Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Outside world.

Facing the giant sealed stone, Qin Yu sat down cross-legged. Amidst the numerous massive sealed stones all around him, he seemed incomparably tiny.

But, he gave off an immeasurably lofty and grand feeling, as if he were a god watching from the clouds above, his honor unable to be provoked.

Weng -

Weng -

The sealed stones began to shiver at the same frequency, transmitting a wild will. Then, they completely burst out.

Destruction of will!

A terrifying annihilating strength smashed into Qin Yu. But at this time, his body was like a silent and still rock. No matter how the tides crashed into him, he didn't move at all…nor was he injured.

This was because from this moment on, while Qin Yu might be weaker than the War Clan's Fifth Chief in terms of absolute strength, in terms of pure will, they now stood at equal heights.

In the world of his mind, the snow mountain suddenly collapsed and a figure walked out. Although this figure wasn't too tall, it seemed as if it could crush the world beneath its feet.

The figure wore black robes. Their back was straight and tall and their appearance was completely the same as Qin Yu!

Shua -

Qin Yu opened his eyes, a divine light shining in his pupils. They were like two genuine stars, gathering the attention of all beneath the night sky.

A strange and inexplicable temperament exuded from his body. It was like he was one with the world but also surpassing the world. Even if he passed through endless years, no matter how the river of time washed over him he still wouldn't be erased…this was an absolutely pure strength of will!

This was an accidental change that no one could have expected. The confrontation between the Fifth Chief's and the ancient's wills was the same as Qin Yu standing upon the shoulders of two giants, reaching an inconceivable boundary in a single step.

He looked up at the sealed stone in front of him. That feeling of omnipresent suppression had thoroughly vanished.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and calmed his racing heart. He took several steps forward until he came before a sealed stone. Then, he reached out and placed a hand upon its surface. Like a bag of water that had been pierced through, a warm flow of energy gushed out, instantly fusing into Qin Yu's body where it was directly absorbed by him.

Kacha -

Kacha -

Cracks spread out like a spider web, finally extending to every corner of the sealed stone. Then, the sealed stone that was said to be indestructible began to collapse in front of Qin Yu. It didn't shatter into fragments but disintegrated into powder before instantly vanishing without a trace.

With this, the 'nebula' of sealed stones that had existed for hundreds of millions of years without change, was suddenly missing one piece.

Qin Yu looked at the blank space in front of him and his expression became dignified. His first thought was that he absolutely could not allow anyone to see this, otherwise he would immediately become the top public enemy of everyone in the Sealed Stone World!

The reason was simple. Everyone that entered the Sealed Stone World was using these sealed stones to temper their will and grow increasingly strong.

But Qin Yu's appearance was a true catastrophe to them. If the sealed stones were destroyed, what would be the meaning of staying here?

Throughout the long years, only fewer than ten people had managed to emerge from the Sealed Stone World. But, the difference between a trace of hope and complete despair was as great as the heavens and earth.

No, it wasn't that he couldn't allow others to see this but that he couldn't directly destroy any more sealed stones. Otherwise, if too many of these massive blank spaces appeared, it would inevitably be discovered by others.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and flew towards another sealed stone. After taking several deep breaths, he slowly placed a hand atop it. In the next moment a flow of heat gushed out once more. But at this time, he loudly roared in his heart, "Stop!"

The flow of heat suddenly ceased. The sealed stone in front of him trembled several times but finally stabilized itself.

Qin Yu compared the flow of heat to what he had absorbed before; it was about 20-30%. The sealed stone was intact, but the suppression of will it gave off was only two-thirds of what it was originally.

His heart relaxed. As long as these sealed stones remained then that was fine. Even if people discovered that the will contained within them had weakened, this should still be able to delay them for some time.

He hoped that this period of time could be extended for as long as possible. Qin Yu's strength rose at a noticeable rate every day. This was because the Sealed Stone World was now a hunting ground filled with 'food' for him. As long as he digested the food a little he could let loose his belt and eat as much as he wanted.

Looking at the endless sealed stones before him, Qin Yu's eyes glowed with burning heat. Time was precious and couldn't be wasted.

Then, let's begin.

…

Atop a sealed stone shaped like a massive mountain, there was a palace. At this moment, this giant palace was covered by an invisible pressure and a deathly silence filled the air.

Mei Ruyu stood behind Frostfire, her complexion becoming increasingly pale. Five days had already passed and swarms of cultivators had been dispatched on a search mission for Qin Yu. But even now, they hadn't been able to find him. He was like a fog that had vanished from sight.

In particular, during these five days, for some unknown reason, several region-wide 'destructions of will' had continually exploded. A squad of cultivators subordinate to Frostfire had encountered bad luck and suffered two severe losses.

Although Frostfire had yet to say anything, the atmosphere around him became increasingly heavy and bad. It was unknown when he would suddenly lash out.

"This shouldn't be. Just where could he have fled to? Is there someone pulling the strings behind this matter and hiding some other plot?"

Mei Ruyu's thoughts raced. Although she had a dark and dreary soul that wished it could destroy the world, she still treasured her own life. If things continued like this and they didn't find Qin Yu, she was worried she would become a tool which Frostfire vented his anger upon.

But as the fear in her heart was about to grow beyond control, a brilliant light flew into the hall from outside and stopped in front of Frostfire. The light dispersed to reveal a black jade slip.

There was news!

Mei Ruyu's eyes lit up.

Frostfire reached out a hand and grabbed the jade slip. In the next moment, his eyes fiercely opened. He said in a low voice, "Mei Ruyu, are you sure that the place where you fought with that man before is right?"

Mei Ruyu was stunned. She quickly said, "My lord, I am willing to use my head as a guarantee for my words. I would not dare to deceive you."

A cold light exploded in Frostfire's eyes. With a loud crack, the jade slip shattered into pieces. He stood up and his voice was slow and terrible. "Amusing. How interesting. I really am curious just which old friend is scheming against me."

Qin Yu's whereabouts had been discovered. But, he was a thousand miles deeper than where Mei Ruyu had described. Although this seemed a minor distance, this was the Sealed Stone World. Every time one took a single step forward they would need to expend considerable effort.

To cross such a distance in a mere six days, there was no one that could achieve this. Then, there was only a single explanation…the person who killed Song Zhongyi had come from deep within the Sealed Stone World.

With a flick of his sleeves, Frostfire grabbed Mei Ruyu. His figure flew forward like lightning, quick beyond imagination. No matter who his opponent was, he had the confidence to face them. If he didn't have such confidence then he wouldn't have been given the name Frozensky Frostfire by his enemies.

Perhaps he had been too quiet these past years. Some people might have already forgotten about his power and prestige…very well, he would take advantage of this opportunity to show everyone that he, Frozensky Frostfire Wen Congong, hadn't yet died of old age!

…

Qin Yu was without expression. As he looked at the two trembling cultivators kneeling in front of him, his eyes were icy cold.

"You were both spying on me from the shadows for a long time. Did you come for me?" He paused for a brief moment and said, "Frozensky Frostfire?"

After seeing them stiffen, Qin Yu nodded, "It really is him."

He had some unexpected origins with this mysterious man who he had yet to meet face-to-face. Just after entering the Sealed Stone World, this Frostfire's subordinates had tried to steal his stone beads. And the several conflicts afterwards could also be connected to him.

Now, this person was even trying to find out where he was. Without mentioning it, he knew it was related to the deaths of Song Zhongyi and the others. Whether it was right or wrong, if someone killed another they had to shoulder the consequences of their actions. Rather than letting things drag on and becoming further entangled, he might as well clean it all up at once.

If he could eliminate Frostfire then there likely wouldn't be anyone disturbing him for some time. Right now, Qin Yu's time was precious. He didn't want to waste any time or energy on such unnecessary things.

Drawing back a step, even if he couldn't kill Frostfire then this battle would be the best chance for him to estimate his strength. Moreover, he wanted to see how his strength compared to that of the peak existences in this Sealed Stone World.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. He lightly said, "Pass a message on to Frostfire. I don't have much time for him so tell him to hurry up."

The two horrified cultivators were stunned upon hearing this. They had lived for so many years, but this was the first time they had seen such a rampantly arrogant person.

Could this person not know how horrifying Lord Frostfire was? Although they were currently fish on the chopping block, they still gave Qin Yu the death sentence in their minds.

Lord Frostfire would absolutely leave him in despair!

…

The racing Frostfire suddenly came to a halt. He grasped a hand forward and grabbed onto the jade slip that howled his way.

He probed it with his divine sense. After this, one could sense an obvious change to him. His breathing deepened and he began to emit a dreadful aura.

"Good, very good. It's been many years since someone has dared to enrage me like this." Each word that he spoke carried with it a dense chill. "Since you are so sincere in your actions, I won't leave you disappointed!"

Bang -

A terrifying aura erupted and his speed instantly rose several times over. Frost and snow covered the space where he passed. A layer of ice formed on the surface of sealed stones that were in his path.

If one looked from high above, they would see a long line of ice rapidly extending forwards, racing towards where Qin Yu was!

…

The temperature in the air rapidly fell. Snowflakes appeared out of thin air. In a single breath of time, a snowstorm nearly flooded out all visibility.

Each snowflake contained the strength of absolute cold. Once it touched anything, it would instantly erupt!

The two cultivators kneeling in front of the sealed stones revealed a look of happiness, before that joy turned into deep fear and despair. As snowflakes covered their bodies, the ice cold aura destroyed all of their vitality.

A layer of ice rapidly spread over them, thickening and wrapping around their corpses, turning them into two ice sculptures.

He came!

Qin Yu opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through the heavy snowfall, landing upon the rapidly approaching figure.

Mei Ruyu followed close behind. As she saw Qin Yu she suddenly stiffened.

In just several days, the feeling that this man gave off had experienced heaven and earth-shaking changes.

At the beginning she had only felt Qin Yu's immense strength and his strangely terrifying methods.

But now, just a single glance from him caused her to give rise to infinite fear in her heart.

Let alone killing him, she was afraid she wouldn't even have the courage to attack him!

This was the absolute suppression of a will that was on an entirely different level. If she didn't have a deep recollection of Qi Yu's calm eyes, she probably would have assumed his body had been seized by some horrifying old monster.