Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The East Zhou Patriarch stood up. He wiped away the blood on his face. The wound between his eyebrows barely managed to regenerate, but a red line remained as if it was a third eye that had temporarily closed.

Rumble rumble -

The entire altar had collapsed. The seastar black jade was known for being an incredibly hard and durable substance, but during the process of the revelation it had been turned into powder, because in this world there was no object that could withstand the terrifying invasion of aura produced when a Ruler arrived.

It was destroyed with just a touch!

Zhou Buyi had already fainted. He lay unconscious on the ground, wheezing for breath. But since he hadn't died, the East Zhou Family would surely be able to keep him alive with their methods.

"Take Mister Zhou away and give him the best treatment."

The East Zhou Patriarch looked up and swept his eyes around. "What happened today shall be the greatest secret of my East Zhou Family. No one is allowed to speak even half a world of it. Otherwise, I swear by my bloodline that I will strip them of their status and thrust them into the dust so that they never have any chance of standing up!"

Numerous Elders felt a chill seep into their hearts. They stood up and bowed, "Yes, Patriarch!"

No one doubted the veracity of the East Zhou Patriarch's words, because this matter involved the existence of a Ruler.

Ruler! That was a Ruler!

If they were fortunate enough to form relations with a Ruler, that would be an unfathomable help to the entire East Zhou Family. If this were known by the outside world they would definitely do everything within their power, paying any price to flatter Qin Yu and take the place of the East Zhou Family.

When the East Zhou Patriarch ordered Zhou Buyi be taken away for treatment, that was also to place him under house arrest.

After this, Grandmaster Zhou wouldn't appear in public for a long, long time.

"I will go into seclusion to cultivate. For this period of time, matters of the family shall be handled by the Council of Elders. But, there is one exception. Anything that involves Qin Yu shall be primarily decided by East Zhou Duly. No one is to interfere."

The East Zhou Patriarch looked over. "This is your lucky chance and also the family's turning point. I hope that you take hold of it and don't disappoint me."

His words were full of a profound meaning.

East Zhou Duly respectfully bowed, "I obey the orders of the Patriarch. I also wish for the Patriarch to have harvests during this period of seclusion and pray for you to soon break through your boundary."

The East Zhou Patriarch smiled, "You've done well."

He turned around. With a step, he vanished from sight.

This time when he directly faced a Ruler and suffered an injury due to her aura, the East Zhou Patriarch had actually managed to turn this misfortune into a blessing. He has grasped where a key turning point might be.

Relying on this, he truly might obtain harvests, having his cultivation take another step forward. It was because of this that the East Zhou Patriarch put Qin Yu down and left everything to the Council of Elders while he hastened into seclusion.

A cultivation turning point was like the flowers in the mirror and the moon on the water. Although it seemed close at hand, it could vanish forever at any moment.

He had painstakingly waited countless years for this turning point, so how could he allow it to run away from him like this?

East Zhou Duly stood up, excitement in her eyes. She had been correct. By leaving a good impression on the Patriarch now, she would be rewarded many points in the future.

Of course, the crucial point was that she was old acquaintances with Qin Yu. In the Patriarch's opinion, this was of the utmost importance.

This was the reason she was given the highest authority to deal with Qin Yu. Looking at the complexions of the Elders, one could see how envious they were.

She bowed deeply and said, "From now on, I must ask the Elders to give me some room." She saw East Zhou Buho from the edge of her vision and felt joy in her heart. This old ghost had likely never imagined things would develop to this step.

With this, it was settled that Qin Yu had become her follower. Moreover, he had become an incomparably formidable boost to her.

A Ruler's disciple…

Just this title alone was enough to deter all factions, giving her an overwhelming advantage when she faced her family as well as the other competitors.

But all of this was based on the premise that she could completely tie up all her interests with Qin Yu, becoming an inseparable whole.

If a man and a woman wished to combine into an inseparable body of interests, then the simplest way was to become dao companions.

East Zhou Duly subconsciously thought back to when Old Ye mentioned this matter. Her face flushed red and she immediately suppressed these thoughts.

In Qin Yu's courtyard, everything was quiet and uneventful. His tense body relaxed. Such a long time had passed but nothing stirred within the East Zhou Family. It seemed that they hadn't discovered the jade embryo egg.

If so, the worst result was that the East Zhou Family wouldn't allow him to become East Zhou Duly's follower. There shouldn't be any dangers.

However, if he really was rejected by the East Zhou Family, how could he enter the Path of 10,000 Souls?

Qin Yu's eyebrows furrowed back together. His thoughts began to race.

At this time, there was a knock on his courtyard doors. Snowside went out to open them. Moments later, she returned with a strange expression. She placed a pitch black ring that seemed ordinary but was absolutely precious in front of Qin Yu.

"Inside this are gifts given to you by the East Zhou Family. They only ask that you take it as the reward for becoming East Zhou Duly's follower."

Speaking to here, Snowside subconsciously gulped. Her voice lowered by several notes, "There is no spell on the ring. I looked through it a moment ago…there seems to be a bit too much inside."

In fact, so-called rewards in the ring were not only mind-boggling in amount but also quality.

This couldn't be described as just a 'reward' anymore. It was more like a generous gift.

The East Zhou Family clearly hoped that Qin Yu could feel the sincerity of their apology through this gift.

Qin Yu put down the ring and a strange look crossed his face. He rubbed his chin. Just how had he passed this trial?

Moreover, looking at how they were treating him now, it seemed that even the East Zhou Family was frightened by his 'background'. Otherwise, why would they send over this mountain of treasures to him as a 'reward'?

As he was left puzzled, Qin Yu suddenly noticed something was wrong. When he looked up he saw Snowside's wide eyes. She was earnestly looking at him with a questioning look.

"What do you want?"

Snowside honestly said, "I'm just trying to see how many secrets are hidden under that face of yours." Then she tutted several times before saying, "I already know what Stranded God Canyon is and how extraordinary your achievements were. I originally thought you had hidden yourself enough, but compared to the present, what can Stranded God Canyon be considered as?

"Hehe, the solemn East Zhou Family, a super influence that controls a hundred worlds and has hundreds of Origin God subordinates, is now expressing their apologies to you. Although I'm not sure what happened, none of that matters. What matters is that they lowered their heads to you."

She took a deep breath and fixed her eyes on Qin Yu. "Can you tell me how much you have left hidden? How many secrets do I still not know? For instance, do you really have some transcendent teacher?"

Qin Yu forced a smile, "What nonsense are you talking about. My mind is still a mess so don't try to confuse me."

Transcendent teacher?

Hoho, if he really had such a background then why did he have to work so hard? He would have already taken this backer out and gone to Peach Blossom Spring to order that peach tree planting woman to release Ning Ling.

Uh…if he thought about it this way, having a transcendent teacher would surely be wonderful. But what a pity he didn't have one, so he could only daydream about it.

Qin Yu rubbed his forehead. He looked at the ring on his finger and started to sort out what kind of situation he was facing.

It was obvious that his earlier worries about any resistance he might face from the East Zhou Family had been resolved due to unknown circumstances. In other words, he had now been determined as one of East Zhou Duly's followers.

This is what mattered the most!

Qin Yu smiled. As long as he entered the Path of 10,000 Souls he would have a chance to understand its essence and figure out a way to undo it.

No matter how difficult it was, he had to rescue Ning Ling from this doomed destiny.

However, before followers entered the Path of 10,000 Souls they needed to sign some sort of contract. Only after obtaining permission could they act on their own. Perhaps before entering, he needed to have a chat with East Zhou Duly where she would give him the ability to act independently.

But soon, Qin Yu discovered that his worries were for nothing. Because the East Zhou Family's attitude towards him had undergone an earth-shaking change.

A Ruler's disciple…with such a status, if he was willing to become East Zhou Duly's follower, that was the honor of the entire East Zhou Family.

You still want him to sign the contract of an ordinary follower? What kind of joke was that? That wasn't funny at all. Our East Zhou Family would never do something so untrustworthy!

The contract needed to be revised and great changes needed to be made. With Qin Yu as the priority, they had to revise it until he was satisfied.

When East Zhou Duly visited for a second time, she brought with her the follower's contract that Qin Yu needed to sign. After he swept through it with his divine sense, he subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows together and said, "Miss East Zhou, are you sure that this is a contract I need to sign?"

East Zhou Duly's heart chilled. She slowly said, "Qin Yu, if there is any place where you are dissatisfied, you can tell me. I will do my best to adjust it to your liking."

Qin Yu looked at an East Zhou Family Elder who was sitting on another side. This person was all smiles as he said, "That's right, fellow daoist Qin Yu, please feel free to speak. My East Zhou Family will inevitably do our best to satisfy all your requests."

This attitude…it was too good to be true.

Qin Yu silently thought to himself. Could it be that an error occurred during the East Zhou Family's investigation into his status, and they decided he was some kind of fierce figure? Or why were they frightened so much? But no matter what the reason was, this was a good thing for him.

The contract in the jade slip…hm, he really didn't know how to describe it. If someone who didn't know the circumstances were to look at it, they wouldn't know who was the follower between Qin Yu and East Zhou Duly.

He lifted a hand and placed a divine sense mark on it. The jade slip flashed with light, indicating that the contract was signed.

East Zhou Duly was overjoyed. She stood up and earnestly said, "Qin Yu, thank you for fulfilling my wish and becoming my follower. After entering the Path of 10,000 Souls, I'll leave everything to you."