Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Jiang Taishou’s eyes flashed with a sense of loss and heartache. But soon, he smiled and he turned around. “Grandmaster Yao, what are you waiting for? Even if you admit defeat now you will still need to swallow those three poisons. A gambling fight must be fair, right?”

Elder Xu rose up and said, “Grandmaster Yao, you were the one to propose this final challenge. Since Grandmaster Jiang has completed his side, there is no reason for you to refuse.”

This was a stark naked threat.

There were immediately murmuring sounds in the temple. Everyone looked at Grandmaster Yao with indifference.

It was almost the deadline. This surname Yao would lose without a doubt, and in this current situation, loss meant death.

If this surname Yao died and gave them a turning point to be on good terms with Jiang Taishou, that would be perfect.

“There’s one more minute.” Elder Zhou quietly said, a bit of regret in his eyes. Yao Bin could be considered a decently strong alchemy grandmaster. For him to die due to internal conflicts in the sect like this was far too great a pity. But now that things had come this far, he could only maintain his silence about it.

Time slowly passed and the temple gradually fell silent. All eyes gathered here, the imperceptible oppression in the air so thick that it almost caused the air to turn solid.

Jiang Taishou continued to smile, but his eyes were cold to the extreme. He wanted to use Yao Bin’s death today to sound the alarm for everyone.

The spirit plant transactions could only be his. Anyone that dared to meddle…deserved death!

The final 20 seconds.

Grandmaster Yao finally moved. He sighed, his appearance seeming a bit helpless. He lifted the little rock, the green grass, and the wild flower, and pulled them close. The three items transformed into gasses that entered his body through his nose and mouth. Slowly, his hands turned a deathly gray.

Elder Xu secretly sneered. This surname Yao was at least tactful enough to know what to do. If he persisted in not swallowing the poisons, they wouldn’t be gentle when forcing him to do so. He coughed and said, “Grandmaster Yao can also be considered a man of his word. He used his life to complete the final gambling bet challenge. Then, I hope Grandmaster Jiang can show mercy and not bring disaster to Grandmaster Yao’s relatives and old friends.”

Jiang Taishou heaved a deep sigh. “I would not like to create casualties within our sect. It was just that Grandmaster Yao pushed things too far so I had no choice but to strike back. Elder Xu, rest assured. I guarantee that I will not implicate anyone in this. Let this matter conclude with Grandmaster Yao’s death.”

This was his intention. Since he had obtained the final victory and even put his enemy to death, why not demonstrate a little bit of mercy to arouse sympathy for himself? Moreover…this surname Yao was an eccentric loner. He had no relatives or friends to begin with!

Within the temple, everyone cried out in praise and expressed their admiration towards Grandmaster Jiang’s benevolent nature. And some had already begun to issue invitations. For instance, some people just happened to have spirit medicines, and were willing to deliver them to Grandmaster Jiang’s residence to help him recover.

The situation was peaceful and joyful. All of the killing intent and dense atmosphere was swept away by the bright smiles.

Elder Zhou shook his head. He waved his hand, indicating for Internal Affairs Division cultivators who had already put on the necessary protective clothing to process the corpse of Grandmaster Yao. There were too many poisons contained in his body so it was naturally impossible to bury him anywhere. Luckily the sect had previous experience in processing similar cases, so things should be fine as long as they were a little bit more careful.

Four cultivators in thick protective gear gulped and slowly reached out to grab Grandmaster Yao’s corpse. At this time, the corpse opened its eyes and said without expression, “Just what are you planning on doing?”

“Ahhh!”

The four cultivators were frightened silly. They fell backwards and crawled away. A person that died from poison, would they turn into a zombie?

The sound of movement drew everyone’s attention. As they looked at Grandmaster Yao who had suddenly been revived, their expressions were truly marvelous.

Pa –

The sand glass fell into Grandmaster Yao’s hand. He looked down and nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. There is still one more grain of sand. In other words, that means I haven’t lost yet, right, Elder Zhou?”

Elder Zhou awakened from his daze. His face was full of shock. He sucked in a deep breath and said, “As long as there is still a grain of sand, that is within the time limit.”

Grandmaster Yao swung the sand glass back around. At this time, the sound of the sand striking the glass within was particularly striking. “Fortunately, there was still one last grain.” He looked up at the stiff-faced Jiang Taishou and faintly smiled, “Grandmaster Jiang, it seems as if you have been celebrating too early!”

“Impossible! How can you possibly be alive!?” Jiang Taishou had nearly gone insane. He had to use his greatest trump card in order to dispel those three poisons. How had this surname Yao done it!?

Grandmaster Yao lightly said, “But the truth remains that I am still alive.”

The temple fell silent.

Everyone watched speechlessly. This sudden change had left them unable to find the words to respond.

Elder Xu’s heart was shaken. He looked at Grandmaster Yao and squeezed out a smile. “Grandmaster Yao, what amazing skills you have! You were actually able to resist three different kinds of poisons from the fourth level of the sealed pagoda! I truly admire you! However, although grandmaster awoke within the time limit, your skin is still gray, proving that the poison has yet to disappear. If so, then this gambling fight should be won by Grandmaster Jiang.”

Jiang Taishou sucked in a deep breath. He clenched his teeth, “That’s right. I am still the winner!”

He hadn’t been able to eliminate this surname Yao but had still been forced to use his trump card. Even if he obtained some compensation, the gains were completely outweighed by the losses.

Incredible losses!

Within the temple, there was a change in the words being spoken.

“Although Grandmaster Yao was defeated, it was still a glorious attempt!”

“To be able to suppress three poisons from the sealed pagoda’s fourth level, this method is already astonishing enough!”

“For me to be able to witness such a fascinating match between two grandmasters, I really didn’t make this trip in vain!”

He hadn’t died and had suppressed the poisons. These two points alone were enough for many people to change their attitudes towards him.

Grandmaster Yao could also be invested in!

Jiang Taishou paled, his face so dark it seemed it would rain. How could he not feel the change in the attitudes of these people? Although he didn’t say anything, he cursed inwardly a thousand times.

Grandmaster Yao said, “Elder Xu, I discovered that your eyesight isn’t any good at all. You just said I died, and now you said I was defeated.” Beneath the black robes, his expression was desolate. “As a Sect Elder you are supposed to handle internal sect affairs, yet your eyes are completely useless. I really worry about you.”

The temple fell deathly silent!

These words were not just rude, it was a frontal slap in the face! And the one being slapped was Elder Xu! Who didn’t know that he was the Chief Elder’s trusted subordinate? Did Grandmaster Yao not fear provoking trouble for himself?”

Elder Xu’s complexion darkened. He said, “I indeed didn’t see correctly before, but the facts are before us. Does Grandmaster Yao wish to deny it?”

Grandmaster Yao chuckled. He lifted a hand, “Is this what Elder Xu is speaking about?” His fingers waggled around and the surface layer of skin instantly burst apart. Gray specks fell down to reveal the incomparably fair and clear skin below, skin that had no signs of being poisoned!

“Elder Xu, can you clearly see now? Of course, if you don’t believe it you can have the Internal Affairs Division come forward to confirm whether or not I’m correct.” Grandmaster Yao coldly said.

Elder Xu drew a deep breath and shouted, “Elder Zhou!”

An Internal Affairs Division cultivator walked forward…green light.

Grandmaster Yao said, “Elder Xu, I recommend you take a light-avoiding pill. Perhaps you might be able to treat your eye disease.”

Those who had eyes but failed to see naturally feared the light. Even if their eyes were shut tight, they still cried tears.

The light-avoiding pill was named after such a reason.

“You…” Elder Xu was angered. It was unknown what he was thinking about, but he didn’t fly into a rage.

Grandmaster Yao stepped forward. He wasn’t as tall as Jiang Taishou, but at this time the feeling he gave off was that he towered over him.

Jiang Taishou’s complexion stiffened. His body gently shivered as if he knew the words he needed to say.

Admit defeat…he could only admit defeat…this surname Yao bastard…this bastard was playing the role of a pig to eat the tiger!

Everything before this had been a lie. He could only laugh that he had been deceived. Not only did he deliver precious spirit plant seeds on his own initiative but he had even used the greatest card in his hand.

Jiang Taishou already expected that his reputation would sweep the floor. This surname Yao would regard him as a stepping stone!

Hate, unwillingness, loathing, all sorts of feelings wildly tore at Jiang Taishou’s heart. But, he maintained his calm and didn’t let the anger get to his head. He had to admit defeat no matter what. Even if he utterly lost, even if he was subject to ridicule, it was better than dying a miserable death here.

If he was prodded by this surname Yao and continued with the gambling fight, he would surely die.

Grandmaster Yao walked near. But before he could say anything, Grandmaster Jiang said, “I admit defeat.”

His eyes revealed a mocking look. Even if you worked so hard to put on a play, so what? I am still alive!

As long as he was alive then there were infinite possibilities open to him. Who cared about a defeat every now and then? Let’s see what happens in the future!

Surname Yao, are you stunned right now, are you disappointed?

But what left Jiang Taishou puzzled was that this surname Yao didn’t seem disappointed at all. Instead, the eyes beneath his hood seemed to fill with a strange look. As if…he found something funny? This surname Yao bastard, was he still trying to goad him to do something? Laugh all you want, I won’t be tricked!

Grandmaster Yao suddenly said, “Grandmaster Jiang, are you thinking that I will taunt you, prod you, provoke you, so that you will continue the gambling fight with me? Are you currently praising your own calmness and decisiveness? And you thought I had failed in my goal and wanted to see my disappointed expression?”

Jiang Taishou fiercely looked up. “What do you mean?”

Grandmaster Yao smiled. “What I mean is that, Grandmaster Jiang, I want to remind you to not be so confident in yourself. It’s always best to inspect yourself to make sure things are alright.”

A chill rose from the depths of his heart. Jiang Taishou stiffened and his eyes flew wide open. He viciously pounced onto an Internal Affairs Division cultivator and seized their poison-detecting magic tool, pasting it right onto his body.

Green light…Jiang Taishou clenched his jaw. Damned Yao Bin, you dare to play tricks on me!?

But at this moment, with three quick warning ‘dings’, the green light emitting from the magic tool began to rapidly flash, quicker and quicker. Then, a trace of blood red appeared and wiped out all of the green light.

Jiang Taishou grasped his neck with both hands. Breathing became incomparably difficult. Despair and hate filled his eyes and he struggled to walk towards Grandmaster Yao. But, he froze in place after several steps.

A profound icy cold and despairing gray overwhelmed his flesh and blood like an unstoppable tsunami, soon covering his entire body. Then, with light cracking sounds, his corpse shattered into countless blocks.

He had died…

The temple was utterly silent. Grandmaster Yao swept his eyes around and said, “Don’t blame me for not warning everyone, but this poison can spread through the air while the host is still alive. So, anyone that approached Grandmaster Jiang a moment ago had best hurry and get examined, otherwise there won’t be enough time.”

There was a sudden wave of people retreating. As for those people who were closest and most intimate with Grandmaster Jiang just now, their faces nearly turned green with nausea.

Grandmaster Yao cupped his hands together. “Elder Zhou, please remember to inform the Internal Affairs Division cultivators to send the gambling stake I won over to my residence. Farewell.”

Tuba and Tutou had excited looks. Their nostrils flared out into the skies. Seeing the chaos in the temple, their eyes filled with disdain.

The three of them swaggered away!