Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Of course the imperial tomb could not really be destroyed.

In the space rupture, the self-destruction scene that everyone saw was just a 'performance'.

It was Qin Yu who took this opportunity to take the imperial tomb for himself, and then, he disappeared in front of everyone.

There were many advantages to doing this. For example, no one would covet the imperial tomb ever again.

This could also erase all news about the Barbarian King such that it was impossible to trace.

This was especially critical!

As the imperial tomb entered the turbulent space waves, the cracks on it started to repair by themselves. Its foundation was not damaged at all; there were only a few surface wounds which made it simple to fix.

Under the blood sacrifice altar, the Dark Night Tribe Leader and other West Barbarians kneeled on the ground respectfully.

"I will follow His Majesty's will, and be loyal in the future. I will dedicate everything I have to the rise of our barbarians!"

On the altar, the Barbarian King turned his back to everyone and said solemnly, "I will leave the imperial tomb soon and seek fortune for my subjects. All of you can stay in the imperial tomb and wait for my orders."

Whoosh -

The Barbarian King's silhouette disappeared.

……

In the battle of the imperial tomb, many strong barbarians sustained heavy injuries, but this did not mean that there were no more peak-level Rulers.

For example, some barbarians believed in the Ancient Barbarian Nation's methods of cultivation which was to pursue tempering and strengthening of the physical body.

There were not many of them, but they were unwilling to be involved in the battle against the West Desolate. However, if it involved the safety of the Barbarian Clan, they would still intervene.

Now, the three peak-level Rulers - Zhou Chengshan, Ye Ziling, and the Night Demon Sect Master - and the West Desolate cultivators were being chased, which brought them here.

There were only four remaining Saints who managed to escape from the imperial tomb, while the rest had been slaughtered by the West Barbarians.

It was not that the peak-level Rulers were not powerful enough, but the strength of the barbarian ascetics was too terrifying.

Especially after self-tempering, their minds and wills were extremely firm. Even in the face of death, there was no hesitation or fear.

Zhou Chengshan used a treasure that was bestowed to her by the Royal Family to protect Qin Yu and another female cultivator, Zhe'er. Though they had a hard time escaping from the barbarians, they were not seriously injured.

Ye Ziling was very strong, and Ye Wangu, whom he protected, had also lashed out at the critical moment. Ye Wangu's strength was beyond imagination as well.

With two of them working together, it was not too difficult for their team to escape.

On the other hand, the Night Demon Sect Master was slightly unlucky. The last Saint who tagged along with him was a young girl. Qin Yu did not have a deep impression of her. If it were not for the fact that she was protected by the Night Demon Sect Master, he would not have remembered her at all.

She was like a translucent person in a crowd who would not be noticed.

However, this girl was not ordinary.

The Night Demon Sect Master was seriously injured by the barbarians just to protect her. But other than this, her own characteristics were rather terrifying as well.

Because, even after noticing her, Qin Yu found that his memories of her had become very vague when he tried to recall them.

He could only remember that on the day of the 'identity confirmation' in the Imperial Palace, he did indeed see this girl, but he could not remember the specifics.

Something was clearly wrong.

Although he had only observed everyone casually, with Qin Yu's current cultivation level, it was not like him to forget things anymore.

He had seen this girl, but for his memory to become blurred in a short time, something was definitely not right.

But soon, Qin Yu could no longer care about the girl.

The West Barbarians' pursuit continued and it became more and more terrifying. It was almost like a siege.

The three peak-level Rulers collided left and right, but they had no way of breaking free from the barbarians.

On the contrary, it was like they were in quicksand, and the more they struggled, the more deeply they sank.

Zhou Chengshan was having a very hard time fighting against the barbarians, which made Qin Yu consider waking up from his coma early.

Of course, if he revealed his identity as the Barbarian King, it would only take one breath of his aura to make these barbarians retreat.

But doing this was too abrupt, and it would leave some hidden dangers. It was difficult to erase traces of the new Barbarian King with the 'destruction' of the imperial tomb.

Qin Yu did not wish to take that risk.

Therefore, on the third day of escaping from the imperial tomb, the heavily-injured Darkness Ruler finally awoke.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving me."

He cupped his hands gratefully.

Now, the black robe fell, revealing a young and pale face. He was not handsome, and his eyes were full of gloominess.

Zhou Chengshan said, "You deserve credit for helping us escape from the imperial tomb. When we return to the capital city, I will make sure you are rewarded."

She glanced at the lantern in Qin Yu's hand.

"Your Excellency, this lantern was obtained from the imperial tomb. I am now seriously injured, so I ask you to help hold onto this for me to prevent anything from happening to it."

Zhou Chengshan was instantly moved, but she quickly suppressed the temptation and shook her head, "Since this lantern has already acknowledged your aura, you should keep it."

If she took the lantern, she feared it would be harmful to her. She would have tried if the lantern had not acknowledged Qin Yu's aura yet.

After all, it represented the possibility of ascending to the King realm.

But now, the barbarian ascetics were constantly chasing after them. It was difficult to protect even her life now. If she became too obsessed with this lantern, there would be consequences.

Even though she rejected his offer, this action made Zhou Chengshan trust Qin Yu even more.

At least he was self-aware and did not think that he could keep this lantern for himself.

This was obviously a wise decision. How could a mere Saint be qualified enough to covet a treasure that could help someone ascend to the King realm?

Only death would be waiting for him if he had such a thought.

Now that Qin Yu was 'awake', Zhou Chengshan did not need to take care of him personally anymore, and Zhe'er had naturally taken over this job.

To be honest, Qin Yu felt uncomfortable in front of her.

After all, he once borrowed 'Xu Anyu's' identity…er, to be more precise, he borrowed his life.

Zhe'er looked calm, but there was a trace of sadness in her eyes which could not be concealed from Qin Yu.

It was easy to guess the reason, which made Qin Yu feel even more uncomfortable.

If he let this girl know that her lover died because of him, she would go crazy immediately.

After managing to escape from the West Barbarians once again, Qin Yu's expression was heavy, but his heart was full of relief.

He was the new Barbarian King, and these powerful barbarians were all his subordinates.

Sure enough, it was not without reason that the West Barbarians were known to be able to resist the advances of the Great Desolate's nine areas.

Obviously, these ascetics were one of the reasons why the West Barbarians were so powerful.

If it were not for these ascetics, the terrifying human cultivators would have hunted these barbarians down and gotten rid of them for good…not to mention cultivation, but with just status alone, Qin Yu was already the most honorable person in this world; there was no one else that could compare.

After all, the barbarians were able to compete against the whole Great Desolate. In terms of status, even the West Desolate's king could not compare to Qin Yu.

But some things were like this. It felt good to think about it, but it could not become a reality.

Qin Yu was the new Barbarian King, yet he was being hunted down by the barbarian ascetics and had to frantically run away from them.

How ironic!

Zhou Chengshan walked out of the shattered space and looked back at Ye Ziling and the Night Demon Sect Master who were following her.

"We can't escape anymore."

The Western Barbarian Land was vast, and they were deep inside it. Without a teleportation array, and with barbarians following them, they were only getting deeper and deeper into the barbarians' territory.

Ye Ziling frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhou Chengshan replied, "Before I left the capital city, I was summoned by His Majesty. He said that if I faced a desperate situation, I could use the Boundary Breaking Seal to escape."

"No!" Ye Ziling refused, "The West Desolate paid such a heavy price for setting up the Boundary Breaking Seal; how can it be used because of us?"

The Night Demon Sect Master's pale face showed a hint of gloom. Even though he was a peak-level Ruler, he did not know what this Boundary Breaking Seal was. It was clear that, in some ways, the sects had already been cut off from the ruling class.

Zhou Chengshan looked at the Night Demon Sect Master. Now that the situation was dangerous, she could not care too much. "Of course we don't normally have the right to use the Boundary Breaking Seal, but it's different now."

Everyone looked at the lantern in Qin Yu's hand.

Even though no one said anything, it was obvious what they were all thinking of.

Ye Ziling's brows furrowed even tighter; his lips twitched, but he did not speak.

The Boundary Breaking Seal was indeed extremely precious. It was the final part of the West Desolate's plan to attack the West Barbarians and ultimately destroy them.

If they chose to use it now, not only would it spoil their plans, it would also alert the whole of the Barbarian Clan.

However, this lantern represented the possibility of breaking through to the King realm. It was indeed difficult to weigh the importance of both items.

After some deliberation, the Night Demon Sect Master and Ye Ziling agreed to activate the Boundary Breaking Seal.

"All of you, stay here and hide yourselves. When the Boundary Breaking Seal has been activated, it will take you away as well." With this sentence, the three peak-level Rulers took to the air.

The three of them were the targets of the barbarian ascetics.

By leaving Qin Yu and the rest here, as long as they were careful to hide and did not reveal their auras, there would not be any problem.

With the departure of the three peak-level Rulers, the siege slowly dissipated, and peace was restored temporarily.

A dry crack extended into the stone layer, naturally forming a narrow and long grotto. This was where Qin Yu and the others were hiding.

From Zhe'er, Qin Yu heard about a little girl named 'Rourou', who was curled up alone in the deepest part of the grotto. She had timid eyes, like an insecure little animal.

Qin Yu and Zhe'er spent a few days together in the grotto, and they could strike a conversation with each other.

At the entrance of the grotto, the one who was temporarily in charge of keeping a lookout was Ye Wangu.

This person had a cold temperament, except at the beginning, when his eyes swept across the crowd lightly and he adjusted his breath without saying a word.

However, ever since they were chased by the barbarians, everyone learned very well that Ye Wangu was extremely powerful.

The grotto was quiet.

The little girl 'Rourou' did not speak, Qin Yu deliberately kept silent, Zhe'er still looked sad, and Ye Wangu was cold and indifferent.

If they continued to wait like this, they could successfully escape when the Boundary Breaking Seal was activated.

However, accidents always happened.

'Rourou', who was in the deepest part of the grotto, suddenly let out a low cry. Her eyes were full of fear as she stared nervously at the entrance of the grotto.

Qin Yu and Zhe'er's faces changed as they looked out. It was still silent, and there was no sign of activity at all.

"Lady Rourou…" Zhe'er spoke, trying to ask what was wrong.

But the response she got was Rourou's frightened eyes. 'Rourou' curled up even more and kept leaning back.

Whoosh -

Ye Wangu opened his eyes that showed a calm expression and looked at her, "Did you predict some kind of danger?"

He was interrogating her; the coldness in his tone was like a sharp blade.

Qin Yu frowned.

"Don't, don't hurt me!" 'Rourou' screamed.

Zhe'er's eyebrows furrowed, "Ye Wangu, you're scaring her."

As soon as she finished speaking, she was suddenly pulled back by Qin Yu.

The next moment, there was a muffled 'poof'. The ground was directly split, forming a bottomless fissure.

Zhe'er's face instantly went pale and he stared at Ye Wangu with wide eyes, full of disbelief.

"Sure enough, you still have something you're hiding," Ye Wangu said blandly as he looked at Qin Yu. "Is it because of this lantern?"

Qin Yu took a deep breath and said, "You should think twice about the consequences if you take action against us."

Ye Wangu replied, "It's no use trying to stall for time. Since I've already made a move, naturally, I've already made my decision."

He drew his sword. "Even if I kill all of you, no one will know."

The next moment, the three of them understood why Ye Wangu would say that.

Whoosh -

Ye Wangu's aura changed drastically in an instant. His flesh and bones started to crack and he began to grow in size exponentially.

The person in front of them now was someone from the Barbarian Clan!