You Taste It, You Taste It Carefully

After the deal was struck, the Village Chief immediately had Er Han go to the back mountain and chip off two small pieces from the black stone, handing them over to Yu Ziqing.

Returning to the earthen dwelling with Old Yang, Yu Ziqing opened the cloth bundle. Inside were two irregularly shaped black stones. The fractured surfaces appeared completely free of impurities, a pure black, and he couldn't sense any special power from them.

Just like when he practiced his punches daily, Yu Ziqing couldn't feel any power from the black qi. He couldn't touch it, and inhaling it felt like nothing, like air. At most, he passively felt the shackles on himself disappear.

Old Yang stared at the black stones, examining them from every angle.

"When you go to practice your punches, how big do they appear? It's fine, tell me, speaking now won't break your promise."

"They're quite large, several hundred zhang."

"Be more specific."

"Then it must be five to six hundred zhang, possibly more."

Old Yang nodded and sighed.

"No wonder. Just the part exposed above ground is five to six hundred zhang, no wonder it has this kind of power. It's only in a place like Jinlan Village, with so much exposed above ground, that it can continue to exist without causing any major disturbances.

From now on, you'll carry one piece with you. Keep it on you even when you're not practicing your punches, but remember to eat some Yellow Millet Cake from Jinlan Village every year.

The power of this thing will be borrowed for a year. After a year, you'll use Yellow Millet Cake to clear it out and return it. It's nothing, truly a genius idea. The person who refined the Yellow Millet Cake back then was indeed extraordinarily talented.

Borrowing it temporarily is fine, but if you try to claim this power as your own, disaster will surely befall you sooner or later. Remember this."

As he spoke, Old Yang glanced at the other item in the bundle: a sheepskin scroll inscribed with the names of various raw materials.

"That Village Chief looks like he has one foot in the grave; he must be quite old to be alive. He's become as cunning as a fox.

He directly promised to send you Yellow Millet Cake every year. That old fellow has sharp eyes; he saw exactly what kind of person you are at a glance. Do you think he'd lose out?

Don't look at how weak you are now, or how little you know. He simply wants to build a connection with you. He knows you won't stay here forever, but he wants to leave a legacy, a root.

I can trade many things with him and guide them in many ways, but he doesn't want to be involved with me and insists on making a transaction.

Don't underestimate him. He's too shrewd, but also too honest. Whatever he thinks, he does. It's all out in the open, so everyone knows where they stand, yet the goodwill remains.

Look, he hasn't tampered with the list of raw materials he's giving me. The items required are precisely what's needed, not one more, not one less. This is the exact recipe for Yellow Millet Cake.

According to the village rules, only the Village Chief knows how to make Yellow Millet Cake. He isn't breaking the rules now.

But you've seen with your own eyes where the Yellow Millet Cake comes from. It's fine if you don't feel anything now, but when you become strong enough later, your body will help you recall the sensation from that time.

After I teach you everything I can, and everything I can't, as long as you're not too foolish, you'll eventually figure out how to make Yellow Millet Cake on your own.

Doesn't he know?

He knows, he just doesn't say it. You know now too. As long as you're still human, you must remember his kindness."

"I understand. I'll remember it," Yu Ziqing nodded obediently.

When interacting without malice, he wouldn't dwell on calculations. 'If you give me a peach, I'll give you fine jade in return.' Yu Ziqing understood the simple principle of reciprocating kindness.

Just like now, Old Yang had gone through a lot of trouble, mostly to help him, and Yu Ziqing would remember it.

Similarly, before, he had painstakingly helped Old Yang, and though Old Yang hadn't said anything, he remembered it too.

In human interactions, some things lose their meaning when spoken aloud; often, they can seem transactional. But people will show their appreciation through their actions.

He accepted Old Yang's kindness.

Yu Ziqing picked up a piece of black stone and put it in his pocket. Without practicing his punches, he could faintly feel a sensation similar to when he was practicing.

"Since there are two pieces, let me have this one to study. This kind of thing isn't very common, and one this large is extremely rare," Old Yang picked up the other piece and examined it carefully.

"What exactly is this thing?" Yu Ziqing thought for a moment, then added, "Can you tell me?"

"Yes, I can. It's not particularly secret information. Similar things are collectively called 'tombs.'

They are formed when past powerful individuals, whose lifespans were exhausted or who were on the brink of death, dispersed all their power, enveloped their true spirits, and sank into the earth, transforming into their own tombs. This was in the hope that after a long period, they might have a chance to start anew.

However, the ultimate outcome was usually just a faint hope held at the moment of death.

Their tombs, after a long period, would petrify underground. With the passage of time, the turning of the stars, and the shifting of seas and lands, some would gradually emerge from the ground, or their depth would lessen, and they would be discovered.

Tombs generally contain immense power, as any petrified tomb that is discovered must have belonged to a powerful individual in life.

Furthermore, generally, the larger the tomb, the stronger its owner was in life."

Old Yang looked at the black stone before him, his tone becoming much more serious.

"The owner of this tomb was likely not human in life. Petrified tombs of human powerhouses do not possess such strange and eerie power. It's fine for you to use this thing to nurture your body, but when you practice Qi Refining in the future, absolutely do not incorporate its power into your core. It is extremely dangerous."

"Could it be possession?" Yu Ziqing thought of this immediately.

"Half of those who tried to claim the power of petrified tombs as their own and ended up dying suddenly did so because of possession."

"Alright..."

If you told me that those past powerhouses, on their deathbeds, said they could recover after sleeping for a long time, I wouldn't believe you.

But if you said they set a trap, buried bait, and slept, waiting for greedy fish to bite, and then seized the opportunity to start anew, then I would believe you.

After giving Yu Ziqing his instructions, Yu Ziqing went to the back mountain to begin his routine practice.

Old Yang, on the other hand, stared at the black stone for a long time before suddenly opening his mouth and swallowing it.

Rolling black qi erupted from Old Yang's eyes, ears, and nostrils, then flowed back in through his open mouth.

A moment later, Old Yang's dirty white fur rained down as if in a downpour, revealing a layer of glossy, fine black fur on its skin. Its two horns also turned black, and its sclera became dark green.

The shed white wool, as if weathered, instantly turned to dust.

Old Yang lifted a hoof and gently nudged a nearby stone. A clang of metal against metal rang out, sending sparks flying.

After a moment of careful sensing, Old Yang opened its mouth and spat out the black stone it had swallowed. The blackness covering its body receded, and it transformed back into a white goat, retaining only the fine cleanliness of its wool.

"It doesn't seem like a demon either. Strange, but using this thing is quite effective for nourishing the body. It's just that it's difficult for ordinary people to return it once they borrow it. If the secret of the Yellow Millet Cake were known to those old fossils at Langya Academy, this place would likely be hard to keep safe. That Village Chief really knows how to read people."

On the ice-and-snow-covered Wasteland, a figure in a black robe, riding a Black Goat, was fleeing for their life. As they ran, the figure in the black robe suddenly let out a loud "Wah!" and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood mist quickly condensed into ice crystals in mid-air, falling with the snowflakes.

"Can you be a little steadier? I'm not dead yet, but you're about to shake me to death."

"Can you shut up?" the Black Goat roared furiously, its speed increasing again out of nowhere, though it shook even more violently.

The figure in the black robe wisely shut their mouth, took out a porcelain bottle from their sleeve, and without looking, stuffed it into their mouth. A moment later, the pale-faced figure in the black robe finally began to look like a living person.

The Black Goat treaded on the snow without leaving a trace, concealing its full strength and transforming into a powerful arrow. It galloped for half a day, and only when it saw the ruins of a village ahead did it slowly decelerate and stop.

Upon entering the village ruins, the person and the goat collapsed together in a mud hut.

The Black Goat panted heavily, while the figure in the black robe took out another porcelain bottle and gulped down the healing spiritual liquid within.

"I told you to keep a low profile, but you didn't listen..." the figure in the black robe sighed, filled with resentment.

"Are you blaming me? Yes, I know there have been many people coming to the Wasteland recently, but how could I have known that an Academy Head from Langya Academy would personally come to this godforsaken place, and be protected by that terrifying Mu Zhiqiu?

If I had known earlier, I would have detoured at least three thousand miles away from him, and never given him a chance to kill me."

The Black Goat felt like it had been having bad luck lately, recalling what had happened before.

They were flying smoothly when, unexpectedly, they saw a Flying Boat flying a Langya Academy banner. Given the incidents in the Wasteland, it was normal for Langya Academy to send people. Seeing it, they had avoided it from a distance.

Who would have thought that Mu Zhiqiu, the greatest menace from Langya Academy's martial arts division, would be on that Flying Boat? With Mu Zhiqiu present, there was bound to be a cultivator at the Academy Head level on board.

Mu Zhiqiu, perhaps having taken the wrong medicine, was extremely agitated. The moment he spotted them, he struck them with a sword before saying a word.

If it weren't for the need to protect the person on the Flying Boat, Mu Zhiqiu wouldn't have dared to stray too far from it, and their corpses would have already turned cold.

And the bad luck wasn't over. They inexplicably encountered An Yue from Da Gan's Imperial Guard. An Yue, who had served on the front lines, received military commendations, and was later transferred to the Imperial Guard, was famously known as the smiling tiger.

Seeing their pathetic, near-death state, he certainly wouldn't miss an opportunity to kick them while they were down.

And so, they fought another battle, and only managed to escape after paying a considerable price.

After resting for a while and taking medicine to recover some strength, the Black Goat got up from the ground.

"I suddenly remembered something."

"Please don't. I think our luck has been terrible lately. We should leave the Wasteland as soon as possible," the figure in the black robe immediately began to lament.

"I'm serious. There was a rumor that an Academy Head from Langya Academy was near the Wasteland when the anomaly occurred a few months ago. He went missing afterward and was never found. Later, there were rumors that he had died."

"And then? What does that have to do with us?"

"Are you stupid? Think about it. Another Academy Head has come now, personally escorted by Mu Zhiqiu. And that guy An Yue is hanging around the Wasteland after leaving Da Gan. I think this news is probably true, and the rumors of that Academy Head's death were likely just a deception by Da Gan."

"I beg you, stop talking. I just want to go back quickly. If you keep talking, I think we might actually die in the Wasteland." The figure in the black robe remained unmoved.

The Black Goat stomped its feet in anger, hot air puffing from its nostrils. After fuming for a while, it suppressed its anger and said seriously.

"Have you forgotten a strange incident from before?

Some of my shepherds were killed, but their sheep were inexplicably delivered to the Jinlan Mine by that person. The scene was handled hastily and rather crudely.

Connect all these events and ponder them. Think carefully.

Have you figured anything out?"

A new week, requesting votes, any kind of votes. I almost forgot about the new book ranking.