Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Several figures howled forward in the desert world. Suddenly, the Dark Parliament’s puppet stopped and looked in the opposite direction. The hearts of the six Senators were left shaken. At this moment, they could actually sense an aura, one that came from Senator Morning Star!

Why would he be here?

Through the invisible connection that tied the Senators together, they could make out a blurry and incomplete picture; it was that of a palace buried deep beneath the desert.

“Twilight, you lied, the Dragon City Master isn’t in this direction at all!” The puppet roared out loud and turned around.

The others all revealed looks of shocked anger. When they saw Twilight’s calm appearance, they understood what she had done. Still, there was something they couldn’t figure out. Why didn’t the Dao Monarch’s messenger expose her deceit during this time period?

The black wolf howled, “You stupid woman, if it were any other time I would kill you!”

This was the same thought that they all had.

Whoosh –

Whoosh –

They all changed directions and chased after the puppet.

…

Deep within the desert world, there were several thick tents that had been nailed into the yellow sands with long iron rods.

Suddenly, one of the tents opened up from inside. As if to resist the extreme heat, the person wore a straw coat.

The person looked up to reveal an old face. The dark face was covered in wrinkles, each crevice filled with sand.

But his eyes were bright and clear. Even though his lips were chapped and cracked, and they even oozed blood, none of this affected him.

He looked at the great sun up above that would never come down. He took out a black bone and gently stroked it with his withered fingers.

A dark and gloomy light emanated from the surface of the bone. Looking at it carefully, one could see that this dark light was composed of countless tiny runes.

They slowly and mysteriously meandered along the black bone, combining together and splitting apart in a cycle as if they were deducing something.

After a long time, the old man sighed. He turned his palm and put the black bone away. Like before, there didn’t seem to be any harvests.

They had been in the desert world for a considerable time already. Although the youths of the clan didn’t say anything, he knew that they were reaching their limits. It seemed that he would return with nothing this time too.

Hualala –

There was the sound of sand falling from the surface of a tent behind. Another petite figure drilled out. She had a straw coat tightly wrapped around her as she trotted over to the old man.

“High Ancestor, is there still no harvest?”

Her voice was a little hoarse; it was because her throat was parched. Her face was filled with exhaustion.

The old man turned around and said in a soft voice, “No.” He lifted a hand and stroked the girl’s head. A faint halo of blue light flashed and she suddenly felt invigorated.

The young girl took a step back and fumed, “High Ancestor, you have used up a great deal of strength, so stop taking care of me like this. I’m strong. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

The old man had a gratified expression. “I know you are sensible, but the environment here is still stressful for you. Go back and tell the little kids that we won’t be staying here much longer. At most we will remain for another 72 hours before we leave.”

The young girl’s eyes brightened. “Ah, that’s wonderful!” She stuck out her tongue, “High Ancestor, it’s not that I can’t stand suffering a little, but this place is too dirty. I haven’t taken a bath for a long time already. Once I get out of here, I’m going to soak myself for three days and three nights!”

The old man smiled and shook his head. As he was about to say something his complexion suddenly changed. He turned, his eyes locking onto some position. He sensed the aura that suddenly appeared. After a brief surprise, excitement lit up his face.

He drew in a deep breath and took out the black bone again. Without needing to stimulate it, countless runes were rapidly combining on its surface, forming a special pattern.

“Hundreds of thousands of years…it’s been hundreds of thousands of years…your aura has appeared…it’s finally reappeared…” The old man mumbled to himself. Ecstatic joy gushed out in his heart, causing him to tremble.

The strength within his body erupted beyond his control and a formidable aura broke free from him. Luckily, the old man was able to react in time. The young girl was only sent tumbling away and wasn’t harmed.

The movement here alarmed everyone in their tents. In an instant, dozens of people emerged. When they sensed no danger they let out sighs of relief. It was then that they looked over in confusion.

“Old Patriarch, what are you…?”

The old man lifted the black bone in his hands and loudly said, “I have sensed master’s aura. He is here in this space!”

“Ah!”

Everyone shouted out in surprise and they all began to smile and laugh with joy.

“Master has revived?”

“I knew it! With master’s great strength, how could he die easily?”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go and pay our respects to master!”

The Old Patriarch was all smiles. But at this time, the runes on the black bone quickly dissolved, reforming into several straight arrows. His complexion changed. “This is bad. There are people tracing master’s aura; they are enemies! Hong Shao, you stay here with the kids. Everyone else, follow me!”

Whoosh –

The Old Patriarch shot into the skies.

The experts of the clan howled in pursuit. The remaining youths all revealed worries and nervous expressions.

Hong Shao was the young girl from before. She turned and said, “Everyone, wait in your tents. We cannot last too long outside.”

She turned and glanced in the direction the High Ancestor and the others had disappeared to. She didn’t know why, but she had a foreboding premonition in her heart.

It was fine, it was definitely fine. With the High Ancestor’s cultivation, he could defeat any enemy.

…

Qin Yu slowly walked towards the seamless palace. He paused for a moment and turned around, his eyes flashing. Then, he looked back and continued walking to the palace. His steps weren’t quick, but each step he took caused ripples to spread through the mirror-smooth ground.

These ripples diffused outwards. When they struck the walls of the palace they would turn back around and strike the newer ripples, producing all sorts of marvelous changes.

Thus, as Qin Yu continued forwards, the ripples beneath his feet became incomparably chaotic. It grew to be like a stormy sea, each ripple a massive wave.

Qin Yu walked between the waves. A single wrong move and he would be swallowed up by the violent seas. But, his step remained calm as he steadily made his way forward.

Each step was just right. Even if it was a point where several ripples collided together, it was also an area where all sides were perfectly balanced in power and maintained equilibrium.

After an unknown length of time, Qin Yu finally stopped. The colliding ripples behind him all vanished, as if everything that just happened had only been an illusion.

Passing through a corridor, his field of vision suddenly became clear. There was a hall with numerous seats inside. One person was sitting at the very top, his face was blurred. On the sides, behind the long tables, there were numerous figures. There were humans, beasts, and even creatures with wings.

Although they were all stone carvings, the artistic mastery with which they were carved was superb. They easily showed the cheerful atmosphere of the banquet.

Qin Yu’s pupils widened and his mind flew far away until he found the memories of this banquet from the past. Sure enough, this scene in front of him was like a frozen snapshot in time. But what a pity, most of the people at this banquet had already fallen, and it was impossible for it to truly be reproduced.

Qin Yu shook his head and walked into the hall. The moment he entered, the two nearest statues started to tremble. The stone surface that covered them shattered and fell off.

“Who are you! You dare to intrude into Dragon City!?”

“You are courting death!”

With loud roars, the man and beast attacked together. Brilliant light erupted and formidable fluctuations of strength covered Qin Yu.

Even their supernatural arts could be simulated…

Qin Yu contemplated the situation as he calmly moved forward. Facing the two of them, he had no reaction at all.

With the next step he took, the man and beast crumbled into powder.

Then, the statues behind two other tables were revived and the process repeated itself.

Among these figures, there was a powerful black wolf as well as a beautiful woman. Her name was Twilight and she stood at the deepest part of the hall, acting as a maid.

So when Twilight disintegrated into powder, Qin Yu was standing in front of the seat of honor. He looked over the table at the stone sculpture behind it.

“I never thought that even when facing these subordinates that you were once close with, you would be able to attack without hesitation. You didn’t show any mercy at all.”

With a deep and low sound, large cracks appeared on the surface of the last stone statue, revealing the figure beneath. This was a tall and stalwart middle-aged man. He had a beard and a firm gaze that revealed his indifferent and disdainful attitude.

Just by standing there, without doing anything else, he was like a mountain that suppressed all sides. It was like everything in this world would crawl beneath his feet.

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. He lightly said, “No one can stop my step. They are already dead, but even if they were standing here alive, their fate would be the same.”

Pa –

Pa –

The man clapped his hands. “You are indeed the formidable consciousness that used to control my body. Your strength is bewildering. If I can swallow you then my strength will be greatly enhanced. There is even a chance that I can replace you and become the new Dragon City Master!”

Qin Yu said, “I am indeed curious just what the Dao Monarch has done that would give you such confidence to face me.”

The man smiled. “You will soon know.” He stood up and spread his arms. “Then, I welcome you to my world!”

Thump –

A low and hollow beating sound spread from all directions. The ground beneath the hall seemed to come alive.

Then, a second and third sound.

Thump –

Thump –

This was the sound of a beating heart. It grew faster and faster, like the beat of a drum in war…because what was imprisoned here was the heart of the Ancient!