Chapter 171: Another world
The light of the flame inside the alchemy cauldron soared into the sky. Lin Mu Yu used his battle qi to the peak, turning it all into fire energy for the cauldron, unceasingly increasing the flame and refining the hundred pound stone at the bottom of the cauldron. The Purgatory Flame wildly burned as it roared, filling the entire chamber with heat. Lin Mu Yu tightly knit his straight brows as his forehead was covered in sweat that flowed down across his cheeks.
"It won't work….."
After around two hours, he let out a soft sigh as he slowly decreased his battle qi. The flame in the cauldron slowly burned out as Lin Mu Yu said while heavily panting, "This stubborn stone is too mysterious, there is a power inside that rejects the refining every time I try. I haven't been able to smelt this Nine Heavens Spiritual Iron at all."
Lulu flew out of his sea of consciousness. She flapped her wings in the night as she said, "Big brother, it is hard to refine the Nine Heavens Spiritual Iron even with the fifth layer flames. How about….giving up?"
"No, I want to keep trying….."
"Don't force yourself too much!"
"Un!"
Lin Mu Yu was naturally born to not believe impossibilities, so he raised his true qi to continue refining the Nine Heavens Spiritual Iron, but even after an entire night, he still could not do it. He actually found it harder and harder to refine the stone because his battle qi was being exhausted. By early morning, he was filled with exhaustion. He had no other way, he could only wash up and sleep!
Waking up in the afternoon, he did not try again. He rode into Orchid Goose City by himself and headed to the temple to deliver the Azure Nether Stone Ring to Lei Hong!
He first took a detour to the Imperial Capital Store to give the one hundred bottles of dreaming of the peak to Jin Xiao Tang. The average price of a bottle of dreaming of the peak was at least five thousand and up, so if nothing unexpected happened, these one hundred bottles should bring him around forty thousand gold coins which need to be properly used. Lin Mu Yu came from a business family, so he knew the market would be saturated and it would be hard to continue selling dreaming of the peak after these one hundred bottles were sold. After all, there were only a few people that could afford to spend five thousand gold coins on a bottle of medicine, so no one will be able to afford it after these people buy their share. At that point, there will be no market for this product anymore.
He immediately headed to the temple right after. In the winter day, the war horse gave a snort. When he arrived in front of the temple, there were several groups of guards that were about to head home after performing their patrol around the temple. When they saw Lin Mu Yu on his horse, they immediately surrounded him with faces filled with excitement. They said with a smile, "Sir Lin Mu Yu is back….."
"Un, is everything still good with the temple?" Lin Mu Yu asked with a smile.
"It is very good. Is sir Lin Mu Yu looking for the great deacon?"
"That's right, is that old man inside the main hall?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Alright."
After entering the temple and looking into the distance, the practice was filled with the sounds of roaring and hitting as sparring masters and teachers were currently practicing. Lin Mu Yu suddenly remembered his promise to Lei Hong to come back to the temple every half a month to be a sparring master. Time had passed so quickly and if it wasn't for the snow in the Seeking Dragon Forest delaying him, he would have been back already.
"Big Brother Lin Zhi!"
A person suddenly charged out of the training hall with a sword in his hand. It was Qin Yan.
Lin Mu Yu couldn't help smile, "It's young prince Qin Yan, why haven't you changed your address yet? I'm called Lin Mu Yu here."
"Ah ha, I forgot."
Qin Yan scratched his head as he said with an awkward smile, "Big brother, did you come back to the temple to be a sparring master again? Qin Yan hasn't sparred with big brother in a while, we must have a spar when you have the chance!"
"Un, alright. I need to look for great deacon Lei Hong about a matter first. Young prince Qin Yan can wait for me for a bit and I'll come find you later."
"Alright, come back quickly big brother!"
"Un."
On the water side corridor to the main hall, Ge Yang was walking by like an old dragon. There were scrolls in his hands as he narrowed his eyes to look into the distance. He revealed a smile and said, "Ah Yu, you're back?"
"Un, grandpa Ge Yang, can you take me to see the great deacon?"
"Let's go. The great deacon is in the main hall cultivating!"
"Un, alright."
Opening the door to the main hall, there were two temple guards inside while Lei Hong was sitting on the great deacon chair in the center. He had a serious expression as his body was surrounded by battle qi. He was currently cultivating a unknown divine art, but he felt two strong powers suddenly entering the main hall. He opened his eyes and said with a smile, "Ah Yu, you're finally willing to come back to the temple?"
Lin Mu Yu cupped his hand and said with a smile, "Lin Mu Yu greats grandpa great deacon!"
"Hei, you brat!"
Lei Hong had a gentle expression as he said with a smile, "I heard that you obtained great merit in Deer Cry Court. You were promoted to a Wandering Dragon General and was even adopted as a son by his majesty!"
Lin Mu Yu was stunned before saying, "An adopted son is just a title, it doesn't have any meaning. Grandpa Lei Hong shouldn't tease me about this kind of stuff!"
"It's like this….." Lei Hong narrowed his eyes before smiling as he said, "A title is still fine after all, your name is still in the genealogy of the Qin Clan. Although it won't open any roads, it is still an honour, one that people can't ask to obtain in their entire life, so cherish it. The Qin Family has ruled the continent for several thousand years, always being generous and benevolent, so joining the Qin Clan can be considered good fortune."
"Un, I understand." Lin Mu Yu revealed a smile, "The main reason for returning to the temple this time was to give the great deacon a gift."
"Oh, a gift?"
Lei Hong's eyes lit up as he said with a smile, "What present is Ah Yu giving grandpa?"
Lin Mu Yu took out the Azure Nether Stone Ring from the Qiankun Bag and held it in his palm. The black turtle refined soul lit up from within the ring and let out a low roar. He moved forward and said with a smile, "It's this. Does the great deacon like it?"
When Lei Hong received the ring, he felt the power of the refined soul. His eyes instantly popped open as he said in a surprised voice, "Ah Yu, this is…..This is a Sacred Weapon?"
Lin Mu Yu shook his head, "Because I don't know the ranks of accessories, I'm not sure if it's a Sacred Weapon or not. Anyway, it's good that the great deacon likes it."
"I do, of course I do!"
Lei Hong almost couldn't bear putting it down as he said, "Where did this ring come from? Ah Yu, how did you make it? Grandpa has always wanted to ask you, where did your forging skills come from?"
Lin Mu Yu shook his head and revealed a smile, "Grandpa shouldn't ask about this, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."
"Oh?" Lei Hong narrowed his eyes into a smile, "For example?"
Lin Mu Yu's lips curled, "For example, if I said I was from another world, would grandpa believe me?"
Lei Hong was first stunned before he broke out in laughter, "Ah Yu, don't joke with an old man like me. Another world, how could there be another world? Other than this place, there is only the heavens and hell. The three realms is an ancient law, how could you come from another world?"
Lin Mu Yu laughed and said, "So I said I couldn't explain it. Grandpa should just treat it as a joke. This ring is called the 'Azure Nether Stone Ring'. The Azure Nether Stone is very hard and can't be destroyed. After I used a 9700 year old black turtle spirit stone to refine the beast soul into the ring, it now has the ability to protect its master. The great deacon should take proper care of it!"
Lei Hong pulled the ring over his thumb as he said with a smile, "Un, I will. Thanks Ah Yu! How about you stay here tonight and eat dinner in the temple?"
"No need, I still have some matters to take care of in the Falcon's Nest."
"That's right, when are you going to come to the temple to be a sparring master. It's still fifteen days."
"Ah ha, I'll come when there's a chance!"
"Humph, this brat already has a high rank, he already doesn't want to come back?" Lei Hong revealed a faint smile as he said, "Ah Yu, what stage are you at now? Come, let's try the test crystal and see what level you're at."
"Yes."
Lin Mu Yu walked the familiar path to the crystal plate and raised his battle qi to the peak with a sudden roar. Instantly his green gourd martial spirit surrounded him releasing a dazzling light. The crystal nearby also filled with light, causing six long and eight short lines appeared. The light was very bright and beautiful.
Ge Yang said on the side with a smile, "It seems like Ah Yu has already reached level sixty eight of the First Heaven Tier, close to reaching the peak of the First Heaven Tier. He just needs an opportunity and he'll be able to enter the Second Heaven Tier, allowing him to condense battle qi armour."
Lin Mu Yu was also stunned as he happily nodded. He never thought that after being in the Seeking Dragon Forest, being in Swordsman Hall, and after all the battles in Deer Cry Court, his strength would increase this quickly. It seems like he needed to find a good chance to break through, but what worried him was how to obtain a refining flame for the next layer of the alchemy cauldron. Not being able to smelt the Nine Heavens Spiritual Iron was a sore spot that had remained in his heart.
After saying goodbye to Lei Hong and Ge Yang, he held his prairie sword as he headed to the training hall. There was a deacon in charge of the morning training and he cupped his hands immediately when he saw Lin Mu Yu as he said, "Sir Lin Mu Yu!"
"Un, hello deacon Sun Shui."
The temple armour Lin Mu Yu wore was not that different from that of the gold and silver sparring masters, but the only difference was his military rank badge pinned to his collar. The golden purple yin flower released a beautiful glow that was very dazzling. This military rank badge symbolized rank in the army and was something those teachers and sparring masters could not compare to, so even the deacon would be courteous.
Soon after, Qin Yan came out from the training room. His body was covered in sweat as he said with a smile, "Big brother is back! Everyone come over, come over, I'm about to spar with big brother!"
Instantly, the various teachers and sparring masters walked out of the training rooms. After all, Lin Mu Yu was the number one sparring master of the temple and Qin Yan was someone worthy of being the number one teacher. The two of them comparing notes was naturally very attractive and many people did not know who would win, but they wanted to see how real experts used martial arts in combat. To real cultivators, the spectators were students secretly learning from masters.