Refining the Mountains and Rivers

In the Vast Brightness, there existed small worlds. Like islands found in the ocean and stars scattered in the night sky, they were innumerable.

To get to these 'islands', one had to first cross the 'oceans'. A very small number of small worlds had teleportation channels built between them, but getting to the remaining majority of small worlds required skill and strength.

Of course, this was not an easy feat, because the 'oceans' that separated the small worlds were known as the Outer Void. It was a place with virtually no signs of life.

On the other hand, the small worlds in the Vast Brightness occupied a total area that was less than half of the entire land. The remaining space was occupied by the pitch-black nothingness of the Outer Void.

In such a boundless space, there were many terrifying and unique creatures that existed throughout the Void. Cultivators who had the opportunity to interact with these creatures referred to them as 'Void Creatures', which were known to be extremely dangerous.

Currently, Qin Yu was holding onto Rice Paper's hand as they progressed through the Outer Void at an outstanding speed. Suddenly, they stopped.

Even though they could not see very well, they had strong abilities to sense their surroundings. They had just sensed a humongous tentacle that missed them by a hair, and the aura that it gave out made Rice Paper extremely fearful.

Earlier on, her master had mentioned that Void Creatures loved to hunt strong cultivators. The more powerful a cultivator was, the more likely it was that he or she would attract the attention of these creatures. It was almost as if swallowing these cultivators' flesh and souls would bring them huge benefits.

When she was rushing towards the Peach Garden, she had also encountered Void Creatures, but they were nowhere as strong as the one that she just sensed and they also did not show as much interest in her.

But today was different!

Thinking of all the kinds of legends that she heard about Void Creatures before, she could not help but feel afraid.

Qin Yu calmly said to her, "Stay here, don't move."

Then, he let go of her hand and zipped past her.

A few breaths later, a deafening explosion could be heard, sending vibrations in all directions. Then, very quickly, there was silence once again.

Qin Yu went back to Rice Paper, grabbed her, and continued on their way.

He's so strong!

Even though she had heard about what had happened in the Vanquished Nation and how Mister Ninth defeated Zhou and Lin Saint by himself, she truly became well-aware of Qin Yu's terrifying powers only today.

A tentacle from that Void Creature was enough to send shivers down her spine. Yet, it was easily defeated by Mister Ninth…could it be that he had reached the cultivation level of a Ruler?

Nah, I don't think he has yet. There would be signs if he had already attained such a level. It was impossible to hide it.

Even if he had not reached the cultivation level of a Ruler, Mister Ninth was at least at the level of a True Saint. With him around, they definitely had a chance of saving Soaring Sky and cracking the schemes that were awaiting him at the Transcendent Sword Sect!

These thoughts gave Rice Paper a huge amount of reassurance, and the apprehension in her heart dissipated bit by bit.

……

Standing on the grass plains were palaces with red walls and black roofs. They looked solemn and magnificent. Outside the palaces, countless devout followers that were wearing coats made with thick fur knelt and prayed for protection.

The monks, who were bald and wearing red robes, held scriptures in their hands. They had a compassionate and peaceful expression on their faces as they looked at the numerous worshippers. They chanted ceaselessly, and the mixture of their murmurs meshed together created a spiritual atmosphere.

Suddenly, like a mirror that was punched, the red walls of the palace were smashed to smithereens.

Qin Yu and Rice Paper emerged from the rubble, and they looked around for a few moments. Then, without even a pause, they disappeared and reentered the Outer Void once again.

Whilst they were rushing, it was necessary to keep checking their position along the way, in case they deviated from their planned journey. If they were too engrossed in their journey and forgot to check where they were, they might end up in a random place. This had happened to many cultivators before.

To them, it was a simple way of checking their location. However, to the monks in the red-walled palace, their holy palace had been desecrated. They were furious that cultivators from another land had barged into their sacred space. It was the greatest form of disrespect.

But, they started to chant again. It seemed as if they had suddenly reached a realization, and they all turned to face the palace to bow. Following the befuddled gazes of their followers, one of the monks spoke solemnly and warmly, "That was the gods paying a visit, as you all can see, we are very lucky today."

Instantly, the crowd went into a frenzy and fell to their knees, kowtowing continuously. The sound of chanting intensified.

Yet, what these people could not see was that within the red palace, in a room dimly lit by a candle, there was an old man who was dressed in long robes lined with red and golden threads. His presence was majestic yet serene, but now, he was wiping away the sweat that had formed on his forehead.

He raised his head and with a wise expression in his eyes, he stared at the aura that appeared above his head. The aura disappeared shortly after. He then said to his apprentices, "That person who appeared just now is extremely powerful. He has the power to annihilate the lands; we cannot provoke him."

"Yes, Teacher!" the apprentices replied respectfully, but their eyes were full of shock. To them, their teacher was the most divine person they had ever seen. How powerful was that person just now such that he could make their teacher this afraid?

Extremely powerful, could he be a Saint from the legends?

……

Using the Furnace, Qin Yu created his own Great Dao. Of course he had the right to be known as a Saint. But thinking about it, he was on a True God Path; it was strange that he could create a Great Dao and become a Saint.

Of course, Qin Yu was not aware that he had managed to frighten a few powerful cultivators on his journey. With his cultivation level, cultivators who were not Saints were merely ants to him. Why would he bother with how an ant would feel about him?

Furthermore, his mind was fully occupied by the fact that he had an impending battle to fight at the Transcendent Sword Sect. It was not a good feeling to step into a trap knowingly.

The only assurance he had was getting that woman's guarantee to "Wipe his buttocks," if something dangerous happened to him.

Hmph!

The way this woman talked was so coarse and unruly…even thinking about it now made him angry! However, safety was more important than his emotions right now. So, he could put up with her.

Beside him, Rice Paper, who was filled with endless respect for him, would never believe that Mister Ninth was having such spineless thoughts. If she knew about it, her eyes would definitely widen in disbelief.

Qin Yu punched outwards, and the dark nothingness in front of him shattered. He pulled Rice Paper along with him and stepped into that 'portal'.

It was bright, and the sun was directly overhead. It was scorchingly hot so they had to squint to examine their surroundings to make sure that they were at their destination.

They had finally reached the Transcendent Sword Sect.

He used his divine sense and realized that the sword intent in this small world had diminished, but it was still dazzling, like a lighthouse in the night.

He looked at Rice Paper, who bowed and said, "Mister Ninth, this place is the Transcendent Sword Sect."

Qin Yu pulled her along and took a few steps forward. In the boundless space in front of them, there was a huge river.

The river and mountains stretched continuously, as far as the eye could see. Sweeping their eyes across the scenery in front of them, they could quickly identify Transcendent Peak which was taller than any mountain.

Eh? This aura…

For a split second, hesitation and shock flashed in Qin Yu's eyes. However, very quickly, he hid these emotions and put a calm expression on his face again.

After thinking for a few moments, he turned around and said, "You shouldn't continue anymore…yeah, you should stay further away. Until I come back, don't come closer at all."

Rice Paper was well-aware that her cultivation level was much lower and she would be of no use to Qin Yu, so she could only respectfully reply, "Mister Ninth, please be careful."

Qin Yu nodded his head and teleported to the entrance of Transcendent Peak. From the corner of his eyes, light seemed to flash across. He smirked slightly before stepping into Transcendent Peak.

It was as if he had descended into a body of water as the air around him rippled and then, his silhouette disappeared. Rice Paper, who had seen all this, could feel the nerves rising in her heart. She turned to leave, and with a 'whoosh' sound, she flew to someplace distant.

From the outside, one could see the many palaces on Transcendent Peak. However, after stepping into the place, one would realize that the palaces were merely an illusion. It was pitch-black on Transcendent Peak, as if an eternal night had fallen upon the place, absorbing any light that dared to enter. It felt similar to when Qin Yu was traversing across the Outer Void.

However, something was different here. He could see some light in front of him. Was it trying to lure him over?

Qin Yu rushed towards the ray of light. Since he had knowingly stepped into the trap already, there was no point in overthinking it. The mastermind behind this set-up would also quickly show themselves instead of wasting time looking for him.

It turned out that the ray of light was coming from the main palace. It was dim, like a candle that was lit in the dead of winter. With silent footsteps, Qin Yu walked towards the main palace and pushed open the doors. At the place where the light was coming from, there was a chair. Soaring Sky, who looked clean and proper, sat on the chair. His face was pale, and when he saw Qin Yu coming through the doors, his eyes were full of bitterness.

"Mister Ninth, you shouldn't have come here." Soaring Sky's voice was hoarse, as if he had been shouting nonstop for days.

Qin Yu's expression was calm. "Whether I should or not, I am already here anyway, so you don't have to say these useless things to save your energy and save yourself from getting tortured even more."

Qin Yu's gaze lowered. As expected, Soaring Sky had only said one sentence, but blood started to seep through his clean robes.

Qin Yu was sure that apart from Soaring Sky's face, it would be difficult to find a patch of flesh on him that was untouched. When facing powerful cultivators, torturing just the physical body was not sufficient…Qin Yu was well-aware of this by looking at Soaring Sky.

Soaring Sky was a Half-Saint, but now, he was so weak that he could not recover from his wounds. Yet, in this situation, he still had not exposed Qin Yu's identity to the mastermind…Qin Yu shook his head, not knowing whether to praise Soaring Sky's iron will or to criticize him for being dull and unadaptable. However, he did gain a lot of admiration for Soaring Sky.

Soaring Sky laughed bitterly, not because Qin Yu had taken a dig at his misery. Since Mister Ninth was here, Soaring Sky knew that he had already planned everything out. Soaring Sky felt extremely touched.

"Be careful, Mister Ninth, they've already…" Soaring Sky winced, not being able to complete his sentence.

Hong -

The whole palace collapsed and fell apart in an instant. A terrifying aura came from all directions, trapping Qin Yu from within. He raised his head and through the broken roof of the palace, he could see the pitch-black sky.

"Don't worry, it's not a problem," Qin Yu said blandly.

Footsteps could be heard, followed by a cold laughter. "The ninth disciple of the Peach Garden, Qin Yu…I did not think that it would be you who was coming today."

Qin Yu turned to look, and with the help of the faint glow that came from Soaring Sky's feet, he could faintly see a shadow.

"You're from the West Desolate?"

This person replied monotonously, "It seems that Mister Ninth knows quite a lot of secrets."

Qin Yu said, "It was easy to guess after seeing the darkness. However, I'm curious about why you have such huge guts to face me alone!"

From the darkness, a figure stepped out. Its face changed, and the figure disappeared once again. The next moment, the darkness twisted violently. Like a huge gaping mouth, the sound of sharp teeth grating against each other could be heard.

Whoosh -

The mastermind's figure appeared. If it had not asked for help, it would already have been dealt with. Thinking about this, its face became ashen with anger.

"Good strategy, Mister Ninth. No wonder you were able to kill two True Saints in the Vanquished Nation!" It paused for a while, before the tone of its voice became even more sinister, "But today, since the West Desolate has planned this set-up for you, it means that we have made all the necessary preparations. No matter whose help you have gotten today, they too will be damned…of course, Mister Ninth, you are no exception!"

Pa -

Pa -

The sound of footsteps rang out again. One figure after another started to walk out from the darkness, and soon, five True Saints could be seen. Their auras were completely intertwined with the darkness, giving out a strong suppressing feeling.

"There was something that you got wrong, Mister Ninth. Since we know that it's you we're going against, of course I would not show up alone."

Then, the faint glow from Soaring Sky's feet extinguished.

When everything was dark again, the five Darkness True Saints made their move. It was like the darkness around Qin Yu had come alive, its suffocating energy rushing towards him in all directions, about to crush him alive!

It was extremely terrifying, not just because it was five Darkness True Saints that had combined their power to attack him, but also because this patch of darkness around him was not ordinary.

Even if it was a Vast Brightness Ruler that was trapped within this darkness, it would not be an easy task to break away.

This set-up was done by the West Desolate; they were absolutely confident that whoever turned up today would die without a doubt! Indeed, this darkness was terrifying. Even though Qin Yu was extremely powerful, he was not a Ruler. His cultivation level was rather far from becoming one.

He was powerless to retaliate.

Thankfully, Qin Yu was slightly familiar with things related to the Darkness. Even if he was unable to fight against the five Darkness True Saints, he could infer the source.

Therefore, he had realized a long time ago that this darkness could somewhat be seen as someone that was on the same side as him.

As for why the word 'somewhat' was used, it was because Qin Yu was still unsure why it would be on the same side as him.