Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 531B - Holy Nether Guard Commander

The throne of the Holy Palace was empty so the main palace had been sealed away. Unless a new Holy Monarch was born, no one could open it. Luckily, the Demon Envoy had his own inheritance. He controlled an attached branch of the Holy Palace so he was able to control his own small corner. Although it wasn’t as magnificent and boundless as the main body of the Holy Palace, its deep and vigorous momentum still left one feeling awe and wonder.

Within a dark-hued temple, countless shadow runes seemed to constantly weave about, as if following some specific rules.

These shadow runes separated the entire temple from the outside world. Everything that happened within was undetectable from the outside world.

Because of this, the Demon Envoy always liked to contemplate important matters here. He knew what sort of situation the Holy Palace faced right now. Any careless negligence would likely arouse massive quakes.

Of course, besides that, there was also another important reason.

An old voice echoed throughout the temple. “By sending him into the Endless Sea, on the surface it might seem as if he is being exiled, but in reality it is the best possible choice for him. Otherwise, for how long will you be able to protect him from the overt spears and hidden arrows? As long as he is given enough time to grow, we will have won.”

The Demon Envoy had a respectful voice, “Teacher speaks wisely.”

If anyone heard these words, the entire Demonic Path would be shaken. This was because the Demon Envoy only had one teacher, and that was the previous Demon Envoy.

According to the Demonic Path’s rules of inheritance, if a new Demon Envoy was born, that meant the previous Demon Envoy had perished. For hundreds of millions of years, this had never gone awry in the Demonic Path.

But now, there had clearly been some sort of accident.

The Demon Envoy hesitated for a moment. “I am only worried that Yao Bin will be discouraged or disheartened by this. If his mental state is harmed, it won’t be possible for him to make another breakthrough in his Demon Body.”

The old voice was calm. “While I haven’t seen him with my own eyes, according to what you say, he is an extremely splendid and talented junior. He must have his own thoughts. And if he is able to reach the Emperor level Demon Body at his age, the lucky chances he must have encountered cannot be imagined by either of us. We have already made the best possible choice now. As for how he walks down this road afterwards, that will all depend on him.”

The Demon Envoy hesitated and nodded.

The previous Demon Envoy added, “The Endless Sea may be a forbidden zone, but you must prepare for unexpected possibilities.”

The Demon Envoy respectfully said, “Teacher, rest assured that I have made arrangements.”

…

The Endless Sea was located deep within the Demonic Path’s small world. The waters were blue and clear and a warm sea breeze brushed against one’s face, bringing with it the faint and unique scent of the sea. The sand of the beach was clean and pure. Seagulls with white wings and red beaks flew through the skies in graceful arcs.

Beneath the nine shining great suns, the sea sparkled with beauty and allure. In terms of appearance alone, this environment fascinated the heart and mind.

But in fact, this gorgeous sea was actually a place where numerous bones were buried. Throughout the recorded history of the Holy Palace, besides Holy Monarch Yuan Shen who was unaccounted for, all previous Holy Monarchs were buried here. Even many great figures of the Holy Palace were entombed in the Holy Mausoleum.

Without permission, no one could arbitrarily approach the Endless Sea. Otherwise it would be considered a great insult to the previous generations of Holy Monarchs, and this was a crime that no one could withstand. Thus, the speedcar delivering Qin Yu here stopped far away. Then, everyone got out and bowed respectfully towards the distant sea.

Qin Yu stood amongst the group, his body straight and tall as he looked at the Endless Sea. His eyes flashed and he seemed to understand something. It seemed that in the inner struggle occurring within the Demonic Path at this moment, the side that wanted to protect him had temporarily won. Otherwise he wouldn’t be facing such comfortable and carefree scenery right now.

Qin Yu recalled the information that Zhao Qianyuan hurriedly sent him and sighed. The Demon Body talent examination had placed him in an unprecedented limelight, but at the same time it had caused him to fall into a great deal of trouble. But he didn’t regret it. If he had the chance to redo things, he would still choose to make the same choice. In any case, this matter wasn’t something he was able to control to begin with.

“Fellow daoist Yao Bin, I can only deliver you this far.” A True Demon Guard cupped his hands together and bowed. He took out a wooden box and presented it. “Inside here is the Holy Nether Guard Command Token as well as your letter of appointment. After entering the Endless Sea, it will immediately take effect. Please accept it.”

Historically, the Holy Palace had two armed forces beneath its command. The first was the True Demon Guard and the second was the Holy Nether Guard. To some extent, the Holy Nether Guard was even stronger than the True Demon Guard!

But this was only the situation recorded in the historical texts. Ever since the last Holy Monarch emerged, the throne had been empty now for over 100,000 years. The Holy Nether Guard had retreated into the Endless Sea and could not return without the Holy Monarch.

In that long span of 100,000 years, the last formidable batch of Holy Nether Guards had already completely died off. All that were left over were a few large cats now. Moreover, as long as a new Holy Monarch didn’t appear, the Holy Nether Guard would never be able to leave the Endless Sea. As a result, being appointed as the Holy Nether Guard Commander was actually quite pitiful.

Qin Yu was able to perceive the grief, confusion, and empathy in the eyes of this guard. He maintained his composure and received the wooden box. Then, he nodded and left.

If he had been exiled into the Endless Sea before the Demon Body talent examination, he would surely have been left disappointed. He might have even thought of numerous ways to leave.

But now, all he felt was confidence.

He was just a step away from reaching the Saint level required for the throne. Once he smoothly took this last step, he would be directly in charge of the Holy Palace. To describe this as ‘leaping into the skies with a single bound’ was far from sufficient.

The reason he put on such a high profile performance was in order to obtain serious attention from the high level figures of the Demonic Path and then make use of their tremendous cultivation resources to become as formidable as possible and become a truly great and pivotal character.

But Qin Yu had an even better choice now. As long as his Demon Body made a breakthrough to the Saint level he would become the master of the Holy Palace. In an instant, he would become one of the most revered people in the entire world. Why reject what was near at hand to seek something so far away?

Entering the Endless Sea might look as if he was being exiled, but he had actually obtained a calm and steady cultivation environment where he could focus on his training. To Qin Yu, there were a hundred benefits and no harms. As for those mocking and sympathetic looks…well, people could think whatever they wanted, he didn’t care at all. Not just that, but time would prove everything.

The group of True Demon Guards that brought Qin Yu here all looked at his tall and straight back as he faced the Endless Sea. He stood composed, his shoulders stable as a mountain. As they thought back to how calm he had been the entire way here, they couldn’t help but reveal looks of admiration.

Disregarding all else, just this conduct and bearing was truly worthy of a powerful figure with a white sun boundary talent.

The True Demon Guard who handed over the wooden box took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions. “The mission has been completed. Let’s leave!”

The group mounted the speedcar. With the low rumble of it activating, it soon flew into the horizon, disappearing without a trace.

Thus, in this boundless blue world, looking in all directions, only Qin Yu’s figure was left remaining, silently welcoming the nine great suns shining above his head.

His steps weren’t quick, but they were firm and steady. He moved forwards step-by-step without a single pause until he arrived at the edge of the Endless Sea. Everywhere he looked, the sea waves, the sea breeze, the white sands beneath his feet and the seagulls flying in the air; everything composed a beautiful picture.

Qin Yu’s lips lifted in a happy smile. It wasn’t just because of how beautiful the scenery around him was, but also because of how thick the heaven and earth spiritual energy was.

It was just like how Zhao Qianyuan described it. Although the Endless Sea was considered a land of exile, it was almost the most suitable cultivation land within the Demonic Path. If it weren’t for the fact that one had to join the Holy Nether Guard to enter this forbidden zone and couldn’t leave without the holy command, then people would have already punched each other black and blue trying to fight for the spots to come here.

Qin Yu took out the token which represented the commander of the Holy Nether Guard. This thing had started to send out a faint light after he entered the Endless Sea region, indicating that it was already working. But this beach was still empty, without the shadow of a single person. All he could see were several tattered wooden boats tied to a wharf and slowly bobbing up and down in the water.

It seemed that this ‘commander’ wasn’t cared for by anyone.

Qin Yu shook his head. He walked to the first wooden boat and glanced at it. The bottom was broken.

He took several more steps and looked at the second boat; it was also broken.

The third and fourth were also ruined. After that…alright, if one considered these pieces of broken wood that were tied up in chains as sh.i.p.s, there were a total of five boats.

“The resentment is deep…” Qin Yu muttered beneath his breath. But there wasn’t much discontent in his eyes. These people had possessed potent cultivations, and yet they were trapped in this tomb-like land where they were forced to die in unwillingness and sorrow. To witness the fates of their fathers, grandfathers, and even further back, it was natural for the current generation of Holy Nether Guards to feel some sense of enmity.

On the other hand, if Qin Yu had arrived today to a warm and boisterous reception, he would have been wondering whether or not these people were planning on assassinating him in order to vent their frustration and indignations on him.

The wooden boats were all bad. Okay, there was no need to say this. Then, it was time to be a bit more pragmatic and start repairing these boats. The Endless Sea was a sea, but it was more than what he saw right now. If he wanted to truly enter the Endless Sea, he needed the key to open it.

And that was what these wooden boats were.

He dismantled three wooden boats and nailed the planks together, barely cobbling together a boat. Although its appearance was ugly, it should be usable.

Taking a step onto the boat, Qin Yu flicked his sleeves. The pieced together boat started to sail deep into the Endless Sea.