, this would be a top master. They would be able to create their own sect and become a founder.

If they had a lucky chance, opening up a territory and establishing their own country wouldn’t be too difficult either.

Tie Qianqiu’s eyes flashed. He lightly said, “With Yao Bin’s strength, it’s fine if he secretly left the sect. And his actions today aren’t some grave mistake. If we want to grab hold of him, we will need a greater crime, otherwise I cannot justify it.”

The Chief Elder bowed. “I ask Sect Master to show me the way!”

“You have reported the name list with Feng Changjing on it, right?”

“Yes. But Yao Bin was very cautious. He only lightly wounded him, and that isn’t enough.”

Tie Qianqiu’s lips curved up in a smile. “Injuring Feng Changjiu isn’t anything at all, but what about killing him? Even if he has a reason, to kill a disciple who is participating in the Demon Ascension Gate is a great sin even within the demonic path.”

The Chief Elder’s heart skipped a beat. It seemed he wanted to say something.

Tie Qianqiu lightly said, “I know of Chief Elder’s worries, but what does that have to do with us? The one who killed him will be Yao Bin. Drawing back a step, even if people suspect us, so what? Once I relieve the hidden dangers in my body, I will have a chance of reaching the Calamity Immortal realm within ten years.”

The Chief Elder was overjoyed. “Sect Master, are you serious?”

“Has Chief Elder ever heard me speak about things I’m not sure of?”

“Yes yes yes, it was I who lost my composure for a moment! Haha, great, wonderful, amazing! It’s too good!” After a bout of laughter, the Chief Elder’s expression turned cold. “Sect Master, rest assured that I will handle everything appropriately. Even if Yao Bin has a hundred mouths he won’t be able to explain it. There will be nowhere for him to run!”

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