Under the conditions of restrictions, the items within the Ancient Divine Shrine would be more valuable than those without restrictions. Of course, this was not the absolute. There were the heaven defying items that came from Ancient Divine Shrines that had no restrictions. In general, however, items that came from Ancient Divine Shrines were usually much better even with restrictions.
With the Ancient Fire Snake, moving about in this Ancient Forest was easier than slicing cake. Not only did they save the hassle of risking themselves within the depth of the forest, they could also threaten some unnecessary troublemakers away.
The Demon Lord remained silent as per usual, not taking the initiative to say anything. Qing Shui did not know why she had this type of personality, but this type of personality was the most natural coming from her. A leader of the Demon Lord Palace did not need to say much, which explained Hua Rumei's importance within the Demon Lord Palace. This entire time, Qing Shui discovered that many things were dealt with by Hua Rumei.
She moved about in the air. Underneath her feet was a cloud shaped item. Qing Shui was not sure whether it was a treasure or an ability. It was similar to Tantai Xuan's Lotus Platform, yet it seemed more mystical.
The Ancient Fire Snake was walking in the front with Qing Shui, Hua Rumei, and the Demon Lord following behind. Zhan Yu had not fully recovered, but going for a journey was not an issue.
This Ancient Forest was huge, almost as if it had no boundaries. The trees within the forest were not of the same kind. Regardless of what kind the trees were, they shared one commonality. They were all trees with heights of skyscrapers.
If this had been his previous life, this location would have become a World Heritage site. But in this life, it was an existence with little value. At least Qing Shui did not want to get rid of this desire to treat it as a place of value.
"Let's rest here for a few days, we should wait for them." The Demon Lord looked at Qing Shui and Hua Rumei as she spoke.
Qing Shui knew that the woman was talking about the other Evil Powers. Regardless of the situation, they were standing on the same front, and so banding together would increase the chances of victory.
The others naturally had no objections, as the location was good. Any further in and they would be too close to the Ancient Divine Shrine. Too far and they might miss some people. This location was also sufficient for detecting the presence of people rushing over to the Ancient Divine Shrine.
This Ancient Divine Shrine was located not far from the entrance of the Ancient Ruins, therefore they would not need to wait for too many days. They casted the Maze Formation and allowed everyone to begin cultivation. Some people were tasked with observing for movements around them.
Four days went by like a flash, the Divine Sound Sect and crew having arrived already. The gathering of people was especially large. It was one people dared not to look down upon. Qing Shui once again saw Shen Ling and the brothers from the Divine Beast Sect.
Once Shen Ling spotted Qing Shui, she affectionately ran over. Her whole body was emitting a pure and charming aura - an innate charm, one that came from her bones. It was the most genuine pure charm, one that made it hard for people to resist.
"Qing Shui, we meet again." Shen Ling said happily.
Shen Ling's master and several of the elder generation all shook their heads helplessly. Though the movements were light, its motive could be easily seen through.
"Right, have you been well all this time?"
Hua Rumei, who happened to be right beside Demon Lord, looked towards Qing Shui and said to the Demon Lord, "That little devil looks like she likes him."
"And this is related to me?" Demon Lord said without turning her head.
"Qing Shui seems to like you." Hua Rumei said with a laugh.
"And this is related to me somehow?" This time the Demon Lord turned around and looked at Hua Rumei.
"You don't like him?" Hua Rumei continued to smile.
"Don't like!" Demon Lord said swiftly.
"En, then I'll ask you one thing. You should tell me, I promise I won't spread it. Do you have a man you like?" Hua Rumei looked at Demon Lord curiously and asked.
Demon Lord looked at Hua Rumei, then said lightly, "Having and not having someone I like, is that important to you?"
"Of course, don't you feel that it is regretful to not have a man? Do you not yearn for a relationship between a man and woman? You don't want a man to care for you, love you, spoil you?" Hua Rumei winked with those charming eyes of hers. It was even more bewitching.
"A person without a heart do not think about these." Demon Lord waited till Hua Rumei finished before shaking her head.
Hua Rumei choked to the point where she was stumped for words. She helplessly smiled, "You should stop torturing yourself like this. They would not want to see this either, they would wish you had a happy life."
"I can't convince myself otherwise. A lonely person will remain lonely forever."
The Demon Lord seldomly had any emotional fluctuations in her speech. It was natural for her innate cool elegance. No one had seen her laugh, not even a smile. She always appeared cold with a calm elegance.
"Your issues, perhaps he can help you." Hua Rumei said seriously after thinking a bit.
The Demon Lord looked at Qing Shui, all she saw was a man who she could not see through. She did not like this man, but she somehow kept remembering this man. She wanted to forget him, but she had not been successful. It was like the image of him was imprinted in her mind. This made her feel emotions she could not describe. She could not distinguish whether these feelings were good or bad.
Originally, Qing Shui's strength was nothing of worth in her eyes. Their lives would not cross paths, so she had left him alive. He was the person who broke through her seal. The fact that he was alive showed that he had a unique constitution. Otherwise, he would not have been able to break her seal.
However, his growth is terrifying. Every time she saw him, it seemed unrealistic and foreign. He seemed to be constantly changing, especially since he had entered the Demon Lord Palace. She understood his wish, but what about it?
Demon Lord shook her head, "Perhaps, but I don't want anyone to walk in these muddy waters."
"You think he will listen to you? You know why he entered the Demon Lord Palace? Anything to do with you, he would help until the very end. If this is the case, why are you still shutting your heart in?" Hua Rumei continued to say.
"We will see. I had thought that my heart was dead, and I don't know if anything can rekindle my heart." Demon Lord finished what she had to say and walked forward.
……
The two brothers from Divine Beast Sect saw how Shen Ling was being overly familiar with Qing Shui and they glared at him, unknowingly releasing some resentment. However, Qing Shui's spiritual sense was strong, he directly turned around and looked at them just to see that their expression had not fully recovered.
Looks like these two were interested in Shen Ling. The reason Divine Beast Sect was one of the Four Great Evil Powers was because they were licentious. Demon Lord Palace was known for being bloodthirsty. Divine Sound Sect were known for their bewitched beauties, but using music was considered heretic. Divine Beast Sect needed no other explanation. Wild Ghost Valley was even more evil, and all their cultivated techniques were sinister.
Qing Shui did not feel anything from their stares, if they decided to make any unnecessary movements, Qing Shui did not mind wiping them off the face of the world.
"Qing Shui, those two are sinister and ruthless. You should be careful. They have all sorts of malicious methods of doing things." Shen Ling saw Qing Shui look at the Lu Brothers and reminded him.
"They better not provoke me, or else I wouldn't mind having them stay here forever. You should be more careful, I think they are interested in you." Qing Shui smiled and warned Shen Ling.
Shen Ling's face blushed, as she brushed her words towards Qing Shui's ear and said, "But are you interested in me?"
Qing Shui lightly pulled his head away, and looked at the bashful woman, she was an alluring existence. He could not fully see through Shen Ling's thoughts. He could only stand there stunned, without saying a word.
"I'm just joking. Making you so nervous, am I not satisfactory enough to enter your eyes?" Shen Ling said while pouting.
"What do you mean? I am surprised. For someone of your quality, I would never dare approach."
"Hypocrite, alright time to go."
……
Qing Shui unconsciously started to avoid Shen Ling whenever he could. He also paid extra attention to the two brothers in the Divine Beast Sect. The foundation of the Divine Beast Sect was rich with talent. Beast tamers were the hardest to estimate in terms of power. The reason was because people did not know what kind of beasts, especially formidable beasts, were tamed by them.
Ten days later, Qing Shui and crew were already at the Ancient Divine Shrine. This place was an open space within the Ancient Forest. There were no trees, just a large mountainous area.
Battle God Mountain!
The mountain here was not especially tall, but it was blooming with spirit. The most eye-catching part was the giant statue at the peak. It was the Battle God Statue.
The stone statue was at least 300 meters tall, standing tall through the years weathering. There was not the slightest damage that could have been seen. The statue was very lifelike, with a full body of armor and a dragon lance in one of its hands. As it stood there, it gave off a strong spiritual pressure.
Divine Sense!
A Divine Sense was left in this stone statue. Anyone who stepped on this mountain will have to receive his attack, even this bit of Divine Sense was already terrifying. Though Qing Shui did not see the real strength of this statue, he could guess from the Divine Sense that its strength was comparable to the Blue Dragon and Green Dragon.
Qing Shui could not see the situation above, but he could feel the ancient aura. It was the aura of the Ancient Formation. The stone statue should be within the formation, that was the reason why it was so powerful.
There were a lot of people here and Qing Shui saw the familiar sects such as the Eternal Spring Palace. There were many here that represented the strength of Soaring Dragon Continent. Qing Shui was uncertain whether or not they had forces within Phoenix Dance Continent and Haohan Continent.
Qing Shui had a feeling the top strength of Soaring Dragon Continent was not here. Although they were in the top triangle tier of the Soaring Dragon Continent, they were not the peak.
In reality, the World of Nine Continents was a place where crooks were mixed with the honest folk. Nothing was as it seemed. A book could not be judged by its cover and those that appeared strong may not be the strongest. The opposite was also true. The strongest force within Soaring Dragon Continent was the same as the Phoenix Dance Continent. It was Soaring Dragon Organization.
Soaring Dragon!
Inside this place were forces from Soaring Dragon Organization, such as Dragon Palace, Immortal Poison Sect, and Eternal Spring Palace. Suddenly, Qing Shui thought of the time when elder Ling Hu had told him that Yan Zhongyue was the Head of a terrifying force. Perhaps he was the Head of the Soaring Dragon Continent?
Thinking to this point, Qing Shui was stunned. He had originally thought he was the king of some dynasty, but now he felt that he was the Head of Soaring Dragon. Now that the Demon Lord Palace and Soaring Dragon Continent were at opposite sides and the fact that Soaring Dragon Organization was naturally the strongest Justice Alliance within Soaring Dragon Continent…
Qing Shui went blank here. Would he have to fight him? To bring him down? How could Yan Zhongyue do all these? His increase in strength was too terrifying. These last several dozen years he went from a Xiantian martial artist to this sort of accomplishment. Qing Shui could not understand it.
Qing Shui was a mess. He did not know if that person's memory was still there, but he was Qing Shui's mother's hope. Qing Shui could not allow him to have any accidents. However, Qing Shui was helping the Demon Lord Palace to bring down Soaring Dragon. What was he going to do?
Everything was coming, but he did not know if it was him. He did not know Qing Shui, he probably did not know that Qing Shui existed. Even if he had any memory, it would only be the memory of Qing Qing.