Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Sea King Island.

The space suddenly twisted and Qin Yu walked out. Behind him, there was a scholar. Of course, now Qin Yu knew his name – Cheng Haoran. As a disciple of the Seventh Dao Master, in terms of his status, he was naturally one of the most respectable people in this world. However, he was willing to follow behind Qin Yu and be low-key. Firstly, Cheng Haoran was never one to show off. Secondly, he greatly admired Qin Yu’s cultivation level and courage…well, he admired Qin Yu’s courage even more!

“The Sea King is here!” Someone suddenly exclaimed on the restless Sea King Island. 

Whoosh –

The sound of air splitting could be heard and Black Pearl made her way over. When she saw Qin Yu, she looked agitated as she respectfully bowed, “Your Excellency, you’ve returned!” She swept her gaze over him and only let out a breath of relief when she made sure that she was not hurt in any way.

Qin Yu nodded and said, “His name is Cheng Haoran. He is my friend; help him settle down here.” After he finished speaking, he nodded in Cheng Haoran’s direction. Then, he stepped outwards and he directly disappeared.

“Yes!” Black Pearl bowed once again and looked over, “Since you are the Sea King’s friend, you are our Sea King Island’s honored guest. Please follow me.”

Cheng Haoran coughed lightly and said, “Okay.” He tried his best to retract his gaze and look elsewhere, but Black Pearl was extremely hot. Furthermore, she was wearing too little clothing. Her skin that was exposed had been tanned by the sun from living at sea, giving it a nice black glow. It looked slightly rough, but it gave her an exotic beauty. Naturally, she was not quite a traditional beauty like what was described in books, but Cheng Haoran had to admit that he still found Black Pearl to be extremely pretty in a different way. 

Black Pearl turned around and took a look at Cheng Haoran, feeling that the Sea King’s friend was slightly weird. His eyes were timid and he did not have any masculinity at all. He behaved like a weak little girl. Thinking of this, she stopped in her tracks and her face suddenly stiffened. Crazy thoughts started to appear in her mind, and like weeds, she could not get rid of them.

It was no wonder the Sea King never cared for her beauty or even acknowledged her existence. It was probably because the Sea King did not like women in the first place! Black Pearl suddenly felt very upset. She was able to act coquettishly and seduce people, but if the Sea King did not like women, what more could she do?

As a scholar, Cheng Haoran was highly sensitive to his surroundings. Very quickly, he could feel the change in Black Pearl’s emotions. The look in her eyes became quite strange. Her gaze fluttered over, before being quickly retracted. Though she tried to remain calm on the outside, the small emotions that showed in her eyes gave her true feelings away. She looked sad, angry, and even jealous, which made Cheng Haoran very confused.

After some hesitation, he smiled and said, “Excuse me, may I know if there’s something you dislike about me?” He had an easygoing and handsome smile, but sadly, Black Pearl did not get that he was trying to defuse the situation at all. At this moment, her heart thumped loudly and she only had one thought in her mind – it must be true! 

She originally felt that he was already quite feminine, and with such a smile, it truly confirmed her thoughts. She never would have thought that her renowned beauty would one day lose to a man. He stole the Sea King away from her!

“Hmph!” Black Pearl humphed coldly before she turned around and sped up.

Helplessness formed on Cheng Haoran’s face. Even though he was quite clever, he did not know much about women. Naturally, he was not able to guess that this woman had formed such ridiculous thoughts in her head and regarded him as a rival in love. If he knew about such thoughts, even if he was the most gentle man in this world, he would probably still be angered from this.

Somewhere else, Qin Yu retracted his divine sense. He rubbed his chin, not knowing if Cheng Haoran was pretending or for real. However, he knew that this person was not simple. Despite being a peak level True King who was just steps away from entering the Eternal realm, he was quite magnanimous towards a female pirate like Black Pearl. This was quite unusual. Why did Seventh Dao Master leave him here?

“Little blue lamp!”

After a short silence, his voice rang out, “I don’t know either. However, this Seventh Dao Master is truly powerful. It was really risky when you tried to mask your retreat as an advance earlier.”

Qin Yu said, “It was the only way. I had to show a tough attitude to better prove my current identity…Waterfront World’s Luo Guan, I did not think that even after your death, you would lend me your identity. Thinking about it now, if I had not encountered that person in the Bounded Void Space earlier, it would be really troublesome now.” He paused, and then continued, “What are your opinions about the collaboration that Seventh Dao Master talked about?”

“It should be genuine, he has no reason to lie to you,” Little blue lamp said, “However, I don’t think things are that simple. It concerns the World Origin and the incense of a world. It will not be achieved that simply.” 

“For example?”

“Your identity.”

Qin Yu frowned, “You’re trying to say that White Jade Capital will think of a way to confirm my identity?” His expression turned heavy. If that truly was the case, it was going to create a lot of trouble for him. It seemed difficult to see through a person’s perfect disguise, but in actual fact, someone just had to find one loophole. As long as someone could see through one lie, the truth would be completely exposed.

The little blue lamp said, “What Seventh Dao Master said when his avatar descended in Waterfront World may be true, but you don’t have to be too worried. To cross the endless Bounded Void Space and the Sea of Confusion to reach the other world and confirm your identity is tough. Even White Jade Capital will not be able to achieve that so easily.” 

Qin Yu said, “So what I need to do now is to use other things to convince White Jade Capital that I am Luo Guan of Waterfront World.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.

“Yes.”

Qin Yu’s eyes brightened, “Tell me!”

The little blue lamp said, “Actually, the matter of what your true identity is is not important to White Jade Capital. As long as they can confirm that you are not their enemy, it is enough. In the Desolate World opposite the sea, there is also a White Jade Capital. However, because of some reasons, they are not allowed to descend anytime they like. Despite this, they definitely know about the things happening in the Desolate World. And between the nine White Jade Capitals, there are definitely communication channels through which messages are being relayed to each other.

“Whether it is Seventh Dao Master or the rulers of the other White Jade Capitals, they definitely would know that the Barbarian King has stepped onto the path of Incense Great Dao. And in the Desolate World, the Barbarian King happened to disappear at this moment. Do you think that they would suspect that Luo Guan, who has also just stepped onto the path of Incense Great Dao, is the Barbarian King that they’ve been wanting to kill?”

Qin Yu took a deep breath, “Probably not? The probability of something like that happening is very small…who would have thought that the Barbarian King would go into territory ruled by human cultivators?”

The little blue lamp said blandly, “You thought of something like this and even did it. Even if there is only a small possibility that they would have this suspicion, are you really going to take this risk? Furthermore, both of us know that even if there was a small chance to get rid of someone threatening our lives, we would still try. For example, if I gave you a chance to kill Emperor Qin, you would have taken it.”

Qin Yu rubbed his temples. He had to admit that what the little blue lamp said made sense. If White Jade Capital also tried…Qin Yu’s identity was truly at risk of being exposed. After all, no matter how perfect a disguise was, there was always a possibility of someone seeing through it.

“Tell me your plan. Since you’ve thought about all of this, you must have come up with some sort of preparation, right?”

Thoughts were transmitted through Qin Yu’s mind as the little blue lamp showed him what he had prepared. Qin Yu closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them, he had a thoughtful expression on his face. “That’s all?”

“This is enough to help you wash away any suspicions of being the Barbarian King.”

Qin Yu thought for a while before he nodded and said, “Okay, then let’s give it a try. There happens to be a small unresolved problem near Sea King Island.”

He waved his sleeve and Meimei’s figure appeared. She bowed and said, “Greetings, Master.”

“Summon the Oriental Giant Bird.”

“Okay.”

Meimei turned around and pointed outwards.

The next moment, in the deep sea region of the Eternal Sea that was hundreds of thousands of miles away from Sea King Island, a piece of the sky suddenly collapsed.

Then, a howling wind surged, blowing away the surface of the entire sea and the sky immediately darkened. The Oriental Giant Bird flew out, its two wings blocking the sun entirely. It was the first time that it was seeing the outside world. This was the real world!

It cacawed excitedly, but the Oriental Giant Bird never forgot the reason why it was called here. It flapped its wings and soared upwards to the sky. As it flew towards the horizon, its majestic and strong aura covered the entire sea region, making the various beasts in the sea feel endlessly afraid. They trembled, not daring to challenge the Oriental Giant Bird in the slightest.

Very quickly, Sea King Island was in view.

Cheng Haoran, who was studying, had a change in expression. He closed his book and walked outwards. Then, he reappeared in mid-air. When he looked into the distance, he could see the sky darkening, and this darkness was approaching towards him at a shocking speed.

A Roc!

In the human cultivators’ world, there were also such birds in existence. However, it was unheard of for one of them to reach such a size. More importantly, this Roc’s aura…it was so strong that it was simply unbelievable. Its power was probably on par with several guardian demons in White Jade Capital. 

In the blink of an eye, Sea King Island was enveloped in darkness as the Oriental Giant Bird soared above them, its cry resounding for thousands of miles. Suddenly, it rushed down and countless pirates on Sea King Island wailed miserably as they envisioned themselves being turned to mush by this bird.

Cheng Haoran’s face changed slightly. Since Qin Yu was nowhere to be seen, after a few moments of hesitation, he had already gotten ready to attack. However, clearly, this was unnecessary. Even though the Oriental Great Bird soared towards them, it was not intending to attack Sea King Island. It dove directly into the sea.

Boom –

A loud boom sounded as the surface of the sea was violently disrupted. A huge tentacle flew out, rushing straight towards the Oriental Great Bird. More booming sounds followed as even more tentacles emerged from the water one after another. Each of them was tens of thousands of feet long. Yet, to this Oriental Great Bird, this was merely child’s play. A hint of coldness flashed past its golden eyes. These huge tentacles did not faze it at all.

It screeched loudly and a terrifying power fell. Like thousands of huge mountains, it pressed heavily on the sea, causing all the tossing and turning of the waves to instantly be still, and not a single fluctuation could be seen. Along with it, those tentacles were suppressed too. An incomparably enormous head emerged to the surface of the sea. It was a huge octopus, and in its two round eyes, there was fear and hopelessness.

In the next moment, a feather whistled towards the octopus. Like a sharp arrow, it pierced into the octopus’ body in an instant, nailing it down to the seafloor. The wing tip of the Oriental Giant Bird was exposed out of the water. Under the sunlight, it shone brightly.

“Very powerful, right?” A voice said from beside him.

Cheng Haoran nodded, “It truly is very powerful.” He had a heavy expression on his face. Even though he had already guessed that this Oriental Giant Bird was incomparably powerful after observing it from a distance, when the bird had killed the enormous octopus so easily, the eruption of its power had truly made him feel shocked. It seemed that this Oriental Giant Bird was more powerful than those demon guardians in White Jade Capital!

Qin Yu laughed, “It’s mine.”

Cheng Haoran frowned.

Qin Yu raised one hand and whistled. The Oriental Giant Bird that was hovering in the sky and setting off endless gusts of wind flew directly towards him. As it got closer and closer to them, its body started to shrink at a great speed. When it finally landed on Qin Yu’s arm, it was the size of a normal gold sculpture. It screeched softly, acting very respectfully.

Noticing Cheng Haoran’s bewildered expression, Qin Yu said, “This Oriental Giant Bird yielded to me when I entered a Mutant World. I left it hidden in the depths of the Eternal Sea just in case. Since I have promised Seventh Dao Master that I would help him get World Origin, naturally, I will do it to the best of my abilities. Brother Cheng, don’t you think it’s only right for me to do so?”

Cheng Haoran laughed bitterly, “I only know Your Excellency’s power exceeds what I imagined. It seems that catching up to your strength is not an easy thing to do.”

Qin Yu nodded his head repeatedly, “I feel that way too.”

Cheng Haoran was speechless.

He then walked two steps forward and observed the Oriental Great Bird carefully. However, his eyeballs were almost pecked out before he could get too close. He quickly stepped backwards and rubbed his nose, “This beast has such a bad temper!”

The Oriental Great Bird then spoke, “Little brat, watch what you say before I eat you up!”

Its murderous intent filled the air!

Cheng Haoran laughed bitterly, “Your Excellency, it’s crossing the line. I am Seventh Dao Master’s disciple after all; how dare your beast treat me so disrespectfully?”

Qin Yu caressed the Oriental Great Bird and said, “Cheng Haoran has powerful origins. Put up with it for a bit. In the future, you can go after him.”

The Oriental Great Bird respectfully obeyed.

Cheng Haoran was speechless once again.

He looked at Qin Yu and for the first time, he could somehow see what kind of person he was.

“I’m going to go now.”

Qin Yu turned around and stepped outwards. Then, he was gone.

Below them, there were countless cheers. “Our Excellency the Sea King is invincible!”

The pirates clamored excitedly one after another. Even though they did not have any real loyalty towards the new Sea King, the stronger their king was, the better these pirates’ lives would be since they were under his protection. It was a very simple explanation.

Tears formed in Black Pearl’s eyes and she felt that every action taken by the Sea King was extremely manly. It was a pity…her gaze fell on Cheng Haoran again and there was anger and frustration in her eyes. This damned man who seduced His Excellency! 

Cheng Haoran frowned slightly as he lowered his head to glance at Black Pearl. He did not know where her resentment was coming from as she was treating him with so much disdain. Forget it, he had no time to get delayed by her. He turned around and disappeared. He had to relay this matter to his grandmaster.

A few moments later, Cheng Haoran cupped his hands and said, “Grandmaster, I have something to report to you.” In the room, a pot of water bamboo grew rapidly and intertwined with itself. Without a sound, it weaved into a bamboo figure, which turned around and sat down. 

“Tell me,” the bamboo figure spoke. He had the voice of Han Shuisheng.

Cheng Haoran said respectfully, “Grandmaster, just now, Luo Guan summoned an Oriental Giant Bird to kill that octopus underneath Sea King Island.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and pulled out a projection from his forehead. The projection showed everything that he saw just now.

The bamboo figure looked it over and gulped. After a few moments, he asked, “What do you think about this?”

Cheng Haoran pondered for a while before he said, “Luo Guan is walking on the path of Incense Great Dao. His actions today are not surprising. There are many pirates on Sea King Island. By getting them to yield to him, he can accumulate incense power. In addition, that Oriental Great Bird…er, it should be that ancient mutant species that you mentioned earlier.”

The bamboo figure replied, “That’s right, and the humans’ archenemy is the Barbarian Clan. The Barbarian Clan has inherited a little bit of the Ancient Clan’s blood. It seems that I was overthinking. There are no problems with Luo Guan.”

Cheng Haoran looked shocked.

The bamboo figure said blandly, “If Luo Guan is really related to the Barbarian Clan, he would not be so indifferent after seeing the power of the Ancient Clan…alright, I will try to deal with the internal affairs as quickly as possible. Get ready; bring him to White Jade Capital in three days.”

“Yes, Grandmaster!”