Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Shen Yuanyin controlled the power of extreme yin and extreme cold. Her thoughts and emotions were cold and she could pass down the judgment of death with an iciness that froze all vitality.

She never imagined that there would be a day when she would be injured by the power of her own extreme cold, even losing her life as a result.

In a world of ice and snow, strong wings howled around. Hard chunks of ice swirled about, crashing into each other.

Shen Yuanyin stood in this wind and snow, her white-clothed figure seeming as if it would assimilate into the surrounding storm, submerging into it.

She was well aware that she was currently in a dream. But, what was reflected in this dream was the true situation outside.

With her cultivation unstable she would lose control of her power. Once she was assimilated into this storm around her, her consciousness would fade away and she would become pure yin chill energy.

Once her consciousness dispersed her soul would wither away. All that would be left of her would be an ice cold shell of a body.

The Sublime Lost Emotion Code erased all emotions but the fear of death. She had tried diligently to break free from this dream and take back control of her rampaging strength, but all of her efforts failed.

Shen Yuanyin furrowed her eyebrows. There was a trace of confusion and absent-mindedness in her eyes.

Could this be called the retribution of causality? She had rid herself of her 'human nature', giving herself the cold-hearted ability to freely kill. Now, she would also die in this extreme cold.

Shen Yuanyin closed her eyes, her expression indifferent. Since she couldn't escape, she could only calmly wait here for death to arrive.

However, she hoped that before she died, that person would be a little smarter and would flee as far as he could. Otherwise if he were to be wrapped up in the cold energy she released, he would likely accompany her in death.

Mm…was she worrying? How could she have such emotions that perturbed her thoughts? Thinking about it…this had to be the chaos one felt when on the verge of death.

As if sensing that Shen Yuanyin had given up all resistance and was embracing the idea of death, the strong winds all around her became even louder and more violent, even colder.

Her body shook and her figure seemed even frailer. It was like she would be swept up by the storm at any moment.

Her consciousness erratically fluttered up and down, on the edge of dissipating. But then, Shen Yuanyin felt something warm.

It was like a small fire had been lit in a freezing room. It was weak at first, but as time passed it grew increasingly hot.

Tumbling waves of heat surrounded her entire body. Water started to sizzle and steam. The thick layers of snow and ice began to melt away.

A slumbering volcano seemed to awaken in the world of snow and ice. Its terrifying temperature dissolved the entire dreamscape.

Finally, because the snow and ice melted away, this incomplete dreamworld loudly collapsed.

Within the rising mist, all of that thick snow and frost had completely vanished.

A string of water droplets hung on Shen Yuanyin's eyelashes. When she opened her eyes, they splashed on her face.

Her white dress had been soaked by the mist. It clung to her body, revealing her graceful physique.

But now, she couldn't care about these things. She looked to the side where Qin Yu was sitting down cross-legged.

That man was now like a sun, releasing a formidable light and heat.

Shen Yuanyin's cold and still heart was suddenly struck somewhere soft. She earnestly looked at this strange face and some unknown emotion bubbled over from the depths of her heart.

She lifted a hand and covered her mouth. Blood dyed her veil red and slowly began to trickle down her fingers…she had already lost her emotions. Since she had lost them, she couldn't regain them.

Otherwise, she would suffer a backlash from her cultivation method. Her soul would wither away and fade into nothingness.

…

He wore a long and loose blue robe. There was a fan in his hands and a square hat atop his head. Every step he took seemed filled with grace and wisdom.

Unfortunately, there were dark skies above and monster beast corpses littered all over the ground. The smell of blood flooded the senses, completely contrasting against this person.

Xu Wenze shook with excitement. His lips quivered and he said, "Future descendant Wenze greets the ancestor of the Xu Family!"

Although he didn't know this other party's identity, his aura shouldn't be wrong.

The Saint Wengong bloodline cultivated the tendency of righteousness. Their bodies were joined together with the heavens and earth. This wasn't something that could be faked.

"Rise." The middle-aged scholar had a warm temperament. "The scholarly aura around your body has weakened. It should be expected that the bloodline outside has declined. This is also within expectations. The world revolves in a cycle according to its own laws and reasoning. There is nothing that lasts forever."

Xu Wenze was filled with emotion and wisdom upon hearing these words. Most of the resentment that he harbored in his heart immediately diverged.

His mind brightened and his aura shrank before rising back up. He had unexpectedly broken through his own bottleneck and his cultivation had reached the next level.

The middle-aged scholar had a gratified expression. "Your talent is outstanding. You should cultivate well in the future. As long as you have a righteous heart that upholds justice in the future, you will have considerable achievements. Although the Xu Family has declined, that doesn't mean they cannot stand back up against the wind, starting with your generation."

Xu Wenze bowed, his head touching the ground. "I thank ancestor for granting me this lucky chance and helping me break through the demons in my heart."

"Although the Sea of Purgatory is dangerous, the great changes that occurred this time may be considered a lucky chance to you. Follow closely by my side and together we will struggle against our fellow daoists from all around for the sake of the Great Dao."

"Yes."

Xu Wenze stood up and respectfully bowed.

At this time, the middle-aged scholar made a light 'eh' sound. There was a hint of surprise on his face. "Ice and fire…this is actually quite strange."

He lifted a hand and grabbed onto Xu Wenze. Taking a step out, the two of them vanished from sight.

…

Beneath the sky there stood a vast and towering mountain. Although it was only a phantom, one could still sense the invisible oppression it released.

Half of this mountain was covered in ice and snow. A terrifying chill flew about it and snowflakes fluttered in the wind.

The other side was covered in billowing waves of heat. The crimson mountain seemed to have lava flowing over it.

On the mountain, there were two different phenomena appearing. And what was even more astonishing was that there was no conflict where the extreme cold and extreme heat intersected.

They blended together, circulating naturally!

This was a tall mountain phantom, so tall that it seemed it would break through the horizon. But from far away, one couldn't sense it at all. It released an invisible potential that muddled yin and yang, shielding against perceptions.

Only people whose cultivation had reached a profound level and could see straight to the essence of the world could sense something strange from the feedback between the heavens and earth. For them, it was like a portal had opened into this seemingly ordinary scenery, allowing them to take a peek at this isolated world.

Right now, beneath the shadow of the phantom, there was a person standing there. To be more precise, calling this a person wasn't exactly right. Beyond his tall and mighty figure, a rich death energy twined about him and there was no blood on his pale face.

This was unexpectedly a corpse that had been dead for an untold number of years. But right now, his appearance was no different from that of a normal person and there was a certain dignity in his eyes.

If Qin Yu and Shen Yuanyin were here, they would recognize that this robed figure whose aura seemed capable of supporting the heavens and earth, was actually the decayed corpse that had chased them down.

However, he was no longer as distressed as he was before. His decayed body had been regenerated and his eyes had become even more unfathomably deep.

Looking at the mountain phantom where snow and ice coexisted with fire and lava, the decayed corpse had a profound expression. He could sense a familiar and heart-tempting aura.

Suddenly, the decayed corpse furrowed his eyebrows. He turned and glanced to the side. There, space quietly separated and a middle-aged scholar stepped out, followed close behind by Xu Wenze.

When Xu Wenze was stared at by the decayed corpse, his body froze and he turned deathly pale. Sweat began to stream down his body.

The middle-aged scholar took a step forward and blocked all the suppression. He cupped his hands together and said, "Xu Jian greets Mister Cangwu."

"Cangwu…" The decayed corpse's eyes spun around, "You recognize me?"

Xu Jian lightly said, "I came to this land long ago and once managed to have the good fortune of seeing Mister Cangwu once. Even after tens of millions of years have passed, you remain as elegant as before."

The decayed corpse seemed to become lost in his own thoughts. After a long time he shook his head and said, "I can't remember."

He turned away, no longer speaking much.

Xu Jian faintly smiled. He brought Xu Wenze and moved several steps to the side. Only then did he look up at the mountain phantom. He revealed a look of acclaim.

These were just two juniors yet they were able to cause such a stir. Anyone could tell they must be extraordinary.

There would always be proud children of heaven rising up throughout the generations. Even if they had already disappeared in the eyes of the people, the outside world remained as exciting and splendid as before.

This really caused one to yearn for the wider world!

Soon, a third party arrived. This was a person covered in tattered black robes.

Although he was called a person, he didn't seem to have a body at all. There was nothing but a mass of dark fog that held up the robe as it floated in air.

There were two bright red points of light where his head should have been. These were the eyes.

A person also followed behind. He had a delicate and pretty appearance and his red lips revealed a bit of pride. But at this moment, he lowered his head obediently, no hint of prideful presumptuousness in his actions.

Those that had the qualifications to open the channel and come here were all unsurpassed existences of the world. Any one of these existences could easily kill him.

But soon, this extremely pretty youth's complexion darkened and clouded over. He stared stubbornly at the mountain phantom.

Although his cultivation was lacking, because of his family background he had an extremely keen sense when it came to auras.

It was that person!