Chapter: 897 (1/2)

AST 897 – Leaving the Sky Penetrating Mountains, Gathering Again

One month later, Qing Shui was already back at the 1,000 li zone of the Sky Penetrating Mountains. This was considered a relatively safe area and one would be able to encounter many cultivators who were seeking adventure or hunting for treasures. At this moment, Qing Shui felt very warm. Although staying for a prolonged period of time in the Sky Penetrating Mountains didn’t make him feel suppressed, humans were social creatures who lived in groups. In the end, he still craved to be in places where there were other people.

Cultivators of all realms could be found in this 1,000 li zone. Everyone was in their own groups, the place was bustling with activity and sounds of laughter flooded the area. The Sky Penetrating Mountains was generally a very dangerous area, but this area was an exception. There were basically no encounters with powerful demonic beasts here.

This area was surrounded by huge mountains, caves, and the like. No one had managed to comb through the entire area and even if someone had managed to comb through a mountain ten times, they still might have missed out stuff. Moreover, no one would conduct a search like that.

Many people would enter and exit every day. Some people would leave with satisfied smiles and great returns, while others would leave in tears, bringing back the corpses of their kin or partners who were covered in blood. There was no end to the number of such occurrences in the World of the Nine Continents daily.

No one paid attention to Qing Shui’s appearance in the 1,000 li zone, nor did he called out his Five-Headed Demonic Spider. He merely went on his way on foot, using the Nine Palace Steps.

Qing Shui was very familiar with the concept of practice makes perfect. It took him one whole month to cross 100,000 li. The Nine Palace Steps were very profound and if Qing Shui wasn’t so unfamiliar with it, he would not be so slow.

In this one month, he had spent about eight to nine years in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Now, Qing Shui had just managed to bring the Nine Palace Steps to the small success stage. It was very hard for him to grasp the Seven Star Steps to the Nine Palace Steps.

The Nine Palace Steps had nine positionings. The world was split into eight directions, and Qing Shui still did not understand the theory of the Nine Palace and why they were split into nine palaces. With the Nine Palace Steps, Qing Shui was able to leap freely and reach any spot or positions between the Nine Palace. This was due to the profoundness of the Nine Palace.

It was as if one step could bring one into an entirely new space.

The Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation added the Nine Palace positionings onto the basis of the Eight Trigrams Formation. It caused the people trapped within in the formation to be confused and surrounded by killing intent. Qing Shui could rely on the Nine Palace Steps to freely dart around within the formation, launching sneak attacks and could kill from any corner or position, catching his opponents while they were unaware.

He had only succeeded in picking up the Nine Palace Steps three days ago and thus the distance he had traveled for the past three days was much greater than what he had covered before, making Qing Shui feel overjoyed. He continued to use the Nine Palace Steps even when he was in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and even when he ate. He would take a short nap when he was tired.

In these Nine Palace positionings, Qing Shui was like a spirit who was extremely agile. Qing Shui enjoyed this feeling a lot. Moreover, after attaining some success with the ‘Nine Palace’, Qing Shui realized that there was an area limit on the ‘Nine Palace’. This area was one that was set out by him and as long as he appeared in a place, the area around him would be considered the area of the ‘Nine Palace’.

1,000 meters!

His ‘Nine Palace’ reached out for 1,000 meters and the area he could control was up to 1,000 meters. Qing Shui was very satisfied with this. It was enough. When he moved, the ‘Nine Palace’ would automatically move together with him.

For the past three days, including the time he had spent in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui was considered to have set the foundations for the Nine Palace Steps. Just this alone could raise Qing Shui’s battle prowess by a lot. At least, he would have the advantage in many situations because he was the king in the ‘Nine Palace’. Without breaking through his ‘Nine Palace’, other people would have no way of defeating Qing Shui.

The Nine Palace allowed Qing Shui to gain the greatest territorial advantage, regardless of the time and location. This was because when Qing Shui succeeded in picking up the Nine Palace Steps, the Nine Palace would forever stay together with Qing Shui. As long as his opponents didn’t break through his Nine Palace, Qing Shui would not lose. Moreover, Qing Shui’s Nine Palace Steps were still improving.

…

A lady wearing a golden phoenix pleated dress stood at the entrance of the Sky Penetrating Mountains. She has been here for the past two months and would always stand here for a very long time every day. Many people knew that this was Mu Clan’s Young Miss.

Judging by how things looked, she seemed to be waiting for someone. However, no one knew who she was waiting for. There was a tent set up not far away, where two old men were playing chess. There were also two old women looking at that lady wearing the golden phoenix pleated dress, a hint of worry in their eyes.

The lady who stood there was Mu Qing. When she returned, she informed the people from her clan that she had some things to attend to and would not be around for some time. Worried that something bad would befall her, the seniors from her clan had over ten elders follow her. She didn’t say anything to this.

Actually, the people from Mu Clan also knew that this was because of that young man who had not returned yet. They didn’t feel good about it either since that old man from Dong Clan had come here himself and requested for them to take care of that young man. Back then, they had given him their promise but they didn’t know that this young man was planning to head into the deeper region.

Mu Qing stood there stock-still. Just her back view made everyone in the surroundings unable to resist her charms. However, everyone knew that it was Miss Mu and no one dared to be insolent.

In a tent not too far away, Dong Yan and Sun Yan was sitting down on the ground, drinking wine. However, they would also occasionally glance toward the entrance of the Sky Penetrating Mountains.

“Eldest Brother, do you think that anything will happen to Third Brother? It has been so long…” Sun Yan finished up the wine in his cup with one gulp and asked Dong Yan.

“Third Brother isn’t someone who would die young. Don’t worry, he’ll definitely be fine. He might even come across some great opportunity.” Dong Yan frowned slightly but his brows very quickly loosened up.

“Is this what Old Master Dong said?” Sun Yan asked Dong Yan suspiciously.

“Old Master said this before too.” When he said this, Dong Yan’s expression lightened up.

“If Old Master had said this, then it must be true.” Sun Yan seemed to feel slightly more relaxed now.

“Did you sense that Third Brother is in fact very suspicious? My gut feelings are quite good. Did you sense that?” Dong Yan smiled and said.

“The fact that the three of us can get together must be because we each have mysterious things about us. Although we might not be the strongest, we can still be considered to be among the top tier amongst the youngest generation.” Sun Yan smiled and said casually.

“Haha, and Third Brother said that he’s still able to protect himself in the Sky Penetrating Mountains. He’s not someone who’s reckless. We can only wait now.” Dong Yan gave it some thought before filling up his wine glass.