Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 41 –The Evil Star Duo

Chapter 41 –The Evil Star Duo

During the last three months, Qin Yu had crossed through tens of thousands of miles, killing a total of nine early demonic path Golden Cores, earning him the nickname of Evil Star. Although those he killed were only early Golden Core cultivators, this was still a loss that the demonic path wasn’t able to withstand. So, they began to arrange an entrapment for him.

Qin Yu realized this would happen and by relying on an explosion of magic power as well as his Demon Body, he fled a thousand miles in a day, leading to him killing another demonic Golden Core today.

The ground beneath Qin Yu shattered as he shot up into the skies, instantly leaving the battlefield to an unknown region. Because he was in the region controlled by the demonic path, he had to be extra cautious because the slightest mistake would lead to imminent peril. The reason he was able to kill a total of 10 demonic Golden Core cultivators in the last three months was greatly reliant on making a quick strike before fleeing to another area.

An hour later, Qin Yu arrived at a lake. He crashed through the surface, diving down until he reached a giant boulder at the bottom. He formed seals with his hands and a glow appeared; the boulder disappeared to reveal a cave entrance.

Qin Yu stepped inside. By revolving his magic power, water evaporated from his body and his robes immediately dried.

The cave wasn’t too large and was crudely hewn out. This was one of several bases that Qin Yu had created.

When Qin Yu chose his targets at the beginning, they had been at the early Golden Core realm. Qin Yu could fight those at the early Golden Core realm and he also had Blacksky Demon lying in ambush to help him. Still, there were always those particularly powerful existences, and after striking them down he would inevitably be injured. After those battles he needed a secure space to recuperate from his injuries.

As for the array formations needed to conceal the cave dwellings, they were formed from array discs that he had obtained after striking down a demonic Golden Core cultivator. These types of things could be activated by magic power and demonic power. After activating them, they could be easily arranged. This was simply one of the most useful tools for array formations.

Qin Yu sat down and swallowed several pills, restoring the strength he lost. Today had gone better than most and he hadn’t been injured in the battle. Two hours later, he opened his eyes and pulled out the storage bag to check his harvests.

He couldn’t help but express his thanks to the generosity of demonic path cultivators once more. After killing 10 Golden Core demonic cultivators he had obtained a massive amount of merit and they also filled up his bags. They were truly praiseworthy friends.

His only regret was that these demonic cultivators mostly used demonic treasures. Although he could use a drop of blood to become the master of them, it was still difficult to use magic power to stimulate them, thus he was forced to toss them into a pile.

And perhaps it was finally time for Qin Yu’s fortunes to change, but the tenth Golden Core he killed finally produced some usable treasures: Cloudstep Boots, a magic tool capable of drastically increasing a cultivator’s speed.

Qin Yu put them on for a test. His figure flashed and he arrived at the cave entrance, a smile on his face. Just as the name suggested, it was like he could step through clouds! With this treasure helping him his speed would be much faster than before, and if he superimposed it on the forbidden eruption of magic power form Gale Step, he might be able to compare to a late Golden Core cultivator.

He had to thank these wonderful demonic cultivators once more!

After tidying everything up, Qin Yu quietly made some calculations. After killing 10 demonic path Golden Cores and some Foundation Establishment cultivators, he should have accumulated around half the merit points needed to exchange for the Skythunder Bamboo. This wasn’t the cultivator alliance deliberately inflating the price. Rather, the Skythunder Bamboo was truly an ancient spirit plant that was almost extinct, and it was even 800 years old! It could be called a priceless treasure.

With such a high price, there shouldn’t be anyone else competing with him. After another three months of work he should have been able to collect the rest of the merit points. At that time he would be able to break into the Golden Core realm and his strength would rise several times over. Then, even if the entire Southern Empire was stirred into tumult, he could still protect himself.

Qin Yu smiled and prepared to cultivate at the bottom of the lake for several days. After cutting down a Golden Core cultivator the surrounding regions would definitely be more strict and cautious. It was best to avoid the limelight for the time being.

But after only a day, Qin Yu awakened from his cultivation. He rushed out of the cave entrance to see the lake’s waters roiling above him. He muttered to himself, “There are actually people fighting right outside my door. I must take advantage of this to make a play…”

Zhu Bluecloud was utterly miserable. Under orders from the higher ups in the alliance, he came to this demonic path region in order to destroy an array formation and prevent them from obtaining something. He had completed his mission smoothly, but when he left he was discovered by a Golden Core cultivator and had been ruthlessly chased after.

With his fifth level Golden Core cultivation he wasn’t afraid at all. A bit of effort should allow him to easily withdraw. But, Zhu Bluecloud never imagined that there were actually many high level demonic cultivators hidden in this area. By the time the third Golden Core cultivator started chasing after him, he could only escape.

They skirmished along the way, and when they arrived at this lake, Zhu Bluecloud was being besieged by four Golden Core demonic cultivators. If it weren’t for his strong cultivation, magic tools, and potent body, he would have already been torn to pieces. Even so, he wouldn’t be able to last for long like this. He thought to himself that his time had finally come!

The four Golden Core demonic cultivators could also see that Zhu Bluecloud was nearing exhaustion and their bloodthirst was galvanized. After this fellow had slaughtered so many masters of their demonic path, his death had finally arrived!

That was right. These four demonic Golden Cores thought that Zhu Bluecloud was the infamous ‘demonic path Evil Star’. He could be said to be suffering in Qin Yu’s place, because these four high level cultivators had originally come here to kill Qin Yu.

“Evil Star, prepare to die!”

“This is revenge for the fallen powerhouses of my demonic path!”

“Kill him!”

“Skin him alive!”

Zhu Bluecloud felt aggrieved but couldn’t say anything. He wanted to shout out loud that they had found the wrong person, but he knew that this wouldn’t save his life so he might as well save his strength instead.

The four demonic Golden Cores were increasingly frenzied the longer they fought. All of them wanted to be the one to kill the Evil Star. In addition, they gradually relaxed their guards as Zhu Bluecloud became increasingly tired.

The surface of the lake suddenly exploded. Qin Yu shot up into the skies, instantly locking onto the nearest demonic Golden Core. Spirit Stab erupted as his fist smashed out.

Bang –

A head was blown up in the air. Caught off guard, this demonic cultivator was killed on the spot!

At nearly the same time, another demonic Golden Core not too far away cried out in agonizing pain as his chest burst open. The black Corpse Sealing Nail pierced through his chest, ripping open a giant hole along the way.

In the blink of an eye, two demonic Golden Cores had died!

Zhu Bluecloud had been saved from death’s door. Just as he was about to express his thanks, he saw Qin Yu’s figure and froze.

Qin Yu shouted out, “One for each of us! Settle this quickly!”

After regaining his composure, boiling anger ignited in Zhu Bluecloud’s chest. After being harassed by four of these bastards, it was finally time to show them what he was made of!

With a deep roar he activated a magic tool and instantly suppressed the demonic cultivator near him. His overwhelming magic arts blotted out the skies as he beat down the demonic cultivator; it wouldn’t be long until his battle finished.

As the last demonic Golden Core saw the situation devolving he turned tail and ran. Magic power erupted within Qin Yu. The Cloudstep Boots released a flash of light as he shot forwards, leaving a series of afterimages in his wake.

In terms of speed, Qin Yu didn’t fear anyone at all!

The demonic cultivator coldly sneered, completely unafraid. Using some unknown means, blood red flames ignited around him and his speed increased ten times over, immediately vanishing from sight. The ‘fearless’ Qin Yu’s face darkened and he frowned as he helplessly watched the demonic Golden Core disappear from sight.

During these last few months he had smoothly handled everything, and if he locked onto a target they always died no matter how much they tried to run. At some unknown point during this he had developed a degree of arrogance, and the appearance of this demonic cultivator was like a slap in the face that shattered his smugness. There were countless lucky chances in this world and he was definitely not the only person with hidden cards in his hands. If he continued to keep this sort of arrogant perspective then sooner or later he would suffer for it.

Qin Yu looked towards the direction that the demonic cultivator ran off in. Although he had to thank this demonic cultivator for today’s warning, Qin Yu would still kill him if he had the chance; he was very interested in this method that could instantly increase his speed by ten times over.

Flying back to the lake, he found that Zhu Bluecloud’s battle had finished. The demonic cultivator he faced was smashed to pieces and his blood dyed the lake red.

“You wanted to be so rampant and skin me alive, well I tore you to pieces first! Try and chase me again!”

Qin Yu’s lips twitched.

Zhu Bluecloud coughed twice, his expression awkward and hesitant.

Qin Yu waved his hand. “There’s no need to thank me. Just hurry and leave. This place will soon be turned upside down by demonic cultivators.”

With a light puff he drilled into the lake bottom. After taking away the array disc he shot out and vanished from sight.

Zhu Bluecloud let out a long breath of relief. He was known as someone who would rather die than lose face, so to have him lower his head to thank someone like this felt worse than cutting off his own flesh.

“Eh, this isn’t right!” Zhu Bluecloud stamped his feet and cursed out loud, “Ning Qin you bastard, so I actually took the blame for you!”

Hearing the roar behind him, Qin Yu revealed a smile. His figure continued racing forwards close to the ground. After killing three demonic Golden Cores here it was definitely not wise to stay any longer.

With cautious movements and the black robe concealing his aura, Qin Yu passed over 3000 miles in two days. He casually killed several Foundation Establishment cultivators along the way and arrived at Billowing Wave City.

This great city had once been bustling with life, but now large tracts of its walls had collapsed and the remains were marred with traces of bombardments. It had clearly been ravaged by the flames of war.

He took out the Soul Burying Flag. With a thought, Blacksky Demon appeared. Demonic energy surged and a robe similar to the one Qin Yu wore appeared.

With Blacksky Demon in the front and Qin Yu in the back, the two of them openly walked into Billowing Wave City.

The demonic cultivators guarding the city watched them with awe. It was only when they disappeared from sight that they dared to straighten themselves.

The hierarchy of the demonic path was far more strict and demonic cultivators were often cruel and violent individuals. Killing low level demonic cultivators was a common occurrence, so it was clear that no one would dare offend the Golden Core realm Blacksky Demon.

Qin Yu had used this method several times to avoid the demonic path hunting him down. No matter how high level figures of the demonic path tried to find him, they never expected that he would openly wander about in a city that the demonic path controlled.

With Blacksky Demon in the lead he was able to easily find a place to live. The several demonic cultivators living there respectfully bowed and left on their own initiative. This was the ultimate rule of the demonic path – powerhouses came first!

Qin Yu rested here. He swallowed some pills and started to cultivate. At the same time, he controlled Blacksky Demon to enter the city and mingle amongst the crowds. Soon, he would lock onto his next target.

He didn’t know why, but for the next several days he stayed in the city, he found that the mood was particularly tense. Golden Core cultivators left and arrived in pairs or more, and soon Qin Yu found out the reason. The demonic cultivator that managed to escape that day had spread out news about him so that the high level figures were now alert.

Blacksky Demon asked some questions, and soon enough he discovered what happened. The demonic cultivator who fled said that the ‘Evil Star’ was not just one person but was actually two Golden Core cultivators working together. One of them was the renowned Zhu Bluecloud from the righteous path alliance. As for the other one, he didn’t know who they were. Even so, that person’s strength was clearly above Zhu Bluecloud’s as he was able to instantly strike down two demonic Golden Core cultivators.

Once this news spread, the demonic cultivators all cursed the righteous cultivators for being despicable bastards. They had actually sent out masters to sneakily kill them. They vowed that they would return this insult and would definitely kill Zhu Bluecloud and that other person! But even though they said they would take revenge, no one dared to underestimate this ‘Evil Star Duo’. To fight four Golden Cores and kill three of them, that proved just how dangerous they were.

Because of this, Golden Core demonic cultivators formed teams when they left and they were also cautious in their movements. If they sensed anything wrong they would immediately call for help, making it so that Qin Yu had no idea where he should start.

“I cut the grass but didn’t eliminate the roots and it really ended up harming me!” Qin Yu wryly smiled. He could only wait patiently for a chance to appear.

Several days later, before Qin Yu found a lone demonic Golden Core, he actually saw a familiar person through Blacksky Demon’s eyes.

It was that demonic cultivator who had run away that day!

Within his room, Qin Yu’s eyes flashed open. After a moment of thought, a chilling smile appeared on his lips.