Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Dark Parliament Headquarters.

Six Senators quietly walked through a long passageway. Their flame-condensed bodies barely illuminated the surroundings, pushing away the inky darkness all around them. Moments later, they stopped in front of a giant stone door. Sage turned and said, “No one has contacted Senator Morning Star yet?”

Jasmine shook her head. “I cannot find his aura. It seems he is being shielded by some strength.”

“Humph!” Oriole coldly sneered. “It’s fine if he’s normally sloppy and absentminded, but today is a critical moment that involves the future of the parliament, and yet he is still absent…Morning Star has gone too far!”

Every Senator in the Dark Parliament was a unique existence. Lacking just one of them made them incomplete.

Sage lifted a hand. “Enough. It’s useless to speak too much about this. Moreover, Senator Morning Star wouldn’t have known that something like this would happen.”

He swept his eyes around. “If the six of us move together, while we cannot display our greatest strength, there won’t be much of a difference. And most importantly, it isn’t just the Dark Parliament that will be launching an attack today. We can join forces with the other parties. As long as Ning Qin dies, we will have succeeded in our goal. Now, let’s not delay any further. Begin.”

He turned back and flicked his sleeves. The stone door quietly opened. Sage was the first to enter, with the other five Senators following close behind. Several breaths later, there was a loud rumbling sound of stone scraping on stone, as if something heavy was being shoved open.

Shua –

A pair of giant eyes opened. There was a gloominess in them. This deathly stillness and ice-cold aura could freeze the soul!

…

Two towering mountains pointed at the heavens, their peaks submerged deep in the clouds and fog. They were close enough to each other that they almost blocked out all light that fell.

So the abyss between these two mountains appeared increasingly dark and profound, as if it were an entrance to hell. A strong wind suddenly blew out from it, brushing against the forest outside and causing loud rustling and crashing sounds.

Hu –

Hu –

Bursts of white fog came from that abyssal hole, soon condensing into a mass of thick roiling fog. No matter how strong the winds were, the fog couldn’t be moved at all.

This strange scene continued for some time. Then, the darkness of the abyss stirred and a massive pair of claws stretched out. They cut through the mountain stone as easily as tofu and then pulled. A massive body was slowly dragged out, emerging from the darkness.

A ferocious wolf head appeared, its black fur like iron needles. A long scar appeared on its skull, starting from the lower corner of its left eye and extending diagonally past its forehead.

Its left eye was blind and half of its right ear had been sliced off. After hundreds of thousands of years of recuperation, the scar on its head still hadn’t recovered.

And this wound was given to it many, many years ago by the master it once gave its loyalty to. It originally thought that would be the last time it saw its master, but he had returned.

The one-eyed half-eared black wolf didn’t want to believe this, but it wouldn’t mistake the trembling in its mind. Without a doubt, this was its master’s aura.

It turned back and looked at the abyss it had occupied for hundreds of thousands of years. It couldn’t help but wonder – was the choice it made to betray its master in the past wrong?

But it was doomed to never obtain an answer. The black wolf leapt up, landing on the white fog that floated out from the abyss. Then, as if riding a cloud, it flew into space, vanishing into rippling fluctuations in the air.

…

A great river crashed down from high in the skies, tearing through the mountain and forming many strange and steep peaks. There was an old thatched house along the river. Sitting in front of it, one could feel the moist water vapor on one’s face.

The straw roof was tattered and torn. If a gust of wind blew past, there was a possibility that it would be torn off, sent flying into the great river where it would be smashed to bits.

But it had stood here for many, many years already, so long that no one remembered when it had appeared.

In this lonely thatched house lived a lonely old woman. Her white hair was neatly combed and she wore a cotton skirt that seemed as if it had never been changed.

Every morning, the old woman would punctually come out of the house. Holding a fishing rod, she threw the hook into the river. When a fish was hooked, the old woman would raise the fishing rod and then prepare a fire to cook a meal.

One fish. That was her meal for the entire day. No matter how large or small it was, she wouldn’t fish up a second one.

On the distant peaks there were the figures of several people. The cultivators there stared with wide eyes, waiting for the old woman to come out and start fishing.

They had no idea who the old woman was nor did they know why she lived here. But, there was one thing they were sure of. This common-looking old woman without any fluctuations of strength about her was a genuine mighty being.

Once upon a time, a powerhouse tried to test her. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t approach the lonely mountain where she lived. Although that person and that mountain was right in front of them, it was like they were separated by a thousand mountains and rivers, or perhaps they existed in another space altogether.

“She’s coming out!”

There were shouts of hushed excitement. The door of the thatched house was pushed open from the inside. A neatly dressed old woman with white hair walked out with a fishing pole in hand. She didn’t pay any attention to the eyes full of awe and curiosity that looked her way. She arrived at the cliff and took a seat, flinging the hook into the river.

Rumble rumble –

Along the great galloping river, the old woman who sat by the waters appeared particularly tiny. But as the cultivators watched her, they each had an entranced expression.

This was just lonely and boring fishing. But in their eyes, it contained the flavor of the Great Dao, creating thoughts of inspiration that burst out in their eyes.

“Ah! I’ve become aware, I’ve finally become aware!” A cultivator quietly shouted, his face full of ecstatic joy. He stood up and bowed deeply at the old woman, “Thank you senior for your guidance these last several years. I shall never forget it for the rest of my life!”

The normally aloof and indifferent old woman, who regarded everyone as no one, turned around and slightly nodded.

The cultivator was incredibly flattered. But before he could say anything more, the quiet old lady suddenly raised the fishing pole.

Bang –

The river waters burst open and the rapidly flowing river seemed as if it had been cut in half. An incomparably large shadow was pulled out from below.

This creature had the head of a cow and the body of a fish. There were sharp claws extending from its stomach and its tail ended with the hook of a scorpion’s tail.

“Moo moo!” With loud cries, this weird and awkward monster beast was flung onto the shore. Its eyes were filled with panic and fear but it didn’t dare to run away. It laid prone where it landed, its body shivering.

The old woman laid down the fishing pole. She faintly said, “You have been taking advantage of my aura to cultivate here for 10,000 years. It’s about time that you served as my mount. After bringing me to a place, I will let you leave.”

She stepped forward and landed on the monster beast’s back. As she did, an astonishing transformation occurred. It was like time had reversed. In a breath of time, the old woman turned into a young woman at the prime of her beauty.

The only thing that didn’t change was the simple dress she wore. It was still gray and common-looking.

As she stood atop the monster beast’s back, wind curled her hair. All of the watching cultivators were left dumbfounded. She was like a goddess that had descended from the heavens.

“Moo –”

With a low roar, the monster beast leapt into the river, carrying the woman on its back. They drilled into the water and vanished from sight.

…

A massive shadow came from the distance. Wherever it passed the world fell into darkness, as if yin and yang had been reversed.

The surrounding aura tumbled endlessly. Like a pot of boiling porridge, it blocked all external auras.

A figure with a blurry face came shooting from the direction of the Western Tomb, wrapped in holy light.

Heaven and earth spiritual strength gathered around him, condensing into little holy spirits that looked at him and praised him, groveling at his side.

…

In the distant north, in a land of eternal ice and snow, a young man walked out, a spear on his back. He was tall and strong like an iron tower and wore thick animal furs.

His expression was firm and resolute. His eyes were clear and steady, as if he wouldn’t be shaken even if the world were to collapse.

…

One after another, peak powerhouses that stood upon the top of this era began to gather from all directions.

For various reasons, none of them hoped for the Dragon City Master to come back to life. They all desired to cut him down again while he was weakened.

Winds and clouds surged. A vast momentum that swept through the world started to rapidly take shape. If a person was able to foresee that this would happen, would Qin Yu regret that he would fall into such a dangerous situation by helping the Hidden Fog Sect?

Of course, this was only a guess. With Qin Yu’s small and weak path of time that was still far, far away from reaching the threshold, if he wanted to achieve something like reversing time, that would only happen countless years from now.

But now, he had to live through this current crisis. If he were to be killed here, then his future and all the good things that would come from it would be for nothing.