Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Another ten days passed. A seemingly peaceful mountain valley drew Qin Yu’s attention. As he carefully looked in, he finally discovered something strange. It was peaceful, incomparably peaceful. Within this mountain valley, time seemed to have stopped. There wasn’t the slightest breeze and even the branches and leaves of the ancient trees were frozen in place.

As if this was all a painting!

Qin Yu revealed a dignified expression. He took out the map and examined it. This was a white region without any markings at all. But, it was clear that this place wasn’t ordinary. As he thought about the Immortal Sect cultivators that had disappeared without a trace, he hesitated for a moment and then quietly flew in, landing outside the mountain valley.

Even here, Qin Yu didn’t detect anything different. If his senses weren’t sharp enough and he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t have discovered the abnormalities within the mountain valley.

Standing at the entrance of the valley, he peered in. It wasn’t too large; it was around a thousand feet long and the entire space within could be seen in a single glance. There wasn’t anything strange about it at all. Qin Yu took a deep breath and carefully entered the valley. His body was taut and he was prepared to deal with any unexpected dangers. However, everything remained calm and serene.

The valley continued to be peaceful, so peaceful he could hear his own footsteps rubbing across the green grass below. But, he didn’t relax at all. Instead, an inexplicable feeling of fear rose in his heart. As he walked through this unchanging and peaceful environment, it actually felt as if he were walking upon the raging waves. A single careless step and he would be swallowed up.

Soon, Qin Yu reached the end of the valley. He arrived at stone walls that weren’t too steep. They were covered with green moss and vines, and the occasional exposed stone below looked like sunken eyes.

Qin Yu frowned. He stared at the stone wall in front of him and then after a long time, lifted his hand and cut his finger across the void.

Slash –

With the sound of tearing cloth, the moss and vines on the mountain wall were ripped open like a picture that was sewn together and an opening as tall as a man was created. A wild raging aura suddenly erupted, instantly shattering the peace in the mountain valley. As space shattered, the surface disguise of the valley began to fade away, revealing its true appearance.

The entrance turned into a vortex. The outside world wasn’t visible at all. In a scope of a thousand feet around Qin Yu, everything remained the same. There was still the soil, stone, and plants, but all of it had turned black as if some evil aura had pervaded it. The cliff in front of him had already vanished from sight. What was revealed was a great mouth, and the wild aura that erupted and shattered space was all coming from this great mouth.

But, what was strange was that this mountain valley seemed to be in some special sealing state. Although the aura within was raging, none of it leaked out.

Qin Yu looked up towards the skies. He grabbed a black stone and flung it into the skies. Just as it left the mountain valley, a black light flashed and the stone quietly disintegrated into powder.

His eyes violently contracted. Although this black light didn’t emit any aura, Qin Yu could sense just how terrifying it was. Even with his powerful king-step Demon Body, if he were caught in that black light he would likely suffer the same fate as that black stone.

His complexion fully darkened.

As he thought, this was indeed one of the Infinite Realm’s danger zones. Only by isolating itself from the outside world could it shield against the Infinite Realm’s rules. And slumbering within most these danger zones were extremely horrifying existences. Although Qin Yu had the strength of a Revered Blue Sea when he went all out, he was still too weak in the face of these slumbering existences.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret before immediately suppressing it. He stared at the great mouth in the mountain valley, clenched his teeth, and walked in. Since he had already arrived, only by entering into its depths could he find the way to leave.

Stepping into the mouth, Qin Yu’s body froze. In the distance he could see a mass of black fog. Four eyes glowed in the darkness, instantly locking onto him.

“A mere second level Divine Soul junior from the outside world; he isn’t anything to worry about.”

“First I’ll eliminate you and then deal with him later!”

Two fluctuations of thoughts transmitted to each other and the four eyes vanished. In a moment, the black fog began to rumble and the terrifying aura seemed to be absorbed by the black fog. Still, the slight traces that emitted reminded Qin Yu of those terrifying fluctuations he just sensed.

If it weren’t for this black fog, the entire mountain valley would likely have been broken apart.

Qin Yu took a deep breath. His body’s movements were restored to freedom and his heart raced like thunder. His pale face revealed fear. Although he didn’t see their true bodies, just those four eyes had caused him to feel a nearly substantialized feeling of death. He didn’t doubt that the masters of those eyes had the ability to extinguish his body and soul with just a wave of their hands!

Luckily, both sides were in the midst of battle and neither one cared for a weak and tiny cultivator like Qin Yu, thus they decided to ignore him for now. But, this was only temporary. Once their battle finished, no matter which side won, they absolutely wouldn’t mind having a sweet snack afterwards.

Qin Yu’s thoughts raced and he soon discovered that there was nowhere for him to run. The entire mountain valley was sealed by an invisible wall and even if he erupted with the power of the burning heavens, there was no chance of him breaking through it. As he looked at the black fog in the distance his complexion paled. Did he really have to wait here for his death to arrive?

No! Absolutely not!

Qin Yu forcefully suppressed his fear and anxiety. He took a deep breath, his thoughts racing. Soon, he found the smallest possible ray of hope!

It was clear that these two terrifying existences were in the midst of battle. If they perished together, Qin Yu would be safe and sound. But the chance of this was impossibly small. However, if the side who won was severely wounded, Qin Yu still had a chance of living.

The power of the burning heavens…Qin Yu never imagined that after using it not too long ago, he would be forced to do so again. And this time, it likely wouldn’t be only the two breaths of time he used to kill the evil spirit.

Feeling a bit bitter, Qin Yu sat down and swallowed a pill. Since there was no other path for him to take, he could only try and become as strong as possible. Even if he only enhanced his strength by a little, he might be able to survive at the time he went all-out.

Within his soul space, Spirity’s aura became increasingly ethereal. Although there was no change to her appearance, she seemed infinitely more charming. Just a single glance caused one to wallow in dreams. But at this time, her eyebrows were furrowed together and there was a solemn expression on her face.

Shua –

A shadow appeared. It darkly chuckled, “Little master seems to be in trouble again.”

Spirity’s frown tightened. “It’s not convenient for me to take action. Do you plan on just standing idly by?”

This shadow was the summoned life form that had fused into Qin Yu’s shadow. It happily laughed out loud and said, “Although I was summoned by little master, and while it is true I will suffer a backlash if he dies, you should be well aware that it isn’t difficult for me to live without him. But as for you…hehe…as a Partner Soul, once little master perishes, you will vanish into thin air.”

Spirity’s eyes were cold. “What conditions do you have?”

The summoned life form happily said, “Simple. Tell me who you are. This is the only condition I have. If you don’t want to, you can bet on this. Perhaps I might suddenly change my mind and help little master survive.”

Spirity had no expression. “Alright, I agree.”

After several more chuckles, the summoned life form vanished. From beginning to end, Qin Yu’s soul didn’t detect any of this.

The battle within the black fog continued. What Qin Yu didn’t know was that these two terrifying existences had joined forces to arrange this sealed space before the erasure of the Infinite Realm’s rules descended upon them. They placed themselves into a deep slumber in the hopes of living on. A long span of years passed and as the Infinite Realm’s rules grew weaker and weaker, they became increasingly less willing to endure these terrifying slumbering existences.

They had been awakened from their deep sleep and discovered their current perilous situation. Unless they managed to take a step further in their strength, they would soon die. After being sealed in a deep state of slumber for such a long time, it was already difficult for them to maintain their strength without it fading away, much less take a step further.

Thus, there was only one option left: swallow the other party!

Regardless of who did it, as long as they swallowed the other party their strength would drastically rise and they would survive. But, the reason they had initially chosen to collaborate was because their strengths were similar to each other. It would be difficult to decide who would be the victor and loser in this battle.

Before Qin Yu entered the mountain valley they had already been fighting for three days. And at this time, five more days had passed. Both sides had brutally fought for eight days and were exhausted. Still, their moves remained sharp, violent, and powerful. Each one had hidden cards they hadn’t yet used, because only at the best turning point could these cards be used to erupt with an energy and momentum needed for a sure-strike kill.

12th day.

Qin Yu was suddenly awakened from his cultivation. His eyes widened with amazement and he looked towards the black fog deep within the valley. An unimaginably terrifying aura wildly erupted and two colors of blue and green each occupied half the fog as the slaughter continued.

Qin Yu was aware that if he went into the range of the battle, even if he exploded with the entirety of the power of the burning heavens he would at most last for one or two seconds before he was torn to shreds.

They had finally gone all-out!

His eyes filled with anticipation. The best result was that both sides perished together. At the very worst, he needed the victor to be severely wounded. Only then would he have a chance of surviving.

Blue and green lights crashed into each other. Such a horrifying energy couldn’t be maintained for too long. The green light gradually weakened. When it shrunk by almost half, the blue light rapidly brightened. The green light trembled for a moment before it collapsed.

“Ahh! I am unwilling!” A thought fluctuation filled with despair transmitted outwards. The black fog suddenly quieted down and the curtains of the battle came to a close. A victor had appeared and the loser had died!

Qin Yu’s tense palms were wet with sweat. At this time, the black fog started to fall back and two massive figures appeared. When all of the fog was inhaled by that terrifying life form, it instantly looked down at Qin Yu, all of its killing intent revealed.

Sure enough, this sort of terrifying existence didn’t reveal any carelessness. Once the battle was finished, it chose to immediately kill Qin Yu. It wouldn’t allow any hidden dangers to remain. This was a natural instinct which developed in all strong existences that had lived for endlessly long years.

Fight!

Qin Yu stood up, his heart wildly beating. The power of the burning heavens erupted and his blood, magic power, and life began to burn at the same time.

Bang –

A potent aura crazily erupted!

The victor’s giant pupils revealed a bit of surprise. But soon, this surprise became disdain. Even if it were severely wounded it could still easily kill a Revered Blue Sea. This young outside cultivator was actually hiding such strength; it would surely be a sweet and delicious snack. This human would perfectly supplement the strength it had just lost.

It opened its great mouth and a terrifying blue light appeared. The shadows below Qin Yu’s feet started to wriggle and a figure faintly appeared.

Bang –

With a loud explosion, the victor’s mouth and head were half blown apart. Its giant body swayed and loudly crashed to the ground. As for the dead loser who had emitted a final surprise attack, it actually somehow opened its eyes and emitted a thought fluctuation filled with wild laughter, “In the end, you still die to me…”

That aura rapidly dissipated. Its eyes slowly closed and it finally, thoroughly died.