Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Aspiration City.

Wu Dongliu fiercely stood up. He clenched his teeth and roared out, "The Holy Palace's Space-time Lock!"

In the image flowing in front of him, there was no one left.

His eyes flashed. He took a step forward, his body piercing through space.

The Godfire involved matters of great importance. No matter what, he needed to clearly investigate it!

But before Wu Dongliu arrived at Cloud Creek Valley, a sense of imminent danger swelled up within him. His complexion changed and he quickly thrust a palm forward.

Rumble rumble -

Space shattered. Wu Dongliu staggered backwards from the backlash. Each step he took caused space to collapse inwards, forming unfathomable black holes.

"Dao Arena Master!" He shouted in a hoarse voice.

Solitary Westgate walked out from the shattered space, his eyes deep, "Huntmaster's depths are truly well hidden. Only today have I realized that your boundary isn't too far away. In another several thousand years at most, this world will gain another giant who has broken free from the shackles of life and death."

Wu Dongliu took a deep breath. He cupped his hands together and said, "I have no idea why Dao Arena Master is here, but I must be disrespectful and ask."

Solitary Westgate went straight to the point. "The Demon Sovereign and I have a prior agreement in place. No one can disturb his battle with Old Hunchback. I hope that Huntmaster can understand me."

Wu Dongliu's complexion stiffened. "So that's how it is…I was also worried that if the Demon Sovereign suffered an accident here I would suffer retaliation from the Demonic Path. But since Arena Master Westgate is here, it appears that I was overthinking things. Then, I will bid my farewells first!"

He turned around and teleported away.

Solitary Westgate revealed a look of acclaim. Not to mention this person's cultivation, but his thick skin and decisiveness was amazing. This person deserved to be called the leader of the God Hunters organization. Not only was he able to immediately give up his original goal, but he cleanly extricated himself from the situation.

He turned and looked towards Cloud Creek Valley. With his cultivation he could vaguely feel the duplicated world produced by the Space-time Lock. Qin Yu's battle with Old Hunchback had entered its white-hot phase, and looking at the current momentum, the chances of Qin Yu winning were high.

The three-legged strange bird flew over. Its body was several dozen times larger than usual and it carried You Qi on its back. She hurriedly asked, "Senior Westgate, do you know what Qin Yu's current condition is like?"

Solitary Westgate smiled. He pointed over and said, "Why ask me? Just watch and you'll find out."

Qin Yu suddenly emerged from the overlapping worlds. Although his face was pale, his eyes remained as bright as before.

He met You Qi's eyes and warmly said, "I'm fine."

He turned and flicked his sleeves. A nameless grave suddenly appeared on the ground. Looking at the blank tombstone, there was no joy on his face.

After striking down Speechless and Wei Zongyuan, perhaps he had already adapted to this sort of intense slaughter.

Although he had just undergone a great battle, Qin Yu's will hadn't undergone any significant tempering.

In truth, Qin Yu was left somewhat disappointed by Old Hunchback's strength.

Solitary Westgate said, "There is still one more. Trust me, that Woodchopper Fu will not leave you disappointed. Of course, the premise of all this is that you can find him."

Qin Yu's eyes brightened. "Someone just made a mistake and should definitely be willing to do me a favor. He should be happy to tell me the news I wish to know."

This fellow Wu Dongliu, did he really think he wouldn't need to take any responsibility just because he ran away quickly? What a joke!

Solitary Westgate shook his head, "Right now you should worry about yourself and how you'll endure this."

The devil mark had started to move restlessly. The aura it released couldn't be hidden from Solitary Westgate.

Qin Yu's complexion paled further, "Following this, I'll have to bother fellow daoist Westgate to protect me."

The group flew away from Cloud Creek Valley. Just when they found a place to rest and Qin Yu sat down in position, the backlash of the devil mark erupted.

It was like a violent storm passing through the sea, leaving tumultuous heaven-reaching waves in its wake. Qin Yu's consciousness was a little boat, ready to capsize at any time.

This continued throughout the night. When the skies lightened up Qin Yu's tense body finally relaxed.

He gasped for breath in great heaving gulps. When he opened his eyes his weary gaze fell on You Qi. Then, he nodded to her and fell asleep.

After every battle the devil mark would seize that chance to fight back. Each time it did it was more intense than the last. If it weren't for him tempering his will by killing Speechless and Wei Zongyuan, he likely wouldn't have been able to endure it.

Five days later, Aspiration City.

Qin Yu went to visit the City Lord Mansion alone. Wu Dongliu seemed to already be expecting him. He cupped his hands together in apology and said, "Demon Sovereign is currently within the borders of Deep Stream, so if any accident were to have happened to you, I fear that my God Hunters organization wouldn't have been able to escape blame. Because I was so distressed I did something rash. I hope that the Demon Sovereign didn't take any offense!"

His expression was sincere and full of rebuke for himself. Besides the thickness of his facial skin, this Huntmaster's acting skills were also top notch.

Qin Yu said, "As long as Huntmaster gives me information on someone, I will believe you."

These words…they were simply too direct.

Wu Dongliu's façade nearly collapsed. He dryly coughed and said, "What request does the Demon Sovereign have? Feel free to ask me."

Qin Yu said, "Woodchopper Fu."

Wu Dongliu shook his head, "There isn't anything." Fearing that Qin Yu might not believe him, he lifted a hand and tapped the space in front of him. Stars began to appear one after another, forming vast starry skies.

This was the legendary treasure of the God Hunters, said to be the most powerful one they had - the Illusionary Star Map. Each star corresponded to a different identity and contained a detailed account that the God Hunters organization had on them.

The brighter the star, the greater the status and strength of the person. Oftentimes this also meant there was more detailed information.

Wu Dongliu picked down a bright star. "Your Majesty Demon Sovereign, please look through carefully and do not damage the treasure."

Qin Yu received the star and probed it with his divine sense. He could directly see all the information the God Hunters organization had on Woodchopper Fu.

From his mediocre youth to when he began to rise, there was a more detailed record. But in the last 30 million years, information related to Woodchopper Fu became extremely fragmented.

The events that occurred in Four Seasons City and outside Thistle Capital, where Woodchopper Fu had attacked Qin Yu, were the last two pieces of information he left behind in the world.

Qin Yu put down the star and frowned. Wu Dongliu shouldn't be lying. Even if the God Hunters couldn't find the trail of Woodchopper Fu, then wanting to hunt him down would be a task more difficult than ascending to heaven.

His eyes clouded over for some time. Then, he took a deep breath and suppressed his thoughts. Qin Yu said, "I want to look up information on another person."

Wu Dongliu asked, "Who?"

"Immortal Sect, Shen Yuanyin."

Wu Dongliu's complexion changed. "That's not possible. While the God Hunters collect information pertaining to the supreme beings of the world, we have never released it. Otherwise, that would be violating a great rule that invites death."

Qin Yu was without expression. "I didn't hear you clearly. I ask Huntmaster to repeat that one more time." Between his fingers, the star that had Woodchopper Fu's information constantly rolled about. No one knew whether it would be cracked apart in the next moment.

Wu Dongliu fell silent for a moment. His complexion was extremely ugly. He never thought that a solemn Demon Sovereign would do something so undignified.

He took a deep breath and clenched his teeth, saying, "Demon Sovereign, you must promise that no one will ever find out about what happened here today."

Qin Yu nodded. "I also don't want to provoke unnecessary troubles."

Wu Dongliu's fingers flickered in hand seals. Then, a dark region in the Illusionary Star Map suddenly burst out with dazzling light. An extremely bright star appeared. The moment it did, all of the stars in the surrounding region were overshadowed by its light.

Wu Dongliu carefully took the star out. "Demon Sovereign, this is the first time and also the last time. I hope that you can abide by your promise, otherwise the God Hunters will definitely become your enemy!"

Qin Yu flicked his sleeves and grabbed hold of the star. He searched it with his divine sense. There was very little information related to Shen Yuanyin. This current master of Nineheaven Mirrormoon Palace had appeared out of nowhere after he escaped the Immortal Sect.

From this, Qin Yu could determine that Shen Yuanyin was Ning Ling!

But the star's last recorded information was: Nineheaven Mirrormoon Palace had sealed itself up, freezing everything for 30 million miles around. It appeared that Shen Yuanyin had suffered a backlash through the Sublime Lost Emotion Code that she cultivated. The reason for the backlash was unknown, but there was a high possibility that it was related to the Demonic Path's current Holy Monarch, Qin Yu. The exact circ.u.mstances were still being investigated.

Qin Yu tensed. After several breaths of time he composed himself and tossed the two stars back to Wu Dongliu. He stood up and said, "I will bid my farewells first."

He took a step out and vanished from sight.

Wu Dongliu held onto the star that recorded Shen Yuanyin's information. His expression was full of uncertainty. Although he thought it was unbelievable, he wavered for a moment before adding a note to the star: It is inferred that Shen Yuanyin and Ning Ling may be the same person. Assign a person to the Immortal Sect to investigate.

He looked up towards the direction Qin Yu vanished in and his eyes shined…this was a possibility he could use to kill the Demon Sovereign and complete the contract.