Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The Grandeur stone was illusory, and the Millet tree was immaterial.

Even if these two treasures were right in front of you, it was hard to catch them with the naked eye, and they were undetectable by divine sense.

This was a gift from the heavens, and after these two treasures underwent a 'marriage', naturally, it gave birth to their own Divine Ways.

It was purely coincidental and fateful that Li Mu was able to get his hands on them. It was not an exaggeration to say that he had heaven-defying fortune and luck.

Of course, he indeed was the world's luckiest man.

It was likely that no one could surpass his luck. He took a walk and fell, stumbling over treasures. When he slept, just turning over in bed could give him enlightenment and help him to break through to the next realm. This was the kind of luck we were talking about.

Of course, if one were to compare himself with Li Mu, there was only an old saying that waited for them - 'comparison is the thief of joy'.

One would be angered to death at how some people could be so lucky!

This was because it was truly unimaginable how someone in this world could be this fortunate. The key thing was, on what basis did they manage to get such good fortune? Everyone was equally alive; it was not as if Li Mu had an extra brain or an extra arm!

All along, there had been many people who hated him out of envy and jealousy. There were so many that Li Mu had long ago learned not to pay any attention to them. This was because everything that he came into contact with would be able to be rewarded with his luck as well.

At the Demon Sect, beneath the sun, there was a huge rock that was suspended in the air without any shade. Its surface was grayish in color, and there were small cracks all over it. It looked completely ordinary. Yet, now, there was a big tree that had grown out of the stone and it was covered in dense branches and leaves.

Mist was being released from the bottom of the tree, which was absorbed greedily by the branches and leaves. Not a single wisp of mist was allowed to slip away.

Sitting on the raised rock, Li Mu controlled the fire with one hand and held a stick that pierced through a few fish in the other. He had a serious look in his eyes as he roasted the fish carefully. Right at this moment, a 'pop' sound could be heard. Sparks were ignited and burst out.

Li Mu raised his eyebrows and there was a bit of shock on his face. When he closed his eyes to try and sense what was wrong, he could not find anything. This made him feel uneasy in his heart.

He raised his head to look at Li Ruhua, who sat opposite the fire, and was in the process of recovering and readjusting her aura. He coughed lightly and said, "Ruhua, even though I have always trusted your judgment, this time, it seems to be a different case…are you hiding something from me?"

Li Ruhua opened her eyes calmly.

Pa -

Li Mu raised his hands to cover his face and his lips twitched. He laughed bitterly, "Why can't you just say it directly? Doing something like this will end up killing someone."

The corners of Li Ruhua's lips turned up slightly, "Has he gone in?"

Li Mu nodded his head and his smile became even more bitter.

Li Ruhua got up and dusted her hands, "Don't worry. With your luck, I am extremely confident that even if everyone died, you would still be alive and kicking."

She walked to the tree, raised her arm, and patted the trunk, "It's time to work, let me in."

Li Mu raised his eyebrows and asked, "So fast?"

Li Ruhua sighed softly, "Li Ge's death is somehow related to him. It's already good that I won't kill him; do you expect me to really give him another opportunity?"

Li Mu shook his head, "This is still not a reason."

Li Ruhua was silent for a while before she suddenly raised her head and smiled, "The reason is because I, Li Ruhua, fell in love with him. I can't wait to go in so that I can become his wife. Are you happy now?"

Li Mu snapped his fingers and Li Ruhua sat down on the floor cross-legged. Before her consciousness entered the darkness, Li Mu's voice rang in her ears, "I told you before not to speak rashly; what if your prediction comes true? I'll see what you'll do when that happens…go and quickly come back, you might be able to have some cooked fish."

Li Ruhua scoffed, "My prediction coming true? I'm afraid there is no longer a chance for that to happen."

Everything in front of her turned black before lighting up again. She appeared at the side of a rushing stream. Above her head, there was a big sun hanging silently in the sky. The white clouds in the sky moved slowly together with the light breeze.

She walked a few steps forward and looked down at the river. When she saw her current appearance in the reflection, Li Ruhua's face turned black. Damned Li Mu, he actually made her show her 'true face' here. Even though it was only about seventy or eighty percent similar, it was enough to reveal her secret. She gritted her teeth. She was already in Millet Nation now, so she could only bear with it for the time being. When she returned, she was going to settle the score with Li Mu!

Pu-tong!

The sound of someone landing in the water could be heard, followed by someone exclaiming. Li Ruhua looked helpless as she turned around to see what it was. She saw a boy who brought a cow to drink water from the stream. He was standing up in the water, and when he realized that Li Ruhua was looking at him, his face flushed red.

Li Ruhua humphed and turned around to walk away. However, she stopped after taking only two steps. She turned around again and looked at the boy at the stream, "Hey, where is this?"

The boy was frozen for a while, thinking that she had the nicest voice he had ever heard, but after seeing the expression on her face, he stammered, "This…this is Grandeur Nation…"

"Li Mu!"

Li Ruhua, who had the appearance of an eleven- or twelve-year-old, and was extremely pretty like a fairy, could not help but scream.

He did it on purpose, that bastard, he definitely did it on purpose!

The boy was thoroughly drenched as he watched the scene in front of him. He suddenly thought to himself, 'So when girls get angry, not all of them are as scary as my mother who becomes like a tiger. This girl is cute when she gets angry.'

After Li Ruhua screamed, she lowered her head and pondered. Then, she pointed at the cow, "Little boy, your cow is not bad. Can you give it to me?"

"Ah…cow…cow…" The boy's eyes widened as he stuttered, "It…is…my mother said…it is my dowry…for when I want to marry someone…"

Li Ruhua laughed, "Fine, give it to me. When I grow up, I will be your wife."

Very quickly, she started to ride the cow down south of the river.

She had to keep on going, and going, until she reached the border of Grandeur Nation so that she could find that person in Millet Nation. It was going to be an extremely long journey.

As for growing up and becoming that boy's wife, sorry but I am not going to stay here for a long time. Once I kill someone, I'm going to leave.

So, whether this cow was a dowry or not did not matter at all.

Suddenly, there was the sound of quick footsteps that came from behind her.

Li Ruhua frowned and turned around, "What are you doing? The cow is already mine. You gave it to me yourself. You are a man, are you going to go back on your word?"

She was a little annoyed. If she wasn't in Grandeur Nation right now, where the only price for staying awake was to not lash out recklessly, she would already have given this boy one tight slap.

The boy's face was red as he panted repeatedly. He shook his head vigorously, "No…that's not it…I came to tell you that I stay at Niu Village. The first house at the west of the village. If you can't find it, just say that you are looking for the pharmacy. My father is the village doctor and he is very famous in the area!"

Li Ruhua looked extremely annoyed, "I got it, I got it. Why are you nagging so much? Go back quickly!"

The boy kept waving behind her as he shouted, "One last thing! From today onwards, you are my wife. You have to abide by the decorum that a wife should have and not mess around outside. Otherwise, if I find out about your deeds, I will definitely chase after you and demand an explanation from you!"

Li Ruhua grimaced as she patted the cow's neck to make it move faster, thinking to herself, 'What kind of place is this? I'm not going to return in the future. And Li Mu, you better close your eyes. If you dare to spread what happened here today, I will not let you off!"

……

In actual fact, Li Mu was truly not paying attention to whatever was happening in Grandeur Nation now. This was because right as Li Ruhua had entered Grandeur Nation, there was a very small tablet that had appeared below the Millet tree. However, in Li Mu's perception, this tablet was big, so big that it could cover the entire sky.

The corners of his lips twitched as he silently scolded Li Ruhua in his heart for causing him trouble. He greeted the tablet with one hand, and held onto the fish that was almost done roasting in the other. Vaguely, Li Mu could feel someone looking at his roasted fish, and this caused him to hold onto the fish even tighter. He licked his lips and coughed lightly, "May I know who you are, Your Excellency?"

The mist in front of the tablet trembled as laughter rang out from it. However, the next words were rather impolite, "Your ancestor."

Li Mu's face turned bitter, "Even if you are my ancestor, you are a tablet now. You can't joke around with me like this, after all, my Li Family from the Central Desolate deserves a bit of respect."

On the surface of the tablet, the mist continued to surge, "If you aren't happy, you can come and hit me."

Li Mu thought about it carefully before shaking his head, "I think it's better not to court death. Your Excellency, don't you think I'm right?"

The tablet shook a bit, as if it was nodding its head, "Since you don't wish to die, then open up a path for me to enter; I want to go take a look."

Li Mu held on even tighter to his stick that had a few fish pierced through on it. His knuckles turned white but his expression remained calm. He looked slightly conflicted, "With Your Excellency's cultivation level, even if the world is vast, what could there possibly be that you've never experienced before? Why do you want to enter? Why don't I invite Your Excellency to have some fish with me today and we can end it at that?"

A cold laughter rang out from the tablet, "I see that you are really wishing for death." After a slight pause, it continued, "Li Mu, your luck is indeed very good. I might even go as far to say that you are the luckiest person of all living beings that I've met. However, have you heard that people with great luck are very likely to die when they encounter just a small problem…such as, not opening up a path for me."

This threat was straightforward and unconcealed.

Li Mu raised his hand to wipe the beads of cold sweat away from his forehead. It was not an act, he was really sweating now, because intuition told him that today…he really might die. This was the first time he was getting such a feeling. He was rather curious and wanted to challenge it. After all, he was getting really bored of life. This was the moment he had been waiting for for so long: a true challenge.

However, when Li Mu raised his head and looked at the tablet, he instantly got rid of the foolish thought that he was harboring. It was extremely inauspicious for him to do anything to this tablet. If he was not careful, he would really die, and that would be the most tragic ending.

Cough, cough, that's right! I was being a pretentious prick just now, but there's no rule in this world that states that I can't be a pretentious prick!

"Your Excellency, can you promise not to harm Li Ruhua?"

From the tablet, a bland voice rang out, "I promise you."

So fast? It sounded rather insincere! Li Mu lamented to himself internally, but when he saw the mist that was surging impatiently in front of the tablet, he snapped his fingers.

Whoosh -

A strand of mist separated from the tablet before completely dissipating.

Li Mu's eyes widened and there was astonishment on his face.

There was a cold laughter from the tablet, "Surprised? I did not say that my entire body was going to enter; you're the one who was thinking too much!"