Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 218 – The Black-eyed Lord Priest

The first one chosen was a seafolk called Iron Shield. He was a sturdy man of great fortitude, and his firm and resolute face revealed his great willpower. He was brought away from the underground chamber, but what happened afterwards actually left him perplexed. However, as he saw the bustling priests around him and their serious expressions, he took a breath and cast away all extraneous thoughts, fully coordinating with the requests from the priests.

First, he bathed and changed clothes.

Iron Shield soaked in a hot bath for almost two whole hours and scrubbed himself until he was very red, just like a boiled shrimp. Then, he put on a thin outer coat and was brought to another sealed off chamber. Really, there was nothing but a thin outer coat, so when he walked he inevitably felt a cold wind all around him, making him subconsciously clamp his legs together.

What followed was a sumptuous banquet with a number of expensive tonics included. Iron Shield thought that this might be the last meal he would ever eat, so he didn’t hold himself back. He freed his arms and ate until he was full. It was only when his cheeks were red and he burped that he stopped. It was like there was a fire lit inside his body, and his mouth was a bit dry, making him feel uncomfortable.

Then, as if seeing he was thirsty, the priests brought forth a cup of tea. Iron Shield drank the cup dry and immediately felt wonderful both inside and out. But, this joy continued for only a short period of time before it was torn apart by the burning within him. His strength tumbled in his body and his field of vision began to gradually blur. Before he fell unconscious, his only thought was wondering what the hell he was doing!

After that, Iron Shield fell into a deep stupor. He was in a dream, and in it he was floating up and down on the surface of the sea, tossed about by endless waves with severe pain wracking his body.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but at some moment his eyes flashed open. He could immediately feel that something wasn’t right with his body. He looked down to discover that he was stark naked, without any clothes on at all. And, what was most horrifying was that he saw a pair of bright eyes fixed tightly on him, as if they were gazing upon the most precious jewels in the world. The burning heat in that gaze left Iron Shield terrified.

He thought back to how he had bathed and changed clothes, that great buffet, that tea he drank, and the burning rush in his body that seemed to ignite from within. Then, he also thought back to that dreadful dream, where he felt as if he was sent tumbling endlessly along the way…Iron Shield’s eyes instantly widened and indignant grief surged within him. He roared out in anger and punched, sending the owner of those eyes flying away!

Pa –

The person fell onto the ground, violently coughing. When he looked up, that person now had a pronounced pair of panda eyes.

Iron Shield’s complexion changed. “P-p-p-riest! How could it be you?” Could it be that the one who did this to him was the Lord Priest he had worshipped like a god? How could this be? This person was supposed to be the representative of the sea spirit’s will, so how could he be so dirty!

The priest supported his old and injured waist and struggled up with difficulty. This sight caused Iron Shield to pale. It was unknown what sort of image he was thinking of, but he seemed to have lost his soul.

In the end, the priest was an old and mature person. He didn’t notice anything unusual at the start, but now he realized what was going on. The priest looked at the brat’s thick and sturdy body and nearly spat out blood. Did this fellow think he was some sort of beautiful and utterly irresistible person or something? Even if he were homosexual, he still wouldn’t go looking for someone so rough and coarse!

Peh! Peh! Peh! Who is homosexual? Your family is homosexual!

The Lord Priest had a gloomy complexion. “Iron Shield, stop thinking such ridiculous things and carefully examine your own cultivation. Is there anything wrong?”

Iron Shield was stunned. In the next moment he examined himself and then he was truly stunned. His eyes widened in disbelief and shock.

He had b-b-b-b-broken through!

Unexpectedly, he was now a Nascent Soul.

Could it be that by being…ravished once by the Lord Priest…he could make a breakthrough? If things were like then, then this was something he could accept.

His lips twitched and he put on some clothes that were near the bed. He rose up, “Thank you, Lord Priest.”

Blue veins started to bulge on the Lord Priest’s forehead, as if he wanted to storm off in a fit of anger. “You bastard, who the hell do you think you are that I would take a liking to you? The one who helped you break through was not me. But, we’ll talk about that later. First, check and see if there is anything wrong with your current condition!”

Iron Shield was startled for a moment before being immediately overjoyed. So, could it be that the Lord Priest actually hadn’t taken advantage of him? He hurriedly said, “Lord Priest, I feel great, no problems at all.” However, the Lord Priest’s words seemed to have another meaning behind them. If the Lord Priest said that he didn’t take a liking to him, could it be that he had a liking for others? The hairs on Iron Shield’s back rose. He thought that it was lucky it wasn’t him; that was for others to deal with.

The truth was the Lord Priest had already determined this before Iron Shield had awoken. The reason he asked again was to serve as a final confirmation that what he saw was real. Now that he knew Iron Shield had made his breakthrough and didn’t suffer any side effects, the Lord Priest was ecstatic with joy. It was simply hard to describe in words, thus the reason for the strange look in his eyes as he stared at this bastard.

“You may leave first. Stay in Sea God Palace for the next few days and observe your condition. Remember that you cannot tell anyone of this!”

Iron Shield nodded with reverence.

Three days later the Lord Priest, with his still black eyes, brought the Vice Priest and other high level figures of Sea God Palace to a small hall. He had a bright smile on his face.

“Men, hurry and bring Priest Qin Yu’s robes here. And clean out one of the 12 main temples and ask that Priest Qin Yu move in.”

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. “That doesn’t sound right. I remember that when I left the capital city, Lord Priest had already announced to the world that my status as a guest priest was cancelled.”

The Lord Priest waved his hand. “When did that ever happen? When my Moon Praying Shrine cancelled the status of someone, it was the status of another priest. It had absolutely nothing to do with you. Now that you have come to our Moon Praying Shrine, it is the same as returning home. You don’t need to worry about anything else. If anyone dares to seek trouble with you, that is the same as becoming my Moon Praying Shrine’s enemy!”

Qin Yu smiled. This old fellow’s skin was so thick that it had become an admirable trait, especially when he could use it so freely and in such a righteous and considerate appearance. “That’s fine. I won’t mention these things for now. Since Lord Priest has come here today, I’m sure that you’ve already determined there is nothing wrong with that fellow daoist Iron Shield.”

The Lord Priest nodded. “I have always held the utmost trust towards Priest Qin Yu!”

Qin Yu smirked inwardly, too lazy to argue about these things. He dove straight into the subject. “Then, we can begin discussions in earnest.”

The Lord Priest flipped out his sleeves. “Priest Qin Yu, feel free to speak freely. As long as I can accomplish it, I will try my best!”

This old thing, he had such a heroic performance and yet secretly added a limit to the negotiations. What was this about him being able to accomplish it? If he wanted to do it then he would accomplish it, and if he didn’t then he wouldn’t.

Qin Yu didn’t have any intentions of playing around; he was pressed for time. “Lord Priest, I can help Moon Praying Shrine gain a new batch of Nascent Soul powerhouses. But, the price you need to pay is the flowers of the Saint Flower. One flower for one Nascent Soul.”

Across from him, the complexions of the people from Moon Praying Shrine changed. The Lord Priest absolutely refused. “That is impossible! The Saint Flower’s flowers are limited in number, and each one is extremely vital to my Moon Praying Shrine. When I gave one to Priest Qin Yu in the past, that was because the Saint Flower wished for it, otherwise there would have been no way for you to obtain one!”

Qin Yu lightly said, “The Saint Flower will continue to grow. As long as it doesn’t cast off too many, the flowers taken will eventually regrow.” He paused for a moment and continued to say, “Lord Priest need not deny this. For better or worse I am still a Purple Card and I personally treated the Saint Flower, so I am well aware of this.”

The Lord Priest coughed. “One flower for one Nascent Soul is impossible; the losses to the Saint Flower are too great.” This old thing wasn’t even embarrassed about being seen through, and instead directly entered into negotiations.

Qin Yu didn’t mind. He smiled and said, “Then what is Lord Priest’s intent?”

Two hours later, after both sides bravely fought in a back and forth struggle, the discussions finally ended with all parties coming to an amicable agreement: Qin Yu would help Moon Praying Shrine gain Nascent Souls and they would pay a reward in kind. For every three Nascent Souls, Qin Yu would be given one of the Saint Flower’s flowers and an additional 30 million spirit stones.

The Lord Priest had an ugly complexion; it was clear that the bite Qin Yu took was extremely painful. But even in the sea region, a Nascent Soul was an extremely powerful existence. If they could gain a new group of Nascent Souls, then Moon Praying Shrine’s strength would rise dramatically. Thus, no matter how much it pained him, he had to do it!

Qin Yu rejected the idea of moving into one of the 12 main temples and decided to continue living here. He watched the Lord Priest leave with the others and his heart relaxed. At least right now it seemed that his decision of coming to Moon Praying Shrine had been correct. This old Lord Priest was extremely intelligent, and Qin Yu hoped he would continue to act intelligently for the benefit of everyone involved.

…

After exiting the side hall, the high level figures of Sea God Palace seemed to want to speak, but hesitated.

Finally, a purple-robed priest spoke up. “Lord Priest, Qin Yu is only a human. In the sea region he has no foundation and no one he can depend on, so why don’t we capture him? I’m sure that we can eventually obtain the reason for how he can make heavenly tribulation vanish. Of course, this might not be some righteous or glorious act, but compared to the 10,000 year inheritance of my tribe, what is shouldering a bit of sin? If Lord Priest isn’t willing to then I can do it for you.”

This was obviously the thought that was reverberating in everyone’s hearts. Their eyes looked over, their expressions deep.

The Lord Priest frowned. He slowly said, “You don’t understand.” He walked several steps forwards and then turned around. “This Qin Yu, he is far more formidable, far deeper than any of you can imagine. Since he dares to step into my Moon Praying Shrine alone to discuss a transaction with me, then there is certainly something he can depend on.”

The Lord Priest said, “Qin Yu once used the Saint Flower to threaten me. He said that if he had the means to revive the Saint Flower then he also had the means to destroy it. These past years, I have been investigating continually. Though I haven’t found anything yet, what if this is his advantage? The Saint Flower concerns the rise and decline of my Moon Praying Shrine. If something happens, are any of you willing to take responsibility?”

Everyone’s complexions changed, a bit more fury in their eyes. This was the first time that the Lord Priest mentioned this, and now they realized how wild and unruly Qin Yu was!

It was no wonder the Lord Priest had chosen to patiently endure it.

“That’s enough. Concerning Qin Yu, none of you should act unreasonably.” The Lord Priest had another phrase he didn’t say out loud – if any of you did anything, you would surely bring down a great calamity.

The present Qin Yu was far more formidable than he was four years ago. Moreover, what left the Lord Priest cold was that he could feel a threat coming from Qin Yu. This was a mysterious type of presence. The Lord Priest was sure that there was definitely something on Qin Yu’s body that was extremely terrifying and could even prove a true threat to him!

In addition to the strange response from the Saint Flower and his priest colleagues in the capital city…if it weren’t for these things, did people really think he was a vegetarian? A big piece of meat brought itself right to his lips, but he would use his hand to push it away?

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