Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)

AST 1623 - Regarding Tantai Lingyan’s Initiative, Night Demon Mountain

The thought of these made Tantai Lingyan's face even redder as she headed out after getting dressed. The sky had just darkened when she went out. Remembering the fact that she hadn’t eaten, she was reminded that the same went for Qing Shui. Opening the door to her room, she walked out.

At the same time, Qing Shui was done taking a shower as well, washing off the heat that was surging inside his body. The agony had made him both miserable and happy. When Qing Shui heard the knock on the door, he froze for a moment. He had already identified the owner of this presence and only froze from his surprise.

Opening the door, he saw Tantai Lingyan standing outside his door, her face still with the trace of a blush. Qing Shui knew naturally that her hint of color was different from before. He smiled happily at the sight of her. "Come in and sit!"

Tantai Lingyan walked in without speaking, a faint fragrance drifted through the air. It left Qing Shui with a surreal feeling.

“You surprised me with your presence.” Looking up at the sky, Qing Shui chuckled.

Qing Shui did that on purpose. Since Tantai Lingyan was here—although he couldn’t be direct, there were still subtle hints that he had to show. It wasn’t to take advantage of her, but to allow them to feel closer.

"I haven't eaten yet." Tantai Lingyan said softly.

Although Qing Shui knew that Tantai Lingyan didn’t come to engage in anything with him, neither did she come embarrassed. He smiled and asked, "What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you."

Qing Shui was chauvinistic at times as well but his form of chauvinism was special. For example, in the face of danger, he would face it on his own and never allowed his women to do so. Even so, he would still cook for them.

He didn’t think that cooking was a shameful thing for men to do. Most of the men on the Nine Continents didn’t cook, regardless of how successful or not they were.

There was even a lower probability for those who were successful to cook since there were others who could do it instead. Those who weren’t successful had their women to cook for them. It was only right for women to cook. Doing the laundry was also something that was a rightful task for women since the ancient past.

Qing Shui was like this in his previous life as well. As time went by, many strong women advocated equality between men and women, monogamy between husband and wife and so on. Although they still weren’t completely equal, they were to an extent. In the past life, there were many men who would cook in the kitchen. Compared to this world, there were a lot more of them at that time.

Tantai Lingyan watched Qing Shui as he proceeded to the kitchen with a smile on his face. She was a woman but she didn’t know how to cook. She was a powerful warrior who could go on without eating for a long time.

Qing Shui was pleased that Tantai Lingyan had come to tell him she hadn’t eaten. It was an obvious excuse. With their level of cultivation, they could go on without eating for half a month. With that said, eating could still strengthen their internal organs as well as other benefits. So, if they had a choice, they would still have three meals a day.

Even more than that was the fact that eating was a form of enjoyment. The desire for food and sex was natural among humans. Hence, they had delicacies for land and sea for meals or local specialties.

There were many people like that. Thus, it was how the food and catering industry in this world continued to develop. No matter if a person was powerful or otherwise, food was in great demand.

Qing Shui took a lot of ingredients from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and started making their meal. He was very skilled and happy, putting his all in it. Everyone could do well in anything when they put their minds to it. Cooking was no exception. Furthermore, Qing Shui was already naturally gifted in cooking. His cooking skills and medical skills were not inferior to anyone, or at least, he hadn’t met any as of now.

Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had amassed too much spice. More than a dozen other spices were the work of his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Qing Shui knew that Tantai Lingyan wasn’t here just for food but he couldn’t be sure. At least he could tell that she wasn’t here entirely for dinner, but he still wanted to make it well.

In his past life, there was a saying that the stomach was the way to a man’s heart. Qing Shui didn’t know if it was applicable towards women but he felt that it should be useful nonetheless.

Soon enough, the tantalizing aroma began to spread. Tantai Lingyan believed that she had strong self-control but nonetheless caught herself anticipating the dishes as well. She looked at the exquisite and aesthetically pleasing dishes, taking in their fragrant aroma. She could hardly believe that meals could be this well done.

Qing Shui spotted Tantai Lingyan by the kitchen door and laughed. "Do you want to try to cook?"

"I don’t know how, so I had better not." Tantai Lingyan said quickly, but Qing Shui could tell that she wanted to try or even to learn.

"Come on, give it a try. Actually, ingredients play a huge role in the preparation so yours would be just as fragrant. Just try it if you don’t believe me." Qing Shui said with a smile.

Tantai Lingyan nodded and smiled after some thought before Qing Shui began instructing her on the sequence of ingredients and steps for the most basic dish.

With Qing Shui's ingredients and his instructions on when to pour them in, the process was similar to Qing Shui’s. After all, the most difficult thing about cooking was the control of the flame. Qing Shui was already doing it for her.

Tantai Lingyan could not believe it when she caught a whiff of the aroma. She had tried cooking before but she didn’t think she did a good job at all. Hence, she never did it again. She believed it must have something to do with the ingredients too. After all, one cannot accomplish one's intentions if they lack the necessary materials. Still, she knew that the main reason for this was because Qing Shui had been there to tell her what to do.

Carrying the finished dishes to the table, Qing Shui took out Plum Blossom Wine and two small crystal-like tripods. They were three-legged, the type of small tripod for drinking in ancient times.

Tantai Lingyan looked at them. The wine inside was clear like spring water but the scent of the wine was not drowned by the meal’s aroma. She knew that it was Plum Blossom Wine. Qing Shui had previously gifted it to her but she didn’t drink it often.

"Cheers! What should we toast to?" Qing Shui smiled and lifted his glass.

"You decide." Tantai Lingyan smiled and looked at Qing Shui, feeling relaxed. The smiles on her face seemed to increase without conscious awareness.

"Let’s toast to our reunion then." Qing Shui said with a laugh.

Tantai Lingyan's face was rigid. Fate was a wonderful thing. If it wasn’t for Qing Shui, she might still be deep asleep. If there wasn’t enough fate between them, he might still be in the Greencloud Continent for the next hundreds of years until he grew into a white-haired elder. How would her life turn out if that happened?

Tantai Lingyan thought of many possibilities and stayed frozen for a while. Qing Shui reached out and waved his hand in front of her. “What are you thinking about? Are you plotting against me?”

After some contemplation, Tantai Lingyan thought that these were the best circumstances for them. She moved her glass against his. "Cheers!"

Thereafter, the two began digging in. Qing Shui only ate the portion which Tantai Lingyan cooked and all he said was that the taste of food depends on their companion. With people they adored, even if the food was bland, you’d still find them tasty. Similarly, with people you disliked, the best delicacies in the world would be tasteless and hard to swallow.

Tantai Lingyan hesitated before sticking out her chopsticks towards some of the dishes she cooked. When she was ascertained that they were equally good, her expression relaxed. She was afraid that her dishes wouldn’t be tasty.

"You can't steal from my portion. We don’t know when the next time you’ll cook is so all these are for me." Qing Shui changed the position of the plate.

Tantai Lingyan smiled but didn’t speak. She could anticipate Qing Shui’s response if she had replied, but she still underestimated Qing Shui's shamelessness at times.

“So, Yan Yan. I will go to your chambers for breakfast tomorrow morning. Is that alright?” Qing Shui chuckled.

Tantai Lingyan was uncomfortable with Qing Shui’s new found nickname for her and couldn’t help speaking up, "Do you want me to eat with all your shouting?"

Qing Shui chuckled and said. "I'll wait for you to finish eating before shouting then."

Tantai Lingyan was speechless.

Soon, it was time to leave. Hua Rumei's accomplishments in formations were also exceptional. Qing Shui wouldn’t conceal it either—sooner or later, he would pass down some of his designed formations to her. As of now, the formations in the Demon Lord Palace were all laid down by her.

Atop of Qing Shui's Hellfire Phoenix, they flew towards the direction which summoned Tantai Lingyan. It should be near the Haohan Continent, which was also at the intersection of the three continents. From Tantai Lingyan, he knew the place as Night Demon Mountain.

It was said that Night Demon appeared there a long time ago. Even so, this was the intersection between the three continents—there was nothing there. It was full of sparsely populated people with some hidden sects, aristocrat clans or people who had been forced to a dead end. Among these people, there were both good and bad.

Tantai Lingyan had mentioned that there were successors to the Demon King Inheritance who were calling for her. It was very likely that Night Demon had appeared in the Night Demon Mountain. There was no better explanation.

Night Demons were the same as other Demon King Inheritance successors, but their most outstanding ability was that while their overall might was reduced by 20% during the day, it was increased by 50% at night. Everything had its pros and cons. Since it was daytime now, Qing Shui thought that if everything went without a hitch, the other party would likely come out to meet them at night time, provided the other party was the Night Demon.

Considering this reason, Qing Shui didn’t rush to use the Nine Continents Steps. He simply took the Hellfire Phoenix instead. This way, he could even have time to chat with Tantai Lingyan. Most of the time, Qing Shui was the one talking while she listened.

Qing Shui had his own ideas. Tantai Lingyan was a successor of the Demon King Inheritance and so, in normal circumstances, there would be other Demon King Inheritance successors looking for her. However, Qing Shui didn’t want her to have contact with other successors and so he tagged along to check out the issue with the Demon King Inheritance this time. If possible, he would like to destroy it.

Night Demon Mountain was a lot colder than its surroundings, as though the sun rays couldn’t find their way in here. It was cloudless and sunny everywhere else, but there was a kind of overhanging cloud here, yet it didn’t look like it would rain.

"Lingyan, can you feel the other person's breath?" This was the most formal title Qing Shui had addressed her by.

“I can feel it in this mountain but it seems as if he or she doesn’t wish to meet us now. I suppose all we can do is wait.” Tantai Lingyan looked at the sky when it was dusk.

There was no sunshine here and it was crowded with dark clouds, but the moon in the sky was big and round, though it would get obstructed by clouds from time to time.

The two stood in a mountain and waited quietly. Since the other party called for Tantai Lingyan, they wouldn’t drag this out for too long.

A smile appeared on Qing Shui’s face and Tantai Lingyan looked into the distance. A bird-like silhouette flickered and appeared from afar, flying towards them.