Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The little blue lamp no longer tried to discourage him and directly told him the method. "My current strength is limited so I need to draw support from an external force to strengthen myself. This will require you to sacrifice your lifespan. Moreover, although the dao spirit is firm, if it absorbs strength that surpasses its limits, it will still collapse. For this, your blood essence must be pulled out to strengthen its withstanding capacity."

Qin Yu nodded, "I can handle this!"

Hum -

The great sun phantom trembled. A part of its dazzling light separated outward and formed a phantom altar.

Two rays of light flew out from the phantom altar. One connected to the great sun phantom and the other shined upon Qin Yu.

Qin Yu stiffened and he coughed out loud. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. Although he had already been prepared for this, the act of sacrificing his lifespan was like having all his marrow drawn out from his bones.

All life forms in this world had a limit to their life. So, lifespan could be called the power of life. This was an invisible and intangible strength, one that was combined with one's own vitality. It supported the existence of living beings, allowing them to walk through the heavens and earth.

When the power of life was exhausted, the life form would die.

At this moment, Qin Yu could clearly feel his own lifespan passing out from him. Faint traces of a yin chill rose up from the depths of his soul.

Bang -

The vortex that had grown a hundred times over suddenly grew again. A massive rumbling swept out through the crimson and black colors, turning into an earthshaking tide.

In an instant, it had become an astonishing 1000 times larger!

At the center of the vortex, the speed at which the dao spirit absorbed the power of extreme yin and yang rose ten times over from before. The textures on its surface grew brighter, almost surpassing the great sun phantom, causing one to be unable to look at it.

Kacha -

Kacha -

Small swords spread from the inside of the dao spirit, like little gears rubbing and colliding with each other.

The little blue lamp lightly sighed. "The dao spirit cannot withstand a thousand times acceleration."

Qin Yu clenched his teeth and roared, "Then take my blood essence!"

Another ray of light fell down. Qin Yu consciously looked up. Blue veins stuck out on his neck. When that pure white light touched his body, it immediately turned blood red.

Then, like a blood vessel formed of light, the boundless blood essence in Qin Yu's body was drained into the vortex.

Drip -

Drip -

Like rain dripping down from a roof after a stormy night, drops of dark red blood condensed and landed atop the dao spirit.

The furnace that was at an astonishingly high temperature needed to find a way to release heat or it would explode. To the dao spirit, these drops of blood were like a flow of cooling water.

The speed at which it absorbed the strength of extreme yin and yang didn't stop. But, the brilliance of its textures was lowered by a great deal and the grinding sounds within also gradually subsided.

But this was a result which Qin Yu had exchanged for with his life. To offer his lifespan and have his blood essence sucked out…either one of these things was an excruciatingly painful process, and he was now withstanding both of them together.

Moreover, it was unknown whether he could withstand such terrifying pain. If his mind wasn't firm, he might collapse here.

At that time, his soul would wither and perish. Even if his body didn't die, he would essentially be dead.

"The Great Dao Fruit will form in 100 days."

After the little blue lamp sent out this thought fluctuation, it fell into a deep silence. Qin Yu knew that it was extremely dissatisfied. While he did feel a little guilty inside, he had no other choice.

Qin Yu looked down at Ning Ling who was covered in snow and ice. Her lips were lifted up in a smile, giving her an even more enchanting appearance.

"Don't die…neither of us will die here…"

He muttered below his breath. Because of his pain, his words were unclear.

A hundred days…Qin Yu had no idea whether he could last this long. When he sensed his consciousness fading away from the pain, he thought to himself, "Undying, if you wake up, please help me look after her and help her live on."

After an unknown period of time, Qin Yu's field of vision fell into darkness. Even so, his body still instinctively twitched.

Deep within the pool of soup, where black and red met, a giant vortex swirled without end, its rumbles shaking the heavens.

Time continued to pass.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

…

What was death? Unless one personally experienced it, it really was hard to say.

Shen Yuanyin felt as if she were sinking into a pitch black sea, one that was cold and peaceful.

Her consciousness was awake, but she seemed to forget who she was, where she came from, or what she had experienced.

She couldn't feel the existence of her body. All of her struggles were useless. She could only allow herself to slowly sink, a bit at a time.

Outside this 'deep sea', the temperature dropped increasingly low. A cold chill permeated the air, gradually stagnating her consciousness.

Shen Yuanyin was aware that perhaps when her thoughts completely froze over and she could no longer think, that was when death arrived.

She couldn't resist it. But whenever her consciousness was about to freeze over, she would hear a sound.

"Don't die…neither of us will die here…"

Who was that?

Shen Yuanyin couldn't figure it out. But, this voice seemed to possess an invisible charm. It was able to stimulate her potential every time.

She became increasingly cold, until she lost her ability to think. Still, her consciousness retained the last traces of vitality.

This was because she suddenly discovered that she didn't want to give up this voice…moreover, she wanted to know…just who the person speaking these words was…

"Don't die…neither of us will die here…"

The one speaking these words was definitely lonely, and helpless. She couldn't die, because only by living could she accompany him.

But who was he? And who am I?

Within that pitch black 'deep sea', time lost all meaning. It was like a thousand years, ten thousand years passed. It was an incomparably long time.

Suddenly, in that quiet and waveless pitch black 'deep sea', ripples began to appear.

It came from above her head and became stronger and stronger. It was unknown just what had happened.

In the next moment, Shen Yuanyin's sinking 'body' was grasped by something like a great hand and pulled upwards

The cold feeling around her faded away and her blurry consciousness began to slowly recover.

…

The vortex formed from black and crimson was still spinning like before. However, it was restored to its initial size and it no longer possessed the unfathomably powerful momentum of before.

At its center was no longer a dao spirit. Rather, there was an ancient tree with branches that winded outwards, releasing the atmosphere of endless years.

This atmosphere of endless years wasn't from the world, but from the seed that had been born…when a dao spirit was bred, countless years had to pass before it could appear!

But now, this ancient tree seemed to have lost its vitality. Its leaves were withered and yellow and a deathly aura filled the air.

Not too far away from the dead ancient tree, within the barrier of ice and fire, Qin Yu gently placed Shen Yuanyin on the ground. Her face had a little color to it and her chest slightly moved. This indicated she had escaped from the hands of death.

The strength of the Great Dao Fruit was slowly repairing her injuries. It wouldn't be too long before she woke back up.

Qin Yu smiled. The movement caused his withered skin to twitch and the wrinkles to stack up on his face, adding a certain bleakness to his expression, like someone who had reached the twilight of his years.

During these hundred days, the continual sacrifice of his lifespan and blood essence had caused him to turn into a white-haired old man. An aura of decay wreathed his body, but his expression was one of serenity.

He didn't care about whether or not this was worth it. Because compared to her death, the price he paid wasn't anything at all.

Shen Yuanyin had survived…this alone was more than enough.

The great sun phantom hung above the ancient tree. A thought fluctuation swept out, "Your current condition is extremely poor. You cannot delay any longer."

Qin Yu smiled. "I know. I must thank you this time." He hesitated for a moment and then used his finger to write a few words into the ground.

But even using this minor amount of strength caused his chest to violently tumble. His face paled and he couldn't suppress it any longer; he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The great sun phantom coldly humphed. A bright ray of light howled out, wrapping around Qin Yu and pulling him out of the barrier.

He landed atop the withered yellow bough of the ancient tree. Its cracked bark suddenly softened, becoming something like mud as it slowly swallowed up Qin Yu's body.

"For a woman, you would reduce yourself to such a situation. Hopeless fool!" The great sun phantom stared at the barrier. As it looked at the still sleeping Shen Yuanyin, there was an ice cold tenseness in the air.

But after a long silence, it chose not to do anything. Like a shadow, it vanished from sight.

…