Refining the Mountains and Rivers

If it weren’t for the fact that they had stolen their tickets and the cabins had been assigned beforehand, then the two sisters absolutely would have believed that these four people had been sent to tail them.

Both parties stood at the entrances of their cabins, speechlessly staring at each other for several moments before turning and walking in. This wasn’t a bitter hatred or something and they had already boarded the Beast Trainer Alliance’s ship, so no one wanted to entangle themselves in further trouble.

The cabin wasn’t too large; there was a small window with light peeking through. This window should have been damaged before, but later on, the quality of the repair was simply far too poor. The attempted replacement of the window blocked about a third of it, causing even less light to shine into the cabin.

The light was dim and the air was stale. It wasn’t a thick stench, but the smell of damp mold and mildew kept digging into the nostrils.

Dorelis furrowed her eyebrows, a look of disgust on her face. However, she didn’t say anything. Although this woman didn’t appear to be reliable, her heart seemed as clear and reflective as a mirror.

The only comforting thing was that while this cabin was small, it was still divided into several smaller rooms. There was more than enough space for four people to sleep here.

Qin Yu thought that this was the best point. He didn’t want to be sexually harassed by Dorelis throughout the night.

In reality, after entering the cabin, Dorelis was unexpectedly quiet. She spent most of her time inside. Qin Yu was left surprised. He was curious, but he couldn’t figure out what she was up to. He thought it was better to go along with her as long as she didn’t cause a commotion.

As the ship travelled through the sea, even if there was a thick hull separating them, everyone could still hear the sounds of the sea roaring and tumbling outside. Especially at night when the lights were turned off, the cabin was extremely dark. This sort of sound became very clear and it kept crashing into the ears.

However, the voyage wasn’t all depressing and boring. When the sky was clear and calm, Qin Yu left the cabin and walked around.

He wasn’t the only one who chose to do this. Several days later, a trade fair was formed on the upper deck. When the weather was good, many people would gather here to trade some items and other goods.

Qin Yu didn’t buy anything. What he preferred to do was stand on the high railing of the upper deck and peer at the boundless sea.

This world also had a sea, and it was far larger than the one on his world. This inevitably caused his thoughts to fly far away. He thought back to those people who were waiting for him, separated by an endless distance, and he also thought about how he had no idea what situation they were in. There was a sudden sense of urgency in his heart. He didn’t want to waste time if possible.

On the fifth day, when Qin Yu turned and left the deck, he saw Xue Yueyue hurriedly approaching. Their eyes slid off each other, as if they were strangers crossing paths.

Of course, besides a few arguments, the two were strangers to begin with.

On the eighth day, Qin Yu saw Xue Yueyue at the deck’s trade fair again. She was constantly talking and chatting, as if searching for something.

If it was just this, Qin Yu wouldn’t be bored enough to care about what she was doing.

Leaning back against the railing, he casually looked around. He suddenly thought that his guess was correct.

There was a black-robed man in the corner as well as a man and woman at the third stall from the left. Although the three of them behaved normally, they kept glancing at this woman out of the corners of their eyes. She was clearly their target.

If it weren't for the fact that this was the ship of the Beast Trainer Alliance and they didn’t dare to act recklessly, they would have already done something to her.

On the eleventh day, Qin Yu saw Xue Yueyue again. Although she wore a black veil on her face, it was easy to feel the waves of anxiety rolling off of her.

Thinking about it, the other woman who came here with her had never made another appearance. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he recalled the bloody smell that came from them.

Of course, he was simply an observer. As long as he wasn’t involved, he wouldn’t do anything at all.

The 14th day of the voyage.

Night time.

After extinguishing the light, the cabin fell into darkness. Qin Yu leaned back against his bed, quietly contemplating something.

Since he arrived in this world, he had always been busy with one thing or another. The days of idleness on this ship allowed him to sort out his own gains during this period of time and make some basic framework planning for the future.

Suddenly, Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows and he was pulled out from his thoughts. He sat up and cocked his ears, a dignified look on his face.

He stood up and pushed open the door. The light array formation activated, illuminating Senior Lin’s similarly dignified face.

Their gazes bumped into each other and they both seemed to sense that something was wrong…the sea felt too peaceful today.

As the light array formation was activated, Yun Die was awakened from her meditation. She had a puzzled expression on her face, “Teacher, what is it?”

Before Qin Yu could answer, Dorelis’ lazy and languid voice came from behind him. “Tonight’s sea is too quiet. It isn’t a good omen.”

She yawned as she spoke. Then, she lifted her arms and stretched her waist. Her nightgown rose up, outlining curves that left one’s mouth parched.

Senior Lin’s pupils shrank as he looked at Dorelis. This mysterious woman was potentially a factor of instability. Even with his cultivation and eyesight, he couldn’t see her depths at all.

As if detecting something, Dorelis looked up. Their eyes met and after a brief pause, they looked away.

Qin Yu saw all of this happen but he had no intention of meddling. Whether it was Dorelis or Senior Lin, while they were both nice to him right now, they had their own secretive reasons for it.

If they dreaded and restrained each other, that was actually beneficial to Qin Yu.

As if to verify Dorelis’ words, the peacefully travelling ship suddenly shook. This sort of situation was common during the voyage so far; just a slightly larger storm could accomplish this.

But when compared to the peace before, this shaking was even more obvious. In addition to the words Dorelis said, Yun Die’s complexion paled. Before she could say anything, the shaking came once again, even more intense than before. One could hear the entire hull creaking.

As if a horn had been blown, the roar of the sea turned violent and wild. A loud rumbling sound penetrated through the hull and into everyone’s ears.

Senior Lin said, “There’s been an accident!”

His eyebrows tightly wrinkled together and a serious light shined in his eyes. The Beast Trainer Alliance was located at Starfall Archipelago and had signed a nonaggression treaty with the various sea races. But tonight’s rough seas were clearly being driven by some secret existence in the dark…Senior Lin could smell the faint aura of monsters in the air.

The warning rang out!

A mass of calm footsteps came from all directions. The sailors had faint expressions as they rushed to their respective positions.

Although the sea routes had been much calmer these past years, their battles with the creatures living in the sea had never stopped. They were elites who had fought numerous battles before, so even facing this sudden situation they didn’t feel any panic at all.

“Everyone stay in your cabins! Do not come out without authorization!”

A loud shout spread over the entire ship. Qin Yu recognized this voice; it belonged to the one-eyed man who appeared when the tickets were being checked.

Hum –

Hum –

The ship started to moan and cry. Array formations were activated one after another. The thick hull rose up and massive spikes protruded from the bow and stern. As the ship tumbled across the rough sea waves, it resembled a great beast that had been awoken from its slumber and was revealing its sharp teeth and claws.

Suddenly, the surface of the sea broke apart and a massive shadow flew out, hurtling towards the ship.

Bang –

With a loud crash, the ship suddenly tilted to an extreme angle. A large section of the hull shattered. Black iron wood pieces, ten times harder than stone, randomly shot out, piercing through the bodies of dozens of sailors and turning them into sieves of flesh and blood.

Puff –

Puff –

Puff –

Blood gushed out and their bodies slumped to the deck. The smell of blood filled the air.

“King level sea beast!”

“Hurry, activate the defense plan!”

“Everyone on deck, retreat to your bunkers!”

Sharp screams filled the air. The seemingly calm and steady sailors couldn’t conceal the panic in their voices.

The people hiding in their cabins might not have been able to see what was happening outside, but they could hear the sounds coming from the deck and guess that the situation up above wasn’t too wonderful. All of them immediately felt anxious.

Before the sailors could retreat, two more massive shadows tore through the surface of the sea and attacked.

Bang –

The entire ship was pulled to the side as it collided with the incoming waves. This time, several cabins near the deck were unlucky and were torn apart. Everyone could hear the miserable and despairing screams of the men and women inside the cabins before they died.

But the sailors up above without any cover were the ones who suffered the greatest losses. They were the sharpest and most elite sea warriors, but what they faced right now were formidable existences that they could not contend with.

The one-eyed bearded man roared out loud. He stamped his foot against the deck and the force smashed the wood apart as it sent him flying into the skies. Wielding a great axe in hand, he ruthlessly sliced at an incoming shadow.

With a loud crash, the one-eyed bearded man was slapped away. As he landed on the deck, a giant tentacle slammed down with him. Even though the tentacle had been severed, it didn’t lose its vitality. It continued writhing around, crushing several sailors into pools of broken meat.

Death and blood activated the violent nature of the sailors. They didn’t flee but rushed over, soon drowning the severed tentacle in a pile of slashing weapons.

The one-eyed bearded man leapt back out from the giant hole opened in the deck. His armor was ruined and black iron wood spikes covered his body, making him look like a hedgehog. But his tight flesh and blood caused the spikes to be unable to move another inch into his body, and only a few traces of blood flowed out.

With a roar, the one-eyed bearded man jumped up and crashed into the sea with his giant axe in hand. In the next moment, thunderous waves were set off on the sea’s surface. Violent and pained roars echoed out from below, as if a series of shocking explosions were occurring at the seabed.

It was clear that the one-eyed bearded man had engaged in a desperate life or death battle with this sea creature!

As the ship travelled across the sea, it was lifted up by the giant waves and then sent crashing down again. Large volumes of sea water poured into the ship through the damaged hull.

Qin Yu looked at the ice cold sea water that was continuously pouring into the cabin. He frowned and said, “We need to leave.”

If sea water had come this far in, it meant there was damage somewhere in the hull close to them. As for the warning that the one-eyed bearded man gave them before, that clearly no longer applied.

Qin Yu and his group pushed open the door. After a few steps, they heard the sound of a door opening behind them. The two veiled women came out, each supporting each other.

Their eyes met. Qin Yu turned back and continued heading forwards. The two women hesitated for a moment before leaving in the opposite direction.

At this time, the cultivators in the other cabins had already started running away as the water poured in.

Sounds of confusion and chaos filled the air. Wherever one looked, they could see faces filled with fear and alarm.

Soon Qin Yu saw the source of the water that was flooding in. It was a giant opening with a clean and neat edge, as if it had been cut by a giant saber.

Qin Yu’s heart chilled and he looked at Senior Lin. As he thought, Senior Lin’s complexion was incomparably ugly at this time too.

Although he hadn’t seen the one-eyed bearded man fight with the giant sea beast, he was able to make some judgments from the sound alone and could tell that the giant beast’s attack method wasn’t what caused this opening. If so, then where did it come from?

There was more than one giant beast!

As the two people were thinking this, the sea water broke apart and the one-eyed bearded man landed on the deck. There was a huge wound on his chest. While one couldn’t see how deep it went, blood desperately gushed out, to the point where it seemed impossible to stop.

“Prepare to abandon ship!” As he roared out loud, blood gushed from his nose and mouth. He swayed where he stood and then fell to his knees.

Several sailors rushed up to him. They dragged him somewhere, soon vanishing.