AST 1150 – Wish To Become Stronger, Taking the Mysterious Fruit, Danger
Bai Rilong looked at Qing Shui and made himself very clear. There was an indescribable arrogance to his expression that came from the deeply rooted sense of superiority he has felt as a young master from a great clan.
Right now, Qing Shui didn’t wish to say anything else. He had no interest in talking to people like this and compared to Bai Riyi, he detested this guy even more. However, Qing Shui continued to say calmly, “If there’s nothing else, you guys can leave. I’ve made myself very clear. Don’t easily say that you hold the reins to another person’s life or death. The people who can really do that wouldn’t say it all the time.”
“Alright, this is something you’ve chosen for yourself. Don’t regret it. Bring him back!” Bai Rilong waved his hand, signaling the people behind him.
The two middle-aged man behind him pounced toward Qing Shui directly. They were extremely fast and with just a flash, appeared before Qing Shui. There was also a faint a sharp sound of them cutting through the air.
Pa!
Although they charged forth fast, they were even faster on their way back. Qing Shui casually lifted up his hands and using the Taichi Cloud Hands, sent them both flying. He was in a bad mood right now. It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to kill but if he were to kill, a clan like this would probably really be able to force him out of this place. There could even be people who were more powerful who could get involved in this.
Right now, he didn’t wish to let himself land in a fix. After all, he was an outsider and didn’t know anyone here. No matter where the place was, people would work together to eliminate external forces. Right now, he had already affected the interests of many people and if the matter were to blow up, there would definitely be a lot of people who would take the opportunity to deal him an additional blow.
It would be to the extent that even old man Wang and his grandson would get into trouble as well!
After defeating the two men, Qing Shui directly dashed out toward Bai Rilong. In that instant, his gaze was overwhelmed with killing intent. The moment he moved, a hunchback figure next to Bai Rilong took a diagonal step forth and put out his hands to block Qing Shui.
Boom!
They collided and Qing Shui was forced to retreat two steps backward. The old man who had blocked Qing Shui had also retreated one step back. Right now, the tension was very tight and the air was filled with a violent aura.
“If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. People who wish to take my life will definitely die before me. Bai Rilong, if I wish to kill you, I have countless ways to do so.” Qing Shui’s voice continued to be very calm. After he had said his piece, his figure flashed once again.
Fish in Water!
Taichi Golden Chi!
Nine Palace Confusion Steps!
Qing Shui’s silhouette was elusive yet was also like a falling leave that followed the direction of the wind. When the old man saw Qing Shui’s movements, his expression turned grim, “Stop, stop! Let’s sit down and have a good talk!”
By the time Qing Shui came to a stop, he had already arrived next to Bai Rilong. With a slight brush that was fast as lightning and causing a cold gust of wind to blow, a wisp of hair floated in the air!
Qing Shui didn’t say anything. Everyone’s countenance turned pale and they didn’t dare to move. Bai Rilong turned completely pale and he looked at Qing Shui with wide-open eyes. He wasn’t able to say a single word.
Qing Shui gradually walked back and looked at the old man who was still stunned. “I won’t kill anyone now but it doesn’t mean that I won’t kill in the future. I hope that you guys don’t let me remember you.”
Bai Rilong was very resentful. Bai Riyi had told him that this young man who had came from somewhere else had great potential in blacksmithing. If he were to be brought to Bai Clan, in the future, he would definitely be of great use to Bai Clan. This person was alone by himself and was an outsider.
At the mention of this guy’s strength, his brother only mentioned that he was very young…
Wasn’t that just setting a trap for him? Bai Rilong didn’t know that his younger brother’s trap was for both parties while he watched from the back. No matter if the result was such that Qing Shui was brought away or killed or if Bai Rilong was the one who was hurt, crippled or even died, Bai Riyi would stand to gain from the situation.
However, he must not have expected for the situation to be like this. This was the effect that Qing Shui had wanted to achieve. As for the ending result between Bai Rilong and Bai Riyi… Qing Shui had no interest in that. Right now, he only wanted to do the things before him properly.
“Young lad, this is a misunderstanding…”
The old man laughed awkwardly. They had pestered him and even proclaimed that his life and death were in their hands. However, the situation had gone through a complete turnaround. He hadn’t expected there to be such a strong person amongst the young people. He should be considered a genius. However, he still was a little far off from the top notch geniuses in the dynasty.
Qing Shui looked at this inconspicuous old man. This old man wasn’t weaker than him but was a far cry apart in terms of their speed and movements. Qing Shui was confident that against someone of a similar level, even if he couldn’t kill the person instantly, he would be able to wipe them out within 3 moves.
“I’m not going to say much. I don’t care how powerful Bai Clan is and I don’t wish to get involved with you guys but I hope that you guys won’t come and bother me either. You should know what it means for someone barefooted to not be scared of a person who wears shoes. I’m still going to say the same thing. I don’t wish for there to be a next time. If you don’t have absolute confidence in killing me before you act, then don’t. Otherwise, you’ll only be left with one ending. I’ll use all the means I have to kill you guys. Right, I forgot to tell you, I’m a poison master as well.”
As he spoke, a Five-Colored Poison Sky Python appeared in his hand. This was also considered to be quite notable amongst poisonous creatures. As the others had their faces turn pale, he put it away.
Qing Shui’s gaze had continued to stay on Bai Rilong on the time. He didn’t use his spirit energy but his gaze was extremely cold, letting people have no doubt over what he said.
Qing Shui’s earlier attack had caused Bai Rilong to have a close call with the gates of hell. The latter hadn’t reached the stage where he wasn’t afraid to die. If he were to die in Qing Shui’s hands, he would probably be full of regret.
“If you don’t have anything else to say, then please leave,” Qing Shui waved his hand and said.
Qing Shui had made himself very clear. They didn’t stay for long. The old man turned back to have a final look before he left and was the last to go.
Qing Shui rubbed his temples and sat down on a chair where there was a small table right in front. Usually when he got tired from forging, it wouldn’t be bad for him to sit here and have a rest.
Right now, even though he had powerful forging skills, he couldn’t show them off. Right now, other than Miss Yan, the others who had came by were not significant enough. If he were to really reveal his skills, he would probably have to find someone to hire him and back him up. Otherwise, it wouldn’t end well.
At night, Qing Shui returned to the manor. The place was very quiet and he directly entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.
He continued with his cultivation daily as usual. His strength was gradually increasing and his Ancient Strengthening Technique had already entered the state where it could circulate on the spot. If he couldn’t attain a breakthrough, he wouldn’t be able to enter the 8th heavenly layer.
He slowly circulated his Qi of Ancient Strengthening Technique, which was like powerful mountains in his body, pushing forward with great strength. It was now much faster than before and very soon, it came to a stop at the 799th cycle.
Ever since he reached the peak of the 7th heavenly layer, the power and speed of the Qi of Ancient Strengthening Technique kept on progressing. Right now, its speed and strength was many times stronger than when he had just reached the 7th heavenly layer.
However, despite this, the barrier between peak of 7th heavenly layer and the 8th heavenly layer was still so sturdy that it was like a great mountain which couldn’t be crossed. With its steep cliffs, it wouldn’t be easy for ordinary people to be able to cross it.
However, right now, Qing Shui felt that the power in his body was still insufficient. If he wished to breakthrough to the 8th heavenly layer, he would need to accumulate the powers in his body, letting them merge and flow together. When they reached the phase when they could breakthrough the barrier to the 8th heavenly layer, it would be when Qing Shui attained a new breakthrough.
These days, the one thing which made Qing Shui feel the happiest was that the number of violet spots in his blood had grown increasingly. There were many more compared to the beginning. The violet colored spots connected to form something like a thin like and although the line was very thin, it held ferocious power within. The power of the Violet Bloodline was truly violent.
The violet colored spots in his blood which formed a line had already extended very long throughout his body. The start and the end of the line were going to reach each other soon.
This gave Qing Shui a new thought. What would happen if the line connected into one? It looked like there would be a cycle.
He felt that after the two ends were connected, he might gain surprising rewards. It was just a little bit away. They would probably get connected very soon.
The things which had happened for the past few days made Qing Shui feel that there was a need for him to rapidly grow stronger to the best of his abilities.
Getting stronger required one to improve progressively. However, there were also things which would allow one to get stronger rapidly. It was just that such things were precious and the success rate wasn’t high. Therefore, Qing Shui planned to take on the two Mysterious Fruits.
The Mysterious Fruit could provide one with a small chance of going through mysterious changes, letting the body go through a qualitative change. This was what was amazing about the Mysterious Fruit. The Mysterious Fruit was also known as the Fate Fruit. If it worked out well, it would be the equivalent of giving a person a new fate.
It was a pity that the Mysterious Fruit took an extremely long time to grow and the success rate was far too low. It was considered an extremely rare treasure. Even with the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui still didn’t have enough of them. They were extremely rare.
He had two with him this time and Qing Shui hoped that at least one of them would succeed. However, he knew that the success rate when he used the Mysterious Fruit was still very high and the few he had taken previously had all succeeded. Therefore, he felt a little more confident.
Qing Shui only took the Mysterious Fruit after having adjusting his condition to its best. He then sat down cross-legged on the floor, circulating his Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique. In this moment, he did his best to calm his mind down and fully absorb the powers of the Mysterious Fruit.
Time passed by slowly!
Suddenly, Qing Shui unconsciously looked into himself. The flow of his blood had become many times faster than before. Even the violet gold colored line of blood in his body was starting to spin. However, since it had yet to form a circle, a complete cycle, it was like a red line, swimming at great speed in his body. Wherever it passed by, the surrounding blood would be as if it were boiling.
Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains, Diamond Protection, Diamond Sword Qi, Diamond Crossing Rivers…
All the martial techniques Qing Shui knew automatically circulated themselves. The feeling was very complicated. However, they circulated orderly. He felt a little anxious. At this moment, it felt as if his body was going to explode, as if many things that were not related to each other were being put and merged together.
In his Dantian, there were the Emperor’s Qi Pellet, Nature Energy Pellet, State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet… All these also started to circulate at great speed. They weren’t just spinning very rapidly. Even their locations had changed. This caused Qing Shui to be no longer able to calm himself down.
It was as if his body was going to explode at anytime. A series of tearing pains went through his body, going down to his bone marrow and then his consciousness. It was such immense pain that he couldn’t even fall into a state of unconscious.
Eyes closed, Qing Shui was drenched. It wasn’t just from his perspiration since right now, it was as if Qing Shui was in a pool of blood.
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AST 1151 – Tremendous Change, The Powerful Seven-Colored Pellet, Violet Golden Divine Force
He was now in a bad situation, yet he knew he couldn't afford to start panicking, otherwise he would be finished for certain. He felt that everything he was experiencing now was the fault of the Violet Golden Blood Thread in his blood.
In the span of a few moments, the Violet Golden Blood Thread had expanded a little, almost in a form of a line. The Violet Golden Blood Thread was liquid in nature, so it would always be in a form of a thread in any bloodline, which was why none of the Violet Golden Blood Thread was able to clash with the rest as it streamed along in his body.
The blood thread inside his Dantian was becoming more violent by the second, causing Qing Shui to realize the gravity of the situation. His blood thread felt as if it was about explode. Moreover, he was losing quite a lot of blood as well.
However, the Violet Gold Blood Thread was unaffected and continued to expand slowly. Qing Shui was relieved that it was the blood that contained water that was lost instead of the blood essence inside his body. His blood was being replenished slowly too. Unfortunately, the rate of blood loss was too quick for the blood to fully replenish at this rate.
Qing Shui's body seemed to have lost all sorts of senses. The only thing working was his consciousness and the Yin Yang Image inside his mind.
All this time, Qing Shui had no clue what the Yin Yang Image inside his sea of consciousness was about. However, it seemed brighter and clearer than before. There was still some ancient air surrounding the Yin Yang Image, which had grown a bit more intense as well.
The Nine Yang Golden Body was now at its small success stage. If it was still at its previous state, Qing Shui wouldn't know if his body could sustain the current changes. He was already stupefied as the current changes were too great for him to handle.
The Yin Yang Image had never lit up like this before. A wave of divine force emanated from the image, which allowed Qing Shui to remain awake inside his consciousness. The Yin Yang Image was beginning to undergo a slight change as well.
All of the energies seemed to have clashed with one another, unlike before when those energies travelled along his body in order and sequence. His inner organs had sustained severe damage. His pale gold bones, on the other hand, were still able to remain whole, albeit only for the moment.
Qing Shui could no longer control his own body. He tried to use his consciousness to control the blood thread because he had a feeling that the blood thread was the breaking point to the current changes. He had nothing to lose after all.
Qing Shui had never once thought that he would be in danger by consuming the Mysterious Fruit. Now that he thought of it, the previous times he consumed the fruit were too calm and peaceful.
As he gained control over the blood thread, he forced the blood thread to reconnect to its original state from the beginning. He was almost there but he couldn't make it reconnect in the end. He felt as if the power in his consciousness was lacking, so he decided to circulate the Yin Yang Image with all of his spiritual power.
The Yin Yang Image circulated in a fast motion, which caused it to glow brighter too. The divine force that only Qing Shui could see began to activate on its own so that his body would not shut down completely.
If he didn't have the Yin Yang Image to heal and stabilize his body, he wouldn't be able to endure the changes occurring in his body.
Clack!
At that moment when Qing Shui used his might to circulate his spiritual energy and activate the Yin Yang mage, an explosive sound rang out inside the sea of consciousness. In that instant, he felt that his spiritual energy had increased in capacity. The Yin Yang Image began to undergo a slight change too.
The color of the image was more apparent than before. He couldn't tell if the size of the image had changed but he could tell for certain that the image had become more substantial. The aura of the image had grown much denser than before as well.
However, this wasn't why Qing Shui was shocked in the first place. He was shocked because the small golden pearl in between the Niwan Palace and its surroundings inside the spiritual pool of the sea of consciousness had exploded, forming a field of a nebula in its place.
Qing Shui knew that the explosion was the cause to the increase of his spiritual energy capacity. Before he could sense in detail the pearl explosion, another explosion occurred inside his Dantian, forcing him to check the Violet Golden Blood Thread immediately.
As he had expected, the Violet Golden Blood Thread had formed into a circle or a ring, which were still circulating slowly. There was something inside him that he couldn't describe in words – it was a form of change occurring to his power.
When Qing Shui saw his Dantian next, he froze. His mind short-circuited when he realized that the Dantian had changed tremendously. The Golden Pellet became more yellow-golden in color, meaning that it had become more substantial. He was more shocked that the Nature Energy Pellet and State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet had disappeared. The Emperor's Qi Pellet had vanished too. However, he was able to discover that there was a Seven-Colored Pellet of the size of a walnut sitting in front of the Golden Pellet.
Qing Shui was shocked beyond words. However, he was more concerned than shocked because the effects from the Emperor's Qi, Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains were quite powerful. If they had truly vanished, he might as well die from the pain of his loss.
He couldn't care less about the pain anymore. Qing Shui quickly used his spiritual sense to tap into the Seven-Colored Pellet. The moment he did so, his brain received a huge blow and subsequently caused him to faint. He was too weak after all.
Qing Shui's body dropped onto the pool of blood, still bleeding slowly, albeit in a small amount. The blood was slightly black too as it flowed out from his body.
Just before Qing Shui fainted, there was another slight change that occurred in his body. The energy in his blood and bones continued to heal his body back to its optimal state. The Yin Yang Image was healing his body at the same time too.
After half a day or so, Qing Shui gradually woke up. He sat upright when he regained his consciousness, disregarding the blood on his body. The pain he felt earlier was gone too. Even though he felt a bit uncomfortable, it was nothing that would affect him as much as earlier.
Inner Sight!
He quickly used the Inner Sight to observe his Dantian and discovered that the Golden Pellet and the smaller sized Seven-Colored Pellet were still there in his Dantian!
The Golden Pellet shone brilliantly as it emitted a strong wave of energy toward the surroundings. Qing Shui was more excited because he could feel the power emanated much stronger than before, which he had not expected at all. In this case, he was able to sense that his physical strength had achieved about five nimbus of power.
This change was the source of his delight because his physical power was doubled. However, he was now more concerned about the Seven-Colored Pellet and the power contained within it.
He used his spiritual energy once more to sense it and what he received next was a strong rumble to his nerves. Qing Shui was nearly shocked to the point of fainting but he managed to regain his composure quickly. The powerful energy emanated from the Seven-Colored Pellet could sever the limbs of a human being quite easily and damage their inner organs. The strength of the pellet was far greater than his physical body strength. After that, a familiar energy travelled to his mind and entered his sea of consciousness.
The Seven-Colored Pellet had actually combined the Emperor's Qi Pellet, State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet and Nature Energy Pellet into one. Not only that, the Diamond Protection, Diamond Qi, Diamond Crossing Rivers, Frenzied Bull's Strength….. All of them were combined together.
Everything was combined into one form!
Qing Shui was now more concerned about whether the Emperor's Qi was still effective or not and whether the Shield Attack's power remained as it was. He was also concerned about the existence of the paralyzing effect from the Heavenly Thunder Slash as it had never appeared before in all those times he had been using the skill…..
When these familiar sensations managed to rush back to his mind, those energies had already converged into a one uniform energy.
Violet Gold Divine Force!
The domineering power of the Violet Gold Divine Force was quite impressive too. Qing Shui began to feel at ease after he took a closer look at the capability of the Violet Gold Divine Force.
Violet Gold Divine Force: A passive ability that would increase the overall power of the body by seven times permanently. No energy consumption was needed to activate as the user would be free to use it whenever he pleased!
The Violet Gold Divine Force was developed because of the Seven-Colored Pellet!
Qing Shui could only laugh when he knew the ability was passive and it would permanently increase his power. He didn't expect that the converging of energy would bring forth a breakthrough to his power as well. He was mostly excited not only because his power was boosted but also his previous abilities were still intact.
This Seven-Colored Pellet could be used as the Emperor's Qi Pellet or as the substitute to his Nature Energy and State of Immovable as Mountains…. Moreover, it could be used at the same time when these abilities were activated, allowing him to achieve a greater result than before.
The current changes allowed the usage of these abilities to become his physical power without the need to activate them manually. As mentioned before, these abilities could be activated at any time, which would allow his strength to reach 40 nimbus of power permanently! On top of that, the divine energy inside his body would never be consumed in order to circulate the effect of the abilities throughout his body.
Qing Shui had tried his abilities on himself several times and yet he still couldn't believe that it was all true. After he had finally confirmed that the Seven-Coloured Pellet contained most of his previous abilities, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
His power was increased by multiple times, yet he wasn't sure if the Violet Gold Divine Force bequeathed by the Seven-Colored Pellet was a good thing or a bad thing. In any case, Qing Shui took a liking to this passive skill due to its zero energy consumption and the ability to be used at any time.
This was similar to the Diamond Qi and Diamond Protection he had from a long time ago. These skills had never disappointed him. And now because of these changes, he wasn't sure if the future development of his skills would be affected or not.
And then there was the Combination Sword Technique – a unique combination battle technique that could unleash an amazing capability. This technique required no Qi to be expended as it relied purely on detailed moves.
These moves could only be executed during the Combination Sword Technique when he was equipped with a sword!
Qing Shui could only increase his powers by five times when he had tried to execute the Combination Sword Technique in the past. The current increase of power had changed to seven times and if he included the increment of power that he already had, that would make it to the increase of power by eight times. (Author's note: For example, he had already attained five nimbus of power from before. If his power was increased by seven times, that would make it to 35 nimbus of power. In addition to the five nimbus of power, he would have a total of 40 nimbus of power altogether.)
The Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains, Shield Attack and Frenzied Bull's Strength required a bit of comprehension to reach a breakthrough instead of basing on a some specialized cultivation. The morning Taichi Fists he had been doing were able to contribute to the Nature Energy and the State of Immovable as Mountains, which was why their breakthroughs would not be delayed or held off.
The High Grade Focused Concentration was present as well. These abilities were still here but they were all mixed together. In a sense, one could say that he had retained his previous abilities and one could also say that he had lost them. One thing was for sure – Qing Shui still had these abilities inside him.
Which was why in this case, Qing Shui was still happy about it. This time, he had received something truly worthwhile because his constitution had received a great boost.
After that, he quickly sensed his own spiritual energy. He was elated to know that the power of his spiritual energy was the same as the power of his physical strength, which was the amount of five nimbus. Moreover, not only was the Violet Gold Divine Shield able to increase the power of the physical strength, it could do the same to his spiritual energy too.
With the added effect from the Arhat Rosary Beads, Qing Shui's overall spiritual energy could be boosted up to about 80 nimbus at any given time!
As he entered his sea of consciousness, he could see a field of a nebula in front of him, where the source of boundless spiritual energy was emanating from. He understood from the beginning that it was the Yin-Yang Image that had changed the sea of consciousness tremendously. It started from the expansion of the spiritual energy and then to the streaming of the Violet Golden Blood Thread with the use of the spiritual energy into a big cycle, causing his Dantian to go through a tremendous change.
The reason Qing Shui could attain his current power of five nimbus was probably because of the capability of this field of nebula. The reservoir of spiritual energy in his sea of consciousness was ten times bigger or more. However, this would not mean that the explosive force he could unleash would be the same. If a person was shown to be capable of moving a hundred jin of weight by himself, it would not mean that he would be able to move hundred jin of weight the distance of thousand meters successfully. Much of this would require endurance and the amount of spiritual energy one could contain in their body.
The change that occurred to his sea of consciousness had cleared Qing Shui's mind completely. This was one of the advantages of spiritual energy as his current attack could reach to the power of 600 nimbus, allowing the Nine Continents Mountain to unleash a power of 1,200 nimbus. His spiritual attack could even reach to about 960 nimbus, which was close to the thousand mark.
Qing Shui currently was in possession of the Nine Continents Mountain and Nine Yang Golden Body, allowing his defense to grow stronger, which could ignore almost 70% of the spiritual damage received. Moreover, he would most likely be able to endure the spiritual damage received from an Early State Master, albeit barely!
The 20% debuff by the Emperor's Qi was not a small amount either. It would still be a terrifying feat if a State Master's overall power was weakened by 20%!
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AST 1152 – Essence, Qi and Spirit, Old Wang's Difficulty
Qing Shui went idle for quite a while, which was considered normal for someone who had just received a huge surprise. This was a major breakthrough compared to the ones before as this was caused by the Violet Golden Blood Vessels. The Mysterious Fruit, on the other hand, was able to further provide an enhancing impact on the breakthrough itself.
Moreover, Qing Shui realized that he was quite comfortable when the breakthrough happened, unlike the past breakthroughs where he felt unsynced with his own body after a brief moment of power upsurge. He was now completely relaxed and in harmony with his body, which meant that the toxins inside his system had been completely flushed out, leaving only the pure essence flowing inside his blood.
He looked at the blood all over his body and felt uncomfortable with the feeling of being stained in blood. He didn't mind it before, butbefore, butbefore, but he couldn't tolerate it anymore, so he took some water and washed his body before changing into something more comfortable and clean.
Good things would always lift up anyone’s mood. Qing Shui felt that he was extremely fortunate since he was able to achieve a massive improvement to his power. This would make a smooth transition for his future cultivation as well.
Even though the disparity of strength between an Early State Master and himself was still great, Qing Shui had never once thought that he would break through to the State Master Realm that quickly. Even if he had a sudden boost to his power, that breakthrough would never become a reality.
Even so, he would not become an almighty cultivator just because of that, unless the Ancient Strengthening Technique was able to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer, then it would be possible for him to become a State Master. Despite knowing that it was possible, the breakthrough to the Eighth Heavenly Layer was still far from his reach, unfortunately.
After that, Qing Shui went on to cultivate his skills continuously. He wanted to attain full control over the new power as soon as possible, at least until he was able to control it to the minute subtlety level. Qing Shui felt the need of achieving stable control of his powers regardless of what they may be in nature.
A martial cultivator must be able to destroy rocks and mountains with a flick of a hand, yet he must also be able to capture a mosquito unharmed with a forceful grip of his fist.
Taichi!
Qing Shui continued to execute his Taichi Fists without stopping. This was the best method to quench and coordinate his body in order to distribute the energy throughout his body proportionally.
Qing Shui could clearly tell the difference between the Taichi Fists from before and now as the disparity of power was too great to ignore. The Taichi Golden Qi was much stronger in terms of its speed and power. There was also a massive change in the way he demonstrated the Taichi Fists. Those who had knowledge and experience of executing Taichi Fists could naturally tell that Qing Shui was becoming one with the surroundings of Heaven and Earth.
Fish in Water!
Nine Palace Steps!
Qing Shui shuttled back and forth in mid-air inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. His movement was as fast and as smooth as flowing water. Normal people would not suspect that something was amiss when they saw him shuffling about, only he seemed slightly celestial-like as he moved. Only those powerful enough would be able to sense the horrific power disguised within his movements.
Qing Shui was already satisfied with the Mysterious fruit. He didn’t plan on consuming the remaining one because of the 'full period' after every breakthrough, regardless whether the end result was a fail or a success. Essentially, the process of his cultivation would come to a temporary halt during this period of time.
The 'full period' would be longer especially when the power after the breakthrough had become stronger. Small breakthroughs would not result in a long halt to one’s cultivation. It was also considered normal for successive breakthroughs to happen after a small breakthrough to one's power.
He kept the other fruit safe and proceeded to observe the harmony of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal with a cheerful attitude. This realm was his secret, now and forever. Since no one else could enter the realm, he didn’t feel the need to expose its existence to anyone, even his family members.
A number of demonic beasts inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal continued to cultivate their power at their own pace. The Spiritual Qi inside the realm had grown stronger, albeit slightly. This was perhaps due to the increasing age of the medicinal herbs he had planted as the Spiritual Qi that these herbs emanated would grow more intense along with its growing age.
With the sudden burst of power, Qing Shui might not need the assistance of his demonic beasts anymore. Of course, he would still need some of their help during a fight. Thunderous Beast's Violet Lightning Strike was still useful after all.
During this period of time, Qing Shui spent most of the hour practicing the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique. This technique was primarily focused on condensing his spiritual energy. Furthermore, Qing Shui's main strength of the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique was none other than the early stage Wood Vines.
Because he had just gone through a breakthrough, he extended his hand excitedly and executed an Absolute Seal. Violet demonic vines appeared in the distance and spiraled to the sky in a violent motion. The devouring power of the vines was quite terrifying in that instant as each rope of the vines were as thick as an adult's arm. The violet spikes on the vines were brilliant and sharp. They were densely packed together with the length of each spike about half a meter long. Anyone would have chills down their spine with one look at the horrific sight of the vines.
The vines were getting stronger once again. Qing Shui observed the demonic vines he had released as he made a quick thought. If required, he could allow the vines to grow more than a thousand meters long. Even those of the same level of power would be swallowed by these demonic vines. They would have an extremely difficult time in breaking free from the vines alone.
Because of that reason, the Wood Vines was Qing Shui's most preferred skill among the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique, both for its control and its damage power.
As for the others, the Golden Sword was still considered decent. The Fire, Earth and Water elements were quite decent as well but because Qing Shui already had the Nine Continents Mountain, Tidal Cloud Waves Seal and the Primordial Flames, he didn't think that those three elemental skills were powerful enough for him.
Qing Shui had essentially spent most of his time in the four continents mastering his Wood Vines. He wanted to cultivate the Wood Vines to its absolute power. Despite this, the current state of the Wood Vines was already quite invincible.
Of course, there was also the Seal of Xuantian, which was still at its First Wave. However, it had become even more powerful once he arrived in the four continents. With the recent power boost, the prowess of the Seal of Xuantian would naturally become stronger as well.
After another demonstration of the Wood Vines, Qing Shui looked up to the sky that resembled a humongous platform that was made of the Heaven Seal. The seal was silvery white in color, which emanated a powerful coercive effect towards its surroundings. The seal seemed extra substantial, which meant that it could contain more energy than it had before.
Qing Shui was already unfazed and uninterested by this type of crushing attack as he already possessed the overbearing power of the Nine Continents Mountain. The Nine Continents Mountain was both an offensive and defensive skill, which made it more domineering than the Seal of Xuantian itself.
Qing Shui extended his hand to grab the silvery platform. The large platform fell onto his hand and the weird thing he felt was that the Seal of Xuantian had another ability other than the ability to crush his opponents.
It had the ability to decrease one's movement and reduce one's reaction time!
This was the ability of the First Wave of the Seal of Xuantian. What would become of this skill in the future was unbeknownst to Qing Shui. However, the difficulty of this skill was still considered average as it was still possible for Qing Shui to cultivate. After all, the name of the skill itself was unique and extraordinary.
As for Qing Shui, the ability to decrease his opponent's speed was more useful than the crushing ability due to its damage being inferior than that of the Nine Continents Mountain.
…….
The next day, Qing Shui woke up early feeling refreshed. He walked out of his room to perform his morning practice and that was when he realized the sky was brighter in the four continents than it was in the five continents. After a session of morning practice, he went straight to the Firecloud Blacksmith Store to check things out.
His powers had grown stronger, allowing him to undergo a humongous change in his overall essence, Qi and spirit. In a sense, he had become more 'substantial'. His spiritual sense was stable, yet many could still tell how remarkable Qing Shui had become.
That was just their intuition but in many cases, intuition could be as accurate as the fact itself!
When he arrived at the blacksmith store, it was already opened for business. Old man Wang was already inside, ready to start his day. Qing Shui was the one who asked old man Wang and his grandson to man the store. It would be convenient for them to live here as well.
The main objective of the store was to sell weapons, armor and miscellaneous accessories. These items were nothing to Qing Shui in comparison to what he had already owned, so the blacksmith store was essentially bait to lure a certain someone to find him.
If he had this level of talent when Miss Yan came to visit, he would show his crafting abilities boldly in front of her. It had been several days since then. Perhaps she had already gone back home by now.
"Sir, you've come!"
Old man Wang greeted Qing Shui with a smile when he saw him walking into the store.
"No one's here today yet. Come, let's sit there and talk for a moment!" said Qing Shui as he led old man Wang towards a small table inside the blacksmith store.
"Alright, alright!" Old man Wang replied beamingly.
"Old Wang, from what I can observe of your crafting skill, it's not bad. Do you know why the weapons you've crafted are of mediocre quality?" asked Qing Shui as he looked at old man Wang with a friendly smile.
"I know. It's because I don't have a cultivation base. I have been depending on my raw strength all this time. If I was still young and fit, perhaps I could still cultivate my skills further. I'm already an old man, so my body's all worn out. Besides, even if I did manage to cultivate my skills at this point, I may not be able to produce items of high quality." Old man Wang shook his head as he replied Qing Shui.
"That's right. I see you're thinking of letting your grandson follow this path of crafting as well."
"Yes. The living of our generation is based on crafting. Other than that, we have nothing. His parents passed away when he was very young, so we are the only two left in the household," said old man Wang with a strained expression.
Qing Shui looked at the anguish and frustrated expression on old man Wang's already wrinkled face. He could understand old man Wang's grief and pain – he who had struggled to live only for the sake of his grandson. Old man Wang was lonely, yet he had a flicker of hope inside his heart.
There were many people like him out there in the World of the Nine Continents whom struggled to live. Many could endure no matter how hard or exhausted their lives were, but they could never bear the pain of loneliness. Just like old man Wang, he could endure anything because of his grandson. If he didn't have a grandson to live for, he would have given up on life a long time ago.
"Old Wang, do you mind if your grandson cultivates a bit of martial skill for the sake of harnessing his crafting abilities? I will teach him how to craft some things too." Qing Shui smiled.
Old man Wang widened his eyes as he stared at Qing Shui. His eyes were filled with tears all of a sudden as his lips quivered. He knew what kind of person Qing Shui really was based on the days he had spent with him recently. All this time, he was actually afraid of asking Qing Shui to accept his grandson as his disciple in learning crafting skills.
Fortunately, the Gods had finally answered his prayers. He stared at Qing Shui for the longest time before wiping off his tears in the corner of his eyes with his sleeves and saying, "Sir, my grandson is already this old. Is it still possible? If he can actually learn about a star and a half of your ability, I will be relieved even if I pass away in the future."
"Stone, come here!"
Old man Wang beckoned to his grandson and said with a grin, "This good sir will teach you some things in the future. Quickly, give him a kowtow!"
The young man wasn't a kid anymore, so when he heard old man Wang's words, he quickly knelt on the ground, gave a respectful kowtow and said, "Sir, I know I'm unworthy to become your disciple but I will respect you as my rightful teacher."
He spoke with a serious and sincere tone!
Qing Shui pulled him up and grinned, "We are a family now, so you don't have to kneel. We were destined to meet each other like this."
Qing Shui was satisfied with old man Wang's character. In his eyes, old man Wang was a true gallant man of justice with a kind heart who cared very much for his own family member……
Taking out a paper and brush, Qing Shui wrote a few words and drew pictures depicting a man performing certain actions. Below these illustrations were explanations on what he should follow to cultivate his skill.
"Stone, follow these steps every morning to strengthen your body. Don't be afraid of hardships!" Qing Shui said with a smile.
"Sir, I'm not afraid of hardships. Actually, I have been practicing every morning but never had the correct method to follow. My methods are rough and quite forceful," Stone said as he received the paper from Qing Shui politely.
"I know. But that's alright now. If you are free, you can practice inside the courtyard. If you don't understand any part of the illustration, you can ask me. I can explain in more detail. But remember, you can never become an invincible cultivator. I just want you to achieve further things in the path of a crafter. Only a martial warrior with power greater than Xiantian will craft weapons of greater quality."
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AST 1150 – Wish To Become Stronger, Taking the Mysterious Fruit, Danger
Bai Rilong looked at Qing Shui and made himself very clear. There was an indescribable arrogance to his expression that came from the deeply rooted sense of superiority he has felt as a young master from a great clan.
Right now, Qing Shui didn’t wish to say anything else. He had no interest in talking to people like this and compared to Bai Riyi, he detested this guy even more. However, Qing Shui continued to say calmly, “If there’s nothing else, you guys can leave. I’ve made myself very clear. Don’t easily say that you hold the reins to another person’s life or death. The people who can really do that wouldn’t say it all the time.”
“Alright, this is something you’ve chosen for yourself. Don’t regret it. Bring him back!” Bai Rilong waved his hand, signaling the people behind him.
The two middle-aged man behind him pounced toward Qing Shui directly. They were extremely fast and with just a flash, appeared before Qing Shui. There was also a faint a sharp sound of them cutting through the air.
Pa!
Although they charged forth fast, they were even faster on their way back. Qing Shui casually lifted up his hands and using the Taichi Cloud Hands, sent them both flying. He was in a bad mood right now. It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to kill but if he were to kill, a clan like this would probably really be able to force him out of this place. There could even be people who were more powerful who could get involved in this.
Right now, he didn’t wish to let himself land in a fix. After all, he was an outsider and didn’t know anyone here. No matter where the place was, people would work together to eliminate external forces. Right now, he had already affected the interests of many people and if the matter were to blow up, there would definitely be a lot of people who would take the opportunity to deal him an additional blow.
It would be to the extent that even old man Wang and his grandson would get into trouble as well!
After defeating the two men, Qing Shui directly dashed out toward Bai Rilong. In that instant, his gaze was overwhelmed with killing intent. The moment he moved, a hunchback figure next to Bai Rilong took a diagonal step forth and put out his hands to block Qing Shui.
Boom!
They collided and Qing Shui was forced to retreat two steps backward. The old man who had blocked Qing Shui had also retreated one step back. Right now, the tension was very tight and the air was filled with a violent aura.
“If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. People who wish to take my life will definitely die before me. Bai Rilong, if I wish to kill you, I have countless ways to do so.” Qing Shui’s voice continued to be very calm. After he had said his piece, his figure flashed once again.
Fish in Water!
Taichi Golden Chi!
Nine Palace Confusion Steps!
Qing Shui’s silhouette was elusive yet was also like a falling leave that followed the direction of the wind. When the old man saw Qing Shui’s movements, his expression turned grim, “Stop, stop! Let’s sit down and have a good talk!”
By the time Qing Shui came to a stop, he had already arrived next to Bai Rilong. With a slight brush that was fast as lightning and causing a cold gust of wind to blow, a wisp of hair floated in the air!
Qing Shui didn’t say anything. Everyone’s countenance turned pale and they didn’t dare to move. Bai Rilong turned completely pale and he looked at Qing Shui with wide-open eyes. He wasn’t able to say a single word.
Qing Shui gradually walked back and looked at the old man who was still stunned. “I won’t kill anyone now but it doesn’t mean that I won’t kill in the future. I hope that you guys don’t let me remember you.”
Bai Rilong was very resentful. Bai Riyi had told him that this young man who had came from somewhere else had great potential in blacksmithing. If he were to be brought to Bai Clan, in the future, he would definitely be of great use to Bai Clan. This person was alone by himself and was an outsider.
At the mention of this guy’s strength, his brother only mentioned that he was very young…
Wasn’t that just setting a trap for him? Bai Rilong didn’t know that his younger brother’s trap was for both parties while he watched from the back. No matter if the result was such that Qing Shui was brought away or killed or if Bai Rilong was the one who was hurt, crippled or even died, Bai Riyi would stand to gain from the situation.
However, he must not have expected for the situation to be like this. This was the effect that Qing Shui had wanted to achieve. As for the ending result between Bai Rilong and Bai Riyi… Qing Shui had no interest in that. Right now, he only wanted to do the things before him properly.
“Young lad, this is a misunderstanding…”
The old man laughed awkwardly. They had pestered him and even proclaimed that his life and death were in their hands. However, the situation had gone through a complete turnaround. He hadn’t expected there to be such a strong person amongst the young people. He should be considered a genius. However, he still was a little far off from the top notch geniuses in the dynasty.
Qing Shui looked at this inconspicuous old man. This old man wasn’t weaker than him but was a far cry apart in terms of their speed and movements. Qing Shui was confident that against someone of a similar level, even if he couldn’t kill the person instantly, he would be able to wipe them out within 3 moves.
“I’m not going to say much. I don’t care how powerful Bai Clan is and I don’t wish to get involved with you guys but I hope that you guys won’t come and bother me either. You should know what it means for someone barefooted to not be scared of a person who wears shoes. I’m still going to say the same thing. I don’t wish for there to be a next time. If you don’t have absolute confidence in killing me before you act, then don’t. Otherwise, you’ll only be left with one ending. I’ll use all the means I have to kill you guys. Right, I forgot to tell you, I’m a poison master as well.”
As he spoke, a Five-Colored Poison Sky Python appeared in his hand. This was also considered to be quite notable amongst poisonous creatures. As the others had their faces turn pale, he put it away.
Qing Shui’s gaze had continued to stay on Bai Rilong on the time. He didn’t use his spirit energy but his gaze was extremely cold, letting people have no doubt over what he said.
Qing Shui’s earlier attack had caused Bai Rilong to have a close call with the gates of hell. The latter hadn’t reached the stage where he wasn’t afraid to die. If he were to die in Qing Shui’s hands, he would probably be full of regret.
“If you don’t have anything else to say, then please leave,” Qing Shui waved his hand and said.
Qing Shui had made himself very clear. They didn’t stay for long. The old man turned back to have a final look before he left and was the last to go.
Qing Shui rubbed his temples and sat down on a chair where there was a small table right in front. Usually when he got tired from forging, it wouldn’t be bad for him to sit here and have a rest.
Right now, even though he had powerful forging skills, he couldn’t show them off. Right now, other than Miss Yan, the others who had came by were not significant enough. If he were to really reveal his skills, he would probably have to find someone to hire him and back him up. Otherwise, it wouldn’t end well.
At night, Qing Shui returned to the manor. The place was very quiet and he directly entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.
He continued with his cultivation daily as usual. His strength was gradually increasing and his Ancient Strengthening Technique had already entered the state where it could circulate on the spot. If he couldn’t attain a breakthrough, he wouldn’t be able to enter the 8th heavenly layer.
He slowly circulated his Qi of Ancient Strengthening Technique, which was like powerful mountains in his body, pushing forward with great strength. It was now much faster than before and very soon, it came to a stop at the 799th cycle.
Ever since he reached the peak of the 7th heavenly layer, the power and speed of the Qi of Ancient Strengthening Technique kept on progressing. Right now, its speed and strength was many times stronger than when he had just reached the 7th heavenly layer.
However, despite this, the barrier between peak of 7th heavenly layer and the 8th heavenly layer was still so sturdy that it was like a great mountain which couldn’t be crossed. With its steep cliffs, it wouldn’t be easy for ordinary people to be able to cross it.
However, right now, Qing Shui felt that the power in his body was still insufficient. If he wished to breakthrough to the 8th heavenly layer, he would need to accumulate the powers in his body, letting them merge and flow together. When they reached the phase when they could breakthrough the barrier to the 8th heavenly layer, it would be when Qing Shui attained a new breakthrough.
These days, the one thing which made Qing Shui feel the happiest was that the number of violet spots in his blood had grown increasingly. There were many more compared to the beginning. The violet colored spots connected to form something like a thin like and although the line was very thin, it held ferocious power within. The power of the Violet Bloodline was truly violent.
The violet colored spots in his blood which formed a line had already extended very long throughout his body. The start and the end of the line were going to reach each other soon.
This gave Qing Shui a new thought. What would happen if the line connected into one? It looked like there would be a cycle.
He felt that after the two ends were connected, he might gain surprising rewards. It was just a little bit away. They would probably get connected very soon.
The things which had happened for the past few days made Qing Shui feel that there was a need for him to rapidly grow stronger to the best of his abilities.
Getting stronger required one to improve progressively. However, there were also things which would allow one to get stronger rapidly. It was just that such things were precious and the success rate wasn’t high. Therefore, Qing Shui planned to take on the two Mysterious Fruits.
The Mysterious Fruit could provide one with a small chance of going through mysterious changes, letting the body go through a qualitative change. This was what was amazing about the Mysterious Fruit. The Mysterious Fruit was also known as the Fate Fruit. If it worked out well, it would be the equivalent of giving a person a new fate.
It was a pity that the Mysterious Fruit took an extremely long time to grow and the success rate was far too low. It was considered an extremely rare treasure. Even with the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui still didn’t have enough of them. They were extremely rare.
He had two with him this time and Qing Shui hoped that at least one of them would succeed. However, he knew that the success rate when he used the Mysterious Fruit was still very high and the few he had taken previously had all succeeded. Therefore, he felt a little more confident.
Qing Shui only took the Mysterious Fruit after having adjusting his condition to its best. He then sat down cross-legged on the floor, circulating his Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique. In this moment, he did his best to calm his mind down and fully absorb the powers of the Mysterious Fruit.
Time passed by slowly!
Suddenly, Qing Shui unconsciously looked into himself. The flow of his blood had become many times faster than before. Even the violet gold colored line of blood in his body was starting to spin. However, since it had yet to form a circle, a complete cycle, it was like a red line, swimming at great speed in his body. Wherever it passed by, the surrounding blood would be as if it were boiling.
Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains, Diamond Protection, Diamond Sword Qi, Diamond Crossing Rivers…
All the martial techniques Qing Shui knew automatically circulated themselves. The feeling was very complicated. However, they circulated orderly. He felt a little anxious. At this moment, it felt as if his body was going to explode, as if many things that were not related to each other were being put and merged together.
In his Dantian, there were the Emperor’s Qi Pellet, Nature Energy Pellet, State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet… All these also started to circulate at great speed. They weren’t just spinning very rapidly. Even their locations had changed. This caused Qing Shui to be no longer able to calm himself down.
It was as if his body was going to explode at anytime. A series of tearing pains went through his body, going down to his bone marrow and then his consciousness. It was such immense pain that he couldn’t even fall into a state of unconscious.
Eyes closed, Qing Shui was drenched. It wasn’t just from his perspiration since right now, it was as if Qing Shui was in a pool of blood.
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AST 1151 – Tremendous Change, The Powerful Seven-Colored Pellet, Violet Golden Divine Force
He was now in a bad situation, yet he knew he couldn't afford to start panicking, otherwise he would be finished for certain. He felt that everything he was experiencing now was the fault of the Violet Golden Blood Thread in his blood.
In the span of a few moments, the Violet Golden Blood Thread had expanded a little, almost in a form of a line. The Violet Golden Blood Thread was liquid in nature, so it would always be in a form of a thread in any bloodline, which was why none of the Violet Golden Blood Thread was able to clash with the rest as it streamed along in his body.
The blood thread inside his Dantian was becoming more violent by the second, causing Qing Shui to realize the gravity of the situation. His blood thread felt as if it was about explode. Moreover, he was losing quite a lot of blood as well.
However, the Violet Gold Blood Thread was unaffected and continued to expand slowly. Qing Shui was relieved that it was the blood that contained water that was lost instead of the blood essence inside his body. His blood was being replenished slowly too. Unfortunately, the rate of blood loss was too quick for the blood to fully replenish at this rate.
Qing Shui's body seemed to have lost all sorts of senses. The only thing working was his consciousness and the Yin Yang Image inside his mind.
All this time, Qing Shui had no clue what the Yin Yang Image inside his sea of consciousness was about. However, it seemed brighter and clearer than before. There was still some ancient air surrounding the Yin Yang Image, which had grown a bit more intense as well.
The Nine Yang Golden Body was now at its small success stage. If it was still at its previous state, Qing Shui wouldn't know if his body could sustain the current changes. He was already stupefied as the current changes were too great for him to handle.
The Yin Yang Image had never lit up like this before. A wave of divine force emanated from the image, which allowed Qing Shui to remain awake inside his consciousness. The Yin Yang Image was beginning to undergo a slight change as well.
All of the energies seemed to have clashed with one another, unlike before when those energies travelled along his body in order and sequence. His inner organs had sustained severe damage. His pale gold bones, on the other hand, were still able to remain whole, albeit only for the moment.
Qing Shui could no longer control his own body. He tried to use his consciousness to control the blood thread because he had a feeling that the blood thread was the breaking point to the current changes. He had nothing to lose after all.
Qing Shui had never once thought that he would be in danger by consuming the Mysterious Fruit. Now that he thought of it, the previous times he consumed the fruit were too calm and peaceful.
As he gained control over the blood thread, he forced the blood thread to reconnect to its original state from the beginning. He was almost there but he couldn't make it reconnect in the end. He felt as if the power in his consciousness was lacking, so he decided to circulate the Yin Yang Image with all of his spiritual power.
The Yin Yang Image circulated in a fast motion, which caused it to glow brighter too. The divine force that only Qing Shui could see began to activate on its own so that his body would not shut down completely.
If he didn't have the Yin Yang Image to heal and stabilize his body, he wouldn't be able to endure the changes occurring in his body.
Clack!
At that moment when Qing Shui used his might to circulate his spiritual energy and activate the Yin Yang mage, an explosive sound rang out inside the sea of consciousness. In that instant, he felt that his spiritual energy had increased in capacity. The Yin Yang Image began to undergo a slight change too.
The color of the image was more apparent than before. He couldn't tell if the size of the image had changed but he could tell for certain that the image had become more substantial. The aura of the image had grown much denser than before as well.
However, this wasn't why Qing Shui was shocked in the first place. He was shocked because the small golden pearl in between the Niwan Palace and its surroundings inside the spiritual pool of the sea of consciousness had exploded, forming a field of a nebula in its place.
Qing Shui knew that the explosion was the cause to the increase of his spiritual energy capacity. Before he could sense in detail the pearl explosion, another explosion occurred inside his Dantian, forcing him to check the Violet Golden Blood Thread immediately.
As he had expected, the Violet Golden Blood Thread had formed into a circle or a ring, which were still circulating slowly. There was something inside him that he couldn't describe in words – it was a form of change occurring to his power.
When Qing Shui saw his Dantian next, he froze. His mind short-circuited when he realized that the Dantian had changed tremendously. The Golden Pellet became more yellow-golden in color, meaning that it had become more substantial. He was more shocked that the Nature Energy Pellet and State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet had disappeared. The Emperor's Qi Pellet had vanished too. However, he was able to discover that there was a Seven-Colored Pellet of the size of a walnut sitting in front of the Golden Pellet.
Qing Shui was shocked beyond words. However, he was more concerned than shocked because the effects from the Emperor's Qi, Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains were quite powerful. If they had truly vanished, he might as well die from the pain of his loss.
He couldn't care less about the pain anymore. Qing Shui quickly used his spiritual sense to tap into the Seven-Colored Pellet. The moment he did so, his brain received a huge blow and subsequently caused him to faint. He was too weak after all.
Qing Shui's body dropped onto the pool of blood, still bleeding slowly, albeit in a small amount. The blood was slightly black too as it flowed out from his body.
Just before Qing Shui fainted, there was another slight change that occurred in his body. The energy in his blood and bones continued to heal his body back to its optimal state. The Yin Yang Image was healing his body at the same time too.
After half a day or so, Qing Shui gradually woke up. He sat upright when he regained his consciousness, disregarding the blood on his body. The pain he felt earlier was gone too. Even though he felt a bit uncomfortable, it was nothing that would affect him as much as earlier.
Inner Sight!
He quickly used the Inner Sight to observe his Dantian and discovered that the Golden Pellet and the smaller sized Seven-Colored Pellet were still there in his Dantian!
The Golden Pellet shone brilliantly as it emitted a strong wave of energy toward the surroundings. Qing Shui was more excited because he could feel the power emanated much stronger than before, which he had not expected at all. In this case, he was able to sense that his physical strength had achieved about five nimbus of power.
This change was the source of his delight because his physical power was doubled. However, he was now more concerned about the Seven-Colored Pellet and the power contained within it.
He used his spiritual energy once more to sense it and what he received next was a strong rumble to his nerves. Qing Shui was nearly shocked to the point of fainting but he managed to regain his composure quickly. The powerful energy emanated from the Seven-Colored Pellet could sever the limbs of a human being quite easily and damage their inner organs. The strength of the pellet was far greater than his physical body strength. After that, a familiar energy travelled to his mind and entered his sea of consciousness.
The Seven-Colored Pellet had actually combined the Emperor's Qi Pellet, State of Immovable as Mountains Pellet and Nature Energy Pellet into one. Not only that, the Diamond Protection, Diamond Qi, Diamond Crossing Rivers, Frenzied Bull's Strength….. All of them were combined together.
Everything was combined into one form!
Qing Shui was now more concerned about whether the Emperor's Qi was still effective or not and whether the Shield Attack's power remained as it was. He was also concerned about the existence of the paralyzing effect from the Heavenly Thunder Slash as it had never appeared before in all those times he had been using the skill…..
When these familiar sensations managed to rush back to his mind, those energies had already converged into a one uniform energy.
Violet Gold Divine Force!
The domineering power of the Violet Gold Divine Force was quite impressive too. Qing Shui began to feel at ease after he took a closer look at the capability of the Violet Gold Divine Force.
Violet Gold Divine Force: A passive ability that would increase the overall power of the body by seven times permanently. No energy consumption was needed to activate as the user would be free to use it whenever he pleased!
The Violet Gold Divine Force was developed because of the Seven-Colored Pellet!
Qing Shui could only laugh when he knew the ability was passive and it would permanently increase his power. He didn't expect that the converging of energy would bring forth a breakthrough to his power as well. He was mostly excited not only because his power was boosted but also his previous abilities were still intact.
This Seven-Colored Pellet could be used as the Emperor's Qi Pellet or as the substitute to his Nature Energy and State of Immovable as Mountains…. Moreover, it could be used at the same time when these abilities were activated, allowing him to achieve a greater result than before.
The current changes allowed the usage of these abilities to become his physical power without the need to activate them manually. As mentioned before, these abilities could be activated at any time, which would allow his strength to reach 40 nimbus of power permanently! On top of that, the divine energy inside his body would never be consumed in order to circulate the effect of the abilities throughout his body.
Qing Shui had tried his abilities on himself several times and yet he still couldn't believe that it was all true. After he had finally confirmed that the Seven-Coloured Pellet contained most of his previous abilities, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
His power was increased by multiple times, yet he wasn't sure if the Violet Gold Divine Force bequeathed by the Seven-Colored Pellet was a good thing or a bad thing. In any case, Qing Shui took a liking to this passive skill due to its zero energy consumption and the ability to be used at any time.
This was similar to the Diamond Qi and Diamond Protection he had from a long time ago. These skills had never disappointed him. And now because of these changes, he wasn't sure if the future development of his skills would be affected or not.
And then there was the Combination Sword Technique – a unique combination battle technique that could unleash an amazing capability. This technique required no Qi to be expended as it relied purely on detailed moves.
These moves could only be executed during the Combination Sword Technique when he was equipped with a sword!
Qing Shui could only increase his powers by five times when he had tried to execute the Combination Sword Technique in the past. The current increase of power had changed to seven times and if he included the increment of power that he already had, that would make it to the increase of power by eight times. (Author's note: For example, he had already attained five nimbus of power from before. If his power was increased by seven times, that would make it to 35 nimbus of power. In addition to the five nimbus of power, he would have a total of 40 nimbus of power altogether.)
The Nature Energy, State of Immovable as Mountains, Shield Attack and Frenzied Bull's Strength required a bit of comprehension to reach a breakthrough instead of basing on a some specialized cultivation. The morning Taichi Fists he had been doing were able to contribute to the Nature Energy and the State of Immovable as Mountains, which was why their breakthroughs would not be delayed or held off.
The High Grade Focused Concentration was present as well. These abilities were still here but they were all mixed together. In a sense, one could say that he had retained his previous abilities and one could also say that he had lost them. One thing was for sure – Qing Shui still had these abilities inside him.
Which was why in this case, Qing Shui was still happy about it. This time, he had received something truly worthwhile because his constitution had received a great boost.
After that, he quickly sensed his own spiritual energy. He was elated to know that the power of his spiritual energy was the same as the power of his physical strength, which was the amount of five nimbus. Moreover, not only was the Violet Gold Divine Shield able to increase the power of the physical strength, it could do the same to his spiritual energy too.
With the added effect from the Arhat Rosary Beads, Qing Shui's overall spiritual energy could be boosted up to about 80 nimbus at any given time!
As he entered his sea of consciousness, he could see a field of a nebula in front of him, where the source of boundless spiritual energy was emanating from. He understood from the beginning that it was the Yin-Yang Image that had changed the sea of consciousness tremendously. It started from the expansion of the spiritual energy and then to the streaming of the Violet Golden Blood Thread with the use of the spiritual energy into a big cycle, causing his Dantian to go through a tremendous change.
The reason Qing Shui could attain his current power of five nimbus was probably because of the capability of this field of nebula. The reservoir of spiritual energy in his sea of consciousness was ten times bigger or more. However, this would not mean that the explosive force he could unleash would be the same. If a person was shown to be capable of moving a hundred jin of weight by himself, it would not mean that he would be able to move hundred jin of weight the distance of thousand meters successfully. Much of this would require endurance and the amount of spiritual energy one could contain in their body.
The change that occurred to his sea of consciousness had cleared Qing Shui's mind completely. This was one of the advantages of spiritual energy as his current attack could reach to the power of 600 nimbus, allowing the Nine Continents Mountain to unleash a power of 1,200 nimbus. His spiritual attack could even reach to about 960 nimbus, which was close to the thousand mark.
Qing Shui currently was in possession of the Nine Continents Mountain and Nine Yang Golden Body, allowing his defense to grow stronger, which could ignore almost 70% of the spiritual damage received. Moreover, he would most likely be able to endure the spiritual damage received from an Early State Master, albeit barely!
The 20% debuff by the Emperor's Qi was not a small amount either. It would still be a terrifying feat if a State Master's overall power was weakened by 20%!
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AST 1152 – Essence, Qi and Spirit, Old Wang's Difficulty
Qing Shui went idle for quite a while, which was considered normal for someone who had just received a huge surprise. This was a major breakthrough compared to the ones before as this was caused by the Violet Golden Blood Vessels. The Mysterious Fruit, on the other hand, was able to further provide an enhancing impact on the breakthrough itself.
Moreover, Qing Shui realized that he was quite comfortable when the breakthrough happened, unlike the past breakthroughs where he felt unsynced with his own body after a brief moment of power upsurge. He was now completely relaxed and in harmony with his body, which meant that the toxins inside his system had been completely flushed out, leaving only the pure essence flowing inside his blood.
He looked at the blood all over his body and felt uncomfortable with the feeling of being stained in blood. He didn't mind it before, butbefore, butbefore, but he couldn't tolerate it anymore, so he took some water and washed his body before changing into something more comfortable and clean.
Good things would always lift up anyone’s mood. Qing Shui felt that he was extremely fortunate since he was able to achieve a massive improvement to his power. This would make a smooth transition for his future cultivation as well.
Even though the disparity of strength between an Early State Master and himself was still great, Qing Shui had never once thought that he would break through to the State Master Realm that quickly. Even if he had a sudden boost to his power, that breakthrough would never become a reality.
Even so, he would not become an almighty cultivator just because of that, unless the Ancient Strengthening Technique was able to break through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer, then it would be possible for him to become a State Master. Despite knowing that it was possible, the breakthrough to the Eighth Heavenly Layer was still far from his reach, unfortunately.
After that, Qing Shui went on to cultivate his skills continuously. He wanted to attain full control over the new power as soon as possible, at least until he was able to control it to the minute subtlety level. Qing Shui felt the need of achieving stable control of his powers regardless of what they may be in nature.
A martial cultivator must be able to destroy rocks and mountains with a flick of a hand, yet he must also be able to capture a mosquito unharmed with a forceful grip of his fist.
Taichi!
Qing Shui continued to execute his Taichi Fists without stopping. This was the best method to quench and coordinate his body in order to distribute the energy throughout his body proportionally.
Qing Shui could clearly tell the difference between the Taichi Fists from before and now as the disparity of power was too great to ignore. The Taichi Golden Qi was much stronger in terms of its speed and power. There was also a massive change in the way he demonstrated the Taichi Fists. Those who had knowledge and experience of executing Taichi Fists could naturally tell that Qing Shui was becoming one with the surroundings of Heaven and Earth.
Fish in Water!
Nine Palace Steps!
Qing Shui shuttled back and forth in mid-air inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. His movement was as fast and as smooth as flowing water. Normal people would not suspect that something was amiss when they saw him shuffling about, only he seemed slightly celestial-like as he moved. Only those powerful enough would be able to sense the horrific power disguised within his movements.
Qing Shui was already satisfied with the Mysterious fruit. He didn’t plan on consuming the remaining one because of the 'full period' after every breakthrough, regardless whether the end result was a fail or a success. Essentially, the process of his cultivation would come to a temporary halt during this period of time.
The 'full period' would be longer especially when the power after the breakthrough had become stronger. Small breakthroughs would not result in a long halt to one’s cultivation. It was also considered normal for successive breakthroughs to happen after a small breakthrough to one's power.
He kept the other fruit safe and proceeded to observe the harmony of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal with a cheerful attitude. This realm was his secret, now and forever. Since no one else could enter the realm, he didn’t feel the need to expose its existence to anyone, even his family members.
A number of demonic beasts inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal continued to cultivate their power at their own pace. The Spiritual Qi inside the realm had grown stronger, albeit slightly. This was perhaps due to the increasing age of the medicinal herbs he had planted as the Spiritual Qi that these herbs emanated would grow more intense along with its growing age.
With the sudden burst of power, Qing Shui might not need the assistance of his demonic beasts anymore. Of course, he would still need some of their help during a fight. Thunderous Beast's Violet Lightning Strike was still useful after all.
During this period of time, Qing Shui spent most of the hour practicing the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique. This technique was primarily focused on condensing his spiritual energy. Furthermore, Qing Shui's main strength of the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique was none other than the early stage Wood Vines.
Because he had just gone through a breakthrough, he extended his hand excitedly and executed an Absolute Seal. Violet demonic vines appeared in the distance and spiraled to the sky in a violent motion. The devouring power of the vines was quite terrifying in that instant as each rope of the vines were as thick as an adult's arm. The violet spikes on the vines were brilliant and sharp. They were densely packed together with the length of each spike about half a meter long. Anyone would have chills down their spine with one look at the horrific sight of the vines.
The vines were getting stronger once again. Qing Shui observed the demonic vines he had released as he made a quick thought. If required, he could allow the vines to grow more than a thousand meters long. Even those of the same level of power would be swallowed by these demonic vines. They would have an extremely difficult time in breaking free from the vines alone.
Because of that reason, the Wood Vines was Qing Shui's most preferred skill among the Five Elements Divine Refining Technique, both for its control and its damage power.
As for the others, the Golden Sword was still considered decent. The Fire, Earth and Water elements were quite decent as well but because Qing Shui already had the Nine Continents Mountain, Tidal Cloud Waves Seal and the Primordial Flames, he didn't think that those three elemental skills were powerful enough for him.
Qing Shui had essentially spent most of his time in the four continents mastering his Wood Vines. He wanted to cultivate the Wood Vines to its absolute power. Despite this, the current state of the Wood Vines was already quite invincible.
Of course, there was also the Seal of Xuantian, which was still at its First Wave. However, it had become even more powerful once he arrived in the four continents. With the recent power boost, the prowess of the Seal of Xuantian would naturally become stronger as well.
After another demonstration of the Wood Vines, Qing Shui looked up to the sky that resembled a humongous platform that was made of the Heaven Seal. The seal was silvery white in color, which emanated a powerful coercive effect towards its surroundings. The seal seemed extra substantial, which meant that it could contain more energy than it had before.
Qing Shui was already unfazed and uninterested by this type of crushing attack as he already possessed the overbearing power of the Nine Continents Mountain. The Nine Continents Mountain was both an offensive and defensive skill, which made it more domineering than the Seal of Xuantian itself.
Qing Shui extended his hand to grab the silvery platform. The large platform fell onto his hand and the weird thing he felt was that the Seal of Xuantian had another ability other than the ability to crush his opponents.
It had the ability to decrease one's movement and reduce one's reaction time!
This was the ability of the First Wave of the Seal of Xuantian. What would become of this skill in the future was unbeknownst to Qing Shui. However, the difficulty of this skill was still considered average as it was still possible for Qing Shui to cultivate. After all, the name of the skill itself was unique and extraordinary.
As for Qing Shui, the ability to decrease his opponent's speed was more useful than the crushing ability due to its damage being inferior than that of the Nine Continents Mountain.
…….
The next day, Qing Shui woke up early feeling refreshed. He walked out of his room to perform his morning practice and that was when he realized the sky was brighter in the four continents than it was in the five continents. After a session of morning practice, he went straight to the Firecloud Blacksmith Store to check things out.
His powers had grown stronger, allowing him to undergo a humongous change in his overall essence, Qi and spirit. In a sense, he had become more 'substantial'. His spiritual sense was stable, yet many could still tell how remarkable Qing Shui had become.
That was just their intuition but in many cases, intuition could be as accurate as the fact itself!
When he arrived at the blacksmith store, it was already opened for business. Old man Wang was already inside, ready to start his day. Qing Shui was the one who asked old man Wang and his grandson to man the store. It would be convenient for them to live here as well.
The main objective of the store was to sell weapons, armor and miscellaneous accessories. These items were nothing to Qing Shui in comparison to what he had already owned, so the blacksmith store was essentially bait to lure a certain someone to find him.
If he had this level of talent when Miss Yan came to visit, he would show his crafting abilities boldly in front of her. It had been several days since then. Perhaps she had already gone back home by now.
"Sir, you've come!"
Old man Wang greeted Qing Shui with a smile when he saw him walking into the store.
"No one's here today yet. Come, let's sit there and talk for a moment!" said Qing Shui as he led old man Wang towards a small table inside the blacksmith store.
"Alright, alright!" Old man Wang replied beamingly.
"Old Wang, from what I can observe of your crafting skill, it's not bad. Do you know why the weapons you've crafted are of mediocre quality?" asked Qing Shui as he looked at old man Wang with a friendly smile.
"I know. It's because I don't have a cultivation base. I have been depending on my raw strength all this time. If I was still young and fit, perhaps I could still cultivate my skills further. I'm already an old man, so my body's all worn out. Besides, even if I did manage to cultivate my skills at this point, I may not be able to produce items of high quality." Old man Wang shook his head as he replied Qing Shui.
"That's right. I see you're thinking of letting your grandson follow this path of crafting as well."
"Yes. The living of our generation is based on crafting. Other than that, we have nothing. His parents passed away when he was very young, so we are the only two left in the household," said old man Wang with a strained expression.
Qing Shui looked at the anguish and frustrated expression on old man Wang's already wrinkled face. He could understand old man Wang's grief and pain – he who had struggled to live only for the sake of his grandson. Old man Wang was lonely, yet he had a flicker of hope inside his heart.
There were many people like him out there in the World of the Nine Continents whom struggled to live. Many could endure no matter how hard or exhausted their lives were, but they could never bear the pain of loneliness. Just like old man Wang, he could endure anything because of his grandson. If he didn't have a grandson to live for, he would have given up on life a long time ago.
"Old Wang, do you mind if your grandson cultivates a bit of martial skill for the sake of harnessing his crafting abilities? I will teach him how to craft some things too." Qing Shui smiled.
Old man Wang widened his eyes as he stared at Qing Shui. His eyes were filled with tears all of a sudden as his lips quivered. He knew what kind of person Qing Shui really was based on the days he had spent with him recently. All this time, he was actually afraid of asking Qing Shui to accept his grandson as his disciple in learning crafting skills.
Fortunately, the Gods had finally answered his prayers. He stared at Qing Shui for the longest time before wiping off his tears in the corner of his eyes with his sleeves and saying, "Sir, my grandson is already this old. Is it still possible? If he can actually learn about a star and a half of your ability, I will be relieved even if I pass away in the future."
"Stone, come here!"
Old man Wang beckoned to his grandson and said with a grin, "This good sir will teach you some things in the future. Quickly, give him a kowtow!"
The young man wasn't a kid anymore, so when he heard old man Wang's words, he quickly knelt on the ground, gave a respectful kowtow and said, "Sir, I know I'm unworthy to become your disciple but I will respect you as my rightful teacher."
He spoke with a serious and sincere tone!
Qing Shui pulled him up and grinned, "We are a family now, so you don't have to kneel. We were destined to meet each other like this."
Qing Shui was satisfied with old man Wang's character. In his eyes, old man Wang was a true gallant man of justice with a kind heart who cared very much for his own family member……
Taking out a paper and brush, Qing Shui wrote a few words and drew pictures depicting a man performing certain actions. Below these illustrations were explanations on what he should follow to cultivate his skill.
"Stone, follow these steps every morning to strengthen your body. Don't be afraid of hardships!" Qing Shui said with a smile.
"Sir, I'm not afraid of hardships. Actually, I have been practicing every morning but never had the correct method to follow. My methods are rough and quite forceful," Stone said as he received the paper from Qing Shui politely.
"I know. But that's alright now. If you are free, you can practice inside the courtyard. If you don't understand any part of the illustration, you can ask me. I can explain in more detail. But remember, you can never become an invincible cultivator. I just want you to achieve further things in the path of a crafter. Only a martial warrior with power greater than Xiantian will craft weapons of greater quality."
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