Refining the Mountains and Rivers

He had been bitterly struggling in the terrifying undercurrent, and now his breastbone was shattered. Every movement he made hurt and his body was incredibly weakened. There was no way he could free himself from the undercurrents. He could only roll himself up into a ball and protect his body’s vital zones, allowing the undercurrents to push him around however they pleased.

Suddenly, pained roars spread throughout the lake and into his ears. Qin Yu opened his eyes with effort. He could faintly see that dozens of feet away, a titan was being surrounded by several strange fish. These strange fish were extremely fast and their figures were blurry as they shuttled through the waters. But every time they approached, they would tear apart a large piece of flesh, causing blood to wildly gush out, turning the lake an even deeper color.

This titan wildly struggled. He erupted with a terrifying bodily strength and tried to fight his way to the surface to rid himself of the strange fish. But, the undercurrents were simply too strong. In addition to the harassment from the strange fish, even though the titan tried to make his way out a few times, he eventually failed.

Qin Yu’s complexion changed. In the distant tumbling waters, he could already see a number of dark shadows rapidly rushing forth.

The titan seemed to have discovered that peril had arrived. He roared out loud and his body suddenly grew by ten feet. He violently punched out, causing the black lake waters to explode outwards. He used the counter momentum to push himself free from the strange fish. With his arms and legs wildly flailing, he rushed out before the school of strange fish arrived.

The school of strange fish that followed the scent of blood over suddenly emitted angry screams. Qin Yu’s head hurt as he heard this but his complexion soon changed. This was because he could see some of those strange fish wrapped up in the undercurrent suddenly headed his way.

Damn it!

Qin Yu punched out a fist. The bones in his arms creaked as they began to break. But, there were some minor changes in the trajectory of the undercurrent he was in. This minor change caused those terrifying strange fish to brush past him. At their closest, they were less than 10 feet away. Luckily the vision of these strange fish had completely degenerated into nothing, and Qin Yu was able to restrain his aura and evade them.

But at this time, a pitiful scream sounded out from behind him. Qin Yu turned his head to see a slightly smaller female titan falling into the grasp of those strange fish!

It was one of the female titans that had been dragged beneath the surface by the undercurrent!

It was clear she wasn’t too far away from where Qin Yu was. But what a pity – Qin Yu had been able to escape, but she had been discovered by those strange fish instead.

Massive and terrifying blooms of blood rose up from the depths of the lake. The lake waters started to take on a red hue and more and more strange fish were stimulated by the blood and started to howl over. After several more breaths of time, the female titan could no longer be seen. The strange fish completely surrounded her and her miserable cries gradually weakened until she vanished from sight.

She died.

Qin Yu’s pupils shrank. He had no time to express any sympathy for her, because his current situation was equally as dangerous.

The female titan had attracted a massive number of strange fish from the depths of the lake. They crazily swallowed and tore away at her body, but once they had eaten away all her flesh and blood they would disperse outwards. He had to get further away or rise to the surface to evade them. Otherwise, in his severely wounded state, if he were to be found by those strange fish…

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Qin Yu could no longer care about the pain of broken bones. He wildly struggled. The undercurrents had subsided and seemed as if they would stop at any moment. He was overjoyed. But at this time, a large number of strange fish at the bottom of the lake appeared in his light of sight. They seemed to have smelled something. Their bodies swung about in the water as they shot forward like arrows, rapidly approaching him.

“Ahh! Open for me!” Qin Yu roared out loud, punching with his only intact arm. The undercurrent violently shook before immediately collapsing.

But this punch had aggravated his injuries. His chest tumbled liked quaking mountains and his face flushed red as he spat out a mouthful of blood. Although his chest felt better and the pain within faded a little, his complexion actually paled. He fled without hesitation.

As he thought, the strange fish all let out screams of excitement. They sped up!

Qin Yu used his hands and feet to wildly swim upwards. As long as he left the bottom of the lake, these strange fish wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. But, the undercurrent had pulled him deep into the lake and with his current injured state, even if he erupted with his limited bodily strength, it would take him some time to swim to the surface.

Watching the strange fish coming closer and closer, Qin Yu revealed a vicious look. Even if he couldn’t flee, he wouldn’t die without fighting back.

At this time, his body seemed to pass some sort of invisible barrier. The black lake waters turned incomparably clear.

Qin Yu was startled. He turned his head to see those strange fish collide into that invisible barrier.

Pa –

Pa –

Several strange fish directly exploded, turning into fragments of flesh and blood that were immediately eaten up by their living peers.

Then, the strange fish turned and fled, disappearing without a trace.

He survived…

Qin Yu was stunned. He quickly rushed to the surface. Now that the clear lake waters had lost their terrifying weight, he easily swam up.

As he gasped for breath, he looked at the island in front of him. He couldn’t help but smile.

This really was the island at the center of the lake!

It seems he had been extremely lucky. When he was sucked downwards by the undercurrent, it hadn’t pushed him away from the island but had pushed him towards the edge of the island. Not too far away, three titans also appeared in the clear waters. Their faces filled with excitement. As for the two that had vanished, they had likely suffered a miserable ending.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and endured the pain in his body. He used his hands and feet and crawled onto the island. Then, he slumped down onto the shore, not even capable of moving his fingers.

But at this time, a clear and cool aura flew out from the island and fused into Qin Yu’s body. Then, his injuries began to recover at an astonishing speed. In several breaths of time he had completely restored himself to his original state and was even stronger than before!

Qin Yu was bewildered. After leaving the lake waters, the sealing of his soul force ended. He could clearly sense that his mortal body was stronger than before. After surviving peril, not only had his wounds healed and his weariness vanished, but he was in an unprecedented state of spiritual clarity. Some of the cool and clear aura also remained within his body, slowly nourishing his flesh and blood.

“Humph! Lucky human cultivator, you have passed the test of the sacred lake so you naturally obtain the great gifts of the Totem!” On the edge of the island, a titan warrior spoke with a sneer, a bit of indignation in his eyes.

Besides him, three other titans also had ill expressions.

In their opinion, only the titan warriors were worthy of the Totem’s gifts; human outsiders simply didn’t have the qualifications. Even so, he had clearly obtained the gift and they weren’t able to do anything about it at all. The titans all felt sad and aggrieved.

Qin Yu frowned. He could see that these titans were dreading him and weren’t willing to do anything to him. Since this was the case, he didn’t need to care about them at all. He turned and looked towards the lake behind him.

Standing on the island, he could clearly see that the waters within 100 feet of the island had become crystal clear. Beyond that, the waters were pitch black.

A number of titans were still swimming towards the island. Most of them were even halfway here. But they frequently looked up and there was no joy on their face. Instead, there was fear and the desire to retreat.

Qin Yu thought back to what he had experienced and had some guesses as to what had happened. As long as one entered the black lake and hadn’t yet reached the island, whenever one looked up, the island would always seem distant and out of reach.

This could be considered a test!

He restrained his thoughts. It wasn’t the time to ponder on these things. Qin Yu turned and asked, “I have several friends that are still in the lake. Can I go out now to save them?”

One of the titans that understood the human language suddenly sneered and said, “Human outsider, you reached the island but that only means you can survive; it doesn’t represent you having the qualifications to save anyone else! If they cannot make their way through the sacred lake, all that remains for them is death and becoming fish food!”

He turned and said some words. The other titans laughed and revealed mocking looks.

Qin Yu’s complexion darkened. But at this time, a voice suddenly rose up. “It’s you…human outsider…”

The titans that were gathered together hurriedly retreated to the side, slightly bowing with awe in their eyes.

Qin Yu’s eyes brightened. “Tuba!” He quickly said, “Brave warrior Tuba, I have some friends who accidently intruded into your tribal land. They are currently in the sacred lake and their lives are in danger. I hope that you can help me rescue them!”

Tuba frowned. “Tribe…tradition…me…no good…change…”

Qin Yu said in a low voice. “If you help me save them, I will accept your challenge.”

Tuba’s eyes lit up. “Okay…” He turned and started to shout out orders. His voice was deep and dignified. Though the titans weren’t willing, they actually didn’t dare to refuse him. One of them walked over to the island’s shore and started to shout to those on the opposite shore. Soon, there was a response. Several strong titans plunged into the lake and swam towards Tianyun and the others, preparing to drag them back to the lake’s shores.

Qin Yu relaxed a little. He cupped his hands together and said, “Thank you.”

Tuba grinned. “Me…impatient…fight…you…” His eyes were burning and he licked his lips. He walked forward but then stopped. He frowned and revealed a bit of worry. After hesitating for a long time he seemed to give up and resentfully said, “Once finish…we fight…again…”

Qin Yu didn’t know what would happen next. He nodded, feeling a bit relieved. Tuba was strong and he still might have some hidden strength. If they really fought, even if he won he would have to pay an enormous price. In an uncertain situation, it was always best to maintain his strength.

Tuba turned and walked away. His feet were as fast the wind as he vanished into the island. At this time, the eyes of the several titans looking at Qin Yu no longer had their previous disdain, but even had a little bit of awe.

They knew that the reason Tuba had agreed to save those humans was because Qin Yu had agreed to fight him. With Tuba’s status, he didn’t need an excuse to save anyone. If so, this proved that Qin Yu possessed a strength that he valued, a strength that Tuba might even feel a threat from.

The titans worshipped strength and possessed considerable awe towards powerhouses. Although Qin Yu was a human, he had obtained their respect.

But Qin Yu didn’t care about how the attitudes these titans held towards him changed. He looked towards the opposite lake shores. He could only feel relaxed once Tianyun and the others were rescued.

As for Tianyun and the others that were rescued, they were completely perplexed. They had no idea why these titans that were previously cold and indifferent to them, would suddenly show such benevolence.

But they didn’t care at all. Once they were dragged back to the shore, all of them were excited and nearly cried with joy. Only after being pulled from the precipice of death did one understand how valuable life was.

“This is great, this is too great! I knew we wouldn’t die here!”

“Haha! Perhaps that Qin Yu already died! I bet he never thought that we would be rescued soon!”

“The sacred lake test of the titans isn’t simple at all. That person might be strong, but it doesn’t mean he has the strength to make it through.”

“This is life! I hope he fails the test and perishes in the black lake!”

As if to vent their anger, the cultivators all pointed their fingers at Qin Yu. Their resentment soared into the skies as they all wished he simply died.

Tianyun frowned. Although he didn’t feel good about Qin Yu not having tried to save them at all, he did understand the circumstances. It would have been difficult for Qin Yu to swim across the lake already, and he likely wasn’t capable of saving anyone at the time. If he tried, that only meant he would have died with them. Although he had helped Qin Yu once, he didn’t believe that Qin Yu needed to repay that favor with his life. His actions – though callous – weren’t wrong.

Xiong Yuane was silent. She only thought that with the strange performance Qin Yu had revealed, he wouldn’t lose his life so easily.

Tusen stood to the side, his complexion strange. He sneered, interrupting the conversation of the several people. “I really am curious. Why would the first thing that human outsider Qin Yu does after reaching the sacred island be to ask us to save you?”

All of a sudden, the faces of those venting, sneering, and jeering people suddenly stiffened.