Chapter Sixteen: The Deal of Old Man Xiao Meng

  Just as the snow lion was about to catch up, a paw came crashing down. Da Wei let out an angry roar and, no longer able to bear the pain in his leg, frantically rolled to one side. This roll may have looked awkward, but it managed to avoid the fatal swipe. Seeing the snow lion swiping at him again, Da Wei rolled once more, dodging two steps back. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head, as if he had bumped into the stone pedestal. In his haste, Da Wei took a quick glance and realized that the darkness had obscured his view - the space beneath the pedestal was empty, just large enough for someone to crawl into; it was just that his head had collided with a stone pillar earlier.

  Having seen the situation, Da Yi quickly used his hands and feet to climb inside, in just a few moves he reached the innermost part. This place was big enough for one person to hide, it seemed that the people of Shu Mountain had already thought of this, if there were disciples who were worried about their lives during the trial, they could hide down here.

  At this time, the Snow Lion was growling continuously outside, seemingly with a sense of unwillingness. Da Bi escaped from danger and felt severe pain in his legs, so he cursed loudly: "Damn beast, I'll skin you alive and stew you into soup."

  He scolded a few times, feeling exhausted and unbearable pain, and involuntarily closed his eyes to rest, no longer paying attention to the snow lion. The space under the stone platform was narrow, and even if the snow lion shrank several times smaller, it still couldn't get in.

  He waited for a while, and suddenly felt something touching his calf, and was startled. He hurriedly opened his eyes to take a look, and saw a fluffy paw stretching in from the outside. It turned out that the Snow Lion Beast was extremely intelligent, and was learning from humans by lying on the ground and stretching one of its paws into the gap under the stone pedestal, wanting to pull out Da Yun.

  He angrily scolded and was about to take out his short sword to cut off the Snow Lion's paw. He took out his short sword, just waiting for an opportunity, but saw the Snow Lion's thick and sharp claws swaying back and forth beside a stone pillar. Da Yun suddenly had an idea, put away his short sword, and quietly poured magic into the Demon-Beheading Bead from his wrist. After a moment, the Snow Lion's paw probed inward again, and at this time, a golden light flashed, and the Demon-Beheading Bead had just trapped the Snow Lion's paw on the stone pillar.

  The snow lion was trapped, and Tai Yin hurriedly urged his magic power again. The demon-repelling jade became tighter and tighter in an instant. The snow lion was shocked and kept shaking its paws to struggle free from the demon-repelling jade, but no matter what it did, it couldn't escape due to Tai Yin's powerful magic. Seeing that the snow lion was trapped, Tai Yin climbed out from the other side. Taking advantage of the snow lion's inability to move, Tai Yin infused his magic power into his short sword and slowly walked towards the snow lion, aiming at its vulnerable spot under the ribs and thrusting it in.

  This sword was a full-force blow, directly piercing the heart. Seeing the Snow Lion struggling constantly, roaring at him several times, its eyes showing fierce anger and fear, in an instant, the Snow Lion gradually calmed down, gasping for breath, and finally stopped breathing. Dabai lay on the ground for a while, then got up and dug open the Snow Lion's skull, taking out the demon dan. At this time, he only felt that his legs and back were hurting badly, making some simple bandages, limping and walking to the exit of the trial grounds.

  As soon as Da Yun walked out of the Blood Refining Valley, he completed his trial. At the exit, there were already dozens of disciples waiting, some of whom seemed to have been waiting for a long time. Da Yun was taken aback, thinking that although he had delayed himself by killing the demon beast and taking its demon core, how could so many Shu Mountain disciples be faster than him? Moreover, looking at these people, almost no one was injured, and many of them were spotless, as if they hadn't even gotten a speck of mud on their clothes. This was also quite strange. Some Shu Mountain disciples saw Da Yun's disheveled appearance, covered in blood, and couldn't help but reveal a mocking expression, implying that these Shu Mountain disciples were far superior to this unknown little brat.

  There is a special person in charge of applying medicine to the injured disciples. Seeing that the injury was quite serious, one of them casually said: "How did you get such a heavy scratch? As long as you don't provoke the demon beast, it's still easy to pass the trial field."

  Dai Wu suddenly understood, the demon beasts placed in the trial grounds were meant for the disciples to find a way to pass through, not to kill them. However, no one had explicitly told him this. After applying medicine to his wounds, Dai Wu's pain subsided significantly. The elder in charge of the trial then announced the names of the winning disciples and rewarded each with a demon pellet. Dai Wu was not among the winners, so he left alone, limping back to the wooden hut near the mountain gate.

  Dai Yun took out the Snow Lion's demon pill and handed it to Xiao Meng Lao Dao. The old man saw that Dai Yun was covered in injuries and was stunned for a moment, then looked at the demon pill several times, furrowing his brow and saying: "How is this the Snow Lion's demon pill? This is a rare thing."

  Dai Wen directly said that he had killed the Snow Lion, and Xiao Meng Lao Dao listened to it with an unusual expression on his face. He smiled secretly and said: "That is a demon beast that my fellow disciple Lei Ze has been domesticating for many years. If he finds out, I'm afraid he will be furious."

  Xiao Meng Dao Ren sneered, "You little brat's brain isn't very bright, is it? If a small junior disciple like you can't even handle the trial, then let the disciples of our sect kill the demonic beast. Even if Mount Shu breeds countless demonic beasts, they won't be enough to kill."

  Dai Yun remained silent, his face twisted in anger. Xiao Meng Lao Dao's expression was one of schadenfreude as he chuckled and said, "Heh heh, young man, you've gotten yourself into big trouble."

  At this time, footsteps suddenly came from outside, a group of people rushed in, and a young man pointed at Da Yun: "But you killed the Snow Lion. At the beginning of the trial, you were running in the front, but later you left the trial field last."

  Dai Yun recognized the man as Ji Qi, who was the fastest during the trial except for himself. Before Dai Yun could respond, Xiao Meng shouted: "What are you, daring to shout and yell in my place?"

  A middle-aged man hastily stepped forward and said, "So it's Master Xiaomeng. I apologize for the discourtesy, but this young man killed Xue Shi, and we've come to ask him about it."

  Xiao Meng Dao Ren said: "Can you see with your own eyes that he killed? If there is no real evidence, hurry up and leave, don't disturb me."

  The crowd present was originally in a state of agitation, but after the old Taoist said this, they suddenly looked at each other in dismay. The young disciple added: "Xue Shi's demon pill has been dug away, search his body and you will know."

  Xiao Meng Dao Ren just let out a cold laugh.

  A middle-aged Taoist made a gesture, and several young disciples went up to search the old man's body. Seeing that they couldn't find the demon pill, everyone saw the old Taoist Xiameng's face turn angry, so they had to make a courtesy call and leave.

  As the crowd dispersed, Dà Yī glanced at Lǎo Dao, who was just a mysterious outsider and didn't know why he had just defended him. Xiǎo Mèng Lǎo Dao seemed to see through Dà Yī's thoughts and said in an eerie tone: "I'm not helping you, kid. Just thinking about that old guy Léi Zé's furious face makes me incredibly happy. And now that the Snow Lion Demon Dan is in my hands, do you think I'd still hand it over?"

  Since he had already obtained the demon pill for Lao Dao and fulfilled his promise, Da Yun thought of leaving immediately. He clasped his fists and said: "Senior, can I leave now?"

  "The old man just said: 'Whether you leave or stay is none of my business.'"

  Dai Wen felt a chill in his heart, so he cupped his hands and pushed the door to leave. After leaving the wooden house and walking a few steps, he saw several people gathered at the mountain gate, who were the same group of people who had come to the door earlier. The young man leading them was that disciple named Ji Qi. It seemed that Snow Lion's affair was not over yet, and they were just waiting for him to come out and settle accounts with him. Dai Wen sighed secretly, as an outsider getting involved in the right and wrong of Shu Mountain, it seemed that he couldn't escape being bullied by others.

  At this time, the old Taoist in the wooden house suddenly said: "Little boy, stop, if you don't have any urgent business, how about we do another deal?"

  Dai Yun's heart was unhappy and he didn't bother to respond. The old Taoist said again, "If you agree to help me with one more thing, I can help you achieve the Golden Elixir."

  Dai Wen listened and his heart was immediately stirred. He had already had a hundred years of Dao cultivation and had thought about refining the elixir, but he had never had the chance to try it. After refining the elixir, he reached the first realm, and his strength increased greatly, not to mention the many unspeakable benefits. Dai Wen couldn't resist the temptation and asked: "What do you want me to help you with?"

  Xiao Meng Dao Ren: "Still an errand, you go to Kunlun Mountain and help me dig a small piece of Bu Tian Shi back."

  He thought for a moment, feeling that this matter was not very dangerous and the transaction was a good deal, so he turned around and walked back, but intentionally pretended to be difficult and said: "Senior, you're speaking lightly, Kunlun Mountain is at least ten thousand miles away from here, and there are monsters and ghosts on the road. I'm afraid it will take more than ten years to return."

  The old man rolled his eyes and said in a mysterious tone, "You just know how to talk nonsense. To Kunlun is only over 3,000 miles away. With our full speed, we can get there in three days. Are you going or not? If not, I'll find someone else."

  "However, you must first help me refine the elixir. Otherwise, with my current level of cultivation, it will likely take over a dozen days to return."

  The old man's face revealed a hint of mockery, and he said: "I thought you were trying to haggle with me for some benefit, but your skin is still too thin. Let me tell you, I was prepared to help you condense your dan from the start, otherwise, with your meager dao skills, you wouldn't be able to ascend Kunlun Mountain."

  Dai Yan was ridiculed by Lao Dao, his face couldn't help but turn red, but he secretly rejoiced in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he asked sideways: "Is it enough to have just a small piece of the Bu Tian Stone? If Senior wants to refine a jade pendant, why look for the Bu Tian Stone?"

  The old man said casually: "I know you want to know what the Supplementing Heaven Stone is used for, it's nothing to tell you, that thing can be refined into a weapon, much stronger than crystal iron."

  Dai Wen heard this and his heart moved, the short sword he used was too shabby, he himself needed to supplement Tian Shi to refine his weapons, thinking of this he no longer hesitated and agreed at once.

  Xiao Meng Dao Ren pulled out a worn-out dan furnace from the corner, and found a dirty cloth bag, rummaging through it to grab a few medicinal herbs. The wooden house was in disarray, but the old Daoist managed to clear a small area in the middle, gesturing for Da Yun to sit down cross-legged on the floor. The old Daoist carelessly stuffed some things into the broken dan furnace, even adding the Xue Shi Yao Dan, and finally handed it over to Da Yun, saying: "I told you to do it, first help me refine a furnace of dan before we talk."

  The old Taoist put the Snow Lion Demon Dan into the alchemy furnace, and Dahai was shocked in his heart. He had to admit that he had never refined any elixirs before. The old Taoist didn't say anything else and just let Dahai do as he said. Dahai practiced the most common fire-based Taoist method, which the old Taoist called a "garbage" method, but fortunately, it was easy to refine elixirs with this method, so there was no need to add more practice. This furnace of elixir was refined extremely meticulously, and it took two days and nights to complete. During this time, Xiaomeng Taoist kept explaining the process, and on the third day, when they opened the furnace, they indeed refined an elixir. Dahai had been using his spiritual power to transform his heart fire to refine the elixir, and he was so exhausted that he lay down on the ground.

  Xiao Mengdao handed a black-red elixir to Da Yun, saying very seriously: "This elixir is for you. When you arrive at Kunlun, find a quiet place to take it and use your inner fire to dissolve it. The medicinal properties will naturally merge with the Purple Mansion, and who knows, maybe you'll even form an elixir on the way up the mountain."

  He was shocked to find that the painstakingly refined elixir was actually for his own consumption. Taking the black, shiny pellet, Da Wei's mind was filled with doubts. He had just witnessed the old Daoist randomly grabbing things from a dirty cloth bag and throwing them into the furnace, which was also an old, broken thing carelessly discarded in the house. He had seen elixirs being refined before, but they were always carefully stored in jade bottles or wooden boxes. Da Wei couldn't help but wonder if this elixir was just a deception, and if taking it would have no effect, but if it harmed him and ruined his cultivation, that would be disastrous.

  The old Taoist said, "You can go now, hurry up and come back quickly, don't make an old man wait." As he spoke, the old Taoist fell to the ground and began snoring loudly. Da Yi wanted to ask more questions, but thought that if he did, he would probably be scolded again, so it was better not to ask.

  Helplessly sizing up the dan medicine, he finally carefully put it away. The old Taoist's words about refining the dan were reasonable, and for now, he could only believe him once again.

  After sitting for a while, Da Yi left the wooden house and went straight out of the mountain gate. He left Mount Shu and headed northwest.