Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1001 - Cage of the Rules

Cultivators who hadn’t yet entered the God boundary comprehended the truths of the heavens and earth to become aware of the power of the Laws. Then, they opened up their own Great Dao, condensing their God Mark and entering the God boundary.

Strictly speaking, every complete Law represented a path to being promoted to the God boundary.

Obtain one of them and one can rise to the God boundary, producing a transformation in the level of their life. One’s strength would rise and they would obtain a much longer lifespan.

Understanding three or four Laws was considered adequate. If one could obtain five or more, then they were an extraordinary talent in the eyes of the common people.

Of course, the enlightenment here was complete and whole, without any incompleteness.

Because of the soul and one’s limited cultivation level, comprehending the rules before one entered the God boundary was difficult.

It was generally recognized that if one was able to control seven rules before entering the God boundary, they had a chance of becoming an Origin God.

For instance, even though the East Zhou Family could gather several hundred Origin Gods easily, they were scattered through dozens and dozens of worlds both large and small.

Calculating carefully, each world had at most a handful of Origin Gods. They were terrifying existences that stood upon at the highest heavens.

Of course, there were countless changes and variations in the vast world and there were always things that occurred outside of normal conditions.

For instance, there were some cultivators that had an amazing natural soul sensitivity, or perhaps they possessed extraordinary talent in perceiving the Laws of the heavens and earth, or perhaps they even relied on some outside strength, but they were able to perceive numerous Laws before entering the God boundary.

In this sort of situation, they would try to grasp as many Laws of the heavens and earth as possible before they entered the God boundary. The reason was simple – the more accumulations one gathered before entering the God boundary, the more potential they had.

Everyone understood the concept that good preparation was the key to success. Generally speaking, there was nothing wrong with this, but it was just a little different when applied to breaking through to the God boundary.

The specific reason, if described by a researcher, would be an extremely complicated and specialized topic. Roughly summarized, if a soul that hadn’t yet reached the God boundary had too many marks of the rules, then it would be like layers of threads forming a pupa, spinning up a cage that eventually transformed into shackles binding down one’s cultivation.

These shackles targeted a cultivator when they attempted the transformation of their life level, just before they reached the God boundary. Simply put, the more rules one comprehended, the tighter these shackles would be until they permanently sealed a cultivator inside so that they would never reach the God boundary for the rest of their life.

And after countless years of innumerable attempts by cultivators, it was finally determined that the maximum number of rules one could comprehend was ten. That’s right, before entering the God boundary, if one controlled more than ten rules, that would naturally form an intangible but real cage that prevented them from advancing.

As for Qin Yu…even though no one knew how many rules he actually controlled, through the incident of Stranded God Valley, it could be inferred that he controlled at least several hundred of them…or even more!

This was an impassable line formed by the equivalent of dozens and dozens of cages. It could be imagined how strong those cultivation shackles would be.

To break into the God boundary…hoho, the hopes of this were likely so slim that they could be ignored.

No matter what their true emotions were, the eyes that fell on Qin Yu in the pavilion showed hints of pity.

If one didn’t enter the God boundary then they wouldn’t be able to increase the level of their life and transform their soul. Their future achievements would be limited.

The Qin Yu of today was tyrannically strong and was no weaker than them. In fact, he might even be a bit stronger.

But so what?

As the years passed they would continue advancing and rising to higher levels. Eventually, there would be no comparing the difference in strength between them.

This was the cruel and tragic conclusion that cultivators who died in despair obtained over the countless years, using themselves as an example.

Shang Lingyu sighed, “Fellow daoist Qin Yu, I have no idea what happened to you, but the taboo of comprehending too many rules before entering the God boundary is something that any cultivator who possesses an inheritance would be reminded about.”

He shook his head, looking regretful.

It seemed he could already see Qin Yu’s lonely back as he walked away after receiving an immense psychological attack.

But what was unexpected was that after hearing all of this, Qin Yu only furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before composing himself.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

What was this reply? action

If he was just calm then it might seem a bit suspicious, but in this calmness there was clearly some relaxation.

Could it be that he didn’t know his future road of cultivation had already been thoroughly severed?

That for his remaining life, he would be restricted below the God boundary? That when his life came to an end, he would be filled with unwillingness as he returned to the earth?

Anyone who faced this sort of situation shouldn’t be able to maintain their composure. Or did Qin Yu suffer too great a shock and he was now left in a haze of confusion?

East Zhou Duly hesitated for a moment before she softly said, “Qin Yu, nothing in this world is predetermined. Just because others cannot achieve something doesn’t mean there is no hope for you.”

He was the disciple of a Ruler. Even though he hadn’t been genuinely acknowledged yet, with this status he might have a chance.

After all, that was a supreme, omnipotent Ruler!

But all of this was things that would happen in the future. The Path of 10,000 Souls was going to open soon. Qin Yu was doomed to miss it.

As for her, she would lose her greatest boost.

Qin Yu looked at East Zhou Duly. He could clearly feel her helplessness and the other complex emotions in her eyes. After thinking about it, he understood why she was like this.

He smiled and said, “Miss East Zhou, may I ask how much time there is before the Path of 10,000 Souls opens?”

Every person that obtained a spot to enter the Path of 10,000 Souls would establish an invisible connection to it.

The existence of this connection allowed them to judge the approximate time before the Path of 10,000 Souls would open. Once it was opened, they would be directly dragged inside.

To be exact, it was a bit presumptuous for Qin Yu to ask this, but East Zhou Duly paused for a moment before answering, “Seven days.”

Qin Yu said, “That’s enough.” He cupped his hands together, “Then I must ask Miss East Zhou to arrange a place for me to enter seclusion. I will emerge within seven days.”

Although he didn’t speak the reason, everyone understood why Qin Yu wanted to go into seclusion – within seven days, he wanted to break through his limits and condense his God Mark, reaching the God boundary!

The pavilion fell silent.

The eyes that fell on Qin Yu were stunned. After a short astonishment, they shined with absurdity.

Reaching the God boundary in seven days?

Even common cultivators that wanted to knock on the World’s Dragon Gate and condense their God Mark had to make many preparations in order to have a great chance of success.

Moreover, Qin Yu was facing a difficult conundrum himself.

East Zhou Duly’s eyes brightened. If she didn’t know Qin Yu’s ‘true status’, she would have thought he was joking.

But the one standing behind him was a supreme Ruler!

To change something rotten into something wonderful, to turn despair into hope…although it was unbelievable, that didn’t mean there was no chance.

Because a Ruler controlled all and subverted all!

“That’s no problem. There is an excellent seclusion chamber in my residence right now. If you cultivate there you will experience no disturbance!”

A Ruler-level teacher or whatever, that certainly didn’t exist in Qin Yu’s mind.

In fact, with his current level, he didn’t even know that there was such a terrifying existence like a Ruler in this world.

But he was still confident he could break through the shackles of his cultivation and transform himself, rising to the God boundary. This was because he had the jade embryo egg, and also the sun and moon force field. Qin Yu’s level of life had already surpassed this world and was no longer limited by the heavens and earth.

Because the numerous rule brand marks in the soul that formed shackles on a person’s cultivation when they were too numerous… was originally a limit that came from the heavens and earth.

So none of this was a problem to Qin Yu. If he wanted to break through to the God boundary then he could break through to the God boundary. There was nothing difficult about it, and it was even something that would be much easier for him than for other cultivators.

East Zhou Duly sent people to explain the situation to Snowside. Qin Yu didn’t delay and immediately entered seclusion.

Although he didn’t feel any pressure breaking into the God boundary, this was still his first time doing so. Without any previous experience, it was always better to be cautious.

The Path of 10,000 Souls had at most seven days before it opened. He couldn’t allow any accidents to occur before then.

No matter what, he had to enter.

With East Zhou Duly’s current status in the family, the training chamber in her personal dwelling was top class.

At the very least, it was the best one that Qin Yu had ever seen until now. Not only was it large and spacious, but the quality of the construction and the materials used were all incredibly precious. For instance, there was an unknown type of white jade stone used to tile the floor. It had the effect of purifying the mind and amplifying one’s ability to sense the world’s rules. It increased one’s cultivation efficiency by 10% at the minimum.

Qin Yu sat down on a round cushion and rubbed his forehead. The road of cultivation spoke about an ordered path. Once one reached a certain limit, they would naturally be able to break into a higher boundary.

If they had people guiding the way, everything would be better. Not only could a person avoid any detours but they might make unexpected gains.

As a person with a ‘great background’ which even shook the great East Zhou Family, Qin Yu couldn’t ask them for advice about cultivating even if he wanted to.

But that was fine, because he had an even better candidate now.

He closed his eyes. With a thought, he passed through the formidable contract that was signed and his consciousness contacted something in the far-off distance.

Hum –

A moment later, Qin Yu’s consciousness was dragged into the world of his mind. A towering stone pagoda appeared before him. It stood as tall as the clouds and it was formed of white jade, emitting endless light.

“You want to break through to the God boundary? You want to break through now?”

Before Qin Yu could open his mouth, the stone pagoda seemed to learn everything. Its thought fluctuations echoed around him, filled with mockery, as if asking if his head was rusted.

Qin Yu looked up at the sky-reaching stone pagoda and calmly said, “That’s right.” His two simple words revealed his strong resolve.

The stone pagoda fell silent.

It wasn’t that it had been shaken by the determination in Qin Yu’s words. Rather, it was digesting the fact that it had encountered such a stupid master.

And most importantly, this master wasn’t its choice. Rather, in a helpless situation where it faced life or death, it had no choice but to select him.

Qin Yu could be called the lesser of two evils.

“Are you stupid!?” The stone pagoda roared out loud. It leapt up from the ground and bent over, like someone bending their waist and staring tightly at Qin Yu, “I don’t care what the reason is, but if you break through to the God boundary now, you will definitely regret it in the future!”

Qin Yu lightly said, “Then I’ll regret it.”

“I absolutely disagree with this.”

“You may not agree, but I am not here to ask you for your opinion on this matter.” Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, “Perhaps you have forgotten your current status…anything I say, just do it.”

Bang –

The earth fiercely shook. In the world of his mind, black clouds surged out from the blue skies and strong winds howled.

Qin Yu raised his hands and pointed a finger. Everything instantly vanished from sight, as if the pause button had been pressed in this world.

“I don’t want to repeat myself a second time, understand?” The stone pagoda rapidly shrank until it was only the size of a knuckle. Then it fell into his palm.