Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 98 – A War Bear Who Fears No One

Three days later, Qin Yu woke up from his meditation. A sharp light flashed in his eyes, indicating that the damage he suffered from the impact to his consciousness had been completely recovered. After a moment of thought, he lifted his storage ring. A brilliant light flashed and a wolf-shaped jade slip appeared. Because the original master had died, the storage ring had lost its branding mark. Having it recognize a new master was easy; after dripping on a few drops of blood it became Qin Yu’s possession.

The storage ring alone would have meant that his journey into the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling had resulted in a giant harvest. And beyond that, there was also the unknown jade slip that was waiting for him to open it.

The strange summons of magic power, and for what reason it had been created, would soon be known.

It was rare to see a wolf-shaped jade slip. In fact, it was more accurate to say that most cultivators would never see such a specially-shaped jade slip in their lives. With its single eye, the black patch, and its howling visage staring upwards, it was a unique image. Its single eye sparkled like jade, making it seem real.

This image seemed familiar. That was right…back when the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling opened, the phantom of a giant wolf had appeared between the two mountains, and it was exactly the same as this in appearance.

No, there was also something else, someone else that was familiar.

Qin Yu thought about it for several breaths of time. Then, he couldn’t help but break out laughing.

The wild wolf!

It was that prideful and arrogant wild wolf that he had left in the valley not too long ago, who competed with the chicken overlord every day. One of the wolf’s eyes had been struck blind by the chicken overlord in the past, but it had somehow managed to find a piece of black skin to cover its blind eye, and the image it formed was somewhat similar to the shape of this jade slip.

He shook his head and gathered his thoughts. Closing his eyes, his divine sense gushed out like a raging river as he carefully probed the spell that sealed away the wolf-shaped jade slip. It was extremely complex, but fortunately enough it wasn’t completely unbreakable. After a long period of thought, Qin Yu’s divine sense began to act like two dexterous hands that drew out the threads that formed the spell.

This was an extremely slow and grueling process, and he wasn’t able to hurry it at all. If there was some accidental movement, he would animate the seal, causing a backlash. While he didn’t fear any such backlash himself, he was afraid that the jade slip might self-destruct.

Two hours.

Four hours.

As the sun fell over the west but before it fully darkened, Qin Yu opened his eyes. There was a faint weariness in his gaze, but a light smile crossed his face.

Just one more step and he could unravel the seal on the jade slip.

His fingers tapped the jade slip. With a slight vibration of magic power, there was a light pop.

Awoo –

A terrifying wolf’s howl sounded out and Qin Yu’s consciousness was immediately dragged into a black space. A great wolf’s head looked down at him from below, horrifying flames billowing all around it. With just a glance, Qin Yu felt as if he had fallen into a sea of ice, his consciousness nearly freezing solid. He could feel the breath of the great wolf curl around him, swirling. As it blew upon his consciousness, it was like little knives constantly cutting his mind.

Single eye, black eye patch, wolf-shaped jade slip…

Qin Yu instantly realized that the seal left upon the jade slip was only a camouflage. Rather, it had been placed there to conceal the great wolf’s aura. Once the seal was undone, one had to directly face the aura of the great wolf. If one wasn’t recognized as the master, then one would have to withstand its attack.

Although he didn’t know what sort of existence this great wolf was, Qin Yu didn’t doubt that as long as this other party wished it, it could tear and smash apart his consciousness in the blink of an eye!

Once his consciousness was destroyed, his soul would dissipate. At that time, even if his mortal body didn’t have a single wound, there would be nothing left of him but a living shell.

Qin Yu wanted to run away, but after being locked down by this great wolf it had become incomparably difficult to even think, much less move.

Awoo –

The great wolf roared. It seemed to have determined that Qin Yu was an intruder. Its single eye turned icy cold and black light began to gather within its massive jaws.

In the next moment, it would easily shatter his consciousness!

Suddenly, the great wolf stopped moving, as if it had some doubts. Its ears pricked up in attention and then it neared Qin Yu, sniffing his body several times. Hesitation shimmered in its eyes, and finally, it leapt away from sight. The black space began to collapse before completely disappearing.

Bright white light flooded Qin Yu’s field of vision, blinding him. It was only then that he discovered his consciousness had returned to his body. He remained sitting cross-legged on the floor, still holding onto the jade slip.

As if everything that happened just now had been an illusion.

But what happened next told Qin Yu that everything that occurred had all been real!

The wolf-shaped jade slip rapidly dissolved. It turned into a sphere of black light that smashed through a window.

Qin Yu’s figure flickered and he followed it. He caught up just in time to see the sphere of light sink into the space between the wild wolf’s eyebrows. Its eye suddenly seemed much older and more wizened, and it gave Qin Yu a deep look before falling to the floor.

That one eye didn’t seem like that of the wild wolf at all! Rather, it felt as if it came from a thousand year old ghost!

Was this body-seizing?

Qin Yu hurried to check the wild wolf. Its breathing was steady and there wasn’t any chaos within its soul. Rather, its aura seemed to be constantly expanding, as if it were absorbing some formidable strength!

No matter how he looked at it, there was no problem with the wild wolf. Rather, it had obtained the greatest advantage of its life.

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. One-eyed wild wolf, one-eyed wolf phantom, wolf-shaped jade slip…between these things, there had to be some unknown connection!

Rumble –

High above his head, thunder suddenly rumbled. With the sound of breaking air, 36 Skythunder Bamboo magic swords gathered, and purple lightning flooded the skies. After resisting heavenly tribulation and bathing in the tribulation thunder, the 36 magic swords had clearly undergone a qualitative change. The thunder they released was several degrees brighter and more majestic!

But the intruder was incredibly strong and tyrannical. They punched through the thunder again and again, forcefully ripping open a channel.

Shia –

War Bear’s figure fell down. Besides a corner at the hem of his robes being singed by the thunder, there were no wounds on him whatsoever.

But as he saw the indifferent and cold Qin Yu within the valley, his complexion changed. He said with thick disbelief, “You’re still alive!”

Qin Yu frowned, but in the blink of an eye, he realized everything that had occurred. Killing intent soared in his heart. “Fellow daoist War Bear, it seems you really do know a lot. But it looks like I’ll have to disappoint you today!”

War Bear’s face darkened. He had felt the aura within the wolf-shaped jade slip erupt and that was the only reason why he desperately tried to break through the array formation to enter the valley. However, he never expected that Qin Yu would actually be completely fine. This was a wolf god’s aura! Even if it was only a wisp of a soul, it was more than enough to crush a Golden Core cultivator to pieces.

How could he possibly be fine!

War Bear sucked in a deep breath and quickly suppressed the panic in his heart. It was impossible that Qin Yu was completely unharmed. He must be…he must be acting! Yes, he was definitely putting up a front!

That was right, he wanted to deceive me and frighten me off!

How laughable? Just what sort of character am I, War Bear, that I would fall for such petty tricks?

“Qin Yu, stop pretending, your acts don’t work on me!”

With a deep roar, the ground beneath War Bear’s feet collapsed and he rushed forth like electricity.

His fist came smashing out!

He didn’t hold anything back in this fist. The aura of a ninth level Golden Core completely opened. When combined with his potent mortal body, the killing potential behind this attack left one trembling.

If Qin Yu truly was putting on a front then he definitely wouldn’t be able to block this fist! action

Bang –

A heaven-shaking explosion erupted, as if two mountains were colliding into each other at high speed. The entire world seemed to shake as vast sections of stone and mud flew up into the air!

War Bear’s heart sank into his stomach. The feeling that Qin Yu emitted was like that of an endlessly billowing river. There was no way he had been injured.

He began to panic.

What he feared was not Qin Yu, but those incredibly terrifying ants that he controlled.

Shua –

War Bear stormed back as he prepared to flee. But just as he was about to fly up into the skies, doubt flashed in his eyes. How come Qin Yu hadn’t released his ants, even after all this time? Could there have been a problem?

War Bear’s eyes brightened. As he thought back to the massive amount of black worms that had been swallowed, he was increasingly sure of what had happened.

Hehe, those worms were violently poisonous all over. Were they delicious? As he thought back to that day when Qin Yu hesitated and repeatedly drew back over and over again, even splitting up the spoils with them, he realized that all of that must have been because there was something wrong with the ants.

Despicable! What a crafty little boy. Even he had been tricked!

And there was also that time at the transmission array…

War Bear turned around and roared, “Qin Yu, today is the day you die!” Without those ants helping him, War Bear didn’t fear anyone beneath the Nascent Soul realm!

He floated high in the skies, looking down with imposing momentum, his aura rising like a storm. But at this moment, even though War Bear was full of confidence, he still didn’t know what sort of thoughts were racing through Qin Yu’s mind.

Qin Yu had already been able to beat up Golden Core realm cultivators long ago!

Even Nascent Soul tigers had been forced back!

Yes, it was true that the Purpleback Bluewing Ants were deeply slumbering right now, but today only War Bear was here, so why would he have anything to fear? With a cold sneer, the ground exploded beneath him. He shot up into the skies. Today, he would not let this person run away, no matter the cost. Otherwise there would be no end to his troubles in the future.

Bang –

One above, one below, in the blink of an eye the two people were enveloped in a brutal melee. Terrifying and explosive fluctuations of energy began to wreak havoc in the valley. Luckily, Qin Yu had moved up on his own initiative, shifting the battlefield into the air. Otherwise his medicine garden and even the Radiant Red Wood would be destroyed.

In ten breaths of time, masters could already attack dozens of times. During this they could probe, test, lock onto, and begin grinding down their opponents. But, it seemed that the battle between War Bear and Qin Yu was actually just beginning.

The two people had incomparably dignified expressions. Each time they attacked, they seemed to use a monumental amount of force, but they also still left behind a bit of spare strength to deal with any sudden outbursts from their enemy.

The reason was simple: neither of them had full assurance they could strike down the other.

War Bear was infuriated. Back in the ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling, he had summoned the black worms in order to prevent any possible accidents occurring. But because of the Purpleback Bluewing Ants, he had never truly engaged in a direct battle with Qin Yu. Although he knew that Qin Yu possessed a tyrannical level of strength, he never worried about him. This was because War Bear knew he was a genuine powerhouse. Besides a powerful mortal body, his soul force far outstripped others’, and he had multiple killing cards in his hands.

With such strength as his disposal, killing cultivators at the same step wasn’t difficult at all. But, the feeling that Qin Yu gave off was as if he were an unshakable great mountain! Luckily, while he couldn’t easily kill Qin Yu, Qin Yu also found it difficult to eliminate him. Right now the two of them were evenly matched, and the battle would depend on who could remain calm and stable the longest. The first one here to reveal a weakness would also be the first to die!

War Bear’s thoughts raced and his heart calmed. When it came to killing experience, he didn’t fear anyone! From the Energy Refining realm, he had fought and crawled his way up to where he currently was. Through all that time, if he hadn’t killed a thousand opponents then he had killed at least 800. How many people could Qin Yu have possibly killed? Although Qin Yu was strong and his cold eyes were calm, he still couldn’t hide the fresh scent of youth from his body. He must be 50 years old at the very most.

I will wear you down to death! I will wait until you begin to panic, and at that moment your death will be ensured!

In a high-strength melee slaughter, a terrifying amount of magic power was lost with every second. Even a ninth level Golden Core cultivator couldn’t endure this degree of speed for very long.

Still, War Bear stayed calm. His fists remained strong, erupting where they should and striking where he needed. Yet, as the battle continued, his complexion began to turn increasingly grim. He wanted to roar out in his heart!

This bastard Qin Yu, where did this stability come from? Where did such abundant magic power come from? So much time had passed and not a single flaw had been revealed. And, what caused War Bear to curse inwardly the most was that Qin Yu’s aura didn’t seem to be weakening in the slightest.

As if he could continue fighting like this for the entire day without any problems at all.

Qin Yu had failed his Golden Core breakthrough 18 continuous times. Because of this, when he was still at the Foundation Establishment realm, the purity and potency of his magic power had already been equal to that of an early Golden Core. With this sort of foundation supporting him, when he broke into the Golden Core realm, the quality of his magic power had dramatically risen once more. And every time his cultivation increased, his magic power also increased.

Now he was at the sixth level of Golden Core and the quality of his magic power was even superior to that of a Hollow Nascent Soul cultivator.

And another point that couldn’t be forgotten was Qin Yu’s Demon Body. The amount of magic power he could hold within him far outstripped that of ordinary cultivators. While War Bear’s body was similarly powerful, when compared to the Demon Body in quality, they were simply on different levels.

When these factors combined together with Qin Yu’s calm and steady mind, it created this current situation where even the confident War Bear began to slowly fall into panic.

War Bear felt as if Qin Yu was becoming increasingly strong the more they fought. Then, he decided to abandon his strategy of wearing down Qin Yu and go for a quick and strong attack that would cut down his opponent as soon as possible.

Bang –

After another collision, War Bear forced the pushback to open the distance between him and Qin Yu.