Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 928 – The Martial Madman of Poison Mountain Stockade, Violet Jade Bracelet

Mu Fengyang and some of the elderly men smiled wordlessly at the side. Nobody would intervene in Mu Qing’s wedding, as she had taken all the initiative. Naturally though, the proposal from earlier today would still have to formally go through Mu Qian.

“These are?” The items were beyond the expectations of Mu Qian, Mu Fengyang and the others. These were definitely good things, because they came from Qing Shui.

“I have forged these jade pendants. Give them out to everyone!” Qing Shui smiled, as he opened up the slightly bigger brocade box. A strong wave of Qi that accompanied a violet light emerged.

Many saw the jade pendants in the box together with the earrings, but there were very few of them. Even though there were many women in Mu Clan, there were more men. The box was emptied out in no time by everyone present.

Mu Fengyang had already found out that there were some conflicts between Qing Shui and Mu Qing with the young chief of Poison Mountain Stockade, but he didn’t make a big deal of it. Now that Qing Shui had taken out all these items which could prevent the effect of poisons, it seemed that he planned in advance.

Everyone was very happy when they received the exquisite jade pendants and earrings, but they were all taken aback when they wore them. Their strengths had actually increased drastically…..

Mu Qing looked at Qing Shui blissfully from one side. At this moment, that content smile of hers was indescribably moving. Mu Fengyang, Mu Qian and the others each had also received a pendant, but Mu Xue alone received a Violet Jade Sword.

This made the little lass so happy that she couldn’t stop calling him brother-in-law. Cheers and laughter rang out endlessly. Qing Shui and Mu Qing’s wedding was a big deal for the Mu Clan. It was an event to be celebrated.

“Uncle, I hope to hold the wedding reception the day after tomorrow. I have to leave in a week.” Qing Shui said gently, while looking at Mu Qian.

Mu Qian was not surprised by Qing Shui’s words. Instead, he looked at Mu Qing, who was still standing there, smiling. He nodded his head towards Qing Shui, “I will inform the others tomorrow and send out the invitation cards.”

Mu Qian naturally knew Qing Shui had to leave and this time, his departure had to be done in a grand way. He still felt grateful towards Qing Shui. Even if he didn’t have to leave this time, he would still give his daughter a grand wedding.

“When will you leave, Qing’er…..” Without holding himself back, Mu Qian spoke softly.

“Daddy, I still can’t leave for the time being. Let’s wait until the Mu Clan has settled down before we discuss this again!” Mu Qing said cheerfully.

Qing Shui smiled without saying much. Bringing Mu Qing along wasn’t a problem for him but just like she said, the Mu Clan needed her right now. If he demanded her to depart with him, it would just make things difficult for her.

Mu Qian and the others didn’t argue any further on this topic either. Qing Shui and Mu Qing’s wedding was pretty much finalized. On the very night of New Year’s Eve, some of the people made the invitation cards.

After the New Year’s Eve dinner, everyone was considerate enough to not disturb the two of them. Qing Shui was standing with Mu Qing on the spacious and empty arena in the rear courtyard of the Mu Residence. The arena was a little high and the fireworks around them were still continuously rising up into the skies. They would go on endlessly for the entire night.

“Don’t worry about the Poison Mountain Stockade. Just set up the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation around the Mu Residence and wear the jade pendant. Diligently cultivate the formation technique. The Poison Mountain Stockade shouldn’t be too formidable. Make full use of the Spirit Gathering Formation and those medicinal pills so that you can reach the Martial Emperor realm soon.” Qing Shui chuckled while he looked at Mu Qing.

“Alright. Qing Shui, I will miss you.” Mu Qing nodded her head lightly.

“I will miss you too.” Qing Shui pulled Mu Qing into an embrace.

The two of them embraced, as they whispered to each other. They stayed like this until midnight before they returned.

The next day, Qing Shui came out from the building and proceeded to carry out his morning practice as usual. Today was the first day of the New Year. It was the day to visit relatives and friends. The Mu Clan was also very busy now too, informing others of the wedding in advance as well. In less than half a day’s time, the news of the Mu Clan’s eldest daughter and Qing Shui’s wedding spread as if it had grown a pair of wings.

At the same time, the Mu Clan’s invitation cards had also been sent out. There were some people who didn’t believe the rumors initially but now that the Mu Clan’s wedding invitation card had been sent out, nobody doubted them anymore.

……..

The Poison Mountain Stockade!

Gu Song had also heard the news regarding Mu Qing’s wedding. He had always felt that the Mu Clan’s young miss was his. The Mu Clan’s young miss was arrogant and there was hardly any news of her having an intimate relationship with anyone. He had wanted to wait until he broke through to the Martial Emperor realm before he proposed a marriage to the Mu Clan.

Currently, he was only one step away from the Martial Emperor realm, but Mu Qing was about to marry someone else. This made his normally peaceful heart restless. In addition, the incident that took place on the street yesterday made him feel even worse.

The invitation cards the Mu Clan had sent about the wedding felt like a sharp blade. A thread of very poisonous light flashed across his eyes.

“Qing Shui, you’re gonna die! The Mu Clan’s woman is mine. Any woman I lay my eyes on won’t escape from me!”

Gu Song sat in the middle of the courtyard and thought about what options he had. He could rely on the poison, but he wasn’t sure if the poison would work. If it didn’t work, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against Qing Shui.

“That’s right! Brother Madman! As long as Brother Madman is willing to help me, that brat is sure to die!” A sinister smile appeared across Gu Song’s face.

Gu Song stood up. Without pausing, he made his way towards an isolated courtyard. He was looking for his cousin, who was called a martial maniac by others. Behind his back, he was known as the Martial Madman.

As soon as Gu Song arrived at the courtyard, an explosion rang out. A thick black smoke rose up as the entire house had been blown up. A man dressed in shabby and ragged clothes came out, looking extremely pathetic.

“Big brother! It exploded again…..”

Gu Song looked at Gu Wu, who didn’t seem to be surprised about it at all. It was evident this was very normal to him.

“Little Song! What brings you here?” A loud and clear voice rang out.

“It’s because I missed my brother!” Gu Song laughed mischievously.

“Save it, brat! You wouldn’t be here if it was about nothing. Let me clean myself up. Wait for me in this room!” Gu Wu spoke calmly and left for the other room.

Gu Song watched the tall and strongly built man leave. This was the man of his age whom he admired the most. Others said that he was a martial maniac, a martial madman. They even said that he had gone haywire from cultivating martial arts. But he knew that this cousin of his was not crazy, nor a madman. He was in fact, a prodigy.

Other than cultivating martial arts, he showed no interest in any other things. This was also the reason why Gu Song had the chance to become the young chief. He might even be able to take over the Poison Mountain Stockade in the future. If Gu Wu had been interested in becoming the chief of Poison Mountain Stockade, the position would definitely have been his and Gu Song would never have had a chance of becoming the young chief.

The world outside knew that there was a martial madman in Poison Mountain Stockade. It was rumored that he was very strong, especially after he had once killed an entire clan by himself. Rumors said that among the murdered was a powerful man who had just broken through to the early stages of Martial Emperor.

That was five years ago.

Despite all the rumors floating outside about the martial madman, some core members of the Poison Mountain Stockade knew how powerful Gu Wu actually was. It was just that he was a bit of a vicious and merciless individual. He actually treated his relatives and friends very well. Therefore, he had the highest position among his brothers and even Gu Song admired him very much.

Gu Wu changed into a fresh set of clothes in no time and looked way better than earlier. He still looked quite young now, with a particularly bulky body. If an outsider saw him, they would never think that this man was a martial madman. He would only appear as a very calm person to others.

“Big brother!”

“What’s wrong? From the look of your face, did someone provoke you? You’re not able to settle it yourself?” Gu Wu asked lightly while he smiled at Gu Song.

He had quite a pleasant smile. Just by sitting there, his presence made others feel a little pressure. It wasn’t his bulky body, but rather the aura that he exuded.

“Big brother! That Mu Qing from the Mu Clan is about to get married!” Gu Song hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Oh! That slipped my mind. You have always been interested in her, but this is not a very appropriate thing to ask of me, is it?” Gu Wu dully said to Gu Song. He thought that Gu Song was going to steal a bride again.

“The person she’s going to marry is Qing Shui, the young man who eliminated the Sky Prison Sect all by himself. He is a youth who is younger than you by about 10 years. Now, the entire capital city is saying that he is the top cultivator among the younger generation. Even I and the other two elders were at a loss yesterday. It was madness!” Gu Song said in a disgruntled voice.

He only mentioned the matter casually without saying much else, because he knew that this big brother of his had always considered himself to be the top cultivator of the younger generation. All this time, nobody could compete with him due to his powerful strength and poison. It must be unpleasant for him to hear that someone else had stripped him of his title now.

Furthermore, Gu Song knew that Gu Wu would definitely compete with Qing Shui if he heard this news. All he had to do was just exaggerate a little more. It would make them get into a fight for sure. He must cripple the brat, so that he couldn’t marry the woman from the Mu Clan.

“Do the uncles know about your problem?” A sharp and powerful Qi rose in Gu Wu’s eyes, as he calmly asked.

“They know but they said to let the younger generation solve this problem,” Gu Song answered helplessly. He felt that he was not Qing Shui’s opponent.

“Then I shall go with you. Come over and tell me about it. It’s been awhile since I last had a battle with anyone,” Gu Wu said with a smile.

“You are the top cultivator among the younger generation but you still have to be cautious. That Qing Shui is rumored to be very impressive,” Gu Song warned seriously.

“Alright, hopefully this Qing Shui doesn’t disappoint me!” Gu Wu’s will to fight was raging in his eyes. It had been a long time since he had such an intense will to fight.

Gu Song felt ecstatic in his heart. He knew that the more he reminded his brother to beware, the more he could demonstrate Qing Shui’s strength and provoke Gu Wu’s will to fight. Gu Wu was very strong in cultivation, but he was way inferior to Gu Song when it came to handling personal matters. Moreover, he never took these youths seriously.

The rumors that Qing Shui had eliminated two powerful early Martial Emperor cultivators previously spread like wildfire, but it didn’t seem like a big deal to Gu Wu. Besides, if he exerted the full potential of his poison, two early Martial Emperors cultivators were nothing to him either.

Although he was the “strongest of the younger generation”, he was about to lose the title at his relatively older age. Before he lost that title though, it wasn’t a such a bad thing to drag another potential holder of that name down.

………

Qing Shui and Mu Qing spent the first day of the New Year together. Tomorrow would be the day they held their wedding reception and their wedding day. Although everything was happening in a rush, it didn’t interfere with their emotions.

Qing Shui had specially forged the Violet Jade Pendant, Violet Jade Bracelet and the Violet Jade Ring for Mu Qing. Not only were they forged exquisitely, they also had decent additional abilities. This was especially true for the Violet Jade Bracelet, which increased destructive power and damage by 100%…

This effectively doubled her damage. Qing Shui and Mu Qing each had one on. Mu Qing liked this. This made her feel like the two of them were lovers and that they were inseparable.

The Violet Jade Bracelet didn’t actually increase her strength directly. In terms of defense and energy, nothing changed, but any attack would be launched with the additional immense destructive power. Getting this effect would require some Qi of Xiantian to be channeled into the Violet Jade Bracelet.