Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 299 – Betting House

Weather Discussion Channel…since it was the weather, it naturally had to be broadcast every day. However, Columnist Weekly was a bit different. It was a program that only aired every seven days, and it invited well known characters from all over to discuss various topics occurring around the world. Because the arguments were sharp and profound, with perspectives from multiple sides provided, it was a program that gradually rose in popularity.

And today, around an hour before the broadcasting began, the viewer curve suddenly rose upwards like a rising dragon line. This caused everyone at Columnist Weekly to smile and laugh, all of them rubbing their palms together in anticipation for today’s events.

Philosophy Watch.

“Today is the day we bring down the inn and a new order to the universe arrives. Everyone has to do their best to expose their lies. After we return in glorious victory, I will personally ask the sect to grant higher authority to everyone here!” The purple-robed Elder said. He flung out his hand, “Let’s move!”

Hum –

The transmission array suddenly lit up, covering their figures. With a slight distortion, everyone vanished from sight.

Waterfall City.

Stood behind the chief alchemist were dozens of people. All of them had considerable status within the inn. Right now, they were willing to follow the chief alchemist and face insults and shame together.

The atmosphere was heavy and silent, filling with a deep anger and unwillingness. Within the crowd, Jin Cheng believed that as long as he could endure and overcome today’s humiliation, preserving the inn no matter the cost, then all of the tense and restrained atmosphere would transform into worship and trust towards him. At that time, he believed he would become the true ruler of the inn!

“Everyone. You and I only have one goal today – that is to protect the inn’s reputation to the greatest degree. No matter what price we pay, we must make the world’s people understand that our inn isn’t easily humiliated!”

“Yes!”

The chief alchemist’s footsteps were heavy. He was the first one to step into the transmission array. He maintained a solemn and respectful posture, and thus no one noticed that a black-robed figure had mixed into the crowd.

Qin Yu could feel a light pulling feeling all over his body. Darkness surged around him, and in the next moment his surroundings lit up again. He stood inside a beautifully decorated hall with someone waiting outside.

“Dear guests from the inn, you have come from far away and my Columnist Weekly is deeply grateful for your presence. Please take a short break; the program will soon begin broadcasting.” The one who spoke was a bald middle-aged man. His face was warm and genial. He passed over a jade slip, “This is the general show schedule. Please familiarize yourself with it. Then, I will say goodbye first.”

Although he was polite, he hadn’t even given his name or introduced himself. This in itself was the greatest disrespect and arrogance.

This was also normal. Philosophy Watch was originally one of the biggest patrons of the Weather Discussion Channel’s Columnist Weekly, moreover, everyone clearly knew that today was a calamity the inn would find hard to overcome. So who had time to pay attention to such things?

The chief alchemist raised a hand and suppressed the anger of the people behind him. “Don’t cause any trouble. Rest up.”

He lightly sighed. His eyes moved up 45 degrees to look at the sunlight streaming in from the windows. His expression was the personification of deep melancholy. At this moment, everyone could feel the helplessness and pain within the chief alchemist’s heart. Behind him, everyone was saddened and there were even a few female cultivators who started to sob in a quiet voice.

Qin Yu rolled his eyes.

Hey, these people don’t seem to have any confidence in me. I already gave you the Divine Blood Pill, yet you are all acting like this. You can’t even appraise pills correctly so what’s the point in being the chief alchemist? Hurry up and resign so someone more qualified can take your spot!

That’s right, Mister Qin was very unhappy with this chief alchemist. This was because when Aunty Hong said it, he confessed that he was still alright with it in his heart. But he hadn’t even met these people or seen these people before, and they were already besmirching his reputation and trying to get rid of him. Wasn’t this bullying just over the edge?

Qin Yu curled his lips and closed his eyes; the fun was still to come. The door was pushed open from outside and a cultivator from Columnist Weekly walked in. “Guests from the inn, the program is about to start. Please come with me.”

Jin Cheng was the first cultivator to walk out. His steps were slow and heavy and his complexion weighty. Behind him, those from the inn also had expressions and postures as if they didn’t fear death. This lent several points of tragedy to the whole scene.

The Columnist Weekly cultivator shrunk back, a cold chill running down his back. These people from the inn, they wouldn’t do something they shouldn’t do just because they were all in despair, right?

This isn’t good. I need to immediately inform the director and the other high level staff so that they can gather more security here just in case anything happens!

With a taut face, the Columnist Weekly cultivator brought everyone to the live broadcast studio. He squeezed out a smile, “This is the place. Please enter.”

Watching the inn cultivators enter, the Columnist Weekly cultivator’s eyes suddenly fell upon a black-robed figure. His body stiffened and a horrifying thought rose up in his heart: this must be a thug invited by the inn!

Yes, it had to be like this. Beneath that person’s black robes, they must be hiding an incomparably fierce and horrific appearance that looked like someone who could eat people alive. Or, he might have dozens of monster beast inner cores tied to his body. Once the program was underway, he would detonate them all so that he could bring down all his opponents in a cataclysm of fire.

A cold sweat dripped down the cultivator’s forehead. His robes suddenly turned wet and pasted to his body, causing him to subconsciously sway around. He couldn’t delay further; he had to report this now, immediately!

At this moment, the black-robed fellow suddenly stopped and turned, his eyes falling onto his body. The Columnist Weekly cultivator felt his heart come to a standstill, and his thoughts started to shake and rumble.

Damn it, did he discover me? What do I do? Should I strike first or pretend that I’m an idiot? If he attacks me…

All sorts of random thoughts filled his mind. But before they settled down, the black-robed figure looked away and strode directly into the live broadcast studio. The Columnist Weekly cultivator suddenly felt like the survivor of a disaster. He almost cried and then dashed away without hesitation.

Qin Yu frowned. When he turned back to look, he thought that this cultivator from Columnist Weekly was really too strange. Was there a problem with his head? So, when a massive number of security staff streamed into the live broadcast studio, he secretly sighed. Although that person was strange, their protective measures were quite good.

There was a change to the live broadcast studio. Seats were reserved for both sides. When a door on the other side of the studio opened, there were loud rustling sounds as a large number of cultivators walked in. The one leading them was the purple-robed Elder from Philosophy Watch. The Elder’s eyes fell on the chief alchemist and he gave a queer chuckle. “Jin Cheng, we haven’t seen each other for so many years, yet you remain as elegant as ever.”

These words were filled with a thick mocking undertone.

The chief alchemist’s face darkened. “Nangong! Is everything happening your scheming?”

The purple-robed Elder laughed. “I only made an opening move. Who knew you would all be so cooperative? Honestly, and don’t laugh at this, but everything that’s happened so far has completely surpassed my expectations.”

Behind him, those from Philosophy Watch laughed.

One of them was a thin old man who had the appearance of a corpse. He smiled and said, “I have seen that Divine Blood Pill already. I really admire your inn’s high standards!”

Everyone on the side of the inn flushed red, their eyes so hot that they could almost spit out flames. They all gnashed their teeth, grief and indignation in their heart. The people from Philosophy Watch hadn’t spoken incorrectly. With things having developed to this stage, they weren’t the main contributors behind it.

All sorts of vengeful thoughts rose in their minds, causing their complexions to become even uglier.

The chief alchemist shouted out, “Philosophy Watch…don’t be too excessive! Do you really think my inn can be freely insulted by anyone?” His angry shout was filled with a bit of momentum. The taunting laughs across from him were suddenly silenced.

Elder Nangong lifted a hand. “That’s enough. The fun has yet to begin. Save your energy first and then we’ll slowly see. Alchemist Xu, I’ll have to trouble you with the following appraisal.” He smiled proudly and led everyone to take a seat.

The corpse-like Old Xu coldly sneered. “Elder, rest assured that I will evaluate everything impartially!”

Before the live broadcast even began, there was a strong smell of gunpowder in the room. The program director was overjoyed and nervous at the same time, so he dispatched another group of security guards.

At this time, the studio lights turned off and only the stage was still lit up. The program host, Little Tan, hurried up. After a brief introduction they dove straight into the theme. “Lately, the network has been noisy and curious about the recent pill commission request. Now we can finally bring things to a conclusion. The Weather Discussion Channel has personally invited the inn who received the pill commission and the well-known pill business Philosophy Watch to join together today in appraising the Divine Blood Pill.”

As his voice fell, the camera caught close-up shots of the inn’s side and Philosophy Watch’s side.

The countless cultivators that couldn’t be present were already setting off waves on the network.

“The broadcast has finally begun! Hahahaha, a once-in-a-lifetime slapping is about to occur on stage and yet I don’t have any friends watching with me to appreciate it together. This is really one of my life’s greatest regrets!”

“Those people from Columnist Weekly are brutal; they gave close-ups of both sides. Looking at their expressions, it seems they already know the result.”

“The people from the inn look as if their mothers have died! Their faces are so ugly right now that it’s scary. It looks like the rumors of there being a problem with the Divine Blood Pill are true!”

“Hey, idiot upstairs, if there wasn’t a problem do you think Philosophy Watch would waste so much time and effort propagandizing this?”

“The first poster above is correct. I agree with your perspective. But, if that avatar image is your own, then it’s no wonder that you don’t have any friends. You shouldn’t think such fanciful thoughts for the rest of your life.”

“The first poster is indeed ugly to look at.”

Waterfall City.

Lin Weiwei was still reading a book. However, there were just some more people around her, and on a wall across from her, there was a giant hanging crystal screen, the images playing across its surface incomparably clear.

“Now, we will invite the client to bring out the Divine Blood Pill and begin today’s appraisal. But first, I would like to tell the audience what exactly the Divine Blood Pill is, how precious it is, and how difficult it is to refine…” Little Tan’s elegant voice rang throughout the room. The eyes of the assistant, Aunty Hong, and Congcong, all stared closely at the crystal screen. No one spoke. Besides the sounds of turning pages, there wasn’t a single noise.

Ss –

The young maid suddenly drew in a deep breath, breaking the quiet. She was met with the assistant’s ruthless glare. She said with deep grievance, “My cultivation is low. I cannot compare with aunty and Aunty Hong.”

Aunty Hong suddenly smiled and drew in a deep breath too. “It hasn’t begun yet. We should relax a little.” Qin Yu’s attitude had greatly comforted her, causing her heart to steady a great deal.

The assistant sneered. “If something happens during the appraisal and the Divine Blood Pill is proven to be false, the two of you can form a team and go into the Cave of Eternal Cold together. You’ll have plenty of time to relax then!”

These words…

Aunty Hong forced a smile. The young maid blanched.

In the live broadcast, the client stepped onto the stage. After introducing himself he placed a jade box in plain view of the camera. At this time, the chief alchemist’s handphone rang. He glanced down and then sighed. It seemed that Philosophy Watch had already been prepared for this. They couldn’t use the ‘denying everything’ move.

He rubbed his eyebrows, a weary appearance etched on his face. An inn cultivator behind him slowly lowered his head. He knew that he didn’t need to say anything.

Little Tan smiled. “Today, in order to appraise the Divine Blood Pill, we have invited alchemist Wang Wei, alchemist Xu Shao, alchemist Zou Chenghai, pill reviewer Fang Ruha, and pill reviewer Xie Fenfang! We invite these five grandmasters to step onto the stage and begin the appraisal!”

Shua –

A burst of gorgeous sparkling light lit up the stage, gathering around the jade box. Five grandmasters walked forth from the darkness, all of them full of potent momentum. They wore gloves of pure white silk and head-mounted microscopes. Their professionalism as grandmasters was on full display.

Elder Nangong leaned back in a comfortable posture. He smiled. “The fun begins.”

Qin Yu frowned. He swept his eyes around and saw that the apparently increased numbers of security guards were all looking at them. He was confused. How come every one of these people were looking at them like wolves?

He simply didn’t pay attention to the appraisal happening on stage. Without the little blue lamp, no matter how much they exhausted their eyes they still wouldn’t discover anything strange. And since he knew the result already, there wasn’t anything for him to worry about. How could his interest possibly be aroused?

Suddenly, he heard the low hushed whispers of two security guards behind him.

“There are actually some people gambling in the betting house that the inn successfully refined the Divine Blood Pill. Just how stupid must those people be!”

“Hehe, the compensation rate is too exaggerated. Even I want to give it a shot. If there just happens to be some dogshit stroke of luck, I’ll be rich!”

“Then why don’t you?”

“What nonsense. I’m not stupid enough to bet on an obvious loss.”

Qin Yu’s eyes brightened.

Gambling…bet…exaggerated compensation…

He lightly coughed and turned around. “Fellow daoists, would it be possible for you to tell me where the betting house is?”

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