Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Pain and unwillingness flashed through the cold eye in the sky. Another roar could be heard, but this time, it was no longer fearful. Instead there was only hopelessness. Just like this, it disappeared.

There was a blanket of silence in the area. Blood flowed out from the noses and mouths of the pale-faced of cultivators. Their eyes were full of horror.

The appearance of the Shadow of the Abyss was too quick and in the blink of an eye, it had encircled the altar within it. No one saw that the Shadow of the Abyss had originated from Qin Yu.

As such, many confused eyes fell upon the altar. Everyone had the same question: 'What happened?'

However, two pairs of eyes had a different look in them.

Elder apprentice brother was staring at Qin Yu. While he did not recognize Qin Yu, he felt a strange aura from him. It felt like something similar to the heavens and earth together with the deep sea. Elder apprentice brother had followed master for a long time and he had seen supreme cultivators.

Of course, the fear and awe that he held in his heart back then could not be compared to what he felt now. Despite this, there was still a similar feeling. Elder apprentice brother was certain of this feeling. This man was just not at the level of those all-powerful cultivators yet.

Who was this? Could this be the work of a Ruler? However, Master mentioned that the Rulers had been in seclusion ever since the last big fight. They would hardly interfere in matters. More importantly, was a Ruler related to the Peach Garden?

The second gaze that was different came from Lei Xiaoyu. She was the only one who had felt the change in Qin Yu's aura. As such, while she looked in the same direction as the crowd, her focus was different.

Her intuition told her something. The sudden appearance and disappearance of the massive eye was related to that man! Furthermore, it had appeared to look at the black altar but its true aim was that man.

A trace of coldness came from the bottom of her heart. Then, it slowly changed to fear. How much strength was needed to defeat the eye and emerged unharmed? She thought a little deeper and guessed that the sudden darkness came from that man. If she had not chosen to remain silent and observe, would she have been silenced?

……

Within the altar, the eyes of the corpse remained hollow and the light of the black scales was dimmer because its energy had been sapped.

"It is time!" There was unwillingness and reluctance in the soft sight but it was calm.

It hesitated and asked, "Should we fight?" "We can't. We have lost more than half our power. Even if we combine forces, there is a high chance that we will lose."

It replied, "So it is going to end just like this?" The other voice replied, "Of course not. We gave these powers to him temporarily and we will take them back when the time is right."

"We will still have a chance?"

"If we are patient, the opportunity will come."

After a moment of silence, it looked up at the altar that had imprisoned it to this day. There was a hint of sadness in its voice as it said, "After so many years, we finally had the chance to escape. In the end, our efforts were in vain and someone else gained instead. How sad and disappointing. This world is unfair and cruel!"

……

"You won." There was a voice in Qin Yu's mind. He was undergoing a transformation and after a slight tremor to his mind, he woke up. He immediately knew who this voice belonged to.

"We met by chance and it is not my intention to take your life. There is no point in giving you an explanation now."

It hesitated before continuing, "I originally thought that you would try to ask for more. Are you that confident in killing me? After all, I was born here and I definitely have much more control over the powers than you."

Qin Yu replied, "You are right, but I have the advantage."

The corpse of the innate spirit had a lot of energy. Qin Yu had reconstructed the Rule System body and also absorbed a large amount of energy with Old Turtle and Stone Pagoda's help. Most of the energy reservoir was with Qin Yu and the remaining left for the corpse spirit would not be significant.

This was his advantage.

There was a soft sigh, "You are right. I have lost and I must accept my defeat. Furthermore, this was what I personally arranged.

"I did not want to do anything initially but you are too direct. You don't care about my hurt and sadness. Before I go, I will leave you with a small problem." Its voice deepened, "This power shall be in your hands for the moment. I will take it back in the future."

Qin Yu frowned slightly but before he could do anything, the voice disappeared.

……

Crack crack -

This sound broke the silence in the world and snapped everyone to attention. Many people turned to look over at the altar with shock and a burning passion in their eyes. The black altar that was before everyone's eyes cracked open.

This must be the reason why that scary eye was formed in the sky! Could it be that the sealed creature in the altar was about to appear? Did the treasure have a spirit or did it meet its fated person?

Who was this person? Many tried to stay calm. Everyone had a silent thought, was the chosen person me? Their hearts beat faster and their mouths grew dry. However, they did not feel anything even as their eyes turned red from anticipation.

Black pieces fell off the altar and fell to the ground with a clang. In an instant, these black pieces disappeared like bubbles. After so many years, the large body reappeared before everyone.

Bright red scales that looked like the purest and sharpest crystals in the world covered its curved body. It was smooth and natural, and it gave an odd sense of calmness. Its chest rose and fell and it was breathing. Everyone felt like it would open its eyes in the next instant.

It was not a dragon because it had no limbs and it did not have horns on its head. Instead, it appeared to be a humongous snake. If they had not seen it personally, no one would have imagined that there could be such a pretty yet stern-looking snake. It was like a dragon was beside it but it also felt like numerous stars in the sky were gazing down on it.

Its breathing paused abruptly and then suddenly grew heavy and quick. It made odd noises that sounded like bellows. When people had a closer look, they no longer admired the snake's beauty and glory. There was now a thick ribbon that wound around the snake and connected to the unconscious man.

This did not appear suddenly. Instead, it had slowly appeared as the altar broke apart and a certain seal broke. This thick and gorgeous chain-like ribbon was probably there before Qin Yu had been placed before the altar. The rest of the crowd were dumbfounded as this happened before their very eyes. Yet, they did nothing.

It was a powerful and pure energy that made up this beautiful ribbon, so strong it was enough to make hearts shiver. It was not agitation, anger, nor pity that they felt, but a pure sense of hatred.

Damn it, how dare this guy steal what belongs to me!

Even if they did not know it was an innate spirit that broke free from the altar, when the crowd saw the corpse, they each had a strong sense of desire that erupted from their soul. They wanted it…they would give everything to have it. As long as they obtained it, their wild desires would be satisfied.

As such, the snake became the thing that everyone wanted. Anyone who touched it would have to die! Yet, not only did someone take the snake, he had done it in front of everyone. Anger and hatred tortured them and their eyes burned with passion.

Ye Xing had the most red eyes out of everyone. This was not only because he was prone to killing and he was easily influenced by the outside world. His eyes were driven by his greed.

As the most talented individual in the Netherworld, everyone had seen him in his glory and in his down days. However, hardly anyone knew that his mother was a slave in the Netherworld.

Slaves were female cultivators who were arrested in the Netherworld. After their cultivations were sealed, they were used for the pleasures of other cultivators. Their lives were miserable and pitiful.

No one knew what happened exactly but the Nether Saint had bedded a slave. Furthermore, it came as a shock when the slave became pregnant. She gave birth to a boy.

Before he turned ten, the boy did not even have a name. He had watched with his own eyes as his mother was tortured to death by three vicious men from the Nether Night Army. Then, he went mad. Blood, everywhere was fresh, bright red blood. Blood tainted the floor and drenched the boy.

When he woke up again, he had his name, Ye Xing. He became the heir to the Nether Saint and he was respected by people in the Holy Land. No one dared to call him trash and kick and abuse him. His talent for cultivation was shocking and he improved quickly. Soon, he became someone who was feared and respected in the Saint circle, Nether Ye Xing.

Thirty years later, Ye Xing became the leader of the Nether Night Army. In a single night, he conducted an internal massacre and killed millions of people. Corpse stacked up to a mountain and it was rumored that 172 Night Army men were imprisoned. Screams and cries could be heard from the prison for a whole month. Ye Xing only came out of the prison a month later, and that prison was now a feared place in the Netherworld.

Beneath his brilliance was a twisted soul. Ye Xing swore that he would become the most powerful man in his world, even stronger than his father! However, the stronger he became, the more he could feel himself losing control over his greed.

Before he entered the Lost Garden, Ye Xing had done his preparations. However, he never imagined that he would see this now.

When the words 'innate spirit' stumbled across his mind, every bit of fear and nervousness disappeared. There was only one thought left…he had to obtain the corpse of the Spiritual Snake. Every desire of his would then be fulfilled!

As such, he was willing to sacrifice everything.

Boom!

Thick blood rays emerged from Ye Xing's body and shot a thousand feet into the sky. They morphed into a bright burning ball of blood and an illusion appeared within. It was cold and domineering, and within seconds, a terrifying aura burst forth from the illusion.

Ye Xing turned and faced everyone. As he met their shocked expressions, he stated, "It is mine. Anyone who dares to fight me for it will die!"

This sentence together with the terrifying illusion was not enough to scare everyone away, especially under such circumstances. Just as he finished, three people stepped forward simultaneously and said, "Nether Ye Xing, don't…" Before the people could finish, Ye Xing stretched forward his hand and grabbed the air. The illusion in the blood mass moved.

Boom boom boom!

Three heads exploded as blood spurted out in all directions. Viscous blood spurted from the headless bodies like three fountains.

Many shivered in fright at the sight and they retreated back with pale faces.

With bloodshot eyes, Ye Xing scanned the crowd and yelled, "I told you, anyone who dares to fight me for it will die!"

He was mad, he had gone crazy!

With three direct murders, people stared at Ye Xing as though they were staring at a mad man. However, elder apprentice brother and the Prince of Heavenly Palace were not included among these cultivators. They were not people who would allow Ye Xing to get the corpse for himself.

To battle against everyone alone was seeking his death. Nonetheless, everyone was surprised by the silence from elder apprentice brother and the Prince of Heavenly Palace. They frowned deeply and did not move. Their eyes seemed to be fixed on the illusion above Ye Xing's head.

People shivered in fright. What was that illusion? How could it make even elder apprentice brother and the Prince of Heavenly Palace fearful?

Elder apprentice brother suddenly cupped his hands together and said, "Greetings to the Nether Saint! I am a disciple from the Peach Garden!"

The Prince of Heavenly Palace also said, "Greetings to the Nether Saint! I am Xu She from Heavenly Palace!"

Within the bloody furnace, the illusion opened its eyes and scanned the crowd. It lightly said, "You two are smart."

This sentence clarified the situation and eyes turned wide from shock. Their first thought was impossible. There could not be Saints in the Lost Garden…this was something no one had succeeded in after so many years of trying.

However, everyone had seen for their themselves that an illusion of the Nether Saint was here. No wonder the Peach Garden chief disciple and Prince of Heavenly Palace were silent.

How could this be? Did the Nether Saint find a way to overcome the rules of the Lost Garden? If that was the case…hearts fell in disappointment and sadness filled their eyes. Despite their numbers, it was impossible to contend with Ye Xing. After all, even an illusion from a True Saint was very strong and these cultivators could not compare with him.

However, when the Nether Saint spoke, the crowd soon realized that things were not like what they imagined.

Within the blood furnace, the Nether Saint looked down and stared at Ye Xing. At that point, there was anger, surprise and even a little bit of admiration in his expression. He slowly spoke, "Ye Xing, you are bold. This is a good trick. As I expected of my son."

The bloodshot eyes of Ye Xing looked calmer now. However, this calm still gave people a terrifying feeling. It was as if he had gambled everything and had no path of return.

He bowed slightly, "Thank you for your praise, Father."

The Nether Saint asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

Ye Xing stood up and said, "If I succeed, Father, you won't kill me. If I fail, I will die here. You won't be able to kill me then either. Why should I be afraid?"

"Ha ha ha! Very good very good! If you succeed, you will take over the Netherworld in the future."

He could succeed and he could fail. Ye Xing knew very well what could happen.

It was very difficult to commit suicide in front of a Saint. He could not go freely as he did previously and still succeed. If he failed, he would have a pitiful death.

After all, the Nether Saint would kill his own son. The amount of killing intent he would face would be immense and the ordeal would not just be a one or two time thing.

However, Ye Xing had taken this step forward and he could not return.

Ye Xing closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he said for the third time, "It is mine. Anyone who dares to fight me for it will die!"