Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu finally understood why Rourou liked to stay in brightly lit places. Perhaps she was really sick of the unending and constant darkness. The darkness was so thick it looked like black ink, dyeing the entire world black.

And also…she must have been very very lonely. This made Qin Yu think of her sudden gentleness.

This vast and dark world did not seem to have an end. There was no concept of time and space here. Just neverending emptiness and never changing silence.

And this was Rourou’s home. She had lived here for so many years. No wonder when she descended into the world, even the barren wild country hills looked interesting to her and she kept talking about planting all sorts of crops to enjoy life.

To her, that was already a luxury.

Lying on the soft bed made from the branches, he turned and the branches immediately rearranged into the most comfortable position for him.

It was not likely that the two big trees were trying to flatter him. It was more likely that they had coexisted for so many years and this became second nature to them.

From this perspective, they were like professional chefs of the ‘root people’. It was probably because they had to do it so many times and became skilled over time.

Qin Yu let out a breath. In this world, there was karma affecting everything and one could see it arising in all ways.

He kicked back and crossed his legs. It was not because this position was comfortable, but Qin Yu needed to move to prevent himself from losing his mind.

This place was extremely strange. When people stayed in here for too long, it was easy for them to stop thinking.

Qin Yu occasionally realized this and was guarded. He knew he could not fall in or he would be in deep trouble.

He thought seriously.

First, about his current condition.

It was not that Qin Yu was selfish and only cared about himself. There was always a sequence to things.

Rourou was sleeping now. She had to wake up in order for them to leave this place, and this relied on Qin Yu. If he had an issue himself, it would be a huge problem and nothing else could be done.

Hmm…this place was indeed strange. Qin Yu entered this dark world as a soul separated from his body. But now, he did not feel like anything was off. He felt that his soul was very solid and there was no difference from his physical body.

This probably had something to do with Rourou. Qin Yu had clearly sensed that in this dark world, the energy from his soul was constantly fluctuating.

But now, his soul felt as stable as his real body and the fluctuation had been suppressed.

Simply put, Qin Yu could stay here as a soul for a long time.

Of course, even so, he had to quickly try and open this dark world.

He did not know why, but staying in this darkness gave him an uneasy feeling.

The second thing was to find the supposedly coldest place in this dark world. Actually the word ‘coldest’ referred to a feeling felt by his soul.

As it went, where Yang ended, Yin started, and where Yin ended, Yang started. By finding a suitable place, it would increase his chance of success by a lot.

Now that he was trying to find the way, these two trees of Rourou’s were very useful.

Thirdly, Qin Yu did not know if this was real or not, but ever since Rourou fell asleep, he felt as if there was something watching him.

It was extremely faint and emotionless. Yet, it caused him to be extremely alarmed.

Despite using his divine sense, he was not able to find anything out. It made Qin Yu feel as if he had imagined it in this darkness.

But instinct told him that it was not an illusion…he had to be cautious.

The only good news was that the two trees had accompanied Rourou for numerous years and they were very familiar with this place.

As time passed, Qin Yu could sense the ‘temperature’ of this dark world falling. He took a deep breath and straightened his body. Rubbing his hands together, he looked forwards.

He was going in the right direction. Now, the only thing left was to wait.

……

The place where Divine Stone Tribe once lived was now a wasteland. The various stone pieces that covered the area had been dug out and split.

Other than the occasional ruins, it would be hard to believe that a powerful barbarian tribe used to live here.

After the Divine Stone Totem fell, Tribe Leader Shi Gan went missing. There was internal strife amongst the remaining elders and the last opportunity for the Divine Stone Tribe vanished.

The tribe members had either died or fled. The mighty Divine Stone Tribe was destroyed in a few years.

Several barbarians from smaller tribes were rummaging and scavenging through the ruins of the Divine Stone Tribe. A skinny camel was still bigger than a horse. Though the Divine Stone Tribe was ruined, there might be some treasures that no one had found yet.

For example, the stone fragments that had absorbed the aura of the Divine Stone Totem. Each and every piece was a good resource. It was rumored that a few days ago, someone had coincidentally found one as big as a fist. It even emitted a soft glow under the sunlight. It was enough to delight a small tribe.

“Let’s rest for a while, our luck is not good today. I don’t think we will get anything.” A somewhat older barbarian said as he spat a mouthful of saliva mixed with sand. He turned and sat on a stone.

It was a pity that though this stone was big; it was useless. At most, it was somewhere to sit.

“Yeah, I think we should not come anymore. The Divine Stone Tribe is too poor. There is nothing good left!” Several junior barbarians grumbled.

The old barbarian lit his cigar and took a puff. He sneered, “It is only now that you all dare to say this. If it were a few years ago, even if you gathered your courage for eight hundred years, you would not even dare to spout half a word.”

The junior barbarians shrunk back and looked sullen. The old barbarian was right. As the major and powerful tribe in the area, the Divine Stone Tribe used to have over a hundred subordinate tribes. These people were all from a small tribe, and back then, they were not even qualified to help clean shoes, much less have the courage to say such crude things.

“Old uncle, we all know that your information is the most accurate. Do you know what exactly happened to the Divine Stone Tribe? How can such a powerful tribe have been wiped out in such a short time?” A young barbarian smiled. He wiped his dirty hands before moving over to massage the shoulders of the old barbarian.

Everyone else’s eyes widened as they looked curiously. They had wanted to know about this but did not get a reply when they asked previously.

For such a big thing, even if they knew a small part of it, it was enough to go back and brag about it. If they added more flavor to it, like how they played certain roles etc, perhaps they could even impress some ladies.

The old barbarian sneered.

But his reaction caused several of the junior barbarians’ eyes to light up. If he did not reject, it means that there was a chance.

“Old uncle, tell us!”

“That’s right. The Divine Stone Tribe has completely fallen. Even if you tell us, there will not be any trouble.”

“We have tight lips and won’t say a single word!”

The old barbarian snorted and looked unhappy, “I have seen you all grow up and know exactly what you all are thinking. Saying all this is useless.”

He took another two puffs and breathed out spicy smoke, “But there is one thing that you are all right about. The Divine Stone Tribe has completely fallen. Even if we speak about it, there will not be any karma.”

Clearing his throat, he spat out a wad of phlegm. The old barbarian pointed at a ruin, “Five years ago, the Divine Stone Tribe invited a Desolate man, Marquis Chongwu. They were asking for his help to improve the Divine Stone Totem. However, this was a trap. At least four tribes had colluded. They had different objectives: to kill, to chase people away, and some wanted to live for a few hundred more years.

“The ones that were to be killed did not want to die. Those that were to be chased away were not willing to leave. So they clashed. In the end, because they were at the Divine Stone Tribe, the Divine Stone Tribe suffered the brunt of it and was doomed. But it was not because of this that they lost hope of survival. After all, the Divine Stone Tribe had been a very obedient dog and it is not easy to find such a tribe in the Barbarian Clan.”

The old barbarian’s mouth twisted before a mocking look appeared on him, “It was a windy and dark night. Four sneaky old cripples snuck in and attacked the Divine Stone Totem that was about to revive. After paying the price, they managed to completely destroy it. That is how the Divine Stone Tribe was doomed. Shi Gan ran away, but he is like a grasshopper in autumn. No matter how much he struggles, he can only live up to five more years. He is destined to die.”

The eyes of the young barbarians started to glow. Alas, this old uncle was a famous capable man. Though what he said was slightly confusing, it all sounded extremely real. Tsk tsk, when they spread this, they would be able to scare a lot of people.

Seeing the young barbarians’ faces, the old barbarian knew what they were thinking and chided them, “Get lost, get lost. Hurry and look around once more. Let’s go if there is nothing left!”

The group of young barbarians were smiling as they left.

The old barbarian picked up his cigar and took a few more puffs. His eyes narrowed as he let out a puff of smoke, “Self-inflicted sin. Doomed, doomed…”

At this moment, none of the young barbarians saw the stone under the old barbarians. There was a pained look on the surface of the stone and its eyes seemed to be begging.

The old barbarian looked down at it. His expression was calm, “That’s right, I am talking about you. Hurry up and die, I am waiting for my treasure.”

He waited for a while more and saw that it was getting late. However, the stone he was sitting on still did not show signs of cracking. The old barbarian was slightly impatient. He hesitated for a while before picking up the copper ashtray he was using and knocking it on the stone.

Crack –

The stone cracked open. The face on the surface faded away, looking despairing and indignant.

“Aiyo! My butt!”

The old barbarian jumped up and scolded before bending over and picking up the stone, about as big as a fist, resembling a crystal, “My baby, my baby!”

As soon as he shouted, he hurried to cover his mouth. He looked at the young barbarians that had rushed over, “What are you all looking at. Hurry and go! Are you staying behind to wait for death!”

The old barbarian hopped on a carriage and the younger barbarians pulled it. It left like the wind.

The old barbarian turned back to look at the Divine Stone Tribe territory that was now in ruins. His eyes were bleak and did not show any emotions.

It was from this moment that things were truly considered closed…Divine Stone Tribe, disappear!