Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu clenched his jaws, "Damn it, it actually ran away!" He looked at Shen Yuanyin, his expression poor. "Why didn't you harass her and hold her down!"

Shen Yuanyin spat out a mouthful of blood, faint fluctuations in the depths of her eyes. "My injuries are too heavy and you took too long in your preparations."

Qin Yu coldly coughed. "That creature's strength is considerable. If I hastily attacked, I would have at most only been able to wound it. I did this in order to forever eliminate this trouble. How aggravating, I was only one step away! If she had been any slower, she would have definitely died here!"

Shen Yuanyin asked, "What do we do now?"

Qin Yu had an uncertain expression. "After today's events, that creature will surely be on guard against us. It will be much more difficult to trick it again in the future. Let's leave first and discuss it further."

Shen Yuanyin nodded, not saying anything. It was unknown what cultivation method she cultivated, but besides her icy cold personality, she was also unbelievably tough.

After a short period of time she managed to restore some of her energy. Although her face was still pale, her weakness seemed to have disappeared.

"Humph!" Qin Yu flicked his sleeve and took away the Ninth Province furnace. Shen Yuanyin followed close behind.

After leaving the cave, Qin Yu pulled Shen Yuanyin close and stepped into the shadows. The two of them instantly vanished from sight.

A moment later, faint traces of black water vapor flowed out from the crack in the cave floor. It gathered in the air, condensing into the figure of the Water Marid.

Its slender eyes stared in the direction of the cave opening. It was filled with surprise and rejoice.

Its ever-changing skill was an instinctual talent it was born with. As long as it saw someone, while it couldn't say that its imitation was flawless, even a Calamity Immortal shouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But today, it had been easily seen through. The Water Marid now fully believed that the spiritual god that perished was absolutely terrifyingly strong, otherwise there was no way it could possess such a keen divine insight.

Luckily, its reactions had been fast, otherwise it feared it would have died here.

Still, when it thought about how it was supposed to be a hidden hunter and yet it was almost hunted down in the end, the Water Marid felt depressed.

But compared to maintaining its life, this bit of sadness wasn't anything at all.

Before Qin Yu left, he was able to carry Shen Yuanyin away and use some sort of teleportation skill.

This act had dispelled its final traces of hesitation.

What nonsense had it been thinking about killing them off while they were weak?

That cheap bitch Sang Zhu, even before she died she still had to dig a pit for it to fall into!

After using Shadow Step dozens of times, blood energy tumbled within Qin Yu's body. There was a stabbing pain in his soul as his field of vision flacked black. When he was sure that he couldn't last any longer, it was only then that he finally stopped. When he turned around, he saw that the quiet Shen Yuanyin who had remained silent no matter how much he pulled at her, had actually closed her eyes in meditation.

He used a bit of strength and pulled her into his arms. This minor movement caused his chest to ache. Then, without being able to bear it any longer, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Drops of blood splashed onto Shen Yuanyin's long white skirt, growing like a plum blossom in the snowy winter. Several drops fell onto her cheek, contrasting even brighter against her pale face.

Qin Yu apologized inwardly and wiped away the blood with his hand. But when his hand touched her cheek, he felt how cold and soft her skin was. It was just that with his current condition, it really was too difficult to form any blasphemous thoughts.

Looking at the deeply slumbering Shen Yuanyin, Qin Yu bitterly smiled. Even when it came to fainting, she still had to be first!

…He also wanted to happily faint!

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the knot in his chest eased a little. He took a deep breath and hugged her tight, slowly taking her into the distance.

With their present conditions, they couldn't move too much. If their luck was poor they could even encounter a monster beast or evil being that they might normally casually kill, but that would now be able to easily take their lives.

Luckily, things proceeded peacefully. Qin Yu reluctantly used the path of metal to open up a hiding spot. Then, after taking out the Ninth Province furnace and concealing them, he let out a deep breath.

His soul ached and his body was overcome with exhaustion. Qin Yu closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

But he still couldn't relax yet. Although he had scared away the Water Marid just now, who knew when it would come back?

He lifted a hand and rubbed his eyebrows. He barely managed to utter, "Undying, see if there is anything wrong with this woman's body."

The first time, Shen Yuanyin hadn't been gone for long before she met a group of cultivators. Now she was even being chased after.

If this was said to be a coincidence, it was just too much of one. There had to be something wrong here.

After waiting for several breaths of time and not obtaining a response, Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows, "Undying?"

This time, a weak voice responded. "I cannot appear right now. Master, place your hand upon her body."

Qin Yu was startled. Then, he immediately felt ashamed of himself. Before this he had only thought about running for his life so he had pulled Shen Yuanyin close and used Shadow Step dozens of times.

Even though Undying was tyrannically strong, he must have suffered tremendous losses too. It was no wonder he hadn't responded.

He really shouldn't put Undying to work while he was in such a condition, but if he didn't remove the hidden dangers in this woman's body, there would undoubtedly be more problems in the future.

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

Hearing the apology in Qin Yu's words, Undying sighed with emotion. "It's fine."

Just how perilous had that crisis been just now? To rely upon some quickly made up plan to scare away the Water Marid and escape alive was already a blessing from the heavens.

Qin Yu didn't speak much further. He placed a hand on Shen Yuanyin's body. "Begin."

Luckily, even though Undying had lost a great deal of strength, his boundary was still where it was. After spending some time, he made a discovery.

"Three inches beneath her chest. Search that area with your magic power. Once you find the yin chill energy, you can wipe it out."

After Undying finished speaking he fell quiet. He really needed to go into slumber and restore as much strength as he could.

Qin Yu revealed an awkward expression. Although it was three inches beneath her chest, when he looked at the woman across from him, he really found it hard to do.

"This is a matter of life or death. I apologize if I offend you."

He placed down a probing finger. Even though he was already prepared for this, when he felt the softness beneath him, he still stiffened.

Fortunately, his mindset was sufficiently powerful. He immediately gathered his thoughts and carefully searched with his magic power. As expected, he soon found that yin chill energy.

Qin Yu was ecstatic. He stimulated his magic power to wrap around it. But at this time, a change occurred.

That yin chill energy seemed to sense that something was wrong and blew apart. Qin Yu was completely unprepared for this. And with his body still weakened, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Luckily, as the yin chill energy exploded, all tracking marks left behind on Shen Yuanyin also vanished.

…

10,000 miles away, a flying black mass of water vapor suddenly froze.

In the next moment it wildly tumbled about, roaring with endless hatred and rage.

"That bastard, he dared to deceive me!?"

The Water Marid had placed the mark so it naturally sensed when it broke. At that time, it also sensed Qin Yu's weakened state.

This was the reason for its current reaction. It seemed that everything that happened before had been nothing but an act, and the most pitiful thing was that it had fallen for it.

As it thought about how the Pure Yin Body and formidable godhead were placed right in front of it, ready for the taking, and yet it had actually let them go on its own volition…

Regret bit into its heart like a snake. At this moment, Qin Yu could be called the person that the Water Marid hated most in the world!

"Ahhhh! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!"

Bang -

A terrifying strength erupted, sweeping out in all directions!

….

Qin Yu had no idea how long he slept. He moved his fingers and slowly opened his eyes. He sensed that something wasn't right.

It was cold!

A cold that pierced straight into the marrow of his bones!

He was nearly frozen solid. When he looked up at Shen Yuanyin, he found the reason.

This woman had no more color left in her face. In fact, she seemed somewhat translucent, as if she were a genuine sculpture carved from ice.

The terrifying chill was constantly gushing out from her body. This temporary hiding place had become a world of snow and ice.

Carefully sensing, he discovered that Shen Yuanyin's aura was especially weak. She was a lamp flicking in a stormy winter night, about to be extinguished at any moment.

This wasn't right!

Qin Yu didn't believe this was because of the cultivation method she practiced. He had never heard of any cultivation method that would turn someone into a lifeless block of ice.

As he thought about how Shen Yuanyin had fainted before this, Qin Yu's complexion turned dignified. He feared it was likely because her wounds were too severe, causing her to lose control of her strength.

Not caring for his own injuries, Qin Yu staggered over. He placed a hand on her and immediately trembled.

He hurriedly lifted his hand. Frost had formed on his palm, spreading down to his wrist.

Qin Yu let out a breath of cold air. Currently, this woman was no different from a block of eternally cold ice.

He flung his palm. With a crack, ice shards fell down. His gaze became even more dignified.

He was indeed right. She had lost control of her cultivation!

If he didn't help her, this woman would soon die from having lost control of her strength and being slain by the backlash.

But right now, her body temperature had fallen to a horrifyingly low degree. With his current condition, if he were to get closer to her, much less saving her, he might simply die himself.

What to do?

Qin Yu paced back and forth for a moment. Then, his eyes lit up. He didn't know whether or not this would work, but there was no other choice in this current situation. Even if there was no hope, he still had to try his best.

Without delaying any further, he walked next to Shen Yuanyin. Suppressing the bone-piercing chill, he sat down cross-legged.

He closed his eyes. With a thought, the Demon Body began to activate. Blood energy loudly erupted, blowing through his veins like billowing crimson magma. An astonishing amount of thermal energy broke free from his body as it did.

The cold chill outside suddenly weakened a great deal, becoming something manageable.

Qin Yu's idea was simple. If Shen Yuanyin was a block of ice, then he would become a conflagration of fire. Perhaps he might be able to save her like this.

Suddenly, faint traces of cold energy drilled into his body. When it fused with that burning heat, it became a warm and temperate strength.

Qin Yu was startled. He had no idea what was happening. But when he determined that this warm strength wasn't harming him, he thought for a moment and decided not to stop.

This was Shen Yuanyin's only chance of surviving. Whether or not it worked, he wanted to try it…even if they couldn't be considered friends, the two of them had experienced life or death perils together. He couldn't just ignore her.

Although Qin Yu had woken up, he was still incomparably weak. As the warm strength spread throughout his body, he lost track of time. His consciousness became increasingly blurry until he finally dozed off.