Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1555 – Changing Destiny

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In the Desolate camp.

Space was crashing violently like a river overflowing its banks. Massive waves threatened to destroy everything in the world.

Although General Jinwu had given a warning before he went into seclusion to cultivate, it was still unnerving.

Tribe Leader Cutuo of the Golden Crow Tribe was drenched in sweat. If Master Prajna did not look as steady as a mountain in front of him, he would not be able to hold it in and he would rush out to investigate what happened.

The disturbance was too large and terrifying.

The Green Willow Tribe men stood unwavering. Even if they were shoved aside by the turbulent space waves, they would rush back.

They guarded the round tent with an icy cold and hostile expression. They looked like evil wolves who would devour men.

This was the last chance for the Divine Willow where all the remaining life force of the Green Willow Tribe was.

It could not vanish!

It would be a lie to say that the numerous peeping eyes on the Desolate camp were not surprised after seeing the dramatic disturbance.

However, the Golden Crow Tribe’s silence and the stern expressions of the Green Willow Tribe men made all the other people suppress their hearts.

After an hour, the massive disturbance finally subsided. It went away quickly and it completely vanished a few seconds after the first sign appeared.

The Tribe Leader of the Green Willow Tribe licked his pale lips. His eyes were focused on the tent and he was nervous.

Shoosh –

The round tent was opened and Rourou briskly walked over. She stared back at the Tribe Leader but coldly walked away without changing her expression.

This made the Tribe Leader’s heart sink. His body grew weak and he almost fell to the floor.

There was only one thought in his mind – finished, they were finished!

The willow branch was the last remaining life force from the Divine Willow. Its last struggle and trial ended in failure and things could not be saved again.

The Green Willow Tribe had been ruined in his hands!

His eyes darkened and tears spilled down. The old Tribe Leader’s vision was blurred and he could barely make Qin Yu out when he walked out of the tent.

Qin Yu noticed the tear-stricken face of the elder when he stepped out and he immediately frowned. Could it be that the Green Willow Tribe’s totem, the Divine Willow, did not make it when he was constructing the Boundary Breaking Seal?

Tsk –

If that was the case, he was so unlucky. Qin Yu’s subsequent plans would be affected too.

The next moment, Qin Yu heard someone inhale sharply.

Some exhaled, some inhaled, some grunted. Everyone seemed to have gotten a cramp suddenly and there was silence in the area.

The group of ten thousand warriors from the Green Willow Tribe had their eyes bulging wide open.

They were tensed as they stared at the willow branch in Qin Yu’s hands that was brimming with life.

As though they feared that they were hallucinating, they exhaled and quickly inhaled that breath again.

The tear-stricken elder Tribe Leader of the Green Willow Tribe finally noticed the weird atmosphere. He lifted a hand to rub his face and clear his nose. Then, he blinked rapidly and his eyes rolled back.

He saw the fresh willow branch in Qin Yu’s hands.

He had personally retrieved this willow branch from the charred Divine Willow. Every leaf vein was carved into his mind and hence the old Tribe Leader immediately recognized it as the willow branch that he brought.

Leaves or not, the thickness of the willow branch did not change but the thick life force that seemed to be wafting off of it was at a level never before seen ever since the Divine Willow suffered the calamity.

His hand struck his chest like a broken drum, creating hollow booms. The old Tribe Leader finally stabilized his breathing and avoided fainting.

He walked forward as his lips quivered violently. His top and bottom lip clashed against each other so much that they looked like they were fighting and he could not form a sentence.

Qin Yu calmed himself down. He did not expect this and he coughed lightly to pass the willow branch back to the Tribe Leader, “Fortunately, luck shines upon it. Tribe Leader, please bring it back to the tribe’s totem. The Divine Willow will recover.”

Thud –

The old Tribe Leader kneeled on the ground. His body shivered and his shaky hands stretched forward gingerly. However, the moment he held the willow branch in his hands, he stopped shaking and he became as stiff as iron.

“Saving the Divine Willow is akin to saving the entire Green Willow Tribe. I will deliver the willow branch back to the tribe and return to express my thanks.”

He held the willow branch carefully as he stood up. Turning to meet the gazes of the rest of his tribesmen, his face twitched and he burst into tears again.

“Go. Let’s deliver the Divine Willow back home!”

Cheers erupted and three was a lively and happy atmosphere. All the warriors had red eyes and they were so emotional their bodies were shaking from excitement.

They finally saved the Divine Willow.

The survival of the Divine Willow also ensured the continuity of the Green Willow Tribe. Their old parents and young children would also live.

Without hesitation, the group of ten thousand men stood up and surrounded their old Tribe Leader. Like a torrent, they rushed back towards their tribe as quickly as they could.

The thick aura in the air was as sharp as a knife that was strong enough to slice the world in half. Nothing seemed to be able to stop them from returning home.

Anyone who stopped them would be killed!

The old Tribe Leader wiped his tears away. He stared at his surroundings with a look of gratefulness.

Five hundred years had passed since the Divine Willow was struck by lightning. Ever since then, the Green Willow Tribe warriors had never experienced so much vigor and life force.

The Green Willow Tribe had returned!

Numerous eyes that were focused on the Golden Crow Tribe were filled with shock. The Divine Willow totem of the Green Willow Tribe’s state was not a secret.

Could men from the Desolate Area really save the Divine Willow? That was not possible!

The Divine Willow surviving the heavens’ catastrophe was due to its long existence in the world.

Its origin had been dispersed and its roots were destroyed. Death was its only way out.

However, what they just witnessed told them that the Green Willow Tribe had made a comeback from a desperate situation!

Cutuo stood outside the tent and observed the Green Willow Tribe. He was stunned when he felt the aura drifting off from the willow branch in the old Tribe Leader’s hands.

With his cultivation realm, he could see the state of the willow branch when it was near. He arrived at one conclusion – the totem of the Green Willow Tribe, the Divine Willow, had really been saved!

Although his own tribe’s Golden Crow made a transformation and fused fire and ice because of the gift from the men from the Desolate Area, he was utterly stunned by what he saw.

Sighing deeply, Cutuo looked at Master Prajna beaming with smiles opposite him. Yet, Prajna’s eyes were calm and it seemed like he already expected this.

Tribe Leader Cutuo came to a realization and he suddenly felt like he had uncovered the truth - General Jinwu’s real identity might not be as simple as he thought!

Opposite him, Pragna’s eyes were deep. “Tribe Leader, regardless of what you think, you have to keep it a secret.”

Tribe Leader Cutuo shivered and he quickly bowed, “Master, I swear on my holiness that I will never reveal a single thing.”

……

The focal point shifted from the Golden Crow Tribe to the Green Willow Tribe. Their totem, the Divine Willow, was dying and this made the tribe undergo a slow wilting process as well.

As many eyes watched on, the group of ten thousand men from the Green Willow Tribe escorted the old Tribe Leader back to the tribe with the willow branch.

Compared to the surge in aura from the Golden Crow Tribe, the Green Willow Tribe was covered with an atmosphere that felt like a decaying sun. It was almost like that of a bedridden old man.

All the tribesmen who could still move struggled to walk to the tent. It had been long since they wore an expectant expression, but it was not very hopeful.

After all the pain and bitterness experienced by the barbarians of the Green Willow Tribe, they did not dare to have much hope.

This was the case despite the fact that they had already received news that the Divine Willow Totem had been saved…they would only believe what they personally witnessed.

As such, everyone forced themselves to walk over.

At that moment, powerful barbarians from other tribes disregarded hiding themselves and they flew into the sky and stared at the Green Willow Tribe.

They wanted to verify for themselves whether the Divine Willow of the Green Willow Tribe would be dead or alive.

In the middle of the tribe was a dry, barren patch of land. It was starved of water and there was no life in it.

This was the terrifying scene left behind after the heavens’ lightning struck the Divine Willow and sapped it of all its strength.

The Divine Willow totem of the tribe was planted in the patch of land. Its thick tree branch had been split open by the heavens’ lightning and its branches fell lifelessly onto the ground. By now, they were dried up dead branches.

All that was left was a single willow branch that slumped to the ground. It was darker than the black ground and it was the last remaining life force of the totem.

Everyone stopped outside the patch of land while only the old Tribe Leader stepped forward. Holding the willow branch carefully in his arms, he stood before the Divine Willow. He kneeled down and bowed till his head touched the ground, “Divine Willow, I am back!”

The old Tribe Leader knew the state of the Divine Willow and he did not delay further before he stuck the willow branch into the ground.

Next, he took hold of the water sack hanging from his waist and watered the ground.

The lustrous leaves on the willow branch swayed along with the wind.

The thick, powerful Divine Willow behind it that had survived painstaking for five hundred years after the heavens’ calamity was reduced to dust.

The dust was not blown away by the wind and it gathered into a mass on the ground. In the blink of an eye, the barren land that was struck by the heavens’ lightning recovered.

Roots sprouted out of the willow branch and it grew rapidly. A few moments later, it was already a small willow tree.

Although it could not compare to the massive body of the Divine Willow in the past, it was now a young tree that was filled with life. This was far better compared to the dying tree whose roots were already destroyed.

The old Tribe Leader mustered all his strength and shouted, “Congratulations on the rebirth of the Divine Willow!”

The entire Green Willow Tribe erupted with cheers and tears flowed like a river. They were no longer in despair.

Outside of the tribe, numerous other barbarians had personally witnessed the Divine Willow’s rebirth. Their eyes were filled with passion at the same time as they were surprised.

The totem of the Golden Crow Tribe had its bloodline undergo a transformation by the Desolate Area men and it was now able to fuse fire and ice.

The totem of the Green Willow Tribe, the Divine Willow, had been doomed to hell after it suffered the heavens’ calamity. However, it was reborn from a willow branch.

Once might be a coincidence, but when this happened a second time, everyone knew what it meant - the totem’s importance for the Barbarian Clan did not need to be emphasized.

The news of the successful rebirth of the Green Willow Tribe’s totem spread like wildfire and a tsunami through the entire Barbarian Clan!

……

Traverse Mountains was the name the Barbarian Clan gave to the mountain range that stretched out to the heavens.

It seemed to split the heavens and earth as the mountain peaks peeked through the clouds.

Yet, the mountain range was barren and there weren’t any lifeforms there. An endless blanket of snow fell halfway through the year and drowned the mountain range.

In the vast, endless horizon of white, a black temple stood on the mountain. It was like a dead leaf in the snowy country and it was particularly eye-catching.

This place was the respected Barbarian Clan Holy Land!

A skinny figure sat down cross-legged on the white floor. Something seemed to have piqued his interest and he slowly started to open his eyes.

There was another vast world within his eyes that seemed mysterious.

However, there was surprise in his eyes and it felt like he had sensed something unthinkable.

Changing destiny…this was something that was very hard to achieve. If he was in perfect condition, he might have been able to do it.

How did His Majesty do it? From what he knew, the Barbarian King bloodline only gave him immense strength.

It did not gift things like Divine Ways.

He blinked and the surprise in his eyes slowly changed to understanding.

If it wasn’t the king, then it should have been that person beside the king.

Previously, he had sensed the aura of that individual.

It was deep and vast and it felt as high as the skies but also felt as vulnerable as an illusion of a bubble. It was hard for anyone to capture its essence.

Hidden in space time, every time the fates of the world interchanged, a mysterious being could come into existence…its roots and realm were unknown. However, it was undeniable that it was one of the oldest and most terrifying existences in this world.

As the Great Barbarian Shaman, the memories were passed down in bloodlines and hence, he had knowledge that surpassed anyone in this world.

Yet, it was precisely because of this that the Great Barbarian Shaman was confused. Why did it remain by the king’s side?

Even if the king made a contract with it, something like this should not happen according to what he knew.

There must be a hidden secret that he did not know about.

The skinny-looking old man had a weak aura and he looked like any ordinary old man in a temple. However, his true identity was the Great Shaman Mengshan of the Barbarian Clan.

He pondered it carefully and rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes.

Back then, his disciple passed down the skill to connect divine senses across vast distances.

This was a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the king, but it did not only stop there.

Great Shaman Mengshan wanted to discover the intentions of that mysterious being in space time with His Majesty.

If its intentions were to devour the new Barbarian King, he might sacrifice himself and try to force it away.

He could not compare to the mysterious being based on strength and cultivation realm, but this was his world and the king was his king. He could sacrifice himself and take the main stage…this was probably within his means.

A few moments later, Great Shaman Mengshan opened his eyes. He placed a finger down and there was some hesitation and confusion in his deep eyes.

Finally, that slowly changed to understanding.

He started to cough. Though it was not violent, small droplets of blood spurted out of his nose and landed on the clean white floor. They were like sakuras in the snow and were extremely eye-catching. They bloomed splendidly with the snow and wind.