The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 822 - Towards Flowerfruit Mountain

After half a month, Qing Shui prepared to leave.

The people from the Qing Clan merely made a token attempt at stopping Qing Shui from leaving. They knew that Qing Shui had his own matters to attend to, hence they didn't excessively urge him to stay. However, he constantly carried his own children around. With both Qing Ming and Qing Yan having learned to call out father and mother. Their baby voices made him reluctant to leave.

This time round, he did not mention a specific time that he would be back as even he was unsure when that would be.

"Lass, let mommy carry you, daddy has things to do." Shi Qingzhuang smiled as she went over to carry Qing Yan who was in Qing Shui's arms.

What made Qing Shui happy was that the little lass refused to let go of him, causing Shi Qingzhuang to not know whether to laugh or cry. After a round of coaxing her, Qingzhuang at last managed to carry the little girl over.

This time, only a few of the girls sent Qing Shui off. Canghai Mingyue, Shi Qingzhuang and Mingyue Gelou didn't. Yiye Jiange, Wenren Wu-shuang and Huoyun Liu-Li stood on the back of the Fire Bird along with Qing Shui.

The place where Qing Shui wanted to go to was Flowerfruit Mountain. He decided to head there to examine the place once again and to conveniently visit the underwater palace at the bottom of the lake to see if he could help awaken the woman in the crystal coffin.

"Qing Shui, let me go with you." Huoyun Liu-Li looked at Qing Shui.

"Wait for a while longer. Currently, I'm not strong enough to bring you guys. Very soon, as long as you wish to go, I'll bring you guys along wherever it may be." Qing Shui smiled as he looked at Huoyun Liu-Li.

"You always lie to us, it's the same every time." Huoyun Lou-Li pouted, but she wasn't angry. She understood that things were not easy for Qing Shui. Furthermore she knew that he was fighting for survival, his own as well as that of the Qing Clan and the Heavenly Palace.

"You must be careful, we're still counting on you. When you're back, I'll agree to anything you want." Wenren Wushuang grinned as she looked at Qing Shui, her gorgeous face showing a slight blush.

"Wu-shuang can no longer endure it." Huoyun Liu-Li looked at Wushuang with a teasing look as she revealed a cunning smile.

Yiye Jiange was silent the whole time. Her expression was tranquil to the point that even Qing Shui was unable to grasp any fluctuations in her feelings.

"Hehe, then I'll need to come back earlier." Qing Shui licked his lips and smiled at Wenren Wu-shuang.

Wenren Wu-shuang lowered her head, her face turning scarlet.

……

"Alright, head on back. Don't need to worry about me." Qing Shui saw that half a day had already passed, and made them rush back to the Qing Clan before dusk.

"Qing Shui, be careful," Huoyun Liu-Li whispered as she hugged Qing Shui.

"Alright, I know, don't worry." Qing Shui replied as he smiled and patted her back.

After that, Qing Shui hugged Wenren Wushuang. However, he didn't say anything, only hugging her tightly before letting go. After a moment of hesitation, he walked up to Yiye Jiange.

"I'm leaving!"

"Alright, pay attention to your safety." Yiye Jiange smiled gently, her beautiful eyes were filled with much concerns.

Qing Shui nodded his head and hugged her gently. He could feel both his and Yiye Jiange's hearts beating really fast at the same time. When he realized her heart was beating fast as well, he calmed down instead.

"We've already been husband and wife for such a long time, yet you still feel so nervous," Qing Shui whispered softly at her ear.

Upon hearing Qing Shui's words, Yiye Jiange softly embraced Qing Shui and relaxed her entire body. At this moment, Qing Shui felt her body pressing tightly on his.

Qing Shui really meant what he said. After the incident with Di Qing, he recalled that in the past she did not allow him address her as master and she also didn't object to small intimate moments between them. Why would a girl like her let him take advantage of her to such an extent? Even now, the close contact they had also illustrated a problem.

At the very least, he was currently greatly superior to other men. All along, he was unable to have a clear grasp of how Yiye Jiange felt. But when they both felt nervous at the same time, that proved that the both of them really cared for each other.

……

Qing Shui waved his hand and left on the Fire Bird, leaving only Yiye Jiange, Wenren Wushuang and Huoyun Liu-Li. They watched until the Fire Bird disappeared into the distance.

"Sister Jiange, he is a moron when it comes to the affections between men and women. Are you sure you want things to stay this way? At that time, I was also the one who thickened up my face and……" Huoyun Liu-Li blushed when she was asking Yiye Jiange.

"We'll let nature take its course. In the past, even though I didn't make it clear with what I said, he should still be able to understand what I meant," Yiye Jiange said with a smile.

"But it seemed like he was enlightened today."

"He is the timid type. He is lustful yet he never dares to confess it. Just like with Sister Jiange, if she doesn't make it clear to him, I doubt that he would ever confess his feelings. He feels inferior. If it had been in the past, I think he wouldn't even dare to hug her," Wenren Wu-shuang continued on with a smile.

"

"That's true, no wonder Wu-shuang seduced him just now."

"Liu-Li, if you continue saying that about me, I'm going to slap your bum." Wenren Wushuang said, embarrassed.

……

Qing Shui had already flown toward Flowerfruit Mountain for three days. Other than the time spent in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he spent the rest of it hurrying on. The Fire Bird was a few times faster than before. In addition, by using the Nine Continents Steps daily, he was really fast.

He had already covered half of the journey in merely three days. Currently, he had already entered the center part of the wilderness. But normally, this place wasn't really that dangerous.

Every time Qing Shui was rushing through his journey, he would feel that the speed of his mount was really slow. The World of the Nine Continents was too large, causing him to spend almost all his time on the road. From one continent to another, the time needed to travel past a continent was immeasurable… Undeniably, the amount of expenses and energy needed to travel faraway was enormous.

Compared to before, Qing Shui felt that things were slightly better now. It was just that his Nine Continent Steps have not improved, if not, he would feel even better. That was, if the Nine Continents Steps Effect was really able to travel past a continent in one go…...

After three days.

Qing Shui looked at the boundless Flowerfruit Mountain and sensed the familiar aura. It still had the familiar powerful energy contained within it. There weren't any presence of Martial Saints in Flowerfruit Mountain. A Martial Saint expert would still be able to suppress the strength of a Peak Martial King.

Upon entering it this time, Qing Shui felt something different. When the enormous pressure approached him, some of it was blocked by his Nature Energy and he managed to recover roughly 10% of his strength.

10%?

At present, Qing Shui's strength was around three and a half stars. He tried to sense it and realized that he was actually able to execute nearly four thousand countries of strength.

。

He was still a Martial Saint expert on Flowerfruit Mountain. In fact, he could be considered a highly-ranked Martial Saint expert and was a lot stronger than some Chieftain Level beasts. This made Qing Shui wonder if he would be able to break off from those limitations if his Nature Energy upgraded a few more levels.

In any case, this was a good thing. This has enabled him to become the strongest presence within Flowerfruit Mountain. Generally, he could easily kill his opponents by merely using the Emperor's Qi and Heavenly Talismans.

Because some of the Heavenly Talismans lowered the opponent's strength by using his own strength as the standard. For example, the Binding Talisman, merely one Binding Talisman was already able to make Peak Martial King Demonic Beasts slow like snails.

A Body Securing Talisman was able to lock the opponents in one place, the same thing could also be done with the Demon Binding Ropes.

Even though a lot of his methods weren't effective when facing Peak Martial Saint experts, against opponents with strength of this caliber, not only would they work perfectly, the duration of the attacks lasted would also become longer.

After rushing for a day, Qing Shui found a hilltop and took a break. He took the chance to enjoy the scenery there. When in nature, the power of scenery was huge. Beautiful scenery could attract one's attention to the point they might become obsessed with it.

The power of nature was boundless. Cold, warmth, thunder, storm, hail, volcanoes…..

Ming-ming…...

A sharp chirping noise sounded. Qing Shui lifted up his head only to see a flock of White Jade Wind Eagles in the distance. They were about ten meters long and were skilled in flying. They were Grade One Martial King demonic beasts that moved in groups and there were roughly eight hundred of them.

To a Martial Saint or Peak Martial Saint, the White Jade Wind Eagles were really fragile. However, this was Flowerfruit Mountain and there wasn't any Martial Saints present. When faced with eight hundred Grade One Martial King demonic beasts that specialized in speed, even a Peak Martial King would still choose to retreat.

Qing Shui was different, due to his Nature Energy, he could use his high-ranked Martial Saint strength. Hence, he didn't pay any attention to the White Jade Wind Eagles that were approaching him.

Ming…...

A sharp and loud chirping noise resounded. A restless White Jade Wind Eagle suddenly charged towards Qing Shui and attempted to scratch Qing Shui with its enormous claws.

"Reckless!"

Qing Shui extended his hands and immediately caught its enormous claws. After that, he pulled the eagle backwards before violently thrusting forward. This was the strength of Taichi, just that Qing Shui modified it slightly, swapping part of the gentleness with ferocity.

In just a short while, the innards of the White Jade Wind Eagle were totally destroyed. The difference in strength was too large. By merely swinging his hands, he has already killed his opponent.

Perhaps due to Qing Shui killed one of the White Jade Wind Eagles, the entire flock went mad and they haphazardly charged towards Qing Shui.

Qing Shui slowly closed his eyes. In an instant, everything in the surroundings appeared clearly in his mind.

Taichi Cloudhand!

Taichi Single Whip!

Qing Shui swiftly thrust out his palm. It was so dazzling that it would only make people gasp in amazement. Short and miserable chirping noises resounded igniting the bloody nature of the White Jade Wind Eagles, as long as they were still breathing, they would continue to attack madly.

Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too large, each time Qing Shui executed a move, he would kill one of them. Besides, Qing Shui was still able to fly even in Flowerfruit Mountain, making his body even more agile.

Eight hundred was not be a small number but when in front of an expert, it's just a piece of cake. In the end, the number of White Jade Wind Eagles that escaped was less than a hundred. Qing Shui left shortly after.

Previously, he was only focused on practicing the coordination of his Taichi Fist and mind. But now, it wasn't advisable for him to continue staying in this place. Although he wasn't afraid of running into demonic beasts and his safety was guaranteed, he didn't want to be involved in meaningless fights. Although there wasn't any Martial Saints in Flowerfruit Mountain, yet such situations had appeared. Hence, he still felt that it was better to be more careful.

Within Flowerfruit Mountain, Qing Shui didn't summon his mount and simply used his Cloudmist Steps, treating it as practice. He swiftly moved forward and adjusted his Qi to a state where he could conserve the most energy.

This time, he managed to find Goddess Peak very easily. It still had the same appearance. The only difference compared to the previous time was that last time, he rode Fire Bird here, but he flew here by his own strength this time round.

Qing Shui stood at the side of the lake, not entering immediately. Finally, he gritted his teeth, taking out a few Water Repelling Pearls before jumping in. With much ease, he appeared at the bottom of the lake and entered the area containing the palace at the bottom of the lake.

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