Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The young girl would venture out on her journey the next day. She would leave the mountain village where she had lived for over a dozen years, bringing with her the longing and yearning she held in her heart as she pursued her dreams of becoming a cultivator.

The old granny helped her pack, 'ahh'ing' and gesturing with her hands the entire time. She was admonishing her granddaughter to always be careful when she went out and to pay attention to protecting herself.

The old man pulled Qin Yu into the courtyard to drink tea. What he served was the best collection of tea leaves he had, "Young Qin, A'li owes you a great deal in this matter. I had her agree to a condition before she could leave. No matter what her achievements are in the future, as long as you ask for it, she will marry you."

Qin Yu waved his hand repeatedly. "No need, no need, old sir you are overthinking things again…"

"Humph! It's already settled like this, otherwise I wouldn't have let her take the ash line grass!" The old man seriously warned, "When it comes to affection between men and women, at the very start of a burgeoning relationship, one will always see the other in the most beautiful light and will be willing to give everything for them. But, this sort of emotion will gradually fade away with time. I am only giving you an opportunity that you can save for the future. At least…"

The old man didn't finish speaking but Qin Yu understood his meaning. At that time, even if A'li refused him, she would give him sufficient compensation.

This old man was a truly kind and good person. Qin Yu's heart warmed. He smiled and nodded, no longer refusing. "Then I must thank you!"

The old man smiled in satisfaction.

After a night of silence, A'li prepared to leave for her long journey. She stopped in front of Qin Yu and said, "I am leaving, so I'll have to trouble you with watching over my family." She bit her lips and said, "Grandfather has already told you about our deal. As long as you want, I will agree at any time!"

After speaking she hugged the old granny and old man. Then, she hopped onto the ox cart that took goods outside the village. In the bright morning sunlight, she went farther and farther away.

Watching the ox cart leave, Qin Yu smiled, not putting her words in his heart. He was more aware of the truth behind Old Zhou's words than anyone else. When a person made a promise, they always believed that they could accomplish it. But, they never realized that things could change with the passing of time.

Of course, Qin Yu never had any thoughts of being intimate with this young girl from the start. So his heart was calm and serene.

When A'li left the mountain, the surrounding village youths were all left crestfallen. But when they saw Qin Yu they felt a bit comforted.

The unhappiest one here should be this boy. He had tried so hard but failed in the end; he was even more pitiful than they were…thinking like this, the village youths all felt much better. As expected, all sorts of undeniably toxic roots were hidden in the hearts of people.

Qin Yu began to herd the sheep out of the village. As he did, he could feel the gazes of the young men on him and faintly sensed the strange look in their eyes.

After A'li left, the Zhou Family's heavy responsibility of shepherding had fallen upon his shoulders. Perhaps because the elderly couple already regarded Qin Yu as their granddaughter's husband, they easily accepted this.

Using the words of the old man, once the two of them passed from old age, everything in this family would be handed down to Qin Yu.

Perhaps this was a subconscious form of compensation. Qin Yu stood at the edge of the pasture, looking up at the lush mountain range around him, a smile on his lips.

He had moved forward with great difficulty in the world of cultivators and had experienced untold amounts of blood and slaughter. Due to that, these moments of warmth and serenity became that much more precious.

With a thought, a small crowd of purpleback bluewing ants flew over. Qin Yu's divine sense could clearly feel the closeness and intimacy that they transmitted to him.

"Look after the flock of sheep. Don't let them become lost."

After passing down this order, the purpleback bluewing ants buzzed and dispersed outwards, falling down around the edges of the pasture. With them watching over the sheep, there wouldn't be any problems.

Giving Big Pig a heavy kick, Qin Yu smiled and said, "Come on, we're entering the mountains."

The ancient trees rose into the skies. Because of the rich spiritual strength in the air, the crowns of the trees were particularly large and lush. They wove together, forming a net that blocked out the falling sunlight, leaving the environment below much darker.

The ground was covered in thick layers of fallen leaves and branches. Big Pig's body had grown several times larger. Carrying Qin Yu on his back, he calmly raced forward. With the purpleback bluewing ants cleaning up the surrounding area, the strange monster beasts in the mountain forest had long since run away.

Big Pig's nose constantly twitched. He climbed through a ditch, his actions seemingly containing great purpose and direction. Soon, he stopped when a cliff appeared in front of them.

The cliff was high and deep blue in color. Its peak broke through the barrier of the tree crowns and was exposed beneath the brilliant sunlight. Looking at the top, there was actually a crystal-like hive, one that was impossibly large.

Big Pig's eyes filled with desire and infatuation. "Although I have no idea what kind of bees those are, the honey they gather is absolutely something good…" As he spoke, drool leaked from the sides of his mouth.

Qin Yu approved Big Pig's judgment. He looked at the beehive that was several miles large and revealed a hint of anticipation.

"Let's draw back a little."

Hearing this, Big Pig turned and walked away. He didn't hope to get sucked into the ensuing battle. When they reached a safe area, Qin Yu clapped his hands and the surrounding peace was broken by loud buzzing sounds. The ant swarm immediately appeared, gathering in from all directions.

On the cliff, the beehive seemed to sense an outside threat. The worker bees that were outside quickly flew back in. Then, a massive number of black soldier bees flew back out.

Each one of them was the size of an a.d.u.l.t's forearm. Their black wings shined with a metallic sheen beneath the sunlight.

Qin Yu issued an order with his mind, "Take down that beehive!"

The ant swarm shot into the skies and arrived atop the cliff in the blink of an eye. The soldier bees guarding the hive immediately engaged them without hesitation.

Compared to the palm-sized purpleback bluewing ants, the soldier bees were much larger. However, in terms of combat strength, they were far weaker than the ant swarm. Their iron-hard bodies were easily torn to shreds by the ant swarm. After several clashes, the soldier bees had suffered immense casualties.

Suddenly there was a scream from the beehive. A rich dark purple light erupted, sweeping across the battlefield.

When the soldier bees were covered by this dark purple light, their auras instantly rose. The ant swarm suffered an obvious suppression and their overall strength was weakened.

Queen bee?

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. He never thought that the beehive would have this sort of strength. But, this was also normal. Since this beehive was so openly exposed, if they didn't have the strength to preserve themselves, they would have been carved up by the various surrounding monster beasts and would never have survived until today.

But depending on this still wasn't enough to block the ant swarm's attack. After completing their evolution, whether it was in strength or wisdom, the purpleback bluewing ants couldn't be compared with ordinary monster beasts.

Buzz -

Buzz -

The wings of the ants began to accelerate. And, what was even more amazing was that the frequency at which their wings shook started to rapidly synchronize.

The textures on the surface of the purpleback bluewing ants began to light up, forming a visible shockwave that spread out in all directions.

The dark purple light resisted for a brief moment before it was crushed to nothing. The beehive screamed out once more, this time tinged with pain. The soldier bees fell into confusion and panic.

At this time, a weak voice resounded in Qin Yu's ears, "Revered and strong beast master, according to our ancient agreement, I am willing to surrender to you and offer half the hive's acc.u.mulations as well as the secret location of a treasure. I ask you to show kindness and benevolence and allow me and my people to survive."

Qin Yu wasn't sure what this so-called ancient agreement was, but he was curious about what treasure the bee queen was referring to. If even this formidable beehive couldn't obtain it, the treasure had to have some formidable protections. And, treasures with formidable protections were often equally valuable.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed. He said, "Tell me the information about the treasure. I will determine whether it is valuable enough to exchange for your lives."

The bee queen didn't refuse. "As you wish."

A divine sense fluctuation shot out. After clarifying that there was no danger to it, he reached out a hand and accepted it. Countless pictures flashed through his mind. In the end, the picture that stayed was that of a mountain valley covered in fog.

The wind blew away the fog, revealing a special plant that grew along the mountain wall. It was around 30-40 feet high and crimson in color, with red fruits hanging off its branches.

Looking further down, the scenery became blurry. One could only faintly see that around this flame-like plant, there were all sorts of bones piled up.

Pa -

The picture ended.

The bee queen's voice rose up once more. "Powerful beast master, if my inherited information isn't wrong, this is the legendary blood flame fruit tree. The fruits it forms are precious treasures that can strengthen flesh and blood. I once dispatched soldier bees to pick some, but in the end they all perished in the fog.

"In that mountain valley, not only are there all sorts of formidable monster beasts but there are also naturally formed array formations. It can be called a dangerous land. However, the fruit of the blood flame fruit tree is enough for anyone to take certain risks. If you are satisfied with this information, please accept my surrender."

Qin Yu's thoughts raced. He said, "80%! I want 80% of the hive's savings!"

The bee queen's voice became sharp, "This doesn't conform to the ancient agreement. I have already put forth sufficient sincerity…"

"90%!" Qin Yu's eyes were ruthless, a cold chill circulating within them. "Remember what your current situation is. If you don't accept this then let's fight!"

The queen bee was silent for some time. Then, it said dejectedly, "The beehive will comply with your will."

They were nothing but fish on the chopping block. The result wasn't unexpected.