Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Sometime later, in a finely decorated reception room, Big Mountain took a sip of tea that was steeped by the fox woman. But, he couldn’t even taste it at all. He said in a dejected tone, “I can tell you, but Thousand Eye Temple must guarantee my safety.”

Old Fox smiled and said, “From now on, you will be a guest official of my Thousand Eye Temple’s Great Deer City Branch Division.”

Big Mountain was silent for a moment. He clenched his teeth and said, “Yesterday when I was severely wounded and dying, I took the healing demon medicine that I purchased from here. At that time I wasn’t unconscious yet so I realized something.” He pursed his lips before continuing to say, “It’s likely that the reason I was able to awaken my bloodline was because I took those demon medicines.”

Old Fox furrowed his eyebrows and said, “Are you saying that ordinary healing demon medicine was able to stimulate your bloodline?”

“That’s right. So I came back here hoping to purchase more.” After saying all of this, Big Mountain felt much more relaxed. He took out a jar from his chest and placed it on the table. “The demon medicine I purchased at the time was in this jar. I carefully examined it and saw the words ‘Abyss’ Number One’ engraved on the bottom. I suspect it is the nickname of the demonic refining master who created them.”

Old Fox’s lips twitched. Abyss’ Number One. The confidence in that name was high enough.

But if what Big Mountain said was true, then this so-called Abyss’ Number One was an appropriate title.

The abyss was endless and millions of tribal clans lived within it. The occupation of demonic refining master was rare, but if one considered the entire abyss, there were a good number of them.

The peak existences amongst them were politely referred to as Abyss Walkers. They had a status comparable to that of Abyssal Kings. In fact, to a certain extent, the influence of an Abyss Walker could be said to be even more formidable than that of an Abyssal King.

This was because the reason that these demonic refining masters that stood at the pinnacle were called Abyss Walkers was that they had a heaven-defying ability to change one’s fate – that was to stimulate the bloodline!

Abyssal demons were a race that was built upon the foundation of their demon bloodline. The level of their tribal bloodline basically determined the extent of their future achievements.

Of course, this wasn't an absolute. Because over the long span of years, after countless generations of crossbreeding, it was hard to find those with pure bloodlines even in the entire abyss.

It was just that only the bloodline with the largest proportion would be revealed. As for some thin bloodlines, they were hidden and almost impossible to trigger.

There was a chance that the strongest abyssal demon dragon bloodline was hiding in the body of the weakest demon rat clansman.

Of course, this was only an analogy. Because no matter how obscene and lustful abyssal demon dragons were by nature, it would be difficult for them to intersect and breed with an abyssal demon rat.

As for Abyss Walkers, through their potent demonic refining methods, they had the ability to refine demon medicines that could stimulate the bloodlines hiding within an abyssal demon.

This was a heaven-defying ability for any abyssal tribe. It was a power that only the will of the abyss could control. So, they had the title of Abyss Walker, meaning that they walked through the abyss, replacing a part of the abyss’ power and will.

After arranging a safe place for Big Mountain, Old Fox’s eyes flashed with light. He said, “Immediately find the source of this batch of pills. This matter must be kept a secret. Absolutely no one is allowed to know about it.” He paused and then continued to say, “And investigate that Cow Sledgehammer. Perhaps his bloodline transformation is connected in some way.”

The fox woman’s pupils widened. “Steward, are you saying that the reason their bloodline was able to transform was that...”

“It’s just a possibility. Hurry and investigate. Remember to be careful. No matter what discovery you find, immediately inform me and don’t act rashly!” Old Fox drew in a deep breath, but his heart was still violently beating.

If they were able to refine demon medicine that could stimulate the bloodline of an abyssal demon, that person had the qualifications to be called an Abyss Walker.

But being an Abyss Walker didn’t mean that they would succeed every time. To be exact, if they wanted to help an abyssal demon stimulate their bloodline they would need to spend a massive amount of time preparing as well as consuming countless precious materials.

And in Great Deer City, two formidable bloodlines had been stimulated in a short period of time. If these were really the actions of the same person…

Then that person truly deserved the name of Abyss’ Number One!

….

The incidents in Great Deer City likely involved an Abyss Walker. Even if nothing else was mentioned, the value of this information alone was enough for Old Fox to completely mobilize the full power of Thousand Eye Temple that was lurking throughout the city.

There was no time to ask for instructions from headquarters. He could only take action first and deal with the rest later. Even if he found nothing in the end, he had a reason for doing this and would likely only be punished at most.

However, if he really did find this Abyss Walker, that represented an almost unimaginable good fortune!

The choice was evident to Old Fox, who had become ever more wily and cunning as he aged.

Ever since Thousand Eye Temple had established itself in Great Deer City, an unknown number of spies had been inserted all over. Now, they were all activated and burst out with an amazing energy.

Two hours later, under the premise that the other influences in Great Deer City were disturbed as little as possible, two demon crystal cards were placed in front of Old Fox.

One of the demon crystal cards contained information about that demonic refining master who called themselves Abyss’ Number One. The information was much easier to obtain than imagined.

This was because when the jar of demon medicine was sold, a transaction receipt was left behind. Moreover, the rabbit girl who handled this had an impression of that person.

The fox woman’s complexion paled. Although she was calm, she gave off a faint and erratic feeling. “It has been investigated and confirmed. The one who sold this jar of demon medicine that day is Liu Huo.”

Old Fox sighed. He rubbed his forehead, bitterness spilling over into his features.

He had been cautious for his entire life, never committing any great mistakes. This was the reason he was able to become a steward of one of Thousand Eye Temple’s branch divisions.

He was so old already, yet he managed to make such a great mistake so late in the game…although he had no idea whether or not these demon medicines were refined by Liu Huo, according to the fox woman’s words, he had once purchased the corresponding materials needed for them. If so, this batch of demon medicine had to be related to him.

There were two possibilities. Either this Liu Huo was deeply hiding his abilities and was concealing the truth from everyone, or there was an extremely formidable Abyss Walker standing behind him.

But no matter which possibility it was, this Liu Huo was worth being won over by Thousand Eye Temple with the greatest sincerity possible. And, the mistake he made was that he had missed out on the chance to establish relations with Liu Huo.

In fact, because of their previous contact, there was likely a wall between them now…if Liu Huo was only Liu Huo, then a wall was just a wall. No matter how thick it was, Thousand Eye Temple wouldn’t care at all.

But the key point was that Liu Huo was not just Liu Huo. This made things difficult.

If he wanted to remedy this and regain Liu Huo’s good impression, he would have to exhaust endless effort, and all of this was likely doomed to fail in the end.

Still, anything had to be tried first before a conclusion could be drawn. In any case, just these findings alone were enough to warrant winning over Liu Huo no matter the cost.

Old Fox looked at the other demon crystal card. The details recorded within were related to Cow Sledgehammer. There was a great deal of information, but nothing too useful.

Faintly, Old Fox thought that something important was lacking.

If he really could draw a line and connect Cow Sledgehammer and Big Mountain, then Liu Huo’s weight would be even greater than it was at this time.

Old Fox had to clearly ascertain Liu Huo’s true value before he could put forth a corresponding level of sincerity.

Thus, he waited for the final news to arrive.

…

My name is Cow Sledgehammer. Just like a big hammer, giant steel hammers, and all sorts of hammers used to smash things.

That’s right. I appeared once again, but this time my image wasn’t as glamorous as it was before.

Because this time I have been tied up, blindfolded, and fed something unknown. My body turned limp and weak and I couldn’t exert any strength at all.

My black demon cow bloodline told me that I was in a very bad situation. If I didn’t cooperate, I would most likely be done for.

It was with great difficulty that I managed to awaken the latent black demon cow bloodline passed down from my ancestor. If I were to die here without crossing the nuptial threshold with my eight wives that were as pretty as flowers, I really would find this hard to accept.

Moreover, my dead father might shove open his coffin and leap out before blasting me apart with a hammer.

Mm…speaking of my dad, in addition to the words he told me before, there was also one more thing: A man had to act like a man. Being unyielding and brave was a must, but when it came time to admit loss, one had to be fast.

I thought that this was the time to admit loss. So after I woke up from unconsciousness, I immediately made a judgment and yelled out, “I’ll tell you anything you want to know! Don’t hurt me!”

After that, I said everything.

My name is Cow Sledgehammer, the sledgehammer from all sorts of different hammers. No matter what you want to know, I can tell you.

But really, please don’t hurt me!