Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Qin Yu withdrew his hand and nodded, “Thank you Lord Min, for helping me cross the threshold.”

Min Changjing was speechless.

Did I want to?

Nonsense!

Why!

For so many years, I tried all sorts of ways and even came back from the dead. Yet, I always failed and never had an inkling of success. If not, do you think I would have given up?

But in such a short time, when his seat had not even warmed up after he shifted house, Qin Yu found him again and told him that he succeeded…this was too much!

Yet the truth was before him!

Min Changjing opened his mouth, “Congratulations.”

He struggled to say this and it felt like there were stones stuck in his lungs and throat.

Qin Yu did not smile nor laugh, “I feel like you should be sharing my congratulations.”

Min Changjing was shaking, “Huh?”

"Crossing the Incense Great Dao was all thanks to your pointers. I am not ungrateful and will definitely protect the Min Family.” Qin Yu paused and his mouth curled up, “After all, if Emperor Qin finds out that it was you who told me the secret to the Incense Great Dao, he will be very angry.”

Min Changjing’s eyes widened.

How could he not understand this? After all, Qin Yu was directly threatening him right now. Protect the Min Family? It was more like, if Lord Min did not cooperate, Emperor Qin would definitely find out about this.

Qin Yu looked calm.

But speaking about guilt, he did feel it slightly. After all, Min Changjing had never irritated him nor owed him anything.

He was going overboard by forcing him!

But going overboard was better than dying!

Min Changjing rubbed his face and let out a long sigh, “Your Majesty, since you have already said so, what can I do?”

One mistake was going to lead to a lifetime of hatred!

Qin Yu said, “Lord Min, don’t worry. The war between the desolate region and the Barbarian Clan has just begun. We still don’t know the outcome.”

Min Changjing did not say anything.

Qin Yu understood what he meant.

From what he saw, even if he was the Barbarian King, he was not qualified to fight with Emperor Qin.

To describe their fight as throwing an egg against a stone would be an exaggeration.

However, his chance of success was really small.

“Your Majesty, let’s eat and talk.”

Qin Yu nodded, “Okay.”

Old Chef worked very fast with his daughter and they quickly served a few dishes in a short time.

The fragrance from the food and the wine permeated the air as they were placed on the table. The father and daughter left.

Min Changjing lifted the pot of wine and poured himself a cup. He hesitated slightly before filling Qin Yu’s cup as well. He lifted his cup, “Your Majesty, I do not wish for riches or glory for my family. I just wish that you can let us be.”

Qin Yu looked at the cup of wine and shook his head, “The scene has been prepared and everyone will be impacted. No one can stay out of it.

“Lord Min, even if I promise you that, I will still come to find you if there are any issues. I don’t wish to lie to you.”

Min Changjing gritted his teeth, “No room for discussion?”

Qin Yu nodded.

Min Changjing lifted his head and drank his entire cup of wine. His face was extremely solemn.

Qin Yu lifted his cup and drank it all. He placed it down and remained silent. He could sense the dilemma and hesitation in Min Changjing. He was also sure that the quiet forest was like a huge volcano crater and could explode at any moment, blowing everything to pieces.

If he took a step back he could avoid all of this, but Qin Yu could not back off. Other than Emperor Qin, Min Changjing was the only one who understood the Incense Great Dao.

Whew –

Min Changjing let out a long breath. A very long breath. His face was calm.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "".

He picked up his chopsticks to eat, “Your Majesty, why are you here today?”

Qin Yu smiled and picked up the pot of wine, helping him to fill his cup and his own, “I am here to consult you. After entering the Incense Great Dao, how can I speed up the burning process. After all, the situation now is dangerous and I don’t have much time.”

Min Changjing was silent for a while, “I researched this before, but I am unable to be sure as I have never succeeded in cultivating the Incense Great Dao.”

Qin Yu said, “It is alright.”

Min Changjing said, “First, you have to find more believers and collect more incense. As long as the volume increases, it would naturally speed up.

“Secondly, Your Majesty will have to find some strong believers. Their faith in you will be more powerful than regular incense.

“Thirdly, it is Thirteenth Floor. Your Majesty may not be aware, but all the information that I know about the Incense Great Dao is from Thirteenth Floor.”

Pausing for a while, Min Changjing looked apprehensive, “Or rather, it is from White Jade Capital.”

Qin Yu frowned slightly.

White Jade Capital!

After awakening the memories of the Barbarian King, he knew what kind of place that was – it was the human cultivators behind it.

After thinking, Qin Yu said, “Just these details?”

Min Changjing shook his head, “There is one more. Incense Child. He inherits the Divine Nation’s Incense and is crucial in cultivating the Incense Great Dao.

“To speed up the Incense Great Dao, you can try to increase the power of the Incense Child, but you have to be careful or it will be troublesome if it ends up hindering the progress because it is much too powerful and unbalanced.” 

Qin Yu’s eyes lit up, “You are right.” He raised his cup, “Thank you Lord Min!”

Min Changjing shook his head, “I hope that I will never receive your thanks anymore.”

Qin Yu got up, “That would be difficult.” He looked at Min Changjing, “I hope that I will be able to sense your aura in my Divine Nation very soon.”

Woosh –

He disappeared.

Min Changjing sat without moving. He drank cup after cup until the wine pot was empty.

Old Chef looked worried and came over uneasily, “Lord…”

He called and then kneeled.

Min Changjing sneered at him, “Now you know to be afraid? What were you doing!”

Old Chef looked aggrieved, “I only have one daughter…”

“Nonsense! You only have one lord!” Min Changjing rolled his eyes.

Throwing down his wine cup, he let out a long breath before standing up to leave.

“Lord, where are you going?”

Min Changjing said, “To the Barbarian Clan.”

Old Chef stared.

“Did you really think that it is easy to drink Qin Yu’s wine? Since I already drank his wine, I have to go and serve him. If not, I will die.” Min Changjing looked annoyed. He had been roaming freely till today, but in the end, he was still not able to escape.

But there was one point that Qin Yu saw clearly. The whole world would be impacted and there was no way for him to escape unscathed.

Woosh –

Min Changjing disappeared.

“Old one, you stay behind and watch the house. Don’t let anything happen to my son or your daughter will get it!” 

……

Fisherman did not know how many times he had met Qin Yu, but he could confirm one thing – there was nothing good.

He looked at the endless Cloud Sea on Star Picking Mountain and made a decision.

He could not stay here anymore!

He would rather starve and find a new resource. He had to leave the Jade Gate; anyone who wanted to could visit this rotten place!

However, their conversation this time was slightly unexpected. Fisherman’s eyes lit up and an intensity grew within them.

“Your Majesty, are you speaking the truth?”

Qin Yu looked out into the Cloud Sea with his hands behind his back, “I am the Barbarian King – of course I am speaking the truth. As long as the ancient people are willing to work with the Barbarian Clan, I promise that the ancient people will be given a clean land to live in and you will no longer have to keep running to escape.

“I cannot promise that I will be victorious, but for the ancient people, how much worse can it get? It cannot get any worse than this.”

Fisherman looked uncertain and eventually, he gritted his teeth, “This is a huge matter and I cannot make the decision by myself.”

“Then ask the person who can make the decision to meet me. I don’t have much time, so you had better be fast.”

“Okay!”

Fisherman turned and left.

Qin Yu did not move as he continued looking at the Cloud Sea. Occasionally, he could hear the cries of flying fishes.

These small creatures were very uneasy as they felt an immense fear under Qin Yu’s gaze.

But this Cloud Sea was still their last place of survival. They did not dare to escape and also had nowhere to escape to.

This was an extremely sad fact!

The truth was that the ancient people were in a similar state as the flying fishes. They faced Emperor Qin like how the flying fishes faced Qin Yu. Nowhere to run and no power to fight back. Their eventual end was to be weakened slowly and then die.

This was also the reason why Qin Yu looked for the ancient people first.

Because Qin Yu was giving them a new opportunity.

Though the chance did not seem big, as a clan that was sinking like mud and about to disappear forever, they should know what to choose.

The air shook and Fisherman stepped out with two other figures behind him.

“Your Majesty, we are here!”

Qin Yu turned, “I believe that you all have made a decision.”

Behind Fisherman, the only female ancient True King suddenly said, “Your Majesty, are you not worried that Emperor Qin may be here?”

Qin Yu pointed in the direction of Xianyang, “If Emperor Qin moves, I will know.” He was not exaggerating.

Today, the Qin Empire was still Emperor Qin’s…but Qin Yu was also connected. Emperor Qin in the Qin Empire was like the moon in a dark night to Qin Yu. He could easily see it.

If not, he would not have allowed Fisherman to leave too easily and waited at the peak of Star Picking Mountain.

“I don’t have much time. Tell me your decision!”

After a moment of silence, the three ancient True Kings kneeled on one knee at the same time, “The Holy Clan will follow you, Your Majesty!”

What Fisherman conveyed was the crucial point that made up their minds – the situation could not be any worse than it was now.

No one knew how the ancient people had been hunted and chased by the Qin Empire for all these years and until what point. Now, only four True Kings remained of the immensely powerful clan that had united the world. Yet, all of them remained silent, not daring to show themselves.

After Qin Yu killed Cave Master, there were only three of them left. The ancient people had really fallen to an endless abyss!

In the battle in Xianyang, Qin Yu had shown how powerful he was. Though Emperor Qin was still formidable, for Qin Yu to escape unscathed showed how qualified he was.

Moreover, Qin Yu was now also the Barbarian King and it definitely increased his chance of success. So, the ancient people were willing to take the risk!

If they succeeded, they could change the entire situation their clan was in.

Failing…it would just be another round of chasing and killing from Great Qin. The Holy Clan were already used to this.

“Very good!”

Qin Yu smiled, “You have made a wise choice. I will fulfil my promise to you.”

As he said this, he felt something and smiled even wider.

Qin Yu could sense Min Changjing’s aura. This meant that he understood the price of that cup of wine.

Drinking it meant that he belonged to Qin Yu!

“The desolate regions have joined together to deal with the Barbarian Clan. It is not convenient for me to appear and interfere now. I need you of all to help me stabilize the situation.”

The faces of the three ancient True Kings changed.

“Your Majesty, it is not that we are unwilling, but Emperor Qin has chased us for many years. As soon as he detects our aura, he will personally descend. When that happens…”

Qin Yu replied, “Don’t worry, if I am asking you all to fight, I will naturally guarantee that Emperor Qin will not appear in the battle between the Barbarian Clan and the Desolate Region.”

There was something that he had yet to say, “…Unless Emperor Qin wants to give up Xianyang!”

As the capital of Great Qin, it was where the nation fate of Great Qin lay and where the world’s incense gathered. Once it was destroyed, Emperor Qin would suffer a huge backlash.

True Kings could teleport. As long as Emperor Qin dared to leave Xianyang, Qin Yu would reach it in a second!

The female True King took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, “Okay, then I will trust Your Majesty. Please don’t make me regret it.”

Qin Yu waved his hand, “You can make preparations to quickly enter the Barbarian Clan. I will make arrangements.”

“Okay.”

Fisherman suddenly said, “Your Majesty, there is one more thing.”

Qin Yu replied, “Speak.”

“Even if the Holy Clan joins, the Barbarian Clan will still be at a disadvantage when facing the combined forces of many nations. I suggest that you convince the Demon Clan. They are not like us ancient people and still have huge numbers. With the help of the Demon Clan, the situation would be a lot better.”

Qin Yu said, “Continue.”

Fisherman took a deep breath, “Demon Moon currently has an issue.”

Qin Yu’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

 Fisherman nodded, “When we were fighting in the Demon Clan Ancestral Land, I could sense it. The reason involved my own cultivation and it is not convenient for me to tell you. But I can confirm that something has happened to Demon Moon and she is the strongest power in the Demon Clan. You might be able to convince the Demon Clan with this.”

“Okay!” Qin Yu smiled, “If this succeeds, you will be rewarded.”

“We do not wish for recognition, just for you to succeed!” Fisherman then bowed.

Woosh –

The three ancient True Kings left.

An unexpected return!

There was something wrong with Demon Moon? Fisherman said it with such certainty. This must be no small matter. It may even concern Demon Moon’s survival. This would give him a chance of convincing the Demon Clan.

After all, the Demon Clan was not the same as the ancient people. Though they were also suppressed, they were not being chased and forced to hide.

It would be difficult to convince them to work with him against Great Qin. But now, things were different…if Demon Moon fell, it would be difficult for the Demon Clan to hold their current position!

Thinking quickly, Qin Yu made a decision.

He would go to the Demon Clan!

Putting aside whether he would succeed, he had to at least try. Now, he had to pull all available resources together to increase his chance of success.

Taking a step, Qin Yu appeared outside the Demon Clan Ancestral Land in the next moment.

An intense fog filled the air.

He stepped into it and the fog dissipated. Very soon, the Demon Clan detected his presence.

“It is Qin Yu!”

“Barbarian King!”

“He dares to come to the Demon Clan!”

“Hurry and inform Green Goddess!”

Amidst the shrieks, various Demon Clan cultivators backed off.

Qin Yu has gotten famous after the battle in Xianyang and they did not dare to offend him.

Woosh –

The beautiful, fairy-like Green Goddess appeared.

She looked at Qin Yu and frowned slightly, “Barbarian King. With your current identity, it is not appropriate for you to enter the Demon Clan Ancestral Land. Please leave.”

Qin Yu looked at her, “Where is Demon Moon?”

Green Goddess frowned, “It is none of your business. Leave!”

Qin Yu looked deep into the Demon Clan Ancestral Land. There was a faint smell of blood coming from that direction.

“I can leave, but Demon Moon will definitely die!”