Refining the Mountains and Rivers

After returning to their dwelling, Snowside gave Qin Yu another lecture on the carrying capacity limits of the soul.

“After cultivating for such a long time, even if I don’t say it you should still understand that the soul is the basis of life. Compared to the mortal body it is countless times more precious. When a person’s strength reaches a certain degree and feels the existence of the World’s Dragon Gate, they need to open up their own path, knocking on that door to reach the God boundary.”

“For instance, consider the soul as the ground, and the path towards the Divine Dao is the temple built on top of it. Only if the foundation is firm enough and large enough can the temple be solidly constructed. Of course, strictly speaking, this analogy isn’t completely appropriate, but it’s enough for you to understand it like this for the time being.”

“Regardless of what path you choose to step onto the Divine Dao, in the end it has to be built atop your own soul. Ordinarily, with the strength of your soul you should be able to support three paths to the Divine Dao. But, there are clearly additional circumstances that I’m not aware of.”

Snowside’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Qin Yu. “If you are willing to have an open and honest conversation with me and tell me about your situation, I wouldn’t mind listening patiently and giving you some suggestions.”

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows and didn’t say anything. An open and honest conversation? Let alone Snowside, it was impossible for him to talk to anyone else. He had far too many secrets, so many that it left him frightened just thinking about it. Even if he just exposed one or two of them, that was enough for countless people to want to take his life.

Snowside should be right. The problem came from the carrying capacity of his soul. As for what the reason was…Qin Yu first thought about the little blue lamp. Even today, its existence filled Qin Yu with disbelief.

On another hand, Qin Yu thought about the sun and moon force field in his soul space that rose in the east and set in the west. Although he still didn’t fully understand its function, its strength was without a doubt.

He lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead. He let out a breath, ignoring Snowside’s eyes that were full of anticipation. He directly said, “Do you have any solution?”

Snowside smirked. “I have many solutions. But if I don’t know the exact reason, I can only give you the most difficult suggestion.” She reached out a hand, her fingers and palm facing upwards. “For instance, take this palm as your soul. Right now, it is too small for you to open up a path to the Divine Dao above it, but as long as you do this…”

As she spoke her fingers opened. “When your soul becomes stronger, its support capacity will naturally increase and your problem will be resolved. But don’t say I never warned you. Treasures that strengthen the soul, no matter what boundary they are, are incomparably precious treasures. And, you have reached the level where you can feel the World’s Dragon Gate. If you want to enhance the power of your soul now, it will be ridiculously difficult.”

Qin Yu nodded, “What you said makes sense.”

Snowside turned and looked at Qin Yu, and then looked at him some more. She blinked her eyes, a bit puzzled. After a moment she asked, “You don’t seem to be worried?”

Welcoming her gaze, Qin Yu smiled and said, “Mm.”

He nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything more. Because at this time Qin Yu had already figured out a plan to search for formidable soul treasures.

…

Riverwater City. This was the city where Qin Yu and his group were staying at the moment. It was a small-scale city that barely had half an expert.

And this half-expert was a dirty old bum. He wore tattered clothes all day long and dragged a broken leg as he leaned on the side of the road, just like a miserable beggar. When someone offered him something to eat he would eat. Otherwise, he was ignored. He curled up in a ball and baked in the sun, sleeping through the day.

The dirty old bum had lived in the city for a long time. He was lazy and basically never left this street. Many residents of this long street had come to recognize him.

It was said that years ago, a wealthy person took pity on him and wanted to help him fix his leg and give him a job so he could make a livelihood. But, the offer had been flatly refused by the dirty old bum. The dirty old bum said he was satisfied with his current life and didn’t want to make any changes.

When this story was brought up, everyone that knew the dirty old bum would curl their lips and scold him for being someone that deserved his current situation.

The dirty old bum didn’t place these rumors in his heart. He lived each day as he played; it was a good enough life.

On this day there was a light rain. The gloomy skies were cloudy and accompanied by gusts of wind and there was a biting chill in the air. People rushed about on the streets, most of them not wanting to stay outside in such weather.

The dirty old bum lay down on a stone, allowing the rain water to wash over him. The water carried away the dirt that covered him. The muddy water flowed down, darkening the puddles on the ground.

Carriages came to a stop far away and several people walked out one after another. On the street, behind the windows on the left and right, the faces of many people changed as they filled with awe.

These people looked as if they were walking down the street but there was a line that separated their feet from the ground so that their boots never touched water. The thin rain that fell down seemed to hit an invisible barrier as it scattered into the surroundings.

“Old sir, we meet again. I didn’t expect that you would still be here after so many years.” An old man with white hair and a white beard smiled as he spoke, respect in his voice.

The faces of the youths behind him changed. They furrowed their eyebrows as they looked at the dirty old bum. No matter how they saw it, he was nothing but a wretched beggar.

Because the dirty old bum never took a shower, now that he was soaked in rain water, a pungent scent wafted out from his body.

Two girls couldn’t help it and covered their noses, looks of disgust in their eyes.

The dirty old bum opened a slit in his eyes. His wrinkled face looked up as he glanced at the old man. “Who are you? Don’t disturb me from taking a bath!”

With this, several of the calmer young men were unable to help it anymore. Looks of ill intent appeared on their faces.

The white-haired old man lifted a hand, stopping the disciples behind him. His smile didn’t change. “Old sir has been observing the variations of life all day long, so it’s normal if you don’t remember me. Forty years ago in this place, I once asked you a question.”

He paused for a moment, a look of recollection in his eyes. “At that time, I didn’t understand your reply. I thought I was crazy to believe it…but it was only afterwards that I realized how truly precious your words were. They allowed me to have my current achievements.”

The old man cupped his hands together and bowed. “I took the liberty to come here today to first thank you for the graciousness of the past. Secondly, I hope to invite you to leave with me. I have obtained permission to construct a new school. If old sir is willing, you will be half the master of this school.”

With this, the disciples behind the old man were truly shocked. Their eyes widened with disbelief.

In order to obtain the approval to construct a new school, this point alone proved how strong their teacher was.

A few days ago, they faced the lord of Roc City who had come to greet them. That person was the ruler in the truest sense of this region that spanned for hundreds of thousands of miles. Yet, their teacher hadn’t been so respectful…just where had this old man come from? That he was worthy of their teacher treating him like this!

At this moment, the rain fell down heavier, turning into long lines that splashed against the dirty old bum’s face without mercy. The dirty old bum narrowed his eyes slightly from this, looking as if he was earnestly looking at the old man that was speaking.

After some time, he muttered something in a low voice. The dirty old bum began to chase them away. “I don’t remember speaking with you. Even if I did say something, I’ve forgotten it by now. Hurry and leave. Don’t affect my mood.”

The white-haired old man hesitated for a moment. He sighed and said, “I have no idea what scruples old sir has, but my heart will never change. If you change your mind in the future, you may ask anyone about me, Yun Congyue. The school I build will always keep their doors open for you.”

The dirty old bum wasn’t even inclined to respond this time. He dismissively waved his hand.

“Teacher, since the old mister isn’t willing to accept the offer, we should bid our farewells.” A young disciple from behind respectfully said.

Before Yun Congyue could respond, a calm voice echoed out from the curtain of rain behind him. “That’s right, you should all have left long ago. Why do you stay here and continue talking about such sad things?”

Lying against the stone, the dirty old bum’s eyelids twitched. Although he didn’t respond much, his actions were much more vibrant than before.

The group of people turned around to see a black robed man standing in the rain. His entire body seemed to be fused together with the heavy rain. The raindrops fell down atop his head, passing through his body and splashing onto the ground where it merged into currents.

From his aura, this person didn’t seem too strong. But he was covered in a blurry fog, like a cloud-covered mountain. Although he clearly stood there, he seemed infinitely far away.

In fact, no one realized when he had appeared there.

Yun Congyue furrowed his eyebrows. He cupped his hands together and said, “Mister, what do you mean?”

Although he couldn’t see the face of the person beneath the black robes, the vicissitudes of the years that emanated from this person was enough to make him worthy of this title.

Of course, an even more important reason was that Yun Congyue couldn’t see through this person. He was like an illusion, intangible and ethereal.

At first glance, he was as fragile as a mirror that could be crushed with a single finger. But after carefully sensing it, he could feel a threat.

A little…fatal threat!

That’s right, it was fatal.

To Yun Congyue, this description wasn’t too excessive.

This was only a question to open up this strange situation. But beyond his expectations, the black robed man answered.

The black robed man indifferently said, “This little fellow should have committed some crime in the past and was imprisoned in this place. It’s not that he doesn’t want to leave, but that he cannot leave.”

Shua –

The dirty old bum that had been rude and antagonistic towards Yun Congyue suddenly stood up and fell to his knees. “Junior Ban Bu kindly requests senior to save me!”

Bang –

Bang –

As his head struck the ground, water splashed into the air and the stone slabs beneath broke apart. Dark red blood was left behind on his forehead. When it mixed with rainwater, it soon left him covered in red.

The bum’s long and filthy hair was mixed with blood and rain. It clung to his face, making him appear even more distressed.

Ban Bu’s eyes locked tight onto Qin Yu, as if he was afraid he would turn around and leave.

So many years had passed already. This was the first time that Ban Bu met an existence that could see through his wretched state with a single glance. If he missed out on this chance, who knew how many more years he would have to wait…or to put it in other words, Ban Bu wasn’t sure how many more years he could last.

Bang –

Bang –

The sound of kowtowing rang out without stop. More and more blood flowed out. The black robed person stood there, maintaining his initial tranquility as if he didn’t see any of this.

The air turned heavy, as if an invisible mountain had arrived, pressing down atop everyone’s heads. They had no choice but to lower their heads and even breathing became difficult.

Yun Congyue heisted repeatedly before saying, “Mister…”

His following words were interrupted by a look from the black robed man. Yun Congyue’s chest turned cold. He felt as if he had been seen through. Below his chest and abdomen, a hidden danger that had been left behind after his breakthrough to the God boundary began to ache.

Luckily, those eyes only swept across him before falling on Ban Bu. The black robed man’s old voice sounded out, “If I weren’t for the fact that I had a connection with your ancestors and you have already suffered enough punishment here, do you think I would appear here?”

Ban Bu was stunned. It was unknown what he thought of, but tears immediately fell down his cheeks. He lay prone on the ground and sobbed in sadness. “I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong…I ask mister to save me…please save me!”

“When I do something, I never return empty-handed. Remember this…there is a mountain outside the city, a place where the yin and yang of the sun and moon cannot penetrate. Once you are freed of your troubles, find a soul strengthening treasure and send it there.”

“This junior obeys!”

In the rain, the black robed man lifted a finger and pointed out. There was no other action, but everyone could hear a light cracking sound.

The black robed man turned around and walked away. He fused into the vast curtain of rain, vanishing from sight.

He left just like how he arrived. The only difference was that even though everyone was watching him, they had no idea how he left.

Ban Bu who knelt on the ground respectfully bowed towards the direction the black robed man left. Then, he stood up. He was like a sword that had its mottled rust fall off, immediately releasing a formidable, heart-shaking aura.

Bang –

Above Riverwater City, the pall of rain that blocked out the skies immediately vanished. The dense black clouds disappeared, revealing a bright red sun.

Radiantly blazing sunlight shined down and reflected on Ban Bu’s body. His back straightened and loud explosions could be heard spreading out from his body. He rapidly turned young and the power that had been sealed away for a long time completely returned.

“Fellow daoist Yun, about the proposition you raised before, once I complete senior’s orders I will come and find you. Then, goodbye.”

Ban Bu stepped out and rumbling thunder reverberated in the air. Vast power of the world gathered together, condensing into a sword beneath his feet.

The sword cried out loud. By the time the cry vanished, Ban Bu had disappeared into the horizon.