Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 210 – Light Up

Ever since the normally apathetic Jiang Li returned from the mountain valley, there was an occasional smile that lit up his face. He seemed to be in an excellent mood.

Daoist Wang curled his lips in disdain as he saw this. He thought that Qin Yu was more than a mere sword cultivator; he was also a formidable alchemist. His pill dao lineage also had a successor, so what was that blind Old Jiang being so smug and happy about?

But even though he thought that, when Daoist Wang thought back to that moment when Qin Yu demonstrated his new skills and instantly crushed that cliff to pieces, he couldn’t help but feel a cold chill creep down his back. He thought that he needed to pay a bit more attention to how he spoke to the brat later on, otherwise if they both became irrationally angry for some reason, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the consequences.

He thought back to how he had needed to cultivate for so many years to achieve his current strength and yet had been overtaken in such a short period of time, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of loss and envy. As for jealous hate and other extremely negative emotions like that, there wasn’t any need for it. After all, in a manner of speaking that brat Qin Yu was his disciple. As he thought of this, Daoist Wang couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.

Hehe, Old Jiang, oh Old Jiang, when it comes to this you cannot compare to me…ah, well, it seemed that the Five Element Sword Diagram was given to Qin Yu by Jiang Li. And with whatever attainment jade slips he had gifted, the two of them would be on equal ground.

Qin Yu put forward the idea of having Gu Ling’er and her five senior-apprentice sisters join Immortal Eclipse Valley together. Then, after suffering a few taunts from Daoist Wang, the matter was settled like that.

Gu Ling’er greeted the two old fellows and unsurprisingly obtained a harvest of two gifts. And, they were also extremely precious treasures. This left Gu Ling’er shocked speechless. It was only with Qin Yu’s assistance that she was able to express her gratitude towards the two.

During this time, everyone within the Yun Family tried their best to flatter these two in the hopes that relations could be a bit better with Immortal Eclipse Valley. To the Yun Family, this was the most important matter.

Yun Fan broke into Nascent Soul, so the Yun Family still had a certain level of status. Daoist Wang was also quite polite when he dealt with them. It was unknown what sort of private agreement he reached with Yun Fan, but the two of them smiled and laughed happily.

Qin Yu didn’t have any time to pay attention to these things. Right now, under the careful guidance of Jiang Li, he was beginning the blood refinement of the Five Element Magic Swords, refining their virtual forms into being his life magic tool.

When it came to this, grandmaster sword cultivator Jiang Li had enough staying power to speak about the subject. In his words, Qin Yu was extremely lucky. Most people only had one life magic weapon, but he had five of them. In the future as his cultivation rose he would constantly nourish them and their power would also rise. At that time, they would truly be fierce!

After using up an entire month, he had basically finished refining the Five Element Magic Swords. He fused them into his dantian sea, where they each hung above their respective Golden Cores. They circulated with the aura of the Golden Cores, constantly transforming.

“Qin Yu, from now on as you nourish your magic swords, you need to pay attention to the losses to yourself and find the best balancing point. Otherwise, I fear you will damage yourself.” This was the only hidden danger. After all, these five life magic weapons would be an enormous burden on any cultivator.

Qin Yu nodded. “I will pay extra attention to this.”

Daoist Wang drank a mouthful of wine and impatiently said, “You two really are something. You went into seclusion for an entire month for this? Aren’t you bored of it already? I strongly request to change the topic!”

He rubbed his chin. “For instance, whether you really swallowed the tribulation cloud when Yun Fan was crossing tribulation.”

The dissatisfaction completely scattered from Jiang Li’s face to reveal a vigilant look. It was clear he was also concerned about this.

Qin Yu thought about it. “I don’t want to lie to you two, but there really are some things I can’t speak about. However, if I am purely answering your last words…yes, that is what happened.”

Daoist Wang smashed his lips together and started to mutter to himself. It was clear he was thinking back to the saying that freaks had no limits, and it was also obvious that this wasn’t some good phrase to him.

Jiang Li looked over. His gaze was deep and profound, but he didn’t press further. However, Daoist Wang started to casually speak, “You really went all out for Yun Fan. Could it be you took a liking to their young miss? That girl Yun Xueqing, she’s not too bad looking.”

Qin Yu shook his head. “No, it is mainly because I need to swallow a massive amount of heavenly tribulation. Because of certain reasons I can’t speak of, it is beneficial to me.”

Daoist Wang’s face froze. “Are you saying that the reason you helped Yun Fan cross tribulation was not because you wanted to help him, but because you needed heavenly tribulation?”

Qin Yu nodded. “That’s right.”

Daoist Wang’s face was incredibly ugly. He gnashed his teeth together, as if he had rage within him but no way to let it out.

Qin Yu blinked his eyes. He turned and asked, “What’s his problem?”

Jiang Li had a light expression. “Oh, are you referring to Old Wang? There’s nothing actually wrong with him. It’s just that when he attempted crossing his tribulation, he was nearly fried to charcoal by the tribulation lightning. I think some mental issues resulted from it.”

“Shut up!” Daoist Wang roared. “When we cultivators cultivate, we should rely entirely upon ourselves! Have you never heard of the old saying before? The blade of a treasure sword is sharpened from stone and the fragrance of the plum blossom is sweetest coming from the bitter cold. Only by depending on ourselves can we become truly powerful! Yun Fan didn’t personally experience the full baptism of heavenly tribulation, and this will surely become his life’s greatest regret!”

His words were deep and booming. His expression was filled with an arrogant pride of having crossed his tribulation himself. But, he actually couldn’t hide the lines of envy and annoyance etched in his face.

Then, Yun Fan just happened to arrive and give Daoist Wang another twist of the knife. He said, “I actually think it is very good. If someone can break through without having to cross tribulation, only a fool would say that they wouldn’t!”

Old Wang felt as if he had been struck 100,000 times. He flicked his sleeves and hid himself away in his room.

However, when Qin Yu proposed that he hoped to obtain even more heavenly tribulation, he encountered resistance from Jiang Li.

“The matter of Snowfall City’s Yun Fan crossing tribulation may have spread out widely, but the vast majority of people only believe they are rumors; they would never believe something like that. In their opinion, how could something like heavenly tribulation be swallowed by a human?” Jiang Li had a solemn expression. “This is a concept deeply-rooted in their minds and also the greatest hidden danger. If there is a second or third time, and they have determined that you really can swallow heavenly tribulation, have you considered what sort of dangers you will have to face then?”

Qin Yu bitterly smiled. “I naturally thought of it, but heavenly tribulation is just too important for me right now. Even if I know that the risks are great, I can only accept them.”

Jiang Li’s eyebrows tightened together. If Qin Yu said it like that, then he must have his reasons. He thought about it over again and then said, “Perhaps we can think outside the box. You can hide your identity and go to a place where no one knows you and obtain heavenly tribulation there.”

“Where?”

Jiang Li faintly smiled. “The sea region!” He didn’t notice the strange look that flashed on Qin Yu’s face as he continued to say, “The sea region is endlessly vast and the sea monster races are incomparably formidable. They have countless powerhouses, so if you help them cross tribulation, do you think there won’t be enough heavenly tribulation? There are enough sea races. If they were able to completely destroy humanity, they would have already tried to do so. Not being able to leave the sea region is their greatest limitation and also the reason why I want you to go there. Otherwise, if you were to do whatever you wanted on the mainland, you would surely stir up a great calamity…”

Speaking to here, Jiang Li paused for a moment as if he had forgotten something. After several breaths of time, he looked up at Qin Yu. “Just several days ago, in the Northern Dynasty mountains, it was reported that a great Nascent Soul monster was born there. This matter shouldn’t be…”

Qin Yu dryly laughed. “If you are speaking of a lascivious white tiger, then that should be it.”

Jiang Li was left speechless for a long time. “Qin Yu, do you know why for all these past years – even though there are so many demons, monsters, and spirits on the mainland – one at the Nascent Soul step has never appeared?”

Qin Yu’s eyes widened.

“That’s right, it’s exactly what you think. It’s because we humans, whether it be the righteous or demonic path, have purposefully suppressed the strength of the monster races on the mainland, preventing them from rising!” Jiang Li frowned. “But now, the entire suppression plan has been destroyed by you. Once the first Nascent Soul appears amongst the monster race, there is a far higher possibility that a second and third will appear. Have you ever thought that perhaps someday us humans will have to withstand a potent threat from them?”

Qin Yu had an awkward expression. At the start he had only been worried about obtaining heavenly tribulation, so how could he think of all these variables?

Jiang Li shook his head. “It looks like I was right to suggest you go to the sea region. If you continue to mess around here, you might stir up more trouble!”

Qin Yu’s awkward expression deepened.

Jiang Li had a puzzled look. “Was there something wrong with what I said? Or is there something that you can’t speak about?”

Qin Yu coughed. “Mm…not too long ago, I just came back from the sea region. Some things happened while I was there, so it’s not convenient for me to return for the time being.”

Jiang Li was left speechless. He looked straight at Qin Yu but found himself at a loss for words.

Just who was this person? In such a great world, he actually made trouble wherever he went. He couldn’t stay here nor could he go there.

He couldn’t help but admit that this could be considered skill. After all, if one didn’t have skill, they couldn’t accomplish this.

But you brat, aren’t you messing around a bit too much!?

“If you can’t go to the sea region for now, then there is nothing I can do. But, I want to remind you not to help anyone else cross tribulation.”

Qin Yu nodded. He bitterly smiled.

Somehow, this matter was discovered by Daoist Wang. Daoist Wang ran over to scold and taunt Qin Yu, but the meaning behind his words was crystal clear: listen to Old Jiang, he’s not wrong!

Qin Yu was moved, but he still didn’t make up his mind. The little blue lamp was different; it was his foundation and his hope. For every day that it didn’t recover, Qin Yu wouldn’t be able to rest easy. How could he just wait forever?

Perhaps feeling Qin Yu’s chagrin and dilemma, after being ridiculed by Daoist Wang for two days, as the dark of night approached, the little blue lamp which had been dormant for so long lit up without any warning at all. Seeing the deep blue light, Qin Yu felt as if he was seeing a friend after a long separation. Then, a wonderful feeling began to surge from deep in his heart. It was like his soul was flying, and even this pitch black night seemed to become lovable.

The blue lamp shined!

It shined!

Qin Yu carefully held onto it, as if he were afraid the slightest shake would cause it to extinguish. Luckily, the deep blue light continued to radiate without any sign of fading.

“Heavenly tribulation…still need…more…” These faint fluctuations resounded in Qin Yu’s mind. He revealed a thoughtful look. He could feel that the little blue lamp had passed its most difficult time, and while it still needed heavenly tribulation, the desire wasn’t too urgent.

This gave Qin Yu a great buffer of time.

Several days passed and the little blue lamp bloomed every night. Qin Yu finally felt relieved, but at the same time he fell deep into thought about what he should do.

Two days later, Qin Yu pushed open the door and found Jiang Li and Daoist Wang, telling them that it was okay to leave now. He looked at Gu Ling’er’s hesitant expression and smiled, tracing her head. “Don’t worry, this time I will go together with you. I provoked a good number of people in the past, so to avoid you being bullied, I will need to arrange some things.”

This was certainly an excuse.

The most important reason he wanted to go to Immortal Eclipse Valley was because his whereabouts had already been exposed, and the demonic path would find out sooner or later. In the war between the righteous and demonic, he became a thorn in the demonic path’s side. In addition to what happened in the sea region with the Saint Furnace, Qin Yu believed that the Demon Monarch wouldn’t mind personally coming to kill him.

Throughout the world, only Immortal Eclipse Valley was safe.

Of course, another reason was because Immortal Eclipse Valley had its Pill Disposal Department. Now that the little blue lamp had lit up again, he could obtain cultivation resources once more.

He bid his farewells to the Yun Family, then, with his group, they walked towards Immortal Eclipse Valley.