Refining the Mountains and Rivers

He traveled peacefully for some time. Then, he had no choice but to come to a stop. He looked up and could see a daoist blocking the road. The man wore straw sandals and held a bamboo stick in hand. His gray hair was messy and still wet from the morning dew. When one added on the mud that stained his straw sandals, he seemed like someone who had just drilled out from some vegetable garden somewhere.

If it wasn’t for his hair that was pulled up into a bun and the wooden stick that was stabbed through it, this old man with his dark and wrinkled face would look like an old farmer who was working in the field.

When Qin Yu looked at him, the daoist looked back. The man’s eyes were sharp and bright, like meteors shooting across the sky and carrying a dazzling brilliance with them.

Then, the man walked forward and bowed. “I am the 39th generation disciple of the Dao Sect, Wu Ya. I greet the Dragon City Master.”

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. He knew that this daoist in front of him had misunderstood the situation, but he wasn’t able to explain himself right now. Since he was borrowing the strength of the Ancient, his aura was completely the same as his.

“Daoist, why are you blocking me?”

Wu Ya revealed a helpless expression. “In truth, I don’t want to face the mythical Dragon City Master who is said to be incomparably powerful. But many years ago, the lineage of my Dao Sect was personally annihilated by you. The Dao Sect suffered tremendous casualties and our inheritance was nearly severed. If I didn’t come here today, I feared that I would be needled to death by those little daoists beneath me. So after hesitating over and over, I decided to come.”

Qin Yu expressed his understanding. “Then, are you prepared to kill me?”

Wu Ya nodded. “I have been preparing for this. Although attacking now is a bit dishonorable since I am taking advantage of a situation where you are down and weakened, I fear that if I let you freely recover your strength I won’t have the courage to do it later.

“Of course, even if you are in a weakened state, I don’t believe that I have much chance of success. There is a high likelihood I will die here today. If that happens, I hope you will be quick and ruthless. While I have lived for many years, I had a problem in my youth that made me afraid of pain, and I never recovered from that.”

Qin Yu nodded. “Alright. I promise you.”

“Hold on!” Wu Ya had a constipated expression and the wrinkles on his dirty face nearly stacked up together. “As a character like yourself, how come you don’t say a few more sentences? For instance, you are biting off more than you can chew, I can do this or that to you, you are foolish and pathetic, or something like that? Why are you being so brief and succinct? I was hoping that I could take in a few more breaths of fresh air before I die while you are talking.”

Qin Yu: …

Are you joking with me!?

Wu Ya awkwardly chuckled. “I made you laugh. Alright, then I won’t delay you any further. I will attack now.”

Although this self-proclaimed Wu Ya babbled on and on and was said to be afraid of pain, when he attacked he actually left Qin Yu startled.

Sword light pierced through space, so fast that Qin Yu couldn’t see how Wu Ya had attacked. Before he knew it, the sword light was right in front of him.

Besides being fast, there was nothing special about this sword light. Its aura was ordinary and didn’t seem sharp at all.

But Qin Yu could feel a tremendous threat coming from this sword strike. He didn’t doubt that if he failed to block it, this sword light would be enough to split him in half and burst his body into a rain of blood and meat.

In terms of Qin Yu’s cultivation base alone, if he faced this sword with just that, then it would take his life and end his existence.

But luckily he was in a strengthened state and borrowing the power of the Ancient. He could clearly capture the trajectory of the sword’s path.

As long as he could see it clearly, then blocking it was possible.

Qin Yu lifted a hand and pressed forward. His simple movement seemed to suck out all the air between the heavens and earth and a fierce sound wave blasted everywhere. Because space wasn’t able to withstand the strength, massive tracts of space began to collapse.

The space-piercing sword strike that was so fast that it left behind all its friends was directly grabbed like this.

Bang –

A terrifying explosion occurred. However, all of the strength was imprisoned between Qin Yu’s fingers without any of it leaking out.

And besides his palm being shaken and left a little numb, he didn’t feel anything else. It was like he had put on a thick glove and had grabbed onto a loud but very weak firecracker.

Blood gushed out of Wu Yu’s nose, mouth, and ears. Tears flowed from his eyes. “It hurts, it hurts, it really hurts! You need to attack and free me…remember, you promised me you would make it quick and smooth!”

Qin Yu pursed his lips and punched.

Dang –

There was a deep thumping sound as if a large leather drum had been struck. Wu Ya was sent flying away, his chest deeply sunken inwards. The brilliance in his eyes quickly faded away, but there was a hint of joy on his face. It seemed that this person really was afraid of pain.

Qin Yu shook his head. He didn’t want to engage in mindless laughter, but Wu Ya had a reason for attacking him and he couldn’t allow himself to be stopped here.

Killing him was the only solution. Qin Yu didn’t feel too sad about it. He kept moving forward.

But soon after, someone else blocked his path. This time it was a woman. She had an incredibly bold figure and overbearing style. She wore a long, slinky red dress. Everything that should and shouldn’t be exposed was partly visible.

The wind rustled her dress, revealing her fair and slender thighs all the way to the base. Bursts of powdery fragrance filled the air.

“Hehehe, if you’re here, it means that annoying old beggar has already gone underground to eat dirt. Tsk tsk, this is just too much. The mythical Dragon City Master has such horrifying strength even in a weakened state. It really makes my heart beat fast.”

She tossed him a wink.

Qin Yu was expressionless. “Leave or die.”

The woman suddenly had a sad look on her face. “Aren’t I beautiful? You actually said such cruel words to me.”

Qin Yu stepped forward. He lifted a hand and grasped forward. A terrifying strength instantly arrived, rushing in from all directions like waves crashing into the shore.

What was strange was that the woman didn’t dodge at all; she was sucked right inside. Qin Yu was surprised. He hadn’t held back at all in his attack just now.

He clenched his fingers.

Bang –

The beautiful woman and her long red dress were torn to shreds by the formidable strength. Flesh and blood danced in the air. Strangely, there was an eerie aesthetic sense to it.

But Qin Yu didn’t leave. Instead, a dignified expression appeared on his face.

In the next moment, the woman’s helpless voice echoed through the air. “What a cruel-hearted man. You can even attack me like this. You simply can’t read the situation at all. You are destined to be lonely for the rest of your life!”

Space twisted and the woman with the overbearing figure and red dress appeared. She curled her hair with a finger, saying, “Hey, you already killed me once. Don’t you feel any guilt?”

Qin Yu looked at the ruined flesh and blood on the ground; the smell in the air wasn’t an illusion. He looked back up at the woman in front of him who was alive and kicking, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

He took a step forward. With himself as the core, a terrifying strength wildly diffused outwards. Space collapsed and broke down. In the blink of an eye the surrounding area for a hundred miles was covered up.

“Found you.”

Qin Yu suddenly attacked. A finger thrust out like lightning.

The red-dressed woman’s complexion changed. She never imagined that her most powerful technique would be broken so easily.

Bang –

Her body burst apart. A powerful strength rushed towards Qin Yu like a tide, trying to stop him. But, she clearly underestimated the Ancient’s strength. Even though the Ancient had only lent Qin Yu a tiny portion of his strength, it wasn’t something she could contend with.

Facing the explosive impact, Qin Yu didn’t dodge at all. He thrust out his finger like an arrow, piercing through it.

“Ahh!”

A sharp scream rang out. It was like countless needles were ruthlessly piercing into one’s brain and then swirling about.

Qin Yu’s finger paused for a moment. But then, his speed suddenly increased, even faster than before. His aim shifted a little bit downwards from the position he originally locked onto.

He could feel softness at the end of his fingertip as well as a bit of heat. The next moment, space bulged like an inflated balloon.

With a bang, space shattered and a finely sewn cloth doll appeared in Qin Yu’s hand.

This doll had a beautiful face, a tall figure, and was also wearing a long red dress. It looked exactly like the woman who had died twice just now.

Then, flames appeared on the face of the doll that Qin Yu held.

The flames were a ghostly red, like burning blood. They didn’t radiate any heat, but instead gave off a feeling of infinite cold.

A layer of ice formed on the surface of Qin Yu’s palm and began spreading upwards.

“Humph!”

With a cold cough, Qin Yu shook his hand and the ice layer shattered.

The bloody flames on the doll seemed to fall into a vacuum as they were rapidly extinguished.

The doll’s eyes turned. Its sewn face became bright and vivid. It looked at Qin Yu with fear and earnestly pleaded, “Dragon City Master, I knew I was mistaken. I only followed orders in coming here. I hope that you can be merciful and spare me this one time. As repayment, I am willing to follow you and devote my life to you!”

Qin Yu lightly said, “You abandoned your mortal body to cultivate this nearly undying puppet form. I fear that the murders and sins you have committed are so many that they cannot be counted. I have no need for such a subordinate. So, you need to withstand the fate that you deserve.”

He lifted his other hand and pressed it between the doll’s eyebrows. There was a light cracking sound as if something shattered within.

“No!”

The doll screamed out loud. Its beautiful face distorted and its vibrant eyes filled with fear.

Qin Yu released it. The doll turned and tried to flee, but before it got far, it uttered a pitiful scream.

Plumes of black smoke came out from the doll, each one transforming into souls full of resentment. They were all souls of beautiful women. But, the surfaces of these resentful souls were covered with cracks, as if they had been torn apart countless times and then sewn back together. It was a strange and horrifying sight.

The group of resentful souls bowed gratefully towards Qin Yu. Then, they turned and plunged themselves at the doll, ripping it to pieces. Heart-piercing screams filled the air, accompanied by tearing sounds.

“Master, save me! Master, save me!”

Qin Yu looked up into the distance. Three beams of light came howling over. Each one released a heart-shockingly formidable aura.

Shua –

The beams of light dispersed to reveal the figures within. They were unexpectedly three men that looked exactly the same. They wore brightly colored robes and there was a red cinnabar dot between their eyes. They were delicate and beautiful in an enchantingly creepy way.

“You damaged my baby.”

“Even if you are the Dragon City Master.”

“You must die.”

Each man spoke one phrase. Their voices and expressions were completely the same, as if they were the same person.

But they were indeed three separate cultivators. Qin Yu was certain his senses weren’t wrong.

Thinking about it, these three people must cultivate some strange technique of the same origin and background, thus why they gave off such a strange feeling.

“Ahhh!”

The women ghosts that were wildly tearing at the doll screamed and ran away, as if they felt some fatal threat.

“Humph!”

The three men coldly coughed in unison.

Bang –

Bang –

All of the resentful souls burst apart, turning into black fog that filled the surrounding area.

“You released them.”

“Then we will use their strength.”

“To kill you here.”

A terrifying aura started to surge in the black fog!