Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty) Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 1226-1227

AST 1226 – Spring of Life, Golden Body at Great Perfection Stage, Refine

The time ratio within the realm stayed the same. However, Qing Shui was already really satisfied with the result. Even though strong warriors required to spend a lot of time cultivating, time alone wasn't the only factor in getting stronger. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been sayings such as "an unusual genius that comes down from heaven". Besides, Qing Shui already had an absolute advantage in terms of time.

In his previous life, there was a saying, "Success is 99% effort and 1% talent. Without considering the truth of this statement and a.s.suming that it is true, the main point was the 1% talent. It was definitely more important than the 99% effort. In his previous life, the purpose of this saying was to motivate people, telling them they would succeed as long as they put in effort.

Qing Shui s.h.i.+fted his sight away from the stone tablet and looked towards the lake-sized pond. The water was so clear that one could see the bottom of it. Seeing that the pond was about a hundred meters deep, Qing Shui felt really secured and satisfied. Everthing in it belonged to him alone.

Qing Shui looked at the pair of Longevity fish he caught when he was in Southern Sea. Currently, there were already more than ten smaller Longevity fish following behind them. They were happily swimming inside the pond at the moment. Their agile bodies could aid them in avoiding dangers.

Qing Shui also saw the Immortal Fish and Four-Tailed Mud Fish. However, there were still very few of them. Other than being extreme delicacies, they could also help in cultivation and strengthening the consumer's body. It even helped slightly increase the consumer's Innate Skills as well as helped them cleanse their bone marrow.

It was the marvelous nature which enabled a lot of these weird things to be born. All of these were the results of absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. The majority of people might not even get to see these things once throughout their entire life.

Other than these two species, there were also a few others within the pond. But for now, Qing Shui didn't touch them because there were very few of them. For now, he should raise them first. This process shouldn't take long within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Qing Shui may have a limitation in time within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal but that didn't apply to the things living here. Hence, one day spent by Qing Shui in the outside world was equivalent to the medicinal herbs as well as fish species staying in the realm for four hundred days. Furthermore, Qing Shui could only stay here for up to six hours. They on the other hand, could stay the full 24 hours. The difference was just too large.

Ancient Demonic Fruit Tree!

Qing Shui saw the Ancient Demonic Fruit Tree which was by the pond. It was the height of two men together. However, it was as thick as a person. It seemed strong and tough and felt bursting with vitality. This tree was greenish grey in color. There was a layer of thick bark on the outside, preventing any swords from cutting through it. There were around ten fruits which looked like peaches on it, except they looked sparkling and translucent with not even the slightest flaw. In fact, they looked even more like works of art.

Qing Shui plucked all of the Ancient Demonic Fruit and carefully put it away. For now, he didn't dare to let the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant consume it. He wanted to refine the strength as early as possible. If not, he wouldn't dare to let the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant break through once again.

Qing Shui had no idea what the Ancient Demonic Fruit was used for. For now, he would just put it aside first as he had other things that he needed to look at.

Spring of Life!

At the moment when Qing Shui saw the so called Spring of Life, he felt a bit speechless. The reason being that the Spring of Life was located at a spot on top of a jade stone-like platform that was about half the height of a man. The stone platform was just like the wells from ancient times, it was a few meters in size and looked white like jade, there was even a faint white light emitted from it. The Spring of Life on the other hand, was about the size of the mouth of a bowl. It was one foot deep. There was a white qi being emitted from it. Its formidable life force and spiritual qi was very stunning. They were all gathered around the mouth of the Spring of Life.

Qing Shui looked inside. The spring became smaller as it went deeper. By the time it reached the bottom, it was only the size of a wine cup. There was some very shallow sparkling jade liquid. It looked clear and brilliant and seemed to be more concentrated than water. Even though he had never seen bejeweled nectar but he felt that this liquid-like substance was precisely it. Actually, Qing Shui had also seen other forms of "bejeweled nectar". It was said that one would be able to taste it through kissing.

Heavenly Vision Technique!

Qing Shui looked at the Spring of Life with his Heavenly Vision Technique.

Spring of Life. A spiritual spring of Heaven and Earth. It was formed as a result of spiritual qi gathering together. Only one drop would be produced per year. It could help increase one's strength and increase their lifespan. It could help cure a hundred kinds of diseases as well as help strengthen one's body. It increased one's hidden potential and could be used to aid in refining medicines as well as demons……. The degree of increase varied between people.

"Such a good item! To think such a heaven-defying substance exists." At this moment, Qing Shui was so happy that he was unable to put it into words. But it took one year for a drop to be produced. Without the realm, he would only be able to get a hundred drops in a hundred years. How much was a hundred drops? Even a large mouthful of water would be more than that.

Qing Shui tried using his hands to condense the spiritual qi. Very quickly, Qing Shui already managed to take out a drop of Spring of Life. It was the size of a yellow bean. Its body was surrounded by a layer of faint spiritual qi which resembled white mist.

After hesitating for a while, Qing Shui immediately opened his mouth and absorbed the Spring of Life. It tasted sweet and refres.h.i.+ng. It also had a faint sweet smell. As soon as it entered his mouth, it immediately melted and spread out towards his limbs and bones instead of merely getting swallowed down into his stomach.

Qing Shui closed his eyes as he felt the changes within his body. That was a very subtle feeling. It's just like a layer of sand, where the original hideous marks on it were currently being wiped softly by one's hand, causing the layer of sand to look untouched.

The fastest ability of the Spring of Life was its ability to regenerate one's body. For every cultivator, their bodies were bound to have some unmentioned diseases, for example their injuries. Even though they recovered, a few scars were still bound to be left behind. It might look like a small issue but it was precisely these small issues that would cause someone to reach a bottleneck in the future and no longer be able to break through. It might even cause their vitality to be in turmoil.

Every warrior was bound to receive injuries. Qing Shui was already hiding a lot of secrets within his body. Furthermore, he was confident in his medical expertise and other skills. The thing he was the proudest of was his body's ability to self-recover. Previously, he had a feeling that the Spring of Life had helped him significantly change himself. Most parts of his body had already recovered. His organs as well as his bones also got a huge upgrade and became perfect again.

The Spring of Life had no limit. But there was no use taking a lot of it in within a short period of time. Hence, one drop would basically be enough for each person. It could be used to treat illnesses as well as strengthen one's bones and veins.

Qing Shui licked his lips and felt that he was unable to fully express himself. He just remembered that his Nine Yang Golden Body was already at Great Perfection Stage. The Spring of Life from before, on the other hand, had also helped provide a tremendous boost to the strength of his body.

The Spring of Life could also be used to stabilize one's strength and help find balance within one's body. As Qing Shui sensed it, he smiled. All of these sudden changes as well as the Spring of Life had made his physical strength reach a hundred nimbus.

A hundred nimbus and the Nine Yang Golden Body at its Great Perfection Stage…… Qing Shui felt that his body had reached a height like never before. He felt that he was now able to refine that strength. Prior to this, he was afraid that his body would explode. But now, his Nine Yang Golden Body was already at its Great Perfection Stage, his physical strength had also been significantly increased. The energy from Spring of Life was now within his body and most importantly, his spirit energy also received a tremendous boost. He felt that if he didn't refine it today, there wouldn't be as many opportunities to do so in the future.

All of this happened thanks to the Ninth Heavenly Golden Pellet given to him by Tian Jiange. He didn't know if this was considered good karma which he planted. It was just that the "fruit of karma" came so soon. No matter what, everything was already considered to be really, extremely worthwhile.

Qing Shui clenched his teeth and decided to refine it. He restored his body to its peak. After that, he sat down cross-legged near the Bodhi Tree beside the Spring of Life.

He slowly revolved his qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique. The Ancient Strengthening Technique revolved cycle by cycle. After it had revolved a number of times and carried an enormous amount of both the Violet Gold Divine Force and Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique, they rushed together towards that formidable energy.

Hong!

That grey colored pellet burst open in just a short while. An enormous energy that almost made Qing Shui collapse surged through his body. Qing Shui's body was just like a balloon which suddenly got inflated.

Qing Shui was really focused as he swiftly revolved his Eight-eight Divine Nebula Formation. The Yin-Yang Image also began revolving at great speed. However, his body was still expanding whereas the internal part of his body was being compressed. At the moment when he felt like his body was about to explode, a indescribable refres.h.i.+ng feeling spread through his body. It was as if the toughness of his body was increased a number times. It helped temporarily remove him from the danger of having his body explode.

Spring of Life!

This was the power of the Spring of Life. Both his organs and bones were also being compressed. Luckily, his Nine Yang Golden Body was at its Large Success Stage. Otherwise, his bones would have most likely been crushed. His organs would have also burst from being squished.

The energy within Qing Shui's body was still increasing. Of course, he was also madly operating and refining the energy. This looked just like a person who was about to starve to death madly gulping delicious food. Qing Shui knew that he would only be able to live if he absorbed it quickly.

Absorb and refine!

The golden pellet within his Dantian was revolving very rapidly as it continuously refined and absorbed the tyrannical energy.

But very quickly, Qing Shui realized that he was near his limit yet again !

However, he currently had no other choice but to absorb as much as he could. It felt just like when a person was full but still had to gobble their food.

It was a very unpleasant feeling!

Veined patterns which resembled spiderwebs had already started appearing across Qing Shui's body. They were all b.l.o.o.d.y red in color. In just a short while, dark red liquid could already be seen coming out. In an instant, he got dyed into a red man.

"Is my body really going to explode?" Qing Shui felt really distressed. If his body was to really explode, he would definitely die. Even if he had medicines like Bones of the Living Dead, it would still be useless. The reason being that his physical body would disappear right away as a result of the explosion.

Time went on little by little. At the moment when Qing Shui felt that he was no longer able to hold on, a powerful energy burst out from deep within his body.

Force of Rebirth!

Qing Shui who experienced the Force of Rebirth looked as if he got his entire life force renewed once again, madly absorbing the energy within his body.

After repeating it a few times, his body eventually reached a saturated state. Qing Shui was considered to have been out of danger. But still, he didn't manage to absorb all of it within such a short period of time. The only thing he could do was to digest as much of the strength he absorbed as he could.

Time went on little by little. After Qing Shui digested a bit, he would proceed to refine more. This process lasted for around three months. In his last two days, Qing Shui opened both of his eyes. Both of his eyes looked really bright and solid. But very quickly, they went back to normal. Qing Shui let out a long breath expelling the turbid gas within his body.

Qing Shui smelled a b.l.o.o.d.y smell. As he looked down, he realized that the blood scabs on his body were already about an inch thick. It was black in color. Not only did it have strong b.l.o.o.d.y smell, there was also a fishy smell to it.

Qing Shui quickly changed his clothes and took a bath. He immediately burned the clothes from before. Qing Shui felt a little depressed as he looked at his skin. It was almost comparable to that of women's.

Luckily, he had muscles. Even though they weren't ridiculously huge, they were defined. Qing Shui actually didn't like it for men to have such good skin and felt that it was better if it was rough.

Qing Shui felt as if he was in a dream, sensing the surging energy within his body.

With excitement in his heart, Qing Shui proceeded to sense his current strength. Even though he wasn't certain of his own strength at the moment, he was sure that it had skyrocketed.

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AST 1227 – Skyrocketed, formidable strength

Qing Shui immersed himself into his Sea of Consciousness. The Sea of Consciousness was like a very impressive looking small world. There were sixty four stars which looked just like spiritual seeds arranged there. The brightest golden star was located in the center of it.

There were still a lot of spiritual stars in the surroundings. The break through this time had caused the stars in the surroundings to increase tenfold. As he activated his consciousness, the boundless spirit energy started moving gracefully. Qing Shui really enjoyed this kind of feeling.

The Golden Pellet within his Dantian had gotten slightly bigger. It wasn't any significant increase in size, instead, it looked just like when a fruit ripened. It looked really solid and contained a terrifying amount of Divine Force.

His Spirit Energy had spread across his entire body. In just a short while, he could already feel his current strength.

His raw strength had achieved a terrifying amount of around three thousand two hundred nimbus. This seemed to be a bit beyond his expectations. In the past, the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant gave him 10% of the total strength increase which it experienced. After that, it went up to 20%. Until just a while ago, Qing Shui's raw strength was worth around a hundred nimbus. But now, it had gone up to three thousand two hundred nimbus. That was not 10%, nor was it 20%, instead, it was somewhere in between 10 to 20%.

Qing Shui remembered the danger he experienced from before. Could it be that this was the maximum amount of strength which he was capable of absorbing before he reached his limit? Actually, he was already extremely lucky to be able to avoid his body bursting earlier. With his raw strength, which was only worth a hundred nimbus, he was already able to absorb as much as three thousand one hundred nimbus worth of strength. Hence, with his current three thousand one hundred nimbus worth of absorbed strength, did it mean that he would be able to absorb even more in the future? Was it that his body was unable to absorb so much of the strength that it didn't manage to absorb up to 20% of it?

Qing Shui operated his Divine Force to experience his current strength. His raw strength was worth three thousand two hundred nimbus. The Seven-colored Pellet helped multiply his raw strength fifteen fold. The Big Dipper Sword helped increase it by five fold. Along with the help provided by the Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation and other things like the Golden Pellet, Qing Shui's physical strength managed to achieve a terrifying amount which worth as much as 2.5 million. If it was to be doubled, his strength would worth around 5 million, which was also the current offensive strength of the Nine Continents Mountain.

Five Million nimbus. Qing Shui was stunned for quite a long time. He was already at a level where he was capable of levelling a mountain by merely swinging his hands.

Under the effect of Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation, Golden Pellet, Big Dipper Sword, Divine Nebula Formation as well as the Arhat Rosary Beads, Qing Shui's Spirit Energy managed to achieve a strength worth almost 3.3 million nimbus. When he used the Seal of Roc, his spirit energy would once again double in strength. And when that happened, its strength would definitely be really terrifying.

However, there were a lot of limitations in the Seal of Roc. Qing Shui wouldn't be able to use it a lot of times within a day. The percentage of it getting doubled was also relatively small. Hence, at the moment, Qing Shui found the Nine Continents Mountain to be the most steady in terms of strength. It was not that the Seal of Roc wasn't steady, it was just that it couldn't be used for a long period of time. On top of that, every time it was used, it also consumed a huge amount of energy.

Qing Shui skyrocketed in strength. At the moment, he had a feeling that no one but him was able to achieve these kind of things. That tremendous increase in strength triggered a huge change in his heart. His entire state of mind had gone through a complete change.

No matter where one was, only strong warriors would give people the impression that they were able to do things with ease. No matter what they did, they could do it relatively easily. Furthermore, this would also make them look charming and composed.

The reason why he could be like this was because no matter what kind of accidents happened, they would still be capable of dealing with it. In the eyes of the majority, it may seem like a disaster but in the eyes of the strong, it was nothing worth mentioning.

Qing Shui didn't know what grade he was in with his current strength. Was he a Grade Five State Master? Or was he an existence which was already beyond that? But one thing that Qing Shui was certain about was that he still hadn't managed to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer.

Even though he hadn't achieved the Eighth Heavenly Layer, Qing Shui felt as if he was already able to see the doorstep which led to the Eighth Heavenly Layer. It was the same situation as when he needed to hike up a mountain to go over it. But this mountain was rather tall. Nevertheless, he was still able to see the mountain. Unlike in the past when he wasn't even able to see it.

In a way, he was already considered to have come in contact with the entrance into the Eighth Heavenly Layer. It might have had to do with his strength increase.

Unknowingly, the time to exit the realm was near. Qing Shui had managed to finish refining it. He didn't have enough time to go look at the conditions of other things. Most importantly, merely one refining process already took him nearly a hundred days to finish.

It was good to have the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. If this had happened in the outside world, Qing Shui would have had to seclude himself. That was about three months time without being interrupted. On top of that, he wasn't a core disciple in some sort of aristocratic clan, he wouldn't be able to be at peace even if he was to seclude himself. With the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, not only was he able to do it within a day, his safety was also ensured.

By the time Qing Shui came out, it was already morning. Yesterday, when he was refining the energy within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he purposely went in only at the latter half of midnight. Now, Qing Shui wanted time to pa.s.s faster. This way, he would be able to enter the realm again to do things which he hadn't finished doing.

The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant was in the manor. Even though the five acre manor wasn't really considered that big, it wasn't that small either. The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant which was about a hundred meters was still really obvious in the manor.

When it saw Qing Shui, it happily greeted him. Qing Shui patted it before putting it back into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. By the time he went into the backyard, the girl was already doing her morning exercise.

The moment the little girl saw Qing Shui, she was a bit shocked but she didn't really express it. Qing Shui knew the reason for it. Even he himself wasn't used to his current skin.

Luckily, it didn't happen too suddenly. Only people familiar with him would be able to realize the change in him. Outsiders wouldn't be able to notice it. They would only feel that this man had a very good appearance.

"Father!"

Ever since the last time when the little girl recognized Qing Shui as her foster father, she was already used to calling Qing Shui that. Naturally, he wouldn't have any objections to it. This was in a way also considered an improvement. It came to show that his relations.h.i.+p with her was improving. His intention was to let the little girl feel the kind of warmth between parents and their children.

Qing Shui smiled and gestured for the girl to continue. He on the other hand, also looked for a place and started practicing his Taichi Fist. Now, Qing Shui felt really special while practicing Taichi Fist with his current strength. Both of his arms felt really strong and solid. There was a kind of smoothness that he was unable to describe in words when he swung his hands. It felt just like when a person was swinging a stick with moderate weight with his strong body, at that moment when he was swinging it, he felt as if it was capable of cracking open mountains and crus.h.i.+ng rocks.

Taichi Golden Qi!

Qing Shui slightly closed his eyes as he felt the abundant amount of divine force within his body. The Roaming Dragon Steps seemed to have completely merged itself with his Nine Palace Steps. Now, he was unable to tell which steps he was using. That was a really mysterious kind of fusion. As soon as he moved, his footsteps would automatically turn into the Nine Palace Steps.

Qing Shui was engrossed in this kind of mysterious state. While practicing his Taichi fist, he was shuttling around one square meter of the ground where he was like moving clouds and flowing water. When the Taichi Fist was performed, a strand of faint golden qi followed along and circled around the surroundings. In the qi, there was a profound and pressuring aura mixed within it.

Qing Shui only came to a stop when the sun was at three poles high. He noticed that the girl was watching him from the side. He lifted up his head and looked into the sky before smiling and saying to the girl, "Little brat, you must be hungry. Let's go eat something."

The little girl smiled and nodded her head.

It should be a smile. Qing Shui could feel that the little girl was smiling despite it being not so obvious. One would need to look very carefully in order to be able to see something.

"Daddy, you look a bit different today." The little girl turned her head and looked at Qing Shui.

"Which part of me looks different?" Qing Shui asked with a smile.

"The kind of aura you emitted and that expression of yours. Daddy, has your strength increased yet again?" The little girl asked Qing Shui while blinking those jet black eyes of hers.

"Little brat, not only do you look gorgeous. You are also good at observing things. Daddy has indeed broken through. I am going to give you a present after we finish our meal. I am sure you will like it." Qing Shui smiled and pulled the little girl to the front yard.

Actually, since the beginning, Qing Shui had already been thinking of fighting for a place in Heaven Secrets Academy for the little girl. Even until now, he still had the intention to do so. It's just that until now, hadn't managed to talk to the girl about it.

Previously, it was mainly because Qing Shui was faced with great difficulties in making progress for himself within the Heaven Secrets Academy. Like even just recently, he was being bullied by other people. But now, everything had turned in his favour. He broke through, meaning there would be very few people who could actually bully him. Furthermore, he also felt that very quickly, he would be able to refine this kind of strength yet again. As long as the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant could break through, Qing Shui would be given countless benefits.

The refining process this time was in a way considered to have helped Qing Shui pave the way for his future in the continent. So long as the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant remained alive, Qing Shui wouldn't have to worry about his strength. The Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant was a Heaven and Earth Battle Beast. Even if Qing Shui had to consume his time within the realm, he would still benefit in a lot of ways.

The Divine Marionette which he got by accident at that time, when he first tamed it, it was still only a Diamond Demonic Boar. Despite this, it was still a mutated beast. He never expected that it would actually possess the Dragon Elephant Bloodline. On top of that, it awakened little by little. It had truly come a long way to be able to accomplish so much today. It could even be said to be unimaginable.

Normally, there would only be Qing Shui and the little girl here. Both the Seventh Princess as well as Yan Jinyu too didn't come everyday. The Eldest Princess on the other hand, it goes without saying that she wouldn't come on normal occasions. Hence, normally, it was really quiet here.

The breakthrough this time had made Qing Shui completely give up on his plan to be a core disciple and then the elder's disciple before finally becoming a teacher of the Heaven Secrets Academy. Right now, he didn't have the mood to get promoted step by step.

Now, he was thinking about some other things. For example, the Eldest Princess' Breezing Wind Veranda, or maybe the Lord Sect which Tian Jiange was in.

And now, Qing Shui's strength has already been increased. It was about time he went to visit Di Chen. This was the thing which Qing Shui wanted to do most. The Qing Shui at the moment was very calm. So long as he had sufficient strength, anything could easily be talked through.

"Father, didn't you tell me before that you were going to give me a present?" While the little girl was helping Qing Shui wash the dishes after their dinner, she noticed that Qing Shui had no intention of talking about the present. Hence, she decided to ask him herself.

Actually, Qing Shui had been like this all along. In the past, he would take the initiative to speak. But now, since they had already gotten fairly close to each other, he would think of ways to make her talk on her own to slowly help her develop the way of thought and emotions which normal humans would feel to make her more rich with emotions.

Qing Shui took out a small porcelain bottle. This was purposely prepared by him. A drop of the Spring of Life was contained within the porcelain bottle. Qing Shui would only put it within a bottle if he was planning to use it within a short period of time. Or else, he would have left it in the spring well. That was the best place to keep it.

"Try it and tell me how it tastes," Qing Shui said with a smile.

The little girl first looked at Qing Shui and smiled before swallowing the drop of Spring of Life. She didn't show any sign of formality to the guy who she already regarded as her father. Only he would treat her well in this world.

Qing Shui looked at her from the side. Normally, no accident would occur when someone swallowed the Spring of Life. Furthermore, he also sensed that the Spring of Life could be used to cleanse one's life. Cleanse everything about a person. Hence, he felt that it would have even more effect on the girl.

A faint white halo emerged around the little girl and surrounded her within it. But he very quickly noticed that a layer of black light appeared within the white one.

Qing Shui knew that the Spring of Life was suppressing the little girl's vicious qi while the baleful aura was trying to resist it. Despite this, it was still unable to break through the white halo produced by the Spring of Life.

If ever, the baleful aura managed to break through it, at least half of the effect of the Spring of Life would have been reduced. The Spring of Life managed to suppress the baleful aura within the girl, this just came to show that things were already developing in a good way.

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