Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2365 - Priest Purewood, Entering the Divine Place 

Qing Shui was very confident and had no worries. Though Nalan Qing had already told him to let it go, he had other reasons. If the city lord was truly powerful then this would be a debt only payable by blood.

The people around were also shocked, seeing this new youngster in Chaos City easily suppressing the Five Chaos Dragons. He even killed one of them and forced the rest to beg for mercy.

“It’s just an act of desperation. Losing face from bowing down could be paid back. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t even survive,” Someone who seemed to understand the few of them well said. 

“But didn’t that young man just say that he would kill them the next time he sees them?” Someone else replied.

“Haha, they would never take others’ words seriously. They’re only bowing because they have no choice. If they could, they would cut him into a million pieces right now. What do you say to a bet on that?” The same man who spoke up just now laughed. 

“It’s fine, I won’t bet against you. Let's just wait and see.”

Qing Shu’s spiritual sense was extremely acute and he could listen to all the murmurings. He wasn’t surprised nor worried. These foppish dandies with their eyes on top of their heads wouldn’t have taken him seriously either way.

“Qing Shui, don’t be reckless. The fact that Chaos City continues to exist suggests that it is unique in the Middle Three Regions. We must tread carefully.” Nalan Qing looked worried. 

“Don’t worry. At least we have some survival skills so just relax.” Qing Shui comforted Nalan Qing. 

Nalan Qing thought about all kinds of skills that Qing Shui had and felt comforted. Maybe she was just overthinking this. Qing Shui would be a peak existence here, or maybe even suppress people of that level.

“Qing Shui, look over there, Those are people from the Fire Nation,” Nalan Qing said as she pointed to a certain direction. 

Qing Shui scanned through them. There were only twenty to thirty people, not a big number. There were old, middle-aged, and young men, all decently powerful but none at the level of the Water Emperor.

Qing Shui seemed to be on the same level as the Water Emperor but with his unique techniques, he could easily defeat, if not instantly kill characters of that level.

Qing Shui started looking around the people from the Fire Nation and noticed that a group of people was also looking at the people around him. He immediately confirmed that those people were from the Demon Gate. 

Battle Gods and Demon Gate experts had unique auras that made them easily distinguishable, assuming their strengths were similar.

Qing Shui could basically confirm that this ruin exploration in Chaos City would be anything but quiet and peaceful.

“Alright, everyone can go in now. I hope that everyone can set aside their differences. It is going to be very dangerous inside and we need everyone to cooperate to get out safely. We should find treasures first. There will be plenty of time to settle the differences after we leave,” a masculine voice rang throughout the area. 

“That is Priest Purewood!” Someone exclaimed. 

“Who is that?” Someone else asked immediately.

“Are you even from Chaos City? How can you not know who it is?” The man looked at the inquiring person shockingly. 

“Priest Purewood is an extremely mysterious and powerful entity. Even the city lord still has to give him some face. No one knows where he came from but he has set up a temple here. He is known for his medical skills and helped many people who needed help without accepting any money from them. He is very popular in the area and has a great reputation,” another person spoke up and explained. 

“It’s surprising to see that even Priest Purewood is here.”

“It is said that Priest Purewood also needs something from the divine area so he will be going in this time too. Apparently, everyone has to follow his orders.”

“Priest Purewood does have that prestige.”

    ……

…...

Qing Shui would naturally keep a look out for this middle-aged looking priest. His sideburns already turned white but his eyes remained clear and lucid. He looked very average, with a heroic aura giving him a sense of trustworthiness.

Priest Purewood led the group to the Sky Penetrating ridge and the people behind started following him. They wanted to come to the divine area to try their luck and maybe strike gold.

Finding a mystical ruin was tantamount to opening it and the treasures would belong to those with strength. The divine area would eventually crumble, becoming a regular location, only serving as a lesson from the past.

Qing Shui and company also followed suit, facing a world boundary soon after.

The name of the divine area was very profound. The name would be associated with finding traces of divinity or places where divine existences had once lived. There would be many items to collect.

However, there were also places that seemed like divine areas but actually held nothing.

It was not the first time Qing Shui had passed through a similar boundary so he didn’t feel any particular magic in the air.

It was just like passing through a water curtain. There weren’t any special feelings. 

The atmosphere was filled with spiritual qi, giving it a thick viscosity, bluer than the sky. Apart from the atmosphere being different, everything else was pretty much the same. 

“There are demonic and poison beasts around. We may run into a beast tide if we’re unlucky,” Priest Purewood said. 

Quite a number of people felt their legs folding under them after hearing the phrase ‘Beast tide’. The beast tide was able to block out the sun, making flying useless. It was impossible to escape under such conditions. Powerful beasts would follow the back of the tide, making it an endless flow that could drown anyone out.

“Priest Purewood has been here before. Let’s just follow him and do as he says to prevent any unnecessary detours,” someone said immediately. 

“We must naturally listen to Priest Purewood. Whoever does not want to can make a move first.” 

No one showed any indication of doing such thing, given that there was safety in numbers, especially in a foreign place. This was like the difference between encountering a bear alone and with a group. With a group, there was a good chance to survive.

The group of people followed behind Priest Purewood as they entered the divine area. It was like a flat plain with a clear lack of forests. There were, however, a few massive trees spread out throughout the region while the plains themselves were populated by grass that rose up to knee-level. There weren’t any massive mountains, only a few crevices and peaks laying around.

“There is a mountain valley in front that we have to pass through, roughly a hundred meters deep. There are two very powerful Ancient Blue Topaz Leopards in it. I don’t know if there are any treasures, but since they’re pure-blooded ancient desolate beasts, there should be something down there. However, be aware that those two are still exceedingly strong.”