Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Hou –

The fire dragon howled into the air. Its aura swept out, fiercely shaking the boundless strength that tried to suppress it.

Because at this moment, after completing this fusion it had successfully transformed the level of its life. It transcended the shackles of this world, becoming a truly immortal existence.

Not only did its strength rise drastically, but its increased level of life had made it impossible to lock onto…the strength within this world, no matter how powerful it was, could not cause any harm to beings that were beyond the world.

If it weren’t for the fact that the jade embryo egg itself also had an attribute of transcending the world to a certain degree, the suppressing strength it released would have already lost all effectiveness.

“Qin Yu, with your cultivation you’ve actually managed to have so much good fortune. If you were given time to grow, I would not dare to guess how formidable you would eventually become.” The fire dragon slowly said, its massive body meandering between his blood vessels. “But today, you will fall here and I will obtain all your strength. I will have a chance to break into the genuine peak of this world.

“I promise you, if there comes a day when I can stably enter the boundary of a Ruler, I will inevitably reverse the flow of time, bringing you back from death and granting you a new life.”

The fire dragon moved. Black and white flames ignited from its scales, twining together into a vortex,

Rumble rumble –

As the vortex spun, a formidable suction force was released. This strength wrapped around Qin Yu and would swallow everything he had, including his flesh, blood, and soul.

Then, a new life would be born from this vortex. It would bid farewell to everything it had experienced in the past, with no traces left behind.

Even if a Ruler-level existence appeared and reversed time to verify what happened, they still wouldn’t be able to lock onto his traces.

At that time, he could start a brand new life. Whether it was the abyss or the living world, everything would be destined to grovel at his feet.

Kacha –

Kacha –

Qin Yu could hear cracking sounds from all around. Every sound represented a terrifying new opening.

Each opening seemed to be on him, but the pain directly affected his soul.

He felt as if he would be torn to shreds alive and disappear here.

As he thought, whether it was the Abyssal King or the great figure who constructed the Path of 10,000 Souls in the past, neither could be easily slain. Even after experiencing countless years and becoming incomparably weakened, they still weren’t existences he could contend with by himself.

“Little blue lamp!”

He roared out loud, a manic look in his eyes.

This was already Qin Yu’s final card and his greatest ability. The reason he was able to climb up the great path of cultivation and reach his current level was all because of it.

If he was defeated here…perhaps he was destined to perish today!

Bang –

Atop Qin Yu’s head, space shattered. However this wasn’t the end, but the beginning of a great collapse. An invisible and terrifying strength swept out like a tide, causing space to disintegrate and forming a darkness that extended into nihility.

His body fell into the dark nothingness and was imprisoned by an invisible strength. In the next moment, the phantom of a great sun arrived. With a flash, radiant sunlight burst out like wildfire, covering Qin Yu with burning light.

Yet these flames didn’t cause any damage to Qin Yu. However, this didn’t mean that it was an illusory existence that had no strength.

On the contrary, the might of these flames was enough to instantly burn down mountains and evaporate seas, turning the world into a purgatory of fire.

It was just that all of the released strength instantly crashed into Qin Yu’s chest, turning into an infinite fire cage that imprisoned the fire dragon inside.

When space collapsed and the dark nothingness arrived, the fire dragon felt fear rise up from the depths of its soul. With its current level of life and the strength it now possessed, it could be said to stand at the top echelons of the endless heavens and myriad realms.

If there was something that could make it feel fear and even despair, there was only one possibility…Ruler! This was the level of strength that a Ruler possessed!

The fire dragon once again had to doubt his own thinking. What he wanted to kill now was just a little cultivator who hadn’t even stepped into the Origin God realm. How could he have managed to spur an existence that stood at the highest peak of this world into existence?

Could it be that Qin Yu was someone recognized by that unknown Ruler, designated as a candidate to inherit their mantle?

If this was the case, he would inevitably have the traces of a Ruler imprinted on his body. But he never sensed anything unusual before this.

With things having reached this stage, considering these questions was meaningless. The fire dragon never imagined that when he had completed the fusion and his strength had reached its peak, he would come face to face with this hopeless situation.

Ruler…

This was an existence that could reverse the river of time and possessed inconceivable might. With a thought they could cause calamity to befall the heavens and earth. When facing a Ruler, even he didn’t have the strength to resist.

As the fire dragon was wallowing in despair, the infinite fire cage arrived. He could feel intense pain. Its scales that flowed with black and white light shattered beneath the flames to reveal scorched flesh and blood.

But at this time, the despair in the fire dragon’s eyes began to vanish. Like someone who had survived a disaster, there was unrestrained joy.

This wasn’t a Ruler! The one who did this wasn’t a Ruler!

Otherwise, when trapped within the fire cage, he would have been burnt down to nothingness in the blink of an eye. He wouldn’t have been able to experience this agonizing pain. But, this fire cage did have the special characteristics of a Ruler, otherwise it wouldn’t have been able to easily wound it.

There was only one possibility…

A Ruler’s Mark!

In this world, besides a Ruler’s Mark, there was no other object that could withstand their terrifying power.

Whether it was a living being or any kind of material, anything that touched a Ruler’s power would be directly annihilated and vaporized into nothingness.

In the vast world, the endless heavens and myriad worlds were endless. But, the number of Rulers was limited. This was because the number of marks that could help someone become a Ruler had been constant since ancient times.

Dang –

Dang –

The fire dragon’s heart was wildly beating. At this moment, he even forgot the pain it was withstanding.

His eyes stared at the sea of fire, as if he saw a path that led straight to the unsurpassed Great Dao.

A long, long time ago, so long ago that even the fire dragon’s will hadn’t been born yet, in an ancient era almost beyond memory, a Ruler had suddenly perished and their mark hadn’t been inherited. Rather, it shattered into countless pieces that scattered throughout the world.

For hundreds of millions of years, countless beings searched for the fragments of the Ruler’s Mark. They hoped to one day reunite the fragments and take the throne of the only missing Ruler in the endless heavens and myriad realms.

But the river of time had flowed endlessly and billions of talented geniuses shined beautifully in the skies like stars that illuminated the world. Yet, they eventually passed away one after another, and none of them were able to become a true Ruler.

It was even rumored that when that Ruler perished in the past, at the time of his death he self-destructed his own mark so that there would always be a Ruler missing in the world!

The fire dragon had no idea if this rumor was true or not, but there was one point he was aware of – what appeared before him now was a fragment of that Ruler’s Mark.

Moreover, this fragment seemed to have approved of Qin Yu, thus it chose to descend when he faced death.

Obtain it!

He had to obtain it!

Once he obtained a fragment of a Ruler’s Mark, his cultivation would fly up and he would be inferior only to a Ruler-level existence. At that time, even when facing a Ruler, he would be able to avoid them.

In fact, by relying on this Ruler’s Mark fragment, he could sense the others and gather the remaining fragments, eventually becoming an unsurpassed existence that shined upon the heavens and earth.

Ruler…Ruler…

Hou –

Within the fire cage, the fire dragon crazily roared. This ‘crazily’ was not just a description, because at this moment, he really became crazy.

So what if he had to discard everything else he had now for the Ruler’s Mark? Even if he had to start back from the beginning, it would absolutely be worth it!

Bang –

Bang –

The fire dragon’s massive body started to decompose. This wasn’t because he was being wounded by the fire cage, but because he took the initiative to destroy himself.

Of course, this method of self-destruction was the same as a cultivator imploding themselves. From this, it could be imagined what sort of astonishing impact the fire dragon would produce.

Even if the fire cage possessed a part of a Ruler’s might, it still wouldn’t be able to fully resist an attack of such intensity. Still, if the fire dragon wanted to blow apart the fire cage with this, it was not possible.

Even if it possessed just a portion of a Ruler’s might, it was still an invincible peak existence. Unless another Ruler-level existence took action, it would not be broken.

But if the explosive force was concentrated, breaking open a slit in the fire cage was possible.

Now, what the fire dragon wanted to do was to break open an outlet in this fire cage.

Even if it was only for an instant, that would be enough for his remnant soul to escape and swallow Qin Yu’s soul!

…

This was what the little blue lamp was most worried about.

With its strength, it wasn’t difficult to suppress and kill the fire dragon. Of course, the premise was that it placed itself at risk of being detected. Once discovered, it and Qin Yu would both be doomed.

So as Qin Yu’s cultivation rose and he touched a higher level, the little blue lamp became increasingly quiet in order to reduce its own traces as much as possible.

This was the reason for its actions so far.

Of course, in today’s scenario when Qin Yu faced a life or death situation, it took a risk and helped because there was no other choice. But its help wasn’t foolproof, because the fire dragon’s strength had surpassed a certain limit.

Even if the fire dragon fell into the cage of fire, it would still have the ability to struggle for its life. For instance, it could combust itself and emit a horrifying amount of strength for a brief period of time, thus having the possibility of breaking open an exit path in the fire cage.

To achieve this, the fire dragon had to pay a deep price. From its pure and complete soul, there was now only a remnant soul that had a tenth of its original strength.

But even so, this remnant soul was still far, far more formidable than Qin Yu’s soul. In confrontations between souls, while absolute strength didn’t always determine victory or defeat, and even if there were other factors considered, there wasn’t much hope of Qin Yu being victorious when he faced the fire dragon.

However, the little blue lamp had expected this before it helped. This was why it gave Qin Yu a warning ahead of time – if he wanted to live, it would all depend on him in the end.

Now, it was time for him to fulfill his task!

“Qin Yu, the fire dragon will combust its soul and a remnant soul will rush out. This will be its final counterattack. If you can swallow that remnant soul then you can cross today’s tribulation.” There was no need to mention the consequences of failure. Qin Yu already knew what they were.

As he thought, no matter how many cards he had, when faced with a disparity of absolute strength there was nothing he could do to make up for it. He had to rely on himself to find a way to survive.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In his soul space, the body of his soul opened its eyes, a sharp light surging within.

“I hope that once this fire dragon escapes the fire prison, its remnant soul won’t be too strong…” As this thought appeared, the little blue lamp’s voice shouted in his ears, “Here it comes!”

Bang –

With a loud strike, as if his head suffered a brutal bashing, Qin Yu’s vision flashed black. Cracking sounds could be heard coming from above his head.

He looked up and saw that the space above his soul space had been crushed. A fierce and horrific dragon’s head that was scorched and had scales falling off reached in. It stared at Qin Yu, its eyes flooded with cruelty and greed.

Hou –

With a roar, two thick dragon claws reached out and grabbed the edges of the shattered space. They tore outwards with great effort and then the entire dragon’s body drilled inside.

With just one glance, Qin Yu felt a degree of oppression that was difficult to explain. It was like a mountain range had been placed on his chest, making it impossible to even breathe.

Yes, whether it was in size or strength, this fire dragon was far weaker than its original state.

But its strength still far surpassed Qin Yu’s hopes. When he compared his soul to the fire dragon, even saying it was like an adult against a baby was still not enough.

What could he do?