Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty) Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 881-882

AST 881 – Separation, Jade Spirit Fruit? Snow Lion King

Qing Shui heaped the entire patch of earth containing the Sky Penetrating Gra.s.ses into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Everyone looked at him bewilderedly, but they could only laugh awkwardly without mentioning the obvious. Even if they tried to tell him something, they wouldn’t be able to express their words clearly. In the end, they gave up.

Even though Qing Shui was a bit disappointed, he was nonetheless happy to have found the rare medicinal herbs at last. If he still couldn’t find some Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s of more than 5,000 Years as proceeded to explore the mountain, the ones he had acquired would suffice. As long as he was able to acquire any kind of Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s, there was hope. 12 years may seem long, but the Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s would eventually grow into a medicinal herb of 5,000 Years.

Qing Shui felt better after thinking it through. Those medicinal herbs could still be of use after a period of growth. Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s that was less than a 1,000 years old were essentially worthless and useless – only those that were 3,000 to 5,000 years old could be regarded as treasures of Heaven and Earth.

However, 3,000 Years Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s would still be less effective than 5,000 Years variants. The 3,000 Years Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s were proven to grant approximately 50 years of lifespan. The 5,000 Years variants, however, would be more effective, increasing a person's lifespan by much more than 50 years. Consequently, no one suspected anything when Qing Shui took away the 300 to 500 Years Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s.

Moreover, his goal for climbing these mountains was ultimately the Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s. But if had to, he would still give up a Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s of more than 5,000 years to someone who needed them more. Mu Qing had already done it, and she had given it to him unconditionally. However, both of them were oblivious to their current situation as they struggled to clear up their own feelings for each other.

Of course, Qing Shui would willingly do the same. From that moment when Mu Qing gave up the Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s for him, he knew she was a determined person. There weren’t many who would give up such a rare medicinal herb for someone they had met only a few days ago. The temptation of the Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s was certainly strong, yet she was able to resist her desires for it unwaveringly.

Soon after that, the group continued their search at the peak of the mountain. Some of them found a batch of medicinal herbs, and some were able to unearth some unique metals. The group finally stopped and descended from the mountain after they basically scoured the entire peak.

By the time they reached their camp, it was already the afternoon. Everyone ate some lunch and engaged in idle conversations as they settled themselves at the foot of the mountain. Meanwhile, Qing Shui was hesitating as he struggled to think of how to explain his decision to the group members.

It was time for Qing Shui to part ways with this group!

"We've traveled about 100,000 li into the mountains. Why don’t we part our ways from here? I will continue on forward, so please head back to safety." Qing Shui faced the group and spoke his words calmly.

All of them sank into silence, while some turned to look at Mu Qing for an answer. In a short amount of time, they had forged a bond similar to that of a family, adapting to each other’s habits and characteristics without a problem. Now that Qing Shui had decided to risk his life by continuing forward, an indescribable feeling overwhelmed their heart and it felt quite uncomfortable. After all, he would only have a 10% chance of survival from here onwards.

"Qing Shui, I don’t know how to stop you. It’s too dangerous inside, so please stop. Based on your current ability, I suggest that you venture forth at a later date. Who knows, maybe we might find a Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s somewhere else or in a ca.n.a.l." Mu Qing looked at Qing Shui with an expression of concern.

"Thank you. I know you are all worried for me, but I don’t intend to die so quickly. I believe that I will be able to survive from here onwards." Despite his adamant decision, he felt warmth in his heart, as he knew that someone was genuinely concerned for his life.

For Qing Shui, it honestly felt great since he didn’t have any relatives or friends in the Eastern Victory Divine Continent when he first came here. With the exception to Dong Yan and Sun Yan, the closest relations.h.i.+p he had had would be his relations.h.i.+p with the members of the Mu Clan.

In other words, Qing Shui already considered the Mu Clan as one of his friends.

Mu Qing gave a low sigh and said: "Then please be careful. I’m uncertain about what’s ahead. When you come back later on, please come and find me in the Mu Clan and let me know, alright? I will have a celebration for you."

"Alright, I will." Qing Shui smiled.

This meal had quickly turned into a farewell meal. Luckily, Qing Shui told them after they had eaten. Otherwise, everyone would lose their appet.i.te in such a gloomy atmosphere.

"Take care, and please be extra careful. I will wait for your return!" Mu Qing locked her eyes with Qing Shui, as she said in a soft voice.

Qing Shui's heart skipped a beat. He gave a firm nod to this beautiful woman as her words resounded in his mind. Her words felt amicable, but he understood her real intentions judging from her words.

He waved goodbye to the members of the Mu Clan and proceeded on his journey into the deeper parts of the forest. At the same time, he called out to them and said: "Be careful, you guys. Take care."

Even after Qing Shui's silhouette had disappeared into the forest, Mu Qing didn’t turn back and stood there dumbfounded. She felt dazed and confused, it was as if she would lose Qing Shui forever.

However, she knew that only time could tell between Qing Shui and herself. Besides, it was best to let nature take its course. She convinced herself that she hadn't fallen in love with him, so what would become of them would be left to the hands of destiny.

"He is the man among men, my girl. If you can't capture his heart now, it'll be difficult to do so in the future. Soon, he will rise up to the heavens and become the top among all martial warriors," an old woman emerged from the group and said with a benevolent smile.

She was one of the two old women who had looked after Mu Qing ever since she was a little girl.

"Grandma, he didn't seem to like me that much….." Mu Qing gave an awkward laugh. She didn't know what to think of her own words. This was the first man who had shown indifference to her after she had grown into a fine woman. She tried to convince herself that she was only curious about his behavior. Mu Qing believed her heart would heal accordingly with the pa.s.sage of time.

"Heh heh, it's not that he didn't like you. He has too many burdens and does not have the ability to make room for romance. Don't underestimate his calm composure. More than anyone, he has been through a lot from bearing everything on his shoulders all alone." The old woman eye's flashed with wisdom as she looked at Mu Qing, feeling proud of the woman she had become.

She gazed lovingly at Mu Qing as if she was her own child. The old woman never had a child of her own and she had never married throughout her entire life. Mu Qing was essentially the life of her soul.

Everyone has something precious within their hearts. That preciousness was a sort of backbone and a support to their lives. It was a reminder to stay true to who they were. This old woman's precious treasure was none other than Mu Qing. She had dedicated her life to grant an impeccable honor and happiness upon the young woman she had cared for since young.

"Forget it. G.o.d will decide for us. Grandma, let's go back. We have reaped so many good rewards for our efforts." Mu Qing smiled at the old woman.

"Alright." The old woman laughed and nodded. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her eyes as she looked at Mu Qing.

Qing Shui didn’t have the Lightning Bees but he did have his spiritual sense. He also had a considerably strong spiritual energy, as well as the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal in his possession. Even if he were to face a dire situation inside the deeper parts of the mountain, he would still have various ways to evade danger or escape from threatening demonic beasts.

Qing Shui gained a surge of confidence after gaining a considerable amount of spiritual energy. He would have no problem avoiding – and killing – powerful demonic beasts or martial warriors as long as his powers were not restricted like that encounter he had with the woman in the crystal coffin.

He also had the company of his Thunderous Beast and Fire Bird, as well as the formidable Soulshake Bell. Thus, his days after parting with Mu Qing were quite carefree. If a demonic beast appeared and decided to attack Qing Shui, he would be more than happy to eradicate it instantly and turn the corpse into materials for demon refining, talisman drawing, or medicinal refinement.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had pa.s.sed.

By now, Qing Shui was 150,000 li into the mountain range. He didn’t spend a lot of time seeking treasures, so he was able to venture into the mountains with agility. All he cared about was getting further – the deeper he went, the better.

Qing Shui had a hunch that he would be able to find a Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s of 5,000 years or more at around 280,000 to 300,000 li. This was because he knew that someone was able to find a Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s of more than 5,000 Years at the range of about 300,000 li. If necessary, he would go as far as 500,000 li to try and find the gra.s.s. Should he b.u.mp into a difficult situation, he could always escape into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal or use his Nine Continents Steps to run away quickly.

Qing Shui had been inside the large and dense forest for five days already. The deeper he ventured into the forest, the more difficult it was for him to find the exit. The trees here stood tall in a towering stature. They were about 100 meters in height and their trunks were shockingly thick. There was practically no light here, and darkness consumed the entire forest.The dense leaves formed a makes.h.i.+ft roof, blocking any form of light from illuminating the ground.

The forest was filled with the subtle scent of ancient wood. Qing Shui would fly up to the sky once in awhile, advancing towards the inner mountain on top of the forest. However, this would increase the likelihood of encountering flocks of flying beast. Although it didn't take him too much effort to kill these flying beasts, it was still quite troublesome to do so. Moreover, he didn’t fly over the forest just so he could kill demonic beasts, but he did so to get out from the dense forest to get a clear sense of direction.

There were many encounters inside the forest as well. Group encounters were a common occurrence, but nothing at the sort of difficulty that he wouldn't be able to handle.

Qing Shui felt perplexed. He might need to spend a few more days inside the ancient forest before he could get out. He was strongly tempted to use his Nine Continent Boots to reach the other side, but that wouldn't a.s.sure his safety. In the end, he decided to find a way out slowly. It was the safest way, after all.

"Hmm, Jade Spirit Fruit?"

Suddenly, Qing Shui saw a tree of that was about ten meters in height somewhere far away. The thickness of the trunk was wide enough to be hugged by an adult. He was able to notice this tree due to its relatively diminutive appearance amongst the neighboring gigantic trees. Even with its height of ten meters, the tree was still considered a miniature tree in this area……

Hanging on the tree were hundreds of snow white fruits the size of fists. These fruits seemed familiar, and were similar to the Jade Spirit Fruit Qing Shui had known. However, he didn’t really know what these fruits could do or how valuable they were.

Qing Shui's eyesight was exceptional, so aside from the small tree, he was able to spot a demonic beast just beside it. The beast seemed comparatively larger when it laid on the ground beside the 'fruit tree'.

Snow Lion King!

The moment Qing Shui saw the demonic beast, he immediately recognized it as the Snow Lion King. At first, he was shocked, because he had seen a Snow Lion Beast before. This lion was also known as the Snow Lion for short. He had met a Snow Lion in the Central Continent and it was the mount of the elderly man from the Medicine Emperor Clan in the Lingxi Country.

The Snow Lion of the elderly man from the Lingxi Country was less than 50 meters in size. But for its species, it was considered a large beast. However, the figure in front of him was twice as large as that Snow Lion. It seemed like a small mountain as it laid on the ground peacefully.

Qing Shui had a sudden thought and looked at the distance between the Snow Lion King and himself. They were a hundred meters apart, but the attack of the Thunderous Beast could still hit the Snow Lion King from where Qing Shui stood. He immediately summoned the Thunderous Beast and commanded it to use Thunderbolt on the Snow Lion King relentlessly.

In any case, the Snow Lion King was still the ruler of this area. How could it allow such a disrespectful act to continue without trying to teach them a lesson? With a loud roar, the Snow Lion King got up and quickly rushed toward Qing Shui to retaliate.

The Snow Lion King had guarded this area for about 200 years, which was quite a feat for a demonic beast of its size. Once the fruit had ripened, the Snow Lion King would be able to feast on it and become a Saint Lion Beast.

Descending Heavens Talisman!

Fiery Golden Eyes!

Emperor’s Qi!

Violet Lightning Strike!

Binding Talisman!

Art of Pursuing!

Qing Shui hit the Snow Lion King with his Big Dipper Sword, and his blows were followed by the endless a.s.sault of Thunderbolt from the Thunderous Beast.This perfect outcome from his simple strategy left Qing Shui in a state of shock.

The powerful Snow Lion King had become slower, as slow as a snail to be precise. It was barely breathing, since it had endured multiple hits from Thunderbolt and from Qing Shui's Big Dipper Sword. The beast could be considered as quite powerful, especially with its formidable defense, which was somewhat on par with that of the Heavenly Fire-Armored Rock Bear. Otherwise, it would have been long dead by now.

If Qing Shui were to continue to debuff the Snow Lion King's ability while having its weakness struck by Thunderous Beast continually, the lion would have breathed its last breath a few moments ago.

Qing Shui allowed the Thunderous Beast to stop when he saw the Snow Lion King on the verge of death. It would be a waste to kill such a majestic beast quickly, so he decided to capture and tame the beast for his own use. Normally, a demonic beasts with the t.i.tle of 'King' in its name would hardly surrender itself to be tamed. They would rather die than submit themselves to the command of a mere human being. Because of their nature of a king, they need to prove themselves worthy of that t.i.tle by being the best of their own species.

Qing Shui extended his arm toward the Snow Lion King to touch it. The beast widened its eyes, bearing an expression of alertness as it stared firmly at Qing Shui's hand. However, with its life force draining away quickly, the lion could not move at all.

At that moment, Qing Shui could feel a strong resistance against his aura. Qing Shui sighed and took out a medicinal pill.

This medicinal pill could heal its wounds, but as he turned to look at the Snow Lion King, he could see a strong resistance in its eyes. A sheer force of determination lit from the lion's eyes, it refused to give in even if death were to knock on its doors……

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AST 882 – Jade Spirit Fruit, Stumbled Upon The Golden Jiao's Lair

When Qing Shui saw the determined gaze of the Snow Lion King, he knew that the lion was done for. He didn’t try to force the beast to consume the medicinal pill – he would rather let the laws of nature determine the lion's fate.

To be frank, Qing Shui felt quite uncomfortable with his decision. It was quite a pity to let a majestic beast like this lion to perish away just like that. However, this was the way of a 'king', which was no different from the other demonic beasts in the wild. In any case, it was considered rare to be able to capture a demonic beast of the king cla.s.s. Essentially, it would be impossible to do so, especially for demonic beasts with the strength greater than a Peak Martial Saint, as they had already possessed an intelligence from advanced cognitive functions.

Before he knew it, the Snow Lion King had slumped to the ground, its body becoming an empty sh.e.l.l, completely devoid of life. Qing Shui sighed deeply and then used his Primordial Flames to completely cremate the corpse.

He didn’t salvage the core or the other materials from the Snow Lion King body, but instead buried its remains under the soil of the Jade Spirit Fruit Tree. The tree, however, was removed by Qing Shui and moved into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

He initially thought that the process would be a little bit difficult, since this being the first time he had attempted to move such a large ten meters tall tree. After a hefty process and a lot of effort, he was able to move the tree successfully into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

The tree would be able to grow inside the realm without much trouble.

Qing Shui took a closer look at the Jade Spirit Fruit, which was coincidentally also known by the same name in his past life as well. This fruit could be consumed by both humans and demonic beasts and would effectively increase their Spiritual Qi once consumed. In other words, the fruit had the ability to change the const.i.tution of the body fundamentally.

The effect, however, would differ between every human and demonic beast. Additionally, the fruit would require a period of time to ripe completely. Qing Shui could test the effect by then, which should be remarkable as the fruit was a product well-guarded by the Snow Lion King after all.

Killing the beast was his plan all along, but then he had a change of heart and decided to try and tame it at the last minute. Ultimately, he didn’t succeed. If he couldn’t tame the demonic beast, then it would be impossible to get along with it after that.

After this matter was settled, Qing Shui proceeded to venture into the deeper parts of the forest. This was the Snow Lion King's territory, so Qing Shui would have no problem in dealing with encounters with other demonic beasts of the same level.

Finally, he made it out from the forest!

The bright sun in the sky was a cheerful sight, which subsequently lightened up his mood as well. The forest was always gloomy and dark and Qing Shui didn’t like to be stuck in that atmosphere for a long period of time.

He had arrived at the depths of the mountain at last. The surroundings were enclosed with tall ancient trees and the atmosphere was peaceful but unrealistically quiet. Qing Shui was alarmed by this odd situation and felt that it was suspicious because there were no demonic beasts in sight.

Qing Shui was bewildered. He was told that the demonic beasts would be stronger the deeper he ventured but there was no sight of any beasts, not even a small demonic beast or a tiny flying beast.

This was a most alarming situation.

This location seemed like a wide beach. He scanned the area filled with golden sand, then he knelt down and grabbed a handful of sand before releasing his palm to let it trickle through his fingers.

As the sand slipped back to the ground, Qing Shui got up and continued his way forward. There must be a sea somewhere ahead!

This was a beach, after all. Oddly, he could feel a whiff of aura from the sand beneath his feet. This beach could be considered a hotspot for demonic beast encounters as it was quite close to the ocean. However, he hadn’t seen a single demonic beast since his arrival. The atmosphere was quiet, eerily quiet.

Qing Shui turned his head around to look out for surprise ambushes, then headed toward the area where the air felt increasingly moist. On the bright side, the colorful sh.e.l.ls scattered around the beach painted a bit of vividness to the unsettling quietness of the beach, bringing a little bit of liveliness to the atmosphere.

After a brief stroll along the beach, a large flying beast hurriedly flew by, as if it was trying to run away from something. Qing Shui was calm, yet nervous. He couldn’t understand why he felt that way just now.

Qing Shui seemed as if he was walking casually, but his pace was as fast as a flash of lightning. With one step on the sand, his body was brought forward by about ten li in an instant. His expression remained collected and composed as he expanded his spiritual sense to his surroundings.

And then, he froze……

An overwhelming aura stormed abruptly toward his direction like a hurricane, enveloping everything in its path. Qing Shui halted his movements as he continued to observe the aura.

Roar!

A heaven-shattering roar trembled across the sky. At that moment, Qing Shui finally realized the true meaning of the word 'heaven-shattering' as he felt the ground and the sky vibrating from the growling screech. This was nothing like any of the cries he had heard before in his entire life.

One could even hear the roar very distinctively from thousands of li away.

Qing Shui's facial expression changed slightly. He stared at the faraway s.p.a.ce attentively without taking cover, because he knew it would be futile as nothing could evade his opponent’s spiritual sense.

As he recalled the flying beast from before, he finally realized why it had seemed terrified.

Roar!

Another roar echoed throughout the sky, which was promptly followed by a large figure soaring into the air. A gigantic golden python-like beast circled the sky swiftly.

Qing Shui's eyes followed the golden beast as he was still left in a state of shock. The flying creature in the sky was by far the largest demonic beast he had ever seen.

The circling motion was intriguing as well. Qing Shui had never seen a dragon before, but he had seen ill.u.s.trations of one from books and pictures in his past life. However, when he saw the golden beast in the sky, he was instantly reminded of the majestic figure of a dragon.

A dragon form!

The gigantic golden figure was about 200 meters in length with the body as strong as diamonds. Two humps were peeking through the ferocious head of the Jiao, as if it would eventually grow out horns from the top of its head.

The Golden Jiao!

Qing Shui finally realized that the flying beast was a Golden Jiao but he had no idea whether this beast could be the same Golden Jiao King that had destroyed the entire Cheng Clan. This Golden Jiao seemed to fit the bill, or rather, this could be the exact Golden Jiao King that was responsible for the annihilation of an entire clan.

He wasn't quite certain of the number of Golden Jiao dwelling in the Sky Penetrating Mountains but he guessed that there shouldn't be a lot of demonic beasts with such strength dwelling nearby or in other places around the mountain either. Moreover, if the Golden Jiao's habitat was in this region, he could conclude that this mighty beast must be the one responsible for the deaths of the entire Cheng Clan.

As the Golden Jiao soared in the air, its eyes zoomed toward the beach and locked its gaze onto Qing Shui, as if it had detected Qing Shui's presence in its territory. The eyes that were akin to two enormous lanterns flashed brilliantly across Qing Shui as it turned its ferocious head in his direction.

In the Golden Jiao's eyes, Qing Shui seemed quite tiny, similar to a small ant on a wide field of sand. However, the beast was able to detect waves of energy from the tiny human and that he had trespa.s.sed into its lair.

What would Qing Shui think if he knew that he had stepped into the Golden Jiao's lair? If he knew that he had, Qing Shui would be able to realize why he hadn't been able to encounter any demonic beast when he arrived at this part of the forest.

The flying beast from before must have mistakenly flown into this area, which could explain why it had seemed so terrified as it fled in the opposite direction. Qing Shui was beginning to wonder if he was responsible for the awakening of the Golden Jiao, or whether it was the smaller flying beast's fault.

Demonic beasts of the Jiao species and the snake species have unique builds. The stronger ones could easily reach a size of more than a 100 meters due to their natural gifts. Other flying beasts, in contrary, would find it hard to reach more than a hundred meters as their growth limits were vastly lower than the jiao and snake species.

Qing Shui had a strange inclination that made him remember the woman from the crystal coffin when he faced the Golden Jiao in the sky. In any case, Qing Shui was no longer the same man he was during the time he met the woman in the crystal coffin.

Could the Golden Jiao have become stronger since the time it destroyed that clan?

Qing Shui couldn't get a good grasp on the Golden Jiao's overall strength, but he definitely knew that the enormous beast was undeniably powerful. In any case, the Golden Jiao wasn't an opponent he could easily defeat for now, even with his debuff abilities. Qing Shui also had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to pierce through the Golden Jiao's body just by looking at the l.u.s.trous diamond-like build of the enormous creature.

The disparity between their strengths was too great. Qing Shui had discarded the idea of battling the Golden Jiao. Escaping from the grasps of this terrifying beast was all he could think of right now.

Qing Shui quickly turned around and ran.

Roar!

The clamoring screech was evidently louder than the previous two roars. The enormous frame of the Golden Jiao hovered in the air as the beast blitzed toward Qing Shui at a lightning speed.

This terrifying speed was enough to push Qing Shui to consume a Gale Pellet immediately. After that, he quickly turned around and smacked a Descending Heavens Talisman onto the Golden Jiao!

Fiery Golden Eyes!

Emperor's Qi!

Roar Roar!

The Golden Jiao became furious from the debuffs and proceeded and its whole body began to gleam brightly with a golden light. Not only did its speed and power return to normal, the Golden Jiao's attributes had also become stronger than before.

Qing Shui was crying in pain on the inside. Nevertheless, he took out multiple poisonous 10,000 Years Coldsteel Needles and shot each of them toward the gigantic beast in succession. The needles were extremely fine and sharp, and within seconds, the needles had appeared in front of the Golden Jiao.

Clink!

A clear sound echoed in the air, followed the by a succession of similar echoes. By now, the needles were already broken into fragments. Met with the failure of his attacks, Qing Shui was even more determined to flee from the fight. The strength of this Golden Jiao was too perverted. Moreover, the hardness of its body was no joke……

The Golden Jiao had an extraordinary ability to strengthen its power and spiritual capacity after being inflicted with Qing Shui's debuffs. This didn't necessarily mean that the debuffs were completely dispelled, but the effects were fully compensated by its battle skills. If Qing Shui didn't apply some more weakening techniques onto the Golden Jiao, perhaps its power would be more formidable and terrifying.

Qing Shui was quite crafty in his escape, a special trait that came from the usage of his Ghostly Steps. He could also use the terrain to his advantage to aid in his escape with agility, wickedness, and shrewdness.

In the midst of his escape, Qing Shui had inevitably reached the border of the forest. He took no time to enter the dense forest and quickly moved around to maneuver away from the Golden Jiao.

The Golden Jiao, on the other hand, mercilessly razed through the forest, toppling and crus.h.i.+ng the towering ancient trees instantly. At the same time, Qing Shui conjured two Primordial Flame b.a.l.l.s in his hands and aimed the flames toward the head of the great beast.

His Hidden Weapons had proven to be useless and ineffective against the hard surface of the Golden Jiao's body. Qing Shui felt that he could inflict some sort of damage against the Golden Jiao with the Primordial Flame b.a.l.l.s instead. And to his amazement, the Golden Jiao showed a moment of caution when the flame b.a.l.l.s appeared to trail scorchingly toward its head.

Thus, Qing Shui decided to use the Primordial Flame b.a.l.l.s to stall for time and he also used the flames as a defense mechanism against the Golden Jiao. A series of furious roars echoed throughout the forest, followed by the trampling of the aging trees and a scattered trail of wooden debris was left behind the Golden Jiao.

Qing Shui soared and glided behind a tree hidden in the mountain pa.s.s before entering the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal without hesitation.

The Golden Jiao followed promptly and rammed the very tree Qing Shui had hidden behind, destroying everything in its path. However, Qing Shui was long gone before it had the chance to wound him. His aura had already disappeared when the Golden Jiao attempted to sense his presence in the surroundings.

Even after affirming the absence of Qing Shui's aura, the Golden Jiao continued to destroy the nearby trees relentlessly. Despite being a powerful and intelligent demonic beast, intellectual perception didn't seem to be one of its fortes.

Qing Shui was now safe inside his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. After a moment of cultivation, he decided to exit the realm to get a hold of the situation.

The Golden Jiao was thras.h.i.+ng about nearby like it was waiting for Qing Shui to re-appear. However, the intelligence of a demonic beast was distinctively lower than that of a human being. The Golden Jiao was a prime example – it didn’t even notice the presence of Qing Shui's aura since it was blinded by the hatred in its heart. The conclusion drawn by the Golden Jiao was that Qing Shui had already fled far away from its territory.

After a few moments, the Golden Jiao trampled a row of trees once more before it turned around and left. Qing Shui observed the beast's movements quietly, making sure that the Golden Jiao had returned to its lair before continuing on his journey.

Qing Shui didn’t want to waste his time allocated to the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal carelessly. If he were to use up the entire six hours, he would have to depend on his Nine Continent Boots to escape from peril.

Of course, he could also choose to use the Nine Continent Steps instead to pa.s.s through the Sky Penetrating Mountains without going through countless winding paths unnecessarily.

Now that he knew about the Golden Jiao's lair, he decided to go around it for safety reasons. He took a long detour and stayed as far away from the territory infused with the Golden Jiao's Spiritual Qi as much as possible.

The detour began from the hundred li into the woods, and toward the south, then north. At the same time, he expanded his spiritual sense as he ventured around the Golden Jiao's territory to detect potential dangers from miles away.

After Qing Shui managed to detour around the Golden Jiao's territory, he finally let out a sigh of relief. This was the first time Qing Shui had battled with a demonic beast as strong as the Golden Jiao, which had ultimately forced him to flee in dismay.

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