Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The wind howled, carrying a damp and foul smell with it. However, the strange thing was that a bright red color would appear where the wind swept past. It felt like the wind was whipping up dried blood floating in the air.

A stone emerged from the ground. It was a hundred feet tall and its surface was jagged after many years of erosion.

A man dressed in a white robe was curled up and he raised his head with much difficulty but still could not find that man, "My lord, I spent so much effort to find you. Even if you do not see my efforts, please send me off with the grace of the Divine Seat."

The howling of the wind was his only reply. The white-robed man laughed bitterly; he had survived the torturous winds for seven days. If this continued, he would really lose his soul and blood in the wind.

Of course he wanted to leave, but the will of the Divine Seat had not been fulfilled. The white-robed man did not dare to turn and leave.

There was no other choice and he could only succumb to his fate and lament. His head dipped again and he hugged the big stone and curled his body as much as he could. With a pained look, he continued to endure the harsh conditions.

"Hmmph!"

An angry scoff came from the stone. It was obviously annoyed by the complaints from the white-robed man. If he wasn't the envoy for the Divine Seat, it would have already taken action and smashed him into bits.

Right at that moment, the sound of a horn came from afar. No one knew what the horn was made of but its blare shook the heavens and earth and entered his soul. It came with the pressure of a mountain and pressed on his heart.

Kaboom -

After the deafening explosion, the ground below shook violently. However, the stone that the white-robed man held on remained unmoving!

The white-robed man stiffened and horror filled his eyes. His luck was awful and he did not know what to do.

Suddenly, a white glare shot up from the stone. It instantly grew to a thousand foot long light pillar that pierced through the skies like a terrifying bolt of lightning that struck down.

Boom -

Like a burning meteorite above the heavens, its long tail stretched across the sky as it pierced through the air and smashed into the ground.

The earth shook violently!

The white-robed man picked up and looked where the white glare had slashed. As far as he could see, the sky was dark and grey. It looked like a huge wound had torn open the skies and the pure light that was revealed by the opening made the white glare more dazzling.

Waves fluctuated across the endless sea. A thousand foot long warship was sliced cleanly in half. The two parts of the broken ship were continuously being devoured by the raging sea.

As this happened, there was a strange silence on the ship. There was no panic, screaming, or struggling. The white-robed man's eyes narrowed and he was in awe - the instant the white glare cut the warship in half, everyone on the ship was killed!

Suddenly, the man screamed. His head dipped down and his eyes were tightly shut. However, blood still trickled down from the corners of his eyes.

He wiped his hand over his bloody face messily a few times. The pain felt sore and unbearable like needles and he blinked several times. At least he did not go blind.

The white-robed man let out a long breath. A low shout came by his ears, "Take it and go!"

A tuft of hair, with each hair as long as a finger, drifted down from the large stone. The hairs were thin but each of them was as heavy as a rock. The tuft was not shifted even by the howling wind and it fell down to the stone without being wavered.

The white-robed man was jumping in excitement. Ignoring the piercing pain in his eyes, his eyes widened and he grabbed all the hair. Even after he collected everything, he was not assured and he continued to scour the floor for a long time. Only after he confirmed again that he had not left any hair behind did he give a long sigh.

He took out a box and placed all the hair inside. Then, he put a yellow talisman on it and put the box away.

Without further delay, the white-robed man bowed and took off as fast as lightning.

……

A gap between the heavens and earth did exist, but it was not possible for anyone to seal out natural Yin and Yang energy to isolate themselves from the living and the dead.

An eternity seemed to have passed in the silent darkness but suddenly, a cold laughter echoed through the space.

"I want to go out, what can you do?"

There was a pause.

"Incredible, truly incredible, you can try!"

Another pause.

"Hey! Are you for real? Don't forget that we are old friends. Do you really have to do this?"

There was another long wait.

"Are you done? I am truly scared of you. After so many years, you still have this habit of playing possum. Is it that hard to change?"

A few moments passed again.

"Are you done? You are so naggy! Even if I return, I can't do it in a short moment. Didn't you say that I have to wait for the seal to weaken if I want to leave?"

There was a helpless sigh in the darkness, "I abide by your words, I will definitely do so. By then, I will return."

Silence filled the area again.

Like before, a long time would pass before the silence would be interrupted again.

……

Inside the horse carriage, Qin Yu's eyes flung open and he stared at Rourou who was leaning against her seat. Her eyes were still closed but a strange expression started to form on Qin Yu's face.

She was still in the red long skirt formed from the flames in the valley that made her seem more delicate.

When she was naked, Qin Yu had peeked at her for a long time, but he was not enchanted by her. Right now, he was just thinking that her casual holiday was far more enjoyable than other travels.

For instance, the soft seat that she was sleeping against was actually numerous layers of wood from the shrunken ancient tree that had been bound together to form the bed. Although it was not big, it was comfortable for Rourou and it fulfilled all her desires.

Below it was a stubby tree trunk and further below it were numerous roots that burrowed into the horse carriage. Somehow, the tree roots had successfully breached the iron lining of the horse carriage that was further enhanced by an array. The roots merged perfectly into the horse carriage and didn't look out of place.

What was most amazing was that once the tree roots merged with the horse carriage, they perfectly isolated the inside of the carriage from the outside world and no one was able to sense what was going on inside.

Right now, Qin Yu was using space time rules to construct a small, independent space that was much more secure.

Aside from that, the second ancient tree had also shrunk a lot and the mass of wine fruits on it created a thick, fragrant scent in the hose carriage.

The tree that made the soft bed was one step ahead. With its root system integrated into the horse carriage, it could only let its tree roots turn into root people who served Rourou.

The life that she was living now went beyond the definition of pampered.

Her life was out of the league of common men.

The first priority of the horse carriage was sturdiness but there wasn't much done to the inside space. However, the presence of the two ancient trees made it very cramped and Qin Yu automatically gave in. He took a small corner and sat down cross-legged.

Of course, there was a reason why he gave in.

Eat and drink!

The great cause that had been interrupted by the Golden Crow Tribe was going to be restarted. Rourou chose to remain silent because she would subtly remind him that his debt to her was growing the more he chose to eat and drink.

In the beginning, Qin Yu felt unsettled because of his growing debt - yet, as the saying went, once there were too many lice, he stopped itching and grew numb to his uneasiness.

Either way, with all the debt that he had accumulated since the start, was the mysterious being from space time going to kill and eat him directly?

Qin Yu knew that although his cultivation was considered to not be bad, his physical body was not enough to pay off all his debt to her.

In summary, Qin Yu slowly came to a realization - the more he owed her, the more safe he was!

If the mysterious being wanted to take payment from him, it had to ensure that he remained alive. Only a living man would create value.

This was simple logic.

Qin Yu did not know if Rourou saw through him but he felt his eyelids twitching and he could not stop laughing bitterly to himself. Luckily, Qin Yu was skilled in managing his facial emotions. Otherwise, he would not feel so at ease with feasting right now.

Suddenly, Qin Yu frowned and he stared at Rourou. Although he could not feel her aura, Qin Yu felt that something strange had happened to her.

She suddenly appeared heavier!

The trunk of the 'soft bed tree' suddenly curved and the horse carriage started to creak.

It felt like it was on the brink of splitting apart.

The root people immediately dispersed while the wine tree jumped over. Its main tree trunk, its roots and its branches wrapped around the 'soft bed tree' and the two of them combined forces to help the 'soft bed tree' withstand the weight.

Pulling the horse carriage were two beasts gifted by the Golden Crow Tribe and they were incredibly strong and fast. Yet, the two beasts made a shriek and knelt down onto the ground.

Firstly, the horse carriage had suddenly became heavy and it felt like a mountain that had dug its roots into the earth. It was impossible for the beasts to continue pulling the carriage.

Secondly, there was a terrifying aura that came from nowhere and it made them shiver with fear.

"Stop!"

Zhou Dafu yelled and rushed in front of the horse carriage as fast as he could. Looking at the two collapsed beasts, he sighed deeply and bowed, "General, Lady, is something wrong?"

A few moments later, Qin Yu's voice came, "Nothing is wrong. Make camp here, you don't have to worry about it."

Zhou Dafu heaved a sigh of relief but he did not dare to let his guard down. He quickly instructed the group to set up tents around the horse carriage.

During this process, he could not help glancing at the horse carriage from time to time.

Every time, his heart would tremor and awe and fear would form deep within his heart.

It felt like a strange creature was hidden in this horse carriage. If it opened its mouth, it could devour all of them easily.

Zhou Dafu did not dare to speak about it and he quickly sought out Lotus Lady. This beautiful lady remained low key after entering the Barbarian Clan territory. Her eyes were tightly shut and her pale face was drenched with sweat.

Zhou Dafu's mouth fell open but he did not know whether he should ask her the question.

Lotus Lady's small voice rang, "My Lord, if I were you, I would pretend that I do not know anything."

With that, Zhou Dafu could only sigh and turn around to leave. He made a resolution that he would not go near the horse carriage unless the General gave him instructions.

Lotus Lady returned to her carriage. She curled herself up in fear.

She never imagined that there would be such a terrifying aura in this world.

It was deep and dark and it felt like it could devour every living creature in this world and destroy them!

……

Only powerful tribes in the Barbarian Clan had the privilege to know about General Jinwu's status in the Barbarian Clan.

However, this did not mean that the small and mid tier barbarian tribes had not received a prior warning.

As such, the journey of the Desolate men went smoothly and there were no incidents.

They were right at the edge of the border and were going to leave in a couple of days. However, the group suddenly stopped to rest.

It was a normal thing for the group to take a rest to recuperate before leaving.

However, the group rested for three days and showed no intentions of moving. Things started to become suspicious.

On the fifth day, a few surrounding small barbarian tribes reluctantly sent men to inquire about the situation.

They had long since received warnings from the elite tribes that they had to be respectful to the Desolate Area men.

However, only the Tribe Leaders and Elders of the barbarian tribes knew about this. It was not apt to let all the tribe members know that they had to be respectful of a Desolate Area man.

Otherwise, trouble would unfold.

The encounter with the Desolate Area men went smoothly. The team informed the barbarians that the General was about to have a breakthrough in his cultivation and he needed some time to cultivate. Otherwise, the circumstances for him would turn bad.

A few Tribe Leaders of the barbarian tribes gathered together to discuss. They made the decision to move their tribes the next day with the excuse of finding more fertile land.

This decision felt very rushed and confusing, but there was no way that the truth would be revealed.

To avoid trouble, they were willing to move and leave their territory behind. Who knew what trouble they would get dragged into?

The tenth day.

The fifteenth day.

The twentieth day!

The atmosphere in the camp slowly turned strange and everyone stared at the horse carriage unconsciously.

More than half a month had passed but nothing seemed to be happening. The uneasiness in everyone's hearts grew stronger.

Zhou Dafu appeared calm and he continued to manage the camp. However, he had let go of the Great General Ye Sangdu and hugged onto General Jinwu's leg.

If something happened to General Jinwu…hm, he would meet a pitiful outcome.

Groundless fear and anxiety also sat at the bottom of his heart. Zhou Dafu felt that he would be implicated if something happened to General Jinwu.

Furthermore, this feeling was growing stronger as time passed.

……

On the thirtieth day.

The Desolate Area men had been camping here for a full month.

Finally, there was a voice from the silent horse carriage. Qin Yu said, "Alright, let's go."

His voice was hoarse and weak. It was evident that he was also tired.

The two beasts were lying down. When they stood up, they turned their heads towards the carriage with a hesitant look in their eyes.

They had felt that terrifying aura disappear.

Phew -

At this point, every person in the group let out a long breath of air.

It felt like they could finally breathe after being buried in the ground for a long time.

Zhou Dafu's pale face was instantly filled with joy and he announced, "Let's set off!"

This month had been tortuous to him. After he shouted, his vision turned black and he fainted.

There was another frenzy after he fainted. Thankfully, Zhou Dafu regained consciousness and the group headed off.

Around them were many barbarians who had been secretly observing the Desolate Area men. They quickly sent messages informing their tribes of what had happened.

The Desolate Area men resumed their journey after a month!