AST 1513 - It was actually the Ancient Ruins! (1/2)

Qing Shui didn’t notice the change in the woman’s expression. His mind was entirely preoccupied with the thought of Sea King's Palace, even though the purpose of treasure hunting this time around was only in hope of gaining some form of advantage from it; to allow himself to advance towards Sea King's Palace a little faster, and the process a little smoother.

Qing Shui didn’t dwell on what she said or bear any hope. It was like a kind of rambling, speaking without holding much importance to the conversation, hoping he would get the answer he wanted to hear.

Qing Shui found himself becoming more vulnerable, and when one felt vulnerable, they hoped others would show some empathy. He shook his head in an effort to ditch these thoughts. Regardless of what would happen after, he had to first find the treasure. The combination of his current level of might and the beasts could be regarded as formidable in the False God Realm. While it wasn’t invincible, no one would be able to deal any damage to him either.

Even he felt speechless by his own ability to resist attacks and his own strength.

”Why are you looking for Sea King's Palace?” In a casual tone, the woman questioned just as Qing Shui stopped his own queries.

”It seems like my wife had gone to Sea King's Palace. I want to find her” Qing Shui did not conceal the truth.

”Sea King's Palace does not have a good relationship with the human race; an average person would not be able to get to the Sea King's Palace.”

Qing Shui smiled as he glanced over at the mighty woman. Unknowingly their relationship seemed to have improved a little. At least they were cordial now, just as friends would be, though this perception might just have been a false impression.

”That is why I am a little concerned. Still, without knowing where Sea King’s Palace might be in this vast Ice Ocean Domain, trying to find her will undoubtedly be akin to finding a needle in a haystack.” Qing Shui said with a wry smile.

”When did your wife leave for Sea King’s Palace? Are you sure she did?” The woman probed further as she donned a smile.

”It has been three years. I can’t be sure, but there’s a great possibility.”

”Since it has already been so long, you’re in no great hurry. I have heard about the existence of a Divine within the walls of Sea King’s Palace, and to make things worse, they view human beings as their enemy. Of course, there are still exceptions of some who are good friends with the Aquatics.”

”Yeah, let’s wait awhile. Do you think there are Kunpeng within this Kunpeng Mountain?” Their friendship was still limited to casual discussion about the stranger things within Main Continent.

”There are multiple claims about it; some would say there are, others that said there aren’t, and even some who would have claimed that they’ve seen it with their own two eyes. In the end, there is no way of knowing which is the truth.”

Qin Qing's answer to his question had been redundant at best, but she wasn’t incorrect either. In fact, her words might have been the most accurate answer there would ever be, it was only a pity that it was useless.

In any case, they had nothing better to do during the journey, resorting to speaking out of boredom, though neither made an attempt to understand each other any further than necessary.

From time to time, Qing Shui would unleash the Dragon Slaying Beast which possessed the same ability as the Treasure Hunting Pig. They couldn’t hunt for treasures while on the move, hence, only as they were stopping for a rest could he release them to search within the vicinity.

While he had a beast that could treasure hunt, without the presence of said treasure, their effort would be futile as well. The reason why treasure was named that way, was precisely because of how rare they were.

Half a month had gone with a blink of an eye. Kunpeng Mountain was immense in size; even when Qing Shui was able to cover a huge distance with his Nine Continents Steps every day, he had not managed to reach the center of Kunpeng Mountain after half a month.

Roar!

Not long after he had dismantled the tent, he heard a huge roar from afar. Qing Shui had allowed Dragon Slaying Beast to roam around in search of treasure when the loud cry rang out of the blue. He deduced that it should have come from a powerful beast.

”Miss, I’m going to take a look.” Qing Shui was not all that worried about Dragon Slaying Beast but still decided to take a look around in the vicinity.

”I'll go with you!”

Qing Shui nodded at that and the pair flew towards the origin of the sound. Qing Shui’s strength could not compare to the woman, but when comparing their speed, he was in no way inferior.

As the situation came into their line of sight, they froze. Qin Qing blushed, while Qing Shui had an odd expression.

Dragon Slaying Beast was not here. Instead, there were two great beasts engaged in an activity that even beasts love to do.

The two large white elephants were tangled in their attempt at producing offspring. That particular part was huge, and in contrast with the rest of its body, was not white in color. Rather, it was a little black, constantly moving in and out, while it sounded loud roars in the process.

”It’s huge!” Qing Shui clucked.

Qin Qing flushed with anger. In a huff, she glared at Qing Shui before fleeing from the scene.

The powers of the two white elephants were decent, but that was as good as it had amounted to. Even though they were not in the depths of Kunpeng Mountain, the beasts here had already exhibited great might.

Once again, Qing Shui looked over at the two white elephants which went on their business as if there was no one else around, then left. There was no trace of Qin Qing when he returned and he knew she was in the tent.

When it was about time, Qing Shui began preparing for a meal. As the waft of its fragrance drifted through the air, Qin Qing reappeared from the tent she had hidden in and stood alongside Qing Shui while he carried on with his cooking.

In the many days of their journey, Qing Shui was the assigned cook for their meals. In the beginning, the pair contributed evenly to the task but as Qin Qing began to realize that Qing Shui’s culinary abilities had greatly exceeded her own, she withdrew herself.

A mighty warrior with such powerful beasts, superb medical skills, great refining capacity, and on top of those, was a good cook—she suddenly found that there was seemingly nothing this man couldn’t do.

She caught her own increasing curiosity about the person, and a young man at that. She knew that such single-sided interest about a person was not a good thing, and even if she was able to repress herself, the intrigue in her heart would not diminish.

Qing Shui made a bowl of fish soup. He had managed to catch a hare before, as well as some wild plants, and with a hand extending the hind leg of the baked animal, he offered Qin Qing. “Have a taste. You wouldn’t be able to taste something like this in certain parts of the continent.”