Refining the Mountains and Rivers

…

Several breaths of time later, the great furnace shot into the skies. It swayed a few times before determining a good direction and then flying away. But Qin Yu was weak, far too weak. Even if this didn't consume much strength, he couldn't control it for long.

The great furnace flew for some time. Then, like a bird that had its wings clipped, it careened into the earth. With a loud buzzing sound in his ears, Qin Yu's consciousness faded into darkness. The moment before he fainted, he thought he heard a loud laugh from Old Turtle in his mind. It was a weeping cry of joy and pride that seemed to be mixed together with passing fear.

This fellow, had he finally succeeded?

Bang -

Bang -

An unknown period of time passed in the boundless darkness. A drum seemed to beat in his ears, drilling into his mind.

Qin Yu's eyelids moved, then moved again. Finally, he slowly opened his eyes. He found that there was no great drum in his ears, and the sound he heard was the desperate beating of his heart within his chest.

There was panic and unease!

Qin Yu fiercely stood up. A bout of dizziness overcame him and he coughed as his injuries were moved. His face paled as he groaned.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and walked over to Peachy. Right now, countless tiny chains had appeared around her. They wove together, forming a tight seal.

From the seal of chains, Qin Yu could feel a familiar powerful pressure.

The Spring Master's strength!

Dao quintessence…these two words popped up in Qin Yu's mind and his eyebrows furrowed together with solemnity.

Perhaps it was because of these chains, but he couldn't feel Peachy's aura at all.

But his rapidly beating heart and the restlessness within him all told him that Peachy was experiencing some kind of problem!

Sure enough, after shattering three of those shadows, it was impossible for her not to have paid a price.

Before, when she fell unconscious and didn't wake up, Qin Yu had expected this. But now it seemed that the price was greater than he imagined.

Dragini once told him that Peachy had the Spring Master's dao quintessence on her, and she was related to the Spring Master's Great Dao somehow.

But from what he could see, this wasn't the case. Peachy had a dao quintessence on her, but it seemed as if the Spring Master was suppressing something.

And now, it appeared as if it couldn't suppress it anymore, because Peachy's face was becoming increasingly pale and blue.

No, it wasn't just her face…all of her exposed skin was turning pale white - like a lifelike corpse lying in a coffin.

As this thought appeared, Qin Yu's heart throbbed and his anxiety and restlessness grew much stronger. He drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Right now, he couldn't help unless he knew what the situation was, so the key was to figure out exactly what was going on.

"What's happening to her?"

His voice was calm and didn't specifically address anyone, but Old Turtle knew that this question was directed at him. He silently thought that his life was hard and bitter. After undergoing a fierce fight with someone and enduring the horrifying threat of death, before he could recover he was being ordered around again.

This is so hard!

But even though this was what Old Turtle thought, he was still well aware of Qin Yu's current state of mind. In addition, when they were on the verge of death, he hadn't responded when Qin Yu asked for help several times.

Although the reason he hadn't responded was that he couldn't help at the time, Qin Yu might not believe it.

It was better not to annoy him.

"Cough…master, don't be worried. Let me examine her first."

"Be thorough." Qin Yu's voice was calm, but Old Turtle shuddered and nodded.

Several breaths of time later, Old Turtle spoke in a difficult tone, "Master, the situation isn't good. I don't know why, but Peachy's soul is constantly dissipating."

Qin Yu frowned, "You can't find the reason?"

Old Turtle quickly said, "The seal on Miss Peachy's body is too overbearing. There's nothing I can do about it."

Qin Yu asked, "Can you save her?"

Old Turtle bitterly smiled, "I can't. Master, in truth you know best that I fear death, and am the type that fears death the most. No matter how delicious something is, it cannot be placed on par with death in my mind.

"When you shouted at me to help before, I heard you. But actuating the Time Laws is too difficult. I had to go all-out just to barely accomplish it, so I didn't have the strength afterwards to help you."

This was an explanation for what happened before.

Qin Yu waved his hand, interrupting him, "Get to the point!"

Old Turtle coughed, "I just wanted to emphasize that I really have no way to save her. I really do not dare to deceive you."

Qin Yu's expression darkened as he looked at the unconscious Peachy. If it weren't to save her, he wouldn't have taken the risks he did.

If Peachy's soul dissipated in the end, wouldn't all of his efforts have been for nothing? This was a result he could not accept.

She could not die!

She absolutely could not die!

Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu lowered a hand onto Peachy.

"Master!"

Qin Yu's hand didn't stop.

Insane, he had really gone insane!

Although Old Turtle had sighed countless times, he couldn't help but do so again.

For a woman. All of this for a woman. Well, at best it could be considered two women, but for them he didn't even care about his life?

He perceived light and darkness, became aware of space and time, and was also chosen by an unsurpassed existence. What was the combination of these three things together?

A limitless future!

It was a bright and radiant future. As long as he didn't die midway, he was destined to shine above the highest heavens, even having the qualifications to attack the unsurpassed boundary.

Just what sort of good fortune was this!?

But now, for just two women, he was willing to abandon all of this? He knew it was dangerous, he knew that he might lose his life, but he still acted without hesitation.

Stupid! This was just extremely stupid!

Old Turtle felt anguished for having chosen such a master. Why couldn't his master be more like him, living in peace? Sure enough, things like love only harmed others!

But no matter how much he sighed, no matter how resentful and sorrowful he felt…he couldn't change the fact that Qin Yu was his master and he was attached to him.

And since he was attached to him, he could only compromise and compromise again. Everything was fine as long as Qin Yu lived!

What nonsense, if Qin Yu died, would the will of the vast brightness world continue allowing him to exist?

What did he need to dream about? Old Turtle was well aware that once Qin Yu died, he would be erased in the next moment.

As a shadow of the abyss' will, he indeed had a 'deep background' and an 'astonishing origin'. But it was exactly because of this that he knew the relationship between the vast brightness and abyss.

To be more precise, it was because he was a shadow of the abyss' will that it would be easy for the vast brightness world's will to erase him.

"There's a way! There's a way!" Old Turtle sighed out loud, his tone mixed with grief and anger. "Master, I will warn you in advance that this method can prolong one's life. But, the one whose life will be extended is Peachy, and the one whose life will be seized is you.

"Once you begin, your two lives will be connected. If she dies, you will die…what I said is true, I dare not lie to you. So please consider this seriously. Please weigh the gains and losses, please think about the consequences. It isn't worth it, it isn't worth it!"

Qin Yu withdrew his hand. "I didn't want to force you. I also want to live a good and peaceful life, but she cannot die. At least not now.

"Tell me, what is your plan?"

Old Turtle felt despair for having such a master, as if his entire being had been hollowed out. Like a walking corpse, he told Qin Yu the method of 'symbiosis' and then fell silent.

The many words he said before was to explain to Qin Yu the reason for his silence. At the same time, it was a subtle reminder to Qin Yu that he was in a very weak state right now, so weak that if something happened to him, there would be nothing he could do to help.

That's right, not long ago, under the threat of death, Old Turtle had almost gone crazy from fear. He erupted with a power far surpassing his usual level, forcibly seizing the food in his mouth and being the last one standing in the end.

This thing was indeed delicious, and it was extraordinary. It was enough to make up for all his previous losses and even added a surplus. But this thing was extremely hard to eat. It would take a long time to digest it.

So for a short period of time, he would be weakened.

With Qin Yu's intelligence, he must have sensed this. But he pretended not to know anything, so what could Old Turtle do about it?

In fact, Qin Yu was well aware of how much of a torment it was for someone who feared death to continue walking towards the precipice of death.

But sometimes, there were matters that one had no choice but to do.

The function of the 'symbiosis' method was easily explained through its name. Two parties would be closely linked together, becoming a single unit.

Sharing one life.

Sharing one death!

In other words, if Qin Yu couldn't stop Peachy's soul from dissipating in the end, he would die with her.

"Counting this time, I've saved your life more than once. If we are lucky, we'll both survive. I hope that you know how to repay kindness and will return Ning Ling and You Qi to me."

Qin Yu muttered out loud.

It was impossible to continue concealing the truth, so after this incident, Qin Yu decided to confess everything to the Spring Master and Peachy.

To be honest, things proceeded far faster than Qin Yu ever imagined.

But reality arrived here, one step at a time. He could only brace himself and continue walking down this road. Qin Yu looked down at Peachy. He sat down cross-legged by her side, coordinating his breathing with hers.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Gradually, their breathings became the same. A thin line faintly appeared between Qin Yu and Peachy.

Then, there was a second, a third, a fourth…more and more lines appeared, wrapping around the two people and forming a cocoon.

The giant cocoon shined. It flickered with light, its rhythm matching their breathing.

Qin Yu could feel a terrifying extraction power coming from the giant cocoon. This was completely unrelated to his cultivation or magic power, and directly acted on the life level.

He was prepared to withstand an intense period of pain and suffering, but this terrifying extraction only lasted for a brief moment before it vanished.

Qin Yu frowned inwardly. His first thought was that the symbiosis method had failed. But at this moment, he could feel Peachy's presence. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling.

As if in addition to himself, there was someone else.

This was exactly the same as Old Turtle's description of one body and two lives. That was to say, the symbiosis had succeeded. If so, why was the process as different to what Old Turtle described as the difference between the heavens and earth?

It wasn't painful at all?

As Qin Yu hesitated, feeling confused about this, weariness gushed out from his soul. It grew stronger, giving him no chance to resist before it dragged him into a deep and sweet sleep.