Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty)

Chapter 665

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AST 661 – Madam Duanmu, a.s.sistance

The young man trembled and told him everything, not daring to hold back anything. In the end, the old man’s brows started to furrow. In his fury, he killed the young man with his palm and looked into the distance with glaring eyes and clenched teeth.

“Elder brother!” at this moment, a few elders walked over.

“Let’s talk inside!”

&h.e.l.lip;

When Qing Shui and the three ladies rushed over to the Di Clan, they saw someone. It was a lady Qing Shui who unexpectedly didn’t know how to face.

Madam Duanmu!

Qing Shui had never expected that she would come. They had just met a few days ago, but to Qing Shui, it seemed to have been a very long time ago. Most importantly, Qing Shui had not expected her to come again.

She was having a chat with Di Qing’s mother. A graceful and poised lady would always be the center of attraction. Madam Duanmu’s disposition and charms were unrivaled.

The last time they had said goodbye, it had been very emotional for Qing Shui. Now, Qing Shui could easily tell by using his spiritual sense that her cultivation level had reached the Grade Nine Martial Saint level. Qing Shui realized that his spiritual sense seemed to have become stronger after he had grown stronger.

A strength of 4800 countries!

After sensing Madam Duanmu’s strength, he was astonished. He had not thought that their "cultivation" last time would have made her so much stronger.

After thinking about it, Qing Shui noticed a pattern. Women tended to get the greatest benefits when they go through Duo Cultivation for the first time. Another factor that should be considered was the lady’s potential as well as her cultivation.

The benefits that Qing Shui had received from Madam Duanmu were tremendous. At the same time, she had gained even more out of it. This was how Duo Cultivation was. Qing Shui was amazed by Madam Duanmu’s strong physique as it was comparable to a lady like Canghai Mingyue, who had appeared on a Portrait of Beauty.

After seeing Qing Shui, Madam Duanmu’s expression turned a little unnatural and her gaze became a bit flighty. However, Qing Shui and the three ladies walked up to them very quickly.

“Aunt Ruyan, you’ve come.” Di Chen said happily.

Both Di Qing and Yuan Su also greeted Madam Duanmu happily. After all, they knew how strong she was. A strong expert joining them at this juncture made them very happy.

“Madam, you’ve come!”

In fact, Qing Shui was not very calm either but he still greeted her with smiles.

“Mmm, you guys have come back.” Madam Duanmu calmed down and smiled at Qing Shui and the others.

The three ladies left after giving their greetings. Qing Shui and Madam Duanmu were friends, and amongst those present, he was the closest to her. Therefore, the job of receiving Madam Duanmu naturally fell onto Qing Shui. Moreover, Qing Shui couldn"t be considered an outsider in the Di Clan. Not only was he the husband of the Di Clan’s Young Miss, he would also play the most important role in the upcoming "Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death". Everyone’s lives were placed in his hands.

“Have you been well?”

Qing Shui asked casually but after saying this, he could feel that it was impossible for them to go back to how they were before. Now, there was a strange feeling between the two of them.

This strange feeling between them could as easily send someone down a wrong path as much as a right path. It could even cause a barrier to be formed between people, turning them into complete strangers.

Madam Duanmu smiled and nodded, “Mmm, have you been well too?”

“Mmm, I’ve been well! Why have you come here today?” Qing Shui knew that Madam Duanmu was also trying hard to make it seem as if they were the same as before. He did not dare to meet her gaze too much either.

Qing Shui knew that he was selfish. After that incident with Yu Ruyan, there were things that couldn"t be forgotten so easily. But so what if he couldn"t forget them? No matter if he could or could not, it would just be adding on to his troubles.

Hearing Qing Shui’s words, Madam Duanmu was stunned for a slight moment before she quickly recovered. “How can I not come when this has happened? If something were to happen to you, how am I going to answer your family members?”

Madam Duanmu smiled and said although she was feeling a little messed up.She did not even know why, but after the previous time, she had thought of keeping away from Qing Shui from and not meet him anymore.

However, she also thought that it was unfair to Qing Shui. What had happened previously was not his fault. After one had attained Xiantian, one would be able to have a very long life. It was very normal to come across things that one had no control over. Therefore, Madam Duanmu decided not to try and not think too much about it. However, it was still very hard to do so, to the extent that she didn’t know how to not think about it.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I feel bad to keep troubling you.” Qing Shui knew that his words earlier were not really suitable and he quickly apologized.

“Earlier, I had a chat with Mister and Madam Di. You’re the one planning out for the "Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death; with three people partic.i.p.ating, including yourself. Qing Shui, can you include me as well?” Madam Duanmu asked.

“Madam, let’s go over there and have a seat!” Qing Shui pointed to a pavilion at the side and said.

“Mmm!”

Qing Shui did not know how to face this poised lady. Moreover, Qing Shui did not wish for her to take part in this battle either. He felt that he would be affected if he did.

“Madam, this time around, the partic.i.p.ants for the "Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death" has already been decided. Senior Di will be representing the Di Clan, Old Madam Mo is the strongest out of all of us here, and thus would need to join. You know that the techniques that I have been cultivating have its use in this battle. Madam, this time around, we’re up against the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. Therefore, we need to keep our guards up.” Qing Shui gave it some thought and said.

Madam Duanmu turned silent. Sitting opposite Qing Shui, she lowered her head slightly.

The two of them sat in the pavilion, with only a stone table between them. Qing Shui could smell her familiar fragrance. It was an indescribable scent, slightly stronger than a mild scent. It was a graceful and alluring smell.

“Qing Shui&h.e.l.lip;”

Madam Duanmu seemed to want to say something but ended up not saying anything.

“Madam, I understand your kind intentions. Madam is just thinking of paying back an act of goodwill many times over. It’s the same for me. I’m extremely thankful. Back then, Miss Duanmu had met me due to fate. I had never thought that we would be able to meet again.” Qing Shui said.

“That’s right. Fate is really a strange thing. It can let many things and more happen between complete strangers. However, there are also times where it leaves people feeling helpless.” Yu Ruyan said softly, her expression seemed to be slightly disappointed and distressed.

At least now, when looking at this lady with a great appearance, Qing Clan could tell that she was actually very lonely. It wasn"t easy to support a big clan like the Duanmu Clan alone.

After so many years, she hadn"t been able to meet a person she could share her deepest thoughts with. She must have a lot of things she wanted to talk to others about but she hadn"t met a person she could speak up to.

“Is Madam still blaming herself? Everything was my fault. I don’t know what to say to you.” Qing Shui felt that she had yet to move on from that incident.

“No. I’ve said it before that I don’t blame you. If I did blame you, I’d rather choose to die. You’ve saved me. I should be thankful to you. Now that you’re in trouble, how can I not come to help?” said Yu Ruyan as she feigned casualness.

“Madam, erm&h.e.l.lip; Have you thought of getting married again? I’m just making an a.s.sumption&h.e.l.lip;” Qing Shui took a great effort to say this. He didn’t know why he had said this either.

Hearing Qing Shui’s words, Madam Duanmu seemed shocked as she gave him a weird look, “Why do you ask?”

“Madam is still young and you still have a long life ahead of you. After Miss Duanmu gets married in the future, won’t you feel very lonely? Could it be that Madam Duanmu is really thinking of growing old by yourself like this?” Qing Shui asked slowly, feeling very hesitant. After all, the questions he had asked were all hard to answer.

Madam Duanmu kept quiet for a while before she raised her head to look at Qing Shui. “I don’t know. I don’t think about these things either. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have remained single all this time. In the future, if Lingshuang were to find her fated partner, I’ll stay in the Duanmu Clan if they do. If they don’t, then I’ll just leave. I’m tired too. In fact, I’ve already started to let go of some of the things in Duanmu Clan. I just don’t know if they’ll be able to keep it up. I’ve already done my best.”

“In the future, if you were to feel lonely, come to Qing Clan. It’ll become a home to you as well.” Qing Shui gave it some thought before speaking, his tone was very calm.

Yu Ruyan looked at Qing Shui in a daze. She didn"t know what Qing Shui meant by this words, nor did she see any hidden meanings he had intended to convey. However, her heart palpitated from his words.

Previously, she gave it a lot of thought. Now, her heart would beat faster just from the thought of it. She gave Qing Shui a complicated look.

“Thank you. If that day really comes, I’ll consider it.” Madam Duanmu said softly, seemingly a bit disappointed.

“Madam, cheer up, don’t think too much. When women are in a good mood, they’ll become even more beautiful. Madam has both talent and looks as well as a beautiful daughter which would make others go green with envy. Although you have some regrets in life, no one lives a perfect life. Sometimes, slight imperfections is a beauty in and of itself.” Qing Shui smiled and looked at this graceful and poised lady who gave him a familiar feeling.

“I understand your kind intentions. There is no need to be worried about me. I’m not that frail. You’re better off focusing on dealing with this trial you’re facing.” Madam Duanmu smiled and stood up.

Looking at Madam Duanmu as she departed, Qing Shui felt very complicated. After all, Madam Duanmu was different from that lady from the Feng Clan. Even that lady, Qing Shui hadn"t been able to completely forget her. However, it was a trade and even though the Qing Clan had forced himself to forget her, he would still think about her occasionally.

Shaking his head, Qing Shui decided not to think too deeply into it. Just like what Madam Duanmu had said, he’ll have to deal with this trial before him first. As for the other things, it’ll have to be left and dealt with in the future. Maybe a good solution would appear even if he didn’t think too hard about it.

When evening arrived, the people from the Nian Clan had arrived, including Nian Feng and his grandfather. It wasn’t just them. Even Qianyu Dingjun had come. However, Qianyu Qingqing, Qianyu He, and the others didn’t come.

Although Qing Shui didn’t tell them, he still felt very happy to see that they’ve come. His opponents had formed an alliance between five clans and now there was an alliance between Di Clan, Alchemist Sect, Duanmu Clan, Nian Clan, and the Qianyu Clan, they could approximately stand on equal grounds now.

Most importantly, under these circ.u.mstances, he knew that they had come because of him. Qing Shui now knew that they were friends he could trust. They dared to come forth for him, giving up many other things. There were even those who hadn"t even planned on leaving alive.

This was what made Qing Shui felt very moved. However, there were also those who came because of other reasons. After all, Madam Duanmu and her daughter were indebted to Qing Shui since he had saved their lives. It was the same for Qianyu Dingjun’s daughter.

These were people who knew to return favors, even at the risk of their own lives.

AST 662 – Poison Beast Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee

Qing Shui exchanged some pleasantries with the attendees. In the end, all of them were once again gathered in the big hall, mainly to discuss the number of battle partic.i.p.ants. Many of them wished to add another two partic.i.p.ants. After all, Qianyu Dingjun, Nian Feng"s grandfather, and Lady Duanmu were all famous and powerful figures.

Nian Clan and Qianyu Clan had rushed here this time because they wanted to help care of Old Demon Ba. However, they didn"t make it in time for that. Instead, they made it in time for this Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death.

Lady Duanmu should have gotten word of this fight before she had returned to the Duanmu City and had probably made her way back in the middle of her journey.

Qing Shui carefully reconsidered his options. In the end, he still decided to stand firmly with his own opinion in having three partic.i.p.ants to take part in the fight. If the opponents were five Grade Ten Martial Saint cultivators, it"d be useless even if they had two more people. If the opponents were only one or two Grade Eight or Nine Martial Saints, then Qing Shui had the confidence to immediately kill them.

The others didn"t say anything about Qing Shui"s firm decision. But in the end, he still yielded to Qianyu Dingjun with a smile. The grandfather and grandson duo of Nian Clan were left out to keep an eye, in case the Thousand Poisons Sect had some other things going on.

Currently, Qing Shui only entered the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal after midnight so he was especially free after dinner. He was sitting side by side with Di Chen in her room while they chatted leisurely.

This was also the first night they had spent time alone at the Di Clan. Tomorrow would be the last day before the "Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death". Qing Shui leaned back while he sat and held one of Di Chen"s hand contently.

"Aren"t you in the least bit worried?" Di Chen turned her face to the side to look at Qing Shui who was next to her. Although she wasn"t very sure about their relations.h.i.+p, she was already acting so close to Qing Shui as though she was "chasing him" and was already certain of her relations.h.i.+p with him.

"Worried about what? There"s no use in worrying as it"s better to think about how to survive instead. I want to be able to go sightseeing with a beautiful thing like you. Then we can make lots of babies. Life will be very good." Qing Shui said lightly and laughed.

He really wasn"t that worried anymore after his strength had increased tremendously. He had his trump cards and he felt like he could still handle things even if his opponents were a little stronger. However, he still needed to be tread carefully around potential dangers and risks.

"You"re still in the mood to spout such nonsense?" Di Chen huffed in annoyance as she gave Qing Shui a light punch.

"I am not spouting nonsense. You are my wife, isn"t it normal to have children with you in the future? I"ll leave it up to you to decide how many we should have though. So how many do you think we should have?" Qing Shui chuckled.

"What children? If you keep up with this nonsense, I"ll ignore you," Di Chen rolled her eyes. She was speechless at Qing Shui but deep down her heart, she was still very happy.

This man was only reserved in front of her in the past and he was quite uptight. Although he was only teasing her now, it was still a great improvement because he had opened up to her emotionally. Or maybe that was also a kind of gain in confidence. He had more confidence in unknown things.

"Alright, alright. I am not spouting nonsense. I am being serious." Qing Shui daringly pulled her into his arms by her waist.

"Don"t be naughty and don"t move. Otherwise, I will really ignore you," Di Chen said frantically. As soon as she was startled, she already found herself in Qing Shui"s arms.

"So I can only look but not eat. Let me touch&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;:"

"Don"t move!" Di Chen reprimanded.

Qing Shui stopped moving. Just embracing her was a special enjoyment itself. He could feel her smooth and resilient skin through her thin layer of clothing, especially that fine rear that he yearned for. It was full and round but not too large. It was also perky but not overly so. Those marvelous curves of excelling nature were not only pleasing to his eyes but they also shook him to his very core.

His hand had somehow "accidentally" ended up underneath her beautiful rear when he had pulled her into his arms. He was currently lost in the pure ecstasy that shot up from his arm.

The ecstasy was bone deep and soul stirring. That kind of sensation could only be felt but not conveyed in words. This was because no one would be able to completely put this feeling into words.

"Embracing you makes me feel very tranquil, satisfied, happy and proud. I hope you can be the happiest woman in this world, but I don"t know what to do," Qing Shui said gently in a serene voice.

"I am very happy right now. Happiness has no standard measurement, it is simply a type of feeling. Just like how not having to worry about clothes and food would be a great happiness to a beggar. However, if a tyc.o.o.n suddenly becomes a peasant, he would be so grieved that he"d wish he was dead. Some people are very happy although they may not look like it to the others. I don"t have anything more I could possibly ask for, even now. I"m very happy and feel very blessed." Di Chen said as she leaned her beautiful face against Qing Shui"s chest.

"Do you know how I felt when I saw peerless beauties like you all in the past?" Qing Shui looked at Di Chen who was in his arms with a smile while looking slightly rueful.

"Oh? Tell me. I"m quite curious," Di Chen lifted her head up and smiled. She seemed like she was genuinely interested.

"So it seems like there are also times when your interest is piqued. How rare."

"Cut it out, it"s not like I"m some sort of divine being."

"But you are a divine being in my eyes. A G.o.ddess&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;"

"Alright, hurry up and tell me. Stop changing the topic." Di Chen speechlessly gave Qing Shui a glare.

"When I saw peerless beauties like you in the past, I never imagined that I could interact so closely with them like how I"m right now. In my mind, I felt like they wouldn"t speak with or come into contact with normal people&h.e.l.lip;.."

Di Chen gave Qing Shui a perplexed look. She was clueless about what Qing Shui was trying to say. She waited until he was done before saying slowly. "I don"t think I am able to catch what you are really trying to say."

"This isn"t important. Anyway, I find it hard to believe that a girl like you would want to marry me. I didn"t expect you would be attracted to me&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;."

"Who is attracted to you? How shameless of you." Di Chen got up from Qing Shui and huffed. "I"m going to rest. You may stay in the study room for tonight."

"Why don"t we stay together in the bedroom? We can even have a chat at night&h.e.l.lip;."

"Dream on!"

Qing Shui watched smilingly as Di Chen left because she didn"t know how to deal with him. He had also felt that she was unconsciously changing over time. The smiles on her face had become more frequent and she had also gained the emotions that a girl should have. Sometimes she would act spoiled, sometimes she would be very adorable&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;

After sitting for awhile in the living room, he walked towards the study room. There weren"t many books in the study room. Qing Shui had skimmed through them before but he hadn"t found anything interesting so he had never touched any of them after that.

The Realm of Violet Jade Immortal!

Something felt different the moment he stepped into the realm but he couldn"t quite put his finger on it. He didn"t let it bother him too much either, but he was soon dumbstruck.

It was the Jade Emperor Queen Bee. It had surprisingly turned pitch black and its body size seemed to have shrunk a lot compared to before. However, its abilities had reached the Martial Saint level.

Jade Emperor Queen Bee at the Martial Saint level&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;

Qing Shui pensively glanced towards the porcelain bottle that contained the Poisonous Dragon Pearl. He discovered that the porcelain bottle was already empty and there was no sight of the Poisonous Dragon Pearl anywhere. Needless to say, the Jade Emperor Queen Bee must have eaten it.

Right at this moment, he could feel an intense sinister cold qi exuded from the Jade Emperor Queen Bee. Qing Shui couldn"t help but scan it with his Heavenly Vision Technique, in hopes of gleaning some useful information out of it.

Jade Emperor Poisonous Queen Bee: Mutated species. Evolved from swallowing a Poisonous Dragon Pearl. Expert in flight and poison attacks.

The information he got was very little but he at least had a rough idea on what had happened now. He was also able to confirm that the bee had eaten the Poisonous Dragon Pearl. Most importantly, Qing Shui didn"t expect that this Jade Emperor Queen Bee would be able to successfully gobble up that Poisonous Dragon Pearl without being poisoned to death and without exploding from the Poisonous Dragon Pearl"s burst of energy. It was indeed an unexpected success on its part and this had also proven that the Jade Emperor Queen Bee had a very decent apt.i.tude. The rewards from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal seemed to be truly formidable.

Qing Shui"s spiritual sense had also improved by leaps and bounds after this breakthrough. He could sense a lot of more things that he couldn"t previously.

Summoning the Jade Emperor Queen Bee, or more like the Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee now, it arrived in front of Qing Shui in just a short while. Compared to before, it looked as if it was fully armored. The pitch black scales gleamed coldly as they exuded a freezing aura.

He was unsure if it was because his abilities had gained a tremendous increase but he felt that his bond with the Emperor Jade Queen Bee was even stronger than before. He then tried to make the Emperor Jade Poison Queen Bee perform a few simple attacks.

At the same time, Qing Shui also checked out the abilities of the Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee.

Gale Speed!

This was an ability of the Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee which could instantaneously boost its speed. Although it wasn"t as absurd as the Diamond Gigantic Elephant"s Instantaneous Diamond Evasion, it was superior in terms of its duration as the effect could last for a very long time.

Poison Pierce!

A poison attack that could make the opponent feel dizzy and uneasy. A weak cultivator could immediately die from it.

Poison Killer Sting!

The killing technique of bee-species demonic beasts. By shooting out the poisonous needle at the tip of its tail, the toxicity could be raised by two-fold and the penetrating power was exceptionally strong. Ordinary armors and s.h.i.+elds wouldn"t be able to withstand this attack. With its astonis.h.i.+ngly high speed, not many people could evade this poisonous sting attack either.

Queen Bee"s Command!

The Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee was the champion among bee-species demonic beasts. Not only could it command all the other bee-species demonic beasts within a radius of 30 li but it could also breed the next generation of poisonous bees as well as to command the swarm of poisonous bees to attack.

A Martial Saint level Poison Beast. On top of that, it was a King Grade Poison Beast that was an expert in flight. It had also gobbled up a Poison Dragon Pearl. Qing Shui had never expected things to turn out like this. He had only thought of using the Poison Dragon Pearl to increase the toxicity of the poison beings around it. He would never feed the Poison Dragon Pearl to the Jade Poison Queen Bee on his own accord no matter what. If he were to do that, it was possible that he would not only lose the Poison Dragon Pearl but the Jade Emperor Queen Bee as well.

He had gained another powerful demonic beast. On top of that, it was a King Grade Poison Beast that could continuously breed Poison Beasts. Given some time, the Jade Emperor Poison Queen Bee that led an innumerable number of poisonous bees would become something that could not be underestimated. After all, it was a Martial Saint level Poison Beast.

With this, the odds of winning the "Fight of the Ultimate Life and Death" became a little higher again. Qing Shui had a hunch that this Jade Emperor Queen Bee wasn"t something that could be compared to ordinary poison beasts.

Taichi Fists!

Qing Shui began to practice his Taichi Fists within the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. He must refine and harmonize the tremendous power increase within this short amount of time. This was the only way he could bring his strength to its peak.

Other than resting, Qing Shui would also take some time to refine the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb. He had added the "crystals" produced by the "Crystal Lions" this time around. Adding these crystals to poisons could double their toxicity. He then used the "crystals" to refine the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb. His remaining time was spent on practicing his Taichi Fists.

Time slowly pa.s.sed. Qing Shui was completely wrapped up in his cultivation in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal as he integrated the tremendous energy into his body little by little, trying to make it become part of himself.

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