Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Wu Dongliu cupped his hands together, "Demon Sovereign need not worry. It was I who didn't consider things well enough beforehand, so please consider this an apology."

Qin Yu asked, "Huntmaster is willing to give him up?"

Wu Dongliu shook his head, "To speak disrespectfully, if the one who came today wasn't the Demon Sovereign then perhaps I might have personally tried to make you stay behind. But with your status I am doomed to only be able to bow my head. If so, why entangle myself further?

"To exchange the death of a single person for the continued stability of the God Hunters organization, I think that even if that Hunchback learns of this, he will still forgive me."

The information in the jade slip was exactly what Qin Yu was looking for - information related to the third of the four old monsters - Hunchback. He was actually a part of the God Hunters and held a high position. But at this time, he had been cleanly sold out by Wu Dongliu.

Qin Yu looked at the calm and confident Wu Dongliu and gave him the label of a 'true villain'. Still, looking at things from the angle of the entire God Hunters organization, the decision he made was undoubtedly the best possible one.

"If so, then I'll be impolite and accept this favor."

Wu Dongliu smiled. "To help Your Majesty the Demon Sovereign with a favor is an honor of mine. But…"

Qin Yu said, "I understand. I won't make things difficult for Huntmaster. I will kill this person on my own."

Wu Dongliu stood up, "Three days from now, outside Cloud Creek Valley."

Qin Yu nodded. With a flick of his sleeves the barrier covering the hall dispersed. He grasped You Qi's hand and vanished with a single step.

The smile on Wu Dongliu's face disappeared. He coldly looked down, a chill lingering around him.

"Huntmaster, we have already verified that the Demon Sovereign has been injured. This is the best time for us to complete our contract, so why didn't you attack him?"

On the surface of a stone pillar in the hall, a person's face slowly wriggled into being. Although it was blurry, one could still sense the unhappiness there.

Wu Dongliu coldly sneered. "You think I didn't want to? The aura coming from him is terrifying. Even if you and I attacked together, we might not have succeeded."

The blurry face frowned. "I don't believe that. What aura could possibly make you feel such dread?"

"Godfire!"

Wu Dongliu lowered his voice and roared.

The stone pillar's face fell silent. Its eyes had widened in shock and disbelief.

Wu Dongliu wouldn't lie about something like this. But looking at the entire Land of Divinity and Demons, a genuine Great Dao boundary had yet to appear. So how could a person possibly ignite their Godfire?

Wu Dongliu took a deep breath, calming himself. "Don't ask me. Even I don't know what is happening!"

No wonder those two old bastards Speechless and Wei Zongyuan had been successively defeated by this severely injured Demon Sovereign. The Demon Sovereign had unexpectedly ignited his Godfire.

Even if the Demon Sovereign was only able to maintain this state for an extremely short period, just one or two breaths of time, the strength he possessed during the brief moment would be enough to sweep away anyone in the world.

Betraying Hunchback was a final chess move he had prepared. The most important reason he tossed it out without hesitation was because of the aura of Godfire coming from Qin Yu.

But another reason was because Wu Dongliu wanted to investigate just how Qin Yu had ignited his Godfire ahead of time.

Three days from now, the battle at Cloud Creek Valley would be his best chance to find out!

Outside Aspiration City, Qin Yu and You Qi peacefully walked forward. Countless eyes looked their way, their stares filled with awe and hidden fear.

As people that lived in the shadows and survived through killing and looting, they naturally had their own information channels.

Although they had no idea what had happened within the City Lord Mansion, just Wu Dongliu personally coming out to welcome them inside the mansion was more than enough to frighten and deter everyone here.

You Qi hesitated for a moment. Then she said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, I keep thinking that this Huntmaster is harboring evil intentions beneath that fake smile of this."

Qin Yu smiled. "Your intuition isn't wrong. In that hall just now, besides you, me, and Wu Dongliu, there should have been one more person." He narrowed his eyes and continued to say, "That person's aura was extremely formidable and hostile. They were constantly locked onto us."

You Qi's eyes widened. She didn't think there was such a great danger hidden in that seemingly peaceful meeting.

Qin Yu rubbed her back. "Don't worry. I still have some traces of the Godfire's aura lingering about me that has yet to fade away. Although it doesn't have any strength to it, using it to frighten others isn't a problem."

You Qi bit her lips. "But three days from now…"

Qin Yu said, "Don't worry. I won't give them a chance to take advantage of me while I'm down." He turned and suddenly said, "Fellow daoist Westgate, do you think I'm correct here?"

Space quietly collapsed and Solitary Westgate stepped out. He revealed a helpless expression. "Qin Yu, if you continue like this you will ruin your life sooner or later."

The strange three-legged bird stood on his shoulders. It nodded repeatedly, saying, "Boy, it isn't easy for humans to live. You should cherish your life some more!"

These past days, it had personally witnessed Qin Yu's desperate efforts. Not only had Qin Yu killed Speechless and Wei Zongyuan, but during the gaps in between he had resisted the backlash of the devil mark while he was exhausted and weakened. There were many times where he almost died.

The strange bird had seen many people gamble with their lives before. But, this was the first time it had seen someone gamble with their life as if it was a normal course of action.

You Qi revealed a look of joy, "Senior Westgate!" With Solitary Westgate here, even if an accident occurred there would still be room to recover!

You Qi quietly pinched Qin Yu. Since he knew Solitary Westgate was here, why didn't he tell her sooner? She had been left worrying this entire time!

Qin Yu forced a smile. When he killed Speechless and Wei Zongyuan, Solitary Westgate had yet to arrive. But, he also didn't plan on explaining this to her. It was better if she believed what she wanted to.

Late at night, a bonfire burned in the wilderness, emitting light crackling sounds.

You Qi leaned against Qin Yu, her eyes closed as she breathed in his scent. Qin Yu glanced at her face before turning and saying, "I really must thank fellow daoist Westgate. She is clearly much more relieved now that you're here. This is the best sleep she has gotten for days."

Solitary Westgate dismissively waved his hand. "Don't try to push that onto me. The reason this miss is sleeping so well is because she's glued onto you." He flicked his finger and a barrier of light fell over You Qi's body, making it easier for the two of them to talk to each other. "Alright. It's time to tell me. What is your condition like right now?"

Qin Yu said, "The devil mark is truly terrifying. It has already merged into one whole with my soul and can no longer be separated out. Either I fuse and sublimate it or it swallows me."

Solitary Westgate had a complex expression. "I have no idea whether you are an overly courageous idiot or whether you have no sense of fear. The devil mark is something that even someone at my level won't easily dare to touch, yet you decided to use it to suppress the Netherworld Lotus."

Qin Yu shook his head. "I only did this because I had no other choice." He looked up straight ahead and said, "Fellow daoist Westgate, I've relied on your care to come this far. In reality, I shouldn't make any more requests of you, but right now I am sure that you are the only one I can truly depend on."

The Demon Envoy's previous actions had left Qin Yu sorely disappointed. He didn't dare to entrust him with something this important. "If I suffer misfortune and die, I ask that you shelter You Qi so she may live on in peace. I already owe her a great deal in my life and I cannot continue dragging her down with me."

Solitary Westgate frowned. "Qin Yu, I can agree to this, but you should understand that the reason I helped you from the very beginning was because I had my own goal in mind. So if you really want to protect her, your best option is to survive this tribulation and continue to live.

"I have a premonition that as long as you survive these current difficulties, your future will be free of problems. No one will be able to stop your rise."

Qin Yu smiled. "I will try my best."

Three days passed by quickly.

Cloud Creek Valley.

The figure of Old Hunchback appeared. He looked around at the empty valley entrance, his eyebrows furrowing together.

He didn't know why but he suddenly felt an intense threat in the depths of his heart.

As if this mountain valley was a massive mouth, one that could swallow him up whole!

Thinking about the inexplicably confusing arrangements this time, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

There was a problem!

Old Hunchback turned to leave. His movements were clean and simple, without any hesitation. But just as he moved, the space behind him shattered and a fist came punching out.

Bang -

There was a heaven-shaking impact. Old Hunchback was sent flying away. When he saw the person who sneak attacked him his expression vividly changed.

"Demon Sovereign!"

Qin Yu threw up his hands and the Space-time Lock integrated into the world. In the next moment, the figures of the two people vanished from sight.

Deep Stream was the stronghold of the God Hunters organization, thus he had to be even more discreet in his actions. Since this place met the conditions for activating the Space-time Lock, Qin Yu definitely wouldn't forget about it.

At Carp Archipelago, due to the existences of the god skeleton and god sealing pillar, the Space-time Lock wasn't able to form a perfect duplication and thus couldn't be used.