## AST 1760 - People from the Sacred Mountain, Ru Meng

Muyun Qingge didn’t know about the bloodline of the Golden Dragon, nor was she aware of the overall strength of it. However, she had the opportunity to witness the scene of the snake turning into a dragon, which was something rarely seen even in a hundred years time. Hence, she was now gazing at the Golden Dragon with idle curiosity, which looked a lot more beautiful than before.

If they could find the Sacred Mudra Flower this time, their trip here would have indeed been more worthwhile than they could have ever imagined. Qing Shui believed that the Sacred Mudra Flower was an absolute necessity. Certainly, he also had backup plans up his sleeves for certain situations. If he really couldn’t manage to find one here, he planned to head off to the Sacred Mountain. If the Sacred Mountain really had such a kind of flower, Qing Shui planned to use all kinds of method just to get his hands on it.

Time passed by very quickly and with a blink of an eye, the next day had already arrived. Qing Shui and Muyun Qingge had no idea how far they had walked. This place was too spacious. They didn’t know where the Sacred Mudra Flower grew and it seemed like searching for it wouldn’t be as easy as it seemed.

“The more we advance forward, the more abundant the Spiritual Qi becomes. Even if the Sacred Mudra Flower is really here, I suppose it must be laying deep within the cave.” Muyun Qingge lifted her head and looked into the endless space. She could sense the abundant Spiritual Qi from it despite it being boundless. She quickly looked towards the distance with the more abundant Spiritual Qi.

Right at that moment, the two felt multiple auras making their ways near them at very high speeds.

Qing Shui became alerted and quickly looked towards Muyun Qingge. When he noticed her weird look, he immediately knew that she had also sensed it. He then nodded and said, “It seems that the people from Sacred Mountain have come. Shall we meet them?”

For now, avoiding them would be an easy task for Qing Shui. One Nine Continents Step would have been all he needed to shake them off. Another alternative was to hide from their sights. Though there was a high chance of being discovered, it still had a chance for success nonetheless.

“Instead of looking for it aimlessly, wouldn’t it be better to ask them for directions? I think we can try meeting them and observe their attitude first.” Muyun Qingge responded after a moment of thought.

Qing Shui’s initial plan was to avoid them. However, because he was in a good mood, he felt that there shouldn’t be any problems for him to meet them. Otherwise, if he avoided them this time and found out later on that he needed to meet them and got the same treatment anyway, it would have been like he was inviting troubles to himself.

Thinking up to this point, Qing Shui nodded, “Alright then. We shall wait for them here. They should be arriving shortly.”

After roughly the time needed to prepare tea, four human figures appeared in Qing Shui’s and Muyun Qingge’s sight. Four women with light clothing and long swords landed on a spot about ten meters away from Qing Shui and Muyun Qingge.

“The Sacred Mountain is a restricted zone. Outsiders mustn’t barge in without permission.” One of the women took a step forward and said in a cold tone.

Qing Shui still wore a faint smile on his face. The other party was very straightforward. At this moment, since Qing Shui had a favor to ask from them, he thought it would be for the best if he acted more humbly and lowered his status.

“Since the Sacred Ocean is such a huge place, it’s impossible for your people to use all of it. Therefore, it would have been a waste of resources. We are here today only to look for something which may potentially save lives.” Qing Shui explained slowly in a calm tone.

Suddenly, the woman from before moved her sight onto the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruit. Her expression immediately changed as she looked towards Qing Shui, “Did you people steal the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruit?”

Qing Shui saw the woman’s expression and looked back at her with a confused face, “We have only just arrived. What exactly is the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruit?”

Muyun Qingge felt ashamed looking at Qing Shui who didn’t even knit his brows when he was lying. If it wasn’t because she had witnessed it herself, she would also have believed him when he claimed that he didn’t know about it. In fact, she had even started to question herself on whether what she saw just a moment ago was the truth or just an illusion.

The woman, surprisingly enough, seemed to believe Qing Shui’s words. The reason was that when Qing Shui entered the Sacred Ocean, they also followed him along and came down. Under normal circumstances, the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruits would still need a few days more to ripen.

“Have you two really not seen the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruit? There was supposed to be a Great Earth Sea Snake near it.”

As the woman was speaking, she moved her sight to the place where the Sacred Earth Demonic Fruit was previously supposed to be at. Though some time had passed, she could still tell that someone must have fiddled with the tree. The woman waved her arms and thrust out her Origin Qi.

Beng!

A crater appeared in front of them. The woman saw the root of the tree that had been cut off. With a cold expression, the woman turned her head and looked at Qing Shui, “Explain this.”

Qing Shui questioned back with a confused look, “Explain what?”

At that moment, even Muyun Qingge didn’t know what to do. It was her first time seeing Qing Shui so stubborn. However, she chose to remain silent because she wanted to see how this man would solve the situation.

“A part of the tree here was obviously cut off by someone. How do you plan on explaining this situation?” The woman was very furious. Both her eyes seemed like they were on fire when she was glaring at Qing Shui.

It would have been unusual if she wasn’t angry. After all, the fruits would be ripening very soon. However, now that the tree had been damaged, all of their patience had been for naught.

“Alright, young lass, I don’t exactly know how to explain this. We just arrived here and you guys showed up immediately after that. In fact, even I, myself, am quite muddle-headed with the things currently going on around here. It seems that you are also not the person who is in charge around here. How about this? Bring your leader here and I guarantee that the outcome will be something which satisfies you.” Qing Shui said casually. He seemed like he didn’t really care about the matter.

The woman was stunned. She, Ru Meng, was one of the four servants who served her palace mistress. Not only was she an extreme beauty, she was also unrivaled in terms of her power. On the Sacred Mountain, her status was extremely high as well. After all, she was someone standing beside the Palace Mistress.

And yet, she was called a little missy by an inexperienced brat. By the time she came back to her senses, she realized that she was so fed up that she didn’t even feel mad anymore. She glared at Qing Shui, “Today, I am going to punish a brat like you who knows not the immensity of the heaven and earth.”

Before Ru Meng even finished her words, she was already charging toward Qing Shui and slashing the long sword in her hands at him.

It was an ordinary attack and yet it actually made Qing Shui squint his eyes. Indeed, the people of Sacred Mountain were not people to mess with. There was actually a kind of sacred energy which had almost the same effect as the Nature Energy in her attack. This kind of power was also holy in its own ways.

Qing Shui didn’t move. As of now, his defensive prowess was at a formidable level. However, this didn’t mean that he would just attempt to block it with his body. With his Sea of Consciousness, he could clearly see the trajectory as well as the speed of the sword in the woman’s hand.

Most importantly, because of his Sea of Consciousness, it felt as if the world had slowed down, enabling him to see the sword more clearly. Hence, he slightly moved his body sideways the moment when the opponent’s Sword Qi was about to graze his body.

Qing Shui’s footsteps were special. With it, he managed to avoid the attacks at just the right time in a very subtle way. Considering that she was one of the servants of Sacred Mountain Palace Mistress, Ru Meng was naturally not someone who one should meddle with. She quickly turned her sword around and shot it back towards Qing Shui from a crooked angle.

Qing Shui once again avoided Ru Meng’s sword with his footsteps. It was as if his body was dancing gracefully as it followed along the movements of the swords.

Qing Shui felt wonderful. He was starting to become more and more adapted to it. So adapted that he began to feel as if he had brought it to life. The figure in his Sea of Consciousness was slowly merging with the figure next to him.

Eventually, the woman came to a stop and looked at the man whom she had trouble attacking even with her all-out strike. This kind of attack was not something which a normal person could dodge. Furthermore, her opponent was young. At the very least, he was younger than herself.

“We didn’t have any bad intentions coming here. We are only searching for a certain medicinal herb which can save lives. Can you please bring me to the person in charge of this place?” Qing Shui asked again in a serious tone.