Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The furnace was extremely irritable. After he dashed over, it was as if he had been emotionlessly rejected by the female bull. However, maybe this description was not that appropriate. Perhaps the phrase, 'Look but don't touch' may be more accurate.

This was the cruel reality that the furnace was facing now.

The Inextinguishable Flame was right there. He was ready to devour and could clearly feel the high temperatures emitted by the flame. However, it was like the moon's reflection in the river.

To put simply…it was like it was eating air. There was no result.

It was not that there were only no results after eating one or two mouthfuls. Even after eating for a long time, it was not able to absorb any power from the Inextinguishable Flame.

…It was just like an illusion.

Qin Yu frowned as he thought. He lifted the protection power on his arm and immediately, there was a smell of burning.

Sss~

Soft Peach turned to look at him pitifully. It was the kind of look one would give a classmate who was slightly slower.

Shaking his hand hard, he finally managed to get rid of the burning sensation. He turned to look at her and…he was very angry!

Compared to the furnace, Qin Yu was even more impatient and irritable. Ever since he entered Bounded Zero Place, so many things had happened.

He spent so much effort and it looked like he was about to reach his goal, but even though the Inextinguishable Flame was in front of him, the furnace could not eat it? Are you kidding me!

If he had not trained his will for all these years, Qin Yu would have gone crazy. Now, he was feeling unhappy, for all his effort that seemed to be wasted but also because he felt like he had been duped.

Why was this happening? Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu suppressed the annoyance he felt, stabilising his emotions. The Inextinguishable Flame must be here. There must be another reason for why he could not take it. He had already overcome so many obstacles - one more was nothing.

But before Qin Yu could think of how to solve the problem, trouble came knocking.

Soft Peach sensed it first. As she lifted her head, she looked surprised and puzzled. After that, she looked happy…that guy had arrived!

Although she had no idea how he managed to get out of the lock from the ship, it was not important. What was important was that she was about to have a feast.

Qin Yu frowned as he saw Close Saint split the tongue of flames and walk towards them with a gloomy disposition.

He knew very well that after they entered the Mountain of Flames, everyone would be against each other. Whenever they got found out, there would be a huge fight. Close Saint was hard to understand and Qin Yu had thought of the possibility of fighting against him, but he did not think that it would happen so soon.

But there was no reason to fight now when the end was not clear yet. It would only give others an advantage. Close Saint had no reason to do so. If he was not the reason, then the problem must lie with someone else.

Qin Yu looked at Li Quanji, who had intentionally exposed the veins in his body such that they were prominent on his skin. As his veins interlaced, they formed a strange flower pattern.

His entire aura was strange and hard to fathom. It had a majestic vitality but also an intense death aura…hmm? This feeling was quite familiar.

Stone Pagoda suddenly said, "Master, he is the one who exchanged blows with you but eventually retreated!"

His eyes lit up and he was able to confirm it once he extended his senses. Qin Yu turned to look at Soft Peach. Her eyes were slightly red and were glittering. She looked extremely expectant and excited…damn it. Alas, this trouble was all because of this woman.

Damn!

Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji smiled slightly and his voice was piercing, "Soft Peach, we meet again. I bet you never thought it possible."

Soft Peach nodded, "Your change is pretty big. What should I call you now? Third Prince of the West Desolate or Blood Sacrifice Vengeful Spirit?"

As she spoke, her eyes assessed him like an auntie shopping in a market, looking and testing to her heart's content.

Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji was not irritated but smiled, "Call me Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji. A vengeful spirit does not have a name."

"Okay, since you want to keep it as it is, wait until I swallow you. When I am digesting, we will have time to exchange."

Stepping out, his eyes locked onto Qin Yu, "Little brat, the previous time we fought, it did hurt a little. It is time for payback."

Close Saint's eyes glimmered. Although Soft Peach and Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji did not say a lot, it revealed many things.

For example, his name, his history…and that he was the Blood Sacrifice Vengeful Spirit on the ship!

He did not understand the backstory of many things and that was why it was so messy. Now that he grasped a few key points, everything became clear.

At this moment, as he saw Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji dash out at Qin Yu, Close Saint could tell that his real target was Soft Peach. He had some reservations regarding Soft Peach and that was why he agreed to the collaboration, hoping to use him to kill her.

Li Quanji's threat to reveal that he was from Ghost Path was part of the reason for why he agreed to collaborate, but it was not the full story.

As a member of the Ghost Path, specialising in killing and stealing, every cultivator killed could enhance his own self.

No matter how he thought about it, Soft Peach and Virtuous Nine were suitable targets. So he followed the flow and they had a mutual understanding that they were both using each other.

Close Saint had seen how strong Soft Peach was, and Virtuous Nine was not weak either…he gave off an even scarier vibe.

So when Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji took off first to choose his opponent, Close Saint had no objections. He greeted, "Whatever happens today is not my true intentions; sorry for offending."

Boom -

Although that was what he said, his attacks were brutal. A single punch made the air shake violently. The endless flames were forced to back off.

Soft Peach smiled, "It is okay. After all, I will kill you and when that happens, I will not be petty." She lifted her hand and extended her white and slender fingers. The air that was surging towards her twisted violently. She gave off a gentle and weak feeling as if her fingers would be broken by this incredible power and she would be blown away like dust!

But as soon as her fingers moved, Close Saint's expression shifted slightly as he looked surprised. He jumped backwards. In the next moment, 'crack' 'crack', the sound of ice cracking could be heard.

The air in front of Soft Peach and everything in it seemed to be frozen. At this moment, the ice cracked, destroying everything within it as well.

This includes the energy from the fist that Close Saint threw. If he had not backed off in time, he would have been implicated as well.

Soft Peach smiled even more victoriously after her single touch forced Close Saint to back off, "Where are you running to? Come, let's have an exchange." She took a step forward.

Not a single hint of energy could be felt and she completely disappeared.

In the next moment, she lifted a hand from behind Close Saint. 'Bom' there was a low sound as the space exploded into pieces and was chaotic like a ceramic bowl. It swallowed Close Saint completely.

Boom -

Boom -

Loud sounds continued to be heard from the broken space. It was as if something hard was clashing with the power of space.

Darkness appeared from within like a drop of black ink falling into water. It spread and extended outwards…in a blink of an eye, it covered the entire fragmented space.

Soft Peach's eyebrows rose as she looked down at her palm. In the middle of her clean white palm, there was a black seed that had taken root and was spreading out.

The dark lines appeared deep and had a strange aura as if it could pull one's conscience within, and very soon, it covered her entire palm and started to grow further.

"Ghost Path!"

Spitting out two words, a memory that she had tried to forget appeared in her mind. Soft Peach's mouth curled even more as the chilliness in her eyes intensified.

She extended a finger like a knife and used her fingernail to cut her flesh. She allowed her blood to flow out as she caught the 'black seed' and pulled it outwards with all her might.

Numerous shrieks filled her ears and sounded like the combination of multiple voices. There were males, females, young and old. What made them all similar was the fact that they all sounded desperate, like souls trapped in hell.

As she heard the shrieks, it was like a sharp wooden stake, topped with a barb, was banging into her ears. All of a sudden…blood was dripping all over.

Along with it, there was a bone-crushing, soul-hurting pain that seemed to wreck one's mind.

Soft Peach turned pale as she frowned slightly. But her eyes glowed even more…she lightly licked the corners of her lips. It seemed as if she was enjoying herself.

That's right, just like that!

She laughed lightly as she continued to pull on the 'black seed'. She slowly pulled it out from her body, "It has been a long time since I last met an accomplished cultivator from the Ghost Path. This is a surprise."

The fragmented space that had been dyed black opened and Close Saint walked out. His eyes were locked onto Soft Peach as his pupils shrunk.

Ghost Path aura!

This woman was taking the same path as him.

No, not completely the same…more accurately, it was as if she herself was a powerful phantom! But she was clearly alive and her vitality was pulsing. So how could she have the power of a phantom?

The 'black seed' and its roots were already half-removed from her body. Soft Peach's eyes glowed even more.

On the other side, Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji had attacked. He had lost to Qin Yu before and knew how powerful Qin Yu was. Moreover, he knew that Qin Yu was hiding a horrifying power within him.

But this did not mean he could not do anything…there were many ways to kill someone and Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji knew quite a number of them.

For example, Soul Shattering!

He sneered as he repeatedly created droplets of blood. Every drop of blood rapidly expanded after landing and forming a blood vengeful spirit.

Soon, there were twelve of them!

They all looked extremely different and strange. The only thing they had in common was their ruthlessness and bloodthirst. They now surrounded Qin Yu completely.

Ick -

Ick -

The twelve vengeful spirits shrieked at the same time. The blood red colour on their bodies bubbled to the surface as if a red flame was burning. They were thin like spider webs and spread from the 'flame', extending in all directions and quickly interlacing.

In a blink of an eye, with the twelve vengeful spirits as the centre, they 'created' a blood egg, engulfing Qin Yu within.

It was as if it had some expansion properties; as soon as the vengeful spirits' cries could be heard, the blood egg grew and became even stronger.

The negative power contained within the shrieks was released!

It was as if eternal night had descended on the world and covered everything in darkness…there was not a hint of light or hope.

Soul Shattering was not a direct attack to shatter the opponent's spirit. But it used negativity to suppress everything and attack one's willpower and mental state. When the opponent lost control, they would fall into endless despair and fear.

Eventually, they would choose to destroy their own soul and escape through death.

Simply put, it was utilising emotions to instigate suicide.

Precisely because of this, regardless of what intense power Qin Yu was hiding, he would commit suicide and not get to use it.

This was the reason why Li <meta charset="utf-8″>Quanji chose this method.

As for the result…

As the most powerful vengeful spirit born from the Blood Sacrifice, he was confident in the negativity that allowed him to absorb numerous deaths.

Li Quanji's 'Soul Shattering' was absolutely horrifying and even True Saints would be affected.

Unless they could break through the 'egg' created by the blood webs, it was just a matter of time before their will would be broken down by the attacks.

And this 'egg' created by the blood webs was astounding in terms of defence. A simple explosion of power would not affect it at all.

This was because it was extended from the vengeance of the vengeful spirits and was a secret power similar to a curse. Most of it was made up of concentrated layers of strong will.

Simply put, if one's will was strong enough, one would not be affected by the 'Soul Shattering' and a single touch would break the egg.

If not, then no matter how much power one emitted, even if it was of the True Saint level, it would not hurt this 'egg' at all.