Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 190 – A Familiar Sound

Qin Yu soon discovered that he had been overly optimistic in his chances; he had far underestimated the Whale Sovereign’s strength. The strength that the Whale Sovereign displayed was more formidable than what he expected. To be more exact, it was far, far greater than he had expected. With Qin Yu’s current cultivation, if he were to use the Blood Escape Art today, he was at least 10 times faster than before. There shouldn’t be anyone capable of catching up to him within the Nascent Soul realm.

But the Whale Sovereign was able to!

Although he couldn’t eliminate the distance between them for some time, this was more than enough for the Whale Sovereign. All he needed to do was to latch tightly onto Qin Yu’s trail. Sooner or later, Qin Yu would tire and no longer be able to use the Blood Escape Art. At that time, Qin Yu might be too weak to even stand up. The Whale Sovereign would only need to gently wave his hand to take Qin Yu’s head.

Qin Yu had already drawn far away from the capital city, so a great deal of time had also passed. He sighed inwardly after determining that the Whale Sovereign truly was capable of chasing after him. In fact, Qin Yu could feel that the Whale Sovereign even had the mindset of a hunter chasing after its prey. After he weakened, then he would easily be killed off.

So, if everything went as expected, he shouldn’t be able to escape.

Countless thoughts raced through Qin Yu’s mind as innumerable paths were played out over and over. But he found that no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be able to preserve his life. And there was no power he could borrow from out here.

If he were to be honest with himself, Qin Yu did feel a trace of regret. Whether it was agreeing with Moon Praying Shrine or Sega City, he would have been safe right now. But as soon as this thought appeared, he crushed it with his formidable willpower. This was because he knew that thinking of these things wouldn’t be able to solve any of his problems. It would only soften his resolve.

Since he couldn’t escape, then he wouldn’t flee anymore. Rather than exhausting all of his strength, then he might as well turn around and struggle one last time. Although there was nearly no chance that he would win, if he were to go all out, he might be able to tear out some meat from the Whale Sovereign’s body.

If he were to die, it was better to die with a bit of significance.

Thinking like this, Qin Yu suddenly stopped. The blood red flames that burned along his body had disappeared, revealing his weary and pale face.

No, that was wrong. Even if he died, there was still something he needed to do.

So, in the next moment the blood red flames flickered on his body once more.

He flew up, up, and continued upwards.

With a loud explosion, a massive bubble grew on the surface of the sea before it blew apart. Seawater wildly sprayed out. Qin Yu looked up towards the sun that he hadn’t seen for a long time. He took a deep breath and whispered to himself. “Yes, this is it. If I die, it’s only right to die beneath the sun.”

Bang –

The sea’s surface blew open once more. Countless water drops flew in all directions, each one containing a horrifying strength. Perhaps even a mountain would be turned into a sieve if struck by these water drops.

The Whale Sovereign stepped out. With his black armor and his heaven-shocking aura, he was like a demon god that descended upon the world. He looked at Qin Yu and swept his eyes around. After making sure there wasn’t anything wrong, he said, “I thought this was also a trap you arranged for me.”

Qin Yu smiled. “It’s just that I don’t want to die on the seabed. In the end, I am a human, so my thoughts and needs are somewhat different from those of the sea races. You know, basking in the sun feels quite good.”

The Whale Sovereign shook his head. “I don’t like it.” He looked up towards the great sun in the skies. “If you wanted to draw support from the sun to suppress my cultivation, then I will have to disappoint you. I am not restrained in any way. After all, when your cultivation has reached my step, leaving the sea region for a short period of time has nearly no effect.”

Qin Yu didn’t explain anything. The only reason he spoke was because he wanted to live a bit longer. Since the Whale Sovereign wasn’t in a hurry to make his move, he naturally wasn’t hurried either.

And indeed, the Whale Sovereign had a reason for not hurrying to kill his prey. “Qin Yu, you know that I will kill you and it is impossible that I will let you go. So, let’s have an open and honest talk with each other. Tell me, what did you use to treat the vine beneath the royal palace and Moon Praying Shrine’s Saint Flower? Tell me and I will give you a happy death. Otherwise, I guarantee that you will regret ever appearing in this world.”

This was a threat, but upon hearing it, it actually sounded like a fact, something that possessed a strange truthfulness to it. Perhaps he really could do what he said he would.

This sort of natural revelation wasn’t intentional at all. Qin Yu still didn’t understand why the Whale Sovereign had this sort of special characteristic to him. Perhaps it was because when one’s cultivation reached the limit of Nascent Soul and almost touched the Divine Soul, when one’s soul quietly transformed and sublimated, there was a resulting confidence from feeling that one was being accommodated by the world.

But this didn’t change anything. Qin Yu knew that the Whale Sovereign could do as he said. After several breaths of silence, he shook his head and said, “I also want to kill you, but I likely won’t have the chance. So right now, I just want to live a little longer. I know the method of treatment, but I won’t tell you. My apologies, I might be dying soon so I am a bit nervous and my words might stutter a little or sound a bit strange. I hope that you can be a bit broad-minded and overlook this.”

The Whale Sovereign’s gaze was icy cold. “I will find out.” He lifted a hand and grasped forwards.

The world was at peace, without the least bit of sound. There were only the sounds of wind atop the sea, but at this time even that had vanished. Then, without warning, that quiet peace was broken.

A massive hand formed from seawater rose up from the surface. It rose upwards, distorting space wherever it went, grasping towards Qin Yu like an ancient sea demon of legends.

Before it had arrived, an invisible suppression left Qin Yu gasping for breath. His black robes pasted against his body, so tight that they didn’t move anymore. This was the Whale Sovereign’s true strength, moreover, he should still have been holding back. Right now, the Whale Sovereign only wanted to suppress him and force him into answering his question. If the Whale Sovereign really wanted to kill Qin Yu, then just a single palm would have been enough.

Self-deprecating thoughts filled Qin Yu’s mind. Even though he had struggled to reach his current cultivation, he was unexpectedly still only a character that could easily be eliminated by others. Indeed, this was a dragon amongst dragons while he was cannon fodder amongst cannon fodder.

And, there was Pill Crucible, that cheap senior-apprentice brother of his. Qin Yu couldn’t conceive why he had trusted him when he said that he had inborn good fortune. That old man was truly a swindler!

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Yu struck back. Facing the Whale Sovereign’s skills, there was nothing he could bring out. So, even though it was a bit vulgar and outdated, he still used the Boundless Blue Finger.

Winds and clouds whipped into existence and his black robes began to flap around him once more. The power of heaven and earth spiritual energy howled around him. The power of this finger collided with the giant hand of seawater. There was nothing fancy about this; it was only a confrontation of absolute strength versus absolute strength.

It was obvious that in this struggle, Qin Yu had an absolute disadvantage. Then, the Boundless Blue Finger trembled and collapsed, and with some unknown method, the water hand was also destroyed. Blood gushed out of every single one of Qin Yu’s orifices and he was sent tumbling backwards.

The Whale Sovereign knitted his eyebrows together. He had faced this supernatural finger ability before, but it seemed a little different today. He opened his mouth and slowly asked, “This finger of yours, what is it called?”

“Boundless Blue Finger…” He coughed, “It’s an awesome move I learned after I nearly died one time.” In a manner of speaking, this was the truth. But in the eyes of the Whale Sovereign this seemed like he was being openly mocked. He nodded and said, “This means there is another thing on your body that I wish to obtain. Very good.”

Qin Yu hacked out a cough. “Stop being so vague with your words. I really might be scared soon.”

“What a sharp mouth!” The Whale Sovereign lifted his hands and pushed them forwards.

A master was like this – he didn’t need to use any superfluous and gaudy moves. When he raised his hands, an earth-shaking strength rose up. Torrential waves rose up, roaring forward in waves upon waves, as if they wanted to race towards the ends of the earth.

If one stood in the distance and saw this, it would be a shocking scene that left a deep impression on the heart. Then, there was bound to be some young scholarly and artistic youth that would excitedly spill his emotions and feelings into writing a magnificent poem. For instance: The east river washes out, and the waves roll forth…

Yes, this was a sea and not a river, but it was fine as long as one understood the general meaning behind it. This was how the literary world always worked; it dealt in many, many metaphors.

But as for Qin Yu, who was facing this incredible sight head on, he didn’t hold any appreciation towards these dreadful waves that seemed to blot out the skies. He spat a mouthful of blood and cursed out loud, “What the fuck…this is…such a giant wave…”

He struggled to lift a hand. His dantian sea began to cry out. This was the power of his five-element Golden Cores being pushed to its limits. Then, five spheres of light rose above his fingers. White, black, blue, red yellow, each one emitted the sound of a keening sword. The swords cried out together. The Five Element Swords had vanished a long, long time ago. But now, they unexpectedly revealed their dazzling brilliance in the world once more.

But what a pity. This might also be their last appearance.

Bang –

Bang –

The Five Element Swords spun in a circle, quickly revolving and piercing outwards. As the great waves arrived, they were pierced through by this sharp strength. The area that was torn open was just enough to hold Qin Yu. So, even though the vast and rough sea waves swept over him and their shaking strength left him vomiting blood, when they eventually passed over him and continued racing towards the distance, Qin Yu still remained where he was.

Certainly, his appearance was quite miserable. His robes were broken all over and countless wounds marred his body. Blood recklessly flowed down, dripping from a corner of his clothes.

Still, his performance had gone far beyond the Whale Sovereign’s expectations. His eyes brightened and he smiled as he looked at Qin Yu. “Impressive. You truly leave one in stunned admiration. So you had grasped such a formidable strength all this time. Is this the power of the five elements?”

Even as he spoke out in praise, his eyes turned icier. In the depths of his heart, he decided that this choice to kill Qin Yu was the best and most correct one he had made. Otherwise, while he might be overwhelming this boy as if he were nothing more than a worm now, who knew to what degree he would grow if several more years passed.

Perhaps there was even a chance that he could be a true threat to him. Of course, there was no longer a chance that this would happen.

“This is the third.” The Whale Sovereign’s smile vanished. I really hope you can give me another surprise today.”

He opened his mouth and formed a special syllable. Then, he lifted a hand and pointed a finger down at Qin Yu.

That’s right. This time it was the Whale Sovereign that was giving Qin Yu one finger.

The skies suddenly darkened. A thin black finger appeared just like that, as if a black hole leading to another world was right behind it.

Qin Yu spat out another mouthful of blood and felt his chest be a bit more relieved. At the very least, it didn’t feel uncomfortable to take another breath. He looked up at that finger and his eyes widened. If the Whale Sovereign thought he had more tricks up his sleeve, then he might have been overestimating him.

In reality, he didn’t have the strength to do anything else.

His magic power was nearly exhausted and his entire body ached from top to bottom. If it wasn’t for his firm will, he might have already fallen down.

If there was some other card in his hand, he didn’t mind giving it a try.

Just as he was ridiculing himself, after the sound that the Whale Sovereign was making, there were strange, broad and vast sounds that followed, ones that were ancient and filled with majesty.

Why…did he think they were somewhat familiar? As if…he had heard these sounds before.