Ancient Strengthening Technique

Beihuang Fan didn’t know when she had arrived, but since then, her eyes had focused on Qing Shui and Shen Huang.

Qing Shui wasn’t actually afraid of them meeting each other. After all, unlike his previous life, this world didn’t have a system of monogamy. They also knew that they weren’t the only ones and so he had nothing to hide.

“Fan’er, Young Mistress, let me introduce.”

As Qing Shui began, he tugged Shen Huang with one hand and Beihuang Fan with the other and walked towards the backyard.

Beihuang Fan standing alongside Shen Huang was a sight to behold. They were both as resplendent as the moon, reflecting their beauty off each other.

The two ladies were equally shocked by each other’s beauty. Beautiful women such as themselves were conceited, but it was the first time in their lives when they thought someone else was better looking.

In all honesty, Qing Shui couldn’t choose who was more beautiful between them. They were both flawlessly beautiful.

“This is the Young Lady of the Taiyi Immortal Palace, Beihuang Fan. She’s Shen Huang of the Phoenix Organization,” Qing Shui gave a simple introduction.

“How do you do? You’re really beautiful,” Beihuang Fan complimented her with a smile.

“Not at all. I was just thinking that your beauty outshines mine,” Shen Huang reciprocated sincerely.

“You felt that way too?” Beihuang Fan asked, mirroring Shen Huang’s tone.

Shen Huang was stunned for a moment before breaking into a smile “Who knew that a jerk like him could make you be devoted to him.”

“I was just about to say that.” Beihuang Fan thought they got along well.

They cast Qing Shui aside and continued chatting. As though they were suddenly reminded of his presence, they turned around to see him drawing. He drew Beihuang Fan previously, and now he was drawing Shen Huang and a miracle appeared once more.

He drew another Portrait of Beauty.

Qing Shui was dazed and shocked as he watched the painting in front of him. There were twelve portraits previously and now there were fourteen. It was a dazzling sight, with each beautiful enough to cause the downfall of a city.

“These are?” Beihuang Fan was startled.

The two women found themselves among the paintings that Qing Shui drew and concluded that the others must have been his women too.

“My wives, just like you both,” Qing Shui smiled and replied.

With nothing more to say, he kept them. The portraits were barely enough to capture the beauty of those ladies or their traits.

Beihuang Fan had seen Yiye Jiange, Qing Hanye, and a few others. However, there were other women she had never seen before.

After coming out from her seclusion, Qing Shui was shocked by Shen Huang’s abilities. He had never figured out her strength before and never thought that she was much stronger than he was. Now that he found out, he was surprised to know that she was equal both in strength and cultivation to Beihuang Fan.

Beihuang Fan had also just finished her secluded cultivation.

The two ladies were naturally not a match for Qing Shui, but they were still pretty strong.

There was no doubt that they would be on equal footing with those top experts in the powerful clans.

After a trip to the Divine Palace, he was aware that his abilities now wouldn’t have allowed him to defeat Five Tiger Immortal Palace. At the thought of the Five Tiger Immortal Palace, Qing Shui’s mind drifted to Tantai Lingyan. He wondered if she was there now, if her abilities had soared since their last meeting, if she was succumbing to the demon blood.

While Qing Shui was thinking of her, the Demon Lord, Tantai Lingyan was at a secured land, safe from the outside world. She stood between Heaven and Earth.

Her long hair was flowing in the color of blood, with her face as fair and cold as snow. She was just standing there like an ice sculpture. Her body was slender, and her eyes were like a drawing. They were beautiful and calm. However, people could see a cold world inside of them.

If Qing Shui had seen her, he’d be rendered speechless. She was Tantai Lingyan, the woman who had disappeared. She held the Goddess Sword in her hand, the sword which combined all of the Nine Continent’s Coldfrost. Snowflakes decorated its surface.

Old Turtle watched Tantai Lingyang from afar, his eyes filled with a hint of misery. The gigantic body seemed to have aged as he lifted his head to the sky. “In the end, she still ended up in this path. Old Master, I’ve failed you. Young Lady still took this path in the end.”

The enormous Old Turtle was like an Old Man crawling atop the great Earth.

“Father, Mother. Your daughter will make them pay for the blood debt they had with our Tantai Clan. But… why does it suddenly feel as if your daughter has lost something?”

Tantai Lingyang tilted her head towards the sky; her words were like the cold breeze of winter and calm like the sea.

She seemed to have forgotten about a lot of things these days. There had been a blurry silhouette which would appear at the start, but even that disappeared with time. However, somewhere deep in her soul, the blurry silhouette remained. It felt so familiar, but she just couldn’t put a finger on it.

She was the Demon Lord, the true Demon Lord. She was about to make them pay for the blood debt before returning to the Demon Gate. It belonged to her.

No matter how many times Old Turtle mentioned Qing Shui, Tantai Lingyan couldn’t seem to remember. He reminded her countless times and told her that Qing Shui was an important person.

……

Five Tiger Immortal Palace!

Five Tiger Immortal Palace had been passed down for many generations, with a great Guardian Beast as its protection. It was like a utopia; no matter how chaotic it was out there, it was always peaceful in here thanks to the protection of their Eight-Legged Jiao Tiger.

Hundreds of years ago, the Tantai Clan was the most possible candidate to take over the Demon Gate. The other contender was the Mo Clan. It was said that the Mo Clan’s ancestors were among Demon Gate’s most powerful clans.

The competition to be the Demon Gate’s Palace Lord had had the Mo Clan forming an alliance with the Beiwang Clan of the Five Tiger immortal Palace. Thereafter, they had annihilated almost all of the Tantai Clan. There were only a few who had survived. Old Turtle had saved a drugged Tantai Lingyan back then.

Tantai Lingyan had been drugged by Beiwang Miaoyuan of the Beiwang Clan. He was the Fifth Young Master of the clan and was their prodigy. It wouldn’t be surprising for him to take over the Beiwang Clan, perhaps even the Five Tiger Immortal Palace would be his.

He had always been enamored of Tantai Lingyan’s beauty, but the latter wouldn’t even spare him a glance. He had been rejected without hesitation when he had confessed, and this left Beiwang Miaoyuan raging about his humiliation, bearing the grudge ever since.

There were others who participated in the massacre at that time, such as those in the Green Dragon Continent who were destroyed by Qing Shui.

Tantai Lingyan could remember it as clear as the day when she returned.

There was a celebration at the Five Tiger Immortal Palace today; it was the Beiwang Clan’s Fifth Master, Beiwang Miaoyuan’s wedding. This would be his tenth wife and many others from the Demon Gate had come to attend. None of their allies in the Northern Domain who would risk not attending.

Even if their allies, the Golden Yakshas, had disappeared, there still wasn’t anyone who could rob the Five Tiger Immortal Palace of their position. While their Guardian Beast was around, this was their haven. No one would be able to lift a finger against them.

Hence, the Beiwang Clan sat comfortably at the top. Amidst the exchange of wine and goblets and the bustling excitement, there was a sudden gust of winter breeze.

“Why did it get so cold?” Someone spoke up as they trembled.

“I wonder. No matter how cold it got around here, we’ve never felt it. Strange. Any ordinary human would have been frozen to death.”

“Odd. How very odd.”

……

Swish!

Following a flash of light, a crisp sound rang out. The light reflection from a sword sliced down from above.

The two legs of Beiwang Miaoyuan were dismembered just as he was enjoying his wine.

Ah!

A horrified scream broke the bustling atmosphere as dark clouds gathered above.