Refining the Mountains and Rivers

It was a giant half-rotten corpse. The corpse's clothes were in tatters and one could see large swathes of mottled purple flesh exposed beneath, as well as visible bones. It held a massive chopper in its hands. The chopper was broken in half, and the tip of the remaining section was slathered in bright red blood.

With just a glance, one could see that the blood had already congealed. But, it gave off the feeling that it was still flowing, full of potent vitality.

Qin Yu's first thought was that he had no idea what sort of life form could leave behind this kind of blood. Soon after, he felt a deep sense of fear and alarm rise up in his heart.

Although he hadn't fought it, from the aura alone he could tell that this decayed corpse was absolutely terrifying!

"Fellow daoist up ahead, save us!"

Loud shouts for help came from behind Qin Yu.

Qin Yu turned and fled. Even if he wanted to leave now, there was no longer a path for him to escape to.

But soon, his complexion gradually clouded over. The several people behind him chased after him in close pursuit, but the distance between them and the decayed corpse actually kept shrinking.

"Ahh!"

There was a pitiful scream. A woman was grabbed tight by the decayed corpse. All of the blood drained from her face. "Save me! Brother Lei, save me!" Unfortunately, the people in front didn't even turn back their heads; they only continued to run away with all of their strength. The decayed corpse used a bit of strength and easily ripped the woman's body in half.

As the decayed corpse ran, its large mouth chomped and chewed. But, there was a giant hole in its stomach so whenever it swallowed flesh and blood, chunks of it would fall out through the hole and drop to the ground.

Occasionally some people turned around and saw this. When they did, they were frightened so badly they nearly peed in their pants. They screamed out loud and ran even faster.

Qin Yu abruptly turned. He could clearly feel the groaning of the flesh and bones within his thighs. But in the next moment, he burst out with an even greater strength.

The strength of an Emperor level Demon Body was not exposed with reservation.

Lei Fang kept his eyes glued onto Qin Yu. The Demonic Path's True Demon Guards all had formidable mortal bodies. If he could cause this person to bleed, then this powerful and tasty blood energy was sure to lead the decaying corpse away from them.

His eyes turned cold. He lifted a hand and punched outwards.

Qin Yu's complexion changed. There was a chilling light in his eyes. He flicked his sleeves and dispersed the incoming strength. Then, he turned his head and coldly glared at Lei Fang.

His feet smashed into the earth and his figure burst forwards. As for the energy he had thrust into the ground, after brewing for a brief period of time it suddenly exploded outwards.

Lei Fang and the others just happened to pass through this area. The explosion covered them, inevitably reducing their speed.

Suddenly, a stone flew over and smashed into the chest of one of the men. The man staggered and fell over, tumbling on the ground. He crawled back up to his feet, about to continue to flee.

But then, an icy cold hand grabbed onto his ankle.

"Ahh!" There was another scream of despair.

Lei Fang was covered in dust, his entire appearance looking distressed. A moment ago he had clearly felt the yin chill aura of the decaying corpse wrapping around his body. In that life or death moment, he had kicked a stone, smashing it into the chest of Cui Sansheng. Only like that had he been able to avoid death.

After almost falling into the hands of the decaying corpse, Lei Fang was filled with panic and horror. He looked at Qin Yu's back, his eyes filling with even deeper hatred.

This damned piece of garbage!

He had completely forgotten that he was the one with ill intentions to begin with. Moreover, he and the several people with him had chased closely behind Qin Yu to begin with, in an attempt to divert the danger onto him.

After killing two people, the decaying corpse's desire to hunt and kill seemed to have been temporarily satisfied. Its loud roars gradually quieted and its chilling aura slowly faded away.

At this moment, Lei Fang turned his head. He could no longer see the figure of the decaying corpse. He let out a long breath, a look of rejoice on his face. Subconsciously, he slowed down his pace.

He looked ahead once more, but Qin Yu's figure had raced far ahead of him. All that was left was a black dot on the horizon that soon vanished after several breaths of time.

…

Ying Capital.

The third state minister's mansion.

The building was palatial and opulent, and the entrance was grand and luxurious.

Deep past numerous gardens, the lord state minister was sitting in his study. His eyes were closed and there were no fluctuations on his face.

After an unknown period of silence, he suddenly opened his eyes. He looked towards the flowers that were blooming just outside his window.

A gentle breeze blew past. The flower petals swayed in the wind, emitting a deep fragrance that warmed the heart.

The lord state minister took a deep breath. He said in a soft voice, "It's starting."

There was a smile on the corners of his lips. He felt incomparably relaxed at the moment. After all these years of patiently waiting, everything had finally borne sweet fruit.

Not too long afterwards, this entire world would be in chaos. But, the state minister didn't feel any guilt at all, because this was the price they should pay.

Everyone in this world owed them!

…

Sea of Purgatory.

Beneath the backdrop of the dim skies, two men and one woman silently treaded forward. A faint blood light wreathed about their bodies, dark and gloomy.

Not too far away on a flat stone outcrop, a monster beast had lowered its head as it tore into flesh and blood. Looking at the corpse's clothes and the fragments of hand and feet they could see, this must have been a beautiful woman before her grisly death.

But now, that beautiful woman was nothing but food in the monster beast's mouth. As the sound of chewing spread out, it instinctually caused one's scalp to tingle in creepiness. Even so, the three people moving forward seemed as if they didn't see or hear anything at all. Without any hesitation they continued forward.

The monster beast's ears twitched. It lifted up its head to reveal a mouth that was matted in blood and covered in pieces of flesh. Its fierce and merciless eyes fell on the three people.

But in the next moment, its body stiffened. It wailed out loud. Then, tossing away the food it had yet to finish, it tucked its tail between its legs and fled, as if it sensed something terrifying from the bodies of the three people!

Soon, the three people climbed up a mountaintop. They stopped in an alcove. The man in front took out a disc and started pacing back and forth.

After turning around and around several times, the man finally came to a stop. There was a hum in the air as the ground in front of him suddenly collapsed to reveal a massive hole.

The hole was pitch-black and it was unknown where it led to. Faint traces of energy slowly flowed out. Half of it was yin black and half of it was yang white. The two wove together as one.

The man passed the disc to the person behind him. Then, without any hesitation, he leapt up and plunged into the gaping hole.

Quietly, like a tiny stone entering a vast river, there was not a single splash.

But he seemed to have changed something in the end. Within the yin black and yang white, there were additional traces of red. The smell of blood filled the air.

The second man wasn't even perturbed. He passed the disc to the third person and dove straight into the hole.

All that remained was the woman. Her face was beautiful and her skin was fair. As she saw the increasingly thick traces of blood red energy, there was no fluctuation in her eyes.

Who could have imagined that just several days ago, she was a sheltered young lady raised in the depths of the state minister's mansion? After learning she had been placed on the name list, she had been so frightened she had urinated on the scene.

She lifted a hand and tapped the disc. Blood-colored textures appeared, weaving together into a fierce face.

It opened its mouth and silently called out.

Hum -

The opening of the hole trembled. Some of the white and black traces that were almost soaked in blood went whistling back in.

In the next moment, the entrance to the hole disappeared from sight.

The woman put away the disc and turned to leave. Her light footsteps soon faded away.

…

Qin Yu looked up at the city ruins that still existed in front of him. He let out a deep breath and revealed a relaxed look. He took several steps forward, his body flying in like a shadow.

Just as he landed on the ground, he frowned and looked upward, his eyes sharp and cold. A pair of blood red eyes behind a door panel hesitated for a moment before eventually moving away.

Seeing that this other party didn't want to engage with him, Qin Yu continued moving. After several breaths of time, he arrived deep in the ruins. Moments later, he found a vacant room. When he determined that there weren't any surrounding dangers, he shoved open a decayed wooden door. There was a burst of dust sent flying in the air as he stepped in.

He sat down cross-legged and took out several pills, swallowing them up. He let out a long breath and his face paled a little.

With his current cultivation, he could still put up a fight when facing an initial Calamity Immortal realm cultivator. Even when placed within the entire Land of Divinity and Demons, he could be considered a peak powerhouse.

But today, in the Sea of Purgatory, he had actually been placed in an utterly distressed state. If it weren't for the sharp sensory powers of the Cosmic Seacross Bell, he feared he wouldn't have been able to arrive here intact.

The ruins of a city within the Sea of Purgatory. There was no way to research its history and no one even knew where to begin. But, rumors said that it was constructed in the far off ancient times. Although it was dilapidated now, it still retained some sort of power.

The monster beasts and evil beings that lived in the Sea of Purgatory wouldn't easily approach these ruins. Of course, this didn't mean that it was a place of absolute safety.

When Qin Yu first entered the ruins, the blood red eyes that stared at him from behind a door were one of the great terrors of the ruins!

That was a withered corpse. They were said to be the residents of this city that lived here in ancient times. For some unknown reason, they had devolved into their current appearance.

Within the Demonic Path's database on the Sea of Purgatory, there was a detailed record of the withered corpses that lived in the ruins. These were freakish monsters that couldn't be killed. Even if they were torn to shreds, they would eventually be reborn.

And these creatures possessed a depraved desire for the flesh and blood of living beings. When encountering a living being, they would never give up on it.

Luckily, these withered corpses seemed to suffer some form of imprisonment. Most of them could only stay in their own houses, or perhaps move in a small and narrow scope around them.

As long as he was careful and didn't intrude into their range of movement, there wasn't much risk of danger.

However, this Sea of Purgatory that should only have been somewhat dangerous had now become a perilous land of almost certain death. It was said that the city ruins were safe, but could such information still be trusted now?

Qin Yu didn't know. So, he decided to only stay here for a moment. After recovering his energy, he would immediately leave.

He suppressed these extraneous thoughts and closed his eyes, adjusting his condition with all his strength.

As Qin Yu was restoring his losses, several visitors appeared outside the city ruins.