Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Atop the altar, the three incomparably old and decrepit Demonic Path priests opened their eyes, a light flashing within them.

The three of them stood up and simultaneously raised their arms. From all 16 furnaces that surrounded the great square, the black flames immediately surged upwards.

The flames continued to rise, forming 16 black pillars of flame. When they rose to a thousand feet high, they began to converge upon the center of the square.

The 16 black pillars of flame fused together, forming an incredibly huge black fireball. Runes began to appear on the surface of the fireball. They constantly shifted and connected together, as if they were a chain of seals.

The three Demonic Path priests took out silver daggers and slashed their palms without hesitation. At the same time, undulating chants began to emerge from their lips. The ancient and boundless syllables reverberated through the world. The blood that spilled out seemed lifted by an invisible strength, rising towards the heavens and pouring into the black fireball.

The chain of runes across the surface of the fireball rapidly started to be soaked in blood. They gradually turned transparent before finally vanishing…as if the sealed strength had been released!

Bang -

The black fireball exploded, bounded by the 16 pillars of flame. Space violently shook, as if it were a great lake of water and some colossal and unknown being was slowly rising from the depths below.

A spatial crack appeared. Then a second, a third…more and more were formed. But, there was no disorder to them at all. The cracks slowly began to combine together, forming an incomparably massive gate.

The thick cracks melded together, forming the frame of the gate. The smaller cracks created decorations that embellished the gate. The cracks on the two doors joined together to form the lifelike visage of a demon.

Qin Yu's eyes widened. As he watched the astonishing scene unfolding before him, he suddenly felt a burning heat on his back. Because he had obtained a demonic bloodline, the demon face on his back began to slowly appear. If others saw this, they would definitely be stunned. This was because the demon head on Qin Yu's back was almost identical to the demon head in the skies formed by the spatial cracks.

Quietly, the cracks that spread through space began to peel and fall off, as if it really were a shattered mirror. Each spatial fragment was the color of the sky, but as they fell off, what they revealed behind was pitch black darkness. They continued to pour down and decompose before disappearing.

Then, a great bronze gate appeared in the shattered space. It was exactly the same as the gate formed by the spatial cracks. Then, at this time, the massive demon head opened its eyes.

Shua -

Within its eyes…was a blood prison as vast as a sea!

At this moment, besides the three Demonic Path priests and the two Calamity Immortals, everyone in the great square and the entire Heavenly Demon City was shaking.

The only reason Qin Yu didn't cry out in pain was because he resisted the urge to do so with all of his strength. The burning heat on his back was so hot that it was like he had been lit on fire and was in the process of burning away! His body shivered and sweat streamed down him, nearly drenched his robes wet.

Luckily, everyone seemed to have been stunned and suppressed by the aura of this demon face. Their minds were filled with terror and awe and none of them noticed what was happening with Qin Yu.

In the great skies above, the demon head on the bronze gate opened its eyes. Qin Yu stuffily coughed and his body wavered.

Fortunately, the bronze gate slowly opened in the next moment. The terrifying oppression he felt and the burning feeling on his back immediately vanished. He gasped for breath in great heaving gulps, sweat dripping down the hem of his robes. His hair was matted to his forehead and he looked distressed.

The surrounding Black Demon Sect cultivators all let out a long breath and regained their senses. They soon discovered Qin Yu's current rough condition.

After some surprise, they revealed looks of understanding. Then, they humphed, their eyes full of disdain.

As they thought, cultivators who were over a hundred years old would find entering the Demon Ascension gate ten times or even a hundred times more difficult. This sight in front of them was the best evidence.

This person hadn't even entered and he was already like a half-dead dog. Once he entered, he was sure to die, with no chances of survival!

Hum hum! This surname Yao was unparalleled when it came to being vicious and ruthless. It was one thing if he abused his power against them in the Black Demon Sect, but then he decided to recklessly enter the Demon Ascension Gate with no idea of death or danger. If he felt regret it was already too late!

Luckily for them, they had maintained a sufficient distance from him this entire time, otherwise they would have been implicated by him.

No, that's not good enough, I need to stay further away! If I was stained by his aura, that would truly be miserable!

As if they all came to a tacit understanding, the space around Qin Yu was suddenly emptied of people. They all turned their heads away from him, fearing that even taking a breath in his direction would draw them into his mess.

This attracted even more attention.

Zuo Lanyue was expressionless. His purple eyes swept over Qin Yu. There was a brief cold flash before he returned to serenity once more.

Sun Zifu shook his head. "This fellow is really bringing about his own destruction! After entering, I need to widen my eyes and make sure I avoid him. If I meet him I need to turn around and run, otherwise if I'm not careful I might even die without knowing the reason."

Everyone around him nodded in agreement.

Zhou Fenghuang smiled with her eyes. She glanced at Qin Yu before looking away. The arrangements had already been made. As for whether or not there would be harvests, only time would tell.

As for Qin Yu himself, he was an expert over a hundred years of age. He might be extraordinary in the outside world, but once he entered the Demon Ascension Gate, he was a dead man walking.

And it was worthless for her to waste any of her time and energy on the dead.

Qin Yu gasped for breath before barely managing to compose himself. He lowered his head, covering up the shock and surprise in his eyes.

Just what was happening? How could the Demonic Path's ill.u.s.trious and renowned Demon Ascension Gate have some sort of connection to his demonic bloodline?

Although he had felt agonizing pain just now, he had an intuition that the Demon Ascension Gate's strength didn't hold any ill intent towards him.

Rather, this pain seemed more like a side-effect of the resonance between them.

Before Qin Yu could think further, a great suction force came from above, pouring out from the opened bronze gate. Without resisting, he allowed this strength to wrap around him. All around him, he could also see other cultivators who were being pulled up into the air.

"Enter the Demon Ascension Gate and unleash all of your abilities. Only the most outstanding amongst you can join the Demonic Path! I will be waiting here for the final victors to return!"

All around, numerous cultivators were stimulated by these words. Their eyes flushed red and they roared out together. Fervent ambition and earnest hopes filled their eyes. After reaching this step, no one was willing to be defeated here. This was because only by entering the Demonic Path would they have more opportunities to touch upon a greater strength in this world.

Qin Yu remained silent. He looked at the approaching bronze gate and the demon face that was split in two. There was an eyeball on each door. He didn't know why, but he felt as if they were watching him. Luckily he wasn't frightened by this feeling. Rather, there was a sense of warmth to it.

Looking at the two eyes, Qin Yu's field of vision gradually turned black. He took a deep breath, tossing away all extraneous thoughts. He muttered to himself, "Demon Ascension Gate, I'm here…"

Then, like a tiny rock falling into water, ripples appeared in the darkness in front of Qin Yu and it swallowed him in.

His consciousness fell into a brief trance. Then, as if only a single breath of time passed, Qin Yu's vision was restored. He looked around and only after determining that there was no danger did he feel a bit more relieved.

"Ahh! Why are you here!?" Within the sad and shrill screams, there was a heavy dose of panic.

Qin Yu had already discovered that not too far away was Sun Zifu and three other cultivators. They were all staring at him.

Young master Sun looked as if he had been bitten by a poisonous snake. "Don't look at me! Don't look at me! We haven't seen you, we've never seen you!" He shoved a foot on a person behind him and a bright light surrounded his body before he shot away. "What are you all still doing there? Do you plan on waiting for death!?"

"Young master, wait for us!" The three cultivators anxiously chased after him, soon vanishing from sight.

Qin Yu rubbed his nose, an awkward expression on his face. Did that bastard really need to be frightened to such a degree? He shook his head and walked forward, his figure soon submerging into the dense forest.

The so-called Demon Ascension Gate was not just a giant bronze gate, it was a key that connected space. This small world around him was where the true test was.

Qin Yu had resolved himself to pass through the Demon Ascension Gate and enter the Demonic Path. So, he had done research and had a certain understanding of it.

What the Demon Ascension Gate connected to was a small world filled with demonic energy. A massive number of demon beasts existed here and by killing them, one could obtain points depending on their strength.

These points were the key to entering the Demonic Path. The higher one was ranked, the higher one's chances of passing. Moreover, once a person obtained points, they couldn't be reduced or traded away. As a result, at the start, most people either tried to get as great a lead as they could, or they tried to force other cultivators ranked above them to retreat and increase their own ranking.

The reason they could force others to retreat was due to the soulguard stones. As long as a cultivator met a danger they couldn't overcome, they could directly transmit themselves out.

Of course, hunting and killing powerful demon beasts within the Demon Ascension Gate's small world provided more benefits than just points. After all, during all other instances of the Demon Ascension Gate, at most a hundred some people would advance. The vast majority of cultivators were doomed to fail.

If this was the extent of the benefits, there likely wouldn't be so many people competing for qualifications to enter the Demon Ascension Gate with all their strength.

Hunting down demon beasts provided another benefit. By killing them, one could obtain their demon blood which was infused with potent demonic energy. Refining and absorbing this demon blood could help strengthen a cultivator's mortal body and even activate their demonic bloodline.

As for those people that had already activated their demonic bloodline, refining and absorbing demon blood could enhance a person's demonic bloodline. If one absorbed enough they could even allow their bloodline to rise to the next step. It was because of this reason that through all the previous openings of the Demon Ascension Gate, it had become an unsurpassed grand ceremony of all who walked the demonic path!

"Demon beasts, is it?" Qin Yu whispered to himself, a look of anticipation in his eyes.

Before waiting too long, Qin Yu's curiosity was satisfied. A ferocious wolf-like creature appeared in front of him. Its body was covered in black scales. It was the first demon beast he had encountered since arriving here.

Disregarding all else, just this demon wolf's ability to conceal its aura was incredible. If it weren't for the Cosmic Seacross Bell reminding him, he likely wouldn't have sensed it.

But as long as he knew where this demon wolf was, its strength proved no threat against Qin Yu.

With a flick of his sleeves, the void twisted and wrapped around the demon wolf. Before it could even howl in fear, it was torn and twisted into a pile of flesh and broken bones.

A fluctuation spread out from the soulguard stone. Qin Yu sensed it and discovered he had gained two points. It was clear this was from killing the demon wolf.

Moreover, there was also a leaderboard within the soulguard stone. Qin Yu was ranked past 1000 and it didn't display his specific ranking.

The one ranked first was a cultivator named Gu Sansi; he had reached 90 points. After that were the other top ten ranked cultivators. They had points in the dozens.

Near the top, Qin Yu could see a familiar name - Zuo Lanyue, 67 points, ranked fifth.

His eyes narrowed with a cold intent. Qin Yu looked down and found another familiar name - Sun Zifu, 21 points, ranked 47th.

After taking back his divine sense, a dignified look appeared on Qin Yu's face. Was everyone planning to crazily sprint to the top of the rankings from the very start? But, he didn't feel hurried. Killing this demon wolf had contributed two points. If he hunted down and killed even more powerful demon beasts at the commander level or higher, he could obtain ten times the points if not more.

With Qin Yu's current strength, as long as his luck wasn't too bad, obtaining points wouldn't be difficult at all. He was confident he would storm into the top of the leaderboard rankings.

He lifted a hand and grasped forward. The demon wolf's flesh and blood withered and dried, as if countless years had passed in the blink of an eye. In the end, all that remained was a fist-sized amount of blood essence. At this time, the demon head on Qin Yu's back opened its eyes. Its mouth widened and the blood essence flew in, fusing into his body.

Qin Yu closed his eyes and sensed the changes happening to his body. After several breaths of time, he opened his eyes again, a happy look on his face.

He clearly felt his demonic bloodline becoming stronger. Although it was only an extremely small amount, it still left Qin Yu overjoyed.

It had to be known that what Qin Yu refined now was only the blood essence of a small and weak demon wolf; the demonic energy it contained was thin and bare.

If he could kill a commander level demon beast, his demonic bloodline would undergo a considerable promotion.

And one's demonic bloodline provided an incredibly strong auxiliary function in cultivating the Demon Body. If Qin Yu wanted to bloom within the Demonic Path, even obtaining a crucial status, then cultivating the Demon Body was a shortcut to doing so.

"It looks like I will need to use all my strength in hunting…" Qin Yu licked his lips. Then, he stepped forward and his body dashed away like a bolt of lightning.

Within his soul space, the cold voice of a little girl rang out. "To the front left, a hundred miles."

A moment later, Qin Yu stood in front of the corpse of a giant demon beast a hundred feet long. Ignoring the 15 points it contributed, he kneeled down and reached out towards its head.