## AST 277 – Arrival At The Heavenly Palace

They lay on their side, facing each other. Qing Shui’s lips were mashed against Huoyun Liu-Li’s, as their bodies gently rubbed against each other. Soon after, gentle moans were escaping from her mouth.

Huoyun Liu-Li did not stop Qing Shui since he did not take her clothes off, but it was safe to say that he had already taken a lot of advantage of her. She even clumsily tried to sync her kisses with Qing Shui. It stimulated him so much and it drove him so wild that he crazily sucked on her lips harder.

Huoyun Liu-Li was slightly looking forward to what was going to happen after she felt something hot touch her body. At the same time, she felt guilty for getting a little pleasure out of this; in a weird way.

She didn’t dare to look at Qing Shui. She closed her eyes while panting slightly. She’d reflexively stick her little pink delicate tongue out, which Qing Shui would touch it with the tip of his own tongue and feel its softness and sweetness.

Huoyun Liu-Li suddenly blushed and hugged Qing Shui tightly. Her body trembled a few times as she clung to him tightly.

Qing Shui felt gloomy. He could feel the wetness through his unlined garment. He didn’t expect her to be satisfied with just this. Qing Shui smiled wryly and rubbed her delicate back.

His own flame was still lit, although she had been satisfied. Qing Shui had already experienced three women, although only a few times in total. Once with Shi Qingzhuang, only twice with Zhu Qing and he had only fooled around with Mingyue at the pavilion for a few number of days. He didn’t think that it would be this fast for Huoyun Liu-Li. It was said that if a woman reached her climax quickly with a particular man, this woman must have really liked this man.

Qing Shui tried to move a little, but was held tightly by Huoyun Liu-Li. She locked him in her tight embrace, not allowing him to make any movements. It was evident that she was still in an euphoric state from the slightly heavy panting.

“Don’t move, please, let me hold you just awhile longer!” Huoyun Liu-Li whispered, not daring to raise her head.

“Liu-Li, you’re wet again!” Qing Shui chuckled. He noticed that this naive and inexperienced girl was especially sensitive. The spasms of her body and the wave of pleasure brought by Qing Shui created a strong impact. Although he didn’t release himself, just looking at the satisfaction of his beloved was also another form of satisfaction.

He reached over to lift her chin up. Those beautiful orbs welled up with tears as if they were threatening to fall any time; they were redder than the setting sun. Such indescribable beauty that it was soul-stirring. And the most beautiful of all was that lingering charm after doing “that”.

“Meanie!” Huoyun Liu-Li pouted angrily and stood up before she hurriedly walked to the other side on Fire Bird’s back with a burning red face

Qing Shui felt absurd. He stood up and saw Canghai Mingyue, who was sitting on the Golden Winged Thunder Condor. That lonely silhouette made Qing Shui unsure of what to do.

Because Qing Shui felt that even if he was beside her everyday she would still be the same. At least for now.

Canghai Mingyue had not spoken a word for the past two consecutive days. Qing Shui and Huoyun Liu-Li couldn’t do anything about it, even though they had tried to talk to her. She wouldn’t eat or drink. She just remained silent.

Qing Shui and Huoyun Liu-Li were worried sick. Just within two days Qing Shui noticed that Canghai Mingyue was pining away. He wasn’t so sure how long this situation would go on.

“Mingyue, it’s my fault. Tell me what do you want me to do, I’ll agree to anything.” Qing Shui was never good at consoling a girl, and now he was utterly flustered.

For the two days Qing Shui stayed by Canghai Mingyue’s side, scratching his head. Even Huoyun Liu-Li was at her wits end, but Canghai Mingyue remained the same.

Huoyun Liu-Li even attempted to tickle her!

“Don’t be like this, YueYue. As long as you are willing to speak and eat… no, as long as you’re willing to just eat, I’d promise to do anything.” Qing Shui regretted everything. He didn’t expect something like this would result from a kiss.

What made him feel so bad was how she didn’t hate him but instead chose to ignore his existence. For her to stop eating because he kissed her… could he really be this detestable?

“You’d really promise to do anything for me?”

Qing Shui was endlessly gloomy. He had lost track of how many times he had repeated the same sentence over and over again for the past two days. It was out of his expectation to finally get a response today. The slightly husky voice was even more melodic than the sound of nature to his ears.

“Promise, I’ll promise you anything.” Qing Shui replied without any hesitation.

“Come with me to join the Heavenly Palace!” Canghai Mingyue looked at Qing Shui.

“That’s what you wanted?” He asked doubtfully.

“Yes, but you need to stay at the Heavenly Palace for at least 3 years!” Canghai Mingyue’s eyes lit up! Seemed like she was afraid that after leaving her, Qing Shui would go to Yan City after returning home.

Was she worried about him?

Qing Shui knew that Canghai Mingyue was informed of his situation because he had told her a little about it before. So when he said that he had something important to take care of, Qing Shui was sure that both her and Liu-Li knew what he was talking about.

He felt truly touched at this moment. He’d forgotten everything when he got worked up because he only realised that he had pulled Canghai Mingyue into an embrace after saying his thanks.

Qing Shui quickly released her in a panic and apologized profusely.

Canghai Mingyue smiled in amusement at Qing Shui. “As long as you agree to this, I don’t mind being hugged by you. But only hugging and nothing else…” her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, almost inaudible. Fortunately Qing Shui was able to pick it up with his strong hearing ability.

“Really? Then I’ll just hug you, I won’t do anything else!” he happily embraced Canghai Mingyue with his arm around her delicate waist, as if she was a fragile treasure. Seeing the reproachful look she was giving him made him felt extremely blissful at this very moment.

“YueYue…...”

“Hmm?” Canghai Mingyue responded softly with her head lowered. She had no idea why she’d said something like that in confusion and he’d complied to it just like that....

“I am pretty sure there will be a lot of men pursuing you when we are at Heavenly Palace. But you have to stay calm, don’t be deceived by the sweet words of those filthy men…...”

Canghai Mingyue: “......”

The three of them sat down and ate a little. The atmosphere was a little awkward still. Every time Qing Shui looked at Huoyun Liu-Li he would see the charming watery eyes of hers that itched his heart.

However, Canghai Mingyue would avert her gaze in panic every time their eyes met. Qing Shui was reminded of that captivating feeling that shook him when he kissed her every time he saw her panic.

His heart was beating wildly within his ribcage; this was the feeling of first love! So mysteriously beautiful that no words could describe it! She was a haughty and complicated woman. Qing Shui knew very well the reason he wanted to be involved with her was not just due to the passing of Canghai and his wife, but because he had realised that he couldn’t bear to part with her either. If he couldn’t bear to part with her, then there was no point in forcing himself to do so. After all, even a toad yearns for a swan, let alone human!

“Qing Shui!” Canghai Mingyue called out.

“Yes, what is it?” Qing Shui asked uncertainly.

“Let’s only use the Token as a last resort. If we can make our way into the Heavenly Palace through normal means, then let’s not use the Token,” Canghai Mingyue frowned and said softly.

Qing Shui thought about it and nodded with a smile.

For sects that had been around for tens of thousands of years, no one truly knew how deep their waters were. Among those sects, there would naturally be many complicated issues within. For Canghai to settle in this region for 30 years instead of remaining in the Heavenly Palace would be a good example.

“Could it be that Canghai was forced to leave by someone from the Heavenly Palace? If so, then why would he let all of us go there? Could it be that there was another reason behind it?” Qing Shui let his imagination ran wild.

“Oh okay, we will see if we can get into the Heavenly Palace through ordinary means!” he smiled. Qing Shui felt that Canghai Mingyue was quite thoughtful and could see some things more thoroughly compared to him.

The location of the Heavenly Palace was not concealed; in fact, many knew that it was situated on the “Heavenly Palace Mountain”. Hence, that was where the Heavenly Palace got its name from.

This was one of the facts that Qing Shui knew after cramming the geography knowledge of the World of the Nine Continents. So for now, all they need to do was to find out more on Heavenly Palace Mountain. However, Qing Shui had a hunch that the blurry enormous silhouette of a mountain from faraway could be the mountain they were searching for.

Although the mountain appeared to be hazy from this distance, Qing Shui was confident that it would only take two to three days for Fire Bird to reach there, if it flew at its maximum speed.

“That is the Heavenly Palace Mountain. just like what father had described to me - an enormous mountain so high that it broke through the skies. It is one of the top 3 tallest mountains in the Greencloud Continent,” Canghai Mingyue said while pointing to the silhouette of the mountain.

“Top 3… What are the other two, Sister?” Huoyun Liu-Li beat Qing Shui to the question.

“The other two are the Giant Beasts Mountains and the Flowerfruit Mountain!”

Qing Shui was no stranger to the Giant Beasts Mountains. He had seen it from afar. Unknown dangers lurked within the giant mountains which had a violent atmosphere surrounding it. He had a little knowledge on the Flowerfruit Mountain too, due to Treasure Map.

The closer they were to the Heavenly Palace Mountain, the more Qing Shui felt its overbearing pressure. They were approaching the enormous mountain which broke through the skies. The Fire Bird couldn’t fly all the way there; not even a mythical beast could handle the pressure from the top of the mountain.

“The ancient sect is really good at finding a great location!” Qing Shui sighed in amazement. He could already felt the rich Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth though they had yet to reach the Heavenly Palace. If normal people lived here, their lifespan could be extended 20 years!

After two days, they realised that Fire Bird couldn’t fly further when they were just about a distance of 10 Li away from the Heavenly Palace as dreaded by Qing Shui. There was no other way aside from getting down along with Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li.

Qing Shui didn’t understand why it was so desolate here. The bumpy old road was the only one way to the Heavenly Palace Mountain; everywhere else was inaccessible and rocky. Even normal beasts had difficulty walking on those rocky areas filled with sharp edged stones, much less a horse carriage.

Qing Shui looked at the enormous rolling Heavenly Palace Mountain that looked like a gigantic dragon. It was said that the Heavenly Palace was situated at the summit, and was closest to the legendary Heaven Hall. Qing Shui and his companions aimed for the summit. It also seemed like a good place to disembark and they only needed to walk about a distance of 10+ Li.

It was a wonder that the there was not even a carriage on the wide old road leading to the Heavenly Palace Mountain. The pedestrians they passed by once in awhile were all either walking on foot or running, and judging by appearance, they were all at least a XianTian level cultivator.

“Could they be the disciples of the Heavenly Palace*?” Qing Shui observed their clothes and appearance. In just a short distance they passed by a few passerby and they were all wearing the same style of clothing. He could tell that they were the people from the Heavenly Palace because the seal character “Palace” on their sleeves.

Qing Shui adjusted his Qi Aura to the capability of the beginner level of XianTian and chatted with Canghai Mingyue while walking. He made a promise with Canghai Mingyue that he would to join the Heavenly Palace for three years before he returned. He had assured his mother 5 years ago so that would mean he still had a little more than 2 years. Of course it didn’t have to be 5 years although that was what he said.

“Clothings of different colours each represent a different Hall. I only knew that everyone from the Lingxiao Treasure Hall wears purple coloured clothings, regardless of their levels. Elders and the Protectors however had a different style in clothing.” Canghai Mingyue explained when he saw Qing Shui looking at the clothes of the running pedestrians.