Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty)

Chapter 731

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AST 750 – Kill, A Little Interlude

The next day, the party gained a beautiful girl. Qing Shui introduced her to Cang Wuya and the others, and she introduced herself as Ye Yan. Although a few of them didn"t understand why Qing Shui brought a girl back, they still had a friendly conversation with her. They even asked her a lot of questions.

Perhaps it was because Cang Wuya had a benevolent appearance, the girl seemed to especially trust him. The smile on her face increased so much that Qing Shui could tell the girl seemed to be relieved.

"Grandpa Cang, is the Greencloud Continent very far from here? Are there many fun places there?" The girl spoke with Cang Wuya during the entire journey, asking all kinds of questions.

Qing Shui only smiled quietly. This girl seemed to be very quick-witted. From the conversation, he gathered that she had been living here for two years all alone by herself. In the beginning, she still had some money and even sold some jewelry to support her living for a period of time. A while after that, her life gradually declined to the current situation.

She didn"t explain why her situation had turned out like this. Qing Shui and the rest didn"t probe her for an explanation either. Since they also didn"t know where to go for the time being, they figured they might as well send her home.

"Grandpa Cang, I have deceived you all. Please leave me here, or else it"ll be impossible for you to escape as well." The girl suddenly spoke up shortly after they took off on the Fire Bird.

Qing Shui smiled. This girl was indeed a kind one, so she definitely wouldn"t bring them all in harm"s way.

"Girl, we knew you had stories that you didn"t want to tell. We didn"t force you either, but can you please tell us now? If it"s within our capabilities, we will definitely lend you a hand," Cang Wuya laughed serenely.

Qing Shui had already told them what happened between him and Ye Yan. Cang Wuya was wise for his age, but old people tended to be softhearted. Although he knew it was going to be troublesome, he still wanted to see if he could do anything to help.

"I was brought here by force. It"s been two years and I am unable to return because they wouldn"t allow me to. I managed to escape, but they couldn"t find me even after they sealed off every route. If we keep going, they"ll definitely find us. That will get you into trouble too. You are all good people, so you should just leave me here now and go." Ye Yan gave them a brief explanation. There was a deep display of helplessness and struggles in her words.

Although her explanation was simple, Qing Shui still caught on to some useful information. At least he had a rough idea on the girl"s situation now. She was obviously caught in the middle of a power struggle.

"Can you tell us what you know? Maybe we really can help you out." Qing Shui offered after thinking for awhile. He really didn"t want to get involved in troubles again, but his heart turned soft when he saw how she had no one to rely on, just like how he was back then.

Ye Yan nodded when she saw the sincere look on Qing Shui"s face, "I am not from Wolf Fang City. I lied earlier because I was afraid that you would be one of them. I am from the Ye Clan of Southern Sea City. My elder sister is in charge of the Ye Clan as of now. Some people among the clan wish to overthrow my sister, but none of them can rival her. So they joined forces with the Wu Clan of Deep Sea City to coerce big sister by forcefully taking me away. They took me to Wolf Fang City, but I was lucky. In their carelessness, I sneaked into a truck and came all the way to Tianyuan City. They already know I am here, but I am small and have been keeping a low profile. I didn"t even dare ride on any rented beast carriages. So just like this, I"ve been trapped here for two years."

The Ye Clan of Southern Sea City, the Wu Clan of Deep Sea City, the Wolf Fang City and the Tianyuan City. It seemed like this Tianyuan City belonged to the Wolf Fang City, but this Tianyuan City was at the northernmost part of the Southern Viewing Continent. Needless to guess, Qing Shui was pretty sure that the Southern Sea City would be around the southernmost part.

For a girl who wasn"t actively engrossed in cultivation, the travel distance of an entire continent was indeed not a small one. On top of that, there were people trying to stop her. However, Qing Shui wasn"t too worried now because their strength would definitely not surpa.s.s the Ye Clan. Otherwise they wouldn"t resort to such despicable methods.

Furthermore, they came all the way here. These people of Wu Clan were very far away from their old nest, so eliminating them here would definitely not be any problem. As long as Ye Yan returned to the Ye Clan, that Wu Clan would definitely be in trouble.

"Is the Wu Clan very powerful?" Qing Shui asked with a smile. Qing Shui was relieved. It seemed like this wasn"t too much of a problem. Perhaps helping this girl might end up benefiting him.

"I"m not too sure about this, but they seem to be afraid of big sister," the girl answered after thinking for awhile.

"Then, is your sister very strong?" Qing Shui continued asking the girl.

"Yes, my big sister is very strong, and others think so too. She is also very famous in the Southern Sea Country," Ye Yan said after thinking.

"Do you know who Tantai Xianzi is?" Qing Shui couldn"t think of anyone else off the top of his head for comparison.

"The Tantai Aristocratic Clan. There"s no one who doesn"t know who Tantai Xianzi is. At least for the southern part of Southern Viewing Continent, most people know who she is. Legend says that she has the physique of a celestial, and possess a beauty comparable to that of an immortal," Ye Yan chuckled at Qing Shui.

"So compared to your big sister, who is stronger?" Qing Shui wondered.

"The Ye Clan cannot be compared to the Tantai Clan. I have never met Tantai Xianzi. Though in my heart, my big sister is the most beautiful, wonderful and powerful person," Ye Yan said with a broad smile.

Qing Shui laughed too, "Uncle will bring you back to the Southern Sea City. I shall slay whoever stands in our way. When we arrive to the Southern Sea City, you have to tell your big sister good things about us so she can put us under her protection."

Ye Yan was in a shock because these people were still willing to help her despite knowing the truth. She couldn"t believe the whole thing, since people would"ve cast her away by now under normal circ.u.mstances.

Her eyes quickly reddened as she stared at Qing Shui blankly. She forgot what she wanted to say and tears started to roll from her eyes.

"Why are you crying again? We"re bringing you home to see your big sister. Don"t you miss her?" Qing Shui reached out to ruffle her little head.

How could she not miss her big sister? The pain of missing her every day was so terrible that she"d rather die. She had been living in the torment of wanting to see her sister so badly that she wished that she was by her side every single day.

"Thank you, uncle," Ye Yan said while tugging on Qing Shui"s sleeve. Her grip on his sleeve was very tight, as if fearing that he would run away.

They were about to reach the Tianyuan City"s gates. Although Flying mounts were not restricted by the city"s gates, it seemed like two smaller sized flying beasts had quickly soared into the sky.

Ironback Azure Hawks!

"Oh no, Uncle! Those people on the two Ironback Azure Hawks are from the Wu Clan. What do we do now?" Ye Yan was as anxious as an ant on a hot frying pan. Her face paled.

Qing Shui was going to jokingly tell her that he"d give her up as exchange for money, but he changed his mind. He pat the hand that was gripping on his sleeve instead, "Don"t be afraid. With Uncle around, no one can take you away."

It was Qing Shui"s first time being called uncle. For his age, it wasn"t exactly incorrect for him to be addressed as uncle. In any case, he was already calling himself one.

Four middle-aged men stood on the two Ironback Azure Hawks. A smile broke across their faces as soon as they saw Ye Yan, but it was quickly replaced by a frown when they realized that there were others riding on the back of that divine and gigantic Fire Bird.

"Sirs, please hold!" One of the middle-aged men said politely.

The other Ironback Azure Hawk left with lightning speed instead.

Qing Shui calmly looked at the remaining two men, "You"re from the Wu Clan, right? I"m a.s.suming your comrades went off to get reinforcements?"

The two men weren"t too surprised either. After all, Ye Yan was with them and she knew they were from the Wu Clan. So they quickly laughed along. "We are from the Wu Clan of the Deep Sea City. Sir, you are&h.e.l.lip;?"

"You don"t have to know who we are. Why are you standing in our way? You think I am easy to be picked on?" Qing Shui laughed playfully.

"Oh, not at all. Good sir, I am just wondering about your relation with that little miss," The man replied humbly, knowing very well that one should stay humble when trapped in an inferior situation.

"Why? Do you guys have any intentions towards my niece?" Qing Shui suddenly raised his voice.

"She"s not your niece." Just then, a rough voice thundered from a distance. A gigantic Scarlet Centipede flew over here with a tall, strong and healthy-looking elderly man standing on its back.

The man was fully dressed in silvery-white simple garbs. Despite his old appearance, his sharp aura was not in the least bit dulled. Qing Shui grinned when he saw the elderly man.

No matter who that elder man was, he only had the strength of a Martial Saint beginner!

Actually in the World of the Nine Continents, any Martial Saints were well respected, even the weakest ones. Furthermore, Martial Saints weren"t very common. Although, this kind of a Martial Saint wasn"t capable of withstanding even a single blow from Qing Shui now.

"Are you from the Wu Clan or the Tianyuan City?" Qing Shui gently inquired the elderly man while gradually exerting his pressure at the same time.

Since he was a newcomer, he didn"t have any intentions of attracting too much attention. So he"d choose to not use violence for solving issues that could be resolved without the use of force.

"It doesn"t matter if I am from Wu Clan or Tianyuan City. Leave that girl here and I shall let you all go," the elderly man told Qing Shui firmly.

Qing Shui was startled. It seemed like this elderly man didn"t notice anything about Qing Shui. He must have seemed too young. He didn"t even put Cang Wuya and the rest in his eyes.

As for Fire Bird, there were too many mythical beasts that were gorgeous looking, yet very useless. As soon as he saw Cang Wuya and the rest, he had opted to disregard the Fire Bird as well as Qing Shui.

Screech!

"Out of my way!" Qing Shui who was too lazy to talk further shouted at the elderly man across him.

It was his first time meeting such an inexperienced person. Didn"t he sense the aura the Fire Bird was exuding? Or was he just being arrogant?

"Uncle, this elderly man is from the Cai Clan of the Tianyuan City. They were one of the biggest clans in the Tianyuan City. Maybe they got a great offer from the Wu Clan," Ye Yan whispered softly.

Qing Shui shook his head. The more you didn"t want to provoke something, the smaller the chance you could avoid them. They were at the Southern Viewing Continent. It was no big deal if they murdered someone, since the foundation of their clan wasn"t set up here.

"Hmph. You are the first in Tianyuan City who dare to speak to me like this, brat! How reckless of you." The elderly man brandished the sabre in his hands and immediately lunged towards him.

His action rendered Qing Shui extremely speechless. Wasn"t he seeking death? Since things had turned out this way, it was unnecessary for Qing Shui to talk any further. As soon as his right hand moved, a light flashed around his sleeve.

Chi!

The elderly man, who was a few metres away from Qing Shui instantly stopped dead in his track. A Silver Needle pierced in between his eyebrows. The nine inch long Silver Needle penetrated through the elder"s brain. Both of its ends were visible as it completely pieced though his head.

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AST 751 – Wolf Fang City, The Divine Wolf Hall , Yet Another Shrine?

Pu pu!

Qing Shui"s sleeve consecutively fluttered a few times. A few people instantly died on the spot. The Fire Bird then spread its wings and flew towards the south and disappeared into the distance almost instantaneously.

Ye Yan had been gripping tightly on Qing Shui"s sleeve all this time. Her little face was flushed from excitement, because she knew that she had finally found the right person. She had looked for so many people over the past two years, but none of them were willing to help her. She also didn"t want to bring trouble to the others. She couldn"t escape and had been trapped in Tianyuan City for two years just like this. It had been almost three years since she left her sister"s side.

Three years. It was hard to imagine what kind of life she had been through, as well as her anguish and yearning.

But now, she knew she had found someone who could help her. She was so excited that she didn"t know what to do. All she knew was that she had to grab Qing Shui tightly.

Fire Bird"s speed was very fast, but the few of them were s.h.i.+elded by a middle prominent bone of Fire Bird. In addition, they weren"t able to feel the wind"s intensity from their spot due to the way the Fire Bird flew. However, the howling of the wind was still quite terrifying. Fortunately, Qing Shui was there to s.h.i.+eld Ye Yan, so it wasn"t a problem.

Qing Shui had gotten quite skillful in killing cultivators of Martial Saint level by now, he could now do it without much effort. Besides, this was only a cultivator of Martial Saint beginner level.

No one chased them from behind. Fire Bird"s speed was quite decent and Qing Shui had nothing to fear either. This was the northernmost part of the South Viewing Continent. They were heading towards the southernmost part of the South Viewing Continent.

Based on the terrain and some rumors, the South Viewing Continent was stronger towards the southern side. The truly powerful clans were situated around the Southern Sea area. It was much like the Greencloud Continent, which was weaker towards the west. The Hundred Miles City was situated at the westernmost part of the Greencloud Continent and was also one of the weakest cities on the continent.

Qing Shui wasn"t the least bit worried. This Cai Clan of the Tianyuan City shouldn"t be too much of a problem. He felt that they were men of very bad character so he killed them without sparing a second thought.

"Grandpa Cang, Uncle&h.e.l.lip;thank you." Ye Yan expressed her sincere grat.i.tude to the few of them. Tears streamed down her cheeks again within an instant. She wasn"t as emotional as this before.

"Why are you crying again?" Qing Shui quickly comforted her.

"Aside from big sister, you"re all people who treat me best," Ye Yan wailed with her red eyes.

The Wolf Fang City!

When they pa.s.sed by Wolf Fang City three days later, Ye Yan let Qing Shui know about their location. Stopping by wasn"t in Qing Shui"s plans at first, but he decided to stay for a meal and let the others clean up and get changed after hearing that they were at Wolf Fang City,.

The Wolf Fang Country was famous due to a Wolf Fang Divine Artifact. Legend has it that this place wasn"t initially known as the Wolf Fang Country a long time ago. A Divine Beast, the Nine-Headed Moon Wolf appeared here. After it died, a legendary craftsman obtained a fang from its main head. He then spent a hundred years to forge a Wolf Fang Dagger out of it. However, no one currently knew where this Wolf Fang Dagger was. Instead, the Wolf Fang Country was pa.s.sed down as a name.

A Divine Artifact. Qing Shui couldn"t help but to yearn for it too. Divine Artifacts and Supreme Treasures were objects that cultivators in the World of the Nine Continents yearned for the most, since they had no restrictions. Even a False-Divine Artifact had usage restrictions. The Thunder G.o.d that Qing Shui obtained required the strength of a few thousand countries to use.

However, Divine Artifacts and Supreme Treasures had none of those restrictions. They could also offer an extremely powerful protection effect. This meant that while one was in the state of absolute defense, all damage would be negated. Of course, there was a limit to this negation. However, the Divine Artifacts would be able to at least render the strength of peak Martial Saint and below ineffective. It could also launch powerful attacks. With a Supreme Treasure and a Divine Artifact in possession, even an ordinary person could obliterate a cultivator of peak Martial Saint level and below. This was provided if he was under that state. After the state vanished, he would revert back to an ordinary person.

The Wolf Fang Dagger was definitely a powerful existence. It was a shame that no one knew whose hands it had fallen into, since it was an ancient tale. Divine Artifacts and Supreme Treasures were simply too scarce. It was very rare to hear anyone possessing a Supreme Treasure within a continent.

That woman from the Tantai Aristocrat Clan seemed to be in possession of one. Qing Shui couldn"t help but to think that the woman was indeed fortunate. This had immensely strengthened the Tantai Aristocrat Clan once again.

Wolf Fang City appeared to be a little more lavish compared to Tianyuan City, it was a more boring and frivolous place. They were able to sense the Bell Spirit and grace of the Southern Viewing Continent here. Everything here also seemed to be slightly spiritual in nature.

"Yan"er, are there any fun or famous places in this Wolf Fang City?" Qing Shui asked. He was searching for an inn to have their meal.

"I"m not too familiar around here. But the Wolf Fang Mountain comes into mind whenever Wolf Fang City is mentioned. Legend has it that the carca.s.s of the Nine-Headed Moon Wolf was buried there." Ye Yan answered with a smile after thinking for a moment. She seemed to be so much more cheerful now than before.

"Oh, the Wolf Fang Mountain?" Qing Shui laughed. This name was too familiar to him, what a coincidence. Then again, this had nothing to do with the Wolf Fang Mountain in his previous world.

"That"s right. Do you want to visit there, Uncle? Look, it"s the tallest one," Ye Yan pointed through the open windows of the restaurant and towards the hazy mountain silhouette in the distance.

"Let"s eat first. We can wait until tomorrow to explore with everyone." Qing Shui didn"t think that it was a bad idea to have a look around that place. If he was lucky enough, he might even find a Wolf Fang to be used as a forging material.

"Uncle, are you trying your luck in finding the Wolf Fang?" Ye Yan laughed.

"Cough cough, of course not. Eat your food, little girl," Qing Shui was a little embarra.s.sed to be seen through like this. This idea was after all, a little too naive. Even Qing Shui himself thought that it was impractical. Even if there were any Wolf Fang, it would never be his turn to discover it.

As soon as he entered the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal that night, The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable immediately leapt onto his shoulder and squeaked. It seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

Qing Shui was speechless. The Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable had eaten quite a number of the poisonous things in the realm. It has even eaten the ones that he had repeatedly warned it not to eat in order to avoid the calamity that would befall on the things in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal.

Those things might just be valuable items to his future cultivation or forging!

The Soulshake Bell hadn"t levelled up for a very long time. It seemed to have hit a brick wall this time. Even so, Qing Shui continued to refine it everyday. When this thing got more powerful, he will be able to dispatch his opponents" demonic beasts within an instant if he was lucky.

The Demon Binding Ropes seemed to have increased by one realm again. This made Qing Shui extremely happy. It was too bad that it would level up slower towards the end. Qing Shui could afford to wait though, he was content as long as there was hope rather than being left in a limbo.
&h.e.l.lip;.

The next day, after their morning practice and breakfast, the group immediately got onto the Fire Bird and head out for the Wolf Fang Mountain.

"Yan"er, have you been to the Wolf Fang Mountain?" Qing Shui stood on the back of Fire Bird and questioned Ye Yan, who was standing on one side.

"Nope." Ye Yan shook her head.

Fire Bird"s speed was incredibly fast. The Wolf Fang Mountain was already in their sights. The mountain was covered by lush vegetation, overrun with weeds and vines. The endless stretch of green pine trees and green bamboos made for a very beautiful scenery.

The Wolf Fang Mountain was very tall. It could be considered the highest mountain range around this area. The Fire Bird landed slowly on the summit of the Wolf Fang Mountain. This place was very famous, but Qing Shui honestly failed to see anything special about it.

He could make out the silhouettes of people who were ascending the mountain in the distance along the very long stone steps, which went all the way up to the summit. This place had became a tourist spot, but the spot that Qing Shui landed at was much more secluded.

The Divine Wolf Shrine!

An enormous Divine Wolf Shrine sat on the summit. It was also the only building on the entire Wolf Fang Mountain. This place was visited by a lot of people daily, but most of the visitors were armed with weapons and cultivation. It was impossible for ordinary people without cultivation to ascend this Wolf Fang Mountain.

"Since we"re here, let’s go have a look at the Divine Wolf Shrine," Qing Shui said cheerfully.

Fire Bird landed on a spot not too far away from the Divine Wolf Shrine and was then put away by Qing Shui. Their group followed everyone else towards the Divine Wolf Shrine. However, Qing Shui had an odd feeling when the Divine Wolf Shrine came into his view.

A shrine?

Qing Shui couldn"t shake off the odd feeling as he followed the others into that enormous Divine Wolf Shrine. The place was a little familiar to him. Qing Shui was dumbfounded as soon as he set his foot inside.

It was a shrine!

Qing Shui was immediately struck dumb by the familiarity and the faint oppressive aura. Although it was a different statue from before, there was a towering statue of a Nine-Headed Moon Wolf&h.e.l.lip;.

A familiar pressure&h.e.l.lip;.

This was a pleasant surprise to Qing Shui. He didn"t expect this Divine Wolf Shrine to actually be a shrine. It was his third time discovering a shrine. He had received great benefits previously when he"d stumbled upon two other shrines. The only difference this time was that many people knew about it too. He wondered if there was still something valuable left in here.

He s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the bottom of that gigantic Nine-Headed Moon Wolf statue and got extremely excited, since he saw a familiar box.

The immense pressure kept everyone from advancing any further. Even Ye Yan was affected by it. The oppressive aura from the previous two statues didn"t affect people without any cultivation. He was uncertain if it were the same case in this shrine.

Many people tried to approach the Nine-Headed Moon Wolf statue, but most of them gave up completely after just a few steps. Some were trying to use stuff like hooks. As soon as the iron hooks were thrown out, they were crushed in midair. This greatly discouraged many others from any further attempts.

"Forget about it. There was once a peak Martial Saint cultivator who tried and he could only make past two-thirds of the distance," someone sneered at the persistence of those people.

"No one stronger came?" Someone asked curiously.

"A stronger one? A few peak Martial Saints came, but do you think peak Martial Saints are cabbage sellers? How many peak Martial Saints have you met?" The person from earlier shot back at the person who questioned him disdainfully.

The person who asked that question immediately left with his tail between his legs!

The people here came and go. Qing Shui pondered for a moment and decided that he would leave as soon as he got his hands on the box. He immediately released a big swarm of Jade Emperor Bees. The air around them was instantly filled with buzzing noises that could make one"s blood run cold.

"Poisonous bees!"

"RUN!"

The crowd immediately left the Divine Wolf Shrine in chaos. Each and every one of them scrambled to escape outside. After all, every single Jade Emperor Bee was about a few metres large and they were of Martial King level. It was especially terrifying to see a several hundreds of them.

"Uncle, let"s escape!" Ye Yan called out to Qing Shui in panic.

"Everything is fine, don"t be scared!" Qing Shui a.s.sured her with a smile. He then slowly made his way towards the Nine-Headed Moon Wolf statue. That familiar oppressive feeling felt quite pleasant to him. It bestowed a warm feeling on Qing Shui.

With his previous experience, Qing Shui was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence. He had Thunder G.o.d on his left hand. The increase of one-fold strength allowed him to advance a little further.

He flung the Demon Binding Rope that was tied to a special metal chain.

It binded that box and he managed to pull it forward slightly before he had to repeat the same thing again&h.e.l.lip;.

The Demon Binding Ropes that had broke through another level of realm seemed to be able to keep its target bound a little longer. At least, this held true for objects that weren"t living. This had saved Qing Shui a considerable amount of time.

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