Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty) Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 829-830

AST 829 – The Weird Long Lingyun, Cui Brothers

“Those two brothers seem to like the two of you.” Qing Shui smiled and said before looking at Long Lingyun.

He didn’t mean anything when he said this, he just wanted to do so. Now, Qing Shui wanted to live his life. Since he had hidden his cultivation level, he wanted to appreciate and live a different life. He didn’t wish to restrict himself so much. Although it was hard for him to change his character to allow him to live a different life, he was willing to give it a go.

“Oh? How do you know that they like me?” Long Lingyun smiled and asked, as she looked at Qing Shui teasingly.

“When you asked me to join you earlier, that pair of brother couldn’t help but want to kill me. Moreover, they’ve been secretly throwing glances at you, giving the expression that they couldn’t wait to devour you.” Qing Shui said, as he looked toward the other group and smiled.

“Why are you telling me this? You like me as well?” Long Lingyun smiled and said as she looked at this strange man that gave her a strange feeling when she first saw him.

She could not tell what his age was. He appeared to be very young but that pair of eyes seemed to be more weary of the world than Uncle Gang. He was very handsome but people would be easily drawn in by his charms instead. He gave out a deadly attraction that was indescribable.

Her intuition told her that this guy was not a weakling. Although she could sense that his cultivation was only at Xiantian level, she trusted her intuition more. This was the first time she was curious about a young man.

“I have someone I like.” To the lady’s teasing, Qing Shui smiled casually. Although she was clearly a beauty, he was not interested in a 'narcissistic' lady like her, who would ask if he likes her when they had only just met. To be honest, he was aware that she was just teasing him but he still felt that she was a bit narcissistic.

If Long Lingyun were to know what Qing Shui was thinking, she would definitely go crazy with anger.

“The ladies you like must be very beautiful!” Long Lingyun smiled and said.

Qian Mo smiled as she watched the conversation between Long Lingyun and Qing Shui. She didn’t join in but just watched them quietly from the side.

“Mmm, very beautiful!” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“More so than me?” Long Lingyun smiled and continued to ask.

“More so than you!” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“Hmph, women are very petty. Do you believe that I’ll toss you down from here?” Although Long Lingyun said this, she still said it in a happy manner.

“I believe!”

“You don’t know how to go along with the conversation, it’s no fun. Do you know who’s the most beautiful lady in the Heavenly Beast City?” Long Lingyun smiled and ask Qing Shui. However, he kept feeling that there was a hint of teasing behind that smile.

“I don’t know, neither do I wish to know.” Although he sounded stiff, he still said politely.

Women are very weird creatures. The more one wanted to ask something, the more she won’t say it but if one doesn’t wish to hear it, the more she would say it. If you were to ask her the reason, she probably wouldn’t be able to explain it either.

“This lady is from the Cloud Adventurer Guild, and her name is Yunduan [1]. It’s a pity that she’s a lady who had led a tough life. Her grandfather is no longer around and the Cloud Adventurer Guild is facing the peril of being taken over by other adventurer guilds. In order to protect the Cloud Adventurer Guild, she chose to yield to the Tiger’s Might Adventurer Guild.” Long Lingyun sighed and said.

Qing Shui knew about the Tiger’s Might Adventurer Guild. Although his time in the Heavenly Beast City had not been long, this city was controlled by this particular guild and in the Heavenly Beast City, even aristocrat clans were not as powerful as adventurer guilds.

The Tiger’s Might Adventurer Guild was the strongest adventurer guild in the Heavenly Beast City. It was a reasonable to choose this guild. He turned around to look at Long Lingyun, confused as why this lady said these to him.

When she saw Qing Shui’s gaze, she smiled and continue, “For such a beautiful lady to give herself to an old man. She really has a tragic life.”

“Many of such things happen everyday.” Qing Shui chuckled and said.

“You really are a person without any sympathy.” Long Lingyun chided Qing Shui.

“This is her fate, her choice. She has also gotten what she had wanted. Why do I need to sympathize with her?” Qing Shui looked at her.

“You’re a guy without any sympathy. Let’s stop talking about it. Right, why are you heading to the Tiger Gorge Mountain?” Long Lingyun didn’t bother on the topic for too long.

“I’m only going there to get some experience, as well as to get some medicinal herbs.” Qing Shui had his answer ready.

Very soon, they arrived at the Tiger Gorge Mountain. They flew less than 500 meters in and then landed on an empty spot.

After he had spoken with Long Lingyun, Qing Shui learnt that they were looking for a type of Landai Gra.s.s and to kill a Peak Martial King Ironback Azure Bear.

Killing the Ironback Azure Bear was the Cui Brothers’ mission but they needed Long Lingyun’s and Qi Gang’s help to kill it. The search for the Landai Gra.s.s was Long Lingyun’s, Qian Mo’s and Qi Gang’s mission but the Cui Brothers mentioned that it could be found anywhere.

The group slowly headed deeper into the Tiger Gorge Mountain, as they tried their best to be careful on the way, hoping to not come across with demonic beast groups. If they came in large numbers, it would be a pain to kill them.

The Cui Brothers carefully scouted around while they lead the way. If Long Lingyun and Qi Gang wasn't here, they would not have accepted the mission. The Ironback Azure Bear, a Peak Martial King, was not something they could deal with now.

Another reason was that the brothers like Long Lingyun but they knew that they were not a good match for her. However, once a person was smitten, he would not care about anything and just commit the craziest act.

Wu!

Wuwuwu…

A huge roar came from the front, followed by a series of cries. Very quickly, a group of Gigantic Forest Wolves appeared, each of them were about four meters in size and had a faint blue color. They looked quite beautiful but one would rather go against a single tiger than to pit against a group of wolves.

Moreover, the level of these wolves were all at Martial King, ranging from elementary Martial King to Peak Martial King. There were at least 500 of them and the spread of blue color with s.h.i.+ny bright eyes bring a chill.

The group's countenances had changed, especially the Cui Brothers. It was because many of the wolves here could kill them easily. Although there were two elementary Martial Saints in their group, if they were not able to extend their help then the Cui Brothers would be in great trouble.

Just then, a flock of Corrosion Turtledoves appeared in the air, they let out piercing cries and they circled in the air as they refused to leave. This cause the group to lose any thoughts about escaping on their flying beasts.

Wolves specialized in speed and they closed in very quickly. The Cui Brothers’ countenance also grew increasingly pale. However, Long Lingyun and Qi Gang showed no changes to their expressions.

“Go over there. Everyone lay against the cliff walls. At least we won’t be attacked from the back.”Qi Gang quickly told everyone.

No one had any objections. At that moment, no one had any better idea.

When the group arrived at the cliff walls, the group of wolves were already within a 100 meter radius. Their rampaging disposition were very powerful and a huge stench flowed toward them, which had made the group to feel dizzy. Their bright green eyes gleamed while they kept salivating with their mouths opened.

At that moment, a demonic beast appeared before Qian Mo with a wave of her hand. She then waved her hand again and called out another beast, stopping only after the third demonic beast had appeared.

One of them was a Armored Beast which was close to three meters in length and appeared to be extremely tough, as if it was wearing a silver colored armor. It was decently proportioned and should be quite agile.

Another one was a Sword Tiger which was also three meters in length but less than one meter in height. It appeared as if it was stuck to the ground, with sharp fangs and claws. It was also an agility type beast and was a Peak Martial King.

The last one was a Ice Snake which was four meters long, with a thickness that was akin to the diameter of the top of a bowl. It was dark blue in color, the lower half of its body was coiled up while the first half of the body kept stretching out and recoiling. It gave out a hissing sound and occasionally breathed out a hint of blue colored chilly air.

“Everyone, work together and don’t panic.” Long Lingyun subconsciously stood before Qing Shui and said.

Qing Shui didn’t know what to feel. He didn’t believe that this lady likes him from just their first encounter. Could it be that he looked like her younger brother?

The Cui Brothers once again threw an aggrieved glance toward Qing Shui. They had brought along this additional burden with them today. Otherwise, with Long Lingyun’s and Qi Gang’s help, all of them would be able to leave easily.

Not only did they had hatred for Qing Shui, they also threw a look at Long Lingyun. Looking at that curvy figure, they thought to themselves, “If we can get pa.s.s this trial, I'll make sure that I'll get to have my way with you.”

Long Lingyun took out a thin longsword. It was very thin and at first glance, it looked just like a tree branch. Qi Gang took out a pair of huge hammers, each of them weighing about 800 jin.

Wuwu…

Suddenly, one of the wolves pounced toward Qian Mo. It was very agile, bringing about a sharp and strong wind. It leaped up over five meters, as it stretched out its limbs slightly. Suddenly, with a leap, the Armored Beast stopped the Gigantic Forest Wolves which was in mid-air. Just then, the Sword Tiger pounched over like a snake. Its weirdly shaped body contained a terrifying speed and attacked the Gigantic Forest Wolves by the waist, then it quickly retreated. The Gigantic Forest Wolves’s stomach was torn open, its waist broken and its throat was torn apart. A wolf was a creature with a head as tough as bronze, a strong tail that was like a metal and a body that was weak like tofu.

It was not a battle of an equivalent level. Moreover, they had good teamwork, with the Armored Beast who had a strong resistance while the Sword Tiger had a strong attack and the Ice Snake could reduce speed.

With one wolf taken down, the b.l.o.o.d.y nature of the pack of wolves caused them to dashed forth without any care. Even the Corrosion Turtledoves in the air would occasionally come down to pick up a wolf corpse.

Long Lingyun’s thin sword was vicious, each attack fatal as she attacked only at their throats. However, her efficiency was lowered as she had to take care of Qing Shui and Qian Mo.

The area in which the group battled was very small, therefore, they were able to fend off the wolves with just Long Lingyun and Qi Gang alone. After all, the difference between elementary Martial Saint and Martial King was very big, even if the latter was a Peak Martial King. It was only that the pack of wolves were great in numbers.

What the Cui Brothers were worried about was that Long Lingyun and Qi Gang might make any mistakes.

Boom!

Another Gigantic Forest Wolves’s head was smashed. Now, the attacks from the pack of wolves was not as fierce as before. The death of just one wolf alone was able to agitate their brutality but when half of them had been killed, they would have second thoughts about attacking.

Wuwu!

Finally, a loud howl came from the back of the wolves pack and all of them turned to leave. Qing Shui could see that there was a wolf king hidden in a distance.

It was a Gargantuan Wolf that was at least twice as big than the Gigantic Forest Wolves, its blue colored fur released a pure but faint glow. The Gargantuan Wolf quickly disappeared.

A few days later, they entered 100 li into the Tiger Gorge Mountain!

Tiger Stream Valley！

“You guys take a break first, we’ll go hunt for food.” The Cui Brothers smiled and said to the others before they left.

For the past few days, they had been in charge of the food since their culinary skills were not bad. It was just that this time, Qing Shui felt that their footsteps and breathing were unstable. They were clearly slightly agitated.

[1] The chinese words that form the name 'Yunduan' translates to cloud. The author had used the same characters for both the guild and the mentioned lady.

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AST 830 – Bone Softening Powder, Hu Yuanqing

Qing Shui wasn't particularly concerned when the Cui brothers left. They weren't strong enough to cause him any kind of trouble, so he didn't have anything to worry about.

Tiger Stream Valley!

This area was surrounded by steep, mountain rock walls and there was only one exit that lead to the outside world. The place seemed like a giant open-air premise but the air felt a bit suffocating in it.

The gra.s.ses on the ground were dense which filled the entire valley with a pleasant smell of fresh green gra.s.s. It had been an exhausting and speedy journey for the past few days, so this change of beautiful scenery was a good chance to sit back and relax for a while.

Qing Shui glanced at Long Lingyun and Qi Gang – they appeared to be as the same as before even after what they had been through. Just then, he wondered what kind of impressions they had on the Cui brothers but he figured that they kept the brothers around because they were still useful. The reason he was curious was because awhile ago, the brothers looked down on his abilities.

"Qing Shui, are you selling the herb you required or are you collecting it for a mission? Or maybe you are collecting the herb to refine medicine?" When Long Lingyun finally had some spare time, she sat beside Qing Shui with a smile and asked him questions.

"I am going to use the herb to refine medicine." Qing Shui told the truth. Lying was unneccessary at this point.

"So you are an alchemist." Long Lingyun wasn't surprised. Even though alchemists were widely respected by the public, most Xiantian alchemists wouldn't be highly regarded in the eyes of Martial Saint warriors. However, no one would dare to underestimate them just in case a Xiantian alchemists had some secret recipes that could overlook most powerful recipes. If a Xiantian alchemist had managed to refine such medicinal pills, then the Martial Saints could benefit hugely from the alchemist's effort.

So in most circ.u.mstances, any alchemists – including Xiantian alchemists – would be respected regardless. Alchemists were strangely known to be popular with both the public and martial warriors.

"I think so!" Qing Shui said in a flat tone as he smiled at Long Lingyun.

"What do you mean 'I think so'? It's either a yes or a no." Long Lingyun chided angrily.

"It's a yes." Qing Shui replied.

"What kind of medicinal herb you need? Tell me, maybe I can help you find it. And if I can't, then you can try the Cloud Auction House to ask for it. Oh right, why didn't you go to the Cloud Auction House to post it as a mission?" Long Lingyun spoke in a moderate pace, yet with some sort of rhythm. She had a mellow voice that sounded pleasant.

"That is an option. Well, what I need is a Sky Penetrating Gra.s.s of more than 5,000 years old." Qing Shui chuckled.

"5,000 years above….." Long Lingyun skipped the part about the herb's name when she heard the words '5,000 years'. Whatever herb it was, 5,000 years was a ridiculously long time.

Qing Shui looked at the shocked expression on Long Lingyun's face. Even Qi Gang and Qian Mo were shocked at well. Despite not being an alchemist themselves, they still had a bit of knowledge about medicinal herbs, especially when it came down to the age of the herbs. Those 5,000 years old herbs were extremely valuable, so they knew these precious herbs were not something that a Xiantian alchemist could use to concoct a medicinal pill with.

"Can you even use a 5,000 years old herb to concoct medicinal pills?" Long Lingyun glistened with curiosity when she asked Qing Shui.

"I think I can. But I haven't use it before." Qing Shui replied with a smile.

Long Lingyun pouted her lips and remained silent. Qing Shui's words had the ability to get on her nerves easily. She initially thought she had met a low-profile man of superior talent but reality wasn't as straightforward as she had thought.

Just then, the Cui brothers came back with two musk deers that were already skinned and cleaned properly, including the inner organs. They greeted everyone and began to start a fire to roast the deer meat.

Within a few minutes, a fragrant smell of cooked meat travelled through the air. When the meat had turned to a subtle yellow color, the Cui brothers took out some condiments and salt then marinated the meat before they continued the roasting process.

After a while, the meat's fragrance became stronger and richer, which had caused everyone to salivate. However, Qing Shui could sense something odd in the fragrance. His intuition told him that there was something wrong with the roasted meat.

The Cui brothers took the roasted meat and gave them to Long Lingyun and Qian Mo first. Both the ladies picked the lower joint of the legs, while Qi Gang tore off the loin of the meat for himself.

When it was Qing Shui's turn to pick, he chose the two front legs without hesitation and began to eat. When he tasted the meat, he knew something was wrong – it was tasteless and unpalatable, as if something had disturbed its taste. Luckily, Qing Shui's Nature Energy had an extraordinary ability that could release an astonis.h.i.+ng energy throughout his body and began to cleanse the odd substance from his system.

The Cui brothers also ate the meat but only after they saw everyone took a bite first. They seemed relieved when they had affirmed that everyone had consumed the meat.

Qing Shui could understand why the Cui brothers were able to consume the tainted meat – they must have consumed some sort of antidote beforehand. Long Lingyun and Qi Gang didn't seem to show any kind of reaction, and Qing Shui was unsure what kind of drug the Cui brothers had used, so he decided to wait patiently and observe the situation closely.

Ultimately, he wasn't worried. The 'poison' inside his body had already been countered by his self-generating Nature Energy. All he had to do now was to observe what the Cui brothers would do next.

After the time to burn an incense stick had pa.s.sed, Qian Mo decided to wash her hands at a nearby lake. But when she had tried to stand up, she realized her body was devoid of energy as her bones began to feel weak. Then immediately, she dropped to the ground, unable to move her muscles.

"Ah, why do I feel so weak!?" Qian Mo shouted in panic as she laid on the ground. She was the youngest in the group, after all.

Long Lingyun and Qi Gang were startled by Qian Mo's cry and immediately stood up to help her. But they sat back down soon after that, clearly weakened by the poison in the meat. Qing Shui, on the other hand, remained motionless. This drug must be outrageous if an Elementary Martial Saint was affected as well.

"Hahaha!"

At that moment, Cui Hao let out a roaring laughter. A gloating smile was plastered openly on his face.

"Cui Hao, what did you do to us?" Qi Gang shot a furious look at Cui Hao.

All of their summoned mounts and demonic beasts had been called back instinctively. They felt powerless, unable to lift even a muscle on their body, not even an ounce of energy left to summon their demonic beast to protect them. Alas, it was as if their opponents had intended for this to happen.

Maybe they had waited for this moment to come for the past few days. Today was finally the best moment to strike.

"Do what? What do you think? The Cloud Adventurer Guild will soon unite with the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild. Meanwhile, the son of the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild's leader has his eyes on Miss Long and Miss Qian." said Cui Hao with a nasty smirk.

"You will die sooner or later. So why don't you let us have some fun with you." Cui Dang darted his perverted eyes all over Long Lingyun's body.

"You're from the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild?" Long Lingyun's face was as pale as a ghost. She gulped down a breath as she asked with a cold tone.

"Heh heh, since it has come to this, then I will tell you. You're right, we are from the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild. We have been waiting for this day to come for so long." the Cui brothers cackled. "You all were highly vigilant when you chose your companions. Yet you chose us because we were weak and possessed a low cultivation base. That's how we got you to be less cautious about us and even allowed us to join the group."

"I swear I will kill you!" Qi Gang shouted on top of his lungs.

His face was red and fuming with anger as he felt extremely helpless for falling into their calculative trap. He was disappointed in himself for allowing two pathetic trickster to best him. Qi Gang felt like he could vomit a pool of blood if he continued to think about this humiliation by the Cui brothers.

"If you can stand up right now, then I will personally cut out my brain and serve it to you on a plate." said Cui Hao in a provoking smile at Qi Gang.

Qi Gang let out a loud roar and quickly straightened his body. But as soon as he managed to perform the 'horse stance', he lost his energy and flopped to the ground on his b.u.t.t. His eyes grew increasingly red with rage and bitterness.

"This isn't a common Bone Softening Powder. Even a low levelled Peak Martial Saint will be weakened to an ordinary feeble person. You can forget about struggling because this effect will last for 24 hours." Cui Hao sneered.

Clap clap clap!

Just then, Cui Dang clapped his hands three times.

"Today is a good day." A clear voice rang out, followed by the appearance of a group of seven people.

Qing Shui c.o.c.ked his head to observe the group. The leader was an evil-looking man who seemed young but his real age was uncertain. However, he should be more than 50 years old, based on Qing Shui's intuition.

Behind this man was a handful of young men, each wore an embroidered clothing and a belt adorned with variety of jadea. These young men had a foppish aura on their appearance but they were not as simple as the profligate sons from those supreme sects. They were more sn.o.bbish and narcissistic than the ones he had met before. Despite the negative traits, they were all still regarded as a genius in terms of their cultivation. If anything, they should be considered as the real powerful profligate sons, not the other way around.

What caught Qing Shui's attention were the two old men behind the leader. They have a head full of white hair but their complexion were more energized, unlike those of a typical old man. A strange light flashed in their eyes, which seemingly locked upon Long Lingyun from the moment they had appeared with the other men.

"Young master Hu, you've arrived." The Cui brothers bowed and greeted in respect.

"You guys did great. Watch from the sidelines. After we are finished, these ladies will be yours. You do know where to go out from here, right?" Young Master Hu snided.

"Yeah, we know. Thank you Young Master Hu!" The Cui brothers gestured with deep grat.i.tude.

Even a fool would be able to tell what they wanted to do from here.

"Back then, the old fool Yun could protect you all. Now that he's dead, I will show the Cloud Adventurer Guild what I can do and we will see how that woman Yun Duan will react. So what if she's going to marry into my family? She's only another woman for my father. The Cloud Adventurer Guild will still merge with our Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild." said the evil-looking man as he gazed at Long Lingyun in a towering position.

"Hu Yuanqing, fight me fairly if you have the guts. What kind of man uses such despicable method on his opponents?" Long Lingyun shouted in rage. However, her breath grew short, which had caused her shout to sound slightly m.u.f.fled.

"Missy, you will know soon enough what kind of man I am. Save your breath later when you scream for pleasure." said Hu Yuanqing without a shred of anger in his expression.

"Uncle Yong, Uncle Xie, I know you like them very much. Take them as a gift from me. I hope you like what you see." said Hu Yuanqing as he turned to face two old men with a smile.

Qing Shui was unsure how strong the Mighty Tiger Adventurer Guild was. The two old men behind Hu Yuanqing seemed to be Peak Martial Saints with the strength of two stars. Judging by their power, they must be basking in the glory of their influence, showered with admiration and respect by the public and members.
Moreover, this Hu Yuanqing was quite the guy. Qing Shui could see an unquenchable thirst in Hu Yuanqing's eyes when he gazed at Long Lingyun. Even so, he was willing to give her away like an item – Hu Yuanqing was a man of wild ambitions.

"How kind of you. Don't worry, we know how exceptional you are, which is why we've been very supportive of you. Since it's a gift to us, then it's impolite to refuse your kindness." The old man on the left smiled wickedly.

It was an evil smile that could send s.h.i.+vers down a spine, especially for women.

"Young Master Hu, we will show you how it should be done." The other old man chortled. Both of them walked towards Long Lingyun's direction and abruptly shredded their clothes into pieces within the first three steps, leaving two Interspatial Silk Sachets on the ground.

Such generosity – to show everyone their naked body………

Qing Shui was just beside Long Lingyun, so he was able to see her face turned 50 shades paler when she saw the naked bodies of the two old men. Not a surprise, given that she was a woman after all. Startled, she quickly shut her eyes tightly as the two old men walked closer towards her.

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