Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Amidst the endless darkness, time and space completely lost meaning. 'Pak'. All of a sudden, a flame appeared.

It was extremely strange how it could only make itself visible but did not emit any light through the endless darkness.

A voice could be heard from the flame; it seemed to be an illusion or something far off and unreal, "I need absolute secrecy. Absolutely nothing can be leaked from the entire process."

Another voice could be heard from the darkness. It was as if it came from the darkness and resounded in all directions, "Of course. We can guarantee this. Dead people cannot talk."

The flame was silent for a while, "Let me confirm once more, he will not return?" The doubt was heavy in its tone.

"We can confirm." The voice from the darkness was calm and warm, giving a strong sense of reliability. "Please rest assured, nothing will go wrong. Even if he returns after, there will be no way to turn things around. Those that benefit will never allow anything that threatens them to continue living. We can just influence them to get rid of him and put an end to things."

"We give you our promise to lengthen the life of the fragment…this is a good deal for both of us. Moreover, you don't have to take a huge risk. If not for your status being very suitable, we would easily find other people who are willing to work with us."

The distant and unreal voice resounded from the flame, "Hopefully, everything is as you say."

The darkness replied, "Don't worry."

Psst -

The flame extinguished and the darkness was peaceful again. Like an eternal night, it covered the area. It did so now and would do so for endless years.

……

Half-Saints were powerful, however Thousand Battles was still much stronger and could inflict greater damage. But in the end, he was still not a True Saint.

Under the current circumstance, unless he was a True Saint, it was impossible to stabilize the Peach Garden.

So after a short moment of silence, the other greedy cultivators started to take action. Moreover, if they still dared to act after witnessing what had happened, it meant that they were quite powerful.

"You insult the Saints, you will be punished!" A low threatening voice could be heard from above. Like an oracle, it brought along a strong will that was not easy to resist. It said it as if it was already established, like a prophecy being told.

"The insulter will lose his vision and no longer be able to see the world!"

Both of Thousand Battles' eyes became bleak and turned white. It was as if ice had formed over clear water.

"The insulter will lose both arms and no longer be able to touch!"

The whiteness appeared again as if it were a type of marble. It started from his fingers and spread upwards, eventually covering both arms.

"The insulter will lose both legs and no longer stand on this world!"

The similar whiteness spread quickly up both legs…but this time, Thousand Battles did not stay silent and let it spread.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a sinister smile, "I found you!"

He suddenly turned and the whiteness covering his eyes disappeared as his black pupils sparkled brightly. He could make out a vague figure.

Crack -

Crack -

As the cracking sound could be heard, the whiteness on his hands and legs cracked and disappeared. Thousand Battles threw a punch. An immense power burst forth and a figure appeared in the previously vacant air in front of him.

It was obvious that his opponent had been caught off guard and did not have time to dodge. He suffered a huge hit. The moment that blood flew out of his mouth, it instantly turned to blood mist. But it did not fall; instead, a piercing cry could be heard.

In the next moment, the blood mist flew away and formed a huge figure. He had blood wings and a shapeless blood flame covered it as if it was a being from hell.

And this was the name of the skill - Hell User!

A vengeful spirit from hell with the ability to attack one's soul directly. It was able to tear their enemy's soul apart in the most cruel and brutal way. Every soul fragment that it managed to obtain would then be pulled into hell and suffer in endless misery.

It was obvious that Thousand Battles did not intend to give this Hell User a chance to show his powers. With a sneer, he stomped and a low vibrating sound could be heard. It was as if he had stepped onto a huge drum.

The Hell User that was rapidly nearing him stiffened as cracks appeared on its body. Like a bubble, it disappeared with a 'pop'.

Whereas the vibration from the 'drum' did not disappear. Instead, it continued to surge like a huge wave towards the illusion figure that had appeared.

As the figure was dragged into the wave, little by little, his illusion became more real.

The Half-Saint that appeared was a young man in white holding a book in his hands. But appearance was something that could change on a Saint's whim, so his appearance did not matter. Only the look in his eyes - one that had seen many changes - could accurately portray that he was a very, very old Half-Saint.

He looked angry. Clearly, he never thought that he would be exposed by a member of the younger generation and be put in a disadvantaged position, given that his powers were strange and hard to guard against.

This was the Peach Garden!

He had to admit that a bit of respect emerged from within him. Of course, it was not for Thousand Battles. Thousand Battles was still beneath Saints and no matter how strong he was, he would eventually rot over the years.

What he admired was that plain and secretive Spring Master. No wonder he was known as the peak True Saint and said to be one of the most powerful beings beneath Rulers. Even his disciple, who had yet to enter the Sea of Bitterness, was so powerful.

Fighting above their ranks was not difficult for geniuses, especially if they were given gifts from their elders. However, this applied only to ordinary folks.

The lifespan of Half-Saints who had entered the Sea of Bitterness would already start to increase, even if they had not reached the shore or even seen the shore. Their spirits became Saint spirits. However, these two spirits were on two very different levels and the difference was stark. To be able to cross this distance was unimaginably difficult and was something that was almost impossible to complete.

"Die!"

Growling, Thousand Battles pounced forward. Murderous aura surrounded him as if it was something concrete.

The white-robed, book-carrying young Saint felt his heart shrink. It was as if he finally saw and felt Thousand Battles clearly - he felt horror and despair!

Of course, horror was his current aura whereas despair came from the intense will as strong as a Half-Saint's. He knew that if he fought Thousand Battles in his current state, he would die.

"Help me!" The white gown, book-carrying Saint shouted as the book in his hands suddenly flipped open. He tore a page and following this, his body stiffened and pain flashed through his eyes.

Without any hesitation, he threw the paper he tore. As the paper left his hands, it shattered with a 'piak', leaving only words floating behind.

It was a string of words made up of symbols that had never been seen before. The long string would occasionally be broken apart. Yet, it moved with a form of grace as if it was a flowing river. And the river was glowing generously.

Buzz -

Buzz -

Amidst the vibration, the strange words quickly faded as if being wiped away by an invisible energy. At the same time, it lost the restraint of the river and the river water spilled out, covering the entire area.

The blinding light covered the area and it was as if another sun had appeared in the sky. Soon, a clean and white figure appeared from the light. It looked like a man yet also appeared like a woman. Its body seemed bare yet it exposed a clean pair of wings extending from its back. As it flapped, it released an empty spirit with a faint aura that made people instantly revere it.

Without any prompting, it opened its eyes and the pure light from it was so warm, it seemed to be able to wash away all evil from the world. Its eyes shifted and landed on Thousand Battles. It raised its hand and grabbed.

A strong invisible restrictive force descended on Thousand Battles. Rings of restrictive power seemed to wrap around him, temporarily locking him to the spot.

At this moment, another figure appeared above Thousand Battles. He was dressed completely in black and a black mist surrounded his body. Vengeance, fear, despair, destruction and all sorts of negative emotions emitted from him.

A pale hand extended from the black robe; it was completely devoid of color. Its palm resembled a cold corpse as a huge illusion of a sickle appeared. It rapidly became real and took on a bloody color as if it had absorbed the blood of thousands of people.

Demonic mutterings, painful groans, cries of despair, crazy shouts…all of this floated into Thousand Battles' ears, messing with him and suppressing his will. It ate away at his emotions, covering them in despair and fear.

Woosh -

The bone-white hand suddenly lifted the blood-colored sickle and aimed it down at his head. It moved like a flash and the sounds emitted from it grew even more intense.

Bom -

A low sound suddenly could be heard from within Thousand Battles. As if something that had been sleeping had been awakened by the danger and was jumping around.

Bom -

Another sound, stronger and faster than before.

A third, fourth and fifth sound could be heard…his chest shook faster and faster. The loud 'bom bom' sound became louder.

It was as if there was a second heart hidden in Thousand Battles!

The small blood vessels in his eyes could be seen and they plumped up. But instead of a blood color, they emitted a gold color like a burning flame. It looked like an imprint formed from numerous veins interacting.

At this moment, his entire being seemed extremely powerful, as if he could destroy everything.

"You dare to use a destructive power passed down from Annihilation Nation against me. This was a foolish choice…" A low voice could be heard from Thousand Battles. It was almost devoid of emotions, but everyone could feel the anger from it.

It was filled with destruction!

Bom -

A low explosion could be heard as the being with the white wings was suddenly thrown back. The hand that reached forwards shattered as if it had been hit by an incredible force. As it was thrown back, its handsome face was twisted in pain. Over its clean and perfect face, lines appeared emitting decomposing energy. Two horns appeared on its temples and its wings seemed to be experiencing a serious contamination as they turned black, and a black flame appeared, slowly encompassing the entire being. The being was turned to dust.

The blood sickle that was aimed at Thousand Battles suddenly seemed to experience a decomposition from the light river as the blood color on the surface quickly turned dull and dry, like a flower shriveling up. Soon it started to rot, starting from the tip of the sword. Huge patches of corrosion appeared, emitting a strong sense of death and destruction. A bitter groan could be heard from beneath the black robe. The white hand immediately let go of the sickle. But of course, this would not be able to stop the deathly energy from spreading. Its flesh quickly started to decompose and turn into fluid as it dripped, exposing the bones which were rapidly turning black.

Blood flowed out from the mouth and nose of the white-robed book-carrying Saint and he looked extremely shocked and fearful as he quickly ran, not daring to stay a second longer.

"A divinity from Annihilation Nation…the Peach Garden has many surprises…" A low and calm voice resounded from the sky. An invisible yet immense energy descended, covering Thousand Battles, who had gold lines appearing all over the surface of his body. It was as if Thousand Battles was a prize he won.