The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1442 - Her Name is Tantai Lingyan, Improvement, Finding Someone Close

The unexpected gain was huge. Qing Shui held the Golden Battle Halberd and paid respect to the stone coffin once again. He promised within his heart that he would assist the Battle God to complete his wish.

Carrying the Golden Battle Halberd, Qing Shui walked down. He saw the two girls looking at him, and said with a nod, "I told you guys to open it but you didn't go. The biggest gain was from there."

"It was a chance encounter for you, and only suitable for you. Had it been us, maybe there would not have been anything. Inheritance was based on the person, some are suitable, some are not," the Demon Lord said softly. Afterwards, she took out a Nine Revolution Golden Pellet and Fortune Golden Pellet then handed them to Hua Rumei.

"Use the Nine Revolution Golden Pellet for yourself and the Fortune Pellet for the Ancient Fire Snake. You should use it here as I guard you, then we will head out afterward."

Hua Rumei did not hesitate with any formalities and directly consumed the pellet, then gave the other pellet to the Ancient Fire Snake.

Once the effect was completed, Hua Rumei could not believe it. She and the Ancient Fire Snake's strength both doubled. When it came to the Ancient Fire Snake, its size grew by about a third.

"So this is the reason why your strengths increased so rapidly," Hua Rumei said happily.

It was getting late, the things they had to do here was coming to an end. The three of them headed outside. Going back was easy, it did not take long before they got outside. It was already dusk when they came out.

The ones who remained here were the members of the Demon Lord Palace, the others had already left. Not far from them was the Divine Sound Sect, and further off they could barely see the Divine Beast Sect and Wild Ghost Valley. They couldn't see the Justice Alliance, they were not sure whether they did already head back or if they set up a camp to rest.

"Let's find a place outside to camp and rest for the night. Places with Ancient Divine Shrines will have treasures nearby and there could also be treasures within the Ancient Ruins, it just requires luck to find them. Since we are here, let's take a look around, maybe we will find some good stuff." Hua Rumei was in a good mood.

The Demon Lord found a chance to feed the Old Turtle a Fortune Pellet and its strength had doubled. In terms of strength, the Old Turtle was the strongest. With a strength exceeding 90 million sun, it should be stronger than the Demon Lord in comparison.

The Demon Lord Palace already had quite a few formidable people, it was fine even with just the Demon Lord and Hua Rumei, so the remaining two Nine Revolution Golden Pellets were not given to Zhan Yu or Jin Ci, he would assist them in the future instead.

Zhan Yu's injury seemed to have recovered quite a bit and was no longer a hindrance. If he was fine, he would have come to find Qing Shui with Jin Ci. Zhan Yu and Hua Rumei's relationship was steady and after last time, Hua Rumei had changed. She was no longer holding him back. Qing Shui had found out the two of them were living together.

Before this, Qing Shui had no idea about the two of them. After Zhan Yu consumed the Golden Fragrance Jade, he now looked a lot younger.

Before he did not know, but now, after Zhan Yu consumed the Golden Fragrance Jade, he looked a lot younger. His appearance looked fearless, mature, strong, and handsome. Especially these last couple of days, he looked radiant. One could tell at a glance that he is full of his life with a was full of a healthy balanced yin and yang energy.

Hua Rumei too was just as radiant, but Qing Shui could only joke about it with Zhan Yu. It would seem that this time, they could participate in their wedding banquet after they returned. This was truly a joyous occasion.

After setting up his tent, Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal as the others were preparing food. After he entered, he took out the Golden Battle Halberd and practiced the Nine Stances of Ancient Divine Battle Technique.

This was the first time Qing Shui practiced this, but this came from the inheritance. It was as though he had cultivated it for thousands of times, he struck with precision and familiarity. Each stance was practiced with the fluidity as if it was a god-bestowed ability. Each strike brought about imposing force that could split heaven and earth, it carried an indomitable fierceness.

This practice made Qing Shui felt like he could not stop. He cast one move after another, his movements were becoming more fluid. It felt as if the technique was made just for him.

Afterwards, Qing Shui absorbed the strength that was transferred by the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. Absorbing the 60 sun of physical strength from the 2000 sun of physical strength was nothing to be concerned about.

By the time their group headed out, it was already well into the night. Nights within the Ancient Ruins were cold. There was something that could be referred to as a moon here. In fact, there were two of them and each one was about the size of a wheel. The sky was filled with stars and the night sky here was bright. Even though it was not the same as daytime, people opposite of each other could still clearly see each other's eyelashes.

The entire earth seemed like it was veiled with a silver muslin, the surrounding area was like a scenic realm. As Qing Shui lamented about the beauty of the world, he spotted a lonely figure in the distance.

It could not be called loneliness. Instead, it was more like a feeling that did not match the world. It was a natural kind of isolation standing there, but Qing Shui could not describe the feeling very well. It felt a bit desolate, an emotion that causes one's heart to throb, one that lacked desire.

Demon Lord!

Qing Shui did not know what she would be doing here in the middle of the night. She looked as if she was looking at the stars, thinking about something.

He walked over lightly as Qing Shui had no intention of disturbing her. He wanted to stand behind her, to observe that graceful, charming, and feminine body of hers. Its magnificence was unmatched, there were no flaws in that slender and beautiful body of hers.

"Why did you come out?" The woman's voice transmitted over, but she didn't turn around.

"I saw tonight's moonlight was bright, so I came out to look at it. What about you, do you have something on your mind? If you do, why don't you share it with me, so I can analyze it for you?" Qing Shui said softly.

"Nothing much. I just suddenly felt like I'm missing something after all these years. With my strength increasing today, I suddenly felt tired. Can you tell me why?" The woman turned around and Qing Shui could see a bit of tiredness showing on that heavenly face of hers. This was the first time he saw a different expression on her face.

"That was because there's no one to share your joys and worries, feeling tired was natural. Regardless of things being good or bad, you silently put it on your own shoulders. Do you want to hear my own story? After hearing it maybe you'll understand," Qing Shui laughed as he spoke.

The Demon Lord did not know why Qing Shui's strength had increased so rapidly. Now that he wanted to share his own story, she agreed. She was really feeling tired.

Qing Shui told his own story from start to finish. Of course, he skipped over the things between him and the woman. After he was done, he slowly said, "You are stronger than me, but I can continue on because I have lots of people around me that can share my happiness and pain."

After she heard Qing Shui's words, the woman's eyes appeared to have a bit of sadness, "I am by myself, I don't have any relatives."

"Who said you don't have relatives? Sister Hua treats you closer than anyone, even closer than Zhan Yu. You can also treat me as a relative, a very close relative." Qing Shui looked at the Demon Lord and said softly.

The Demon Lord looked at Qing Shui. Looking at the clear expression shown in his eyes, she could feel that bit of love. It felt like something had been released from within her heart and sighed, "Thank you!"

"Are you thinking too much? I am serious, you can be reassured that everything I have said thus far can be counted upon. You can treat me as a friend or like a brother. Tell me anything you want and I can share with you as well, how about it?"

"Alright, I will try." The Demon Lord thought for a bit and said.

"For real?" Qing Shui said in disbelief.

"For real!"

"Then tell me your name, this will show if you're really going to share things with me or not." Qing Shui said with a smile.

"All of this was just to get my name?" The Demon Lord looked at Qing Shui and asked.

"Of course not. I believe in you, and you should believe in me too. You telling your name will be a daring test," Qing Shui said with a bitter smile. Right now, he did not want to know her name that much, all he wanted to do was to slowly change her.

"My name is Tantai Lingyan," the Demon Lord paused before she said softly.

Hearing her say her name, Qing Shui let out a sigh. Knowing her name was a big step forward since a name was something important.

"Tantai Lingyan, a good name. Taitai is a rare last name," Qing Shui said with a smile.

"En, this last name has become even rarer. How long do you intend to stay in the Demon Lord Palace?" Tantai Lingyan suddenly looked at Qing Shui and asked.

"What is it, am I no longer of use so you're planning to kick me out? I am yours, and no matter what you say, I won't leave." Qing Shui saw that the woman's expression was easing up and immediately pushed his luck and said.

Given an inch, Qing Shui took a mile. The woman did not say anything as she just looked towards Qing Shui. He was at a loss on what to do. Whenever he spoke lines like these, the woman would remain silent. The cool and elegant charm of her face was not something that could be resisted by mere mortals.

"Alright, if you don't kick me out, I will always be a member of the Demon Lord Palace." Qing Shui said with a serious face.

"If I kick you out, will you leave?"

"No!"

Qing Shui said without any hesitation.

"Then why would you say something like a while ago?" The Demon Lord's emotional fluctuations made Qing Shui happy, this sort of tone made her feel like a normal woman.

"Aren't I just afraid of you?"

"Afraid of me about what?" The Demon Lord was a bit curious with this, this man was fearless and thick-skinned.

"Many things. I'm afraid that you will be angry, afraid that you won't pay attention to me, afraid that you dislike me, afraid you look down upon me, afraid you will marry someone else, afraid you will disappear…"

Qing Shui ranted everything out which shocked her. She had not thought that he was afraid of her in so many ways…

Tantai Lingyan looked at Qing Shui, she could not grasp this man's true feelings. Was it because of that incident that he was trying to take responsibility? She lightly shook her head, she did not know why she suddenly thought of that as she did not like thinking of that incident. She tried to wipe that out of her memory, but it did not work. Every so often, she would think of it again…

"It's getting late, shouldn't it be time to rest?" Qing Shui said softly.

En!"

"Remember my words. Find someone close to you that you can share things with, then you won't feel tired. If I have something good, other than thinking of myself, I think of people close to me and share it with them. The stuff I have given you before were of the same mindset, you should try to find someone close such as Sister Hua, or you can find me." Qing Shui took out a pair of earrings that he had already prepared for her ahead of time.

"Do you want me to help you wear it or will you wear it yourself?" Qing Shui asked with a smile.

The woman thought for a bit, "You can help me put them on!"

Qing Shui laughed. He knew she was trying to trust him more, trying to change herself.

Qing Shui seriously helped her wear them, he did not think of taking advantage of her in any way. All he wanted to do was to open her heart a little as she had been lonely for far too long.

The delicate and translucent earrings had an indescribable beauty, it did not have a hint of unpleasantness on her body. Qing Shui made the earrings with a special material plus a bit of sun stone. It was silver in color and although it was not big, it was refined and delicate. Moreover, it had a 5% chance of adding the effect of additional damage, the addition would range from 10% to 20% damage. It was a formidable item.