## AST 2244 Qing Shui Wakes up, Distressed, Five Caves

The relationship between Nuo Lan and Qing Shui was grey. She had always seen him as a brother, and it was Qing Shui who saved her life. It was hard for her to see Qing Shui in this state. They found out that Tantai Lingyan was the cause of it, the only person who could be the cause.

Nuo Lan had never seen Qing Shui in this state. His breath of life was so weak. If she could bear this misery on his behalf, she would do so without hesitation.

Qing Shui was still unconscious after three days. Beihuang Liefeng, Beihuang Yu, and the others all came by to visit. After all, Qing Shui and the Taiyi Immortal Palace were now affiliated.

Beihuang Yu sighed and said, “To be hurt to this extent by a woman.”

Zhang Yue came by as well. He was now a famous miracle physician now and had been Qing Shui’s disciple, but even he was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Qing Shui had completely isolated himself. There was nothing else that could help him.

Cold Jade Bed!

They placed Qing Shui on the Cold Jade Bed with visitors speaking to him every day, hoping that it would persuade him to wake up.

Everyone in the Divine Palace knew that Tantai Lingyan had taken over the Demon Gate but didn’t know if she would attack the Divine Palace. However, with the Sky-Obstructing Crow around, this was still a safer place than others.

Their Sky-Obstructing Crow was a half-blood existence. It was through Qing Shui’s Ancient Demonic Fruit and other tools that helped its bloodline to increase to 70% with time. This allowed the Sky-Obstructing Crow’s might to increase significantly.

The situation with Qing Shui wasn’t spread to the Sea King Palace lest it worried more people. Besides, it wouldn’t be ideal for others to find out about Qing Shui’s condition.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Qing Shui eyes fluttered open. He felt like he had been asleep for a long time. Watching the surroundings, he took in the temple structure and the comfortable coolness of the bed beneath him before turning to the dazed Beihuang Fan beside him. She hadn’t realized that he had woken up.

She jumped in shock when Qing Shui reached out to tug at her hand. “You’re awake!” She exclaimed in glee.

“Hm. Sorry to worry you.” Qing Shui replied, feeling abashed.

He felt much better now. This was how humans were like; while some things were hard to accept initially, they would grow accustomed to them with time. Similarly, while Qing Shui still felt upset, he felt accustomed enough to deal with it.

“I’ll go tell the others, so they can stop worrying.” With that, Beihuang Fan rushed out to inform the other people.

At that news, Qing Shui’s room was filled in a short moment. Zhang Yue had stayed there those few days, neglecting even the Imperial Cuisine Hall. Qing Shui was touched by the gesture as he urged Zhang Yue to return to the Imperial Cuisine Hall.

Everyone was happy. Qing Shui, on the other hand, was embarrassed that he could be hurt this deeply by a woman.

“You look better with your white hair, I want to turn my hair white too,” Beihuang Yu commented in a serious tone.

“You imp. Are you seeking death?” Beihuang Fan glared at Beihuang Yu.

“Aunt, you used to dote on me the most. Was it because of this man that you no longer do? You weren’t like that before,” Beihuang Yu said in exaggerated misery.

“What nonsense.” Beihuang Fan grew embarrassed.

“Hehe. Everybody knows, Aunt. There’s no need to feel embarrassed.” Right after his retort, he increased the distance between them just in case Beihuang Fan decided to hit him.

Qing Shui sat up and felt as though he had just recovered from a terrible illness. It was a good thing that his body was speedily recovering now that he was awake. He noticed the Fifth Cave behind him was beginning to show; he should be able to attempt a breakthrough soon.

There wasn’t any movement from the Demon Gate during this time, though they did have an increment of several Demon Kings. Their strength had now far surpassed any other factions in the surrounding area.

The Five Tiger Immortal Palace and the Golden Yakshas were finished. But even without an alliance, the Demon Gate was more terrifying than what it used to be because of Tantai Lingyan, the owner of the Demonic Saint Blood. In the future, that would be where the Demon God appeared, and they could compete with the Nine Continents Demon Gate.

Rear Mountain of Divine Palace!

Five caves appeared behind Qing Shui. The middle cave was colored in gold with four other caves surrounding it. The one at the bottom was fuzzy though.

Open!

Qing Shui’s snow-white tresses flew all over the place. The energy from his Golden Cave poured into the fifth. Its fuzziness cleared quickly, followed by the sound of an explosion. The fifth cave was bust open.

With the opening of his Fifth Cave, a wave of pure energy poured out and into Qing Shui’s body.

After the breakthrough, Qing Shui’s gaze drifted to his white hair and wondered when his black hair would return.

At this moment, the Sky-Obstructing Crow appeared. Qing Shui greeted with a simple, “Senior!”

Previously, when Qing Shui checked for information about the Five Tiger Immortal Palace’s Guardian Beast from the Sky-Obstructing Crow, it got to know about Qing Shui’s intention to attack the palace. Who knew the situation would turn out this way in such a short time. The Sky-Obstructing Crow had always felt that it didn’t manage to help and repay Qing Shui.

“It’s good to be passionate but everything has to be in moderation. You still have many others who care about you, so try not to have history repeat itself again. There are many people who would be upset if anything happened to you,” said the Sky-Obstructing Crow and sighed.

“I understand. Thank you, Senior.”

The Sky-Obstructing Crow dismissed this with a wave of its hand. “I saw a Golden Cave earlier. Take this, it might be useful for you.”

A book with golden pages flew towards Qing Shui.

Qing Shui caught it and just as he was about to voice his gratitude, the Sky-Obstructing Crow was already gone.

‘Refining Golden Cave’

At the flip of its pages, Qing Shui realized that it was a book which taught the technique of strengthening a cave. This book, specifically, was used only for strengthening the Golden Cave. It was the reason why the Sky-Obstructing Crow had given it to Qing Shui.

Skimming through the pages, a look of surprise decorated Qing Shui’s features. ‘Refining Golden Cave’ was indeed useful. It could double the foundational power of his Golden Cave and it was easy, without needing to spend much time. However, it could only be used once.

The Golden Cave appeared behind Qing Shui, its golden glow brightening up the place. There was a whirlpool which wouldn’t stop spinning, absorbing the golden glow from its surroundings. The other four caves appeared as well, pouring energy into the Golden Cave ceaselessly.

After two hours, the Golden Cave emitted a dazzling golden light. There wasn’t any change to its size, but it looked sturdier than before. It was filled with incredible power, and its golden whirlpool seemed as though it was going to swallow the Heaven and Earth.

Qing Shui’s strength increased substantially from this as well. Another cave appeared behind him just as the Golden Cave was refined.

Qing Shui’s attacking ability was now at 28 billion Dao Force with 280 billion Dao of defense.

The Heavenly Fate Treasure Pagoda of Defence increased it by 20%, and so he reached 336 billion Dao.

The Heavenly Fate Treasure Pagoda of Violence and the Parry Heavenly Fate Treasure Pagoda added another 28 billion Dao of blocking power. Qing Shui ended up with 364 billion Dao of defense.

Qing Shui’s Divine Weapon, Flying Sword could additionally reduce damage by 3.2 billion Dao, which contributed to his defense, increasing it to 367 billion Dao.

The Nine Continents Mountain’s attack could now reach up to 140 billion Dao Force, allowing Qing Shui to crush his opponents. When faced with multiple opponents at once, the Nine Continents Mountain would be able to eliminate all warriors of a certain caliber. After all, the Nine Continents Mountain had a shield attack with an absolute probability of striking.