Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2061 - The Legend About The Jade Butterfly

They didn’t dare to move around in the air. There was something formidable existed up there. That was the Poisonous Bee. The Poisonous Bee had the size of a fist. However, Its poison was deadly. The bee might not be much of a threat on its own, but usually, when it appeared, it would be in swarms. There could be a hundred, or millions of them. They would fill up the entire sky. The bees' poison had strong corrosive effects. The terrifying part about it was the stacked effect of the poison with each other. Once countless of them appeared, the victims would have no choice but to run. Otherwise, there was no way they would escape death.

This kind of poison took the form of a sticky liquid. Not only was it very corrosive, but it also had unbelievably high viscosity. It was capable of solidifying and permeating through a person’s body. The poison of one bee might not be a threat to Qing Shui and Shen Huang, but as their number increased, even the current Qing Shui couldn’t guarantee that he would be fine, let alone Shen Huang.

The Poisonous Bees Swarm was one of the most terrifying beings in the Flower Ocean. A lot of people would prefer to encounter strong spiritual beasts rather than running into the Poisonous Bees Swarm.

Yet another two days passed in a flash. Qing Shui and Shen Huang had spent the past two days together. Every four hours, Qing Shui would need to warm up Shen Huang’s body. Thus, even when it was the time to rest, they would still need to stay together. After the awkward experience last time, Qing Shui would feel nervous every time he did it. So was Shen Huang, except she would only be more nervous than him.

However, Qing Shui was very “strong” and thus, he was unable to control the reaction of his body. On one of the times when Qing Shui’s body reacted again, he attempted to seal the reaction with his Gold Needle but was stopped by Shen Huang, “I don’t blame you for it. Doing so isn’t good for your body.”

Qing Shui didn’t know what to say. Since then, every time when he needed to hug her for an hour, his body would remain in this state the entire time. Shen Huang also felt very unnatural being pushed by the hot thing from below.

It was a pain in the neck to Qing Shui. Shen Huang also knew that occasionally, Qing Shui would unintentionally come up with some dirty thoughts. When that happened, she would feel shy. However, she wouldn’t get angry at him.

At night, Qing Shui didn’t actually sleep together with Shen Huang. He still needed to enter the realm. But he would set his time well and come out in advance a few times in the middle of the night.

Just like that, another two days passed. The two were already deep inside the flower ocean.

When Qing Shui encountered the Poisonous Bees, he managed to run away from them. With the Nine Continents Steps, he would still be faster than the Poisonous Bees Swarm even if he was to move at regular speed. The Poisonous Bees Swarm was very persistent. It wouldn’t give up chasing after its target the moment they fixed their sights on it.

“Qing Shui! Look! It’s the Jade Butterfly!” Suddenly, Shen Huang pointed far away into the direction and shouted at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui followed Shen Huang’s finger and spotted the so-called ‘Jade Butterfly’. There were two of them. After spreading their wings, they had the size of an adult. Their entire body was colored in green. They also looked bright and shiny, so much so that faint, green light could be seen across their bodies. This caused them to look unusually beautiful.

They came in pairs. It shocked Qing Shui that even though this pair of butterflies might not be very formidable, they possessed a unique ability. They didn’t have any enemies, nor would anything try to eat them. Their second ability made them capable of deflecting attacks in all shapes and forms. This was like the story from his previous incarnation about an ant which was not dying after falling from great heights. This ability could guarantee that the Jade Butterfly wouldn’t be injured when it was hit by accident.

Usually, the Jade Butterfly was a rarely seen species. It could almost be considered as a legendary beast. Furthermore, It only appeared in pairs. There was also another legend about the Jade Butterfly across the continent. The male and female who encountered them would eventually end up as husbands and wives.

If two men or two women were to encounter the Jade Butterfly, they would also end up becoming best friends. Furthermore, it was said that in the future, each of them was bound to find a spouse who suited them perfectly. Then, their life as husband and wife would be filled with happiness.

All of these were only legends. Qing Shui didn’t detect abilities like this from the Jade Butterfly. However, the people across the continents mostly believed in stories like these. This had caused Qing Shui to feel quite confused. Could this be the effect of peer pressures? Since everyone was talking about it, it would begin to influence one’s mind without themselves noticing it.

Shen Huang was very happy when she saw the Jade Butterfly. But very soon, a question popped up in her mind. For a moment, her entire mind turned blank. Could it be that she would really end up as his wife in the future? Could she find happiness staying by his side? She didn’t have long to live, could it be that the appearance of the Jade Butterfly was to tell her that she wouldn’t have to die this time?

“Eldest Mistress, please don’t overthink it. If it is real, at least it comes to show that this time, you have been panicked for nothing.” Qing Shui tried to comfort her.

“Do you believe in legends?” Shen Huang came back to her senses and asked with a smile.

She can test Qing Shui’s feelings for her from questions like this. If he said that he believed in it, it would mean that he liked her. But if his answer was the opposite, it would come to show that Qing Shui had no intention to marry her.

“If, I am saying if you ever end up as my woman in the future, I will make sure that it will be because I have affections for you and have decided to chase after you. It will definitely not because the Jade Butterflies have brought us together.” Qing Shui smiled and said.

Shen Huang smiled. She liked his answer. She wasn’t sure whether to believe in legends like this or not, but she had always found this kind of stuff mysterious. There was nothing that could prove that it was real. There might be many legends, but very few would come true in real life. It was because of this that when it happened, people would have the feeling that this was meant to be. They would then be affected without themselves realizing it, since no one was willing to defy God's will. After all, the chance of meeting the Jade Butterfly was already vivid in itself. A couple who ran into it would naturally be shocked. It would unconsciously begin to affect the feelings which the couple had for each other.

Men and women were supposed to attract each other to begin with. Women were born emotional, it was easy for them to be convinced by situations like this. Once a woman started to act more actively, things would follow along naturally. After all, when a woman went after a man, they were separated by only a piece of paper. One poke from a finger was all it took to break it.

The next move from the Jade Butterfly shocked both of them. A pair of Jade Butterflies surrounded Qing Shui and Shen Huang. They only left after flying around them for quite a long time. Seeing this, even Qing Shui who usually wasn’t convinced by this kind of things had started to believe in it, let alone this world was filled with mysteries, to begin with. The fact that he was able to come here was in itself, already the biggest mystery of the century.

That was the legendary ‘Immortal Destiny of the Jade Butterfly’.

Legend said that if a couple ran into the Jade Butterfly and the butterfly refused to leave but flew around them, this meant that the couple would end up as husband and wife. Furthermore, they would also be rich. It was said that their destiny would be intertwined for three wheels of reincarnation. They would be together in their next life and the next one after that.

No one knew if the Jade Butterfly's legend was real or not. But they could confirm that these two butterflies had fluttered around these two for quite a long time.

Shen Huang looked at Qing Shui in disbelief. She didn’t know how she should feel at the moment. A lot of things had happened between the two of them, and each one of them was beyond her beliefs. It was impossible that she didn’t feel anything in her heart. After all, this man was the closest man to her in her entire life by far. When she knew that she didn’t have long to live, the first person who came to her mind was him. That in itself already reflected the feelings which she had for this man.

Shen Huang smiled. She remembered the time when her hand was being held by him, the time when she let him hugged her countless times and also the time when that part of his body was pushing against her body...

The fact that she allowed him to act so recklessly was, in itself, already a problem.

She wasn’t an open woman. She was only avoiding him subconsciously. Now that he thought about it, sometimes, it would be better if he didn’t overthink. Doing so would only increase the lists of the things he should worry about.

The Jade Butterfly left. Right at this moment, Qing Shui abruptly turned around only to see a fiery red demonic beast far away. Its body resembled that of magma. It was quiet and motionless, just a hundred meters away from him. This caused Qing Shui to be very shocked. The opponent’s speed, as well as its ability to hide itself, was too formidable.

Shen Huang’s expression also changed upon seeing it, “The Flower Demonic Beast!”

Qing Shui had done some research before coming here. This was a formidable beast. But the terrifying part about the Flower Demonic Beast was the Flower Demon which appeared alongside it. The Flower Demon was half-demonic beast and half-human. It could be considered a fairy. Its innate talents and abilities were superior to humans and demonic beasts themselves.