Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The biggest joke in Seascape City in recent years was definitely Chen Sanglue.

This young master from the City Governor’s Mansion had a prestigious background, and was originally one of the top figures in the city.

However, he made a mistake and offended someone that he should not have offended. The incident that happened back then in Moon Brothel had shaken the entire city.

Of course, what happened in Moon Brothel was not really a secret. Even things that the public should not have known started to slowly be learned about as time went on.

If General Jinwu was just a powerless figure, then it would not be a big deal. However, after he entered the Imperial Capital, he was extremely fortunate.

Consequently, without giving anyone time to digest what was happening, he was promoted to the rank of a third-class marquis and a first-ranked great general.

Now, everyone understood that General Jinwu was someone that His Majesty greatly valued and trusted. Comparing both of them, Chen Sanglue had truly become a clown.

Furthermore, not long ago, when Marquis Chongwu was returning to the Imperial Capital to receive his decree and to report for duties, he had stopped by in Seascape City for a while. At the inn where he was staying, the city governor Chen Yuanshen had personally come and punished Chen Sanglue in front of him.

His two legs were broken by his own father, and his own lieutenant Xu Shen had broken off his own arm. Yet, in the end, they still did not succeed in making amends and left the inn unhappily.

It was simple logic. The more His Majesty trusted and valued Marquis Chongwu, the more embarrassing it was for Chen Sanglue, who was the son of Seascape City’s governor.

This was their relationship with each other, which could be understood if one thought about it carefully.

Seascape City looked calm on the surface, but under this facade, there were countless strong undercurrents that were raging.

The West Desolate’s territory was vast, but they only had 108 main cities. This implied some kind of heavenly law at play here. A city governor did not only have power and status, but more importantly, they had invisible Great Dao blessings that were very helpful for cultivation.

Of course, many people coveted such a position.

After all these incidents happened, Chen Sanglue became a drunkard who stayed in his house all day.

One day, while he was drunk again, he was chasing after a few of his female servants and having fun with them. From the corner of his eye, he saw a person who was as beautiful as a fairy.

Chen Sanglue laughed loudly and rushed towards that person. He could vaguely hear his father’s fierce reprimanding voice which sobered him up a little, but still, he did not stop. On the contrary, his laugh became even louder and wilful.

A fragrance spread to his nose and mouth, but before he could really throw himself into that beauty’s arms, he blacked out and fell into unconsciousness.

After some time passed, he woke up groggily. Then, he realized that he was in a moving carriage.

“You’ve woken up.”

The woman in front of him spoke softly but her eyes were closed, as if she knew everything that was going on around her.

Chen Sanglue raised his hand to rub the spot between his eyebrows where he could feel a headache building. He struggled to sit up and asked in a low voice, “Who are you? Where am I?”

The woman’s eyes were still closed as she replied, “Don’t worry, you’re not being kidnapped. It was Chen Yuanshen who personally allowed you to leave with us.

“And…we’re at the West Desolate’s Imperial Capital.”

Chen Sanglue’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took a proper look at this woman in front of him who still had her eyes closed. Then, he suddenly stood up and respectfully greeted her, “Chen Sanglue did not mean to offend Immortal Li. Please forgive me!”

The woman exhaled lightly and opened her eyes to look at him. Then, she smiled and said, “Young Master Chen is indeed clever, but you must be really weak. You are a man, but you are so full of self-pity after just a few obstacles.”

Chen Sanglue laughed in self-mockery, “What Miss says is true.” His eyes dimmed a little as he shook his head and continued, “Immortal Li, why have you brought me to the Imperial Capital?”

Li Ruhua smiled brightly and beautifully as she replied, “I need you to lead the way for me.”

She looked at Chen Sanglue, but she was not really looking at him. She was looking at the tangle of karma webs that was behind him.

These webs were the only reason why he managed to live until today. Otherwise, Li Ge’s sword would already have helped him to understand that some women in this world could never be touched.

However, today, Li Ge was not present. There was only Li Ruhua and Chen Sanglue in the carriage, and it was hard to tell the reason why.

Chen Sanglue thought for a while before he cupped his hands and said, “It’s good as long as I can be of help to Immortal Li.”

Folding his legs to sit cross-legged, he closed his eyes to cultivate.

Li Ruhua was stunned for a moment before smiling. When she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with amusement.

She closed her eyes once more, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

This man had been born in the Southwest Desolate’s fragmented area and had only entered the Desolate Area not long ago, but had climbed to his current position…this was even more interesting.

Moments later, the carriage halted. Li Ruhua raised her hand to lift the curtain as she looked out.

……

Qin Yu, who had become addicted to renting things from Rourou, was chased out by her. He had become really smooth and his skin had become really thick. However, she had to admit that if she decided to close one eye to it, his non-conventional ways gave him plenty of room to play around.

After all, she had never leased items to anyone else in countless years. Mostly, she only made one-shot deals with people. This was because these people usually only had one chance to trade with her.

Of course, everything was based on Rourou’s willingness to go through with these trades. Otherwise, if it was someone else who tried to negotiate with her, just a snap of her soft, white fingers could cause their brains to explode into mush.

However, she still needed to put on an act, otherwise Qin Yu would continue to push his boundaries. If one day he crossed the line, was she going to kill him or not? Therefore, it was only beneficial for everyone if she continued to give him warnings.

At this time, Rourou was trying to refine a very interesting treasure made from the deceased jellyfish and cicada wings.

Her fingers flicked slightly and layers of waves were created in the space in front of her. When these waves hit each other, the impact created the outline of a large phantom cauldron.

The deceased jellyfish and cicada wings floated in this large phantom cauldron and looked like they were already semi-dissolved as wisps of mysterious aura surrounded them.

She could craft ordinary refining tools easily. However, these materials she had were quite good, and also, even though this object that she refined wasn’t going to be hers…even though she felt a little weird in her heart, Rourou also thought that it would be good to try refining this to be the best it could be.

Therefore, she used a few tricks up her sleeve and ‘borrowed’ this cauldron from someone. Even though it was just a phantom and had only a tenth of its true power, it was more than enough to refine these two delicate materials that she had.

At this time, Rourou suddenly frowned. She raised her head to take a look, and coldness surged in her eyes. Someone was using the laws of karma to trace Qin Yu’s location.

Her first thought was that all the cover-ups that they came up with in the past had already been seen through by somebody. If this really was the case, then a huge war was going to break out.

Even she would be implicated.

However, very quickly, Rourou’s expression softened a little. Even if someone did come to find them, it did not mean that things had gone awry yet.

After looking at the large phantom cauldron that was refining the deceased jellyfish and cicada wings, the corner of her lips were upturned and she suddenly raised her hand and pointed in front of her.

Hum –

The large cauldron trembled slightly. A faint humming sound was produced from it, as if someone had struck it softly from the outside.

……

With a light groan, Li Ruhua’s face turned pale and her eyes showed surprise.

She did not care about Chen Sanglue who was sitting opposite her as she said, “Let’s go!”

The carriage sped up and left. It was only when they left the long street that Li Ruhua spat some blood from her mouth, and her face looked much better than it was before.

Indeed, he was a capable person.

She was outside Marquis Chongwu’s residence, using her divine sense to trace the karma webs behind Chen Sanglue. However, before she could gain any new insights, she was shaken by the sound of a loud hum.

Thankfully, the purpose of the loud hum was just to force her to retreat and not chase after her. Otherwise, the consequences would not be as simple as coughing up blood.

Wiping the traces of blood from the corners of her mouth, Li Ruhua turned and looked at Marquis Chongwu’s residence from afar. A glint of light flashed across her eyes.

Chen Sanglue suddenly said, “Miss, did you come here because of Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin?”

Li Ruhua looked at him. She was not supposed to divulge this matter to someone who was just leading the way for her, however, her heart was shaken now. She smiled and nodded, “Not bad.”

Chen Sanglue cupped his hands and said, “If there is any way that I can help, Miss, you can just let me know.” He did not bother to conceal his hatred towards Marquis Chongwu.

Li Ruhua smiled and agreed, “Okay.”

She retracted her gaze and uncurled her fingers that were covering her mouth, looking at the red spot in her palm.