Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 241 – Spatial Fragment

The next day, Qin Yu gathered his things. Led by the Ning Mansion steward, they arrived at a side courtyard. Of course, with the Ning Mansion’s status, power, and influence, even a small and obscure courtyard was incredibly luxurious.

The steward said several words and then smiled and cupped his hands together in farewell. After taking several steps away, a look of disdain crossed his eyes. To betray a woman to further himself, what a despicable person!

Of course, he would never acknowledge these sour thoughts in his mind.

The side courtyard was temporarily sealed up and there were no guards at the entrance. When Qin Yu entered, he saw more than ten people already gathered in the small courtyard.

Standing below the trees that were in full bloom, they chatted and laughed together. Whether it was the men or women, they all had a bit more pride and excitement in their faces.

When Qin Yu appeared, the easy and lively atmosphere suddenly came to an end.

A good number of eyes showed indifference, judgment, and…disdain.

After betraying a woman, especially one he liked, such a person actually stood together with them. It was really hard to imagine.

Of course, those that could appear here were mostly intelligent; at least there weren’t any idiots. They only looked around several times before turning their eyes away. Then, they continued to chat again, taking Qin Yu’s existence as nothing but air.

To ignore someone like this, perhaps this was the greatest form of contempt.

Smug comfort rose in the hearts of many people.

Qin Yu certainly knew what this was all about. He laughed inwardly and then nonchalantly walked over to a corner of the courtyard and stood there by himself.

All he wanted was to enter the Gold Noble Family. It didn’t matter how these people look at him.

Glancing around, many people sensed Qin Yu’s calmness. After a brief moment of surprise, they sneered.

This skin, it was really too thick!

Someone from Ning Mansion arrived. They were led by a middle-aged man that Qin Yu didn’t recognize. He stood with a dignified and imposing posture.

Ning Yiran and 16 other Ning Family juniors followed close behind.

“All of you can wait here. We will be leaving after an hour.” After finishing speaking, the middle-aged man walked into the hall in the courtyard. Although there was no one guarding the hall, if one focused a bit, they could sense the sharp and swift aura coming from inside.

There was surely some master standing guard within.

“Greetings, Young Master Ning!”

“Is Young Master Yiran joining us? That is too wonderful!”

“Ning Le, I heard that you are only 15 years old this year. You must be an extraordinary talent highly regarded by Ning Mansion!”

It was normal for everyone to be surprised. If these outstanding Ning Mansion juniors decided to participate, then the most extreme possibility in their heart might be true. At the very least, there wouldn’t be any dangers.

The Ning Mansion juniors had light expressions. If they appeared here, that meant they had already been informed that this was the greatest secret of their people. After a moment of shock, now was the time to be proud and cocky. They faintly thought: ah, so our Ning Family was so epic…

They looked at the young cultivators chosen by the mansion. These people weren’t too bad, but they were unable to stand on par with them. They were doomed to be minor supporting characters.

Ning Yiran smiled warmly. He nodded towards everyone, looking like a genteel and kind youth.

Suddenly, a cold voice rose up behind him. “Is this fellow the Qin Ning that helped the mansion catch a thief, Alchemist Qin?”

To summarize someone like that, their words were filled with evil intentions.

Countless eyes gathered together. After a short surprise, they filled with joy.

They weren’t willing to provoke Qin Yu. But, the Ning Family cultivators clearly didn’t need to worry about this.

Hehe, to be torn down publicly, let’s see if this man can continue to remain so calm and stoic!

Ning Yiran’s eyes flashed. Right now, he should be preventing any breakouts from the Ning Family juniors, but after thinking about it a little, he decided to remain silent.

In the eyes of others, this was a clear signal that the Ning Mansion’s young master also disliked Qin Yu.

Then no one needed to have any scruples at all!

“Alchemist Qin found the thief and was recognized by the Mansion Lord, leading to him obtaining the qualifications to come here today. What incredible methods.”

“That’s right. I fear most people can’t be as decisive as Alchemist Qin.”

“Alchemist Qin has such a cool disposition; you must surely have great accomplishments awaiting you in the future. Perhaps I will need you to look after me at that time.”

The cold taunts came at him like an icy wind.

Most of those speaking were the young cultivators. Some of those came from the mansion, but not many.

Ning Yiran watched for a moment. There was no rebuttal; Qin Yu’s expression was light, as if he hadn’t heard anything at all. This was indeed the best method to deal with this. If he spoke up and argued, he would only receive more shame.

“Enough. Alchemist Qin is loyal to my Ning Mansion, so it’s natural for him to be rewarded.” Ning Yiran spoke out loud. As the future ruler of Ning Mansion, once he spoke, the courtyard immediately fell silent.

The middle-aged man emerged from the hall. “Come in.”

Ning Yiran took a deep breath, awe in his face. Behind him were the Ning Family juniors, and after that were the several chosen young cultivators.

Qin Yu tactfully followed from the rear so that no one would provoke him.

On the ground within the hall, a transmission array had been fully activated. Spiritual strength buzzed from the array formation, emitting a low hum.

“Follow me.”

The middle-aged man was the first to step in. The numerous youths behind him were startled before they became excited, and then they started to walk into the transmission array.

A dazzling light flashed around them. Along with the twisting of space, the figures of the people entering the array formation disappeared.

They could feel space tearing around them. But luckily, not long after, it disappeared and their surroundings brightened. What appeared in front of them was a beautiful valley. Sunlight sprinkled down from above their heads and the forests all around were lush and vibrant, filled with life. But what was strange was that besides the rustling of branches and leaves from the wind, the entire area was deathly silent.

Qin Yu subconsciously frowned; this valley was not normal.

His soul was incomparably powerful. He could faintly feel an invisible binding strength covering this place.

Unsurprisingly, it must be related to the Gold Noble Family. Could they live here?

Just as this thought appeared, the middle-aged man guiding them stepped into the valley. Soon, a pool of water appeared in front of everyone.

It was around 70-80 feet in size and in the shape of an oval. The water was so clear that one could see the plants growing within, but there were no fish or shrimp below the surface.

The middle-aged man took out an ancient jade from his chest and tossed it into the pool of water. Then, something amazing occurred. The pool of water began to violently tumble, as if it were boiling.

Next, a door appeared in the water. One could see through the door to what was past it.

There was also a mountain valley and a pond of water, both looking exactly the same like some inverted image. But, there were no people standing by the pond, so it couldn’t be a reflection.

Besides Ning Yiran, everyone revealed looks of shock. Even Qin Yu’s eyes brightened. Before this, he hadn’t discovered anything unusual with the pond. Could this be the methods of the Gold Noble Family?

How fierce!

The middle-aged man turned around. “You may enter now.”

Ning Yiran respectfully bowed. He was the first to enter.

Qin Yu still followed from the rear. As he stepped in, he looked back. He could see the middle-aged man still standing by the water gate, but his image was upside down.

With a wave of his hand, the ancient jade flew into his hand and the water gate vanished along with it. The pond became as normal as it was before.

But everyone knew that hiding within this pond of water was a great secret!

Hu –

Hu –

Two figures flew forwards, landing in front of the group. They were young in appearance, but their auras were shocking.

Golden Core perfection!

Another step forwards and they would reach Nascent Soul. action

Ning Yiran hurriedly bowed. “Outside Ning Mansion Ning Yiran greets both clan brothers!”

In the outside world, he was the lofty Ning Family young master, destined to inherit great status and authority.

But in the main family, he was nothing but a little outside junior with a tiny bit of skill.

His father had seriously urged him to be respectful and courteous; he couldn't have any arrogance.

Behind him, the chosen young cultivators who didn't know what was happening suddenly began to reveal looks of jubilation.

They were true! The rumors were true!

Across from them, the young cultivator on the left swept his eyes around and frowned. “These past years the people you’ve been sending in have been increasingly worse.”

Ning Yiran attentively bowed. “The outside has managed things poorly. I am willing to accept punishment.”

The young cultivator waved his hand. “This is a job for the External Affairs Elder; it’s not for me to bother with. Come and bring those people with you. We have other things to do.”

The two turned and left.

From beginning to end, the other person hadn’t spoken at all.

Ning Yiran’s heart relaxed. Those people had no intention of purposefully making things hard for them, but after thinking of his words, he couldn’t help but bitterly smile.

It wasn’t that the people chosen by the Ning Mansion weren’t good, but that there was too much talent in the main family. Indeed, in comparison they were a lot worse.

This was fact; there was no way to dispute it.

Qin Yu bowed his head, as if he were filled with awe and dread. But, his low-hanging eyes covered up his shock.

Looking around, there was a vast rolling wilderness, sloping mountain ranges, and roaring rivers; nothing seemed different.

But, everything was no longer the same.

With a deep breath, what he drew in was an extremely pure heaven and earth spiritual strength. It was several times richer than what was found in Immortal Eclipse Valley.

And, what shocked him the most were fluctuations coming from the little blue lamp.

These fluctuations spread from his great dao base. Then, in the depths of Qin Yu’s mind, an image appeared; it was a mote of light floating in the dark.

He knew that this mote of light was the place where he was.

No wonder that young man from Heavenseek Pavilion had said that the Gold Noble Family resided in the Southern Empire, but nowhere in the Southern Empire.

It was because this place was an independent spatial fragment!

This far surpassed Qin Yu’s knowledge. He never thought that such a place could exist in this world, and what was even more incredible was that the Gold Noble Family lived here.

Heavenseek Pavilion had called them one of the most formidable influences. Indeed, just the sight around him was enough to convince him.

Qin Yu didn’t dare to recklessly investigate. But, from looking around and making a rough estimation, he could extrapolate that this spatial fragment was around a fifth of the size of the Southern Empire.

This landmass was simply staggering.

Soon, human produced smoke appeared. They saw villages and cities, but the group didn’t stop until they came upon a mountain city. The reason they called it this was because the city was built completely like a mountain. The buildings at the base were dense, becoming more and more sparse as they went up. The higher one went, the larger the dwellings and the more luxurious the area. At the top, fog started to shroud the buildings, lending an ethereal fairy-like atmosphere to it.

There was still a distance from the mountain city. The two guiding youths landed on the ground. The one who spoke before was still the one to speak up this time. He pointed at a large stone in front of them, “This is Mountain Marking Stone. All juniors at Golden Core and below are forbidden from flying. You should remember this, otherwise if you provoke trouble in the future, it will be yours to deal with.”

As the leader, Ning Yiran cupped his hands together. “Thank you for the reminder, clan brothers.”

After passing the Mountain Marking Stone, no one slowed down. They soon arrived at a crowded building area at the base of the mountain.

Knocking on one of the courtyard doors, the young man speaking drew back a step. “Elder, Ning Feng is here to report.”

A moment later, the courtyard doors opened from the inside. A pale and baggy-eyed old man walked out. He had a listless and infirm appearance.

But many people were startled within. Awe rose in their eyes.

Nascent Soul…

Within the Southern Empire and Northern Dynasty, this could be considered a peak powerhouse. But here, they lived in small courtyards, as if they weren’t anything at all.

This sort of silent shock was even more impactful!