Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1196 – Grade Nine Demon Binding Ropes, People From Mu Clan

Qing Shui was actually astonished by the girl’s words that she would go wherever he did. Right now, she knew at least that he was good to her, just like how she would just talk to him.

Qing Shui had been working hard and wanted to let her become a normal person. With that, even if he were to leave her one day, she would be able to live by herself. However, at the moment, it seemed impossible to be able to change her within a short period of time. Therefore, he would guide her slowly.

Without anything to do, Qing Shui took out the few interspatial silk sachets he had gotten from the few people who had assaulted him the other time. Ever since that day when he tossed them into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he hadn’t taken a look at them. It was mainly because he didn’t much care and he felt that there wasn’t anything inside that he would be interested in.

When he opened them, he saw a Five Grains Pellet [1] at first glance!

The Five Grains Pellet was a pellet which was formed by having a powerful expert condensing the world’s energies and then combined together with the five grains’ energies. It could replenish one’s energy and powers mildly and would be similar to taking a meal. However, it was more nutritious in comparison and was beneficial for cultivation in the early stages.

In the four continents, the Five Grains Pellet was the same as gold and silver and could be used for making purchases. Even an Expert Martial Emperor wouldn’t be able to refrain from eating forever.

Qing Shui looked at those glimmery Five Grains Pellets which were large in numbers and were of high quality. Just this pile alone would fetch a very good price. These were food for cultivators when they were out. They were convenient and could replenish energy. After all, in some places, it would be impossible to find food.

Other than these, there were also some other items but Qing Shui wasn’t interested in them. Although this interspatial silk sachet was owned by a powerful State Master, it was a pity that Qing Shui didn’t take any interest in the items inside.

Although he wasn’t interested in them, the fact still remained that they amounted to quite a significant sum of wealth. There were pellets, forging tools, weapons and other things. They might come to be of use in the future.

Qing Shui then proceeded to check the rest. They were about the same and there was a lot of Five Grains Pellets. These were crucial for when cultivators were out traveling and even some commoners would often use them to strengthen their physiques. The Five Grains Pellet was made by condensing the five grains’ essence and the spiritual Qi in the air. Simple food made from five grains wouldn’t be comparable, at least not in the same amount.

Just as he was about to toss the interspatial silk sachet aside, Qing Shui noticed an inconspicuous rope-like item in the corner. There was no energy fluctuation coming from it. Qing Shui took it out.

The moment he did so, a scorching aura came to his hand. Qing Shui sensed it only to realize that it was sealed up. To think that an item that was sealed up could contain such a powerful heat. It wasn’t only just scorching to the touch, it was also as if some kind of life energy was contained inside.

Qing Shui looked at it with his Heavenly Vision Technique.

Fire Dragon Tendon! Material! Sealed!

Qing Shui thought of his Demon Binding Ropes which was a legendary dragon tendon. What was this Fire Dragon Tendon? Why was it sealed? A material? What kind of material was it for it to be sealed?

Qing Shui saw that there were more descriptions at the bottom and quickly read on.

It could firm up items of a similar type, strengthen their effects or be used as a forging material. When used as a forging material, there wasn’t a need to remove the seal. The only way to remove the seal was to channel in the water energy of the five elements.

…

Qing Shui looked at the Fire Dragon Tendon which was several meters long but had the thickness of his wrist. It might be due to the fact that it was sealed that it appeared to be dull and gloomy. However, Qing Shui was uncertain about how he should use it.

Should he use it as a forging material or should he use it to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes?

Ever since he had completed the Nine Yang Sword, he had wanted to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword. It was a pity that he didn’t have any materials to do so. This dragon tendon could possibly be used but Qing Shui felt that it would be more beneficial for the Demon Binding Ropes.

Qing Shui was torn. Even if he were to use the dragon tendon to upgrade his Big Dipper Sword, it was not certain that the sword would reach the legendary grade. Items of such grade were extremely hard to come by and this dragon tendon might not necessary be able to bring the sword to the legendary grade.

They were heading to Rong City to face the people from Scarlet Flame Region. It didn’t seem to make sense for him to put the Fire Dragon Tendon aside and not use it.

Qing Shui went into a daze. The girl just stayed beside him and looked at him, not saying a word. Qing Shui was already used to this.

The Demon Binding Ropes’ level could be increased gradually but if he were to use the Fire Dragon Tendon, its prowess would definitely increase tremendously. The Demon Binding Ropes could be used to bind enemies. Most importantly, it could restrict the movements of the bound enemies.

The usage was fast and convenient and occasionally, it could have mysterious effects!

After much contemplation, Qing Shui eventually decided to use it to upgrade his Demon Binding Ropes. As long as he could bind his opponents, Qing Shui would have plenty of means to finish them.

At night, when it was time, Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal immediately. Of course, he didn’t forget to ensure the safety of the girl and had left a few of his demonic beasts outside.

Demon Binding Ropes. Its prowess was quite good as it was!

This was the first time that Qing Shui was smelting a magic treasure. After giving it some thought, he decided to use the Primordial Demon Refining Furnace. Although he hadn’t had experience in smelting magic treasures, Qing Shui was still very confident. He expanded his spiritual sense and started the smelting process.

Qing Shui didn’t remove seal since there was no need to do so if he was using it as an ingredient. If he had decided to do otherwise, it could probably be used as a whip. When used to strengthen the Demon Binding Ropes, it would be treated as an ingredient.

The smelting process was a very long one. The first step was splicing. He had to join all the dragon’s muscles and tendons together before slowly allowing the Demon Binding Ropes to engulf the Fire Dragon Tendon.

The process was extremely slow and was comparable to the process of smelting the yang stone!

Time passed by slowly and on the 81th day, the two items had completely fused together and an oppressive fiery light appeared. In that instant, the Demon Binding Ropes turned a blood red color. However, after about 15 minutes, it gradually returned to its golden color.

It was now much thicker than before, with the thickness of an adult’s arm. Moreover, the energy exuded had gone through a qualitative change. It was now thicker, more aggressive, more violent, more flexible…

When Qing Shui looked at it, he was stunned. It had actually advanced a grade! The state of the Demon Binding Ropes had progressed to grade nine. Qing Shui was very agitated and he closed his eyes, activating it with his mind.

The Demon Binding Ropes would also be controlled by his mind. What was different from before was that it was just like the Nine Continents Mountain and it exuded extremely strong power and pressure.

It wasn’t just that. There was a hint of red light flashing within the Demon Binding Ropes. That was the power of the Fire Dragon Tendon. A person bound by the Demon Binding Ropes would suffer from the fiery powers of the fire dragon. Of course, this single tendon couldn’t be comparable to the prowess of a fire dragon. However, how many people could actually compare against a fire dragon? Therefore, in all, the prowess of the current Demon Binding Ropes was definitely very terrifying.

Moreover, Qing Shui was happy that when he tempered the Demon Binding Ropes now, he could store a lot of the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique in it. He didn’t have to worry that it would be like before and the powers would be used up after roughly ten times of usage. It was good now. Its storage ability was now several tens of times stronger than before.

He could use the Demon Binding Ropes again the future. When used together with the bloodthirsty demonic vines and the Nine Continents Mountain, the effect would be terrifying. He took a look at his Big Dipper Sword again. He knew that he wouldn’t change his weapon as he had the faint feeling that it seemed to be able to form a divine connection soon.

Only legendary grade weapons would be able to form a divine connection. Therefore, Qing Shui had the feeling that the Big Dipper Sword would be able to reach the legendary grade sooner or later.

It was also because of this that he didn’t use the Fire Dragon Tendon to upgrade the Big Dipper Sword!

…

Two days passed by very quickly. Qing Shui brought the girl along with him and met up with Yan Clan as well as members of other aristocratic clans at Yan City’s sky platform. Of course, there was also quite a number of members of royalty.

“Qing Shui, over here!” When Yan Jinyu saw Qing Shui, she waved and called out to him.

There were quite a number of people with Yan Jinyu. The Fifth and Seventh Princesses were here, some other members of royalty, as well as some members of Yan City’s great aristocratic clans.

When they saw Yan Jinyu’s attitude toward Qing Shui, over a hundred people looked at Qing Shui with resentment…

Qing Shui could clearly sense that. He knew that it was because of Yan Jinyu. This was how men were sometimes. Even if they knew that this lady wouldn’t become theirs in the future, they still didn’t like to see the lady showing admiration for another man.

There were many people but it was clear that they were split up into several groups. Those who were on good terms would stand together and chat.

When the Seventh Princess also started to chat happily with Qing Shui, he once again sensed some gazes glaring at him. This time around, it seemed to be stronger than before.

Not long after Qing Shui had arrived, another few old men came. They were the seniors in the royal family as well as a few major clans. Although they wanted to ensure that the younger members were able to get some training, they also needed to ensure their safety.

“If everyone’s ready, then we’ll set off now! Those who have rides can take them, otherwise, you can take ours.” An old man with an impressive aura spoke as he called out his own ride. It was a huge four-winged demonic beast.

Many others also gradually called out their demonic beasts. Qing Shui also called out the Fire Bird. The current Fire Bird seemed to be more like a black bird. What that surprised Qing Shui was that the few from Yan Clan, as well as Yan Jinyu, Seventh Princess and the Fifth Princess had joined him as well…

Qing Shui shook his head and smiled bitterly. The Fire Bird was large enough and it was nothing to take over ten people. It was just that they had just gone up when a few others came over. In one look, it was clear that they were people who were very rich.

The few of them came over while stepping in the air and wanted to land on the Fire Bird!

Qing Shui put out his hand and send out a stream of essence, stopping them!

“Please take other rides. Mine is full,” Qing Shui stopped them and said.

“How dare you! It’s your good fortune for us to take your ride,” a man who appeared to be very arrogant spoke out.

Qing Shui looked at them and didn’t have to guess to know that this person came from a very strong clan. Otherwise, how could he dare to be so arrogant despite the fact that he was in the presence of princesses?

“I don’t need this good fortune!” Qing Shui said calmly. He detested such young masters of great clans the most. He wasn’t in the mood to be polite to them either. He didn’t like them when he saw their expressions earlier and thus had stopped them.

“Lad, just you wait and see. We’ll see how long the Seventh Princess can protect you.” When one of them saw that an old man was looking in their direction, he spoke out a vicious line, called out his ride and left.

“They’re from Mu Clan, the clan which reigns in Mu City. Mu City is one of the five great cities in Great Yu Dynasty. However, they are located in the extreme south and it’s hard for the King to have control over them. It’s said that their clan is very strong and powerful,” the Seventh Princess spoke softly.

“Qing Shui, if you can, try to avoid them!” The Fifth Princess spoke up as well.

Qing Shui knew why they hadn’t said anything earlier and had only tried to send signs to him with their gazes. They knew that the more they spoke, the more wrath he would attract. This would only make them want to deal with him even more.

Qing Shui didn’t care about this. With his current abilities, he should be able to protect himself. At the very least, he’d have no issues with running away. How strong could a great clan in Great Yu Dynasty be? Would they possibly bring out the power of their entire clan to deal with him? They probably won’t think that highly of him yet.

Thinking of this, Qing Shui smiled. He then got the Fire Bird to follow the others, flying in the direction of Rong City.

The few ladies felt bad. They knew that those people had came over because of them. If they had known that this would happen, they would have rejected them themselves. At the very least, the wrath wouldn’t be on Qing Shui.

Moreover, it was common for there to be conflicts between the younger generation cultivators. Therefore, most of the time, the seniors and clans wouldn’t be brought in. The same went for members of the royalty. This was also why those people had dared to act this way before the two princesses.

Of course, they also relied on their backgrounds as well, only with a powerful background would they be able to speak in such a loud voice. Other than background, one’s own abilities were also very important, otherwise, even one’s own clan would look down on them!

[1] Five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural source. The identity of the five grains has varied over time, with different authors identifying different grains or even categories of grains.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Grains