Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Sun Zifu was comfortably lying atop a white blanket in the car. As he smelled traces of the sweet fragrance coming from it, he felt so good he almost purred.

Zhou Fenghuang looked down and faintly smiled. As she spoke to him, there was a bit of impatience on her face. Her emotions were so well hidden that it was hard for anyone to detect her true thoughts.

"Sir Sun, you have suffered today. But as long as we find the ancient tree monster, no one will refute your contribution. You will receive the harvest you deserve."

Sun Zifu nodded, a cunning look in his eyes. The ancient tree monster was indeed strong but he hadn't clashed with it and had only sensed it. It was true that his soul had been shaken and wounded a little, but the injuries weren't serious.

However, if he had already locked onto it on the first try, who would still value him? If he had, then he likely wouldn't have been able to enter this comfortable Phoenix Luan Car. For as long as he hadn't found the exact location of the ancient tree monster, he would continue to be an indispensable member of this group.

Of course, the division of harvests that Zhou Fenghuang spoke of was also an important reason for this.

Everyone had already signed the contract. They couldn't harm each other and he believed that no one would violate this oath, so Sun Zifu wasn't too worried about his own safety.

In any case, when it came to strength, it was true that he was near the bottom in comparison to these people. But as a direct descendant disciple of the Sun Family, he had his own life-maintaining methods.

Hehe! With Scion Zhao joining them, their chances of successfully hunting down the ancient tree monster rose drastically! No matter what, he wanted to make sure he was given a portion of that thick soup afterwards!

His eyes flashed with a smug expression. He looked behind and saw Qin Yu who was following along from the rear. At this time, Qin Yu seemed to sense something as he looked up.

Their eyes met. Sun Zifu's heart shivered and he forcefully maintained his composure. He smiled and lowered his head.

The smug satisfaction in his heart had thoroughly vanished. Now, there was restlessness instead.

There was no problem with Yao Bin's gaze just now, but how come he felt as if all his secrets had been seen through?

But that was impossible…the lonely mountain summit wasn't too large, but Xu Guzi had used special treasures to isolate out all senses. Yao Bin shouldn't have been able to discover what they were discussing in private.

But he still felt ill at heart…could it be a guilty conscience? Fellow daoist Yao, I didn't want to do this, but the situation left me no choice. Please don't blame me!

…

Beneath the ancient tree monster, countless thick roots crawled up the sides of the mottled furnace. Countless drops of blood rained down, but no matter how much time passed it never filled up. It was clear that there was another world within.

The Sage's eyes were warm and gentle. He smiled, "A pack of smart little children were actually able to find the position of the ancient tree monster. Although my final goal is also to bring you all here, before things are complete, you cannot come too early. It seems I will have to create some trouble for you along the way."

As he spoke, he reached out a hand and patted the ancient tree monster's incomparably thick trunk. A pair of massive eyes slowly opened on the surface of the ancient tree monster, glistening with a cold light.

The Sage bowed. "Lord Monster Emperor, I require your assistance."

…

This was a squad composed of the greatest experts from the demonic path's younger generation. Although their size wasn't too large, their combat strength could not be underestimated. While there were many perilous dangers in this small world, there was nothing that could stop them.

Qin Yu stayed at the rear of the group and found that his journey along was particularly idle. Often, before he could react, the demon beasts that emerged were already cut down.

The ones who took action were mostly Scion Zhao and Dong Hanzhu.

With the dragon spear in hand, no matter how strong or weak the demon beast that appeared was, a single spear thrust would take their life. Not a single demon beast was able to escape this.

That cruel and vicious Dong Family fellow lived up to his reputation. His movements were brutal and ruthless and the demon beasts that appeared in front of him often had incomplete corpses. The smell of blood overflowed wherever he went.

On the surface, it seemed that the two sides were equal. There was no demon beast that was worthy of being an opponent for these two.

But the truth was that in comparison to Scion Zhao's light and simple actions, Dong Hanzhu's methods were too rough.

Qin Yu couldn't help but sigh again. Zhao Qianyun's strength was truly unfathomable. Up until now, all he saw were simply the most basic of spear techniques; he hadn't revealed any supernatural arts yet.

If he were to fight with his full abilities, his strength would likely rise dozens of times over. Qin Yu deeply reflected on this. If the two of them were to engage in a life or death battle, he didn't have full assurance he could win.

And this speculation came from him also considering all of his hidden trump cards. He couldn't help but praise this person. He really couldn't underestimate the heroes of the world.

No one else knew about these thoughts of his. If the rest of the group knew that Qin Yu dared to believe he had a 50% chance of winning against Zhao Qianyun in a life or death struggle, they would probably laugh their heads off.

Little brother, where did your confidence come from?

The name of Zhao Qianyun didn't come with any exaggeration. For him to originate from a side branch of the Zhao Family and come all this way, step-by-step, although he hadn't taken too much time, he must have experienced a great deal of tempering.

One step at a time with careful and steady progress, everyone knew of this!

If one were to look throughout the entire Land of Divinity and Demons for a person that said they had a 50-50 chance of defeating Zhao Qianyun in battle, it would be impossible to find more than a few.

Suddenly, Qin Yu frowned. His feet quietly separated, moving to the most suitable angle to express power.

Within his chest, his heart began to rapidly beat, pushing blood through his body like surging tides rushing through his blood vessels.

Silently, he had already completed preparations to fight.

At this time, Zhao Qianyun came to a stop. "Be careful, something is coming!"

Qin Yu's eyebrows rose and surprise filled his eyes. This Scion Zhao had unexpectedly sharp senses.

Indeed, when compared to a true chosen pride of heaven, after abandoning all of his hidden cards, the difference was not just a little.

Rumble rumble -

Rumble rumble -

Terrifying sounds came from the cliffs on both sides. Great stones tumbled down, snapping apart giant trees like twigs. Broken branches and leaves blew out with roars.

Zhou Fenghuang's eyes instantly darkened. Countless shadows rose up from the ground, weaving together into layers of nets that held back the rolling stones. The speed of the rolling stones became increasingly slow until they came to a stop several dozen feet away.

Roar -

Angry roars filled the air. A black ape appeared above the cliff. Its teeth were exposed and a golden light shimmered in its eyes. It carried a black stone stick in its hand, its cruel aura ascending to the heavens.

Commander level demon beast!

The black ape put strength in its legs. Its giant body rose up like a mountain as it raised the stone stick up high. Then, it leapt down and brought the stone stick smashing down, causing a storm to rise up.

Before it fell, its terrifying aura had already arrived. The ground blasted apart and cracks spread out like a web.

Dong Hanzhu coldly sneered. "You came just in time! I wanted to stretch out my body!"

Dong -

The ground blasted open and Dong Hanzhu soared into the skies. An iron staff appeared in his hands and he roared as he lifted it up high.

The stone stick and iron staff collided in midair. Space twisted and a heaven-startling explosion erupted, rolling out on all sides.

The stone stick in the black ape's hands shook and it almost let it go. It howled, tightly grasping onto the stone stick and barely maintaining its hold.

Dong Hanzhu looked as if he had been maliciously struck. He plummeted from the air, blowing apart a terrifying hole in the ground.

He licked his lips. Then, flexing his arms, his bones began to crack and pop. His body suddenly grew larger and he shouted out, "Great!"

But at this time, before he could do anything, the silently observing Zhao Qianyun moved. The dragon spear in his hands seemed to buzz as he stabbed it into the ground as fast as lightning.

There was a painful roar from deep below the earth. The entire mountain valley began to shake and tumble as mighty waves passed through it.

Zhao Qianyuan's eyes brightened. The dragon spear in his hand fiercely trembled. He took advantage of this moment to rapidly draw backwards. In the next moment, the ground shattered where he had been and a terrifyingly large beast broke free from the earth, biting at the air. Its jaws emitted a horrifying scream.

"Demon earth dragon!"

Xu Guzi's pupils shrank and his face darkened.

Demon beasts possessed a demonic nature. Unless they shared the same tribal bloodline, it was difficult for them to coexist. This was particularly true for commander level demon beasts. They often clearly divided and delineated their territory. If a commander level demon beast were to casually intrude, this could be regarded as an invasion, leading to a great battle.

But today, two commander level demon beasts had appeared at the same time and joined forces to attack them. This was not normal behavior.

As Xu Guzi's thoughts were racing, atop the stones that were blocked by the webs of shadow, red lines began to appear, looking like the veins of living creatures.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. He looked up and glanced over before looking back down.

In the next moment, those giant stones rose into the air, combining and fusing into a terrifying stone giant.

From its eyes, nose, and mouth, liquid lava tumbled about. Flames combusted all over its body as it released a terrifyingly high temperature.

Rising up high, the stone giant was like a mountain peak. Its shadow covered the Phoenix Luan Car!

Before it arrived, the stone giant opened its great mouth. Lava and flames blasted out, submerging the Phoenix Luan Car.