Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Further west of the West Desolate lay the vast, endless wilderness known as the Western Barbarian Land.

This vast territory was occupied by barbarians. They governed this place, reproduced, lived, and survived in this place for generations.

Although this land was very barren, the strong vitality of the barbarians lived on.

At the extreme west, there was a huge mountain that spanned the north and south. The height of the mountain was like a moat that reached towards the sky, dividing the barbarian land into two.

Now, on this huge mountain, a small black temple stood among the thick snow.

From afar it looked like a black spot in the vast blanket of snow and magnificent scale of the mountain.

But the moment anyone looked at it, they could easily feel the unyielding aura exuded by this black temple.

It was like a giant was carrying a mountain on its back, bowing its head and standing silently between the heavens and earth.

No matter how the wind blew against it, how the sun shone against it, how the storms raged against it, it could not be shaken in the slightest.

Small, but worthy of the greatest admiration!

He had a torn scalp, and the scars that formed after his wounds healed were as ferocious as a twisting centipede. The ascetic knelt on the ground respectfully, letting the snow cover most of his body with only the parts above his shoulders exposed.

"Teacher, I have returned."

The moment he finished speaking, he no longer moved, continuing to kneel on the snowy ground.

Hu -

A strong gust of wind blew between the heavens and earth. Snowflakes gathered and danced in the air, circling around him.

The mountain was very high, and thus so was the temple that was built on the mountain's peak.

The temperature was extremely low, so the snowflakes were not soft like those at ground level. Instead, they were hard like frozen ice crystals.

Crackling sounds could be heard as they hit the ascetic's face, giving him multiple cuts that oozed blood. On top of his head, the wound that was healing began to bleed again.

Dark red blood slid down his head and face, which started to give off steam in the midst of this freezing cold weather.

Then, the hot air converged on top of the ascetic's head and gradually formed a symbol.

The symbol was simple and unadorned, but it was also vast and majestic, spanning endless time and space, and exuding formidable power!

The ascetic raised his head and his eyes widened. His body trembled slightly as he expressed excitement.

But right at this moment, there was a soft 'pop', and the symbol shattered and dissipated.

All the fog was instantly swept away by a gust of wind. The blood that flowed down the ascetic's body started to solidify and freeze.

He looked at the black temple with a dazed look in his eyes, "Teacher, what's going on?"

As the only great shaman in the Western Barbarian Land, the ascetic was sure that his teacher could definitely make a judgment based on the traces left on his body. But it seemed that right when everything was about to become clear, an external force interrupted the process.

In this world, who could have the means to do something like this? Even the most powerful human cultivator on the other side of the sea could not disrupt a great shaman's deduction process in the barbarian territory.

In the black temple, after a short silence, there was a light cough.

The ascetic suddenly looked nervous, "Teacher!"

He moved his body, but he did not dare to step forward. It seemed that the black temple in front of him was a holy place that could not be desecrated at all.

Without permission, he was not qualified to step in and could only kneel outside.

After a while, the cough gradually subsided. A quiet, gentle voice came from the black temple, "There is a vast expanse between the heavens and earth. We are as insignificant as mayflies; how can we even begin to fathom how grand and magical this world is?"

The ascetic touched the ground with his head, respectfully waiting for his teacher's message.

"Our new Barbarian King has indeed already arrived, but his fate and aura are being covered by a vast force.

"This is the best outcome for my king and my people. Keep this secret to yourself, and don't try to find the Barbarian King."

After a short pause, the voice continued, "The young man you saw at the West Border Army camp is related to our new Barbarian King. Go and meet with him, and you will be able to gain some knowledge from him."

The ascetic kowtowed respectfully thrice before getting up and starting to descend the mountain. Walking barefoot in the snow, his figure slowly became submerged, leaving just his head exposed.

As he crossed the ravine, all traces of him were gone, as if no one had ever come.

Silence was restored at the black temple once again. Inside the temple, a pair of eyes slowly opened.

In them, there was a hint of helplessness, and a smile of absurdity.

Who would have thought that the new Barbarian King, the leader of all barbarians between the heavens and earth, would abandon his dignity and go to the human race instead?

But this was not a very funny joke.

It was of course risky for the new Barbarian King to hide among the humans, but it was better than being hunted down by the humans.

So the great shaman chose to admit it.

Admit that his own deduction had been interrupted by that power.

He started coughing again, and a little blood splattered from his nose and mouth, landing on the white ground and looking extraordinarily red.

……

In the mine.

At General Jinwu's residence.

A luxurious courtyard at the back of his residence.

Even though it was underground, after spending the necessary effort and resources, it was still possible to create a garden landscape that was not inferior to the ones in the outside world.

Rourou sat lazily on the chair, looking slightly distracted. Her fingers kept rubbing chicken overlord's head as she said, "Little chicken, oh, little chicken. What do you think Qin Yu is doing now? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

Chicken overlord had long become numb to it. His body was curled up and there was despair in his eyes. There was not the slightest bit of brilliance in them. Fortunately, Rourou was also used to him being motionless and was not annoyed because of it.

Otherwise, with just a slight twist of her fingers, chicken overlord would start performing the most unique skit of his chicken head exploding!

"Huh?" Suddenly, Lady Rourou frowned. Her eyes widened and she turned to look in a certain direction.

Chicken overlord could feel the air freezing over all of a sudden, and he too was completely frozen inside.

He also felt like there was the pressure of ten mountains pressing down on him, as if the next moment, he would turn into a pool of broken bones and bloody flesh.

His small eyeballs were rounded and full of horror. The chicken overlord only had one thought at this moment - my life is over!

Lady Rourou humphed coldly as she raised her hand and pointed it forward. Her white, delicate and slender fingers looked extremely soft. A 'dong' sound rang out as she pointed at the space in front of her.

It was as if a huge hammer was hitting hard on a drum.

Chicken overlord's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he was knocked unconscious.

Rourou frowned again, as if sensing something. She slowly retracted her hand, her face thoughtful.

"A great barbarian shaman?"

If it was indeed a great barbarian shaman, it could explain why the other party had backed away after sensing her power.

Her expression softened a little and she licked the corner of her lips. "I did not expect that after so many years, great barbarian shamans still existed…tsk, tsk, I miss the taste of them."

She was a little hesitant. If she followed the trajectory of her senses and maybe even took some action, she could probably have a wonderful meal waiting for her at the end.

After thinking about it, Rourou still decided to give up on this idea. Qin Yu was now the new Barbarian King, and he would definitely be unhappy if she ate the great shamans.

Forget it, forget it. Good food was not a necessity, just be patient!

……

Jiang Chengzi frowned slightly as he stood at the entrance of the big tent. In deep thought, he looked in the direction of the mine that was very far away.

The counselor walked over and said respectfully, "General, are you still thinking about General Jinwu? " He wanted to remind the General about something, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was unnecessary to say it.

Jiang Chengzi did not turn around, as if having already seen the counselor's expression. "Marshal Wu is incomparably smart and resourceful. Even though I have removed myself from the situation entirely, he is already suspicious of me. But it does not matter. Just like how His Majesty cannot do anything to him, he can't do anything to me either."

He said this sentence with full confidence!

He was a veteran of the West Border Army who started out as an infantryman on the battlefield and established his merits step by step until today. He had formed various relationships with many divisions, and his influence had already spread all over the West Border Army.

If Marshal Wu dared to touch him, he would have to bear the consequences!

The counselor smiled, "Since you are clear about this, why do you still look bothered?"

Jiang Chengzi waved his hand and did not say much, even though these counselors were people that he could definitely trust.

There were some things that were better only if he knew and no one else did.

He looked at the mine, but he was not thinking about General Jinwu, nor was he worrying about himself. He was thinking about Hundred Saint.

Back then, when Hundred Saint told him that General Jinwu was still alive, he looked fearful, like he was in a difficult situation but could not say what it was.

At that time, Jiang Chengzi felt a little uneasy, so he decided not to continue asking.

Afterwards, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

There seemed to be a terrifying aura that was following Hundred Saint.

Jiang Chengzi did not know exactly what aura this was, but he was extremely apprehensive…it was as if this aura only needed a slight tremor to kill someone.

Kill Hundred Saint…or perhaps, even himself!

General Jinwu Ning Qin was indeed hiding secrets!

……

Qin Yu finally came out of his closed door meditation.

More accurately, he barely managed to cover up the traces of damage to his soul.

It was difficult to detect on the surface, but the injury would take some time to slowly heal.

But this step was compulsory. Matters regarding the soul must be handled with extreme care and caution.

After concentrating for a moment, he found that the 'Soul Seed' was germinating very well. Everything was progressing in a good trajectory.

Perhaps, after a while, it would be able to successfully germinate.

It had been a while since he entered the underground. Now that he had taken care of everything that he needed to, it was time to leave.

With a thought, all of the leaders of the sinners could hear Qin Yu's calm voice appear in their minds at the same time.

"I am going to leave the underground soon. Behave yourselves. Anyone who causes trouble shall die."

The two-headed three-armed creature, Meat Mountain, and the other leaders trembled and knelt down directly on the ground. "We respectfully send you off, General!"

This terrifying jinx was finally leaving! Their breathing suddenly became more relaxed.

But when they considered it again, they remembered that even if Qin Yu was gone, just a single thought from him could decide whether they lived or died.

The feeling of happiness and ease quickly subsided.

……

Nearly a month later, Qin Yu's figure was once again bathed under the light of the Desolate Area's nine suns.

Even though the darkness was one of his strongest powers, he was still born as a human being and his mood became much better under the sunlight.

"Greetings, General!"

At the entrance of the mine, the stationed guards gathered in a hurry and all knelt on the ground.

Their attitudes were extremely respectful, and there was awe and reverence in their eyes.

General Jinwu was the one who caused the West Border Army's Marshal Wu, that extremely powerful figure, to suffer a huge loss.

Thinking about how General Jinwu was now their direct superior, these guards felt really proud and honored.

Qin Yu nodded and said, "At ease."

Very soon, after Black Scales and Snake Lady's deaths, the remaining six half human barbarian generals who were guarding the mine gathered in front of Qin Yu.

They were extremely respectful in front of him.

Qin Yu quickly found out about what happened in the outside world whilst he was underground for this period of time.

Wu Tongtian had made a mistake this time and was reprimanded by the military headquarters, but he used this opportunity to spread his name far and wide. He had made his opening move once again.

"General, His Majesty has already issued a decree! In recognition of you suppressing the riots of the underground sinners, he has promoted you to a first-class Earl!"

One of the guards spoke respectfully, his face full of envy.

Such a title was very prestigious in the imperial military.

One should know that the Marshals of the four different border armies only had the title of a Marquis.

For example, Marshal Wu was the Marquis of West City!

Now that Qin Yu was a first-class Earl, known as Earl Chongwu, Marquis was just one rank above him!

Qin Yu's eyes flashed slightly. He indeed deserved credit for suppressing the sinners' riots, but it was definitely not sufficient for him to receive such a big promotion.

It seemed that the Desolate King was using this matter to express his huge dissatisfaction and tough attitude. The military was at a loss, but they could only acknowledge His Majesty's decision.

At the same time, this was the Desolate King's way of telling Qin Yu that if he kept up the outstanding work, His Majesty was willing to reward him handsomely. Stay loyal to His Majesty, and becoming a Marquis was just a matter of time!

If it were anyone else, they would be incomparably excited and grateful for His Majesty's grace, and then be determined to work hard in the future for more rewards.

But using the title of first-class Earl to win over Qin Yu…it could only be said that His Majesty was thinking too much.

"I understand. I'm going to go back and rest now; go on with your business."

Qin Yu turned around and rushed towards the sky.