Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Pa. Pa. Pa.

Wang Yuanan clapped his hands. “Qin Yu, I never thought you would be so vigilant.”

Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand and threw a small bag into the air. It blew apart and a nauseous black gas shrouded Qin Yu.

With a loud shout, four bolts of white saber light shot out, blocking all angles of retreat. This was a ruthless and merciless death strike.

They didn’t hold back at al. Even if they were counterattacked and severely wounded or even killed as a result, they still needed to cut down Qin Yu here. With such a crazy suicidal and decisive attack, even a Divine Soul cultivator might not be able to retreat. Moreover, once the blades cut across flesh and blood, the poisons on them would be more than fatal!

Wang Yuanan soared into the skies, a pitch black lance appearing in his hands. A dark red light circulated around the lance tip, a fierce killing intent rising into the heavens.

With this, even if Qin Yu had some method to retreat, after running from the four saber strikes he would still meet a fatal attack.

Bang –

The four bolts of saber light shattered and collapsed without warning. The four saber-wielding cultivators all screamed out bitterly, their bodies instantly torn into countless pieces.

Wang Yuanan was frightened, shock filling his eyes.

The black gas split apart and Qin Yu walked out without expression. There was not even a single stain on his black robes.

“Ahh!” With a loud shout, the black spear shot down, the blood red light on its tip glowing brightly.

With this attack, Wang Yuanan turned and fled. To instantly kill four of his most trusted subordinates, Qin Yu’s strength had far surpassed his estimation.

Damn! How could he be so strong!?

Blue leather boots he wore erupted with a brilliant light. Wang Yuanan soared forwards with astonishing speed, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him.

Luckily he was prepared. The Wind Step that his uncle gave him was something that even a Divine Soul cultivator might not be able to catch up to. Retreating should be no problem.

But as soon as this thought appeared, Wang Yuanan’s heart violently shrank and a feeling of fear rushed through him.

“Stop!”

With a loud shout, another figure flew out, lifting a hand and pressing down.

Wang Yuanan was overjoyed, “Uncle Xu!”

There was a thunderous explosion behind him, like two titans colliding. Wang Yuanan was scared silly and continued fleeing.

He immediately thought that if this bastard Qin Yu was unexpectedly strong enough to clash with the middle Divine Soul realm Xu Younian, then he would definitely have to convince his uncle to kill him. Otherwise he was sure to become a powerful foe in the future.

But suddenly, Wang Yuanan felt that something was strange. Why did he feel so cold? He looked down and saw that there was a massive hole in his chest, one that was completely hollow.

Despair swelled up in his mind as Wang Yuanan toppled to the ground. He roared out inwardly: my talent is first rate and my skills are excellent! I am sure to have great achievements in the future, so how can I die here!?

Pa –

The earth of the wilderness gained another pile of ruined meat. It wouldn’t be long before monster beasts came looking for food and gobbled it all up.

Xu Younian paled. “You…you actually killed Wang Yuanan!”

The lord had no children and regarded his nephew as his own son. With such a massive incident occurring here, it would be impossible for him to escape responsibility.

Qin Yu lightly said, “He wanted to kill me, so he should already have been prepared to be the one killed instead.”

Xu Younian turned and left. He needed to pass this news on to the lord.

But at this time, his complexion completely changed. He turned around and crossed his arms against his chest.

Bang –

With a loud explosion, Xu Younian was sent flying backwards. He smashed through several ancient trees and vomited a mouthful of blood before he came to a stop.

“Qin Yu, you dare attack me!?”

Qin Yu didn’t respond. His feet moved forwards and he approached once more.

Xu Younian roared out loud. Space rippled around him and he vanished from sight.

Instant transmission.

Qin Yu frowned. The shadows beneath his feet rippled and he stepped into his shadow, vanishing from sight.

Xu Younian came staggering out from space. His body glowed and he flew away at a low altitude.

The wilderness was filled with layers of risks. He didn’t dare to teleport too far; it was enough if he escaped Qin Yu.

This brat, he was clearly only at the Nascent Soul realm and yet his combat strength was so horrifying.

Alarm and fear colored his eyes and he sped up. But soon, his pupils widened and endless shock lit up his face.

Space rippled once more; this was the second time he used teleportation. But before his figure vanished, a palm already struck his chest.

Bang –

The sound was like the beating of a great drum. Tiny blood vessels ruptured on Xu Younian’s eyes. His entire body was drenched in blood as he collapsed to the ground.

A palm-sized transparent soul came flying out from the top of Xu Younian’s head. But before it could escape, a vortex appeared in Qin Yu’s shadow.

“No!” With a shrill scream of despair, the soul was dragged into the shadow. Its aura immediately disappeared.

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t expect that the summoned life form which had integrated into his shadow would actually have the ability to exterminate the soul.

It had to be known that Divine Soul cultivators had many methods of preserving their lives. Besides instant transmission, using their souls to escape was one of them.

However, it was clear that if Qin Yu’s future enemies wanted to use their souls to escape and live on, this would be incredibly difficult for them.

He bent down and searched through Xu Younian’s corpse. Unfortunately, after visiting the Southshine Nation’s treasury, he was already extremely wealthy. Besides some spirit stone cards, there wasn’t anything that caught his attention.

He shadow stepped back to Wang Yuanan’s corpse and searched it as per usual. Surprisingly, this wealthy young second generation master gave him a pleasant surprise.

There was a pair of boots called Wind Step as well as a divine transformation grass.

This spiritual item released an aura that could enhance the ability of a person’s soul to sense the rules. Normally, it would be placed to the side during cultivation and was considered a perpetual and economical treasure.

Thinking about it, that still mysterious Lord Yuan Jingzhe must have prepared this treasure for his nephew who was about to break into Divine Soul.

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. With several steps he returned to the dried springs. After placing the spirit stones in their slots, he stepped into the transmission array and vanished.

…

Yuan Jingzhe sat in his office. His face was dark and overcast, the air so heavy that it left one gasping for breath.

A day had passed and Wang Yuanan had yet to return. Even Xu Younian who had secretly followed him in case of an emergency had also vanished without a trace.

There must have been some accident!

His heart stirred and Yuan Jingzhe’s eyes turned red. But with his formidable will, there wasn’t any change to his appearance as he sat in his chair. He took a deep breath, slowly gathering himself. Then he said, “Go to the inn and see whether or not Qin Yu has returned.”

There was a slight twist in the corner of the room before everything quieted down once more.

After a moment, a respectful voice said, “My Lord, Qin Yu has returned.”

Yuan Jingzhe’s eyes were closed in hesitation. He nodded, acknowledging that he had heard this.

After an unknown period of time, he opened his eyes, stood up, and walked out.

When he left his room, the great wooden chair he sat in shattered without warning.

Every piece of the chair that fell to the ground made no sound at all before they all crumbled into countless bits of powder.

Soon after, Aunty Hong entered a soft sedan and left, arriving at the commander’s office.

As if already knowing she would arrive, the guards inspected her briefly before respectfully allowing her to pass.

Around four hours later, Aunty Hong walked out from the great doors with a frosty look. As she sat back down in the sedan, she couldn’t help but rub her temples, weariness etched on her face.

It was lucky that Mister Qin had told her everything after he had returned. If she had come here unprepared, it would have been difficult to deal with Yuan Jingzhe.

It seemed that the rumors were likely true. Wang Yuanan was the incestuous byproduct of Yuan Jingzhe and his little sister. Otherwise, there was no way he would value him so much.

Returning to the inn, Aunty Hong knocked on Qin Yu’s courtyard doors. After taking a seat inside, she nodded and said, “Mister Qin, everything has been appropriately arranged. With the suppression of the commander, Yuan Jingzhe shouldn’t dare to do anything to you. But to ensure your continued safety, I suggest that Mister Qin not go out for the time being.”

Qin Yu nodded. “I understand. I’ve troubled Aunty Hong.”

Aunty Hong waved her hands, not daring to accept this apology. Then she bowed once more and left.

Qin Yu sent her out. When he turned and returned to his room, the young maid just happened to be boiling water for tea. She wavered as if she wanted to say something.

“Mister Qin, I heard from the miss that Yuan Jingzhe is one of those patient types with extremely ruthless and cruel methods. He’s not the type that is good to provoke.”

Qin Yu smiled. “I’ve already killed the person, so speaking of it further is useless.”

The young maid puffed out her bun-like cheeks. “Why didn’t you just bear it?”

Qin Yu shook his head. “You don’t understand. At some other time, I might have let him go to make things less troublesome for me, but not now.”

The breakthrough to Divine Soul was imminent. What mattered was that his thoughts needed to be smooth. If Wang Yuanan wanted to kill him, then he could only kill Wang Yuanan in return.

As for Yuan Jingzhe…he heard this lord was quite strong and his skills were astonishing, but Qin Yu didn’t worry.

His current combat strength was enough to overwhelm the majority of Divine Souls. And once he made his breakthrough…there wasn’t any need to explain further.

Thus, he had simply killed off Wang Yuanan.

The young maid seemed to want to say something more, but as she noticed Qin Yu’s indifferent expression she curled her lips and continued to boil water. Once he really experienced trouble, she wanted to see if he could still be so spirited!

…

In the wilderness, a troop of men and horses quickly moved forwards. Although they were clearly a bit flustered, their movements were still neat and methodical.

There were several dozen black-robed guards, all of them emanating a military-like atmosphere. The one leading them was a tall and hearty man. He had clearly received a dire injury to his chest, but his face was like a rock, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all. Invisible slaughter energy emitted from the guards. When it gathered together it caused the monster beasts in the wilderness to flee, none of them daring to approach.

But at this time the sky was dark and bleak. Shadows flickered in the wilderness behind the troop, as if countless evil spirits were following from behind.

After travelling for another hour, the leader lifted his hand and the troop stopped.

Without any orders, the guards automatically spread out and formed a simple defensive array.

The leader walked up to the only speedcar in the troop and bowed. “Noble one, our losses are great and we must stop to rest.”

The car’s glass window slid down a little and a woman’s gentle voice came out. “I do not understand these matters. Captain Shi, feel free to make whatever decisions are needed.” The voice continued to say, “Coming this far, everything is thanks to Captain and the guards. After I return home…there will surely be compensation.”

Captain Shi respectfully said, “This is my duty, noble one, there is no need to speak so seriously.” He turned and left and the troop immediately began to rest and repair.

Dozens of robed guards took rests in turns. As they dealt with the wounds that covered their bodies, the air was filled with the thick smell of blood.

Captain Shi allowed his subordinates to clean his wound. The skin and flesh turned outwards and the edges were dark blue and purple; it looked incredibly fierce. But from beginning to end, his complexion didn’t change at all, as if there was no wound on his body.

But suddenly Captain Shi shoved away the subordinate in front of him. A sharp arrow shot forth and Captain Shi caught it right before it sank into his forehead. The arrow still quivered in his grasp.

“Enemy attack!”

With a loud shout, Captain Shi was the first to rush out. Miserable howls of pain and suffering filled the dark wilderness, accompanied by the sounds of tearing flesh and blood.

The guards all reacted quickly, forming a circular defensive formation around the speedcar. But at this time, the ground exploded and the terrifying impact sent the speedcar soaring into the air. The guards suffered numerous casualties.

“Kill them!”

With a loud shout, a large number of cultivators with black bandannas around their faces rushed forwards. Whenever they met an injured guard they would finish them off with a blade to the heart.

“Protect the noble one!”

The guards that could still fight leapt up, engaging with the other side in slaughter.

There was a horrifying explosion in the darkness. Several ancient trees were uprooted and Captain Shi went flying backwards. His chest wound was torn open and his face was pale white.

But his opponent was no better off. After vomiting several mouthfuls of blood, he flopped to the ground.

Pa –

Captain Shi crashed near the speedcar. It had clearly been specially reinforced. Even after withstanding the explosion and being sent tumbling over the ground, there were only a few cracks in the glass.

“Noble one, the enemy is too strong. Let me bring you and kill a way out!

The car was pushed open from within, but it was blocked by the dirt. Captain Shi grabbed onto the door and tore it open, causing two women to roll onto the ground.

Captain Shi hurriedly said, “Noble one, forgive me!”

A maid in green robes held a woman in her arms. “The noble one is wounded, hurry and save her!”

Fresh blood dyed her dress red. With her eyes closed, the woman already seemed to have fallen unconscious.