The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1538 - Black Demon Mountain, Poison Dragon Pool, Poison Dragon Flower?

Qin Qing smiled while nodding. She then lifted her wine cup and drained it. Her beautiful eyes brightened all of a sudden.

"This is the nicest wine I've ever tasted. The immortal brews of legends are only ordinary when compared to this." Qin Qing seriously spoke.

"If you like it, you can drink as much as you want."

"You brewed this yourself?" Qin Qing's beautiful eyes stared at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui thought for a while, then understood why she asked that question. This was because this wine couldn't be bought anywhere and he himself said that she could drink as much as she wanted.

Qing Shui simply smiled.

After drinking a cup, Qin Qing became more and more astonished as she looked at Qing Shui. "This isn't normal wine, it has the effect of cleansing one's spirit and washing meridians while improving one's foundations!"

"I have plenty of good items. I will gift some to you if you like." Qing Shui naturally would give items to her if she liked it. He wanted to give them to her before this but there was no appropriate occasion.

"Sister Qing, have we brought trouble to the Qin King Manor this time around?" Qing Shui could see that Qin Qing was worried.

"Nope!" Qin Qing smiled, but a trace of worry still flickered in her eyes.

Qing Shui could sense it but didn't probe further. She would tell him if she wanted to. It seemed like the Great Qin Dynasty wasn't as peaceful as what it seemed on the surface. There were not many people in the Qin King Manor but everyone was extremely powerful. Perhaps, they had inadvertently become a threat to someone.

….

The next day, Qing Shui and many members of the Qin King Manor sat together and had a meal. More than half of the experts in the manor were present. The old man and Qin Baifo were extremely happy, staring at Qing Shui with delight in their eyes.

When Qing Shui saw their smiles, he also felt a little more relaxed in his heart. The Qin King Manor was much more powerful that he imagined. Maybe they truly had no regards for the Gu Clan. When he thought of the Gu Clan apologizing to him, he felt that things weren't so simple.

Qin Qing was present as well. In front of her clan members, she was still as quiet as ever. Her nephews and nieces were all fond of this beautiful aunt. Qin Qing was very famous in Qin King City; everyone knew of her.

She was known as Fairy Qing, a beautiful and powerful woman. The number one in the youngest generation.

……

The matters between the Qin King Manor and the Gu Clan had temporarily quietened down. Qing Shui discovered that he has no other issues to attend to. He came here because of Qin Qing and now that her grandfather's issue was solved, he had nothing to do. His current relationship with her was more than good friends but still had not reached the level of lovers yet.

"Qing Shui, let me bring you to a place." Qin Qing led Qing Shui out of the manor.

"Where?" Qing Shui curiously asked.

"You will know once we have arrived." Qin Qing laughed.

…….

Black Demon Mountains!

Qin Qing brought Qing Shui to a mountainous region which had a chilly black fog permeating the atmosphere. "There are several treasures in the mountains, but this black fog contains a very strong poison."

Qing Shui thought of his Nature Energy and Area Dominance as he spoke, "I'm not afraid of poison. But are there any other dangers? I wonder if there's any good items in there?"

"I'm not sure exactly what treasures you would find. But it's extremely dangerous. We have to be careful." Qin Qing shook her head and replied.

The Black Demon Mountains were considered a forbidden ground because of the poisonous miasma that permeated the atmosphere. There would very rarely be people going in, but there would still be some. Qin Qing was one of those who had entered before and she had unintentionally discovered an ancient ruin which was filled with extremely dangerous demonic beasts. She hurriedly exited that place and didn't return ever since.

It has been over ten years since then. However, after she was acquainted with Qing Shui, she suddenly felt that there was a chance they could succeed if they explored the ruins.

"Take this, it can provide some protection against poison." Qin Qing handed Qing Shui a pearl. After taking out the pearl, a silvery bright light winked into existence, with a boundary of ten meters.

Poison Avoidance Pearl!

Qing Shui had a Water Avoidance Pearl before and had heard of Fire Avoidance Pearls, as well as the avoidance pearls of the other elements. To think that he actually encountered a Poison Avoidance Pearl now. This could be considered as quite a good treasure.

"What about you?" Qing Shui asked. He saw that Qin Qing didn't seem to have another pearl.

"My physique is unique, the majority of poisons wouldn't affect me. When I came by in the past, I didn't have a Poison Avoidance Pearl with me but I was completely fine."

"My physique is special as well. You'd better take this, just in case." Qing Shui returned the Poison Avoidance Pearl to Qin Qing.

Qin Qing didn't receive it, "Are you a chauvinist?"

"Am I?" Qing Shui stared at her in surprised.

"Yes. And it's a large portion of your character." Qing Qin spoke seriously.

Qing Shui turned red, "How do you know that it is indeed 'very large'?"

Qin Qing stared at Qing Shui's expression. Realizing what he was referring to, she blushed instantly, "You are such a bad egg!"

Staring at the pouting Qin Qing, Qing Shui laughed. He pushed the Poison Avoidance Pearl into her hands, "Look, actually I have a Poison Avoidance Pearl as well."

Qing Shui activated Area Dominance and a milky white halo of light surrounded them. The radius was even larger than the Poison Avoidance Pearl and its protection was even more thorough.

Upon seeing this, Qin Qing didn't insist. However, she couldn't help but smile in her heart at Qing Shui's reference earlier. Although she felt a little weird, she wasn't angry.

The two of them continued walking into the Black Demon Mountains. The entrance was very wide and a black poison miasma fog extended into the depths of the mountains starting from the opening. The black fog was so thick that it seemed like it was about to condense into droplets.

Although there weren't any strange smells that drifted out, the mere sight of it would make one halt on the spot. Unless one had special protective treasures, nobody was willing to take the risk.

The moment they got close to the black fog, they slowly repelled it and forced it away. When they walked into it, they discovered that the black fog wasn't as thick as it was before and its color had faded to a muted grey. Although their field of vision couldn't be considered wide, they could still see some distance ahead of them.

Perhaps it was because this place was the entrance that there was no danger to be discovered. The vegetation on the ground were all filled with toxins. The occasional bugs and worms seen were also those of the toxic variety.

Qing Shui didn't say anything, simply following Qin Qing as they headed deeper in.

The Black Demon Mountains were very large; the terrain was occasionally inclined, with many mountain paths that led to all directions.

"How quiet!" Qing Shui clicked his tongue as he commented.

Qin Qing turned her head back and smiled at Qing Shui. "What's the matter?"

"I'm thinking that if I'm a bad guy, what would I be doing here?" Qing Shui spoke seriously, a smile filled with devious intent on his face as he stared at Qin Qing.

"Oh, you will be lying here in a half-dead state." Qin Qing glared at him directly as she replied. Was this bad egg trying to tease her?

"Sister Qing, would people usually come here?" Qing Shui laughed and changed the topic.

"Very rarely, unless they wanted to collect some poisonous substances. There are some sects who are versed in poison that come here as well. This place is the home to many poisonous substances."

When he heard Qin Qing's words, Qing Shui was startled. He also needed poison substances. Glancing at his surroundings, he spoke, "I also need poison substances such as bugs and grass. However the toxicity level of the poison substances here seem to be a little weak."

"The stronger poison substances are all in the depths of this place." Qin Qing smiled and led the way forward.

Woosh!

A poison cat-like wild beast lunged towards Qing Shui. However in Qing Shui's perspective, it was just a cute little kitten. He stretched his hand out and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck easily.

It's body was yellow with white stripes, it also had a pair of large eyes that were currently flickering with fear, whining like a cat while in Qing Shui's grasp.

"Could you release it?" Qin Qing stared at the little cat beast in Qing Shui's hand as she spoke. Her tone was light and gentle, filled with pity.

Qing Shui now had a feeling that good looks made the world go round. This cat-like beast was extremely adorable from a certain perspective. Qin Qing must have felt sorry for it when she saw it being grabbed by him like that.

Qing Shui released the little cat-like beast. He smiled, "Sister Qing, are you being so nice because of how cute it looks?"

Qin Qing laughed, "Maybe? Well, looks do play a part."

Qing Shui smiled, "Yeah, just like you who can topple an empire with a single smile. The souls of men are all mesmerized, stolen away by your beauty."

Qin Qing shook her head, too lazy to continue bantering with Qing Shui on this topic. However, Qing Shui's words were aimed to say that she was beautiful, and she was very happy when she heard that. However, she didn't allow her happiness to show as she continued leading the way.

Qin Qing didn't show any clear signs, hence Qing Shui didn't dare to be too over the top with his actions.

"Mhm, Black Toad Grass?" After half a day, Qing Shui suddenly saw a jade-like black-colored grass moving in the surroundings.

This grass was something that grew on the back of a black toad. It was able to crawl, albeit at slow speeds, and emitted a black-colored light.

It was extremely poisonous and was a true spiritual grass.

Qing Shui stretched out his hands, preparing to take it away!

Qin Qing pulled him back abruptly. "This poison is extremely strong. Don't touch it directly with your bare hands."

"No problem, take a good look."

Qing Shui's hand suddenly started glowing. It was wrapped in a mist-like light as he directly absorbed the Black Toad Grass into the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal.

The Black Toad Grass belonged to a variant species of plant. It was classified as a kind of worm grass and was exceedingly valuable. One could choose to cultivate more of it too.

"In front of us is a group of poison snakes. There are poisonous bees in the air, so it's best that we do not fly." Qin Qing reminded. After continuing on, they reached the end of the mountain path and a deep pool could be seen. In it, snakes of a variety of sizes and colors could be seen swimming freely, emitting a cold poisonous light.

"This is the Poison Dragon Pool. There's a poison dragon hidden deep within it. It's best that we don't alert it." Qin Qing paused as she spoke to Qing Shui.

"Oh, there should be something good over here." Qing Shui spoke after thinking for awhile.

"Indeed there is, but nobody dares to claim it. The poison dragon here is no ordinary dragon."

Qing Shui knew that the strength of dragons differed a lot. The poison dragon here most probably couldn't be compared to the dragons he had killed before.

"Qin Qing, do you know what is the hidden treasure?" Qing Shui's heart itched. With the suppression effect of his Dragon Slaying Beast, he wanted to give it a try.

"The Poison Dragon Pool is said to be the home of a special type of flower named the Poison Dragon Flower." Qin Qing smiled at Qing Shui.

"Poison Dragon Flower? What is that?" Qing Shui asked with puzzlement on his face.