Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 122 – The Storm On the Sea

Waves roared, soaring up to the heavens. Their terrifying strength was able to grind down all, their momentum shocking the world. But within the eye of the storm, it was actually strangely peaceful. Two figures faced each other within the center, each one emitting a horrifying aura!

The Demon Monarch had a placid expression, without the least bit of anger on his features. His hands were crossed behind his back, and he exuded the inherent bearing of a true grand master. He lightly said, “I came here without any intention of making enemies with the sea races. So, sir, why must you stop me?”

A wild strength twisted space. Only a thin figure could be seen within. “In these past days, many of the sea races have gone missing. After investigating, I discovered that my people’s princess was nearly killed by demonic path cultivators. Is this what the Demon Monarch means when you say you have no intention of becoming enemies with us sea races?” action

The Demon Monarch replied, “This matter was an error made by random demonic path cultivators. I will give the sea races an answer for that. But, this junior has taken a most precious object of mine. I must take it back no matter what.”

The thin figure shook his head. “He saved my people’s princess.”

The Demon Monarch frowned. “It seems that sir has made up your mind to interfere.” He took a step forward and shouted out, “Come!”

Bang –

The tranquility within the eye of the storm was instantly smashed apart. Terrifying strength howled around, shaking the world.

After a moment, the Demon Monarch’s voice sounded out. “Sir is truly formidable. I have learnt a great deal. In the future if there is such a day, then I invite sir to come and visit me on land. I will surely prepare a grand welcome for you.”

The entire storm was suddenly split in half and the Demon Monarch stepped out. Several parts of the hem of his robe fluttered about in tatters. It was clear that he had suffered a loss in this confrontation with the mysterious sea monster powerhouse, but even so he remained calm and unflustered, seeming exactly like a peerless powerhouse.

Shua –

Demonic energy flashed. The Demon Monarch vanished from sight.

Within the other half of the storm, the waves continued to billow. Faintly, one could see a titanic figure within, standing as tall and grand as a mountain!

…..

An unknown period of time passed. At some point, Qin Yu finally struggled to open his eyes. This simple move left him gasping for breath. Right now, he was so weak that he could barely open his eyes, and his entire head seemed covered with a thick, hardened layer of blood. In a situation where he couldn’t move his arms, smoothly opening his eyes wasn’t an easy task at all.

The sky was dark and the light extremely dim. Luckily, there was no stabbing pain that followed. His eyes were still blood red from the damage he took. His pupils shrank and widened several times, and finally he was able to clearly see his surroundings.

Buzz –

After realizing that its master had awoken, the ant king flew over, expressing its worry and closeness. The ant king was covered in blood and its translucent wings were broken in several sections; it had obviously experienced a bitter battle. However, the swarm of ants was filled with gusto. They didn’t seem dispirited by the battle at all, but rather seemed much more ferocious.

Qin Yu struggled to move his lips. “You worked hard…” The originally intact Thousandcraft House was mostly ruined now. All that was left behind was the frame that lifted him above the sea waters. Every inch of covered in blood, and one could see the torn pieces of sea monster bodies.

The ant king gently nudged Qin Yu, worried at how weak its master was.

Qin Yu’s lips pulled up in a smile. “Don’t worry. Since I’ve awoken, I shouldn’t die. Ant king, continue guarding me. I still need some more time.”

He put in a great deal of effort to move. Every movement left him sweating profusely, but he finally managed to swallow down some pills. These were a magic power increasing Cloudrain Pill, a body enhancing Blood Energy Pill, and a soul fortifying Star Pill. As they flowed down his throat, they turned into a heat that washed through him and started to repair his nearly collapsed body. He closed his eyes. Although he was fatigued to the point of death and his mind ached, he forced himself to stay conscious.

To the violent and savage sea monsters, the smell and taste of blood was the most sensitive and clear signal. The blood that flowed out from the pieces of the Thousandcraft House attracted their hostility without end.

There was almost never a pause in the slaughter. The Yinyang Twin Ants revealed the terrifying strength they gained after evolving to the next level. If it weren’t for the water being a poor environment for them to fight, the sea monsters would have all been torn to pieces before they could even approach Qin Yu. As the ants swallowed a massive amount of flesh and blood, blood red lines began to appear between the black and white markings that covered their bodies, and their aura became that much more ruthless and bloodthirsty.

Four days later, Qin Yu opened his eyes. Moving a bit, his bones crackled and popped. His wounds were far from fully recovered, but he finally had the strength to preserve his own life a little.

On this day, he could be said to have lived through that calamity!

He took out Greatsun Mulberry leaves to reward the ants. Qin Yu discovered that blood lines had appeared on the bodies of the Yinyang Twin Ants, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to affect the control and influence he had over them. The temptation of the Great Mulberry leaves remained as irresistible as before, and he calmed down. As for what these blood lines were and what they meant, this was something he would have to pay further attention to in the future.

He looked up and around, also taking out the Netherworld Sea Region map to contrast with his surroundings. However, he had randomly flown all the way here and with having drifted on the currents for all this time, he momentarily found it hard to determine his location.

Thinking for a moment, Qin Yu rose up. With a thought, the swarm of ants flew beneath his feet and lifted up his body as they flew into the distance. He couldn’t stay any longer on the ruined pieces of the Thousandcraft House. Although it wasn’t easy to travel on Yinyang Twin Ants, their great strength still allowed him to fly over the water.

But before long, Qin Yu ordered the ants to stop. He peered into the distance. The horizon was still dusky, perhaps a little deeper than before. He turned a hand and produced the Windhearing Conch. He poured his magic power into it and listened. Several moments later, Qin Yu’s pupils rapidly shrank!

Buzz –

Buzz –

The ant swarm furiously beat their wings as they burst off in the opposite direction.

In the far off distance, that deep black color rapidly spread towards Qin Yu. He could soon hear the loud rumblings in the air, as if countless great beasts were roaring out in unison. The Yinyang Twin Ants hurried along. They could clearly feel the immense danger approaching them.

Qin Yu bitterly smiled. This was a sea storm, and one that was occurring in the most terrifying Netherworld Sea Region. If this was a storm in the ordinary sea region, then a Golden Core cultivator would be safe as long as they were a bit careful. But in the Netherworld Sea Region, even a Nascent Soul cultivator might perish within if they had bad luck!

The ant king screamed, hastening the swarm to hurry up. But, the storm was bizarrely fast. In a short moment later, it had already caught up to them.

Looking back, Qin Yu could see the black sea waters being drawn up into the air where they formed a wall of water that blocked out the skies. It roared and rumbled as it came hurtling towards him. Blazing gales were whipped up endlessly, sucking up massive columns of water that shot into the skies, each one like a ruinous cruel dragon. The dark clouds above were pressed down, nearly connected together with the wall of water. Thunder roared out, and arcs of lightning raced along the water wall.

Qin Yu’s senses far surpassed those of others, and he could clearly see several sea monsters who had been torn into pieces within the water wall. They twitched violently before being zapped by lightning and charred and disintegrated into black powder.

His face paled. This wasn’t fear, but at this moment, his slow heart beat began to accelerate. The blood within his body began to flow faster and faster. With a flick of his sleeve, the ant swarm was taken back into the imperial spirit bag. Blood flames ignited around him as he used the Blood Escape Art without hesitation.

Perhaps this would cause his recently recovered injuries to flare up, maybe becoming worse than before. But compared to falling into that storm, Qin Yu had no other choice.

Hu –

Wind blew against his face. As his speed rose, his figure became a beam of light that raced towards the horizon. But in the endless sea where the environment almost never changed, he strangely appeared quite slow. In this state, Qin Yu could clear feel every change occurring within his body.

There was a light crack in his chest. The recently regrown bones suddenly broke apart and jutted outwards. Rough ends dug through his blood and flesh, scratching his lungs and leaving a dark blood red line. With every breath he took, blood flowed out, and a coppery smell rose up in his throat and nose. Every time he breathed, it felt as if he were drawing in fire.

His furiously beating heart was still strong, but with every contraction and expansion, a slight pause began to occur. Although it wasn’t obvious, it actually caused the magic power circulating in his body to slow down. The wounds on his body that had just regenerated split apart one after another, and blood flowed out once more. From the corners of his arms, the tips of his eyebrows, his arms, thighs, blood dripped down. It soaked his robes, and as it flowed across his face it turned into a thin layer of red ice that was sent hurtling back in the next moment…

His severely wounded body wasn’t able to withstand the effects of the Blood Escape Art for a long time. Qin Yu was well aware of this and he knew that he had to escape the domain of the storm. But as time passed, even though he had thrown the storm a good distance behind him, he still couldn’t find its edge.

If he continued like this, his body would collapse and he would die before the storm hit him. With a sigh, Qin Yu stopped. The blood light scattered to reveal a pallid face. His slightly recovered body seemed much skinnier than before. Since he couldn’t avoid it, then he might as well not run away. Of course, he wouldn’t wait for death, but would seek out a chance to live, to matter how hopeless the situation.

Qin Yu crossed his legs in a sitting posture. With a thought, a brilliant light erupted from his body as almost a hundred talismans covering him. After finishing this, he flipped his hands. The Hundred Nether Sword appeared in his left hand and the bronze mirror appeared in his right. These two were his strongest magic tools. Although they were deeply slumbering and hadn’t truly recognized him as their master, at this crucial moment Qin Yu didn’t have time to consider these things. Either they helped him and lived together, or they would be buried with him in the storm, sinking forever to the depths of the sea!

Rumble rumble –

Loud rumblings shook the heavens and earth. In the far distance, he could see the black clouds connected with the wall of water, the water spouts the blazed into the skies, and the roaring thunder that raced through it all. From this distance, he could truly feel the terror of the storms in the Netherworld Sea Region. This was a truly majestic power that embodied the might of the world. Everything that tried to block its path seemed as small and insignificant as ants. Everything that stood in its way could only wallow in despair and be annihilated.

Qin Yu took a deep breath. Then, like a great stone, he plummeted towards the seabed!

In the next moment, water boiled around him. Every drop tumbled about him, releasing endless energy.

Buzz –

Buzz –

At the same time, the talismans surrounding Qin Yu all lit up together as they resisted the pressure of the sea. Still, he coughed and spat out blood. He was wildly tossed about in the boiling water, unable to distinguish north, east, south, west, up, or down! Compared to the storm that had appeared when the Demon Monarch engaged the mysterious sea monster powerhouse, this one was at least 30% more terrifying!

Kacha –

Kacha –

From the very edges, the talismans began to break apart. Bit by bit, as if eroding away, it became to quicken with time. Suddenly, the surrounding pressure disappeared and everything brightened. This was Qin Yu being sucked into the wall of water. With loud roaring all around, he was a piece of wood riding on the waves, able to be torn apart at any moment.

Whoosh –

A spout of water soared up. From the moment it formed, only a few breaths of time had passed. Qin Yu didn’t have time to respond before he was pulled out from the wall of water.

Pika paka!

Pika paka!

The talismans rapidly collapsed. The tearing strength lashed at Qin Yu’s body, tearing apart massive sections of his skin and flesh to reveal the bone beneath. Blood soaked his body, flowing down his arms to his palms and drowning the two treasures. He lowered his head and ruthlessly said, “If you don’t make your move, then we will step beyond redemption!”