Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Back in the obams' territory, in order to prevent the Ascendant Bluegold Array from being broken, Qin Yu decided to kill the fallen human array formation master, Blue Torrent. This person was incomparably strong, and the only reason Qin Yu managed to succeed in the end was all because one person delayed time for him.

That person's name was Hu An. He fought until his mortal body finally collapsed and all that remained was his head. Before he died, Qin Yu had given him a promise…

Zero was the person that he told Hu An he would find.

He took out a jade bottle. A drop of blood was sealed inside. With a thought, the bottle's seal vanished.

Hum -

A drop of blood gently trembled. Leaning on Qin Yu's back, Zero suddenly stiffened, her eyes going wide as she looked at the jade bottle.

"This…this is…"

With this, he was sure.

Qin Yu took a deep breath. He felt the cold slowly flow through his chest and stomach before he breathed it back out. "This drop of blood came from your father."

Zero's eyes widened even further. "Father?"

Qin Yu didn't conceal anything. He explained what happened to Hu An. When he felt Zero shake, he said, "I only had a brief acquaintance with your father and I have no idea what happened in the past. But, not once has he ever forgotten about you. Even before he died, his only wish was that I could find you and make up a little for what he lacked so much as a father."

Tears began to flow from Zero's eyes. She never imagined that in this lifetime, she would be able to learn about her family.

But why was he already dead?

After a long silence, Zero wiped away her tears. She quietly mumbled, "What was his name?"

"Hu An." Qin Yu hesitated for a moment, "As far as I know, he was related to Celestial Retribution."

Zero whispered in a low voice, "Hu An…then, did he tell you my name?"

Qin Yu said, "Hu Shan. It's a name that means coral."

Zero smiled. "So I had a name all along. Hu Shan…my name is Hu Shan…" She closed her eyes and gently lied down on Qin Yu's back. "You should be my father's friend. Then according to our ranks, I should call you uncle…this is a strange feeling. I suddenly feel as if I still have family in this world. No wonder I felt so close to you."

"Uncle Qin…this title is a bit awkward…I really thank you for not hiding this from me. Now, I'm a little tired. I'm going to close my eyes and rest a little. I'll have to trouble Uncle Qin with protecting me..."

Her voice gradually faded away. Although her expression was calm, her heart and mind were in chaos.

Qin Yu said, "Alright."

In truth, there were still some words he hid in his heart and didn't speak out. Since I made a promise with your father, I will do my best to help you survive.

Zero was Hu Shan, and Hu Shan was Hu An's daughter. In a way, Qin Yu owed Hu An a life…this method of calculation was a bit complex and strange, but it was a good way to return it. Qin Yu determined that he owed her a great deal.

If so, then some previous thoughts of his needed to change.

At the very least, he couldn't watch on helplessly as the woman hidden in Hu Shan's body continued to recklessly destroy her vitality. Each time Hu Shan borrowed that woman's strength, or each time that woman regained consciousness at the point of death, that created immense damage to Hu Shan.

But how could he save her?

He couldn't figure out the answer right now. He could only take a deep breath and suppress the tumbling thoughts in his heart and the bitterness in his mouth.

First there was Lei Xiaoyu, now there was Hu Shan…and being in the Severed Heaven Abyss placed him in great danger to begin with. Surviving here was difficult enough, but now there was a person on each of his shoulders.

You damned thief heavens, you really must think highly of me!

…

Great Chu's Imperial Palace.

Zenith Sovereign Hall.

This magnificent and splendid imperial palace gathered the destiny of the nation. Even so, it couldn't conceal the flavor of decay and the hint of chill in the air.

The First Emperor sat down. He occasionally coughed. Although it wasn't fierce, it gave off a weak and frail feeling.

Many years ago, a rumor spread out from the imperial palace, that problems were beginning to occur to the First Emperor's body. But since he was still put on an unbelievably powerful front, after a few brief probes, all disturbances faded away.

There were even some people who clenched their teeth, believing that the First Emperor was deliberately trying to fish for traitors. But in reality, there was indeed a problem with Chu Tianpeng's body.

Ever since he tried to break through the limits of his cultivation and suffered a backlash from his failure, the source of his doom had been planted.

At first he was still able to suppress it. But as time passed, it gradually spiraled out of his control. He had no choice but to consume his own vitality in order to maintain his current cultivation boundary.

Today, in the eyes of outsiders, he was still the First Emperor of the Great Chu Empire, a being as bright as the great sun. But, he was actually a lamp that was nearly out of oil.

And Chu Tianpeng wasn't willing to perish like this. And, the Great Chu Empire absolutely could not lose this towering pillar of support.

Otherwise, the great empire would collapse within a day. They would have no ability to resist those man-eating obam on the other side of Overwatch Mountain!

Whether it was for himself, the continuation of the empire, or even to maintain the human race, the First Emperor believed he needed to keep on living.

Even if he had to abandon his own faith, crash into the abyss, and become a monster corroded by the darkness.

Suddenly, in a gloomier corner of the hall, faint traces of dark aura began to flow upwards into the outline of a figure.

The First Emperor wiped the corners of his mouth, cleaning away the putrid saliva. He said, "Has the opportunity arrived?"

In the shadow, a blurry face appeared. He chuckled and said, "Yes. So, it's time for your Majesty's arrangements to be activated."

The First Emperor faintly nodded. He pressed his palm forward and a blood red light flashed. Something appeared in his hand - it was an exquisite blood red jade.

It was dark red and flawless.

Pa -

With a light sound, the blood red jade broke into countless pieces that tumbled to the ground. But, the pieces vanished in midair, completely disappearing before they reached the ground.

In the shadow, the blurry face laughed. "Your Majesty, be prepared. Once the preparations for the sacrifice are complete, I will open the channel and we will both descend."

The First Emperor said without expression, "I will be waiting."

Shua -

The shadow vanished from sight.

As this seemingly simple scene occurred at Zenith Sovereign Hall, the empire's greatest will arrived at the forefront of the war.

Since the war with obam started once again, elite legions of the Great Chu Empire had been operating according to command.

The ridge of Overwatch Mountain separated the two great races. It stretched for billions and billions of miles, composed of innumerable mountain ranges.

Currently, there was a region formed from several mountain ranges that was designated as a restricted military zone. The Great Chu Empire's army was stationed in the surrounding army and a massive number of obam prisoners were delivered inside in droves. But, it was unknown what they were being used for.

And, no one had any idea that these obam that were sent here were imprisoned in cages, waiting for a certain time.

Now, that time had arrived.

The ones responsible for watching over the obam captives were elites drawn from the imperial army. They were supremely loyal to the royal family.

The commander took off his fierce helmet to reveal the face of a handsome young cultivator. His name was Chu Zhezhong and he came from the noblest bloodline in the world.

Many years ago after he rose through the ranks, he was secretly enlisted into the imperial army. All of the information concerning his identity was erased. To put it simply, everything here, including him, were already considered dead people.

As a genius of the royal family, he should have had a bright and dazzling future. But because of a reason that couldn't be publicized, he was thrust into the dark for dozens upon dozens of years.

Luckily, this seemingly endless wait was now coming to an end.

Chu Zhezhong smiled and said, "Men, orders have arrived from the imperial capital. It's time to head off."

He lifted a hand and bowed deeply in the manner of the Great Chu Army. "These past years, while I haven't been able to accompany you all on the battlefield to slay out enemies, I can still die here with you all. In a way, that can be considered camaraderie from a fellow soldier. If there comes a day when we can meet underground, I will ask you all for a drink, and talk about today."

"Farewell, General!" A thousand soldiers roared out in unison. All of them had faces covered in visors, so it was impossible to see their true expressions.

Chu Zhezhong put his helmet back on. With a cold and cruel aura, he turned and waves his hand, "Begin." A one-sided slaughter started. In this dark cave hidden deep beneath the mountains, a brutal scene was displayed.

The obam that were imprisoned in cages screamed in despair and fear. Blood drenched the floor. Their heads separated from their bodies, with blood gushing out from mirror-smooth wounds.

If the head was chopped off, it was normal for blood to spurt out. But, the strange thing was that these obam corpses were spewing out far too much blood.

It was like an invisible hand was gripping their corpses and clenching tight, forcefully squeezing out all their blood.

There was just too much blood. As it gathered together, it flooded the underground cave, forming a lake of blood. The obam corpses gradually paled, turning weightless as they floated on the blood like drained sponges.

The thousand soldiers attacked in unison. The light of sabers constantly flashed in the dark. They continued for a full 12 hours until all the captive obam here were slaughtered.

As the head of the last obam was chopped off, the only sounds that remained in the air were their own loud breathing. Each breath they took drew in the thick stench of blood. But, there was no change reflected in their eyes.

Because they were the most terrifying killing machines in this world!

Chi Zhezhong raised his saber and said, "Everything for the Great Chu Empire!"

"For Great Chu!"

A thousand soldiers roared.

Puff -

Puff -

Blades cut into flesh and blood. Their last strike was aimed at their own necks. Thus, their heads flew off their necks. As they died, they saw the headless corpses of the fellow soldiers falling into the lake of blood.

Pa -

With a dull thumping sound, all they saw was red, as thick blood entered their nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

Chu Zhezhong smiled. "It's good that I'm going to die now, otherwise it would be too shameful if I were to drown to death…."

That was his final thought.

No one knew that this youth, someone born from the royal family, possessed a noble bloodline, and had shocking talent, had quietly died here, in the depths of Overwatch Mountain, in this cave filled with blood.

He should have lived a completely different life, one that was bright and radiant. But because of an unspeakable reason, he fell to his current state.

If this was destiny, then to him, destiny was far too unfair.