Chapter 180: Chapter 180: The Secret of the Stone Statue
Translator: 549690339
It had been ten days since Fang Lin and the others arrived at the base in White Elephant Mountain, and they had been busy rebuilding the base ever since.
It was by no means a light task. The original base had been destroyed in the hands of Feng Qianqiu, being utterly uninhabitable. The only choice was to tear it down and rebuild.
The heavy and gruelling work frustrated the Pill Sect disciples, who ordinarily only engaged in pill refining, and they complained incessantly about wanting to return to Pill Sect.
Luckily, the two elders also felt it was inappropriate to have the disciples doing such work. After a few days, they hired nearby villagers to help
There’s strength in numbers. A month later, the base at White Elephant Mountain had been fully restored, with no visible signs of the previous destruction.
The so-called base was a branch of Pill Sect stationed here, responsible for the care and harvesting of the numerous medicinal crops grown on the White Elephant Mountain.
White Elephant Mountain had fertile soil and was located near a large river, offering rich water sources. It was an excellent place for growing medicinal plants. Several hundred years ago, Pill Sect had selected White Elephant Mountain as a medicinal herb cultivation site.
Looking after the medicinal crops was generally a leisurely task, but correspondingly, those who were dispatched here usually weren’t held in high regard within Pill Sect.
After the completion of the base reconstruction, everyone moved in, and on the same afternoon, 27 disciples led by Dong Qing entered the White Elephant Mountain.
Upon entering the mountain, they saw fields upon fields of medicinal plants, a dazzling array, all in excellent growing condition.
Most of the White Elephant Mountain was used as a medicine field and any demon beasts that had once lived there had long been driven away.
When they reached the top of the mountain, they saw a white elephant statue standing there. Its carving was somewhat crude, but it looked lifelike, as if a real white elephant intended to cross the river over the mountain.
Everyone felt curious and approached the statue for a closer look.
“This statue must be quite old,” Fang Lin muttered to himself after observing it for a while.
One of the lower-ranked disciples touched the statue out of curiosity. He was suddenly flung back, his face shocked.
“Fool, this statue cannot be touched!” Dong Qing scolded. Upon seeing this, everyone else withdrew their hands which they had been reaching out.
Seeing this, Fang Lin was intrigued. The statue was extraordinary, flinging people back with just a touch.
They have been here for a month and heard the local people talk about the legend of White Elephant Mountain, but none of them paid much attention as they thought it was mere folklore.
But now after witnessing the unusual statue, Fang Lin felt that the Green Lion White Elephant Locks the Great River legend may not be as simple as mere unfounded rumors.
“Elder, what’s the origin of this statue? Why is it so strange?” Zhang Tianjie, one of the top-ranked disciples asked.
Dong Qing said solemnly, “The origin of this statue, I’m not very clear. It seems that when the first generation of our Pill Sect came here, this statue already existed. Regardless of one’s cultivation, anyone who touches it would be repelled. It’s fine to look, but do not touch.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. The statue was incredibly ancient.
Fang Lin stared at the statue, pondering something.
After viewing the statue, everyone returned back to the base following the same path they took to climb the mountain.
After that, Dong Qing began assigning tasks. The twenty-seven disciples were divided into two groups. One group was responsible for inspecting the mountain and tending to the medicinal herbs daily while the other group was in charge of guarding the base.
In the end, everyone had been assigned a task, except for Fang Lin.
Both Dong Qing and Xu Shugong found Fang Lin to be somewhat of a headache. They could scold or order the other disciples around, but they couldn’t do that with Fang Lin.
After all, he was a Second Cauldron Pill Refiner, and within Pill Sect, held a status and reputation equivalent to the Four Elites of Pill Sect. If they treated him as a common disciple, they would be courting trouble.
Therefore, after discussing among themselves, they decided to delegate authority to Fang Lin, and let him manage the other twenty-six disciples.
Simply put, they were letting Fang Lin take charge.
None of the other twenty-six disciples objected to this decision, not even the two top-tier disciples. They immediately agreed.
The reason was simple. Fang Lin had strength and status. Being an Earth Element Martial Artist and a Second Cauldron Pill Refiner, wasn’t it the perfect combination to be their leader?
Thus, Fang Lin unwittingly became the person in charge of the base. On a
normal day, the two elders didn’t manage much. Fang Lin handled almost everything.
Among everyone in the base, the person with the most leisure time was undoubtedly Dugu Nian.
She didn’t have to do anything, and her days were spent either refining pills or idling around. If she felt particularly bored, she would take a stroll up the White Elephant Mountain.
Two months had passed like this. Fang Lin was now very familiar with the other twenty-six disciples, and they had developed deep respect for him.
Things at the base have been running smoothly, freeing Fang Lin from other worries and providing him time to refine pills and cultivate.
Fang Lin was always very curious about the statue on White Elephant Mountain and would frequently make time to visit and observe it.
Initially, the others found it strange. The statue was special indeed, but it wasn’t extraordinary enough to warrant such frequent visits, was it?
However, gradually they noticed that Fang Lin appeared somewhat tired each time he returned from the mountain.
One day, Fang Lin once again sat in front of the statue in deep contemplation. He felt as if the statue possessed a magical power that enticed him to uncover its secrets.
Through days of contemplation in front of the statue, he had begun to gain some insights.
A unique sense of comprehension gradually emerged in Fang Lin’s mind, as if a gigantic white elephant, as huge as a mountain, was treading on the earth.
“Green Lion White Elephant Locks the Great River. If the tales of the villagers are true, then solely relying on these two mountains cannot possibly lock the demon beast in the river. I’m afraid the key lies in this statue. If my guess is correct, there is likely to be another statue on Green Lion Mountain across the river,” Fang Lin thought to himself.
With his past life experiences and knowledge, Fang Lin’s insights were far from ordinary. From the very first day he laid his eyes on the statue, he felt something hidden within it.
After several attempts at understanding it, Fang Lin was almost certain that concealed within the statue was an incredibly powerful martial arts technique.
Assuming that there was a hidden martial arts technique, Fang Lin felt a rush of excitement. Although he didn’t lack martial arts techniques, he was eager to learn new ones.
While Fang Lin was in the mountains contemplating the statue, an unexpected guest arrived at the base at the foot of the mountain.
A woman appeared outside of the base, observing everything inside indifferently. Then, she looked up at the towering White Elephant Mountain. “After so many years, it’s time
“After so many years, it’s time to reclaim what’s mine,” the woman murmured to herself, stepping towards White Elephant Mountain..