## AST 591 – Difficult To Search For Treasure, The Gathering Of The Qing Clan

While Qing Shui was on his way here, he studied the Treasure Map again. He had a feeling that the Goddess Peak depicted on the map should be at an even deeper area. Needless to say, the Chieftain Level Demonic Beasts would also be even more powerful because he could feel the spiritual qi of the Flowerfruit Mountain getting even thicker the deeper he went. With a richer spiritual qi, the strength of demonic beasts would naturally increase.

Qing Shui had originally thought that the Purple-eyed Golden Spirit Monkey was the chieftain of the Flowerfruit Mountain before. But, after witnessing those two Raging Flame Cloud Leopards, he realized that perhaps the real Chieftain of the Flowerfruit were monkeys. Nevertheless, they were definitely not those Purple-eyed Golden Spirit Monkeys.

When he saw that there were no group of demonic beasts in the sky, he quickly got on the Fire Bird and made a beeline towards the inner section of the Flowerfruit Mountain. He gazed and searched around the ground below.

Qing Shui had stopped as soon as he discovered a mountain range, after which he began to discern whether it was the mountain indicated on the Treasure Map. Then, he tried to look for the Goddess Peak among the mountain range. There were many mountains in the Flowerfruit Mountain, so it was a very difficult task for Qing Shui.

After Qing Shui had a look at the mountain, he climbed onto a big rock and stood on top of it. On there, he took out his Treasure Map and carefully studied it once again.

There was a mountain range on the Treasure Map that followed a winding course and was very long. It was broken in a few different parts, therefore he speculated that there were rivers passing through and mountain valleys. Much of the place was covered in vegetation.

There was a very peculiar looking cliff. It looked like the statue a woman in its magnificence. Behind this statue of ‘woman’, there was a very fuzzy looking tree diagram.

Qing Shui’s gaze locked onto the tree behind that Goddess statue on his Treasure Map. After observing its surroundings, he concluded that this Goddess Peak was very tall.

On top of that, it seemed like the Goddess Peak was situated on a very long mountain range, although it could not really be clearly seen on the Treasure Map. He could still tell that this mountain range was very long and the way it meandered looked very strange.

So he had planned to look for the mountain range first, then search for that Goddess Peak along that mountain range. He checked the sky before climbing onto Fire Bird once again and flew at a low altitude.

When he met a demonic beast group, he’d land. If he met the demonic beast group down there, he’d soar up to the sky. With this, he could avoid quite a number of demonic beast groups. But Qing Shui’s happiness did not last long as he started laughing bitterly.

A group of Raging Flame Birds were coming in his direction from not far away. They were peak Martial King demonic beasts. Qing Shui immediately retreated when he saw that colony of beasts that seemed like they could hid the sky and covered the Earth.

As soon as he landed on the ground, he discovered that he was surrounded by a big group of ‘Steelback Gigantic Bears’. The big fellas that had a towering height of nearly eight metres, looked like a hill and they would attack anything on sight. A group of ‘Steelback Gigantic Bear’ were never less than a thousand of them.

Mighty Elephant Stomp!

Qing Shui, who only had the strength of ten countries left in his body could also only deal a damage of fifty countries with the Mighty Elephant Stomp. However, it was still quite useful when used against Steelback Gigantic Bears who had the strength of only five or six countries. One Mighty Elephant Stomp was enough to instantly kill them all. His stamina would deplete very fast when battling in the air. Moreover, Fire Bird was still not a Martial Saint but even if it was, its strength would be restricted. He figured that it would be instantly devoured if it had to face the large group of Raging Flame Birds.

Qing Shui’s figure shifted quickly among the group of Steelback Gigantic Bears. His every full-powered strike could heavily injure a Steelback Gigantic Bear, so he managed escape them very quickly.

The demonic beasts he came across now were all at least a peak Martial King and on top of that, they came in groups. At the Flowerfruit Mountain, it was very hard to survive without a pack unless it was of a mutated species with high intelligence. For example, a fox with exceptional speed, or a ground digging armored beast……

The demonic beasts he met became stronger as he went deeper. The most common ones had the strength of five or six countries, but a Chieftain level demonic beast with the strength of twenty countries would appear from time to time. The most absurd one that he had met was a Dark Kirin Beast with the strength of thirty countries that had almost the same size as the Diamond Gigantic Elephant. Although it didn’t have wings, it could walk on fire.

It had the head of a lion on a horse body that was entirely covered with pitch black scales. There were four flame clouds beneath its feet. It was a pity that he had to flee in panic after two rounds of battles, dashing his hopes of capturing one as his mount into a thousand pieces.

His heart become more unsettled as he ventured deeper. He had already lost count of how many times he had studied the Treasure Map, but the mountain range depicted in the map never appeared. He had found a few which he thought was what he was looking for, but after trekking along for awhile he realized that he had reached to the other end of it. This had happened consecutively a few times that Qing Shui had already became extremely numb in his heart.

Although he knew that it would be very tedious using this search method, he still had a great deal of hope. He was also determined to find it. As long as he could find that enormous mountain range, his chances of finding the Goddess Peak would be very high.

Although the Flowerfruit Mountain sounded like a mountain name, there were actually plains, forests, lakes, valleys, basins, swamps and of course, with mountain ranges being the most in the deeper parts. Since there were many mountain ranges, it was extremely difficult for Qing Shui to search for the one he was looking for. It would have been easier to search if there weren’t so many mountain ranges.

Time was wasted because the mountain ranges looked too similar to each other!

Time passed very quickly and Qing Shui had stayed on the Flowerfruit Mountain for more than a month. It had also been almost five months since the two elders at the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord left. Qing Shui had no idea if they had already return by now.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t really worried with the Diamond Gigantic Elephant around. His strength should have increased a little over the past six months. Before Qing Shui left, he had already sent a letter to Nian Feng’s grandfather through the World of the Nine Continent’s specialized postal service. He had asked him to look after the Qing Clan for a while and had also told him what had happened.

But Qing Shui didn’t know at all that when Ba Donghe came with his men, Nian Feng’s grandfather had already came to the Greencloud Continent and was watching everything from afar. Qing Shui’s performance had shocked him. Since Qing Shui could handle the opponents all by himself, he didn’t show himself.

It was also from that moment onwards, the old man knew that this young man would soar high sooner or later. So he might as well extend a helping hand to assist him now. It wasn’t easy for him to meet a young man that could fill him with anticipation, let alone forming a friendly bond with him.

………

Many people came to the Qing Residence today. There were more than sixty people riding on three birds. Their arrival was led by the two elders from the Residence of Sky Tyrant Lord.

Lin Zhanhan and Qing Luo came out to warmly welcome them. Qing Shui had already gave them a heads up on this matter. As soon as they saw old and young people among them, the experienced Lin Zhanhan didn’t allow Luan Luan and the Diamond Gigantic Elephant to come out.

Qing Shui had told them in advance that if the situation turned bad, they should send the Dimond Gigantic Elephant out on a sudden ambush. But then again, he had a feeling that this wouldn’t happen, Furthermore, he had already asked for assistance from Nian Feng’s grandfather.

Nian Feng’s grandfather appeared once again, but he appeared like an ordinary old man. He was hanging around near to the Qing Residence as he kept a close watch on the situation in there.

“My two brothers, you have come! This way please, the place is already prepared,”

Lin Zhanhan led the way with a smile. The East side of the Qing Residence had been divided for two clans and the area was as big as for the Qing Clan. The Qing Residence was very spacious so even after it had been divided up, it was still very spacious.

“Oh, why is she here?” The Old Man Nian wondered after he suddenly noticed a gigantic Ice Crane from afar. He looked at the Qing Clan skeptically. He had a feeling that their destination was the Qing Residence.

The old man frowned as he stared at the approaching gigantic Ice Crane.

The Ice Crane had flown from the direction of the Heavenly Palace. By now the old man had more or less knew quite a lot about Qing Shui’s situation. Qing Shui had already told him alot about his clan and in addition to those gossips he had heard on his way here over the past six months, he could say that he pretty much had a deeper and better understanding of the Qing Clan as well as Qing Shui.

The Ice Crane landed not far from the Qing Residence. Two women in azure blue dress climbed off. One of the was veiled, the other with an air of noble elegance was not veiled.

The two women with exceptional grace walked towards the Qing Residence. When they entered the residence, one of them gazed at the old man who was in a distance with interest.

“This woman from Duanmu Clan has recovered and became so strong. I wonder what business do they have with the Qing Clan?” The old man wondered, yet keeping up with his disguise of an ordinary person.

“Mother, what are you looking at?” The veiled girl asked the unmoving woman.

“I saw an acquaintance,” the woman replied with a smile before pulling the girl’s hand as they made their way towards the Qing Residence.

“Acquaintance? Why didn’t you greet him?” The girl asked curiously.

“This man who had cured me isn’t someone ordinary. He is really young and I am really curious what kind of family he grew up in and who are his parents and master that have brought up such a genius,” the woman smiled as she evaded the question. They were already in front of the Qing Residence.

“Auntie, who are you looking for?”

Yuchang who just happened to come out saw the two beautiful ladies standing there, so she asked them curiously.

“We are here to see Mister Qing Shui, Little Lass. Who are you to him?” The woman crouched down to the delicate little girl and smiled at her.

“You’re looking for daddy? He’s out,” Yuchang blinked her large eyes.

The woman was shocked and glanced at her daughter beside her, as if wondering how Qing Shui could have such a big daughter……

“In that case, do you know when will he be back?” The woman asked her with a smile while she took out an exquisite jade hairpin and inserted it in Yuchang’s braid.

“Who are you all? Why are you looking for daddy?” Yuchang asked the woman suspiciously.

“Yuchang, who are you talking to?” Mingyue Gelou asked when she came out and happened to see Yuchang speaking with the two mysterious ladies.

“Mother, they are here to see daddy.”

Yuchang’s words made Mingyue Gelou a little nervous. Nothing good usually happen when people were looking for Qing Shui. She hurriedly came over.

The woman looked at Mingyue Gelou who was walking towards them. She was a woman with exceptional beauty, unordinary strength and a good body figure. The marking in between her brows gave her an aura of special charm. A pure and sacred aura.

“Hello, what business do you have with Qing Shui?” Mingyue Gelou looked at the two ladies standing before her. She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she saw the expression on their faces. It didn’t seem like they were here to find troubles…….

“We are from the Central Continent. This is my daughter, Ling Shuang. Qing Shui saved her before and have also saved me once. I am here today to express my gratitude.”

Just right then, Lin Zhahan, Qing Luo and the other two Martial Saint elders came over!

“Lady Duanmu!”

The two Martial Saint elders were surprised to see the woman. They quickly bowed respectfully and greeted her!