Refining the Mountains and Rivers

As Qin Yu's thoughts were racing, the situation changed again. The circular cutting marks that exuded silver light began to light up, becoming brighter. Then, a true silver circle rapidly condensed.

Perhaps because far too much time had passed, the power within some of the slash marks was gradually exhausted, eventually losing their power.

They no longer emitted a silver light, becoming tiny gaps in the silver circle. The human cultivators and monster beasts that gathered in the circle had no need for any order; they started to rush towards these gaps.

In the next moment, there was a low and deep roar. The blood moon red quietly brightened in the black skies above.

The steep mountain range surrounded the valley. At the summit, the 12 terrifying beings all started to reveal excitement in their eyes.

Qin Yu could finally see what truly frightened the cultivators and monster beasts. On the steep cliff walls, bulges appeared everywhere. Then, they split apart. Black-armored warriors carrying sabers emerged. They had fleshy wings sprouting out from their backs. Bathed beneath the bloody moonlight, they roared and opened their eyes, only killing intent and destruction in their eyes.

Without hesitation, the black-armored warriors flapped their wings and plunged towards the gaps in the silver circle. A brutal battle immediately erupted. There was no exchange of words, as if once they met, they were doomed to engage in a life or death battle!

"Die! You monsters!" A human cultivator waved his hand and shot out a radiant divine light. It condensed into a crimson sword phantom that chopped a black-armored warrior in half.

But before he could catch his breath, another black-armored warrior rushed forth. Unable to dodge, a saber pierced through the man's chest.

After being stabbed by the saber, the human cultivator's eyes instantly dimmed down and he slumped to the ground.

Qin Yu's pupils shrank. He could 'see' that after being pierced by the black-armored warrior's saber, the cultivator's soul aura had vanished.

As if it had been swallowed by the saber…

No, it hadn't been swallowed by the saber. The cultivator's soul remained in his body, but it had been cut into countless pieces that fused with his flesh and blood, putting him into a strange state that Qin Yu had never seen before.

Then, another black-armored warrior ran out. It dragged the cultivator's corpse away and disappeared from sight.

The revived ancient tree roared. Its withered branch tentacles began extending towards the valley.

Shining beneath the blood red moon, flames started to ignite on the surface of the tentacles. Then faint wisps of red rose from the valley, converging towards the burning tentacles.

This was the scattered blood energy of slain creatures. The moment it condensed and manifested, it was drawn to the flames, disappearing into them as soon as it appeared.

Qin Yu could feel the excitement coming from the dead tree. It seemed that absorbing this blood energy had enormous benefits for it.

At the same time, as if by prior agreement, the other 11 terrifying beings at the summit began to do the same things.

They stood in different positions, carving up the blood energy produced in the mountain valley.

All of the cultivators and monster beasts within the silver circle desperately tried their best, using every skill at their disposal. They knew that if the black-armored warriors broke their way in, all of them would die.

From the moment Qin Yu began cultivating, this was one of the most frigid and tragic scenes of slaughter he had ever witnessed. The screams and howls of despair and death never stopped even for a moment.

This battle continued for a full 24 hours. When the cultivators and monster beasts were only half of their original number, the black-armored warriors that wildly rushed towards the gaps started to retreat like a tide.

They came forward like a raging wildfire and when they left they did so cleanly and neatly, without any hesitation. At the same time, they dragged away all their fallen companions as well as the sabers that fell to the ground.

In a short ten breaths of time, all sounds of battle faded away. The black-armored warriors fused into the mountain walls once again. If it weren't for the thick smell of blood still lingering in the air, one would almost think this had all been an illusion.

The dead tree emitted a satisfied groan. It drew back all its tentacles and dashed back down the mountain.

Qin Yu glanced around. The other 11 terrifying beings all shot towards their own separate directions.

Moments later, the ancient tree returned to its original position. Its legs woven from roots dispersed, drilling back into the ground.

The swinging tentacles turned back into withered branches. They silently aimed towards the heavens, as if crying out for something.

At the entrance of the tree hole, the light of the slashing marks vanished, returning to their original appearance. Qin Yu looked up at the skies. The blood red moon began to fade away as if it were a shadow, eventually vanishing.

The world fell into darkness once again. After several breaths of light, a dim light illuminated the surroundings.

The bushes that had hidden deep below the ground had come back up and stretched out again.

Seeing this sight, Qin Yu became aware of something. The blood moon and these bushes were like the samsara of the sun and moon.

When the blood moon covered the earth, a great terror would arrive…if so, then when the bushes illuminated the world, that should be a safe period.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and sat down at the opening. A moment later he opened his eyes, a dark golden light surging in his pupils.

At this time, the world around him turned blurry. Whether it was the skies up above or the earth down below, they became like countless images stacked upon each other, endlessly overlapping.

After a long time, Qin Yu couldn't endure it any longer. His eyes ached so he closed them. Tears gushed out, faint traces of red in them.

Although he hadn't been able to find the essence of this world, Qin Yu had discovered a clue that was buried in the depths of this land.

"Big Brother Qin…" Lei Xiaoyu's voice rang out. After being unconscious for over an entire day, she finally woke up.

Qin Yu wiped away his tears and turned towards her. "You've woken up."

Lei Xiaoyu cried out in alarm, "Big Brother Qin, your eyes?"

Qin Yu smiled. "It's nothing. It's just a bit of discomfort, it will go away after a few days of rest."

Although he couldn't see Lei Xiaoyu's expression, he could hear her letting out a breath of relief. "That's good. Big Brother Qin, where are we?"

Qin Yu shook his head, "I don't know. The transmission array was attacked and we became lost in the turbulent spatial flow. After I ran out, we arrived here."

Lei Xiaoyu was silent for a moment. She quietly said, "The others…"

Qin Yu responded, "I'm sorry. My abilities are limited so I could only save you."

Lei Xiaoyu shook her head, "Big Brother Qin, thank you for saving me."

Feeling her dismal mood, Qin Yu changed the topic. He curiously wondered, "You don't seem to be worried about City Lord Lei?"

Lei Xiaoyu humphed. "My father isn't that easy to deal with."

These simple words revealed a powerful self-confidence. If these words reached Roc City, the citizens there would understand why Lei Qianjun loved his daughter so deeply…this was not just because of guilt!

Qin Yu stood up, "How are you feeling?"

Lei Xiaoyu nodded. "I'm fine. Big Brother Qin, are we leaving?"

Qin Yu shook his head. "No, we are only leaving temporarily. We will return soon."

He opened his eyes. Blood vessels covered them. After blinking several times, he adapted to the light. He reached out a hand and grabbed hold of Lei Xiaoyu. Then, he took several steps and leapt out. With a light 'pa', he landed at the base of the dead heaven-reaching tree.

He turned back towards the ancient tree. After a long time, he lifted a hand and drew a sign in the void. Even though it was only a few strokes, space fluctuated and the tree hole disappeared.

After completing this, Qin Yu no longer delayed. He carefully identified his location and direction and then quickly pulled Lei Xiaoyu away.

The skies were dark and a yin chill fluctuated in the air. Although the bushes sent out a faint light, this stretch of the world still gave off an infinitely gloomy feeling.

Lei Xiaoyu shrunk back subconsciously. She grabbed tightly onto Qin Yu's hand.

"Don't be afraid. Just follow behind me." As Qin Yu spoke, he flicked his sleeves. Space twisted and wrapped around a black shadow that rushed towards them.

The shadow imprisoned within the space distortion crazily struggled. It released a scalp-tingling screech. It was impressively a black mouse that was several times larger than normal.

Now, the mouse's body had tightened. Although it was covered in fur, the thick and solid muscles that covered it were still visible. It had a fierce appearance.

Qin Yu lifted a hand and reached into the space distortion.

"Big Brother Qin!" Lei Xiaoyu cried out in alarm.

Kacha -

The fierce black mouse bit at Qin Yu's palm. But, it wasn't able to tear through his skin. Rather, its sharp teeth shattered.

Qin Yu clenched his hand and the black mouse screamed. Its body crazily twitched and started to wither away at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its black fur lost its luster and its vitality was extinguished.

Qin Yu's eyes brightened with surprise. This black mouse contained an extremely abundant blood energy.

Although it was a bit wild, the Ancient race's Undying Body could thoroughly suppress it and use it.

His mortal body that had been damaged from breaking out of the turbulent spatial flow had nearly been restored.

He turned and looked at Lei Xiaoyu. He originally thought she would feel ill at this sight. After all, what Qin Yu used was a violent and cruel method that belonged to the Ancient race - to directly plunder the life force and blood energy of other creatures for oneself.

Qin Yu purposefully did this in front of Lei Xiaoyu. He hoped that this would weaken her feelings towards him.

But what he saw was the girl's wide eyes and curious appearance. With a face full of worship, she said, "Big Brother Qin is so fierce! I've never seen such a method before!"

Cough…

Qin Yu almost coughed out loud. This was indeed the young lady of the City Lord Mansion; she really had a large and understanding heart.

But thinking about it, the reason Lei Qianjun had his current status was because he slaughtered his way out of a sea of blood. Since Lei Xiaoyu was his daughter, no matter how high her status was, she was likely used to these things.

"It's just a minor method, nothing to mention." As he finished speaking, he pulled her close and forgot about this plan.

Lei Xiaoyu allowed him to lead the way. She kept her eyes low, a cunning look flashing in her eyes.

"Hum hum! How hateful! Big Brother Qin wants to use this method to alienate me from him. Who does he think he is trying to fool here?"