Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Taking a step forward, Speechless's aura began to change. There was no more fear in his expression. A frantic and manic light started to surge in his eyes.

They had struggled to live until this day, utilizing all means at their disposal. They were mocked as being as timid as rabbits and it was true that they didn't dare to face death. But at the same time, in order for Speechless and the others to survive, they had paid a deep price.

Over a long time, this sort of tenacity and perseverance might even overcome the fear of death and turn into a powerful obsession.

And on this day, Speechless's obsession had been thoroughly awakened by Qin Yu!

A strange black lotus appeared. Its petals slowly opened to reveal the blood red buds within. They were as delicate as the undulating curves of a woman.

But if one looked carefully they would discover that every bud had a distorted face upon it. These faces twisted and howled as if they were locked in a prison.

Seeing Speechless, these numerous faces revealed fear. But, their eyes were flooded with hatred.

"I have lived for 60 million years and have seen the times change around me. I have seen countless proud sons of heaven rise up from the dirt and innumerable peerless experts fall from the skies. As I walked along the endless river of time, these people I have caught have become the fountain of life from which I drink to continue living.

"I hope that after today, Your Majesty the Demon Sovereign can enter and become the core of my life. Now, I ask that my most grateful fellow daoists extend a sincere invitation to the Demon Sovereign."

He flicked his sleeves and the black lotus gently shivered. The buds inside swayed from side to side like living creatures. The pained faces opened their mouths and sent out shrill cries together.

These pained cries still didn't emit any sound. But, they actually stirred up tumultuous waves in Qin Yu's mind.

It was like a dozen rough wooden nails had been ruthlessly shoved into his brain. The pain was so fast and furious that it could cause one's consciousness to collapse.

At almost the same time, Speechless approached from the side. He lifted his hand and slammed down!

Qin Yu's complexion paled and his eyes darkened. But after an instant, his eyes lit up once more like blazing flames.

This person was indeed worthy of being one of the longest lived people in the world. His methods were unpredictable. At the very least, this soul attack technique was sufficiently terrifying.

But this was exactly the type of tempering that Qin Yu needed. Only by fighting on the edge of life and death could he thoroughly temper his will!

Bang -

Space violently twisted and fluctuations rapidly spread outwards. The duplicated world created by the Space-time Lock became a bent piece of paper. The houses, trees, and streets on this paper were bubbles popped in the air, rapidly fading away.

Qin Yu was at the center of these fluctuations. The strength of the space distortions crazily tore at his body. His heart beat wildly in his chest, causing his blood to rapidly rise in temperature and race through his body. His blood rumbled through his veins like galloping rivers, completely activating the strength of his mortal body!

His bones cracked and popped as his body grew in size. His blood vessels popped up beneath his skin and his aura started to rise.

In strict terms, a Saint level Demon Body surpassed the boundary of common body refining arts. It tempered the mortal body to a degree where it became an incomparably formidable 'treasure'.

This 'treasure' could communicate with the outside and resonate with the heavens and earth. Every movement and action could mobilize the rules of the world, thus erupting with a terrifying strength.

As a result of sealing away the devil mark within him, the strength of Qin Yu's damaged soul had been greatly reduced. The reason he dared to hunt Speechless and the other old freaks was all thanks to his Demon Body. If it weren't for that, this wouldn't be tempering himself but would be seeking death.

These old monsters had lived for tens of millions of years. If someone tried to hunt them down, they had so many cards hidden up their sleeves that the slightest mistake would turn the hunter into the hunted.

A fist punched out and the world thundered. Endless power broke free from the void. All of the strength contained in this fist instantly erupted.

Speechless had a calm and respectful expression. His eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy. Because of his obsession with the fear of death, when he was placed in danger where he could die, he was able to erupt with everything he had.

At this moment, the only thing left in his mind and his eyes was Qin Yu. His world could accommodate nothing else.

Everything he did was for one singular purpose - to kill Qin Yu!

An immense amount of force crashed down. Speechless's falling palm trembled and half of his bones emitted loud cracking sounds.

But these sounds didn't mean that his bones were unable to withstand the coming strength. Rather, it was a kind of transformation that resulted from saving his power and then…erupting!

Speechless roared out loud. His palm suddenly grew larger. The surface of his skin cracked and the blood that flowed out instantly turned into mist.

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows together. He drew back his fists and crossed his arms in front of his chest. At this time, his entire being became like a towering mountain.

Dang -

A low and deep sound passed straight into his soul. The terrifying impact strength had already started to spread outwards at an astonishing rate.

In the blink of an eye, half of the Clear Sun City that was copied by the Space-time Lock was crushed into pieces. Space folded in on itself in countless layers.

Qin Yu was thrown away, his body crashing through the city. His complexion paled and he violently coughed. Blood dripped down from the corners of his lips, splashing against the ground.

The wind carried along the thick scent of blood. Speechless closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath of this smell, muttering, "Your Majesty, so you really were injured?"

"Cough cough…" Qin Yu gasped a few times. "Since I said it, of course it's true."

Speechless nodded. "Your Majesty has a deep prestige within my heart. I thank you for bringing me this news."

Qin Yu shook his head, "I won't be killed so easily."

Speechless smiled. "The function of a grinding stone is to make a blade sharper. But, if the stone is too hard, it can also break the blade.

"I never had any talent. Then, today I will make a vow to the heavens and earth. I will become a grinding stone that breaks off the life of His Majesty the Demon Sovereign to extend my own existence."

He raised his hands into the skies and his ten figures opened upwards as if he were trying to hug the entire world. He began to utter low and deep syllables to himself, "Imprisoned souls, if you offer the soul of His Majesty the Demon Sovereign to me, I will give you your freedom. This is the pledge I make to you!"

Within the black lotus flower, the faces there suddenly widened their eyes. Their pupils filled with earnest hope and desire towards freedom.

Bang -

The black lotus flower blew apart. Endless masses of black energy flew out from all over. Each one was an imprisoned soul. They all stared stubbornly at Qin Yu.

Speechless's pledge was a form of contract. Once it appeared within the world it could no longer be changed.

This was their only chance to escape this purgatory and welcome their final rest.

For this, these imprisoned souls were willing to bet everything!

As these masses of black energy blew apart, they wove together to form a massive black net that covered the skies above. It seemed as if the world would forever fall into darkness.

Speechless stood tall and straight. A formidable aura broke free from his body. At this moment his old and decaying aura had vanished. He was like a spear pointed towards the heavens, overbearing and mighty, with an unprecedented momentum.

To blow apart the black lotus and release the souls imprisoned within, that severed his chances of his continued survival. He had placed himself into a dangerous position…and now he had gone past the point of no return.

To a degree, this was a gamble where he first killed himself and then killed others.

If he won, he would reverse the will of the heavens and change his life. If he failed he would perish here and disappear!

Of course, the reason Speechless had made such a decisive decision was because he didn't want to delay for too long and allow further complications to occur.

Once he had determined that the Demon Sovereign was truly injured, this was the best chance for him to attack with everything he had.

The dark world beneath the net was completely isolated from the outside. The ice cold and despairing aura completely submerged Qin Yu. He could feel that his soul was like a flower in the cold of winter. Weak and withering, he slowly approached death.

He could hear the cackles of the devil mark in his ears. It was waiting for Qin Yu's consciousness to collapse and his soul to die. Then, it could break free and use his mortal body to be reborn.

Qin Yu wasn't a stranger to the flavor of death. But every time death approached it would have a different taste to it. He closed his eyes and his lips moved.

"I won't die…I won't die…" This was a psychological suggestion to himself as well as his strongest declaration towards the world!

In Clear Sun City, outside the City Lord Mansion, people walked about in bustling streams. No one knew that a peak battle had erupted right beside them.

If just a single fluctuation of this battle were to escape, it would be enough to place the entire city on the path to total destruction.

You Qi stood below a cloth cover, her fingers tightly twisted together. Qin Yu had already vanished from her line of sight for ten breaths of time.

The flow of time within the duplicate world was different from the outside. If Qin Yu's judgment wasn't wrong, the battle would end in 15 breaths of time. Otherwise, she would move according to their previous arrangements and she would immediately leave Clear Sun City.

11 breaths…12 breaths…13 breaths…

Beneath her veil, You Qi's face began to pale. Her eyes filled with worry.

Qin Yu, hurry and come out. You can do it, you must do it!

14 breaths of time.

15 breaths of time!

No miracle occurred. Qin Yu, who had vanished on the street, didn't emerge from nothingness. You Qi's legs softened and only by grabbing onto the cloth cover in front of her did she not slump to the floor. She lifted a hand and covered her mouth, tears instantly blurring her eyes.

"Miss, are you alright?" A stall owner had already noticed this woman with the heart-stirring beauty. He helped her up, his face full of concern even as anger filled his heart. Just who had caused such a beautiful lady to be so saddened in the public streets? This person had simply gone too far.

You Qi shook her head in a daze and continued to walk away. But after taking a step she couldn't move anymore. She came to a sudden realization.

If Qin Yu didn't come back, why did she have to leave?

She had already prepared herself to share life and death with him.

She turned and walked towards the City Lord Mansion. The so-called sharing life and death meant to live with him and die with him.

Standing in the area where Qin Yu disappeared, You Qi took a deep breath. Her eyes were quiet and still, like icy flowers that had no vitality remaining.

At this time, the world around her shook, as if images were overlapping together. A figure walked out from these overlapping images, sticking right up against her.

The familiar scent immediately flooded her senses. You Qi stiffened for a second before grabbing onto him with all her strength.

"Cough…" The man's voice sounded out. "I'm sorry, there were some faults in my calculations. I overestimated myself."

You Qi shook her head. She didn't care about anything else right now. All she wanted to know was that this man in front of her truly existed.

He was alive! He was alive!

"You Qi, I might need to find a place to rest soon." Qin Yu's voice was weak.

You Qi looked up. What she saw was a pale and exhausted face. She suddenly rebuked herself. She should have noticed this sooner; how could she waste so much time?

"Let's leave. If you are tired, you can lean against me."

Qin Yu smiled and nodded. He reached out and embraced her. The two stuck close to each other. You Qi soon discovered that his arms gradually loosened and his eyes closed. He had fallen into a deep slumber.

Taking a deep breath, You Qi held him up and vanished around the street corner.