Refining the Mountains and Rivers

There was a limited number of people that could enter the Demon Ascension Gate. Feng Changjing was publicly acknowledged as a popular pick for entering. If an ‘accident’ could occur ahead of time and eliminate him, then it was naturally good for all involved.

But looking at things, this was only an unreachable dream. The chances of it happening were far too small.

Feng Changjing frowned and immediately composed himself. “It’s embarrassing to say, but I don’t recognize you at all. So, I ask that you not affect my banquet. If there is nothing, please leave immediately.”

A cultivator suddenly shouted out, “Didn’t you hear him? My cousin told you to leave! If you plan on staying then don’t blame me for being impolite!” A tall and burly man spoke up, his muscles as thick as barrels. His voice was loud and filled with a shocking anger.

Where he stood, the grass field caved inwards, forming a distinctly deep pit. Countless blades of grass were twisted and shredded up by his sudden surge in strength.

Qin Yu didn’t even glance at him. “I indeed don’t recognize fellow daoist Feng, so there is nothing to say. I ask that you take your people and leave my dwelling. And, before you leave, restore everything to how it was in the beginning. I have experienced a considerable amount of trouble recently and I don’t want to create any more unnecessary problems.”

Feng Changjing’s eyes were cold, as if he were looking at a dead man walking.

“You are courting death!” With a loud shout, the tall and burly cultivator rushed over. He thrust out a palm. Wind whistled and his five fingers twisted space where they passed.

Bang –

With a low and deep bang, it was like a little mountain crashing into the ground. And, there really was a tall and burly figure that crashed into the ground like a little mountain.

The sounds of breaking bones weren’t loud. But when these sounds entered the ears of the guests, they all felt a cold chill rise from their hearts.

Qin Yu stood still where he was, no change in his aura. But at this time, every eye that looked at him was filled with shock and disbelief. He simply hadn’t done anything at all. It was like the tall and burly cultivator had rammed into a mountain and was sent shaken and flying back.

They glanced over at the incomparably strong-looking figure of the person lying unconscious on the ground, twitching. A look of shock filled their eyes as they felt their hairs rise up on their backs.

“I don’t wish to repeat my words twice. Fellow daoist Feng, you can bring your people away now.” Qin Yu’s voice was extremely calm. “I have other matters to deal with.”

When compared to the spirit plant materials he had saved and the medicine gardens apportioned to him by the sect, the value of this dwelling was indeed the lowest. Moreover, there was still Tuba and Tutou to consider. They were being detained in the dungeon still, and while their lives weren’t in danger, he wanted to rescue them as soon as possible.

Feng Changjing’s eyes suddenly turned pure black. The breezy and carefree atmosphere around him turned endlessly cold and cruel. “Yao Bin, congratulations, you have succeeded in angering me.”

Shua –

His figure instantly vanished; no one was able to clearly see his movements. In the next moment he appeared behind Qin Yu, a finger lifted to strike his head. The fingertip was the same color as his eyes: pure black. In this state, his finger actually became as smooth and clear as jade, emitting a faint halo of light.

Demonic Bloodline – Shadow. This was not just a stealth ability, the killing strength behind it was even more terrifying. It was just that in these years he had kept his powers tightly hidden and never displayed them in front of anyone. But now, Qin Yu’s performance had left him feeling restless. This was the reason why he had used his strongest strength without any hesitation at all.

Qin Yu’s heartbeat quickened and a flow of heat surged within him. On the skin of his back, the image of a demon’s head appeared. Its closed eyes suddenly popped open.

Feng Changjing’s cold and cruel face suddenly revealed a startled look. At this moment, he felt fear as if he had been locked onto by a peak predator. Fluctuations suddenly appeared in the power of shadow and his body became rigid and even his speed drastically fell.

Qin Yu had a surprised expression. He never imagined that this sort of state would occur. His body’s demonic bloodline had awoken on its own initiative and even suppressed Feng Changjing’s bloodline power. Although he didn’t fear Feng Changjing’s demonic bloodline to begin with, with this state he would be able to win with much greater ease.

Without turning his head, Qin Yu stamped a foot. The ground trembled and a visible circular shockwave erupted and spread out in all directions! Feng Changjing was struck by the brunt of the attack and didn’t have any time to respond. He was sent soaring away where he smashed into a table set on the grass field.

“Hurry and dodge it!”

“Don’t touch it!”

There were chaotic sounds all around as guests ran about in a distressed state. The entire banquet had been thoroughly ruined.

Puff –

Feng Changjing spat out a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper. He stumbled about and stared at Qin Yu. There was hate in his eyes, but even more than that there was fear. This was because from Qin Yu’s body he felt a demonic bloodline that absolutely overwhelmed his own. This person was actually also someone born to be a Demonic Path disciple!

Qin Yu was expressionless. “Feng Changjing, I don’t understand nor do I care. You might have been tricked by someone or you might have taken the initiative to occupy my dwelling, but none of that changes the end result. So, I am still not happy. Today I will only give you a small punishment. If you aren’t willing, I am free to accompany you at any time. However, next time you won't be as lucky as you were today.

“There are other matters I need to handle right now. Before I return, make sure everything here is restored to how it was before. Otherwise, believe me, you will come to regret your decision.”

Under the complex eyes of these talented cultivators who had been chosen to participate in the Demon Ascension Gate, Qin Yu turned and walked away, allowing them to gaze at his back, a back that none of them would ever be able to reach.

The two male and two female seeded candidates had indecisive expressions. They looked at Feng Changjing with hate in their eyes. If it weren’t for him, how could they have provoked such a terrifying character? And according to what they heard before, this person planned on joining the Demon Ascension Gate. If so, didn’t this mean there was a high chance they would meet on the field later?

As they thought about this possibility, the four people revealed fear in their eyes. They clenched their teeth and walked away.

The banquet began perfectly and ended miserably.

Feng Changjing wasn’t an idiot. On the contrary, he was a rare individual who could lift up praise and also set it back down. Before the banquet guests left, he had already started ordering his subordinates to clean up the mess on the field.

This was because he knew that he wasn’t Qin Yu’s opponent. At least there was no chance for him to take revenge in a short period of time. And if that was the case, he might as well decisively admit defeat and not give that person any more chances to make things difficult for him…as for everything that happened today, there would be endless chances in the future.

In the Black Demon Sect, every alchemy grandmaster had exclusive medicine gardens apportioned to them by the sect. Of course, the so-called medicine gardens didn’t cultivate spirit plants, but grew various monster beasts. Thus these medicine gardens, within the demonic path, were more often called monster beast hunting grounds.

The Black Demon Sect had 13 monster beast hunting grounds of different qualities and sizes. The monster beast hunting grounds were increasingly worse the higher number they were. Yao Bin’s original monster beast hunting grounds were the 12th and 13th.

It was just that when Qin Yu took over Yao Bin’s identity and killed Jiang Taishou in the poison dispelling competition, he had leapt into position of first place alchemist in the Black Demon Sect. Without the need for him to do anything, the Black Demon Sect had automatically made a replacement and gave him the fourth and fifth monster beast hunting grounds.

As for the even better first and second monster beast hunting grounds, they had always been the private property of the Sect Master. The third monster beast hunting grounds belonged to the Chief Elder. Thus, what Qin Yu had was already the best possible.

When news first spread out that ‘Yao Bin’ had arbitrarily left the sect without permission, although many people had thoughts on his monster beast hunting grounds, no one dared to recklessly do anything. However, as time passed and there was no news of ‘Yao Bin’ and the date of the Demon Ascension Gate approached, many parties within the sect began to eye his property with covetous gazes. An inner court Elder had joined forces with two alchemy grandmasters to take away the fourth monster beast hunting grounds. The fifth monster beast hunting grounds was taken away by another joint force of two alchemy grandmasters.

They had paid a considerable price and caused discontent among various factions, and finally managed to obtain the rights to the two monster beast hunting grounds. They never imagined that not too soon after that, Yao Bin would actually return!

Feng Changjing had recently been in the limelight. All owners of demonic bloodlines were popular choices for the Demon Ascension Gate and their futures were limitless. Because of this, his every action and movement was tightly kept track of by others. When Yao Bin crashed his banquet and easily defeated him, news of it spread through the entire Black Demon Sect in a short period of time.

So when Qin Yu arrived at the fourth monster beast hunting ground, there were already people waiting for him at the entrance.

If there was something interesting to say, it was that this was Qin Yu’s first time ever visiting his monster beast hunting ground. The entrance was in a mountain wall, in an ordinary crack. Deep within this crack was a tunnel that connected to a small world. This was the true monster beast hunting ground. Inside it, there were many monster beast communities that bred and survived.

“Grandmaster Yao Bin has smoothly returned alive! That is a joyous occasion worth celebrating!” The one speaking was a thin and tall old man. He wore sophisticated robes with dark gold patterns adorning the cuffs of his sleeves. This indicated his status as an inner court Elder. At this time, he revealed a bright smile. However, there was a trace of amazed surprise in his eyes. Yao Bin had always been a mysterious figure within the Black Demon Sect, and he never thought he would be so young.

Qin Yu cupped his hands together. “Greetings, Elder.” He looked up and continued to say, “I must thank you for helping me look after my monster beast hunting ground while I was gone. Now that I have returned, I won’t bother you any longer.”

This was a polite way of saying – hey, I’m back so screw off!

The thin and tall old man’s smile didn’t change. “I am Tian Zhen. I have been in seclusion these past years, so it’s not surprising that Grandmaster Yao doesn’t know of me. But, grandmaster’s name actually resounds in my ears like thunder. Now that I see you today, you truly live up to your reputation. I have ordered people to prepare some wine; I wonder if grandmaster can accept my invitation?”

Qin Yu shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I have many more people left to visit. I don’t have any free time for that.”

In the back, several young cultivators had ill expressions. They clearly didn’t appreciate Qin Yu’s attitude.

Although Elder Tian didn’t have a high position in the sect, he still had a distinguished status. Even the Sect Master had to call him martial uncle when they met.

This surname Yao was far too rampant!

Tian Zhen smiled. He said, “Since Grandmaster Yao is in such a hurry, we will delay the banquet for another day. Recently I have wanted to refine a batch of pills, and in order to do so I need to seize some monster beasts from the hunting grounds. I wonder if Grandmaster Yao can give me a few days, half a month at most. After that, I will have my servants send the entrance key to your dwelling.”

Qin Yu faintly smiled. “Elder Tian, do you think I am an idiot?”

Tian Zhen’s smile faded. “Grandmaster Yao, what do you mean by that?”

Qin Yu lightly said, “My meaning is…no.”