Refining the Mountains and Rivers

"Hurry! Hurry! The magic power supply is in danger of being depleted; immediately turn on the backup power source!"

"Three have already been opened? That's not enough, that's far from enough! Open the rest that remain!"

"Not just that, but immediately establish new sources of power, at least ten, otherwise it won't be able to support itself!"

With loud roars, the region responsible for maintaining the power supply of the array formation devolved into chaos.

But at this time, the one who should be responsible for stabilizing the situation and calming everyone down, Grandmaster Zhou, looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He stared at the red line above his head that seemed to be shooting straight up and his pupils fiercely shrank before spreading outwards. The stunned confusion on his face soon turned into extreme excitement. He then smiled, his expression filled with wonder.

"It's true! It's true! I knew it was like this! Teacher…do you see this? Your past theory wasn't wrong, the ones who were wrong were those people! They were the fools!"

After shouting out these words, Grandmaster Zhou's eyes turned red as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

This caused the angry Leng Aoshuang who was on the verge of going crazy to forcibly lower his voice and ask, "Grandmaster Zhou, what did you discover? What does that red line mean?"

Grandmaster Zhou drew in a deep breath. Even though it wasn't easy for him to compose his turbulent thoughts, he was able to speak rationally. "My teacher, Master Wuyuan, one of the pillars of the array formation community, proposed a theory many years ago. He believed that Stranded God Canyon was not just a place of inheritance that simply followed predetermined rules to operate. Rather, it had its own consciousness. It's just that for all this time we have never managed to trigger the key to awakening that deeply sleeping consciousness.

"Now, reality has proved that my teacher, the great array master Grandmaster Wuyuan, was correct! Stranded God Canyon has its own will. It only needed a human to break through a sufficient number of problems of rules from within to awaken it! And I dare to confirm that the reason for this dramatic loss of strength is all because Stranded God Canyon's sleeping will is now awakening!"

…

In an eternally dark world, everything seemed to be covered by ink. All light was covered and only infinite darkness remained. In this endless darkness, a spot of light flashed and then disappeared. Then, it flashed and disappeared again.

After a dozen or so times in a row, this precious little bit of light finally reappeared. Then, it truly lit up.

Following that, the light was like water. It slowly flowed down from that point. As it did, the light became brighter. One could faintly see it illuminate a stone pagoda that had been buried in the dust of time.

The pagoda was tall and one could see countless marks haphazardly cut into its surface. The most terrifying several cuts were embedded deep into the body of the pagoda, nearly cutting it in half.

It was clear that a long time ago, this pagoda had experienced a war that could be called tragic. Although it had been preserved, for some unknown reason it had been buried in time, quietly resting in the darkness until now.

Light continued to flow down. Mote after mote lit up. But what a pity, the pagoda was far too damaged. Many of the paths for the flowing light had been completely cut off and only around half of the nodes on the pagoda's surface started to slowly be illuminated.

It wasn't much, but it happened to meet a certain minimum requirement. So, the consciousness that had been sleeping for countless years finally woke up.

"Mm…this is really…an extremely long period of sleep…how many years have passed in the outside world…ah…this is actually…indeed…it has been a very, very long time…."

A voice echoed through the void. After a brief pause, it was filled with vicissitudes of time. "It seems I am the only one remaining. The rest have all been ruined. But if they took action, how could they leave behind a root of disaster?"

"But…" The voice suddenly changed and the feeling of vicissitudes, the thick and grieving emotion, was all smashed to pieces. "I am still alive. I am that fierce! I am that amazing! Those from the past can kneel down and call me father!"

Although there wasn't anything to see, when this voice fell into the ears, one immediately thought of a triumphant and smug face, with an expression saying that they were number one in the world, and how could anyone not be convinced of this?

After that there was another round of boasting and bragging. Only then did the voice seem satisfied. It seemed to think of something as it asked out loud, "How did I wake up?"

It quieted down, as if sensing something. A moment later it laughed out loud, "Do you think this master's existence is something you little things can casually guess at will…however, this little fellow is correct about one thing, I have already awoken…so those people from the past, even though they made countless calculations and plans, still left behind a root of disaster, and it is the thickest and most terrifying one of all!

"Hahahaha, my obedient little treasure, your senses are so sharp that you almost discovered me! Good seedling, what wonderful seedlings. I'm already impatient to see you! Now, hurry up and do your best. You're just one breath away from truly awakening me. I have some sugar pills here that will certainly satisfy you. Hahaha, hurry, hurry up!"

Excited laughter spread out in this eternal darkness that saw its first glimmer of light. But what a pity, this voice would soon discover that its true awakening would be an agonizing matter filled with suffering.

Because the obedient little treasure it spoke of didn't like it when others referred to him in that tone of voice and with that name. Of course, even if he didn't know, he wouldn't be obedient either.

This was because that little treasure was imagining a sheep as tall and majestic as a mountain, and he was preparing to slowly open it up. How could he finish things so easily and quickly?

It was impossible to clear the test, even if he had a knife placed against his neck or was hammered half-dead into the ground. So in front of the red cliff, with a loud 'pa', the crowd that was watching with awe and envy suddenly froze in place.

Because the timing was wrong.

Qin Yu had just solved the 98th problem of the rules. It would be impossible for the difficulty of the last problem and the time required to drop so suddenly and drastically. Moreover, that light 'pa' sound seemed off…

When one solved a problem of the rules and the rune was condensed and shattered, the sound was extremely light and pleasant. It was like biting into a sugar cane and getting a mouthful of sweet juice. It was a crisp and refreshing sound.

But this sound they heard now was like two pieces of meat being thrust together and forced through a gap in a simple and crude way. In brief, it was a depressing and ear-aching sound.

Gulp -

Someone swallowed their saliva, and the sound woke everyone up from their trace. Light suddenly burst out from their wide eyes.

Qin Yu failed?

Moreover, he fell short at the 99th problem, just a step away from success.

Hum -

The invisible repelling strength in front of the red cliff retreated like a falling tide, thoroughly disappearing.

With this, everyone was sure that Qin Yu really had failed.

Although everyone told themselves that they had to remain calm and not reveal any emotions, the surprise came too suddenly. People couldn't conceal the happiness on their faces.

While Qin Yu's previous performance had shaken everyone, they still had certain fantasies in the depths of their hearts.

And now, these fantasies came true!

There appeared to only be a difference of one between solving 98 problems of the rules and solving 99 of them, but the difference was as great as the gap between the heavens and earth.

If Qin Yu could smoothly break out of Stranded God Canyon then his name would become renown throughout the world and he could easily obtain a spot as East Zhou Duly's follower.

But he had been defeated.

Although he had been defeated on the last problem, and that in itself was a fierce accomplishment, defeat was still defeat. He could only be included amongst those that left Stranded God Canyon by being ransomed out.

The most formidable loser was still a loser…this gave them space to operate and the energy to struggle once again. Although it wasn't much, they still had an opportunity!

Of course, even though they were jumping for joy inside, they soon tidied up their expressions.

"Fellow daoist Qin…alas, to fall at the last step, that is a lamentable result!"

"Fellow daoist, you have to stay positive. Breaking through 98 problems is already the highest result since Stranded God Canyon was found."

"I believe that fellow daoist Qin Yu will inevitably have a future comeback. Breaking 99 problems isn't hopeless!"

Qin Yu nodded. With a 'heavy expression', he turned and left, soon vanishing from sight.

This response left everyone surprised. They thought that he really was a fierce character who had a powerful teacher. Just his willpower and mentality were impressive.

If they were the ones that underwent such a bitter experience, the psychological attack would have caused them to vomit out a few mouthfuls of blood at the very least.

But some people didn't think the same.

To fail at the 99th problem, missing the last step before his name would become renowned throughout the world…could he really be so calm if he failed at this key step?

Humph, perhaps even buddhas made from mud would be so enraged they would stamp their feet.

The calmer Qin Yu was, the fiercer his emotions must be. He had to be repressing them with all his strength, like a lid placed over a pot of boiling water. The more he tried to suppress his emotions, the more damage he would likely receive.

However, what did this matter to them?

Perhaps in the hearts of some people, they were secretly hoping for Qin Yu to sustain even more damage, enough damage that he would withdraw from the competition for the position of follower.

…

The red line which represented the array formation's power loss was like a bird shot by an arrow. It plummeted straight down without stopping until it reached the bottom. Compared with the trajectory left behind from when it was rising, it created a sharp contrast.

The excited Grandmaster Zhou who was rearranging his clothes and preparing to welcome this mysterious master suddenly froze in place. He looked up at the red line and muttered, "How could this be…how could this be…"

Leng Aoshuang's eyes brightened. He asked, "Grandmaster Zhou, what happened?"

Grandmaster Zhou's lips moved. He spoke in a low and grating voice, "He failed."

"He failed? He was defeated at the last problem?" Leng Aoshuang's eyes brightened up even more. At this time, he felt like he was basking in the sun on a hot summer day, enjoying a cool watermelon dessert. He felt incomparably comfortable both inside and out.

Retribution, this had to be retribution. After making me suffer for so long as if I was being roasted on a fire, now it's your turn.

Tsk tsk, to fail at the 99th problem, just a single step away from success, just thinking about it left a person so uncomfortable that it was difficult to breathe.

Hahaha!

"No…this shouldn't be…with that mister's strength, even if the 99th problem is astonishingly difficult and he cannot solve it, he should be able to last for some time. But according to the calculations, he failed the problem almost immediately after he started…

"With mister's performance, the chances of him being careless can almost be ignored. That leaves only one possibility…Stranded God Canyon isn't willing to see him smoothly break out by himself and create his own legend, so it tampered with the last problem!"

As Grandmaster Zhou spoke to here, his voice became loud and clear and his expression filled with regret, as if he had seen the truth.

If it weren't for the fact that he had obtained verification that Stranded God Canyon possessed its own consciousness then he never would have guessed this. But since it had its own consciousness, there was always the possibility that it tampered with the problem of the rules.

From the look of things, it seemed that Stranded God Canyon's consciousness wasn't that broad-minded.