Refining the Mountains and Rivers

…

The black storm in the Lost Garden raged throughout the land. After sweeping through and engulfing endless prey, it finally disappeared.

The earth was sundered, mountain peaks were shattered, and rivers were severed…a large heaven-reaching tree was almost pulled out, most of its roots exposed to the outside. Countless branches were broken. The trees with poorer luck only had giant dirt pits left in their place.

And now, Qin Yu was lying in one of these incomparably large pits. His face was paper white as he bitterly smiled.

Although he knew the Lost Garden was dangerous, prior to entering he never would have imagined that he would be beaten up by a hammer before he managed to gain a firm foothold.

That Cang Zhu woman, she was a star of ill luck. If it weren't for her, he would have taken his kill and run away already. He wouldn't have ended up like this, lying in a mud pit and gasping for breath.

Moreover, although I pushed you away, you shouldn't have just turned tail and run away without a trace…hoho, women!

Qin Yu suppressed his anger. She had better pray to never encounter him again, otherwise he would ask her how she planned on repaying that life-saving graciousness! Repay with your body? They are too small and I'm not interested!

He fumed inwardly, all sorts of random thoughts crisscrossing around. At the very least this was able to relieve the restlessness in his heart and help him pass this boring time.

Qin Yu had lain down like this for almost two hours. His injuries were extremely severe. To put it simply, he was like a pottery figure that had been glued back together after being broken.

Moreover, he wasn't stuck together carefully. As long as someone shook him with a bit of force, he would scatter across the ground.

Of course, as far as the two mantis beasts were concerned, even though they were tricky to deal with, they still shouldn't have put him in such a dire condition. The problem was that they were brazen to the point of cheating and called on helpers to join the battle. Fortunately, Qin Yu was good at taking a beating and he barely managed to preserve his life and flee.

The black storm passed and the Lost Garden returned to a rare period of peace after being ravaged. This gave Qin Yu a chance to catch his breath.

A moment later, he let out a long breath. He finally recovered enough to be able to move.

He blinked his eyes and tried to stand up. His palms pressed against the ground as he slowly summoned strength.

Kacha -

His first thought was that this was bad. His arm had broken!

Only then did he discover that what broke wasn't his arm, but rather where his palm pressed down, someone like a dead branch had been buried and crushed.

Mm? What was this scent?

Qin Yu breathed a sigh of relief and looked down to where his palm pressed down. A trace of crystal clear, light green liquid gushed out.

He was left stunned for a moment. What was this? He struck the ground and sweet jujube juice came out? Was he always such a person without character?

Just give it to me…yes, I am that kind of person. In this kind of situation, why keep pretending? If I don't go in now, am I supposed to wait here to die!?

….

Source of life!

The moment he smelled this fragrance and saw the light green liquid, he instantly came to this judgment. To say that he was overjoyed wasn't an exaggeration at all. In his current state, even if he managed to recover a little, his chances of surviving in the dangerous Lost Garden weren't too high.

The smell spread throughout the air. Even an idiot could tell that it would soon attract surrounding creatures. Whether it was other cultivators or creatures native to the Lost Garden, this absolutely wasn't a result that he wanted to see.

Don't be stunned. Use your hands, use your feet, and if you need to then use your mouth. Pull open the ground and dig your way in!

The Lost Garden's source of life had an automatic sealing ability. As long as any creature entered, it would seal itself off.

To Qin Yu, this was a life-saving miracle!

Kacha -

This time, his bones really did break. There was nothing he could do about it. He had barely grown them back so there wasn't time for them to solidify.

Kacha -

It broke again!

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows but his movements didn't stop. Like this, as cracking sounds filled the air, an entrance opened up before him.

From what he could see, it was a green liquid. According to the records in the jade slip, the rank of this source of life wasn't considered too great.

But at this time, he certainly couldn't be picky. As long as he could use it then that was all that mattered.

Flipping himself over, Qin Yu fell inside.

The light green liquid erupted with light. As if activated, the surface rapidly froze with a layer of 'ice' and the smell in the air quickly faded away.

A moment later, as the 'ice layer' formed, loud rumbling sounds approached from afar. It arrived in the blink of an eye. It was a giant monkey covered in sharp horns and holding a stone stick.

It stared at the 'ice layer' and roared in anger and rage. It raised the stone stick in its hand and smashed with tremendous strength.

With a heaven-shaking ring, the stone stick was flung away and the giant monkey's palm tore apart from the shock of the force. Blood dripped down its hand. As for the 'ice layer', it didn't move at all. Not even a blemish was left on it.

After a pained roar, the giant monkey breathed heavily for some time. Then, it turned around, retrieved its stone stick, and sat down outside the pit. It would wait until whatever fellow went in came back out and then it would swallow them whole!

After entering the source of life, Qin Yu had no idea that a giant monkey carrying a stone stick was squatting outside and waiting for him to come out.

Right now, he felt good. Really good.

Although he had gained an approximate understanding and psychological expectation of the source of life through the jade slip, after entering it, he realized a description was always limited in comparison to actually experiencing it. Even if he did his best, he could never truly reproduce the feeling in words alone.

Within the source of life, his breathing was completely unrestricted. And with every breath he took, warm and gentle power continuously flowed into his pores and integrated into his body.

The severe injuries of his mortal body started to heal up at an astonishing speed. He could almost hear the sounds of broken bones and flesh rapidly knitting together.

At the same time, his soul seemed to soak in a hot spring. He was languid and lazy, not wanting to move. Even so, he could clearly perceive his exhaustion rapidly fading away and his strength increasing.

The source of life was really…the best tonic soup!

Qin Yu now believed that this analogy was too vivid and too correct.

And this was just a relatively low rank source of life. If he could find a deep green, or even the legendary purple, what would that feel like? It wouldn't fuse with the strength inside his body and blow him up, right?

Tsk tsk. But thinking about it as a cultivator, if he died by having too much strength within his body, that wasn't too bad of a way to go.

Ah…he had just survived so he shouldn't be thinking about dying. From the look of things, he had managed to turn misfortunate into a blessing.

Cang Zhu was a star of ill luck? Qin Yu hesitated. After all, if it weren't for her, he definitely wouldn't have been able to find this source of life.

Whatever. He would consider it as receiving some interest for saving her life. A bad luck star was still a bad luck star, and she was a relatively small one at that!

In this state of laziness, Qin Yu thought about all sorts of random things. Old Turtle's voice suddenly sounded out, "Master, while I think that a man who is covered with scars from battle and danger is entitled to a period of peace and relaxation, I think that using up such a good period of cultivation time on thinking such random thoughts would be a waste."

Mm?

Waste?

Qin Yu wavered for a moment. Should he pretend that he didn't hear anything? After all, the first half of Old Turtle's words sounded reasonable.

The source of life's ability to disintegrate the will of others was indeed strong. I must resist it. I cannot allow myself to degenerate like that here!

He clenched his teeth and unhurriedly said, "What cultivation opportunity are you talking about? Tell me."

Old Turtle lightly coughed, "Master, you still have some other secrets hidden within your body. Where does your God Mark come from? Just look for that…when it comes to perceiving the rules of the heavens and earth, I don't believe there is any time faster than right now. Moreover, I can also help you. I have been eating a lot lately and need to digest a little."

His last words were filled with emotion and sadness.

First, it was because he never thought there would be a time when he ate too much and almost exploded. The second reason was because as someone who feared death to the peak, he actually needed to actively consume the power that maintained his life. It was simply unimaginable.

Qin Yu was struggling to resist his laziness, so how could he have the time to think about what Old Turtle was feeling right now? It was just a little surprising to find out that Old Turtle had discovered the stone pagoda's existence.

But in this state, he was disinclined to think about it. His thoughts stirred and he began to summon the consciousness of the stone pagoda.

There was no response.

A second time, no response.

A third time, no response.

Qin Yu's first thought was - did that fellow blow apart?

"…You're going to blow apart!" The stone pagoda shouted with annoyance.

As the one who helped you condense the River of Stars God Mark, I was then neglected, ignored, and even slandered for no reason. Can I not lose my temper now and then!?

You call out to me and I have to instantly respond? That's impossible!

Now, you should be able to tell from my tone and response that I am extremely angry.

Very good. Now go and figure out a way to comfort me and obtain my forgiveness.

Hum hum, I'll tell you the truth. I am an arrogant and attitude-filled pagoda that is difficult to coax. Are you ready to cry for me yet?

Qin Yu wasn't ready to cry, nor did he feel that he made a mistake anywhere. In his lazy state, even his thoughts were slower. After a brief pause, he returned to his senses. His first thought was that this fellow's courage had grown out of control. Did this fellow forget who was the frightened and cautious one at the start?

Moreover, just look at Old Turtle? His status and background are higher than the heavens and yet he's still honest and amiable.

In contrast, the stone pagoda was insolent to the extreme.

Qin Yu eerily said, "I think you really do want to blow up."

In the darkness, the pagoda that had suffered loneliness for countless years almost cried out loud.

Oh great heavens and earth, what did I do wrong to have such a heartless and cruel master?

Qin Yu didn't give it much time to whimper and lament over the injustice of fate. "Tell me how to cultivate now, otherwise you can stay silent forever."

The stone pagoda was stunned!

There was nothing it could do. Qin Yu was currently its master and it was the vassal.

If it really provoked Qin Yu, then while the stone pagoda wouldn't blow apart, being hidden away would be easy.

It had spent so much time and effort to see the sun again, even having a chance of recovering, so how could it be willing to return to those dark and lightless days?

It couldn't do that.

The stone pagoda didn't know that Old Turtle had similar thoughts not too long ago, otherwise it would have taken him as a close friend.

"Master, I have sensed your current condition. After entering the rules trial field, the effect will be good…cough cough, but maintaining the operation of the rules trial field will require a great deal of power. I haven't fully recovered, so I will need master to provide the energy."

Qin Yu said, "Get to the point and make it simple!"

The stone pagoda vowed that if it could become the master one day, it would certainly teach Qin Yu what it meant to live with kindness.

He had already said the important point, so what else was there to say?

"If I can share in some of the strength that master is absorbing right now, I can open the rules trial field."

Qin Yu didn't even think about it before refusing, "No!" He didn't even have enough of this tonic soup for himself, so of course he was reluctant to give it away.

The stone pagoda cried out loud. This was typical bully behavior of wanting the bull to work the fields but not allowing it to graze!

Even if the stone pagoda was forced, it simply didn't have the strength. In its current state, it wasn't able to maintain the rules trial field.

Fortunately, this deadlock didn't last for long before it was interrupted by Old Turtle. Old Turtle expressed that he could solve this matter.

Old Turtle's solution was simple. What was this place? This was the Lost Garden that almost maintained its state from ancient times.

Even if it lacked everything else, what it didn't lack was energy from the heavens and earth. All he had to do was to build a tiny pipeline and borrow a bit of it.

Of course, saying this 10,000 times was easier than doing it once. In short, Old Turtle succeeded.

The losses in maintaining the rules trial field were considerable, but in the scope of the entire Lost Garden, it was like a drop of water in a sea.

Hum -