Refining the Mountains and Rivers

As Qin Yu held the unconscious Yun Shi, he quickened his pace. He had to be more careful to avoid falling into a dangerous situation.

The current Yun Shi had no ability to protect herself. The slightest mistake could cost her life.

Fortunately, he wasn't pressed for time.

And Qin Yu already knew where he could go to find the person who could save Yun Shi.

That's right, it was a person.

According to the rule of the abyss that Old Turtle spoke of, if he wanted to save a person's life, another life had to be sacrificed.

This was in line with the principle of equivalent exchange.

Yun Shi's bloodline was incomplete and the resulting instability caused it to go out of control, eventually posing a threat to her life.

Then he would extract a complete bloodline, fuse them together, and place it back into her body.

Everything would be easily solved. If Yun Shi was lucky, she would even turn misfortune into a blessing and her bloodline would become far more formidable.

But as said before, everything was easier said than done. This was not a simple matter and it required extremely strict conditions.

If it weren't for Old Turtle, it would have been impossible for Qin Yu to do this himself.

Bang –

The ground suddenly shattered and countless winged insects the size of a palm flew out, screaming and baring mouthfuls of fangs.

Their shrill screeches were like thin needles piercing into the brain and desperately stirring around.

These ferocious-looking creatures all rushed over at the same time, flapping their wings furiously.

"Humph!" With a cold cough, Qin Yu came to a sudden stop. He raised his foot and brought it crashing down.

Bang –

A dull sound rang out and the void shook. Circular waves spread out in all directions.

Pa –

Pa –

The insects that howled over were all broken to pieces, their blood and flesh splattering down. However, the deaths of their fellow insects weren't able to deter the others, but instead stimulated their viciousness.

In the blink of an eye, the endless stream of insects coming from the ground used the fragments of their corpses to drown out Qin Yu.

They weren't individually strong but they didn't fear death. In combination with their massive numbers, it was simply endless.

If one was killed, two would replace it. The rhythm was similar to that of ants biting an elephant to death…if Qin Yu allowed himself to be continually surrounded like this and exhausted, his final fate would be to be swallowed up.

Perhaps it was because the dark mark took effect, or her physical condition recovered a little, or maybe even because of the incessant screeching of the insect monsters, but the unconscious Yun Shi paled even further as she opened her eyes.

With an expression filled with pain, blood began to seep out from the corners of her eyes.

Qin Yu placed his hand over her eyes. "Don't listen to this. We'll be able to leave soon."

Yun Shi said with difficulty, "Big Brother Qin…"

She hadn't died.

But it really hurt. She felt like numerous red hot irons had been stabbed inside her body.

At every moment, it was like her flesh and blood was burning. The pain was enough to break a person's mind.

Yun Shi instinctively grabbed Qin Yu. "Big Brother Qin…it hurts…it hurts…"

Qin Yu separated his fingers, revealing a gap through which he looked at her pain-filled eyes. "If it hurts it means you are still alive. Trust me, you'll be fine soon."

Before Yun Shi could reply, he let out a little strength with his other hands. Yun Shi's eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted again.

Compared to the beginning, the dark mark between her eyebrows had dimmed a little.

This was faster than Qin Yu predicted!

This situation was troublesome!

Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu lifted a hand. He clenched his fingers into a fist, took a deep breath, and punched.

Dang –

It was like an incomparably large drum had been struck. The drum's surface shook, setting off waves of fluctuations.

Wherever the fluctuations reached out, the ferocious insect monsters all froze in place.

Countless sounds filled the air a moment later, gathering together into a single constant tone. Innumerable insect corpses sprinkled down, producing a storm of flesh and blood.

Qin Yu took a step forward, carrying Yun Shi as he raced away.

…

There was no true fairness or justice in this world.

Sometimes, carrying a jade ring itself could become a crime. If one's strength didn't match the treasure they held, that would eventually provoke a disaster.

Fortunately, someone could hand over the treasure, or exchange the treasure for a backer's support. A loss would be a loss, but they would still be able to keep themselves safe.

But what if that 'jade ring' was that person? What would they do then?

Through a myriad of lucky chances and coincidences, a spiritual life form with wisdom was born. Yet, after experiencing untold hardships, that being came to discover that they were only a meal that had already been chosen by others in advance.

This was a result that was almost impossible to accept.

If one couldn't accept this, they could only resist. But the difficulty was almost insurmountable, because in terms of strength, the difference in level was too great.

Or to be more exact, looking at the entire world, how many would be able to protect themselves from the covetousness of these people?

Since resisting was impossible, it could only figure out another way. Since they wanted this being's power and the strength that was bred within its body, it would smear itself until it lost all value.

Of course, this was a difficult path to take and it was also filled with treasures. However, if one didn't have any other choice, who would choose to take this path?

As for hate?

Of course it hated. But since ancient times, the world had always been like this. It wasn't the first one that had undergone this, nor would it be the last.

In this world, the only thing it could do was endure.

So this was all life. And since it is my life, it is also your life…don't blame anyone but yourself, for living in this world.

…

Qin Yu's path forward became even more difficult. If it wasn't for his journey through the abyss and the fact that his strength had vastly increased, he might have already died.

All sorts of mystic realm monsters constantly attacked him. He was like a bonfire in the middle of the dark night, attracting the fangs of beasts from all around.

Qin Yu certainly knew that while he was the one withstanding the attacks of the mystic realm monsters, the true source of attraction was Yun Shi.

If Qin Yu still had some doubts about his previous assumption, he was now sure that Yun Shi's body indeed had a special attribute that attracted the mystic realm's soul body!

And there was another point he could confirm. It was that this soul body that had split itself apart into countless avatars to lure cultivators into entering this mystic realm was spending most of its energy on something else.

Otherwise, the attacks that Qin Yu would have to withstand wouldn't be so simple.

Simple was also only relatively speaking. If this was another cultivator, even an Origin God boundary powerhouse wouldn't be able to last so long.

Qin Yu's current condition was fine and he wouldn't experience any problems for a short period of time. But if things continued like this, issues would crop up eventually. The endless mystic realm monsters gave him no time to relax, and his strength would eventually be exhausted.

So he had to figure out a way to change his current situation.

He looked down at the unconscious Yun Shi. The reason lay with her. If he couldn't find out where it was, then he would seal it all away!

He would suppress Yun Shi's aura and isolate her link to the outside world!

Bang –

Darkness erupted like thick ink, gushing onto Yun Shi and submerging her, turning into a dark cloud. But the facts proved that this dark energy wasn't able to fully block her aura.

After experiencing two more assaults from mystic realm monsters, Qin Yu had no choice but to acknowledge he had failed…darkness failed, but what about light?

A day later, the ground loudly shattered and Qin Yu ran out. Desperate wails spread from below as the ground shook and rumblings rang out.

Countless thick roots tore free from the earth and swung about in the air. After exhausting the rest of their vitality, they helplessly crashed into the ground.

In order to kill this terrifying plant monster similar to the vine he encountered before, Qin Yu had to waste a great deal of strength. His face was pale and he lightly coughed, a bit of blood splashing onto his palm.

This injury wasn't severe, but he felt thoroughly exhausted. Even if he had all of his strength, in his current state he could only display 60-70% of it.

He had to figure out a solution!

In the end, the reason Qin Yu gave up on his idea of passing through the Endless Sea to enter this mystic realm was all in order to extend Old Turtle's life. So, when Qin Yu called on him, he didn't feel any pressure at all.

Not to mention that that fellow had eaten enough recently, so having him move around wasn't a bad idea.

Without continuing, Qin Yu broke into a cave. He turned the monster who originally lived here into a mass of bloody flesh with a single strike.

Then, the power of darkness and light simultaneously erupted. It spread through the cave, dividing into numerous partitions.

The darkness and light weren't able to completely isolate Yun Shi's aura, but it could at least play a role and slow down the speed at which she was targeted.

Qin Yu didn't delay. He placed Yun Shi on the ground, sat down, and did his best to restore his losses.

Not long after, Qin Yu woke up from his meditation. Old Turtle went straight to the point, giving him two choices.

The first choice was to pull out Yun Shi's soul. Then, he could figure out what was attracting the mystic realm soul body and they would formulate a plan to counter it.

But this was risky. If he wasn't careful, while Yun Shi's soul might not dissipate, there was a high chance her soul would suffer damage and she would end up as a drooling idiot.

Qin Yu looked at Yun Shi. He thought back to Yun Che kneeling towards him before he left and he said, "The second choice."

Old Turtle curled his lips. He thought that if Qin Yu was so softhearted, he would suffer a loss sooner or later!

But dissatisfaction was only dissatisfaction; he didn't dare to reveal anything. "The second choice is relatively safe, but it will put a great burden on you."

Qin Yu had already tried to cover Yun Shi with the sun and moon force field. Yet in the end, it didn't work.

But Old Turtle's second method was still related to the sun and moon force field. Simply put, it was to borrow the power of light and darkness to form a dark moon and red sun. Then, imprint them into Yun Shi's body and operate them according to the movement principles of the sun and moon force field.

Saying this was simple, but doing it was incredibly difficult. Moreover, it would cause enormous losses to Qin Yu.

Old Turtle thoughtfully said, "Master, this mystic realm is not simple. I am afraid a fierce battle is inevitable. If you lose too much strength, you will encounter grave danger."

Old Turtle spoke earnestly, as if he was wholeheartedly thinking about him.

Qin Yu certainly knew that Old Turtle was afraid he would meet an accident and Old Turtle would suffer together with him. But Old Turtle was also correct. There was absolutely a terrifying soul body hidden in this mystic realm.

If Qin Yu chose to quit while he was ahead then it was fine. But once he became the target, he would not be able to avoid a battle.

Moreover, because of Yun Shi's presence in this situation, even if Qin Yu wanted to stop, the mystic realm soul body might not let him go.

His clouds darkening with uncertainty for a moment, Qin Yu finally let out a breath and said, "We'll go with the second plan. I don't have much time so tell me what to do quickly."