Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu instantly let go. He took a step back, his body tensed and ready to respond.

Everything remained tranquil.

The orchid gently swayed in the breeze, its fragrance carried on the wind.

Qin Yu said, "What is it?"

"The smell of a contract!" Old Turtle's voice tightened, "Just now when master grabbed it, I could feel the power of a contract.

"If you take the orchid, it will belong to you. Then, that will tacitly open up a contract…I have no idea what the contents of the contract are, but it is better if you don't test it."

Qin Yu keenly grasped the key of the matter, "What are you afraid of?"

Old Turtle might fear death, but he was still a shadow of the abyss and was certain to have all sorts of mysterious and formidable abilities.

Common methods were useless against him. Unless there was real ability, even if Old Turtle thrust out his head to be cut off by someone, they could forget trying to harm him.

Old Turtle might fear death, but first someone had to have the capital to make him feel fear.

Now, Qin Yu could feel fear in Old Turtle's emotions.

"I don't dare to hide this from master. The smell of that contract made me feel a formidable threat, so I reminded you not to try it.

"Nothing in this courtyard can be touched. If these things have appeared here, there has to be a secret behind it all!"

Qin Yu's complexion grew dignified and he couldn't help but feel dread as he thought back to the two lions outside the courtyard doors. He was lucky enough not to touch them, otherwise things would have become troublesome.

As he thought, there wasn't a need to even think about things like rewards after clearing a test. Even if they did exist, it was just hidden poison bait!

Since he had determined that this courtyard wasn't a good place, it meant that no matter how many treasures there were, it was meaningless.

Qin Yu decided to leave. He tightened his grip on the unconscious Yun Shi on his back and started to search for an exit.

The first thing he did was to exit back through the doors. But the passage he came from had disappeared.

A bamboo forest surrounded the courtyard. The forest was shrouded in fog, and the fog became thicker and thicker until everything was covered up.

Like the dark of night, it was impossible to see one's fingers even if they were placed right in front of one's head.

Qin Yu's figure flickered and he rushed into the bamboo forest. The moment he stepped into the fog his complexion changed.

This fog was poisonous!

And the most terrifying thing was that it was drawn to the aura of life. In other words, any living being that entered would be attacked by the poison.

If it was just Qin Yu then this poison wouldn't be anything too serious to him. But he had the comatose Yun Shi on his back. Her situation was poor to begin with, and if poisons intruded into her body, the consequences could be imagined.

Unless he didn't care about her life and death, then going into the fog and finding a way to leave was impossible.

Shua -

Qin Yu withdrew from the fog and laid Yun Shi down. Her face was already turning pale.

This was a sign of poison invading her body!

It took a great deal of strength for Qin Yu to dissolve the poison. When he put Yun Shi on his back again, he looked back at the wide open entrance of the courtyard.

He could only go in and find a solution there.

Qin Yu spent a day walking through the entire courtyard. As he expected, treasures were everywhere. He could close his eyes and randomly reach out to obtain a harvest.

But no matter how many treasures there were or how good they seemed, with Old Turtle's warning in mind, Qin Yu never touched them.

But good things were right near his lips and their scent was tempting. He could only withstand it…the feeling of this wasn't any better.

The only thing that Qin Yu felt gratified about was that this courtyard was safe. There really were no dangers here.

At the very least, he hadn't encountered any troubles so far.

But there was no way out. The giant courtyard only had the main front doors to enter and exit from.

No to mention a side door or back door, there wasn't even a door for dogs.

When he returned to the entrance, Qin Yu looked at the courtyard doors with a thoughtful expression.

With such a massive courtyard and so many treasure stacked here, it was impossible for them to be prepared for him alone.

The cultivators that tried to encircle and kill him outside the mountain on that day should have entered the labyrinth after him.

Qin Yu's eyes brightened.

Perhaps all he could do right now was wait.

Other cultivators would arrive here soon!

He had received a warning from Old Turtle, so he was able to discover the fluctuations of the contract inherent in these treasures and thus resist his inner desire to take them.

But the cultivators that came after might not be able to achieve this.

As long as they touched the things in this courtyard, a change would definitely occur.

And once that change occurred, he might be able to find a way to leave.

Qin Yu closed the front doors and then spent half a day erasing the rest of his traces from the courtyard.

Then, he pushed open a firewood storage shed in the backyard, closed the door, and took Yun Shi to hide behind a pile of firewood.

Qin Yu had come here before and carefully checked it. Compared to other places, this area was very 'barren'.

Besides some wood logs piled up around, there were only some scattered flowers and plants in the backyard, and all of them were relatively worthless. Even if someone came here, they wouldn't be interested in the firewood storage shed.

Qin Yu put Yun Shi down and started to make some preparations. With a touch of his fingers, their auras vanished from sight.

He sat down cross-legged and looked outside. He muttered to himself, "I hope people come here quickly."

…

The cultivators that followed behind were much slower than Qin Yu imagined. He waited a full two days but no one arrived.

However, during these two days, he wasn't without harvests.

He stared at a certain blue brick on the ground and furrowed his eyebrows, a hint of surprise on his face. He never thought that he would find unexpected harvests even when hiding in such a place.

Of course, he had no idea what it was exactly, but there was something there, and it was under that blue brick.

Because it was actually empty.

If it weren't for Qin Yu just happening to choose this firewood shed and hiding behind this pile of firewood, and then just happening to step on this brick…yes, it was such a coincidence.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it, whether it was seen by the naked eye or perceived by one's divine sense, but the sound it made when it was stepped on was different.

This strange and eerie courtyard was filled with countless treasures, all of them contaminated with the smell of a contract that caused Old Turtle to feel fear. Qin Yu was aware that he couldn't touch anything.

But he really was curious about what was hidden beneath the floor brick.

He had Old Turtle carefully check it. After it was determined that there was nothing wrong with the brick itself, he hesitated and clenched his teeth.

He easily picked up the brick. It was heavier than he imagined. After shaking it a few times, he could hear a banging within.

It was inside the brick!

"Master, you must be careful! You have to be careful!" Old Turtle said with a tense expression, already cursing a hundred times in his heart.

How old was he? Why was he still so curious? Didn't he know that this kind of thing could easily kill others? Old Turtle was simply left speechless!

You are living well and fine right now, isn't that enough?

Qin Yu took a deep breath. Exerting a bit of strength, the brick was crushed into pieces. A sphere fell out. It was like an iron lump that had been buried in the ground for countless years. The surface was badly rusted, mixed with a dark red and a deep yellow color.

"Have you checked this?"

"Master, I have looked at it eight times. There really is no smell of a contract on it."

The good news was confirmed. This thing was different from the other treasures in the courtyard and wasn't contaminated with that unknown and terrifying contract.

Qin Yu succeeded in obtaining it. The first thought he had was that this thing was heavier than it seemed. No wonder that brick was so heavy.

Then, he thought it felt ordinary.

There was no reaction at all, as if it really was just a rusted iron lump.

But that didn't make sense.

Who would be so bored as to hide a piece of iron in a brick inside the firewood shed as if it was a treasure?

No matter what script or novel plot this was, this was the appropriate beginning to the appearance of a great treasure.

It definitely wasn't this simple!

Qin Yu tried to pour in his magic power. Then, like a stone thrown in a sea, there was no response at all.

This result caused Qin Yu's eyes to brighten…there really was a problem!

If it was truly just an ordinary lump of iron then it would have been crushed to pieces by the influx of magic power. If it could absorb magic power, that meant there was another mystery to it. And from how it ate magic power without showing any reaction, it was obviously unusual.

Qin Yu continued to pour magic power into it. At the beginning he had some scruples that it might not be able to withstand it, so he deliberately controlled himself.

But as time passed, the iron lump swallowed an unknown amount of magic power but still produced no change.

What else was there to say about this? He rolled up his sleeves and desperately poured his magic power into it. He didn't believe that it was really a bottomless pit.

Two hours passed.

Four hours passed.

Six hours passed…there was still no reaction.

Qin Yu opened his eyes, his complexion pale. His forehead was covered in a cold sweat.

He still had magic power, but it was less than half. He didn't dare to fall into a weakened state in this courtyard.

Looking at the iron lump that still maintained its original appearance, Qin Yu felt his head hurt. With his current cultivation, the richness of his magic power far surpassed what other ordinary God boundary cultivators could hope to compare with. Yet he tossed half of his magic power inside and there was not a single splash.

But the more things were like this, the more it proved that the iron lump wasn't ordinary. Plots wouldn't lie; this was truly the grand debut of a great treasure.

He started to restore his magic power.

At this time, Qin Yu couldn't help but start missing the two spirit stone lions outside the entrance. If he had them, why would he need to go through so much trouble? He could just hug one and his magic power would be restored.

After waiting for his magic power to finally recover, he picked up the iron lump and continued. But when his magic power dropped below the halfway point again, there was still no change.

Then, he began to restore himself and think about the spirit stone lions once more.

This went back and forth. Seven or eight times later, Qin Yu started to feel dumb. He even began to wonder if he was doing something wrong. The magic power he had put out was enough to blow apart an Origin God several times over.

But there was still no reaction at all!

He considered giving up, but he tossed away this thought. His stubbornness had been activated by this iron lump.

He didn't believe that as a proud man who even ventured deep into the abyss, he wasn't able to deal with this little thing.

But as Qin Yu was full of vigor and ready to cause trouble with this iron lump, the thick fog outside the courtyard started to condense into a channel. It was the only way in or out of here.

Soon, a cultivator stepped out.

His appearance was pitiful. Half of his body was withered as if his flesh and blood had been sucked out. And one arm had disappeared.

When he flew out of the passage he spat out several mouthfuls of blood. But his back was still straight, and terrifying sword intent surged around him.

Transcendent Sword Sect's Soaring Sky!