Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 585B – Despair

After the Sea of Purgatory was sealed away, the land gradually returned to tranquility without the interference of outside cultivators.

The 12 stone tablets still stood all around the Sea of Purgatory. However, they were all cracked in half. A skeleton was crushed beneath the ruins of the long snake stone tablet.

The black fires in its eye sockets had already dissipated. But even before it died, its mouth was open in an elated laugh.

It had played a chess game with Emperor Chu and obtained total victory in the end. This was certainly something to be proud of.

Of course, it also needed to feel gratitude towards Emperor Zhou. If not for his existence, then its plans wouldn’t have proceeded so smoothly.

Deep below the Sea of Purgatory, the gathered spirit veins still continued pouring strength towards the ‘great sun’.

The pool of soup below was calm and without fluctuations. If it weren’t for the shattered mountains and the horrifying cracks that still spread throughout the earth, no one would have thought that an immense destructive strength had arrived here from beyond the world.

Looking deeper down, delving into the astonishingly hot pool of soup, it was only here that one discovered something unexpected.

Down, down, down some more!

It was then that a mountain peak appeared in line of sight. It was only a thousand feet in size. Half of it was covered in flowing lava and the other half was covered in snow and ice.

Moreover, this mountain peak was continuing to sink. It was unknown just where it would end up.

…

Within the vast sea of stars, countless stars sparkled in the darkness. Not too far away, a blazing star lit up a shattered continent.

Fragments of land rolled through nothingness. They continuously disintegrated, becoming increasingly small.

Occasionally, one could see burning palaces and the living beings screaming within, begging towards the heavens for mercy.

However, they never would have imagined that during their period of desperation and helplessness, there were two great figures that were capable of saving them. But, these two people were floating high above the shattered continent and talking to each other.

“You crossed the line.”

The person across furrowed their eyebrows. They immediately composed themselves and said, “I know. But there is a reason.”

The other person shook his head. “There is no possible reason. Crossing the line is crossing the line. Residual spatial channels will be a highly unstable factor.”

“I will fix it.”

“Like what you see before us now?”

“…It won’t happen.”

The first person who spoke turned and walked away. “You have already drawn attention. Don’t cause any more trouble!”

“Humph!” The person’s complexion was uncertain. Then, after a long time they sneered and walked away.

From start to finish, the two of them didn’t even glance at the collapsing continent and the despairing lives that were pleading for mercy from the heavens.

These were nothing but ant-like existences. Who cared if trillions of ants died?

They weren’t worth wasting strength!

…

Qin Yu finally woke up from his stupor. His first thought was that he felt very full, and the second though was that something smelled very nice.

His thoughts were far slower than normal. In addition to the fact that he hadn’t full awakened yet, when he saw Shen Yuanyin nearby, he wasn’t able to fully gather himself.

How could this ice cold woman smell so nice? And why was she here? Wait, where was this?

All sorts of confusing questions leapt into his mind, causing his dazed thoughts to become even blurrier.

“You’ve woken up.”

A cold voice entered his ears, like a frost wind brushing against his face. Qin Yu took a deep breath, his eye suddenly lighting up.

He really was a miserable wretch…

Shen Yuanyin stood up and her fragrance dissipated. She seemed to know what Qin Yu was going to ask. She said, “We were dragged into the pool of soup. We should still be in the Sea of Purgatory right now.”

Qin Yu recalled that this ancient demon body had been cut through by the golden sword. Shen Yuanyin should also have been held captive by the decayed corpse. “What happened afterwards?”

Shen Yuanyin’s eyes revealed a solemn expression. “An extremely terrifying aura arrived at the Sea of Purgatory. Although I have no idea what it was, but after the decayed corpse detected it he was frightened away.”

Even when the decayed corpse faced the astonishingly strong Emperor Zhou, he still hadn’t tried to run away.

From this alone, one could tell how powerful that aura had been!

If the decayed corpse fled, Shen Yuanyin should have regained her freedom. If so, why didn’t she run away? Why was she still here?

Qin Yu’s thoughts turned. He couldn’t help but glance at her. Seeing her light complexion, he coughed and changed the topic. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“17 days.”

Qin Yu nodded. “Thank you for looking after me for such a long time…” He suddenly paused. He stiffened, “How long did you say?”

Shen Yuanyin responded. “You didn’t mishear me and I didn’t miscalculate. According to our current time, the Sea of Purgatory has already been sealed up.”

With this, Qin Yu really couldn’t remain calm anymore. The Sea of Purgatory was connected to Ying Capital’s great array.

The Seal of Purgatory was sealed up. That meant unless he managed to break through Ying Capital’s great array or it was opened up on its own initiative, he could give up on any hopes of leaving.

The first idea was clearly impossible for him to accomplish.

As for the second idea, that was something that he would need to wait for several million years if not longer to happen.

Looking at the incomparably calm Shen Yuanyin, Qin Yu couldn’t help but rub his temples. This woman was a bit too open-minded, wasn’t she?

If he couldn’t break through Ying Capital’s great array, did that mean he had to stay here for the rest of his life?

After a long silence, Qin Yu let out a deep breath. “No matter what it is, we are still alive. As long as we don’t die, there will be a chance.”

There was a fluctuation deep in Shen Yuanyin’s eyes. She hesitated but in the end didn’t say anything.

Qin Yu rubbed his face. “Allow me to make a formal introduction. I am the Demonic Path’s Yao Bin.”

“Shen Yuanyin.”

It really was her!

Qin Yu already expected this. If this woman was a cultivator of the Immortal Sect and had such a cultivation at her young age, even cultivating the Sublime Lost Emotion Code, then that meant she could only be the new master of Nineheaven Mirrormoon Palace.

Although he had already prepared himself, when he heard her acknowledge this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit strange.

One was the Demonic Path’s Holy Son and the other was the leader of one of the Immortal Sect’s three heads. Even if they didn’t try to immediately kill each other, they should still be wishing that the other party died.

How could he and Shen Yuanyin end up like this?

You save me…I save you…you save me again…I save you again….

They kept going back and forth!

If others learned about this, then completely disregarding whether or not they would be believed, they would simply become a passing joke.

The relationship between the Immortal Sect and Demonic Path…hey, don’t tease me!

Qin Yu rubbed his nose and dryly laughed. “I have your heard of your great name already, it’s my honor, my greatest honor to meet you.” Seeing Shen Yuanyin not reply, he dove straight into what he wanted to ask, “Palace Master, there is something I wish to ask you. I hope you can truthfully answer me.”

Shen Yuanyin lightly said, “As long as it doesn’t involve secrets of the Immortal Sect.”

This woman really was a joyless block of ice. In their current situation, why would he have such thoughts?

“Of course I won’t.” After hesitating a little, Qin Yu said, “I heard that before Palace Master succeeded the throne, you were a disciple of Great Elder Purple Moon?”

“Yes.”

He was overjoyed. He quickly asked, “Then does Palace Master know a woman named Ning Ling?”

Shen Yuanyin shook her head, “No.”

“How could you not know her? Please think about this some more. According to what I know, Shen Yuanyin was the last disciple of Great Elder Purple Moon.”

Shen Yuanyin lightly said, “There are flaws in your information. I am honorable master’s only disciple. I have never heard of her having any other disciples.”

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows, his face darkening. With his current understanding of Shen Yuanyin and the current situation they were in, there was no reason for her to lie.

But Ning Ling was clearly the last disciple of Great Elder Purple Moon. He had personally been there, so he knew he wasn’t wrong…just what had happened?

Where was Ning Ling!?

Shen Yuanyin saw Qin Yu’s angry and uneasy expression. She didn’t know why, but she subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows. “Is this woman important to you?”

As she asked this question her eyebrows furrowed even tighter. Was she caring about this matter?

Qin Yu didn’t pay attention to her expression. He took a deep breath and nodded, “Palace Master has a friendship of life and death with me. If Palace Master is able to leave this place in the future, then on behalf of this friendship please search the Immortal Sect for this woman…she is indeed very important to me.”

If it were anyone else, then after knowing of this matter, they might use Ning Ling to threaten Qin Yu.

But he believed Shen Yuanyin was not this kind of person.

After hearing the trust in his voice, Shen Yuanyin was startled briefly. She relaxed her eyebrows and said, “I will.”

Seeing Qin Yu’s expression of gratitude, Shen Yuanyin thought for a moment, “That’s right. There is something I need to tell you. You and I cannot last here for much longer.”

Qin Yu’s complexion changed.

Shen Yuanyin pointed towards the barrier above her head. “Sense it yourself and you will know.”

The blending of ice and fire was formed by their auras. Qin Yu closed his eyes and smoothly integrated his divine sense into it.

Soon, his complexion became incomparably ugly. He opened his eyes and said, “Palace Master has been awake this entire time. According to your judgment, how much time do we have left?”

The destructive strength of the pool of soup was constantly eating away at the barrier of ice and fire. Once the barrier melted away, the result could be imagined.

Shen Yuanyin lightly said, “It should be around 3-5 days.”

Qin Yu’s lips twitched. Even with his ability to conceal his emotions, he still wanted to curse out loud.

If he were stranded in the Sea of Purgatory, that was fine as it was. Although Ying Capital’s great array was known as something that not even a Calamity Immortal could shake, he still had the confidence to give it a try.

But if he only had 3-5 days left…what could he do during this time period?

For a time, Qin Yu was at a loss for words. It was like all he could do was wait for death.

No one spoke. The atmosphere was so quiet it left one feeling restless.

But this clearly didn’t affect Shen Yuanyin. She closed her eyes and continued to meditate.

If she couldn’t find the jadesoul iceheart, she would die in the end. So whether or not she was stranded in the Sea of Purgatory didn’t matter.

Even if she only had 3-5 days left to live, that was unimportant.

On the contrary, she felt quite stable and peaceful inside…perhaps this was because she knew that someone would accompany her as she died.

She told herself this. Although she thought it was strange, she didn’t dwell on it too much.

But…Qin Yu wasn’t willing to accept this result.

After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and stood up. He paced along the barrier, trying various things in an attempt to survive.

Unfortunately, all his attempts failed.

Even with Qin Yu’s powerful will, he still couldn’t help but gradually begin to despair.