Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Yun Shi frowned as she looked at Yao Ling. It wasn't that she had any suspicions, but she just felt something was off.

Someone patted her shoulder. She turned her head to see her brother. After some hesitation, she said in a quiet voice, "I still think it's dangerous."

Yun Che said, "It could be that the mystic realm itself is causing your perception ability to become more sensitive. Don't worry too much about it. After thinking about it, he continued, "Stay by my side, it's better to be careful."

Yu Shi nodded.

A moment later, the mountain valley appeared in front of them. When they entered they saw the golden fruit tree that Zhou Cheng and Zhang Ying spoke of.

It grew tall and its crown covered a large area. The branches and leaves seemed as if they were forged from pure gold, a dazzling sight to the eyes.

Round and plump fruits hung down from the branches and leaves. They were an even brighter gold, shining like little golden suns.

They really were fragrant!

Just by taking a deep breath, one could feel their heartbeat accelerate and their mind clear up.

The eyes of the people who stepped into the valley brightened.

Zhou Huan licked his lips, "What are we all waiting for?"

At this time, there was a loud noise from outside the valley. Although it was far away, everyone could clearly hear it.

The members of the two troops changed their expressions. They thought that someone else was coming.

A few eyes immediately showed dissatisfaction as they looked at Yun Che. If he hadn't been so wary and hadn't ordered someone to investigate first, this matter would have already been concluded.

Now someone was rushing over before they had time to make their move.

Yun Che had an ugly complexion. He could feel the helpless and frustrated eyes that fell on him.

Zhou Cheng said, "Brother Yun isn't to blame for this…"

Yun Che lifted a hand, interrupting him, "It is my mistake for being too careful. But in this situation, we can only wait."

If the other party was only passing by, that would be for the best. But if they came for this mountain valley too, then it would be time to argue.

The leader of the other team calmly nodded, not saying much else. Yun Che's proposition was indeed the best choice right now.

Whoosh –

The sound of piercing air rang out. This time it was much closer. The faces of the people in the valley darkened.

The other party had already arrived. The chances of them passing by were miniscule.

But what confused them was that listening to this sound, there only seemed to be one person…was it a scout, or were their companions hiding somewhere else?

Before they could think further, a calm voice came from outside the valley. "Yun Che, Yun Shi, if you are in the valley, please show yourselves."

"Ah!" Yun Shi's eyes widened and she subconsciously ran out.

Yun Che didn't hold back and immediately followed her.

Then, he saw his little sister jumping and smiling, grabbing hold of Qin Yu and asking him, "How did you know we are here?"

Qin Yu relaxed. He smiled and said, "I just happened to be in the area and felt your auras, so I decided to take a look."

Yun Che's eyes widened. There was an invisible suppression of strength within this mystic realm, and one's divine sense and perception were extremely limited.

But Qin Yu said he had sensed their auras…so either his soul intensity was far greater than theirs, or he was lying.

Although Yun Che hadn't seen Qin Yu fight much since they got to know each other, he believed he had an understanding of Qin Yu's approximate cultivation level.

To say that his soul cultivation was so powerful, Yun Che didn't believe that. In other words, there was a high probability that Qin Yu was lying.

With this thought in mind, Yun Che stiffened. He smiled and said, "Brother Qin, you and I really are predestined friends to unexpectedly meet here."

As he spoke he glared at Yun Shi, "You are already grown up, so why are you acting like a crazy little girl? Hurry up and let go of fellow daoist Qin Yu!"

Yun Shi didn't seem to have sensed the change in her big brother's attitude. She grabbed at Qin Yu with even more strength and humphed, "This fellow ate so much delicious food from me but then he left right after. This time I'm not going to let him go so easily."

Qin Yu forced a smile. If this girl didn't have such a careful and meticulous big brother protecting her, she would have been sold off already.

He looked at Yun Che and took back his hands, "Fellow daoist Yun Che is right. This really is destiny."

Then, Qin Yu smiled and looked at the others who came out of the mountain valley, "But it seems you're not the only one who was predestined to meet me here today."

The complexions of the two women changed.

Because it was obvious that Qin Yu was looking at them when he spoke.

Yun Che frowned, "What does fellow daoist Qin Yu mean by this?"

Qin Yu lightly said, "Not long ago, I accidentally bumped into these two women. They were fighting each other over a treasure. Now that I see them again, I can't tell if they lost their memory or something, but they don't seem to recognize each other."

He paused and said, "Fellow daoist Yun Che, what do you think is going on?" As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Yao Ling and Zhang Ying.

The complexions of the people outside the mountain valley changed.

If this was true, it indicated far too many things.

Zhang Ying's pupils shrank. Her complexion changed as she looked at Qin Yu. There wasn't a need to say anything else. Just this change of expression alone proved that Qin Yu wasn't lying.

It was actually true!

Yun Che's face clouded over.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. He never thought these two women would expose their weakness so easily. But from what he saw before, he knew these two people had polished acting skills, so he felt this was a bit strange.

And reality proved Qin Yu's thoughts were correct.

Zhang Ying apologetically said, "That's right, I am old acquaintances with Yao Ling, and we also have some enmity between us. Not long ago, we also brutally fought each other for a treasure."

As she spoke to here, her face turned bitter, "But in the end, you took that thing away right, fellow daoist Qin?"

Yao Ling's complexion paled. She looked at Yun Che and earnestly said, "Big Brother Yun, I didn't do this on purpose…I wanted to tell you…but I was also afraid that you would be unhappy because of that. After all, I'm weak and I joined in midway. I feared you would treat me as a burden…"

Zhang Ying said, "My worries are similar to Yao Ling's. Afterwards, both of us had a private discussion and decided not to expose each other to prevent any misunderstandings or suspicions from occurring." She glanced at Yao Ling and then said, "I told fellow daoist Lian Feng about this already. He can testify for me."

Lian Feng was the leader of the other team. As everyone looked at him, he nodded and said, "That's right, fellow daoist Zhang Ying explained this to me already. In order to avoid suspicion, I agreed with her."

Yao Ling's complexion paled even more. "Big Brother Yun, I really am sorry. I was planning to explain this to you after we parted ways."

Qin Yu glanced at Yun Che whose expression had already changed and he frowned inwardly. It seemed that things were developing beyond his expectations, and these two women were circling the wagons around him.

He feared things were going to become troublesome.

Sure enough, Zhang Ying made her move. This woman's words were exceptionally sharp.

"Whatever situation fellow daoist Qin Yu described, we have already explained. Although we might have been wrong, we had no other thoughts." After a brief pause her tone became a little more serious, "Fellow daoist Qin Yu, now that you have an explanation, perhaps it's time for you to explain why you showed up here?"

Qin Yu lightly said, "I said before that I sensed Yun Che and Yun Shi's auras, so I came here to warn them. But now that I take another look at the situation, it seems I was overthinking things."

Zhang Ying said, "Perceive their auras? It seems that fellow daoist Qin Yu's strength is far greater than what I imagined. After all, in this mystic realm, our range of perception is limited." She took a breath and said, "But there is another point I am curious about. When we passed by each other, did fellow daoist Qin Yu not remember mine and Yao Ling's auras? Or did you discover the two of us and that's why you decided to show up with a warning?"

Qin Yu fell silent. After determining that he had been led in a circle, he knew that there was no way to explain things clearly. But…there was nothing to explain as well.

Ignoring Zhang Ying's questioning, he looked at the mountain valley and said, "This place is not good and it is best if you don't go in. Of course, this is just a warning. Whether or not you wish to follow my advice, you can all decide that yourselves."

Yun Che said, "Fellow daoist Qin Yu, you don't want to explain yourself?"

Qin Yu looked at him and shook his head, "Your emotions have affected your thinking and judgment. There's no point in explaining anything. Then, I hope you all take care."

He looked at Yun Shi and said, "Be careful. I'm leaving."

Without waiting for Yun Shi to say anything, Zhou Huan sneered, "You come when you want to come and you leave when you want to leave. Qin Yu, do you really think we can't do anything to you?"

He took a step forward, his aura surging in his body. But then, Qin Yu looked at him.

With one glance, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured over him, chilling him so much that his heart nearly stopped beating.

The complexions of the surrounding people changed.

Without stopping again, Qin Yu took a few steps out and vanished from sight.

A long time after he left, Zhou Huan violently exhaled and started gasping for breath. His face was pale and covered with embarrassment.

He had wanted to say a few words to regain face, but even though his lips moved he couldn't say anything. For some reason, Qin Yu's gaze kept reappearing in his mind. When it did, he couldn't help but feel panic and awe.