Refining the Mountains and Rivers

With this thought, the entire situation came to light!

He should have known this earlier. A True Saint was a powerful existence and it was not easy for a problem to happen to them.

The only possibility was that he was under constant torment that ate his roots. This was something that could not be reversed.

Peachy was a heavy mountain on the back of the Spring Master!

The splitting of one's soul meant certain death. Yet, the Spring Master sustained Peachy's life till this day and he had to pay a price with his own cultivation.

Qin Yu guessed this much earlier, but he did not think that it would be this severe. No wonder the Peach Garden changed its demeanor in recent years. The calm resulted in many people forgetting how vicious the Spring Master could be.

The Spring Master must have sensed that something was wrong many years ago and so he cut down on the frequency of his battles…Qin Yu thought about it further. The reason why the Spring Master suddenly showed himself and appeared at the Lost Garden was probably related to the killing of the Nether Saint.

He knew about his condition…the Spring Master must have predicted something and he purposely showcased his might then to ensure peace for the Peach Garden in the future.

The Spring Master wore a calm look but he noticed Qin Yu's complicated expression. He said, "Don't tell Peachy."

With these words, Qin Yu knew that he did not need to ask further.

The Spring Master knew the reason why Qin Yu entered the Peach Garden in the beginning. As such, it was useless to try to persuade him. Qin Yu sighed deeply as he bowed, "Master, you are an incredible father!"

"Not really." The Spring Master waved his hand, "At the beginning, I thought that I would be able to handle it and I even wanted to fill in the position of Ruler. In the end, I devoted myself to saving Peachy. However, I was wrong. The empty Ruler seat continued to stare at me. If I knew that I would die trying to save her, I might have chosen differently."

He raised his head and looked at the sky above the Peach Garden. Weaning a calm expression, he said, "Perhaps my life might seem glorious to others, but I am actually a failure. Master died during the heavens' catastrophe back then and I swore to find out the truth once I became a Saint. However, I did not achieve anything.

"My wife was the only woman I ever loved in my life and I swore to take care of her until we were both old. But in the end, she died because of me. When she was dying, she told me that she did not resent me. I knew that those words came from her heart but I could not forgive myself.

"My only daughter's life is at risk because of her split soul. As her father, I swore to her mother that I would protect her for life. In the end, I made her live a life of suffering. She is constantly being tormented."

The Spring Master lowered his head and looked at Qin Yu with solemn eyes, "I did not find the reason why my master died and I am afraid that it would be very hard to do so. Perhaps I could turn back time to change things as a Ruler, but it is impossible to revive the dead. My wife is already dead. My life is full of failures and Peachy is the last thing that I want to protect…Nothing can happen to her! Qin Yu, promise me that you will protect her no matter what happens in the future. I don't desire anything else. I just wish that she can live!"

Qin Yu bowed, "I swear that no matter what happens, I will give my all to protect Senior Peachy."

He was wholehearted and sincere with his words.

At this time, Qin Yu was full of respect and gratitude for the Spring Master.

If he had not sacrificed himself to save Peachy, Ning Ling and You Qi would never have existed. Although this was another story, Qin Yu would not be the person he was today.

These were all set!

With the Spring Master's experience and wisdom, he could sense all these thoughts. He smiled, "I believe you. As a token of appreciation, I will tell you a secret. The furnace is a treasure that can constantly transform and evolve. Its most valuable aspect is that it can refine Great Dao.

"You already know that the furnace needs to absorb flame in order to constantly evolve. Coincidentally, I know somewhere in this world where there is a flame that can help the furnace transform. It is Bounded Zero Place."

The Spring Master paused and then continued, "Actually, it is the place where I became a Saint!" He noticed Qin Yu's calm expression but the Spring Master knew that Qin Yu was very pleased. "After the heavens' catastrophe back then, the small world that Master created broke but it did not completely destruct. It turned into a very unstable land in the world and it is known as Bounded Zero Place. It is where the world withers."

Qin Yu cupped his hands together, "Please explain further, Master."

The furnace was something Qin Yu was interested in cultivating. Since he knew of the existence of Bounded Zero Place, he knew he would go there one day.

The Spring Master must have withheld this information because he wanted to observe Qin Yu's attitude. If Qin Yu had hesitated, he might not have revealed the information.

If the Spring Master told him this, he was obviously trying to remind Qin Yu to keep his promise.

Qin Yu knew this but he was not angry. If he angered the Spring Master, the Spring Master would take more drastic measures.

The Spring Master retrieved a jade slip and said, "I placed information about Bounded Zero Place in this. If there is anything you are not sure of, you can ask me at any time."

Qin Yu took the jade slip and stood up straight. He had obtained a lot of information today and he needed time to think it through.

He returned to his living quarters and sat down to think about the Spring Master's words for a long time. After he carefully went through the new information, he took the jade slip and channeled his divine sense into it.

After a while, he placed the jade slip on the table. All of a sudden, a cracking sound appeared as numerous cracks formed on the surface of the jade slip. The entire jade slip turned into dust.

The Ruler is dead in Bounded Zero Place!

Time and space was a mess. The numerous fragments of the small world were like a boiling pot of water. Because of the chaos in space time, they appeared and disappeared constantly. At some point, they would collide against each other and then bounce far away.

Because the Ruler died here, his aura was absorbed by many spirits on the fragments of the small world. As such, like the Lost Garden, there were many powerful creatures there. However, the creatures were much more powerful than in the Lost Garden and they could compare to Saints.

They were on par with True Saints from the shore and not Half-Saints struggling in the Sea of Bitterness. Rules in the Bounded Zero Place were broken and it was in a chaotic state. If a True Saint entered it, his Great Dao would suffer. In the worst case, it would completely be destroyed!

As such, True Saints would not go to Bounded Zero Place easily. Half-Saints were the strongest individuals who entered.

However, this did not mean that Bounded Zero Place was a terrifying area that no one dared to enter. Throwing everything aside, a place where a Ruler perished attracted many cultivators. Despite knowing they might die, these cultivators were still lured over.

The reason was simple, there was no Ruler!

If they could obtain treasures from Bounded Zero Place, their powers might leap.

The flame that the Spring Master spoke about was in the depths of Bounded Zero Place. It was a flame that burnt for eternity since the Ruler died back then.

This flame could burn through till the end of time and there had never been signs of it extinguishing. The space around it shrunk and had an illusionary feeling.

Qin Yu's lips twitched and his eyes shone brightly. There was an inextinguishable flame in Bounded Zero Place. It was also the place where a Ruler died. As a person with the goal of becoming a Ruler, how could he miss out on such an opportunity?