Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu laughed bitterly. It had been a while since he was looked down upon by someone. However this woman was very strong, so he could only hold himself back. After all, it was not a shameful thing to be looked down upon by her.

Another thought sprung into his mind. He stared at the completed seal and said, "Senior, the West Desolate and the Mysterious Clan suffered huge losses in Bounded Zero Place. They will not let this go. If they come here…"

The Ruler glanced at him. It seemed like she was thinking of other instructions to give him. Waving her hand dismissively, she explained, "Don't worry. The pathway to the fragmented area has been destroyed and strong foes will not be able to come anytime soon. Those who manage to come through will not be too scary and they will not be able to break the seal I constructed."

She looked at the sphere and smirked, "Furthermore, we can use this to confuse them and buy ourselves more time."

Qin Yu quickly came to a realization. If the two clans chanced upon this sealed sphere when they arrived, they would immediately think about the Ruler's legacy after they sensed its aura…he looked at the Ruler. From her cocky smile, Qin Yu could tell that she had prepared a few more tricks for the two clans.

While her tricks might not fool powerful folks from the two clans, like she mentioned, the pathway to the fragmented area was broken and strong individuals would not be able to come in. The possibilities of things going south were small.

Her simple explanation gave him a lot of information. For instance, the fragmented area. Why was the Vast Brightness World a fragmented area? Was it because of its relationship with the abyss? Furthermore, the words fragmented area being used to describe the Vast Brightness World allowed him to make a few guesses. The West Desolate was probably a complete world.

There was also the destroyed path between the worlds. If cultivators could use it to cross long distances between worlds, it must be very stable and powerful. The destruction of this path brought about awe, respect and also fear. How strong was the culprit? Was the culprit even stronger than a Half-King?

The Ruler obviously knew the truth. She seemed to be in a predicament or she might be making some preparations first. Qin Yu made these inferences from her desire to buy time. Otherwise, with how strong she was, there was no need for her to require Qin Yu's help.

Opportunities were hard to come by. Since he saw her face to face, Qin Yu did not miss out on this chance. He breathed in deeply and said, "Senior, I have a few questions that I was hoping you would be able to help me answer."

The Ruler frowned, "I am running out of time and I will leave soon. If you have any questions, hurry up and ask them…also, I can't guarantee that I will answer them."

Qin Yu bowed, "Thank you Senior. The first question. Where does the West Desolate and that clan come from?"

"The Desolate Area."

"Why do they call the Vast Brightness World a fragmented area?" "Because it is broken."

Qin Yu's lips twitched and he continued to ask, "What rank is a Half-King?"

"Above a Ruler." With that, she waved her hand and snapped, "That's all. You don't need to know so much at your cultivation rank, it won't be good for you. Alright, I am leaving."

Qin Yu cried, "Hold on, Senior. I have a final question!" He breathed in deeply before he stared directly at her eyes, "I have a friend whose name is Feature. Do you know her?"

The Ruler turned around, "No." As she took her next step, she vanished into thin air.

At the same time, all the remaining aura in the surroundings that belonged to her was sucked away. Everything related to her disappeared and there wasn't a single trace left.

Qin Yu bowed, "Goodbye, Senior!" He stood up and rubbed his forehead. He had so many questions but he had a feeling that he would not get them answered. As such, he had to prioritize the more important ones.

In fact, the full name of the fragmented area was the southwest fragmented area. He got a reply from the Ruler regarding Feature and he now had a rough understanding of the West Desolate. With that, he could reach a startling conclusion.

The West Desolate and the southwest fragmented area were both a part of the Desolate Area. For some unknown reason, many years ago a large calamity caused the southwest fragmented area to break into two. These two worlds were the Vast Brightness World and the Abyss…this could also explain the relationship between the two worlds and why Qin Yu felt a familiar feeling from the both of them. They had the same source!

If that was the case, he had a lot more to understand about this vast world. The West Desolate and the southwest fragmented area…he could make some guesses from their names.

North, south, east and west. Southwest, northwest, northeast, and southeast. Were the areas that Feature spoke about split by this?

The Vast Brightness World was one of the Desolate Areas and it was formed after the original world was broken apart.

Tsk!

This thought was bone-chilling!

As he expected, a Half-King was stronger than a Ruler. However, was a Half-King the next rank above a Ruler or were there other ranks? He did not have the answer to this for now.

There must have been another reason for the West Desolate and the Mysterious Clan to take action back then. Also, the female Ruler was unimaginably powerful. Was she from the Desolate Area as well? What if she was related to the calamity that broke the southwest desolate area apart in the past? Bounded Zero Place was a result of the calamity back then.

Qin Yu continued to rub his forehead in puzzlement. Things seemed to be getting more complicated and dangerous. One reason was because the Ruler mentioned that she had placed a huge investment into him already…evidently, this investment was not done out of kindness and he would need to repay her in the future.

However much Qin Yu got from her was how much he would need to repay her. He was already dragged into this matter.

In the past, he thought that a Saint was the most powerful being aside from a Ruler…but, a Ruler of the Vast Brightness World was not on the same level as that female Ruler. He had to test this hypothesis in the future.

Qin Yu felt like he was getting further and further away from reaching the top. He felt small and insignificant.

Of course, this feeling came about because of comparison. A Saint was likely also considered powerful in the Desolate Area. Qin Yu knew this because he had witnessed Li Zhouyi's attitude towards Border Cliff Saint. Yet, it was evident that self protection and independence was not enough for a Saint. His cultivation was not enough, it was lacking!

Thankfully, he obtained the five divine ways. Qin Yu's overall power would increase again once he cultivated them. However, from what the Ruler's avatar said, there might be an issue with the five divine ways.

Qin Yu had not made a mistake in missing this out when he was questioning the Ruler. He could find another opportunity to ask her in the future. Compared to this, getting a better understanding of the full picture was more important for him.

Additionally, once the furnace completed its transformation, it would help Qin Yu with his Great Dao. He used most of his Great Dao to forcefully trigger the sword from the East Sea.

The only consolation that Qin Yu got from all this bad news was that the Great Dao, for him, was like icing on top of a cake.

While he was affected after his Great Dao diminished, he was not too badly injured and he only puked out blood.

This might also be because his Great Dao was not complete. Perhaps with a complete Great Dao, the consequences of using it would be much more severe.

These were things that he needed to test in the future.

The last point was Feature.

The Ruler had been stern when she denied it. However, it was precisely because she had been so quick to respond that Qin Yu had some suspicions. Something told him that she knew about Feature!

There were two possibilities for this. The first was that Feature was her and she was something like the Shadow of the Abyss. The next possibility was that Feature was a shadow that did not get along with her.

It was a pity that he did not see the Ruler's appearance or he would have been able to make a better judgment…for a Ruler, changing her appearance would be very easy. Even if he saw her real appearance, he would not be able to make a conclusion.

He rubbed his forehead and fell silent. He circled through these thoughts in his mind one last time. With a sigh, he put these thoughts aside. After this first encounter with her, he would have many chances to see her again in the near future. The more he interacted with her, the more information he would get. This would answer his questions.

He glanced at the seal that the Ruler constructed. Soft Peach was inside it battling it out with the Ruler's avatar. Regardless of who won eventually, how long would the seal be able to last?

Qin Yu decided to quickly resolve the issue Peachy faced. However, his most important task now was to rush back to the peach garden. With the Spring Master dead, Peachy had lost her greatest protection and she was in danger.

Sighing, Qin Yu turned and left. He raised his hand and swung it down swiftly, and the space tore apart. Qin Yu stepped in and instantly disappeared.

……

Dark Hole City was as busy as usual. Many cultivators passed through the city each day, trading numerous items with each other. Numerous paths stretched through it and merchant shops lined the streets. Even if strange things happened in a shop, it would stay under wraps for a while.

There was a regular guest inn along one of the streets.

The manager and all other staff held apologetic looks as they ushered all the guests away. A distinguished guest had booked the entire inn with a lot of money.

This was a very extravagant, but effective method.

Dark Hole City was bustling and there was a strict curfew system in place. Hence, guest inns were always busy and they charged high prices.

Even though the inn was not large, booking the entire inn was not something ordinary people would be able to afford. There was no need to offend an important person for trivial matters. More importantly, the man reimbursed the inn for their losses.

The last guest left after the manager ushered him out. With that, the manager waved his hand and instructed the staff to close the door. Then, they hung a sign out to indicate that the inn was fully booked.

The manager turned towards all his staff and smiled, "Our job here is done. Let's take our leave." He raised his hand, indicating that no questions were to be asked, "Alright, let's go. We must leave within half an hour."

"Yes."

The staff bowed towards him and returned to their individual rooms. A few moments later, they left through the dark hallways of the inn.

Once he confirmed that he was the only one left, the manager sighed and headed to room number three. After a long while, he heard footsteps in the room and the door opened from within.

The manager placed neatly folded clothes down and bowed, "Honorable guest, I have been waiting for you."

Qin Yu had informed him of his return through the key. He used his senses to inspect the inn and found that the only person here with him was the manager.

Frowning slightly, he asked, "Why were you waiting for me?"

The manager raised his head. He had a slightly flushed look and he asked, "If this is not offensive, may I know if she is really still alive?"

Qin Yu fell silent.

The manager dropped to his knees and said, "I have guarded this place for many years just to know if she is still alive. I can die today with no regrets."

Qin Yu carefully surveyed the manager. Then he confirmed, "Yes, she is still alive."

Immediately, the manager lit up. He smiled brightly and his eyes sparkled like overwhelming happiness filled him.

This lasted for a second before he hid it. His eyes returned to normal and his smile stiffened.

The manager fell to the ground and his aura was sucked away like a vacuum. Soon, his body turned to ashes as time and age caught up to him.

He had been living on his will alone…this was the first time Qin Yu had encountered something like this. Although he did not understand, he was respectful.

This was the reason why he told the truth. He had sensed something different from the manager a while ago.

After a moment of silence, Qin Yu bowed. He left the guest inn and blended into the crowd outside.