Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1654B – Scholars and ‘Fate’

Qin Yu was the first to step into the Spiritual Energy Tide. He stood still for a while as dim orange and red light rays engulfed his figure within.

Tonight, the five colors suppressed everyone here. Even all of Yang Fanshan’s four colors turned dull…Qin Yu’s two colors were like the light coming from a firefly, completely inconspicuous.

He paused for a few seconds before passing through the Jade Gate.

Rourou followed closely behind, performing slightly better with just three colors.

However, no one noticed that the moment she passed through the gate, she raised her head and glanced upwards. This glance made a certain restless existence fall into complete silence and curl up into a shivering ball, not daring to make the slightest move.

White Iris was the fourth to pass through and she had four colors.

This scene made those who had yet to pass through the Jade Gate have a bewildered expression on their faces.

The two masters’ performances were not as good as that of their servant. It was a rather rare thing to see.

In Songtao Pavilion.

The people who were watching the Jade Gate from afar also looked baffled. Their field of vision here was excellent, and there was also plenty of light near the Jade Gate. Additionally, cultivators had very good vision so they could see everything that happened.

They were focused on the three people who passed through the gate. They had high expectations in their hearts, so now they were even more disappointed.

It was normal for a servant who was traveling with powerful figures to be extraordinary, so having four colors was to be expected.

However, that powerful figure known as ‘Qin Yu’ actually only had two colors. That imposing and condescending woman who had reprimanded Yang Qianren also only had three colors.

Could it be that his powerful siblings were traveling in the West Desolate, which was why there was this weird situation where the servant was much more powerful than her masters? That’s not right, with East Marshal Yang Wudi’s status and power, which other second-generation cultivator would make Yang Qianren feel so pathetic and afraid?

Or, could it be that Yang Qianren had recognized the wrong person? Even though the possibility of this was small, it was what all of them had hoped for. Because if Yang Qianren had truly mistaken him for someone else, then there was really going to be a huge commotion.

Jiang Zhiyue suddenly spoke, “Aunt, have you ever heard of the saying that goes ‘a nobleman travels around in disguise’?”

Aunt Jiang’s eyes brightened, “Big figures have their own reasons behind the way they do things. Perhaps he is entering the Central Desolate because he was ordered to, which was why he purposely hid his identity after entering East Pole County. It is reasonable for him to hide his identity while passing through the Jade Gate to prevent any unwanted trouble.”

She swept her eyes over everyone present and said blandly, “As for us, since we unintentionally saw some things we weren’t supposed to see, we should zip our mouths to prevent any misfortunes from happening to us.”

Everyone’s faces changed slightly and their hearts turned cold with fear.

……

At this moment, the great general who was in charge of guarding this place, Zhao Yuan, frowned slightly and put down his wine cup. He got up and took a step forward, ignoring the restriction spells within and directly tearing apart the space in front of him to enter a forbidden secret place.

The cultivators who were on duty here scrambled to gather around as they saw the great general descending. They hurriedly bowed to greet him, “Greetings, Great General.”

Zhao Yuan was expressionless as he asked, “What happened?”

A cultivator dressed in green robes walked out and bowed before saying, “Just now, the Peeping Sky Worm was suddenly frightened. It retracted all of its tentacles and is still in a state of panic.”

Zhao Yuan frowned, “What’s the reason?”

Cold sweat formed on the green-robed cultivator’s forehead, “We have not managed to find out why.”

Zhao Yuan looked at him and his gaze turned extremely cold, “Quickly find out then! If you guys are unable to give me an answer, what’s the point of keeping you guys around?”

Everyone instantly paled and bowed simultaneously, and then they hurriedly left to perform their duties.

By right, these people came from major sects and did not work in the military. At most, they were in a state of cooperation with the Great Qin Empire and there was no need to be afraid of military generals.

However, this man in front of them was different. He was the direct descendant of the Zhao Family, one of the five families of generals in the Qin Empire. He was also known to have inherited the essences of the elders from the Zhao Family, making him a cold-blooded and brutal killer.

Over all these years, there were at least a hundred cultivators from major sects that he had personally killed. Of them, there were some disciples from the top four sects, but Zhao Yuan still sat comfortably in his position stationed by the Jade Gate and he never encountered any trouble.

Who would not be scared of him?

……

There was another world inside of the Jade Gate.

Looking from the summit of East Pole Mountain, it was only a small city. It was not even half the size of East Pole County. However, only after stepping foot into it would one realize how vast and high the sky was and how the land stretched for thousands and thousands of miles in all four directions within the Jade Gate.

Taking in a deep breath, Qin Yu could feel the spiritual energy in the air that was so thick it was almost condensed into water droplets. ‘Hua-la-la!’ The energy continuously entered his body and was instantly refined and absorbed, contributing to his body’s power.

He felt like he was a fish that had been swimming in shallow waters his entire life and was now dumped into a deep lake. It was easier to breathe and he could now feel the vastness of the world.

Now, Qin Yu understood why Rourou wanted him to come to the Central Desolate Divine Area. It was not just because of that matter, but also because this place provided him an optimal cultivating environment that would be vital for him to enter the King realm in a span of thirty years.

And now, the entrance of the Jade Gate was rather lively. There were many people gathered here and they were divided into big and small groups.

Those cultivators from the West Desolate who had previously passed the test and came here were outstanding individuals and were surrounded by many people.

At the most crowded area, there were almost a hundred people who were surrounding that young lady who was wearing a black robe. She was the one who had five colors and even had blue stars dotted in the middle of these colors. Even though she declined the invitations from Golden Toad Palace and Green River previously, it did not mean that others had lost their chances to invite her to their sects.

It was an extremely rare opportunity to be able to meet such a talented and beautiful woman, so they had to give it their all…if they were successful in recruiting her, it would be a great achievement.

The young man in Confucian robes who was there from the start was no longer here. Qin Yu could vaguely see the silhouette of his back far away at the end of the long street.

A scholar who was wearing long-sleeved robes and had white, long hair was leading the way. The young man followed closely behind and his head was lowered respectfully.

They had made this arrangement beforehand for him to be escorted the moment he entered Central Desolate Divine Area…it seemed like this young man was going to have big achievements in the future.

That old scholar who was at the end of the long street seemed to have detected Qin Yu’s thoughts, and he turned around to look at the entrance of the Jade Gate. His eyesight was not very good, probably from the years of extensive studying. He squinted to get a better look, but he still could not see clearly.

This made the scholar slightly hesitant. He thought for a while before shaking his head and continued to walk. Since he could not see who it was, it meant that they were not fated, so there was no point in taking another look.

The young man asked, “Teacher, what are you looking at?”

The white-haired scholar smiled and replied, “An interesting young brat…hm, he’s very interesting indeed.”

The young man asked another question, “Does he have any fate with the academy?”

The white-haired scholar nodded his head, “Yes, there’s a bit of fate, but it’s not here yet.” He paused for a few moments before continuing, “Zhou Ling, after you enter the academy, you must learn how to read destinies. This is really the essence of our academy. This is so in the future, when you travel across the Central Desolate, you will not suffer so much. Otherwise, you will have a hard time when you embark on a study tour next time.”

Zhou Ling bowed respectfully, “Yes, Teacher.”

The both of them then walked left to somewhere far away.

Qin Yu retracted his gaze. When that white-haired scholar turned to look at him just now, they had made eye contact and a thought flashed past his mind.

As quickly as the thought came, it was covered up.

They were in a hurry, so it was better not to dwell on too many things. Since they were able to meet each other the moment he stepped into the Central Desolate, it meant that they were fated, which also meant that naturally, they would have opportunities to meet each other again in the future.

“Let’s go, what’s there to look at?” Rourou appeared beside Qin Yu. She raised her head to look at the sky and grimaced.

Qin Yu did not know what was up with her, but as he said previously that it was better not to dwell on too many things, he merely nodded.

Whatever you say.

However, before he could leave…having two or three colors was of course not worth mentioning – it was not enough to gain the attention of the Central Desolate cultivators – but having four colors…was truly enough.

There were a few cultivators that blocked their way and they were looking at White Iris. One of them, who was carrying a longsword on his back, made a joke, “This fellow cultivator, are you willing to become a cultivator at my Infinite Monastery? Even though my position in the monastery is not very high, I am qualified enough to help my teacher recruit some disciples. As long as you agree, you will become an Infinite Monastery fourth-generation disciple.”

The faces of the people around him changed slightly as they looked at the Old Daoist who was carrying a longsword on his back. There was probably no one who would dare to pretend to be a disciple of Infinite Monastery, especially not a fourth-generation disciple. They felt helpless. They had finally managed to find a good candidate, but she was being eyed by Infinite Monastery; how were they supposed to compete against that?

White Iris frowned slightly, not saying a single word.

The old daoist looked extremely sincere and said slowly, “You don’t need to worry. All you have to do is nod or shake your head. Since this old man is already here, I will help you to get rid of all your worries.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept across Qin Yu and Rourou. Thankfully, he did not have a condescending or threatening look in his eyes, otherwise, Qin Yu felt that this old daoist who had probably lived for many, many years would die today.

White Iris shook her head.

The old daoist now looked anxious as he stepped forward towards her, “You can consider my offer for a few days. Don’t be in such a hurry to give me a reply. I will be at the Jade Gate for these next few days, so if you change your mind, you can come to the Ask Immortal Building to look for me.”

When he finished speaking, he waved his hand, not giving White Iris the opportunity to speak, before he turned around to leave. It looked like he was afraid that he would be completely rejected, so he was trying to leave an impression on her.

Qin Yu’s biases against Central Desolate cultivators suddenly decreased because of this old daoist.

After this old daoist left, the rest of the people looked at each other. Since they were already here, they also decided to mention their affiliations to try and recruit White Iris. Fortunately, since Infinite Monastery was more powerful than any of their affiliations, they did not expect much. They also told White Iris that she could have some time to think about it before making a decision.

They gave their addresses and quickly left.

Rourou walked forward and Qin Yu followed closely behind. White Iris, who was expressionless the whole time in front of those people, suddenly looked a bit nervous. She caught up with Rourou and Qin Yu hurriedly and said softly, “My Lady, I absolutely have zero thoughts of joining any of them.”

Rourou scoffed, “What has that got to do with me?”

White Iris did not say anything more as she lowered her head.

Qin Yu coughed lightly and said, “I actually feel that that old man was not too bad.”

Rourou laughed and glanced sideways at him, “You think he’s not too bad, but it’s a pity that he did not even look at you the whole time.”

Uh…although this was indeed the case, why did it sound worse when Rourou said it? Other than keeping people in suspense, she could also potentially beat everyone in this world at insulting people!

Qin Yu shut his mouth and did not say another word.

She had already explicitly expressed that she was in a foul mood. He would have to have a hole in his brain to continue to talk and cause her mood to worsen. White Iris also seemed to be smart enough not to say another word.

The three of them left the area where the Jade Gate was. Without caring which direction they walked in, they simply left without a destination in mind.

Not long after they left, Yang Fanshan quickly rushed over. He stood at the gate and looked in all four directions, his face turning more ashen by the second.

A skinny old man who had a goatee looked at the woman across from him and frowned slightly. His face was filled with slight confusion. He could not understand why this woman, who was considered to be rather smart, had gone out of her mind this time.

That woman’s face darkened. Her looks were considered to be average but she had a decent figure. At this moment, she lowered her head in silence. She pretended that she did not see the old man with a goatee looking her up and down or the gloomy expression on Yang Fanshan’s face.

Since she had already done it, there was no turning back…in actual fact, she had gone past the point of no return many years ago.

After waiting for a long time and not being able to find the three people, Yang Fanshan gave a long sigh and turned to leave.

The old man with a goatee followed suit, leaving the woman behind.

“You can stay here, you don’t have to follow me anymore. Otherwise, I’m afraid that one day, my head will be separated from my body.”

The woman stopped in her tracks and hesitated for a bit, before bowing and leaving in another direction.

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