Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu's head jerked upwards and his eyes widened as his expression turned to shock.

The Spring Master smiled, "Do you believe it?"

He got up and paced back and forth a few steps. A reminiscent look crossed his face and he sighed, "I have never suffered much in my life. Among those who offended me, the majority got their unlucky outcome on the spot. The rest were taught a lesson later on. As such, I had many enemies.

"The only exception is a friend of mine from many years ago. The two of us fought often and our friendship developed from there. Do you believe it? That guy is only a Half-Saint in the Sea of Bitterness. I always beat him up mercilessly. However, he has never actually lost and he managed to stand his ground against me."

The Spring Master paused, "I do not often admire others. This friend changed his name many times to avoid being killed, but most people know him as 'the Furnace Saint'."

The Furnace Saint!

Qin Yu's heart jumped and he had to breathe in deeply to regain his composure, "I see…"

The Spring Master explained, "The Furnace Saint was trapped in the Sea of Bitterness and he could not cross it for a long time despite many failures. He was angry and he decided to pursue a cultivation path of Casting Furnace. This went against the rules of the Vast Brightness World and it can also be seen as a challenge against the world.

"In the end, the Furnace Saint died after a catastrophe. The furnace in your hands was casted from the powers of the heavens' catastrophe that day. It was thrown into the sea and it was his dying wish to choose a suitable inheritor. However, the changes after that were something that I did not anticipate."

He looked at Qin Yu, "The Endless Sea had no spirit to begin with. When the great furnace fell into it, due to a stroke of fate it absorbed a trace of the great furnace's heavenly tribulation aura, leading to a spirit being born and the great furnace being hidden away. For all that time, no one had been able to find it. After countless years passed, you entered the Endless Sea seeking fame and cut down the sea spirit, obtaining the great furnace. Then, you were accepted into the Peach Garden….so Qin Yu, you share a fate with the Peach Garden, and this fate was laid down long ago."

Qin Yu nodded, "Master, you are right!"

The Furnace Saint, the furnace, Sea Spirit, Peachy…this was deeply fated!

The Spring Master continued, "Saying this is useless but I have to explain why I knew about the furnace. The reason your cultivation is unable to be fully refined is because the flame in the furnace is not brilliant enough. The Fire of Eternal Night is unable to sustain the Furnace Dao. Simply put, the furnace needs to be replenished with energy for the flame inside to become stronger."

Qin Yu's eyes lit up. This meant that the furnace could still undergo transformation and evolve. After devouring the Fire of Eternal Night, he could refine it into a Great Dao. If he could absorb another flame, wouldn't it be easier for him to cultivate?

However, it was obvious that the grade of the flame must be very high for it to be absorbed by the furnace. It must be difficult to source such a flame.

The Fire of Eternal Night was a great example!

"There is another thing that I must remind you of." The Spring Master shook his head and his expression turned strange, "Although the furnace is sturdy, it is not a defensive item. In the future, your enemies will be stronger. You must never use it as a shield. If the furnace breaks one day, you will never be able to repair it. Crying would be of no use."

Qin Yu bowed, "This furnace was refined from the Furnace Saint's life and it is the final outcome from his challenge to the world. I was reckless before and I will not use it so wastefully in the future. Master, please rest assured."

His words were flattering but he promised the Spring Master and also expressed his gratitude and admiration to the Furnace Saint.

The Spring Master smiled. Qin Yu was smart and he could guess the Spring Master's intentions. He said, "Alright, I have given you a brief outline. If you are interested, I can tell you a story."

Qin Yu breathed in deeply, "I am all ears."

The Spring Master paced back and forth. When he spoke just now, he had chosen his words carefully but now he did not hold back, "This is not the beginning of the story. It was a time so long ago I only have a vague impression of it. I am not sure which generation this occurred in.

"This was a period where I had my fondest memories in my long life. In that time, I did not need to think much and I only listened to my master every day. Although I did not understand everything, I was learning each day."

He looked at Qin Yu and his expression turned serious, "I think you know this already. I created the Peach Garden and am known as the Spring Master because I was originally a peach tree. My strange cultivation way was hard but once I succeeded, I was stronger than the average True Saint. Furthermore, I encountered another opportunity when I went through my cultivation.

"The Scholatree Saint of the Western Mountain was a locust wood and he was my best friend a long time ago. We lived together for a long time and I thought that my life would continue like this. However, a calamity struck. My master was strong and he was regarded as a top Ruler in the world. Yet, he could not defend against the catastrophe and he died in a pool of blood. Afterwards, the small world broke apart and an awful turmoil struck."

The Spring Master's expression turned solemn, "At that time, with mine and the Scholartree Saint's strength, we were destined to die. However, our master's corpse landed beside us coincidentally and we absorbed it and refined ourselves. From there, we managed to obtain a strong base to break through to become True Saints."

Qin Yu's heart jerked. He never imagined that the Spring Master would have such a past. A plant under the Ruler absorbed his corpse and became a Saint. This proved how terrifying a Ruler was. His mere corpse created two True Saints. They were the Spring Master and the Scholartree Saint, two unique and strong True Saints!

However, since the Spring Master and the Scholartree Saint had the same origins and were each others' friends, what happened to their relationship?

The Spring Master fell silent and he suddenly shook his head, "Aren't you curious how we turned out like this? The reason is simple. We became Saints and were no longer tiny spiritual plants like back then. Our views became different and our hearts changed.

"We were both strange spiritual creatures who absorbed our master's strength from his corpse. This meant that our existence came about simultaneously. If we could kill each other, we could easily refine and absorb the other's strength. In fact, I had this desire but I suppressed it. However, the Scholartree Saint was different. After the great battle, we left the small world and entered the Vast Brightness World. Time passed and now we are here today.

"We did not settle our anger with each other in the past and this made the Scholartree Saint hateful. After many years of careful thinking, I thought through many things. Perhaps the Scholartree Saint did not want this either but the temptation was too strong, and bit by bit, it eroded his mind until he deviated from his original nature. Despite my understanding, I cannot change the past and return to the beginning."

The Spring Master spat, "Maybe this scenario is what I am happy with…because we see each other as enemies, I am willing to kill him, absorb him, and have a chance for the Ruler seat. However, it is a pity that we were never able to kill each other despite so many years of fighting. In the end, I believe the Scholartree Saint has won. There is something wrong with me now. When I die, I will be absorbed by the Scholartree Saint. This was a destiny that was written when the two of us absorbed our master's corpse. No one can change this.

"Sometimes I would wonder. Perhaps this is our crime for absorbing our master's body and being disloyal. However, if that did not happen, we would have died. As such, even if time rewound, I would make similar choices…I do not regret it."

Qin Yu sighed deeply, "Master, can your condition be fixed? What is the issue?"

If he could find the cause of the problem, it would make things easier.

A look of pain flashed in the Spring Master's eyes, "I was tricked by the Scholartree Saint back then and my Great Dao was injured. I have been trying to recover ever since I escaped into the Vast Brightness World. It was then that I met my lover. She was the only woman I ever loved and I swore to live the rest of my life loving her. However, she was killed by someone else and I personally sought out every method but failed to save her. I was left with Peachy.

"I swore that I would protect Peachy and never let her be harmed. However, I failed…Peachy was poisoned by an ancient carp during training. Despite trying my best to eliminate the poison, her soul was scattered. Without any choice, I used my Great Dao, sacrificing it to seal her soul together for her to continue living.

"At the same time, I tried the Path of Ten Thousand Souls to help Peachy's cultivation and I turned the broken parts of her soul into seeds and scattered them all over the world. I did this in the hope that these scattered souls would grow stronger and would seek out the main soul in the future. From there, the scattered souls would merge with the main soul and prolong her life." I see!

After understanding everything, Qin Yu's first thought was that Scholartree Saint was involved in this. He lifted his head and a questioning look crossed his eyes.

The Spring Master could sense Qin Yu's intentions. He shook his head, "I investigated this carefully but this is not related to the Scholartree Saint…the Scholartree Saint also lost his wife and child and he was in a more pitiful situation compared to me. However, he was ruthless and he did not do anything after their deaths. He was not like me; he only saved himself.

"I mentioned our hatred for each other before. My suspicions can be considered as karma on the two of us…we were disloyal and we disrespected our master's body. Despite our strange origins, we continued cultivating…this violated the will of the Vast Brightness World severely."

A cold wave washed over Qin Yu's heart and he shivered. If what the Spring Master said was true, he had been suffering punishments from the will of the Vast Brightness World for all these years.

His wife died and his daughter's soul was scattered…with these thoughts, Qin Yu looked at the Spring Master's calm expression. He could only imagine the suffering the Spring Master went through over all these years. If the Spring Master did not have such strong determination, he would have gone mad a long time ago!

Hm? Wait!

Qin Yu's head jerked up and he captured the essence in the Spring Master's words. Did the cause of his suffering stem from Peachy?