Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu shook his head and stepped forward. Darkness rolled into the depths of the valley where the golden fruit tree had taken root like a tide.

It didn't resist and could only passively bear it. But this was only what was seen on the surface…because the darkness was silent and swallowed all the golden light!

Submerged in the golden light, Lian Feng and Zhang Ying shivered from fear. Suddenly, they screamed out loud. This was a scream that was aimed at the soul, and the ears couldn't hear it at all.

The horrified Lian Feng and Zhang Ying roared in pain just before their bodies blew apart. Two shadows sprang out from their corpses and disappeared into the ground beneath the golden fruit tree.

Then, the ground shattered and countless golden roots tore their way out. These roots were twined like chains around three corpses.

They were one man and two women.

It was just that as one of the woman's corpses appeared, it instantly decayed and turned into dust.

It was the corpse of Yao Ling, whose head had been torn off by Qin Yu.

The other woman was Zhang Ying, and the man with an unfamiliar appearance was probably Lian Feng.

Shua –

The eyes on their paper white faces suddenly opened. Golden light surged within them as they stared at Qin Yu.

"Who are you?"

The man and woman spoke in sync. Their voices were strange and rigid, without any emotional fluctuations.

In the darkness, Qin Yu had no expression, "Right now, my promise is still effective."

"Die!"

The man and woman roared out loud. They raised their hands and formed complex law formulas. Golden light gathered by their side, forming two terrifying symbols.

Boundless pressure surged out, shaking the darkness and causing billowing waves to appear on its surface.

Bang –

Bang –

The two symbols howled out and crashed into the darkness. Qin Yu had no choice but to stop walking and sigh inwardly.

As he thought, there were tigers and dragons hidden all throughout the world. With his strength, he originally didn't feel much dread even in the famous Land of Disorder.

But now it seemed he had thought of himself too highly.

Not to mention anything else, but just this split body had such strength. The degree of danger in this mystic realm was far greater than what Qin Yu imagined.

If it weren't for the existence of Old Turtle, when these two symbols slammed into him it would have caused him to exert himself a little.

Of course, the reality was that as these two symbols crashed into the darkness, they were cleanly gobbled up before they could touch Qin Yu.

Burp –

Mm, it seemed that he had eaten a bit too much.

As someone who had reached the pinnacle when it came to the fear of death, the degree at which Old Turtle feared death was far beyond what the average person could hope to understand.

To Old Turtle, what did it matter if he ate too much? As long as he could live longer, then let alone those two symbols right now, he could eat at least a dozen more.

But soon, as he licked his lips in anticipation, Old Turtle was disappointed to discover that he had overestimated the energy of this split body.

After blasting out the two symbols, the golden fruit tree's dazzling golden light visibly darkened.

The corpses of the man and woman entangled in the golden roots might have been too shocked because they asked the same question they did before. "Who are you?"

Qin Yu frowned in the darkness. He thought that this fellow was persistent enough, and once this kind of persistent fellow made a decision, it was difficult to change their mind.

From the look of things, it didn't seem that he would find out anything useful. Then there was no need to waste any more time here. After all, the commotion they caused was too large and if other cultivators or creatures from the mystic realm were drawn over, that would add up to a great deal of trouble.

Bang –

The darkness roared out. Like a curtain that covered the skies, it drowned out the entire golden fruit tree and the two corpses that were controlled by it.

The golden light that illuminated the world vanished. All that remained was the tumbling darkness and a yin chill that percolated in the air.

The golden fruit tree quickly withered away, its leaves flying away in the wind. Finally, all that was left behind was a golden crystal in the shape of a heart.

The red-furred monster roared. As the golden fruit tree withered away, it seemed as if it lost all its strength. It howled and wailed in misery as it dissolved into powder.

Qin Yu lifted a hand and grasped forward, taking the crystal. When he felt the boundless soul strength contained within, he revealed a dignified expression.

Such a formidable soul force was actually just a split body…although he already knew this, he was still left taken aback after personally confirming it.

Now, the only thing Qin Yu was curious about was how many heart-shaped crystal split bodies were located in this mystic realm.

If there were three or five, that would be fine. But if there were ten or more, then the big fellow hiding in this mystic realm would be difficult to deal with.

As Qin Yu was quietly calculating things, the two corpses that the golden fruit tree had controlled began to shiver.

The eyes of the male corpse trembled, as if they were desperately trying to open up. But at this time, strange blood-colored lines suddenly appeared on his face and his body rotted away.

Faint traces of pale blue and white gas drilled out from the rotten corpse and were absorbed by the female corpse beside him. She suddenly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were crimson, just like the blood traces on the man's face. Her blood red pupils were blank for a moment before their focus was restored. When the female corpse's eyes fell on Qin Yu, the blood red light there grew brighter.

Qin Yu's heart shrank and a bit of restlessness broke into his heart. He raised a hand and grasped out.

Bang –

The endless darkness collapsed inward, as if a large and fierce mouth had opened up and swallowed the woman with the blood red eyes.

"Ahh! Don't kill me…I am from the bloodline of the Sly Fate Clan. If you take my life, you will be chased to the ends of the world!"

Qin Yu looked at her without expression. Then, his fingers tightly clenched together.

The woman's screaming stopped.

He had heard of the Sly Fate Clan twice, but he had already rushed into the abyss world, so why would he fear something like that?

Since they tried to trap him, they had to be prepared to knock on death's door.

Mm?

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at his palm. Blood runes appeared on the back of his hand and constantly extended upwards like a living creature.

At the same time, faint traces of a yin chill were released from them, drilling deep into Qin Yu's body.

"Humph!"

This was a mark left behind from killing someone from the Sly Fate Clan? It really was strange.

But Qin Yu wasn't helpless against it. With a thought, the blood runes on the back of his hand stopped growing. The, they retracted, finally becoming a dot similar to a blood red mole on the back of his hand.

However, that was all he could do. He didn't have a way to completely expel this strength from his body.

Frowning a little, he soon composed himself. He took a step forward and howled way.

Outside the mountain valley, Yun Che held onto the unconscious Yun Shi, anxiously waiting along with Zhou Cheng. One reason they hadn't left was because Qin Yu had rescued them, and it was unknown whether he was safe or not right now. Another reason was…Yun Shi was in an extremely bad condition.

The golden light that soared into the skies and the terrifying fluctuations of power that erupted from the valley had shocked the both of them.

At the same time, they understood why Qin Yu had told them to leave. If they stayed in that mountain valley, just bumping into the shockwaves would have taken their lives.

Whoosh –

There was the sound of breaking air. Yun Che let out a long breath of relief as he saw Qin Yu fly out. He quickly went to welcome him.

Qin Yu glanced at them and said, "Let's leave this place first before we talk."

He swept the three people up with a flick of his sleeve. Then without delay, he soared into the distance, soon vanishing from sight.

An hour after Qin Yu and the others left, a meteor smashed into the ground, blasting open a terrifyingly deep pit. Charred soil splashed out and countless cracks spread through the earth.

A young man walked out from these blazing flames. He had an ordinary appearance and he was bald. Even the clothes he wore seemed casually picked out.

If this was another scene, people might feel happiness when they saw him. But now…the only feeling he gave off was terror.

Leaving the pit, the bald man entered the mountain valley. His pace wasn't quick, but each step he took left behind a blackened and burnt footprint.

His eyes swept across the chaotic valley that had been ravaged by darkness. Then, he raised a hand and grasped forward. Several sparks emerged from thin air and fell into his palm.

It really was the aura of the Ash Flame Lineage.

But it was unfamiliar.

He was the only one from his clan who had come to this trial of the Endless Sea, so where did other clansmen come from?

And there was another point. This remnant aura didn't seem too pure.

His eyes sparkled. The bald man released the sparks, allowing them to dissipate.

He had already recorded this aura. As long as the other party was in this mystic realm, they would meet sooner or later.

As for this mountain valley…

What an incredibly tyrannical aura. Even though most of it had faded away, it wasn't hard to deduce what had happened here.

Sure enough, things were going like the Patriarch had said. This Endless Sea trial wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Many powerful cultivators had come here, each with their own goals…and today, in this valley, Flare Wind had found one of them.

He quietly asked himself a question – would he be able to defeat the cultivator that had been in this valley? He didn't know the answer.

Not knowing meant he wasn't confident. In other words, if the two sides were to fight with their lives on the line, he was likely the one that would die.

Flare Wind smiled. That's right, he really did smile, a smile that came from the sincerity of his heart. How lonely and boring was the road of cultivation? Only when a formidable rival appeared would he be able to maintain his fighting spirit.

There wasn't a need to fear a powerful opponent. As long as he defeated them and crushed them beneath his feet, he would constantly strengthen himself.

Flare Wind was in a very good mood right now. This caused him to change his mind and not immediately attack. He turned and said, "You Sly Fate Clan people, your every move and action is always so sneaky. Since you've arrived, show yourself."

"Humph!" With a sneer, the void twisted and a cold and gloomy man appeared.

His appearance was similar to the corpses of the man and woman Qin Yu saw before; his face was pale white and blue, without any sign of blood.

The difference was that this cold and gloomy man's eyes were bright, shining like two sabers dancing in the air.

"If it weren't for the fact that the residual aura here is inconsistent with yours, I would have attacked you just now!" The cold and gloomy man said, "For having harmed the bloodline of my Sly Fate Clan, no matter if they flee to the edges of heaven or the ends of the sea, they will repay blood with blood!"

Flare Wind's smile vanished. "The person who appeared in this valley is no weaker than you or me. Who lives or who dies, that is unknown.

"Soul Hook, you should think clearly about this."

The cold and gloomy many turned and left, "He will be the one who dies."

Space distorted. Like a shadow, he vanished after a few steps.

What disappeared with him was the ice cold aura he emitted.

As if he had never appeared here at all…if one looked carefully, they would see that the cold and gloomy man didn't even leave behind footprints.

The Sly Fate Clan claimed to control destiny and replace the flow of life and death. They were a first-class mysterious clan. Their clansmen were elusive and quiet, and they appeared and disappeared like a thunderbolt. It was difficult for the average person to find their trail.

And Soul Hook was said to be one of the most outstanding juniors of his generation within the Sly Fate Clan.

It was rumored that he had the strength level of a transient messenger and was one of the most terrifying existences outside of the several old bags of bones in the Sly Fate Clan.

Flare Wind softly said, "To be targeted by Soul Hook, you had better not die easily, otherwise that would be too boring."

He turned around. Flames rose and burned, swallowing up his figure.

In the next moment, the blazing flames vanished. What disappeared with them was Flare Wind's figure.