Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 384 – Sacred Lake

Light flashed all around him. When his field of vision was restored, he saw a pair of angry eyes ferociously glaring at him with annoyance. As he saw the purple marks that hadn’t yet faded from his face and the large boulder on the ground, it wasn’t hard to guess what had just happened.

Qin Yu revealed an awkward expression. He cupped his hands towards this native and said, “Sorry, sorry, it was an accidental injury, completely accidental.” He swept his eyes around. The vegetation at the bottom of the canyon was lush and prosperous and the spiritual strength in the air was much richer than in the outside. There were even blue skies and white clouds above. Giant rocks and timber formed buildings that extended down into the depths of the canyon. There was a vast, uncountable number of natives living here.

This was clearly within the canyon. The only thing that left Qin Yu feeling a bit relieved was that this wasn’t a danger zone but a giant region where a native tribe lived. Still, as he thought about how he was dragged in here even when he was careful, he felt a bit helpless.

“Humph!” The native that was unluckily struck in the head by the boulder suddenly roared out in anger. His expression was vivid and excited, but Qin Yu couldn’t understand anything he said at all. In this situation, he didn’t need to be a genius to know that nothing good was being said of him.

Qin Yu could only haplessly stand to the side and repeat his apologies again and again.

At this time, another native cultivator spoke, a strange string of syllables coming out. The roaring native suddenly stopped talking, a depressed look on his face. He seemed to understand now that no matter what he said, Qin Yu still wouldn’t be able to understand him.

“Human outsider, I am a brave warrior of the titan race, Tusen.” This native was unexpectedly able to communicate with him. Although his words were a bit halting and strange-sounding, they were still understandable.

It was good that they could communicate. Qin Yu feared they wouldn’t be able to understand each other and in the end they would only come to resent each other. While he wasn’t scared of wandering through the Infinite Realm and encountering someone alone, here in this native tribe he could be beset upon and beaten down by hundreds upon hundreds of tribesmen at any given moment. This was a considerably heavy psychological burden.

“Brave warrior Tusen, how do you do? My name is Qin Yu. I accidentally intruded into your tribal land. If possible, please allow me to leave.”

Tusen had a cold expression. “Human outsider, tell me, just what did you use to find our tribe?”

Qin Yu’s heart chilled. His intuition told him that he absolutely could not reveal anything related to that half disc. He put on a confused expression as if he were at a loss, “I inadvertently entered here. I thought this canyon was a bit unusual so I wanted to check it out. I never imagined your tribe would be located here.”

The last bit was true. In addition to how sincere Qin Yu was, although Tusen was a bit suspicious, he still believed most of it. This was because their tribe was the best-hidden one in this entire broken world. Their undisturbed peace for all these years was the best proof of that.

But today, on their tribe’s most important day, two groups of outside humans had arrived; this seemed a bit too much of a coincidence…while Tusen hadn’t encountered human outsiders before, he had communicated with other tribes and learnt that most human outsiders were cruel and merciless, crafty and despicable. According to his normal personality, he would have thought it better to kill off this human than to allow the position of their tribe to be revealed. But now…the Totem’s will could not be violated. Even if he were a powerful warrior of the tribe, he still couldn’t offend it.

“Human outsider, consider yourself lucky. Follow me!” Tusen turned and walked deeper into the tribe. A cold smile lit up his face. Although he couldn’t kill him, these human outsiders all had thin and frail bodies. It was simply impossible for them to withstand the test that the Totem gave them. Sooner or later, he would become fish food.

Qin Yu had a stunned expression. He really wanted to test his luck and ask if he could simply leave. But as he swept his senses around, he noticed the gazes of several powerful natives staring at him and he swallowed his words.

At the very least, they didn’t directly attack him, so this wasn’t a worst case scenario. Moreover, looking at Tusen’s meaning, they weren’t thinking of attacking him any time soon. If they did, even if Qin Yu had three heads and six arms he still wouldn’t be able to escape the storm of fists raining down on him. This being the case, he might as well go with the flow and see what happened.

The place they were just at could only be considered an outpost near the entrance of the tribe. Now, they approached the genuine gates of the tribe. Even though these were the gates, there was no one standing guard. Thinking about it, no one should dare come here to act unruly.

Tusen’s legs were long and every step he took caused the ground to gently shake. He walked towards the tribe, not slowing down his pace at all. Qin Yu wasn’t slow or fast. He didn’t seem to be walking too quickly, but he easily kept pace. But the moment he entered the tribe, his pupils shrank and shock colored his face.

The natives didn’t cultivate magic power or comprehend rules, so they didn’t cover up their auras at all. The instant he stepped into the tribe, Qin Yu instantly sensed 13 terrifying blood energy fluctuations. The weakest amongst them was similar to a vicious beast from ancient times. As for the strongest…

He subconsciously looked up towards a wall in the canyon that had a cave carved into it. The blood energy fluctuations emanating from there was simply unimaginable. The intensity of these fluctuations was dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than his King step Demon Body. It felt as if this native could easily grind him to dust with nothing but a single finger!

Body training cultivators all had rough and simple fighting techniques. But as long as they could obtain the upper hand, they were often an enemy’s greatest nightmares. Beneath their iron hands, any technique would disintegrate into nothing. And facing the violent storm of attacks, one could only stubbornly endure until they broke down and died. And when it came to Qin Yu and these natives, it was no longer a simple advantage, but an overwhelming difference.

Tusen turned his head and coldly glanced at Qin Yu, every look a warning.

He wasn’t surprised that Qin Yu could discover their great priest’s position. These human outsiders always had numerous tricky methods.

But this was also good. With the great priest’s aura suppressing them, even that powerful boy from the last group of humans that came was frightened to the point of not moving. This human likely wouldn’t think of playing any games either.

And as he expected, as they walked along the road, the human boy behind became much more honest and humble. When the other tribesmen pointed at him, he simply lowered his head and pretended he didn’t hear anything.

Tusen revealed a look of smug satisfaction. But in the next moment, his expression darkened. Even someone as powerful as the great priest could only hide away in their tribe; where was the future of the titan race? Thinking of this, Tusen’s complexion became increasingly ugly and his aura increasingly cold.

Qin Yu frowned. This large fellow had been so happy and satisfied, so why did he suddenly reveal an expression as if he had eaten excrement? Luckily he remained silent so that Tusen didn’t have a chance to vent his anger.

The titan tribe was large and the place they seemed to be headed was all the way on the other side of the tribe. Qin Yu swept his eyes around, carefully remembering this tribe.

A group of titan children curiously followed behind Qin Yu. Although they were called children, they were already the same height as he was. When they pushed and shoved each other, the ground would quietly tremble. Even with their na?ve features, each one could easily tear apart a tiger.

This titan race might only cultivate the body, but this strength in itself was horrifying enough.

Suddenly, Tusen turned and angrily shouted, “You little brats, screw off! If you keep following, I’ll paddle each of you 12 times!”

Bang –

The crowd of little titan children behind revealed looks of horror. They vanished without a trace.

Tusen eyed Qin Yu and coldly snorted, continuing to lead the way. But only a short moment passed before he came to a stop. A giant lake appeared in front of him. And what was startling was that the water of this lake was completely black, as if it were formed from ink.

Right now, standing at the side of the great lake, there were a number of adult titan men and women. There were even some that had lowered themselves into the lake and were vigorously trying to swim towards an island at the center of it. The titans possessed potent mortal bodies and every action and movement they made was incredibly powerful. But the titan men and women in the lake seemed to be straining themselves as they swam. When they splashed around, the waves wouldn’t rise too high. It was like the black waters of this lake were particularly heavy.

“Tusen, how come you brought another human outsider here? Didn’t they go in just now?” A titan sitting on the side of the lake asked as he gasped for breath.

Tusen said, “He just broke in.” action

This caused many titans to reveal looks of surprise. But since the great priest didn’t warn them then there shouldn’t be a problem. They soon relaxed again.

Many copper bell-like eyes looked at Qin Yu.

“This boy is thin and emaciated and his aura is small and weak. If he enters Lord Totem’s lake, all that awaits him is death.”

“Hum hum, the bodies of these human outsiders are all thin and weak. Even if they managed to join today’s grand event, there is nothing they can do to change their ending.”

“Hurry and toss him in! Let us all have some fun!”

Although Qin Yu couldn’t understand what these titans were saying, their mocking eyes and jeering tones still caused his heart to feel heavy.

Tusen coldly said, “Human outsider, you intruded into our tribe so you should have been killed. But, you arrived on the day that Lord Totem opened the sacred lake. We all honor Lord Totem and obey his will that all life forms may enter the waters of the sacred lake. This is your chance to survive. As long as you can reach the center of the lake, you will be allowed to live. But remember, if you cannot withstand it, all that awaits you is death.

“Now, down you go!”

Qin Yu had an ugly complexion but he didn’t hesitate too much. He took a deep breath and dove into the great lake.

He simply had no choice. If so, he might as well just do it.

Puff –

With a dull thumping sound, there was nearly no splash of water. A terrifying weight came rushing in from all directions, stubbornly crushing Qin Yu and causing his complexion to change.

Within this black lake, every drop of water was as heavy as a thousand jins. Falling in was the same as having a mountain attached to his body. If he didn’t want to sink down, all he could do was furiously paddle his arms and legs, but every movement he made was extremely difficult. Qin Yu finally realized why those titans in the water were having so much trouble keeping themselves afloat.

And what was most terrifying was that within these lake waters, his magic power was sealed. He couldn’t even use his soul force! All he could rely on was the strength of his body.

Qin Yu looked down towards the depths of the lake. Though it was still black, he could faintly make out black shadows rapidly swimming below. While he didn’t know what these shadows were, he believed that the answer wouldn’t make him feel happy.

If any other Divine Soul cultivator fell into these black lake waters, they might only be able to last a short period of time before they were sucked down. But Qin Yu was different. He had a King step Demon Body and in terms of pure bodily strength, he was also astonishingly formidable.

So, he soon slapped against the black lake waters and stabilized his body. This surprised the titans watching from the shore. They all revealed startled looks.

Qin Yu didn’t have any intention of caring about what they thought. His hands and feet moved and he rushed towards the center of the lake. Tusen had been clear in what he said just now: he could only live if he reached the island at the center of the lake; otherwise, all that awaited him was death. The Demon Body’s strength was limited. He needed to treasure every ounce of strength he had within him to succeed.

At this time, the advantages of Qin Yu’s smaller body were displayed. Compared to the titans, he withstood far less pressure and his speed was much faster. He soared straight towards the island.

“Tusen, this human outsider seems to come from a body training background?” A titan asked with a worried look.

Tusen sneered, “Even if he comes from a body training background he still cannot reach the island at the center of the lake! Only our titan race’s strongest brave warriors can accomplish this!”

“Right, right, he will soon learn that the Totem’s opening of the sacred lake isn’t as simple as this!”

“Soon, the fish in the sacred lake will have more food!”