Refining the Mountains and Rivers

…

Shua -

Shua -

Ten figures emerged from the channel, all of them with tyrannical auras. But, everyone's eyes were focused on the person who landed at the very front.

He wore black robes without any impurity, as if they were formed from gathering the darkness of night, capable of swallowing and annihilating everything.

The young man bowed, his expression respectful. "Western Mountain's Lian Yi pays tributes to the East Sea Dragon Saint. I wish Senior Dragon Saint eternal life, forever standing tall in the world!"

Still on the arena stage, Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. After this group arrived in the hall, many people began to secretly glance at him.

There was excitement, there was pity, there was taunting…he had no idea what their exact meaning was, but it definitely wasn't anything good.

No, to be more accurate, when the name of Western Mountain's Lian Yi was introduced to the hall, more and more eyes started to sweep over to him.

Qin Yu took a step and flew off of the arena stage, returning to his original position. He hesitated and asked in a low voice, "Senior-apprentice sister Peachy, do you know this person?"

The normally faint and indifferent Peachy suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and lightly said, "I do." Although her voice was calm, the slight change in expression proved that her emotions weren't as tranquil as they appeared.

Sure enough, the problem most likely originated with Peachy. Once Qin Yu was sure of this, he bitterly smiled. Being a shield definitely wasn't a good idea!

As he prepared to turn and go back, Peachy turned sideways. In order to not be heard talking, she was already close to Qin Yu, and now the two were almost pasted together.

He could smell her breath. A slight warmth and fragrance was inhaled into his senses.

Peachy had a calm expression, as if she didn't realize the two of them were seemingly overly intimate. Or perhaps even if she knew, she didn't care.

"If Lian Yi targets you, ignore him."

Then she turned her head.

Qin Yu's heart shrank!

Although he hadn't seen Peachy fight before, as the daughter of the Spring Master, there was no way she wouldn't be strong. If Peachy said this, it was because she believed that he wasn't Lian Yi's match.

Even including just now when Qin Yu defeated Xu Shi with a single punch and then fought Black Armor without being defeated…it could be seen that Lian Yi's strength was tyrannical.

And more importantly, her words confirmed Qin Yu's guess. Western Mountain's Lian Yi had some entanglements with Peachy and would even try to harm him.

The reason was simple. It had to be known that right now in the East Sea Dragon Palace, Qin Yu was emblazoned with the bright and shining title of the peach garden's son-in-law right above his head, and anyone who desired Peachy would certainly not like him!

Qin Yu's heart chilled. He looked up and just happened to see Lian Yi turn around…those eyes must have been because of him. As he thought about the intimate way Peachy spoke to him, he bitterly smiled.

Well, the evidence was confirmed now. This young man seemed to be calm, but in his heart he was likely thinking about how he could tear him to pieces.

The Dragon Saint tapped his claw against his forehead, sparks splashing out. He thoughtfully said, "Lian Yi, he was actually willing to send a kid like you here. It seems that old scholartree is very attentive. Rise. This is the first time that anyone from the Western Mountain has come to my Dragon Palace."

Lian Yi respectfully said, "Lord Scholartree Saint has always respected you, the Dragon Saint. The issues between the Western Mountain and the East Sea are just some minor misunderstandings, and I believe they will disappear soon."

As he spoke, he took out a jade box and offered it with both hands, "Inside this is a handwritten letter from Lord Scholartree Saint. I ask the Dragon Saint to please read it."

The Dragon Saint sneered with ridicule and flicked a claw. The jade box flew into his jade ring, "Once I have time in the future, I will slowly look over it."

Lian Yu cupped his hands and bowed. Then, his eyes turned and fell on Peachy. A bright smile immediately appeared.

At this moment, Qin Yu could feel the undisguised heat in his eyes, as hot as tumbling lava. This sort of brazen and fanatical emotion caused him to frown, even as a strange chill rose up in his heart.

"Junior-apprentice sister Peachy, it's been many years since we last parted. Now that we see each other again at the East Sea, I have a gift for you." He lifted a hand and a lotus flower appeared. It was pure white without a single impurity marring its surface, and a faintly gentle and peaceful aura emanated from it.

"This lotus flower comes from the Holy Land of Buddhism's lotus pond. When I reached adulthood, a great being from the Buddhist Land personally plucked this and blessed it with their will, later gifting it to me. It can be considered a rare treasure. Today, I give this to junior-apprentice sister in hopes that junior-apprentice sister can be just like this lotus flower, forever immune to the erosion of time, never suffering from the ills and evils of the world, and remaining eternally pure."

Hu -

Qin Yu's sharp senses were able to hear everyone in the hall suck in a deep breath. As Lian Yi took out the lotus flower, their breathing quickened.

He glanced at it and didn't notice anything strange. Was this thing precious?

In fact, it was indeed Qin Yu who was ignorant and unlearned. The Buddhist Holy Land's lotus pond was where the great Buddhist being ascended and became a Saint.

All the lotus flowers within the lotus pond were infused with the aura of his Great Dao. They could protect the soul and mind, ensuring that one wasn't harmed. Each one was extremely precious, much less one that was blessed by that great being.

It had to be known that there were no more than five people in the entire Buddhist Holy Land that were qualified to pick a flower from the lotus pond and send it to the outside world. Each one was profoundly knowledgeable in Buddhist doctrines and possessed sublime abilities.

The dragon pearl that the Dragon Saint took out could help a cultivator temper their mortal body, resisting 30% of the danger they would experience when they tried to cross the Sea of Bitterness and had to withstand its waves.

But just having a strong mortal body was not enough to cross the Sea of Bitterness. In fact, it could be said that a tyrannical mortal body was only a secondary key point. The most essential point was that the soul needed to counterbalance the corrosion that came from the Sea of Bitterness and maintain their consciousness. Otherwise, a person would gradually wither away until they finally perished.

In short, a sufficiently formidable mortal body and soul were the key conditions that a cultivator needed to look at the sea. Only with these basic conditions could they attempt to cross the sea and reach towards that unsurpassed Saint boundary.

If these conditions were lacking and they rashly stepped into the Sea of Bitterness, all that remained was the destruction of their body and soul!

This lotus flower that came from the Buddhist Holy Land's lotus pond was a precious treasure that could shelter the soul. To a cultivator that intended to reach the Saint boundary, this was a treasure even more valuable than the dragon pearl.

As expected, Lian Yi was the favorite son of the Western Mountain's Scholartree Saint. His show of wealth was amazing, and he even easily gave away a treasure of this level.

Some cultivators who saw this scene immediately believed the rumors they heard. The Western Mountain Scholartree Saint's most cherished son, Lian Yi, was infatuated with the peach garden's daughter and had been courting her for years.

As they thought of this, their eyes subconsciously fell on Qin Yu. To see his 'own woman' being wooed by someone else right in front of them, what sort of experience was that?

Tsk tsk, with the Western Mountain's overbearing way of handling things, once Lian Yi learned of Qin Yu's relationship with Peachy, would he let him off?

Although everything seemed calm right now, everyone in the hall had already widened their eyes in anticipation.

Qin Yu was expressionless, but he cursed inwardly that these people were all sick. Jealousy really was a sin, and after getting it, there was no cure.

Western Mountain's Lian Yi liked Peachy, but am I supposed to go all-out against him because of that?

Come on, looking at Peachy's attitude, it was obvious that this person was going to do something, and anything he said before then was just a bunch of hot air.

You want to see me be beaten up by Lian Yi? Ignoring whether or not he has the qualifications to do so, I'm not in the mood to waste my time and energy on him!

Today, Qin Yu had enough limelight already. After entering the peach garden he no longer desired to be famous. As long as people knew he wasn't easy to mess with and they didn't mess with him, that was enough. As for his hidden cards? It was better to keep those hidden.

He kept his head down and looked away, completely ignoring the eyes that were on him. You think you can make me feel ashamed and angry just by looking at me? Hoho, that is just laughable.

He had already decided that if there was no more accident today at the East Sea Dragon Palace, he wouldn't do anything.

Peachy's expression turned colder and increasingly faint, as if she was looking at nothing but air. "I must decline senior-apprentice brother Lian Yu's good intentions. I will not accept that lotus flower."

Lian Yi forced a smile, "Junior-apprentice sister, why must you refuse me even after I came all this way? I don't mean anything else. I just think this lotus flower is a match for you."

Peachy shook her head, but didn't say anything else.

Lian Yi sighed. "It's fine. Since junior-apprentice sister isn't willing to accept it, I cannot force you. But, the things I give out, I will never take back."

He clenched his fingers together and black energy wrapped around the lotus flower. The lotus flower instinctually resisted, but the white barrier of light only lasted for a breath of time before the black energy broke in and caused the lotus flower to wither away.

"Ah!"

Numerous shouts of disbelief sounded throughout the hall. This was a lotus flower from the Buddhist Holy Land's lotus pond! Yet such a treasure had been so casually destroyed.

After all, even in the eyes of these disciples of Saints, its value was incredibly high!

Lian Yi let go and allowed the withered lotus flower to fall to the ground. His calm smile did not change. "In the future, I will find an even better treasure to gift junior-apprentice sister."

Peachy furrowed her eyebrows. Her eyes became even colder, but this didn't extinguish the burning heat in Lian Yi's eyes, and only caused the flames there to burn hotter.