Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 413 – Testing Medicine

Qin Yu finally realized why this seemingly warm and scholarly middle-aged man had earned the name of Evil Ghost. As he saw this man close and open his mouth, chewing on his flesh with blood dribbling down his chin, killing intent began to surge in his heart.

“Hold on! I know where the Monster Raising Mystic Art is, don’t kill me!” Qin Yu’s face was pale white and filled with extreme fear. His body shivered, no flaw in his act.

Evil Ghost frowned. He forcefully restrained his bloodthirst and coldly coughed. He said, “You had best not deceive me, otherwise if you affect my desire to feed, I will be in a bad mood.” He put down the knife. “You may speak now.”

Qin Yu’s voice trembled, “The Monster Raising Mystic Art is in…”

“In where?” Evil Ghost subconsciously approached to listen more carefully.

The Black Demon Sect hadn’t hesitated to take the risk and ruthlessly destroy the Giant Monster Sect. If he could find out where the Monster Raising Mystic Art was located, it would be a great merit for him.

When Evil Ghost drew near, a cold light flashed in Qin Yu’s eyes. There was a loud bang as the shackles twining around his arms broke apart and a fist as fast as lightning crashed into his chest.

Pa -!

There was the sound of countless collapsing bones as Evil Ghost’s entire chest caved in. His eyes widened and blood spurted out from every orifice of his head. His body flew away backwards and crashed into the walls of the torture room. This room was clearly reinforced with array formations because even after being violently struck, there wasn’t any damage at all.

Evil Ghost’s eyes widened. He gasped for breath and struggled to rise. There was an alarm bell on the wall not too far away; as long as he pressed it, people would immediately arrive. At this time, a rank wind rushed his way. The wild dog at the corner of the room howled and bit down on Evil Ghost’s neck, ripping apart large chunks of flesh and blood. The bones of Evil Ghost’s trachea and throat were exposed and blood was rapidly pumped out from his body.

The struggling Evil Ghost emitted several strangling sounds. Then, his tense body weakened and he was dragged to the corner by the wild dog.

Qin Yu was deathly pale. He had exhausted every single ounce of strength in his body. The only reason he hadn’t fallen to the floor was because of the shackles still holding onto him.

That strike had used up all the strength he had saved. Now, it had even affected his injuries, causing them to resurface. He wasn’t even able to move a finger.

Qin Yu only had the strength for a single strike. If it weren’t for Evil Ghost expressing the terrifying idea of eating him alive, he would have rather withstood the torture than recklessly attacking.

But since he had already made his move, there was no meaning in thinking about these things anymore. Qin Yu closed his eyes and worked hard to restore his breathing. His ears were filled with the excited howling of the wild dog and the sound of chewing flesh.

The air was filled with a rich smell of blood, as if it were an asura battlefield. Qin Yu’s consciousness slowly turned blurry before he finally dazed off.

After an unknown period of time, Qin Yu was awoken by howls. His fingers moved and he slowly opened his eyes. After a moment of confusion, his eyes came into focus once more. Qin Yu saw the wild dog struggling to break free from its shackles. He frowned and said, “Your appetite is really good.”

Evil Ghost’s corpse had already vanished. All that were left was some broken bone fragments and bloodstains that had just started to coagulate.

Looking at the vicious and hungry appearance of the wild dog, he should have been asleep for several days. It seemed that the ominous name of Evil Ghost had made it so that no one disturbed him.

Qin Yu’s lips curved in a smile as he thought about how this was also a good thing. At the very least, he could live a bit longer.

The wild dog seemed to have been frightened. Its violent struggling actions slowed down for a moment, but soon this vicious beast discovered that Qin Yu was weakened. It roared out to test, and after determining that Qin Yu couldn’t move, its eyes filled with increasing levels of bloodthirst.

It continued to struggle. It dragged at the shackles, causing them to crash against each other. As they slammed into the thick iron rods stabbed into the ground, they emitted large splashes of sparks.

Qin Yu took a breath and closed his eyes again. He was far too weak right now. He thought that even opening his eyes was a waste of energy.

In the torture room, the wild dog was stimulated by an increasing level of hunger and erupted with an ever greater strength. Small cracks had started to appear in the iron rods buried deep in the ground.

According to this trend, it likely wouldn’t be too long before it could pull out the iron rods and enjoy a feast of fresh blood and meat.

The wild dog licked its lips and howled as it struggled forward again and again. Each time it was held back by its shackles and even its bones creaked beneath the force.

More cracks appeared on the ground even as they grew larger.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. The entire metal block was torn out from the broken ground, followed by a rain of stone and dirt. The wild dog’s neck hairs had already been rubbed off and blood oozed from the area due to the strength with which it pulled at the shackles. But now, its freedom was finally restored. It howled out in excitement and leapt forward, its mouth open as it aimed at Qin Yu’s neck.

Its immense hunting and killing experience informed it that this was the weakest and frailest point of a prey. As long as it tore open this area, a massive amount of delicious blood would flow out and it would enjoy its feast.

Hu –

Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly flashed open. His arms that were restored to freedom were like giant iron columns that smashed into the pouncing wild dog.

Kacha –

The wild dog’s spine broke in half as it bent in an overly exaggerated manner. It smashed into a wall and slowly fell to the ground, turned into a lump of ruined flesh.

Qin Yu closed his eyes. His entire body was like a fish just taken out from the water. His robes were completely drenched in sweat as they clung tightly to him.

Every breath was difficult. Every time his chest rose up and down, it was like countless knives were carving away at him inside. The pain caused his consciousness to blur every time.

At this moment, the secret door connecting to the torture room suddenly opened from the outside. A pleasant and flattering voice rang out, “Lord Evil Ghost, the Monster Raising Mystic Art has been found. Lord Xu has some other matters he needs you to process.”

After waiting a moment and not obtaining a response, this Black Demon Sect cultivator raised his courage and walked into the torture room. Then, he cried out in alarm.

As Qin Yu heard this, his consciousness blurred and he fell unconscious.

But, this period of unconsciousness was soon interrupted by a bucket of ice cold water poured over his head. Qin Yu awakened with a cough.

“You were the one who killed Evil Ghost?” A young cultivator asked. He had a fair and clear appearance and he was trimming his nails with a small knife. His eyes were calm and indifferent.

Qin Yu’s first thought was to wonder whether all the interrogating cultivators of this Black Demon Sect were freaks that had behaviors and personalities completely different from their looks. Then, his complexion turned ugly. This was because the ending of being eaten up by someone else wasn’t a good one at all.

The young cultivator smiled. “My name is Xu Sheng. I am one of the people in charge of this dungeon; you can call me Steward Xu if you want. Don’t worry, I am not a freak like Evil Ghost. I have absolutely zero interest in eating human flesh at all. But, allow me to kindly advise you that the faster you answer my questions, the better it will be.” action

Qin Yu didn’t doubt that a person who could become a steward of this underground dungeon must have numerous ways to make a person feel despair. He simply said, “I killed him.”

A single sentence caused his ears to ring and his thoughts to shake.

He hadn’t recovered from his injuries yet but he had been forced to stimulate his body to forcefully erupt twice. His present condition was much worse than when he first entered the dungeon.

Xu Sheng smiled. “Very good. Since you are so straightforward, I won’t waste your time.” He lifted his hand and five knives howled out, flying above his fingertips. “Evil Ghost might have been a freak, but he was still my disciple. Since you killed him, as a teacher I can’t do nothing.

“Evil Ghost was a cannibal that liked to eat human flesh, but I like to dissect. Rest assured that I will speed this up…an hour from now, you will find peace.”

Hum –

The five small knives released a small cry and gave off a bright silver light. At this time, there was a sudden knock on the door. Xu Sheng frowned and asked, “What is it?”

“Steward Xu, Grandmaster Yao from the alchemy room has sent someone here to look for ten people to test medicines. We are lacking people in the prison right now, so we need a decision from you.” A cultivator respectfully said from outside the door.

Xu Sheng’s pupils shrank and his fingers wavered a little. The five humming knives gradually calmed down. He smiled and said, “Little brat, your luck isn’t too bad. Since Grandmaster Yao needs people, then whether or not you can live on will depend on your luck.

“Come in. Carry this criminal away and give him to Grandmaster Yao.”

The Black Demon Sect cultivator pushed open the door. He picked up Qin Yu, bowed, and left.

A moment later, Qin Yu and nine other criminals were brought out from the dungeon. As a white-haired wrinkled cultivator heard that he was being brought to Grandmaster Yao to test medicines, his originally dazed eyes instantly filled with fear!

“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go!

“Please kill me! I beg you to kill me!

“I don’t want to be used to test medicines!”

The sad and pitiful screams were filled with despair, causing the other medicine testing criminals to shiver.

One of the Black Demon Sect cultivators coldly shouted, “Shut him up!”

Another person immediately punched that criminal’s mouth, breaking his teeth and even severing his tongue. The old man struggled on the floor as he cried but he was dragged forward, leaving a series of bloody footprints on the ground.

Soon, the ten criminals were brought into a distant courtyard. The courtyard had ten iron cages. Several gloomy-looking cultivators were already waiting here.

The Black Demon Sect cultivators hurriedly said, “Everyone, we have brought the criminals here.”

Near an iron cage, the leading cultivator with a blue face frowned as he looked over everyone. He said with a disappointed voice, “How come they are all old, weak, sick, or disabled? This sort of experimental data won’t even count at all! Your dungeon actually dares to be so careless about Grandmaster Yao’s orders? I will make sure to report you all!”

The escorting cultivator forced a smile. “It’s just that the dungeon has been lacking criminals these past days. We’ve had to expend a great deal of effort to gather these ten together.” As he spoke he walked over and casually handed over a storage ring. “I ask senior-apprentice brother to please say some kind words in front of Grandmaster Yao for us. Don’t make things hard for us unimportant and small people.”

The blue-faced cultivator swept through the ring with his divine sense and then put it away. His expression relaxed, “Since there is a good reason, I’m sure Grandmaster Yao will understand it. Alright, it’s not early anymore. Let’s hurry and begin.”

“Yes, yes, send in the criminals! Hurry up!” The escorting cultivator was overjoyed as he turned and shouted out.

Qin Yu was shoved into a cage. As the cage closed, the blue-faced cultivator lifted his hand and took out a jade bottle. “Every person takes one pill. Obediently eat it. It’s best if you don’t cause trouble.”

Looking at the dirty black pill in his hand, Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. He swallowed it down.

There were many people that did the same as him. But there were also three other people that struggled and cried, not willing to cooperate at all.

But soon, these three people all had mouths filled with blood. After losing some teeth, they also swallowed these pills into their stomachs.

As the pills fell into their stomachs, they soon turned into an icy cold strength that pierced through their flesh and blood, sweeping through their entire bodies. It made one feel as if they had fallen into an eternal cave of ice. Then, without warning, this cold strength turned into countless thorns of ice that stabbed deeply through them.

“Ahh!”

Shrill screams rang out through the entire courtyard. The escorting Black Demon Sect cultivators had already left. The only ones left were the blue-faced cultivators who were closely observing the effects of the pills and making all sorts of detailed records.

The moment pain erupted, a warm current flowed through Qin Yu’s limbs without warning. It wrapped around the toxins, forcing them all into the index finger of his right hand.

Several breaths of time later, all of the poison had been expelled. Qin Yu revealed a happy expression. As he hoped, after the little blue lamp had become the incarnation of a giant sun in the distant space, it was still able to maintain a connection with him. And dispelling virulent poisons had always been its specialty!

But on the surface, he revealed a pained expression on his face. He howled in pain and misery, making sure his appearance was no different from the nine other people’s.

Soon, the pitiful cries began to die down. Some people seemed to be in a state as frail as silk threads. Some other people had already turned into icy cold corpses.

A blue-faced cultivator coldly said, “Throw away the dead ones. Take out the living ones and inspect them. Find out the reasons they survived.”