Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Holy Palace.

A bell that had lain quiet beneath a Bodhi Tree for many years suddenly rang out loud. Its deep and broad sound seemed to cause some sort of resonance.

In the next moment, throughout the entire Holy Land small world, the thick heaven and earth spiritual energy began to rush and tumble about.

Rumble rumble -

It roared like rough and wild seas, sweeping out through all sides!

The first boundary of the sun step: shadow sun.

The sun was like a shadow, faint and illusory.

But no matter how faint it was, no matter how illusory it was, it was still the sun step.

"….The stars condense, the moon grows, the moon falls, the sun rises…" And the part following that is, "…the sun rises, the bell rings, the heavens and earth move, welcoming a new master…"

By the time the Demon Envoy arrived, the people standing around the crater were still watching on in stunned bewilderment. He wasn't in the mood to pay attention to the loss of composure of these people. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses.

While the Demon Body talent test was extremely strict, as the Demon Envoy of the Holy Palace, he had studied the Holy Palace's secret arts and was able to sense the auras within.

He opened his eyes. Within the joyous surprise, there was also some worry he couldn't suppress.

It really was Yao Bin!

If it was said that he only had a 40-50% assurance before, then after today he was able to recognize that Yao Bin was the person he had been waiting for all along.

This should have been something good, but the commotion Yao Bin stirred up today was too large, so large that even he couldn't cover it up if he wanted to.

He glanced around. The powerhouses of the previous Holy Monarch's tribe had arrived. Each one had gloomy expressions with a chilling brilliance surging from their eyes.

As he thought about the full moon rank talent who had appeared amongst the previous Holy Monarch's descendants not too long ago, the Demon Envoy felt an even greater headache coming on.

But a headache was just a headache. Since he had thoroughly confirmed that Qin Yu was the person he had been waiting for all this time, he wouldn't allow anyone to harm him.

Figure after figure appeared above the crater. They maintained a certain distance from the overlapping spaces below, a show of their respect to the Holy Palace.

But this didn't stop them from utilizing their various detection methods to peer into the overlapping spaces below towards the new disciple who had triggered today's phenomenon.

These great figures of the Demonic Path were covered in space distortions so that people outside couldn't see their expressions. Still, looks of shock and surprise came over them.

It was actually him!

After a brief moment of thought, some people frowned, some people coldly sneered, and some people revealed a divine light in their eyes.

Above the crater, the dense overlapping spaces began to violently tremble. It was like some sort of formidable strength had erupted from within, surpassing its withstanding limits.

Thus, the overlapping spaces began to collapse one after another, ejecting the new disciples directly outside.

The originally empty lip of the crater was now overcrowded with people. After a brief dazed moment as if awakening from a deep slumber, they seemed to suddenly sense something. They looked up into the skies at the newly born tenth sun and their mouths slowly fell open.

…

Qin Yu felt as if he had been plunged into the eighteen layers of hell and had made the trip several hundred times over. Even though he possessed a firm will and formidable mind, he still thought of death more than once.

But what a pity, he refused to die. Although it was like a hundred giant volcanoes were all erupting in his body, a strange and invisible strength protected his mortal body.

His soul curled up into a ball and his consciousness reached the point of collapse countless times over. But whenever he reached this state, a cool feeling would pour into him, causing his hazy consciousness to sober up.

After struggling through the pain for an unknown period of time, Qin Yu finally realized something. Perhaps he wouldn't die here today.

Since he wouldn't die, then what benefits would withstanding this pain bring him?

Furnace fires tempered gold. If one didn't die…they would be reborn!

…

In the skies above, the splendor of the ten suns reflected and contrasted against each other. Across the entire Demonic Path Holy Land's small world, everyone looked up in shock, their eyes full of disbelief.

The moon falls, the sun rises, the bell rings, the heavens and earth move, welcoming a new master…

The minds of the majority of the Demonic Path cultivators were quaking and they weren't able to think of anything.

But, the emotions of those people that were closely paying attention to today's events surged like the sea in a storm.

Zhao Qianyuan's eyes glowed with divine light. He stared tightly at the tenth sun in the skies. After furrowing his eyebrows a little, he soon composed himself, not revealing too much shock.

This was because he had long since chosen his road. As long as he patiently walked down it, Zhao Qianyuan was confident that his achievements wouldn't be below anyone else's.

After all, it wasn't just Dong Hanzhu who was born different.

Still, he couldn't help but acknowledge that Yao Bin's performance today had far surpassed his expectations.

Sun step…this in itself was the qualification to touch up that supreme position of the holy throne. Even if the events within the Demon Ascension Gate's small world had been sealed away, after today he was bound to become a peerless proud son of the Demonic Path whose name echoed throughout the world.

But at the same time, this reputation was sure to bring him a great deal of trouble.

Zhao Qianyuan faintly smiled. He had personally experienced this sort of tempering before. But, the difference was that he had already broken free, while Yao Bin had just joined the game.

"I hope that you can break out of the darkness and thoroughly liberate yourself. In this vast world, if there is no one to travel with, it really is far too lonely."

As for whether or not the person who stirred up today's phenomenon was Yao Bin?

In Zhao Qianyuan's mind, there was no doubt it was him. He believed his eyes, and he believes his heart even more.

There was also another person who recognized the one in the crater as Qin Yu.

Dong Hanzhu pursed his lips together. His eyes were dark and dim, but then a bright flame seemed to ignite in his pupils.

He was born differently and received a great lucky chance from birth; he was destined to have great accomplishments. Because of this, he had always been haughty and arrogant and his peers had never entered his eyes.

Zhao Qianyuan was the first one to teach him a lesson, and Qin Yu was the one who gave him a second lecture. Although the two of them had never fought, he wouldn't deceive himself.

This person was absolutely a formidable existence on the same level as Zhao Qianyuan.

Someone that could thoroughly and decisively defeat him.

But so what?

Those running in the front might not go far, and those lagging in the rear might be able to soar. During this ill.u.s.trious era, he, Dong Hanzhu, was destined to shine bright for 100,000 years!

The competition between you and me has just started. I will not be discouraged, so I ask that you also not be too arrogant.

There will eventually come a day, when you are at your most magnificent and radiant, that I will finally defeat you!

Within a grand and luxurious courtyard room, Sun Zifu let out a long breath. He knew he didn't have to hide anymore and could lay down the guilt in his heart.

Today Yao Bin had finally managed to soar into the skies, displaying his unparalleled potential. Even if it were a little troublesome, it was enough for the Sun Family to make a bet.

The reward he had promised in the small world would soon be sent over. As one of the future inheritors of his family, Sun Zifu was confident in his judgment.

But, he was watching as those around him walked up higher and higher. Unless he wanted to keep looking up for the rest of his life, he needed to start working harder.

Over these years where he had meandered around obliviously, there had been wonders, splendors, and memories. But more than all of that, there was vanity and waste.

Sun Zifu sighed with emotion and walked towards the training chamber. He was luckier than most people. Because of his family, even though he had wasted precious time, he still had a chance to recover.

Even if the sun and moon were destined to shine blindingly bright in the future, he still wanted to be a glistening star in the skies that couldn't be ignored. Even if he couldn't compete with the sun and moon, he still wanted to leave behind his own ripples in the endless river of time.

No one wanted to live in mediocrity!

…

Because of Qin Yu, a blazing fighting spirit had been ignited in the most dazzling future great figures of the Demonic Path. But while he was supposedly triumphantly advancing towards his magnificent future, he had actually encountered a great deal of trouble.

Within the dark space, the strange cool strength that gushed out seemed as if it couldn't withstand Qin Yu's terrifying level of swallowing; it began to gradually dry up.

At the start, because of the reduction of that cool strength, the 'volcano' erupting in his body and wreaking havoc also started to lower in temperature, causing Qin Yu to suffer less pain.

But soon, the little bit of joy in Qin Yu's heart turned to deep fear. Because he discovered that as it vanished, the strength which protected his mortal body also began to fade away.

The temperature of the 'volcano' had decreased, but it continued to burn. And, it seemed as if it would continue to burn for some period of time.

If Qin Yu lost the protection surrounding his mortal body…after some quiet calculations, he discovered that he wouldn't be able to last until the volcano was extinguished before he was burnt to char.

…

The tenth sun in the skies gradually turned red. Faint traces of brilliant color began to extend inwards from the border of the sun, making it appear even more striking.

The moon step had three ranks, and the sun step similarly had different levels.

The shadow sun, where the great sun was like a shadow, like a dream, like an illusion.

When red appeared, coming from the outside in, slowly coloring it scarlet, that was the red sun.

But soon, one discovered that the dazzling red color flowing into the interior of the sun began to slow down.

Seeing this, everyone suddenly thought the same thing: today's unexpectedly great performance was about to come to an end.

No one had the qualifications to mention the name of the previous Holy Monarch, and even the bloodline descendants he left behind didn't dare to blaspheme him by sharing in his surname.

Their surname had originally been 'Lin', a character that represented a forest. But now, they called their surname 'Mu', a character that represented just a single tree, a part of a forest.

Now, the pale complexions of several powerful figures within the Mu Family began to ease a little. Although this person had managed to reach the sun step, it was only the lowest shadow sun.

Yes, while it was true that the shadow sun had a chance of reaching the Saint realm Demon Body, the chances of this happening were incredibly slim. At the very least, in the records of the previous Holy Monarchs, there were none of them who managed to reach their position with just a shadow sun achievement.

In order to become the Holy Monarch, one had to at least reach the red sun boundary. This was a fact mutually recognized by all high level figures in the Demonic Path.

As long as one didn't have a great chance of becoming the Holy Monarch, this situation could be manipulated. As the descendants of the previous Holy Monarch, the Mu Family possessed a special inheritance.

Mu Mo still had a chance!

The Demon Envoy sighed inwardly. The edges of the shadow sun had turned red but the color wasn't able to penetrate in further. It was truly a pity.

But this result wasn't too bad. If Yao Bin's performance was even more splendid today, the situation would have become even more dangerous for him.

While the shadow sun was a threat, as long as the Demon Envoy was looking after him and he was a bit more careful, there shouldn't be any problems.

The Demon Envoy glanced at the slightly relaxed Mu Family members and a cold light flashed in his eyes. He didn't have the inheritance of the Holy Monarch, but throughout the endless years of the Demonic Path there had been more than one Holy Monarch.

What the final result of this contest would be, no one could know.