Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1556 – Holy Judgment

In the Desolate camp.

Rourou wore an ugly expression as she scoffed.

So what about the Great Barbarian Shaman! He tried to investigate her and he ought to be punished. However, she was lenient because she wanted to save Qin Yu’s face.

If it was another person who dared to challenge her, she would have chased after him and devoured him a long time ago.

She wiped the corners of her lips and wore a helpless look. She had been vegetarian for too long. Although she ate a small snack, it barely filled her tummy and she was not satisfied with the bland taste.

She had to find a way to get something fresh that would satisfy her. Otherwise, her days of torment would continue.

As she thought of this, Rourou clenched her teeth. Qin Yu ah Qin Yu, if it weren’t for you, I would have directly gone and ate him.

So you better unleash your talent to ‘create havoc’ quickly and send a suitable talent to me soon.

Life cannot be too peaceful.

……

Prajna was currently checking on Qin Yu’s condition after he built the Boundary Breaking Seal. He wanted to record it and report it to his teacher.

Qin Yu knew many things and he did not stop talking as he explained what happened during the entire process.

Although the construction of the Boundary Breaking Seal went smoothly on his first try, the reason why the West Desolate took so long to complete Boundary Breaking Seals came in twofold. Firstly, the disturbance created during the Boundary Breaking Seal’s construction was very large and the Barbarian Clan would be able to detect them easily. Secondly, its construction process was very hard.

Without Stone Pagoda’s help and Rourou’s pointers given during the critical moment, Qin Yu would not have succeeded on his first try given his current realm and knowledge. He would not have succeeded even after three tries and consuming all the materials if he had done it by himself.

Once Qin Yu was finished with the last bit, he concentrated his thoughts and ensured that he did not miss anything out. Then, he said, “This is all that I remember.”

Prajna nodded and went over the details. He clarified a few points and smiled after Qin Yu gave him more explanations.

“Thank you for your trouble, General.”

Qin Yu said, “No problem, Master, we are simply doing what we can for the Barbarian Clan.”

A hint of worry formed in Prajna’s eyes and he said, “I am afraid that the Desolate Area men will be unhappy with this and they will start becoming suspicious of you.”

Qin Yu assured him, “Master, don’t worry. If the Desolate Area men do not detect the Boundary Breaking Seal, they will choose to remain silent.”

Prajna thought about it and slowly nodded, “There are so many incidents in the world. If something wrong happens, General, please prioritize your own safety.”

Smiling, Qin Yu nodded, “Alright.”

Suddenly, Prajna closed his eyes. Qin Yu’s eyebrows lifted in puzzlement and he felt that strange fluctuation of divine sense once again.

Great Shaman Mengshan!

Did something go wrong during the construction of the Boundary Breaking Seal? Qin Yu’s expression immediately turned solemn when he thought of this possibility.

However, Prajna opened his eyes a few moments later and the spiritual sense fluctuation around him vanished.

He looked at Qin Yu’s eyes and said, “General, don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with the Boundary Breaking Seal.” He paused and his expression turned strange, “Just now, Master asked me a question through divine sense. He wants to know if you suffered repercussions from changing the destiny of the Green Willow Tribe’s totem, the Divine Willow?”

Qin Yu immediately understood what the shaman was asking about. He fell silent, but not because he wanted to refuse to answer. Instead, he did not know the answer to that question himself.

Although Rourou saved the willow branch, Qin Yu could not conclude that it had been an easy task just because she had done it quickly.

Prajna took in Qin Yu’s silence and he immediately thought of the worst possibility. His voice deepened and said, “I hope we have not placed you in a tight spot. Teacher told me that we should pretend that this was never mentioned if it troubles you.”

Qin Yu waved his hand, “Master Prajna, you have misunderstood me. I am not sure if I can do it.” As the Great Shaman Mengshan, he would not raise requests so easily. That weird expression from Prajna probably came because he also did not expect that his teacher would make a request to another person one day.

As such, this was definitely not an easy thing to do.

After thinking about it, Qin Yu said, “The Divine Willow is the Divine Willow and the Golden Crow is the Golden Crow. Each barbarian tribe’s totem has its own divine nature and they are all different. Therefore, I would need to assess each of them to determine whether or not it can be saved.”

Prajna smiled, “That makes sense. I will inform Teacher. I believe there will be news soon.”

He closed his eyes and the mysterious divine sense spread out again. Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed as he observed this scene.

Back then, Great Shaman Mengshan sent Prajna to give him this mind-linking divine sense technique.

It therefore meant that Great Shaman Mengshan was willing to establish a direct connection with Qin Yu.

However, the Great Shaman did not use it but instead continued to seek his disciple out first and made him a middleman…there must be another reason for this.

Woosh –

Prajna’s eyes flung open, “Teacher said that he will send a messenger to greet you. You don’t have to do anything, he will find you.”

Qin Yu nodded, “Alright.”

……

Once again, the Golden Crow Tribe became the focus of the Barbarian Clan. There were many more eyes filled with passion focused on it this time and it felt like the air was going to be ignited from the intense heat.

In the Desolate camp, the smugglers were individuals who were used to life and death. However, it would be a lie to say that they were not scared now that they were in the Barbarian Clan territory.

Like before, the Golden Crow Tribe warriors would first raise a challenge to them and they would take it on. This happened yearly. They were lucky to survive, but this did not mean that everyone had such luck.

This was the kind of danger that was presented on the surface, but there were many other hidden dangers. For instance, barbarians who hated Desolate Area men may target them and people would go missing randomly. Sometimes, the barbarians would also launch sneaks attack…all in all, every time they smuggled, people would die.

Never would they have imagined that one day, the barbarians who used to glare at them with so much animosity and hatred would treat them as their most important guests.

Outside the camp, a few Desolate Area men who were in charge of guarding the camp saw the huge smiles plastered on the faces of the barbarians. These barbarians put on their most modest expression and the Desolate Area men felt like they were dreaming.

“My brothers, please pass on the message that the Obsidian Tribe wants to make a deal with the Desolate Area men. We are offering a thousand pounds of obsidian as a gift and we wish to seek an audience with General Jinwu.”

“Hmph! Everything needs to be reasonable. First come first served; my tribe were the first to arrive and the General will naturally meet us first. My fellow brothers from the Desolate Area, this is our best wine. Don’t be too polite and please take it!”

“Your tribes are sucking up only when there are advantages. You came here to curry favor with the general when the opportunity was presented. However, my Boundless Tribe have been a longstanding trade partner of the Desolate Area men. Brother, you look familiar. We must have met before. You should know that the Boundless Tribe have always been close with the Desolate Area. Please deliver the message and tell the General that my Tribe Leader would like to meet him!”

The cultivator from the Desolate Area was stunned.

This man in front of him from the Boundless Tribe was all smiles and he was definitely an Elder of the tribe. They truly met before, three years ago.

However, back then, it was Zhou Dafu who was all smiles while the Elder reluctantly agreed with a hostile face. He had glared at the smuggling team like they were ants in dirt.

He would ignore them because they were insignificant.

However, the Elder stepped forward and called him a brother with such a warm tone to try and establish a close relationship with him.

Sss –

This feeling was amazing!

It seemed like after General Jinwu became their master, these poor insects surviving through the dealings between the two sides were going to have a better life.

Although they felt uncomfortable with the whole matter, this did not stop the smugglers from feeling pride at the moment.

Pride was pride and feeling good was just that. No one was going to neglect their duties.

Regardless of who was here, the same reply was given – the General needed to cultivate in seclusion to heal himself after the toll on his body. He would not receive any visitors.

……

After permissions were granted, Zhou Dafu bowed and scurried into the round tent.

He looked up and scanned the area and saw General Jinwu with a pale face sitting behind the table. Zhou Dafu respectfully saluted, “Greetings to General.”

Qin Yu waved his hand, “Stand up.” He appeared tired and he raised a hand to rub his forehead, “What is it? Tell me directly.”

Zhou Dafu answered, “There are more and more barbarian tribes requesting an audience with you. Some of the tribes are strong. Are we going to continue turning them down?”

Qin Yu made a small ‘mm’ sound as an acknowledgement and he closed his eyes. He had given his answer. action

Zhou Dafu continued, “The second thing is that some barbarians are making requests to trade with us after learning that we turned them away from seeing you.”

Qin Yu frowned, “Didn’t you say that the items brought for the smuggling trip have already been exchanged?”

Zhou Dafu wore a strange look, “Yes but these barbarians are willing to trade with us in advance. They are willing to give us their items first and we can make it up to them in the future.”

After so many years of doing business and accumulating much knowledge, this was the first time Zhou Dafu experienced something like this…it had never happened before!

Naturally, Zhou Dafu knew the reason why. Looking at how pale and tired General Jinwu was, Zhou Dafu felt worried and uneasy, but he admired Qin Yu.

Qin Yu smiled bitterly to himself. These barbarians must have been too excited after looking at what happened to the Golden Crow Tribe and the Green Willow Tribe.

Granted, Qin Yu could understand their actions because of the importance of a totem to the tribe.

After thinking about it, he waved his hand, “Since that is the case, you can record the dealings and take the goods for now.”

Zhou Dafu bowed respectfully but there was still a look of hesitation in his eyes.

Qin Yu calmly answered, “I know what you are thinking about. I have my reasons for doing so, so you don’t have to worry about it. You may leave.”

Sweat dotted Zhou Dafu’s forehead and he felt like he had been completely seen through.

No secret could be hidden from General Jinwu.

This feeling was not good and after Zhou Dafu left the round tent, his face was still as white as a sheet.

A few people surrounded him. Although they did not speak, the look in their eyes revealed their thoughts – what did the General say?

Zhou Dafu sighed and informed them, “The General said that he has planned for everything; we don’t need to bother with it.”

Phew –

The group of men sighed out a long breath of air.

If General Jinwu had said this in the past, they would not believe it.

Think about it, the barbarians had been enemies with the Desolate Area for so long and there had been numerous clashes between both parties in the past. So many sons have died in the battlefield.

The grudge between them was like a sea of blood and both parties were destined enemies where only one should be allowed to remain in the world. If you survive, I shall perish!

Although the smuggling was rampant, there were many times when they would overstep their boundaries and the smuggling itself could be regarded as part of the war. They spied on the barbarians for intelligence and familiarized themselves with the barbarian territory. They even secretly provoked some of the tribes.

No one thought that they would be welcomed in the land of the barbarians.

However, the price to pay was that the totem of the Golden Crow Tribe had evolved to fuse ice and fire. One could only expect that the Golden Crow Tribe would surge in power in the near future.

The Green Willow Tribe had been about to perish along with the death of their totem, the Divine Willow. However, General Jinwu stepped in and revived it, thus protecting the Green Willow Tribe.

Undeniably, he was helping the Barbarian Clan become stronger…this was treachery!

If this was someone else, the group of smugglers would be certain that he would die.

However, General Jinwu was a mysterious man who did not reveal much. After much experience with him, the group of smugglers believed in him.

As long as the General said that nothing was wrong, everything would turn out fine!

Who knew why ‘nothing was wrong’.

The little uneasiness in the camp was extinguished before it could even spread out.

……

In the Great General’s round tent in the West Border Army camp.

Both sides suffered huge casualties from the great war between the border army and the Barbarian Clan. After the Barbarian Clan retreated, the border army gradually resumed their normal operating status.

Small conflicts happened from time to time but there were no longer large scale battles that shook the stability of the entire scene.

However, everyone knew that the Great General had been in a bad mood. His face was black the whole day and the aura around him was dreadful.

The only person who knew the reason why he was in such a bad mood was the old man from the Later Ye Family who was a close military counselor to him – the Great General had made a mistake again!

Not only did General Jinwu not drown under the Ice Carp Tribe and suffer a miserable ending, he even gave the Ice Carp Tribe a lesson.

He virtually cut off the hands and legs that the Great General painstakingly planted in the Barbarian Clan territory.

However, new events changed the scene again in recent days. A few days ago, the Great General received a dozen secret reports about the Barbarian Clan. Though the military counselor did not know the contents of the reports, the Great General smiled after reading them.

The people gathered in the tent heaved a sigh of relief and they were curious what the reports were about.

A few tried to inquire about it, but Ye Sangdu only smiled, “This isn’t a secret, you will find out soon too.”

With that, he turned to leave the tent and head towards Marshal Wu’s tent.

General Ning Qin was no longer an ordinary person, but even if he had concrete evidence to file an impeachment with the military of the capital, he needed Marshal Wu’s approval to put more weight on his report.

Although Ye Sangdu already knew about the arrangement between Marshal Wu and Lord Chengtian, this would not affect how Marshal Wu would team up with him to deliver General Jinwu a blow if the General faced a huge trouble.

Marshal Wu would not turn down this chance either.

Very soon, a military report was filed under Ye Sangdu’s name and Marshal Wu’s approval. It was delivered to the military in the capital using the quickest teleportation arrays.

Like a dragon that had awakened in the land, a huge wave was stirred up from this – the military report could be summarized in a single sentence: General Jinwu, Ning Qin, has been helping the enemy since he entered the barbarian territory!

The content of the military report was about the Golden Crow Tribe and the Green Willow Tribe. This was the greatest form of betrayal for the Desolate Area men.

Because of the previous trick General Jinwu played back then, the military was shocked, but the first thing they did was to contact the West Border Army camp to verify if the report was true.

Otherwise, they would be a laughing stock again and the military would be shamed. After three confirmations from the border army, the military sent the report to the Imperial Palace as fast as possible.

The holy judgment would come!