Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Just as this thought ended, a broad and serene voice resounded around him. “Having reversed life and death and returned from the world of the dead, even if your consciousness didn’t fully dissipate, you still died. Even if you have resurrected now, this is still your second life.

“The memories of your previous life have been sealed in your soul. If you truly wish to know who you are and why you are here, you can only rely on yourself to awaken your sealed memories.”

Qin Yu closed his eyes in deep recollection. There were fragmented images floating around in his mind, but the more he tried to catch them the more they flew out of his reach. Suddenly, an incomplete image paused in front of him.

It was a little lamp, one that emitted a deep blue light in the dark night. It was like the purest and cleanest sea in existence, filled with a fantastic and enigmatic atmosphere.

This was…this was…

Little blue lamp, that’s right, this was the little blue lamp!

Bang –

The dam of memories exploded and all sorts of scenes flashed before him. In just several breaths of time, all of his memories of what he had experienced after obtaining the little blue lamp, the majority of his life, had returned.

But this wasn’t the end…

After a brief pause, Qin Yu’s memories continued to appear. This time, what appeared were his memories from before he obtained the little blue lamp.

Everything happened quickly. In the blink of an eye, he saw himself during his childhood as cold and stormy rain was falling down. He hid beneath the eaves of a house, rustling and shivering. Just as he reached his limits and was about to faint, Aunty Gu opened the door and brought him into her family.

This was the warmest and most peaceful moment of Qin Yu’s life. Gu Ling’er constantly followed behind him, shouting out, “Big Brother, Big Brother, wait for me!”

But continuing forward, his memories became blurry. Perhaps he had instinctively forgotten about them because they were too painful, or perhaps someone didn’t wish for him to remember them, so they erased them from his mind.

Qin Yu’s head ached. He grasped his head and fell to the floor. Memories continued to gush out.

The memories were increasingly fragmented, like pieces of a mirror that had been smashed into countless parts. They were piled up and it was impossible to distinguish anything from them.

“Ahh!” Qin Yu roared out loud. Blood vessels bulged on his neck and blood flowed out from his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

Memories continued pouring out, except the speed became increasingly slow. The time it took to restore the memories from his first dozen years of life was far greater than it took for the hundred plus years he had lived after obtaining the little blue lamp.

Suddenly, an image appeared in Qin Yu’s mind. It was a mountain that wasn’t too high, and on its summit was a construction similar to an ancestral shrine. It was blurry and impossible to see clearly. But, he could see that the skies were blood red and thunder roared, a rainstorm endlessly pouring down!

Pa –

The image shattered. Qin Yu fiercely lifted his head, a hissing roar coming from his throat. It felt as if his spine had been pulled out of his body. A pain pierced into the depths of his soul, creating a mark he would never forget!

Pain, fear, hate, unwillingness…

All sorts of emotions crossed space and time to appear in Qin Yu’s heart. Feelings that had been forgotten back then had all been found at this moment.

Where was this? Why do I remember this place? Why do I feel such pain?

He shivered, not a single trace of blood left on his face. He tried his best to recall those memories, but after that image, everything fell into darkness. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t find any memory fragments from that darkness.

Qin Yu fiercely looked up and cried out, “Why are my memories incomplete? Why haven’t they been restored?”

A faint and broad voice sounded out, “Concerning these matters, you should ask yourself. If you cannot find an answer, then wait until the future.”

Qin Yu took one final ‘look’ at that scene and pressed it into the depths of his memories. He took a deep breath and said, “Thank you for saving my life.”

At the moment his memories had been restored, he naturally learned the reason why he had been able to come back to life.

“There is no need to thank me. It is because you satisfied the requirements and I have given you a chance according to the principle of fairness.” The voice continued to resound. “Now, you must make your final decision. I may fuse with you, but the brand mark is not complete. It will need to swallow the strength within your body to complete the transformation.

“Either success or failure of the transformation is possible; both have an equal 50% chance of occurring. If you succeed, you won’t obtain any benefits for the time being. Even maintaining the same level of cultivation will be the best possible result. And you will also have to shoulder the karma of cause and effect of this in the future. If you fail, perhaps you will survive, but it will be difficult for you to keep your life’s cultivation. You must make your choice of whether or not you wish to fuse now. If you aren’t willing to take such a risk, I can still send you away from here.”

Qin Yu looked up at the vortex of white, black, blue, red, and yellow that continued to swirl within the sky reaching jade pendant. Without any hesitation he said, “I choose to fuse!”

As far as he was concerned, it should have been impossible for him to gain approval to begin with. He had died once, and countless coincidences and lucky chances had come together to create this opportunity for him.

How could he give up like this?

Moreover, that low mountain in his memories and the dignified and solemn ancestral shrine that lay upon its summit, just where was it?

Qin Yu had to find it. He wanted to take back all the memories from the darkness!

He wanted to know why he felt such fear and hatred. Just what had happened in that place?

Qin Yu’s intuition told him that if he didn’t choose to fuse, even if he had the little blue lamp he still would never have the qualifications to approach that low mountain in his lifetime.

So, he had to bet it all!

“I hope that in the future you will not regret the choice you made today.” As the voice fell, the vortex within the sky reaching jade pendant started to spin even faster than before. White, black, blue, red, yellow, five colors spun crazily, gradually fusing together.

The five strengths were absorbed by the jade pendant, making up the losses of the jade pendant. But the five strengths within Qin Yu’s body all had astonishing backgrounds. How could they be willing to fuse with other strengths and lose their own nature?

As a result, abnormal changes began to appear in the sky reaching jade pendant one after another. And, the one that could not tolerate being merged above all was clearly the strength of world destruction. It was entrusted with the will to completely kill Qin Yu, extinguishing his soul so that he would never be reincarnated.

Within the jade pendant’s vortex, a white light burst out. It was enormous and boundless, releasing the aura of endless years.

It represented an undying existence that had coexisted with the world, the sun, and the moon for trillions of years. Even if it faded in the endless river of time, it would eventually reform, never to be destroyed.

A faint eye appeared within. Its chilling gaze had no fluctuation of emotion. It stared straight at Qin Yu.

“You dare to fuse me?”

Rumble rumble –

It was like a million bolts of thunder crashed down in Qin Yu’s mind. His consciousness buzzed and fell into a blank space. The sky raged, the earth screamed, and the oceans and mountains issued dire warnings. He could not take a single step out from the pool of thunder, otherwise he would be sent beyond redemption.

Countless voices screamed at him. There were men and women, the young and the old. They wanted him to bow prostrate before the world’s will. Only by doing this could he obtain its forgiveness.

A phenomenon occurred. The power of the world had refused to fuse with him and the sky reaching jade pendant remained silent the entire time. This was Qin Yu’s own choice, and all difficulties he encountered needed to be overcome by him.

After several breaths of time, Qin Yu let out a light breath. He looked up at the vortex and the icy gaze from the power of the world. “In truth, this isn’t the first time I have seen an eye similar to yours. To be more exact, I’ve dealt with it a few times.

“So if you’re trying to scare me or something, that’s pointless. Today I will fuse with you, and if you want to settle this debt, you can come find me in the future.”

The little blue lamp smiled. It knew that the hurdle of overcoming the world’s will might be the most difficult test for others, but for Qin Yu it was the simplest.