Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 458 -Mysterious Misty Hall Palace Priestess, The understanding of Talisman Drawing

Qing Shui was still immersed in the Poison Scriptures. He was quite passionate about reading this scripture that detailed the various ways to refine an assortment of poisons. The administration of poison seemed convenient and useful during battles.

“Slowing Powder”...... Effect: It has the ability to slow down the opponent’s speed. The potency of the effect would be determined by the quality of the Slowing Powder!

“Violence Powder”...... Effect: A high probability of increasing the opponent’s attack once. The potency of the effect would be determined by the quality of the powder!

“Misleading Fog Powder”...... Effect: It has the ability to confuse the opponent’s sense of sight and touch, as well as decrease their nervous responses. The potency of the effect would be determined by the quality of the powder!

“Decay Powder”...... Effect: It has the ability to corrode the opponent’s armor by decreasing its defense. If said opponent has no armor, then the effect would be applied on the opponent’s flesh, decreasing their strength. Once again, the potency of the effect would be determined by the quality of the Decay Powder!

…...

There was still more below as he kept on reading. The procedure to refine the poison didn’t seem troublesome. The only downside to it was the early stage of the poison effect, which was considered weak. Low-quality ingredients seemed to be ineffective for refining purposes, so it was recommended to use high-quality ingredients. Even so, procuring such high-quality ingredients still proved to be a difficult task.

Qing Shui did not plan to make any since he intended to browse the contents of the scripture only. After all, the materials used for concocting poison were hard to come by as they weren’t sold in typical markets, especially the various types of poisonous bugs. Moreover, some demonic beasts contained poisonous ingredients on their body, which made it harder to acquire. Qing Shui would prefer to gain more knowledge about these poisonous materials rather than hunting for the ingredients blindly.

It was getting late, and the two ladies had finally returned. Qing Shui allowed them to stay at this place for a while. He decided to go back to his own place from now on.

Qing Shui felt it was inconvenient to stay at this place because he couldn’t go to the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal whenever he needed to. For this reason, he decided that it would be the best to go back to his own place.

Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li came back to Cang Wuya’s place to accompany Mingyue Gelou for a period of time!

The sky turned dark. Qing Shui wasn’t in a hurry, so he slowly walked back to his quarters. He passed by Yan Ling’er’s room, but she had gone out. Xi Yue had already left as well...

He walked upstairs slowly and reached the door. As he was about to open his door, he was able to sense someone inside his room, and he had a feeling who it was.

It was Misty Hall Palace Priestess!

She would be the second woman to use this kind of method to enter his room; the first was the woman from Feng Clan. Qing Shui was not shocked at how she had entered his room, but he was rather more surprised at the extent of her strength.

Qing Shui could not gauge her strength when he saw her the last few times. However, he was able to sense an estimate of her strength this time. Misty Hall Palace Priestess seemed to have the strength of three “countries” combined, which was a bit higher than that of Qing Shui.

He opened the door and went into his room. Indeed, the woman who saved him from dire situations twice was inside. Qing Shui still felt extremely grateful towards her.

He hasn’t repaid the kindness Yiye Jiange had shown him, but he had already planned how he would repay her. Although it would be difficult to do it, he knew in what direction to go at least. But for the woman in front of him, Qing Shui didn’t know how or what he should do to repay her kindness.

Misty Hall Palace Priestess wore a full dress of white muslin with a white veil covering half of her face. Her eyes were visibly bright with black pupils, and they looked like stars shining in the dark sky. They were aesthetically beautiful and pure!

“Mingyue’s and Liu-Li’s earrings are very pretty!”

This was the first thing she said to Qing Shui. She smiled gently at him, but Qing Shui felt perplexed by her words; he didn’t know what she was trying to say to him.

“Err, you are here….” His own statement made him feel stupid.

“You’re growing stronger at an incredible speed.”

If someone were to listen to their conversation, it would not make much sense because of the inconsistency in their exchange of words. Likewise, Qing Shui wasn’t quite sure why her first words made him feel like he had owed her something.

When Qing Shui gave those earrings to the ladies, he didn’t think of the Misty Hall Palace Priestess at all. He thought she might think of such trinkets as unworthy items. Moreover, their relationship hadn’t reached the stage where he could directly gift her earrings as if they were familiar with each other.

Even if he suddenly grew 120 nerves in his body, he would never dream of giving the Violet Earrings to Misty Hall Palace Priestess. Qing Shui was still pondering on the meaning of the first sentence she spoke to him.

“I guess I was lucky to gain some strength unknowingly.” Qing Shui rubbed his head as he laughed.

After that, Misty Hall Palace Priestess stood up. The sky was dark, and the light from the moon poured into the room. In addition to the glow from the light stones, the subtle combination of lights created an ethereal aura around the Misty Hall Palace Priestess, as if she was a celestial being.

Although Qing Shui felt immensely grateful towards her, he realized he knew nothing much of her life. He didn’t even know her name was Di Chen until he heard it from someone else.

“You might get in trouble again!” Misty Hall Palace Priestess said softly while smiling at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui felt like he could be easily swayed by her smile! He felt a sense of dependency towards her after she had saved his life twice.

“I know, but I don’t think I will regret it!”

“Anyway, Old Ancestor came to look for me recently!” Misty Hall Palace Priestess stepped closer to Qing Shui. They were about a feet apart from each other.

Being quite close to each other, Qing Shui could smell a faint scent of fragrance from her body. It was subtle but extremely fresh. He couldn’t tell whether it was her perfumed “face powder” or her body odor.

However, if it was indeed her “face powder”, a lot of women would love to pick this kind of cosmetic face powder since it might be an invaluable collection.

“She does have a divine body, but does it have to do with her being the lady in the Portrait of Beauty?” Qing Shui felt that it was more of her body fragrance than the face powder. Qing Shui had always thought that women’s natural scent smelled fantastic, but Misty Hall Palace Priestess’ fragrance was something beyond that.

Qing Shui suddenly thought of Yiye Jiange and Huang Qing. He figured that their part in the Portrait of Beauty might have contributed to that reason. However, Canghai Mingyue also had similar qualities as these women. She has the same wonderful fragrance as well.

“The Old Ancestor has high hopes for you. So, do you want the Misty Hall to give you some support as well?” Misty Hall Palace Priestess had a pair of bewitching eyes that could gaze through a human soul. There was a certain fascination in her gaze. Qing Shui had a difficult time describing it..

This was the first time that Qing Shui displayed a lewd expression in front of a woman. His face was clearly flushed in red as he tried his best to resist his perverted thoughts.

But then he thought about her heroic attempts to save him from danger. As soon as he remembered what she did for him, all his perverted thoughts instantly vanished. Most importantly, Qing Shui could never measure up to her standards, so he shifted his gaze away disappointedly.

Unfortunately, Qing Shui’s every changing expressions and actions had been seen by the Misty Hall Palace Priestess. She had the same shallow smile on her face since the beginning of their meeting.

“I wouldn’t dare!” Qing Shui laughed forcefully, but it was the truth.

“Promise me one thing and I will always support you on whatever you do, alright?”

Qing Shui would not look into her smiling eyes even if his life depended on it. He was afraid he would be enticed into her gaze again and make unforgivable decisions. Even though nothing would happen if his perverted thoughts surfaced once more, Qing Shui didn’t want to seem like a low person in front of her. He didn’t want to lose any admiration from her, even for a bit.

“Just say it! If it is within my ability, I will do it for you.” Qing Shui seemed serious as he looked at Misty Hall Palace Priestess.

“Really, did you consider it carefully?” Misty Hall Palace Priestess smile widely without shifting her gaze away from Qing Shui.

“Of course I did. As long as it’s something that won’t jeopardize my family, I will do it, even if it is a treacherous crime.” Qing Shui thought about it carefully as he replied to her firmly.

“If I allow you to take me as your wife, you can only marry me and no one else.” Misty Hall Palace Priestess said calmly. Her eyes seemed as if they were giving a gentle smile, which was breathtaking and otherworldly at the same time.

Qing Shui was baffled. He wasn’t surprised, but he didn’t know what to do. Never in his life had he thought about Misty Hall Palace Priestess saying such an absurd thing as marriage. Qing Shui wasn’t concerned whether she was being serious or funny, rather he was more concerned on how to reply to her proposition.

“I was just teasing you. Well, I have to go. Remember to give me a pair of earrings as a present when I come visit next time.” Misty Hall Palace Priestess stood up and left without any hesitation.

After she had left, Qing Shui was still dazzled for quite some time before he finally snapped back to reality. He couldn’t process her words completely. Misty Hall Palace Priestess wasn’t the type to go against someone because of a pair of earrings. She could have all the earrings in the world if she wished for it. But strangely enough, Qing Shui had never seen her wearing earrings before.

Qing Shui was still pondering about marrying her as his wife. He knew it couldn’t be real, but he was beginning to think that she was testing his honesty when he said he would do anything for her.

Qing Shui felt helpless. It was mean of her to bully him like this...

She said she wanted a pair of earrings before she left. Despite everything that had just happened, Qing Shui decided to make her a pair!

Then he thought about the dress she wore and Huang Qing’s clothes. He didn’t recall them ever wearing a battle armor or battle skirts.

Qing Shui knew too well about the mechanics of armor defense. Heavy armors would not necessarily have higher defense. Lighter armors, like Misty Hall Palace Priestess’ white muslin dress, may have a higher defense than regular heavy armors. The specifications of the dress, however, was unbeknownst to Qing Shui.

She was also in possession of a powerful weapon that inhabited the strength of a powerful God. The weapon did not feel like it would match with her beautiful face. As Qing Shui thought about how powerful she was, he realized he could never give her anything she would want, at least not right now.

Qing Shui looked at the time and decided to go for his training. Nothing could be more important than the art of cultivation!

After that, he went into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal!

……...

After one great cycle of circulated Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique, Qing Shui was not able to relax and calm down no matter how hard he tried. He decided to go into the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal to have a look around.

The Realm of Violet Jade Immortal seemed the same as how Qing Shui remembered it. Qing Shui was also pleased to see the Stonegold Phoenix Tail Grass growing back healthily and sturdily.

“Soon I will be able to finish the refinement of the Great Revitalizing Pellet!”

However, he was still uncertain about the number of Great Revitalizing Pellets he could refine each time. It was understandable that one Stonegold Phoenix Tail Grass would be able to yield one Great Revitalizing Pellet. But what concerned Qing Shui was the reusability of this Stonegold Phoenix Tail Grass. He wondered whether it will grow into another new Stonegold Phoenix Tail Grass if he planted it back.

If he was only able to refine one pellet, then Qing Shui would keep it for Lin Zhanhan. Qing Shui felt relieved that someone in the Qing Clan with the power of the Peak Martial King could provide protection for the whole family while he was gone. He needed more time to continue his practice in drawing the “Heavenly Talisman” that Lin Zhanhan had taught him.

For the remaining time, Qing Shui continued his Talisman Drawing technique to calm himself down. Eventually, he realized he was at his most pleasant stage, where he was able to draw smoothly and skillfully as he pleased.

The Godly Force Talisman and Divine Shield Talisman Qing Shui drew began to take form rapidly. He knew he had succeeded when the talismans gave out a flash of brilliant glow. This was one of the milestones in his life.

After a long while, he finally stopped after he had used up all the Talisman-shape Beast Skins he had forged last time!

Although the Godly Force Talisman and Divine Shield Talisman did not have a breakthrough, Qing Shui felt as though he had gained a certain level of understanding in Talisman Drawing. For him, it was an improvement better than the first level of breakthrough.