Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The fallen humans weren't fooled.

Qin Yu reached out a hand and unfolded his fingers. A rune appeared within his palm, releasing a projection that formed a chart of the Ascendant Bluegold Array. Now, the blank region in the array formation was growing larger and larger. If things continued at this face, it was only a matter of time until they found where the array eye was.

Pa -

He clenched his fingers and the projection vanished. Qin Yu frowned. He muttered to himself in a low voice, "As I feared, things won't be so simple."

There were clearly people with outstanding intelligence within the group of fallen humans. Even after a casualty amongst their ranks they didn't react. It wasn't because they were afraid of him, but because they had grasped the key point. As long as they continued to break through the array formation then whether or not he was willing, he would have to appear on his own initiative.

In killing East Capital, Qin Yu had the advantage of surprise and had managed to cause unexpected losses to him. He had even been forced to use many of his cards. If he were forced to directly face a group of fallen humans, all that remained for him was a dead end.

The situation had stagnated into a dangerous position.

But Qin Yu knew that he couldn't delay. If the Ascendant Bluegold Array Formation was broken, the result would be even worse.

What to do?

He furrowed his eyebrows together and looked towards the distance. There, in the mountain gap where the fog was thick…the fallen humans were there!

…

Within the mountain gap, with Blue Torrent as the center, ten other fallen humans had spread out, each one with their guard up. No creature could approach here without them detecting it.

At this moment, one of the fallen humans opened his eyes, a sharp light shining within them.

He slightly turned his head, as if casually looking towards a mountain in the distance. Because of the Ascendant Bluegold Array Formation, fog covered this mountain rippling water beneath the moon, causing everything to be blurred.

He paused and looked away, closing his eyes. A finger reached out from beneath the sleeves of his robes and pointed at the ground.

Shua -

A gray shadow fell down onto the dirt, immediately vanishing without a trace.

…

Qin Yu suddenly felt a shaking in his heart. Without hesitation, he turned around to see a gray shadow surging up from the ground. It lifted into the air, forming a gray misty figure in the blink of an eye.

Although it was only a phantom, Qin Yu could feel a familiar aura coming from it. This was the aura of the fallen humans!

Qin Yu stepped forward and pressed his hands forwards. White, black, blue, red, and yellow lights flashed between his fingers, weaving together into a disc that soared towards the phantom, suppressing it.

Unexpectedly, the phantom didn't resist at all and was directly suppressed by the Five Element Samsara. Qin Yu's eyes flashed and he stopped himself from destroying it.

"You really are someone from Celestial Retribution." The phantom slowly said. Its voice was faint and stiff; it had clearly been altered.

Celestial Retribution?

He glanced at the Ring of Rebirth on his hand, remaining silent. The phantom hadn't been able to conceal where it had looked just now.

Could it be that the Ring of Rebirth was some sort of standard insignia that represented the identity of an organization? No, this shouldn't be it. With how precious the Ring of Rebirth was, it was impossible to be refined on a large scale.

Qin Yu had no idea where a problem occurred but none of this mattered. What mattered was that this other party seemed to be someone close to him because they believed he was a part of this organization.

That's right, it was close. Even though this person had changed their voice, they couldn't hide the fluctuations of mood in their tone.

"Who are you?" Qin Yu asked.

The phantom shook his head. "I only came here to remind you not to underestimate the strength of the fallen humans. Even if you possess such an exquisite aura concealing technique, I still managed to discover you. And if I could discover you, the others can too."

"Leave. Blue Torrent has seen through your plan. He won't waste his time to hunt you down, and as long as you appear you will die…Blue Torrent's strength is far greater that what he reveals. Even if you managed to kill East Capital you have no chance of facing him and surviving."

Before Qin Yu could respond, the phantom shattered and faded.

Qin Yu flicked his sleeves and scattered the strength of the Five Element Samsara. He looked deeply at the mountain gap before turning and leaving.

He wasn't planning on giving up. At the very least, there was one thing the phantom was right about. It seemed he was overconfident in his ability to conceal himself.

It was never wrong to be cautious!

An hour later, Qin Yu came to a stop. When he made sure that he wasn't being marked or tracked, he raised a hand and sword light flashed as he opened up a temporary foothold. He sat down cross-legged, recovering his strength as his thoughts raced.

First of all, while he didn't know the status of this phantom, they shouldn't have any ill intentions towards him. Otherwise, once this person found out his position then the fallen humans should have encircled him, leaving him unable to escape.

Thus, he was considerably confident in the man's words. Blue Torrent? He should be the one within the group of fallen humans responsible for breaking through the array formation. And his strength was incomparably formidable, even greater than the dead East Capital.

Qin Yu had done everything within his power to kill East Capital. If so, then there was no chance of him winning against Blue Torrent. Moreover, the other party had other fallen humans assisting him.

He let out a breath and rubbed his forehead. According to the information he had now there was no chance of success. But the key issue was that he had no other path to take. Even if he knew he wasn't a match, he had to clench his teeth and march forward.

If he couldn't face them directly, he had to find another way…

The fallen humans and Blue Torrent had entered the Little Sweet Mountains with only one goal in mind - to unravel the Ascendant Bluegold Array. If this was the case, if he started from this angle….there might be an opening for him!

Qin Yu frowned, deep in thought. A moment later his eyes brightened. In his careful deliberation, a plan began to form in his mind.

…

Nine Nether Peak.

As the one managing the great array formation, the Stronghold Master's position was the core hub of the entire array. Because she was using herself as the medium to activate the array formation, she wasn't able to move. Correspondingly, the losses she suffered were far above what an average person could imagine.

Doctor Ye cautiously poured a pill into his hand. "Miss, please take this pill."

The Stronghold Master nodded and swallowed the pill. Her pale face quickly regained some color.

But this wasn't a good sign at all. In comparison to her inherent strength, a single pill wasn't anything at all.

Yet, this pill had managed to change her external appearance. This indicated that she had already suffered tremendous losses.

Doctor Ye was worried, "Miss, how is your condition?"

The Stronghold Master replied, "Old Ye, rest assured that I have no problem."

Hearing this, Doctor Ye felt slightly relieved. The miss wasn't someone that tried to show off and put on a strong front. Since she said this then she would be fine for the time being.

Suddenly, the Stronghold Master coughed and the bit of color that had reappeared on her face all vanished.

Another array node had been broken!

Because she was forcefully stimulating the Ascendant Bluegold Array, once the array formation was damaged then she would also receive a backlash.

Doctor Ye clenched his teeth. "Just what is that brat Qin Yu doing? It's already been so long but he hasn't done anything at all!"

If this continued any longer, the array eye would be found sooner or later. Once the array eye was destroyed, the miss would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

As he thought of this, his complexion grew even uglier!

"I'm fine!" The Stronghold Master slowly said, "I never placed all my hopes on him alone….Old Ye, I'll have to trouble you to give me a Heaven Mending Pill."

"Heaven Mending Pill!" Old Ye cried out loud, "Miss, what do you plan on doing? With your honored status you cannot suffer any harm! Even if we lose this time, there are still other chances. You cannot take such a risk!"

The Stronghold Master opened her eyes. Her sharp and insightful pupils had darkened, but she remained calm and composed, without any panic or frustration on her face. "Old Ye, don't worry. Since I want the Heaven Mending Pill, I naturally believe I'll be fine."

"Miss." Doctor Ye started to speak but hesitated. He looked at her for several breaths of time and finally said, "Very well. But no matter what, I hope that miss considers everything before making a decision."

"Mm, I understand."

Doctor Ye lifted a hand and slashed down. Space split open and he thrust in hand inside. Several breaths of time later, he took out a jade bottle covered in runes.

The runes flowed light fireflies along the surface of the bottle, emitting a faint halo of light.

"Thank you, Old Ye." After taking the jade bottle, the Stronghold Master closed her eyes, concealing the weariness that she couldn't conceal.

Although Old Ye had a high status, there were still some secrets within the family that he didn't have the qualifications to know about.

This time, she could not afford to lose…otherwise, everything she had before would be stripped away. This even included her own destiny!

So, no matter what she had to gamble it all this time!

…

A light lit up every corner of a great hall. It was warm and gentle. Bathed within, one felt as if their minds were cleansed and no distractions existed.

A man covered in glowing armor silently walked into the hall. He fell to one knee and placed his hands against his forehead. "Light Guard greets the Elder."

"Silent Light, we have already confirmed the news that Blue Torrent has left the obams' imperial city." An old voice rang throughout the hall. And the source of the voice was a cluster of blinding light, so dazzling that it was impossible to see what was within.

Shua -

Silent Light lifted his head. "Elder, please tell me, where is Blue Torrent right now?"

"Within the territory of the obams, the edge of Great King City, at the Little Sweet Mountains." The old voice continued to say, "Your mission is to kill him no matter the price."

"Understood."

Silent Light stood up and turned around, quietly walking away. His glowing armor rubbed against itself, sending out cold creaking sounds.

Just like in his heart, killing intent raged and blazed, swarming and crashing like an endless tide!

Blue Torrent…Blue Torrent…after several hundred years, you appear once again. This time, I will make sure to personally cut off your head!

…

Qin Yu was far away from the fallen humans. He quietly passed through the fog like a ghost. A dark golden light surged deep within his eyes as he looked for the final essence of the surrounding fragments.

Ten days later, Qin Yu came to a stop. He lifted a hand and pointed a finger. Strength erupted like an arrow, piercing through the ground and sinking within.

But soon, the hole in the ground regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His eyes brightened and he smiled. Without pausing here, he turned and left.

Another 13 days passed. Qin Yu left behind another mark of his strength in the ground.

Another 17 days passed. Qin Yu found a third position.

50 days later, standing on a cliff, Qin Yu looked around. He sensed his own strength markings and whispered to himself, "It's finally complete."

He stepped forward and leapt down the cliff. Like a stone, he vanished into the tumbling fog below.

The fallen humans were searching for the eye of the Ascendant Bluegold Array. Qin Yu couldn't stop them from doing that. Then, he would use their plan to his advantage, using the eye as bait and setting up his field around this spot and waiting for them to arrive!