Refining the Mountains and Rivers

There had been no signs of the statues cracking out of the surface and no forewarning. It came out of nowhere from the silence. Their bright eyes were white and they held no emotions as they stared intently at Qin Yu.

Shoosh -

Shoosh -

A bright shadow of a sword flashed by!

Actually, these sound effects were not real.

Similar to when the statues came to life, their attacks were silent.

The lack of sound did not represent weakness. Instead, their power was terrifying. Qin Yu's eyes were shaking involuntarily. He stepped down and retreated backward. Against such a force, his best option now was to avoid it.

This was especially so after he sensed the danger from the sword flash.

However, there was a surprise for him. A low 'bang' sounded as his chest was struck heavily. He almost spat out blood.

The palace hall doors had been opened and he had seen the interior clearly. When he first entered, he did not sense the dangers. But now that he wanted to head out, he realized that it was a single direction entrance.

There was nothing in the doors but they felt as strong as a mountain. Qin Yu struck them but there wasn't a single movement.

Qin Yu gave up on the thoughts of forcing open the doors. He looked up at the sword flash and yelled, "Fire Spirit, just you wait!"

She needed to take the blame.

However, Qin Yu knew that she did not intend to harm him. Nonetheless, someone had to take the blame.

The most important matter now was to survive, otherwise it was pointless to place the blame on someone else.

Many wild thoughts filled his mind. Qin Yu was not impatient enough that he dared to be distracted under dangerous circumstances. He had to do this to calm his nerves.

That's right, Qin Yu was nervous now.

The powers of these statues were frightening. When they were revived, Qin Yu's first thought was to leave without hesitation.

Silent clashes between swords, spears and knives brought a more ominous feeling.

Qin Yu breathed in deeply and threw a punch out. A single strong blow could make the breakthrough. No matter how accomplished one was, they would need to kneel down in front of absolute force.

Qin Yu did not think he would need to go to such a resort. He did not believe that his blow would be able to crush the Sword Flash.

Instead, Qin Yu wanted to slow down the momentum of the battle and gain some time for him to find out the weakness of the statues.

While this was a good plan, he needed to have decisive actions. The power of his strike was strong but it could not match up to the statues.

Crack, creak -

The sounds of flesh tearing and muscles straining could be heard. Qin Yu grunted and his face turned pale.

His guess was right. In a single blow, he had been heavily injured!

There was something wrong with these statues.

The Rule System Body would not be crushed no matter how strong the blow was. However, under the strikes from the weapons barrage, it was as vulnerable as an egg shell.

The injuries on Qin Yu looked like red streaks but they were very deep. In harsher terms, he was like a lamb slab on a butcher board.

It was only because his physical body was strong and his flesh was durable that he was still alive.

It would be hard to maintain his body soon.

The injury caused by the statues had a sharp tearing force that could cut through everything. Not only was his Rule System Body broken through, his wounds took a long time to heal.

Invincibility and indestructibility…was it this?

Oh god!

His expression stiffened and his eyes darkened. Not long ago, his heart was racing in anticipation. Now, it was as cold as ice.

He had never imagined that after coming so far with his cultivation he would still be defenseless against a bunch of statues.

Alright. Although he sensed from before that he should not provoke the statues, their might far exceeded his expectations.

He would not survive!

This was only one blow. Unless these statues were fleeting images, just a few more blows - roughly three to five more - would be enough to kill Qin Yu.

The Rule System Body was very strong and it had an incredible lifeforce. The speed at which it healed itself was shocking but his opponent would not give him any chance to recover. Qin Yu would be killed on the spot.

"Master, hurry up and leave. These statues are problematic…" Stone Pagoda cried in a rage as he sensed something.

This warning…was useless!

If he could have left, he would have escaped a long time ago. Why the need for Stone Pagoda? The problem was that he had nowhere to run!

Qin Yu scanned his surroundings. Aside from the shut doors behind him, there were only tightly shut windows. Whether or not he could open them was one thing, and even if he did manage to open them, they might be like the doors. He would only be able to see the outside world but he would not be able to leave.

What should he do?

Giving up his life and waiting for death was something he would never do. He needed to keep his life.

Furthermore, he had a hidden card.

The sword that he obtained from the East Sea as the Dragon Saint cried.

While Qin Yu had never witnessed the sword's power before, using Great Dao to activate it would unleash a strike and that was enough to prove how strong it was.

Qin Yu only had half a Great Dao and the Spring Master had warned him not to use it. But he was about to die; who cared about a warning!

Qin Yu gritted his teeth and his eyes flashed. He gathered all his energy for his strike. However, the next scene stunned him.

Those statues that came to life and slashed Qin Yu with the Sword Flash suddenly dropped down to their knees on the ground and threw their weapons aside. They kneeled respectfully.

What was going on? They were just about to kill him but they suddenly changed and acknowledged him as a master?

Qin Yu's eyes widened and he choked on his saliva and coughed violently.

Completely puzzled, he scratched his head and many nonsensical thoughts crossed his mind. Just then, the statues picked up their weapons and walked back to their original positions.

Then, they returned to the ice cold unmoving statues. This disappointed Qin Yu.

A second ago he was still wondering if he could mobilize the forces of these statues and become a general who led them.

True Saints or not, they could try to attack him. With a single wave of his hand, he would mobilize the force of the statues. They would beat his opponents senseless!

Take that! Are you scared now?

It was a pity that his dreams were shattered before they were even realized.

Tsk. Qin Yu sucked in a cold breath of air and relaxed. He instantly felt the excruciating pain from the statues.

These darn statues were so harsh!

Everything appeared strange and weird. Who knew when the statues would suddenly revive again and give Qin Yu another lesson.

As such, he ought to leave this place quickly.

His body flashed and he appeared beside the hall doors. Right as he was about to step out, he realized that the seal around the doors had already disappeared.

A subtle smile appeared on his face. Just as he was about to move ahead, he suddenly stopped. He had been struck by the Sword Flash and he sustained heavy injuries because of that. How could he simply accept that and just leave?

He turned around and looked at the hall and the silent statues. Gritting his teeth, he thought to himself. He was going to get those riches!

The primary factor that drove Qin Yu to make such a risky decision was that he did not know what to do after he left the hall.

Wherever he went, he would return to his original location. Unless he died, he would return here again.

Since that was the case, why not give it a shot?

Shoosh -

He flew through the air at lightning speed and arrived at the other end of the hall.

Things were going smoothly!

The statues remained stationary and there did not seem to be any other danger within the hall.

Phew.

He sighed deeply. Qin Yu was not a fearful person, the hall was simply too scary. If another wave of creatures similar to those statues came, Qin Yu was not confident he would survive.

He spotted a door in the distance. As he thought, there were two ways to enter and exit the palace hall. Just as Qin Yu sped up, a bright light flashed through the hall and illuminated the stone walls.

Strange markings lined the walls of the hall. At first glance, they looked messy. When Qin Yu took a closer look, he was in amazement at these strange markings. He could vaguely understand the hidden meaning in them.

His heart beat faster. Although he could not understand the markings fully, he had a feeling that there was more to the markings on the stone wall. As such, he stopped and looked closer at them. Almost instantaneously, he found himself transfixed by the markings.

"This…this is…" His eyes bulged wide open and shock filled his expression as he shouted with joy, "Yes, this is it!"

In dramas and books, main leads would often go through tough obstacles and make huge achievements after.

As usual, hard work must be put in first.

Qin Yu did not go through a series of tests and the result was unexpected and odd. But he definitely risked his life and the difficulty of the tests was high. He was deserving of spoils.

The statues in the hall remained stationary but Qin Yu dared not assume that he was safe. The best option for him now was still to leave.

However, if he were to leave…no, no way. He could not leave like that. After such a blow from the Sword Flash, he could not leave!

"Stone Pagoda, keep a lookout for me!" Qin Yu sat down cross-legged. His eyes sparkled as he observed the markings on the walls intently.

Stone Pagoda was speechless.

What…is he going to close himself in cultivation under such dangerous circumstances? However, Qin Yu had given him an order and Stone Pagoda did not have any chance to protest. Stone Pagoda thought of waking Qin Yu up and urging him to leave the hall.

Forget it. Stone Pagoda quickly threw aside these thoughts.

Qin Yu was not a reckless fellow who disregarded all danger. Since he instructed Stone Pagoda to keep watch, the markings on the wall must be very important.

Stone Pagoda knew better than to disturb Qin Yu now.