<AST 1195 – Unintentional killing intent, Scarlet Flame Sect
When Qing Shui heard the Eldest Princess being mentioned once again, he smiled and asked, "Is she coming for the Fifth Princess's wedding?"
"Hehe, you are right but at the same time also wrong!" The Seventh Princess smiled and said. She looked really beautiful. It was a kind of serene beauty. It was perhaps because the weapon Qing Shui helped her forge was too good, causing her to constantly be in a state of excitement.
"How can it be both right and wrong?"
"Because the wedding day was intentionally set on the day the Eldest Princess returns, rather than her coming back for the wedding." The Seventh Princess smiled as she explained
Qing Shui understood now. The Eldest Princess truly had a respected status.
"Is this weapon powerful?" Yan Jinyu asked puzzledly. Both Yan Yangzhao and herself were really curious. There were very few weapons that could make Seventh Princess so stirred up.
"A legendary weapon. Do you think it's powerful," the Seventh Princess's reply immediately made the two freeze in shock.
After a long while, both Yan Jinyu and Yan Yangzhao looked at Qing Shui dumbstruck. He had actually forged a legendary weapon.
After a legendary weapon recognizes an owner, they would be able to communicate and establish a terrifying compatibility, so much so that they would be able to connect themselves to their owner's spirit energy and be able to murder people with flying swords. This level surpassed even Qing Shui's hidden weapons.
This was also what made legendary weapons totally different from ordinary weapons. Once a legendary weapon recognized its master, as long as the Owner Recognizing Method isn't removed, it would constantly increase its owner's strength regardless of whether the weapon was in their hands. One way for them to stop recognizing their owner was to kill their owner. Alternatively, an extreme expert could also forcefully erase the imprint on the sword.
Legendary grade, just as its name states, it's already a legendary object. Why would they not be shocked? Qing Shui helplessly shook his head, "There are only that much Yang Stone. If there was one more, I would definitely keep this sword for myself and help her forge another one. I can only say that she is really lucky."
Qing Shui's words made the Seventh Princess laugh. She laughed because of Qing Shui's honesty. He was a very honest person. If it had been someone else, they would definitely not give it to her. She was certain that they might even take the sword and run away. He instead was willing to tell her something like this, which meant that he really liked this sword too.
Considering that he was able to give her the sword even though he liked it a lot, this meant that he was a frank person and was extremely principled. This kind of person was worth being friends with.
"This is the first legendary weapon that I have forged. I don't know when I will be able to forge another one." Qing Shui said with a smile, trusting that they would know what he meant.
Qing Shui didn't want others to know that he could forge legendary weapons. If experts were to look for him to forge legendary weapons, it would make things difficult for him.
"I know, I won't tell anyone and cause others to make things difficult for you." the Seventh Princess smiled intelligently and said.
"But don't you want people to know about you? This is a very good chance for you to raise the reputation of the Firecloud Blacksmith Store." the Seventh Princess asked as she continued talking.
"At the moment, I still lack the strength to protect myself. If people with bad intentions were to find out about this, I might be stolen away……" Qing Shui smiled and responded.
Both the girls laughed when they heard what he said. In that instant, they both looked like flowers that had just blossomed. The beauty that they showed was very attractive. Qing Shui quietly avoided it.
The girl was still beside Qing Shui. She didn't speak and didn't laugh. However, people felt very natural about it because she had acted this way from the beginning.
They arrived at the Yan Clan very quickly, the Dragon Horse Cart went straight into the Yan Clan. When it stopped, they got off the cart. In just a short while, people from the Yan Clan, including Yan Dingtian came out. This time, Qing Shui was able to vaguely sense Yan Dingtian's strength even though he was still unsure of the exact level.
Upon seeing Qing Shui, Yan Dingtian's eyes brightened and had a surprised and stifled expression. Qing Shui also sensed it. He knew that his increase in strength made him somewhat terrified or apprehensive. Most importantly, Qing Shui actually saw a trace of killing intent in his eyes.
Qing Shui was really uncomfortable under Yan Dingtian's gaze. Nevertheless, he still greeted him with a smile. He was aware that he would be leaving quite soon, most likely after Yan Yangchi's wedding.
"Qing Shui, you're here, let's take a walk together. It's all thanks to you that the Yan Clan managed to escape suffering." Yan Dingtian warmly pulled Qing Shui along.
Even now, Qing Shui was unable to tell what Yan Dingtian was thinking about. Experts like him were often very unpredictable. All along, he had had a good impression of Yan Dingtian. Merely, the momentary killing intent had leaked unconsciously. Perhaps it was normal but nevertheless, he already had his own thoughts.
Qing Shui was aware that he had snatched a lot of the Yan Clan's reputation when he represented them. He treated the Yan Clan as his friends only because of Yan Jinyu and the others. He didn't really have any relations with the seniors of the Yan Clan.
Qing Shui was already treating this feast as a leaving banquet. At most, he might visit once more during Yan Yangchi's wedding. Actually, he knew from the beginning that he was just a passing traveller. If there was anything for him to remember, it would be Yan Jinyu as she was his sworn sister. Since they had already acknowledged each other, regardless of the reason, they had kowtowed to heaven and earth. As long as it was allowed, they would be brother and sister forever.
No one knew what Qing Shui was thinking in his heart. He also knew that Yan Dingtian would definitely not act against him. However, this was a common problem within aristocratic clans. The aristocratic clan would restrict him, causing Qing Shui to eliminate thoughts of having close ties with the entire Yan Clan.
The family feast this time was very harmonious. Yan Dingtian's eyes once again wavered when he saw the little girl. He asked Qing Shui who she was. Qing Shui randomly found an excuse to dodge the question. Yan Dingtian greeted the little girl but the little girl didn't respond.
This made Yan Dingtian feel quite awkward. Qing Shui quickly came out to try to solve the problem.
"Father, didn't you have something to tell us? Qing Shui has also arrived, why don't you say it?" Yan Huoyun sat next to Yan Dingtian and said while acting like a spoiled child.
Qing Shui saw Yan Dingtian's pampering expression while looking at his daughter. He was a great father.
"Rong City which is near the Scarlet Flame Region has been occupied by people from the Scarlet Flame Region. I am planning to get you guys to lead people there to eliminate them," Yan Dingtian said with a smile.
"It's the people from Scarlet Flame Region again! This time, we have to exterminate them!" Yan Hu said furiously.
Qing Shui sat there and didn't say anything. Scarlet Flame Region was at the intersection between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Virtue Dynasty. It was a vast and incomparably hot area. The people within it were mostly those who couldn't survive either dynasty, with the majority of them being warriors. Throughout these years, they had actually become a unique force. They took on the responsibility to destroy both the Great Yu Dynasty and Great Virtue Dynasty.
"There would be people from the other clans as well as people from the royal family joining the expedition this time. It can be considered setting up a peaceful situation for Yanchi's wedding. During this period of time, the Scarlet Flame Region has been too savage!" Yan Dingtian chuckled.
"Qing Shui, will you be going? I heard that those people have many good items. They might even have a small piece of Yang Stone." Seventh Princess smiled as she looked at Qing Shui.
It had already been mentioned that this was to set up a peaceful situation for Yan Yangchi's wedding. Therefore, Qing Shui was unable to decline. After all, he also wanted to have a look at the people from Scarlet Flame Region. If he was in luck, he might be able to get a few decent objects.
"Since everyone is going, I will naturally have to go for the sake of Brother Yan's wedding," Qing Shui said with a smile.
They agreed to set off in two days. Everyone would take these two days to rest and reorganize while they wait for the rest to gather before heading to Rong City together.
After the banquet ended, Yan Dingtian and the others left. The Seventh Princess looked at Qing Shui and said softly, "Qing Shui, can I give the sword to someone else?"
She spoke really softly, as if she was scared that Qing Shui would be unwilling to allow it. This also made her feel weird.
"It's yours. Of course it's ok as long as you want to." Qing Shui responded after pausing for a moment. He never imagined that someone would actually give such a strong weapon to someone else after they got it.
"Thank you!" the Seventh Princess said happily.
"Oh, I got it. The Eldest Princess!" Qing Shui said with a smile. Originally, he thought that Seventh Princess was giving the Eldest Princess the sword to ask for news about Di Chen. However, he realized he had overrated himself when he saw her smile.
She was delighted to give her that, so much so that she was happy from giving it to her. He knew that the Eldest Princess and Seventh Princess were born from the same father and mother. And it was precisely because of the Eldest Princess that the Seventh Princess held such a high status that the struggle between the princes wouldn't cause her any harm.
The Seventh Princess didn't say anything but there was a happy smile on her face.
"Oh yeah, have you ever fought against the people from the Scarlet Flame Region?"
While Qing Shui was talking, the others had also walked over.
"The people from Scarlet Flame Region have a very disorganized military force. They also have a lot of strong warriors or else they would have long since been eliminated by the Great Yu Dynasty and Great Virtue Dynasty," Yan Yangchi replied.
Qing Shui understood that the people from Scarlet Flame Region should have very strong warriors to overseeing them. In the past, he had heard that not only was the deepest part of the Scarlet Flame Region not covered in torrid heat, it had a favourable climate throughout the year with enchanting scenery. It was said that there was a sect there called the Scarlet Flame Sect. The reason why the people from the region were able to survive until now was precisely because of the sect.
Some things were really profound, for example, it was perfectly normal for someone to exist, the same when someone died. Perhaps it was because of this that the Great Yu Dynasty, Great Virtue Dynasty as well as the Scarlet Flame Sect didn't make any huge moves. In the past, both dynasties had once organized a huge troop of powerful warriors to enter the Scarlet Flame Region. However, less than 10% of them managed to return. It was also after that time that they found out Scarlet Flame Region had a sect. Furthermore, there were also quite a few oases in Scarlet Flame Region.
Since that time, as long as people from Scarlet Flame Region didn't cause trouble, fights wouldn't usually break out. After all, the Scarlet Flame Region held the initiave.
This time, they occupied Rong City. Both Great Yu Dynasty and Yan City couldn't just stay silent, therefore they were going to teach them a lesson.
Through this, Qing Shui found out that that Scarlet Flame Sect wasn't to be messed with, so much so that there were many other implications. ……
Qing Shui brought the girl back to the blacksmith store. In two days, he would be going to Rong City. Hence he intended to settle the girl in the Yan Clan.
"Little girl, in two days, would you stay in the Yan Clan for a few days and wait for me to return?" Qing Shui asked as he headed back.
"No!"
Her reply stunned Qing Shui. If she didn't want to stay in the Yan Clan, did he have to bring her along?
"I will follow you wherever you go," the girl looked at Qing Shui and responded indiffently like before.
"Alright alright, we’ll go together. Are you not afraid of danger?"
"There is nothing much that can scare me anymore." The girl had hidden meanings in her words at times. Qing Shui could understand what she said, but he was only able to guess that the girl ought to have gone through a tragic event in her life. Otherwise she wouldn't have such a strong resentment, vicious and pernicious aura.
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AST 1196 – Grade Nine Demon Binding Ropes, People From Mu Clan
Qing Shui was actually astonished by the girl’s words that she would go wherever he did. Right now, she knew at least that he was good to her, just like how she would just talk to him.
Qing Shui had been working hard and wanted to let her become a normal person. With that, even if he were to leave her one day, she would be able to live by herself. However, at the moment, it seemed impossible to be able to change her within a short period of time. Therefore, he would guide her slowly.
Without anything to do, Qing Shui took out the few interspatial silk sachets he had gotten from the few people who had assaulted him the other time. Ever since that day when he tossed them into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he hadn’t taken a look at them. It was mainly because he didn't much care and he felt that there wasn’t anything inside that he would be interested in.
When he opened them, he saw a Five Grains Pellet [1] at first glance!
The Five Grains Pellet was a pellet which was formed by having a powerful expert condensing the world’s energies and then combined together with the five grains' energies. It could replenish one’s energy and powers mildly and would be similar to taking a meal. However, it was more nutritious in comparison and was beneficial for cultivation in the early stages.
In the four continents, the Five Grains Pellet was the same as gold and silver and could be used for making purchases. Even an Expert Martial Emperor wouldn’t be able to refrain from eating forever.
Qing Shui looked at those glimmery Five Grains Pellets which were large in numbers and were of high quality. Just this pile alone would fetch a very good price. These were food for cultivators when they were out. They were convenient and could replenish energy. After all, in some places, it would be impossible to find food.
Other than these, there were also some other items but Qing Shui wasn’t interested in them. Although this interspatial silk sachet was owned by a powerful State Master, it was a pity that Qing Shui didn’t take any interest in the items inside.
Although he wasn’t interested in them, the fact still remained that they amounted to quite a significant sum of wealth. There were pellets, forging tools, weapons and other things. They might come to be of use in the future.
Qing Shui then proceeded to check the rest. They were about the same and there was a lot of Five Grains Pellets. These were crucial for when cultivators were out traveling and even some commoners would often use them to strengthen their physiques. The Five Grains Pellet was made by condensing the five grains’ essence and the spiritual Qi in the air. Simple food made from five grains wouldn’t be comparable, at least not in the same amount.
Just as he was about to toss the interspatial silk sachet aside, Qing Shui noticed an inconspicuous rope-like item in the corner. There was no energy fluctuation coming from it. Qing Shui took it out.
The moment he did so, a scorching aura came to his hand. Qing Shui sensed it only to realize that it was sealed up. To think that an item that was sealed up could contain such a powerful heat. It wasn’t only just scorching to the touch, it was also as if some kind of life energy was contained inside.
Qing Shui looked at it with his Heavenly Vision Technique.
Fire Dragon Tendon! Material! Sealed!
Qing Shui thought of his Demon Binding Ropes which was a legendary dragon tendon. What was this Fire Dragon Tendon? Why was it sealed? A material? What kind of material was it for it to be sealed?
Qing Shui saw that there were more descriptions at the bottom and quickly read on.
It could firm up items of a similar type, strengthen their effects or be used as a forging material. When used as a forging material, there wasn’t a need to remove the seal. The only way to remove the seal was to channel in the water energy of the five elements.
…
Qing Shui looked at the Fire Dragon Tendon which was several meters long but had the thickness of his wrist. It might be due to the fact that it was sealed that it appeared to be dull and gloomy. However, Qing Shui was uncertain about how he should use it.
Should he use it as a forging material or should he use it to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes?
Ever since he had completed the Nine Yang Sword, he had wanted to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword. It was a pity that he didn’t have any materials to do so. This dragon tendon could possibly be used but Qing Shui felt that it would be more beneficial for the Demon Binding Ropes.
Qing Shui was torn. Even if he were to use the dragon tendon to upgrade his Big Dipper Sword, it was not certain that the sword would reach the legendary grade. Items of such grade were extremely hard to come by and this dragon tendon might not necessary be able to bring the sword to the legendary grade.
They were heading to Rong City to face the people from Scarlet Flame Region. It didn’t seem to make sense for him to put the Fire Dragon Tendon aside and not use it.
Qing Shui went into a daze. The girl just stayed beside him and looked at him, not saying a word. Qing Shui was already used to this.
The Demon Binding Ropes’ level could be increased gradually but if he were to use the Fire Dragon Tendon, its prowess would definitely increase tremendously. The Demon Binding Ropes could be used to bind enemies. Most importantly, it could restrict the movements of the bound enemies.
The usage was fast and convenient and occasionally, it could have mysterious effects!
After much contemplation, Qing Shui eventually decided to use it to upgrade his Demon Binding Ropes. As long as he could bind his opponents, Qing Shui would have plenty of means to finish them.
At night, when it was time, Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal immediately. Of course, he didn’t forget to ensure the safety of the girl and had left a few of his demonic beasts outside.
Demon Binding Ropes. Its prowess was quite good as it was!
This was the first time that Qing Shui was smelting a magic treasure. After giving it some thought, he decided to use the Primordial Demon Refining Furnace. Although he hadn’t had experience in smelting magic treasures, Qing Shui was still very confident. He expanded his spiritual sense and started the smelting process.
Qing Shui didn’t remove seal since there was no need to do so if he was using it as an ingredient. If he had decided to do otherwise, it could probably be used as a whip. When used to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes, it would be treated as an ingredient.
The smelting process was a very long one. The first step was splicing. He had to join all the dragon’s muscles and tendons together before slowly allowing the Demon Binding Ropes to engulf the Fire Dragon Tendon.
The process was extremely slow and was comparable to the process of smelting the yang stone!
Time passed by slowly and on the 81th day, the two items had completely fused together and an oppressive fiery light appeared. In that instant, the Demon Binding Ropes turned a blood red color. However, after about 15 minutes, it gradually returned to its golden color.
It was now much thicker than before, with the thickness of an adult’s arm. Moreover, the energy exuded had gone through a qualitative change. It was now thicker, more aggressive, more violent, more flexible…
When Qing Shui looked at it, he was stunned. It had actually advanced a grade! The state of the Demon Binding Ropes had progressed to grade nine. Qing Shui was very agitated and he closed his eyes, activating it with his mind.
The Demon Binding Ropes would also be controlled by his mind. What was different from before was that it was just like the Nine Continents Mountain and it exuded extremely strong power and pressure.
It wasn’t just that. There was a hint of red light flashing within the Demon Binding Ropes. That was the power of the Fire Dragon Tendon. A person bound by the Demon Binding Ropes would suffer from the fiery powers of the fire dragon. Of course, this single tendon couldn’t be comparable to the prowess of a fire dragon. However, how many people could actually compare against a fire dragon? Therefore, in all, the prowess of the current Demon Binding Ropes was definitely very terrifying.
Moreover, Qing Shui was happy that when he tempered the Demon Binding Ropes now, he could store a lot of the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique in it. He didn’t have to worry that it would be like before and the powers would be used up after roughly ten times of usage. It was good now. Its storage ability was now several tens of times stronger than before.
He could use the Demon Binding Ropes again the future. When used together with the bloodthirsty demonic vines and the Nine Continents Mountain, the effect would be terrifying. He took a look at his Big Dipper Sword again. He knew that he wouldn’t change his weapon as he had the faint feeling that it seemed to be able to form a divine connection soon.
Only legendary grade weapons would be able to form a divine connection. Therefore, Qing Shui had the feeling that the Big Dipper Sword would be able to reach the legendary grade sooner or later.
It was also because of this that he didn’t use the Fire Dragon Tendon to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword!
…
Two days passed by very quickly. Qing Shui brought the girl along with him and met up with Yan Clan as well as members of other aristocratic clans at Yan City’s sky platform. Of course, there was also quite a number of members of royalty.
“Qing Shui, over here!” When Yan Jinyu saw Qing Shui, she waved and called out to him.
There were quite a number of people with Yan Jinyu. The Fifth and Seventh Princesses were here, some other members of royalty, as well as some members of Yan City’s great aristocratic clans.
When they saw Yan Jinyu’s attitude toward Qing Shui, over a hundred people looked at Qing Shui with resentment…
Qing Shui could clearly sense that. He knew that it was because of Yan Jinyu. This was how men were sometimes. Even if they knew that this lady wouldn’t become theirs in the future, they still didn’t like to see the lady showing admiration for another man.
There were many people but it was clear that they were split up into several groups. Those who were on good terms would stand together and chat.
When the Seventh Princess also started to chat happily with Qing Shui, he once again sensed some gazes glaring at him. This time around, it seemed to be stronger than before.
Not long after Qing Shui had arrived, another few old men came. They were the seniors in the royal family as well as a few major clans. Although they wanted to ensure that the younger members were able to get some training, they also needed to ensure their safety.
“If everyone’s ready, then we’ll set off now! Those who have rides can take them, otherwise, you can take ours.” An old man with an impressive aura spoke as he called out his own ride. It was a huge four-winged demonic beast.
Many others also gradually called out their demonic beasts. Qing Shui also called out the Fire Bird. The current Fire Bird seemed to be more like a black bird. What that surprised Qing Shui was that the few from Yan Clan, as well as Yan Jinyu, Seventh Princess and the Fifth Princess had joined him as well…
Qing Shui shook his head and smiled bitterly. The Fire Bird was large enough and it was nothing to take over ten people. It was just that they had just gone up when a few others came over. In one look, it was clear that they were people who were very rich.
The few of them came over while stepping in the air and wanted to land on the Fire Bird!
Qing Shui put out his hand and send out a stream of essence, stopping them!
“Please take other rides. Mine is full,” Qing Shui stopped them and said.
“How dare you! It’s your good fortune for us to take your ride,” a man who appeared to be very arrogant spoke out.
Qing Shui looked at them and didn’t have to guess to know that this person came from a very strong clan. Otherwise, how could he dare to be so arrogant despite the fact that he was in the presence of princesses?
“I don’t need this good fortune!” Qing Shui said calmly. He detested such young masters of great clans the most. He wasn’t in the mood to be polite to them either. He didn’t like them when he saw their expressions earlier and thus had stopped them.
“Lad, just you wait and see. We’ll see how long the Seventh Princess can protect you.” When one of them saw that an old man was looking in their direction, he spoke out a vicious line, called out his ride and left.
“They’re from Mu Clan, the clan which reigns in Mu City. Mu City is one of the five great cities in Great Yu Dynasty. However, they are located in the extreme south and it’s hard for the King to have control over them. It’s said that their clan is very strong and powerful,” the Seventh Princess spoke softly.
“Qing Shui, if you can, try to avoid them!” The Fifth Princess spoke up as well.
Qing Shui knew why they hadn’t said anything earlier and had only tried to send signs to him with their gazes. They knew that the more they spoke, the more wrath he would attract. This would only make them want to deal with him even more.
Qing Shui didn’t care about this. With his current abilities, he should be able to protect himself. At the very least, he’d have no issues with running away. How strong could a great clan in Great Yu Dynasty be? Would they possibly bring out the power of their entire clan to deal with him? They probably won’t think that highly of him yet.
Thinking of this, Qing Shui smiled. He then got the Fire Bird to follow the others, flying in the direction of Rong City.
The few ladies felt bad. They knew that those people had came over because of them. If they had known that this would happen, they would have rejected them themselves. At the very least, the wrath wouldn’t be on Qing Shui.
Moreover, it was common for there to be conflicts between the younger generation cultivators. Therefore, most of the time, the seniors and clans wouldn’t be brought in. The same went for members of the royalty. This was also why those people had dared to act this way before the two princesses.
Of course, they also relied on their backgrounds as well, only with a powerful background would they be able to speak in such a loud voice. Other than background, one’s own abilities were also very important, otherwise, even one’s own clan would look down on them!
[1] Five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural source. The identity of the five grains has varied over time, with different authors identifying different grains or even categories of grains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Grains
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AST 1197 – Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation, One Step Away
Actually, Rong City was also a part of Yan City. The only thing was that Yan City was too large. Hence, within it, a lot of places were also known as cities. They were small cities, just like Rong City. Despite also being known as a city, it was a part of Yan City.
It would only take them half a day to travel from here to Rong City by riding on a fast demonic beast mount. They set off in the morning and by the evening, Rong City was already within sight.
At the time when Qing Shui first saw Rong City, he was shocked. When seen from afar , it seemed as if Rong City was covered in smog. It felt as if the entire place was in turmoil based on its murky atmosphere.
"Everyone, be careful, that's the Scarlet Flame Formation set up by people of Scarlet Flame Region. We will take a rest here tonight and gather up again tomorrow. All of you should look for your own area to rest. If there are any emergency situations, send up the signal to call for help. Stay within a 100 li radius from this area, don't travel beyond that." said the old man.
After the old man finished his speech, he waved his hand. A lot of people flew down after that to look for places to stay. From here, Rong City was visible. But it would still probably take them an hour to get there. Only the people watching over this area stayed behind. The others all went down to the city to look for locations to lodge.
Qing Shui and the others stayed in a hotel nearby. They booked an entire floor. This way, it would help to prevent anyone from coming in. In any case, there were still other paths they could take to go up and down between the floors.
Qing Shui saw Third Prince here. However, no one else from Yu Clan was spotted. Fourth Prince was here too but he wasn't with the people from Yan Clan, instead, he was with someone else whom Qing Shui didn't know.
The people from Mu Clan from before didn't come here to seek trouble. Qing Shui also didn't let it bother him. So what if they were from an aristocratic clan? He didn't need to show deference to them when he was in Great Yu Dynasty now.
Qing Shui stayed in a suite with the girl. In any case, there were a lot of bedrooms in there. He entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He felt that the people from Mu Clan would definitely not let go of him. Considering that he embarrassed them in front of Seventh Princess and Yan Jinyu, they would definitely not leave the matter at that.
Qing Shui was thinking about whether he should take another step up, for example, join Heaven Secrets Academy or become a Royal State Master of a strong dynasty. Unfortunately, Qing Shui wasn't that interested in a Grade Two Dynasty.
The Great Yu Dynasty was one of the top dynasties among the Grade Two Dynasties. But Qing Shui was unclear as to how profound they were, whether their strength just reached the top among the Grade Two Dynasties, whether they were already a Grade Three Dynasty or whether they had fallen all the way to a junior Grade Two Dynasty.
At least Heaven Secrets Academy was on the same level as Grade Four Dynasties. There were only two Grade Four Dynasties in the Western Oxhe Continent. The remaining Grade Two and Three Dynasties all needed to pay tribute to the Grade Four Dynasties.
And the area where Great Yu Dynasty was located at had to pay their tribute to Heaven Secrets Academy. The Western Oxhe Continent was too large. The forces of two Grade Four Dynasties and Heaven Secrets Academy together already covered half of the entire area. Within this area, they were all protected by the fourth grade forces in their area.
At least on the surface, it looked like the Western Oxhe Continent was ruled by Grade Four Dynasties. The Heaven Secrets Academy had the strength of a Grade Four Dynasty as well. It was said that there were also other Grade Four Dynasty forces on the other half of the continent. But Qing Shui didn't really know much about them.
Qing Shui laid down on the ground in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal thinking about his future. He thought about Tian Jiange. He also knew that Heaven's Academy was a colossus… One of their elite disciples was already a Grade Three State Master.
The reason why the idea of entering Heaven Secrets Academy surfaced in Qing Shui’s mind wasn't because he wanted to learn new things from them. His techniques consisted of the Ancient Inheritances. He would still have to inherit and break through himself to truly increase his actual strength. Certainly, he would still be able to learn a thing or two while he was there. But the most important reason was he needed it as a stepping stone to gain access to even higher existences.
But now, he needed someone who could recommend him to the Heaven Secrets Academy. That person would be the eldest princess from Great Yu Dynasty. She was the youngest teacher in Heaven Secrets Academy. She had the right to bring in a student. It was said that they were only allowed to bring one person per year.
The reason why the royal family was this strong might have had a lot to do with her. There was Yan Jinyu as well, who was also a student from Heaven Secrets Academy. If Qing Shui wasn't mistaken, her teacher might have run into her by chance and taken her into Heaven Secrets Academy.
Now, he had two roads, the first one was that he could join in through Yan Jinyu's master, whereas the other one was through the eldest princess. He didn't know whether the eldest princess had used her quota this year. But he felt that the chance of her having already used it was really high.
Heaven Secrets Academy was an existence above all dynasties in this area. It was an ancient sect. Every year, one third of Heaven Secrets Academy's entrance quota would be given to the dynasties below them. The stronger a dynasty was, the more entries they would have. The remaining ones would be recruited through other means.
Of course, at one point, there had been quite a lot of Peak Grade Three Dynasties that attempted to replace Heaven Secrets Academy. But the result was them suffering a crushing defeat and getting annihilated.
A Grade Three Dynasty and a Grade Four Dynasty, there was a huge difference in their strengths. It could even be said that their strength difference was like a chasm. Since then, this very ancient sect continued to pass down its name. No one was clear about just how strong it actually was.
Qing Shui thought he should first wait for Yan Yangchi's wedding. By then, he might have a chance to get in touch with the eldest princess. He would see by then if he fulfilled the conditions to enter Heaven Secrets Academy and slowly advance his way up when he arrived there. With Heaven Secrets Academy as his backer, as long as he could build his accomplishments there, he would be free to advance or retreat. Furthermore, he would be free to do his own things.
Even though that's what he thought, he knew that all of this might take him some time. The only thing he needed to do now would be to enter Heaven Secrets Academy.
After deciding what he wanted to do next, Qing Shui started cultivating like usual. Both his spirit energy and strength were also slowly increasing. What he was cultivating right now was the Divine Nebula Formation.
The nebula within his sea of consciousness was surrounding the golden star in a way that seemed like they were doing heavenly motions. Those enigmatic rhythms really shocked Qing Shui.
Qing Shui already looked through the cultivation method and the way to use the Divine Nebula Formation one more time. He wanted to try it now.
The Divine Nebula Formation was a spiritual seal formation. Unlike the other formations, it didn't need to be set up. Instead, it set up its formation within the sea of consciousness. After that, it would appear alongside Qing Shui's spirit energy attacks.
Qing Shui was trying to control the Divine Nebula Formation in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He was attempting to control the motion of the stars to make his spirit energy reach a peak level. That was a very mystical arrangement. It could help make his spirit energy reach a power spike.
Now, Qing Shui wanted to set up the Seven-seven Stars Formation. This was the easiest one. The main thing which the Divine Nebula Formation did was increase the offensive and defensive strength of spirit energy. And also, increase the capacity of spirit energy stored in one's body.
Even though he only had one night to do so, for Qing Shui, this one night was equivalent to three months. This was just the introduction phase, he felt that he could master it quite quickly. The cultivation of his Divine Nebula Formation was also progressing little by little.
As usual, the Golden Star was still in the most middle part of the stars. Now, what Qing Shui wanted to do was to sort out the arrangement of the other spiritual stars. This might seem really easy but it was a cultivation which consumed a lot of spirit energy.
Qing Shui tirelessly tried to arrange the combination of the stars into positions for the Seven-seven Stars Divine Nebula Formation. He didn't know how much of the offensive strength of his spirit energy would increase once he succeeded with the Divine Nebula Formation.
What made Qing Shui happy was that if he managed to succeed in setting up the stars, as long as Qing Shui activated his consciousness, all of the stars would go back to their positions. For example, once Qing Shui had set up forty stars, even if he was to rest for half a day, when he went back to training, as soon as he activated his consciousness, those forty stars would instantly go back to the positions where Qing Shui put them, saving him from cultivating them from the beginning again. If that was not the case, Qing Shui didn't know when he would be able to finish off the cultivation.
Now, as he progressed deeper into it, the more stars involved, the slower he became. For now, even if he was to cultivate for a day, he was still unable to adjust even one of them. At the beginning, he was able to at least arrange four in a day. Then, it decreased to three and to two. Now, he had to spend three days to adjust one. It slowly became such that he even needed five days to arrange one.
For now, the only thing Qing Shui knew was that he could only set up the easiest and simplest Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation. However, he was still unsuccessful in completing the setup. Afterwards, there were still the Eight-eight and Nine-nine Divine Nebula Formations.
With Qing Shui's current strength, he was unclear about what lay even further along for the formation. Not only that, he didn't even know about its current effect. Eighty days have passed in the realm. He only needed one more star to gather all forty nine of them. In other words, the Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation was almost going to succeed.
But it seemed like the last star wasn't that easy to arrange. Even if Qing Shui had twenty days time, he wasn't really confident that he would succeed. Even though he was impatient, he kept his cool. He would just have to delay it for at most two days.
It was just that he was about to enter Rong City to fight the people from Scarlet Flame Region. On top of that, he also had a "tagalong" by his side. Naturally, he would hope for it to succeed earlier. This way, he might be able to increase his strength by a significant amount.
Even with the last bit of time, Qing Shui still didn't manage to succeed. He couldn't arrange even one star with twenty days. Originally, Qing Shui thought that it wouldn't be long until he was able to set up the Eight-eight or perhaps even Nine-nine Divine Nebula Formation. Now, he was aware that his thought back then was too naive.
Even if it didn't succeed, Qing Shui felt that the spirit energy in his sea of consciousness was a lot more abundant than before. At the time when he used spirit energy attacks, there wasn't much change in its strength.
After all, he didn't succeed in the most crucial step. Just like casting swords, if the last step didn't succeed, it would be a crippled sword no matter what. Hence, so long as the final step succeeded, a change in its quality would occur.
Early in the morning, Qing Shui woke up. He only came back after bringing the girl out to practice Taichi Fist. The hotel had already served them food. Everyone finished the food together in the dining hall before heading off to the gathering point.
When they arrived there, there were already a lot of people. There were also quite a few people rushing their way here. Finally, at the time when the old men did a headcount, they realized that there were more than ten warriors absent. This made them frown.
"Upon entering Rong City this time, everyone must look after each other and try to kill more enemies. This is a really good practice. Every warrior needs to go through this kind of blood ritual. It is still not too late for people who wants to run back home and be cowards. If no one intends on doing so, we will now rush our way to Rong City" The old man's voice resounded in the sky.
The people in the surroundings were already rushing their way towards Rong City. Qing Shui looked at them and realized that there were as many as a thousand people. All of these people were recognized as the elites from their clan. If one of them was to be sacrificed in this war, it would mean a huge loss to their clan. But this was a kind of ritual which every strong warrior would have to go through. If they didn't they would never be worthy to be called a strong warrior.
Qing Shui and the group made their move. They followed the crowd and flew towards Rong City that was covered up with smog.
Qing Shui used Divine Force to protect the girl. If he didn't do so, she wouldn't be able to stand this kind of high speed. A lot of people had actually also started noticing the girl. No one knew why Qing Shui brought along an ordinary person who knew nothing about cultivation. Furthermore, this girl was someone who tended to make people around her uncomfortable. Maybe because of this, no one really talked about Qing Shui and the girl in front of him.
The smog was getting closer and closer, Qing Shui spread out his spiritual sense.
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<AST 1195 – Unintentional killing intent, Scarlet Flame Sect
When Qing Shui heard the Eldest Princess being mentioned once again, he smiled and asked, "Is she coming for the Fifth Princess's wedding?"
"Hehe, you are right but at the same time also wrong!" The Seventh Princess smiled and said. She looked really beautiful. It was a kind of serene beauty. It was perhaps because the weapon Qing Shui helped her forge was too good, causing her to constantly be in a state of excitement.
"How can it be both right and wrong?"
"Because the wedding day was intentionally set on the day the Eldest Princess returns, rather than her coming back for the wedding." The Seventh Princess smiled as she explained
Qing Shui understood now. The Eldest Princess truly had a respected status.
"Is this weapon powerful?" Yan Jinyu asked puzzledly. Both Yan Yangzhao and herself were really curious. There were very few weapons that could make Seventh Princess so stirred up.
"A legendary weapon. Do you think it's powerful," the Seventh Princess's reply immediately made the two freeze in shock.
After a long while, both Yan Jinyu and Yan Yangzhao looked at Qing Shui dumbstruck. He had actually forged a legendary weapon.
After a legendary weapon recognizes an owner, they would be able to communicate and establish a terrifying compatibility, so much so that they would be able to connect themselves to their owner's spirit energy and be able to murder people with flying swords. This level surpassed even Qing Shui's hidden weapons.
This was also what made legendary weapons totally different from ordinary weapons. Once a legendary weapon recognized its master, as long as the Owner Recognizing Method isn't removed, it would constantly increase its owner's strength regardless of whether the weapon was in their hands. One way for them to stop recognizing their owner was to kill their owner. Alternatively, an extreme expert could also forcefully erase the imprint on the sword.
Legendary grade, just as its name states, it's already a legendary object. Why would they not be shocked? Qing Shui helplessly shook his head, "There are only that much Yang Stone. If there was one more, I would definitely keep this sword for myself and help her forge another one. I can only say that she is really lucky."
Qing Shui's words made the Seventh Princess laugh. She laughed because of Qing Shui's honesty. He was a very honest person. If it had been someone else, they would definitely not give it to her. She was certain that they might even take the sword and run away. He instead was willing to tell her something like this, which meant that he really liked this sword too.
Considering that he was able to give her the sword even though he liked it a lot, this meant that he was a frank person and was extremely principled. This kind of person was worth being friends with.
"This is the first legendary weapon that I have forged. I don't know when I will be able to forge another one." Qing Shui said with a smile, trusting that they would know what he meant.
Qing Shui didn't want others to know that he could forge legendary weapons. If experts were to look for him to forge legendary weapons, it would make things difficult for him.
"I know, I won't tell anyone and cause others to make things difficult for you." the Seventh Princess smiled intelligently and said.
"But don't you want people to know about you? This is a very good chance for you to raise the reputation of the Firecloud Blacksmith Store." the Seventh Princess asked as she continued talking.
"At the moment, I still lack the strength to protect myself. If people with bad intentions were to find out about this, I might be stolen away……" Qing Shui smiled and responded.
Both the girls laughed when they heard what he said. In that instant, they both looked like flowers that had just blossomed. The beauty that they showed was very attractive. Qing Shui quietly avoided it.
The girl was still beside Qing Shui. She didn't speak and didn't laugh. However, people felt very natural about it because she had acted this way from the beginning.
They arrived at the Yan Clan very quickly, the Dragon Horse Cart went straight into the Yan Clan. When it stopped, they got off the cart. In just a short while, people from the Yan Clan, including Yan Dingtian came out. This time, Qing Shui was able to vaguely sense Yan Dingtian's strength even though he was still unsure of the exact level.
Upon seeing Qing Shui, Yan Dingtian's eyes brightened and had a surprised and stifled expression. Qing Shui also sensed it. He knew that his increase in strength made him somewhat terrified or apprehensive. Most importantly, Qing Shui actually saw a trace of killing intent in his eyes.
Qing Shui was really uncomfortable under Yan Dingtian's gaze. Nevertheless, he still greeted him with a smile. He was aware that he would be leaving quite soon, most likely after Yan Yangchi's wedding.
"Qing Shui, you're here, let's take a walk together. It's all thanks to you that the Yan Clan managed to escape suffering." Yan Dingtian warmly pulled Qing Shui along.
Even now, Qing Shui was unable to tell what Yan Dingtian was thinking about. Experts like him were often very unpredictable. All along, he had had a good impression of Yan Dingtian. Merely, the momentary killing intent had leaked unconsciously. Perhaps it was normal but nevertheless, he already had his own thoughts.
Qing Shui was aware that he had snatched a lot of the Yan Clan's reputation when he represented them. He treated the Yan Clan as his friends only because of Yan Jinyu and the others. He didn't really have any relations with the seniors of the Yan Clan.
Qing Shui was already treating this feast as a leaving banquet. At most, he might visit once more during Yan Yangchi's wedding. Actually, he knew from the beginning that he was just a passing traveller. If there was anything for him to remember, it would be Yan Jinyu as she was his sworn sister. Since they had already acknowledged each other, regardless of the reason, they had kowtowed to heaven and earth. As long as it was allowed, they would be brother and sister forever.
No one knew what Qing Shui was thinking in his heart. He also knew that Yan Dingtian would definitely not act against him. However, this was a common problem within aristocratic clans. The aristocratic clan would restrict him, causing Qing Shui to eliminate thoughts of having close ties with the entire Yan Clan.
The family feast this time was very harmonious. Yan Dingtian's eyes once again wavered when he saw the little girl. He asked Qing Shui who she was. Qing Shui randomly found an excuse to dodge the question. Yan Dingtian greeted the little girl but the little girl didn't respond.
This made Yan Dingtian feel quite awkward. Qing Shui quickly came out to try to solve the problem.
"Father, didn't you have something to tell us? Qing Shui has also arrived, why don't you say it?" Yan Huoyun sat next to Yan Dingtian and said while acting like a spoiled child.
Qing Shui saw Yan Dingtian's pampering expression while looking at his daughter. He was a great father.
"Rong City which is near the Scarlet Flame Region has been occupied by people from the Scarlet Flame Region. I am planning to get you guys to lead people there to eliminate them," Yan Dingtian said with a smile.
"It's the people from Scarlet Flame Region again! This time, we have to exterminate them!" Yan Hu said furiously.
Qing Shui sat there and didn't say anything. Scarlet Flame Region was at the intersection between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Virtue Dynasty. It was a vast and incomparably hot area. The people within it were mostly those who couldn't survive either dynasty, with the majority of them being warriors. Throughout these years, they had actually become a unique force. They took on the responsibility to destroy both the Great Yu Dynasty and Great Virtue Dynasty.
"There would be people from the other clans as well as people from the royal family joining the expedition this time. It can be considered setting up a peaceful situation for Yanchi's wedding. During this period of time, the Scarlet Flame Region has been too savage!" Yan Dingtian chuckled.
"Qing Shui, will you be going? I heard that those people have many good items. They might even have a small piece of Yang Stone." Seventh Princess smiled as she looked at Qing Shui.
It had already been mentioned that this was to set up a peaceful situation for Yan Yangchi's wedding. Therefore, Qing Shui was unable to decline. After all, he also wanted to have a look at the people from Scarlet Flame Region. If he was in luck, he might be able to get a few decent objects.
"Since everyone is going, I will naturally have to go for the sake of Brother Yan's wedding," Qing Shui said with a smile.
They agreed to set off in two days. Everyone would take these two days to rest and reorganize while they wait for the rest to gather before heading to Rong City together.
After the banquet ended, Yan Dingtian and the others left. The Seventh Princess looked at Qing Shui and said softly, "Qing Shui, can I give the sword to someone else?"
She spoke really softly, as if she was scared that Qing Shui would be unwilling to allow it. This also made her feel weird.
"It's yours. Of course it's ok as long as you want to." Qing Shui responded after pausing for a moment. He never imagined that someone would actually give such a strong weapon to someone else after they got it.
"Thank you!" the Seventh Princess said happily.
"Oh, I got it. The Eldest Princess!" Qing Shui said with a smile. Originally, he thought that Seventh Princess was giving the Eldest Princess the sword to ask for news about Di Chen. However, he realized he had overrated himself when he saw her smile.
She was delighted to give her that, so much so that she was happy from giving it to her. He knew that the Eldest Princess and Seventh Princess were born from the same father and mother. And it was precisely because of the Eldest Princess that the Seventh Princess held such a high status that the struggle between the princes wouldn't cause her any harm.
The Seventh Princess didn't say anything but there was a happy smile on her face.
"Oh yeah, have you ever fought against the people from the Scarlet Flame Region?"
While Qing Shui was talking, the others had also walked over.
"The people from Scarlet Flame Region have a very disorganized military force. They also have a lot of strong warriors or else they would have long since been eliminated by the Great Yu Dynasty and Great Virtue Dynasty," Yan Yangchi replied.
Qing Shui understood that the people from Scarlet Flame Region should have very strong warriors to overseeing them. In the past, he had heard that not only was the deepest part of the Scarlet Flame Region not covered in torrid heat, it had a favourable climate throughout the year with enchanting scenery. It was said that there was a sect there called the Scarlet Flame Sect. The reason why the people from the region were able to survive until now was precisely because of the sect.
Some things were really profound, for example, it was perfectly normal for someone to exist, the same when someone died. Perhaps it was because of this that the Great Yu Dynasty, Great Virtue Dynasty as well as the Scarlet Flame Sect didn't make any huge moves. In the past, both dynasties had once organized a huge troop of powerful warriors to enter the Scarlet Flame Region. However, less than 10% of them managed to return. It was also after that time that they found out Scarlet Flame Region had a sect. Furthermore, there were also quite a few oases in Scarlet Flame Region.
Since that time, as long as people from Scarlet Flame Region didn't cause trouble, fights wouldn't usually break out. After all, the Scarlet Flame Region held the initiave.
This time, they occupied Rong City. Both Great Yu Dynasty and Yan City couldn't just stay silent, therefore they were going to teach them a lesson.
Through this, Qing Shui found out that that Scarlet Flame Sect wasn't to be messed with, so much so that there were many other implications. ……
Qing Shui brought the girl back to the blacksmith store. In two days, he would be going to Rong City. Hence he intended to settle the girl in the Yan Clan.
"Little girl, in two days, would you stay in the Yan Clan for a few days and wait for me to return?" Qing Shui asked as he headed back.
"No!"
Her reply stunned Qing Shui. If she didn't want to stay in the Yan Clan, did he have to bring her along?
"I will follow you wherever you go," the girl looked at Qing Shui and responded indiffently like before.
"Alright alright, we’ll go together. Are you not afraid of danger?"
"There is nothing much that can scare me anymore." The girl had hidden meanings in her words at times. Qing Shui could understand what she said, but he was only able to guess that the girl ought to have gone through a tragic event in her life. Otherwise she wouldn't have such a strong resentment, vicious and pernicious aura.
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AST 1196 – Grade Nine Demon Binding Ropes, People From Mu Clan
Qing Shui was actually astonished by the girl’s words that she would go wherever he did. Right now, she knew at least that he was good to her, just like how she would just talk to him.
Qing Shui had been working hard and wanted to let her become a normal person. With that, even if he were to leave her one day, she would be able to live by herself. However, at the moment, it seemed impossible to be able to change her within a short period of time. Therefore, he would guide her slowly.
Without anything to do, Qing Shui took out the few interspatial silk sachets he had gotten from the few people who had assaulted him the other time. Ever since that day when he tossed them into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he hadn’t taken a look at them. It was mainly because he didn't much care and he felt that there wasn’t anything inside that he would be interested in.
When he opened them, he saw a Five Grains Pellet [1] at first glance!
The Five Grains Pellet was a pellet which was formed by having a powerful expert condensing the world’s energies and then combined together with the five grains' energies. It could replenish one’s energy and powers mildly and would be similar to taking a meal. However, it was more nutritious in comparison and was beneficial for cultivation in the early stages.
In the four continents, the Five Grains Pellet was the same as gold and silver and could be used for making purchases. Even an Expert Martial Emperor wouldn’t be able to refrain from eating forever.
Qing Shui looked at those glimmery Five Grains Pellets which were large in numbers and were of high quality. Just this pile alone would fetch a very good price. These were food for cultivators when they were out. They were convenient and could replenish energy. After all, in some places, it would be impossible to find food.
Other than these, there were also some other items but Qing Shui wasn’t interested in them. Although this interspatial silk sachet was owned by a powerful State Master, it was a pity that Qing Shui didn’t take any interest in the items inside.
Although he wasn’t interested in them, the fact still remained that they amounted to quite a significant sum of wealth. There were pellets, forging tools, weapons and other things. They might come to be of use in the future.
Qing Shui then proceeded to check the rest. They were about the same and there was a lot of Five Grains Pellets. These were crucial for when cultivators were out traveling and even some commoners would often use them to strengthen their physiques. The Five Grains Pellet was made by condensing the five grains’ essence and the spiritual Qi in the air. Simple food made from five grains wouldn’t be comparable, at least not in the same amount.
Just as he was about to toss the interspatial silk sachet aside, Qing Shui noticed an inconspicuous rope-like item in the corner. There was no energy fluctuation coming from it. Qing Shui took it out.
The moment he did so, a scorching aura came to his hand. Qing Shui sensed it only to realize that it was sealed up. To think that an item that was sealed up could contain such a powerful heat. It wasn’t only just scorching to the touch, it was also as if some kind of life energy was contained inside.
Qing Shui looked at it with his Heavenly Vision Technique.
Fire Dragon Tendon! Material! Sealed!
Qing Shui thought of his Demon Binding Ropes which was a legendary dragon tendon. What was this Fire Dragon Tendon? Why was it sealed? A material? What kind of material was it for it to be sealed?
Qing Shui saw that there were more descriptions at the bottom and quickly read on.
It could firm up items of a similar type, strengthen their effects or be used as a forging material. When used as a forging material, there wasn’t a need to remove the seal. The only way to remove the seal was to channel in the water energy of the five elements.
…
Qing Shui looked at the Fire Dragon Tendon which was several meters long but had the thickness of his wrist. It might be due to the fact that it was sealed that it appeared to be dull and gloomy. However, Qing Shui was uncertain about how he should use it.
Should he use it as a forging material or should he use it to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes?
Ever since he had completed the Nine Yang Sword, he had wanted to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword. It was a pity that he didn’t have any materials to do so. This dragon tendon could possibly be used but Qing Shui felt that it would be more beneficial for the Demon Binding Ropes.
Qing Shui was torn. Even if he were to use the dragon tendon to upgrade his Big Dipper Sword, it was not certain that the sword would reach the legendary grade. Items of such grade were extremely hard to come by and this dragon tendon might not necessary be able to bring the sword to the legendary grade.
They were heading to Rong City to face the people from Scarlet Flame Region. It didn’t seem to make sense for him to put the Fire Dragon Tendon aside and not use it.
Qing Shui went into a daze. The girl just stayed beside him and looked at him, not saying a word. Qing Shui was already used to this.
The Demon Binding Ropes’ level could be increased gradually but if he were to use the Fire Dragon Tendon, its prowess would definitely increase tremendously. The Demon Binding Ropes could be used to bind enemies. Most importantly, it could restrict the movements of the bound enemies.
The usage was fast and convenient and occasionally, it could have mysterious effects!
After much contemplation, Qing Shui eventually decided to use it to upgrade his Demon Binding Ropes. As long as he could bind his opponents, Qing Shui would have plenty of means to finish them.
At night, when it was time, Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal immediately. Of course, he didn’t forget to ensure the safety of the girl and had left a few of his demonic beasts outside.
Demon Binding Ropes. Its prowess was quite good as it was!
This was the first time that Qing Shui was smelting a magic treasure. After giving it some thought, he decided to use the Primordial Demon Refining Furnace. Although he hadn’t had experience in smelting magic treasures, Qing Shui was still very confident. He expanded his spiritual sense and started the smelting process.
Qing Shui didn’t remove seal since there was no need to do so if he was using it as an ingredient. If he had decided to do otherwise, it could probably be used as a whip. When used to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes, it would be treated as an ingredient.
The smelting process was a very long one. The first step was splicing. He had to join all the dragon’s muscles and tendons together before slowly allowing the Demon Binding Ropes to engulf the Fire Dragon Tendon.
The process was extremely slow and was comparable to the process of smelting the yang stone!
Time passed by slowly and on the 81th day, the two items had completely fused together and an oppressive fiery light appeared. In that instant, the Demon Binding Ropes turned a blood red color. However, after about 15 minutes, it gradually returned to its golden color.
It was now much thicker than before, with the thickness of an adult’s arm. Moreover, the energy exuded had gone through a qualitative change. It was now thicker, more aggressive, more violent, more flexible…
When Qing Shui looked at it, he was stunned. It had actually advanced a grade! The state of the Demon Binding Ropes had progressed to grade nine. Qing Shui was very agitated and he closed his eyes, activating it with his mind.
The Demon Binding Ropes would also be controlled by his mind. What was different from before was that it was just like the Nine Continents Mountain and it exuded extremely strong power and pressure.
It wasn’t just that. There was a hint of red light flashing within the Demon Binding Ropes. That was the power of the Fire Dragon Tendon. A person bound by the Demon Binding Ropes would suffer from the fiery powers of the fire dragon. Of course, this single tendon couldn’t be comparable to the prowess of a fire dragon. However, how many people could actually compare against a fire dragon? Therefore, in all, the prowess of the current Demon Binding Ropes was definitely very terrifying.
Moreover, Qing Shui was happy that when he tempered the Demon Binding Ropes now, he could store a lot of the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique in it. He didn’t have to worry that it would be like before and the powers would be used up after roughly ten times of usage. It was good now. Its storage ability was now several tens of times stronger than before.
He could use the Demon Binding Ropes again the future. When used together with the bloodthirsty demonic vines and the Nine Continents Mountain, the effect would be terrifying. He took a look at his Big Dipper Sword again. He knew that he wouldn’t change his weapon as he had the faint feeling that it seemed to be able to form a divine connection soon.
Only legendary grade weapons would be able to form a divine connection. Therefore, Qing Shui had the feeling that the Big Dipper Sword would be able to reach the legendary grade sooner or later.
It was also because of this that he didn’t use the Fire Dragon Tendon to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword!
…
Two days passed by very quickly. Qing Shui brought the girl along with him and met up with Yan Clan as well as members of other aristocratic clans at Yan City’s sky platform. Of course, there was also quite a number of members of royalty.
“Qing Shui, over here!” When Yan Jinyu saw Qing Shui, she waved and called out to him.
There were quite a number of people with Yan Jinyu. The Fifth and Seventh Princesses were here, some other members of royalty, as well as some members of Yan City’s great aristocratic clans.
When they saw Yan Jinyu’s attitude toward Qing Shui, over a hundred people looked at Qing Shui with resentment…
Qing Shui could clearly sense that. He knew that it was because of Yan Jinyu. This was how men were sometimes. Even if they knew that this lady wouldn’t become theirs in the future, they still didn’t like to see the lady showing admiration for another man.
There were many people but it was clear that they were split up into several groups. Those who were on good terms would stand together and chat.
When the Seventh Princess also started to chat happily with Qing Shui, he once again sensed some gazes glaring at him. This time around, it seemed to be stronger than before.
Not long after Qing Shui had arrived, another few old men came. They were the seniors in the royal family as well as a few major clans. Although they wanted to ensure that the younger members were able to get some training, they also needed to ensure their safety.
“If everyone’s ready, then we’ll set off now! Those who have rides can take them, otherwise, you can take ours.” An old man with an impressive aura spoke as he called out his own ride. It was a huge four-winged demonic beast.
Many others also gradually called out their demonic beasts. Qing Shui also called out the Fire Bird. The current Fire Bird seemed to be more like a black bird. What that surprised Qing Shui was that the few from Yan Clan, as well as Yan Jinyu, Seventh Princess and the Fifth Princess had joined him as well…
Qing Shui shook his head and smiled bitterly. The Fire Bird was large enough and it was nothing to take over ten people. It was just that they had just gone up when a few others came over. In one look, it was clear that they were people who were very rich.
The few of them came over while stepping in the air and wanted to land on the Fire Bird!
Qing Shui put out his hand and send out a stream of essence, stopping them!
“Please take other rides. Mine is full,” Qing Shui stopped them and said.
“How dare you! It’s your good fortune for us to take your ride,” a man who appeared to be very arrogant spoke out.
Qing Shui looked at them and didn’t have to guess to know that this person came from a very strong clan. Otherwise, how could he dare to be so arrogant despite the fact that he was in the presence of princesses?
“I don’t need this good fortune!” Qing Shui said calmly. He detested such young masters of great clans the most. He wasn’t in the mood to be polite to them either. He didn’t like them when he saw their expressions earlier and thus had stopped them.
“Lad, just you wait and see. We’ll see how long the Seventh Princess can protect you.” When one of them saw that an old man was looking in their direction, he spoke out a vicious line, called out his ride and left.
“They’re from Mu Clan, the clan which reigns in Mu City. Mu City is one of the five great cities in Great Yu Dynasty. However, they are located in the extreme south and it’s hard for the King to have control over them. It’s said that their clan is very strong and powerful,” the Seventh Princess spoke softly.
“Qing Shui, if you can, try to avoid them!” The Fifth Princess spoke up as well.
Qing Shui knew why they hadn’t said anything earlier and had only tried to send signs to him with their gazes. They knew that the more they spoke, the more wrath he would attract. This would only make them want to deal with him even more.
Qing Shui didn’t care about this. With his current abilities, he should be able to protect himself. At the very least, he’d have no issues with running away. How strong could a great clan in Great Yu Dynasty be? Would they possibly bring out the power of their entire clan to deal with him? They probably won’t think that highly of him yet.
Thinking of this, Qing Shui smiled. He then got the Fire Bird to follow the others, flying in the direction of Rong City.
The few ladies felt bad. They knew that those people had came over because of them. If they had known that this would happen, they would have rejected them themselves. At the very least, the wrath wouldn’t be on Qing Shui.
Moreover, it was common for there to be conflicts between the younger generation cultivators. Therefore, most of the time, the seniors and clans wouldn’t be brought in. The same went for members of the royalty. This was also why those people had dared to act this way before the two princesses.
Of course, they also relied on their backgrounds as well, only with a powerful background would they be able to speak in such a loud voice. Other than background, one’s own abilities were also very important, otherwise, even one’s own clan would look down on them!
[1] Five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural source. The identity of the five grains has varied over time, with different authors identifying different grains or even categories of grains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Grains
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AST 1197 – Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation, One Step Away
Actually, Rong City was also a part of Yan City. The only thing was that Yan City was too large. Hence, within it, a lot of places were also known as cities. They were small cities, just like Rong City. Despite also being known as a city, it was a part of Yan City.
It would only take them half a day to travel from here to Rong City by riding on a fast demonic beast mount. They set off in the morning and by the evening, Rong City was already within sight.
At the time when Qing Shui first saw Rong City, he was shocked. When seen from afar , it seemed as if Rong City was covered in smog. It felt as if the entire place was in turmoil based on its murky atmosphere.
"Everyone, be careful, that's the Scarlet Flame Formation set up by people of Scarlet Flame Region. We will take a rest here tonight and gather up again tomorrow. All of you should look for your own area to rest. If there are any emergency situations, send up the signal to call for help. Stay within a 100 li radius from this area, don't travel beyond that." said the old man.
After the old man finished his speech, he waved his hand. A lot of people flew down after that to look for places to stay. From here, Rong City was visible. But it would still probably take them an hour to get there. Only the people watching over this area stayed behind. The others all went down to the city to look for locations to lodge.
Qing Shui and the others stayed in a hotel nearby. They booked an entire floor. This way, it would help to prevent anyone from coming in. In any case, there were still other paths they could take to go up and down between the floors.
Qing Shui saw Third Prince here. However, no one else from Yu Clan was spotted. Fourth Prince was here too but he wasn't with the people from Yan Clan, instead, he was with someone else whom Qing Shui didn't know.
The people from Mu Clan from before didn't come here to seek trouble. Qing Shui also didn't let it bother him. So what if they were from an aristocratic clan? He didn't need to show deference to them when he was in Great Yu Dynasty now.
Qing Shui stayed in a suite with the girl. In any case, there were a lot of bedrooms in there. He entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He felt that the people from Mu Clan would definitely not let go of him. Considering that he embarrassed them in front of Seventh Princess and Yan Jinyu, they would definitely not leave the matter at that.
Qing Shui was thinking about whether he should take another step up, for example, join Heaven Secrets Academy or become a Royal State Master of a strong dynasty. Unfortunately, Qing Shui wasn't that interested in a Grade Two Dynasty.
The Great Yu Dynasty was one of the top dynasties among the Grade Two Dynasties. But Qing Shui was unclear as to how profound they were, whether their strength just reached the top among the Grade Two Dynasties, whether they were already a Grade Three Dynasty or whether they had fallen all the way to a junior Grade Two Dynasty.
At least Heaven Secrets Academy was on the same level as Grade Four Dynasties. There were only two Grade Four Dynasties in the Western Oxhe Continent. The remaining Grade Two and Three Dynasties all needed to pay tribute to the Grade Four Dynasties.
And the area where Great Yu Dynasty was located at had to pay their tribute to Heaven Secrets Academy. The Western Oxhe Continent was too large. The forces of two Grade Four Dynasties and Heaven Secrets Academy together already covered half of the entire area. Within this area, they were all protected by the fourth grade forces in their area.
At least on the surface, it looked like the Western Oxhe Continent was ruled by Grade Four Dynasties. The Heaven Secrets Academy had the strength of a Grade Four Dynasty as well. It was said that there were also other Grade Four Dynasty forces on the other half of the continent. But Qing Shui didn't really know much about them.
Qing Shui laid down on the ground in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal thinking about his future. He thought about Tian Jiange. He also knew that Heaven's Academy was a colossus… One of their elite disciples was already a Grade Three State Master.
The reason why the idea of entering Heaven Secrets Academy surfaced in Qing Shui’s mind wasn't because he wanted to learn new things from them. His techniques consisted of the Ancient Inheritances. He would still have to inherit and break through himself to truly increase his actual strength. Certainly, he would still be able to learn a thing or two while he was there. But the most important reason was he needed it as a stepping stone to gain access to even higher existences.
But now, he needed someone who could recommend him to the Heaven Secrets Academy. That person would be the eldest princess from Great Yu Dynasty. She was the youngest teacher in Heaven Secrets Academy. She had the right to bring in a student. It was said that they were only allowed to bring one person per year.
The reason why the royal family was this strong might have had a lot to do with her. There was Yan Jinyu as well, who was also a student from Heaven Secrets Academy. If Qing Shui wasn't mistaken, her teacher might have run into her by chance and taken her into Heaven Secrets Academy.
Now, he had two roads, the first one was that he could join in through Yan Jinyu's master, whereas the other one was through the eldest princess. He didn't know whether the eldest princess had used her quota this year. But he felt that the chance of her having already used it was really high.
Heaven Secrets Academy was an existence above all dynasties in this area. It was an ancient sect. Every year, one third of Heaven Secrets Academy's entrance quota would be given to the dynasties below them. The stronger a dynasty was, the more entries they would have. The remaining ones would be recruited through other means.
Of course, at one point, there had been quite a lot of Peak Grade Three Dynasties that attempted to replace Heaven Secrets Academy. But the result was them suffering a crushing defeat and getting annihilated.
A Grade Three Dynasty and a Grade Four Dynasty, there was a huge difference in their strengths. It could even be said that their strength difference was like a chasm. Since then, this very ancient sect continued to pass down its name. No one was clear about just how strong it actually was.
Qing Shui thought he should first wait for Yan Yangchi's wedding. By then, he might have a chance to get in touch with the eldest princess. He would see by then if he fulfilled the conditions to enter Heaven Secrets Academy and slowly advance his way up when he arrived there. With Heaven Secrets Academy as his backer, as long as he could build his accomplishments there, he would be free to advance or retreat. Furthermore, he would be free to do his own things.
Even though that's what he thought, he knew that all of this might take him some time. The only thing he needed to do now would be to enter Heaven Secrets Academy.
After deciding what he wanted to do next, Qing Shui started cultivating like usual. Both his spirit energy and strength were also slowly increasing. What he was cultivating right now was the Divine Nebula Formation.
The nebula within his sea of consciousness was surrounding the golden star in a way that seemed like they were doing heavenly motions. Those enigmatic rhythms really shocked Qing Shui.
Qing Shui already looked through the cultivation method and the way to use the Divine Nebula Formation one more time. He wanted to try it now.
The Divine Nebula Formation was a spiritual seal formation. Unlike the other formations, it didn't need to be set up. Instead, it set up its formation within the sea of consciousness. After that, it would appear alongside Qing Shui's spirit energy attacks.
Qing Shui was trying to control the Divine Nebula Formation in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He was attempting to control the motion of the stars to make his spirit energy reach a peak level. That was a very mystical arrangement. It could help make his spirit energy reach a power spike.
Now, Qing Shui wanted to set up the Seven-seven Stars Formation. This was the easiest one. The main thing which the Divine Nebula Formation did was increase the offensive and defensive strength of spirit energy. And also, increase the capacity of spirit energy stored in one's body.
Even though he only had one night to do so, for Qing Shui, this one night was equivalent to three months. This was just the introduction phase, he felt that he could master it quite quickly. The cultivation of his Divine Nebula Formation was also progressing little by little.
As usual, the Golden Star was still in the most middle part of the stars. Now, what Qing Shui wanted to do was to sort out the arrangement of the other spiritual stars. This might seem really easy but it was a cultivation which consumed a lot of spirit energy.
Qing Shui tirelessly tried to arrange the combination of the stars into positions for the Seven-seven Stars Divine Nebula Formation. He didn't know how much of the offensive strength of his spirit energy would increase once he succeeded with the Divine Nebula Formation.
What made Qing Shui happy was that if he managed to succeed in setting up the stars, as long as Qing Shui activated his consciousness, all of the stars would go back to their positions. For example, once Qing Shui had set up forty stars, even if he was to rest for half a day, when he went back to training, as soon as he activated his consciousness, those forty stars would instantly go back to the positions where Qing Shui put them, saving him from cultivating them from the beginning again. If that was not the case, Qing Shui didn't know when he would be able to finish off the cultivation.
Now, as he progressed deeper into it, the more stars involved, the slower he became. For now, even if he was to cultivate for a day, he was still unable to adjust even one of them. At the beginning, he was able to at least arrange four in a day. Then, it decreased to three and to two. Now, he had to spend three days to adjust one. It slowly became such that he even needed five days to arrange one.
For now, the only thing Qing Shui knew was that he could only set up the easiest and simplest Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation. However, he was still unsuccessful in completing the setup. Afterwards, there were still the Eight-eight and Nine-nine Divine Nebula Formations.
With Qing Shui's current strength, he was unclear about what lay even further along for the formation. Not only that, he didn't even know about its current effect. Eighty days have passed in the realm. He only needed one more star to gather all forty nine of them. In other words, the Seven-seven Divine Nebula Formation was almost going to succeed.
But it seemed like the last star wasn't that easy to arrange. Even if Qing Shui had twenty days time, he wasn't really confident that he would succeed. Even though he was impatient, he kept his cool. He would just have to delay it for at most two days.
It was just that he was about to enter Rong City to fight the people from Scarlet Flame Region. On top of that, he also had a "tagalong" by his side. Naturally, he would hope for it to succeed earlier. This way, he might be able to increase his strength by a significant amount.
Even with the last bit of time, Qing Shui still didn't manage to succeed. He couldn't arrange even one star with twenty days. Originally, Qing Shui thought that it wouldn't be long until he was able to set up the Eight-eight or perhaps even Nine-nine Divine Nebula Formation. Now, he was aware that his thought back then was too naive.
Even if it didn't succeed, Qing Shui felt that the spirit energy in his sea of consciousness was a lot more abundant than before. At the time when he used spirit energy attacks, there wasn't much change in its strength.
After all, he didn't succeed in the most crucial step. Just like casting swords, if the last step didn't succeed, it would be a crippled sword no matter what. Hence, so long as the final step succeeded, a change in its quality would occur.
Early in the morning, Qing Shui woke up. He only came back after bringing the girl out to practice Taichi Fist. The hotel had already served them food. Everyone finished the food together in the dining hall before heading off to the gathering point.
When they arrived there, there were already a lot of people. There were also quite a few people rushing their way here. Finally, at the time when the old men did a headcount, they realized that there were more than ten warriors absent. This made them frown.
"Upon entering Rong City this time, everyone must look after each other and try to kill more enemies. This is a really good practice. Every warrior needs to go through this kind of blood ritual. It is still not too late for people who wants to run back home and be cowards. If no one intends on doing so, we will now rush our way to Rong City" The old man's voice resounded in the sky.
The people in the surroundings were already rushing their way towards Rong City. Qing Shui looked at them and realized that there were as many as a thousand people. All of these people were recognized as the elites from their clan. If one of them was to be sacrificed in this war, it would mean a huge loss to their clan. But this was a kind of ritual which every strong warrior would have to go through. If they didn't they would never be worthy to be called a strong warrior.
Qing Shui and the group made their move. They followed the crowd and flew towards Rong City that was covered up with smog.
Qing Shui used Divine Force to protect the girl. If he didn't do so, she wouldn't be able to stand this kind of high speed. A lot of people had actually also started noticing the girl. No one knew why Qing Shui brought along an ordinary person who knew nothing about cultivation. Furthermore, this girl was someone who tended to make people around her uncomfortable. Maybe because of this, no one really talked about Qing Shui and the girl in front of him.
The smog was getting closer and closer, Qing Shui spread out his spiritual sense.
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