Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Above the great earth, countless green bushes were exposed beneath the light of the blood moon. They screamed out together as if splashed by boiling oil and acid, rapidly darkening and rotting as billowing black smoke rose up from them.

They quickly contracted and shrank, shooting back into the ground. But, the black smoke shot into the skies, gathering in the heavens. It tumbled around and formed a massive sphere that continued upwards without stopping.

Because at this moment, the black ball's target was the blood moon hanging high in the skies!

It went faster and faster, flying higher and higher, until all that remained was a black dot in the skies.

At this moment, every single being in this mysterious world didn't hear the sound of collision but in their minds they clearly heard a heaven-shaking rumble, followed by endless shaking. It left their ears humming and their eyes seeing double.

Then, in that nearly perfectly round blood moon, an additional black spot appeared. One so small that it was easily missed.

But it indeed existed. It was like a giant pit that formed after being struck by a meteor.

Qin Yu had a grim expression. His eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at the blood moon which just appeared. In his eyes, dark golden light flashed. He could vaguely see the black smoke on the surface of the blood moon that was being quickly annihilated and swallowed.

But during this process, the light that the blood moon released was much dimmer than before. There was obviously some sort of delicate balance between it and the bushes on the ground. When the blood moon broke this balance and forcefully arrived at this world ahead of time, the bushes had been greatly injured and the blood moon had paid a price because of it!

Ban Bu's eyes widened. He looked outside the tree hole at the ground that was bathed in scarlet light. Then, he looked at Qin Yu's back. All of his hesitation and doubt started to rapidly melt away like white frost beneath the scorching sun.

It was that person, it had to be that senior. Who else could sense the arrival of the blood moon ahead of time and avoid its surprise attack?

With this judgment in mind, the more he looked at Qin Yu's back the more familiar Qin Yu seemed. While that senior wore black robes that concealed his face, he could still make out his general physique and shape.

Ban Bu took a deep breath and struggled to kneel. "I thank senior once more for the lifesaving graciousness! On that day…"

Qin Yu lifted a hand and interrupted his following words. He said, "You cultivate first. Once your injuries have stabilized, I have something to tell you."

Ban Bu respectfully bowed. He retreated deeper into the tree hole and sat down cross-legged.

Lei Xiaoyu looked at him and then at Qin Yu, "Big Brother Qin, you know him?"

Qin Yu nodded, "I helped him with a minor problem before. I didn't think he would remember me."

This was clearly a lie, but the smart Lei Xiaoyu merely blinked her eyes and said, "Oh," no longer asking anything else.

Qin Yu smiled, "Don't think too much about it. There's a reason I found this person. You rest first; I have to continue meditating."

He laid Lei Xiaoyu down and sat at the entrance of the tree hole. He looked at the cut marks, but found it difficult to calm his heart.

He looked up at the blood moon and narrowed his eyes. His intuition had been correct.

The blood moon arrived two hours ahead of time. It could be imagined that there were many people caught off guard. They must have experienced bitter dangers, even losing their lives as a result.

If he hadn't sensed it ahead of time, he might have become one of the dead people!

Qin Yu's eyes were deep and profound like a nebula of stars, capable of containing all things.

He was silent, but a thought reverberated in his mind. As more time passed this thought became increasingly clear…the blood moon broke the balance of this world and arrived early, even willing to withstand the backlash from the bushes to do this. Could he be its goal?

Qin Yu wasn't overly arrogant nor was he paranoid. He just knew that the secrets on his body were sufficiently enticing.

Ignoring the little blue lamp for the time being, even just the jade embryo egg or the sun and moon force field alone could raise a sea of blood if they appeared in the world.

And in this mysterious world, he had used these two strengths when the blood moon arrived.

Of course, the most important factor was that Qin Yu had sensed this heavy unease several hours ago.

If someone said this had nothing to do with him then how could he explain this feeling?

While he didn't know what this blood moon that arrived every 24 hours was, his instincts told him he had to leave as soon as possible.

Was this the coveting of the blood moon?

Qin Yu bitterly smiled and shook his head, dispersing these thoughts.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was nothing but tranquility there as he looked at the cut marks at the entrance.

There were still four days…

Even if he was in a hurry to leave, he had to survive the night of the full moon first!

Tonight, perhaps because it was too injured in its battle with the bone beast, the dead tree didn't unroot itself after reviving.

The tentacles attempted to enter the tree hole once more but stopped just 20 feet away. After a long period of hesitation, they finally retreated.

Even if it didn't rush to the mountain valley to take part in the feast of blood energy, the dead tree wasn't without harvest. It stretched out its scarlet tentacles, bathing in more moonlight.

Beneath the light of the blood moon, the rate at which it regenerated was visibly sped up. Qin Yu could feel the dead tree regaining its formidable strength.

But all of this was only reflected in the periphery of Qin Yu's senses, vanishing in a moment. All of his focus was concentrated on the cut markings.

Ban Bu woke up midway. Besides being a strong sword cultivator, he had clearly practiced other secret arts. His speed of recovery far surpassed other ordinary cultivators'.

He looked at the entrance where Qin Yu was sitting down. Admiration and respect slowly grew in his pupils.

It seemed that senior had appeared here to crack open the secrets of the cut marks.

Not long after Ban Bu left Riverwater City to search for a soul treasure, he stumbled into this world due to an accident.

Several months ago Ban Bu had also once tried to unravel the secret of the cut marks. As a sword cultivator, he could faintly feel the sword intent contained within them.

But what a pity, he failed in the end.

Afterwards Ban Bu learned that almost all cultivators who first entered this world had tried something similar. But none of them succeeded. Instead, because of their clumsy attempts, the cut marks were massively damaged.

Now, besides newly arrived cultivators, no one would try to mess with the cut marks in this world. Otherwise there would be fewer and fewer of them, and more people would die when the blood moon appeared.

If it were any other cultivator in front of him, then Ban Bu would have tried to stop them without hesitation. In his opinion, trying to figure out the secret of the cut marks was a futile effort that only ended up destroying them.

But the one who tried right now was Qin Yu…

Ban Bu couldn't restrain his joy and excitement. If senior succeeded then this world would no longer become dangerous. He could even leave.

Of course, Ban Bu also had a faint flickering of doubt in his heart. With what he had sensed so far and the power senior possessed, while this world was dangerous, it wasn't a threat to him.

But now, it seemed that senior was being extremely cautious. Was there another reason behind this?

24 hours passed in the blink of an eye. After the blood moon vanished, the eternal night that just arrived was impatiently lit up by the bushes.

After suffering a surprise attack from the blood moon, the bushes seemed dispirited. But, the light they released was even brighter.

As if they were silently warning the blood moon that it shouldn't try to change the rules again.

Qin Yu stood up. Behind him, Lei Xiaoyu and Ban Bu opened their eyes.

"Xiaoyu, come."

Lei Xiaoyu walked over and hopped onto Qin Yu's back. He turned and asked Ban Bu, "How is your condition right now?"

Ban Bu bowed, "I can move without problem. If senior has any instructions, please tell me."

Qin Yu said, "I need to find more cut marks. You should understand what I mean."

Ban Bu's heart shook. He thought that if this senior said this, he must already have some insights.

As he thought, senior was senior. Even if his current aura seemed strange, his abilities could not be doubted.

Without hesitation, he said, "Senior, I know a place where there are cut marks."

Qin Yu's eyes brightened. "With yesterday's speed, how long will it take to arrive?"

Ban Bu thought for a moment. "Around eight hours."

"Lead the way."

Ban Bu leapt down. There was the cry of a sword in midair as he flew into the horizon.

Qin Yu looked at this back before flicking his sleeves and placing a spatial imprisonment on the tree hole opening. Then, he shot into the skies.

"Ban Bu, this is only one of my avatars so the strength I can control is limited. Slow down a little."

Ban Bu's heart stirred. He nodded and the sword phantom slowed down. He continued to lead the way.

Two hours later, Qin Yu suddenly said, "Change direction. 15 degrees to the left."

Ban Bu moved accordingly. A moment later, Qin Yu also said, "Stop and restrain your aura."

Shua -

Shua -

The two landed on the ground. Qin Yu's thoughts stirred and the sun and moon force field dispersed outwards, wrapping around him and Lei Xiaoyu.

Behind him, Ban Bu's complexion changed. He quickly condensed his sword intent into a point so that none of it leaked out.

Several breaths of time later, a swarm of black bats flew across the skies. Each one was a meter long and had red eyes and fangs.

Faint traces of black gas exuded from their bodies, turning into a tumbling black fog that spread in their passing wake.

Soon, in the direction the bat swarm flew towards, there were the cries of monster beasts. A great battle had already begun.

Even though they were far away, Qin Yu could clearly feel the extremely formidable aura fluctuations coming from those monster beasts.

Beads of sweat appeared on Ban Bu's forehead. If he hadn't changed direction and stopped here, he feared they would have intruded into the territory of the monster beasts before being attacked by the bat swarm.

Even with his cultivation, just thinking of the consequences chilled his heart.

Hiss -

Ban Bu suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. At some unknown point, a layer of black gas covered his exposed skin.

Poison!

This was the stench he discovered from the passing bat swarm. His complexion turned ugly. He thought he had been careful enough in sealing himself off, but he had been struck by surprise.

If there was such a rapid response, one could imagine how terrifying this poison was. Ban Bu didn't hesitate. He quickly said, "Senior, I've been poisoned. I must force it out immediately."

Qin Yu glanced at him, calmly saying, "Don't move."

Grasping his head, the black spots covering Ban Bu's skin began to retreat at a visible speed. Several breaths of time later they vanished without a trace.

Qin Yu withdrew his hand. "Let's get going."

Ban Bu was stunned for a second. He quickly nodded his head in respect. At this moment, he no longer doubted Qin Yu's identity.