Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Moon Inviting Park.

Qin Yu carefully sifted through detailed information related to beast trainers. He needed to reach a certain level of knowledge in order to not give himself away.

Cultivating monster beasts required spiritual things. To him, this wasn't too difficult. With the little blue lamp's help his path forward would be smooth. The only difficulty lay in getting the spirit beast to approve of his status as a beast trainer.

It had to be known that formal beast trainers had to possess a strong affinity with monster beasts that allowed them to gain the monster beast's approval. Otherwise, it would be impossible to collect the required data from it.

Qin Yu laid down the book and rubbed his forehead. "This is the best choice. Although it isn't perfect, I can only take things one step at a time."

In a worst case situation, even if he couldn't obtain the monster beast's approval then as long as he still managed to 'cultivate' sufficiently high quality spiritual things, Sky Declaring Pavilion would still allow him to stay.

…

Feng Qing's divine sense returned from the jade slip. Her eyebrows furrowed together and a serious look crossed her face.

Standing across from her was a surprised Zhou Li. During this time in which she had followed the lady, she had never seen her make such a face.

"Miss, is there some problem?"

Feng Qing took a deep breath, her complexion relaxing a little. "It's just a minor accident, nothing to worry about." She thought for a moment and stood up. "I will go and handle it. You can stay here and cultivate."

"Yes, miss."

She walked out. A cultivator from Sky Declaring Pavilion was already waiting outside. Seeing that no one was standing behind Feng Qing, the cultivator respectfully said, "Miss, are you planning on guaranteeing her?"

The Hidden Fog Sect was tyrannically strong and their experts were as common as raindrops in a storm. It wouldn't be good to provoke them.

Feng Qing said, "Don't disclose this matter for the time being. I will handle it."

"Yes." The man turned and left, a puzzled look on his face. The miss had always been kind-hearted, but after tempering her mind for so many years, she had long since been able to control her mood. Why was she treating Zhou Li so differently?

Feng Qing naturally wouldn't tell him that a mysterious Divine Dao existence who she didn't even know about was standing behind Zhou Li. Even if she had to tear apart all pretense of face with the Hidden Fog Sect, she absolutely could not hand over Zhou Li.

Moreover, she faintly guessed that the ash line grass that changed Zhou Li's destiny had come from Qin Yu's hands.

If it really was a product produced by that man, how could there be problems? Or, could it be that the Hidden Fog Sect had discovered some difference with the ash line grass, and this was their excuse to approach Qin Yu somehow?

Feng Qing naturally didn't hope that others would discover Qin Yu's existence. But, since this matter involved Zhou Li, she didn't dare to decide it on her own.

Her thoughts raced and she soon called in another cultivator. She checked the list of cultivators that would soon be participating in the Beast Trainer Invitational and soon found the name 'Ning Qin'. He had already registered himself and was currently in Midmorning City.

She didn't want to contact him through Sky Declaring Pavilion's intelligence network, because she was afraid of drawing the attention of others. So, she quickly wrote a letter and placed it in a bamboo tube, tying the tube to the foot of a small black bird. She whispered some words into the bird's ears. Then, the black bird shot into the skies like an arrow, howling out and soon vanishing from sight.

This black bird seemed commonplace but it actually possessed the bloodline of ancient monster beasts. It excelled in concealing its location and its speed was even more astonishing. In a single day's time it would be able to cross mountains and rivers to arrive at Midmorning City.

"What the path forward is, will be decided by you."

…

Sky Declaring Pavilion's reply was that they needed some time to consider, thus they asked the Hidden Fog Sect to wait.

Old Wei's face darkened. He coldly sneered, "These past years, Sky Declaring Pavilion has become increasingly powerful and daring. Now they actually dare to refute the face of my Hidden Fog Sect over such a minor matter. I want to see just what tricks they plan on playing!"

This was a critical time that would decide whether or not the dark star ice serpent would advance ranks in the future. The sect considered this matter to be of the highest importance and wouldn't allow any mistake to occur. As long as they could achieve their final goal, they didn't even mind having a falling out with Sky Declaring Pavilion.

"Old Wei, are you suspecting that Sky Declaring Pavilion has detected something?" Rong Wei furrowed his eyebrows together. "But I don't think that's the case, otherwise Sky Declaring Pavilion's reply would be safer."

Old Wei's eyes relaxed. "Grandmaster Rong's meaning is…?"

Rong Wei said, "On the contrary, I actually think this is a good thing. It is impossible for Sky Declaring Pavilion to make us wait for a maid, unless the rights for how to handle that maid don't lie in their hands."

"Old Wei, we might as well show some patience. Perhaps there will soon be some unexpected harvests."

…

Qin Yu looked at the black bird paused outside his window. The bamboo tube tied to its leg looked especially eye-catching. Right now, the only one with the ability to correspond with him like this should be Feng Qing.

Had some accident occurred?

He took off the bamboo tube tied on the bird's leg. Rapidly reading through its contents, he subconsciously frowned.

The ash line grass he gave to Zhou Li? This was indeed beyond his expectations. Such a long time had passed and yet someone had still managed to notice this.

Was it because the ash line grass had developed some abnormalities due to it being shined upon by the little blue lamp? This was the only possibility that could explain the current situation.

This put Qin Yu on guard. This world's beast trainers seemed to possess some sharp and keen sensory ability, and they were even able to detect this…if the secret of the little blue lamp was discovered like this, that would really mean trouble was coming!

He warned himself that he needed to be extra cautious in the future. Then, Qin Yu had no choice but to consider what to do next. The Hidden Fog Sect had requested for Zhou Li to be handed over to them. This was clearly as a means to find out who he was, or even force him out.

If he didn't take action, he feared the Hidden Fog Sect wouldn't give up. But, if they sent an overly excessive request, what should he do then?

After a long time, Qin Yu let out a long sigh. Resolve filled his face.

Since this matter had occurred because of him, he naturally couldn't stay out of it. Right now, he had partially restored his strength, and with the ant swarm helping him, he might be able to protect himself even if some problems were to occur. He would take a look himself and see just what the Hidden Fog Sect wanted!

…

Putting down Qin Yu's reply, Feng Qing thought to herself that the ash line grass really was produced by him, just as she expected.

If so, then it was clear that the Hidden Fog Sect's accusation that there was a problem with the ash line grass was all an excuse.

Her eyes flashed and a trace of envy colored her complexion. It seemed that Zhou Li's status in Qin Yu's heart was higher than she expected.

In such a condition, he didn't dare to risk the danger of being discovered to meet with the Hidden Fog Sect.

Or, could it be that while Qin Yu couldn't use his divine sense, he still had a way of preserving himself and wasn't truly entering a dangerous situation?

Feng Qing didn't dare to underestimate the great power and mysteriousness of a Divine Dao being.

She shook her head and suppressed these thoughts. Since Qin Yu had come to a decision, all she had to do was carry it out. She picked up a jade slip and put down an official reply, telling a subordinate cultivator to send it out.

…

"Midmorning City!" Old Wei stood up. "Let's go there now!"

That mysterious grandmaster had unexpectedly appeared.

Rong Wei was filled with excitement. This was because the strange energy contained within the ash line grass had allowed him to see a whole new world, one far wider and greater than before.

The large red-skinned fellow who had been silently following behind the two of them suddenly fell to his hands and feet and let loose a tremendous roar. Monstrous light sparkled and a 70-80 foot tiger appeared. A pair of wings launched out from behind its back, over several hundred feet in length.

Old Wei and Rong Wei flew atop the tiger's back and sat down. The tiger flapped its wings and hurtled through the skies. Half a day later, the two people arrived outside of Midmorning City. The tiger fell to the ground and transformed into the large fellow once more. Without pausing, the three of them raced into the city.

Today just happened to be the day of Sky Declaring Pavilion's Beast Trainer Invitational. When they learned from Feng Qing that this mysterious grandmaster was currently at the scene of the final trials, Old Wei's complexion darkened.

This was completely different from their original plans. A grandmaster that was able to cultivate such precious ash line grass had to be brought back to their Hidden Fog Sect, otherwise how could they be resigned to this?

"Miss Feng Qing, why didn't you inform us of this matter ahead of time?"

Feng Qing batted her eyes innocently. "Mister Wei, Grandmaster Ning Qin signed up to participate in this invitational a long time ago. It just happened to be a coincidence today."

Her eyes flashed. "May I inquire as to why you wish to see Grandmaster Ning Qin so urgently?"

Old Wei's face stiffened.

Rong Wei smiled. "The ash line grass that Grandmaster Ning Qin cultivated is truly splendid and he must be a genuine grandmaster class existence. The Hidden Fog Sect is always eager to find such talented individuals. After discovering him, we naturally want to contact him. We just never imagined that Miss Feng Qing would be a step ahead of us. It really is a pity."

"After the final trials are over, is it possible for Miss Feng Qing to arrange a meeting for us with Grandmaster Ning Qin? I fervently hope to carry out an exchange as fellow beast trainers."

Feng Qing smiled. "Of course. Grandmaster Ning Qin has already agreed to meet you two after the final trials are over."

…