Refining the Mountains and Rivers

"Many years ago, I once broke into the endless black abyss. After decades of war I personally cut off the head of a Dark Overlord." As the Ancient spoke, he began to move. He lifted a hand towards the profound darkness and clenched his fingers together. Then, he brought his hand crashing down. "So, playing with the power of the dark domain in front of me is utterly meaningless."

The Dao Monarch suddenly moved. Dazzling holy light surged out in a torrent that supported the darkness. "Use everything you have to run far, far away."

Just moments ago he had been doing his best to destroy the puppet yet now he had no choice but to help it escape the Ancient. To say that the will of the heavens made fools of people might be going too far, but this was reality.

There were no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits. As time passed, situations were constantly reviewed and brought to new conclusions. Powerful beings were especially good at this.

The Ancient sneered. "Dao Monarch, you overestimate your strength. Do you really think you can stop me?"

The torrent of holy light shook and shattered; it was like a great dragon that had been severed in the middle. The holy light tumbled in the air before slowly disappearing.

The darkness was blasted away and rumbling fluctuations rapidly spread outwards. Although the inside was still pitch black and it was impossible to see what was happening, the puppet's pained screams were enough for one to realize how terrifying the Ancient's fist strike was.

The surging darkness quickly collapsed and the hidden puppet emerged once more. Its chest was deeply hollowed in. With this as the center, countless cracks spread out to every inch of the puppet.

These cracks were like shackles. They locked the puppet in place, leaving it unable to move.

The Ancient looked up at the Dao Monarch. "Now, once I deal with you, all obstacles in my way will disappear."

The Dao Monarch suddenly took a step back. Where he stepped, space violently shook. But he was well aware that he couldn't escape, so his current actions weren't for fleeing. Rather, he was opening up a channel for others to come here.

Space trembled and a troop of cultivators howled out. Their eyes immediately fell on the super dragon that was being suppressed in the black hole.

"My lord!"

The Shadow Clan Patriarch cried out in alarm, his eyes instantly turning blood red. He could clearly feel the terrifying aura coming from the Ancient. His body instinctively trembled but the emotions swelling forth from his heart crushed all logic and reasoning. He roared, "Shadow Clan lineage, the day has come to give ourselves to the lord! Fight!"

All of the Shadow Clan cultivators followed behind them, like moths rushing to the flame.

The Ancient flicked his sleeves. Space shook and the Shadow Clan people who rushed forward were erased like a reflection in water. They disappeared, not even leaving dust behind.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the Dao Monarch. "For this trash, you wasted your strength to open a channel. Is there any meaning to that?"

The Dao Monarch said, "I'm in a desperate situation to begin with. As long as there is any possibility, I am willing to give it a try." His eyes brightened. "Everyone has arrived. Now, where is the favorable turn you spoke of?"

At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the suppressed super dragon.

The response was a resonant dragon's roar. The quiet imperial carriage was suddenly shattered by a burst of strength.

The pale and frightened Zhou Li was wrapped up by an invisible strength and sent flying out. A dragon shadow appeared between her eyebrows, reflecting into a dragon phantom that constantly flew around her. It angrily roared at the Ancient.

Dragon Soul!

Zhou Li actually had a final trace of the Dragon Soul fused into her body!

The Dao Monarch frowned. He had already sensed how intensely the Ancient desired for the Dragon Soul to be complete.

Then why would the super dragon take the initiative to call this woman here?

To show repentance? Did he hope to use this method in exchange for forgiveness from the Ancient? That was impossible. There was no way it was that stupid.

Or was there another reason behind it?

The Dao Monarch wasn't in a hurry to express his opinion. He looked at the Ancient. As he thought, the Ancient was furrowing his eyebrows together.

But this woman's cultivation was nothing to speak of and there was no formidable aura around her body. It was clear that her background was ordinary.

How could she make the Ancient feel dread?

The super dragon suddenly spoke up, its voice billowing in the air. "Master, you need to swallow the completed version of us in order to achieve your goals. So, I brought this woman here so that you may deal with her as you wish.

"But there is a point I need to remind master of first. This woman's soul is connected to the Dragon Soul within her. Once it is stripped from her, the accompanying soul will fade away. In other words, once you swallow us, that will also mean killing her."

The Ancient relaxed his eyebrows. He expressionlessly said, "You think I would care about the life and death of a woman?"

The super dragon said, "Of course master would not care, but there are always other people who might not hope for her to die like this." It turned its head with difficulty, its dragon eyes locking onto the distant Qin Yu. It slowly said, "I believe you should have no objection to this.

"If we die, she dies. If you want to save her, then stop the master!"

The Dao Monarch's eyes flashed with surprise. He had imagined countless possibilities, but he never expected that the super dragon would place all of its hopes onto Qin Yu.

To rely on him to stop the Ancient? That was the greatest joke of all!

The Dao Monarch's face darkened and he clenched his teeth. He suddenly thought that whether or not he survived today would all depend on himself.

But at this time, his complexion changed. After a brief moment he relaxed a little. Then, with a flash, a phantom of Dorelis appeared.

Her eyes were filled with anger and fear. She looked at the Dao Monarch first and then the Ancient. She lamented over her self-perceived intelligence for these past years and finally shouted at Qin Yu.

"Save me! Hurry and save me! Otherwise if something happens to me Qin Yu, you won't be any better off!" She lifted her hand and a rune appeared in her palm. She activated the connection she had with the rune on Qin Yu's heart.

The Dao Monarch looked at Qin Yu and his expression changed once more. He suddenly thought that he underestimated this mortal.

The super dragon believed he could stop the Ancient, and even Dorelis thought this. It was impossible that everyone was so stupid. Could he be hiding some unfathomably powerful ability?

As all sides were observing the situation, Qin Yu lowered his head and remained silent, as if he didn't sense anything at all.

The Ancient suddenly said, "Qin Yu, step forward."

"Yes, my lord." Qin Yu looked up to reveal a serene expression. He walked forward, his step steady and his posture calm.

The Ancient furrowed his eyebrows together before stretching them back out. "Qin Yu, will you choose to betray me for this woman?"

Zhou Li's eyes flew open as she saw the distant figure approach from afar. He wore ordinary black robes and his back stood straight and tall like a tree.

It was him. It was actually him. Why was Qin Yu here?

Then, she suddenly realized that she had once again become a chess piece used to threaten others. Her complexion paled even further.

"No!" Zhou Li screamed out loud. "Qin Yu, I don't want you to save me! I don't need it!"

She already owed him far too much. She had resolved herself to never implicate him in anything else again, so how could she do that today?

No, she couldn't. She absolutely couldn't.

Zhou Li's face turned ice cold. "You fake hypocritical villain. You've been deceiving me and using me for all these years. My life and death has nothing to do with you, so screw off as far away from me as you can!"

Run. Run away. Hurry and run away.

Although she had never experienced it before, just being nearby she could feel the terrifying omnipresent suppression coming from the Ancient.

This was a power that stood as tall as the heavens. Even if Qin Yu was strong, even if he was stronger than she had ever imagined, he still wouldn't be a match for this power.

The super dragon roared out, "Qin Yu, what will you choose? Make your decision!"

The super dragon believed its own intuition. This seemingly small and weak man was hiding an incomparably powerful strength within him. As long as he chose to help, then nothing would be decided here yet.

The Ancient's lips curved up in a cold jeer. He suddenly grasped a hand forward. The rune in Dorelis' palm shattered and a new rune appeared in his palm.

"No, this is impossible!" Dorelis screeched. "How could you unravel my secret art? No one can do that!"

The Ancient said, "Unraveling this rune was indeed difficult, but it was just a little troublesome. I only needed to make some slight adjustments when you formed it, pushing things along the way and giving myself control over it."

Dorelis immediately recalled that brief strange sensation she had when she left behind this backdoor in the Ancient's heart, and horror filled her eyes.

The Dao Monarch sighed inwardly. He thought he had found a favorable turn, but it turned out he had rejoiced without reason. Since the Ancient had made his move, there was no chance for Qin Yu to escape.

Thinking about it, this was simply ridiculous. These people actually regarded a human puppet controlled by the Ancient as the final and ultimate chip.

The Ancient said, "Then Qin Yu, tell me what your choice is."

Qin Yu remained silent.

This seemed like a question that didn't need an answer. In this current situation, what else could he choose?

Zhou Li's heart filled with relief, but there was a gloominess in the depths of her eyes. She looked at Qin Yu one last time before lowering her head and falling silent.

At the very least she hadn't dragged him down with her before she died. But as she thought about how Qin Yu was controlled by the Ancient, she still felt uneasy.

However, all of this had surpassed the scope of her ability. She only hoped he could save himself.

The Ancient laughed out loud. "Well done. Qin Yu, you are indeed a smart young man. Then, begin to receive the gifts I have prepared for you. Once you obtain them you will soar into the skies, becoming a peerless powerhouse that looks down upon all others!"

The Ancient grasped downwards. The super dragon howled in sorrow. Its dragon eyes fixed onto Qin Yu, "Why? Why won't you resist? I shouldn't die here, I shouldn't!"

Bang -

The colossal dragon body was shattered and split asunder. The Dragon Soul was torn to pieces. Large motes of blood red light and pure white light fused together, forming a nebula of light that surged and revolved.