AST 1041 – The Price of Insulting Someone
After Qing Shui purchased the statue, he immediately tossed it into the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. Although this Coiled Dragon Statue wasn't enormous, it was very heavy. He didn't want to test it at the moment, so he decided to leave it alone, so he had something to look forward to.
He took another look around and decided that there wasn't anything else of value, so he went upstairs once again. The few women also followed behind Qing Shui, smiling. Qing Shui was in a good mood after getting his hands on the Coiled Dragon Statue. Although he wasn't sure yet if it was a valuable treasure, he was still very happy about it.
Qing Shui's eyes lit up when he walked into the third floor. The room had become even narrower on this level, but the number of people here was about the same as in the second floor. The room was filled with the noise of well-dressed people bargaining. Most were cultivators, but there were also some wealthy merchants.
There were only two guards on the third floor, but both were Grade Eight Martial Kings. In Fair Wind City, a Grade Eight Martial King was considered quite decent. Besides, regardless of where they were, cultivators above Xiantian were all respected, because most of the population was made up of ordinary people.
"Tsk, tsk. So many beauties!"
Just then, a voice rang out from the stairs. Qing Shui looked towards the source of the voice, the little lass in his arms. A few young men stood at the flight of stairs. They seemed to have come from upstairs.
The person who spoke was a handsome young man who stood in the middle. He appeared to be in his thirties and had a pair of deep eyes as well as a straight and sharp nose. His eyebrows made him look very heroic. He was a very handsome man. However, he was currently ogling the few women by Qing Shui's side, not even bothering to conceal the lusty light shining in his eyes.
Qing Shui knew that this youth was either a wealthy person or an influential figure from the way he dressed. On top of that, he had a very arrogant look on his face. He seemed very haughty and conceited, as if he stood on top of the world.
"Young Master Tai, such gorgeous beauties are rare sights. Why don't we treat them to some wine?" The other young man beside him chuckled. He was also dressed gorgeously.
This youth was taller and more strongly built compared to the first. He had a pair of bushy eyebrows and manly facial features. He was a fine looking man that gave others the impression that he was a gentle and kind man.
Qing Shui smiled but didn't say anything. The few women beside him didn't even bother to spare a glance at them.
"Young Master Ding, you see that little girl? I wonder which beauty is her mother." The young man who was addressed as Young Master Tai laughed lightly. A dim flame was already burning in his eyes. That was the flame of lust.
"Young Master Tai, you'll get your answer if you ask. Don't worry, your brother is aware of your interest. I won't snatch her from you. I have my eyes on that woman who looks like a fairy in the white dress." Young Master Ding had a very lecherous smile on his face.
Qing Shui ears were very sharp. Although they weren't speaking really loudly, he still clearly heard it. However, he didn't have much reaction because these people were nothing more than clowns in his eyes.
The few women didn't make any moves because Qing Shui was there. They knew that Qing Shui would take care of this. Before Qing Shui even moved towards them, the few young men had come over instead.
"Hello, beautiful ladies. I am the fourth young lord of the City Lord Manor, Tai Kangyan. I'm interested in making friends with you. Why don't we introduce ourselves to each other?"
Tai Kangyan talked in an overly familiar way, as if fearing that people wouldn't know that he was one of the young lords from the City Lord Manor. He then pointed at Young Master Ding who was beside him. "This is the grandson of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store, Ding Haiyang. What are your names, my beautiful ladies?"
Qing Shui's existence was completely ignored and this greatly annoyed him. How could anyone ignore such a handsome man like himself? The few ladies appeared to not hear him as they looked at each other. "My husband, the air here is quite stale, shall we leave?" Canghai Mingyue said with a smile.
Tai Kangyan's countenance changed at Canghai Mingyue's remarks. All the things he had said earlier were completely disregarded by these people. No one had ever had the nerve to disregard him, Young Master Tai.
"Miss, you're really not giving me, Young Master Tai, face?" Tai Kangyan took a step forward and blocked Canghai Mingyue's path.
"Who do you think you are? Why do I have to give you any face?" Canghai Mingyue said in a tranquil voice. There was no emotion in her eyes.
Her gaze infuriated Tai Kangyan. He was handsome, from a good family background, and had seduced quite a few women from good clans through promises and threats. Many of them were discarded like old shoes as soon as he became bored of them.
This time the few ladies here were all peerless beauties. His eyes were especially sharp and he had been able to tell that at least two of them were married. Although their body figure was still very lady-like, he was able to tell that they were married women through their temperament.
As they said, lust could cause one to be irrational. Tai Kangyan took pleasure in loving women who had birthed a child. Now that he had met one that could definitely drive him crazy, how could he let her slip away? This was Fair Wind City. He considered himself the rule here.
"Bitch, I gave you a chance to redeem yourself but you didn't take it!"
Canghai Mingyue lifted her hand. But then, Qing Shui reached out and grabbed her wrist. This caused Canghai Mingyue to look at Qing Shui, who was smiling, in confusion.
Even the other party and the people around them were staring at Qing Shui.
"This man is so handsome, how can he be such a scary cat? His woman has been insulted by someone else and he still doesn't dare to say anything."
"Yes. This woman is feisty though. Such a tragedy for her to end up with such a cowardly man."
"Are you crazy? That's Young Master Tai and Young Master Ding we are talking about here. Who in Fair Wind City would dare to provoke them? I think this man has a clear view of the circumstances he is in."
"How can he still be a coward when his woman has been insulted? If it were me, I'd have killed that man long ago."
………
All Qing Shui did was grab Canghai Mingyue's hand. He hadn't even said anything yet and he was already being looked down upon by the people around them. The voices of everyone around them were mixed up. Even if their voices weren't too loud, he was able to hear everything clearly.
"Mingyue, hold the little lass. Remember not to let her watch this. I don't think you should lift your hand against this guy. My heart will ache if your hand is soiled." Qing Shui passed Qing Yun to Canghai Mingyue.
Pfft……
The people around them choked. What was this? They had thought that this guy was a coward earlier. It turned out that he was worried that his woman would soil her hand from delivering a slap across the faces of those people. This man really was on another level……
Canghai Mingyue held the little lass in her arms and let her lean on her chest. The face of Young Master Tai, who was standing across them, had already turned scarlet, blue veins popping out on the side of his foreheads.
Qing Shui could tell that the man across him was a typical spoiled brat of a rich and powerful clan. He was an uncultured and incapable spoiled brat. Without his clan's protection, he was basically nothing.
"You really don't know what is death. If I can't make you die today, I'll change my surname into yours!" Tai Kangyan bellowed in rage.
"Please don't do that. I can't afford to be embarrassed by someone like you." Qing Shui laughed while rolling up his sleeves.
"Finish him! Beat him to his death!"
Tai Kangyan yelled loudly at the few people beside him.
The three people behind him were all dressed like cultivators. Most importantly, the two guards on the third floor were also standing by Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang's sides right now. After all, Ding Haiyang was nominally the young master of this Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store.
The three people behind him rushed towards Qing Shui. "You're really not watching where you're going. You didn't even bother to ask who exactly our Young Master Tai is in Fair Wind City!" They even shouted loudly.
"Ahhhh……!"
As soon as the person who took the lead finished speaking, Qing Shui immediately delivered a kick. His words immediately turned into a blood-curdling scream. The two people behind him were also sent flying. Blood leaked out of the corner of their mouths, but they weren't dead yet. Qing Shui had already gone easy on them.
He had sent a Martial King flying with just one kick. Not only that, he was also half dead. The leader among the three people who had rushed towards him was an Early Martial King. But even so, he had become half dead from that single kick. Just what was the strength of this young man?
The two people at the back were also heavily injured from the impact. Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang were dumbstruck by the turn of events. But soon enough, Ding Haiyang roared. "Get reinforcements! Beat him to death! How will I be able to go out again if I, Ding Haiyang, am bullied by someone else in the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store?!"
The two guards in the shop unsheathed their longs swords at his shout. They lunged at Qing Shui from both sides. They heard some movements from upstairs, too. Qing Shui's figure didn't budge even an inch at the sight of those two people with murderous intent. He immediately delivered two slaps in the air. He didn't even have to lay a finger on the Grade Eight Martial King cultivators. Just his qi aura was more than enough to kill them.
They came and went very quickly. Just two slaps were enough to make them half-dead.
"Do you know what I hate?" Qing Shui slowly walked towards Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang.
The two of them were already panicking, their faces turning pale. Tai Kangyan involuntarily took a step backward. "Don't come near me. My father is the City Lord. If you dare lay a finger on me, he won't let you get away with it.
PA!
The sound of a slap on the face reverberated. A trail of fresh blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.
"Is the Fair Wind City's City Lord Manor very powerful? Trash like you would be shit if you are removed from the City Lord Manor. Tell me, what do you have to show off about? You are trying to hit on my woman and have insulted her. Do you think you can still live after that?" Qing Shui lifted his leg and kicked him.
"AHHH……!"
A blood-curdling scream rang out. The fresh blood of the City Lord Manor's Young Master Tai sprayed everywhere. Allowing a trash like this to live would only be a scourge in the future. Qing Shui turned his gaze towards Ding Haiyang next.
PA!
Just a slap to his face was enough to knock out more than half of the teeth from his mouth and send him flying.
"Don't kill me! I'll give you money! I'll do whatever you want…" Ding Haiyang was really terrified right now. If Qing Shui was able to kill Tai Kangyan effortlessly, then he would be able to kill him too. He was really frightened. Even if he was dizzy from the slap, he was still aware that he could be killed at any moment now, so he got up and started begging for mercy endlessly.
Just then, about ten people came down from upstairs. Qing Shui smiled. There were also Peak Martial Saints among them. Not only that, there were two of them. Among the people who had arrived, there were old men, middle-aged men and young men.
They were led by two old men. A look of anger flashed across their eyes when they saw the few people who had been injured. However, as soon as they saw Qing Shui and the few ladies, their angry looks gradually softened up.
"Sir, the two juniors are immature. If they have offended you, I shall make an apology to you here on their behalf." The old man was very humble and was even trembling.
It was fortunate that he had witnessed a bit of the battle with the Buddha Sect back then. The moment he saw Qing Shui, he was able to instantly recognize him. He was scared witless. Regardless of the City Lord Manor or the Ding Clan of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store, they were nothing compared to the Buddha Sect.
"Old Sir, I am a person who knows my place well. The two of them were trying to snatch my women in the name of City Lord Manor and Ding Clan. Not only that, they also verbally insulted my women. Sir, how do you think they should be dealt with?" Qing Shui questioned in a calm voice.
The old man's countenance paled. His body trembled like a leaf in the wind. "I'd smash his four limbs and also his penis before handing him to you, sir."
The old man's heart was dripping blood. Even so, he couldn't afford to let these two people drag the two clans down. They must be courting death to be insulting the women of other people.
"Help, Grandpa……"
"I know my mistake. Spare me this once. Young Master Tai was the one who insulted someone, not me…"
………
This kind of punishment was worse than being killed. What would life be if one couldn't move or have sexual intercourse? Ding Haiyang was shouting himself hoarse.
"Sir, spare me this once! I shall work like an ox and work like a horse to repay you!"
"Sir, spare me this once! I will give you a nice painting as a gift! You'll definitely like it. If you don't, you can kill me then. Please spare me this once!"
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
AST 1042 – Heaven Shaking Drum, Seal of Xuantian Second Part of Scroll Fragment, The Ninth Portrait of Beauty
Qing Shui didn't plan to exterminate them yet. Tai Kangyan was dead as he insulted Canghai Mingyue and nobody could save him. Ding Haiyang was beaten until he was half dead previously.
He nodded. "You don't have to die. But I have a condition."
"Please say it! I will listen to you." Ding Haiyang was pleasantly surprised. He felt as if he had been reborn once more.
"I don't want to hear any negative news about you ever again! You can give it a try if you can do things cleanly." Qing Shui said as he smiled.
"Rest assured! I will not dare to do it anymore even if you gave me 100 guts!" Ding Haiyang hurriedly said. The existence of life was the foundation of enjoyment. If one's life was lost, everything else would mean nothing.
The old man was also nervous as he watched at the side. They knew that the stronger a person was, the more worthless a human's life was to them. Today's incident was sufficient for the other party to exterminate the entire Tai Clan and Ding Clan. For the other party to hold back, it must be due to all the good deeds that the ancestors of these two clans had done.
"You can go retrieve whatever calligraphy or painting you mentioned just now. If you can't satisfy me, you are still going to die!" Qing Shui's gentle tone sounded just like a voice of a demonic murderer to Ding Haiyang's ears.
"I'll go now! Right away!"
Ding Haiyang bowed and said promptly before he dashed up the stairs at lightning speed.
"Old man! Tai Kangyan is dead. Please relay this message to the City Lord. I'm worried that I couldn't hold myself back from attacking." Qing Shui turned around and told the old man.
"Rest assured, Sir! This old man knows just how to handle this situation. No one shall disturb you in Fair Wind City." The old man could tell that Qing Shui was a person who dislike troubles. It wasn't that he was afraid of troubles, but more like he didn't have the time to deal with all these trivial matters.
Qing Shui was very satisfied with the old man's response. He saw that there were many people in the surrounding but there were basically no outsiders anymore. They were all people of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings as the others had already fled. Sometimes, being an onlooker came with a great price. Even if there was anyone who wanted to continue watching, they would be asked to leave sooner or later.
"Sir! Let us go upstairs and have a seat. There are still a few items that I have collected in my humble store. I'll show them to you. If you're interested in any of them, you can have them as a token of appreciation."
This was such a good opportunity. There was no way the old man would miss the opportunity to have a connection with this formidable cultivator. If the other party was pleased, the Ding clan would benefit for a lifetime without doing anything.
"Alright! If I'm interested in any, I'll definitely offer you a good price." Qing Shui smiled and said. He turned his head to look at the few ladies.
"Qing Shui! We'll return first. Come back early." Canghai Mingyue smiled at Qing Shui.
"That's fine too!"
He walked over to hug and kiss the little lass after he finished speaking. He then watched them walked down the stairs.
………
For the first time, Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings had closed its door. Qing Shui felt that it wasn't too surprising that such an incident happened. If people of Ji Yunlang's caliber could feel how terrifying he was, then these people who were still in the Fair Wind City would never have thought of it. Besides, he didn't look too old either.
The higher they went, the smaller the area became. The fifth floor was no longer open to the public. Qing Shui and the old man entered the fifth floor while the others all waited on the fourth floor. The old man respectfully gestured for him to take a seat and personally poured Qing Shui some tea.
"You know me?" Qing Shui looked at the old man with a smile.
"I was fortunate to have seen you once." The old man respectfully replied.
Qing Shui guessed it right away. It must have been during the battle with the Buddha Sect. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to be so respectful after only seeing him once before. Since he had seen him before, this saved Qing Shui a lot of troubles.
Just then, Ding Haiyang came over with a large chest in his hands. He then gently placed it down in front of Qing Shui. "Sir! I have bought this from a peddler. You may have a look!" Ding Haiyang said while he opened the chest. His hands trembled as this was a matter of life and death. If he couldn't satisfy this person before his eyes, disaster would befall on him.
The large chest was very simple and unadorned, yet it looked sturdy and was also very heavy. However, something familiar caught Qing Shui's eyes at the very first glance right after the chest was opened. It was a familiar looking scroll of painting.
Very familiar indeed. All this time, he never knew what these scrolls of paintings could be used for. He already owned eight of these scroll of paintings and now, he saw another one. Still, he was elated about it.
The Portrait of Beauty!
He didn't even need to open it to be certain because the materials used for the painting were very unique. Hence, he didn't need to open and look at it to confirm that it was a Portrait of Beauty.
The ninth Portrait of Beauty!
Qing Shui decided not to open the scroll. Instead, he looked at the other items. There were only two other items, but these two items made Qing Shui very excited. Perhaps he should say that it was one of them that made him very excited.
The Heaven Shaking Drum!
It was an exquisite small drum with a size of a foot. There was nothing alongside it that could be used to hit the drum. There was a trace of a desolate and ancient aura in its exquisiteness. However, not even the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi could be felt from it.
Qing Shui smiled. He thought of the Coiled Dragon Statue from earlier as well as the items back then, the Spirit Gathering Lamp and the Soulshake bell. These items need to be refined. He wondered to himself if he really wanted to be a Beast Tamer in the future after he saw all of these items.
The last remaining item was a worn out page and it actually had a faint Spiritual Qi on it. He reached out to pick it up, it was only then that he saw the words on it.
Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment!
Qing Shui frowned. What could this be? Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment? He flipped it opened to take a look, and discovered that this was a battle technique.
Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment. He had to search for the Seal of Xuantian, First Part and Third Part of Scroll Fragment before he could cultivate it. Qing Shui continued to read the description below but it was all over the place and difficult to understand. However, he also knew that this was a type of Absolute Seal Battle Technique, a Spiritual Battle Technique. From the name itself, it sounded like it was extremely powerful. Unfortunately, he couldn't cultivate it.
"Sir! Please have a look……" Ding Haiyang wasn't that confident when he saw Qing Shui looking through all these items with a calm expression on his face. It was because he didn't know the values of all these items. He actually felt that the best item in there was the scroll fragment, but it was a pity that the scroll fragment couldn't be cultivated. As for the small drum, it couldn't make any sound and was indestructible no matter how it was hit. On the contrary, he had seen the portrait before. The woman in the painting was as beautiful as a saint. Initially, he was reluctant to take it out, but he had babbled about it when they were downstairs. Hence, he had to take it out for the sake of his life. That scroll of painting was the most precious item in his heart. If it wasn't for the matter of life and death, he wouldn't have spoken about this scroll of painting.
"Acceptable!"
It felt as if Qing Shui's words had lifted a heavy rock off from Ding Haiyang's heart. At the same time, the old man also brought few a more few items over. A pair of Jade Lions abundant with Spiritual Qi. It was fully charged with it. There was also a jade pendant, he could feel a cooling sensation with just a touch of it. It had a slight effect in boosting the spirit energy, which could slightly increase the recovery speed of spirit energy.
Qing Shui was very interested in these. There were also a few other items but Qing Shui wasn't interested in them. However, his own clan might need some of them.
"Old man! If you can't bring yourself to give these items up, I won't force you either. If you can give them up, I'll buy them. Offer me a price!" Qing Shui said with a smile.
"You're kidding, Sir! If you like it, I will be very glad too. These items are nothing too pricey." The old man told him with a smile.
Qing Shui laughed too. The old man actually hoped that Qing Shui would owe him a favor. Perhaps if not for a favor, then it was to get closer to him and to bridge their connections so that if something happened in the future, maybe Qing Shui could lend them a helping hand.
"Hehe! This is for you. See if you're satisfied with it!" Qing Shui took out a bottle of Tiger Vitality Pills as well as a bottle of Constitution Nurturing Pills and left it on the table.
"Sir! I've said that these are gifts to……"
"Are you not satisfied with the items I'm giving?" Qing Shui was still smiling when he asked.
"I dare not!"
The old man quickly picked them up. With a wave of his hand, Qing Shui stored all the items into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal then stood up. "I'm going to stay in the Fair Wind City. I won't let anyone bully the people of the Fair Wind City. But I do not wish to see any of your people bully the weak either."
Right after he finished his sentence, Qing Shui's figure disappeared into the staircase in a flash. In another flash, he was gone. As soon as Qing Shui left, the old man sat on the chair. His back was already soaked in cold sweat since long ago.
He then picked up the two porcelain bottles and opened them. His hands trembled when he saw the medicinal pills in the porcelain bottles. It was worth it. These were much more expensive than those few items……
Qing Shui didn't think about the matter with the Tai Clan from the City Lord Manor of the Fair Wind City anymore. He knew that the Ding Clan's old man would handle this. He would pay a visit to the Cold Ice City tomorrow. It was about time he visited Hai Dongqing to see how she was doing recently.
The cultivation speed of the lady on the Portrait of Beauty was simply indescribable. It seemed like there was no problem on achieving the realm of Martial Emperor. He wasn't certain what Hai Dongqing's current strength was. It should be more or less the same as his.
After he went back, the ladies asked the situation and Qing Shui told them what had happened. A matter like this was nothing to the ladies anyway. Death was not sufficient for profligate sons like Tai Kangyan.
Qing Shui gave Luan Luan the jade pendant and then distributed the other items to the few ladies and the children. Everyone had their own share, especially the children.
He had an early dinner, and then he entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Qing Shui picked up the Coiled Dragon Statue first then scrutinized it for a moment again. He then activated the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique and tried to refine it. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was channeled into it without any obstruction, Qing Shui was ecstatic.
It was indeed the Coiled Dragon Statue. It was something akin to the Spirit Gathering Lamp, only that it increases the ability of demonic beasts to resist attacks. This also meant an increase in the demonic beasts' defense.
The Spirit Gathering Lamp increase the Five Elements Energies of demonic beasts in terms of offense, spirit energy's resistance. The Coiled Dragon Statue on the other hand increases resistance to physical attacks as well as one's defence.
Very quickly, he had completely refined the Coiled Dragon Statue and filled the quota of the day. Qing Shui was already extremely happy with just the Coiled Dragon Statue. After he put it down, he picked up the Heaven Shaking Drum.
Earlier on, a trace of Spiritual Qi had appeared on the Coiled Dragon Statue after it was refined. This type of precious treasure was truly beneficial to him. He wasn't sure how others would use it. Was he supposed to keep holding it? It would be useless if he kept it in the Interspatial Silk Sachet. However, he could use it if he put it in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Ever since he owned the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, his fate started to gradually incline. It could be said that he wouldn't be who he was today without the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.
This was a type of formless coincidence. Perhaps this was an inscrutable twist of fate, some sort of unknown profoundness. This was the so-called fate of the mystery within a mystery.
Qing Shui couldn't tell what was this Heaven Shaking Drum made out of. It had the size of a foot but it weighed around 300 jin. He hit the drum lightly with his hand but no drumbeat was heard. It was as if he was hitting a stone.
Feeling slightly apprehensive, he refined it for a little while. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was also successfully channeled into the Heaven Shaking Drum, he wanted to let out a blissful roar.
As long as the Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum were refined to the same grade as the Spirit Gathering Lamp, the demonic beasts' overall strength would increase by about a fold. This meant that the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant, Five-Headed Demonic Spider and the rest would also grow more powerful. It would be great if he had another treasure to enhance speed. But for now, he was already feeling content.
When he was done refining these two things, he finally shifted his attention to that familiar looking scroll of painting. He was very curious as well. Just who would be the woman in this Ninth Portrait of Beauty? Was she someone that he knew?
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
AST 1043 – She's the Lady On The Portrait of Beauty, Dongqing's Breakthrough
Qing Shui looked forward to the Twelve Heavenly Meridians as he thought about it…
He slowly picked up the painting scroll and unrolled it by slowly pulling downwards. As the painting was revealed, the person on the portrait came into Qing Shui's view, starting from her dark silky hair. Qing Shui's heart stirred when he saw her eyes and he quickly unrolled the scroll of painting at once.
The lady in the portrait was dressed in plain white clothes. Her sleeves were a little long and less than half of her palms was uncovered. Even so, it was aesthetically harmonizing for Qing Shui to look at. Her body figure was gorgeously slender and she had the aura of a sacred saint.
Qing Shui stared into the beautiful orbs of the lady on the painting. Her eyes weren't as brilliant as the stars. They weren't otherworldly like Yiye Jiange's or deep like Canghai Mingyue's. They also weren't extraordinarily refined like Di Chen's or elegant like Hai Dongqing's. Qing Shui couldn't quite put a finger on it. If he really had to put it into words, then her eyes were somewhat elegant, somewhat refined, somewhat pure and deep.
The sacredness of her orbs was alluring. She seemed to have a wave of strange energy within her that could make one have the urge to worship her. She was a woman of unparalleled beauty, and this wasn't even taking into account her appearance. She was beautiful for her aura and the feeling she gave to others.
Tantai Xuan!
The ninth Portrait of Beauty was Tantai Xuan. Although he wasn't completely surprised, he was still a little surprised. He wasn't that surprised because he had already thought beforehand that Tantai Xuan's beauty was on with those of the ladies in the Portraits of Beauty.
He was surprised because he had coincidentally met her before. The beauty he had met was actually the ninth Portrait of Beauty, even though he had only been fated to meet Tantai Xuan once.
Qing Shui was a little puzzled. He had met some ladies only after he had seen their Portraits of Beauty, and he had met some ladies before seeing their Portrait of Beauty. Yet he had still met them all the same, why did he always seem to be able to meet them?
Each lady on the Portraits of Beauty was gifted with outstanding talents. They were destined to be extraordinary and they were all peerless beauties. Hence, it wasn't too strange for anyone who got their hands on the Portraits of Beauty to be able to meet the real ladies on the portraits. But then again, the chances of that happening shouldn't be this high. He thought about how, if he had missed this opportunity, he would have never known that Tantai Xuan was one of the beauties from the Portraits of Beauty.
The Portraits of Beauty were the most perfect women that the Art Maestro had sketched out, from their body shape to their grace, attire, and skin. These were all complete fantasies. To be able to meet this kind of beauty was a great fortune to one's eyes.
Qing Shui had met Tantai Xuan once at the Southern Sea Country, but she was wearing a veil back then, so he had only seen those divinely graceful eyes of hers and the outline of her gorgeous face. However, he was also able to see her beautiful jade-like nose, and her alluring and graceful lips from the painting that caused Qing Shui to be in a daze for a very long moment.
Among the nine women on the Portraits of Beauty, he had been involved with eight of them. However, Qing Shui posited there was one more woman by his side that was also on the Portraits of Beauty. He was already able to guess it, although it might not necessarily be the case.
He had already collected nine out of the twelve Portraits of Beauty. One of the beauties in the remaining three portraits should be by his side. He was quite confident about it due to the Twelve Heavenly Meridians.
The Southern Sea and the Southern Viewing Continent. What were the chances of him visiting the locations? He was about to leave for the other four continents. It seemed like he wasn't going to be involved with every one the ladies on the Portrait of Beauty after all.
"Forget about it. I'm not going to think about this for now!"
Qing Shui got up and hung this Portrait of Beauty on the Magnificent Mountains and Rivers screen, side by side with the eighth Portrait of Beauty. Looking at these Portraits of Beauty was already a great pleasure in itself. No wonder that Ting Haiyang had been hiding this portrait. If he hadn't needed to save his own hide, he probably wouldn't have taken it out.
However, he mentioned that he had gotten this from a peddler, meaning he didn't get his hands on it through an honest method. He must have pulled some strings!
Cultivate and then refine!
The Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum had reached Grade One quickly. He was also very pleased to see that the Spirit Gathering Lamp's effects had been increased by quite a lot. However, they were still only Grade One, so he would have to give them some time. The Spirit Gathering Lamp was currently only Grade Five, which depressing Qing Shui.
During the first five grades, it leveled up very fast. However, after it hit Grade Five, it hadn't leveled up for a very long time. Even so, the additional strength that it had gained was very powerful. Qing Shui was very satisfied about that, so he was also hoping that the Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum could reach Grade Five soon too.
Qing Shui had cultivated the Great Golden Buddha Palm to the Sixth Wave. It could now be considered Qing Shui's greatest killing technique. Of course, this was other than the Marrow Nibbling Golden Silkworm in the Central Palace Blood Essence Pool, because Qing Shui wasn't too sure about it either. That little thing was terrifying enough even in its current state.
Other than that, the Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation seemed to have reached a bottleneck. Although it was in its infancy, it had grown another meter in size compared to the Earth Diamond Bear. However, its rate of growth had slowed down. In any case, it was already quite decent right now. One shouldn't be too impatient when it came to cultivation.
……….
The next day, Qing Shui got up and made his way to Cold Ice City. Time was running out and New Year was just around the corner. After New Year, it would be about time for them to leave for the Northern Sacred Lu Continent. He was slightly nervous, but still really looked forward to it.
The number of times he had visited Cold Ice City could be counted on his fingers. Qing Shui had deep and good memories of this city. Despite the freezing temperature there, he felt warm in his heart because his beloved Hai Dongqing was here!
He felt lonely out there because that the person he loved wasn't in that place. His loneliness stemmed not from the city he was in, but rather his innermost heart.
Snowflakes were dancing in the air of Cold Ice City as usual. The current snow wouldn't stop for at least another three days. Qing Shui made his way towards the familiar manor. That was the manor that Hai Dongqing stayed alone in. The current heads of the clan were Hai Dongqing and Hai Dongying.
Hai Dongying usually handled the affairs of the clan. Hai Dongqing would only step forth when there were issues that he couldn't handle.
The manor was very quiet. Two guards were standing silently at the entrance.
"Sir, please halt!"
One of the guards who appeared like a snowman moved in front of him and blocked Qing Shui's path. He was very polite. Qing Shui was equally covered in white snow right now.
Qing Shui knew that Hai Dongqing was around. He could sense her aura.
"I am here to look for Miss Hai." Qing Shui informed the guard with a smile.
"What is your name, Sir? I shall help you notify her." The man who was blocking Qing Shui's path asked politely.
"Just tell them that I am Qing Shui!"
"Qing Shui?"
That name was too familiar among the entire Hai Clan. He looked at Qing Shui doubtfully for a moment. The other guard had already turned around and had run inside of the manor.
"Mr. Qing, this way please!" The man hurriedly invited him in respectfully.
Quite a few of them had heard of Qing Shui's name, but not many knew him personally. Even so, he wasn't worried that this visitor was an impostor, so he immediately led Qing Shui inside after he snapped back to reality.
The sound of footsteps traveled in his ears. Qing Shui saw that familiar silhouette of the peerless beauty whose grace was bone-deep.
Qing Shui was the son-in-law of the Hai Clan. They had held a wedding reception before.
The two guards tactfully returned to their posts by the entrance.
There was a room near the entrance with two guards resting inside. They guarded the entrance in shifts.
Hai Dongqing stared at Qing Shui for a moment before throwing herself into his arms and embracing him tightly.
Qing Shui wrapped his arms around her delicate waist tightly too. A faint fragrance wafted into his nose. "Qing'er, why have you become thinner?"
"Qing Shui!"
Hai Dongqing felt sweetness in her heart. She was embracing Qing Shui so happily that she was at loss for words.
The snowflakes that fluttered in the air fell onto the two lovers who were embracing each other tightly, causing the scene to appear even more sacred and pure.
"Qing'er, have you been well these past few years?" After a long moment, Qing Shui looked at the face that was as beautiful as a painting and as graceful as a poem.
"I've been great, but I missed you a lot. Did you miss me? Don't lie to me." Hai Dongqing chuckled and cupped Qing Shui's handsome face with both of her hands, smiling.
She was very happy right now. She didn't expect to suddenly see Qing Shui. Although she had also seen him in the past a few times, this was different. This time was their first time seeing each other since they got married.
"I rushed here because I couldn't stand missing my Qing'er any moment longer." Qing Shui blinked and smiled at Hai Dongqing.
The elegant woman felt very sweet in her heart. Although she had already broken through that stage of relationship with Qing Shui long ago, she still felt shy and charmingly rolled her eyes at him. The feeling of being in love was an unusual feeling. It made even the soul tingle.
Hai Dongqing lifted her head to look at the snow. "Carry me to my room!" She said shyly. Her arms were wrapped around Qing Shui's neck.
Her voice was gentle, yet sounded as if it was imbued with some sort of magic. Qing Shui immediately slid his hand around her waist and lifted her up. He was already kissing on her sexy lips while they were making their way to her room.
The living room's door was kicked open. Inside, the room was warm like the spring season. Qing Shui was very rough. He sucked wildly, as if wanting to suck Hai Dongqing's delicious tongue over into his mouth.
They only pulled apart when both of them began to run out of breath. Qing Shui smilingly looked at Hai Dongqing's lips that were already slightly swollen. In addition to the red tint on her face, she was exuding a charming aura right now. Her beauty was shaking him to his core.
Qing Shui's hands made their way onto her perfectly round, perky, and beautiful rear. He looked at her face that was as beautiful as an immortal while kneading her butt with his hands. They stared into each other's eyes while they indulged in the ecstasy that caused their hearts to race.
One of his hands left and made its way towards Hai Dongqing's breast. Her breast was so full that it couldn't even fit into his palm. He alternated between squeezing it and letting it go. The sensation caused Hai Dongqing to moan softly, much to her embarrassment.
"Strip. I really want it!" Qing Shui looked at Hai Dongqing excitedly.
Hai Dongqing's face grew even redder as she stripped her clothes shyly. It took a moment for her fair breasts to be exposed. In that instant, her breasts bounced right out.
When Hai Dongqing saw the infatuation in Qing Shui's eyes, she felt sweet in her heart and shut her eyes.
"I like it the most when you look at me." Qing Shui planted a kiss on her lips and said.
She opened her beautiful eyes shyly and watched Qing Shui sucking on her delicate nipple. A wave of pleasure coursed through her entire body. It was as if tears were coming out of her eyes.
……….
They had sex with each other until the wee hours of the morning without even having dinner. Hai Dongqing's body was very sensitive. Not long after they started, she had already orgasmed from Qing Shui's kisses. At the end, she really couldn't withstand his relentless attack.
After this round, his strength hadn't really increased. However, Hai Dongqing's strength was decent enough. Qing Shui found some medicinal pills that were suitable for her and performed the Gold Needle Acupuncture to stimulate her hidden potential. These things enabled her to breakthrough to Martial Emperor.
Hai Dongqing, who had just broken through to Martial Emperor, seemed to be slightly astonished. She had broken through so easily…
Everything seemed a little unreal to her. She actually had no idea how strong Qing Shui was, but she had always believed that he had been very powerful, since very long ago.
By the time they finished doing all these, the sky had already turned bright.
"The Qing Clan has now moved to the Fair Wind City. Mother wishes to see you." Qing Shui looked at the woman who was now an Early Martial Emperor. She hadn't even used the Hallow Pill yet.
"Oh. Although I have met Mother before, I still feel a little worried right now." Hai Dongqing came out feeling fresh from a bath after her breakthrough. She winded her jade-like arms around Qing Shui's neck as she spoke nervously.
"What are you worried about? Mother is a very amiable person."
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
AST 1041 – The Price of Insulting Someone
After Qing Shui purchased the statue, he immediately tossed it into the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. Although this Coiled Dragon Statue wasn't enormous, it was very heavy. He didn't want to test it at the moment, so he decided to leave it alone, so he had something to look forward to.
He took another look around and decided that there wasn't anything else of value, so he went upstairs once again. The few women also followed behind Qing Shui, smiling. Qing Shui was in a good mood after getting his hands on the Coiled Dragon Statue. Although he wasn't sure yet if it was a valuable treasure, he was still very happy about it.
Qing Shui's eyes lit up when he walked into the third floor. The room had become even narrower on this level, but the number of people here was about the same as in the second floor. The room was filled with the noise of well-dressed people bargaining. Most were cultivators, but there were also some wealthy merchants.
There were only two guards on the third floor, but both were Grade Eight Martial Kings. In Fair Wind City, a Grade Eight Martial King was considered quite decent. Besides, regardless of where they were, cultivators above Xiantian were all respected, because most of the population was made up of ordinary people.
"Tsk, tsk. So many beauties!"
Just then, a voice rang out from the stairs. Qing Shui looked towards the source of the voice, the little lass in his arms. A few young men stood at the flight of stairs. They seemed to have come from upstairs.
The person who spoke was a handsome young man who stood in the middle. He appeared to be in his thirties and had a pair of deep eyes as well as a straight and sharp nose. His eyebrows made him look very heroic. He was a very handsome man. However, he was currently ogling the few women by Qing Shui's side, not even bothering to conceal the lusty light shining in his eyes.
Qing Shui knew that this youth was either a wealthy person or an influential figure from the way he dressed. On top of that, he had a very arrogant look on his face. He seemed very haughty and conceited, as if he stood on top of the world.
"Young Master Tai, such gorgeous beauties are rare sights. Why don't we treat them to some wine?" The other young man beside him chuckled. He was also dressed gorgeously.
This youth was taller and more strongly built compared to the first. He had a pair of bushy eyebrows and manly facial features. He was a fine looking man that gave others the impression that he was a gentle and kind man.
Qing Shui smiled but didn't say anything. The few women beside him didn't even bother to spare a glance at them.
"Young Master Ding, you see that little girl? I wonder which beauty is her mother." The young man who was addressed as Young Master Tai laughed lightly. A dim flame was already burning in his eyes. That was the flame of lust.
"Young Master Tai, you'll get your answer if you ask. Don't worry, your brother is aware of your interest. I won't snatch her from you. I have my eyes on that woman who looks like a fairy in the white dress." Young Master Ding had a very lecherous smile on his face.
Qing Shui ears were very sharp. Although they weren't speaking really loudly, he still clearly heard it. However, he didn't have much reaction because these people were nothing more than clowns in his eyes.
The few women didn't make any moves because Qing Shui was there. They knew that Qing Shui would take care of this. Before Qing Shui even moved towards them, the few young men had come over instead.
"Hello, beautiful ladies. I am the fourth young lord of the City Lord Manor, Tai Kangyan. I'm interested in making friends with you. Why don't we introduce ourselves to each other?"
Tai Kangyan talked in an overly familiar way, as if fearing that people wouldn't know that he was one of the young lords from the City Lord Manor. He then pointed at Young Master Ding who was beside him. "This is the grandson of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store, Ding Haiyang. What are your names, my beautiful ladies?"
Qing Shui's existence was completely ignored and this greatly annoyed him. How could anyone ignore such a handsome man like himself? The few ladies appeared to not hear him as they looked at each other. "My husband, the air here is quite stale, shall we leave?" Canghai Mingyue said with a smile.
Tai Kangyan's countenance changed at Canghai Mingyue's remarks. All the things he had said earlier were completely disregarded by these people. No one had ever had the nerve to disregard him, Young Master Tai.
"Miss, you're really not giving me, Young Master Tai, face?" Tai Kangyan took a step forward and blocked Canghai Mingyue's path.
"Who do you think you are? Why do I have to give you any face?" Canghai Mingyue said in a tranquil voice. There was no emotion in her eyes.
Her gaze infuriated Tai Kangyan. He was handsome, from a good family background, and had seduced quite a few women from good clans through promises and threats. Many of them were discarded like old shoes as soon as he became bored of them.
This time the few ladies here were all peerless beauties. His eyes were especially sharp and he had been able to tell that at least two of them were married. Although their body figure was still very lady-like, he was able to tell that they were married women through their temperament.
As they said, lust could cause one to be irrational. Tai Kangyan took pleasure in loving women who had birthed a child. Now that he had met one that could definitely drive him crazy, how could he let her slip away? This was Fair Wind City. He considered himself the rule here.
"Bitch, I gave you a chance to redeem yourself but you didn't take it!"
Canghai Mingyue lifted her hand. But then, Qing Shui reached out and grabbed her wrist. This caused Canghai Mingyue to look at Qing Shui, who was smiling, in confusion.
Even the other party and the people around them were staring at Qing Shui.
"This man is so handsome, how can he be such a scary cat? His woman has been insulted by someone else and he still doesn't dare to say anything."
"Yes. This woman is feisty though. Such a tragedy for her to end up with such a cowardly man."
"Are you crazy? That's Young Master Tai and Young Master Ding we are talking about here. Who in Fair Wind City would dare to provoke them? I think this man has a clear view of the circumstances he is in."
"How can he still be a coward when his woman has been insulted? If it were me, I'd have killed that man long ago."
………
All Qing Shui did was grab Canghai Mingyue's hand. He hadn't even said anything yet and he was already being looked down upon by the people around them. The voices of everyone around them were mixed up. Even if their voices weren't too loud, he was able to hear everything clearly.
"Mingyue, hold the little lass. Remember not to let her watch this. I don't think you should lift your hand against this guy. My heart will ache if your hand is soiled." Qing Shui passed Qing Yun to Canghai Mingyue.
Pfft……
The people around them choked. What was this? They had thought that this guy was a coward earlier. It turned out that he was worried that his woman would soil her hand from delivering a slap across the faces of those people. This man really was on another level……
Canghai Mingyue held the little lass in her arms and let her lean on her chest. The face of Young Master Tai, who was standing across them, had already turned scarlet, blue veins popping out on the side of his foreheads.
Qing Shui could tell that the man across him was a typical spoiled brat of a rich and powerful clan. He was an uncultured and incapable spoiled brat. Without his clan's protection, he was basically nothing.
"You really don't know what is death. If I can't make you die today, I'll change my surname into yours!" Tai Kangyan bellowed in rage.
"Please don't do that. I can't afford to be embarrassed by someone like you." Qing Shui laughed while rolling up his sleeves.
"Finish him! Beat him to his death!"
Tai Kangyan yelled loudly at the few people beside him.
The three people behind him were all dressed like cultivators. Most importantly, the two guards on the third floor were also standing by Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang's sides right now. After all, Ding Haiyang was nominally the young master of this Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store.
The three people behind him rushed towards Qing Shui. "You're really not watching where you're going. You didn't even bother to ask who exactly our Young Master Tai is in Fair Wind City!" They even shouted loudly.
"Ahhhh……!"
As soon as the person who took the lead finished speaking, Qing Shui immediately delivered a kick. His words immediately turned into a blood-curdling scream. The two people behind him were also sent flying. Blood leaked out of the corner of their mouths, but they weren't dead yet. Qing Shui had already gone easy on them.
He had sent a Martial King flying with just one kick. Not only that, he was also half dead. The leader among the three people who had rushed towards him was an Early Martial King. But even so, he had become half dead from that single kick. Just what was the strength of this young man?
The two people at the back were also heavily injured from the impact. Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang were dumbstruck by the turn of events. But soon enough, Ding Haiyang roared. "Get reinforcements! Beat him to death! How will I be able to go out again if I, Ding Haiyang, am bullied by someone else in the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store?!"
The two guards in the shop unsheathed their longs swords at his shout. They lunged at Qing Shui from both sides. They heard some movements from upstairs, too. Qing Shui's figure didn't budge even an inch at the sight of those two people with murderous intent. He immediately delivered two slaps in the air. He didn't even have to lay a finger on the Grade Eight Martial King cultivators. Just his qi aura was more than enough to kill them.
They came and went very quickly. Just two slaps were enough to make them half-dead.
"Do you know what I hate?" Qing Shui slowly walked towards Tai Kangyan and Ding Haiyang.
The two of them were already panicking, their faces turning pale. Tai Kangyan involuntarily took a step backward. "Don't come near me. My father is the City Lord. If you dare lay a finger on me, he won't let you get away with it.
PA!
The sound of a slap on the face reverberated. A trail of fresh blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.
"Is the Fair Wind City's City Lord Manor very powerful? Trash like you would be shit if you are removed from the City Lord Manor. Tell me, what do you have to show off about? You are trying to hit on my woman and have insulted her. Do you think you can still live after that?" Qing Shui lifted his leg and kicked him.
"AHHH……!"
A blood-curdling scream rang out. The fresh blood of the City Lord Manor's Young Master Tai sprayed everywhere. Allowing a trash like this to live would only be a scourge in the future. Qing Shui turned his gaze towards Ding Haiyang next.
PA!
Just a slap to his face was enough to knock out more than half of the teeth from his mouth and send him flying.
"Don't kill me! I'll give you money! I'll do whatever you want…" Ding Haiyang was really terrified right now. If Qing Shui was able to kill Tai Kangyan effortlessly, then he would be able to kill him too. He was really frightened. Even if he was dizzy from the slap, he was still aware that he could be killed at any moment now, so he got up and started begging for mercy endlessly.
Just then, about ten people came down from upstairs. Qing Shui smiled. There were also Peak Martial Saints among them. Not only that, there were two of them. Among the people who had arrived, there were old men, middle-aged men and young men.
They were led by two old men. A look of anger flashed across their eyes when they saw the few people who had been injured. However, as soon as they saw Qing Shui and the few ladies, their angry looks gradually softened up.
"Sir, the two juniors are immature. If they have offended you, I shall make an apology to you here on their behalf." The old man was very humble and was even trembling.
It was fortunate that he had witnessed a bit of the battle with the Buddha Sect back then. The moment he saw Qing Shui, he was able to instantly recognize him. He was scared witless. Regardless of the City Lord Manor or the Ding Clan of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings store, they were nothing compared to the Buddha Sect.
"Old Sir, I am a person who knows my place well. The two of them were trying to snatch my women in the name of City Lord Manor and Ding Clan. Not only that, they also verbally insulted my women. Sir, how do you think they should be dealt with?" Qing Shui questioned in a calm voice.
The old man's countenance paled. His body trembled like a leaf in the wind. "I'd smash his four limbs and also his penis before handing him to you, sir."
The old man's heart was dripping blood. Even so, he couldn't afford to let these two people drag the two clans down. They must be courting death to be insulting the women of other people.
"Help, Grandpa……"
"I know my mistake. Spare me this once. Young Master Tai was the one who insulted someone, not me…"
………
This kind of punishment was worse than being killed. What would life be if one couldn't move or have sexual intercourse? Ding Haiyang was shouting himself hoarse.
"Sir, spare me this once! I shall work like an ox and work like a horse to repay you!"
"Sir, spare me this once! I will give you a nice painting as a gift! You'll definitely like it. If you don't, you can kill me then. Please spare me this once!"
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
AST 1042 – Heaven Shaking Drum, Seal of Xuantian Second Part of Scroll Fragment, The Ninth Portrait of Beauty
Qing Shui didn't plan to exterminate them yet. Tai Kangyan was dead as he insulted Canghai Mingyue and nobody could save him. Ding Haiyang was beaten until he was half dead previously.
He nodded. "You don't have to die. But I have a condition."
"Please say it! I will listen to you." Ding Haiyang was pleasantly surprised. He felt as if he had been reborn once more.
"I don't want to hear any negative news about you ever again! You can give it a try if you can do things cleanly." Qing Shui said as he smiled.
"Rest assured! I will not dare to do it anymore even if you gave me 100 guts!" Ding Haiyang hurriedly said. The existence of life was the foundation of enjoyment. If one's life was lost, everything else would mean nothing.
The old man was also nervous as he watched at the side. They knew that the stronger a person was, the more worthless a human's life was to them. Today's incident was sufficient for the other party to exterminate the entire Tai Clan and Ding Clan. For the other party to hold back, it must be due to all the good deeds that the ancestors of these two clans had done.
"You can go retrieve whatever calligraphy or painting you mentioned just now. If you can't satisfy me, you are still going to die!" Qing Shui's gentle tone sounded just like a voice of a demonic murderer to Ding Haiyang's ears.
"I'll go now! Right away!"
Ding Haiyang bowed and said promptly before he dashed up the stairs at lightning speed.
"Old man! Tai Kangyan is dead. Please relay this message to the City Lord. I'm worried that I couldn't hold myself back from attacking." Qing Shui turned around and told the old man.
"Rest assured, Sir! This old man knows just how to handle this situation. No one shall disturb you in Fair Wind City." The old man could tell that Qing Shui was a person who dislike troubles. It wasn't that he was afraid of troubles, but more like he didn't have the time to deal with all these trivial matters.
Qing Shui was very satisfied with the old man's response. He saw that there were many people in the surrounding but there were basically no outsiders anymore. They were all people of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings as the others had already fled. Sometimes, being an onlooker came with a great price. Even if there was anyone who wanted to continue watching, they would be asked to leave sooner or later.
"Sir! Let us go upstairs and have a seat. There are still a few items that I have collected in my humble store. I'll show them to you. If you're interested in any of them, you can have them as a token of appreciation."
This was such a good opportunity. There was no way the old man would miss the opportunity to have a connection with this formidable cultivator. If the other party was pleased, the Ding clan would benefit for a lifetime without doing anything.
"Alright! If I'm interested in any, I'll definitely offer you a good price." Qing Shui smiled and said. He turned his head to look at the few ladies.
"Qing Shui! We'll return first. Come back early." Canghai Mingyue smiled at Qing Shui.
"That's fine too!"
He walked over to hug and kiss the little lass after he finished speaking. He then watched them walked down the stairs.
………
For the first time, Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings had closed its door. Qing Shui felt that it wasn't too surprising that such an incident happened. If people of Ji Yunlang's caliber could feel how terrifying he was, then these people who were still in the Fair Wind City would never have thought of it. Besides, he didn't look too old either.
The higher they went, the smaller the area became. The fifth floor was no longer open to the public. Qing Shui and the old man entered the fifth floor while the others all waited on the fourth floor. The old man respectfully gestured for him to take a seat and personally poured Qing Shui some tea.
"You know me?" Qing Shui looked at the old man with a smile.
"I was fortunate to have seen you once." The old man respectfully replied.
Qing Shui guessed it right away. It must have been during the battle with the Buddha Sect. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to be so respectful after only seeing him once before. Since he had seen him before, this saved Qing Shui a lot of troubles.
Just then, Ding Haiyang came over with a large chest in his hands. He then gently placed it down in front of Qing Shui. "Sir! I have bought this from a peddler. You may have a look!" Ding Haiyang said while he opened the chest. His hands trembled as this was a matter of life and death. If he couldn't satisfy this person before his eyes, disaster would befall on him.
The large chest was very simple and unadorned, yet it looked sturdy and was also very heavy. However, something familiar caught Qing Shui's eyes at the very first glance right after the chest was opened. It was a familiar looking scroll of painting.
Very familiar indeed. All this time, he never knew what these scrolls of paintings could be used for. He already owned eight of these scroll of paintings and now, he saw another one. Still, he was elated about it.
The Portrait of Beauty!
He didn't even need to open it to be certain because the materials used for the painting were very unique. Hence, he didn't need to open and look at it to confirm that it was a Portrait of Beauty.
The ninth Portrait of Beauty!
Qing Shui decided not to open the scroll. Instead, he looked at the other items. There were only two other items, but these two items made Qing Shui very excited. Perhaps he should say that it was one of them that made him very excited.
The Heaven Shaking Drum!
It was an exquisite small drum with a size of a foot. There was nothing alongside it that could be used to hit the drum. There was a trace of a desolate and ancient aura in its exquisiteness. However, not even the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi could be felt from it.
Qing Shui smiled. He thought of the Coiled Dragon Statue from earlier as well as the items back then, the Spirit Gathering Lamp and the Soulshake bell. These items need to be refined. He wondered to himself if he really wanted to be a Beast Tamer in the future after he saw all of these items.
The last remaining item was a worn out page and it actually had a faint Spiritual Qi on it. He reached out to pick it up, it was only then that he saw the words on it.
Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment!
Qing Shui frowned. What could this be? Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment? He flipped it opened to take a look, and discovered that this was a battle technique.
Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment. He had to search for the Seal of Xuantian, First Part and Third Part of Scroll Fragment before he could cultivate it. Qing Shui continued to read the description below but it was all over the place and difficult to understand. However, he also knew that this was a type of Absolute Seal Battle Technique, a Spiritual Battle Technique. From the name itself, it sounded like it was extremely powerful. Unfortunately, he couldn't cultivate it.
"Sir! Please have a look……" Ding Haiyang wasn't that confident when he saw Qing Shui looking through all these items with a calm expression on his face. It was because he didn't know the values of all these items. He actually felt that the best item in there was the scroll fragment, but it was a pity that the scroll fragment couldn't be cultivated. As for the small drum, it couldn't make any sound and was indestructible no matter how it was hit. On the contrary, he had seen the portrait before. The woman in the painting was as beautiful as a saint. Initially, he was reluctant to take it out, but he had babbled about it when they were downstairs. Hence, he had to take it out for the sake of his life. That scroll of painting was the most precious item in his heart. If it wasn't for the matter of life and death, he wouldn't have spoken about this scroll of painting.
"Acceptable!"
It felt as if Qing Shui's words had lifted a heavy rock off from Ding Haiyang's heart. At the same time, the old man also brought few a more few items over. A pair of Jade Lions abundant with Spiritual Qi. It was fully charged with it. There was also a jade pendant, he could feel a cooling sensation with just a touch of it. It had a slight effect in boosting the spirit energy, which could slightly increase the recovery speed of spirit energy.
Qing Shui was very interested in these. There were also a few other items but Qing Shui wasn't interested in them. However, his own clan might need some of them.
"Old man! If you can't bring yourself to give these items up, I won't force you either. If you can give them up, I'll buy them. Offer me a price!" Qing Shui said with a smile.
"You're kidding, Sir! If you like it, I will be very glad too. These items are nothing too pricey." The old man told him with a smile.
Qing Shui laughed too. The old man actually hoped that Qing Shui would owe him a favor. Perhaps if not for a favor, then it was to get closer to him and to bridge their connections so that if something happened in the future, maybe Qing Shui could lend them a helping hand.
"Hehe! This is for you. See if you're satisfied with it!" Qing Shui took out a bottle of Tiger Vitality Pills as well as a bottle of Constitution Nurturing Pills and left it on the table.
"Sir! I've said that these are gifts to……"
"Are you not satisfied with the items I'm giving?" Qing Shui was still smiling when he asked.
"I dare not!"
The old man quickly picked them up. With a wave of his hand, Qing Shui stored all the items into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal then stood up. "I'm going to stay in the Fair Wind City. I won't let anyone bully the people of the Fair Wind City. But I do not wish to see any of your people bully the weak either."
Right after he finished his sentence, Qing Shui's figure disappeared into the staircase in a flash. In another flash, he was gone. As soon as Qing Shui left, the old man sat on the chair. His back was already soaked in cold sweat since long ago.
He then picked up the two porcelain bottles and opened them. His hands trembled when he saw the medicinal pills in the porcelain bottles. It was worth it. These were much more expensive than those few items……
Qing Shui didn't think about the matter with the Tai Clan from the City Lord Manor of the Fair Wind City anymore. He knew that the Ding Clan's old man would handle this. He would pay a visit to the Cold Ice City tomorrow. It was about time he visited Hai Dongqing to see how she was doing recently.
The cultivation speed of the lady on the Portrait of Beauty was simply indescribable. It seemed like there was no problem on achieving the realm of Martial Emperor. He wasn't certain what Hai Dongqing's current strength was. It should be more or less the same as his.
After he went back, the ladies asked the situation and Qing Shui told them what had happened. A matter like this was nothing to the ladies anyway. Death was not sufficient for profligate sons like Tai Kangyan.
Qing Shui gave Luan Luan the jade pendant and then distributed the other items to the few ladies and the children. Everyone had their own share, especially the children.
He had an early dinner, and then he entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Qing Shui picked up the Coiled Dragon Statue first then scrutinized it for a moment again. He then activated the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique and tried to refine it. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was channeled into it without any obstruction, Qing Shui was ecstatic.
It was indeed the Coiled Dragon Statue. It was something akin to the Spirit Gathering Lamp, only that it increases the ability of demonic beasts to resist attacks. This also meant an increase in the demonic beasts' defense.
The Spirit Gathering Lamp increase the Five Elements Energies of demonic beasts in terms of offense, spirit energy's resistance. The Coiled Dragon Statue on the other hand increases resistance to physical attacks as well as one's defence.
Very quickly, he had completely refined the Coiled Dragon Statue and filled the quota of the day. Qing Shui was already extremely happy with just the Coiled Dragon Statue. After he put it down, he picked up the Heaven Shaking Drum.
Earlier on, a trace of Spiritual Qi had appeared on the Coiled Dragon Statue after it was refined. This type of precious treasure was truly beneficial to him. He wasn't sure how others would use it. Was he supposed to keep holding it? It would be useless if he kept it in the Interspatial Silk Sachet. However, he could use it if he put it in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Ever since he owned the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, his fate started to gradually incline. It could be said that he wouldn't be who he was today without the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.
This was a type of formless coincidence. Perhaps this was an inscrutable twist of fate, some sort of unknown profoundness. This was the so-called fate of the mystery within a mystery.
Qing Shui couldn't tell what was this Heaven Shaking Drum made out of. It had the size of a foot but it weighed around 300 jin. He hit the drum lightly with his hand but no drumbeat was heard. It was as if he was hitting a stone.
Feeling slightly apprehensive, he refined it for a little while. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was also successfully channeled into the Heaven Shaking Drum, he wanted to let out a blissful roar.
As long as the Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum were refined to the same grade as the Spirit Gathering Lamp, the demonic beasts' overall strength would increase by about a fold. This meant that the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant, Five-Headed Demonic Spider and the rest would also grow more powerful. It would be great if he had another treasure to enhance speed. But for now, he was already feeling content.
When he was done refining these two things, he finally shifted his attention to that familiar looking scroll of painting. He was very curious as well. Just who would be the woman in this Ninth Portrait of Beauty? Was she someone that he knew?
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
AST 1043 – She's the Lady On The Portrait of Beauty, Dongqing's Breakthrough
Qing Shui looked forward to the Twelve Heavenly Meridians as he thought about it…
He slowly picked up the painting scroll and unrolled it by slowly pulling downwards. As the painting was revealed, the person on the portrait came into Qing Shui's view, starting from her dark silky hair. Qing Shui's heart stirred when he saw her eyes and he quickly unrolled the scroll of painting at once.
The lady in the portrait was dressed in plain white clothes. Her sleeves were a little long and less than half of her palms was uncovered. Even so, it was aesthetically harmonizing for Qing Shui to look at. Her body figure was gorgeously slender and she had the aura of a sacred saint.
Qing Shui stared into the beautiful orbs of the lady on the painting. Her eyes weren't as brilliant as the stars. They weren't otherworldly like Yiye Jiange's or deep like Canghai Mingyue's. They also weren't extraordinarily refined like Di Chen's or elegant like Hai Dongqing's. Qing Shui couldn't quite put a finger on it. If he really had to put it into words, then her eyes were somewhat elegant, somewhat refined, somewhat pure and deep.
The sacredness of her orbs was alluring. She seemed to have a wave of strange energy within her that could make one have the urge to worship her. She was a woman of unparalleled beauty, and this wasn't even taking into account her appearance. She was beautiful for her aura and the feeling she gave to others.
Tantai Xuan!
The ninth Portrait of Beauty was Tantai Xuan. Although he wasn't completely surprised, he was still a little surprised. He wasn't that surprised because he had already thought beforehand that Tantai Xuan's beauty was on with those of the ladies in the Portraits of Beauty.
He was surprised because he had coincidentally met her before. The beauty he had met was actually the ninth Portrait of Beauty, even though he had only been fated to meet Tantai Xuan once.
Qing Shui was a little puzzled. He had met some ladies only after he had seen their Portraits of Beauty, and he had met some ladies before seeing their Portrait of Beauty. Yet he had still met them all the same, why did he always seem to be able to meet them?
Each lady on the Portraits of Beauty was gifted with outstanding talents. They were destined to be extraordinary and they were all peerless beauties. Hence, it wasn't too strange for anyone who got their hands on the Portraits of Beauty to be able to meet the real ladies on the portraits. But then again, the chances of that happening shouldn't be this high. He thought about how, if he had missed this opportunity, he would have never known that Tantai Xuan was one of the beauties from the Portraits of Beauty.
The Portraits of Beauty were the most perfect women that the Art Maestro had sketched out, from their body shape to their grace, attire, and skin. These were all complete fantasies. To be able to meet this kind of beauty was a great fortune to one's eyes.
Qing Shui had met Tantai Xuan once at the Southern Sea Country, but she was wearing a veil back then, so he had only seen those divinely graceful eyes of hers and the outline of her gorgeous face. However, he was also able to see her beautiful jade-like nose, and her alluring and graceful lips from the painting that caused Qing Shui to be in a daze for a very long moment.
Among the nine women on the Portraits of Beauty, he had been involved with eight of them. However, Qing Shui posited there was one more woman by his side that was also on the Portraits of Beauty. He was already able to guess it, although it might not necessarily be the case.
He had already collected nine out of the twelve Portraits of Beauty. One of the beauties in the remaining three portraits should be by his side. He was quite confident about it due to the Twelve Heavenly Meridians.
The Southern Sea and the Southern Viewing Continent. What were the chances of him visiting the locations? He was about to leave for the other four continents. It seemed like he wasn't going to be involved with every one the ladies on the Portrait of Beauty after all.
"Forget about it. I'm not going to think about this for now!"
Qing Shui got up and hung this Portrait of Beauty on the Magnificent Mountains and Rivers screen, side by side with the eighth Portrait of Beauty. Looking at these Portraits of Beauty was already a great pleasure in itself. No wonder that Ting Haiyang had been hiding this portrait. If he hadn't needed to save his own hide, he probably wouldn't have taken it out.
However, he mentioned that he had gotten this from a peddler, meaning he didn't get his hands on it through an honest method. He must have pulled some strings!
Cultivate and then refine!
The Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum had reached Grade One quickly. He was also very pleased to see that the Spirit Gathering Lamp's effects had been increased by quite a lot. However, they were still only Grade One, so he would have to give them some time. The Spirit Gathering Lamp was currently only Grade Five, which depressing Qing Shui.
During the first five grades, it leveled up very fast. However, after it hit Grade Five, it hadn't leveled up for a very long time. Even so, the additional strength that it had gained was very powerful. Qing Shui was very satisfied about that, so he was also hoping that the Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum could reach Grade Five soon too.
Qing Shui had cultivated the Great Golden Buddha Palm to the Sixth Wave. It could now be considered Qing Shui's greatest killing technique. Of course, this was other than the Marrow Nibbling Golden Silkworm in the Central Palace Blood Essence Pool, because Qing Shui wasn't too sure about it either. That little thing was terrifying enough even in its current state.
Other than that, the Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation seemed to have reached a bottleneck. Although it was in its infancy, it had grown another meter in size compared to the Earth Diamond Bear. However, its rate of growth had slowed down. In any case, it was already quite decent right now. One shouldn't be too impatient when it came to cultivation.
……….
The next day, Qing Shui got up and made his way to Cold Ice City. Time was running out and New Year was just around the corner. After New Year, it would be about time for them to leave for the Northern Sacred Lu Continent. He was slightly nervous, but still really looked forward to it.
The number of times he had visited Cold Ice City could be counted on his fingers. Qing Shui had deep and good memories of this city. Despite the freezing temperature there, he felt warm in his heart because his beloved Hai Dongqing was here!
He felt lonely out there because that the person he loved wasn't in that place. His loneliness stemmed not from the city he was in, but rather his innermost heart.
Snowflakes were dancing in the air of Cold Ice City as usual. The current snow wouldn't stop for at least another three days. Qing Shui made his way towards the familiar manor. That was the manor that Hai Dongqing stayed alone in. The current heads of the clan were Hai Dongqing and Hai Dongying.
Hai Dongying usually handled the affairs of the clan. Hai Dongqing would only step forth when there were issues that he couldn't handle.
The manor was very quiet. Two guards were standing silently at the entrance.
"Sir, please halt!"
One of the guards who appeared like a snowman moved in front of him and blocked Qing Shui's path. He was very polite. Qing Shui was equally covered in white snow right now.
Qing Shui knew that Hai Dongqing was around. He could sense her aura.
"I am here to look for Miss Hai." Qing Shui informed the guard with a smile.
"What is your name, Sir? I shall help you notify her." The man who was blocking Qing Shui's path asked politely.
"Just tell them that I am Qing Shui!"
"Qing Shui?"
That name was too familiar among the entire Hai Clan. He looked at Qing Shui doubtfully for a moment. The other guard had already turned around and had run inside of the manor.
"Mr. Qing, this way please!" The man hurriedly invited him in respectfully.
Quite a few of them had heard of Qing Shui's name, but not many knew him personally. Even so, he wasn't worried that this visitor was an impostor, so he immediately led Qing Shui inside after he snapped back to reality.
The sound of footsteps traveled in his ears. Qing Shui saw that familiar silhouette of the peerless beauty whose grace was bone-deep.
Qing Shui was the son-in-law of the Hai Clan. They had held a wedding reception before.
The two guards tactfully returned to their posts by the entrance.
There was a room near the entrance with two guards resting inside. They guarded the entrance in shifts.
Hai Dongqing stared at Qing Shui for a moment before throwing herself into his arms and embracing him tightly.
Qing Shui wrapped his arms around her delicate waist tightly too. A faint fragrance wafted into his nose. "Qing'er, why have you become thinner?"
"Qing Shui!"
Hai Dongqing felt sweetness in her heart. She was embracing Qing Shui so happily that she was at loss for words.
The snowflakes that fluttered in the air fell onto the two lovers who were embracing each other tightly, causing the scene to appear even more sacred and pure.
"Qing'er, have you been well these past few years?" After a long moment, Qing Shui looked at the face that was as beautiful as a painting and as graceful as a poem.
"I've been great, but I missed you a lot. Did you miss me? Don't lie to me." Hai Dongqing chuckled and cupped Qing Shui's handsome face with both of her hands, smiling.
She was very happy right now. She didn't expect to suddenly see Qing Shui. Although she had also seen him in the past a few times, this was different. This time was their first time seeing each other since they got married.
"I rushed here because I couldn't stand missing my Qing'er any moment longer." Qing Shui blinked and smiled at Hai Dongqing.
The elegant woman felt very sweet in her heart. Although she had already broken through that stage of relationship with Qing Shui long ago, she still felt shy and charmingly rolled her eyes at him. The feeling of being in love was an unusual feeling. It made even the soul tingle.
Hai Dongqing lifted her head to look at the snow. "Carry me to my room!" She said shyly. Her arms were wrapped around Qing Shui's neck.
Her voice was gentle, yet sounded as if it was imbued with some sort of magic. Qing Shui immediately slid his hand around her waist and lifted her up. He was already kissing on her sexy lips while they were making their way to her room.
The living room's door was kicked open. Inside, the room was warm like the spring season. Qing Shui was very rough. He sucked wildly, as if wanting to suck Hai Dongqing's delicious tongue over into his mouth.
They only pulled apart when both of them began to run out of breath. Qing Shui smilingly looked at Hai Dongqing's lips that were already slightly swollen. In addition to the red tint on her face, she was exuding a charming aura right now. Her beauty was shaking him to his core.
Qing Shui's hands made their way onto her perfectly round, perky, and beautiful rear. He looked at her face that was as beautiful as an immortal while kneading her butt with his hands. They stared into each other's eyes while they indulged in the ecstasy that caused their hearts to race.
One of his hands left and made its way towards Hai Dongqing's breast. Her breast was so full that it couldn't even fit into his palm. He alternated between squeezing it and letting it go. The sensation caused Hai Dongqing to moan softly, much to her embarrassment.
"Strip. I really want it!" Qing Shui looked at Hai Dongqing excitedly.
Hai Dongqing's face grew even redder as she stripped her clothes shyly. It took a moment for her fair breasts to be exposed. In that instant, her breasts bounced right out.
When Hai Dongqing saw the infatuation in Qing Shui's eyes, she felt sweet in her heart and shut her eyes.
"I like it the most when you look at me." Qing Shui planted a kiss on her lips and said.
She opened her beautiful eyes shyly and watched Qing Shui sucking on her delicate nipple. A wave of pleasure coursed through her entire body. It was as if tears were coming out of her eyes.
……….
They had sex with each other until the wee hours of the morning without even having dinner. Hai Dongqing's body was very sensitive. Not long after they started, she had already orgasmed from Qing Shui's kisses. At the end, she really couldn't withstand his relentless attack.
After this round, his strength hadn't really increased. However, Hai Dongqing's strength was decent enough. Qing Shui found some medicinal pills that were suitable for her and performed the Gold Needle Acupuncture to stimulate her hidden potential. These things enabled her to breakthrough to Martial Emperor.
Hai Dongqing, who had just broken through to Martial Emperor, seemed to be slightly astonished. She had broken through so easily…
Everything seemed a little unreal to her. She actually had no idea how strong Qing Shui was, but she had always believed that he had been very powerful, since very long ago.
By the time they finished doing all these, the sky had already turned bright.
"The Qing Clan has now moved to the Fair Wind City. Mother wishes to see you." Qing Shui looked at the woman who was now an Early Martial Emperor. She hadn't even used the Hallow Pill yet.
"Oh. Although I have met Mother before, I still feel a little worried right now." Hai Dongqing came out feeling fresh from a bath after her breakthrough. She winded her jade-like arms around Qing Shui's neck as she spoke nervously.
"What are you worried about? Mother is a very amiable person."
If you would like to unlock some [Portraits of Beauties] for the flavor as well as wish to support us, please consider pledging ->
