Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. He slowly took a few sips until he saw the bottom of the cup. He then poured himself another cup. He repeated this a few times until he was full from drinking tea. However, he still could not remember what happened in the Grandeur and Millet Realm.

He had some memories, but they were very vague. It was like the reflection of a mountain over a muddy river filled with swimming fishes. No matter how he opened his eyes, everything remained blurry. But even so, the scenery was there and just because Qin Yu could not see it clearly did not mean that it was an illusion.

"Stone Pagoda!" He growled. There was no response. It seemed like that Stone Pagoda, who had been living in darkness and finally saw the light, had fallen asleep once more. Or rather, he had no choice but to sleep to prevent himself from falling into a dangerous situation.

Qin Yu was slightly angry. However, he calmed down after thinking carefully. Clinging to someone for support had gains and losses. He had to consider it carefully.

At least for now, he could bear with it…hmm, this may sound pretentious, but if it were someone else, they would take a hundred steps back and think that was bearable.

He temporarily stopped trying to find out what happened in the Grandeur and Millet Realm. But this did not mean that Qin Yu was giving up. Taking a step back would open a new world and he was just waiting for the right time. There was no need to risk doing something that would make both him and others unhappy.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed this matter aside. He closed his eyes and started to examine his body.

He had gone through this with foggy memories and did not know what happened. There were also no significant changes to his body. However, he felt as if there was a change, but it was just subtle.

He sighed as he ended up not finding out anything and eventually gave up.

Since Rourou was not willing to let him know the details, she would be able to prevent him from finding anything out. Forget it, thinking about it was a waste of energy; he would drop the matter completely.

He was going to cultivate.

……

West Desolate Imperial Palace.

The king was looking at a jade slip in his hands. He pressed it slightly and it turned to dust. He had a cold expression and the coldness in his eyes was extremely chilly. However, it was not directed at Qin Yu.

Marquis Chongqu Ning Qin had nothing to do with the Barbarian King - he was sure of this, and that was enough.

But that one from the Li Family was not ordinary. She acted extremely brazenly as a third generation disciple and must have forgotten her current status. No matter how glorious she was before, she was now just a brat who had yet to reach the King realm.

She made a deal with the king of a nation and dared to betray him and secretly try to kill him. Did she really think she could hide it from him?

The Li Family from the Central Desolate was a good backing and they had some status and confidence even when facing a nation. But that referred to the entire Li Family and not just a single person.

Li Ruhua was far from worthy!

If she was smart, she would return straight to the Central Desolate. He would then remember this for now and get back at her in the future.

But since she is not going to leave, then don't leave.

……

Lightning flashed in the cage and numerous thunder sounds could be heard. It was not a huge area but the energy formed a lightning pool.

Li Quanji was inside it and all the hair on his body had turned to ashes. He was wailing as his face twisted. The electricity from the lightning entered his body through his nose and mouth, almost destroying all life!

If not for his strange current state where he was a lot stronger than how weak he looked, he would have died a long time ago.

Since Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin was fine, then he would be punished. It was simple logic.

The continuous lightning strikes represented His Majesty's anger. The reason why the king did not personally appear was because this crazy Third Prince was a waste of his time.

After a long time, the lightning stopped. Li Quanji was twitching crazily as he fell to the ground. He was panting heavily like a fish that had been thrown onto the shore. His eyes were red but there was no fear in them. He only looked confused.

"It should not be, it should not be…" Li Quanji muttered to himself. His eyes grew redder and redder like two blood red seas that stretched deep.

……

West Desolate, Long Island.

The name symbolized how long it was. It stretched out over seven thousand and nine hundred miles. The narrowest point was only three to four miles wide and one would be able to see the blue waves on the other side of the island when standing on one side.

This island was amongst the thousand islands in the West Desolate realm. It sat within a large lake that was about one hundred thousand miles wide. The other islands sat like stars in a galaxy, hence it was called Thousand Island River.

"Thousand Island River, tsk tsk. Those that would bring up this name are either trying to show off that they are very young or they are so old and have vast experiences." Lord Min went for a cruise over the lake. He sighed occasionally as he enjoyed the scenery.

There were some regrets of having given things up as well as the complicated feelings of revisiting the place. There was also a sense of pride as he spoke about it.

Other than pride, Min Changjing had lived a stable life for a very long time and had seen many things come and go. He was someone who had a lot of experience.

Back then, those Heaven Lifting people that bared their teeth at him and wanted to fight, had all been defeated and had vanished from this world. An entire Dao cultivation was gone.

A wave of homesickness rolled over Lord Min. He could not help but feel the ease that came from his hometown. Looking over at his grumpy and downcast-looking son, he could not help but feel annoyed by the fact that his son was not meeting expectations.

It was just a rotten fox, was there a need to be so hung up on it? He was causing the Min Family to lose face!

However, he ultimately was still able to understand the sorrow that came from first experiences. It was something that his son needed to go through. The anger passed and he did not say anything.

This showed his maturity. Otherwise, so what about his longevity and his coexistence with the world? It would be a joke!

……

Seeing that they were nearing the border camp, yet the general and the lady had not returned, Hundred Saint maintained a composed face. It seemed like he was in control of everything but he was actually panicking internally.

A general of the nation who was leading troops to support the border camp suddenly left midway. It was against the law. Moreover, not returning after so long was making the crime worse. Now, he was just hiding the truth and no one dared to find trouble. But once they reached the border camp, he would not be able to hide it.

Some things were like the smuggling that was going on between the capital and the Western Barbarians. They could do it but not say it. Now that the Later Ye Family was watching the general closely, like a thorn in their flesh, if they found anything against him, it would be hard even for His Majesty to cover it. After all, there were rules in the army that needed to be abided by. If they were too biased, how would they hold others to account?

Marshal Wu was just ignoring the general for now. But if there was a storm, he would play along. It was only because the marshal had just been taught a lesson by His Majesty and needed to preserve his reputation. It was not that he truly made peace with the general.

But Marshal Wu would be more than happy to see the general suffer and he would even fan the fire. If he still did not do anything, he would be seen as a buddha that could not even protect himself despite being the marshal of the border army!

Hundred Saint got more and more anxious as he thought about it and his head started to hurt even more. He could only hide in his room and pretend that all was well. He did not want to face the prying questions of the other generals and soldiers.

But time would not lie and he would eventually not be able to hide. Even if he intentionally delayed by asking the airships to fly slower, there was a set time that they had to reach the border army by.

When they were there, they were there. Hundred Saint gritted his teeth and held his tongue as he walked out. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he had to deal with it!

Seeing Marquis Chongwu's advisor, who was normally well-respected, look so miserable with boils all over his mouth, the various generals from the gathered ships felt their hearts fall. Ever since Qinghe, these people had Marquis Chongwu's mark on their bodies. If something happened to the general, they would all be impacted.

Those generals that were more informed and knew that there was conflict between Marquis Chongwu and the Later Ye Family turned pale. They could not help but feel resentful at this marquis that they barely knew.

If he simply brought the lady back to her hometown, that would have been fine. After all, they were in their honeymoon period and it was perfectly normal to head back to the wife's clan to brag.

But to cause several days of delay for this and still not return even by the time the army reached the border camp was going overboard. Bluntly speaking, he was being arrogant upon riding on His Majesty's favor. He was not treating the army and its rules with respect. Though he was named Marquis Chongwu, he would not have a good future with this kind of attitude and he was not worth the generals' devotion.

Facing everyone's gazes, Hundred Saint took a deep breath. Before he could speak, he felt an intense pain and his face twitched.

At this moment, he heard footsteps behind him and a calm voice could be heard, "Since we are all here, let's wait a while. When the marshal sends someone over, we will head to camp."

Hundred Saint took a deep breath and tried his best to control his expression. He turned and greeted respectfully, "Greetings Marquis!"

He felt like he was about to cry. You came just in time. If it was any later, it would not have been good! But Marquis, can we not do this kind of overstimulated game in the future? My heart cannot take it!

On the airship deck, the various generals kneeled down on one knee, "Greetings Marquis!"

Qin Yu waved his hand and smiled, "I left midway for a while and was busy cultivating after I returned. I did not have time to meet with all of you. But it is fine. We will get the chance when we are in camp."

His gaze swept across everyone and he maintained a neutral smile. However, when he spoke, he caused everyone to break out in cold sweat.

"I have just assumed this position and cannot match all your years of experience. I only request for all of you to follow military orders with strict compliance. If you can do this, I promise you wealth. If you can't do it, then please step out early so that we can part and I won't have to treat you heartlessly in the future."

"We do not dare. We will abide by orders."

Those that stood up immediately went back to a kneel.

Qin Yu smiled and nodded, "Please rise. With this, I can be at ease." He turned to look at the dishevelled-looking Hundred Saint, with boils all over his mouth. "Make a note. In the future if I forget, remind me who was here today."

Hundred Saint acknowledged his order as he straightened his back. He felt relieved! All these rude and coarse people that were disrespectful to me. Now you know who is boss!

He stood up and looked out. He stared intently at every face on the airship deck. All these generals had worked and fought for years in order to get to their current position. They felt regret slowly come over them.

But their expressions remained neutral, not exposing anything. This made Qin Yu approve. They were generals of the West Desolate army and naturally would stand out if there was an opportunity. They were not entirely useless.

Very soon, the representative from the West Border Army rushed over, "I have come on the orders of Marshal Wu. Greetings generals. Welcome back to the border army!"

Qin Yu nodded, "Did Marshal Wu have any instructions for the placement of the camp?"

The messenger was sweating as he spoke even more respectfully, "Marshal Wu said that you are leading the army and we shall proceed according to what you want. The Marshal Tent will not interfere."

The corners of Hundred Saint's mouth pulled up in a sneer. The difference in attitude now compared to in the past, when they had arrived with one hundred thousand troops, was vast. After all, before the general could even do anything with the one hundred thousand troops previously, the Marshal Tent had assigned them all away.

Qin Yu greeted, "Thank you to the marshal, I will not refuse." He looked at the various generals, "I am stationed at the mine; you all can proceed ahead. I will request all the resources needed to set up camp from Marshal Wu."

"Yes Marquis!"

Qin Yu stood up, "Let's go. I will follow you back to the camp to greet Marshal Wu."

When the army reached the camp, from both logical and emotional perspectives, he needed to greet the marshal to not be disrespectful. But in front of the other generals from the West Border, he sent away four hundred thousand troops and only brought those close to him to greet Marshal Wu. This demonstrated his immense might and desire to get something from the Marshal Tent.

After all, when he said, "I will request all the resources needed to set up camp from Marshal Wu," it had spread through the army!

Third-class Marquis Chongwu had a position equivalent to a great general. This time, when Qin Yu returned to the border army camp, there was a significant difference in treatment because of his status.

As he made his way, various generals all stepped aside and bowed to him.

Nothing stopped him until he reached the Marshal Tent.

The guard outside the Marshal Tent immediately walked up to greet him. Without Qin Yu saying anything, he told them that the marshal was already waiting for them.

As he spoke, he bent his body forwards and gestured in the direction of the tent. Qin Yu stepped forwards. However, he suddenly frowned as he looked surprised. At this moment, a guard who was looking down and holding open the flap to the Marshal Tent threw out a punch. It was like a dam overflowing and energy surged out!

He was definitely a Ruler, and was most likely a peak Ruler. His murderous aura was immense!

Until he took action, Qin Yu did not sense any strange aura. Either he had a secret cultivation skill to hide his aura or he held a treasure that could prevent others from detecting it.

But that was not what was important now.

Qin Yu took a deep breath as he stomped on the floor. The air around him twisted and numerous cracks appeared.

Bam -

A loud explosion could be heard. The guard who had attempted the assassination flew out into the air, blood spurting from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.