## AST 2020 - The Lake, Scary Tentacle

Qing Shui was shocked to discover that Little Rin had the Four Phases Firecloud. This passive ability could greatly improve its actual battle skill. With its absolute speed, Little Rin’s battle prowess was greatly enhanced, especially its flames. Unlike Qing Shui, the others could not cancel 70% of the flame damage. This was all due to his Primordial Flames.

Little Rin would be Qing Shui’s future ride since it was mighty and moderate in size. Most importantly, it was fast and self-sustainable, as it didn’t consume Origin Qi during flight.

Three of them continued heading towards the deeper path. With the three demonic beasts, they now had a better chance of surviving. Qing Shui actually believed that it would be fine to keep advancing for a while. However, Qing Shui wanted to turn back now; it was often the best to stop before reaching the limit. After all, they had gained enough this time.

They collected many herbs on the ice mountain, including the Ice Lotus, an Ice Lingzhi, and other herbs.

The two women did not feel any sense of danger. Having the Ice Burst Demonic Bears, coupled with a strong warrior like Qing Shui, they were not worried. They would go anywhere Qing Shui chose to venture.

Contrarily, Qing Shui had a lot to consider. He had the ability to protect his own life and even escape while bringing the two women along, but accidents may happen. Frequently, injuries and deaths happened by accident; he needed to be cautious.

Two days passed in peace. Qing Shui let the Dragon Slaying Beast investigate the surroundings every time they arrived at a new place. Only very little creatures could threaten the Dragon Slaying Beast anyway. Without the same speed, nothing could be a match for the Dragon Slaying Beast no matter how powerful it was.

One day, they came to a grassland.

The grassland was wide and full of thick bushes. The grasses were as tall as several men and giant demonic beasts would appear from time to time. Poisonous snakes, bugs, and insects were also present. Meanwhile, some other places had short grasses which were approximately at ankle height. In some places, the ground was exposed and bare.

Qing Shui looked at the surroundings and wondered where the treasures hid. Even the Dragon Slaying Beast detected none after running back and forth.

“Qing Shui, do you see a big lake there?” Beiming Xue pointed at a very distant place.

Qing Shui looked towards that direction and saw a huge lake. He nodded, “Let’s go and check it out!”

The three of them hurried over. It was very quiet near the lake; there weren’t many beasts or birds around. The water here was very clear and the surrounding vegetation was normal too. The grassland looked cozy, like the lawn which had been specially cared for in his past life.

Qing Shui frowned, “It’s a little strange here. The water source is usually surrounded by troops of beasts and birds. Various fishes and turtles should also exist in the water. Look, there is nothing here.”

“Could it be the water is poisonous?” Yu Xixuan said after thinking.

“No, I am sure that this water isn’t poisonous,” Qing Shui was an expert in poisons. It would not escape his eyes if it were.

“Then, there must be a scary monster in the water. All the underwater creatures were eaten and all the demonic beasts and birds that come for the water will also be eaten up,” Beiming Xue smiled.

Qing Shui knew she was probably joking, but he said, “Perhaps, it could be so.”

“Watch out, everyone. Don’t ever get careless and don’t go too near this lake,” Qing Shui and the two women stood slightly further away, looking at the lake seriously.

The lake was not small. Thus, Qing Shui could hardly imagine something about it. Even if it was a monster, how large could it be? To be able to gobble up all of the creatures in the huge lake, what kind of appetite was that?

A shadow came from afar.

Qing Shui saw it, “Hey, they are here.”

The two women saw it too, and they were surprised. They replied, “How did they come here?”

Those arriving were from the Bright Moon Palace, the Xicheng Clan, the Qiao Clan, and another big guy from an unknown force.

Qing Shui and the women did not release the demonic beasts, whereas most of the men on the opposite side were mounted on their demonic beasts. The Bright Moon Palace’s guy especially, he brought an Earth Dragon which was as strong as the Ice Burst Demonic Bears. The man from the Qiao Clan and the other one brought a Diamond Ape King and a Three-Headed Demonic Snake respectively; they were slightly stronger than the Violet Flame Ice Snow Beast brought by the Xicheng Clan.

They were apparently surprised to see Qing Shui too, but there was an unexplainable beam in the eyes of the two guys from the Xicheng Clan and the Qiao Clan.

“What a surprise to meet here, have you seen Lei Bao?” Qu Bai talked to Qing Shui while smiling.

“It is indeed surprising, Lei Bao should be at the exit already; one of them died and another was injured,” Qing Shui did not hide anything when he saw the arrogance of this Qu Bai. He was curious, how could a eunuch like you be so proud?

“Haha, that’s great. It is better than losing lives.”

The one who spoke was the middle-aged man whose strength was unknown. This man had a well-built physique, but he was a real snob. He never gave Qing Shui a second glance after the first meeting. He only gazed at Yu Xixuan and Beiming Xue beside Qing Shui; any sane man could see the hidden intention in his eyes.

Suddenly, Qing Shui felt a strange energy spreading and stiffening his body at once. As he turned around, a giant, long object loomed from the lake. It was very, very long……

Qing Shui held the two women and used the Nine Palace Steps. Next, the object dragged the Three-Headed Snake into the water…

The Three-Headed Snake let out a frightening shriek and disappeared in split seconds. Not even a splash of water was visible on the lake surface.

Everyone was dumbfounded and backed away from the lake in a hurry. What was that object? The Three-Headed Snake was already very strong, it was at the later stage of the Seventh Layer of Divinity. Yet, it vanished into the water without even struggling.

“Dead!” The big guy looked upset as if he had just lost his parents. He was unsure if he should be grateful or depressed. After all, he was right behind the Three-Headed Snake, he would have died if it did not block the attack for him.

“Qing Shui, that was scary. What was that?” Yu Xixuan’s heart was still racing rapidly. If Qing Shui did not bring them away at that very moment, it could have been one of them.

“I could only see a tentacle,” Qing Shui said. He saw it clearly, that was a huge tentacle.

Qing Shui felt bizarre too as he said that. It was an octopus-like tentacle, but probably it was not one. After all, too many underwater creatures had tentacles. Apart from that, these were the True Nine Continents. Hence, it was hard to tell what it was, but that was definitely a tentacle.

Qing Shui was stunned after seeing one of its tentacles. This creature probably had many tentacles or maybe just one. However, after considering that there were no living creatures around this lake, the mysterious monster had definitely more than one tentacle.

What it was exactly, Qing Shui had no courage to find out about it in the lake.

Qu Bai and the others looked pale too. Anyone would die once attacked by this underwater creature. Previously, they were so close to death, thus, it got more horrifying the more they thought about it. Qu Bai led several men and left the place instantly; he did not even greet Qing Shui and the rest.

Qing Shui shook his head; he did not bother with these people at all. However, Qing Shui’s instinct told him that in the future, they might have more conflicts with each other. Qing Shui was not afraid; it was a piece of cake to destroy them.