Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty)

Chapter 751

AST 783 – Comprehending the Sword in the Southern Sea, Focus on the Concentration

Looking at the smooth rock surface, streams of waves attacked, causing him to feel happy. He was especially satisfied with the geographical area here and the sounds of cras.h.i.+ng waves against the stone surface was extremely loud.

There were only loud sounds of waves cras.h.i.+ng against the sh.o.r.es here. Looking at the huge waves that were hundreds of meters tall, he felt that the overwhelming aura made him breathless. Qing Shui took out the Big Dipper Sword and gradually walked downward.

Qing Shui slowly walked into the sea. The cooling seawater caused his consciousness to be more agile. He slowly circulated his energies, working on attaining a breakthrough.

Brandis.h.i.+ng the sword!

Sword of Fifth Wave!

Qing Shui’s Big Dipper Sword waved out, unleas.h.i.+ng a simple but powerful wave of sword Qi, las.h.i.+ng it out toward the huge wave that was coming in his direction!

Boom boom…

A series of deep sounds rang out. Qing Shui was pushed back by the backlash of the force from the Sword of the Fifth Wave. Although he was not injured, he appeared to be all messed up. The power of nature was boundless.

After getting up, Qing Shui gave it some thought and once again headed down. What followed was him being pushed back time and time again. Qing Shui had tried tempering his body under a waterfall and his body was undoubtedly strong. However, before great power, he still appeared to be slightly feeble.

Thrown back time and time again, standing up time and time again. Each time Qing Shui was thrown back, he would gain something. To be able to use the Wave Essence properly, he must be able to feel it.

Therefore, when Qing Shui heard about the Southern Sea, he suddenly thought of this idea. When he had gone to the Jade Sea Country in Jade Sea Country previously, it was an inland sea. It was generally hard to find such a great and suitable place.

Qing Shui appreciated the force from the huge waves and then slowly contemplated. He then tried repeatedly until the moon hung high up in the sky before he retreated to the pine forest at the top of the mountain.

Entering the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal!

Each time he entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui would feel a strong sense of satisfaction. This was a place that was not known to others, a place that was absolutely safe. Everything here belonged to him. There were many heavenly and earthly treasures and no matter which area of the realm he went to, he would feel safe. Moreover, there were a bunch of powerful demonic beasts following him.

He had quite a number of new additions to the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal but for some items, there were too few. Therefore, he had not been able to store that many. The Peach of Immortality and Vermillion Fruit were two examples.

The 1,000-year Gloomy Wood was already at the height of a person and was growing up strong. When he walked near, he would feel a faint cooling force. It was not tall, but gave one the feeling of st.u.r.diness and power.

Wood which was yin in nature… Qing Shui still didn’t know what it could be use for. For forging treasures, when one had gloomy wood, demonic beasts’ cores, and treasures which were either many years of age or had extreme attributes would bring about some changes to forge a treasure. Qing Shui was not very sure about the success rate.

However, thinking about it, the chances should not be high. Moreover, he was not sure what kind of treasures he could create either.

Qing Shui looked at the 1,000-year Gloomy Wood and could not help but wonder if it would flower and fruit. However, so far, there were no signs of it doing so. Moreover, what good would there be if it were to flower or fruit?

The Nine-Petal Lotus in the pond seemed to have reached a limit, with very strong stems and had covered up the surface of the pond. The Nine-Petal Lotus had given the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal a celestial aura and its pure and divine aura let the surroundings have a comfortable feeling.

…

After exiting the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui didn’t set up his tent. He had taken sufficient rest in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Now, it was still late in the night, with stars hanging up in the sky. The bright moon also hung up high in the sky and the things in the surroundings could be seen very clearly.

In the village a distance away, there were still a few families with their lights lit up. Seemed like they had not turned in yet.

He suddenly thought of his Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod. Since he had nothing to do now, he might as well try to fish with it and see how his luck was. Each time the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod was used, it would bring about tremendous benefits to Qing Shui. Therefore, when he thought of it now, he felt agitated.

It was not that the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod could fish out good stuff regardless of the place. The prerequisite was that there must be good stuff in the area. The Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod would just greatly increase the chances that something good would be fished up.

If the place he fished at had no good items, then there was no way that he would be able to get any. This was the Southern Sea and even though it was not at the deepest spot, it was decent. Therefore, Qing Shui decided to give it a try.

If it was too deep, Qing Shui wouldn’t dare to try it. The dangers in the water were greater than that on land and the demonic beasts were stronger too. Although the world of the nine continents had a great stretch of land, it was still far for a match compared to the vast Southern Sea or Eastern Sea.

Qing Shui looked for a spot and took out his Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod. Here, Qing Shui wouldn’t be afraid that he would fish out demonic beasts which were stronger than him. After all, at this distance, demonic beasts that were that powerful would not appear. Another reason was that the people living on this island had been able to live safely.

Fis.h.i.+ng tested a person’s patience. Most people in his previous life who enjoyed fis.h.i.+ng were the elderly who had done so mainly for entertainment purposes. Not many yougsters would be able to sit there the whole day even though there might be no catch at all. However, the elderly could sit there, enjoying themselves even if they didn’t catch anything.

Qing Shui felt that his patience level was acceptable. Moreover, with the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod, it was impossible for him to not be able to catch anything. There was only one thing. It seemed that the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod had not fished out any rubbish before. Even the fish it caught would be the most expensive kinds in the market. It was a pity that Qing Shui was not short of money and had no plans to sell fish. He just chucked them into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Time pa.s.sed by slowly and the time it took for an incense to burn pa.s.sed by. Qing Shui’s fis.h.i.+ng rod didn’t move in the least. However, this was normal. It was also because the Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan had been wiped out that Qing Shui was in a very good mood, thus he was enjoying this peace which didn’t come by often.

“Mmm, the fis.h.i.+ng rod moved.”

Qing Shui quickly pulled up the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod in surprise.

Crimson Carp!

He was neither disappointed nor happy, or rather, just a little happy since not everyone could catch something like this. The Crimson Carp was a type of carp and was extremely delicious. Moreover, it had another use, which was to invigorate the male’s s.e.xual abilities.

Not every cultivator could excel in s.e.x but they would generally be slightly stronger than ordinary people, especially people who tempered their bodies. When they strengthened their bodies, their kidneys and other internal organs would also be strengthened and thus their s.e.xual abilities would be stronger as well.

However, there were also people who overly indulged in s.e.x and used strong medicinal herbs. As time pa.s.sed, even powerful cultivators would eventually lose their s.e.xual abilities. Therefore, even though this Crimson Carp was only about one foot long, it could fetch a hundred taels of gold outside. There might even be people who would pay a thousand gold taels for it.

Qing Shui smiled and tossed it into the pond in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The pond was now filled with a great variety of rare fish.

Qing Shui then continued to fish, taking it as a form of relaxation. When the day comes, it would be another tiring day. He had gotten used to a life like this. Everyday felt very fulfilling.

The martial arts path was not just tough but also lonely. It required a strong heart and determination. Otherwise, even a genius would only go to waste.

Another 15 minutes pa.s.sed and the fis.h.i.+ng rod moved again. Qing Shui grabbed it tightly and flung it up. He was stunned. Although he had not seen it before, he could call out its name in just one look.

Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.s!

The item was only one foot long, and was a crimson red all over. At one look, it was just like a flaming lion but with nine small heads. This was a plant with dense roots and branches. It looked very real and was much better than other stuff people called art.

Qing Shui was exceptionally happy as this was one of the medicinal herbs required for the “Ren Meridian Strengthening Pellet”. He had not expected to get it here since he would never have thought that this crimson red Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.s actually grew in the water.

He was now only short of a couple of items. However, Qing Shui felt that he would probably still need a little more time to find them all. Qing Shui was also full of antic.i.p.ation for the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to upgrade. There might be some powerful treasures appearing.

Qing Shui continued to fish as the sky started to light up. He caught another two Crimson Carp and two crabs. Qing Shui planned to eat one of the fish today since it tasted good.

With that Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.s, Qing Shui was satisfied. He decided to spend some time fis.h.i.+ng here everyday from now on. It would be good if he could find some treasures but the time spent would also have been worth it even if there were no more.

Launching his fists!

Standing on this slanted and smooth rock surface, he faced the east and waved his arms about. He didn’t practice at a fast speed but was extremely serious.

When Qing Shui practiced his Taichi now, he no longer asked for anything but just let it flow naturally with his heart.

This was also something which Qing Shui had comprehended recently. Dao comes naturally from the heart.

Sword of Fifth Wave!

A new day began and Qing Shui continued to be thrust backward by the many huge waves. The tremendous force came in many consecutive waves ceaselessly. After Qing Shui fended off the first wave, there would still be a second, a third… until Qing Shui ran out of strength and was slapped against the rock cliffs.

However, Qing Shui was very happy. He knew that he found the right method. Although he appeared to be in a pathetic state, he had gained a lot more insight to the Wave Essence and had grasped new things he had not known about before.

Experience was something that must be acc.u.mulated gradually. Qing Shui understood this theory and thus was in no rush. He calmly cultivated here, not asking for a breakthrough but only hoping to learn some things he had not known before. This would be his takeaway.

Waving out his sword!

Boom boom…

Another series of clas.h.i.+ng sounds rang out and Qing Shui was then pushed back to the cliff walls again.

“Mmm, my prowess is now much stronger.”

Qing Shui was elated to discover that the prowess of his Sword of Fifth Wave had increased by quite a lot. Or rather, it had become more concise. It was just like how pressure works. In the past, he might have needed to step down with his entire foot but now, he was stepping with the tip of his toes. Although the strength and pressure were not as before, it was now a lot more effective.

Focus!

Focus on the strength!

Focus on the concentration!

Qing Shui smiled. He grasped new things once again. The martial arts path was never ending. This was another Truth Realm. Seemed like his sword skill and prowess of his other attacking skills could be raised by quite a lot.

Under the state of focusing his attention, the prowess of his attack could be raised by about 20%. The same goes for his body’s defence abilities as well.

AST 784 – Turning Point, 64th Wave

Having reaped an unexpected result, Qing Shui felt that his power would have the chance to improve further in the future. Moreover, he had understood that he could resist the hypnotic effect on his mind, the dizziness, paralysis and poison effects under the state of Focused Concentration – much like the ability of the Nature Energy.

Qing Shui had never thought that he would be able to gain insight on a technique such as the Focused Concentration through the acquisition of the Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.s. The Wave Essence had also gained a considerable amount of upgrades as well. Because of that, he was somewhat able to withstand the Wave Force by adjusting the strength of his Taichi to fuse with the Wave Essence. The ocean wave would slowly rise up like the shape of a boat that could swallow him into the tide but each time it happened, Qing Shui would still be standing there unharmed.

He had already put away his Big Dipper Sword. At that moment, he was trying to feel the thrusting force within the waves.

The formation of waves was caused by the energy pa.s.sing through the water. Qing Shui was more or less trying drifting with the tide or in other words, letting the waves push him around as they pleased. The water was of the flexible nature. From what he had observed, he realized that the Taichi Fist had a similar concept – the force of the user would always match the strength of his opponent. Gradually, Qing Shui had familiarized himself with the behavior of the waves, which in turn had slightly changed the development in the realm of Taichi.

Today, he just went along with the waves while closing his eyes. He had an absolute expression of calmness on his face as he was shuttled back and forth by the waves. Qing Shui was unconcerned with the sea spray as the water hits the cliff walls. If the rough wave were to shove towards his direction, he would evade it without trying to face it head-on. There were other ways one could achieve their goals without the necessity of confronting these things forcefully.

At that moment, the gears inside his brain had turned faster. He was able to easily figure out some things that he would normally find quite difficult to comprehend. Even though he had gained a considerable amount of power in the past two days, he had also improved the adaptive capability of his body, which was an overall improvement to his strength as well.

The sudden change had Qing Shui excited. However, his main goal today was to cultivate his Wave Essence. So in the end, he would still need to clash himself with the strong waves. Now that he had grasped the quintessence of the Wave Essence, the progress of his cultivation had become smoother without much effort.

A day had pa.s.sed just like that. He had learned a great deal today, and he was certainly satisfied. Having a breakthrough wasn"t the first thing in his mind – the journey towards a great future would always start with the first step. If he could persist through the continuous advancements, then there would be a greater hope for the next breakthrough.

Qing Shui decided that he would aim to break the wave with the sword tomorrow. When it was about time to enter the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he quickly entered without hesitation.

This small mountain seemed to be a restricted area for the villagers. But since there was no one within the perimeter of ten li for the past two days, he continued to stay and cultivate his techniques. Moreover, this island was way above the sea level. It was an ideal position for him because the strong waves would crash to the back side of the mountain instead to the front.

After a period of exhausting cultivation, Qing Shui came out from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The moon in the sky was abnormally bright, accompanied by a sea of stars gleaming next to one another. He felt like he was dreaming as he stared at the beautiful sight, which he would never be able to see during his past life.

Qing Shui decided to go fis.h.i.+ng next.

As he took out the Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod and threw the line to the sea, he made up his mind to fish during this hour for the remaining days in this island. Fis.h.i.+ng was a perfect balance of movement as he was required to idle his bait for a few moments before he would reel the line to lure potential prey to the hook. Perhaps for the next few days, he might be able to hook up something special or something peculiar. Even though he could maintain a calm demeanor on the exterior, his heart would fidget with excitement, hoping to fish up something different than usual.

"It moved! That fast?" Qing Shui was shocked. The time to drink a cup of tea hadn"t even pa.s.sed yet after he had sunk his line into the waters. He quickly reeled in his Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod to see what he had caught.

Golden Bull Gra.s.s…….

When he saw the Golden Bull Gra.s.s, he was stunned. He had caught a Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.s last time and now he had caught another Golden Bull Gra.s.s despite already owning one. In fact, Qing Shui was elated to have caught another Golden Bull Gra.s.s. Having too much of a great item could never hurt. Moreover, he had only one Golden Bull Gra.s.s in his possession. With another one on his hand, he could use it as the seed and grow more of its kind.

The first attempt was an auspicious start. He also finally understood that this kind of Myriad-form Gra.s.s wasn"t an ordinary plant. It was more like a spiritual type between a beast and a plant that lived within the waters while floating through the sea. Even though it could not be compared to the herbal treasures that were usually found on the ground, it was still quite valuable in the market. Because of its rarity in amount, as well as the least used ingredient in most alchemy recipes, its value would be slightly lower than those of the herbal treasures.

And then he caught a lobster!

A lobster a foot long…..

Qing Shui took another closer look at the giant lobster – or whatever it was. He didn"t know what kind of species it was, so he decided he would call it as a "lobster" for the time being. Qing Shui knew it couldn"t be compared to the normal prawns in the sea when he felt the lobster emitting a subtle Spiritual Qi around its body.

He threw it into the pond inside the Realm of the Violet Jade as an addition to his water species collection. That way, he was able to add a bit more liveliness to the realm as well.

Time pa.s.sed by quickly as he continued fis.h.i.+ng. When the sun had peeked through from the horizon in the east, he noticed that it was already morning.

He put away his Pure Gold Fis.h.i.+ng Rod and started his daily morning exercise. The Back Connecting Fist had already reached the peak of the Large Success Stage. The technique was only a step away from a breakthrough but for now, it would still remain in the Large Success Stage level.

Today, he felt extraordinary when he performed the Sword of Fifth Wave again. He swung the Big Dipper Sword effortlessly as if it was his own arm. One could say that he might have fused his arm with the sword to become as one being.

Thump thump……

Qing Shui was knocked away once again. However, he was pleasantly surprised as he stared blankly at the sword in his hand. He didn’t experience a breakthrough – not yet but he was able to feel his power increasing a great amount. It was truly a miraculous feeling.

Perhaps it was partly due to the state of Focused Concentration but he knew it was also due to the concept of being able to perform the Sword of Fifth Wave with high-proficiency, in which he was able to perform the technique without room for error. He felt content and most importantly, he felt like he had become more adaptable towards the situation.

At the precise moment, he also felt a slight change psychologically, which had boosted his confidence as well.

Break!

Thump thump……

Qing Shui had been in that state of mind for the entire day. He was able to withstand each set of the devastating waves while maintaining that mentality in his head. Nevertheless, it was still a great improvement to his overall physical strength.

Up until now, Qing Shui had already sliced through the 28th wave. During the second wave, he felt a slight increase to his power and he had also understood a little bit more about the Wave Essence in terms of its application and usage.

Then during the fourth wave, he could feel the same sensation a bit more clearly – and it felt stronger than it was for the previous waves. For the subsequent waves, Qing Shui was beginning to realize some sort of pattern to what he had been sensing from the beginning.

Because he had the same sensation throughout the eighth and the sixteenth waves, he felt quite satisfied knowing that his powers were still increasing, which led him to think that he had acquired something extraordinary from the whole day of cultivating the Sword of Fifth Wave.

Ten days had pa.s.sed, Qing Shui could now apply the Sword of Fifth Wave using a different type of power that was essentially a different power than it was before. When he displayed the technique to slice through the wave, the overall poise of the technique was the epitome of perfection.

As of now, Qing Shui had already broken through the 60th wave. But as he progressed further, he found it increasingly difficult to break through the waves. However, he had found a pattern during the cultivation of the Sword of Fifth Wave. When he had broken through about four waves in the beginning, he seemed to have unlocked some sort of barrier to the Second Wave Essence. As he went through the eight wave, it was the Third Wave Essence. Through the 16th wave, it was the Fourth Wave Essence, and around the 32nd wave, the Fifth Wave Essence was unlocked. The number of waves for the unlocking to occur would always double the previous number where the Wave Essence had been unlocked.

So right now, Qing Shui had a theory – if he could break through 64 forces of waves in one attempt, would he be able to break through the Sword of Fifth Wave to the Sword of Sixth Wave successfully?

However, based on his current ability, he could only break through at most one wave per day. Even though he had already reached the Fifth Wave cultivation, one wave per day was the most he could muster. If he was still at the Fourth Wave, he would need about a month and an extra week and a half to break through the 33rd wave. The Sword of Fifth Wave was already at its peak, so he would need about a week more time to be able to break through the last four waves

Since he had stayed for quite a period of time, it wouldn"t matter if he stayed a bit longer. If he was able to reach a breakthrough, then it would be great. If he couldn"t, there was nothing to regret as he had already acquired other great things during his stay in this island.

Not only had he acquired three Nine-Headed Lion Gra.s.ses, he had also managed to acquire a total of three Golden Bull Gra.s.ses. Moreover, he had also captured ten different kinds of valuable sea creatures, as well as one Silver Fish Gra.s.s – a type of Myriad-form Gra.s.s, which was known to be quite valuable. Despite that, Qing Shui had no idea what he could use it for, so he decided to grow it for the time being.

As the time pa.s.sed, he had already been on this island for about half a month. It seemed like he intended to stay for a full month before he would finally leave for home.

If he hadn"t observed the waves in the first place, he wouldn"t have had this kind of realization and ultimately, he wouldn"t stay for such a long time. If he had immediately gone back home after his stay at the Ye Residence, he would have made it back in time to s.h.i.+ Qingzhuang and Mingyue Gelou before the birth of their children. Moreover, the thoughts of coming to the Southern Sea would have never surfaced. But because he knew he wouldn"t be able to make it before the ladies had given birth, he decided delay for another month before he could go back. However, it seemed that he had to delay for three months in order to cultivate his Wave Essence. By the time he had gone back home, their children would be about four months old……….

63rd wave!

One last wave to go. As long as he was able to break through the 64th wave with the motion of the Wave Essence, then the Sword of Fifth Wave would be able to break through to the Sixth Wave.

All things were known to be connected with each other. The only problem was to find the linkage between them, because some links were direct and obvious, while the others were indirect and required longer time for thorough observation and derivation.

"I hope I can break through the 64th wave tomorrow. It will be the best outcome if I can do that." Qing Shui looked at the dark sky. It was almost night time.

Despite being alone at the peak of the mountain for 20 days, he did not feel any sort of negative emotions. He had faith in his belief and goal – like a navigation marker in a boat, he would strive towards his goal and continue to move forward.

After three days had pa.s.sed…

As he was trudging along the motion of the waves, he took the Big Dipper Sword in his hand and swung it valiantly. The elongated Sword Qi sliced through a giant wave, with Qing Shui tailing behind like a silhouette following closely to his body.

Thump!

He was still knocked back by the 64th wave cras.h.i.+ng through his body. At that moment when he had clashed with the 64th wave, he felt that his power had finally reached its peak. His power seemed miniscule in the face of the giant raging wave thras.h.i.+ng through the water.

"How is this so difficult?"

The foundation of the Sword of Fifth Wave had experienced a devastating change. Perhaps because of that, the subsequent waves had become progressively tougher to handle.

If he was able to push through the last set of waves, then perhaps the Sword of Fifth Wave might be able to see through the next realm.

Qing Shui"s persistence knew no boundaries – indeed, it was terrifying, especially when during the progress of his cultivation. Once he had set his eyes on a gleam of hope, he would never let it go. Of course, that would only occur during his cultivation. His relations.h.i.+p or romance, however, had never seen a 100% determination like his cultivation did……..

Qing Shui was adamant on breaking through the 64th wave. If he couldn"t break through the Sixth Wave Essence despite being able to slice through the 64th wave, then he would admit his oversight and proceed to go back home without uttering a word of lament.

Note: Sorry guys, I miscalculated the timing, there is still 1 more day before the two winners are selected

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