Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 633 – The Mist That Corrodes Statues

Qin Yu finally confirmed that this astonishingly large divine palace had an almost incalculable number of statues. Perhaps because he had killed one, once these statues discovered his aura they would begin to awaken from their dormancy.

In order to avoid being chased down by them, Qin Yu constantly changed directions in the fog. Even if a place was relatively safe he could only stay there temporarily. While he could also absorb the stone beads while he was moving, the efficiency was drastically reduced. This left Qin Yu in a considerably poor mood.

A palace square appeared in front of him. Qin Yu tore open the fog and entered, but as soon as he did his complexion darkened. This was because near the square, there was a statue standing there with a heavy sword.

Besides the first time, Qin Yu hadn’t truly fought with any statues. But, this didn’t prevent him from coming up with a judgment of the standard strengths of them. Except for unknown exceptions, the larger the statue, the stronger they were.

The size of this statue in front of him was in the top three ranks of all the ones he had seen before. His feet moved and he was about to retreat, but at this time his eyebrows suddenly furrowed together…it was strange, but this statue didn’t give off any threatening feeling at all, as if it was something truly dead.

His thoughts stirring, Qin Yu came to a stop. When he didn’t sense anything wrong, he slowly approached the statue.

As he thought, the statue didn’t react to him at all. After glancing over it, he found the difference – the surface of the statue was covered in corrosive marks, as if it had experienced a baptism of acid.

Qin Yu’s eyes began to shine. Right now, he was being chased by the statues and he was slowly running out of places to flee to. If there existed some strength here that could destroy these statues then he would have found a safe area. Of course, the key point was that he needed to confirm this to determine whether or not his guess was right.

Qin Yu’s figure flickered and he rapidly raced around the edge of the square. Soon, a second object came into sight. It was a statue similar to the first and its surface was covered with corrosion marks.

He continued forward. Once Qin Yu made a loop around the square and returned to the beginning, he had discovered eight large statues surrounding the square. Without exception, all of them had been severely corroded and they had lost their strength, becoming true blocks of stone.

His lips curved up in a smile. He had now confirmed his previous guess. What he needed to do now was to fight the source of this strength that corroded the statues.

Qin Yu’s final goal was to unravel the secrets of this towering divine palace. If he could find and grasp onto that strength that corroded these statues, it would undoubtedly be helpful to him.

He looked up around at the boundless fog all around him. This place was no different from anywhere else. These statues had stood here for unknown years before becoming as corroded as they were now. If he wanted to find the source of this strength, it wouldn’t be easy at all.

As Qin Yu was lost about what to do, he suddenly frowned. He turned and looked outside the square. The fog tumbled and stirred. Soon, walking corpses emerged. When they sensed Qin Yu they revealed expressions of awe.

But what was different was that these walking corpses didn’t leave like before. They simply avoided Qin Yu and continued to flow into the square.

There was something wrong!

Qin Yu immediately followed after them. In order to avoid scaring these corpses off he maintained a certain distance as he kept behind them.

Moments later, the walking corpses arrived at the center of the square. They stopped and began to form a circle. Qin Yu looked through the fog. Faintly, he could see a giant stone construction, something similar to an arched entrance.

What were these walking corpses gathering for? Could it be related to the strength that corroded the statues?

Qin Yu walked forward. When the walking corpses sensed his presence they began to move restlessly. Low guttural m.o.a.ns came from their throats.

His complexion didn’t change and his steps were steady and powerful. In his eyes, these walking corpses weren’t a threat at all.

Roar –

With a howl, a walking corpse that had the appearance of an old woman threw herself forward.

Blood red claw instantly grew from her fingers, causing sounds of tearing air.

Qin Yu’s eyes turned cold. He coldly snorted as a formidable will broke free from his body and smashed into the old woman corpse.

She immediately stiffened. Then, with a pained cry, her head smashed apart into a pile of goo.

Dang –

A headless corpse fell to the ground!

Qin Yu coldly glanced around. The walking corpses roared in fear and alarm. They withdrew in droves, opening up a broad and straight path for Qin Yu to walk through.

He quickly walked in. As he was surrounded by walking corpses, he didn’t feel any fear or worry. He had already discovered their fatal weakness.

These corpses had long since been killed and eroded by the fog. Because their obsession with their life had been preserved, they retained almost their complete strength from before their deaths.

But what they couldn’t withstand was too formidable an impact of will. Otherwise, a scene like before would occur – their heads would explode and they would die!

With the strength of Qin Yu’s current will, no matter how many walking corpses there were they posed no threat to him. If he wanted he could even kill them all easily.

The reason he stayed his hand and only chose to scare the walking corpses away was extremely simple. The existence of these corpses made it so that other cultivators couldn’t enter the forbidden area that was the Sea of Bewildering Fog. Only like this would others not compete for him for the lucky chance in this towering divine palace.

After smoothly reaching the center of the square, Qin Yu discovered that what he saw before wasn’t an arch at all, but something similar to a fountain-like stone construction.

What he thought was an arch before was one of the four waterspouts of the fountain. Were the corpses circling this place because of the fountain?

Qin Yu took several steps forwards. He reached out and traced the waterspout. As he thought, the surface was still slightly damp. Then, without expecting it, there was the sound of trickling water.

The walking corpses began to move around restlessly. They wanted to move forward but they feared Qin Yu and didn’t dare approach.

Qin Yu rapidly moved backwards. Before determining the function of the fountain, it was always best to be a bit more cautious.

As soon as he left, the walking corpses rumbled forward and circled the fountain.

The sound of trickling water grew louder and louder. Above the fountain, textures began to shine. Soon after that faint traces of mist started to drift out from the four waterspouts.

It was extremely faint and light, like the mist that rose up after a spring morning…Qin Yu’s eyes shrank!

As the mist fell upon the corpses, their faces immediately revealed expressions of incomparable joy. The wounds that covered their bodies began to rapidly heal. It seemed that this mist was greatly beneficial to their bodies.

But to Qin Yu, there was something even more important. He watched as this mist gradually fluttered through the fog.

Although most of the mist was absorbed by the walking corpses, a small portion of it was drawn away by some strength and sent towards the edge of the square.

Shua –

Qin Yu rapidly drew backwards and returned to the edge of the square. He stood in front of a statue and calmly waited. As expected, the mist flew over, wetting the surface of the statue.

Closely observing, Qin Yu was able to determine that it was this mist that corroded the statue. Carefully, he went to a second statue and a third statue to confirm this again.

Just what was this mist? Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu reached out a hand and pulled some of it into his palm.

A burning heat immediately erupted as if he had grabbed onto hot coal. But soon, that burning pain turned into a warm current that fused into his body.

Qin Yu sensed with careful attention. Several breaths of time later, his eyes opened with pleasant surprise…this mist was greatly beneficial to the body!

Although this was only a few wisps of mist and he could barely feel the strength of his body increasing, he could clearly feel the energy contained in the mist.

Qin Yu was suddenly aware of why these corpses that had died so long ago were able to preserve themselves for such a long time. It was likely due to this mist.

At this time, the mist flowing from the center of the square began to rapidly die down. It seemed the fountain had stopped erupting.

Soon, a massive number of walking corpses lumbered towards the exit. They avoided Qin Yu as they vanished into the endless fog.

Moving forward, Qin Yu soon came to the square center. The fountain area was already emptied out.

When he arrived in front of the stone construct, he placed a hand on it. Then, he closed his eyes and carefully reached out his senses.

But no matter how much Qin Yu tried, he couldn’t sense anything strange. He swept his divine sense through the ground but still didn’t discover anything.

He opened his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together as a cloudy expression crossed his face.

It shouldn’t be like this…

There was suddenly a chilling fluctuation from his soul space. The faint glow of a purple moon appeared in the thick fog.

The light gathered together, condensing into a crescent moon that landed above the fountain.

Qin Yu was overjoyed. This was the first time the purple moon had moved on her own initiative. It seemed she had discovered something.

A moment later, there was a popping sound as the purple moon vanished. A desolate voice sounded out in his mind, “There is something beneath the fountain that is useful to me.”

Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s useful to me too.”

After a brief silence, the purple moon continued to stay, “The thing I want, if you take it, it will only bring harm and no help.”

Qin Yu nodded, “Okay.”

Both sides came to an agreement.

Hum –

In his soul space, the purple moon began to shine brighter. Within this radiant purple moonlight, a tall and beautiful woman stepped out. She wore the clothes of an imperial palace lady and her black hair hung like a waterfall to her waist. Her eyes were chilling but her beauty still left one gasping in disbelief.

She lifted a hand and drew a finger through the air. Wherever her clear fingertip went, purple light stayed behind. Soon, a complex rune was formed.

The lady waved her hand and the rune instantly faded into nothingness. At the same time, a cold voice sounded out, “Place the rune atop the fountain and the entrance will be opened.”

Qin Yu looked down at his palm. A pale purple rune had appeared there. He stepped forward and placed his hand down.

The stone construct beneath his palm faintly trembled. Then, Qin Yu discovered that the ground beneath the fountain started to turn transparent.

Like the surface of a pond, a mirrored image was produced, one exactly the same as the world above. There was the same fountain and also the same stone construction.

Without hesitation, Qin Yu took a step forward. Like a stone, the ground rippled before he vanished from sight.

In the next moment he appeared in that ‘reflected world’. As he looked up, he could see the fountain outside.

But what was different was that in this world, the sky was filled with numerous crystals suspended in midair.