Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The dignified West Desolate King behind the bead curtains remained calm, "Chen Yuanshen is courting death. He returned to the Imperial Capital alive to get back at me, and to beg for his son's life, who has been sent to work with the Central Desolate's Li Family."

After a few moments of silence, the king continued, "Chen Yuanshen understands my personality well, but he overestimated my generosity. However, I will still grant his wish and let his son live."

Lord Chengtian bowed and started to sing praises, "Your Majesty is magnanimous!"

The king waved his hand and said, "Go, send a message to the Justice Division. Tell them that they don't have to do any more investigations. Give Chen Yuanshen a quick death. After all, he once governed over one of the West Desolate's main cities, so he cannot be humiliated too much."

Lord Chengtian bowed once again and turned to leave the main hall, releasing a soft sigh of relief. His Majesty was as hypocritical as he had always been, but choosing to give Chen Yuanshen a quick death was a rare act of benevolence.

Shaking his head, he retracted all his thoughts and went straight to the Justice Division's Imperial Prison.

……

As Marquis Chongwu's carriage fleet rode out from the inn, there was an extra person traveling with them. Li Ge, whose face was pale, hid in one of the carriages. His aura was almost non-existent.

His Sword Dao had been destroyed by the incense item, and all his cultivation had been severed.

However, for some reason, even though he was weak to the point where even a gust of wind could blow him down, he still gave people a feeling that he was very dangerous.

Wearing a white robe that covered her entire body except her eyes, White Iris was also in the carriage together with Li Ge. Today, before they set out, she was chased out of Rourou's carriage. Even though her face was calm, she was extremely upset in her heart.

Looking at Li Ge, who appeared so pale that it felt like there was no blood left in his veins, White Iris frowned and a glint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

Why did My Lady keep him around? He is just a cripple!

Could it be because of Marquis Chongwu? Even though her lady's cultivation level was very high, beyond what White Iris could even perceive, saving this cripple was still rather strange. It was going to inevitably cause huge damage to their own bodies.

Thinking of this, White Iris' gaze became even colder.

Right at this moment, Li Ge, who sat opposite her, opened his eyes. His gaze was dim but sharp, which made White Iris feel like he was boring a hole through her heart.

"I have no ill intentions towards you, I hope you will not kill me."

After a few moments of silence, Li Ge opened his mouth to speak again. His voice was hoarse and his breath smelled like blood, which made one's heart palpitate, "Trust me, even though you are very strong, if I die, you will die with me."

White Iris narrowed her eyes. She wanted to scoff very badly, but intuition told her that Li Ge was not bluffing.

He indeed had the capability to make her perish together with him!

Why? Li Ge's Sword Dao had undoubtedly been broken and his whole cultivation had been ruined; he was a cripple through and through.

Li Ge closed his eyes and continued to regulate his breath. His body was in a terrible state now; if he did not take care of it properly, he could die anytime.

Opposite him, White Iris took in a deep breath and suppressed the urge to kill him.

However, this did not mean that she was scared of Li Ge. On the contrary, the killing intent that she felt from the bottom of her heart had never disappeared. If Li Ge's existence was truly a threat to her lady, then she would kill him without any hesitation. Even if it was Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin who became a threat, she would kill him too!

So what if they could kill her in the process too? She had gotten tired of living a long time ago anyway, so it was fine as long as her lady was not hurt in any way.

……

Qin Yu opened his eyes and hesitated for a while before saying, "Could you not smile so strangely and coldly all of a sudden? It makes me slightly nervous."

Opposite him, Rourou rolled her eyes and replied, "If you don't want to see it, you can leave. Did I force you to stay here?"

Qin Yu choked for a moment and changed his posture such that his back was now facing her. He then closed his eyes, thinking to himself, 'These days are so hard to get by, when will all this end?'

However, after thinking about it for a while, other than the alliance between the West Desolate King and Li Family that was a threat to him, there was also that cunning tiger from the Later Ye Family that wanted to kill him too.

What a headache!

He would have to bear with Rourou for the time being, it seemed.

Well, so be it. He was a man, and had to adapt to be tough or soft when the situation called for it. This was the philosophy for surviving!

Rourou humphed and closed her eyes too, thinking to herself, 'What a foolish woman, always over-calculating every situation!'

Worrying about me? Do I need you to worry about me? This Great Shaman Mengshan has such a high level of cultivation, but he is a bit blind. What was the point of saving an idiot who had nothing other than a good Sword Dao? It would be better if she just died plain and simple, otherwise he might potentially implicate others.

Therefore, even though Rourou kept White Iris as her servant, she would not bother to protect her. She would see how things went. If somehow, White Iris died, then that would be because of her horrible fate, and Rourou could not be blamed for that. Or, if perhaps she was in a good mood one day, it was possible that Rourou would save her too.

……

Outside Seascape City, a thousand miles away.

In a certain cave dwelling, Li Ruhua slowly opened her eyes. Even after regulating her breath for a few hours, her face was still terribly pale.

Lowering her head, she took a look at the red spot on her palm and thought about the aura that she felt in that split second. Her body shivered and a deep fear blossomed from the bottom of her heart that she could not suppress.

Where did that killing intent come from? It was extremely terrifying, like a surging wave in a raging black sea that could overturn the heavens and earth! Even though it lasted only for a short moment, it was enough to make Li Ruhua feel like she had been put in a threatening life-and-death situation, with no chance of escaping.

Even though she used the power of the red spot to travel through miles of space away from Seascape City, intuition told her that it was not that this person was unable to kill her before she was able to teleport away, but rather, this person had decided to give up on the deed at the last minute.

Otherwise, she would probably be a cold corpse by now.

Who was the source of that killing intent?

Li Ruhua took a deep breath and suppressed the turbulence in her heart with a bitter smile on her face.

Before she left the Li Family, she always felt that the world was vast, and as long as she did not provoke those big and powerful figures, she could live in peace and the world would be her oyster.

She did not think that trying to find the new Barbarian King would be a difficult task, but not much time had passed, and she had already gotten a big reality check.

Because of the nine-tailed fox, Li Ge's entire Sword Dao cultivation had been destroyed in the Imperial Capital. Now, his whereabouts were unknown and she did not know if she would ever see him again. Furthermore, she had mysteriously experienced that terrifying killing intent in Seascape City, making her feel close to death in just an instant.

Mm…

Li Ruhua's expression changed slightly. She suddenly thought of a possibility. Could that killing intent be related to the new Barbarian King?

Previously, she thought that everything that happened in the Imperial Capital was just a trap. However, she now thought of the mutual plotting by the various great clans and major sects in the Central Desolate Divine Area.

But why couldn't all these be part of the Barbarian King's scheme? And since this scheme was targeted at the Li Family, it was definitely executed covertly, away from the prying eyes of everyone.

If this really was the case, then the terrifying killing intent she felt in Seascape City finally had an explanation - the new Barbarian King was trying to prevent her from getting close to Marquis Chongwu!

At this moment, Li Ruhua's eyes brightened.