Refining the Mountains and Rivers

For instance…

“This junior is utterly and thoroughly disappointed. If there was the slightest chance, I also wish that I could follow senior to cultivate. If so, my cultivation would be able to travel 10,000 miles in a day. However, I am also aware that I do not have enough qualifications to have senior form irreconcilable enmity with the Immortal Sect just for me. Since I cannot change the result, I can only display as calm a demeanor as possible in hopes that senior can recognize me and help me out in other ways.”

These words sounded right and they were also very sincere. Yet for some reason, Solitary Westgate didn’t know why, but he felt that there was something off about it.

“Really?” He asked, carefully looking at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu nodded repeatedly. “This junior would not dare to deceive you!”

Solitary Westgate shook his head. “Whatever. You may think what you like. Since I relieved your potential status as my disciple, helping you by displaying the aura inquiring technique once seems as if I am treating you a bit too unfairly. Then how about this. I guarantee you that for as long as you stay in Four Seasons City, no one will be able to threaten your safety.”

He turned to leave, but then stopped once more. “There is also another matter I must remind you about. It would be best if you no longer used the identity of Qin Yu. Besides the Immortal Sect’s side, that old fogy who fought with Purple Moon today has also taken a liking to your mortal body. He has lived for far, far too long and eventually needs to replace his body…mm, consider this free information. After all, for better or worse I saved you today, so I can’t just watch on and let you die without knowing anything.”

Solitary Westgate took several steps away. His figure gradually paled, like a wisp of mist eventually vanishing from sight.

Kang Mingqiao fell to his knees. “I bid farewell to master!”

Qin Yu’s complexion stiffened and a bit of cold air drilled out from his heart. He had been feeling grateful towards that Woodchopper Fu who had helped him fend off Purple Moon, but it turned out he was actually a wolf in disguise.

His mortal body had been targeted…just thinking about this left him feeling a cold chill all over him!

Kang Mingqiao stood up. There was a bit of regret in his eyes. But, to see the master once more was already a tremendous stroke of good fortune. Soon, he composed his thoughts and looked towards Qin Yu. From Qin Yu’s ill-looking complexion, it was easy to understand what he was thinking. He said, “Fellow daoist Qin Yu, Woodchopper Fu is one of the extremely terrifying almighty beings. Although he isn’t able to fight the heavens and seize his own life, his true strength is only a thread weaker than a powerhouse of his realm. Moreover, if Woodchopper Fu desires a new body, he will act without any scruples. You must be careful!”

Qin Yu forced a smile. “I thank Arena Steward Kang for the reminder.”

Beneath the vast starry skies, Solitary Westgate stepped forwards. The forest was dense and lush beneath him and the air was warm and humid. It was clear that this place was extremely far away from Four Seasons City. It was in a southern region of the Land of Divinity and Demons, and the weather was relatively mild and humid. With his cultivation as a top powerhouse, moving across space and crossing vast distances was a simple matter to him.

A mountain peak appeared in his line of sight. The mountain wasn’t too tall and there was nothing strange or unusual about it at all. Halfway up the mountainside, there was a courtyard that took up several dozen acres of land.

Solitary Westgate’s eyes flashed with gentle warmth. He landed at the entrance of the courtyard. Several servants hurried out and bowed in greeting, opening up the doors for him. He restrained his aura and strode into the courtyard. At this time, a beautiful woman in her thirties held the hand of a seven or eight year old child as they waited just outside the main hall.

“Dad!” The child shouted out loud and flew over like a gust of wind, throwing themselves into Solitary Westgate’s arms.

Solitary Westgate held the child up with both hands, kissing their face and laughing, “Did you think about daddy?”

“I did! Anning has thought about daddy so much! I think you left for a very long time!” The child hugged him tight, “This time daddy needs to stay longer at home!”

The beautiful woman’s eyes were full of love. She walked forward and held the child’s hand. “Anning, daddy must be tired from hurrying here. Come down.”

Solitary Westgate reached out a hand and brushed the hair from his wife’s face. “I’m fine. Have you not eaten yet? I really want to drink the lotus seed soup that you make.”

The beautiful woman’s face flushed red. She eyed him and said, “Alright, I’ll go prepare it now.”

The dark night arrived and the courtyard gradually quieted down. Solitary Westgate stood before the bed, looking at the quietly sleeping mother and child. His gaze was incomparably warm but there was a hint of pain and guilt in his expression.

“Yun Niang, Anning, I will succeed, I will definitely succeed!”

He lifted his hands and his ten fingers danced. Runes appeared, each one emitting a pure and mild white light. They fell like snowflakes, fusing into the bodies of the mother and child. As the runes fused with them, the woman and child on the bed slowly became transparent. One could clearly see that their bodies were formed from countless lines of rules.

The runes that entered them were repairing the damaged remnant rules in their bodies.

This was because the dead would scatter away into nothingness. Even a top powerhouse of the world who had managed to successfully seize their life from the heavens couldn’t forcefully keep the dead in this world.

After a long time, Solitary Westgate drew back his head. The bodies of his wife and child gradually returned to normal. He looked down at them, covered them with a blanket, and then turned around and walked out.

Above his head, the silver moon was brightly shining. He stood silently beneath the moonlight.

Rays of moonlight condensed in front of him. A strange three-footed bird tilted its head and looked at him, “Since you have found the one who you calculated to be your turning point, how come you let him leave?”

Solitary Westgate had a light expression. “Woodchopper Fu is not willing to die. He has managed to last for countless years, swapping through who knows how many bodies. However, the more he is unwilling to die, the more he cannot rid himself of the entanglement of death. Because of that, he is doomed to never be able to escape its grasp. I have a sudden feeling, or perhaps you can even call it an earnest wish, to allow everything to take its natural course. If Qin Yu can rise in the future then my actions today have formed karma with him and I will be able to find a way to have him help me. But if he perishes midway, then that means he isn’t the person I have been waiting for, and I have no need to waste any more time on him.”

The strange three-footed bird extended its wings. Its three feet began to move around in the air. “Are you sure that it’s not because you are afraid? That you are afraid all you have waited for will eventually be for nothing?”

Solitary Westgate furrowed his eyebrows.

The strange three-footed bird raised its wings and said, “Alright, consider that I have spoken too much!” It flapped its wings and transformed into a beam of moonlight that shot towards the silver moon in the skies. As it submerged into the night sky,  its voice echoed back from afar, “Although you don’t like listening, I still want to remind you. As someone who has surpassed life and death, why obsess over the deceased? Letting go of them and releasing yourself, that is also a choice.”

Solitary Westgate was silent for a long time. His eyes gradually brightened. “Letting go of them…no, I can succeed, I definitely can! Qin Yu, if you are the one I have been waiting for all this time, then you will surely give me hope!”

News of the great disturbance at Four Seasons City had already spread throughout the world at a shocking speed. Nineheaven Mirrormoon Palace’s Great Elder Purple Moon, and the ancient and mystical Woodchopper Fu, their titanic battle overwhelmed the limelight of all others. At this time, even the Ancient Perishment Decree’s ninth-ranked Qin Yu seemed common and trivial.

But secretly, countless influences tried to guess why Great Elder Purple Moon wanted to kill Qin Yu. Soon, news of what happened in the Infinite Realm and the related matter with Ning Ling was found out. There were too many witnesses at that time, so it was impossible to hide this information.

It was clear that the reason Purple Moon wanted to kill Qin Yu was related to this!

The Immortal Sect remained silent on this matter, not releasing any response. But, news actually flowed out from within the Immortal Sect. Great Elder Purple Moon’s direct disciple Ning Ling had died because of Qin Yu. Due to that, Nineheaven Mirrormoon Palace had lost a proud elite of heaven who had a high chance of inheriting the position of Palace Master in the future!

Everything suddenly made sense.

While no one knew why Ning Ling died and why Qin Yu who had been taken away by the Immortal Sect suddenly appeared in Four Seasons City, none of that was important.

What was important was that the Immortal Sect had sufficient reason to thrust Qin Yu beyond redemption.

This caused the blinding radiance of being ranked ninth on the Ancient Perishment Decree to be wiped completely clean. Within Four Seasons City, most of the countless influences that gathered had diverged in a single day. The reason was simple. While a proud elite of heaven on the Ancient Perishment Decree had infinite potential, a person with infinite potential still needed time to grow.

Would the Immortal Sect allow Qin Yu to survive and grow into a threat? The result was obvious! In the eyes of many people, the ninth-ranked person on the Ancient Perishment Decree would die soon. And not just that, but they were also a great source of disaster. Whoever approached Qin Yu would be targeted by the Immortal Sect and suppressed. In this sort of situation, everyone would maintain a reasonable distance from him.

But there was always an exception.

Qin Yu looked at the sincere Qian Dodo in front of him and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. “Elder Qian, could it be that you don’t know about my current situation?”

Qian Dodo smiled. “Our South End lineage may be weak and lonely, but we still have our own channels to obtain information. We still do hope that little friend will join our South End Mountain, and the conditions we put forth haven’t changed. If little friend is unhappy anywhere, you can always discuss the issue.”

Honestly, Qin Yu was a bit moved. Today was a different day from yesterday. Coming here now, South End Mountain was undoubtedly sincere. Unfortunately, he wanted to take revenge on the Immortal Sect and the only choice for him to do so was to join the Demonic Path. If he really did join the South End Mountain Sect, that would only bring disaster to them.

He cupped his hands together and said, “I thank Elder Qian. I am truly gratified by your offer, but I have other difficulties I cannot mention that will not allow me to join your South End Mountain. I ask that Elder Qian excuse me.”

Elder Qian forced a smile. He sighed and forced a smile, saying, “It seems that little friend has no fate with my South End lineage.” He flipped his hand and took out an object. “This jade slip represents the status of an outer court Elder in the South End Mountain Sect. I ask for little friend to accept it. I don’t dare to ask for too much. Just, if there comes a day when my South End lineage is faced with catastrophe, if little friend has any extra strength, I hope you can guarantee that the inheritance of my South End Mountain Sect will live on. Of course, if the situation is too dangerous, little friend can simply ignore it. Just…take this as an old man trying to ask for some peace of mind.”

Qin Yu hesitated. He put out a hand and received the jade slip. “Alright. I agree.”

Qian Dodo was overjoyed. He said some more words and bid his farewells.

Looking at the jade slip in his hand, Qin Yu wryly smiled. A bit of carelessness and he had found another chain for himself. But, he had already agreed, so why continue thinking about it? In any case, the South End Mountain Sect was a large sect with their own almighty being standing guard, so they might not need any help from him.

He shook his head and prepared to put the jade slip away. Then, he revealed a look of surprise. He probed it with his divine sense. This jade slip actually had a massive space inside, piled up with numerous treasures. There were several mountains of spirit stones.

Good heavens! Glancing around, everything within the jade slip altogether was at least several hundred million spirit stones. This was a great display of gifts!

Taking back his divine sense, Qin Yu thought about Qian Dodo and how he had hurried away. He was clearly afraid that he would refuse to accept it.

But since he had accepted the money of others, he naturally had to do some work for them. He would remember this favor and pay it back later.