Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 99 – Fisherman Greets Fisherman

Qin Yu breathed in great heaving breaths, his heart beating like thunder in his chest even as his blood galloped through him. Every inch of his body, his bone, flesh, and blood, was crying out with joy!

From the moment he started cultivating until today, he had never fought so fully with everything he had. In terms of strength, War Bear was on the tyrannical side, so he was the best possible opponent he could use to reflect on himself. Moreover, in this high-speed and fierce melee, he could feel his mortal body being gradually activated.

After cultivating the Demon Body, the overbearing violence and tyranny of the demonic path had slept deep in his body. And now, today, in this vicious battle, it was finally being released a little at a time.

He had never fought so happily before, so how could he stop?

Qin Yu stepped down. The space seemed to twist around him and magic power circulated about, causing ear-ringing thunder to ring out as if he were a tiger descending a mountain.

War Bear cursed inwardly. He thought he was lucky for changing his strategy, otherwise if he chose to continue a battle of attrition, he would have been worn down by this brat! He revealed a pained look and then clenched his teeth. Although he was reluctant to use it, there was no other choice. Today he would kill Qin Yu!

A brilliant light flashed and an arrow appeared in his hand. It was black all over, but as magic power crazily flowed into it, it began to erupt with a blinding blood red light. Countless tiny runes wrapped around it and a heaven-shocking aura erupted, as if even 10,000 mountains blocking its path would be broken down!

Qin Yu’s heart violently shrank, nearly coming to a stop. In the end, he had only been in the Golden Core realm for a relatively short period of time. Even though he could compare in terms of strength, when it came to how many treasures were accumulated, there was still a vast disparity between him and a long-established Golden Core cultivator like War Bear.

For instance, this arrow. It had instantly made him feel a strong aura of death.

Whoosh –

A black light flashed. Following that was the ear-grating sound of air being torn apart. Qin Yu only had time to wave his hand before the arrow arrived.

The Soul Burying Flag opened. Blacksky Demon appeared, but the arrow had pierced his chest before he was able to lift the inkjade scepter. Blacksky Demon violently stiffened and then blew apart. The Soul Burying Flag fell to the ground, all fluctuations of energy gone from it.

The black arrow didn’t stop from that. It continued launching itself towards Qin Yu’s chest. The moment it touched him, there was a light crack as a brilliant light enveloped him.

Bang –

The brilliant light shattered.

Qin Yu was sent flying back!

The black arrow phantom trembled and disappeared from sight.

Qin Yu, no matter how strong you are, once you have been struck by the Soul Burying Arrow, the only path left is the road to death!

The Soul Burying Arrow was a consumable magic tool that was unintentionally created by a large refining sect in ancient times. It could only be used once, but each time the arrow shot out, it would take a life and bury a soul. Because it was too ruthless and malevolent a weapon that defied the heavens, further creation of these tools had been forbidden.

War Bear had inadvertently obtained this magic tool long ago, and it was his ultimate trump card. He had never shown it to anyone.

Now, the arrow shadow had dispersed, indicating that the assault was finished and Qin Yu’s soul was scattered.

Cough…cough…

A violent hacking cough echoed out, and War Bear’s happy face stiffened.

He hadn’t died!

How was this possible!?

This was the Soul Burying Arrow! It was an ominous killing magic tool from ancient times that had also sucked away a massive amount of his magic power, yet it couldn’t kill a Golden Core cultivator? What sort of joke was this!?

Blood dripped down the corners of Qin Yu’s lips. A massive hole had been smashed open in the ground, and the surrounding dozens of feet of the medicinal field had been destroyed in that instant. His chest burned with a heated stabbing pain and bones had been broken in countless spots. Even a light movement caused sweat to appear on his forehead.

But…he was still alive.

Blacksky Demon had offset the Soul Burying Arrow’s most terrifying soul extinguishing killing energy. And the jade pendant that Pill Crucible had gifted him had blocked its horrifying penetrating strike.

This was the reason he survived!

Fear rose up in Qin Yu’s heart. Just now, he really did have a brush with death.

But these thoughts only lasted a moment. He didn’t have time to waste…War Bear was still alive.

Since Qin Yu hadn’t died, he couldn’t allow War Bear to live!

Suppressing the agonizing pain wracking his body, Qin Yu began to burn his blood. The Blood Escape Art activated and he shot into the skies.

War Bear wanted to flee, but the deficient magic power in his body left him unable to defend himself.

Kacha –

A fist punched into the base of his neck. His head twisted in an exaggerated manner, completely spinning around. The originally self-confident War Bear had tried to change his strategy, but the result of the battle hadn’t changed. He still…died where he stood.

Hu –

Hu –

Qin Yu gasped for breath. Because he used the Blood Escape Art with serious injuries, his field of vision started to flicker black. He fell to the ground, not caring about War Bear’s corpse, and forced a smile of joy.

With the Blood Escape Art in his hands, he thought that he was invincible on the battlefield. He never imagined he would almost be struck down. Indeed, being too self-confident was not a good thing. Even a lion would use its full force to capture a rabbit, much less War Bear, who was a far more powerful match than a rabbit. He would definitely keep today’s events in his heart as a lesson to himself, and never assume anything in the future. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he would be able to survive the next time this happened.

Luckily everything had come to an end.

Just as Qin Yu rose up, he grimaced and his complexion darkened. The valley’s array formation had been destroyed during the battle, and it was unable to revolve any further. Looking up he could see a skirt swaying in the wind. Xiang Ruyu had arrived. She stepped on the void, wrapped in pink with only her beautiful face visible.

“Fellow daoist Qin, after not seeing each other for several days, how come you ended up in such a miserable state?”

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes. “If fellow daoist Xiang isn’t blind, then you should have clearly seen what happened.”

Xiang Ruyu wrinkled her eyebrows. “Why must fellow daoist use such sharp words?”

Qin Yu coldly sneered. “Fairy Xiang has been waiting here all this time, I wonder if you are planning on being a fisherman?”

Xiang Ruyu revealed a wide smile. “Fellow daoist Qin is a smart person, so why ask such a stupid question.”

Qin Yu sucked in a deep breath. “Since the result won’t change no matter what I say, I naturally choose to speak my heart. At least I will be a bit happier.”

Xiang Ruyu’s complexion didn’t change. “But there is also a possibility that fellow daoist Qin can arouse my resentment, so that your death will be much more painful, right? For instance, right now I don’t feel as if I want fellow daoist Qin to die so quickly. At the very least, I would want you to taste what it's like to have all the skin of your body melted away first.”

Her smile brightened, but her eyes were cruel and filled with hate.

“Do you want to know something? Ever since I was a child, I hated it when others excelled past me, no matter what aspect it was in. Thus, during this trip into the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling, the ones I hated the most were you and War Bear. Why were you two able to obtain harvests without a single wound? In particular, you, Qin Yu, you are the most deserving of death. You obtained the greatest benefits without doing anything, and you cannot imagine how much I’ve been wanting to kill you.”

Xiang Ruyu tittered. “Luckily, there is an idiot like that War Bear. He had been so carefree all this time because he didn’t think he had leaked anything, but he never knew that I had a special arcane technique I could use to eavesdrop on others and listen to the hearts of people. Unfortunately for him, I learned about some things related to the wolf-shaped jade slip, and I concluded that he wouldn’t give up on it. And as I thought, today finally arrived.

“War Bear died, and you are next.” Xiang Ruyu blinked her eyes and stretched out her hand from beneath her robes. Black and red mottled bone appeared. There were traces of regrowing flesh, but the skin had yet to be restored, making her hand seem like a fierce demonic claw. At this time, an open jade bottle was laying in her palm.

“Fellow daoist Qin, were you saving your strength all this time, perhaps in an attempt to fatally strike me down or even run away?” Xiang Ruyu’s smile widened. “But I won’t give you such a chance! This is a violent poison from Daoist Wuyuan. It is scentless, tasteless, colorless, and what is most terrifying is that just by breathing in a little, the movement of magic power within your body will come to a stop until your entire body is corrupted and you die. I took the antidote ahead of time so I don’t fear it, but I wonder if fellow daoist Qin fears it?”

Faint traces of black energy appeared in front of Qin Yu. His originally disorderly magic power suddenly stiffened. Unable to suppress his injuries any more, he spat out several mouthfuls of black blood and fell back down to the ground. However, his complexion remained calm, as if he didn’t know how miserable his death would be.

Xiang Ruyu’s eyes flashed. “Fellow daoist Qin, aren’t you afraid?”

Qin Yu shook his head. “I’m naturally afraid of death, but I’m not going to die here.”

Buzz –

The sounds of vibrating wings rose up.

Qin Yu revealed a contemptuous smile. “I knew that the reason you continued with your ridiculous monologue all this time was in order to delay for time and also to make it seem as if you were that much smarter than everyone else. But, have you ever thought about why I bothered listening to you?”

Xiang Ruyu’s complexion changed. She turned to flee.

Bang –

The wooden house instantly disintegrated. A vast mass of darkness emerged. The swarm of Purpleback Bluewing Ants howled forth, overtaking her in the blink of an eye.

Xiang Ruyu’s protective magic power shook for a moment before shattering. She cried out in pain. In a mere moment, she was bathed in her blood, without any means to protect herself further. The beautiful looks she cared about the most were being gnawed at and chewed away by countless bugs, revealing horrifying white bone beneath. Her eyes widened and she glared at Qin Yu, screaming with hatred. “You will die! And your death will be more pitiful than mine!”

A light flashed in Qin Yu’s hand and a foot of sea blue light appeared in the darkening night. He said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry, but I don’t really like you that much, so go die by yourself.”

Xiang Ruyu watched helplessly as the violent poison in Qin Yu’s body started to quickly gather towards his finger. Her eyes suddenly filled with despair and craziness!

Bang –

A terrifying fluctuation of energy erupted!

She wanted to self-explode!

Among the swarm of Purpleback Bluewing Ants that were crazily tearing away at Xiang Ruyu’s body, a channel suddenly appeared. A trace of black and white shined out and ripped into Xiang Ruyu’s abdomen like a bolt of lightning, forcefully digging out a shining Golden Core!

“Ahhh!”

With one last pitiful cry after losing her Golden Core, Xiang Ruyu was eaten up by the bugs.

Shua –

The black and white light paused to reveal the figure of the ant king. It had grown larger, and its palm-sized body was now covered in black and white lines. While it was extremely simple, it was also extremely profound, as if these ordinary lines contained some of the highest truths in the world and also some inexplicable timelessness.

This was…a Yinyang Twin Ant!

Qin Yu smiled. During this time, he had only felt the Purpleback Bluewing Ants regaining consciousness. He never thought that after eating the black worms and falling into a deep sleep, they would actually increase in level. Looking at the other Purpleback Bluewing Ants, he could see that there were some black and white marks on their bodies. The only difference was that their markings weren’t as complete as the ant king’s as they were much smaller.

After rising in level this time, the ant king had thoroughly solidified its status. There had originally been one or two competitors in the swarm, but they had now been left far behind.

Feeling Qin Yu’s gaze, the ant king’s wings buzzed and it flew up. It seemed as if it wanted to give him Xiang Ruyu’s Golden Core as a gift. As the palm-sized ant king held the Golden Core that was as large as a baby’s fist, it would have seemed quite cute if it weren’t for the traces of blood still dripping from the Golden Core.

Qin Yu reached out to stroke the ant king. As the ant king hummed in joy, he took the Golden Core and sighed.

This Xiang Ruyu was truly a madwoman!

Everyone knew that all humans had a soul, and that this soul would cycle forever between the samsara of heaven and earth. As long as the soul wasn’t scattered, they could follow the road of reincarnation to their next life. It was even said that supreme cultivators who had reached the Divine Soul realm had a chance of reawakening their past lives’ memories, equivalent to a resurrection.

Cultivators were well aware of this. Thus, even though Qin Yu had killed many Golden Core cultivators in his time, very few of them had self-exploded.

Because once someone blew up their Golden Core, their soul would also dissipate into nothingness, and they would lose all qualifications to reincarnate through samsara.

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