The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Resilient?

Qin Ya shook his head with a wry smile. He had just about given it his all, yet this strange old man remained perfectly at ease, suppressing him completely.

He guessed that the old man’s Cultivation was... a Venerable!

But this only made Qin Ya more curious. How could such a powerhouse be inside the River Mountain Box? And on top of that, the River Mountain Box was in the Venerable Mansion’s Treasure Vault.

After resting, Qin Ya looked at the old man. "Senior, I suppose we’ve gotten acquainted through our little scuffle. My name is Qin Ya. Might I ask for your name, Senior?"

The old man puffed out his chest and boomed, "Listen well! I am the supreme master who took the world by storm a hundred years ago, renowned throughout the Divine Country... Xiao Jianfeng!"

Xiao Jianfeng?!

Qin Ya’s eyes narrowed. He searched his memory, recalling the various texts and biographies he had read back in Qingkong City, and soon he knew who this man was.

Xiao Jianfeng, a legendary figure from a century ago.

He was known for his wild and unrestrained personality, and he loved nothing more than to spar with others. In his youth, he held the top spot on the Amor List for nearly thirty years. Later, his Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and he broke through to the Venerable realm in just two hundred years, making a name for himself.

He later roamed the Divine Country, challenging all sorts of champions and rarely tasting defeat.

But a hundred years ago, the man actually sought out Meiying Venerable and declared his intent to challenge her. No one knows the outcome of that battle, but afterward, Xiao Jianfeng vanished as if from the face of the earth. No one ever saw him again.

"So you’re the Venerable who challenged Meiying Venerable a century ago."

"Er... COUGH COUGH, yes."

Hearing the name ’Meiying Venerable,’ Xiao Jianfeng grew rather embarrassed, a blush creeping onto his face. This only piqued Qin Ya’s curiosity, and he pressed on.

"Senior, what happened between you and Meiying Venerable?"

"Tsk, tsk. Senior, you must have lost to her, didn’t you?"

"That’s enough! So what if I lost?!"

Unable to withstand Qin Ya’s probing, Xiao Jianfeng finally snapped and roared in frustration. He immediately lowered his head and sighed. "Damn it all. I can only blame myself for being too arrogant and careless. To think I’d lose to that girl, getting myself trapped in this River Mountain Box for almost a hundred years. A hundred years!"

"So Meiying Venerable trapped you inside the River Mountain Box?"

Xiao Jianfeng shook his head. "No. When I dueled Meiying Venerable, we agreed that the loser would fulfill one condition for the winner. Her condition was that I stay in this River Mountain Box for a hundred years. And, well, you know the rest."

"You’re surprisingly good at enduring loneliness, Senior."

At this, Qin Ya couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect for Xiao Jianfeng.

He could tell that Xiao Jianfeng was a restless man, someone who couldn’t bear to be idle. For a person like that to stay inside the River Mountain Box for nearly a century, all for a promise, spoke volumes about how seriously he took his word.

"You flatter me."

Xiao Jianfeng chuckled, then looked at Qin Ya. "It’s fine. I only have one year left before I can get out anyway. In the meantime, you can keep me company. We can spar when we’re bored. It won’t be so bad."

"Heh. I never said I’d stay here and keep you company for a year, Senior."

Qin Ya gave a faint smile. He might admire Xiao Jianfeng’s character, but that didn’t mean he was going to stay and keep the man company. He wasn’t *that* noble.

"Heh heh." Xiao Jianfeng laughed slyly. "Kid, I already told you. Unless you have the power of a Venerable, you can forget about leaving this River Mountain Box."

"We’ll see about that."

With another faint smile, Qin Ya mentally asked the Void Saint for a way out.

A moment later, following the Void Saint’s instructions, he used his Divine Thought to connect with the Holy Seal in his Divine Acupoint. After a few attempts, he finally resonated with the Void Power inside the River Mountain Box. He could even devour it if he so wished.

He didn’t do that, however. With a mere thought, he vanished from before Xiao Jianfeng’s eyes, leaving the old man looking as if he’d just seen a ghost.

’Heavens, how did he do that? He actually left the River Mountain Box!’

’Could he be a Venerable? Hell no! Venerable my ass. That kid is clearly just a King. Having that much combat power is already Heaven-Defying, so how could he also possess the abilities of a Venerable? That kid must have some trick to getting out.’

’Sigh, poor me. I’m going to be all alone here again.’

Xiao Jianfeng sighed in lament on the mountain peak. ’If I’d known this would happen,’ he thought, ’I shouldn’t have held back. I should have beaten that kid half to death first.’

Meanwhile, Qin Ya had reappeared in the Treasure Vault.

He placed the lid back on the River Mountain Box before him and resumed his search for treasures. There were countless items in the vault, but few were suitable for him. As he browsed, he suddenly found himself standing before a particular shelf.

On this shelf was a pile of multi-colored crystals.

The crystals were entirely translucent, like colorful quartz, and varied in size. The smallest were no bigger than a fist, while the largest were over a meter wide.

"This is... Celestial Fire Spirit Crystal!!"

Qin Ya’s face lit up with ecstasy as a thought occurred to him.

The primary uses for Celestial Fire Spirit Crystal were Alchemy and Artifact Refining. It could enhance the Spirituality of a finished product and was an extremely rare fire-catalyst.

To Qin Ya in his past life, these crystals hadn’t been a big deal. With his abilities, Refining Spirit Pills was child’s play, so he had rarely needed to use Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals.

The same was true now. However, he was ecstatic because of another of the Celestial Fire Spirit Crystal’s properties: it could nurture and awaken Spirituality!

After all, he still had the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace on him!

This Spiritual Artifact was his personal treasure from his past life as the Pill Venerable, and it housed its own Artifact Spirit. However, back when Qin Ya was attempting to refine the legendary Dao Pill, the furnace was destroyed by Celestial Punishment. Its Artifact Spirit was gravely wounded and fell into a deep slumber, showing no signs of waking.

But with these Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals, things were different.

He could use the properties of the Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals to stimulate the Artifact Spirit of the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace. Even if he couldn’t fully awaken it, there would still be significant benefits.

’Hmm, with this many Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals... should I take them all...’

’...or should I just take them all?’

After a moment of ’deliberation,’ Qin Ya scooped up all the Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals.

’If it comes down to it, I can just trade some Elixirs for them.’

"Inspector Qin, you’re finally out."

Seeing Qin Ya emerge from the Treasure Vault, Jii Xingyue walked over. "You were in there for a long time. Someone who didn’t know better might think you were simply dazzled by all the treasures."

Qin Ya just smiled faintly, saying nothing.

’Heaven knows he’d been inside fighting a Venerable for all that time.’

"By the way, what did you choose, Inspector Qin?"

"The River Mountain Box and the Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals. Oh, and I took quite a large quantity of the crystals. I’m not sure if that’s against the rules. If so, how about I trade some Elixirs for them?"

Jii Xingyue shook her head. "You jest, Inspector Qin. In your hands, the Celestial Fire Spirit Crystals will surely be put to their best use. It’s just... that River Mountain Box..."

As she mentioned it, Jii Xingyue’s expression turned a little strange.