The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Inside the River Mountain Box...

Qin Ya stood on a mountaintop, gazing at a lone boat in the distance. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. In the next instant, his figure flickered, covering a thousand zhang as he trod upon the turquoise waves. Like a falling leaf, he landed weightlessly upon the lone boat without making a sound.

But the moment Qin Ya set foot on the boat, the sound of the flute from within abruptly stopped.

"Oh... a little interesting."

Qin Ya’s gaze sharpened, a hint of surprise on his face.

This River Mountain Box was no ordinary item to begin with. How could anyone living within it be a simple person? What’s more, according to the perception of his Divine Thought, Qin Ya found he was completely unable to gauge the depth of this person’s Cultivation.

"I am Qin Ya. Greetings, Senior."

"Well now, I never expected to meet anyone here besides Meiying Venerable. And you look far from ordinary." The unruffled voice sounded out as the boat’s curtain was slowly drawn aside. An old man in a green robe with white hair emerged.

The old man wore a green robe, his hair was stark white, and a jade-green bamboo flute hung from his waist.

He had the dignified air of a sage.

"Kid, how did you show up here?" the old man asked.

’Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that...’

Qin Ya replied, "I discovered this box in the Venerable Mansion’s Treasure Vault. Out of curiosity, I came in to have a look. So, I wonder, why is Senior here?"

A flush crept onto the old man’s face, as if he were both embarrassed and annoyed.

"You don’t need to ask about that," the old man huffed. His gaze toward Qin Ya grew somewhat peculiar as he continued, "Kid, you’ve got some real skill to be able to enter the Treasure Vault at your age. But you’re far too impulsive, rushing into this Brocade River and Mountain Box without a second thought."

Then, he laughed heartily. "You should know, one can only enter this River Mountain Box, not exit it. Not unless you have the Cultivation of a Venerable and can forcibly shatter the spatial restrictions. Otherwise, you’ll be trapped here for the rest of your life! As it happens, I have one year left before I’m free. You can just stay and keep me company."

Qin Ya smiled faintly. "I have many things to do, and I have no interest in keeping Senior company for a year. I’ll be leaving after I’ve had a look around this landscape. As for you, Senior... heh, please forgive me for not staying longer."

"What’s there to see? This landscape is always the same."

The old man’s brow furrowed. He then pulled the bamboo flute from his waist and yelled, "Come on, come on! I’ve been here so long my bones have gone rusty. Let’s have a fight!"

The old man now seemed like a complete ruffian, a far cry from his previous sage-like bearing. It made Qin Ya sigh inwardly. ’You really can’t judge a book by its cover.’

"Senior, I..."

Before Qin Ya could finish his sentence, a blast of Sword Qi tore through the air.

The Sword Qi was so sharp it made the air whistle around it.

"Sword Qi?"

With a flicker of movement and a shift of his feet, Qin Ya easily dodged the Sword Qi. He then looked at the white-haired old man, who held the bamboo flute with a face full of undisguised eagerness for battle.

His brows furrowed slightly. "Senior, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?"

"Ha! What’s inappropriate about it?"

The corner of the old man’s mouth quirked up, and gripping his bamboo flute, he charged forward.

Seeing this, Qin Ya stopped refusing. With a SWISH, a long spear materialized in his hand, shimmering with a dark light. He thrust it forward to meet the bamboo flute with a resounding CLANG.

Amidst the ringing clash, the spear tip and the bamboo flute met.

Surprisingly, the Breaking Army Spear, a Spiritual Artifact, could not damage the unremarkable-looking bamboo flute. On the contrary, their impact produced the sharp ring of clashing metal.

Qin Ya could tell that the material of the bamboo flute was as ordinary as could be.

For it to produce such a result meant that the old man’s strength was extraordinary.

"Interesting."

The corners of Qin Ya’s mouth curved up, and his eyes revealed a budding excitement for the fight.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG...

In the blink of an eye, the spear and the bamboo flute had clashed over a hundred times. The resulting Qi Force sent huge waves rolling across the river. The lone boat itself instantly exploded, its fragments shooting out in all directions like arrows.

The two of them stood on the turquoise waves, spear light flashing and Sword Qi crisscrossing the air!

Their battlefield constantly shifted—from the surface of the lake to the sky, then to the cliffsides. Traces of their fight were left everywhere. For a time, the very void trembled from their battle.

"Haha, good kid!"

"No wonder you were able to enter the Treasure Vault! To have this kind of power at your age is truly remarkable. Today, let’s have a good, satisfying fight!"

The old man roared with laughter. His bamboo flute seemed to transform into an unparalleled sword as streams of Sword Qi radiated from it. Like a tidal wave, the Sword Qi surged toward Qin Ya from every direction, completely enveloping a hundred-zhang space around him.

Seeing this, Qin Ya’s expression remained utterly calm. With a WHIR, his long spear vibrated. Empowered by Mysterious Speed, layers of spear light burst forth like a torrential downpour.

Sword Qi and spear light clashed relentlessly, setting off waves of Qi in the void. The storm they created reached the Yangtze River a thousand zhang below, instantly kicking up waves dozens of zhang high that churned like a giant, white python.

"Interesting, very interesting!"

The old man had been stuck in this River Mountain Box for nearly sixty years. He was not a patient man by nature; back in the outside world, he used to pick fights every few days. Having been cooped up for so long, he was practically dying for a good brawl.

He had initially seen that Qin Ya was only a King and figured he wouldn’t last more than a few exchanges. He never expected this level of skill. How could he not be overjoyed?

"Again!"

Fine threads of Sword Qi began to wreath the old man’s bamboo flute. They intertwined, gradually forming a single, magnificent blade of Sword Qi that suddenly slashed down at Qin Ya from high above. Before the attack even arrived, the river below began to churn, its terrifying pressure causing the water’s surface within a thousand-zhang radius to sink by a full ten zhang.

"Four Seasons Spear Technique... Perfection!!"

Qin Ya’s eyes narrowed, a sharp glint appearing within them. He immediately began to brandish his Breaking Army Spear, and the Four Symbols True Intent erupted from it. The four energies of Thunder, Fire, Ice, and Wind condensed, compressed, and spun on the tip of the spear before exploding into a dazzling, four-colored ray of spear light!

BOOM! BOOM!

The four-colored spear light collided with the Sword Qi. The resulting Energy Shock spread out like a massive ripple, uprooting the green willows along both banks. Countless boulders tumbled down the mountainsides, and the titanic waves churned up on the river crashed upon the shore!

After the Energy Shock dissipated, the old man charged forward once more, attacking Qin Ya again with his bamboo flute. The smile on his face showed he was in an excellent mood; the more he looked at Qin Ya, the more he liked him—and the more vicious his attacks became.

"This Senior... his personality is truly bizarre."

Qin Ya smiled faintly and, not showing any weakness, charged forward to meet him.

This battle lasted for more than two hours.

By the end, the old man had unleashed the power of a Half-Venerable, making the entire void tremble violently. A single step further would be the domain of a Venerable, a level of power the River Mountain Box couldn’t possibly withstand. That was the only reason he reluctantly called it quits.

"Heh, kid. I never thought a mere King like you would be so tough to take down." The old man sat on a cliff, speaking to Qin Ya, who was catching his breath a short distance away.