Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1047 – Big Dipper Sword, Five-Headed Windfire Wolves

The melted Five-Colored Stone dripped slowly onto the Big Dipper Sword filling the atmosphere with a dense yet suffocating ancient aura. However, the appearance of the Big Dipper Sword remained unchanged.

The first day and the second day went by….

On the last hour of the seventh day, a distinct sound akin to a nail dropping on the floor rang out. He quickly took out the Five-Colored Stone while wiping the sweat on his forehead.

At that moment, he was elated. He had succeeded in refining his Big Dipper Sword, but he had no idea what type of change had occurred to the sword. Perhaps the sword could boost the strength of psychic attack instead?

Big Dipper Sword!

Big Dipper Sword: Formed from the convergence of unique silver sand of the Heaven and Earth, the materials were then forged into a sword by a skilled blacksmith. The sword has the ability to unleash a lethal damage power as well.

The Big Dipper Sword could also increase the user’s power by four times, and increase the speed and attack speed by 20%. There would be a 20% chance of increasing the attack damage by multiple times for each attack, subsequently decreasing 10% of the damage received. The user would also have a certain chance of receiving an unexpected surprise from the sword.

Additionally, the sword has the ability to double the power of psychic attack!

Doubling the psychic attack power – Qing Shui had no idea how much that would be, but he was still happy to see that nonetheless. The Arhat Rosary Beads were powerful, and it could double the power of the psychic attack too. However, these beads have other significant strength that made also them very powerful.

Because of that, the Five-Colored Stone was also considered powerful. Even though it was just a simple twofold increase of the power of the psychic attack, the outcome of this ability was already incredible.

With the existence of the Arhat Rosary Beads, the twofold increase of the psychic attack would still apply without being affected by the limitation of the world’s regulation. This allowed Qing Shui’s power to go beyond terrifying in an instant.

The Nine Continent Boots had also allowed Qing Shui’s speed to receive a tremendous boost, increasing his confidence in his pursue against the Lion King’s Ridge as well. The accumulation of power he had acquired would be beneficial for him when he managed to cross to the other four continents as he could face more challenges and confrontations from external forces.

When he finally exited the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, it was still quite early. They had decided not to progress in their journey during the day, and Qing Shui would only use the Nine Continents Steps when it was time to pitch their tents and call it a night. After they had sufficiently rested, they would cultivate again on the next day. When the sky became dark, he would use the Nine Continents Steps again and repeat the cycle.

Everyone felt carefree as they continued to journey using this method; especially Qing Shui. He would only require six hours in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and could spend the rest of time guiding the others in their cultivation progress or researching something else.

Qing Shui was more liberated at night as he would go and spend his time at the private tent of either Hai Dongqing, Yu Ruyan or Di Qing. It was his way of rejuvenating himself with these women. The other ladies suspected something fishy going on between Yu Ruyan and Qing Shui. However, no one would say anything about it considering Qing Shui’s tendencies with women.

With that said, Qing Shui wanted to tell everyone about his relationship with Yu Ruyan, but she wouldn’t allow him to do so. He had no choice but to wait patiently until it was the right time to explain. He was quite open about his relationships and couldn’t care less about other people’s opinions of him. Qing Shui never cared about what others thought of him as long as his conscience was clear and he had nothing to regret.

Time passed by so quickly, and they were already in the middle of the wilderness between Central Continent and Northern Sacred Lu Continent. The closer they were to the Northern Sacred Lu Continent, the colder the air became.

Those with a higher level of cultivation were able to withstand both cold and hot temperatures, which was why they were more than capable of travelling around the World of the Nine Continents. The world was a vast place, and in most cases the east and south would always be warm whereas the west and north would always be cold. However, there was rumored to be warm places in the North Scared Lu Continent, as well as cold places in the Southern Viewing Continent.

Normal people were not able to stand certain degrees of coldness or hotness, and they would easily fall ill. Worse still, they could endanger their lives when their body temperature could not withstand the sudden change of the atmosphere ranging from extreme cold to hot temperatures.

At this moment, the sun was already high in the sky, indicating that it was in the afternoon. Qing Shui had just come out from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal as the others were already cultivating their skills. He positioned his bed directly in the sun and lay down to allow the sun to warm his body.

“Daddy, you’re like this again. I don’t even want to train after seeing you relaxed like this.” Luan Luan approached Qing Shui and pinched his nose.

“Mmm, my girl, cultivation is always important no matter what. Daddy is tired so I’m taking a nap. Is that an eyesore to you now?” Qing Shui said with a smile as he shifted away from Luan Luan’s hand.

“Hehehe!”

Luan Luan let out a distinct laugh and continued to pinch his nose relentlessly. In the end, Qing Shui gave up and let her hold his nose with her dainty fingers.

“This should do it!” Qing Shui smiled as he escaped from Luan Luan’s grasp and gave her a knock on the head with his curled index finger.

“Sob, I’m already a grown up yet you still hit me on the head. Aren’t you afraid that your knocks will turn your precious daughter into a dimwit?” Luan Luan pouted as she rubbed her head gently.

Qing Shui didn’t use a lot of strength of course. He sat up and said with a smile: “You’re too smart for your own good. A knock or two will be fine.”

Meanwhile, Yiye Jiange was cultivating her sword technique. She would train for a while and then become lost in her own thoughts.

Qing Shui wasn’t sure if she was daydreaming or gaining insights for her sword technique.

Their current location was at the borderland of Central Continent stretching towards the core of Northern Sacred Lu Continent. The wilderness between Central Continent and Northern Sacred Lu Continent was a notorious danger zone. Qing Shui didn’t dare make any careless moves as he needed to protect those who were travelling with him as well.

Lin Zhanhan sat leisurely on a patch of grass under the sun not far from where Qing Shui was sitting. When Qing Shui invited him on this journey, he had already conveyed his plans to him about what he would do in Northern Sacred Lu Continent. Lin Zhanhan had been with the Qing Clan for about ten years, and not once had the thought of seeking justice from the Lion King’s Ridge crossed his mind.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to think about it, but because his opponents were too strong for him. He was waiting patiently for the passage of time to erase the memories of the past, and when everyone forgot about it, he would return to look for the descendants – he wanted to know if they were still alive or not.

Qing Shui sat beside Lin Zhanhan and asked: “Grandpa Lin, is something the matter?”

The worried look on Lin Zhanhan’s face triggered Qing Shui to initiate a conversation.

For Lin Zhanhan, the descendants of the Qing Clan were like his own as he was there throughout their growth period. He turned around to look at the devilish young man – a descendant of the Qing Clan who would bring the ultimate glory to his family.

“It’s been so long. Some things just aren’t fated to be forgotten or vanish into thin air. Even though I couldn’t calm myself these past few years, I’ve become more accepting of a lot of things. But now, I feel restless going back to Northern Sacred Lu Continent again,” said Lin Zhanhan as he shook his head lightly.

“Grandpa Lin, if you feel restless, it means you still have someone you care about in your heart. You still can’t forget the past.” Qing Shui understood Lin Zhanhan’s feelings. Anyone would be anxious if they were going back to their hometome, even if they had bad memories of that place.

“Maybe so. The bloody disaster of those years is still vivid in my mind. Living is just suffering to an old age.” Lin Zhanhan sighed as he expressed his helplessness to Qing Shui.

“We will make them atone for blood with blood. Grandpa Lin, I am your grandson, so I will vent your grievance on your behalf.” Qing Shui’s determined tone was assuring, but it would be frightening to his opponents if they heard it. Qing Shui wasn’t lying when he said those words. Those were his genuine feelings, stemming from the bottom of his heart.

“I’m very happy and lucky to hear that. However, I want you to be discreet in whatever you do. You are a man of prodigious mind, but you must learn to be patient. It will be extremely beneficial for you if you can spend most of the time being patient.”

“I understand. You have watched me grow up. I won’t do anything that I don’t have confidence in,” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“There are just some things in which mistakes cannot be made because they will cost your life.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Grandpa Lin. I understand that now.”

Qing Shui understood that sentence very well. This was the first time that he had heard Lin Zhanhan speak words that weighed heavy on his mind – perhaps due to the influence of the circumstances. Qing Shui used to be nonchalant about these things, but this time he finally understood the gravity of Lin Zhanhan’s words. He would always remember those words for the rest of his life.

Upon seeing Qing Shui’s expression, he laughed. It was a genuine happy laugh.

The surroundings echoed with the continuous roars of beasts, but the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and his other demonic beasts were undeterred and let out their roars as well. Those cries were a form of intimidation; they could ward off demonic beasts and prevent them from drawing closer, including demonic beasts roaming in a group.

This area was notoriously known as a danger zone, and they had already entered the core of this region – the most dangerous territory of the zone. Qing Shui had so far used the Nine Continents Steps to evade harm once – from the beast tide that roamed across the field of mountains. Demonic beasts were everywhere, and this was his first time seeing such a view. It was terrifying. If he was by himself, he could still push through these demonic beasts without problem, but without the realm and ability upgrade of his Nine Continents Steps, he would be toasted sooner or later.

Luckily, he always left the last use of the Nine Continent Steps to the last hour of the day; which he had decided that he would continue to do for the remaining days. If he could do that, then he could assure the safety of his family in the process.

Today was once again the last hour of the day. Qing Shui and the others used the Nine Continent Steps four times in a row. But what awaited them was a tragedy, because when they finally stopped at their destination from the last Nine Continent Steps, Qing Shui could feel a terribly powerful aura lingering in the air. His first instinct was to shroud the others in safety as quickly as possible.

Qing Shui was shocked and quickly followed the strong aura. Before he left, he said: “Little Fatty, protect them for me.”

As soon as he was done, he called out his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and the other demonic beasts, and commanded them to stay with the group. Qing Shui left to pursue the strong aura all by himself.

He did so because there was only one strong aura present. He was able to sense stronger auras based on his current power, and that aura was definitely terrifying. This could be stronger than the Berserk Dragon he had encountered way back when he was at Giant Beasts Mountain.

Other than that overbearing aura, there were other auras that were slightly weaker than the initial one. It would be the second day in four hours from now, so he didn’t expect to encounter something like this after the last usage of the Nine Continents Steps. This deadly coincidence was nothing but rotten luck.

Woo woo….

A series of frightening cries rang out, which cause Qing Shui to frown. The surroundings were composed of large hills and Qing Shui could sense the intense aura being emitted from the other side of the hill. This hill was about 200 meters tall, which was considered a slope in the World of the Nine Continents.

Everything happened in a mere moment. Even if he were to lay out a formation, it would be too late. Qing Shui wielded his Big Dipper Sword and jumped towards the sky. It was then that he was able to see the giant demonic beasts in front of him.

Five-Headed Windfire Wolves!

Four of them, in fact. Behind these four was another demonic beast that had six heads and a crystal-like body.

A mutation beast.

Six-Headed Crystal Beast!

The Five-Headed Windfire Wolves were all blood-red in color. They were also known as fire demonic beasts that possessed an unprecedented speed with a body size of around 100 meters on average; which was roughly similar to the size of his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. However, the Six-Headed Crystal Beast had a body size of 50 meters, which was half that of the wolves. The Crystal Beast had a full body of crystal armor as well, and the heads were all azure blue in color. Overall, the proportional stature of the Crystal Beast was robust and dignified, as if it was a king standing behind its soldiers of wolves.

Qing Shui had seen this beast before in the historical records. The Windfire Wolves have a 1/10,000 chance of evolving into a Crystal Beast, but the chance of survival of the Crystal Beast was also 1/10,000. Only one amongst 10,000 Crystal Beasts would live, and only one Crystal Beast would appear amongst 100 million Windfire Wolves in the world.

The Six-Headed Crystal Beast already possessed a terrifying ability, which was the capability of utilizing water, fire, and wind elements. Most importantly, the strongest ability the Crystal Beast could use was the Sixth Level Flame of Icefire. This formidable ability was of the same type of attack as Qing Shui’s Primordial Flame, with the exception of its flame being ice fire. Most flames would be terrifying as the intensity went up, but the flame of the ice fire could instantly freeze the air and subsequently cause an explosion.

Qing Shui remained silent as he proceeded to take out the Soulshake Bell and started shaking it violently. When the spiritual power of the bell had been used up, he then moved forward and stomped in the direction of the demonic beasts.

It was a tragedy. When the Soulshake Bell had its power depleted, a sense of fright overcame the four Five-Headed Windfire Wolves as their eyes began to show signs of fear. Meanwhile, the Six-Headed Crystal Beast remained steady without showing any reaction in its expression…..