Refining the Mountains and Rivers

In an incomparably vast and spotless palace, a man slowly walked in front of a door. He raised a hand and with a loud rumbling sound, a slit slowly opened up in the mountain-like stone door.

Bang -

A cruel and vicious aura suddenly erupted from behind the stone door. It seemed to have been waiting for this moment as it instantly attacked as soon as the stone door opened up.

Sharp blood red claws shot out, soaring towards the man. It seemed as if they wanted to grab the man and drag him into the world behind the stone door.

But this was all within the man's expectations. His shoulders were steady as he suddenly drew backwards to evade.

After avoiding the strongest point of the blood red claws' attack, the man finally made his move. He raised a hand and pressed forward. Air instantly stagnated and froze.

The claws crashed into the air, emitting grinding sounds. Tiny black cracks appeared all around before slowly disappearing.

It was like an invisible rule shrouded this magnificent hall, not allowing any destruction of its façade.

The collision caused surging winds to appear, blowing around the man's hair and robes. He fluttered a thousand feet away, slowly landing on the floor like a falling leaf. His eyes were dim and quiet.

Behind the stone door, a roar echoed out, "Damn it all, how can you always detect it in advance!"

The man lightly said, "Although I don't like it either, I want to remind you that even if we split into two brand new individuals, there will always be a link between us."

"Humph!" There was a cold cough from behind the stone door. "There will eventually come a day when I swallow you!"

The man said, "Perhaps such a day might come, but before then you and I have to overcome our current problem." He paused, his eyes turning dignified. "I'm going to tell you some news that isn't too good. The master has arrived with his little friend. But, there is another guest who wasn't planned for.

"I will now share a part of my external perception with you. Don't try to do anything funny, otherwise you will be wasting our time. You will naturally understand what I am speaking of."

He lifted a hand and pointed at the air.

The sounds behind the stone door suddenly quieted down. Then, there was a loud and deep roar. "This is the flavor of the Western Tomb. Just who is she?"

The man said, "If I'm not wrong, she is named Dorelis, the subordinate god to the true ruler of the Western Tomb, the supreme Dao Monarch.

"That's right. Just like you believe, she is a genuine god. So even if she appears here, it is only her projection. But still, contained within this projection are the same incomparably precious Divine Dao rules.

"If we destroy the master, you and I can obtain true freedom. But we both know that this will only eliminate our fear of the master so that we can live openly and honestly in the world. However, it won't solve the issue of you and I being incomplete beings."

Behind the stone door, the voice said, "You want to capture the strength of this god projection?"

The man said, "You and I have not reached the God boundary so we simply cannot guess what it is. But, the strength of that boundary is without a doubt that of beings that can move the rules with just a thought. This might be a chance."

The stone door was silent for several moments. Then, the voice said, "Fine!"

The man smiled for the first time. "Then I wish us both a happy cooperation."

…

The courtyard really wasn't as simple as it seemed!

Every brick and tile had a profound meaning to it. Just standing here quietly, it seemed to merge into the fog.

Qin Yu looked down. There was a flash of dark gold in the depths of his covered eyes. After a moment, he finally discovered something.

So it was like this…

He knew that there was definitely another reason for resting here for a day after making haste during the entire trip.

Qin Yu concealed the strange look in his eyes. He turned around and said, "We've rested enough along the way and I don't feel tired at all. If you aren't tired either, we can play cards. Just treat it as a way to pass time."

Yun Die always believed that her teacher was the most hard-working and diligent person in the world. For him to suddenly suggest playing cards to pass time, there had to be another reason behind it all. She immediately smiled and said, "Okay. I recommend playing mahjong instead. I have no idea which sage of the past invented this, but ever since I've learnt how to play it I've become addicted."

Feng Qing forced out a smile. "Since Mister Ning Qin is interested, then I shall accompany you all."

Dorelis turned around to leave. "What are you all waiting here for then?" After several more steps, she turned and smiled triumphantly. "I forgot to tell you all that I've always been lucky at games to the point of scaring others. There are few people that can play against me and last for over two hours."

Looking at her, she seemed to overflow with confidence.

The game began.

Qin Yu had never played mahjong before and even though Dorelis bragged about her skills, she was actually a novice. But for cultivators, it was easy to memorize all the rules and play the game.

Yun Die took the first win.

Feng Qing was second.

Qin Yu was third.

And there was nothing after that.

As white jade tiles hit the table, constant 'pa' sounds filled the air. Dorelis was originally calm, but as time passed her complexion grew increasingly dark.

Yun Die - Feng Qing - Qin Yu - Yun Die - Feng Qing - Qin Yu…it was like a closed loop circuit. Before the game started, the arrogant and prideful Dorelis had become the only loser.

At the start, she lost all the spirit stones she brought. Qin Yu lent her some and she proceeded to lose them again. Then she borrowed a second time, third time, fourth time…

Finally, after borrowing spirit stones for a fifth time, the squeaking mahjong tile in Dorelis' hands couldn't withstand the pressure anymore and shattered into powder.

She clapped her hands as if nothing had happened and then stood up. "It seems that my luck isn't too great today. We'll play another day. I'm going to go and rest first."

Qin Yu said, "Don't forget that you owe me spirit stones."

Dorelis staggered. Without turning her head, she shouted, "I know!"

She clenched her teeth and left.

Yun Die stuck out her tongue. "Ah, it's not like we did it on purpose. Who told her to have such bad luck and not even win a single game?"

She held back a smile and raised her eyebrows. "Have you noticed how wonderful Dorelis' expression was? She almost completed an entire play by herself."

Feng Qing was in a much better state of mind. She said, "Don't even say it. I'm glad she left midway. If we continued playing, I was worried that it wouldn't be just that mahjong tile that would be broken. We would all have met with disaster."

With the heavens and earth as her conscience, when she saw that the situation was slowly deteriorating, she already deliberately let loose some free tiles for Dorelis. But, she had been cut off by Qin Yu five times…there really wasn't anything she could do about it.

Qin Yu put down his mahjong tiles and stood up. "You should both stay here. Don't return to your rooms. Talking is fine; remember not to start cultivating."

Yun Die and Feng Qing had grim complexions. They nodded.

As they thought, there was a reason he had decided to play a game.

Qin Yu looked towards the direction Dorelis left in. After hesitating for a moment, he suppressed his thoughts.

With that woman's level, it wasn't easy to fool her. He shouldn't need to do anything else.

Four hours later, the meditating Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes. A violent wave of strength erupted from not too far away.

It was Dorelis!

Qin Yu frowned. Without any hesitation, he flicked his sleeves and swept up Yun Die and Feng Qing. Then, he rushed out.

Heavy fog roiled in front of him like a raging sea. A 1000 foot empty region had been forced open. Dorelis stood in the middle of it, an icy cold expression on her face.

When she sensed the approaching auras, she turned around. The ice cold and indifferent look in her eyes caused Yun Die and Feng Qing's hearts to quiver.

This look…was too terrifying!

When Dorelis saw it was Qin Yu and the others, she relaxed a little. "I had a dream just now…" She thought for a moment and continued to say, "Strange, I've already forgotten what happened in that dream."

Qin Yu had no idea whether she was speaking the truth or lies. He calmly said, "For just a dream you need to cause such a big mess?"

Everything he saw around him was in a chaotic mess. The houses were destroyed and the surrounding courtyard looked as if it had been caught in a giant hurricane. The ground was torn up beyond recognition.

Dorelis curled her lips. "It was because this place wasn't constructed well enough. Am I supposed to be blamed for being too strong?"

Whoosh -

There was the sound of whistling air from afar. Several breaths of time later, Senior Lin landed. He looked around at the destroyed courtyard, stunned. His face slowly darkened.

"Mister Ning Qin, what happened here? This courtyard belongs to the master. Without a reasonable justification it will be difficult for me to explain things to him."

Qin Yu pointed a finger, "You should ask her. I still need to rest. Then, goodbye." He cupped his hands together. As Yun Die was about to follow him, she heard him say, "Don't come with me. Go back to your own rooms."

After being messed up by Dorelis, this entire courtyard could be considered ruined.

Yun Die felt at ease. She looked at Feng Qing and said, "Miss Feng Qing, I have some things I would like to talk about. Can I borrow you for a moment?"

Feng Qing nodded, "Of course." She nodded at Senior Lin and then turned to leave.

The scene suddenly quieted down.

Dorelis had restrained all of her arrogant and cold indifference. She innocently said, "I had a nightmare just now and almost thought I wouldn't wake up again. I might have caused a little bit of a mess, but I believe someone so high and mighty and with endless wealth like the Sky Declaring Pavilion Master wouldn't mind it, right?

"Alright, it's already late. There's still business to do tomorrow, so I won't stay here and chat with you. See you later."

She turned and walked away.

Senior Lin's face paled and flames of anger nearly gushed forth from his eyes. As he looked at the ruined courtyard around him, his heart nearly dripped blood.

He had personally supervised the construction of this courtyard for the master long ago and was well aware of how astonishing the cost was. Today, it had been destroyed by Dorelis and everything had been messed up. If he wanted to repair it to its previous perfect state, it would be difficult.

To put it in simpler terms, it was basically done for.

Senior Lin sucked in a deep breath and suppressed his tumbling thoughts. Had his master done something in secret? Probably not, right? After all, doing anything unnecessary at this time would cause misunderstandings.

Ning Qin and the others had already arrived here and they were all within the master's control. But, with the master's calm and cautious personality, he wouldn't be so careless before this entire matter was concluded.

Just where had a problem occurred?