Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty) Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 1091-1092

AST 1091 – Collapsed At The First Blow

Qing Shui’s raging spiritual energy poured out toward his opponent, causing the man to bleed out from his ears, nose, and mouth. This all happened in the instant after he was suppressed by Qing Shui’s powerful spiritual energy. The Beast Blood Tribe’s weakness was their spiritual energy, after all.

Qing Shui would not forgive those who tried to a.s.sault his women. Furthermore, he did mention that everyone in the opposing party would die should his opponent lose this battle. Initially, Qing Shui decided that he would let the others off even if his opponent failed to defeat him. But when he turned to look at the ma.s.sive number of people surrounding them, he knew that no one should be left alive, regardless of whether he wanted to punish them as a warning to others or he was being persuasive with his words.

“Third Master Xiong!”

Some of the men from the Beast Blood Tribe shouted abruptly. Most of them even picked up their weapons and rushed towards Qing Shui. However, these people were nothing in Qing Shui’s eyes. With his palm outwards, he released the Great Golden Buddha Palm towards the incoming crowd!

In an instant, one of the two who was rus.h.i.+ng towards Qing Shui was squished to death. With a wave of his hand, the Nine Continents Mountains quickly appeared above the other opponent and simultaneously grew larger. Before everyone could see it coming, the mountain smashed into the ground with an abrupt motion, causing the eyes of the panic-stricken crowd to widen even further.

A large crater was bored into the earth with depths beyond comprehension. Those people were suddenly met with misfortune and the unexpected confinement to their power, allowing Qing Shui to beat them into a pulp quite effortlessly. All of his opponents were crushed into the endless pit, ending all signs of life in an instant.

No one would expect any fortunate signs of life to come out from the pit. The power Qing Shui had demonstrated was enough to eliminate any lives instantly, forcing those who felt it have a desire to escape immediately. However, they realized they couldn’t even move their feet. The worst part about the situation was that they knew this young man could kill them very easily should he desire to do so at the moment.

The surroundings became so quiet that one could even hear a pin dropping onto the ground. Everyone here was extraordinary in terms of power, as only powerful cultivators were allowed to enter this zone. They could also be considered the best in their respective hometowns, wherever that may be in the World of Nine Continents.

Rise!

Qing Shui growled. The Nine Continents Mountain rose up from the earthen ground with a grumbling noise that appalled those who could hear it. They could hear their own hastened breaths despite the tremors of the Nine Continents Mountain.

The ladies stood behind Qing Shui in silence, yet their thoughts were scattered everywhere. The strongest would be absolute in the World of the Nine Continents. Only those with power would be able to live a life of their choosing—they would be able to guarantee the safety of their family and themselves.

The stronger Qing Shui became, the happier the ladies would feel. They would feel safer and happier as long as Qing Shui continued to grow more powerful. Furthermore, they would be able to stay by his side with no worries whatsoever.

Lives were already taken. Qing Shui knew that he would be pursued with endless troubles by those who sought an answer for the deaths of these people. Fortunately, he had already annihilated the two Guardian Clans from the Northern Sacred Lu Continent when they were at the Greencloud Continent. Moreover, their sole purpose of coming to the Northern Sacred Lu Continent was to destroy the Lion King’s Ridge once and for all. The Northern Sacred Lu Continent was destined to fall into calamity under Qing Shui’s hands, so there was no harm in killing a few people now and then.

Qing Shui swept his gaze across the surrounding crowd and proceeded to lead the ladies out from the scene. He had no doubt that this incident would cause the onlookers to watch their tongues when they spread rumors. Of course, there would always be those who were fearless of death and would rather watch the whole world burn with glistening eyes.

Qing Shui and the ladies managed to cross the hundred meters wide halo surrounding the Ancient Ruins but were soon overwhelmed by the powerful force of the world’s regulation in an instant. However, at the same time, Qing Shui’s spiritual energy was beginning to push back the force of the world’s regulation—this was clearly an effect produced by the Arhat Rosary Beads.

At that moment, his lips curled into a smile. He could sweep the entire Five Continents with both his spiritual energy of 1,200,000 stars and his spiritual battle techniques. He felt quite at ease in this moment and because of that, he suddenly felt that the Nine Continents Mountain within his Dantian was becoming closer to him. It was a mysterious feeling, almost like when as if his techniques had reached a breakthrough. It was vague, to say the least and it wasn’t quite obvious to his senses. Overall, all he could gather from this realization was nothing more than a feeling.

Qing Shui didn’t a.n.a.lyze his Dantian immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. There were quite a number of people outside the Ancient Ruins who had just got out today. It was already late and by mid-day tomorrow, the Ancient Ruins would be closed off from public access.

Whether the Ancient Ruins would open again or be closed forever, no one had a clue. Perhaps it might open again soon or perhaps it might take another thousands of years before it would be opened for access once more. There might be a possibility that the Ancient Ruins may be closed forever.

Qing Shui didn’t see Tantai Xuan, so she must have left already. He shook his head—he had no idea how strong her master from Mount Putuo of the Southern Sea was in the other Four Continents. Despite that, he looked forward to seeing the structure and system of the other Four Continents.

The time to head to the other Four Continents was rapidly approaching. Before that, he would have to settle everything in the Five Continents first. He would rather postpone his journey to the Four Continents by five years than leave hastily without settling his matters properly.

“Daddy, let’s go look around the Dragon Spine Mountain. It’s already quite late today, so let’s continue our journey tomorrow!” Luan Luan made a suggestion while hugging Qing Shui’s neck happily.

Only Luan Luan would do such a thing. Maybe if Huoyun Liu-Li was here, she would do the same thing too. The other ladies couldn’t force themselves to do it. However, they were already satisfied by watching Luan Luan being close with Qing Shui, as it proved that their bond as father and daughter was nothing short of amicable. Despite Qing Shui’s young appearance, he already possessed the mannerism that only a father would have.

“Alright, my little girl has spoken. We will follow her words. Tomorrow we will go back and fetch Grandpa Lin, then we will go to Lion King’s Ridge together,” said Qing Shui as he rubbed Luan Luan’s head and smiled.

“Mm, that’s great. I’ve been waiting for this day to come.” Luan Luan laughed and jumped with joy, as if she didn’t care whether the people around her would look at her with a surprised expression.

Compared to Luan Luan’s overwhelming excitement, Yiye Jiange was as stiff as a board. The day she had been longing for was getting closer. Would it finally happen? Would the hope that she had longed for all those years finally come true because of him?

She smiled as she looked at Luan Luan and Qing Shui stood together. Her smile gradually turned to that of immense grat.i.tude. Yiye Jiange felt blissful that a man like him would show concern towards her. She didn’t know when it happened but her impression of him had changed entirely since she had first met him years ago.

Qing Shui used to be her disciple. Even though he was a disciple in name only, she was still far stronger than he was back then. As time pa.s.sed, she eventually treated him like a junior and cared deeply for his well-being.

Despite her genuine concern for him, she had never really shown it through her expressions. She soon became a bit conflicted after being called ‘master’ several times, yet she couldn’t understand why she felt that way and why her mentality toward him had changed. It wasn’t until now that she finally understood why—she had been in love with him for a long time.

It wasn’t difficult for two people who didn’t hate each other to develop feelings for one another after being together for a long time. Because she didn’t hate him, there was no conflict. Both were clearly of different genders, so there would be skins.h.i.+p somewhere along the way. It would be easier to develop a relations.h.i.+p with each other as well.

Yiye Jiange didn’t know when she had developed such feelings for him. Romance could happen at any time, so when the moment came, it would always start with an emotion, then moments of awkwardness and changes in their manners with one another.

“Jiange, what are you thinking about?” Qing Shui approached her and asked when he noticed that her head was in the clouds.

He also understood her feelings at the moment. After all, this moment would change her life forever. One could also say that her life would change the moment her burden was released from her heart. Her purpose of life would take on a different meaning as well.

“Nothing. I was just thinking of some stuff.” Yiye Jiange replied unnaturally. Qing Shui, however, didn’t think too much of it and continued ahead towards the distance with the group.

It wasn’t until they were far away from the crowd that they finally called out their flying beasts and demonic beasts to roam around the Dragon Spine Mountain due to its enormous landscape. If they were to travel on foot, they wouldn’t be able to cover the entire area even if they continued on until night time.

The Dragon Spine Mountain looked like a meandering snake with an uneven terrain on its back from a bird’s eye point of view. Now that the sky was becoming dim, the mountain was like a silhouette of a giant dragon that laid down on the ground. This mountain has its own unique Spiritual Qi, as well as its own majestic aura as a grand mountain.

They were traveling at an appropriately moderate speed, enough to roam around the Dragon Spine Mountain while taking in its overwhelming sight. There were quite a number of people mounted on Qing Shui’s Thunderous Beast at first but it was quickly mounted by everyone in the end. The giant Thunderous Beast seemed nothing like a demonic beast once it was mounted by Qing Shui’s group.

Qing Shui’s ears moved toward the s.h.i.+fting sounds and turned to look behind him. At that moment, a scornful smile could be seen appearing on his mouth.

“What is it? Is someone following us?”

“It’s nothing. We shouldn’t be concerned with anyone coming for us now since we’re going to destroy the Lion King’s Ridge. Are you still afraid of those clowns?” Qing Shui smiled nonchalantly.

“Qing Shui, you can’t be too careless either. Remember what I said to you before. If you fail, we are finished. So in other words, you can’t afford to lose, especially before we manage to lay our hands on Lion King’s Ridge.” Yiye Jiange felt almost powerless speaking those words herself. However, her words were touching, enough to show her concern for Qing Shui at the very least.

“Alright, woman. I know what you’re worried about. Just relax. I’m very confident in myself this time. Even if we can’t destroy them this time, we can still retreat without worrying what they will do to us after that.” Qing Shui said with a relaxed smile.

Yiye Jiange shot him a helpless glare after listening to what he had to say.

Then at that moment, a number of large blue demonic beasts flew towards their direction and trapped the Thunderous Beast by surrounding it in a swift motion. Qing Shui observed his surroundings without saying a word. The clothes on these perpetrators seemed like the uniform of the Violet Dragon Mountain.

The leader of this group was an old man who was also wearing violet robes. He had a strong and dignified air in him. With just one look at this man, Qing Shui could tell that he was a person of high status and position. He also hated the superiority that the old man was showing as soon as he laid eyes on this arrogant leader.

The other men following this leader were also wearing violet robes that were slightly lighter in color than that of the old man. These men exchanged glares with Qing Shui —both parties remained silent as they observed one another. Qing Shui didn’t feel pressured by their presence ever since he had emerged from the Ancient Ruins. If he hadn’t gone into the Ancient Ruins first, Qing Shui might have felt immensely pressured by their presence and succ.u.mbed to their will more easily.

“What do you want from stopping us?” Qing Shui frowned as he asked with a displeased tone.

“Were you the one who issued a challenge to my grandson?” The old man finally spoke after he observed Qing Shui thoroughly for quite a while.

“Yes, is there anything wrong with that?” Qing Shui asked the old man calmly.

“And you killed them in the Ancient Ruins?” The old man remained calm while shooting his question at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui kept his composure as he shook his head and said, “I did no such thing. I’m the type who would boldly confess if I ever killed someone, you know. But the man you spoke of—your grandson is indeed dead. However, I swear to the heavens, I have nothing to do with his murder whatsoever.”

The old man was still unfazed as he remained his focus on Qing Shui. “Then can you tell me who killed him?”

Qing Shui shook his head and replied, “I can’t. I’m not afraid of them but I think you already have an idea who might have done it. Why do you need to ask me then?”

Qing Shui said it deliberately as he didn’t have good feelings toward the Violet Dragon Mountain. Besides, for a large force to be able to do such things, they would more or less attract enemies or stir up rivalries for themselves. Qing Shui didn’t feel the need to explain himself clearly to them and he would prefer to let them delve into their guesses and miscellaneous thoughts. It was a dog-eat-dog world in the Northern Sacred Lu Continent due to the battle of powers from different forces. He wasn’t particularly concerned for those who lost the battle, because the fewer compet.i.tors there were, the better.

AST 1092 – Dragon Veins? The Essence Of A Dragon – Dragon Qi, Dragon’s Spirit

The old man looked at Qing Shui with suspicion but all he could see was the calm expression on the young man’s face. He realized at that moment that he couldn’t get a clear reading on this young man, which surprised him immensely and terribly.

“Did you know that the men you killed earlier were members of our Violet Dragon Mountain?” The old man released a subtle pressure against Qing Shui as he asked this question. It seemed that he was trying to test how strong Qing Shui was.

“I didn’t know who they were, I just knew that they had to die. If a group of people wanted to kill your woman, what would you do?” Qing Shui ignored the old man’s pressure and shot back at him with his own query.

The old man’s expression grew fierce as if he could burst at any moment. However, he managed to regain his composure and said with a calm expression, “How should I address you, sir? I don’t have any ill intentions toward you and I’m pretty sure you already knew that we are from the Violet Dragon Mountain. If you don’t mind, I will treat you to a drink. As I said, I don’t have ill intentions. I just like making friends, that’s all.”

Qing Shui curled a smile and replied to the old man. “My surname’s Qing. Your kindness is duly noted but I still have things to do today. As for who really killed your men from the Violet Dragon Mountain, I have nothing more to say. I have grudges with the perpetrators, so saying more will only arouse your suspicion toward my intentions. Just wait a few days and you’ll understand eventually because I will definitely pull them up from their roots.”

Qing Shui spoke with utmost calmness as he looked at the old man. He didn’t intend to pick fights with these people today but if they wished to brawl with him, then he would have no choice but to comply with their intent. The reason Qing Shui said so was because he feared that the enemy still had surviving forces they could summon. He wasn’t entirely certain about his a.s.sumptions but he was quite sure that one of his allies would sweep off those from the Violet Dragon Mountain should the remaining forces make their move.

When a leader fell, the others would disperse and scatter. As long as he was able to send the Lion King’s Ridge to oblivion, many would want to bask themselves in the light of his glory. After all, underneath the existence of a mighty power was none other than the promise of wealth. How could they miss the opportunity to reap the fortune of another? Besides, a lot of people hated the Lion King’s Ridge, so many would join in to further spit on their fallen banner.

However, that moment was still within his reach, yet Qing Shui could already predict the outcome. The Lion King’s Ridge would not be easily beaten, however, he decided to build up his power before he faced them in the future. Preparations before battle would always be necessary.

“Alright, since we have come to this point, then we won’t disturb you any longer. If you ever come to the Violet Dragon Mountain, please just use my name Zilong s.h.i.+ and someone will direct you to me.” The old man smiled as he waved at Qing Shui. He then took his leave with his men.

Qing Shui waved back at him too, smiling as if nothing had happened. It was at that moment that he realized how some men would be able to maintain their composure during times of imminent danger. It wasn’t the result of some special training but because there wasn’t any danger to begin with. Some may view a situation as a threat, while others would see it in another light, allowing them to remain calm and resilient. Only when they saw that their life was in great peril would they would start to panic and lose their composure.

After being interrupted by the members of the Violet Dragon Mountain, everyone had lost their interest in their initial plan to roam around, so they decided to descend from the mountain and go somewhere else nearby. They had made up their mind to rest for a night here before journeying to their home tomorrow morning.

The rocks of the Dragon Spine Mountain were extremely—st.u.r.dy as raw steel—yet they never disturbed the growth of the flouris.h.i.+ng plants even the slightest. The force of the seeds and plants could penetrate through the hard rocks as they strived to grow, just like the plants in his past life—the fragile gra.s.ses were able to crack even the st.u.r.diest of floor tiles.

The plants in this vicinity were of the pine variety. They were tall and extremely dense in nature. Moreover, they were abnormally vigorous—this was actually considered normal in places where spiritual energy was abundant. Only mountains deprived of spiritual energy would be barren and filled with nothing but rocks.

“Daddy, look at that highest point. Let’s set up camp there!”

After they had crossed the Dragon Spine Mountain twice with the Nine Continents Step, Luan Luan pointed at the highest peak as she spoke to her father.

“Alright, whatever you like to do today, we will do it.” Qing Shui said with a smile. The ladies did not utter a word and continued to follow him towards the highest point of the mountain. The air in the atmosphere began to change as they proceeded not too far from their starting point. The weather in this vast area varied from extreme hot to bitter cold, with warmth in between and occasional rains. Hail storms were known to strike this part of the lands as well. In spite of all of this, Qing Shui was unfazed at the ever changing weather as the World of the Nine Continents was too vast—it was normal for him to encounter several forms of weather in multiple places through the Nine Continents Steps.

Qing Shui peered at the highest part of the mountain from a distance before he turned around to look behind him. The highest peak seemed like the protruding part of a dragon’s back and was the coldest part of the entire area. The coldness felt at the peak was the most painful kind, yet there was no snow to be seen. The air around the peak was dry, almost as if it could slice through a human flesh easily.

Dragon veins?

A thought then flashed through his mind. He had read about the legend of the dragon veins from a few books before, which stated that the structure of the Dragon Spine Mountain was that of a dragon. However, this didn’t mean that the mountains he was seeing would definitely be the dragon veins. The true meaning of the dragon veins was not in its appearance but the Dragon Force contained within it.

In actuality, the dragon veins were only a specific point on a mountain. It was rumored that the real Dragon’s Qi was hidden in there, which was essentially the essence of a dragon.

Qing Shui looked at the highest point of the mountain in the distance with shocked eyes. His heart was beating with excitement and joy.

“Is this the area of the dragon veins?”

The ladies were stunned as they turned to look at Qing Shui with a puzzled expression. He regained his composure and let out a chuckle as he said, “Do you think it’s possible that the dragon veins is over there?”

The ladies were shocked. Some of them couldn’t comprehend what he had said, while some were just looking at the elevated distance with unbelievable gazes. Hai Dongqing then calmly spoke out, “This can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence either. This is the dragon veins we are talking about. If it’s real, then we have really lucked out.” Qing Shui said to the ladies and Little Fattie contentedly while making his way toward the higher alt.i.tude.

“What’s dragon veins? Daddy!” Luan Luan asked as she followed along with his pace.

“I’m not too sure myself. According to the legends, the dragon veins is a mountain where dragons were said to be buried a long time ago. Dragons exist in the legends. The burial of the dragons would take ten of thousands of years or more to form the Qi of the dragon veins, which is said to contain the essence and Qi of a whole dragon. The whole mountain can be considered as the dragon veins but the real essence of the Qi of dragon veins is only a small area. There’s one location in the mountain where the Dragon’s Qi is at its optimum, which can be used to cleanse the bodies of humans and demonic beasts. Basically, the benefits are huge. However, this is just a legend. No one really knows if it’s true or not.” Qing Shui explained beamingly.

“Ah, then we should take a look. If this is the dragon veins, that’d be great.” As soon as Luan Luan was done talking, she pulled Qing Shui by his hand and went towards the higher alt.i.tude hurriedly.

When they finally got close to the mountain range’s peak, they realized that the mountain was actually quite tall. Even though the mountain range was still considered towering when they were situated far away, they realized the size of the mountain range was much larger than they had initially antic.i.p.ated.

The circ.u.mference of this area was about 1,000 meters. Upon stepping onto the soil of the surrounding mountain range, the piercing cold of the winter breeze vanished instantly. Instead, they were greeted with a type of warm sensation that was able to dispel the coldness of the chilling wind they had felt a second ago.

It was then that Qing Shui felt there was something odd about this place. By common sense, this kind of situation would not be possible. This area was filled with an abundance of life, yet there were no signs of vegetation forming on this land. The rocks under his feet were paler than the rocks found in other places too. All in all, this place felt surreal and different from the reality that they were accustomed to.

“This place is very different. Maybe this really is the dragon veins!” Yu He exclaimed as she observed the surrounding area. After that, she s.h.i.+fted her focus to the rocks beneath her feet.

Qing Shui stomped on the ground forcefully but he couldn’t even crack the surface of the rocks, which shocked him for a moment. “Are the rocks that st.u.r.dy?”

He had a feeling that they weren’t the first to venture into the dragon veins and that someone else had made the same guesses regarding this mountain range was the dragon veins. However, for a place like this to remain pristine and undamaged, the probability of this whole area being the dragon veins was quite high. Despite so, it wouldn’t be easy to extract the Dragon Qi lingering in this area should this prove to be the real dragon veins that they had initially thought of.

Qing Shui and the ladies went nearby and surveyed the area to look for new discoveries or anything to prove that this was the dragon veins. Even though they were looking forward to it, they didn’t have high expectations when imagining what it would be like if their speculations were true.

“Daddy, there must be something down here. I can feel it and it’s very strong. Are we going to raze this entire area? Daddy tried it just now, and it seems really difficult to even break these rocks.” Luan Luan said with a smile as she walked alongside Qing Shui.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Even if there’s really a place of concentrated Qi of dragon veins down there, I don’t need to raze this area. It’s useless anyway, because the violent Dragon Qi will only wreck this place. We will need another way to gather the ‘Dragon Qi’. Maybe extracting the Dragon Qi slowly, for example.” Qing Shui spoke after a brief moment of pondering.

“Then what should we do?” Luan Luan asked hesitantly.

“‘I’m not sure!” Qing Shui shook his head.

“I’ve seen the method of extracting the Dragon Qi by chance but I’m not sure if it’s real. In essence, you have to focus your mind on the Dragon Qi condensed in the dragon’s power until a point where it is possible to extract the Dragon Qi safely appears,” said Yu He with a frown, as if she had thought about it thoroughly before explaining it to the others.

Yu He seemed like she had just blurted out some random words from her mouth because most of them couldn’t understand what she was talking about. Meanwhile, Qing Shui’s eyes lit up brightly. He looked at Yu He with a sudden impulse to give her a kiss or two but couldn’t due to the presence of the other ladies and Little Fattie. All he could do in this moment was to resist his impulses and control his emotions.

“I will try it. Let’s test out Sister Yu He’s method to see if it’s real or not.” Qing Shui chuckled.

Four Symbols Formation!

The first thing that popped into his mind was the Four Symbols Formation, that consisted of the Azure Dragon position, Vermilion Bird position, White Tiger position, and Black Tortoise position. Yu He did mention something about the condensed dragon power or a method of possibly absorbing the Dragon Qi successfully.

Azure Dragon’s position!

This was the focal point of this formation for this particular situation. If this was where the Dragon Qi was most concentrated under the dragon veins, he could think of ways to extract it regardless of the method. He increased the power of the Four Symbols Formation to its maximum even though this method might not work at all. Thinking about it would only incite his excitement further, because Dragon Qi was particularly precious. It was useful for not only humans but for demonic beasts as well. Anyone and anything could absorb the Dragon Qi without a problem. However, the amount one would be able to absorb would be dependent on their luck and nature’s order. If one was lucky enough, they would be able to reap benefits beyond greatness.

Qing Shui called out the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant first before he began summoning his Fire Bird and the Spirited Snake Turtle into the formation. The key point of the Four Symbols Formation was the use of bloodline. Qing Shui felt that the three demonic beasts he had summoned met the requirements. The remaining spot was the White Tiger position, so he decided to take on that mantle himself. However, at the moment of his summoning, he felt a slight change inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The realm had shrunk a little before it had reverted back to its original size a few moments later.

He was no stranger to the Four Symbols Formation as he had practiced the placement of positions with his demonic beasts numerous times. The Spirited Snake Turtle had also partic.i.p.ated in the same formation inside the Realm of the Violet Jade several times, performing outstandingly in the Black Tortoise position more than the Five-Headed Demonic Spider could ever dream of.

And so, Qing Shui stood at the White Tiger position!

Setting formation!

A subtle and formidable force began to rise up quickly and shrouded Qing Shui and his demonic beasts in an instant. The subtle layer of energy began to mix in with the formidable force, enveloping Qing Shui’s formation completely. The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth quickly flowed towards the Four Symbol Formation like a tsunami raging into the inner lands.

The ladies could feel the power of the Four Symbols Formation surrounding them becoming stronger. They felt constrained from time to time, alternating between feelings of comfort, the sensation of heaviness, and a feeling of desolation.

Roar, screech…..

A series of demonic cries rang out. Some of the cries sounded deep, some sounded distinct, while some sounded like a clear screeching noise. Each cry that rang out strengthened the Four Symbols Formation by the minute.

Dragon’s Spirit!

The body of the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant gleamed in a brilliant golden light, as it let out a distinct deadly shout before flying up towards the sky!