Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 608 – Treasure map, Duanmu City

“Sir Qing Shui!”

When the man saw Qing Shui, he respectfully greeted him!

“You are?” Qing Shui looked suspiciously at this likable man. This man did not seem weak, more importantly, he gave off a feeling that he had hidden strength. For he had a confidence that exceeded even what those old men who were past their prime had, this was a man that possessed leadership skills.

“I am Zhe Haoxuan, we are currently at the Wang Clan. I came especially today to pay a visit to Sir Qing.” The man smiled at Qing Shui, he was neither servile nor overbearing, but he was very respectful.

This was respect given to someone strong!

“Oh, the Wang Clan, that was fast.” Qing Shui thought of the words Madam Duanmu once said; he did not think that it would come to fruition so soon. Qing Shui could not help but smile, he actually enjoyed seeing this kind of scenario.

“Haha, Sir Qing destroyed the foundation of the Wang Clan, this is not considered fast. Haoxuan adores sir and respects him. I came today to pay my respects to you as well as to express my gratitude.” The man’s bright eyes expressed his sincerity.

“I let the Wang Clan off yet you took advantage of that, aren’t you afraid that I will take action again?” Qing Shui calmly looked at the coarse man, although he was slightly older, he was still in the prime of his life. In the World of the Nine Continents, such a person would still be considered a youth, many of whom have not even married yet.

“Sir would not do so, if Sir wanted the Wang Clan, he would have gotten it long ago. We have already prepared everything in the Wang Clan, and I am here to invite Sir to check on them.”

“Haha, although the Zhe Clan may seem slightly inferior to the Wang Clan in the past, but with you around, it still has the potential to grow. You can keep those things, I am happy that the Wang Clan met its end at your hands, I hope you can bring the Zhe Clan to greater heights.” Qing Shui said after thinking for a little.

“Many thanks to Sir Qing, I, Haoxuan, hereby swear that if Sir has any needs in the future, the Zhe Clan will do all they can to assist.” Zhen Haoxuan looked at Qing Shui and said seriously.

Although this was not a very severe vow or even a vow with any serious consequences, Qing Shui was very happy. Qing Shui did not believe in such vows, just like the friends that the Wang Clan made, who would care about him when he gets into deep trouble.

Humans are emotional creatures, and there is a saying that in order to obtain, one must pay a price. Some people would truly risk their for another person, and they would strive their utmost and even offer their life in sacrifice. Such people usually fall under the following situations.

One situation was a person being forced, this is the so-called death soldiers. They had their weak points grasped by others, such as the lives of their family.

The other situation was those people who are willing to do such things for others, including giving up their life. These kind of people normally had a great gratitude towards another, such as the gratitude for one saving their life, the gratitude of patronage, the gratitude of one assisting in a difficult time……

Thus, Qing Shui was happy with what this man said, if he mentioned something like he was willing to go through fire and water for him or offer his life in sacrifice, Qing Shui would be disgusted. This is because Qing Shui felt that it would be hypocritical, after all, he did not give him anything that would result in him to want to do anything like that, neither was he his death soldier. One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions!

“Good, I will remember this, if there is anything that I can help you with, I will not decline either.” Qing Shui smiled at the man, regardless of his appearance here or what he had done, it had already been of help to him.

There was some stuff that was best for him to not take initiative in!

“Many thanks, and Sir Qing, this is for you, this is the best item in the Wang Clan, I wonder if it would be able to catch your interest.” The man took out an embroidered box and gave it to Qing Shui.

Qing Shui received it with a smile, for with this they can be considered as friends with each other; thus he needed to accept it.

“Sir Qing, I shall take my leave first, I will come again to visit in the future, the Zhe Clan’s doors will alway be open for Sir.” Zhe Haoxuan bided Qing Shui goodbye.

“Then I shall not keep you any longer, take care!”

After the image of Zhe Haoxuan disappeared from the door, Qing Shui took the embroidered box to his room. After he spoke to Madam Duanmu the last time, he now knew the large difference between the Martial Saint Grades.

Especially for the strength required for a Grade 6 Martial Saint or higher, the difference was very large. As for peak Martial Saint, Qing Shui did not even know what kind of realm would it be in.

How could it be so easy to have a footing in the Central Continent, or the World of the Nine Continents, to be able to stand at the apex. Qing Shui thought of the Buddha Sect that Elder Ge mentioned, or even the great sect of the Northern Sacred Lu Continent, the Lion King’s Ridge.

Qing Shui can now be considered to be a Grade 5 Martial Saint, but his future path was still long and dangerous

Even the weakest power in the Seven Stars Country, the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord, had the strength of a peak Grade 5 Martial Saint. Although by using the tyrannical Emperor’s Qi he could defeat a Grade 6 Martial Saint, if there were a Grade 7 Martial Saint, Qing Shui could not be so certain of the outcome.

The level of the cultivators in the Duanmu Clan is not something Qing Shui can go against, he originally thought that he would have the ability to preserve his life in the Central Continent, but he now realized that it also depended on who he met.

Only when one reaches a certain level of strength would one be able to come in contact with a previously unimaginable level of strength, something they could not imagine of in the past.

Qing Shui, who had returned to his room, opened the embroidered box.

“A treasure map!”

Although it was folded very neatly, Qing Shui could tell with one eye that the thing in the embroidered box was a treasure map. Others might not know, but Qing Shui knew that this hidden treasure map is one of the best items.

He had obtained his Emperor’s Qi from a treasure map, as well as some stuff that he did not know what they were but he knew were great treasures. Although the first treasure map leads to a crystal palace, there was an absolute beauty sleeping in there. However, Qing Shui did not know what benefits it would bring him. Furthermore, there was that huge turtle in front of the crystal palace, what kind of demonic beast was it……

Taking out the treasure map, Qing Shui took a look at it. The treasure map depicted an otherworldly paradise, the mountains on the map were not very big but were very beautiful. There was a river that snaked through the valleys which was incredibly clear, and you could see the fishes and prawns in it. What led Qing Shui to be surprised was that there were several distinct blue three-tailed fishes, they were very beautiful, these fishes were probably a mutated species. Qing Shui stored this information in his heart.

Upstream of the river, you could vaguely see a violet forest that seemed to have groups of monkeys within. Due to the distance, the drawing was not able to depict it clearly.

The place depicted by the treasure map clearly had an enchanting scenery, which even included several small birds in the sky. Suddenly, Qing Shui looked above the river, and noticed in the distant clouds, there seemed to be a shadow of a pavilion.

A bejeweled jade palace?

Thinking about it, Qing Shui smiled, this should be the effect of the treasure map, after all, the further up he looked, the closer it looked like it was to the clouds. He remembered everything he saw in his heart, finding the location in the treasure map was not something that can be done overnight. It was something that required a lot of luck and occasionally a lot of help.

Qing Shui kept the map; this was considered to be a pretty good harvest. He had already resolved the matter of the Wang Clan, although it was just a coincidence, Qing Shui did not regret his actions. After all, he had to do something after entering the Central Continent, and this can be considered to be a deliberate show of strength as a warning to others.

Although not everyone in Jade Sea Country City knew of Qing Shui’s name, at least the major clans and sects would be aware of his presence. Furthermore, Qing Shui had a good relationship with the Nian Clan and the Duanmu Clan of the Duanmu City in Zhongyuan Country. Thus, during this period of time, there would always be someone arriving at Qing Shui’s doorstep, many of whom were from the big clans. However, Qing Shui rejected all of them.

Half a month later, Qing Shui gave Lan Tong and the others some beneficial Pills and prepared to leave. When he and Di Chen were saying goodbye to Nian Yuyang, he asked him to take care of Lan Tong and the rest.

Nian Yuyang indicated that it was not a problem for him to do so. After that, Qing Shui and Di Chen rode on the Fire Bird and flew towards Zhongyuan Country. Qing Shui was planning to check the place out first and perhaps stay there for a period of time before leaving for the Seven Stars Country to resolve Di Chen’s matter. Following that, he was considering going to the Southern Viewing Ministry Continent.

Every time he thought of this problem, Qing Shui felt that it was inappropriate. Back then, when the Old Ancestor died, he told Qing Shui not to go to the Southern Viewing Ministry Continent to look for the Eastern Palace Clan before having the strength of a Grade 5 Martial Saint. During these few days, Qing Shui had done some investigation, the Eastern Palace Clan of the Southern Viewing Ministry Continent may not be the strongest but it was not a place a Grade 5 Martial Saint could simply enter.

Since he had already waited for so many years, there was no problem with waiting a little more. Qing Shui wanted to wait until the Diamond Gigantic Elephant grew stronger, and that Thunderous Beast would also mature in four more years. When that time came, his abilities would be further improved, with two decent Demonic Beast, Qing Shui felt that it would be sufficient to protect his own life.

The Fire Bird was not purely just a mount, for Qing Shui felt that the Fire Bird would definitely become a Martial Saint leveled Demonic Beast, although he did not know when would that happen.

As for going to the Lion King’s Ridge of the Northern Sacred Lu Continent, Qing Shui knew that it would be a long time away. When he thought of Yiye Jiange, he could not help but have a sad expression. Qing Shui wanted to be able to bring her to the Lion King’s Ridge soon, to take revenge against her enemies.

“What are you thinking of? You have been staring blankly for a long time, and you seem to have a helpless expression showing in your eyes.” Di Chen sat crossed legged beside Qing Shui and asked him as the Fire Bird continued to fly.

“I was just in a daze, thinking of stuff.” Qing Shui looked at Di Chen and smiled.

“Don’t think too much, everything will be alright, if you feel troubled, you can tell me. You might feel better if you say it out.” Di Chen smiled at Qing Shui, her eyes held a trace of deep concern.

“I know, I just could not help but think about it. I’m fine, I’m not that weak.” Qing Shui forced himself to smile.

Di Chen did not say anything else, although she did not know everything about Qing Shui, she knew quite a bit. He was a very determined person, the most determined person she had seen, that spirit of not bowing down to others was shocking.

The Zhongyuan Country and Seven Stars Country were next to each other, thus they were very close to the Jade Sea Country. Within three days, they arrived at the Zhongyuan Country and found directions to Duanmu City.

Duanmu City was close to Zhongyuan Country, and it was very easy to find. They directly flew straight to Duanmu City, going past a few cities on their way. He noticed that those cities were not as bustling as Duanmu City, the buildings and streets all seemed to be inferior to those of Duanmu City.

When he descended at Duanmu City, he called a Beast Carriage to take them to the Duanmu Clan. It was a good thing that the Duanmu Clan was not far away from the Sky Platform of Duanmu City, thus the Beast Carriage arrived in slightly more than an hour.

“Sir, Miss, we have arrived at the Duanmu Clan!”

Qing Shui paid the fee and got out of the carriage with Di Chen. Qing Shui took a look at the Duanmu Clan, this look caused him to be in a daze. What a luxurious villa.

It was located in the best position of Cloud Passage Road, the land it occupied was the largest Qing Shui had ever seen. However, the Duanmu Clan was equivalent to the existence of a large sect, just that it was called a clan and had the same system as a clan.

Where Qing Shui was now was the south gate of the Duanmu Clan, the villa of the Duanmu Clan sat in the north and faced the south. Looking at the south gate of the Duanmu Clan, it was the most robust gate Qing Shui had ever seen.

Although the gate was just an entrance to the villa, it represented the strength of the clan. Looking at the 200 meters wide, 100 meters tall golden gate, one could see there were many images of large Demonic Beasts carved on the door. They were vivid and lifelike, remarkably accurate in depiction. The big gates were inlaid with stone that was above and below it.

Beside the gates, were two huge fake mountain, these gates would not be easy to topple over, it would also be difficult to climb up a hundred meters to go over it.