Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The blazing hot temperature in the burning courtyard was difficult to withstand. But compared to the dark nothingness outside, it was much more lovable and friendly.

Of course, lovability was only relatively speaking. If the others learned that Qin Yu used such a description, they might storm away in a fit of anger.

No one could figure out what to do and they had nowhere to go. No matter how much they struggled or how unwilling they were, they could only retreat back to the front courtyard.

Hu -

A surging heat wave struck them head on. It was like a red-hot soldering iron being pressed on their skin, slowly sliding across the surface of their body.

Yun Shi's exposed skin immediately turned scarlet, as if she were a shrimp that had been cooked alive. Sweat came out from her pores and immediately evaporated.

Even so, she squeezed out a smile and refused Qin Yu's help. The reason was the same as before - to prevent him from losing strength.

Qin Yu thought for a moment and after taking note of her firm resolve, nodded in agreement.

Currently, the one who was in the most miserable condition wasn't Yun Shi, but the cultivator who was the first to rush out of the courtyard.

Perhaps it was due to his cultivation method or an inborn flaw, but when he faced high temperatures, his ability to resist was much worse than his cultivation level implied.

His skin dissolved, turning into red goo that bubbled and popped, constantly dripping to the ground.

Even his facial features melted away…he was like a wax figure being placed beneath the scorching sun.

This was an extremely terrifying sight!

Suppressed gasps came from his twitching body. Even though no sounds came from this cultivator's mouth, the others could clearly feel the inhuman suffering he was enduring.

He really didn't want to face the dark nothingness that invaded from beyond the courtyard, but if he continued to stay here, all that awaited him was a dead end.

His eyelids and the flesh of his eye sockets had already dissolved, revealing two eyeballs that had turned crimson. Due to this, his eyes seemed twice the normal size, making his gaze even more piercing.

Despair and unwillingness flashed in the depths of his two eyes. This person roared and rushed out of the courtyard once more. He had to leave, even if he felt how dangerous the dark nothingness was. But, what if he survived?

As someone who had killed countless opponents and swallowed their human beads to survive until today, it was certainly impossible for him to sit around and wait for death.

Even if only had a slim chance, he had to lay his life on the line and fight for it!

Bang -

The courtyard doors burst open. All that one could see beyond them was the limitless darkness.

When they saw the darkness from afar, everyone had been able to feel the terrifying aura it contained, one that left their hearts shaking.

Now that it was up close, only then did they realize that what they felt before wasn't even half of its true terror!

"Ahh!" With a roar, the cultivator that rushed outside punched with all his strength.

A wild strength crashed into the darkness and then disappeared. The cultivator and his punch were both swallowed by the darkness, as if nothing happened at all. Everything remained the way it was at the start.

This sight caused the people in the courtyard, who were resisting the high temperatures, to freeze. Even in this extremely hot environment, a cold sweat still broke out on their backs.

Although everyone could feel how horrifying the darkness was, they never expected it to be terrifying to such a degree.

The cultivator who broke in was similar to the person Flare Wind had killed. They both came from unknown origins and weren't that famous. But if this person was able to become one of the nine survivors, then his strength was undoubtable.

Yet such a cultivator, someone that could compete with them, had intruded into the dark nothingness and disappeared without even causing a splash.

If it was one of them, what would their fate be like? Even if they were a bit stronger and had some life-maintaining cards, they would still be limited facing that endless darkness.

As fear shrouded everyone and despair filled the air, Qin Yu looked at the dark nothingness outside the door and his eyes flashed. He thought that he should make an adjustment in his plan, and what he saw outside the courtyard doors was the best opportunity to do so.

If he did it well, not only would he be able to escape from the field that was going to be attacked ahead of time, but more importantly he could remove himself from this crisis.

Perhaps he could even see a good play in the meantime.

Puff -

Qin Yu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. As soon as it left his blood it was burnt away, leaving behind a strong fishy and bloody smell in the air.

Yun Shi cried out in surprise, "Big Brother Qin!"

Qin Yu bitterly smiled. "I was wounded long ago. Although I recovered, it left behind a scar. If I encounter an attack from the power of fire, it might be triggered."

His face turned deathly pale and his eyes clouded over, his aura becoming shaky. "Yun Shi, I'm sorry. I have to leave here otherwise there's nothing for me but a dead end!"

He gave her an incomparably sorry and sorrowful look. Then, he shot outside the doors. Before anyone could respond, he was like a stone falling into the sea as he crashed into the dark nothingness and vanished.

"Big Brother Qin!" Yun Shi's eyes widened.

Qin Yu left…he actually left…

She bit her lips and lowered her head so that no one could see her current expression.

The entire front courtyard fell deathly silent!

Ruan Jing, Soaring Cloud, and all the others couldn't help but widen their eyes. They never thought that something like this would happen.

In this current situation, it was normal for people to die. But in their opinion Qin Yu shouldn't have died so early.

How hateful!

It certainly wasn't that they were sad because of their friendship with Qin Yu, but because they had been thinking about the iron lump in Qin Yu's hand not too long ago.

Although Qin Yu hadn't truly stimulated the strength within the iron lump on that day, the terrifying and destructive aura it emanated had left a profound impression on everywhere there.

Perhaps if that thing was activated, they might have a chance to open up a channel and leave this place.

Originally, they planned to wait until the situation became even worse and then put forth their proposal in order to guarantee that it wasn't rejected.

But now, all of their considerations had become meaningless. Before they could say anything, Qin Yu had rushed into the dark nothingness.

You bastard, even if your old wound is acting up, you won't die immediately. What were you being so impulsive for?

The iron lump was in his hands. He could have just taken it out and given it a try. Maybe they would have survived!

Now, it was over. Everything was over!

If it was before, then they might have been interested in Yun Shi who had lost the protection of Qin Yu.

But now death was knocking on their door. No one had the slightest thought of managing her.

In this sort of terrifying temperature, they weren't even sure they could maintain their own lives. If they were to capture her and didn't want to watch her die before them, they would have no choice but to waste their own strength to help her live.

No one would do something so stupid!

No accident occurred. The dark nothingness that swallowed Qin Yu was the same as the dark nothingness that swallowed the first cultivator; there was no change at all.

Yun Shi looked deeply at the place Qin Yu had crashed into. She clasped her hands around herself, rolled up into a ball, and lay on the ground.

Hiss -

The sounds of corroding flesh and blood rang out. As if she lost all will and desire to live, she gave up her resistance to the high temperature.

In the blink of an eye, that quiet and picturesque young miss withered away, turning into a hard and dried up corpse.

The aura of life rapidly faded from her body. As several eyes fell on her and they discovered that no human bead was formed, their eyes flashed with disappointment.

At this time, being able to increase their strength, even if just a little bit, could possibly save their lives in a critical moment.

Out of the original nine survivors, there were only six left. The atmosphere of the front courtyard became even more depressed, so heavy that they could barely breathe.

Soaring Sky said, "We can't sit around and wait for something to happen anymore. If you want to survive, we can only rely on ourselves."

He swept his eyes over everyone.

Ruan Jing smiled, "That's true. With things having reached this stage, keeping your abilities hidden away is meaningless." He paused and continued, "It was indeed my fault for tying your fates together with mine before. If everyone still desires to continue living, then take out your trump cards. Stop waiting for others to do it first."

Thunder Dominion's Zhou Lei shouted, "Fine!"

Soul Hook looked down at a floating drop of blood in his hands. It exuded a faint light, without any fluctuations at all.

It seemed that Qin Yu really was dead.

He released his hands and the drop of blood was instantly evaporated by the scorching hot heat.

"The Sly Fate Clan has a Half-Saint existence who once bestowed me a pupil. It can break through all fog and see to the essence of things."

Soaring Sky raised his sword, "This is my trump card."

Ruan Jing opened his book and tentatively took out a piece of folded yellow paper, "This is a handwritten letter from the Academy's Half-Saint."

The Saints' treasures were contaminated by the Great Dao and had their own spiritual awareness. When they appeared, they immediately felt the threat coming from beyond and a similarly powerful aura.

A sword cry rang out. Cracks began to appear on the surface of Soaring Sky's sword as terrifying sword intent spewed out.

A towering figure appeared in the void above his head. It carried a sword and its eyes were shut. Even though it remained motionless, a terrifying aura was continuously released from it.

As if all things in the world would be cut apart!

Ruan Jing's yellow paper voluntarily left his hand and flew into the air. Golden writing that radiated light departed from the paper's surface, dancing in the air.

Mysterious and formidable, it seemed to contain the aura of some otherworldly dao arts. Just looking at it caused one to feel awe.

The image of a scholar with blue robes and wide sleeves seemed to appear before them. He leaned over a desk as he wrote, his pen dancing like dragons and phoenixes. Endless thunder roared in the highest heavens as infinite spiritual strength oscillated around.

Soul Hook's performance was the most bizarre. His left eye suddenly turned red. After blinking a bit, it seemed to come to life.

It was an incomparably eerie sight!

It was Soul Hook's eye, but it felt as if it was being controlled by someone else right now. Under its gaze, no one could hide.

Rumble rumble -

There really was thunder roaring. Black lightning flooded the air around Zhou Lei. It was deep and profound, even richer than the dark nothingness outside.

"This thunder was bestowed to me by my Thunder Dominion Master!"

There was no need for further explanation. Just the aura of this black thunder and the prestige of the Thunder Dominion Master was enough to shake everyone's heart.