Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1087 – Devastating Slaughter, Gigantic Armored Draconic Ape

“Don’t kill me!” Beitang Lie shouted pleadingly as he looked at Qing Shui with desolated eyes. Even though he had lost his teeth, his cries were quite distinctive and loud.

Without the protection from the Lion King’s Li Fire Formation, not only would they be vulnerable to the ensuing wound infliction, they wouldn’t be able to sustain Qing Shui’s current Nine Continents Mountain attack even in their prime state.

As for Beitang Lie’s pleading cries, Qing Shui had no intention of showing him mercy as none of these people would be able to go back home today. With that in mind, he struck with the Nine Continents Mountain and pounded viciously against his opponent and Beitang Lie’s cries were immediately stopped. However, when the Nine Continents Mountain was lifted up yet again, the surrounding opponents began to shriek in panic and subsequently scattered away hurriedly.

Qing Shui who had the Sacred Jade Divine Stone Ring, flashed by his opponents one-by-one in an instant like a disappearing shadow. Each time he appeared behind one of his opponents, a life would be taken. Under the great disparity between their powers, Qing Shui was essentially a lion in a lamb’s den.

When every one of his opponents had fallen, Qing Shui finally stopped. After calming down for a bit, he started to realize the terrifying consequences should he have come a bit later than intended. He had thought about it during the beginning of the fight, which was why he became more furious and afraid the more he thought about it. In a fit of rage, he committed the mass massacre of Beitang Lie and his men. Once he had made a decision, there was only one thing he could do—act on it. He couldn’t spare a moment to be irresolute when the time called for him to pull the weeds from the ground. What happened today should not be allowed to happen again. Qing Shui would never leave any of the members of the Lion King’s Ridge alive. He wouldn’t want anything like this to happen again even after they had left the Five Continents to the other Four Continents.

Moreover, he had already decided how he would handle the Lion King’s Ridge—and that was to destroy them completely. He did mention that he would leave the members of the Lion King’s Ridge inside the Ancient Ruins forever even before they had stepped into the ruins itself.

He had finally done it. After witnessing the true actions of the Lion King’s Ridge, there was no hesitation toward the brutality on Beitang Lie and his men. Even after he had massacred them all, his hatred still lingered deep inside his heart.

With a flick of his hand, he burned the corpses completely. He took away the Interspatial Silk Sachet that they had dropped on the ground as there were rare ingredients stored inside them. When the corpses were burned, the Interspatial Silk Sachets were still intact. Qing Shui had no idea whether the sachets would ever burn if he continued to let them sit in the flames for a little bit longer. After all, he had never tried testing his theory on this before.

Despite the ‘setback’ in this journey, the results were still unexpectedly great. Yiye Jiange was excited as 50 people from the Lion King’s Ridge were rendered dead, which was already a huge blow toward the Lion King’s Ridge itself.

The people they had lost in the Ancient Ruins, which included a young master, was a blow they could still endure. Unfortunately for the Lion King’s Ridge, they didn’t have the slightest idea of the cause of their deaths. However, they knew for certain that it was the doing of humans. This caused them to become restless and anxious for the impending danger to their existence.

Death was a normal occurrence inside the Ancient Ruins but for all 50 members of the Lion King’s Ridge to die in this place was a bit unbelievable. Before this, Qing Shui had already executed three of the strongest elders from the Lion King’s Ridge, this had eventually accumulated to the total of 50 people. Qing Shui had no idea if there were anyone else from the Lion King’s Ridge who was still alive but that didn’t matter anymore.

Qing Shui walked back and was greeted with the delighted expression of the ladies. He took out the Sacred Jade Divine Stone Rings he had forged earlier and gave them each one to infuse their blood as a certification of ownership. By doing so, they could communicate with the Spiritual Qi within the ring, allowing the prowess of the Sacred Jade Divine Stone Ring to become more powerful.

Little Fattie and the ladies followed Qing Shui’s instructions and listened to the usage of the rings intently. He told them the key points of the rings and what was required to activate them. After that, he allowed them to test the prowess of the rings after they had thoroughly understood everything about the Sacred Jade Divine Stone.

When they had actually tried it on their own, the ladies and Little Fattie were left dumbfounded. Their powers and experiences were extraordinary but even a normal person would be able to tell how remarkable these rings were. After they had tried it, they turned to look at Qing Shui with unbelievable gazes. If they had the rings earlier on, who could possibly stop them from going on a murder spree?

The rings were a divine artifact of life assurance. As long as the owner of the ring wasn’t killed from a surprise attack, they could easily and safely run away with the power of their rings. They could use the ring multiple times in a row for a maximum distance of 200 li, which was more than enough to escape from peril and disaster.

These ladies were endowed with the blessing of intelligence, so they were able to immediately understand the unique ability of the Sacred Jade Divine Rings. They knew they could use it when the situation had gone awry and they could even use it to land a surprise attack on their opponents. In a short amount of time, they were able to fully grasp the potential of the rings. Qing Shui was relieved as he wouldn’t need to worry about their safety all the time.

“Wu-shuang. Your power is the weakest among everyone here. I will give you this.”

Qing Shui smiled as he took out a Demonic Beast Token and released the Golden Cauldron Spirit Crane. As soon as it was set free, the crane busted away and went for a run. Qing Shui had already prepared himself for such a situation and quickly used the Demon Binding Ropes to stop the crane from escaping any further.

A couple of punches were sufficient enough to leave the crane dispirited. He then gave the low grade Sacred Beast Pills to Wenren Wu-shuang and said, “The smaller ones are for you. Take this big one and feed it to the crane. It will become the most loyal demonic beast you’ll ever have.”

“Qing Shui…” Wenren Wu-shuang wanted to say something more but she couldn’t.

“It’s alright. Just go!”

Qing Shui gently pushed her toward the Golden Cauldron Spirit Crane. She could see how gigantic and beautiful the crane was in its massive form. The large head of the crane had three golden gleaming cauldrons sitting on top, which formed a golden crown together. This crown was able to bring about the dignified manner of the crane to a certain extent. Wenren Wu-shuang didn’t feed the crane immediately but reached out to caress the silver white feathers instead. After a long while, she then took the Sacred Beast Pill and held it directly in front of its beak.

Qing Shui was actually a bit worried. The low grade Sacred Beast Pill wasn’t that spectacular but it was still decent. He had only heard this from the ‘Old Sixth’ of the Lion King’s Ridge.

Wenren Wu-shuang had already consumed the smaller Sacred Beast Pill earlier. Qing Shui stood at the side and continued to use his spiritual sense to detect the changes within Wenren Wu-shuang and the Golden Cauldron Spirit Crane after the demonic beast had consumed the bigger Sacred Beast Pill.

The medicinal pill was quickly digested, followed by the extension of a formless energy toward the aura of the crane until the two types of energy had a contact with one another. This was a peculiar type of communication. Qing Shui knew Wenren Wu-shuang had succeeded after seeing the surprised expression appearing on her face.

Qing Shui wanted to give Wenren Wu-shuang a powerful demonic beast not because she was weak but because he wanted to let her feel the warmth of a companion. She was already strong, yet she was the loneliest among the ladies in Qing Clan. He hoped that by using the low grade Sacred Beast Pill, he could help her tame a powerful and loyal demonic beast so that she wouldn’t be as lonely anymore.

A lonely person would feel unsafe or feel that they lacked a sense of security in their life. Because of that, Qing Shui wanted to provide her a sense of security as best as he could. She had gone through a lot in her life and because of that she had become the strong person she was today. It was only through this way that Qing Shui could slowly change the way she viewed her life and the world around her.

Qing Shui was able to rest easy knowing she has the Sacred Jade Divine Stone Ring and this powerful Golden Cauldron Spirit Crane by her side. He then took out some Beast Pills, Hallow Pellets, and Crimson Pellets and gave them to Wenren Wu-shuang for her demonic beast.

While the iron was still hot, he wanted Wenren Wu-shuang to feed those medicinal pills to her demonic beast so that she could increase her closeness with the crane and develop a strong bond with it.

The power gained was considerable. They became closer as they formed a deep bond with each other, which was a joyous moment for Wenren Wu-shuang. Eventually, time had passed and half a day was gone. They were at an area where no other human souls would venture into, so they needed to get out as soon as possible to keep up with their schedule. Fortunately, Qing Shui has the Nine Continents Steps to travel to other places in an instant. They essentially had nothing to worry about.

“My girl, did you reap anything good?” Qing Shui sat on the grass while facing Luan Luan to ask her a question.

“It’s alright. It’s just that I couldn’t find any treasure yet. Even though I didn’t have much experience in battles, common demonic beasts are nothing in my eyes anymore.” Luan Luan giggled as she slumped in front of Qing Shui and laid on top of his legs.

“They are called treasures because of their scarcity. If anyone could waltz in and find treasures immediately, then that’s not a treasure anymore. Keep up with your cultivation. Your strength is the most important thing you have right now. Of course, you can always depend on your demonic beasts to lend you a hand. You have to take great care of your sidekicks you know,” said Qing Shui as he relaxed his mind. The promise he had made years ago would soon come true in the near future.

The ladies and Little Fattie sat beside Qing Shui, forming a circle with Luan Luan in the middle. Everyone looked at her with a smile, which caused her to burst out in laughter. She was very happy to be surrounded by those she loved the most.

“Daddy, when are we going to the Lion King’s Ridge? We should kill them all. How dare they bully us like that!” Luan Luan huffed in anger.

“Right you are. Those who bully us should die.” Qing Shui replied glowingly.

Yiye Jiange was flushed in red as she sat in the opposite direction of Qing Shui. After all, the other ladies had already known about her relationship with Qing Shui. She was still a bit bashful after hearing what Qing Shui had said just now. To be honest, she had already let go of the worries in her heart and she was now free from any type of conflicts.

When the atmosphere had turned warm from the laughters, Qing Shui was able to see Wenren Wu-shuang’s expression. She was laughing with the others but there was a bit of impenetrable anxiety in her expression. It was subtle, so no one else noticed. However, Qing Shui was sure of what he saw. He had already known that she had something painful that she could never disclose since a long time ago but she wouldn’t even bring it up to him even until now.

The matters with her elder sister had passed. What else could she be hiding from him? Qing Shui was confused by his thoughts.

“We will rest here tonight. Luan Luan, let me take you somewhere to tame a demonic beast.” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“Alright, sure!”

The tents had already been set up and the ladies were already wearing the Sacred Jade Divine Stone Rings, so there was nothing to be afraid of. After everything was settled, Qing Shui brought Luan Luan along and left to find a demonic beast.

They had encountered a demonic beast when they had initially arrived at this place. Qing Shui could sense that the demonic beast was a powerful one. This beast was none other than the ancient demonic beast—Giant Armored Draconic Ape.

In other words, the Giant Armored Draconic Ape was also an ancient feral beast. According to the legends, some of the ancient feral beasts contained the Dragon Bloodline in their veins. They were said to be comparable to most Jiao in terms of strength. Qing Shui and the others were rushing in the beginning, so he was able to steal a few glance at the demonic beast before they parted ways.

Qing Shui thought that the feral beast was suitable for Luan Luan because of its young age—the Giant Armored Draconic Ape had not reached its adulthood. The power of the beast was about 20,000 stars and it would become an adult once it consumed the Hallow Pellet, subsequently boosting its power by multiple folds. Because of that, Qing Shui felt that the Giant Armored Draconic Ape was more suitable for Luan Luan than himself.

The giant beast was easy to find too. With one usage of the Nine Continent Steps, both of them were back at the spot and they were able to spot the ancient feral beast in no time.

Even in its young stage, the Giant Armored Draconic Ape was already a few dozen meters in size. The beast emitted a subtle killing intent and coldness. Additionally, it was covered in silver scaled armors that were similar to steel plates all over its body. On top of its head was a single spiral horn. The beast was laying on the ground in its resting position. Qing Shui had no idea why the historical records would call this giant beast the Giant Armored Draconic Ape because there were no signs of ape characteristics from its appearance.

When the beast caught a glimpse of Qing Shui and Luan Luan, it cocked its head upwards and let out a distinct shriek. The enormous front body stood right up at the same time. Qing Shui then finally realized why it was called as the Giant Armored Draconic Ape.

When the Giant Armored Draconic Ape stood up, the front upper body was twice as tall as the lower back body. The front body looked like a small mountain, slowly becoming shorter as it reached the back body. The overall stature of the beast was that of an ape or gorilla.

Not only was the physical strength of the Giant Armored Draconic Ape impossibly domineering, its spiritual energy was powerful and its speed was immense as well. This was a monster of massacre—violent and savage. It would be quite difficult to tame a monstrous beast like this one but one fact remained: The Giant Armored Draconic Ape was extraordinarily powerful beyond all doubt.

“My girl, see if it’s possible for you to tame it. This one’s still at its young stage. If you can tame it, then it should grow into an adult in no time. You should know how powerful this demonic beast is, right?” Qing Shui smiled as he fixated his gaze at the incoming demonic beast before lashing out with his Primordial Flame Whip to retaliate.