Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The middle-aged guest continued to move forwards. He spoke calmly, “Don’t waste any more time. Let me see what the Old Four Claws are truly capable of.”

With their bodies drenched in blood, they looked hideous. The two Old Four Claws exchanged glances and knew that they had reached their end today.

“Since Mister Zhou looks highly upon us, we cannot let you down.”

“Although the Heavenly Silkworm Sutra damages the users, we think that it still has some merit and we hope you can advise us!”

As they shouted, the pythons on the robes of the two Old Four Claws came to life. They were like huge mouths, swallowing the two Old Four Claws.

The sound of them being swallowed was accompanied by the crunching of bones. The two Old Four Claws were eaten cleanly. The two pythons from their robes came to life and their three hundred meter bodies landed heavily on the floor. They raised their heads and hissed, with their tongues sticking out. Their eyes were locked on the middle-aged guest.

The Heavenly Silkworm Sutra was similar to silkworms eating mulberry leaves and producing silk. It was cultivated on the robes of the Old Four Claws. After it finished its cultivation, the Old Four Claws became highly respected in the Imperial Palace.

But at the same time, they dug their own graves.

Once they fought with their lives on the line, they would sacrifice themselves. With their blood as food, they would awaken the pythons on their robes and express their full power.

Of course, this method could only be used once. After they used it, the Old Four Claws would die and their souls would disappear without getting a chance to reincarnate.

That was why they spoke about leaving their bodies to the wild and looking for a chance to reincarnate. The truth was that not even their bodies would be left behind. Hence, it was impossible for them to be reincarnated.

The middle-aged guest frowned. It was not that he was feeling reluctant but he was thinking about how only the Imperial Palace could allow such a cruel and unrestrained cultivation method to be developed, without worrying about the user turning evil.

When he took action today, he had already prepared himself. Moreover, the Heavenly Silkworm Sutra was not a secret. Seeing the two pythons roar into the air, the middle-aged guest turned his palms and pushed downwards. A huge lotus leaf seemed to cover the entire sky.

As the saying went, when one is disgraced, the whole family is doomed. When the sky was covered, anything in the middle would not be able to escape easily. The two pythons roared mournfully, their gigantic bodies twisting and smacking. However, the floor and the space were extremely stable and did not show any signs of cracks. It was like an invisible energy was pressing on the world and sandwiching them inside.

Gold and jade letters appeared on the huge bodies of the pythons. They did not seem impressive but each letter was extremely heavy. They weighed down on the scales of the pythons, causing their flesh to bleed. The immensely powerful bodies immediately turned into a mess of blood.

The middle-aged guest looked slightly regretful. However, time was not on his side and he was not able to hesitate.

Pak –

With a soft sound, the jade pendant hanging on his waist turned into dust.

The jade and gold words on the body of the pythons glowed and melted into their flesh. The flesh began to boil and miserable shrieks could be heard.

The Heavenly Silkworm Sutra was cultivated into a python robe. While silkworms ate mulberry leaves, what did the Old Four Claws from the palace eat? This was where the phrase ‘ill treatment’ came about.

By sacrificing themselves, the two Old Four Claws called upon the pythons. The pythons were now on the verge of death and would not be able to escape no matter how much they struggled. It was not that they were not powerful, but it was that this middle-aged guest, Mister Zhou, was the most horrifying in this entire capital.

The reason why Huicui Pavilion could get him to make a move was firstly because they gave him sufficient payment. Secondly, it was because they had extensive connections and were able to find out where Mister Zhou resided, hence coming to an agreement.

His Majesty was also shocked and slightly disappointed by this. After all, he had also thought of recruiting this middle-aged guest to add more power to the West Desolate.

Coming from the Divine Zhou Continent in the West Desolate, although he was an outcast, he had immense qualifications and power. The West Desolate King, who controlled the nation’s luck, could clearly see this.

The middle-aged guest was someone qualified to try for the King realm!

The middle-aged guest also knew this. However, he did not regret. There was a lady on a sickbed who he needed to rescue. He was bound by ‘love’.

He stepped forwards, closing the rest of the distance in a flash. He appeared right outside the carriage. The middle-aged guest’s face was calm. He did not look guilty nor murderous.

“Protect the general!”

Big Head Wang and the rest of the army from the mine surrounded the carriage. They had been stunned by the fight in front of them and they were all pale as they trembled. But when the middle-aged guest flew over and unsheathed his sword, they all jumped out without hesitating.

They would be lying if they said they were not afraid. But their minds had gone blank and they did not have time to think and reacted instinctively.

Our general cannot die here!

Whether they could defend him and how effective their attacks would be…Big Head Wang did not have time to think. After all, their lives in the army had always been rotten. If they died, it would just be repaying the general for his kindness.

The truth was that they were useless. Though Big Head Wang and the soldiers were not afraid of death, before they could do anything, they were thrown out of the way. They vomited blood and rolled on the floor like harvested carrots. They were in a sorry state but would not lose their lives.

Although the middle-aged guest had left his hometown and become an outcast, he still abided by principles and did not kill wantonly.

Unless it was someone that he intended to kill…gentlemen had things they would do and things they would not do…it actually all depended on his mood.

This sounded like something a bastard would say. However, it was something that Junior Uncle would always say. This caused the elders of the academy to be frustrated, but there was nothing they could do about it.

After all, Junior Uncle was the strongest in the academy and even his teachers acknowledged this.

If Junior Uncle were here today, what would it be like? He would probably not be in a rush to kill but would rather wait for the Imperial Palace to react. He might even force the King realm cultivators in the capital to come out and have a good fight. He would probably be wondering if his sword could cut this entire city in half.

The middle-aged guest’s eyes lit up as a hint of disappointment appeared in them. In this life, he would not have the chance to see Junior Uncle take action ever again.

Shaking his head, he pushed away his thoughts. Since he could not compare to Junior Uncle, he should try to kill Qin Yu as fast as possible.

The middle-aged guest looked determined. Lifting his finger, there was a light ray.

His finger was like a sword as he brought it down!

Other than the carriage driver, there was no one left to stop him.

Before his finger fell, a horrifying feeling surged. As it reached people’s hearts and minds, their souls were crushed into pieces.

The carriage driver was pale and his face filled with horror. However, in an instant, the fear disappeared and he looked seriously at the finger. The long whip in his hand broke, and within the bamboo handle, there was a hidden sword.

He raised his sword. An intense sword aura erupted from it. The aura rolled and surged into the air like a flooded river.

The middle-aged guest frowned slightly as he looked a bit surprised. He did not expect that this unassuming carriage driver would be such a strong sword cultivator.

But once he moved his finger, there was no turning back. He moved faster, and like lightning, his finger met with the edge of the carriage driver’s sword.

The middle-aged guest frowned even harder as his huge robe was blown upwards as if a lot of air was being blown at him. He flew back. He moved extremely gracefully as his long sleeves blew in the wind. He looked like a fairy flying through the night.

As he landed, he looked at the carriage driver. Or rather, he was looking at the short sword in the carriage driver’s hand. It was described as short because the length of the sword itself was short. However, the sword intent in it was so immense that it seemed impossibly long.

Simply put, from here to there…it was longer than the sky!

“What is this sword called?”

The carriage driver looked even paler, like a clean sheet of paper. However, his breathing was slow and gentle, “The sword is called Long River. It is from an ancient river and it was refined through a supreme divine way. It is a bit of a humiliation to the sword for me to have inherited it.”

The middle-aged guest nodded, agreeing with him. The carriage driver was of a very high cultivation and was one of the most powerful sword cultivators in this world. But he was still considered somewhat unworthy of the sword in his hand.

It was not that he was weak, but that the sword was extremely strong. Especially since it was placed in the West Desolate Imperial Palace and was refined by the nation’s luck. After many years of cultivation and refinement, it was as if the sword has been washed and it was now shining.

Having been silent for thousands of years, the sword was drawn today and its sword aura stretched far and wide, with the power to cut the world! It felt as if it could cut even the heavens in half. How could it not be able to bring down a person? After all, no matter how strong middle-aged Mister Zhou was, he was incomparable to the heavens.

“If you were strong enough, I would have died to that strike.”

The middle-aged guest turned to leave. He suddenly swayed and numerous cuts and wounds appeared all over his body. Fresh blood spurted out and dyed his wide robe red.

The intense aura, resembling the rising sun, felt as if it had been covered by fog and disappeared completely.

The carriage driver looked on in admiration as he put his hands together in greeting, “I won today because of my sword…Mister Zhou, please be on your way.”

Boom boom boom –

The ground started to tremble. It was the Imperial Palace Secret Guards rushing over. The middle-aged guest, who was drenched in blood, would not be able to escape even if he wanted to.

The two Old Four Claws had fed themselves to the pythons. Their body parts were strewn all over.

There was a strong scent of blood in the air.

Big Head Wang and the rest of the mine army that had been thrown out did not die but were badly injured. They struggled to stand as they looked at the scene in front of them.

They never expected that the immensely and impossibly strong middle-aged guest would actually be so badly hurt by a single strike. Or perhaps they were confused as to why they were actually able to survive.

The carriage driver took a deep breath and sighed gently. There was some blood splattered on him. He had sacrificed a lot to activate that one strike. Even though he was a sword cultivator, he was also affected.

If he wanted to recover, he would have to go into seclusion for a while and use up many resources. He turned and knocked lightly on the carriage, “Marquis, the assassin has been dealt with. You can go to court peacefully.”

In the carriage, Qin Yu stared at the carriage door. He looked extremely tense and was not at all relaxed. The originally cool white jade was now a burning rock in his palms.

There was nothing in front of him, yet he seemed to be able to see a pair of cold eyes on a respectful face.

The carriage was silent. The carriage driver frowned. He did not know when and where he exposed himself. But since he had been found out, he could only take action.

In the next moment, the carriage door was broken down. The immense power and aura that he had earlier was gone.

The short Long River Sword pierced through the door and aimed for the top of Qin Yu’s head. The sword turned pitch black as if containing all the darkness in the world.

So the carriage driver was the last chess piece for today.

The reason why he forced the middle-aged guest to back off was because he knew that although Mister Zhou was powerful, he was not able to kill Qin Yu. It was because Qin Yu held the West Desolate’s Marquis Chongwu seal. In this seal, incense power had already been infused.

So when the carriage driver chose to cut off the middle-aged guest, he paid a price. But this price was the nation's luck from the West Desolate. It now regained its original strength and could release the true power of the Long River Sword.

With the falling of the sword, it could cut off the incense!

The Marquis Chongwu seal that Qin Yu was carrying shattered with a ‘pak’. The incense power was a formless substance and turned into a bubble.

Under normal circumstances, someone of a Half-King level was needed to defend against the bubble. But in front of the Long River Sword, it was as weak as an actual bubble.

It burst as the sword fell. The blade of the sword did not stop as it approached Qin Yu’s head. Even a Ruler would be killed in an instant by the sharp blade of the sword, without any chance of preserving their body or soul.

Ding –

With a soft sound, it was like the blade of the sword hit an iron stone. The carriage driver who wielded it looked shocked.

The energy that rebounded was as strong as a tsunami as it travelled through the sword back into his arm and into his chest. His bones and muscles broke with ‘pi pa pi pa’ sounds.

The hand holding the sword had turned into bone as all the flesh was torn and evaporated into a blood mist. The carriage driver was thrown backwards. He quickly retrieved a talisman and tore it. He disappeared in an instant.

As for the short Long River Sword, it shattered into many pieces and fell in front of Qin Yu.

However, the sword was no longer sharp but instead became soft like flowing water. The broken pieces fused together.

The sound of killing could be heard from afar. Soon, it was followed by shrieks and the sound of something heavy falling onto the floor.

Qin Yu frowned as he stood on the carriage that had been broken. The two handsome horses that were pulling the carriage had been reduced to lumps of flesh on the ground when the carriage driver had attacked the middle-aged guest.

The Imperial Palace Secret Guards surrounded the middle-aged guest who was attempting to leave and forced him back. Bloods poured out of his wounds non-stop.

After his robe was thoroughly drenched, it started to flow onto the floor. Wherever he stepped, he would leave behind a bloody footprint.

But the middle-aged guest did not fall. Instead he was like a broken water bag, leaking water everywhere. He lifted his hands and sent the Imperial Palace Secret Guard that had dashed up to him flying. The status of the guard remained unknown.

All of a sudden, the middle-aged guest sighed and looked at Qin Yu. He looked extremely exhausted and his eyes were bleak. Yet, he was not scared or indignant. He looked calm but also slightly impatient.

“Marquis Chongwu, I am about to die, but I promised someone that I would go back and see her one last time to give this jade to her. Can you let me leave?”

He lifted up a jade that was completely black. It had been soaked in blood, yet the blood did not seem to stain it at all.

Qin Yu looked at him and nodded, “Okay.”

The Imperial Palace Secret Guards hesitated.

Qin Yu said slowly, “I will take responsibility for this.” The Secret Guards backed off and the middle-aged guest looked at Qin Yu. He smiled before turning to leave.

Qin Yu watched him as he left, leaving a trail of blood. There was a complicated look in Qin Yu’s eyes.

In the face of death, this was probably the strongest cultivator Qin Yu had met.

He was not yet at the King realm, but the gap was probably not that big. A person like that was actually willing to die today.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu calmed himself down and jumped off the carriage. He left bloody footprints as he walked forwards.