Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Xu Wei was a rogue cultivator.

To tell the truth, having reached his level of cultivation, there could come a day when he suddenly turned around and saw the boundless Sea of Bitterness. There weren't many people at this stage who could maintain their identity as a rogue cultivator. The reason he kept hesitating and delaying in finding a Holy Land to rely on was because his cultivation method was different from most orthodox ways.

Simply put, he had to constantly replenish…cough, cough. That's right, it is exactly what you are thinking right now.

Actually, Xu Wei's cultivation method was not considered evil. Ultimately, both parties benefited and this was considered legitimate dual cultivation.

But no matter what, it was easy to say but not nice to hear. Moreover, Xu Wei himself had apprehensions which caused him to go back and forth, hesitating. As a result, he wasted a lot of time.

In the end Xu Wei decided to just remain a rogue cultivator and be free and unrestrained. Moreover, another important factor in his decision was that he was quite good-looking. He had fair skin and was highly welcomed amongst female cultivators.

This meant that he would not lack partners to cultivate with. As time passed, the numbers also increased.

One good thing about Xu Wei was that he was extremely cautious. He would never approach those that were unwilling. He stuck to his principles of only partnering with those that were willing and never ever used force.

Ultimately, he was someone who was cautious and had morals. If not, he would not have been able to survive so peacefully for so long.

Someone like this would not easily trust what others told them. He had heard of Zhang Zhongshi before. After all, there were not many people who offended the Peach Garden and still lived to tell the tale.

But when he brought up the partnership, Xu Wei only trusted thirty percent of what he said. Xu Wei felt like things were not as simple as they seemed…of course, he might be thinking too much. However, there was no harm in being careful before he took any action.

With this thought in mind, Xu Wei headed in the direction he was given. Regardless, the Zhang Family's Secret Array was extremely profound and mysterious.

At least this small compass in his hand seemed very useful. It could really sense the scent from the source of life!

……

When someone is concentrating and they get interrupted, it is natural for them to become angry. And when the matter at hand concerns their life or death, it is completely normal for their anger to be ten times more than usual.

Qin Yu was currently in this state of being ten times more agitated than normal. Perhaps it was because he stole Xu Shi's purple source of life or maybe it was because he hit him a little too hard. Now, all the misfortune was falling on him.

Since the first time it happened, when a cultivator charged at him as soon as they saw him, there had been four more cultivators who had done the same. They were throwing their lives away.

After taking them down, Qin Yu was paying the price. The Rule System body almost crumbled a few times. Moreover, his plan to find sources of life was severely disrupted.

It was fine if there were just one or two. But now, he had already claimed four heads. Qin Yu suspected that there was something fishy going on. He felt that someone was targeting him. However, this was the Lost Garden and he had constantly been on the move. He was also moving in random directions and not following a fixed path. How could anyone pinpoint his location so many times?

Qin Yu could not understand and even made Old Turtle waste some energy in trying to detect what was amiss, but there was no result.

This made him extremely irritated.

"Kek! Master, don't hit them so hard. Let's catch one of them alive and interrogate them. We will find out the answer then."

He was right and Qin Yu knew it. This was the best approach to take.

But the problem was, he could not do it!

In his current state, Qin Yu could not control how much power he put into his attacks. Strictly speaking, Xu Shi was extremely lucky to have only fainted after Qin Yu hit him once.

The four cultivators afterwards were not so lucky; even their corpses disintegrated…Sigh, fine. This was glossing over the fact. The truth was that as soon as he punched them, they exploded with a bam! It was like a horror movie!

Stone Pagoda said blandly, "Some turtle likes to talk nonsense. In Master's current state, if anyone were to attack him, they would not be able to survive."

"Shut up! When I am talking to Master, who said that you can cut in?" Old Turtle grumbled angrily.

Stone Pagoda's tone did not change, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that you have the same standing as Master? Haha, some turtle has become very bold and even dares to harbor disrespectful thoughts towards Master."

"I do not!" The turtle was terrified as he rushed to explain, "Master, don't listen to this snob trying to tear us apart. I am absolutely loyal to you and would never harbor any other thoughts!"

Qin Yu massaged his eyebrows, "Both of you keep quiet!"

Finally, silence.

These two brats. Ever since they brought up the Rule System, they had been quarreling non-stop. Why couldn't they take a look at the situation now? He was not even sure he could survive; he did not have time to think about anything else.

But there was one point that the Old Turtle was right about. As long as he could capture someone, he would be able to find out what was going on. Even if he could not find out exactly, he could guess and get some leads.

But the problem was that whenever these people saw him, their expressions would turn into fury. Thereafter, a greedy look would overcome them and when they attacked him, they would immediately use a lot of force. In his current state, even a single strike might cause him to crumble. He did not dare to take a gamble on his life.

As soon as he made a move, his opponent would explode…most likely, he would not be able to hold back. Or at least in the short term, there was no possibility. He could only hope that the other party would be smart enough to control themselves. Or be more resistant? How could they all die after only one hit!

Old Turtle suddenly spoke, "Master, someone is coming."

He then sighed in disdain.

Stone Pagoda fell silent. He knew that when it came to sensing, his abilities were far from the Shadow of the Abyss.

If he said anything he would just be embarrassing himself, so he knew to keep silent and play to his strengths. What could he do if I choose to keep quiet?

Qin Yu's eyes lit up as he lowered his head to look at his fist that was covered under his blood red robe. He mentally told himself to use less strength this time.

Nearer, the opponent was coming nearer!

Alas, he was the target once again.

……

Xu Wei did not find the source of life, but something appeared in front of him. A figure dressed in a blood red robe. He was in a daze for a while as the small compass in his hand started to stir. A scent drifted over and he could sense it.

It was the smell of a source of life!

At this moment, Xu Wei frowned as he cursed.

It seems like the source of life that Zhang Zhongshi found had already been taken by the person in front of him.

Damn it!

At this moment, he was full of regret. He wondered if he had not been suspicious and moved quicker, would he have been able to reach it faster and obtain the source of life?

A flash of anger bloomed within him. It was like a few meteors falling into a field of dry grass and bursting into flames.

Damn it! This person had to die!

Moreover, the person in the blood red robe looked like he was in a terrible state. His breathing seemed extremely weak.

It appeared that the person was injured!

Good, this was very good. It was an opportunity given by the heavens. He was going to kill the person while he was injured.

All he needed to do was kill the person in the blood red robe, get his body, and refine it. He would then be able to obtain the energy from the source of life and get back what he lost.

Huff —

Puff —

His breathing started to become heavy as a ruthless look overcame him. He somehow had a feeling that something was not right. However, he was too angry to think properly.

A loud sound could be heard as Xu Wei charged!

The person in the blood red robe looked impatient. Another one. Did he look like he was easy to bully?

If not, why did everyone who saw him look like they could not wait to kill him?

"Stop!"

Qin Yu growled. But it was obviously a waste of energy. He looked impatient as he lifted his hand to punch Xu Wei.

Boom —

The air seemed to gather and form a white ball that was visible to the naked eye.

Damn it, he was not able to hold back once again!

The person who rushed over was thrown back. Per his previous experience, the attacker was about to explode with a bam.

But this time, something was different. After the loud explosion, Xu Wei could be seen to crash into the ground, forming a deep hole. He was lying in it with his eyes wide open. It seemed like he had yet to react.

Crack —

A soft sound could be heard as the jade pendant he wore around his neck broke into two pieces.

For his whole life, Xu Wei had always been enjoying. It was not an exaggeration to say that women threw themselves at him. Other than his good looks, he was also very intelligent and had a high EQ.

Hence, he could get something even just floating amongst the women.

Like this time, he was just a rogue cultivator but could enter the Lost Garden. It was all because a lady had helped him.

Even the jade pendant around his neck had been given to him by some lady from a rich and powerful household.

Xu Wei knew his goods and knew that this jade pendant was extremely precious. He had put all his effort into accompanying the lady. After he got the pendant, it never left his body.

But today, this pendant, which was rumored to be able to save the life of its owner, actually cracked.

Didn't that mean that he had just died once over…if not for the jade pendant, he would most likely be the one that disintegrated.

All the murderous intent and fury Xu Wei felt dissipated in a flash. His mind went blank as his face paled.

"You are still alive? Oh you had a dummy pendant, that is a good item." The person in the blood red robe walked to the side of the hole. His voice was low and hoarse, "But I guess that you probably only had one of these on you. So if I hit you one more time, you will most likely die."

Xu Shi's forehead was covered in sweat, and the sweat was dripping down the edges of his eyes. But as someone who was smart and had high EQ, he more or less regained his wits. If the man really wanted to kill him, he would have just done it. The man in the blood red robe had no reason to talk.

In other words, since the man had talked, it meant that Xu Wei had a chance of survival.

"Dear sir, please have mercy and let me live. I will do anything you ask."

Qin Yu's eyes flashed and he looked satisfied. This person was smart. This was even better. If Qin Yu had bumped into another person as dumb as Xu Shi, it would have been a headache.

He had the urge to snap his fingers but decided against it.

In his current state, who knew if his fingers would explode after a simple snap.

"As long as you answer me truthfully, without hiding anything, I may let you live." From beneath the blood red robe, Qin Yu spoke in a low voice, "Tell me, who sent you to kill me?"