Refining the Mountains and Rivers

“Don’t panic!” Chu Taidou roared within. “I have a supreme treasure from the Immortal Sect! I still have the chance to win! Even if I must greatly damage my divine sense, I cannot lose here!”

He clenched his fists. A black ring on his index finger suddenly exuded a cold energy that injected itself straight into his soul. Every emotion immediately disappeared from his eyes, replaced with a cold indifference.

Glancing at Qin Yu one more time, Chu Taidou closed his eyes and his divine sense entered the Mirage King Bead once again. There was no superficial difference in his divine sense, but it now contained that cold energy to it. It was like a river of water becoming a river of ice, causing the intensity and power behind it to increase by a terrifying amount.

But where there were advantages there were also drawbacks. After the intensity of his divine sense increased, if it suffered an impact that surpassed its withstanding limits, it would be like real ice, shattered into countless blocks.

Qin Yu’s divine sense phantom sat down cross-legged. A terrifying suppressive strength roared in from all directions, accompanied by thunderous rumbles. This was the dreadful aspect of the Black White Grinding Pans. Once a person’s divine sense could no longer withstand it, it would grind that person’s divine sense into pieces and cause grievous damage to their soul.

But at this time, outside Qin Yu’s sitting figure, there was a curtain of purple light that was blocking almost all of the oppressive strength from the Black White Grinding Pans. The remaining bits of it fell onto his divine sense phantom and brushed across him like a spring breeze, simply unable to cause any harm.

Breaking past this hurdle was easy to Qin Yu. As long as he left this place that was flooded with a terrifying suppression, he could do so. But breaking past this level with such mind-boggling speed would surely arouse the interest of everyone here, and that wasn’t something Qin Yu wanted. And, another reason was that the suppressive strength of this Black and White Grinding Pan could temper a cultivator’s divine sense, bringing a greater level of clarity to their soul.

The chance to increase the strength of his soul could be considered a lucky chance in itself. Qin Yu’s thoughts turned and the curtain of purple light dimmed down. The suppressive strength he withstood increased with it.

Qin Yu’s divine sense phantom trembled as if it would collapse at any moment. This was already his withstanding limit. Even though the curtain of purple light seemed incredibly thin, it still helped him resist half of the suppressive strength. It was no wonder his opponent had utterly disregarded any sense of honor to lure him here. The might of the Black White Grinding Pans was immense, but unfortunately it was wasted on him.

He smiled and then closed his eyes, feeling his divine sense being slowly tempered a bit at a time. While this process was painful, it was also incredibly enjoyable.

What was the origin of the purple moon in his soul space? Qin Yu could no longer contain his curiosity towards it.

There was also the blue sun that existed above the Five Element Mountain within his dantian sea. It clearly had some sort of close connection to the purple moon. When the Immortal Sect’s killing curse had descended on him, the intermingling light of the sun and moon had shined down on him, saving him. This was something he would never forget.

In the dreamland, if a month passed, if a year passed, if several or even dozens of years passed, it might only be but a moment of time in the real world. Here, time had no real significance. Thus, when Chu Taidou broke through the last test of Winter and took out the fourth spirit plant, only a little more than an hour had passed since this round of the competition began.

Chu Taidou opened his eyes. His faint ice-cold eyes swept over the four spirit plants that were near Qin Yu. He closed his eyes once more and his divine sense continued to deeply explore the depths of the Mirage King Bead.

Moments later, a fifth spirit plant appeared, closely followed by a sixth. Chu Taidou appeared weary, but his expression was serene, so serene that one couldn’t feel a single fluctuation of emotion coming from him.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Yin, Yang.

If one could pass through six levels of the Mirage King Bead, disregarding all else, it meant that their soul cultivation had reached incredible heights. As long as a person could accomplish it, then unless their soul talent was naturally high at birth or they were using some secret treasure, this achievement meant that they would grow to at least the peak of the Blue Sea realm.

Chu Taidou had succeeded in stunning everyone. Those eyes that had been filled with disdain were now gradually filling back with awe and reverence.

As for the spirit plants around Qin Yu, there were still only four of them. The phantoms of the Black White Grinding Pans still hovered above his head, peacefully spinning around and giving off a suppressive feeling that made one shiver.

Two hours passed in the outside world. Perhaps ten years or even dozens of years had lapsed in the dreamland. Qin Yu still wasn’t able to break through the boundary; did this mean he was trapped within?

This wasn’t impossible. It had to be known that the test of the Black White Grinding Pans was said to be something that no one below the realm of an almighty being could break out of. Even the Four Seasons Samsara of Spring Summer Fall Winter was more than a level lower.

After all, although the four seasons were complete, how could they compete with yin and yang? From certain cultivation theories, it was said that everything in existence was birthed from yin and yang; they were truly omnipresent forces.

Chu Taidou’s face darkened. Even with the supreme alchemy treasure of the Immortal Sect helping him, crossing the two levels of Yin and Yang had caused him to suffer heavy losses. But after a moment of brief hesitation, he closed his eyes once more. This brat Qin Yu was strange and unpredictable. Who knew if he had additional hidden cards up his sleeves? He couldn’t underestimate him at all.

He would risk it. Although he couldn’t avoid severe damage to his soul, as long as he crossed the seventh level then his victory would be assured.

Mei Ruliu revealed a look of acclaim. “The Mirage King Bead’s seventh level is the path of chaos. It is said to involve the abstract and esoteric rules of the world. If Grand Authority Chu dares to attempt it, he must have some confidence in himself. When it comes to strength of the soul, even I have to admit my inferiority.”

Tao Yuan’s gloomy face revealed a sly smile. “What the City Lord says is true. Those that can rush through the seventh level are all outstanding individuals. I have a feeling that Chu Taidou will succeed.” He turned around, a dark and desolate look on his face. “Arena Steward Kang, it seems that those three high quality training rooms are already in my hands.”

Kang Mingqiao furrowed his eyebrows before immediately composing himself. “Victory and defeat have yet to be decided. It’s best not to say some words too early, otherwise if you were slapped by them in the future, that would be an ugly sight.”

Tao Yuan coldly sneered. “Good! Then I will have to personally see just how long Arena Steward Kang can be so obstinate for. The one to win today will definitely be Chu Taidou!”

With the precious treasure in hand, breaking past the seventh level shouldn’t be too difficult. Although Qin Yu had surprised him so far, there was absolutely no way he could accomplish that.

And once the third round began…Tao Yuan’s heart chilled. Yes, he would really lose face during this trip to Four Seasons City, but in order to complete his mission, he couldn’t bother with things like honor or shame.

Qin Yu had to lose!

The Mirage King Bead’s seventh level, the path of chaos, was said to be a world of chaos. When one’s divine sense fell into this world, they would be like a silent stone before the creation of the world. As long as they successfully awakened, that would be considered as having broken past the level.

But to do this was extremely, extremely difficult. If one’s divine sense didn’t awaken, they would sleep within forever. Even if a person was forcefully awakened from the outside world, the portion of divine sense that they entered the Mirage King Bead with would thoroughly dissipate.

This was the same as taking a cultivator’s complete soul and shearing off a section of it. The pain was agonizing, yes, but the most terrifying aspect was that it would damage a cultivator’s soul source and sever their road to perceiving and understanding the rules. If one wanted to recover from this, it would be incredibly difficult and arduous.

Eight hours later, Chu Taidou’s wood-like body trembled as he barely managed to force open his eyes. Then, he spat out several mouthfuls of blood. The wrinkles on his face deepened, making him look as if he had aged dozens of years. But, as he vomited blood, a seventh spirit plant appeared beside him. It was a plant that seemed refined from liquid gold. It shined with a luminescent light and exuded a noble atmosphere.

Chu Taidou felt the soul-cutting pain in his soul and hurriedly put away the strength of the Immortal Sect’s supreme alchemy treasure. As he did, all sorts of emotions rushed back into him and the pain of his soul became far more difficult to endure. He hacked out a cough and his field of vision flashed black. If it weren’t for his firm will, he would have already fainted from this pain.

But in the end he managed to withstand it.

Chu Taidou looked up, his lips moving with difficulty. “I have done my best and this is as far as I can go. If Grand Authority Qin Yu is stronger than me, then I admit defeat.”

His voice was weak and feeble, but at this moment, all eyes looking at him were filled with shock and awe.

Cultivators worshipped powerhouses, and this was particularly true for cultivators who followed the demonic path. Chu Taidou had broken past the seventh level of the Mirage King Bead; this act was enough to prove his great strength. And powerhouses were worth forgiving. As for the errors he made before…well, did that even matter? History was written by the winner. All of that light, all of that radiance was destined to only shine upon the final victor!

The process didn’t matter. In life, the end always justified the means.

In ten hours, perhaps hundreds of years had passed in the dreamland. For a young cultivator genius, so many years was just far, far too long. It was so long that it could break one’s mind and turn them mad.

Qin Yu still hadn’t woken up or broken past the Black White Grinding Pans. To the cultivators in the grand plaza, this indicated the worst possible outcome. Perhaps this person who was ranked ninth on the Ancient Perishment Decree, who had stirred up storms throughout the Land of Divinity and Demons, who was a proud son of heaven with a reputation that spread out far and wide, perhaps he would suffer a bitter loss today.

Tao Yuan’s lips curved up in a smile and his cold voice was filled with a bit of joy. “It looks like I have won.”

Mei Ruliu revealed a bit of regret, but his eyes were calm. He clearly didn’t think much about it.

Geniuses, in particular young geniuses, were people who were born to make all others feel desperate and unworthy. They shouldn’t exist to begin with.

If they died, perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.