Refining the Mountains and Rivers

My name is Zhang Zhongshi and I am the direct descendant of the Vast Brightness Forbidden Array Family. I was outstanding as a child and I was viewed as the future for the family.

My life was supposed to be bright and optimistic, but accidents happened. That crazy demon killed my beloved wife and child. My life was ruined because of that.

The only goal I have now is to kill the Peach Garden's White Phoenix. I will have my revenge for the tragic death of my wife and child.

But White Phoenix is too strong and the power behind him, the Peach Garden, is also immovable. While my family understood my pain, they did not support me in my desire for revenge. The family did not have a Saint and although we had strong cultivators, we could not stand against the Peach Garden.

I could not give up on vengeance for my wife and child just because of my family's decision.

I tried but failed many times. Although the Peach Garden has not killed me, I grew more and more helpless as White Phoenix grew stronger. The more time passes, the more my hopes become diminished.

As I wallowed in pain and helplessness, someone gave me another chance. He was probably strong enough to kill White Phoenix by himself but he would have to pay a high price for it.

Like I mentioned previously, my only reason for living now is to kill White Phoenix. Hence, I did not hesitate before agreeing. Thereafter, I signed a terrifying contract and went to the Peach Garden.

But I failed again and I grew more disappointed. However, I no longer have any more chances. The price I had to pay because of the contract is slowly eating away at me and I am losing my consciousness. Soon, I will become a puppet. I will continue to be alive in this world but I will no longer be me.

……

One had to cross the Sea of Bitterness to reach the other shore. When one's Great Dao condensed, they would become a True Saint. If a Ruler closed himself in seclusion, he would be the most powerful in the Vast Brightness World. His thoughts could change the heavens and earth and a flip of his hand could cause the skies to shift.

A True Saint need not fear Half-Saints or cultivators who were of a peak rank. There were very few who would trouble a True Saint in battle. As such, 'Zhang Zhongshi' never imagined that this would be his end.

He paid a high price to infiltrate the Lost Garden but his puppet body was destroyed just like that. Things had happened too suddenly; his eyes were locked onto his target. His target wore a red robe and was running away. Zhang Zhongshi's hand reached forward.

He used the strength of a True Saint in this blow. With the puppet body's strength, it could only withstand at most three blows even with his alterations to it.

Every blow was precious and Zhang Zhongshi did not hold back. However, just before his fist could land, a black figure flashed across his eyes. He could not react in time and was sucked into the attack.

Boom!

The puppet's body split open. The small amount of consciousness hidden in it dissipated after a moment of shock. Zhang Zhongshi knew the puppet's body would be destroyed, but he never imagined that his consciousness would go as well.

As expected of a Saint, when his consciousness was destroyed, his perception was enlarged and he immediately saw his target's face. It was the person who engaged in the deal with him.

It is him!

His first thought was one of incredulity. His heart throbbed strongly against his chest and a murderous intent formed deep within him.

This was the first time he had felt such an unsettling feeling. The other person was a young man who looked ordinary. As Zhang Zhongshi thought about it, it seemed like he had constantly been taken advantage of by this person.

It was a small portion of his consciousness that was destroyed this time, but what about the next time? Would his life be taken then?

To save his own life, 'Zhang Zhongshi' came to a conclusion. He had to kill that man. He could not let that man leave the Lost Garden with his life.

The dispersed consciousness of a True Saint exploded with its last bit of strength, morphing into a terrifying stream of divine sense that spread out in all directions.

It did not have a killing intent but it grew and expanded as much as it could. In the end, it covered almost the entire Lost Garden.

Every cultivator and living creature with any form of intelligence in the Lost Garden received the same image in their minds at the same time. It was a shadow of an enormous mountain and an imprint of a divine sense.

Swoosh -

Swoosh -

Many eyes turned in the direction of the depths of Lost Garden. Shock, fear and amazement filled their gazes. Although it was just a shadow, they could sense that it was unordinary.

Everyone had a strong intuition that a great even was about to happen in the Lost Garden.

"Come on!"

"Let's go!"

"There has not been such a strong signal from the Lost Garden ever since it was found. This is amazing!"

"We must not miss this!"

Cultivators gathered in groups. The stronger cultivators were, the more ambitious and daring they were. If they were cowards, they would have never made it to where they were now.

Those who entered the Lost Garden were strong. After the rush of diving sense into their minds, these cultivators were briefly silent. Then, they started to make their moves.

Nine Heads was among them as well. However, he wore a serious expression and his eyebrows were knitted together. He had his concerns.

What happened? How did Master's divine sense get destroyed? He could not believe that this happened because of Qin Yu from the Peach Garden. Qin Yu was famous and he was admired by many other cultivators. However, Nine Heads had never spared him a thought.

He could not understand this!

After a deep breath in, Nine Heads placed his thoughts aside. He knew what his master's instructions were. He had to kill Qin Yu.

No matter what, he had to be killed!

……

Lei Xiaoyu wore a calm expression but her tone was impatient, "I told you it was useless. Elder apprentice brother, don't waste your energy anymore."

A mass of black-colored source of life circled in front of her. Although it was still there, it had been polluted with another force. If a single drop of it entered the ground, all life within ten thousand kilometers would be killed.

Elder apprentice brother frowned and lowered his head to look at the source of life. When he looked up again, he wore a sad smile, "Don't worry. We failed this time because the source of life is not strong enough. We still have a chance."

Lei Xiaoyu pouted and she held back her words. She wanted to scold him and remind him of reality. However, looking at his expression, she sighed, "I just feel that it is a waste of time to focus on the source of life."

Elder apprentice brother was just about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. The divine sense that swept through his mind hammered his head.

Could this be the legendary mountain? It actually existed! After a slight hesitation, elder apprentice brother turned around and said, "Junior-apprentice sister, let's go and join the fun."

Lei Xiaoyu's lips twitched. Everyone knew that elder apprentice brother avoided prying into things. He loved to sequester himself in seclusion to cultivate.

At the same time as his cultivation improved, elder apprentice brother enjoyed peace and quietness.

Was he going to join the fun because of her? Aside from Master, everyone in the Peach Garden was a little weird. They always stuck to their habits and never changed.

Thank goodness the master was strong and shameless. Otherwise, the Peach Garden would have been bullied by others a long time ago.

……

The shard in Qin Yu's hand looked like it aged numerous years in an instant. It turned into fine dust that seeped through his fingers.

He turned around to look back at where 'Zhang Zhongshi' perished. After a deep breath in, he still felt like he was dreaming.

A puppet that had the strength of a True Saint was supposed to make his hair stand from fear. How was it destroyed so easily?

Also, what was that black shadow? It had sped by so quickly, he could not see it even with his current cultivation rank.

Furthermore, what was this? Qin Yu looked down at his palm. The wind had blown most of the dust away and Qin Yu was puzzled. He subconsciously licked the corners of his mouth.

He had been fleeing for his life just a second ago when the shard in his palm suddenly grew hotter and hotter. Just when a vigorous force wave was about to strike him from behind, a voice suddenly appeared in his head asking him if he needed protection.

In between life and death, Qin Yu did not think twice before making his choice.

Of course he needed protection.

A moment later, the Divine Saint's puppet was killed in an instant and his divine sense washed out in all directions.

However, as expected of a True Saint, he still had some power left even after being destroyed. Qin Yu was the first to hear the voice in the divine sense. There was no way the True Saint was so kind as to call some aid to help him enter the mountain.

The greatest possibility was that the True Saint knew a chaotic situation would be disadvantageous for Qin Yu.

But who said he was going into the mountain?

The reason why Qin Yu had been determined to enter the mountain was because he had no other choice. He had to head forward when he was being chased.

Now that the puppet had been killed, the greatest threat to Qin Yu's life was gone. He could easily turn around and leave.

Old Turtle and Stone Pagoda both mentioned that the mountain was dangerous. Qin Yu was well aware of the dangers but had still wanted to go. This was a bold move and it made his heart race with adrenaline. However, he should at least be aware of the situation.

With Qin Yu's current situation, his body was so unstable that he could explode at any moment. Yet, he still wanted to seek a thrill.

That's right, he was determined to go into the mountain. He would head in to find the source of life.

With these thoughts, Qin Yu turned and left. At the same time, he felt a little bit of contempt for the True Saint. This was not because he felt proud that a True Saint had been killed so suddenly. Instead, it was because Qin Yu did not think too highly of the True Saint's wisdom.

The True Saint had died but he spent so much energy to broadcast his wave. What was the point? Qin Yu was backing out halfway. He did not care about anything else that would happen.

Qin Yu very quickly formed his impression of the True Saint. A small smile also creeped onto his face.

The large mountain ahead was like a very large and valuable mine that sucked him into it. There was no way he was going to run away.

He did not have any form of reaction previously. However, the moment Qin Yu was about to turn and leave, he had second thoughts. In the next moment, Qin Yu whipped around and flew into the mountain.

Qin Yu landed on the mountain with a thud. He was amazed by how strong the mountain rock was - it had remained intact despite his forceful landing. Instead, his landing created force waves that oscillated up and down through the mountain.

Crack!

Crack!

Sharp sounds of bones breaking could be heard. The red robe that Qin Yu wore instantly became bright red.

He barely managed to defend himself against the recoil of the shock waves. Qin Yu sighed deeply.

His Rule System body had almost been destroyed.

Previously, his Rule System body had broken apart many times after he lost control over it. However he never imagined that the recoil of his landing would almost cause it to break.

What a strange way to die!

Thank goodness he was still alive. To his surprise, it was very quiet on the mountain. It was so quiet and calm that Qin Yu did not feel threatened by it at all.

This was very unexpected considering how Old Turtle and Stone Pagoda had warned him about the dangers of this mountain.

Anyone who was not deaf would have heard the loud thud he made when he landed just now.

Was it because he was lucky? Or was every living creature on the mountain deaf? Qin Yu pushed aside these ridiculous thoughts. Even if he did not know why, he was glad that he was safe.

He looked up at the sky and saw huge ancient trees towering over him. The leaves from the canopy of the trees spread out to form a big umbrella that covered the sky. However, there were still some gaps within the canopy of leaves that light could peek through.

Let's go in!

Even if he did not sense danger now, he did not feel at ease being here.

Qin Yu stomped down and flew into the sky. However, just as he was about to reach the peak of the trees, his expression suddenly darkened and he cursed.

A powerful suction force surrounded him. His body felt like a rock as he went into freefall and struck the ground again.

That's right, it was another recoil that made his heart tremor. He barely managed to withstand the force of the recoil again. As he looked up at the sky once more, he smiled bitterly. This was bad. It seemed like it would not be easy to escape. If the recoil struck him again, he was not confident he could withstand it a third time.

Since this mountain wanted to keep him here, he would investigate it. Qin Yu took a few deep breaths and stabilized himself. With a calm mind, he started to move.

He moved very slowly. The apparent peace and quiet gave him a strange sense of uneasiness. At first, this feeling was minimal. However, as time passed, the uneasiness grew and he felt unsettled.

Snap, snap. The sound of dried leaves shifting under his boot crackled through his ears.

Qin Yu frowned deeply and his expression grew solemn. This place was simply too quiet!

It was so quiet that aside from the sound of him stepping on the dried leaves and twigs, he could not hear anything else.

The leaves that lined the numerous trees here did not move. It was as if the world had stopped around him. Besides him, everything appeared to be a picturesque scene!